Um, what that means is, uh, that my, my charge is to help you understand the mnemonic realm.
Okay.
What motivates demons?
What frightens demons?
How they seek to beguile you or ensnare you and how we might seek to undermine them.
It is a lofty topic.
It is a topic that I will not at all exhaust tonight.
It is, um, been the subject of countless volumes and countless, um, essays.
And there's just so much information.
You can't really fit it into a matter of 45 minutes, but we're going to do the best that
we can to give you guys a brief synopsis of who you're dealing with and how to deal with
them.
Um, a couple of weeks ago, I started by talking about just why we're here.
We're here to engage brokenness, right?
To partner with Jesus Christ in engaging brokenness ever since the fall of man, which is, you know,
Satan's first, um, I guess, scene in the, uh, in the play of, in the play of, uh, eternity.
Uh, he tempts Adam and Eve.
They fall.
Sin happens.
Okay.
The world, all of creation is affected.
All of it is corrupted by sin.
Ever since then, God in Jesus Christ has been redeeming it.
He's been in this process of constant redemption.
Um, and there's, and there's redemption taking place on all different kinds of levels.
There, there's redemption taking place on societal levels, uh, civic levels, communal levels,
interpersonal levels between two people and then personal levels.
Okay.
Um, his redemption is not limited to just simply, uh, salvation of sin.
It is that it's absolutely that it's the most important part about it, but it's also
redemption of everything.
Okay.
He intends to redeem everything in the end that can be redeemed.
Certain things like we talked about a couple of weeks ago, cannot be.
So then last week, Clay came and he began to open up this series of sin and temptation.
Okay.
Because at the heart of redemption is the heart.
Okay.
No true redemption happens apart from the heart really, truly being changed, transformed.
So God starts with the heart.
And then through the change of that heart, the creation of new desires, he begins to work
out that redemption in their life, in their relationships, in their communities, in their
societies.
And so God's plan begins in our heart.
Okay.
This is just a setup, kind of a contrast for what Satan's plan is.
I want to read you this somewhat lengthy quote by, uh, by John Wesley.
This is really awesome.
This is exactly what my heart was.
I didn't read this till this week, so I didn't really have this in my possession to read to
you guys a couple of weeks ago.
But this is exactly what the kingdom of God is.
And this is exactly what Satan is attempting to thwart.
He says this.
Let me just say this before I read the quote.
If God's will is to engage creation's brokenness, then Satan's will is to maintain it.
Okay.
If God's purpose is to redeem the brokenness of all creation, then Satan's intention is
to maintain the brokenness and to further it.
Here goes John Wesley.
The devices whereby the subtle God of this world, which is a name for Satan, labors to
destroy the children of God, or at least to torment whom he to torment whom he cannot
destroy to perplex and hinder them in running the race which is set before them are numberless
as the stars of heaven or the sand upon the seashore.
That's his devices are.
So his methods are.
But it is his chief device that he endeavors to divide the gospel against itself and by
one part of it to overthrow the other.
Here we go.
The inward kingdom of heaven.
This is what happens when you get saved.
The inward kingdom of heaven, which is set up in the hearts of all that repent and believe
in the gospel, is no other than righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
That's Romans 14.
17.
Every babe in Christ knows we are made partakers of these the very hour that we believe in Jesus.
But these are only the first fruits of his Spirit.
The harvest is not yet.
Although these blessings are inconceivably great, yet we trust to see greater than these.
We trust to love the Lord our God, not only as we do now with the weak, though sincere
affection, but with all of our heart, with all of our soul, with all of our mind, with
all of our strength.
We look for power to rejoice always, to pray without ceasing, and in everything to give
thanks, knowing this is the will of God for us in Christ Jesus.
That's 1 Thessalonians 5.18.
We expect to be made perfect in love, in that which casts out all painful fear and all desire,
but that of glorifying him we love.
And of loving and serving him more and more.
We look for such an increase in the experimental knowledge and love of God, our Savior, as will
enable us always to walk in the light as he is in the light.
We believe the whole mind will be in us, which it was in Christ Jesus, that we shall love
every man so as to be ready to lay down our life for his sake, so as by his love to be
freed from anger and pride and from every unkind affection.
We expect to be cleansed from all our idols, from all filthiness, whether of flesh or spirit,
to be saved from all our uncleanness, inward and outward, to be purified as he is pure.
Let's meet the fuel of the love.
We trust in his promise, who cannot lie, that the time will surely come when in every word
and work we shall do his blessed will on earth as it is done in heaven.
When all our conversations shall be seasoned with salt, all meet to minister grace to the
hearers, when whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, it shall be done to the glory of God.
When all our words and deeds shall be in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God,
even the Father through him.
Now, this is the grand device of Satan to destroy the first work of God in the soul,
or at least to hinder its increase.
Okay, so that was a very comprehensive definition of what it means for the kingdom of heaven to
be on earth.
Meaning what?
God's will is being acted out by every facet of creation on earth, perfectly.
One day it will be like that.
