WHAT THE DEVIL CAN WE DO ABOUT THE DEVIL

1 Peter 5:8 (ESV) 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

INTRODUCTION

With the heart of a shepherd concerned for the sheep in his care Peter warns us about the dangerous wolf that is out to harm us. More appropriately he warns us that there is a roaring lion on the prowl and we had better be on the lookout for him.

In this age of secular sophistication there are many who have completely dismissed the notion that there is an evil enemy in this world. There is an evil spirit in this world that is:

· Opposed to the purpose of God

· Antagonistic to the people of God

· Only defeated by the power of God

I think the enemy’s best weapon has been to convince people that he does not exist. I think I ought to tell you that the devil is real and ruthless. Peter calls him our “adversary.” The Greek word is Antidikos, it carries the idea of an opponent in a lawsuit. It also means a common day-to-day opponent like a neighbor who opposes and stands as an enemy against us. The picture is that of the devil opposing us in every conceivable way.

ð It is the picture of Satan standing in a law court, standing as an adversary in the court of God and accusing us before God.

ð It is the picture of Satan standing here on earth, standing against us and doing all he can to trip us up and to defeat and destroy us.

The word translated “devil” is Diabolos, and means, “slanderer.” The devil is called “the accuser of the bretheren.”He is our opponent who has all of this incriminating evidence against us and he constantly pointing out our frailties and failures to the Judge of all the earth, the great God of heaven. The shame of it is often the devil doesn’t have to make up stuff against. He can get us in trouble with Judge just by telling the truth.

So the critical question before us this morning is what the devil can we do about the devil? As we ponder that question and the passage before us there are three truths threaded into the tapestry of the biblical text. They form the substance of the sermon and offers the homiletical hinges on which this message. Notice, IDENTIFY WHO THE DEVIL THE DEVIL IS, CLARIFY WHAT THE DEVIL THE DEVIL WANTS, and SPECIFY WHAT THE DEVIL WE CAN DO ABOUT THE DEVIL.

I. IDENTIFY WHO THE DEVIL THE DEVIL IS

Make no mistake about it we have an enemy in this world. Just look around you and you will see clear and convincing evidence of his work. We have an enemy, there is:

· Disintegrating marriages

· Crumbling families

· Misshaped values

· Misplaced priorities

· Mishandled passions

· Misused power

· Misguided thinking

· Mismanaged lives

Any sane and rational and reasonable person can look at the evidence and be ABSOLUTELY convinced that there is an enemy in the world. The question is, WHO THE DEVIL IS HE?

A. WHAT HE IS NOT- there are some serious misconceptions about the devil. You can’t be successful in defeating him as your enemy if you walk around with false notions of who and what he is.

I think I ought to tell you that the devil is not some cartoon caricature with a long tail, horns and a pitchfork. Those who have that concept of the devil underestimate him. It’s a dangerous thing to underestimate the devil. 1 Peter 5:8

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

NKJV

I declare it is a serious miscalculation to play the devil cheap, to underestimate him. He has slaughtered the hopes of millions who fell prey to his sinister manipulations. Don’t play him cheap:

· He is a liar who will deceive you

· A tyrant who will dominate you

· A cannibal who will devour you

· A vulture who will devastate you

· A murderer who will destroy you

While some people make the mistake of underestimating the devil, others make the opposite mistake of overestimating him. Sometimes we give the devil more credit for stuff than he deserves.

The devil is not omnipotent, that is unlike God the devil is not all- powerful. He is powerful but he is not all-powerful. Omnipotence is the exclusive prerogative of God. 1 John 4:4

4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

NKJV

The devil does have some power. He has the power to:

· To deceive minds

· Discourage hearts

· Defile hands

· Dissolve marriages

· Disrupt families

· Destroy lives

The devil has some power but he is not omnipotent, he does not possess all power.

