WHAT'S THE DEVIL'S STRATEGY?

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I want to further discuss the strategy of the devil today. What I want to share with you is certainly not all-inclusive, but some key areas that I see too frequently in this spiritual warfare. In a sense, the Evil One's strategy is as numerous as there are people and situations-much like the disease of cancer. However, there are some themes to the devil's madness.

One theme is harassment and accusation. The term "Satan" means to accuse or the accuser and that is precisely what he does. After shooting wicked, vile, selfish and self-destructive thoughts in your mind, he then quickly accuses you for having such thoughts. "How could you think such things and claim to love God and follow Jesus? How hideous are you?"

Another major theme is distraction-anything that pulls you away from Jesus and His purpose for you. Much of the time the distractions are not bad, in and of themselves, but still become distractions. It's like the "good" gets in the way of the "best."

This theme is taken a little further when you are caught up in a battle for your attention and allegiance. Many years ago Bob Briner in his book, Roaring Lions, listed out what he called "noble causes" that keep Christians from changing the world. He listed such noble causes as prayer in school, family values, anti-abortion, fighting the homosexual agenda, etc. You may feel strongly about your position on these noble causes, yet each of these and many more have the power to soak up all of your attention and allegiance. In many cases, the energy given to the cause comes into cross purposes with sharing the love of Jesus. For instance, how can you stand in a line screaming against same-sex marriages and share the unconditional love of Jesus with the very people who are the targets of your attack?

A very deceptive theme has to do with the devil and his demons and how they appear to people. You see, if they were always dark, wicked and scary, they wouldn't trick you at all. Therefore, the devil and his demons come across in a positive manner, even attractive, at times. Jesus warned that false teachers and prophets are like wolves disguised as sheep. Then, later in the writings of Paul to the followers of Jesus in Corinth, we read: But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. (II Corinthians 11:3-5)

NOTE Paul is speaking of some leaders who have apparently been teaching the followers of Jesus gathered together in Corinth. He says when these teachers came and taught another Jesus or asked them to receive a different spirit than which they had received or a different gospel that they had not already accepted, they loved it! He is contrasting how the Corinthian believers scrutinized and criticized Paul, but easily welcomed into their midst teachers who were off message with respect to Jesus, the Spirit and the Gospel. Paul goes on to point out who these teachers really were.

He says: For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds. (II Corinthians 11:13-15) NOTE even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Without this kind of disguise no one would be distracted or pulled away from a focus on Jesus. This is a key component to the devil's strategy!

Jesus speaks of this same sort of deception. Matthew records this in the seventh chapter: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.'" (Matthew 7:21-23)

Now, Jesus is referring to people who do three things in His name, yet He doesn't know them as His own. First, they prophesy or speak in the name of Jesus. Second, they cast out demons in the name of Jesus. And third, they perform many miracles in the name of Jesus. This is an amazing point Jesus is making here. There will be certain people who will be functioning as "believers" in Jesus and seemingly are part of the leadership within what might be termed the "Jesus movement", yet Jesus doesn't claim them, but rejects them.

Who are these guys? Jesus actually answers this question with His earlier statement. He says: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter." NOTE the only ones who will enter the Kingdom of heaven will be those who do the will of the Father. So, apparently these people who are acting in the name of Jesus are not doing the will of the Father.

So, what does it mean to do the will of the Father? I think Jesus makes this perfectly clear in the next paragraph. "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell-and great was its fall." (Matthew 7:24-27) It seems by what Jesus says here is that doing the will of the Father is hearing Jesus' words and practicing them.

The strategy of the devil and his demons is very effective, because it usually is into counterfeiting all that is good and all that Jesus does. In order to avoid the traps of the Evil One, you must see through this devious strategy and embrace a single-minded focus on listening to Jesus and doing what He says. It is so easy to be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Jesus.

Maybe the most effective strategy of all used by the devil and his demons is to continue to maneuver us around into doing absolutely nothing, going absolutely nowhere. I'm reminded of the words of an airline pilot: "Ladies and gentlemen: This is your Captain speaking. We're traveling West across the Pacific Ocean. In a few hours you will be able to look down and see land. When that happens, we're going to start looking for a big city with an airport. If we find one before our fuel runs out, we'll land. Then we'll figure out where we are and decide where we want to go next. In the meantime, folks, just sit back and relax and enjoy your trip!"

IF THE DEVIL HAD A FAVORITE WEAPON TO USE ON US, I THINK IT WOULD BE COMPLACENCY! Think it over!

THE TEMPTATION OF JESUS, EVE AND YOU

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The three battlefronts of the world, the flesh and the devil are where Evil does its most powerful work with the results of demonization. Now we come to the bottom-line of what the Evil One did when confronting Jesus, Adam and Eve and what you can count on he'll throw at you. The theme of his attacks is based in the art of temptation. His temptation efforts are numerous, but have similar themes in every case.