You can read it in Revelation, you can read it elsewhere in the Old Testament.
One day it will be literally heaven on earth.
God's will being acted out in every form and fashion, through every single person and being,
every conscious soul, literally acted out to the glory of God.
God's will is perfectly followed by us.
There is no pride.
There is no mourning.
There is no weeping.
There is no sadness.
There is no anything except for what God intends for it to be.
Perfect love relationship with Jesus.
Perfect love and will towards our fellow man.
And Paul in 1 Thessalonians sums it up by saying that it's righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Okay?
And that's exactly what Satan intends to afford and to undermine,
is that we would experience that in varying degrees, increasing degrees in this life.
And being constantly redeemed, he wants us to constantly be destroyed.
Okay?
So I have four little points and I have some alliteration to kind of go with this.
First one is perspective change.
Perspective change.
C.S. Lewis once said,
There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils.
One is to disbelieve in their existence.
The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.
They themselves are equally pleased by both errors
and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight.
End quote.
Now what do you think we here in America deal with most?
At least in our context, here in Dahlonega.
Is it an overemphasis of demons or is it an underemphasis?
Underemphasis.
Certainly.
We don't hardly think of them.
We don't even consider them to be in our daily lives.
We don't even really consider that they might be all around us at times.
Angels as well.
We don't think about things as we should.
During World War II,
Nazi soldiers would tell the inmates they were going to get a shower.
When really they were doing what?
Going to the gas chamber.
Satan would have you go to hell compliantly
rather than kicking and screaming.
He prefers
to be unseen.
People wrongly
misconstrue the devil
by thinking of him as
a little red creature that runs around
and is chaotic
and is involved in all kinds of chaos
and he's not organized.
The devil is more like
a CEO of a massive Fortune 500 company
that is in charge of everything underneath the sun.
He is the God of this world, the scripture says.
And there's things that he's doing that we don't see.
There's a reality in this world
that we need to come to grips with as well.
That there are real souls
and there is a real hell
and there is a real heaven
and there is a real war being waged
for those souls.
I want to read you a cool story from 2 Kings.
Go to 2 Kings 6.
This is hopefully to help our perspective
be changed a little bit.
This is a really neat story
that I came across this past week.
2 Kings 6.
Beginning in verse 8.
Now the king of Aram
was warring against Israel
and he counseled with his servants saying,
In such and such a place
shall be my camp.
And the man of God,
which is actually Elisha in this context.
Whenever it says the man of God
it's referring to Elisha.
And the man of God
sent word to the king of Israel saying,
Beware that you do not pass this place
for the Arameans
are coming down there.
And the king of Israel sent to the place
about which the man of God had told him.
Thus he warned him
so that he guarded himself there
more than once or twice.
Now the heart of the king of Aram
was enraged over this thing.
And he called his servants
and said to them,
Will you tell me which of us
is for the king of Israel?
And one of his servants said,
No, my lord, O king.
But Elisha, the prophet who was in Israel,
tells the king of Israel
the words that you speak in your bedroom.
So he said,
Go and see where he is
that I may send and take him.
And it was told him saying,
Behold, he is in Dothan.
Okay, so pause in the story real quick.
What's going on is
this king hates Israel,
wants to destroy them,
sets up a plan to do so.
Elisha is given a vision of this by God,
tells the king of Israel,
Hey, don't go to this place
because they're setting up a trap for you.
Then it says,
More than just once or twice.
This has happened several times.
And the king from the Arameans
is furious.
And he's like,
Who is Elisha?
Who is this guy that keeps thwarting all my plans?
I keep setting up these,
you know,
points of attack.
And every time that I do,
he comes up underneath me
and tells the king of Israel
and they don't come my way
and I don't get to capture them.
So he's continually frustrated.
He's beginning to hate Elisha.
And he says,
Where is Elisha?
I'm going to find him and kill him.
So he's in Dothan, right?
Picking up in verse 14.
And he sent horses and chariots
and a great army there.
And they came by night
and surrounded the city.
This is where Elisha was.
Now when the attendant
or the servant of the man of God,
Elisha,
had risen early and gone out,
behold,
an army with horses and chariots
was encircling the city.
And his servant said to him,
Alas, my master,
what shall we do?
Okay?
So the king had sent an army
to go kill one man, Elisha.
Elisha's servant wakes up,
goes and looks outside
and sees this massive army
surrounding the mountainside
and says,
Oh my gosh,
what are we going to do?
Goes and asks Elisha,
Elisha,
what are we going to do?
This is insane.
Picks up in verse 16.
So he answered,
Do not fear,
for those who are with us
are more than those who are with them.
Then Elisha prayed and said,
Oh Lord, I pray,
open his eyes that he may see
and the Lord opened
the servant's eyes
and he saw
and behold,
the mountain was full of horses
and chariots of fire
all around Elisha.
And when they came down to him,
Elisha prayed to the Lord
and said,
Strike the people with blindness,
I pray.
So he struck them with blindness
according to the word of Elisha.
