Sympathy...

Sympathy..? For the Devil..?

Sunday Service

February 20, 2011

I. Who/What is the Devil?/How did the Devil come to be?

The Rolling Stones wrote,

“Please allow me to introduce myself
I'm a man of wealth and taste
I've been around for a long, long year
Stole many a man's soul and faith

And I was 'round when Jesus Christ
Had his moment of doubt and pain
Made dang sure that Pilate
Washed his hands and sealed his fate

Pleased to meet you
Hope you guess my name
But what's puzzling you
Is the nature of my game.”

His Name? He is mentioned with many titles:

         

          

1. Satan                              6. Angel of the Bottomless Pit

2. Beelzebub                      7. Liar and Father of Lies

3. Abbadon                        8. The Wicked One

4. Apollyon                        9. Great Red Dragon

5. Ruler of Demons         10. Serpent

Whatever you choose to call him, know that he is dissatisfied, angry with God and obsessed with the downfall of man.  As a former Angel of White Light, he questioned God’s love of Man and consistently tried to degrade Man’s existence as imperfect and ridiculous.  God became tired of the incessant barrage of ridicule towards His beloved creation and banished Satan, and the angels Satan had convinced to join him, into Hades to remain bound for a thousand years.  Ladies and Gentlemen, that thousand years has been up for quite some time. 

       

Revelation 12:7-10

“And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven”

“And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceives the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

“Then 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.”

As we, the people of the world continue to become friendlier to evil and to the desire for more and more of the earthly pleasures through whichever avenue, whether it’s material goods, wealth, technology, pleasures of the flesh or any number of temptations, it is extremely important for us, as God’s children, to be able to recognize and understand the ancient ways of the Devil.  He has successfully used the same strategy from the earliest times right into today. In Heaven, in the very presence of God, the Evil One was able to convince one third of the angels to follow him as he rebelled against God. Even as Adam and Eve walked with God in the cool of the day, in the Garden, the enemy was still able to deceive Eve and so cause Adam to rebel against the one thing God said not to do. Still today the enemy continues to successfully apply his evil strategy and deceive so many every day.  The Devil has a way of making a lie look like the ultimate truth and make sin look holy. After all, he still has the ability to present himself as an Angel of Light.

         

Think about this, in the history of humanity, only one person has really given Satan a true beat down! Although, many of us win our battles with the Devil on a daily basis, only one person has ever really beaten Satan in his own game. Only one person took all of the Devil’s weapons and not only came out victorious, but he did not even break a sweat…That’s right, Jesus Christ!  

The amazing thing about this fight was that Jesus (God) entered into this fight outside of His own element, as He took the form of a normal man, with all the natural limitations of our being.  It was like a brilliant Pay-Per-View heavy weight event… Can you imagine the angels in heaven, on the edge of their seats, chomping popcorn and getting ready to watch the greatest battle in the history of existence. They had to be thinking, “This is gonna be brilliant!” Now, they knew that the Archangel Michael gave Satan a beat down for the soul of Moses, but they were about to witness God do battle as a human!!  And, if you’re curious about the details, check out Matthew 4:1-11, it’s all in there.

We, as Christ’s followers, face a couple of big dangers when considering what the Bible says about Satan. The first danger is to accept everything without any thought or consideration.  Some churches blame everything on the Devil, teaching that every sickness and disease is caused by him and that every bad thought needs the ministry of deliverance. That belief allows for foolishness.  It’s also a pretty good way to avoid taking responsibility for our own actions, since we can blame our behavior on an evil entity.  “The Devil Made Me Do It..!!”

What we need is a revival of some balanced, biblical teaching on the Devil. Those of us who blame everything on him ought to take a lesson from Jesus, whose practice was not to talk about the menacing rule of Satan but the joyous rule of God.  Jesus does not take on idle speculations about the nature of evil. When he meets those who are subject to Satan’s rule, he makes an appeal to faith in God and confronts evil with the power of love.

When Paul wrote, he did not speak of evil as some philosophers might, neither can we. We are waging a war for the hearts of our children. It is a war of worship. Who will THEY worship? Satan still wants to be the center of worship. He was willing to give Jesus the kingdoms of the world, something Jesus came to earth to obtain, if Jesus would just worship him. It is difficult to understand human history and its unending brutality and war without being aware of the power of the Devil. Paul felt it and wrote, “We are not contending against flesh and blood.”

