Sermon
Lanier Christian Church
October 28, 2012
David Simpson
"The Masquerade”
2 Corinthians 11:14
“…for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.”
– 2 Cor. 11:14
Paul said it so well, when talking about false teachers in the early church of Corinth:
“And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.”
I will never forget going over to my cousin’s home one Halloween, with my cute little Popeyes costume on and minding my own business walking up to the front door to say “trick or treat” only to have a gorilla jump out of the bushes and “attack” me! Well my brain didn’t exactly filter out at the time that gorillas do not live in Milledgeville, so I was scared out of my wits! It caused enough trauma for me that night that I wasn’t interested in knocking on anyone else’s door! Of course, I soon found out that this was my cousin, Phil, in disguise, masquerading as a frightening gorilla.
From our early Halloween experiences, all of us should know by now that everything is not always what it seems. There are fakes all around us. We must be discerning enough as Christians to be able to tell what is real and what is not. And yet, we are fooled so often. It is difficult at times to tell the real thing from the impostor. That’s why we need God’s guidance, in this case, to prevent us from being drawn in by deceit…to guide us away from the masquerade of Satan’s trickery.
Proverbs 17:24 says: “A discerning man keeps wisdom in view, but a fool’s eyes wander to the ends of the earth.”
To the Philippians Paul said: “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ…” (Phil. 1:9,10)
So, today’s lesson is to beware of the deceit of Satan! Use the discernment God is willing to offer you to guide you away from the masquerade and know that….
1. The devil is a liar. (John 8:44)
Speaking of the devil Jesus said: “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” – John 8:44
Jesus didn’t beat around the bush. He told the truth about the devil. He is a liar. There is no truth in him whatsoever. So we should know, then, that when he tempts us he is placing a lie before us. And we should not cave in to the temptation.
The word devil is from the Greek “diabolos” meaning: “slanderer.”
Our English word, “diabolical” comes from this Greek word.
Every word, every temptation, every deed of the devil is a lie.
It is interesting to me to note that Jesus is the exact opposite of the devil. He said in John 14:6 – “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”
Jesus is truth. The devil is a lie.
Guide me Lord away from the masquerade of Satan’s deceptive lies and into your strengthening truth.
2. The devil is an enemy. (1 Peter 5:8)
“Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8)
Have you ever seen those National Geographic TV programs where they show the African jungle and all the different animals? Then at some point they focus in on the lion, which is often seen stalking, then attacking, then devouring his prey. He is not called the “king of the jungle” for nothing!
The lion is the natural enemy of most of the animals of the jungle. When it comes to the Christian, the devil is our natural enemy!
He is not a friend. He is not a neighbor. He is not an acquaintance. He is not a helper. He is not a buddy. He is not a bystander. He is not even somebody you just pass by on the street. He is our enemy! We must never forget that!
The word "Satan" is a greek word that means, "adversary or opposer."
His intent is not just to distract, or to mislead, or even to harm…but to destroy!
Jesus called him a “murderer.” The devil is the one who brought about death due to sin. When Satan gets his claws in you, he does not just want to scratch you up and send you a message, but to completely gobble you up and destroy any ounce of faith and belief in you!
He masquerades as one who wants to have fun with you, who wants to tease you, who tells little white lies, who is all about harmless pranks…but that is a lie…he is our enemy.
Do not spend time with him. Do not listen to him. Do not consider for a moment any temptation he places before you.
In fact the next verse (1 Peter 5:9) says: “Resist him, standing firm in the faith.” We must put a fight against all he throws at us. Don’t buy into his masquerade. It’s not the real thing.
Guide me Lord, away from the territory of the enemy, and when I do come face to face with him, strengthen me to resist him.
3. The devil is a false god and the ruler of darkness.
(2 Corinthians. 4:4; Ephesians 6:12)
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Cor. 4:4)
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Eph. 6:12)
The devil is a liar, remember? So one of his masquerades is to pretend he is a god.
He does have power, but he is not omnipotent – not all powerful - only Almighty God is.
He does know much about us, but he is not omniscient – all knowing – only Almighty God is.
He does seek a relationship with us - but not a loving one - only Almighty God does that.
He cannot save – only Almighty God can do that, through Jesus.
He is the god of this age. His reign is temporary. His power is limited. He cannot blind us if we resist him. He cannot overpower us, if we stand up to him. He cannot harm if we attack him with the sword of the Spirit…God’s Word.
He is the prince or ruler of darkness. There is no light in him whatsoever. Jesus is the light of the world. Satan is the dark ruler of all evil. Note our verse for today…”he masquerades as an angel of light.” The mask he wears is one of light, but behind it is nothing but complete and total darkness.
Have you ever been in on one of those guided tours of any of a number of caves around our country…like Ruby Falls, or Carlsbad Caverns or another one. Our family went to the Carlsbad Caves in New Mexico years ago. And as they do in so many places, they’ll turn out the lights and you cannot see anything…not even your hand in front of your face. It is a frightening feeling!
So much of wrongdoing, or evil, is committed in the darkness of night or in a dimly lit room. Why, because the devil is the ruler of darkness. It is his domain.
It is interesting that the Bible describes heaven as being filled with light and Hell as being nothing but darkness. What’s the first thing we usually do when we walk into a dark room? We turn on a light.
What should Christians be in this often dark world? A light. Jesus not only called himself the “light of the world,” but said: “You are the light of the world.”
It’s time we showed our lights and revealed the devil for who he really is. Someone who is just masquerading his deceitful lies before us every day.
He finds it easy to lead us astray when we are not grounded in God’s Word, when our faith is weak, when we are isolated from other believers, when our prayer life is shallow. At times like that he often fools us with one of his masquerades and we unfortunately sometimes cave in to his lies.
I like the advice we find in the New Testament book of James: “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7)
That’s exactly what we need to do to not succumb to the devil’s masquerade and schemes…Submit to God, and resist the devil. When we do that he runs away!
Join with me today in submitting to Almighty God and praying: Guide me O Lord, away from the lies and hate and darkness of the devil and into your truth, and love, and light O God!