Then Elisha said to them,
This is not the way,
nor is this the city.
Follow me and I will bring you
to the man whom you seek.
And he brought them to Samaria.
Now it came about
that when they had come
into Samaria
that Elisha said,
Oh Lord,
open the eyes of these men
that they may see.
So the Lord opened their eyes
and they saw
and behold,
they were in the midst of Samaria.
That was Israelite territory.
So you got that?
These men are surrounding the city.
Elisha isn't fearful.
Why?
He prays for his servant.
Lord,
please open his eyes
that he may see
what I see.
And then all of a sudden
the servant opens his eyes
and he sees
all these chariots
of fire,
angels
surrounding them.
And he says,
See,
we have them outnumbered.
They don't have as many soldiers
as we do.
Then,
they go out to meet them.
Right?
This army comes to meet Elisha.
They didn't see the angels.
They were going to come
take Elisha.
Elisha prays,
Lord,
strike them down with blindness.
So they all become blind.
A whole army is blinded.
Elisha then tells them,
Hey,
the man that you're looking for
isn't in here.
He can't be found here.
He's actually down
to the next city.
I'll take you there.
Takes him down
to Israelite territory.
Sure enough,
in the story,
opens their blinded eyes
and they see that
they're in captivity
of Israel.
Okay?
There is a reality
in this world
that we don't see
and that we cannot detect
empirically.
You can't taste it.
You can't touch it.
You can't see it.
You can't feel it.
You can't hear it.
But it's still there.
And so we,
living in a materialist society,
want to say,
well,
if I can't see it
or feel it
or so on and so forth,
I don't want to believe in it.
If it's not observable,
I'm not going to believe it.
Science is going to reason you away
in time.
So Satan hides behind science
and Satan hides behind
that kind of reasoning
and says,
maybe you don't see me
or feel me
or touch me
or whatever,
but I'm still very much
intimately involved
in your life
and I'm still very much
intimately involved
in your society
and I'm doing things
that you can't perceive.
Okay?
So this text
is meant to open up
for you guys
the reality
that there are
spiritual forces
of wickedness
and there are
spiritual forces
that are good
in this world.
Don't be constrained
as you're simply
thinking about things
in light of what
you can see
or feel.
There's real conflict
in this world
that we need to come
to grips with.
I'll give you
one more quick example.
This is from
Matthew 26,
53.
Just a side note,
these things
are really perceived
by faith.
Okay?
So if you don't
have faith,
which the world
that we live in
does not,
they don't see
these things.
They don't see
that there are
demons and devils.
They don't see
that there are
spiritual forces
working against
us all.
They don't see
the trap that
they don't see
the gas chamber
that we've been
enabled to see
by faith,
if that makes sense.
They're living
in ignorance.
In Matthew 26,
verse 53,
really,
let's go back
to 51.
This is during
Jesus' betrayal
and arrest.
It says this
in 51,
And behold,
one of those
who were with Jesus,
this is,
we learn later,
Peter,
reached and drew
out his sword
and struck the slave
of the high priest
and cut off his ear.
Then Jesus said to him,
put your sword
back into its place.
For all those
who take up the sword
shall perish by the sword.
53,
Or do you think
that I cannot
appeal to my father
and he will at once
put at my disposal
more than twelve
legions of angels?
So Jesus saw
the same thing
that Elisha saw,
which was that
if I simply said
the word,
if I wanted it
to happen,
I could ask my father
and he could send
twelve legions
of angels,
a legion was
six thousand,
so roughly
seventy-two thousand
plus angels
at my disposal.
If I needed
your help,
I would have
asked for it.
And so he's
rebuking Peter,
but it's also,
we can learn
something from this
about the spiritual
world, right?
It's there,
it's present,
we don't see it
all the time,
but it's a reality.
So these are just
biblical illustrations
of things that
we don't necessarily
always see.
Okay,
so we need to
have a perspective
change.
Secondly,
personality
diagnosis.
Personality
diagnosis.
There's a lot
of things we can
learn about Satan
from his names.
Okay,
the Bible describes
him as a thief.
So he intends
to steal something.
He describes him
as the father of
lies,
meaning that
all lives
are from him
in some way.
He's the
originator of them.
He births them.
He incites them.
Next,
he's described
as a lion,
so he's fierce.
He's described
as the God
of the world,
meaning he has
rule,
he has dominion
over the things
in this world.
It's not necessarily
saying that he's
the God of this world.
In fact,
how many of you
believe that Satan
is the opposite
of God?
Would you say
that Satan
is the opposite
of God?
No?
Yes?
This is one of
the best things
that I've found out
this entire week.
My,
probably the richest
thing that I've seen
is that Satan
is not the opposite
of God.
Okay?
Because in order
to be the opposite
of God,
he would have
to possess
the same exact
qualities of God
except in a depraved
way.
So,
if God is
perfect goodness,
he'd have to be
perfect badness.
But,
by definition,
right,
if God is sovereign,
then Satan
couldn't be sovereign.
Somebody that's
sovereign
rules over everything.
