Satan is:
· Deceiver
· Tempter
· Accuser
· Causes us to withhold forgiveness
Recognizing the enemy and knowing his tactics is the key to winning any battle. Many a great military leader has discovered this truth on and off the battlefield. When we do not know our enemy, we are then most prone to loosing the battle.
One tactic of the enemy we all have, Satan, is to confuse us about his own tactics. Satan would have us to believe that we are powerless over him; therefore it is pointless in fighting against him.
The United States of America has egg on our face over the war in Iraq. We stated that Sadam has a build up of weapons of mass destruction and we must go in and destroy this ruthless dictator before he wreaks havoc on the rest of the peace-seeking world. As it turns out, we did not know our enemy and we became confused and found ourselves in a mess with the rest of the world. Please don’t get me wrong, I do support our war effort, I do support our president, but I do however believe we had bad information, confusing information about our enemy.
Just as the US had bad information, I believe that we as Christ’s followers have been given some very bad information, or most often a lack of information. What do we need to know about our common enemy?
First, Satan is the source of all evil. God knows no evil. God is the exact opposite of evil. How then is this world, the world that God created, have so much evil? It all started in the garden my friends. God created this world for mankind to enjoy. A simple and pure life with no worries. Enter Satan;
Genesis 3:4-7 (NKJV)
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. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.
From that moment on, sin had power in this world. Satan was given the keys to this world and the air above it.
John 12:31 (NKJV)
31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.
There’s nothing we can do about it so why fight it? If this is the way it has to be then why fight it?
1 John 4:4 (NKJV)
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.
You might be thinking that you don’t really have a problem with Satan and this message doesn’t apply to you. Oh how you are wrong my sisters and brothers!! By simply choosing sides with Jesus, you have angered and declared all out war with the Devil.
1 Peter 5:8-9 (NKJV)
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. 9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
You didn’t choose this adversary, he chose you by your declaration of being a Christian. You cannot ignore Satan’s claims against you. Be not deceived, he is your enemy. If you choose to ignore him, you will wind up with more than egg on your face. Satan wants you to believe that you and he aren’t really at odds with each other. Meanwhile, the old Devil is poking you with temptations, lies, corrupt thoughts. He is leading you out of the will of God right into his greedy little grubby hands, laughing all the way not to the bank but the other place! You had best beware, Satan IS your enemy.
Are You Convinced Yet?
OK, OK you say – the Devil is my enemy. What do I need to know about him? You need to know that Satan seeks to take that that doesn’t belong to him. If you have given your life to Jesus, you belong to Him now and forever my friends. Please do not allow Satan to enter your heart and make you think that you have committed some serious sin that has put you at odds with God.
Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)
38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Those who seek God, who have experienced God’s great call on their life need to hear Romans 8:38-39. Many believe that they cannot be saved by God’s grace because of their colored past. Satan brings out the big gun of doubt and taunts you with your past, making you believe that because of some big sin you have done, you don’t qualify. Hear this – oh please, please hear this:
Romans 10:9 (NKJV)
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
There is no magic potion or words, no religious chants or songs that need to be completed. No specific bible study or prayer, just believe my friend, truly believe.
I guess that is why it’s so hard to bring older adults to Christ. As children, the world – or Satan hasn’t had many opportunities to ruin our faith in goodness, mercy, grace and love. Somewhere the statistics tell us that most persons accept Christ before the age of 18. Once after reaching adulthood, the chances are very challenging. As we get older, we learn the old saying that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Quite simply, this scripture sounds too good to be true. That is where Satan comes in. After taunting you with your devious past, he starts sounding this old saying in our minds time and time again.
If you are here and you are in the over 18 age bracket and you have fought this battle for too long, hear the good news; Christ died for your sins, all your sins. Even those unmentionable sins you cannot tell anyone about. Although it sounds too good to be true, this one is really true.
Psalm 34:8 (NKJV)
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good;
Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!
What about the Here and Now?