Temptation forces a person into making choices. Peter Drucker, the corporate management specialist, says "Never before have we experienced so much pressure in the area of choice!" There is the power of choice, which will greatly alter your life. There is the preponderance of choices that are thrown at us every day. And, then there is the perplexity of choice. Everyone is hungering and thirsting for more clarity in life in order to be assured of making the right or wisest choice possible.

As we discussed yesterday we are bombarded with a myriad of thoughts that are raised up against the Lord and His Kingdom and we must bring them into submission to the Lord Jesus. When Jesus faced the direct temptation of the devil in the desert, Jesus was forced to make clear decisions.

Matthew records this temptation in chapter 4: Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, (1) command that these stones become bread." But He answered and said, "It is written, 'MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.'" Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, (2) throw Yourself down; for it is written, 'HE WILL COMMAND HIS ANGELS CONCERNING YOU';
and
'ON their HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP,
SO THAT YOU WILL NOT STRIKE YOUR FOOT AGAINST A STONE.'" Jesus said to him, "On the other hand, it is written, 'YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.'" Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; and he said to Him, (3) "All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me." Then Jesus said to him, "Go, Satan! For it is written, 'YOU SHALL WORSHIP THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND SERVE HIM ONLY.'" Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.

Luke also records the same experience in chapter 4. Let's take each of the temptations and unpack them all a bit. FIRST-After Jesus was very hungry in the desert, the devil tempted Jesus to command a stone to become bread. Jesus came back at the devil with a passage out of the book of Deuteronomy: "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." Jesus' mind was already made up and His answer was "No way!"

In this temptation the devil was luring Jesus with the lust of the flesh. It was a dependence or trust issue. He was trying to pull Jesus away from His dependence on the Lord. In the garden of Eden, Eve saw that the tree was good for food. In other words, if you were to be hungry, it was a good place to eat, even somewhat harmless.

SECOND-The devil took Jesus up to the pinnacle of the Temple and challenged Him to jump off, quoting scripture that promises that the Lord has angels that will catch Him. Jesus comes right back at him and says: "You shall not put the Lord your God to the test." Again, quoting a passage out of Deuteronomy. Here the devil uses the lure or lust of the eyes. It was an issue of working with His desires. The devil also played with Eve's eyes and desires, too. Eve saw that the tree was pleasant to the eyes.

THIRD-The devil tempted Jesus with the lure of dominance and control. He showed Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world and offered them to Him, IF Jesus would bow down and worship the devil. The basic issue here is the boastful pride of life. In the garden Eve saw that the tree was to be desired to make one wise.

In the garden the devil progressed in his temptation from placing doubt in the hearts and minds of Adam and Eve, twisted what God actually said and then added to what God said. The Evil One is a master in the development of a lie. Beginning with a seed of doubt, he adds a little distortion. He then develops the distortion a bit by adding things on to what God has said. The distortion and the add-ons inevitably lead to actual denial of what God said in the first place. At this point the deception has occurred; the lie is complete.

When it comes to the devil and you, he is out to do whatever he can do to get you to believe the lie, which will result in disobedience to Jesus. John warns: Do not love the world nor the things in the world If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever. (I John 2:13-17)

As you can see these lusts are at the core of the temptation of the devil and his demons. He tried them out with Eve in the garden of Eden and was successful. He used them again with Jesus in the desert and was totally rejected. Today, the devil and his demons will do everything possible to use this same approach to tempt you. The lust of the flesh is replacing God's what with man's (devil's) what! The lust of the eyes is replacing God's way with man's (devil's) way! And, the pride of life is replacing God's will for man's (devil's) will!

Temptation revolves around a decision at a point in time. Eve chose to buy into it and Adam came along with her. Jesus chose not to budge at all. Now, it's your turn. If you are going to be a disciple of Jesus, then He must be the one you choose to follow-even in the smallest things of life.

Remember, temptation is like rat poison: It's filled with 96% nutrition and only 4% poison that can kill you.

WHAT ARE THE BATTLEFRONTS?

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Before identifying the three battlefronts, I want to give a little background to the great warfare from the beginning. You see, from the very beginning of creation there has been a great controversy between good and evil-God and the Evil One. There are three quick observations about this controversy that I want to mention: (1) All of life is a stage upon which the great controversy unfolds. (2) We are the players on the stage who act it out. (3) There is a watching world, therefore it matters how we play it out.

With these observations in mind you can understand more clearly the three purposes God set forth for mankind-male and female. They are found in Genesis 1:26-31. FIRST-To reflect the image of God to the world. Somehow the relationship between man and woman reflect God's image-wholeness and all that is good. SECOND-To reproduce godly children and fill the earth with them. And THIRD-To reign together over the earth-to guard and protect the garden. They were to guard and protect the garden from the enemy of God who was already there-the devil. Tomorrow we will unpack how the devil approached Adam and Eve and what temptations he launched at them.