So,
Satan's not that way.
So,
we learn things.
Satan is the opposite
of God
only in one way
and that is
in his intentions.
Okay?
His intentions,
his desires,
his ways,
his methods,
his motivations,
and his dealings
with men
are in total
opposite to
what God
desires.
But,
he is in no way
co-equal with God.
Not omnipotent,
not omnipresent,
not omniscient,
not autonomous,
not sovereign,
not infinite.
And,
he doesn't have
the ability
to create.
Okay?
So,
this whole notion
that Jesus,
you know,
like God
is on this
side of my
shoulder
and Satan's
on this
side of my
shoulder
is really
just nonsense.
He is not
equal with God.
What God
says goes.
We see the
power of this
displayed in
stories like
Job,
right?
You go to the
Old Testament,
you see the
story of Job,
you see where
Satan has to
go and get
permission from
God to tempt
Job.
God even
says,
have you
considered
my servant
Job?
And,
Satan has
to,
again,
get permission
to do
other things.
God says,
you can tempt
him,
you can take
these things
away from
him,
but you
can't hurt
his health.
Then,
of course,
he goes,
does all
these things.
Job persists
in his
obedience and
his submission
to God,
does not
sin against
God,
and then
Satan goes
back and
says,
well,
the reason
why he's
not
sinning
against
you
is
because
you haven't
taken away
his health.
He still
has that
to hold
on to.
Then he
says,
fine,
take away
his health.
So God
gives him
permission
again to
go and
tempt.
So that's
an incredibly
important thing
for us to
grasp,
is that
Satan has
no power
that isn't
given to
him.
He can't
do anything
to us
unless God
allows it
or enables
it by
allowing
him.
He may
despise
God,
he may
hate his
son,
but it's
because he
can't
be God.
Isn't
that why
he fell
initially?
Because he
wanted to
be like
God?
But he
couldn't.
And so
God
authoritatively
threw him
down to
earth.
He cursed
him and
the other
devil's
with him.
You can
also learn
a little
bit about
devils and
about their
nature in
seeing the
way that
they respond
to Jesus
in the
New
Testament.
Go to
Matthew
8.
Matthew
8.
This is
just one
example of
many,
but it's
really good
when it
comes to
seeing how
the devil
responds.
It says
this in
verse 28.
And when
he had
come to
the other
side into
the country
of the
Gadarenes,
two men
who were
demon-possessed
met him
as they
were coming
out of
the tombs.
They were
so exceedingly
violent that
no one could
pass by that
road.
And behold,
they cried
out saying,
what do we
have to do
with you,
son of
God?
Have you
come here to
torment us
before the
time?
So this
is an
example of
two exceedingly
violent demons
that could not
be in any
way,
shape,
or form
constrained.
That upon
simply seeing
Jesus,
they go
before him
and they
ask,
what are you
doing here?
What are you
doing with
us?
Is it time
for us to be
condemned into
hell?
Are you
coming to
throw us
into the
pit before
the end
of the
age?
They saw
themselves in
subjection to
Jesus Christ.
Completely and
totally in
subjection.
And no
demon ever
resisted
Jesus when
he wanted to
cast them
out.
So there
is power
in Christ,
absolute and
sovereign power
in Christ,
over the
demonic realm.
Another
verse is in
James 2.19,
it says this,
we believe
that God
is one,
that's good.
The demons
also believe
and shudder.
They're
fearful.
They're
frightened by
Christ,
which is one
of the answers
to my
question from
earlier.
What frightens
demons?
Jesus does.
You don't
frighten
demons.
Your words
don't frighten
demons.
The scripture
itself does
not frighten
demons.
Okay?
Somebody's
saying arbitrarily
to a demon,
be gone,
means nothing.
In fact,
a lot of times
when you see
things like
Benny Hinn,
these stage
performances in
which people
come up and
they're supposedly
demon possessed,
maybe they are
demon possessed,
and then the
demons,
you know,
they're shaking
and stuff,
and Benny Hinn
casts them out
and they fall
on the floor
and they're
flopping around.
That is so,
that is not
spiritual warfare.
Okay?
That is Satan
playing around
with Satan.
That is not
God.
Okay?
When Jesus
cast demons
out,
they didn't
flop around
on the ground.
They either
looked like
they were
dead,
and then
Jesus raised
them up,
or they
were completely
somber
and calm
and had
their mind
and their
wits about
them.
There was
no transitional
period.
Okay?
So,
demons are
oftentimes
playing around
with demons,
deceiving people
by thinking
that they have
power over
demons
when they
don't have
power over
demons.
The only
thing that
legitimately
scares a
demon is
Jesus Christ,
and it
scares them
a lot.
So,
understanding
our spiritual
warfare against
Satan needs
to always be
in light of
the fact that
the only
thing that
we have
that's
powerful
against
them is
Jesus.
But in
Christ,
we have
all power,
right?
Turn to
Colossians
really quickly.
