…from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.–John 8:44.

Be temperate and vigilant because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour,-1 Peter5:8.

Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.-Luke 10:19.

 

Satan Get Behind Me

Satan get behind me with your lies;
You’re a thief who comes to kill in the night.
You want only to destroy me with your evil;
But the Lord came that I might have life.

Satan get behind me with your lies;
They can never change my behavior.
You are nothing more than a harbinger of death;
And I’ve chosen life through Christ my savior.

You are a lion who is looking to devour,
You are a liar looking to deceive.
But, with everything you promise I see through you.
You can do nothing that will make me disbelieve.

For, our Lord gave his life just to save me;
He took the whip, He took the nails, He took the cross.
So, whatever you might do to try to claim me,
In Christ, I have redemption from my loss.

So Satan get behind me with your lies;
I won’t hide from your threats and your swagger.
For, because I live in Christ and He lives in me,
The roaring lion has become a paper tiger.
©Linda Troxell   09/28/2017

 

It is said that Satan is an angel made by God who became so prideful that he wanted to be God. Eventually, his pride became so destructive that he had to be kicked out of heaven. Since then he has spent his time trying to destroy God’s plans for the world. “How you are fallen from heaven,…You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; above the stars of God I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most- High.’ But you are brought down to Sheol, to the far reaches of the pit.– Isaiah 14:12-15. However, we are also told that one of Satan’s favorite weapons against us is to convince us that he doesn’t exist. It seems odd that someone so full of pride would not want to hide. So, why would Satan want us to think he doesn’t exist? We have to remember that Satan’s primary goal is to block God’s plan in any way he can. So, to give up recognition from mere mortals as a means to that end is not a big sacrifice for him. Satan knows that if he can keep us thinking that he doesn’t exist he can work his tricks on us more easily and more effectively. Because we can’t be on guard for attacks by someone who doesn’t even exist.

I remember when I was growing up there was much more talk in church about the dangers of the devil. So much more, that I, an unusually fearful child, was distracted by my fear of him. Over the years the devil as a topic of sermons has faded. I’ve heard it’s because people do not want to hear about the devil in church. They want to come to church to hear the good news of God so that they can leave feeling positive, good and hopeful. As a result, attendance fell off when the devil was the topic of sermons. With falling attendance came falling revenues. Now, it is easy to criticize churches for preaching what’s popular rather than what the people need to know. But let’s be fair, coaxing offerings out of folks is a thankless job and if the church cannot take in enough in offerings to support itself then they won’t be around to do any good works. That would not be helpful either.

We as the congregants need to take some responsibility here. We need to quit acting as if we have no responsibility for our church. We need to quit looking at the church as the sole responsibility of the pastor and a faceless, nameless, church board. We need to quit treating the church as free entertainment that gives us a boost on Sunday morning and perhaps Wednesday evening, for which we have no responsibility. That is not what the Bible teaches us. We are taught in scripture that we are the body of the church. … so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.–1 Corinthians 12:25-26

If we are going to grow in Christ, if we are going to be mature Christians then we need to be willing to hear everything that is Biblical truth. God is not a benevolent provider of our wishes. Being a Christian comes with some hard truths that may not be pleasant and some responsibilities that may not be easy. However, they are real and we need to know about them. Yes, our pastors have a calling to teach us about God, about Christ, and about the scriptures. And perhaps, because it is their full-time job, they might have a larger responsibility to the church. But a church, as the Bible teaches us, is like a body, all of its parts are important and need to work together for the whole. We have a responsibility to do what we can to help the church to function and to grow. Likewise, we have the responsibility to allow our pastors to teach us the difficult truths along with the truths we enjoy.  We need to be able to trust our clergy to know what we need to learn and to teach it to us no matter how much we resist. But we cannot expect them to do so if we don’t support them in bringing us both. If we are only willing to attend church when the message is uplifting, then we might as well go see a movie on Sunday.

So, now back to our friend the devil. Why is it important that we know about him no matter how unpleasant we find it?  We need to know about the Devil so that we can be prepared to recognize the nature of his attacks and protect ourselves against them. So that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.-2 Corinthians 2:11 The Bible tells us that the Devil is a liar, that it is his very nature to lie that lying is his native language. …from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.–John 8:44. We must be very vigilant of Satan’s lies because they are packaged in such a way as to appear to be the truth. Satan knows of our sinful desires and he uses them to craft lies we want to believe. How do we know the difference? If you want to know if something is true you check it with the Bible the only arbiter of truth.

We are warned the devil comes to destroy God’s people as a means to destroy God’s plan for the world. –Be temperate and vigilant because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour,-1 Peter5:8.  And we know that the devil’s primary means of operation is deception.  And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light- 2 Corinthians 11:14. He has been deceiving people since the Garden of Eden when he convinced Adam and Eve to eat from the wrong tree. God sent his son to die for our sins so that we would be saved from hell and live eternally in heaven, whereas Satan only came to steal, kill and destroy: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10. If we don’t know the devil we will not be aware of his deceptions.

Satan is a master of deception but also quite adept as a tempter. I often hear people wonder why God is tempting them. The Bible makes it quite clear that God does not tempt people, that all temptation comes from the devil- When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; James 1:13. Satan works with the corrupt world system and the sinful nature of man to tempt people into rebellion against God and into alignment with him. Temptation is inevitable and will happen no matter what we do, even Jesus was tempted by Satan. We need to learn the nature of the Satan as Jesus did. So that we can stand fast against him as Jesus did, by using God’s words to reveal Satan’s lies and make him flee.

And there’s much more danger in Satan’s nature, he is a murder, he distorts the truth, he destroys marriages, families, and nations. He will use any method possible to derail God’s plan for you and I and for the world. It can all seem pretty dismal and even hopeless if we do not know God and His word. But if we do, we know that it is by no means hopeless. Because God has given us the means by which we can defeat Satan and his plan for the world. The first thing we need in order to do so is to be a mature believer. A mature believer does not hide from the truth, does not hear only the easy parts of God’s word. A mature believer is a believer that not only reads God’s word, and knows God’s word but who uses God’s word as well. Because God’s word is the best weapon to use against the devil. Satan isn’t afraid of your words, but he is impotent against the words of God. As James tells us: Submit yourselves to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.-James 4:5.

God told us that we could defeat the devil and that the only power he has over us is the power we give him. In fact, he told us that we have All power over Satan. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.-Luke 10:19. So, the next time you face an assault from the enemy, remember you have the power you need to defeat him. If you have questions about how to exercise this power, the book of Ephesians has a recipe for fighting the devil. You will need only these ingredients:  Truth, Righteousness, The Gospel of Peace, Faith, Salvation and the Word of God. This is how you will use them:

Finally be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.- Ephesians 6:10-11.   Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all of this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 10:14-17

 

Points for Prayer and Pondering

What did you learn about the devil or Satan when you were young? Did you hear anything about him in Sunday school or church?

What are you taught now as an adult in church? Does your church teach lessons on Satan as an actual person, a fallen angel, or do they teach he is an energy or concept.?

 What are your thoughts on the devil today? Do you believe that Satan is an actual person or do you think that it is just a concept of evil or bad behavior?