Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary
the devil, as a roaring lion,
walketh about,
seeking whom he may devour:
(1 Peter 5:8 )
If you’ve not already noticed, the Christian life is not always easy. There is opposition, pressure, and temptation. You have three enemies:
The Flesh (your body’s old nature which did not leave when you got saved.)
The World (system of evil that the majority of people follow.)
The Devil
Even though these enemies are strong in battle we have the promise from 1 Corinthians 10:13, which says: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
This lesson will inform you of your most misunderstood enemy-the Devil. He is so deceitful because he has lived on both sides of the fence.
HIS NAME
Ephesians 6:12, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
HIS BEGINNING
Isaiah 14:12-17 says: “How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?”
Ezekiel 28:11-15 says: “Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, And ye shall know that I am the LORD: for ye have not walked in my statutes, neither executed my judgments, but have done after the manners of the heathen that are round about you. And it came to pass, when I prophesied, that Pelatiah the son of Benaiah died. Then fell I down upon my face, and cried with a loud voice, and said, Ah Lord GOD! wilt thou make a full end of the remnant of Israel? Again the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy kindred, and all the house of Israel wholly, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from the LORD: unto us is this land given in possession.”
Satan has no body, but is a spiritual being. Notice Revelation 2:13 which says: “I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name, and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.” He cannot read your thoughts but does know human nature very well. He cannot be in more than one place at a time but does have an empire of fallen angels (demons) working for him (Daniel 10.)
HIS SIN
Job 41:34, “He beholdeth all high things: he is a king over all the children of pride.”
Revelation 12:4, “And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.”
Revelation 12:9, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world:” He was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. His sin in heaven was pride. He wanted to be equal to God and used the phrase “I will” five times. He is doomed to an eternity in hell.
HIS GOAL
His goal is to hurt God and rob Him of glory. He does this by hurting and trying to destroy the creation God loves most—mankind. His ultimate goal for every person is to get them to go to hell. Once a person gets saved, however, he desires a “place” in their life. Ephesians 4:27, “Neither give place to the devil.” The word “place” means toehold or license. He wants to just get his toe in the door of your life. Then he can rob God of the glory due Him.
HIS CHARACTERISTICS
LIAR
Jesus called him the “father of lies.” He lied to Adam and Eve and told them they would “be as God” if they ate the fruit (Genesis 3). Pride is the root of this lie. This is his big lie that he tells everyone-YOU CAN BE YOUR OWN GOD. He says: ‘do your own thing; make your own decisions.’ Jesus said, “Not my will, but thine be done.”
Revelation 12:9, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
Read Genesis 3. He lies by questioning God’s word: “Yea, hath God said?” He will try to make you doubt that you were saved. His lie is that God didn’t save you like He promised. Satan lies by denying the truth—”Ye shall not surely die.” He lies by mixing truth with error. This is where cults come from. He mixes in just enough truth to make it sound believable. He lies about the Bible, Jesus’ Deity, The Virgin Birth, Salvation, and even who Satan is. If the Devil can make you believe one of his lies, he has a grip on your life. He puts his lies on TV, in magazines, and in educational systems.
PERVERTER
This is another of his characteristics. To “pervert” means to change something from its intended purpose. There is nothing that God has made that the devil will not try to distort.
Some examples of the devil’s perversions are:
Grapes -
To alcoholic liquor
Sex -
From marital to premarital or extramarital
Music -
To offbeat, sounds and lust
Church -
To social clubs
Exercise -
To body worship
Communion -
To part of Salvation
Baptism -
To part of Salvation
IMITATOR
He likes to have people Godlike without God as much as possible. The beast and false prophet in the book of Revelation are his imitators. He has his false religions, preachers, Bibles, and miracles. In the Old Testament, Pharaoh had magicians who could imitate Moses’ miracles.
APPEARANCES
The Devil has made three appearances in the Bible. He appeared in the garden of Eden (the perfect environment-Genesis 3) with the lust of the eyes. Later he appeared in heaven accusing Job before God (Job 1). Last, he appeared to Jesus after Jesus had fasted 40 days (Matthew 4).
TEMPTATIONS ARE PERSISTENT
He tempted Christ three times-in the areas of lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life. His temptations kept getting bigger and more persistent. Usually the Devil tempts at the beginning of any endeavor for Christ. Have you recently dedicated your entire life to Christ? Keep your guard up. He will use doubt, discouragement, confusion, false teachers, your past, guilt, pride, old friends, old dates, hypocrites, jobs that make you work Sunday, or relatives. He does not use the same temptations on everyone. He usually tries to work on your weakest point.
James 1:13-15 says: “Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.”
We need to bathe in the Word of God to keep our lusts (desires) right. All the devil needs is one area in which you are disobedient to the Lord.
The devil tries to defeat teenagers in three areas. They are:
A job
Falling in love
Joining something
The devil can’t make you sin. He can only open doors for you to fulfill your secret lusts.
EXAMPLES
The devil defeated these Bible characters in the following areas:
Lot - Money
Saul - Pride
Samson - Lust
Prodigal - Rebellion
David - Lust, Pride
Elimelech - Moving
Rich young ruler - Money
Judas - Greed
Eve - Lust of eyes
Moses - Temper
Nebuchadnezzar - Pride
Ananias and Sapphira - Money
Demas - Worldly pleasure
Absalom - Rebellion
OUR WEAPONS
Psalms 119:9, ”Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”
The two most effective weapons against the Devil are the Word of God and our testimony. Daily bathing in God’s Word will keep us filled with holy desires and therefore reduce areas in which the Devil can tempt us. Memorizing scriptures that pertain to our weak points are also effective in times of temptation. The tool of our testimony also resists the Devil. Constantly be witnessing to others, telling them how the Lord saved you. You’ll be too busy to fall for temptations.
Ephesians 6:17, “And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:”
1 Corinthians 10:13, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”
EXPECT RESISTANCE
The Devil’s temptations come in seasons. Do not get discouraged! God will give you grace. The Devil is after those Christians who will glorify God the most. So expect plans to go wrong, persecution, financial problems, physical problems. Don’t be surprised. When the Devil is resisting, it means victory is close!
