He is vilified by some and deified by others. Throughout the centuries he has been feared by some and worshipped by others. Almost every culture has a name for him and most can tell you what he looks like.
As Christians we have several names for him, Lucifer, the Devil, the Evil one but probably the most common is Satan. But who or what is Satan? Through the years Christians have tended to lean toward extremes on the subject, either we ignore Satan and hope that he isn’t who the Bible says he is or we focus on him giving him credit for every misfortune, illness or trouble that enters our lives. One writer said “Whenever you get red in the face, whenever you raise your voice, whenever you get hot under the collar or angry, rebellious or negative in spirit, then know that the spirit of God is leaving you and the spirit of Satan is beginning to take over.”
But that is a cop out, remember Flip Wilson? Flip was a comedian in the seventies and one of the characters that he played was Geraldine Jones and whenever she did something that was wrong and got caught do you remember what she would say? “The Devil made me do it.” Sometimes Satan is used as a scapegoat for our own disobedience, lack of control and lack of will power. The Devil does enough without us giving him credit for our own failings.
This morning I want to take a look at what the Bible says about Satan, his origins and his destiny.
Probably most of you never give the devil a conscious thought, you may acknowledge his existence but it isn’t really personal, he’s some vague possibility, spoken about in the bible, but he’s not really real like a person he’s the devil.
1) The Person of Satan We live in a sophisticated world today where people scoff at the very idea of Satan. I remember hearing a United Church minister a few years ago scoff about a pastoral charge he had been at in Newfoundland and he said “They still believe in the devil there.”
Two little boys were walking home from Sunday School where the lesson had been on the Devil and one asked the other “What do you think of this devil business?” “Well” replied the other boy, “You know how Santa Claus turned out--- it’s either your mother or your father.”
But hear me now people Satan is as real as I am and he is the author of destruction and evil. Too often if people even acknowledge the existence of Satan he is thought to be some comical figure in long red underwear with a pitchfork and horns. Somewhere along the line Satan came up with a strategy that allowed himself to be minimized so that Christians would not take him serious. After all if the Devil is akin to Hot Stuff and his brothers he can’t be all bad can he? Yep he sure can.
Satan is alive and well and planet earth is his playground. He can be seen in witchcraft, Satanism, the occult and astrology. They are all his works and his tools in an effort to distract people from the truth that can only be found in Jesus Christ.
You only have to watch the evening news to realize that we are surrounded by evil and yet we’re either oblivious to it or we become immune to it. Joseph Conrad said “The belief in a supernatural source of evil is not necessary; men alone are quite capable of every wickedness.” But Conrad was wrong; mass murder, rape, brutality, dishonesty, wherever and whenever people are victimized it may be the efforts of man but it is a direct result of the evil propagated by Satan. But the evil of mankind is unnecessary to prove the existence of Satan, we have the Bible for that. Christ himself had a few well chosen words to say about Satan.
Jesus called him the “enemy” in Matthew 13:39, the “Evil One” in Matthew 13:38, the “Prince of this world” in John 12:3, a “Liar” in John 8:44 and a “Murderer” in the same verse.
In Luke 10:18 Jesus said he saw Satan fall from Heaven and in Matthew 12:26 we are told that Satan has a kingdom, and in Matthew 13:38 we re told that Satan was the one who sows evil weeds in with the good wheat. Obliviously this is not the type of person who you would want as a next door neighbour or to date your daughter.
Elsewhere in the Bible we are told that Satan is a roaring lion seeking who he may devour, that he can produce false miracles and show himself as an Angel of light and the list goes on and on.
So why is he here? Well that would fall under the category: 2) The Purpose of Satan
In order to discover the purpose of Satan we need to go back to the beginning, which is usually a good place to start. In the books of Isaiah and Ezekiel in the Old Testament we discover that before God created the world and mankind that there was a different realm, a spiritual realm, one of Angels. And of all the angels God’s favourite was one called Lucifer which meant “Light Bearer” and we are told that he was the most beautiful of all created beings.
And it was this Angel, Lucifer who led a rebellion in heaven against God. However he learned that the creator will always be more powerful then the created and he was cast out of heaven along with the 1/3 of the angels who had joined him in his rebellion.
At that point he was no longer referred to as Lucifer instead he was called Satan which means “To be adverse or to hate.” Sometimes we call him the Devil which literally means the slanderer or false accuser.
It was Satan who tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden, it was Satan who appeared to Christ in the Wilderness and tempted him to deny God and it is Satan who whispers in our ear, it will be alright, nobody will ever know. Sidney J. Harris said “If the devil could be persuaded to write a bible, he would title it, ‘You Only Live Once.’”
