Harvest Pointe Christian Church, Milford Ohio is a non-denominational Christian Church (Church of Christ) on the Eastside of Cincinnati OH

His Crafty Manipulation | Series: Terrorist Alert! | 10-25-09

His Crafty Manipulation
Series:  Terrorist Alert!:  Knowing the Enemy
Genesis 3:1-6

  I. He appears unexpectedly.
 II. He appeals seductively.
III. He argues selectively.

Full Text 

Terrorism has elevated in recent years.  I counted 24 attacks on U.S. soil just in the 2000's.  This does not count other attacks against America like the USS Cole that happened else where.

There was 9/11 courtesy of Osama Bin Laden.
The Beltway sniper attacks as Islamic Jihad.
A shooting in the L.A Airport by a guy named Mohamed.
Another guy named Mohammed drove an SUV through a bunch of pedestrians at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill to "avenge the deaths or murders of Muslims around the world".
The Arkansas recruiting office shooting.  Still another guy named Muhammad said he was upset over the U.S. killing of Muslims in Iraq and Afghanistan.
There were internet attacks, anthrax, pipe bombs and fire bombs.
Nearly 3 times a year we have been attacked on our soil.  It's no wonder everyone is conscious of the terrorists.

But there is one terrorist who is under the radar of our media.  He is rarely thought of, even though he is more brutal than Osama Bin Laden.  He attacks people on American soil more times a day than all other terrorists in the history of America combined.

Today we begin a series on Terrorist Alert!:  Knowing the Enemy.  The Bible warns that we face a spiritual enemy who is determined to destroy us and who is very clever in his attacks.  He's called by a variety of names in Scripture:  Satan, the devil, the adversary, Beelzebub, the Prince of Darkness, the accuser, and the dragon.
In John 10:10 Jesus labeled him, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…" 

The Apostle Paul wrote in II Corinthians 2:11, to be obedient in everything "in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes."

Peter warned in I Peter 5:8, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
Satan is the ultimate terrorist.

Since it's a matter of eternal life and death, we want to familiarize you with Satan's devious ways and equip you to counter his assaults.  Out text is Genesis 3:1-7.  Genesis is the first book of the Bible and it gives the early history of the world.  It doesn't take long until we are introduced to our arch enemy.  Genesis 3:1, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made.…"

First of all this morning, Satan is crafty in that
I. He appears unexpectedly. 

Satan shows up in the Garden of Eden seemingly out of nowhere.  There's no background information about him.  If you were reading this for the first time, you'd have all kinds of questions.
Who is this serpent talking to Eve?
Where did he come from? 
What's his purpose?  

The Bible doesn't give us much detail about the origin of Satan.  We have to put bits and pieces of Scripture together to arrive at an explanation.

Revelation 12:7-9 gives the most insight.  "7And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down-that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him."

Evidently Satan was an archangel who became filled with pride and led a rebellion to gain more power.  Since he was battling against God's will he lost the war and he and the angels who had followed him were cast down to earth.  That's the origin of Satan and demons.  Ever since then there has been a spiritual war going on.

Ephesians 6:12 warns us:  "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."

Satan is doing everything he can to frustrate the purpose of God.  He knows he cannot win but he is doing everything he can to lead the world astray.

When Saddam Hussein's army was driven out of Kuwait in the Gulf War, Saddam knew he had lost but, on the way out, his armies set fire to every oil well they could.  They left behind as much havoc as possible-just out of bitterness and spite. 

And Satan knows his time is short but he is determined to destroy as many people as possible.  People are what is valuable and precious to God.  Destroying you is the only way Satan can hurt God.

Isn't it interesting that the Genesis account describes Satan coming to Eve in the form of a serpent?  Satan is a fallen angel.  He is a spirit being.  In his natural form he cannot be seen by human beings.  But Satan is crafty.  He can take different forms.

II Corinthians 11:14 warns us, "…Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light."

And he also has the ability to possess a physical being and speak through that being.

