WEBVTT 00:00:01.570 --> 00:00:03.970 Thank you, Juanita. That was lovely. I don't 00:00:03.970 --> 00:00:05.269 know where he came up with that setting, but 00:00:05.269 --> 00:00:07.429 we appreciate it. Hope you can find it again. 00:00:07.730 --> 00:00:09.609 What are those, bells? Is that what those are? 00:00:10.109 --> 00:00:13.109 What do you call that? Oh, it's just magic. Is 00:00:13.109 --> 00:00:19.809 that it? Tonight we're going to continue the 00:00:19.809 --> 00:00:23.769 series on our adversary, the devil. Last week 00:00:23.769 --> 00:00:27.710 we saw in the Word of God that the devil is personal. 00:00:29.120 --> 00:00:33.240 He is not an influence or a force only, but that 00:00:33.240 --> 00:00:37.439 he is a personal being who has intelligence, 00:00:37.820 --> 00:00:43.280 emotions, and will. We have seen that he is very 00:00:43.280 --> 00:00:47.920 active in the world. He is not silent, he is 00:00:47.920 --> 00:00:52.020 not impotent, but in fact is very involved in 00:00:52.020 --> 00:00:54.960 all the affairs of the world around us, and he 00:00:54.960 --> 00:00:59.399 is involved in our lives. We saw, too, regarding 00:00:59.399 --> 00:01:05.060 the devil's origin, that he is of that type of 00:01:05.060 --> 00:01:10.120 angelic creature that is called cherubim. He 00:01:10.120 --> 00:01:13.019 is a cherub. He is called the anointed cherub 00:01:13.019 --> 00:01:15.159 originally, and we saw that he was apparently 00:01:15.159 --> 00:01:22.780 created for the purpose of guarding or covering 00:01:22.780 --> 00:01:28.200 the very throne of God. But pride entered into 00:01:28.200 --> 00:01:31.620 his heart, and he desired to be God himself. 00:01:32.159 --> 00:01:36.340 And as a result of that pride, he was banished 00:01:36.340 --> 00:01:42.620 from heaven and became not some beautiful angelic 00:01:42.620 --> 00:01:47.819 creature, but became a beast, even a devouring, 00:01:47.819 --> 00:01:51.280 roaring lion that walks about and stalks believers 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:53.780 on the earth, according to 1 Peter chapter 5. 00:01:54.979 --> 00:01:57.280 Tonight we want to talk about the nature of this 00:01:57.280 --> 00:02:00.219 beast. Before we do that, though, I think it 00:02:00.219 --> 00:02:05.340 might be helpful if we quickly note five contrasts 00:02:05.340 --> 00:02:10.639 between him and God. Sometimes I wonder if we 00:02:10.639 --> 00:02:12.919 don't picture the devil and God as being rather 00:02:12.919 --> 00:02:16.879 equal and in a wrestling match, so to speak, 00:02:16.960 --> 00:02:19.020 and it's yet undetermined as to who is going 00:02:19.020 --> 00:02:22.680 to win. Nothing could be further from the truth. 00:02:23.789 --> 00:02:26.370 There are five distinct contrasts that I want 00:02:26.370 --> 00:02:31.050 to point out between the devil and God. The first 00:02:31.050 --> 00:02:34.449 place, the devil is created. God is the creator. 00:02:35.569 --> 00:02:39.409 And so his power is infinitely more than this 00:02:39.409 --> 00:02:42.789 created being that we call the devil. He is a 00:02:42.789 --> 00:02:48.090 created spirit. The second contrast I want to 00:02:48.090 --> 00:02:51.069 point out follows after that. He is a spirit. 00:02:52.240 --> 00:02:55.219 In other words, he does not have a body of flesh 00:02:55.219 --> 00:02:59.539 and bone as we have. Jesus describes spirit as 00:02:59.539 --> 00:03:05.580 being that, Luke 24, 39. So he is a spirit, but 00:03:05.580 --> 00:03:12.300 he is not omnipresent as God is. In other words, 00:03:12.300 --> 00:03:15.960 he can only be in one place at one time, whereas 00:03:15.960 --> 00:03:21.169 God is everywhere present constantly. You say, 00:03:21.229 --> 00:03:23.330 but how does the devil then get around to tempt 00:03:23.330 --> 00:03:26.949 everybody so quick? In fact, how do two people 00:03:26.949 --> 00:03:30.530 experience temptation at the same time if the 00:03:30.530 --> 00:03:33.210 devil can only be one place at one time? Well, 00:03:33.229 --> 00:03:37.030 that's because the devil has a host of angelic 00:03:37.030 --> 00:03:40.949 beings that fell with him called demons. We're 00:03:40.949 --> 00:03:42.729 going to talk about those on one Sunday night 00:03:42.729 --> 00:03:46.349 coming up soon. And it is through them that most 00:03:46.349 --> 00:03:48.490 of us face temptation. As a matter of fact, I 00:03:48.490 --> 00:03:53.020 would... conjecture that most of us, indeed I 00:03:53.020 --> 00:03:55.900 would say all of us, have never experienced temptation 00:03:55.900 --> 00:04:00.520 directly of the devil. Rather, the temptations 00:04:00.520 --> 00:04:02.979 that we face, the difficulties that we face, 00:04:03.080 --> 00:04:06.120 come from some of the beings that are of lesser 00:04:06.120 --> 00:04:11.099 power in his governmental structure in the realm 00:04:11.099 --> 00:04:15.039 of darkness. Satan himself can only be one place 00:04:15.039 --> 00:04:17.139 at a time, and so therefore I'm sure that he 00:04:17.139 --> 00:04:20.470 must reserve himself for those particularly important 00:04:20.470 --> 00:04:23.189 or powerful people in the world that he may influence. 00:04:24.769 --> 00:04:27.350 So he is a spirit, but he is not omnipresent. 