You may be one of the lucky ones who have already tasted the Lord and found out just how good He is and exactly how blessed you are by trusting in Him. You have believed in the Lord with all your heart. You figured that to trust in God cost you nothing, but you didn’t want to take the chance in NOT trusting Him. You found the winning side – well congratulations my friend, welcome to God’s Kingdom.
Well, that’s the end of that story right? WRONG, WRONG, WRONG!! Just because you accepted Christ as your Savior, just because you come to church more often than you don’t, just because you plunk down a twenty or more when the plate is passed you may be thinking that everything is A-OK. That is EXACTLY what Satan wants you to believe. Don’t buy into that lie brothers and sisters!
The Devil wants you to believe that you are where God wants you to be and that all is good on the Spiritual front. Satan is the master of disguises.
2 Corinthians 11:14 (NKJV)
14 And no wonder! For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
He can imitate in so many ways that will surely confound good-hearted Christians. This is exactly where I believe many of us are today. Satan has lulled us into believing that because we mostly do good, because we come to church more often than we miss church, we are doing just fine. We become confused and simply buy into the thought that this is what God has for me and I accept it. God has a most wonderful plan for you; will you open your eyes to His plan for your life? By accepting the usual, by comparing yourself with others that seem to “have it together in God”, we limit God’s blessings for us! Satan has mastered your mind into thinking that you are not influenced by him and that you are exactly where God wants you to be in your Spiritual journey. DON’T LISTEN TO THE LIE!!
1 John 3:7-9 (NKJV)
7 Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.
Who Me?
I believe that you can only be convinced on how much you need God by your circumstances in life. Some here this morning probably think that everything is fine right now and it couldn’t be any better. You have reasonable health, your finances seem to be in order, your family doesn’t have any photos on display at the post office. A-OK right? Maybe today and maybe tomorrow, but what about the next day, or the next?
Wouldn’t it be great if you could purchase insurance for all the bad things in life? What if the next time your wife got mad at you, you could just call up your insurance agent and collect $5,000? What if the next time you had a flat tire on the way to work, you simply call your insurance agent and they send a limousine, a check for two days wages and two people to replace you at work while you take the rest of the day off fishing as the tire dealer installs four brand new Michelin’s? Wouldn’t it be great if when our children make bad decisions about life or drugs, Dr. Phil would instantly appear right beside the Rev. Billy Graham and sort out all the problems in their lives for you?
If you have a “charmed life” right now, it may be part of the Devil’s plan. Why do so many drug dealers, rapist, murders, and the like live such extravagant lifestyles? Money problems aren’t in their vocabulary. They seem to have it all while me and you have to scrape to barely get by. Could it be that Satan is behind their seemingly good fortune? Could this be another trick of the Devil? You betcha it is!
Satan can convince the most devout Christian that they have got is all wrong by simply showing them a glimpse inside the most luxurious mansion of an atheist. It seems that greed has no exclusive claim on the non-Christians.
You could be in the crowd that all seems lost right now. If this is you, please hold on. Right now, your family life (marriage, children, etc.), may lie in smoky ruins, shot down in their prime. Your health may seem a thing of the past – please hold on. If you can’t seem to accomplish anything in life, if it all seems like an uphill battle everyday, please hold on.
1 Peter 5:9 (NKJV)
9 Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
James 4:7-8 (NKJV)
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Romans 16:20 (NKJV)
20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Paul brings to light that the Corinthian church had a problem with dealing with the Devil. Satan had entered that congregation and began to allow them to be double-minded about things. They were listening to false teachers, hearing the messages that “tickled their ears”, and ignoring their ties to the One True God. Satan had truly began his lies and deceit within this congregation at Corinth.
2 Corinthians 11:1-4 (NKJV)
Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly—and indeed you do bear with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted—you may well put up with it!