When Marsha and I were dating I got her to go see 2 movies, the likes of which she has never gone to see again.  The 1st I thought would make a good chick flick.  It was filled with romantic views of the ocean.  It was entitled, "Jaws".  Lost her in the 1st scene!

The 2nd could be described as a religious movie.  It is about loving parents and their little girl and a priest.  It was entitled, "The Exorcist."  Now, that's just a movie.  The makers of horror movies love to have people possessed.  Whether it be aliens or spirits, the whole concept of losing control frightens us.  And Satan and his demons can take on different forms and possess other beings.

In Mark 5 Jesus came across a man who was possessed of many demons.  When Jesus cast out the demons they entered a herd of pigs nearby and they stampeded over a cliff. 

Satan entered the serpent so he could be seen and heard by Eve.  Afterward God pronounced a curse on the serpent as a reminder to us of this incident.  "You will crawl on your belly … all the days of your life."  I think this is why most people instinctively hate snakes. 

But before the curse, the serpent was one of the highest and most impressive animals.  Satan used it to appear unexpectedly to Eve.

Remember how Satan kept appearing unexpectedly in the life of Jesus?  He came uninvited to Jesus' birthday.  No more had the Savior been born, Herod tried to kill Him. 

Revelation 12:4-6 reads: "4…The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days."

The Revelation is hard to interpret because of its apocalyptic language.  But after Jesus' birth Mary and Joseph fled to Egypt for a time to escape what in reality was Satan's assassination plot.  Satan attacked Jesus at a time of physical vulnerability.  He was a helpless baby. 

When we're weak or sick he'll try to take advantage.

At age 30, when Jesus was baptized which signaled the beginning of His ministry, Satan showed up again.  When Jesus was baptized the Holy Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove and the voice of God boomed from heaven expressing His approval.  What a beginning! 

But then we read in Matthew 4:1, "Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil."

Satan attacked Jesus just after that spiritual high.  And I've seen it happen so many times.  Someone gives their life to Christ and are baptized.  Within 2 weeks, Satan attacks them.  Or when children are baptized, so many times I've heard parents comment that within hours they got into trouble.

When you are on a spiritual high, Satan likes to sneak up behind you and attack.  Like any terrorist he doesn't advertise what he is about to do.  He strikes unexpectedly.

And Satan came unexpectedly to Jesus in a moment of sacred worship.  On the night before He was crucified, Jesus instituted the Communion Service.

Matthew 26:26-28.
"26While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, 'Take and eat; this is my body.'
27Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, 'Drink from it, all of you. 28This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'"

There couldn't be a more sacred, spiritual moment than that. 

Then we read in, John 13:27, "As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him."

You wouldn't expect Satan to be lurking there in that holy upper room, but he was there seeking to betray and destroy.  He still shows up in church today. 

Maybe you're about to take communion when you realize you are thinking about someone you haven't forgiven, yet.  Or a game you are headed to after Church. Or some attractive person sitting near you.  In that moment, when you're supposed to be concentrating on Christ's death, you're thinking about something other than Jesus.  Satan is distracting you.  And some of those thoughts are even sinful, jealous or carnal.  What is Satan doing here?

Terri Gibbs sang a country song that makes this point.  "Somebody's knockin' should I let him in? 
Lord, it's the devil, would you look at him! 
I've heard about him but I never dreamed,
he'd have blue eyes and blue jeans." 
There's a lot of good theology in that song! 

Satan is so crafty.  We expect to find him in the occult, in the drug culture, the adult book stores.  But Satan disguises himself as an angel of light and shows up in places we don't expect.

Parents enroll their child in a Christian school and they think they've protected him from the evil one.  But the devil shows up as a wolf in sheep's clothing and we're surprised.

You are invited to go on a date by a guy who goes to Church.  You think it's safe but you discover he's more demon than angel. And you're surprised.

You do an innocent word search on the Internet and suddenly a pornographic website pops up.  You hadn't anticipated that temptation at all-but there it is.  What is Satan doing in your computer?