It is almost as if Satan thinks that if he causes enough people to sin then God would have to bend the rules and release him. There is a story told about a priest who noticed a handsome young man in his congregation one Sunday, after the service the stranger indicated that he wished to confess and so the priest led him to the confessional. There the priest heard tales of sin that made his hair stand on end. “You must have lived a long time to have done all of that” he said to which the young man replied “My name is Lucifer and I fell from heaven at the beginning of time.” “Even so” said the priest “Say that you are sorry, say that you repent and even you can be forgiven.” The young man looked at the priest for a minute and then got up and walked away, he wouldn’t say that he was sorry.
It is Satan who twists and perverts scripture, through cults such as the Jehovah Witness and the Mormons and also through Liberal Churches who deny the Deity of Christ, the Virgin Birth, Creation and the authority of the Bible. Our District Superintendent said that the biggest obstacles they had at the public hearings on same sex marriages were the representatives from the United Church who told the hearings that they were in favour of the legislation. Some of the Devil’s best work is done by those who claim to love God and that goes back to sowing the weeds among the wheat which Christ explained in Matthew 13:38 The field is the world, and the good seed represents the people of the Kingdom. The weeds are the people who belong to the evil one.
Jesus tells us in John 8:44 For you are the children of your father the Devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies. Ted Bundy, Paul Bernardo, Jack the Ripper, they all pale in comparison to Satan. Because he murders for eternity, he takes away your eternal life.
In John 13:2 we are told that it was Satan who enticed Judas to betray Christ. And it is still Satan who convinces Christians to backslide and betray Christ today. Listen to the warning that Jesus gives us in John 8:42-44 Jesus told them, “ If God were your Father, you would love me, because I have come to you from God. I am not here on my own, but he sent me. Why can’t you understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to do so! For you are the children of your father the Devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning and has always hated the truth. There is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.
3) The Power of Satan Never underestimate the power of Satan. The Bible calls him the “Prince of this World” the “Prince of Demons” and the “Prince of the Power of the Air”. Understand that he was the greatest creation ever.
It was Satan who was responsible for the death of Christ, it has been Satan who has been responsible for the persecution of the church over the past two thousand years. But it would appear that he realized that there was a better weapon then persecution and that is complacency. He has allowed the church to become a toothless tabby, we don’t take a stand against sin, we don’t stand up for things that are right and holy, so why bother persecuting us? It was Charles Spurgeon who said “The best evidence of God’s presence is the Devil’s growl.” And if we don’t hear the devils growl on occasion it might be because he considers us harmless.
Jewish legend, backed up by Jude 1:9 says that Satan tried to steal the body of Moses.
How powerful is Satan, watch this. (Clip from Jesus Mini Series) If Satan hadn’t had the power to come through on his claims it wouldn’t have been much of a temptation would it?
But remember what Jesus said in Matthew 28:18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “ I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth.” Complete authority, including authority over Satan. And in 1 John 4:4 we read this promise But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won your fight with these false prophets, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
In our own power we don’t stand a chance against Satan, but the great thing is we don’t have to stand in our own power, we stand in the Power of Jesus Christ. Now listen to James 4:7 So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you. Did you catch that? Did you see the promise? That is the power you have, you have the power to resist the Devil, and when you do he will flee from you.
And Lastly we have the 4) Punishment of Satan Harold Lindsell wrote “Satan is neither omnipotent nor free to do everything he pleases. Prince of the world he may be, but the Prince of Peace has come and dealt him a death blow.”
Way back in Genesis 3:15 when God pronounced the fate of Satan he said that it would be the seed of woman who would deliver that punishment. And that promise was fulfilled when Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem, not one who was born the result of man and woman but one who was born of the seed of woman and the Holy Spirit. And 33 years later when Christ was crucified Satan danced and laughed and proclaimed to the world that he had won.
But three days later there was no dancing in Hell as Jesus came out of the tomb proclaiming his dominion over death and hell and Satan. Because it proved once again that the creation is never stronger then the creator.
As for his destiny Jesus said in Matthew 25:41 “ Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his demons!’”
For all the detail read Revelation chapter 20 and 21, as the man said “I’ve read the back of the book and the Lamb wins.”
Ultimately the fate of Satan rests with God, and God’s word proclaims that the most beautiful angel of them all will never repent and his strategy is to take as many with him as he can.
But ultimately the choice comes down to individual believers. The words of Joshua are just as relevant today as they were 3000 years ago Joshua 24:15 . . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve. . But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
And now may I leave you with a blessing from the great American Philosopher George Carlin who said “May the forces of evil become confused on the way to your house.”
Hope you enjoyed the message, PowerPoint may be available, contact me at denn@bccnet.ca
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