We were in
this book
last semester,
and I
want you to
notice the
language,
the similarity
of the
language between
the verse we
read from
Ephesians and
Ephesians 6.12
describing our
enemy, that it's
not against flesh
and love,
it's against
spiritual forces
and all those
things, the
powers of
darkness.
And then
listen to
Colossians 1,
13 through
16.
for He,
that's
Jesus,
delivered us
from the
domain of
darkness and
transferred us
to the
kingdom of
His beloved
Son, in
whom we have
redemption, the
forgiveness of
sins, and He
is the image of
the invisible
God, the
firstborn of
all creation.
For by Him
all things were
created,
listen to
that, for
by Him all
things were
created, both
in the heavens
and on
earth, visible
and invisible,
whether
thrones or
dominions or
rulers or
authorities, that's
referring to
demonic presences,
all things have
been created by
Him and for
Him.
All things have
been created by
Him and for
Him.
That's in
reference to
spiritual forces,
both good and
evil.
In Proverbs
16, 4, it
says this,
the Lord has
made everything
for His own
purpose, even
the wicked for
the day of
evil.
So the
demons are
creation, Satan
is creation.
He's not
infinite, he's
not eternal, he's
not sovereign, he's
not all-powerful, he
has to ask permission
just like everybody
else.
That should give
you great hope in
your battle against
sin.
I think, you
know, a lot of
it's, I used to
play basketball a
lot, and so in
basketball, or
any sport really, if
you go into the
game thinking you're
going to lose, you're
probably going to
lose.
However, if you go
into the game thinking
you're going to win,
you're probably going
to have a better
chance of winning,
right?
Or you're probably
going to win.
Your mindset is a
lot of the battle.
You know?
Confidence really
affects things.
And so, Satan is
always trying to get
you to think
improperly about
him, to attribute
to him more power
than he really
has.
Or sometimes, maybe
not attribute to
him some of the
power that he
does have, right?
Like you said, you
can be a materialist
on one end of the
pendulum, or you
can be a magician
on the other.
We need to be
balanced.
We need to realize
that God is
sovereign, Christ
is in us, the
Holy Spirit has
been given to us,
greater is he that
is in us than he
that is in the
world.
But, Satan is
the god of this
world.
And apart from
Christ, we stand
no chance of
enduring temptation
or resisting
temptation or
fighting in the
strength of God's
might, which is
what that
Ephesians
passage says.
Okay?
Thirdly, this is
a, I was trying
to find another
P word, so this
is pernicious
methods.
Now, that
means, that
means like evil
or ruinous or
injurious or
whatever.
Pernicious is,
it just means evil
or wicked, okay?
But I was trying
to keep it the
P, the
alliteration.
So, pernicious
methods.
Pernicious methods,
evil methods.
There's a lot of
reasons why the
Lord allows us to
be tempted and the
Lord allows us to
be tried.
I think the most
important one is
probably this.
There's two that
are of the same
importance.
The first one is
to show us what is
in our hearts.
Okay?
Second Chronicles
32, 31.
It says this,
God left him
alone only to
test him that he
might know all
that was in his
heart.
God puts us
through tests,
puts us through
trials, allow
temptations to
come into our
life to show us
what we're made
of.
This past week,
for instance,
as I was
beginning to
prepare for this
message and trying
to prepare, there
was just a lot of
spiritual warfare.
And the way that
Satan was really
trying to tempt me
most was by
getting me to rely
upon my own
effort.
And not upon
the Lord.
Which looks like
prayerlessness.
Okay?
That's always a
very difficult
battle because
praying is difficult
when you don't
feel like doing it.
And when you
don't feel the
motivation to do it.
But it's
necessary.
So, God
allowed the
temptation to show
me throughout the
week, today
especially, that
apart from him, I
can't do anything.
That I need his
grace.
That I need his
forgiveness.
That I need to
stand in the
gospel as I
stand and teach
about these
things.
That I feel like
a hypocrite in a
lot of ways because
I know that I've
been beaten down,
tripped up,
made a fool of in
many ways this past
week in my
preparation.
And now I have to
teach it to you
guys.
But that's okay
because God's
grace is sufficient.
And just like
Paul, I was led
to pride and God
allows a messenger
of Satan in a
sense to tempt me
to show me my
sin.
So that's the
first thing, I
think, to show us
what's in our
hearts.
Secondly, is to
show himself to
man.
To show himself
to man.
We don't realize
the power and the
strength that God
puts forth on our
behalf in the
sufficiency of his
grace until we
compare our trials
with our weaknesses.
God's power and
God's grace are
then seen clearly
in our lives.
the effectiveness
of an antidote
is not realized
until one has
been exposed to
the poison.
The preciousness
of a medicine
is revealed by
the presence of
the disease.
Right?
So what does
sin do?
Sin gives us
something to
compare the
grace of God
to.
So God
allows,
God is even
pleased, I think,
in some ways,
with the
employment of
Satan.
Not that it
would affect
this in
negative ways,
not that it
would lead us
into sin,
but that it
would enable
us to see
our sin
when we
fall,
and to then
see the
beauty of the
glory,
the beauty
and the
glory of
the grace
of God.
