Satan’s Devices
To Discredit
To Distract
To Divide
To Discourage
To Delay
Plan To Resist
“Him, being delivered by the
determined purpose and
foreknowledge of God, you have
taken by lawless hands, have
crucified, and put to death” (Acts
2:23).
֎
Word
1) Gives direction.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone
who believes, for the Jew first and also for the
Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is
revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The
just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:16-17).
2) To prevent sinning.
“Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I
might not sin against You!” (Psalm 119:11).
“I have written to you, fathers, Because you have
known Him who is from the beginning. I have
written to you, young men, Because you are
strong, and the word of God abides in you, And
you have overcome the wicked one” (1 John 2:14).
3) It will strengthen.
“So now, brethren, I commend you to God and
to the word of His grace, which is able to build
you up and give you an inheritance among all
those who are sanctified” (Acts 20:32).
4) Gives direction.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to
my path” (Psalm 119:105).
“For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a
light; Reproofs of instruction are the way of life”
(Proverbs 6:23).
Word
֎ Providence
֎
1) In delivering Jacob & his family.
“But now, do not therefore be grieved or angry
with yourselves because you sold me here; for
God sent me before you to preserve life” (Genesis
45:5).
“Joseph said to them, “Do not be afraid, for am I
in the place of God? But as for you, you meant
evil against me; but God meant it for good, in
order to bring it about as it is this day, to save
many people alive” (Genesis 50:19-20).
2) Deliverance through Esther.
“And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do
not think in your heart that you will escape in the
king’s palace any more than all the other Jews.
For if you remain completely silent at this time,
relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from
another place, but you and your father’s house
will perish. Yet who knows whether you have
come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
(Esther 4:13-14).
3) The salvation of the eunuch.
“Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying,
“Arise and go toward the south along the road which
goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert.
So he arose and went. And behold, a man of
Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace
the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all
her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was
reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to
Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot” (Acts 8:2629).
Word
֎ Providence
֎ Forgiveness
֎
1) Through His Son.
“But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for
us. Much more then, having now been justified by
His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through
Him. For if when we were enemies we were
reconciled to God through the death of His Son,
much more, having been reconciled, we shall be
saved by His life.
2) Offered to all.
“Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they
do not know what they do.” And they divided His
garments and cast lots” (Luke 23:34).
“Therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom
you crucified, both Lord and Christ.” Now when
they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and
said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men
and brethren, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:36-37).
3) Motivation to serve God.
“For I am the least of the apostles, who am not
worthy to be called an apostle, because I
persecuted the church of God. But by the grace
of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me
was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly
than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God
which was with me” (1 Corinthians 15:9-10).
Word
֎ Providence
֎ Forgiveness
֎ Armor
֎
1) We must put it on.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and
in the power of His might. Put on the whole
armor of God, that you may be able to stand
against the wiles of the devil. For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers
of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts
of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians
6:10-12).
2) To fight life’s battles.
“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that
you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and
having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having
girded your waist with truth, having put on the
breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your
feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
above all, taking the shield of faith with which you
will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked
one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword
of the Spirit, which is the word of God; praying
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
being watchful to this end with all perseverance and
supplication for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:13-18).
3) An example of one using the armor.
“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things
not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an
ark for the saving of his household, by which he
condemned the world and became heir of the
righteousness which is according to faith”
(Hebrews 11:7).
Word
֎ Providence
֎ Forgiveness
֎ Armor
֎ Hedges
֎
1) Satan’s words to God.
“So Satan answered the LORD and said, “Does
Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a
hedge around him, around his household, and
around all that he has on every side? You have
blessed the work of his hands, and his
possessions have increased in the land” (Job 1:910).
Hedge – “hast fenced him about (protectingly)”
(The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew and English
Lexicon, p. 962).
2) In facing temptation.
“No temptation has overtaken you except such
as is common to man; but God is faithful, who
will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you
are able, but with the temptation will also make
the way of escape, that you may be able to bear
it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).
3) Assurance from the Lord.
“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and
they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and
they shall never perish; neither shall anyone
snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has
given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one
is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. I
and My Father are one” (John 10:27-30).
Word
֎ Providence
֎ Forgiveness
֎ Armor
֎ Hedges
֎ Promises
֎
1) Always be with us.
“Let your conduct be without covetousness; be
content with such things as you have. For He
Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor
forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5).
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the
shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are
with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort
me” (Psalm 23:4).
2) May suffer yet still committed.
“For this reason I also suffer these things;
nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom
I have believed and am persuaded that He is able
to keep what I have committed to Him until that
Day” (2 Timothy 1:12).
3) Promise of eternal life.
“in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot
lie, promised before time began” (Titus 1:2).
Word
֎ Providence
֎ Forgiveness
֎ Armor
֎ Hedges
֎ Promises
֎