Satan
How you are fallen from heaven, O shining
star, son of the morning! You have been thrown down to the earth, you who
destroyed the nations of the world. For you said to yourself, ‘I will ascend to
heaven and set my throne above God’s stars. I will preside on the mountain of
the gods far away in the north. I will climb to the highest heavens and be like
the Most High.’ (Isaiah 14:12-14)
If I were the
devil, I’d be ticked off seeing you reading a Christian book, thinking godly
thoughts, dreaming about heaven and other blah-blah-blah. If I were the devil,
I'd get busy. I'd assemble my minions and demons into a strategy session and
give them your picture and address. I'd review your weaknesses one by one – like
how you love to be liked and hate to be wrong, and how cemeteries give you the creeps
and darkness gives you the heebie-jeebies. I'd brief my staff on my past
victories. Remember your bouts with doubt? I all but had you convinced that the
Bible was a joke. You and your so-called faith in God's Word. I'd stealth my
way into your mind. I'd dismantle you with questions like, How do you know, I mean, truly know, that Jesus rose from the dead?
Are you sure you really believe the
gospel? Isn't absolute truth
yesterday's news? You, a child of God? Really?
Come on, man.
I might direct
you to one of my churches; one of my "feel good, you're good, everything's
good," kind of churches. Half Hollywood, half pep talk. Glitz, lights and
love. But no talk of Jesus. No mention of sin, hell or forgiveness. I'd asphyxiate
you with promises of pay raises and new cars. So I'd perch myself on every
corner and stairwell of your world, clamoring for your attention. I'd flood you
with e-mails and to-do lists. Entice you with shopping sprees, and the latest
releases and newest styles. Burden you with deadlines and assignments. If I
were the devil, I'd so distract you with possessions and problems that you'd
never have time to read the Bible. Especially the story of Jesus in the
wilderness. (Matt. 4:1-11)
Remember that
encounter? Jesus was fresh out of the Jordan River. He’d just been baptized by
John. At his baptism he had been affirmed by God with a dove and a voice
saying, "You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased."
(Luke 3:22) He stepped out of the waters buoyed by God's blessing. Yet he began
his public ministry, not by healing the sick or preaching a sermon, but by
exposing Satan’s scheme. A perfect place to begin, really. Because if I were
the devil, I'd blame evil on a broken political system, or a crippled economy,
or the roll of the dice, or The Wicked
Witch of the West for that matter. I'd want you to feel attacked by an
indefinable, nebulous force. After all, if you can't diagnose the source of your
ills, how can you treat them?
If I were the
devil, I'd keep my name out of it, too. But God doesn't let him get away with that
by telling us his name. The Greek word for devil is diabolos, which shares a root with the verb diaballein, which means "to split." The devil is a
splitter, a divider, a wedge driver. He divided Adam and Eve from God in the
garden, and has every intent of doing the same to you. Blame all unrest on him.
Don't fault the plunging economy or a raging politician for your anxiety. They
are simply tools in Satan's tool kit. Satan is not absent from, or peripheral
to God's story at all. In fact, he’s kind of at its center. The truth is, we
can't understand God's narrative without understanding Satan's strategy since "the
reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil." (1
John 3:8)
Nothing thrills
Satan more than the current skepticism with which he’s viewed. When people deny
his existence or chalk up his works to the ills of society, he rubs his hands
with excitement. The more we doubt his very existence, the more he can work
without any interference. Jesus didn't doubt the reality of the devil. The
Savior strode into the badlands with one goal, to unmask Satan, and made him
the first stop on his itinerary. "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into
the wilderness to be tempted by the devil." (Matthew 4:1)
Does God do the
same with us sometimes? Might the Spirit of God lead us into the wilderness? If
I were the devil, I'd tell you “No.” I’d want you to think that, on occasion, I
can actually fool heaven. That I catch God napping. That I sneak in when he
isn't looking and snatch his children out of his hand. I'd leave you sleeping
with one eye open. But Scripture reveals otherwise. The next time you hear the
phrase, "all hell broke loose," correct the speaker. Hell doesn’t break
loose. God uses Satan's temptation to strengthen us. Times of testing are
actually times of training, purification and strength building. You can even
"consider it pure joy . . . whenever you face trials of many kinds,
because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance."
(James 1:2-3) God loves you too much to leave you undeveloped and immature.
(Hebrews 12:10-11) Expect to be tested by the devil. So watch for his tricks. And
you can know what to expect because "we are not ignorant of his schemes."