00:04:27.430 --> 00:04:29.550 That's a second contrast between him and God. 00:04:30.029 --> 00:04:34.490 Third, he is very powerful. In Jude 6, we see, 00:04:34.509 --> 00:04:36.310 in fact, that he is so powerful that Michael, 00:04:36.370 --> 00:04:39.629 the archangel, would not directly rail against 00:04:39.629 --> 00:04:43.449 him, but rather invoke the Lord's name and said, 00:04:43.529 --> 00:04:49.360 The Lord rebuke you. And so he is very powerful, 00:04:49.519 --> 00:04:54.180 but he is not omnipotent. All powerful as God 00:04:54.180 --> 00:04:59.160 is. All power is God's. Satan has the power that 00:04:59.160 --> 00:05:05.899 has been given him by his creator, God. A fourth 00:05:05.899 --> 00:05:08.199 contrast is this, that he has great knowledge. 00:05:09.959 --> 00:05:13.939 Now he has that because of his being in the spirit 00:05:13.939 --> 00:05:18.329 world, but also because of his... now thousands 00:05:18.329 --> 00:05:21.790 of years of experience in dealing with mankind. 00:05:22.649 --> 00:05:28.449 He is very knowledgeable, but he is not omniscient. 00:05:28.490 --> 00:05:31.329 He does not have all knowledge. Only God has 00:05:31.329 --> 00:05:35.870 that. For example, Satan does not know the future, 00:05:36.050 --> 00:05:40.149 except to the extent that any of us may know 00:05:40.149 --> 00:05:42.850 the future, for only God knows what will happen. 00:05:43.490 --> 00:05:46.959 He is able to read the Bible. He knows the revelation 00:05:46.959 --> 00:05:50.160 of God, as you and I know it, are able to read 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:52.660 it. And he has knowledge of the future only to 00:05:52.660 --> 00:05:55.839 that extent, and to the extent that he himself 00:05:55.839 --> 00:05:58.800 has a plan, a course for this age to follow. 00:05:59.379 --> 00:06:01.699 But he does not know the actual events that will 00:06:01.699 --> 00:06:05.339 take place beyond what God, who is omniscient, 00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:08.939 has already revealed. And then a fifth contrast 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:13.180 is that he is, in fact, a ruler, and he is called 00:06:13.180 --> 00:06:16.310 the prince. of this world, the prince of the 00:06:16.310 --> 00:06:20.430 power of the air. He is a ruler, but he is not 00:06:20.430 --> 00:06:25.290 sovereign. He is not sovereign. He is chained 00:06:25.290 --> 00:06:31.209 to the limitations of God's purpose. God has 00:06:31.209 --> 00:06:33.550 established the boundary for him, and beyond 00:06:33.550 --> 00:06:38.430 that he may not go. Within that sphere that God 00:06:38.430 --> 00:06:42.519 has assigned him, he is a ruler. and is able 00:06:42.519 --> 00:06:47.120 to express his rule, his government. But he is 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:50.759 limited to what God has assigned to him. He is 00:06:50.759 --> 00:06:56.079 not sovereign as God is. So we are dealing with 00:06:56.079 --> 00:06:59.360 a limited creature as to his activities and his 00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:03.600 abilities. But our thinking tonight regards his 00:07:03.600 --> 00:07:08.040 nature. What characterizes the devil as to his 00:07:08.040 --> 00:07:13.250 essential disposition? What kind of a being is 00:07:13.250 --> 00:07:18.250 he anyway? I want to answer that question by 00:07:18.250 --> 00:07:22.269 three characteristics of the devil. It is important 00:07:22.269 --> 00:07:25.209 to understand the nature of this angelic beast 00:07:25.209 --> 00:07:29.310 that we battle. For only as we understand his 00:07:29.310 --> 00:07:32.389 nature can we then discern his true motives and 00:07:32.389 --> 00:07:36.850 goals in our lives. So it's important for us 00:07:36.850 --> 00:07:39.189 to understand something about his nature. Number 00:07:39.189 --> 00:07:45.569 one. He is a murderer. Turn with me to the Gospel 00:07:45.569 --> 00:07:49.889 of John, chapter 8. We have here the words of 00:07:49.889 --> 00:07:54.149 the Lord Jesus Christ. He is speaking to the 00:07:54.149 --> 00:07:56.810 religious leaders of the Jews who, knowing who 00:07:56.810 --> 00:08:01.189 he was, nonetheless rejected him. And for that, 00:08:01.269 --> 00:08:08.110 he sharply denounces them. Now, in verse 44, 00:08:08.370 --> 00:08:10.449 he says, and we're breaking into the middle of 00:08:10.449 --> 00:08:14.230 the conversation here, you are of your father, 00:08:14.410 --> 00:08:19.689 the devil, and you want to do the desires of 00:08:19.689 --> 00:08:23.509 your father. Now, what did they want to do with 00:08:23.509 --> 00:08:26.649 Jesus? What desire did they have? That's the 00:08:26.649 --> 00:08:30.470 question. Well, he goes on to explain. He was 00:08:30.470 --> 00:08:37.490 a murderer from the beginning. In other words, 00:08:37.509 --> 00:08:39.789 what they really wanted to do was to murder Jesus. 00:08:40.429 --> 00:08:42.889 And we see this clearly later in the Gospel of 00:08:42.889 --> 00:08:44.710 John, that they sought how they might put him 00:08:44.710 --> 00:08:47.909 to death. Murder was in their hearts, and Jesus 00:08:47.909 --> 00:08:51.429 said to them, You are thus showing the characteristics 00:08:51.429 --> 00:08:54.190 of your spiritual father, the devil, because 00:08:54.190 --> 00:09:02.529 he is a murderer. Through temptation, Satan made 00:09:02.529 --> 00:09:05.289 death the experience of our parents, Adam and 00:09:05.289 --> 00:09:08.919 Eve. and the experience of us, their children. 00:09:09.840 --> 00:09:12.700 Although it was Adam, for sure, who was responsible 00:09:12.700 --> 00:09:17.419 for sin, nonetheless, it was Satan who was the 00:09:17.419 --> 00:09:21.299 channel by which temptation came and sin entered, 00:09:21.519 --> 00:09:25.019 and that was followed by God's judgment of death. 