Without going into those specific temptations, let's list out the general attacks the devil and his demons instigate against men and women today at each of the battlefronts. Although the list is not all conclusive, it is indicative of the kinds of things the Evil One uses. One of his main aggressions is to discourage you in every way possible. Whatever and whomever becomes a discouragement to you can be a major tool of the Evil One. It's important to understand that discouragement may not be caused by the devil and his demons, but they will always vote for it every time. Another aggression is to distract you away from God and what He wants for you. Distraction is a very subtle, but effective tool. And then one of the devil's best weapons in his arsenal is depression. I have found this to always be associated with the Evil One. Watch for these and know they are all part of the spiritual warfare to thwart God's work in your life and your work for God.

The spiritual warfare is really a battle for your soul. Using the tools I just listed out the devil and his demons throw everything at you in the activity of demonization-harassment, influence and control. This battle for your soul is fought on three strategic battlefronts-the world, the flesh and the devil.

All three battlefronts can be found in one passage. In Ephesians 2:1-3 Paul says: And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world (Battlefront #1-the WORLD), according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience (Battlefront #2-the DEVIL). Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest (Battlefront #3-the FLESH).

Let's briefly walk through each one. FIRST-The world is the world-system with all its man-made principles, distractions, traps and temptations. The world-system is a powerful magnet that is constantly getting your attention and pulling you away from Jesus and His Kingdom principles.

The SECOND battlefront I want to present is the flesh. This refers to your own inner human nature that is flawed and contains a powerful inner magnet that is also pulling you away from obeying and following Jesus and His Kingdom principles.

The THIRD battlefront is the DEVIL and his demons. In addition to being pulled every which way by the outer magnet of the world and the inner magnet of the flesh, there is the activity of the devil and his demons who are continually trying to trick you and trip you up, so that you will not follow after Jesus and His Kingdom.

Wow, when you take in all three battlefronts of the world, the flesh and the devil, you could come to the conclusion that you don't have a chance. And, in a very real sense, you don't-ALONE.

It all comes down to a choice-your choice. You can choose to live your life in obedience to Jesus or you can choose to live your life without Him. Choose to relate to Jesus and He is always just a prayer away. This is why we keep urging you toward practicing three habits: 1. Keep on walking with Jesus! 2. Keep on walking with others who are walking with Jesus! 3. Keep on waiting for Jesus to give you His orders and His opportunities!

By the way, choose to live without Jesus and you don't have a prayer!

WHAT CAN THE DEVIL DO TO YOU?

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Over the next few days I want to examine more specifically the real war-the spiritual warfare-that is going on all around us. This warfare is the most dangerous and lethal of all, even more so than the war against terrorism. This is the ultimate war of wars-the war between good and evil-between the Creator-God and the Evil One.

Confusion reigns when it comes to understanding this kind of war. There are usually two extremes in spiritual warfare: (1) Ignore it and it will go away and (2) when in doubt, cast it out. The problem with the first extreme is that the spiritual warfare doesn't depend on whether or not you believe it or know anything about it. There is an enemy of God out there who is also your enemy and he is out to destroy you in whatever ways he can. So, ignoring the reality of the spiritual warfare will prove to be certain destruction for you, even though you choose to be ignorant about it. The second extreme of "when in doubt, cast it out" will most certainly drive you crazy. If you believe everything bad or scary is caused by the devil, you will develop a real good case of paranoia and phobias. The devil doesn't cause everything that is bad or scary in your life. You are perfectly able to screw up your life without the devil's assistance.

Now when you read the life and teachings of Jesus, you will clearly notice the existence of the devil and his demons. But in the many stories in the Gospels that record the activities of the devil and his demons, there is an inaccuracy in the translation and therefore the description of what the devil and his demons can do to people has been greatly distorted. The term that is normally translated "demon-possessed" is taken from the Greek word, "daimonizomai." "Demon-possessed" is an unfortunate translation. It seems better to translate it as to be "demonized"-to be affected by a demon. In other words, the devil or his demons, do not own a person, but may affect a person dramatically.

Since my first book had to do with the spiritual warfare, I have had the same question posed to me over and over. "Can a Christian be demon-possessed?" The answer is "A Christian or genuine follower of Jesus cannot be owned by a demon or the devil." However, a Christian or follower of Jesus can be DEMONIZED, but not possessed.