The devil is not omniscient; he does not have all knowledge. The devil does not know everything. The devil is a fallen angel and angels do not have all knowledge. 1 Peter 1: 12

12 To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven--things which angels desire to look into.

NKJV

There is no indication in the bible that the devil can read your mind. Don’t become careless however because the devil has been around so long that he has learned a few things about human behavior. He has gotten quite adept at predicting our actions and attitudes. He does not know everything but he does know enough to:

· Trick us with his lies

· Trap us in his snares

· Lead us astray

· Rob us of our joy

· Steal our hopes

· Sabotage our dreams

The devil is not omnipotent and the devil is not omniscient.

The devil is not omnipresent, he can’t be everywhere at the same time. I know it looks like he is everywhere but he is not. However he does have a lot of help so that even if he is not personally present his ungodly, unrighteous and unholy agenda is. Job 1:7

7 And the LORD said to Satan, "From where do you come?" So Satan answered the LORD and said, "From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it."

NKJV

You don’t have to go to a place if you are already there. The fact that the devil was going to and fro in the earth suggest that he could not be everywhere at the same time.

The devil is not omnipotent, omniscient or omnipresent. That means the devil is not like God. He is inferior in every way to the great God of heaven. He is no match for the shinning Prince from glory who is our conquering Hero from Heaven.

B. WHO THE DEVIL IS HE- Peter calls him “a roaring lion walking about seeking whom he may devour.” The word for "roaring" is ōruomai. It means to howl. It occurs only here. It suggests the howl of a wild beast when it is hungry. Our foe is to be feared. He is not to be taken lightly.

Going to the bible will help us strip away all of the myth, misunderstanding and misinformation concerning who the devil is. He is not some boogie man conjured up in the imagination of some preacher in an attempt to scare the hellish evil out of people.

The devil is a created personal being. He does not possess eternal self- existence. Unlike God who is Jehovah, the God of the eternal present, the self- existent One who always was, always is, and always will be, the devil has not always existed. He was created.

The devil is also a corrupted spiritual being. Isa 14:12

12 "How you are fallen from heaven,

O Lucifer, son of the morning!

How you are cut down to the ground,

You who weakened the nations! NKJV

The Bible refers to the devil by such personal, spiritual names and descriptions as “the anointed cherub” (Ezek. 28:14), “the ruler of demons” (Luke 11:15), “the ruler of this world” (John 16:11), “the god of this world” (2 Cor. 4:4), “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2), and numerous others. He is identified as the great dragon, a roaring lion, the vile one, the tempter, the accuser, and the spirit working in the sons of disobedience. Fifty–two times he is called Satan, which means “adversary,” and thirty–five times the devil, which means “slanderer.” This fallen archangel and his fallen angels who became demons have been tempting and corrupting mankind since the Fall. He is an

· evil,

· formidable,

· cunning,

· powerful,

· spiritual

· invisible

foe against whom no human being in his own power and resources is a match.

II. CLARIFY WHAT THE DEVIL THE DEVIL WANTS

He "walks about," says Peter, a graphic picture of the devil’s restless energy. He is looking for those whom he can "devour." The word used is katapinō, which means "to swallow." The word is used to describe the doom of the Egyptian army when its cavalry pursued the Hebrews across the bed of the Red Sea. They were "drowned" (katapinō), we are told. They were "swallowed up" (Heb. 11:29). Oh my brothers and sisters we must understand that the devil is not just out to hurt you, hinder you or harm you. He is trying to destroy you, he wants to devour you. He wants to swallow us up!

A. TO DETHRONE GOD- The devil wants what he has always wanted. He wants to replace God on the throne. Isa 14:12-14

12 "How you are fallen from heaven,

O Lucifer, son of the morning!

How you are cut down to the ground,

You who weakened the nations!

13 For you have said in your heart:

'I will ascend into heaven,

I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;

I will also sit on the mount of the congregation

On the farthest sides of the north;

14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,

I will be like the Most High.'

