Have you ever considered that Satan does not want you to make good decisions?
Beware of opposition from Satan, he does not like us to be obedient! Any good decision may be met with resistance; sometimes little, sometimes big. We must be discerning to what is a closed door and what are misleading thoughts or actions by the evil one.
Who is Satan or Lucifer? Satan is real, personal and dedicated to evil. He has armies of spirit beings that obey his command, doing his will in the same sense that the US Army does the will of it’s masters. The enemy wants you to fail by any means possible, most often it’s by exploiting our weaknesses! The first thing that comes to people’s minds today when they hear the word “satan” is a devilish man in a red suit with long horns, goat legs, a pointed tail and a big pitchfork. For others who don’t actually believe in his existence, “satan” is simply a way to refer to the presence of evil in the world. Yet, the Bible reveals that Satan is 100% real; he is being who is a powerful destroyer and an active agent in our world.
“Yeshua, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And He ate nothing during those days, and when they had ended, He became hungry. And the devil said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” And Yeshua answered him, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone.’” And he led Him up and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “I will give You all this domain and its glory; for it has been handed over to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore if You worship before me, it shall all be Yours.” Yeshua answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.’” And he led Him to Jerusalem and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down from here; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You to guard You,’ and, ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’” And Yeshua answered and said to him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” When the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.” Luke 4:1-13
Satan is the leader of the fallen angels (demons). His main name means our “chief adversary” (1 Chronicles 21:1; Job 12; Zechariah 3:1-2). Satan is so powerful that even Michael, the archangel, did not oppose him directly; Michael attacked him in the name of the Lord (Jude 8-9)! Satan can whip us good, like a bully on the playground; we are no match for him. However our dad (Christ) can beat him up! Satan was cast out and defeated due to his actions against God. He is jealous of God, jealous of God’s love for us and is opposed to all that represents the character of the true Creator. He is also jealous of our destiny, he wishes to snatch away what God has in store for us through lies and deceit.
Satan is the father of lies and the greatest liar of all! He is called the deceiver and the manipulator. To accomplish his purposes, Satan blinds people to their need to be in Christ, causing Christians to fight amongst themselves so the Word does not get out or the Gospel is misrepresented!
There are two forces at war, forces of darkness and forces of light, Christ’s army and lucifer’s army. These are not like the forces of “Star Wars,” or of equal balance, such as the Chinese philosophy of “Ying and Yang”. God is Sovereign; satan is a condemned, created entity! Satan cannot exert his power beyond what God allows him to! Remember, satan may be the “god” of this age and ruler of the earth, but God is God and is still King and in charge! You are asked to choose between them. This choice should not be difficult. You either side with hate, evil and destruction or with love, goodness and creation; the forces of contraction or the forces of expansion. Will you choose to give or will you choose to take?
Remember, God does not care so much where we live or how we earn our keep, His concerns are about our character and who we are. Do not get this turned around in your way of thinking. God is a God of truth and purity. Satan is the opposite! Satan is a fallen angel, he is neither pure nor concerned with truth! Do not allow Satan or anything to twist your path away from God. Be a person who thinks things through.
“and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught in Him, just as truth is in Yeshua, that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.” Ephesians 4:19-24
“Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler” 1 Peter 4:15.
The best way to honor the Holy Spirit is to allow Him to guide you
If your choice is to follow God, you must put Yeshua at the center of everything! Doing it on your own, you may resist temptation for a while and think you are winning. What you do not realize is that you are playing right into satan’s hands. Remember, in the end, the winner takes all. satan is real; demons are real. Read through the descriptions and roles of satan in the Word of God and come to grips with the reality of spiritual warfare! There is only One who has successfully defeated satan, that is Christ. Without Christ you are no match for the enemy of your soul. Without Christ you will not win the game of life. Do not be afraid to fail. God will restore you. That is what grace is all about. All He wants is our obedience, not our occupation or personal plan!
“God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Yeshua, saying, “I adjure you by Christ whom Paul preaches.” Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” Acts 19:11-16
Do not allow yourself to be taken in by the distortions of Satan or bad advice. Do not just look to being flashy or have delusions of grandeur, but allow the subtle leading of our Lord. Let Him place you where you are best suited. It’s not about you; it’s about God. It’s not what we do that makes us a Christian; it’s what Yeshua has done for us!!!
Questions:
- Do you use any occult practices?
- How can you apply sound judgments?
- How do you double-check your decisions?
- Do the principles of common sense rule your way?
- God is glorified when we obey Him! How can you be more obedient?
- God is ready to teach; are you ready to learn?
“Search me oh God and know my heart! Try me and know my anxious thoughts! And see if there be any wicked way about me, and lead me in Your path forever!” Psalm 139:23-24.
“Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent among you. “You will have plenty to eat and be satisfied and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you; then My people will never be put to shame.” Joel 2:25-26
We can do nothing apart from God, but with Christ working in us, we can do anything!