II. What power does he have over me or over you?

Satan has all the power over me that I allow him to have!  He has all the power over you that you allow him to have!  He has all the power over our lives that we volunteer to give him!  He has no more power than this and, certainly, no less…

God has given us the gift of Free Will, the will to choose how we will live our lives.  But, as wonderful as this gift is, it’s not an easy freedom to command.  Although I can choose to live my life in, through, and for God and my brothers and sisters in Christ, there are pitfalls I have to pay very close attention to:  Temptations, Greed, Desires of this World, Wealth, Power, Desires of the Flesh… just to name a very few.

III. What power do I have over the Devil?

I, you, we have the power of Almighty God..!!!  Simply choose to wield that power, because it HAS been given to you.

Luke 10:18-20

He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.  However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”

James 4:7

“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the Devil, and he will flee from you.”

IV. How do I recognize the Devil?

Satan works through every  man… This is where your senses come into play.  You are created with an innate sense of right and wrong, good and evil… Pay attention to your gut feelings, your intuition, your senses… If something sounds wrong, if it feels wrong, if it is unsettling to you, if it could possibly hurt another in some way, or sounds too good to be true, no matter how beneficial it might appear on the surface, it’s probably a good idea to second think it… Talk to someone you trust not to steer you down the wrong path…

If you are not cautious and alert he will take every advantage to throw his strings around you and use you like a puppet.  He is the Master of Puppets.

 And, know this, Satan will never repent; Satan will never change, Satan will never be restored and Satan will never be saved from the Hell that he is banished to. But one thing is for sure; Satan will bow down to God, just like everybody else. His knees will not be able to offer resistance to the power and authority of Jesus. In John 10:10 Jesus gives us Satan’s job description:

                   “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…”

Without a doubt, Satan has remained faithful to his call! As many of us doubt our call and find ourselves in many ups and downs; Satan knows how to stay focused on what his job is.  Look into a persons’ eyes, feel their spirit, heighten your senses, get to know one another… Jesus says in:

Luke 6:45

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart.  For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks.”

What are some of the Devil’s tactics? What are some obvious signs he is at work around you? Well, history shows some of his favorite tricks.

You can look for The Devil to attack you today in one of 5 ways:

1.By trying to keep you out of the church

2. By trying to get Christians back into Man’s world

3. This is a good one, by trying to render Christians useless

4. By trying to disrupt or corrupt worship & doctrine

5. Causing trouble & division among brethren (church fellowships, family members, friends, etc…)

V. What do I do to defeat the Devil’s attempts on me?

I’m going to tell you what Jesus told his disciples to do and what he wanted them to teach to us.  I’m going to read from Luke, chapter 6… Remember, these are commands from Jesus’ own lips…  He says in:

Luke 6:27-36

“But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.  If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other as well.  If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.  Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back.  Do to others as you would have them do to you.”

“If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?  Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them.  And, if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you?  Even ‘sinners’ do that. And, if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you?  Even ‘sinners’ lend to ‘sinners’ expecting to be repaid in full.  But, love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.  Then your reward will be great and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked.  Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

“…because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”

And, therein lies the Sympathy… even to the “ungrateful and wicked.”

It is further written in:

Luke 6:37,38 that Jesus says,

“Do not judge and you will not be judged.  Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned.  Forgive and you will be forgiven.  Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

And in:

Luke 6:41,42

Jesus is telling his disciples a parable, He says, “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?  How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when you, yourself, fail to see the plank in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”

And, if you want to keep the Devil away like ants at a picnic…  Like flies at a BBQ… I have a suggestion that can be as effective as a can of Raid or a bug zapper hanging over your patio…

Be as brilliant and radiant in God’s presence as he created you to be… In other words, recognize how amazing you are, realize the talents you’ve been born with and utilize them to their fullest and give him thanks in all things at all times… Because, when you’re in His presence, you are in the Light… And, when you’re in the Light, Satan can find you so, Satan can’t get to you…

I’m going to share with you something I shared with the amazing counselors at Camp Swoneky this past Summer during one of our Vespers meetings…

 “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are

powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens

us.  We ask ourselves, ‘Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?’

Actually, who are you NOT to be?  You are a child of God.  Your playing small

doesn’t serve the world.  There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other

 people won’t feel insecure around you.  We are all meant to shine, as children do.

We are born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us.

It’s in everyone.

And, as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission

to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence

automatically liberates others.”

~Marianne Williamson

AMEN..?