The Devil’s Devices:

THE DEVIL’S DEVICES:

Today we’ll talk for a little while to do with the fact that Satan is the greatest enemy of the saint.

2 Corinthians 2:1-11

"LEST SATAN SHOULD GET AN ADVANTAGE OF US: FOR WE ARE NOT IGNORANT OF HIS DEVICES."

"Satan" means "adversary, which is an enemy " our KJV, the Bible refers to the devil by a number of names and descriptions. He is seen as "the anointed cherub"

(Ezek. 28:14- 15 Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. 15Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. Satan protected God’s throne. He had the highest position a created being could have, until pride brought him down, he thought he could over throw God & become god himself.),

Another description of Satan is "the ruler of the fallen angels, demons" (Luke 11:15 15But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.

Satan is also called "the ruler of this world" (John 16:11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. [Prince] means a first (in rank or power, ruler)

Satan is also called, "the god of this world" (2 Cor. 4:4 4In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not,),

And also Satan is called "the prince of the power of the air" (Eph 2:2 2Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:).

And among other things Satan is identified as a great dragon, a roaring lion, the vile one, the tempter, and the accuser.

He is cunning, and powerful. Paul writing to the Corinthian church realized that Satan was working overtime in the church and emphasizes that we are to be vigilant and alert to his subtlety. Satan’s advantage is based upon a person being ignorant of his devices or his methods.

What are some of the devil’s devices by which he tries to deceive God’s children, defeat God’s church, destroy God’s work, and denigrate God’s Word?

~~His methods include distraction, discouragement, disillusionment, discontentment, discord, and disassociation.~~

1st of all; Distraction

1 John 2:15-16 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world."

Satan tries to distract us by getting our mind and our attention on the material things instead of the spiritual, on methods rather than the message, on men rather than God.

2 Timothy 2:4 4No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.

If Satan can he will get us to major on the minors and to minimize the majors.—ill-

It was a really hot day in September in San Antonio, when a woman accidentally locked her 10 month-old baby niece inside a parked car. Frantically the mother and aunt ran around the car in near hysteria, while a neighbor attempted to unlock the car with a clothes hanger. Soon the baby was turning purple and had foam on its mouth, and now it had become a life-or-death situation.

And then another man came rushing up with a tire tool and smashed the back window of the car in order to free the little girl, this actually saved the little girls life, but then the lady was mad because he broke the window. ---

So here is a good example of choosing between what is important and what is not, in this case the baby or the window. Sometimes priorities get out of order.

Satan seeks to get our priorities out of order.

Colossians 3:2 "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth."

And then another good tool of Satan’s is Discouragement

One of Satan’s most powerful weapons is trying to get us into a feeling of discouragement, so that maybe we’ll give up.

Discouragement is a lack of hope usually after a major victory.

Many times discouragement comes not long after we’ve had a good church service.

The Devil wants us to believe that things are worse than what they are and that you are the only one who really cares. That is how Elijah felt after his victory on Mt Carmel.