00:09:27.019 --> 00:09:30.139 It was Satan who instigated the first murder, 00:09:30.340 --> 00:09:34.320 and that, of course, was the murder of Abel. 00:09:34.909 --> 00:09:38.330 by his brother Cain. Now we don't have that said, 00:09:38.409 --> 00:09:40.570 that Satan was involved in that back in the book 00:09:40.570 --> 00:09:43.210 of Genesis. But if you turn to the other end 00:09:43.210 --> 00:09:46.389 of the Bible, to 1 John chapter 3, we see this 00:09:46.389 --> 00:09:57.149 implicated. 1 John chapter 3, verse 11. For this 00:09:57.149 --> 00:09:58.970 is the message which you have heard from the 00:09:58.970 --> 00:10:01.529 beginning, that we should love one another, not 00:10:01.529 --> 00:10:09.889 as Cain. who was of the evil one and slew his 00:10:09.889 --> 00:10:19.309 brother. And so Cain found his life source in 00:10:19.309 --> 00:10:23.830 the evil one. And it was as the evil one put 00:10:23.830 --> 00:10:29.009 the thought in his mind that he decided to murder 00:10:29.009 --> 00:10:37.159 his brother. A murderer. And down through the 00:10:37.159 --> 00:10:39.399 years, he has persistently proved that to be 00:10:39.399 --> 00:10:43.580 true. A couple of examples. In the first place, 00:10:43.659 --> 00:10:47.620 he has sought time and time again to murder the 00:10:47.620 --> 00:10:52.240 Jew as a nation. He sought to do that through 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:55.220 Pharaoh in ancient Egypt. It was his desire to 00:10:55.220 --> 00:10:58.360 destroy the nation of the Jews. Of course, he 00:10:58.360 --> 00:11:01.919 failed. Again, we see it in biblical history 00:11:01.919 --> 00:11:05.559 in the person of Haman. in fourth century Persia, 00:11:05.580 --> 00:11:08.820 when he devised a plot by which all of the Jews 00:11:08.820 --> 00:11:12.460 in Persia would be destroyed and killed. And 00:11:12.460 --> 00:11:16.220 yet through the valor of Esther and her uncle 00:11:16.220 --> 00:11:20.779 Mordecai, the nation was not only saved, but 00:11:20.779 --> 00:11:22.539 obtained a great victory in the name of God. 00:11:24.019 --> 00:11:27.379 We have modern examples of Satan working to destroy 00:11:27.379 --> 00:11:32.539 the Jew, including Hitler. of the generation 00:11:32.539 --> 00:11:37.840 of some of us. And we see the same thoughts expressed 00:11:37.840 --> 00:11:43.700 today in people like Gaddafi in Libya, who I 00:11:43.700 --> 00:11:47.360 personally believe is, if he's not insane, is 00:11:47.360 --> 00:11:52.120 a demon -possessed man. He desires to destroy 00:11:52.120 --> 00:11:54.340 the Jew, and he, along with many of his Arab 00:11:54.340 --> 00:11:56.899 brothers, desire the same thing. They're simply 00:11:56.899 --> 00:11:59.879 expressing... what is in Satan's heart for the 00:11:59.879 --> 00:12:02.519 destruction of the Jewish people. He desires 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:07.940 to murder the Jew. But more specifically, Satan, 00:12:08.019 --> 00:12:11.379 as another example, sought to kill the Lord Jesus 00:12:11.379 --> 00:12:14.799 Christ, not just because he was a Jew, but because 00:12:14.799 --> 00:12:18.740 he was the Jewish Messiah. Turn to the book of 00:12:18.740 --> 00:12:22.159 Matthew, chapter 2, and we see this familiar 00:12:22.159 --> 00:12:26.139 story of King Herod. It was in Herod's heart. 00:12:30.560 --> 00:12:34.500 that the babies in Bethlehem should be destroyed. 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:47.019 Verse 16. Then when Herod saw that he had been 00:12:47.019 --> 00:12:50.940 tricked by the Magi, he became very enraged and 00:12:50.940 --> 00:12:54.620 sent and slew all the male children who were 00:12:54.620 --> 00:12:58.440 in Bethlehem and in all its environs from two 00:12:58.440 --> 00:13:01.669 years old and under. according to the time which 00:13:01.669 --> 00:13:05.649 he had ascertained from the Magi. Then that which 00:13:05.649 --> 00:13:08.710 was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled, 00:13:08.889 --> 00:13:12.090 and Jeremiah prophesied the women of Ramah weeping 00:13:12.090 --> 00:13:16.210 because their children were no more. We see Herod 00:13:16.210 --> 00:13:20.049 carrying out here what Satan desired to do, and 00:13:20.049 --> 00:13:22.929 that was to destroy the Lord Jesus Christ. If 00:13:22.929 --> 00:13:25.049 you turn to the Gospel of Mark, we see another 00:13:25.049 --> 00:13:28.370 example. And again, Satan is not directly mentioned, 00:13:28.429 --> 00:13:32.710 but he's implicated in what is said. Mark chapter 00:13:32.710 --> 00:13:39.870 4, verse 35. And on that day when evening had 00:13:39.870 --> 00:13:43.129 come, he said to them, his disciples, let us 00:13:43.129 --> 00:13:45.669 go over to the other side. And leaving the multitude, 00:13:45.929 --> 00:13:48.110 they took him along with them just as he was 00:13:48.110 --> 00:13:52.210 in the boat. And other boats were with him. And 00:13:52.210 --> 00:13:56.129 there arose a fierce gale of wind. And the waves 00:13:56.129 --> 00:13:58.590 were breaking over the boat so much that the 00:13:58.590 --> 00:14:02.090 boat was already filling up, and he himself was 00:14:02.090 --> 00:14:05.750 in the stern, asleep on the cushion. That's quite 00:14:05.750 --> 00:14:08.269 a picture, isn't it? In the midst of the storm, 00:14:08.309 --> 00:14:12.730 Jesus slept. Of exhaustion, humanly, yes, but 00:14:12.730 --> 00:14:16.809 as well because he was resting in the promises 00:14:16.809 --> 00:14:20.120 of his heavenly Father. in his safekeeping. I 00:14:20.120 --> 00:14:22.360 don't know what your storm may be tonight, but 00:14:22.360 --> 00:14:24.580 you too can rest comfortably in the hands of 00:14:24.580 --> 00:14:28.360 your heavenly Father. But it goes on to say, 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:30.799 They awoke him and said to him, Teacher, don't 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:34.279 you care that we're perishing? And being aroused, 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:39.019 he rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Hush, 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:43.620 be still. And the wind died down and it became 00:14:43.620 --> 00:14:48.169 perfectly calm. It is true the storms... still 00:14:48.169 --> 00:14:50.850 arise quickly on the Sea of Galilee because of 00:14:50.850 --> 00:14:54.210 coming off of Mount Hermon to the north. And 00:14:54.210 --> 00:14:58.309 that is undoubtedly what happened on that evening. 