NKJV

This is pride in all of its unattractive ugliness. It is unmitigated arrogance:

· “I will ascend”- he was already in heaven so there was only one place that he could ascend to and that was the throne of God

· “I will exalt my throne” he was intending to usurp God’s authority

The devil’s attempted coup in heaven was defeated. The devil can’t overthrow God directly so he has to attempt to do so indirectly and deceptively. He:

· Afflicts the people of God (Job 1:12)

· Dominates and captivates sinners (Acts 26:18)

· Blinds the mind of unbelievers (2 Corinth.4:4)

· Tempts people into sin (Gen. 3:4)

· Slanders the saints (Job 1:9)

· Seeks to kill, steal and destroy lives (John 10:10)

B. DENY SALVATION- The devil does not want you to be saved. 2 Cor 4:1-4

4:1 Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. 2 But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. 3 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.

NKJV

Notice how the devil tries to keep your mind blind. The worst blindness is not the lost of sight. The worst blindness is the lack of insight. The devil does not want you to see:

· The unity of the faith

· The simplicity of salvation

· Deity of Christ

· Identity of the church

C. DISCREDIT CHRISTIANS-The devil will do anything to destroy your witness as a child of God. There are 3 great threats to our witness as Christians. They are the world, which is the external foe, the flesh, which is the internal foe, and the devil who is the infernal foe.

The devil uses 3 tempting tactics in order to discredit us. 1 John 2:15-16

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world--the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life--is not of the Father but is of the world.

NKJV

The good news is that we know that these are his 3 tactics, lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and the pride of life. The bad news is these 3 are so successful he doesn’t need any other tactics. Gen 3:1-6

3:1 Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" 2 And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; 3 but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' " 4 Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." 6 So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.

NKJV

D. DIVIDE THE CHURCH- The reason so much mess go on often in the fellowship of the church is because the devil is at work. He knows a divided church is a defeated church. John 17:20-23

20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. 22 And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one: 23 I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. NKJV

The bible teaches not only are denominations outside of the will of God, but so are divisions of any kind within the body of Christ. We cannot be a:

· Disjointed

· Disrupted

· Divided

People. We must be a cohesive, compacted, coordinated, cooperating community.

III. SPECIFY WHAT THE DEVIL WE CAN DO ABOUT THE DEVIL

Peter tells us to “resist” he devil. The Greek word is Antistete. The word means, “To resist; to take a firm stand; to hold one's ground; to oppose. It means to withstand the devil; to stand firm against him; to strive and struggle against him. Resist the devil:

· When tempted to act with an unworthy motive

· When tempted to move with a ungodly purpose

· When tempted to speak in unkind terms or tones

· When he tries to lure you away by the lust of the eyes

· When he tries lead you astray by the lust of the flesh

· When he tries pull you aside by the pride of life.

Peter cautions that resisting the devil is no light and easily manageable undertaking. So he says we have to be “firm in the faith.” The word “firm” is Stereoma, and means, “steadfast.” It was a military term. Wuest suggests that the expression could be translated "beholding your solid front." Perhaps Peter had seen Roman soldiers going through their battle drills. In one maneuver, the troops would stand shoulder to shoulder, their large, octagonal shields locked together to form a solid wall of steel. This maneuver enabled them to bear the brunt of all of the attacking force of the enemy. I declare that is what we my beloved North G family must learn to do as we face this fierce, ancient enemy of man. We have to learn how to stand firm shoulder to shoulder and lock shields:

· Lets not push each other down lets pick each other up

· Lets not spend time saying bad things about each other lets spend time praying for good things for each other

· Lets not tear each other down lets build each other up

Oh my brothers and sisters let’s lock shields and stand together against the devil shoulder to shoulder, shoulder to shoulder, shoulder to shoulder!

When it comes to dealing with this mean, malevolent manipulator of man, the devil, there is only two workable strategies.

