The Second principle of authentic Christian discipleship is When God says something he means it. Believe Him and always take God seriously
This Blog Will Discuss:
- Although many believers would prefer to think otherwise, the devil is real.
- The devil is crafty, and his plan for your destruction is also very real
- Scripture clearly tells us that not being ignorant of the devil schemes and devices, along with doing everything we can do to stand against is wicked plans and devices is clearly our responsibility.
Peter 5:8-10 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. 1 Peter 5:8-10 (NASB)1
Ephesians 6:10-13Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Ephesians 6:10-13 (NASB)
As a Christian who loves Almighty God and our Savior Jesus Christ, talking about the enemy is definitely not my favorite thing. Honestly, I'm a lover more than a fighter. I wish we could all hold hands sway a little to the right and a little to the left and sing cum-ba-Yah; and every demon devil would automatically run for the hills and never bother the Saints, but the fact is. The devil is real. The devil's plan for your destruction is real. I like peace as much if not more than the next guy. I fight only because I have to and my Shepherd's heart will not let me stand by and watch the sheep get devoured by wolves.
When I read articles from Barna Research Institute and Christianity today which plainly suggest that almost 2/3 60% of Christians do not believe the devil is real, that's a real problem.
If you don't believe the Bible, then at the very least learn from history. For decades from the 1920s to the 1950s high-ranking figures of the Mafia and organized crime together with the US Federal Government repeatedly publicly denied that the Mafia and organized crime even existed in the United States. The government denied that the Mafia and organized crime existed because they didn't know how to fight it, and some were even bought off and compromised by it. Organized crime had high-ranking front men and press agents denying that the Mafia even existed. They spent an enormous amount of time and money perpetrating a lie on the American public. Why? Because you will be less likely to resist what you refuse to admit exists. Both the devil and the Mafia understands that if you don't believe they're real you won't equip yourself to fight and you won't be able to resist them. Do not be deceived.
Do not be deceived by the devil's schemes (John 10:10; 2 Corinthians 2:11). The only way to successfully fight the devil's deception and confusion tactics is to make a concerted decision to believe that what God said is the truth.
We must also understand that the devil, the so-called 'god' of this age or of this sinful world desperately wants people not to recognize, or not to understand their very real need for the Savior (2 Corinthians 4:4).
- In order to understand and not be deceived by the enemy's schemes, it is very helpful to remember how the devil successfully tempted the first human beings that ever lived. The truth is that in many respects, the devil uses the exact same tactics against human beings today which he also used so long ago. That's because they still work much of the time. We find the biblical account of this in Genesis chapter 3:1-7):
○ Remember that God had given Adam and Eve a specific command in Genesis 2:16-17. They were allowed to eat of any tree in the garden of Eden that they wished, with the exception that they were not Permitted to eat from the tree that was in the middle of a garden also known as the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:16-17).
○ We know that the serpent was crafty, or sneaky and manipulative (Genesis 3:1).
○ The devil's 1st attack: Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” (Genesis 3:1). The objective: Get people to doubt what God actually said, or get them to doubt their understanding of what God says: " Along with trying to get Eve to doubt what God said, there was a not so veiled attempt to cast some doubt in Eve's mind about God's character. The question was setting her up to wonder if God would be willing to let them starve.
○ The devil's 2nd attack: "But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. (Genesis 3:4 ESV) The Objective: Openly defy God's word, get people to doubt or discount the consequences of disobeying what God said, and in effect the devil challenges people to believe the devil instead of God.
○ The devil's 3rd attack: "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”(Genesis 3:5 ESV). The Objective: Assault God's character in the eyes of God's people and God's followers. Get them to question and doubt what God's real motives and intentions are behind what God told them to do. In effect, the devil was planting doubt in Eve's mind about God's intentions. That way she would decide that God was no longer a reliable source for truth and information. The serpent was planting false ideas in Eve's mind such as; God doesn't really want the best things for you, God is trying to keep you under His thumb, God is trying to prevent you from reaching your highest potential. The only way that you can be protected from being under God's oppressive control is to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. So that way you will know good from evil. You will be like God, and He will not be able to trick you. Those were really the lies behind those three little words: "For God Knows..." Once Eve believed the lie that God did not really have her best intentions at heart, once she believed that God might be setting her up to fail, then getting her to disobey God after that was easy.
How Do We Defeat the Devil's Lies?
- The best way to defeat the devil’s lies is with the truth. Learn to Love truth. Learn to seek truth. Learn to recognize truth. Learn to think truth. Learn to speak truth. Learn to walk in truth, and to persevere in truth until you win. that's how you defeat the devil . see John 8:31-36)
- The big secret about truth is that the truth is not an idea. The truth is not a thought process. The truth is not a philosophy. The truth is not some vague concept agreed upon by public opinion. The truth is a Person. His name is Jesus of Nazareth; the Son and physical embodiment of YHWH Almighty God made flesh; the Messiah and Christ sent by God. Quite simply, if it does not think, if it does not agree with, it does not speak, if it does not obey God, or behave, or Love like the biblical Jesus, then it isn't truth, no matter how good an accurate it might otherwise look. Please do not be deceived, (see John 14:6).
Until next time, May you grow in love and obedience to the truth and abide in Him until you are completely victorious.
Brother Michel Lankford
1. All Scriptures which are designated (NASB) are taken from the New American Standard Bible copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
2. All Scriptures which are designated (ESV) are taken from the The holy Bible, The English Standard Version copyright 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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