00:14:58.409 --> 00:15:00.809 And yet the language here suggests that there's 00:15:00.809 --> 00:15:03.309 something more than the average storm that came 00:15:03.309 --> 00:15:07.889 upon that sea. And Jesus, in speaking, spoke 00:15:07.889 --> 00:15:11.970 to the wind and to the sea and said, Be silent, 00:15:12.190 --> 00:15:16.009 be muzzled. That's literally what he says. Be 00:15:16.009 --> 00:15:20.870 silent. Bemuzzled. And it says that he rebuked 00:15:20.870 --> 00:15:26.269 the wind. He rebuked the wind? Why did he do 00:15:26.269 --> 00:15:29.070 that? Well, it's suggested that it's because 00:15:29.070 --> 00:15:33.049 this storm was of satanic origin. Satan was involved 00:15:33.049 --> 00:15:36.610 in this storm, whipping it up in order to attempt 00:15:36.610 --> 00:15:41.889 a destruction of Jesus. And yet Jesus rebuked 00:15:41.889 --> 00:15:45.340 the wind. And Satan, who was involved behind 00:15:45.340 --> 00:15:48.559 the scenes, and said, be silent, be muzzled. 00:15:48.559 --> 00:15:50.519 And that term, be muzzled, is what you would 00:15:50.519 --> 00:15:54.480 say to a fierce beast or to a dog, perhaps. Be 00:15:54.480 --> 00:15:58.059 muzzled is to slip something over the mouth so 00:15:58.059 --> 00:16:00.600 it's unable to bite. And so that's what Jesus 00:16:00.600 --> 00:16:05.419 did in that case to his enemy. And so Satan sought 00:16:05.419 --> 00:16:07.759 to kill the Lord Jesus Christ. He sought on several 00:16:07.759 --> 00:16:10.769 other occasions to do the same thing. According 00:16:10.769 --> 00:16:12.970 to Hebrews chapter 2, there is some sense in 00:16:12.970 --> 00:16:16.070 which Satan exercised the power of death. And 00:16:16.070 --> 00:16:19.230 the reason that Jesus came into the world and 00:16:19.230 --> 00:16:22.750 identified with us in our flesh and blood was 00:16:22.750 --> 00:16:28.269 so that he might render inoperative Satan in 00:16:28.269 --> 00:16:30.950 his employment of the power of death. I don't 00:16:30.950 --> 00:16:33.289 take that to mean that Satan could, of his own 00:16:33.289 --> 00:16:36.110 volition, take the life of anyone he wanted to, 00:16:36.169 --> 00:16:38.710 but Satan was in some sense able to employ the 00:16:38.710 --> 00:16:41.740 power of death. But Jesus came and took that 00:16:41.740 --> 00:16:46.460 power from him. Since our enemy is the fountainhead 00:16:46.460 --> 00:16:50.000 of all murder, needless to say, we ought to avoid 00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:54.820 any association with it. You say, well, I mean, 00:16:54.840 --> 00:16:56.600 there's nothing easier for me than to say that 00:16:56.600 --> 00:17:04.180 I've avoided murder. Well, is that so? Turn over 00:17:04.180 --> 00:17:09.750 to 1 John 3, verse 15 a moment. Sal, I've never 00:17:09.750 --> 00:17:14.049 killed anybody. I mean, I felt like it. Ah, is 00:17:14.049 --> 00:17:19.289 that right? In 1 John 3, 15, it says, everyone 00:17:19.289 --> 00:17:24.109 who hates his brother is a, what? Is a murderer. 00:17:24.990 --> 00:17:27.410 My friend, you do not have to take out a gun 00:17:27.410 --> 00:17:31.670 and pull the trigger to be a murderer. You don't 00:17:31.670 --> 00:17:34.390 have to take a knife and stab someone to kill 00:17:34.390 --> 00:17:37.960 another person. The Bible says that if you as 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:41.460 a Christian hate your brother, you have murdered 00:17:41.460 --> 00:17:47.079 him. You are guilty of murder before God. Thus 00:17:47.079 --> 00:17:49.500 will you see with me tonight the terrible sin 00:17:49.500 --> 00:17:54.400 of hatred in our lives. When we allow that terrible 00:17:54.400 --> 00:17:57.720 malignity toward another person to fester and 00:17:57.720 --> 00:18:02.319 build up and become hatred. That is murder. And 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:07.059 it's of the devil. He is a murderer and has been 00:18:07.059 --> 00:18:12.000 from the beginning. You say, well, that's not 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:15.640 my problem. I don't hate anybody. Well, then 00:18:15.640 --> 00:18:20.559 turn back to Proverbs chapter 18 a moment. Let 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:27.279 me show you another verse. Proverbs chapter 18 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:37.619 and verse 21. are in the power of the tongue. 00:18:39.400 --> 00:18:42.339 And those who love it will eat its fruit. You 00:18:42.339 --> 00:18:44.940 know what he's saying here? With your tongue, 00:18:45.140 --> 00:18:47.839 you can either build up another person and give 00:18:47.839 --> 00:18:51.900 them life, or you can kill them by your gossip. 