Unholy trinity part 2
Posted by: jmichaelwalls <jmichaelwalls@...>
Or
THE UNHOLY TRINITY AGAINST THE CHRISTIAN
PART 2
2 Corinthians 2:11
Introduction: Last week we looked at what I believe is the part of the
unholy trinity, which is the world, the flesh and the devil, that gives
us the most problems. That is our flesh. Time does not permit me to
review why I believe this except you are your worst enemy. I also made
this statement. You will either have to defeat your enemies or they will
defeat you. There is not middle ground. There is not room for compromise.
It is either defeat them or they will defeat you. Most of the decision is
yours. 1 John 4:4
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater
is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
1 John 5:4-5
"For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the
victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that
overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of
God?"
Romans 8:37
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that
loved us."
This week I want to give the second part of this three-part message. I
want to deal with the devil. Let me start off by saying that the devil
gets a lot of credit that he does not deserve. There was a saying in the
sixties and seventies that that the television program "Laugh In" made
alive went like this: "The devil made me do it." Many times it is our
sinful flesh that causes most of our problems. I did not say that to get
him off the hook so to speak.
The study of the devil or Satan is really too long for one message. But I
want to give you the bare facts so to speak.
1. You are not smarter than the devil. He has been at his game of
deceiving and damning for more than six thousand years. Our supposed
"superior" spiritual knowledge is no match for the devil.
2. He has been using the same bag of tricks all this time. So why should
he change them? What are his tricks?
a. The devil uses the trick of diversion. This is the substitution of the
temporal for the eternal values.
2 Corinthians 4:4
"In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which
believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the
image of God, should shine unto them."
John 12:40
"He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should
not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be
converted, and I should heal them.
Matthew 6:33
"But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all
these things shall be added unto you.
This is seen in so many areas. He blinds the eyes of the lost to whom
Jesus really is or what He can do for them. They will trade their eternal
salvation for temporal church membership. This past week, I read an
article from a newsletter of another church in the area. It was talking
of communion and baptism. What jumps off the page to me was this
following statement. (By the way, you may notice I have not named the
church. I did that on purpose. I want you know what was said more than
who said it.) "When one is presented in baptism, God washes away the sin
and the taint of original sin from that person. This is why we can
baptize infants." "For infants, original sin is washed away in baptism."
Let me say this: this was not a Catholic Church either. These people have
bought the lie of infant baptism hook, line and sinker. What does the
Bible have to say about infant baptism? It says not the first thing.
Baptism is for people who have been saved in obedience to Christ. That is
just one area of diversion.
I can not count all the different areas that the devil uses diversion in
the life of a believer. When the boys were real young, I spend volumes of
time trying to sell life insurance. There is nothing wrong selling life
insurance if you are trying to make an honest living. I was to trying to
do it to get rich. You should have seen the sales pitch this company used
and how they recruited people to make up a sales force with the talk of
big money.
It was a diversion for me. I let good things go by so that I could try to
sell insurance instead doing what God wanted me to do.
b. The devil uses the trick of delusion. This is all his lies and
deception. 2 Corinthians 11:3
"But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his
subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is
in Christ."
2 Thessalonians 2:11
"And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie"
When the rapture takes place, he will use a delusion to cover up the fact
that there are literally millions missing with no human explanation. I do
not know for certain what that delusion will be but aliens beaming all
those folks out would be a good start.
c. The devil uses the trick of doubt. This is the hesitation and
uncertainty and unbelief. He used this in the Garden of Eden most
effectively. Genesis 3:4
"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die"
2 Corinthians 5:7
"For we walk by faith, not by sight"
Romans 14:23
"And he that doubteth is damned if he eat, because he eateth not of
faith: for whatsoever is not of faith is sin."
When we hesitate to obey God, then we allow him to have victory. When we
walk in uncertainty in our lives, then we allow the devil the victory.
When we walk by faith in God and not by sight, then the victory is the
Lord's on our behalf. Never and I repeat, never doubt God.
d. The devil uses the trick of darkness. This is the times when we are
surrounded with emergency, difficulty, loss and gloom. Psalm 107:9-10
"For he satisfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with
goodness. Such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound
in affliction and iron"
Isaiah 50:10
"Who is among you that feareth the LORD, that obeyeth the voice of his
servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in
the name of the LORD, and stay upon his God."
Romans 8:28
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love
God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
"Our Heavenly Father is too good to be unkind and too wise to make
mistakes." Robert T. Ketcham
He makes us think our heavenly Father has deserted us in the periods of
time of darkness. When you have put your entire trust in God and done
your best not to sin against God, when the darkness comes and it will
come, you can still trust in God. Isaiah 26:3-4
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee:
because he trusteth in thee. Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the
LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength"
God always gives the best that leaves the choice to Him.
