The Spiritual Root Of Warfare

Dr. Bradford Reaves

Crossway Christian Fellowship

Hagerstown, MD

www.mycrossway.org

We just finished a series in the Sermon on the Mount, and if you remember, Jesus started his sermon by listing the Beatitudes for the Kingdom of Heaven. Well, recently, I found the Devil’s Beatitudes, and it seemed to go along with my message this morning:

1. Blessed are those who are too tired, busy, and distracted to spend even an hour once a week in worship – they are my best workers.

2. Blessed are those Christians who wait to be asked and expect to be thanked - I can use them.

3. Blessed are the touchy who stop attending church when offended – for they are my missionaries.

4. Blessed are the trouble makers – for they shall be called my children.

5. Blessed are the complainers –for their complaints are music to my ears.

6. Blessed are the critical - for they fail to hear the Word.

7. Blessed are those who gossip - for they are my puppets

8. Blessed are those who do not give an offering – for in stealing from God you support me.

9. Blessed is he who professes to love God but hates his brother and sister - for he shall be with me forever.

10. Blessed are you who, when you hear this, think the preacher is talking about someone other than you– for I’ve got you right where I want you. (Credit: Matthew Sickling, Sermon Central)

The fact of the matter is, that though we were delivered from sin, most of us continue to listen to the voice of Satan. He deceives us, we believe what he says, and his schemes entertain us. The world is a place of increasing deception. The increase in deception is a sign of the coming antichrist; it is the spirit of the antichrist at work. Dan 8:25

By his cunning, he shall make deceit prosper under his hand (Daniel 8:25)

The truth is, deception in our world is nothing new. Satan uses the same tricks he used in the garden to deceive Eve. What has increased is those who are among the deceived, especially among believers. We could also call this apostasy.

Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (2 Thessalonians 2:11–12)

And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. 11 And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. 12 And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold. (Matthew 24:10–12)

But this morning I don’t want to focus on the ‘what’ of deception, but instead the ‘how.’ And to do that, we are not going to go to the end of the Bible, but instead, to the beginning.

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” 2 And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, 3 but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” 4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when 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 and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. (Genesis 3:1–6)

The Bible tells us that it is incumbent upon the believer not to be deceived, and with the myriad of false teachers who claim to teach God’s Word, it may seem daunting to discern the truth. Even some well-meaning people who claim to be pastors or teachers are teaching from God outside the Bible. This is one reason I teach prophecy in the news and apostasy in the church. With that, I want to share with you 5 steps Satan used in the garden and continues to use today to deceive God’s people.

Step 1 - Doubt God’s Truth

“Did God actually say...?” (Genesis 3:1)

We live in an era known as the Postmodern World. “Simply put, postmodernism is a philosophy that affirms no objective or absolute truth, especially in matters of religion and spirituality.” (GotQuestions.org). What Satan did in the Garden and what postmodernism does today is not question the reality of God, but rather, question the absolute certainty that God and His absolute truth can be known. If there is no absolute truth, there are no boundaries when it comes to morality or a moral law.