00:18:54.119 --> 00:18:57.579 In other words, gossip is murdering another person's 00:18:57.579 --> 00:19:02.319 reputation. You can't hurt his character, but 00:19:02.319 --> 00:19:06.500 you can destroy his reputation. And so if any 00:19:06.500 --> 00:19:09.160 of us are involved in the sin of gossip, that 00:19:09.160 --> 00:19:12.000 is the same as murder as far as God is concerned. 00:19:12.279 --> 00:19:15.759 That is using the power of the tongue for death 00:19:15.759 --> 00:19:20.599 to kill. And he warns, look, he warns that those 00:19:20.599 --> 00:19:23.400 who exercise it that way will eat its fruit. 00:19:24.400 --> 00:19:27.519 It will come back. It will come back and get 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:33.099 you. Gossip is of the devil, and it's one way 00:19:33.099 --> 00:19:36.059 that we murder. God forbid that we should be 00:19:36.059 --> 00:19:39.940 involved in that heinous sin. In whatever form 00:19:39.940 --> 00:19:44.680 it takes, however cleverly we may disguise our 00:19:44.680 --> 00:19:48.000 little remarks or our passing along of some information, 00:19:48.339 --> 00:19:54.480 God help us to stay away from gossip. You say, 00:19:54.519 --> 00:19:56.380 well, I've never been a gossip. I've never hated 00:19:56.380 --> 00:19:58.559 anybody. Well, turn with me to Matthew chapter 00:19:58.559 --> 00:20:04.960 5. We don't want to stop yet. If we haven't gotten 00:20:04.960 --> 00:20:10.160 you yet, we might get you now. Matthew 5, verse 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:14.759 20. Jesus says, I say to you that unless your 00:20:14.759 --> 00:20:19.140 righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and 00:20:19.140 --> 00:20:21.619 Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of 00:20:21.619 --> 00:20:24.119 heaven. In order to enter the kingdom of heaven, 00:20:24.160 --> 00:20:27.119 our righteousness has to surpass that of the 00:20:27.119 --> 00:20:29.539 scribes and Pharisees. What kind of righteousness 00:20:29.539 --> 00:20:33.569 did they have? An external righteousness. A righteousness 00:20:33.569 --> 00:20:37.589 that was outside of themselves, one that they 00:20:37.589 --> 00:20:43.650 could build up and pretend. Hypocrisy. The point 00:20:43.650 --> 00:20:45.650 Jesus is making is this, that if we're going 00:20:45.650 --> 00:20:47.450 to enter the kingdom of heaven, there has to 00:20:47.450 --> 00:20:51.009 be true righteousness, inner righteousness. And 00:20:51.009 --> 00:20:52.769 so he goes on to talk about that. He says, you've 00:20:52.769 --> 00:20:55.089 heard that the ancients were told, you shall 00:20:55.089 --> 00:20:58.170 not commit murder. And whoever commits murder 00:20:58.170 --> 00:21:01.789 shall be liable to the court. We say, I've never 00:21:01.789 --> 00:21:07.130 committed murder. But Jesus says, everyone who 00:21:07.130 --> 00:21:10.529 is angry with his brother shall be guilty before 00:21:10.529 --> 00:21:12.789 the court. Whoever shall say to his brother, 00:21:12.849 --> 00:21:17.369 Racha, shall be guilty before the Supreme Court. 00:21:17.470 --> 00:21:22.309 The word Racha was a term of derision. We might 00:21:22.309 --> 00:21:30.470 say today, empty -headed. You stupid idiot. That 00:21:30.470 --> 00:21:36.549 kind of talk, when aimed at a person, is murdering 00:21:36.549 --> 00:21:40.410 them because it comes out of anger. He goes on 00:21:40.410 --> 00:21:43.690 to say, and whoever shall say, you fool, shall 00:21:43.690 --> 00:21:46.569 be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell in 00:21:46.569 --> 00:21:51.690 the Gehenna. Now, the Bible calls some people 00:21:51.690 --> 00:21:55.890 fools. There are legitimate fools. The point 00:21:55.890 --> 00:21:59.130 here is that when we use that as a term, In anger, 00:21:59.170 --> 00:22:02.369 to strike out at someone, that is a weapon that 00:22:02.369 --> 00:22:07.769 commits murder. So with the tongue, dear people, 00:22:07.829 --> 00:22:11.089 we can't commit murder. And with a heart of anger, 00:22:11.250 --> 00:22:16.789 we murder. And with hatred, we murder. Therefore, 00:22:16.970 --> 00:22:21.769 let us eschew murder, because Satan is the source 00:22:21.769 --> 00:22:27.269 of it. Let me move ahead to a second characteristic 00:22:27.269 --> 00:22:31.710 of our enemy. The nature of this beast is not 00:22:31.710 --> 00:22:34.349 only that he is a murderer, but let's go back 00:22:34.349 --> 00:22:37.170 to John chapter 8, verse 44, and finish the verse, 00:22:37.269 --> 00:22:44.190 and we'll see as well that he is a liar. Jesus 00:22:44.190 --> 00:22:46.849 said he was a murderer from the beginning and 00:22:46.849 --> 00:22:50.130 does not stand in the truth because there is 00:22:50.130 --> 00:22:55.740 no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, literally 00:22:55.740 --> 00:23:00.019 it says the lie, he speaks from his own nature, 00:23:00.119 --> 00:23:06.119 for he is a liar and the father of lies. And 00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:09.940 so we see that Satan is a liar. He is never truthful. 00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:17.259 Satan is a deceiver. Mark this in your mind, 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:21.509 that whereas Satan gets his thousands, by the 00:23:21.509 --> 00:23:24.430 outright worship of evil, for example, in the 00:23:24.430 --> 00:23:30.730 occult. He claims his millions through the deceitful 00:23:30.730 --> 00:23:35.829 lies of good works, religion, and humanistic 00:23:35.829 --> 00:23:41.150 philosophy, etc., etc., etc. He does his greatest 00:23:41.150 --> 00:23:46.269 work in the lie, in convincing people that if 00:23:46.269 --> 00:23:48.089 they're sincere enough, whatever they believe, 00:23:48.210 --> 00:23:52.190 they'll go to heaven. And convincing them that 00:23:52.190 --> 00:23:54.690 they can pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. 