A. GET IN THE LORD- If you want to have the power you have to have the right position. That position is “in Christ”. Don’t try to deal with the devil on you own. Get yourself some back up. If you get in Christ, Christ will get in you. Your will be brought into the orbit of John’s conviction: 1 John 4:4

4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.

NKJV

Your only hope is to get in Christ because in Christ there is:

· Power to protect you

· Strength to sustain you

I declare the devil is no match for the Lord. Jesus is too strong for the devil to subdue and too discerning to ever be deceived by the devil.

I think it is important to remind you that to be in Christ is to be in the Body of Christ. To be in the Body of Christ is to be in the Church of Christ (Ephesians 1:22-23).

B. GROW IN THE WORD- No one has ever successfully defeated the devil who did not know the word. As we will see in an upcoming message the word of God is the Sword of the Spirit. If you are going to defeat the devil you had better know how to use your weapon.

During Jesus’ epic conflict with the devil in the wilderness at each attempted attack by the devil Jesus responded with a “it is written”. If you grow in the word the devil can’t:

· Deceive your mind

· Hardened your heart

· Steal your joy

· Kill your hope

· Destroy your soul

Ps 119:11

11 Your word I have hidden in my heart,

That I might not sin against You!

NKJV

Growing in the word will keep you from:

· Backsliding and its sinful reproach

· Denominations with its damnable doctrines

· Worldliness with its deceptive lust

· Carnality with its destructive curse

Conclusion

I have great news today if you are a child of the King. Yes I know the devil is our accuser. I know he is powerful prosecuting attorney and he has indisputable evidence against each of us. He has enough evidence not to send us to jail but to sendd us to hell. The good news is the devil is our accuser but Christ is our Advocate. Oh my brothers and sisters I’m so glad that with Jesus I have a mighty good Lawyer. 1 John 2:1-2

My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. NKJV

John reminds us that not only is Jesus my Attorney, my Advocate, He is my Atonement, He is my propitiation. Not only does He represent me before the Judge, He came and did the time for my crime. Out on Calvary Christ took my place, took my guilt, suffered my sentence and died my death. Now the Judge can say to me WHEN EVER THE DEVIL BRINGS CHARGES AGAINST ME CASE DISMISSED:

· IF THE DEVIL SAYS JONES HAS LIED, BUT GOD CAN SAY YES BUT CHRIST DIED CASE DISMISSED

· IF THE DEVIL SAYS LOOK AT HIS BEHAVIOR GOD CAN SAY LOOK AT CHRIST BLOOD, CASE DISMISSED

· IF THE DEVIL SAYS LOOK AT HIS CONDUCT GOD CAN SAY LOOK AT CHRIST CROSS, CASE DISMISSED

· IF THE DEVIL SAYS HE IS FALLEN GOD CAN SAY HE IS FORGIVEN CASE DISMISSED

· IF THE DEVIL SAYS HE IS COVERED WITH GUILT GOD CAN SAY HE IS COVERED BY GRACE CASE DISMISSED

· IF THE DEVIL SAYS HIS STEPS ARE INCONSISITENT GOD CAN SAY HIS SAVIOR IS INCREDIBLE CASE DISMISSED

· IF THE DEVIL SAYS LOOK AT THE WAY HE LIVES GOD CAN SAY LOOK AT THE WAY CHIRST DIED CASE DISMISSED

· IF THE DEVIL SAYS THE MESS HE HAS KNOWN IS PITIFUL GOD CAN SAY THE MERCY HE IS SHOWN IS PLENTIFUL CASE DISMISSED

· IF THE DEVIL SAYS WHY DON’T YOU LEAVE HIM GOD CAN SAY BECAUSE I LOVE HIM CASE DISMISSED

· IF THE DEVIL SAYS WITH ME IS WHERE HE DESERVES TO BE GOD CAN SAY WITH ME IS WHERE I DESIRE HIM TO BE CASE DISMISSED