FOOTPRINTS IN THE SAND
One night I had a dream--
I dreamed I was walking along the beach with the Lord
and across the sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene I noticed two sets of footprints,
one belonged to me and the other to the Lord.
When the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that many times along the path of my life,
there was only one set of footprints.
I also noticed that it happened at the very lowest
and saddest times in my life.
This really bothered me and I questioned the Lord about it.
"Lord, you said that once I decided to follow you,
you would walk with me all the way,
but I have noticed that during the most troublesome times in my life
there is only one set of footprints.
"I don't understand why in times when I needed you most,
you should leave me."
The Lord replied, "My precious, precious child,
I love you and I would never, never leave you
during your times of trial and suffering.
"When you saw only one set of footprints,
it was then that I carried you."
Mary Stephenson
e. The devil uses the trick of double-mindness.
2 Corinthians 6:14
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship
hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light
with darkness?"
Matthew 6:24
"No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love
the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye
cannot serve God and mammon."
This is being torn between God and man. This is also being torn between
compromise and worldliness.
1 Kings 18:21
"And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between
two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow
him. And the people answered him not a word."
When we are double minded, we are unstable. When we are unstable, we are
not really good for anything. God cannot use double-minded people. We
must know exactly what we believe and why we believe it and can prove it
with the Bible. Too many people believe certain things but can not back
it up with the Bible.
f. The devil uses the trick of deadness.
Hebrews 6:1
"Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on
unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead
works, and of faith toward God"
2 Timothy 3:5
"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such
turn away."
This is having a dead form of Godliness without power of Christ's work.
Too long we do the things of God in the energy of the flesh. This never
honors God. When we do that, it is dead formalism. The devil does not
want us to service for the Lord in the energy of the Holy Spirit. In the
energy of the Holy Spirit does not necessarily mean people falling in the
aisle or shout. It is that deep conviction of the Holy Spirit. Too much
of the work of Christ is faked. That is dead formalism.
g. The devil uses the trick of delay.
Acts 26:28
"Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a
Christian."
2 Corinthians 6:2
"For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of
salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time;
behold, now is the day of salvation."
Ephesians 5:16
"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."
If a person waits until it is convenient for them to be saved, then they
have missed the chance. Today is the day of salvation. If a person waits
until it is convenient to serve the Lord, then they have missed the
chance. We need to redeem the time and serve God today. Some people wait
until they are older to serve the Lord. I know from personal experience
that waiting until you are older to serve God really does not work. Your
body is not as ready as it was to serve God as it was when you are young.
Delay leads to destruction for the unbeliever. Delay leads to
disappointment for the believer. We have looked at the tricks of the
devil. Understanding his tricks or devices helps us understand how to
defeat him.
So how do we defeat the devil? Let me give you four thoughts on how to
defeat this enemy bent on defeating the Christian.
I. STAND IN THE CONFIDENCE OF YOUR LORD.
Psalm 46:1
"God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
Too long we read this verse as an abstract thought. Let's personalize it
in order to get its full, rich meaning. "My God is my refuge. My God is
my strength. My God is my present help in my trouble." If you ever need
that verse, you need it now in your spiritual warfare. Satan will not be
pleased that you are learning how to defeat him. It is either you defeat
him or he will defeat you.
Proverbs 18:10
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it,
and is safe."
The name of my Lord is my strong tower. I can run into the name of my
Lord. I am safe.
You could do this with so many verses of scriptures. But I will not
personalize anymore but I want to encourage you further with these
verses.
Psalm 27:1
"The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is
the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"
Isaiah 41:10
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I
will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with
the right hand of my righteousness. 2 Timothy 1:12
"For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not
ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.
1 John 4:4
"Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater
is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
Romans 8:37-39
"Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that
loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Psalm 23:1
"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want."
Proverbs 3:5-6
"Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy
paths."
Psalm 118:8
"It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man."
Too long we try living in the shadow of the devil and that is shallow
living. It is time to stand in the confidence of God than in our shallow
strength.
II. SUBMIT TO GOD James 4:7-8
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee
from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your
hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded."
We like the second part of the verse. We like the idea of resisting the
devil. But we do not like the idea of submitting to the Lord. Without
submitting to the Lord, you have no right to even want to resist the
devil.
Submit your temple to God.
Romans 12:1
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which
is your reasonable service."
This is the only body that you have. No one has a spare in the closet.