00:23:55.589 --> 00:24:00.150 That there is a spark of divineness, of divinity 00:24:00.150 --> 00:24:03.329 or good in all of us, which if fanned will enable 00:24:03.329 --> 00:24:08.390 us to be like God. And on and on it goes. In 00:24:08.390 --> 00:24:11.529 the jargon of liberal theology and humanistic 00:24:11.529 --> 00:24:16.170 philosophy, Satan's lies. For every person who 00:24:16.170 --> 00:24:18.349 goes to hell because he's worshipped the occult, 00:24:18.390 --> 00:24:21.849 the outright worship of evil. There are thousands 00:24:21.849 --> 00:24:24.009 upon thousands who go to hell because they've 00:24:24.009 --> 00:24:28.109 been deceived by Satan's lies, his religious 00:24:28.109 --> 00:24:31.750 lies. Some of his lies are encapsulated in the 00:24:31.750 --> 00:24:34.529 event of Genesis chapter 3 where we see him lying. 00:24:35.529 --> 00:24:37.569 In fact, it would be good for us to go back there 00:24:37.569 --> 00:24:39.529 and just quickly look at this. We're not going 00:24:39.529 --> 00:24:42.630 to spend any time here. But it says in Genesis 00:24:42.630 --> 00:24:45.230 3, 1, Now the serpent was more crafty than any 00:24:45.230 --> 00:24:47.529 beast of the field which the Lord God had made. 00:24:47.970 --> 00:24:51.019 Notice that he was crafty. Not necessarily a 00:24:51.019 --> 00:24:58.359 bad thought here at that point. It means he was 00:24:58.359 --> 00:25:04.640 clever. And he, the serpent, said to the woman, 00:25:04.900 --> 00:25:11.160 Indeed, has God said you shall not eat from any 00:25:11.160 --> 00:25:14.960 tree of the garden? Now we know that that was 00:25:14.960 --> 00:25:18.839 Satan speaking through the serpent. I want you 00:25:18.839 --> 00:25:21.700 to notice here the beginning of Satan's lying 00:25:21.700 --> 00:25:25.940 to mankind. It's not an outright lie at this 00:25:25.940 --> 00:25:29.099 point. Rather, it is a tantalizing suggestion 00:25:29.099 --> 00:25:35.039 that God is not really being good to you. God 00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:40.440 is being too restrictive for you. God is holding 00:25:40.440 --> 00:25:44.819 back something that you really have a right to 00:25:44.819 --> 00:25:51.049 experience. He says, indeed, has God said you 00:25:51.049 --> 00:25:57.250 shall not eat from any tree of the garden? Actually, 00:25:57.309 --> 00:25:59.930 God had not said that at all, had he? Back in 00:25:59.930 --> 00:26:02.529 chapter 2, verse 16, the Lord God commanded the 00:26:02.529 --> 00:26:04.990 man, saying, from any tree of the garden you 00:26:04.990 --> 00:26:09.890 may eat freely. But from the tree of the knowledge 00:26:09.890 --> 00:26:14.319 of good and evil you shall not eat. So God had 00:26:14.319 --> 00:26:16.539 actually been very liberal and generous and said, 00:26:16.539 --> 00:26:18.920 take it all, but just stay away from that one 00:26:18.920 --> 00:26:21.099 tree. And Satan comes and reverses and says, 00:26:21.240 --> 00:26:23.240 God isn't letting you eat from anything in the 00:26:23.240 --> 00:26:29.660 garden? Any of those trees? Indeed. Well, the 00:26:29.660 --> 00:26:34.420 woman responds to him. And then Satan, in verse 00:26:34.420 --> 00:26:38.660 4, makes another statement to the woman. You 00:26:38.660 --> 00:26:42.099 surely shall not die. Now there, my friend, is 00:26:42.099 --> 00:26:46.920 an outright lie. Not a tantalizing suggestion 00:26:46.920 --> 00:26:50.880 of God withholding something, but a clear contradiction 00:26:50.880 --> 00:26:56.359 of what God had said. What Satan is really saying 00:26:56.359 --> 00:27:01.640 here is that God is wrong. He is in error. You 00:27:01.640 --> 00:27:07.200 will not die. That is a lie. And then again in 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:10.940 verse 5, he says, For God knows. that in the 00:27:10.940 --> 00:27:13.619 day you eat from it, your eyes will be opened, 00:27:13.700 --> 00:27:17.539 and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. 00:27:18.240 --> 00:27:22.779 And so here he espouses the lie that man can 00:27:22.779 --> 00:27:25.839 throw off God, and not only that, can actually 00:27:25.839 --> 00:27:29.500 become his own deity. And my friend, right here, 00:27:29.579 --> 00:27:34.759 right here we have the seed of humanism. This 00:27:34.759 --> 00:27:39.819 is it. Humanism, though it is a new... philosophy 00:27:39.819 --> 00:27:43.339 to some people, has been around since our forefathers 00:27:43.339 --> 00:27:46.759 in the Garden of Eden. That is that man can be 00:27:46.759 --> 00:27:49.099 as God and can be worshipped, can worship himself. 00:27:52.200 --> 00:27:55.319 So Satan is a liar. He always has been. He always 00:27:55.319 --> 00:27:58.019 will be. He will never, ever tell the truth. 00:27:59.440 --> 00:28:01.920 Even when he quotes Scripture, as he did to the 00:28:01.920 --> 00:28:05.099 Lord Jesus Christ, he did not quote it accurately, 00:28:05.279 --> 00:28:09.869 did he? Now, we have a number of New Testament 00:28:09.869 --> 00:28:13.609 warnings regarding his lies. Let's just look 00:28:13.609 --> 00:28:18.609 at two or three of them. One is found in 1 Timothy 00:28:18.609 --> 00:28:22.910 chapter 4. Oh, this is something. Boy, does it 00:28:22.910 --> 00:28:31.970 speak to our day. But the Spirit explicitly says, 00:28:32.329 --> 00:28:37.500 1 Timothy 4 .1, that in later times some will 00:28:37.500 --> 00:28:41.640 fall away, apostatize from the faith, paying 00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:46.380 attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines 00:28:46.380 --> 00:28:51.180 of demons by means of the hypocrisy of liars, 00:28:51.180 --> 00:28:56.259 seared in their own conscience. In other words, 00:28:56.259 --> 00:28:59.619 behind the false teaching and the cults and all 00:28:59.619 --> 00:29:03.640 the isms that seem to be exploding in our day. 00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:09.180 There is satanic activity. There are demons involved 00:29:09.180 --> 00:29:13.380 who are promulgating these false ideas and religions. 