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Ephesians 6:11
You are invited to worship with us on Sunday mornings at 9:30. We have come to the place in our study of Ephesians where we are examining our enemy the devil. One writer says, “the primary truth to keep in mind is that to understand the human race one must realize it’s the result of the Fall.” The only way to understand any history whether secular or religious is to study it in light of Scripture. Such a study is the only way to understand our past, present and our future. How would you answer the question “what are the schemes of the devil?” Let’s consider our enemy by looking at
- THE DEVIL’S POSITION! Remember this! The devil’s soul desire is to destroy the work of God. All true Christians are God’s workmanship. Therefore, the devil’s soul desire is to destroy all true Christians. When God punished Satan, God limited him to only what Satan could do. Those limitations infuriate Satan, fuel his hatred with anger and determination to destroy! The reason is that “self” doesn’t want to be limited, but wants to be infinite like the Most High God! One reason God kills the “self” in salvation is because He knows how much destruction it can do. Satan’s primary position is to cause separation between God and Man to keep Man from worshiping God.
- THE DEVIL’S PURSUIT! Satan is not omni-present. He “walks about on the earth” causing havoc and destruction wherever he is. Throughout Scripture Satan is seen doing his destructive work. There is never a time when those spiritual forces of evil are not pursuing people to destroy them in any and every possible way. To underestimate the devil and his destructive works is both naive and deadly! Now consider
- THE DEVIL’S POWER! Before Satan fell he was the coving cherub of the Throne of God. He was the most powerful and intelligent being outside the Trinity. When God cast him out of heaven, all Satan lost was his position. His awesome power is one thing that makes him so deadly and dangerous. The “comforting” thing is that all his power is subject and subservient to God. Satan focuses on the use of his power on man’s mind. Man’s ability to think logically, to reason, to argue, and to think objectively, all set him above the animals. Man’s mind is what makes him most like God. One writer said our mind is our highest gift from God. Therefore, Satan takes a special interest in man’s mind. Finally, consider
- THE DEVIL’S PURSUASION! As complicated as the “evil schemes of the devil” are, all of them can be reduced to just two words – create doubt! The devil knows all he has to do is get you to doubt or question God, and your “self” will do the rest. It is a very short distance between doubting God and backing away from His will, His way, and especially His Word. We have all experienced the doubt Satan causes when it comes to anything about God, haven’t we. We must remember that all this about Satan is subservient to God’s ALL-mighty power. God’s mighty power, in its fullness, resides in you in the Person of The Holy Spirit – if you are truly one of God’s adopted children.
If you have doubts about that, call us at (574) 643-9419 and we will help you come to the assurance that God will forgive all your sins and adopt you as one of His eternal children.
