The Deception of Satan

By Pastor Aschalew Beyene

Part TWO

Steal, Kill, Destroy

Satan isn’t focused on deceiving his own people, they are already deceived. But he attempts to deceive believers. According to 2 Cor 2:11, we aren’t ignorant of the schemes of the devil for His word tells us about his strategies. First, in John 8:44, we learn that the devil is a liar and the father of lies. Also, John 10:10 states, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy, I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full”. That is evident in the world today. The devil is the source of all evil and he wants to destroy the world. He is using people, and the media as a major outlet to display people killing, stealing and destroying. The media doesn’t display good news occurring in the church, people being saved, delivered and healed. Rather, the media attempt to expose immorality in the church; only cases of embezzlement or infidelity are featured on the news. Whether the devil uses the media or people, we must understand he is defeated. Jesus gave the authority to the church.There is a strong temptation in the world we live, but Jesus in me is greater than any temptation I face. 

The Spirit of Discernment

As believers we need to have the Spirit of discernment abiding within us to fight against the deception of the enemy. Jesus had the spirit of discernment; He walked on this earth as God and man, He was tempted but He wasn’t deceived. And that same Jesus abides within us today. When we see a person, may God give us the spirit of discernment to see who that person really is. When someone is convincing us to do something evil, we must love and pray for them, but hate the sin and rebuke the evil spirit. Remember that we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the forces of darkness. Our fight isn’t against other people, but against the evil spiritual forces behind their actions. Nevertheless remember the enemy is already defeated. He isn’t more powerful than you are because God in you is more powerful than the enemy.

The devil doesn’t have power, that is why he deceives. If we are ignorant of his strategies, we will be targets of his deception.He is not fighting to defeat you, he is already defeated by who is in you. John.16:33. Judas was an instrument of Satan’s deception.He never used the money that was given to him for betraying his master into the hands of His enemies. He left the money behind and hanged himself. John 13:2 says, “The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, to betray Jesus”. The devil put his thoughts into the mind of Judas and used him for his work. When God originally created our minds, He created it to be innocent with pure thoughts. But the negative thoughts came from the devil. We are either an instrument of God or the devil; we must choose God.

Back to Eden, Genesis 3:17 shows how Adam heeded the voice of his wife, over God’s voice and disobeyed by eating the forbidden fruit. Was it really the voice of Eve or the voice of Satan? The devil came in the form of a serpent, and then used the woman. Eve was used by the devil, he put his thoughts in her. God said do not eat the fruit, the devil told Eve to eat it, and she had to choose which voice to listen to. Unfortunately, she chose the voice of the devil and convinced her husband to disobey God. If satan cannot come to you directly, he will approach you through those who are close to you. In the garden of Eden, Eve was the only person next to Adam and he used her.

Avoiding Satan’s Deception

Although the devil is an expert in deception, He is defeated! By the power of Jesus Christ we wont be deceived. However, having intellectual faith in God is not enough; we cannot merely know about Jesus in our minds, we have to realize His power in our hearts. The devil doesn’t care if we read the bible. He cares if we live it, if we live like Jesus. Christianity isn’t just the talk; it’s the walk. It is possible to live for God in a corrupt society. Genesis 6:9 shows that Noah lived in a society much like ours that was filled with corruption, but he made up his mind to walk with God regardless of what he saw around him. He was a righteous, God-fearing man who was used by God to save his generation.

 Today, ask the Lord to give you the spirit of discernment so you wont be deceived by the devil. Realize that your fight is not against physical beings but against the forces of darkness. Be careful who you associate with, because people can be used by the enemy. And make the decision to live a life of holiness and righteousness unto God.

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