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:19.660 In some cases, outright falsehood with nothing 00:29:19.660 --> 00:29:24.180 in relation to the truth of God. Perhaps the 00:29:24.180 --> 00:29:28.200 most dangerous demonic doctrines are those that 00:29:28.200 --> 00:29:31.680 take a little bit of the truth and then mix with 00:29:31.680 --> 00:29:37.190 it the error of Satan. So that we have the so 00:29:37.190 --> 00:29:43.029 -called Christian cults of Mormonism, Jehovah's 00:29:43.029 --> 00:29:47.490 Witness, Seventh -day Adventism, and on it goes. 00:29:48.210 --> 00:29:50.829 So that we have a mixture of some things from 00:29:50.829 --> 00:29:54.329 the Bible and some things that are of Satan. 00:29:55.630 --> 00:29:58.190 We are to be aware of this fact that in the last 00:29:58.190 --> 00:30:00.470 days there will be this explosion. The Word of 00:30:00.470 --> 00:30:04.230 God, the Spirit explicitly says that this will 00:30:04.230 --> 00:30:09.250 take place. Now you say, but some of these things 00:30:09.250 --> 00:30:14.509 sound so good. Listen, you can turn on your television 00:30:14.509 --> 00:30:19.089 and you can see some very powerful, charismatic 00:30:19.089 --> 00:30:25.119 type personalities which use flowing... gracious, 00:30:25.200 --> 00:30:30.839 lovely words, but which actually either say nothing 00:30:30.839 --> 00:30:41.880 or which subtly teach error. 2 Corinthians chapter 00:30:41.880 --> 00:30:46.579 11 warns us regarding Satan and his apostles 00:30:46.579 --> 00:30:53.730 that they can appear to be angels of light. Verse 00:30:53.730 --> 00:31:00.109 13, 2 Corinthians 11. For such men are false 00:31:00.109 --> 00:31:06.529 apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves 00:31:06.529 --> 00:31:10.569 as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even 00:31:10.569 --> 00:31:14.930 Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 00:31:15.029 --> 00:31:18.460 Therefore, it is not surprising. if his servants 00:31:18.460 --> 00:31:21.759 also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, 00:31:22.140 --> 00:31:24.420 whose end shall be according to their deeds. 00:31:25.960 --> 00:31:29.920 And so don't be surprised when Reverend Dr. So 00:31:29.920 --> 00:31:33.940 -and -so stands up on television and espouses 00:31:33.940 --> 00:31:37.759 this certain line, which is a mixture of truth 00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:42.220 and falsehood, or perhaps outright falsehood, 00:31:42.319 --> 00:31:45.380 and does it in the name of his church or some 00:31:45.380 --> 00:31:49.319 denomination. Don't be surprised at that, because 00:31:49.319 --> 00:31:52.859 God tells us that even Satan is able to appear 00:31:52.859 --> 00:31:56.859 as an angel of light, a being of beauty to attract. 00:31:57.900 --> 00:32:02.339 He is able to express himself in a manner that 00:32:02.339 --> 00:32:06.980 is contrary to his true nature. When you see 00:32:06.980 --> 00:32:10.579 a picture, or I should say a depiction of Satan, 00:32:10.740 --> 00:32:16.740 what do you usually see? You see him. Ugly, distorted 00:32:16.740 --> 00:32:21.299 kind of being, maybe with that long tail and 00:32:21.299 --> 00:32:29.000 hooves, horns on his head, terrible grimace on 00:32:29.000 --> 00:32:32.240 his face. Not the kind of a person that you'd 00:32:32.240 --> 00:32:34.500 ever want to have anything to do with. Believe 00:32:34.500 --> 00:32:37.440 me, Satan never appears that way. He's much too 00:32:37.440 --> 00:32:40.539 clever for that. Rather, he comes as a beautiful 00:32:40.539 --> 00:32:44.079 angel of light. It is in contradiction of what 00:32:44.079 --> 00:32:46.900 he really is. He's a liar, he's darkness, but 00:32:46.900 --> 00:32:49.200 he comes appearing that way in order to ensnare 00:32:49.200 --> 00:32:53.180 the souls of men. And so do his teachers. And 00:32:53.180 --> 00:32:55.980 someday this is all going to come to a head in 00:32:55.980 --> 00:32:59.880 the person of Antichrist and his partner that 00:32:59.880 --> 00:33:04.799 the Bible calls the false prophet. It will be 00:33:04.799 --> 00:33:07.259 amazing, I'm sure, in that day, and I don't expect 00:33:07.259 --> 00:33:09.579 to be around to watch it because I expect the 00:33:09.579 --> 00:33:12.829 rapture to occur before the tribulation. But 00:33:12.829 --> 00:33:15.009 it will be amazing, I'm sure, to see all of the 00:33:15.009 --> 00:33:18.490 people who in the name of Christianity in that 00:33:18.490 --> 00:33:22.589 day will follow after Antichrist. And you know 00:33:22.589 --> 00:33:25.650 why? Because they're going to look and they're 00:33:25.650 --> 00:33:27.450 going to see, well, in the first place, he's 00:33:27.450 --> 00:33:30.990 going to claim to be the Christ. He's going to 00:33:30.990 --> 00:33:34.210 say he is. Well, now, if he says it, it must 00:33:34.210 --> 00:33:37.849 be true, huh? But not only that, he has miracles 00:33:37.849 --> 00:33:41.950 to show. And he is