There are three levels of demonization illustrated in the five Gospels-Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and Acts. FIRST-HARASSMENT. Harassment can be illustrated in several ways. When Jesus was about to teach or perform some miracle, He was constantly harassed by the demonic world. In the warfare passage of Ephesians 6, this harassment is imaged as the "fiery darts of the Evil One." And in II Corinthians 10:3-5: For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. The image here is the attack of thoughts thrown into your mind and these attacks must be handled by taking every thought to the captive obedience of Jesus.

One of the common methods of the Evil One is to shoot thoughts into your mind that may be the most awful and vile thoughts ever and then accuse you for having such thoughts. These are the "flaming arrows" Paul refers to in Ephesians 6: In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

SECOND-INFLUENCE. If you are bothered by the harassment and affected by it, you are vulnerable to be influenced by the Evil One. This is best illustrated in the life of Peter. In one scene Peter is influenced to try to stop Jesus from doing life His way by going to the cross. Peter was influenced to stop Him and Jesus recognizes this as a move of the Devil to use Peter to thwart the purpose of God. This is when Jesus looked to Peter and said: "Get behind me, Satan!" In another scene Jesus approaches Peter and says: "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."

Here Jesus warns Peter that Satan's purpose is to "sift" Peter-influence him. Jesus quickly says, "I'll pray for you that your faith will not totally eclipse, but that you will be turned back and strengthen your brothers through your experience."

THIRD-CONTROL. If you allow the harassment to bother you and cooperate with the attempts to influence your decisions or actions, then you are set up for the ultimate form of demonization-control. This is an interesting position to be in. We have an illustration of this level, where a follower of Jesus with the Holy Spirit living in him, is actually controlled by the devil. It is in Acts 5 where Peter says: "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?" The word translated "filled" is the word that means "to be controlled." Here you have a believer in Jesus with the indwelling Spirit of God who has come to the point through lying to the church leadership that Satan is controlling his heart.

No matter which level you find yourself, the same answer works for all. Although we will spell out what to do more specifically later, let it suffice to say that when you are demonized at any level, you desperately need to submit and surrender your will and life to Jesus.

So, what can the devil do to you? He can harass you will a barrage of thoughts and negative circumstances, influence your decisions and even get you to the point of being under the controlling hand of the devil and his demons.

To be possessed by the devil is hopeless; to be demonized still holds out hope to be yours through the touch of Jesus. John sums up this hope in I John 4:4: You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. His name is Jesus.

THE CHURCH OF JESUS CANNOT BE STOPPED

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Although big C Churches may come and go, the church of Jesus-the gathering of His followers that He builds-will continue and thrive. Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, "I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it."

The "gates of Hades" means death, specifically the coming death of Jesus will not prevent the church of Jesus from growing and thriving. The church of Jesus is built by Jesus and based on Jesus, the master of the followers who gather in His name. Jesus holds His movement together and will perpetuate it throughout the nations of the world. He is building His church and our responsibility is to be His church-His gathering-His movement.

What's interesting to me here is that the active agent is not the gates of Hades. It's not that the "gates of Hades" is the attacker of the church that Jesus builds. The active agent here is the church of Jesus-the Jesus movement itself-is so active and powerful that not even the gates of Hades-the power of death-can successfully withstand its penetration of light into the darkness.

This kind of power is not political power to legislate morality and righteousness. It's not a mega organization of any kind. Jesus is the only one who can activate this kind of power. He is the one who is able to empower His followers as they gather together in His name-Jesus. Note it's not the power of the membership of followers; it's the power of Jesus living and moving in and through His faithful followers.

The Jesus movement may appear small-just a few gathered together, but it's within the power of the few that the church of Jesus finds its greatest growth. Jesus taught this when He was describing what the Kingdom is to look like. Matthew records this teaching in the 13th chapter, He presented another parable to them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field; and this is smaller than all other seeds, but when it is full grown, it is larger than the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches." So, it looks small, yet the Kingdom-the Jesus movement-the church of Jesus-will experience incredible growth. It can't be stopped!

Jesus goes on to say in this same setting, "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid in three pecks of flour until it was all leavened." Here Jesus uses the illustration of a woman who puts a little yeast into about 60 pounds of dough and it permeates throughout the entire dough. No matter what you do, you cannot reverse this process. You cannot remove the yeast, once it is introduced into the dough. What He is teaching here is that the Kingdom-the Jesus movement-the church of Jesus-will experience irreversible growth. Again, once the Jesus movement is introduced into a community, it can't be stopped from spreading!

Aside from the pastors and Church leaders I referenced earlier in the week, those who are working in other cultures really understand the church of Jesus, how it functions and how it multiplies. The church of Jesus cannot be stopped. So, whether you are attending a big C Church or not, always look for the Jesus movement in your community. You can be sure He is there and active in people's lives. So, pray that you will be aware of Jesus sightings around you, then do everything you can do to encourage the movement and embrace it for yourself. See what Jesus is doing and get there as soon as possible!