In 2009 a Barna report stated that 40% or 4 out of every 10 Christians believe that Satan is nothing more than a symbol of evil. They say that Satan does not exist and that is exactly what he wants.
1. Who is he? Maybe we should look at who he’s not…
a. He is not some mythical character or a figment of your imagination. [the boogey man]
b. He is not the horrible creature we use to scare our kids in to obedience.
c. He is not weak or ignorant.
d. HE IS real. He is subtle and he is powerful.
2. Where is He?
a. He is not in hell. He has access to the presence of God and gives an account of what he is up to.
Job 1:6-7NLT “One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the LORD, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them.
7 "Where have you come from?" the LORD asked Satan. Satan answered the LORD, "I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that's going on.”
Satan shows up one day and God asked him what he was up to and he told God that he had ben wandering around the earth sticking his nose in the peoples business.
b. He is active on the earth.
1 Peter 5: 8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
3. What is He Up To?
a. He is enticing people to do evil.
John 13: 2 “And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's [son], to betray Him,”
b. He is blinding unbelievers.
2Corinthians 4: 3-4 “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.”
c. He is opposing the people of God.
Zechariah 3: 1 “Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him.”
Satan know the right time and place to strike. He will attack you when you are the most vulnerable.
d. He is confusing people concerning the truth of sin.
Genesis 3:1-5 “1 The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the LORD God had made. One day he asked the woman, "Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?"
2 "Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden," the woman replied.
3 "It's only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, 'You must not eat it or even touch it; if you do, you will die.'"
4 "You won't die!" the serpent replied to the woman.
5 "God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil.”
I read this story about the Ermine and thought…“This how Christians should be today.”
In the forests of northern Europe and Asia lives a little animal called the ermine, known for his snow-white fur. He instinctively protects his white coat against anything that would soil it. His fur is so fine; nothing is more beautiful on the fur markets of the world. In some countries the state robes of judges are lined with it, the white being emblematic of purity and honor.
Fur hunters take advantage of this unusual trait of the ermine. They don’t set a snare to catch him, but instead they find his home, which is usually a cleft in a rock or a hollow in an old tree. They smear the entrance and interior with grime and filth. Then the hunters set their dogs loose to find and chase the ermine. The frightened animal flees toward home, his only place of refuge, but doesn’t enter because of the filth. Rather than soil his white coat, he is trapped by the dogs and captured while preserving his purity. It is better that he be stained by blood than spoiled by uncleanness. For the ermine, purity is more precious than life. (Our Daily Bread, April 21, 1997.)
I believe that we should be like the Ermine and determine that “I would rather die that get dirty.”
