1. SEEK
Peter warned of Satan’s desire to ‘SEEK’ those who he could devour
Seek: “To go in search or quest of; to look for; to search for by going from place to place.”
The devil goes about looking for those in which might be classified as ‘easy prey’
Genesis 3:1: “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
The devil, here is described as having taken on the ‘form’ of the most beautiful beast of the field
SUBTLE: “Sly in design; artful; cunning; insinuating; applied to persons; as a subtle foe.
Cunningly devised; as a subtle stratagem.
The devil came as a pleasant being, something that was well received by Eve
The devil does not come yielding a pitchfork and pointed tail; he is an intelligent creation who knows his foe very well
The devil seeks those he knows he can overcome
Ephesians 6:11: “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.”
WILE: “A trick or stratagem practiced for ensnaring or deception; a sly, insidious artifice.”
Paul knew Satan’s cunning ways and therefore told us in Ephesians how to prepare for his attack
It is the devil that tempts; but it is us that gives in or resists
Matthew 4:1: “Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.”
James 1:13-15: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
We know that it is the devil that tempts ‘seeks’ to destroy us through temptation and James gives us the blueprint for avoiding it.
2. KILL
The devil’s grand objective is to kill the soul of man in order to have your company in the pits of hell
We must understand the meaning of ‘death;’ both physical and spiritual
Two Deaths:
Physical
Spiritual
Physical death is described in Genesis 3:19: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
Death is described as ‘Termination of life’
The vessel our soul inhabits on earth is called the ‘earthly tabernacle,’ the apostle Paul stated that this tabernacle must be dissolved
2 Corinthians 5:1: “For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.”
Spiritual Death is eternal damnation in hell and most importantly separation from God and all that is good
John 3:36: “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
The wrath of God is Hell:
Luke 16:23: “And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.”
Matthew 25:41: “Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:”
Jesus was referring to the institution of hell having been developed not for man, but for the devil and the third of the angels who were cast out of heaven
The unfortunate thing, however, is that it is also the place of eternity for those who believe not the promise of God through his Son, Jesus Christ
The devil seeks to ‘KILL’ and therefore have plenty of company in the eternal place of suffering
THE DEVIL KILL’S THROUGH:
FAILED GOALS
FAILED MARRIAGES
FAILED JOBS
FAILURE IN GENERAL
Satan uses these things to remove all hope from a person’s life
Jesus said that Satan is a murderer; in other words, he seeks to ‘KILL’ the soul of man
John 8:44: “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”
John 12:31: “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.”
Jesus pronounced satan’s eternity in this verse but goes on in Matthew 8:12 to say: “But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
The ‘children’ of the kingdom are those who have chosen this world over the kingdom of heaven
3. DESTROY
Satan understands the power of salvation that indwells the one who accepts it
James 2:19: “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”
James stated that Satan and his cohorts fully understand and believe in God, they also believe in his authority; therefore they tremble
Once someone truly becomes a ‘Christian,’ they have authority over death, hell and the grave
Revelation 1:18: “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.”
We have, through the death of Christ, defeated these things
Romans 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Through the verses above, we can see that our salvation is sure if we sincerely call upon the Lord
Satan can in no way take our precious gift of Jesus Christ; he can, however, eliminate our ability to use it
We can lose the ‘joy’ of our salvation which in turn causes a lack of efficient service to God
