The Wiles Of Satan

The Blessed presence of God is here with his ever-dising power, and his happy holy night.

Let the presence of God, let the presence of God, for a thrilling moment when we know the best presence of God.

For the blessed presence of God is here, and I'm the glory of the King.

From the front of heaven is the Lord, and the blood of the sea.

The blessed presence of God, and the presence of God, the blessed presence of God, and the presence of God.

The blessed presence of God, the blessed presence of God.

The blessed presence of God, and the presence of God.

Jesus calls me, I must follow, follow, follow him today.

Jesus calls me, I must follow, follow him today.

When his tender voice is pleading, how can I delay?

follow, I will follow thee, my Lord.

Follow every passing day. My tomorrows are unknown to thee.

Thou wilt lead me all the way. Jesus calls me, I must follow, follow every hour.

Know the blessing of his presence, fullness of his presence, fullness of his power.

Follow, I will follow thee, my Lord.

Follow every passing day. My tomorrows are unknown to thee.

Thou wilt lead me all the way. Thou wilt lead me all the way.

Jesus calls me, I must follow, follow him away.

When my Savior goes before me, I can never stray.

Follow, I will follow thee, my Lord. Follow every passing day.

My tomorrows are unknown to thee.

Thou wilt lead me all the way.

If you are here at the 930 hour, when we as adults met together in this room, chatting about some questions, I mentioned to you then the lessons of the day.

If you've looked at your bulletin, you are aware. As you're going that way in your Bible, I'd like to have you turn to 2 Corinthians chapter 2.

2 Corinthians chapter 2 to look at a beginning phrase. Probably, we should have been overly kind today and had a nice light lesson for the end of the year.

I suppose you're all going to eat light today because you've eaten heavy all week. And you're going to have leftovers, right?

That's probably what we should have done in the Word of God. That is not always the way the Spirit leads. As you read through your Bible, and I trust you have, there are illustrations historically in the Old Testament, and there are illustrations in the New Testament, of how Satan is allowed to work in the life of a Christian.

Now, occasionally, we become humorous about Satan. And I'm sure that most of us who know Christ as our Savior don't think a great deal about the devil.

And yet, the Word of God has a lot to say about Satan, his association, or his allowable work in a believer's life. We really don't understand God at all.

When God saves us, why doesn't he just do the total job instead of always allowing us to get messed up sometimes? I'm sure you are aware that God is preparing us for eternity, not for time.

And in a moment, we turn to Ephesians 6. You probably could all repeat the paragraph on the armor of God. And I don't want to discourage you that we're going to study the armor of God, because we're not even going to touch the armor of God today.

I want to chat with you this morning on the subject, Caution, the wiles of the devil. And tonight, the Lord allowing, on caution, the darts of the devil.

Satan is not interested in sinners. Satan is only interested in saints.

And our attitude towards Satan has at least come a long ways, from the red figure with the forked tail at least. But I'm sure it has not come to the biblical position yet of how Satan works.

You're aware in 2 Corinthians 2, or if you're not, we'll look at it for a moment, that Paul is talking seemingly about a very common subject. He says, In chapter 2, he's not going to come to them heavy again.

There seems to be some inference in chapter 2 that he's referring back to the man of chapter 5 in the first epistle. I was caught up in listening to this. As you look at verse 8, he's just talking about a very common subject.

He says, Wherefore, I beseech you that you would confirm your love toward him. In other words, if this is the man of 1 Corinthians 5, who was living with his father's wife, it would seem that in chapter 2 of 2 Corinthians, he's been restored to fellowship.

Always restoration is a very difficult process, because we are human. We have attachments, we have feelings, and so Paul, by the Holy Spirit, is writing about this again. Verse 9, For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether you be obedient in all things.

To whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also. The rumor had been that Paul had a little bit of a stubborn streak, that when somebody went off in immorality, he just dumped them down the drain and said, I'm not going to associate with you anymore.

You're a bad guy, and that's it. By the Holy Spirit, he's writing to them to say, look, if you forgive somebody, I forgive somebody. For if I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes, forgive I it in the person of Christ.

Now, all of a sudden, he sticks in this little verse. Not talking about any great problem at the moment. He's talking about a past experience that he'd written to them in the first epistle about.

How they were to deal in immorality in the fellowship. Seemingly, he had done so, and done it well. Now, he says to them, on this basis, let's be sure we restore this brother to Christ in love, with forgiveness, and etc.

And he sticks something about Satan in here. Blessed. Satan should get an advantage of us. Now, in our discussion in the class this morning, we talk about sin in the life of a believer.

Paul really says to the Corinthian believers, it's possible for Satan to overreach himself into the believer's life, and especially in the fellowship of the saints. And I suppose, probably, we hobby on this occasionally, but friends, I'm concerned about something.

When you read the epistles of Paul, beginning with Romans and Corinthians and the other epistles, you are reading the Holy Spirit's challenge, obligation, exhortation, and expectation to a group of people.

And I'm aware that the Bible is personal. It uses the personal pronouns. But I remind you, when he wrote the church letters, the epistles, he was trying to persuade the group to live this way.

Now, for the group to live this way, the individual has to live this way. But for the moment, stretch your mind, will you? He is saying to this group at Corinth, which we're not going to cover, I just want to introduce you to the term.

It is possible that in your fellowship, in your group, that Satan could be allowed to overreach himself. It would seem that he's saying with you, if we do not act according to forgiveness and love and restoration and fellowship, it is possible that Satan is going to get an advantage in the group.

The word is really overreach, overstep his abilities, overstep his bounds. But he goes on to say something else. For we are not ignorant of his devices.

Isn't that an interesting phrase? The word is very interesting in the New Testament. The word, first of all, is translated many times, thought.

Be careful, Christians, he says, that Satan overreach in your area of fellowship. Because, he says, we are not ignorant of Satan's thinking.

Now, let me stop and ask you. You ever stop to think to yourself, how does Satan think? How does he think? How does he think towards you as a believer?

How does Satan think towards us as a fellowship? We are not ignorant of his thinking. And all of a sudden, my mind says, we are ignorant of his thinking. We have got the devil walking around as we did in the previous ages.

Red with a forked tail and a forked head and something else. And we laugh at that picture. And now we bring him on a little more. And believers think if something isn't quite far out.

Or isn't a little heathenish or a little africanish. Or something like that. It is not the way Satan does things. He does not operate in our realm. Now, that intrigues me.

We are not ignorant of his thinking. I would like to challenge you this morning to understand how Satan thinks in your life. Or in the outside of your life when he's trying to attack you.

The word is also translated a couple times, purposes. In other words, Paul is saying to the Corinthians, Let's be careful that Satan does not get advantage of us.

For we are not ignorant of Satan's purposes. Now, we could very generally say something. That Satan's purpose in a believer's life is to get him out of fellowship with God.

To get him to act like a non-Christian, a non-follower of Christ, a non-believer. That would be a good general statement. Let me ask you this morning.

What are the devices of Satan? What are the thoughts of Satan in regards to the believer? Will you turn to Ephesians 6 now?

Now, I'm aware that you're going to have to think, class. And I'm not so sure this morning in humanness that I can think like I want to think. You know, medication is great, isn't it?

It gets you to believe you aren't sick. But then it also dulls your mind. Right? That's difficult for me. All right.

Beginning with the 10th verse of Ephesians 6, he comes to the concluding paragraph. And he says, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord.

Now, you know, I should ask you a question, why? Probably what he describes following is the reason for this foundational verse. Be strong in the Lord and the power of his might.

There's an interesting study. Write it down and take it home and look at it this afternoon. Whenever you find God, by the Holy Spirit, using the word strong in the Bible to an individual, nine times out of ten, he has the same reason.

God said to Joshua, be strong and very courageous. Why? Why? Care to ask yourself that question?

I was startled, as I reread many passages that way, to find that God always adds, at the end of strong and courageous, or might, the reason.

Listen to Joshua 1.7. Be strong and courageous that thou mayest observe. Hebrew word for observe in Joshua is the word obey.

In other words, in the illustrative text of the Bible, when God demands strength, it is the foundation for obedience.

That's very scary. Because all of us can repeat and agree that we are not very strong.

In fact, we love to refer to the passages where Paul says, when I am weak, then he is strong. And so we pray for weakness. Right? No, I don't think we do.

Paul, by the Holy Spirit, is going to start the same thing. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. It's another phrase which is usually, in the word of God, connected to the believer and the Holy Spirit.

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord. Now with that foundation, in verse 11, you all know it, we have a promise which is backed by a condition.

Let me say it again. In verse 11, you have a promise that's backed by a condition. In fact, verse 11 is so important that its essence is repeated twice within three verses.

Now Paul writes about the believer's armor. We like to look at all of these things. Put on the whole armor of God. That's the condition.

The whole armor of God. Now all of you know it so well I don't have to even repeat it. You have studied how there's nothing for the back. But that's not my point this morning.

Would you kindly notice that verse 11 says, put on the whole armor of God and then it gives a promise that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

In other words, the armor describes the areas of the devil's work. The armor describes the area of the devil's attack on a believer.

Your word to wear the word wiles translated loosely is the word trick. But I rather like the translation which ties it to 2 Corinthians 2.11 which says that you may be able to stand against the methods of the devil.

Now let me refresh yourself with a sentence or two. The Holy Spirit who indwells the believer is not emotional.

I'll say that again. The Holy Spirit who indwells the believer is not emotional. He is rational. He is rational. And when a believer acts irrationally or immorally or irresponsibly he acts because of the permission of the methods of the devil.

Now kindly notice something as we look at this. Where does Satan attack the believer?

How does Satan attack the believer? By what methods? Now let me stop again. It is possible that the listing of the six areas of the attack of a believer by Satan are progressive.

meaning that the first one comes before the second and they go in this order which would be very, very scary.

Let me start with you. Kindly notice the foundation. I'm not trying to blow you over with thought. I want you to simply walk through with me. When I get to the verse that has the darts of the devil in it I'm going to lay that aside until this evening.

Darts are a very interesting subject. Did you know that? I never was any good at darts. You ever play darts? Huh? Never had to do that.

That's the word he uses. There is a difference between the methods of the devil and the darts of the devil. Now the dart is one of his methods his greatest method but it is separated out in the armor of God from the method or the purposes or the thoughts of Satan.

Now Connie noticed he says I want you to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might which ties it to obedience and the Holy Spirit by illustration in the Bible. He now puts a promise down back by a condition put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand that's a guarantee if you got the armor you can stand against the tricks the methods the purposes the devices the thoughts of the devil.

Now in verse 12 in our Bible he gives us a quick picture of the power of Satan. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood.

Now the problem is that the devil uses flesh and blood only we don't recognize it. It reminds you something that when Satan starts to work he can use the non-believer to be your irritant.

He can use the non-believer to be your example and I hate to tell you that's what's going on and we like a bunch of dummies have fallen into that trap and we never apply it to Satan's attack on us.

When Satan is attacking in his method his devices a thought towards a believer he will use an unbeliever which is flesh and blood but when you get flesh and blood empowered by Satan you've got a real problem.

Now a believer cannot be empowered by Satan because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. See? For we wrestle not against flesh and blood but against principalities against powers against the rulers of darkness of this world against spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies.

Boy this room is a sanctuary but I hate to think that it has an atmosphere possible of darkness. Just an aside.

I don't think there are very many instances when Satan uses his method apart from a human being. Now again in verse 13 he gives a synopsis of 11 again wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand.

He didn't say to run. Now beginning with verse 14 I would like to have you look at the opposites. What are Satan's devices towards a believer?

What are Satan's methods towards a believer? What are his thoughts towards a believer? Now let's face facts Satan can influence a believer.

And in this day he usually has to influence him from without and usually by another individual of flesh and blood. Now notice something.

How does Satan attack us? Number one stand therefore having your loins girt about with what's the next word class? What's the opposite of truth?

Well let me take that word. I like that. I didn't have that down but I'll take lies. simple statement just forget it for a second. Satan's method of getting at the believer is to get him to lie.

Simple. Right? And if you'll look over our philosophy and our society and our attitude and our conduct in this day and age we live on the lie.

You have the girdle of truth on. I'm not going into the armor itself. I'm not interested in that this morning. But the girdle bound you. You understand?

It was a binding garment because of the looseness of the garments of men of that day. It allowed him to stand or to run. The girdle supported him.

In some places the girdle defended him. Now basically what's going to happen with Satan's devices in the life of a believer is he is going to attack truth.

Did he not do this with Eve? Yea, he hath God said. Now when he attacks truth he immediately attacks Christ.

He attacks his word. He attacks judgment. He attacks our speech. He attacks our action. He attacks our conduct for the moment.

Now, how can a believer not be swayed by this device?

I think it takes a while. Don't lie. Now, we don't think of Satan's working with lies.

We think of Satan working with some monstrous opportunity. And yet he doesn't. Gets us to lie to ourselves. Gets us to lie to our family.

Gets us to lie to others. Gets us to live in falsehood. That's what a lie is. what is one of Satan's devices?

It is error, which is the opposite of truth. We are not ignorant of his purpose. What's his purpose? To get you to lie, which is the opposite of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Every time a believer lies, he goes against Christ. Look at the second thing. The second thing he says of, and having on the breastplate of what, class?

Righteousness. The breastplate of right conduct. Now, secondly, the wiles of the devil is to get you to act wrong.

that's interesting, isn't it? You're aware there are many places in the Bible where you're told how to act.

And there are no gray areas. rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say what, class? So every time you are down in the dump, you are at tool of Satan.

All Satan wants to do with a believer is to get him to lie. That's all he wants him to do. Then when he's got him on that avenue, he just doesn't want him to act right.

He wants him to act wrong. Now all of us have ideas about acting right. And they're probably all okay.

Look at the third one. It's interesting. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of what? Oh my.

Now remember we're dealing with opposites. You need the armor because Satan's devices and working and methods and thoughts are the opposite of what you get in the armor.

The opposite of truth is error. The opposite of righteousness actually is impurity. Acting wrong. The opposite of peace is anger.

Isn't that interesting? when Satan wants to get the believer on his side, all he has to do is give him an opportunity to get married.

Look, apart from maybe some reading in of the word righteousness, he has said nothing about physical immorality.

He has said nothing about anarchy. He has not said anything about what we would call the outward sins. He has dealt right where we did.

it is hard to be truthful nowadays, isn't it? We try to learn to say things that are truthful but don't imply it's true.

because we're constantly on the spot. We're constantly asked to act different than the Bible tells us to act.

We are constantly getting hit by that which upsets us or makes us angry. I'll remind you the gospel is a character called peace.

Peace I leave unto you. Not as the world giveth, give I unto you, let not your heart be troubled ye believe in God, believe also in me. Isn't that interesting?

All Satan wants to do is to get us up. Did you ever realize that a Christian is supposed to be a peacemaker?

Did you ever realize that? The majority of Christians I know are troublemakers. Christians? It's amazing to me how many things we try to talk about that get other people in trouble.

Now not directly, just indirectly. Peace. We don't have time to go through. We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Do you know that verse? Do you have that this morning? How did you get it? It was a gift, wasn't it? Because you came to know Christ as your Savior.

Then Paul goes on to say, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Do you have that peace this morning?

If there be any virtue, any praise, anything lovely, anything of good report, think on these things and the God of what? Peace shall be with you.

It's very interesting, isn't it? That Satan probably works through and outside and pressures your mind.

Peace is the foundation, peace is the purpose of God, and peace should be the result in the believer's life. How does Satan's devices work while he thinks, if I can just get this Christian to lie, if I can just get this Christian to act wrong, if I can just get this Christian to be upset, especially anger, then I got him.

Look at the ghost earlier, will you? Above all, oh, that's where we're going to hit tonight, maybe more importantly, or at least standing outedly, you got that?

Above all, taking the shield of what, class? Oh, wait a minute, what's the opposite of faith? Done?

Oh, doubt. Fears, right? Suspicion. Hey, Satan's purpose and thought and message is to get you as a believer to die.

What kind of job does he do with you? Huh? I'm a little problem with that. A little problem with that.

the opposite of faith is doubt. The opposite of faith is fear. The opposite of faith is suspicion.

Kindly notice something. All the darts of Satan are always against doubt. Did you notice that?

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. All of Satan's darts are against faith.

This is where darts come from. Now you can stay home tonight. All you have to do is go home this afternoon and go through your whole Bible and see where doubt reigned.

And you'll find all the kinds of darts that Satan's got. That's all you have to do. I have a feeling, if that's a good word, that Satan is in the majority in this verse.

Above all, taking the shield of faith. What is faith? Believing a thing to be true because God said it. Isn't that interesting? the Lord says, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved.

And somebody says, I don't think that's right. You know? Then Satan has just taken his purpose and convinced you through doubt that that's not right.

As we said this morning in class, whom the Lord loves, he what? Well, I doubt that. God loves a cheerful giver.

I doubt that. Isn't that interesting? Here is Satan with his permissive conduct.

My God, I don't understand. And Paul says, now look, Christians at Ephesus, he's talking to the church, to the group, first of all. I want you to be strong so you can obey.

I want you to be mighty because the illustration of the Holy Spirit is always in the word mighty, the power that comes through Christ by the Holy Spirit. Now I want you to put on the whole armor of God, and if you've got that, somebody says to me, well, pastor, how do I know when I got it?

That's questions always bother me too. You know, some guy stands in a pulpit and says, now all you've got to do is put on the whole armor of God, the girdle and the breastplate and the feet and the shield and all these things and you've got it made and he sends you home and you're saying to yourself, man, I know it's there but how do I do it?

And he puts back in the evening and he says, you do it by faith. Now I'm really stuck. The only way I know is that if I practice what he tells me, I got it.

How do you know you're filled with the Holy Spirit? Well, I'll tell you how you know. You know because Paul wrote, be filled with wine, be not drunk, but be filled with wine.

You like that one, don't you? Now that ain't too key. If you read, all you people drink 1.38 gallons of whiskey a year. That's what my paper said.

Boy, somebody's drinking wine 1.38 plus theirs also and a few others. Be not drunk with wine or in his excess, but be drunk, now.

Show in the Spirit. When you take that passage of Ephesians, you know what happens. Speaking to yourselves in Psalms, hymns, and spirits of songs, singing that you know your heart to the Lord. Whenever you're doing that, you're filled with the Spirit.

Submitting yourself to one another in the fear of God. Whenever you're doing that, you're filled with the Holy Spirit. Somebody says to me, be filled with the Spirit, and I say, how? And they don't tell me, right? But I know that I'm filled when an accomplishment of what the Bible says should be produced by the Holy Spirit.

And so when I practice the biblical context of submitting to one another in the fear of the Lord, and I hate to tell you, that means you submit to your pastor once in a while. And he goes on to say, if you're a believing wife and you don't submit to your husband, you are not filled with the Spirit.

That's what he said. Why submit yourself on your own husband as in the Lord? Why? Because it's a proof that you're filled with the Holy Spirit.

You say, I don't feel like it. Then you aren't filled with the Holy Spirit either. Husbands love your wife. Why? Because it proves you're filled with the Holy Spirit.

Children, obey your parents. Why? Because it proves you're filled with the Holy Spirit. Fathers, provoke not your children, but bring them up in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. Why?

Because it proves you're filled with the Holy Spirit. And every father that doesn't bring his kid up that way can't be filled with the Holy Spirit. Servants, obey your masters.

Why? Because as a Christian worker in a non-Christian world, you're approved that you're filled with the Holy Spirit. Masters, deal biblically with your workers.

It's not hard to find out how you're filled with the Holy Spirit. Just work it backwards. How do I know if I've got the armor of God?

I've got to have a feeling, pastor. He didn't say feel it. When I don't lie, I've got the girdle on it.

When I act according to the word of God, I've got the breastplate on. I don't get angry, I've got the feet on.

When I don't go out, I have a shield of faith. It is we who are responsible for the armor.

pastor, I had to lie. You had to lie? Pastor, I had to act that way or they would have thought I was odd.

Yeah, that's right. I remind you as believers, we are very peculiar. Pastor, those people were just wrong.

I had to go set them straight, even if they got angry with me. Yeah. Pastor, I just got to work like this because God can't provide my needs.

That's that. Every time old Satan stats around with a blowgun, the dart, boy, huh?

remind you that darts are very interesting. They cause a wound. When you get a wound, it gets inflamed and you get a fever.

Your whole body gets out of whack. basically. What are the devices of Satan? Get a believer to lie.

Get him to act contrary to the word of God. Get him to have anger and resentment and malice. Get him to always work on a rational level. If you can't prove it on paper, you can't do it.

Look at something else. Verse 17. this really concerns me. I have dug and dug and dug for weeks. I can't find anybody that agrees with me.

And take the helmet of what, class? What does the helmet cover? The head. He's doing it. He's using the head now. What's the word salvation mean?

Kathy? Deliverance. And through your mind, realize that you are delivered. Of course, this is not a device of Satan.

Doubt goes with the mind. But in this verse, you have number five. I would remind you that one of Satan's devices is to get you to think opposite of the word of God.

Yea, hath God said, take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit which is the word of God.

Man, you can make a message after message. you get to mutimati it's got a whole chapter upon chapter this week about the importance of the Bible in a believer's life. Bible. I haven't read my Bible in four days.

I can't finish 30 years. I know this for sure. I've read the Bible through and read straight out. Word to learn in time to learn.

What is Satan do class? Just keep it from the Bible. That's all.

The only place in the instrument you've got. You're right. It's the only defensive instrument you've got. You're aware of that? All the rest of them are offensive instruments. This is a defensive instrument.

I still believe. That's Dave Allen says when you squeeze the Christian the Bible ought to come out of them. How much of the Bible do you know? How much opportunity do you take and come and study the Bible?

How much do you read it? I don't have time pastor. I figured out something this week. If you take the Columbus dispatch and you read it regularly on the every issue that comes out you have spent more time reading the paper than if you had read the Bible through twice in one year.

I can only make one conclusion. The newspaper is more important than the Bible. That's what Satan says. It's not any great thing is it?

It's how Satan works. Notice Notice verse 18 and I close. I told you at the beginning if they're progressive I'm in real trouble. Finally notice the sixth device of Satan is to keep you from praying.

and in this church that has happened in the last 52 weeks.

The only service in this church that has decreased over the year is prayer. When Christians pray Satan shakes we don't believe it.

We think Satan is some great ogre that runs around with supernatural power and just works on special individuals. Satan only uses his devices against Christians.

He gets you to lie to get you to act wrong, to get you to become angry, to get you to become upset, to get you to have doubts and fears and suspicions, keeps you from the word of God, and tells you, don't pray.

And as Paul said to the Corinthians, when that takes place, he's got advantage of you. then we wonder why life is so wrong.

Study with me tonight the darts of Satan. Gracious God, we thank you for the word of God, which is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We thank you this morning for your grace, for your patience, for your long suffering, for your chastening hand, which does things we don't like.

We thank you that you always prove yourself faithful, even when we're unfaithful. That's grace. But someday, Heavenly Father, in the stringency of the world, believers are going to have to stand and be counted.

Because the world lies, the world turns away from the Bible. The world is not interested in peace, except that they don't get upset with their own plan.

So this morning we come in the name of Christ. And somehow, because you're God, may the Holy Spirit be free to take the word and defeat Satan.

If there's a believer here this morning that's lying, that's living a lie, that's not even saved, straighten them up. If there's a believer here that's acting wrongly towards the fellowship, or towards other Christians, straighten them up.

if there are believers here who are not peaceful, or there are believers here who constantly live in doubt, in fear, in suspicion, you've reminded us that that which is not faith is sin.

if there are believers here this morning that have neglected the Bible and neglected to pray, be gracious to them, but for your sake be firm.

We pray in Christ's name. Amen. the hymn is number three. is number three. The hymn three. The hymn three. The hymn The hymn is number The hymn is number The hymn is number The hymn is number The hymn is number The hymn is number is number lip lip lip lip lip lip lip lip lip lip lip lip … lip lip lip lip lip lip lip lip