You enroll in a religion class in college wanting to deepen in your understanding of God.  But you're surprised to discover that the professor doesn't believe the Bible.  You didn't expect to encounter Satan there.

That's why the Bible warns us in I Corinthians 10:12,
"So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall!"

You can't ever let your guard down because Satan is crafty-he strikes unexpectedly.

And 2ndly, Satan is also crafty in that
II. He appeals seductively.

Satan was very cunning in his progressive appeal to Eve.  Back to our text.  Genesis 3:1.  Notice how Satan begins by simply questioning God's Word.

"Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?'"  Just asking.  He's a master at scoffing and sneering at God's Word.

He still asks questions today.  "Has God said, sex is to be reserved only for marriage?  Really?  Just asking." 
"Has God said you should give the Church 10 percent of your money?  Even if things are tight?  Just asking." 
"Has God said the husband is to love his wife regardless?  And she is to respect her husband?  Really?"

Satan asked Eve, "Has God said you're not to eat of any tree?" 

Verse 2.  "2 The woman said to the serpent, 'We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die'.'"

Satan's question had raised doubt in her mind about God's goodness.  He questions God's Word, then he denies God's word. 

Verse 4.  "'You will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman."

"You will not surely die.  That's not true.  That's so old.  Don't be so naïve.  No enlightened person believes that way any more!"

Then he reverses God's Word.  Verse 5.  "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

You eat of that tree and you'll be your own God.  You can set your own boundaries.  You'll be free to enjoy yourself more.

And he still whispers, "Have sex outside of marriage and you'll have fun."  "Spend that 10 percent on yourself and enjoy life.  Other people will give to the Church."  "Demand your marriage be a 50/50 partnership and you'll be happy." 

Eve found Satan's appeals very tempting.  Verse 6.  "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it.  She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."

It appealed to her physical senses-it looked good for food.  It appealed to her intellectual pride-it would make her wise.  It appealed to her emotional needs-she would become more important and be like God.  Everything within her now craved this fruit.  She was burning with desire.  Satan had her in his sneaky grasp.  Eve took some of the fruit and ate it and gave it to her husband and he ate of it too.  Satan specializes in wrapping the drug of sin in attractive packages. 

Satan can make materialism look really good.  "Man, I'd like to have a car and a house like that.  Maybe if I compromised my time and integrity just a little I could have it." 

He can make raunchy jokes seem really funny.  "Maybe if I stepped over the line just a little, people would enjoy my sense of humor."

He can make affairs look innocent and exciting.  "I still love my family!"

He can make selfishness appear like the smart thing to do.  "All my life I've sacrificed for others.  Now it's time to look out for me."

The devil can make gossip seem very appropriate.  "I want to share a prayer request that you need to keep very confidential."  Suddenly you're the center of attention and an interesting conversationalist.

He can make doubt look very intelligent.  "Some people take the creation story literally but I think we need to be open to other possible interpretations."  People are impressed with your open-mindedness.

Satan can make lying look really clever and wise.  There's a Whoopie Goldberg movie where she is a brilliant financial adviser.  But because she is a woman she can't move up.  Ultimately she is fired so she begins her own company and invents a man running the company.  One lie leads to another and at one point she is in jail and the SEC is after her and she has to dress up like a man to keep the charade going.  It's a good comedy, but, if you think about it, it sends a message that lying is smart.

That brings us to our last point.  Satan is crafty in that
III. He argues selectively. 

Satan is devious in what he doesn't say.  Satan does not subscribe to the truth in advertising code.  He does not do like on the medicine commercials.  He does not warn Eve, "The fruit will taste good but if you eat you will be separated from God, feel guilty and insecure.  You'll be at odds with your husband, cast out of the garden, experience intense pain in childbirth, experience the heartache of seeing one of your sons murder the other, and one day you will get old and your beautiful body will wither and experience pain and eventually die."  He doesn't put that voice over on there.  Satan is cleverly selective.  He specializes in half-truths.