Okay?
So God
uses
temptations,
trials,
failures,
sin,
to glorify
his son,
to glorify
the work of
his son on
the cross.
The preciousness
of the medicine
is revealed by
the presence of
the disease.
Okay,
there's other
reasons.
I'll just list
these off for
you.
Why does God
allow us to
be tempted to
prove the
genuineness of
our faith?
That's 1 Peter
1, 6 and 7.
To increase
one's joy in
this life and
reward in the
next, that's
James 1, 2
through 4,
and verse 12.
To purge out
one's sin, as we
just said, that's
2 Corinthians
12, 7 through 10.
To prepare us for
future ministry.
We see that in
Luke 22, 31 and
32.
What I mean by
that is when
Peter, who is
known for that
colossal failure,
when he says to
Jesus, although
all may fall
away, I'm not
going to fall
away.
If everyone
denies you and
rejects you, I'm
not going to
deny and reject
you.
And he says,
before the rooster
crows, three
times, you're
going to reject
me three times.
And so what
does he do?
He goes and he
totally denies
even knowing
Christ, even
curses the
people for
saying that he
has any
association with
them.
Denies Christ
horribly, miserably.
It's disgusting.
And then in
Luke 22, 31 and
32, and then we
see later in
John, Jesus
prays and he
says, I'll just
turn now to you
really briefly.
He says,
Simon, Simon,
behold, Satan
has demanded
permission to
sift you like
wheat, but I
have prayed for
you that your
faith may not
fail.
And you, when
you have, when
once you have
turned again,
strengthen your
brothers.
Okay, so he
was going to
allow this
failure for the
purpose of
humbling him
and for the
purpose of also
strengthening the
other Christians
in the future.
So there's that
reason.
The Lord also
allows temptation
to purify our
testimony of the
gospel.
You see that in
Washington.
J.I.
Packer said
this, this is
the ultimate
reason from our
standpoint why
God fills our
lives with
troubles and
perplexities of
one sort or
another.
It is to
ensure that we
shall learn to
hold him fast.
The reason why
the Bible spends
so much of its
time reiterating
that God is a
strong rock, a
firm defense, and
a sure refuge, and
a help for the
weak, is that God
spends so much of
his time bringing
home to us that
we are weak, both
mentally and morally,
and dare not trust
ourselves to find or
to follow the right
road.
God wants us to feel
that our way through
life is rough and
perplexing so that we
may learn to lean on
him.
Therefore, he takes
steps to drive us
out of self-confidence
to trust in him.
Okay?
So I just wanted to
say that as a
prerequisite for the
methods of Satan and
why he would allow
these things to be.
How does the devil
tempt us?
Go to 1 John
real quick.
This is 1 John 2.16.
1 John 2.16.
For all that is in
the world, the lust
of the flesh, the lust
of the eyes, and the
boastful pride of
life is not from the
Father, but it's from
the world.
Now, take that verse,
commit the memory, and
turn over to Matthew
4.
This is the temptation
of Jesus Christ.
Jesus was led by the
Spirit into the
wilderness for 40
days and 40 nights.
He didn't eat.
Satan came during that
time and began to
tempt him.
Let's read it.
Matthew 4, 1-11.
Then Jesus was led
up by the Spirit into
the wilderness to be
tempted by the devil.
And after he had
fasted 40 days and 40
nights, he then became
hungry.
And the tempter came
and said to him,
If you are the Son of
God, command that these
stones become bread.
But he answered and
said, It is written,
Man shall not live on
bread alone, but on
every word that proceeds
out of the mouth of
God.
Then the devil took him
into the holy city, and
he had him stand on the
pinnacle of the temple.
And he said to him,
If you are the Son of
God, throw yourself down,
for it is written, He
will give his angels
charge concerning you,
and on their hands they
will bear you up, lest
you strike your foot
against a stone.
He's quoting from
Psalm 91.
Jesus said to him,
On the other hand, it
is written, You shall
not put the Lord your
God to the test.
Again, the devil took
him to a very high
mountain, and he showed
him all the kingdoms of
the world and their
glory.
And he said to him,
All these things I will
give you, if you fall
down and worship me.
Then Jesus said to him,
Be gone, Satan, for it
is written, You shall
worship the Lord your
God and serve him only.
Then the devil left
them, and behold, angels
came and began to
minister to him.
In this passage, we
see three categories of
sin, and they are
exactly what we just
read from 1 John 2
16.
The lust of the
flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the
boastful pride of
life.
This is a very
important thing to
understand.
This is the only way
in which Satan will
tempt you.
It is through one of
these three things.
The lust of the
flesh, the lust of
the eyes, and the
boastful pride of
life.
Let's explain.
Firstly, Satan tempts
Jesus with the lust of
the flesh.
This is in verses 2 and
3.
He tempts him in the
midst of his hunger,
right?
Natural cravings, the
lust of the flesh, things
that are natural to the
flesh.
Okay?