Perhaps this congregation had started out with a bang. They took in a deep breath and when they let it out, marvelous things began to happen, New believers were added to the congregation on a regular basis, folks were being baptized, lives were being eternally changed. What happened? What happened is they didn’t take in another breath from God. They tried to exist on one big supply of God’s grace, love & mercy. They instead took another source of oxygen, that of the Devil. In their tiredness, in their longing for the things of this world, they began to become confused and toy around with ideas of skipping church meetings, letting things crowd their true worship of God. The congregation had began to tolerate such things as Paul wrote, “you may well put up with it!”.
God has a marvelous plan for you as His child. It isn’t a mediocre relationship with the Creator of the Universe. The One who is responsible for the stars in the sky, the sunrise and sunset everyday, the creator of all the beautiful things of this world and worlds beyond wants to give you something more marvelous than mere words can describe. The first step is to recognize the enemy.
After you realize that Satan has snuck into your Spiritual life ever so carefully, you must now reclaim your blessings. In order to reclaim the blessings that God has for you, we need to repent. Yes, repent. Satan didn’t make you do anything dear friends. You cannot say that the Devil made me do it and then wash your hands of all responsibility. It isn’t that easy. Yes we have been and will be tempted, but hear the good news:
1 Corinthians 10:12-13 (NKJV)
12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
If you fell into temptation, God isn’t the one to blame. The only blame is staring you in the mirror each morning as you face the day. There is an escape route built into every temptation you will ever face. You and you alone have the choice to take the escape route, or fall into the snare of the Devil.
Some things are more tempting than others wouldn’t you agree? I just love a Snickers candy bar. I have never tasted such goodness in my life. There is something about that combination of chocolate, peanuts, rich caramel and nougat that seems to satisfy the savage sweet tooth. Don’t put me on a diet with a Snickers bar in the house! A diet disaster will soon follow.
One of the more relational temptations I believe Satan puts in our pathways is the lack of forgiveness. I’m fairly sure that everyone here this morning has had someone hurt them in the past. I’ll never forget my 2nd grade girlfriend who dumped my for my best friend. I mean we were blood brothers in the cub scouts! How could he and her do this to me? I didn’t deserve such as this! Maybe yours is more serious – much more serious.
Your hurt may be the result of something so serious that you find it almost impossible to talk about to anyone else. Perhaps you have suffered from one of the many manifestations of abuse, spouse abuse, physical, sexual, verbal, it’s all bad. After the feeling of guilt and self-responsibility has wrecked your life for the many years, you may come to the point in your Spiritual journey where God has made it a point that you need to forgive that person who has caused you so much unbearable pain. How can God do that to me? How can He ask me to do something that is impossible? Doesn’t God know what I am dealing with here? Yes God does know what you are dealing with, and yes it may seem impossible, but is isn’t.
By not forgiving, you allow the person that has caused you so much pain and anguish to continue to hurt you. The only way to get past the pain is to forgive them. If you are still subject to the abuse, get out – there is help. By forgiving them, you cut the cord that has connected you for so long to their abuse. It may seem impossible, but we have a promise from God:
Philippians 4:13 (NKJV)
13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Yes, you can forgive, not on your own strength, but Gods. I speak from experience on this one.
How Long Must This Go On?
All is not lost, there is an end to this gloom and agony of dealing with the enemy. If you are like me, sometimes I like to read the end of a book before I finish it. I encourage you to do so with the Bible. If you read in chapter 20 in the book of Revelation, we find much encouragement when it deals with Satan’s future.
Revelation 20:10 (NKJV) [Verse of Victory!]
10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Wow! Satan is finally defeated. No longer will we have to put up with this enemy. I’ve been fighting the Devil for so long, I find it hard to imagine what it would be like with him out of my way. That day has not come yet, so I must continue to “fight the good fight” as Paul says. To hold steadfast in my faith as I continue the journey God has placed before me. I know that I will face trials and tribulations, but I also know that my rewards do not come from this tired and corrupt world we live in today. Therefore my brothers and sisters, please recognize with me this morning the ties that Satan has ensnared us with. Please recognize that we as a congregation started out with a wonderful beginnings together, but now is the time for all good Christians to come to take in another Spiritual breath of the good things God has in store for us at East Mt. Zion UMC!
Let us pray:
