Satan’s Battle Tactics
Part 2
Scriptures: John 10:10; Mark 4:14-20; Psalm 119:105, 130; James 1:12
Two weeks ago I shared with you the first tactic of Satan’s battle plan which is to steal the word from our hearts. We know that faith comes by hearing the word of God and if we are not hearing it then we will have very little faith as it relates to our relationship with God. If we are hearing the word of God, then Satan attempts to steal what we have heard in order to prevent you from using it. Why? Because we please God through faith and through faith we overcome him. Satan knows better than we do what lies within the power of our faith and it’s because of this knowledge that he works so hard to keep the word of God from us. In part one, we examine the parable of the sower as recorded in the book of Luke chapter eight. This morning we will examine the same parable from Mark’s perspective because Mark uses different words to describe the meaning of where the seeds landed. Before we go there I want to go back to our foundation Scripture found in John 10:10.
John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” I shared this verse last week but I did not elaborate on it. In this verse Jesus tells us plainly that Satan has a plan for our life – to steal, kill and destroy everything good within our life. He wants to destroy our jobs, our joy, our happiness, health, finances, our marriage and especially our kids. He literally wants to destroy any and everything he can get his hands on. The word “thief” comes from the Greek word klepto, which means to steal. (Have you ever heard the term kleptomaniac? It’s a term for someone who has a persistent, neurotic impulse to steal.) In the Greek this word paints a picture of a bandit, pickpocket, or thief who is so artful in the way he steals that his thievery is nearly undetectable. Jesus used this term to let us know that the devil is very cunning in the way he steals from people. He knows that if he does it outright, his actions will be recognized; therefore, he steals from people in such a deceptive way that he often accomplishes his evil goal before they even know he has stolen from them!
The thief not only comes to steal, but he also comes to kill. It would appear at first glance that this means to kill, as in to take someone’s life. However, the Greek word for kill in this verse is thuo which means to sacrifice. It originally referred to the sacrificial (killing) giving of animals on the altar. It could mean “to sacrifice; to surrender; or to give up something that is precious and dear.” This word in the Greek had nothing to do with killing in the terms of murder. Because Jesus used this word to describe the work of the thief, He is telling us that if the thief hasn’t already walked away with everything we hold precious and dear, he will then try to convince us that we need to sacrifice or give up everything he hasn’t already taken from us. Do you understand this? What he cannot steal he influences us to give it up freely. The thief cannot bear the fact that we possess any kind of blessing and therefore if he is unsuccessful at stealing the good things from our life he will try to convince us to give it up freely just because he does not want us to have it!!!
The last thing Jesus said about the thief was that he comes to destroy. The word “destroy” comes from the Greek word apollumi which means “to destroy.” It carries the idea of something that is ruined, wasted, trashed, devastated, and destroyed. By using this word, we discover that if the thief is unsuccessful in his attempts to steal from us or convince us to sacrifice what we hold dear, then he will try to ruin it! Can you see this? Now even though this is the devil’s plan, Jesus said “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” That term “may have” comes from the Greek tense that means “to have and to continually possess.” The “life” Jesus offers us is “zoe”, which suggests a life that is filled with vitality. The word “abundantly” is from the Greek word “periossos” and it means “to be above, beyond what is regular, extraordinary or even exceeding. So whereas the devil comes to steals, Jesus came to give and to ensure that we keep it!!! I ask that you keep this in mind this morning as we re-examine the parable of the sower.
One note, Satan’s most valuable weapon is deceit. He is a liar and the father of lies. Because the Word of God is powerful, and through it we can overcome him, he attempts to minimize the Word in our lives by stealing it or getting us to think less about its importance. Satan will lie to us about the power of the Word and if we accept the lie the Word is destroyed within us. Psalm 119:105 & 130 says “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path….the unfolding of Your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.” This is the function of the Word within us – it’s a light unto our path. All of us know what it’s like to walk down a dark path without a flashlight. There is fear of the unknown (maybe someone is hiding along the path looking for an opportunity to attack us) and there is caution because of uncertainty. This is the way that Satan wants us to walk in this world, with fear, caution and uncertainty. However, when we have our flashlight, we walk along the path with a purpose because we have a light that is shining before us. We are not scared because we can see by the light which brings clarity before our eyes. The Word of God is that light which removes the darkness from all around us. If you are experiencing darkness right now, turn to the Word! Remember, if Satan can deceive us into thinking that the Word of God means nothing and is outdated for these times in which we are living, he wins because we freely give up (kill) the power of the Word within us! As we read the parable from Mark’s perspective, watch closely as you will see the thief steal, kill and destroy. Turn with me to Mark chapter four and we will begin reading at verse fourteen. In these verses Mark records Jesus’ explanation of the parable.
“The sower sows the word. These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away. And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And those are the ones on whom seed was sown on the good soil; and they hear the word and accept it and bear fruit, thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold.” (Mark 4:14-20)
As I shared on last Sunday, the seed is the Word of God. When it is sown within us, it can be stolen from us; lie dormant and die; or it can take root and grow. Satan’s plan involves the former two – stealing it or keeping it dormant within us. Let’s examine more closely what Mark says.
Verse 15-17: “These are the ones who are beside the road where the word is sown; and when they hear, immediately Satan comes and takes away the word which has been sown in them. In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.” This is the explanation for the seeds that fell alongside of the road and the seeds which fell on the rocky soil that had no depth. As I shared last week, the seeds that fell alongside of the road was where the Word was sown and Satan immediately stole it away and the person continued to not believe and be saved. What I want us to examine more closely this morning is verse seventeen and the explanation given for the seeds that fell on the rocky soil.
Last week Luke captured Jesus’ description of these seeds as being received with joy by the person and the person believes. However, when temptation came, the word that had been received dries up because the person never did anything with the word. In Mark’s translation of what Jesus said, he does not use the word temptation, but the words persecution and affliction. These two words give paint a different picture from the word temptation. The word persecution means to “pursue relentlessly over a cause.” I want you to see this clearly in your hearts. Satan wants to remove the one thing from your heart that he fears so desperately, the Word of God. He knows the power of this Word so he will pursue us relentlessly until he can get it. This is why the Bible says clearly, “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (James 1:12) Satan will persecute us (pursue us relentlessly) over the Word of God in hopes that one day due to the persecutions we will just stop and give up. We cannot let this happen. If we persevere through the trials we will overcome because the Word has promised that we will. Many Christians give up at the point of crossing into victory because they get tired of the persecutions. If we weather the storm we will see the Son shine!!!
The second word that Mark used to describe how Satan steals the Word was affliction which means, “to oppress, to weigh down with anything that will weigh down.” This includes all sickness and diseases and any emotional stress that we carry. Do you know that if you are drained mentally that your body will exhibit physical symptoms of you being physically tired? Even after you sleep for eight hours you’re still physically tired. It is not physical tiredness that you are experiencing, but emotional, mental tiredness which makes you feel physically tired. Satan will use any means necessary to keep us out of God’s word and our mental, physical tiredness is just one of them. It is easier for him to get us to believe that the Word of God is not all it’s cracked up to be when we are already tired and looking for a reason to just check out from everything. The Word of God, when implanted with us, can protect us from these spiritual, mental afflictions that can manifest physically within our bodies. Remember, if he cannot immediately steal the Word from us he will attempt to have us sacrifice (kill it) for him. We do this by ignoring what the Word says about our circumstances or apply it wrongly because the world tells us to. However, if we stay in the Word and he cannot steal it or get us to give it up freely, he will attempt to ruin it within us through persecution and afflictions. In other words, he will attempt to make the Word void in our lives. We see this happen often when the world tells us to accept certain things that the Bible speaks against because our thinking has evolved. It’s our evolved thinking that is nullifying (destroying) the Word of God in our lives. Let’s move on.
The third seeds fell among the thorns. Mark captures Jesus’ explanation this way: “And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.” (Vss. 18-19) The word “worries” in verse nineteen is also translated as “cares.” The way this word is used (and defined here) gives me pause. Most of us, I would guess, think positive thoughts when we hear the word “care” and that would be normal especially when someone tells you they “care” about you. But this same word Jesus said could choke the Word right out of us. Jesus said these seeds fell among the thorns and were choked when they grew. When a person hears the Word of God and receives them, the “cares” of this life chokes the Word out of them. The word “cares” refers to the everyday pressures that come against us. Webster’s definition of care implies “anxiety of the mind, troubled by grief, weighed down by responsibility and disquieted by apprehension.” Do you see where I am going with this? The things that we “care” about most (i.e. living our lives) choke the Word of God from us, and what is so sad about this is that this is within our control! I sometimes tell people to “take care” when I am saying goodbye or closing an email. I need to rethink this because it is proven that how we “take care” can hinder our spiritual maturity especially when we let the “care” choke the Word.
Jesus said that the cares of this life choked the Word out of the person as the Word began to grow. He specifically called out our worries; the deceitfulness of riches; and the desires for other things, anything that takes our attention away from God. Remember what the thief comes to do: steal, kill and destroy? He steals the Word from us before we can take hold of it. If he cannot steal the Word he gets us to sacrifice the Word on an altar of worldly desires thus killing it. If he cannot get us to freely sacrifice the Word, then the Word that remains within us he attempts to destroy it. The destruction of the Word happens when we allow the world ways to overshadow the Word and choke it out of us. When we choose to believe the world versus the Word of God, the world is choking the Word out of us!
Our enemy is a thief and he comes to steal, kill and destroy. However, our Savior has come that we might have life and that we will have it abundantly. The only way we can have this life is to walk in God’s word. The only way to walk in God’s word is to know it, believe it, trust it and secure it within our hearts. When you reflect on this message, ask yourself if the devil has stolen the Word from you. If you cannot remember the message from last week or two weeks ago, then he has stolen the Word for you. Let’s take back the Word that he has taken through the years by elevating its importance in our life. As we do this we must also be prepared for him to use everything within his power to get us to give the Word up; to not walk in its power or authority. He will use family, friend, co-workers and life’s circumstances. No matter what you do, hang on to the Word of God!!! Do not let our enemy destroy that Word by making you think it is outdated. Stand on the Word and implant it within yourself and then and only then can you say you have something the devil wants to steal but it’s too protected in your life. I will continue this series next week.
Until next time, “The Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up His countenance on you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26)
If you would like to have an audio (mp3) copy of this message, please email me at rodneyv1960@gmail.com. If you are ever in the Kansas City, KS area, please come and worship with us at New Light Christian Fellowship, 15 N. 14th Street, Kansas City, KS 66102. We look forward to you worshipping with us. May God bless and keep you.)