Satan's lies to Jesus were selective and not easy to combat.  "If you're the Son of God, turn these stones into bread."  He could have.  What would be so bad about that?  He was hungry. 
"Bow down and worship me and I'll give you the kingdoms of the world.  They are mine to give."  That's partially true.  Satan is now the Prince of this World.  He can deliver  … for a while.
"Cast yourself down from the top of the temple."  What's wrong with that?  The angels would catch Him and people would be impressed.

If Jesus would have yielded to just one of those temptations for a moment, He would have been guilty of disobedience to God.  That would have disqualified Him as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.  So Jesus responded by quoting Scripture: "Man does not live by bread alone."  "Don't put the Lord your God to the test."  "Worship God only."

Jesus demonstrated that it's really important that we be saturated with the Word of God.  We can't reason with Satan on an intellectual level.  He's too clever.  We need a God-given spirit of discernment to determine truth and falsehood.  We get that by making a commitment to God's Word as our source of truth and becoming familiar with what it says.  You have to be careful with Satan.

In John 8:44 Jesus said of him, "… he is a liar and the father of lies."

And he is so good at it.  He normally operates with half-truths.  He argues selectively.  Just enough truth to make it sound good.

For example, Satan doesn't say, "Murder is a good thing.  Kill everyone you can!"  Not too many people would go along with that.  But he says, "If the baby is unwanted, think of all the bad scenarios that could come of this.  It will be better to kill be baby before it is born."  People will believe that.  Save the baby a lot of misery and pain.  But who among us does not experience misery and pain?  Many unwanted children have wound up being wonderful, productive, happy people.

Or, Satan could never get away with, "God hates you and looks forward to sending you to hell."  People wouldn't believe it.  So he whispers, "You know, God does love you, but you keep messing up.  You try not to sin, but you do anyway.  You're not doing enough for Him.  He's probably a little sick of you, and is waiting for you to get your act together.  You're not worthy and you might as well give up."  Again, a lot of truth, but also some lies-as if God's love is somehow conditional on your perfection.

Satan begins by getting us to agree on some truth and then he throws in a lie and we are so used to agreeing with him that we believe the lie as well.  We get sucked into partial truth and pretty soon there is no truth at all.  That's why the Bible says we have to take every thought captive.  Because every thought ultimately has one or two sources: either God and His absolute truth or Satan and his lie.

Think about these current lies Satan promotes.

"What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."  This entices a lot of people to go where there are no restraints.  But if you lose a lot of money, IT stays in Vegas and you come back broke and in trouble.  If you participate in immorality you come back with guilt or a disease or a broken marriage.  The Bible says, "Be sure your sin will find you out."

Here's another partial truth:  "There is some good in all religions."  That's partially true.  There are some good moral teachings in all the religions.  But there's only one that the Founder died for your sins.  There's only one who claimed to be God and then conquered the grave to prove He can do the same for you.  Jesus said, "I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me."

Or what about, "You've got to follow your heart."  That sounds so good.  There are all kinds of variations of that idea meaning,  "Do what comes naturally."  "If it feels good do it."  "You've got to be true to yourself."  "If the chemistry flows, it's got to be right."  "That's the way God made you."  But the truth is your heart is corrupted by your sin nature and you often desire that which is wrong. 

Jeremiah 17:9 says, ""The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?"

The truth is that the feelings of your heart fluctuate.  What you desire today you may find you hate tomorrow.

Criswell was an old Baptist minister.  He had been married for 50 years.  He said some days he loved his wife so much he could just eat her up.  The next day he wished he had! 

That's why I Peter 2:11 encourages, "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul."

If Jesus would have done what He wanted He would have walked out of Gethsemane and never gone to the cross.  But instead of following His heart He said, "Father, not my will, but yours be done."  And He went to the cross and sacrificed His life for us.

That's the reason we give you an opportunity to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior now.  Come as we sing and we'll help you as you confess Him and are baptized into Him.  Or if you've already done that and would like to place your membership with us, come forward as we stand and sing.

Based on a 10/30/2005 Bob Russell of South East Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky sermon