So it may be food, and
he tempts him to
gluttony.
It may be sex, and he
tempts you to lust.
It may be accomplishment,
and he tempts you to
pride.
It may be relationship, and
he tempts you to
idolatry.
These are natural
cravings, natural things
that are not inherently
wicked or evil, that
Satan will use and
twist to make you sin
against God.
Natural things that are
inherent to all of us.
It's a short little list.
That's an example.
Secondly, we see in
verse 5 and 6, the
pride of life.
The devil took him into
the holy city, had him
stand on the pinnacle of
the temple, said to him,
if you are the son of
God, throw yourself down
from here, for it is
written, you will give
angels charge concerning
you.
He starts quoting
scripture, but he
twisted the meaning of it,
right?
The passage in context is
talking about trusting
God, and he used it to
justify testing God.
How might he do this
with us?
Didn't God say he came
to give you abundant
life?
And yet all these
sinners are having so
much more fun with him.
Didn't he say?
Didn't he promise this?
Didn't he promise that?
He'll twist scripture so
that you're tempted to
test God.
which is in direct
opposition to what the
scripture even says.
Didn't he tempt you?
Or didn't he say that
you're going to have the
abundant life?
Then why are the
sinners having so much
more fun with you?
A good response would be
this.
They are storing up
wrath for themselves in
the day of wrath.
But I am content with
Christ as my life.
I consider all things to
be lost in view of the
surpassing value of
knowing Christ Jesus my
Lord.
For whom I willingly
suffer the loss of all
things.
Right?
This is teaching us
something.
How to combat sin.
How to combat lies.
The truth.
Satan's clever.
He'll use things you
think to be truth.
He'll quote scripture
even.
And if you don't
understand it, if you
don't know it, if you
don't know scripture to
combat that idea or that
faulty twisting, then
you'll find yourself and
match yourself as he
intends.
So we have to know the
word of God in order to
combat the lies of
Satan.
He's a liar.
It's his very nature to
lie.
He intends to come and
steal and kill and
destroy you.
And he will do it in
very tricky ways.
Thirdly, the lust of the
eyes.
This is in verse 8 and
9.
And again the devil took
him to a very high
mountain and he showed
him all the kingdoms of
the world and their
glory.
And he said to him,
all these things I will
give you if you fall down
and worship.
The lust of the eyes is
things that we see,
right?
It's the pleasures of
sin.
The pleasures of sin.
Sin would not be
enticing if it were not
pleasurable.
Okay?
That's the reality that
we have to deal with as
Christians.
Sin is pleasurable.
people do enjoy that.
We enjoy that.
Right?
But,
is it worth the cost
of a relationship with
Jesus?
And that's what we have
to go back and ask
ourselves.
Right?
Moses in Hebrews 11 says
the same thing.
He's like, I had
everything in Egypt.
But I consider the
treasures of Egypt to be
nothing in comparison to
the reproach of Christ.
He'd rather suffer as a
Christian than be worshipped
as a non-Christian.
Because he saw it as
more valuable by faith.
Okay?
So, that was a really
brief synopsis of how
Satan tempts us.
But I don't want to get
into all the particulars.
The next couple of weeks
we're going to be talking
about the flesh and
talking about the world.
And we're going to expose
some of those things in
greater depth.
But that's just the
general outline of how
he tempts you.
It's through the lust of
the flesh, the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of
life.
Those are the three
categories through which
you will work.
And understand this too,
okay?
Satan is literally in
charge of everything in
the cosmos.
He's not simply constricted
to personal...
He doesn't simply whisper
things into your ear,
okay?
He works through
structures and systems
in the world.
He works through
government sometimes.
He works through
philosophies.
He works through new
ideas sometimes.
He works through
all different kinds
of peoples and ways.
Things that seem to be
non-spiritual,
he's working through
those as well.
And even when God
gives the ability to...
I mean, it says in Job,
this is an amazing
reality.
It says in Job that God
allowed Satan to tempt
Job and he went and
killed everybody.
So Satan sometimes has
the power to even take
life.
He's incredibly powerful.
He can lead armies.
He can do all kinds of
things.
So we're not just
dealing with somebody
that speaks and
whispers into our ear.
He's a very...
It's a very comprehensive
enemy.
Okay?
Fourthly,
lastly,
practical combat.
Practical combat.
This is my favorite
thing that I feel like
I've probably learned
this past week.
Go to Psalm 39.
So in light of all
these temptations that
we're going to be
experiencing, in light of
who Satan is and what
he does, how do we do
combat?
Psalm 39.
This is a really good
illustration.
It says this.
This is David speaking.
I said, I will guard my
ways that I may not sin
with my tongue.
I will guard my mouth as
with a muzzle while the
wicked are in my presence.
So the very first thing
that the psalmist does
is this.
He says, I will do it.
I will grip my teeth.
I will man up.
And I will not sin
against my God.
I will shut my mouth
with my own strength.
He puts faith in himself.
He puts confidence in
himself.
And what happens?
Verse 2.
