Sunday, January 8, 2023 PM
SPIRITUAL WARFARE: The Strategy of Satan – The Deceiver (Pt 4)
Mike Teel, Pastor
KEY FOCAL PASSAGES:
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. —I Peter 5:8
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” 2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. 7 Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. —Genesis 3:1-7
SATAN’S TARGET – YOUR MIND
- WHY WOULD SATAN ATTACK YOUR MIND?
- GOD RENEWS US BY RENEWING OUR MINDS.
- THE AMAZING MIND.
- THE EFFECT OF THE MIND.
SATAN’S WEAPONS – LIES
Revelation 12:9
John 8:44
- STEPS TO BELIEVING THE LIE
A. HE QUESTIONED GOD’S WORD – Indeed has God said… ?
B. HE DENIED GOD’S WORD – You surely shall not die!
C. HE SUBSTITUTED HIS OWN LIE – You will be like God!… Isaiah 14:12-14
- MISTAKES IN EVE’S RESPONSE
A. SHE TOOK AWAY FROM GOD’S WORD - Genesis 2:16
B. SHE ADDED TO GOD’S WORD - I John 5:3
C. SHE CHANGED GOD’S WORD - Genesis 2:17
- THE CONSEQUENCES OF SIN
A. EVE CONSIDERED THE TREE APART FROM GOD’S WORD - Genesis 3:6
B. GOD ACCOMPLISHES HIS WILL THROUGH TRUTH - John 8:31-32, John 16:13, John 8:44
C.
13 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. —II Corinthians 11:13-14
–Satan did not approach Eve in his true nature; he masqueraded by using the serpent. Satan is a counterfeiter, an imitator.
–Notice all the counterfeiters:
—COUNTERFEIT CHRISTIANS: II Corinthians 11:26, Matthew 13:38, John 8:44, Matthew 7:21
—COUNTERFEIT GOSPEL: Galatians 1:8
—COUNTERFEIT MINISTRIES: II Corinthians 11:14-15
—COUNTERFEIT RIGHTEOUSNESS: Romans 10:3
—COUNTERFEIT CHURCH OF SATAN: Revelation 2:9
—COUNTERFEIT DOCTRINES: I Timothy 4:1, II Thessalonians 2:8-10, Revelation 13:8
–Satan’s target is your mind and his weapon is lies. What is his purpose?
SATAN’S
– TO MAKE YOU IGNORANT OF GOD’S WILL
1. SATAN’S ATTACK ON
–Satan attacks God’s Word because God’s Word reveals God’s Will.
105 Thy word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path. —Psalm 119:105
8 I delight to do Thy will, O my God: Thy Law is within my heart. —Psalm 40:8
–Apart from the Word of God, we have no sure understanding of the will of God.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations. —Psalm 33:11
2. THE
OF GOD’S WILL
–God’s Will Comes from God’s Heart. It is not an impersonal thing, but a very personal matter with the Lord.
–He has a personal understanding of each of his children—their natures, their names, their needs—and He tailors his plans accordingly.
3. FIVE THINGS TO
ABOUT GOD’S WILL
A. GOD WANTS US TO KNOW HIS WILL.
14 “Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. —Acts 22:14
B. HE ALSO WANTS US TO UNDERSTAND HIS WILL.
17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. —Ephesians 5:17
C. HE WANTS THIS UNDERSTANDING OF HIS WILL TO FILL US AND CONTROL US.
9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, —Colossians 1:9
D. THE RESULT OF ALL THIS IS THE BELIEVER DOING THE WILL OF GOD FROM THE HEART.
6 Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. —Ephesians 6:6
E. GOD’S WILL IS NOT A DUTY, IT IS A DELIGHT.
–The Christian delights to discover the will of God and then obey form the heart.
–The Will of God is nourishment.
34 “My food,” said Jesus, “is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work —John 4:34.
4.
FOR GOD’S WILL
–You and I are to pray (as did Epaphras) that we may stand perfectly and fully assured in all the will of God. Colossians 4:12
5. THE
17 The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. —I John 2:17