The opposite of submission to God is selfishness. If you refuse to submit
your temple to the Lord, you are being selfish. What is the root of
selfish? It is self. Self does not want to submit to God. It enjoys being
in charge. But once you submit to God and really sell out to Him, nothing
else will really satisfy.
Submit your time. Ephesians 5:16
"Redeeming the time, because the days are evil."
The time you spend on Christ is the only that really pleases God. You and
I are accountable that time that we have been by the Lord. The neat part
of this thought is this: you and I have the same twenty-four hours in a
day.
Submit your talents. God has given you gifts that are unique to you. Your
talents are to be used for the Lord in your church. Each person can
contribute some part to this church.
So how do you resist Satan?
Deal With Your Sin. Proverbs 28:13
"He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and
forsaketh them shall have mercy."
1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Satan seeks to find an ally in the life of the believer with the invasion
of sin. Therefore, we must deal with sin Biblically in our lives as
believers.
1. Recognize it Psalm 51:3
"For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me."
2. Reveal it 1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
3. Repent of it Proverbs 28:13
"and forsaketh" Many believers recognize sin and reveal it to the Lord
yet they do not repent of it. Like Abraham of old, even if it is 24 years
apart, it resurrects itself in their lives to cause future problems. In
Abraham's case it was the sin of lying. Sin, if it is not dealt with
Scripturally will rise again to cause more problems.
Depend on the Spirit Galatians 5:16,17
"This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of
the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit
against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that
ye cannot do the things that ye would."
Every believer is to walk in the Spirit, work in the Spirit and worship
in the Spirit. Our life and labor's must be lived dependently upon the
energy of the Spirit of God. It is impossible to submit to God's will and
resist the Devil in the energy of our flesh. Paul states if we live in
the Spirit from whom our salvation comes then let us also walk in the
Spirit from whom comes our sanctification.
Galatians 5:25
"If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit."
Declare the Scripture Mt. 4:4,7,10
Jesus answered three times "It is written." No sooner was Christ anointed
at His baptism than He was assailed in the wilderness. Every individual
has an answer to give Satan and it is found in the Scriptures. Yet the
Lord Jesus did not quote three verses at random, rather He quoted three
verses, which applied to the situations He was faced with. By hiding the
Word of God in our hearts the Holy Spirit has a resource in our hearts to
aid us in resisting temptation.
SHUT THE DOOR TO SATAN
Ephesians 4:27
"Neither give place to the devil."
That is, provide no area of your life where Satan can be comfortable or
establish strongholds. The enemy can always be found working in those who
entertain sin, disobedience, rebellion or a self-willed nature.
Unforgiveness toward others is another area which Satan flourishes (2
Corinthians 2:11). Furthermore, any area of your life, which is not
submitted to God, is considered open territory to the Devil, and he has
the right to bring his expanding influence to those areas.
You know the areas in which the devil can get that stronghold. Shut the
door by shunning that sin. Run from that area like Joseph ran from
Potiphars wife.
IV. SECURE YOUR ARMOR Ephesians 6:14-18
"Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on
the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation
of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith
ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take
the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit,
and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all
saints"
Put on the Armor of God. Using the metaphor of a well-equipped Roman
soldier, Paul told how we could be prepared for spiritual warfare (Eph.
6:11-18).
The belt of truth
Since Satan depends on deceit to maintain his power, our first line of
defense is always to be truthful. We must never distort or misrepresent
the truth, regardless of any advantage we might gain by doing so.
The breastplate of righteousness
Any sin in our life leaves us open to Satan's attack. Even though we are
given the righteousness of Christ, we must still continually put on the
protection of holy living.
The shoes of the gospel of peace
With our feet firmly planted on the truth that we are at peace with God
and that He is on our side, we can stand firmly against Satan's attacks.
The shield of faith
In order to quench the "fiery darts" of Satan's temptations, we must
trust and believe what God has said about every area of our life.
The helmet of salvation
This is the confidence that there is coming in the future a great victory
celebration. It's also referred to as the "hope of salvation". This
helmet protects us against Satan's two-edged sword of discouragement and
doubt.
The sword of the Spirit
Since the Word of God is the basis of our faith, we need to learn how to
wield it with authority. Scripture is our best offensive weapon against
the devil.
After he described the various elements of the armor, Paul said that we
are to be in constant prayer. Prayer expresses our dependence on God. We
can fight against Satan only "be strong in the Lord, and in the power of
his might" (Eph. 6:10). In the power of Christ with the armor of the
Spirit we will be victors.
Conclusion: Our enemy, the devil, loves to defeat Christians. The Lord is
pleased with Christians who resist Satan and stand in His strength alone.
Pastor Mike Walls
Freedom Baptist Church Smithfield, NC
All scriptures are King James Bible
Isa. 41:10