Fullness

Matters Along the Way - Aware of Satanic Plans

#21The Great Deceiver 7.31.22

Genesis 3:1-7 NIV 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 surely die," the serpent said to the woman. 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." 6When 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.

Revelation 12:9-11 NIV The great dragon was hurled down--that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

Central Truth: “Biblical critics say Genesis is ‘myth,’ and Revelation is ‘mystery.’ Satan does not want you to see his deceit or his defeat. These truths are revealed in Genesis and Revelation. In Genesis 3, we see the seed form of Satanic deception. To Eve and to us, he seeks to: 1) Discredit God’s Lavish Provision, 2) Deny God’s Lawful Punishment, 3) Distorts God’s Loving Purpose.” - Adrian Rogers

I. The Deceit of Satan (Genesis 3)

A. He lies about the quality of life God intends for you. (vv. 1-3)

· Satan will point out a single prohibition while ignoring thousands of things given freely for us to enjoy.

· Every ‘Thou shalt not’ is really an ‘I love you.’

B. He lies about the consequences of Sin. (verse 4)

· “Sin will take you farther than you want to go. It will cost you more than you want to pay. It will keep you longer than you want to stay.”

C. He lies about the motivation of God. (verse 5)

II. The Defeat of Satan (Revelation 12)

A. We defeat Satan by Christ’s work on the cross.

“By the Blood of the Lamb”

B. We defeat Satan by what we truly believe - and live out daily.

“By the Word of their Testimony”

C. We defeat Satan by living a life with nothing held back.

“And they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”

Christian Life Lessons

1. God’s plan is simple:

• “There is nothing I can do to make Him love me more. There is nothing I will do to make Him love me less.”

• In the past, I was lost as a sinner.

• In the future, I will be rewarded as a servant.

• But now, I am loved as His Son.

2. If Satan cannot convince you to “do a wrong thing,” he is satisfied to have you “believe a wrong thing.”

3. His goal: “I know you are a hard man.”

Matthew 25:24 NASB “Now the one who had received the one talent also came up and said, ‘Master, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you did not sow, and gathering where you did not scatter seed. 25 And I was afraid, so I went away and hid your talent in the ground. See, you still have what is yours.’

4. “An enemy has done this.”

Matthew 13:24-30 Jesus presented another parable to them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and left. 26 And when the wheat sprouted and produced grain, then the weeds also became evident. 27 And the slaves of the landowner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ 28 And he said to them, ‘An enemy has done this!’ The slaves *said to him, ‘Do you want us, then, to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he *said, ‘No; while you are gathering up the weeds, you may uproot the wheat with them. 30 Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

• There is a need to accurately discern the source of teaching, judgment, action and opinion.

• We have been given “the ability to discern spirits” as part of our spiritual gifts list.

• Yet we should also have a holy discernment based on the Scriptures and the witness of The Holy Spirit.

• “It seemed good to The Holy Ghost, and to us.

• If we don’t walk in this discernment, at least four things occur:

1) We are unable to discern between truth and error.

2) We call evil good and good is called evil.

3) We are willing to exercise a “scorched earth policy” because we lack discernment.

4) We would hurt or even destroy what God Himself has planted.