HOW SATAN TRIES TO GET AN EDGE

I. INTRODUCTION-- 1 Peter 5:8 "Be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
A. The title SATAN means adversary.
B. The Devil is a slanderer.
1. Slandered God to man. Genesis 3:1-5 "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which Jehovah God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of any tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, Of the fruit of the trees of the garden we may eat: but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: for God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as God, knowing good and evil."
2. Slandered man to God. Job 1:6-11 "....on the day when the sons of God came to present themselves before Jehovah, Satan also came among them. And Jehovah said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And Jehovah said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job? for there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and turneth away from evil. Then Satan answered Jehovah, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made a hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath, on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thy hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will renounce thee to thy face."
C. Sobriety and watchfulnees are needed to avoid mistakes.
1.We can underestimate the power of God. Hebrews 10:31 "It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
2. It is also a mistake to underestimate the power of Satan.
II. LESSON-- Satan's strategy is very successful--FEW are saved!
A. Satan attempts to oppose God's UNSEEN with his SEEN.
1. Our faith is in the unseen. 2 Corinthians 4:18 "...we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal."
a. We have an invisible God, according to Colossians 1:15, and many other passages, and He has to be SEEN by faith. Hebrews 11:27 "By faith (Moses) forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king: for he en-dured, as seeing him who is invisible."
b. We are blessed, if we believe in an unseen Christ.John 20:29 "Jesus saith unto (Thomas), Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
c. Our hope is in the unseen. Romans 8:24-25 "For in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth? But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."
2. But Satan counts on the fact that people are affected by what they SEE.
a. 2 Samuel 11-- David lusted and killed to possess what he saw. (Jesus warns us against "looking on a woman to lust." Matthew 5:27-28 "Ye have heard that it was said, Thou shalt not commit adultery: but I say unto you, that every one that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
b. Proverbs 23:31-- "Look not on the wine when it is red and sparkles in the cup..."
c. Genesis 3:6-- "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and...a delight to the eyes..." she ate.
B. Satan opposes HUMILITY with PRIDE.
1. Humility is the key to exaltation. 1 Peter 5:6 "Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time;" (Jesus frequently said, "For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Luke 14:11)
2. Man is so egotistic, he thinks he controls his destiny, but the prophet said in Jeremiah 10:23 "O Jehovah, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."
3. The movement of king Saul from humility to pride shows a shift from God to Satan. See this sequence of references from 1 Samuel.
a.9:21 (When Samuel hinted at his rise to rule the kingdom) "Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? wherefore then speakest thou to me after this manner?"
c.18:6-8 (When it looked as if David would have greater prestige) "...when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with timbrels, with joy, and with instruments of music. And the women sang one to another as they played, and said, Saul hath slain his thousands, And David his ten thousands. And Saul was very wroth, and this saying displeased him; and he said, They have ascribed unto David ten thousands, and to me they have ascribed but thou-sands: and what can he have more but the kingdom?"
4. Naaman was hindered briefly by pride. 2 Kings 5:10-14 (Naaman came to the prophet's house, and) "Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away, and said, Behold, I thought, He will surely come out to me, and stand, and call on the name of Jehovah his God, and wave his hand over the place, and recover the leper. Are not Abanah and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? may I not wash in them, and be clean? So he turned and went away in a rage. And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great thing, wouldest thou not have done it? how much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean."
C. Satan opposes LATER with NOW.
1. God's reward is "later."
a.1 Corinthians 4:5 "Wherefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts; and then shall each man have his praise from God."
b.Galatians 6:8-9 "For he that soweth unto his own flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth unto the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
2. The prodigal son wanted his inheritance NOW, so as to spend it in riotous living. Luke 15:11ff (He represents all the impatience of sinful men.)
3. Rich young ruler did not put much confidence in rewards, "later." Mat-thew 19:21-22 "Jesus said unto him, If thou wouldest be perfect, go, sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. But when the young man heard the say-ing, he went away sorrowful; for he was one that had great possessions."
4. But Moses did not succumb to this tactic of Satan. Hebrews 11:24-26 "By faith Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pha-raoh's daughter; choosing rather to share ill treatment with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season; accounting the re-proach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt: for he looked unto the recompense of reward."
III.CONCLUSION--Jesus was a target of all these appeals. Luke 4:1-13
A. The temptation in which Satan SHOWED him the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time, Jesus chose the UNSEEN.
B. In the temptation to cast himself down in pride from the pinnacle of the Temple, Jesus humbled himself to God.
C. In the temptation to satisfy his immediate hunger, Jesus postponed it, and was served by angels.
IV. APPEAL--If these tactics are not enough for him to succeed, Satan will oppose SPIRIT with FLESH, and will fight DISCIPLINE with DISSIPATION. Can Satan win you with any of these tricks?