The Devil Wants You

SEMON THE DEVIL WANTS YOU LUKE 22:31-34

Introduction

I. There is a Devil.

A. Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 talk about the fall of Lucifer.

B. Jesus said that there is a Devil.

1. He saw him in the temptations.

2. In the parable in Matthew 13, Jesus said that the enemy that sowed evil seeds was the Devil.

C. He is called by several names — Beelzebub, prince of the world, Satan, Dragon, and others.

D. Other passages. Peter told Ananias that Satan had filled his heart (Acts 5:3). Paul spoke of the power of Satan in his sermon to Agrippa (26:18). He further told the Corinthians to deliver the immoral member to Satan for the destruction of the flesh (1 Cor. 5:5). And again he warns in 2 Corinthians 2:11 against letting Satan get the advantage. First John 3:8 states that “he who does what is sinful is of the devil” (NIV).

E. How does the Devil look? Satan wishes that we would picture him as the comical character dressed in red with pointed ears, a tail, and a pitchfork, but the Bible does not describe him like that. Instead, he can make himself like a man or any other being.

If you have never met the Devil, it is because you and the Devil are going in the same direction. You remember the Devil in the case of Job? He had been walking up and down, seeking whom he might devour (1 Peter 5:8). He is always on the job.

F. Back to the text. You may ask, “Why didn’t the Devil go after Judas Iscariot instead of Peter?” He already had Judas, and now he wanted Peter, because he knew that Peter would be the future leader of the disciples.

II. What does the Devil want with me?

He wants to “sift you as wheat.” He wants to expose everything that could bring shame and accuse you before God.

A. He wants to paralyze your life. Satan is the author of confusion and fear, and he will try to use both to keep you from living a victorious life.

B. He wants us to be lukewarm concerning certain subjects — divorce, desecration of the Lord’s Day, drinking, gambling, fornication, homosexuality, etc.

C. He tries to disrupt our convictions. The Devil wants to still your tongue in religious matters yet loosen it in other things.

D. He gets angry when you are true to Christ. The Devil cannot throw your soul into hell unless you allow him to, but he can cause you trouble here if you do not combat him with the Word of God, our mighty sword.

E. He wants you to stir up trouble with your pastor, in your church, and in your home. Satan does not concern himself with the carousing party crowd, because he has them. He wants to trouble God’s people.

F. The Devil wants you to have a feeling of self-sufficiency. This is where Peter was. He said, “Lord, I am ready to go with thee, both into prison, and to death” (Luke 22:33). Peter was sleeping while his Master was praying, and he was not prepared for what was coming.

He was resisting while his Master was submitting. He followed afar off and sat down among his Lord’s enemies and denied his Lord and faith.

You must beware of compromising with the Devil. If you do, he will beat you every time, for he is more skilled at the business.

G. The Devil does not want you to pray things through. He will tell you there is nothing to prayer. If Jesus had not prayed for Simon Peter, we do not know what would have happened to him. What a wonderful thing it is to have someone praying for you. Jesus is praying for us and will not fail us. Samuel said to his people, “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you” (1 Sam. 12:23).

III. How can we get rid of the Devil?

James says, “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7).

A. Jesus defeated him by using Scripture and refusing to compromise or yield in the least. The Devil must back off from Jesus, for Jesus has defeated the Devil every time they have met.

B. We can defeat the Devil in Jesus’ name. The Seventy said, “Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name” (Luke 10:17). Jesus tells us to pray “in his name.”

C. In Revelation 12:11 we find the secret of defeating Satan. “And they overcame him . . .”

1. By the blood of the Lamb.

2. By the word of their testimony.

3. And they loved not their own lives unto death.

Jesus told Peter that he was praying for him and that, when Peter returned to the Lord, he should “strengthen the brethren.”