able to do these great signs 00:33:41.950 --> 00:33:49.089 and wonders, proving that he is the Christ. You 00:33:49.089 --> 00:33:51.170 say, well, now, where do you get all that? Well, 00:33:51.230 --> 00:33:55.849 I get it from 2 Thessalonians 2, where the apostle 00:33:55.849 --> 00:33:59.029 talks about the coming of this one that he calls 00:33:59.029 --> 00:34:04.700 the lawless one. 2 Thessalonians 2. He says, 00:34:04.779 --> 00:34:07.359 then that lawless one will be revealed whom the 00:34:07.359 --> 00:34:10.360 Lord will slay with the breath of his mouth and 00:34:10.360 --> 00:34:12.460 bring to an end by the appearance of his coming, 00:34:12.539 --> 00:34:15.019 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with 00:34:15.019 --> 00:34:18.800 the activity of Satan, with all power and signs 00:34:18.800 --> 00:34:22.940 and false wonders. Do you notice that? He comes 00:34:22.940 --> 00:34:27.320 in accord with the activity of Satan, not the 00:34:27.320 --> 00:34:32.780 Holy Spirit. and with all power and signs and 00:34:32.780 --> 00:34:36.300 false wonders, and with all the deception of 00:34:36.300 --> 00:34:43.019 wickedness for those who are perishing. My friend, 00:34:43.079 --> 00:34:46.699 just because you see a miracle or an apparent 00:34:46.699 --> 00:34:51.039 miracle, do not automatically assume, therefore, 00:34:51.079 --> 00:34:55.619 this is of God, because Satan is a miracle worker 00:34:55.619 --> 00:35:01.820 too. And when he brings on that... final puppet 00:35:01.820 --> 00:35:05.659 of his, Antichrist, there are going to be so 00:35:05.659 --> 00:35:08.739 many miracles and wonders and signs that the 00:35:08.739 --> 00:35:11.579 whole of the world will follow after him and 00:35:11.579 --> 00:35:14.840 proclaim, in fact, that he is God come in the 00:35:14.840 --> 00:35:20.420 flesh. And it'll all be a lie. Satan's masterpiece 00:35:20.420 --> 00:35:25.840 of deceit. So he's a liar. Our time is gone. 00:35:26.440 --> 00:35:28.400 We don't have time to get to point number three. 00:35:30.730 --> 00:35:33.570 Perhaps we will be able to take that up the next 00:35:33.570 --> 00:35:36.570 time we meet as we talk about the nature of the 00:35:36.570 --> 00:35:43.389 beast that we battle. One time, Martin Luther, 00:35:43.510 --> 00:35:46.829 who wrote the hymn we began with tonight, was 00:35:46.829 --> 00:35:51.070 asked how he overcame the devil. Well, he said, 00:35:51.250 --> 00:35:55.050 when he comes knocking upon the door of my heart 00:35:55.050 --> 00:35:58.449 and asks who lives here, The dear Lord Jesus 00:35:58.449 --> 00:36:01.210 goes to the door and says, Martin Luther used 00:36:01.210 --> 00:36:03.969 to live here, but he's moved out now, and I live 00:36:03.969 --> 00:36:07.630 here. And the devil, seeing the nail prints in 00:36:07.630 --> 00:36:10.630 his hands and the pierced side, takes flight 00:36:10.630 --> 00:36:14.289 immediately. Well, that was Martin Luther's answer. 00:36:15.230 --> 00:36:21.469 You and I battle a fiend, a beast of a personality, 00:36:21.809 --> 00:36:26.340 who is a murderer and a liar. that we do not 00:36:26.340 --> 00:36:29.119 have to fear him. We should respect his power 00:36:29.119 --> 00:36:32.360 and be cautious of him, but we do not have to 00:36:32.360 --> 00:36:35.219 be afraid of him, because greater is he who is 00:36:35.219 --> 00:36:38.179 in us than he who is in the world. We sang that 00:36:38.179 --> 00:36:40.559 chorus last week, but tonight I'd like for us 00:36:40.559 --> 00:36:44.880 to sing the chorus of 457. It's too bad Mel Johnson 00:36:44.880 --> 00:36:48.139 isn't here tonight to lead this. We are more 00:36:48.139 --> 00:36:53.199 than conquerors through him. that loved us so. 00:36:53.300 --> 00:36:56.639 That is his theme song on Tips for Teens. But 00:36:56.639 --> 00:37:02.699 in his absence, I'll have to do it. 457. Let's 00:37:02.699 --> 00:37:04.860 stand together and sing, shall we? We are more 00:37:04.860 --> 00:37:15.340 than conquerors through him who loves us. Sing 00:37:15.340 --> 00:37:21.539 it together. We are more than conquerors. Through 00:37:21.539 --> 00:37:29.019 him that loved us all The Christ who lives within 00:37:29.019 --> 00:37:37.519 us Is the greatest power we know He will fight 00:37:37.519 --> 00:37:47.019 beside us Though the enemy be great Who can stand 00:37:47.019 --> 00:39:18.090 against us He's the captain of... Father, because 00:39:18.090 --> 00:39:21.630 our enemy is characterized by murder and lies, 00:39:21.889 --> 00:39:28.489 we would avoid any association with hatred, anger, 00:39:28.710 --> 00:39:36.150 and gossip, with deceit, hypocrisy, and lying. 00:39:38.210 --> 00:39:46.329 We pray that wherein we may be like him. that 00:39:46.329 --> 00:39:49.230 you will immediately bring that area of our lives 00:39:49.230 --> 00:39:53.289 under the spotlight of your holiness so that 00:39:53.289 --> 00:40:00.210 we may give no foothold to the enemy. And I pray, 00:40:00.289 --> 00:40:03.230 Father, that we may rather be characterized in 00:40:03.230 --> 00:40:11.550 our lives by love, genuine, holy love, and by 00:40:11.550 --> 00:40:18.760 truth, by truth. To that end, I pray that you 00:40:18.760 --> 00:40:21.820 will arm us as we battle against this beast. 00:40:23.719 --> 00:40:27.800 And we pray that this week in our lives and through 00:40:27.800 --> 00:40:30.739 our lives, the Lord Jesus Christ will be glorified. 00:40:32.179 --> 00:40:34.920 For he is the one who is our conqueror, and in 00:40:34.920 --> 00:40:38.119 him the victory is already ours. We thank you 00:40:38.119 --> 00:40:40.840 for that. Amen.