(2 Corinthians 2:11)
When General
George Patton counterattacked Field Marshal Rommel in World War II, Patton is
reported to have shouted in the thick of battle, "I read your book,
Rommel! I read your book!" Patton had studied Rommel's Infantry Attacks. He knew the German
leader's strategy and planned his moves accordingly. We can know the same about
the devil. We know Satan will attack our weak spots first.
For instance, forty
days of fasting had left Jesus famished, so Satan began with the topic of food,
i.e., bread. Jesus' stomach was
empty, so Satan started there. And where are you empty? Are you hungry for
attention, craving success, longing for intimacy? Be aware of your weaknesses.
Bring them to God before Satan brings them to you. Satan will tell you to turn
stones into bread. (Matthew 4:3) In other words, he will tell you to meet your
own needs, take matters into your own hands, leave God out of the picture.
Whereas Jesus teaches us to pray for bread (Matthew 6:11), Satan says to work
for it.
He’ll also question
your identity. Make Christians think they have to prove their position with
rock-to-bread miracles. Clever. If Satan convinces us to trust our works over
God's Word, he has us dangling from a broken limb. Our works will never hold
us. Jesus didn't even sniff that bait. Three times he repeated, "It is
written . . ."; "It is also written . . ."; "it is written
. . ." (Matt. 4 vs. 4, 7, 10) In Jesus’ book, God's book was enough. He
overcame temptation, not with special voices or supernatural signs, but by
remembering and quoting Scripture. As a result, Satan regrouped and tried a
different approach, and this one may surprise you – he told Jesus to show off
in church.
"Then the
devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the
temple. 'If you are the Son of God,' he said, 'throw yourself down.'"
(verses 5-6) Testing isn't limited to the desert; it also occurs in the
sanctuary. The two stood on the southeastern wall of the temple, more than a
hundred feet above the Kidron Valley, and Satan told Jesus to jump into the
arms of God. Jesus refused, not because he couldn't, and not because God
wouldn't catch him.
He refused
because he didn't have to prove anything to anyone, much less the devil.
Neither do you. Satan is going to tell you otherwise. In church, of all places,
he will urge you to do tricks: impress others with your service, make a show of
your faith, call attention to your good deeds. He loves to turn church
assemblies into Las Vegas extravaganzas where people show off their abilities,
rather than boast in God's. Don't be suckered.
Satan's last
shot at Jesus started with a mountain climb. "The devil took him to a very
high mountain." (verse 8) Another note out of Satan's playbook: promise them
the heights. Promise the highest place, the first place, the peak, the
pinnacle. The best, the most, the top. These are Satan's favorite words. The
devil led Jesus higher and higher, hoping, I guess, that the thin air would
confuse Jesus’ thinking. He "showed [Jesus] all the kingdoms of the world
and their splendor. 'All this I will give you,' he said, 'if you will bow down
and worship me.'" (verses 8-9) Oops. Satan showed his cards. He wants
worship. He wants you and me to tell him how great he is. He wants to write his
own story in which he is the hero and God is an afterthought. He admitted as
much. (Isaiah 14:13-14; see the text.)
Satan wants to
take God's place, but God isn't moving. Satan covets the throne of heaven, but
God isn't leaving. Satan wants to win you to his side, but God will never let
you go. You have his word. Even more, you have God's help. “For our high priest
[Jesus] is able to understand our weaknesses. When he lived on earth, he was
tempted in every way that we are, but he did not sin. Let us, then, feel very
sure that we can come before God's throne where there is grace. There we can
receive mercy and grace to help us when we need it.” (Heb. 4:15-16) The last
two Greek words of that verse are eukairon
boetheian. Eukairos means "timely," or "seasonable," or
"opportune." Boetheia is a
compound of boe, "to
shout," and theo, "to
run." Nice combination. We shout, and God runs at the right moment. God
places himself prior to our need, and just before we encounter that need, he
gives us what we need.
You don't have
to face Satan alone. You know his schemes. He will attack your weak spots
first. He will tell you to meet your own needs. When you question your identity
as a child of God, that’s Satan speaking. If you turn church into a talent
show, now you know why. Even more, now you know what to do. Pray. We cannot do
battle with Satan on our own. He’s a roaring lion, a fallen angel, an
experienced fighter, and an equipped soldier. He’s angry – angry because he
knows that his time is short (Revelation 12:12), and that God's victory is sure.
The wonderful
news for the Christian is that Christ reigns as our protector and provider. We
are more than conquerors through him. (Romans 8:37) Arm yourself with God's
Word. Load your gun with Scripture and keep a finger on the trigger. And
remember, "Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the
rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians
6:12) If I were the devil, I wouldn't want you to know that, either.
Grace,
Randy
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