I was dumb and silent.
So he says, I did it for
a while.
I refrained even from
good though.
That's not good.
And my sorrow grew worse.
So when the psalmist puts
his confidence in himself,
his sorrow grew worse.
He didn't speak.
He didn't sin against God
with his speech.
But somehow, someway,
his sorrow grew even worse.
Things did not get better.
And there are many things
that we do, right?
To try to tame our flesh.
To ignore the world.
And these things are in vain.
Okay, Matt Chandler
is one of our,
one of, uh,
a lot of the guys here
favorite pastors.
He says,
you cannot have
duty before delight.
You have to have
delight before duty.
You have to have
delight in God
before duty.
Or else it's going to be
legalism.
You have to have
delight in God.
Right?
If I just had to grip my teeth
and say no to something,
eventually,
Satan's going to find
other ways.
Listen, it's not just
simply about the actual deed.
It's about the heart
behind the deed.
If you're just simply
not doing something
because you don't think
you're supposed to,
because you want to look
a certain way to your
friends, because you
don't want to, you know,
embarrass yourself or like
have to confess this
next D group,
that's not honoring to
the Lord.
What's pleasing to God
is a heart that says
yes to His commandments.
It is a heart that says
I love Jesus Christ
and I want to honor
and serve my God
whom I love.
So when I just try
the grit your teeth method,
it does not work out.
That's what the psalmist
is saying.
My sorrow grew worse.
Verse 3,
My heart was hot within me
while I was musing
the fire burned.
Then I spoke with my tongue,
O Lord,
make me to know my end
and what is the extent
of my days.
Let me know how transient
I am.
Behold,
you have made my days
as hand breaths
and my lifetime
as nothing in yourself.
Surely every man
is at his best
a mere breath.
Surely every man
walks about as a phantom.
Surely they make
an uproar for nothing.
He amasses riches
and does not know
who will gather them.
Then He changes His tone.
This is the proper
approach
to spiritual combat.
Verse 7,
And now the Lord
and now Lord,
for what do I wait?
My hope is in You.
Deliver me
from all my transgressions.
Make me not the reproach
of the foolish.
I have become dumb.
I do not open my mouth.
So He's like,
He's saying,
I'm doing the very same thing
that I originally intended to do,
right?
He says,
I'm not going to open my mouth.
I'm going to guard my waist.
I'm not going to open my mouth.
Then now He's saying,
I have become dumb.
I do not open my mouth.
Why?
Because it is You
who has done it.
So He changes it.
Initially,
He was trying to
withhold from saying something
because it was His effort.
Now He's looking at God
and He's saying,
God,
You're my hope.
My hope is in You.
My trust is in You.
Please,
You help me do this thing.
You help me shut my mouth.
And He says,
I shut my mouth
because You enabled me
to do so.
That's encouraging.
David calls out to God for help.
The God-honoring,
sin-defeating thing to do
is still to shut His mouth.
But this inaction is being done
by God now.
Okay?
So oftentimes,
this is kind of a cool thought,
oftentimes the method that we employ
in defeating sin
is not what's wrong.
It's the heart behind it.
Okay?
The method,
if we're always trying to change
our method,
that's not really the point.
The point is to change
the heart behind the method.
Okay?
God isn't merely pleased
with us abstaining
from certain things
or not going to certain places
or going to certain places.
He's pleased with us
doing so
because we love Him.
Doing so
because
He is inspiring us to do that.
Our mindset's often incorrect.
But the psalmist is teaching us
how to trust
and call out to God.
And this we see repetitively
through the psalms
for help
in our strivings
and resistings
and endurings
because when we call out to God,
then what we do
will be done
in the strength of His might.
Beginning in verse 10,
remove your plague from me
because of the oppression
of your hand
I am perishing.
With reproofs
you chasten a man
for iniquity.
You consume a moth
with what is precious to him.
Surely every man
is a mere breath.
Hear my prayer, O Lord,
and give ear to my cry.
Do not be silent at my tears
for I am a stranger with you,
a sojourner
like all my fathers.
Turn your gaze away from me
that I may smile again
before I depart
and end no more.
So in 10-13,
the Lord chastises
His servant David
for His prayerlessness
and for His haughtiness.
Okay,
then he gets to verse 1-3
in chapter 40
and this is where
it all turns around.
I waited patiently
for the Lord
and He inclined to me
and He heard my cry.
He brought me up
out of the pit of destruction,
out of the miry clay
and He set my feet
upon a rock
making my footsteps firm.
And He put a new song
in my mouth,
a song of praise
to our God
many will see and fear
and will trust
in the Lord.
The Lord answers him,
receives him,
unentangles him
from temptation,
fills him with joy
and praise
and makes an example
out of Him
for our lives.
Okay,
so we need to fight
and wage war
in the strength
of God's might.
And that's done
by simply the people
in prayer.
And that's what we need.
Okay?
That was all.
I'm going to pray for us
in the Lord.
Be done.
Father, we have so much
to be grateful for in Christ.
We thank you.
Thank you.