Four Satanic Strategies
The sign outside the convenience store on Halloween night told me, "Remove mask before entering." Sure, they were probably edgy about a masked thief invading their store.
Fact is, the thief from hell is the master of masks. Jesus said about him, "The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy" (John 10:10). And he's too smart to approach us unmasked - "Hi, I'm the devil. I'd like to take you to hell with me. Wanna come?"
Thankfully, God rips off the thief's masks - in the Bible. Because the enemy, Satan, has a plan to destroy you, we must be aware of his strategies. The Bible says, "So that Satan will not outsmart us ... We are familiar with his evil schemes." (2 Corinthians 2:11 NLT).
Let's take a brief look at what's behind the masks of the one whose mission is to steal your future, your soul, your life.
Satan's first strategy is accusation. "Devil" literally means "accuser"! The devil's game is to throw your past at you - so you will repeat it or just give up.
When the accuser resurrects your past, you can respond with these words: "That is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of our God" (2 Corinthians 6:11).
Satan's second strategy is infiltration. This is the method of attack in which soldiers penetrate into the enemy's lines at weak or unguarded points, then assemble behind the enemy position to attack it from the rear.
How does the thief from hell infiltrate? By undermining your life through an alliance that looks beneficial -- a compromising relationship ... a "helpful" partnership ... a spiritual influence that sounds really good.
When the enemy tries to infiltrate, here is your action: "Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them" (Ephesians 5:11).
The third strategy of the enemy is deflation, or discouragement. How does the thief from hell discourage? Through the size of the challenge, the obstacles that stand in the way, and your feelings of inadequacy.
When the thief from hell tries to deflate you, God says, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9).
Satan's final strategy is intimidation, or fear. The thief gets his way when you operate out of fear - fear in parenting; fear in planning; fear in talking about Jesus; or fear of obeying what God's telling you to do.
You don't have to be afraid! Here is God's answer when the thief from hell tries to fill you with fear: "God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7 - NLT).
Now, let's expose the "Four Devilish Lies."
Four Devilish Lies
When I came home from my first trip to Australia, I brought home a boomerang! Those things are amazing. If you throw it right, that boomerang will go out, make a U-turn, and come right back to you.
Wouldn't it be great if we could "Boomerang Satan"?
If you're trying to live for Jesus Christ, I can guarantee Satan is throwing things at you, trying his best to bring you down. You may be dodging some of those missiles from hell right now, and you're feeling the pressure. Here's the good news. When the devil throws his boomerang of lies to take you down, you can duck and send it right back to hit him; thus making him wish he had never thrown it. Would you like to do that with the lies he's been throwing at you?
We've looked at the "Four Satanic Strategies." These are the schemes the enemy uses to trip you up, and take you down. Now we'll cover the "Four Devilish Lies," so you can "boomerang Satan"!
The lies are the same in every generation, from the Garden of Eden, to today. They have ruined so many lives. Satan, "the devil...is the father of lies" (John 8:44). These lies need to be exposed.
Satan's first lie is, "The future doesn't matter." Hell's life-destroying plan is to get you to be so focused on the moment that you forget the future and the consequences. You can choose your sin - but you cannot choose your consequences. The pleasure of going out of God's bounds will last a short time. The price tag will last a lifetime.
Here is the truth. There are consequences to running our own lives. The Bible says, "Whatever a man sows, he will reap" (Galatians 6:7).
The second lie of the enemy is, "God's Word doesn't matter." One writer has said, "Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away." What God says in the Bible is the ultimate reality - about marriage, about sex, about God, about your worth, about the future, about life. And His reality will not go away, no matter who believes it or not. To abandon God's Word is to choose a lie that cannot satisfy.
To counter this lie, we must know that "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right" (2 Timothy 3:16 - NLT).
Satan's third lie, "Your need really matters." Your enemy tries to exploit your need for love, for worth, for approval, for significance. He convinces you that meeting that need is more important than anything else - even God. But his offers carry an awful price tag - which you do not realize until it's too late. He doesn't care about your need. Except as bait to steal your soul.
God's truth says, "The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need" (Psalm 23:1 - NLT).
Satan's final and ultimate lie? "Hell is no problem." It is the devil's dream that you will so dismiss or forget an eternity without God that you will insure an eternity there. God sends no one to hell. We send ourselves - by ignoring the price Jesus paid on the cross to take our hell and give us His heaven. The price tag for believing this lie is ... unthinkable. And forever.
God's truth says, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him" (John 3:36).
The lie that was supposed to bring you down just ended up making you more powerful spiritually than you were before! We must "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you" (James 4:7). Satan is going to wish he never threw his boomerang-lies your direction. They miss you and instead hits him!