SATAN’S TACTICS

Genesis 3:1-5

In Ephesians 6 starting in vs. 10 the apostle Paul tells us that we are in a “spiritual war” and he tells us to put on “the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil.”

  • 1 Peter 5:8 warns us that “the devil prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour” and because he is we are to be “of sober spirit” and constantly on the alert.”

Now, I have never been in an earthly war but after talking with some who have been one of the things that I have learned is it is very important to know your enemy and how they are going to attack. (Important to know the tactics they will use because if you know that then you have a better chance of defending yourself).

Last week here in chapter 3 we were introduced to “the serpent” which Revelation 12:9 tells us is Satan or the devil.

  • And last Sunday night we talked about the fact that the Bible does not specifically talk about where the devil came from…but there are some passages such as Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 that imply that Satan was actually a created being, who bore a seal of perfection, who was full of wisdom, who was perfect in beauty, a guardian cherub in the garden of God, who was created blameless…and yet because of pride was “cast down from the mountain of God.”
  • And now his goal and his aim is to absolutely destroy us.
  • And I want you to look at what Jesus says about Satan…I believe Jesus reveals to us the primary tactic that Satan uses in his effort to defeat us. Look at what Jesus says in John 8:43.

John 8:43-44 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44 "You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of lies.

Jesus says “Satan is a liar.”

  • And do you know why Satan lies? Because lies work.

Let me ask you this. Why do we have so many religions in the world today?

  • Why does a little lady in Thailand bow down in front of a golden idol?
  • Why does a man worship the dragon god in China?
  • Why do some people in this country worship the earth…or the sun?
  • Why do we have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of different religions in the world? Is it because Satan is a liar…and the reason he is, is because lies work?

Let me share with you some of the most popular lies in our society today:

1. All of your problems are somebody else’s fault.

2. This world owes you happiness.

3. You will be happy if you get whatever you want.

4. There is never any reason to feel guilty.

5. All beliefs are equally valid.

6. The answer lies within you.

7. You can have it all.

8. You shouldn’t have to wait for anything.

Most people don’t think those are lies. Most people think they are true because Satan has sown his lies so effectively.

  • He is so good at spreading his lies and trapping people in them that people seldom see the lie when it comes.

Let me show you how he does this in Chapter 3 here. Look again at the first 5 verses.

  • What he does here in these verses is he uses a deadly mixture of truth and falsehood to lead Adam and Eve astray. Look at vs. 1

The serpent speaks to the woman and says, “Indeed, has God said, “You shall not eat from any tree of the garden?”

  • Is that what God said?
  • What Satan is doing is he is taking God’s word that said, “You can eat of any tree except one” and twisting it to say, “God said you can’t eat the fruit of any tree.”
  • Satan is a master at twisting the words of God…of taking what it sounds like God said and by the time he is through with it, it is something different.

Remember in Matthew 4:5-7 when Satan had Jesus stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and told him to jump off because the scriptures say that God will have His angels catch you?”

  • Satan accurately quoted scripture…he accurately quoted Psalm 91:11-12.
  • The problem is he distorted the meaning of that passage.
  • That passage says that God will protect those that TRUST Him and it doesn’t say anything about God rewarding those who TEST OR TEMPT God.

Satan is an expert at distorting the truth to make it sound like God has said something when it isn’t what God has said at all.

How many of you have heard people paraphrase 1 Cor. 10:13 by telling someone who is seriously struggling with a difficulty or a tragedy, “God will not give you more than you can handle.” (That is what Satan wants people to think. Tell that to a mother who has lost her husband and a child in a car wreck. “God, why did you give me this? And if I can’t handle this does that mean that my faith in God is weak?”)

  • That is not at all what the passage says!

The passage says that: No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.

  • The passage is talking about “temptation”…the “temptation to sin.”
  • It has nothing to do with “suffering hardships.”
  • I will tell you right now, some hardships are more than we can handle and God wants us to turn to Him for help, and comfort and peace.
  • But Satan can, and often does, twist and manipulate scripture to make it sound like God said something He didn’t say…if Satan can make God out to be the villain and make us turn away from Him…then Satan has won.

So, in this “spiritual war” one of the tactics that Satan uses is “distorting what God has said and make God say something He hasn’t said.”

Look at a second tactic that Satan uses in order to destroy people. Look at vs. 3-4.

  • In vs. 3 the woman says, “If we eat from the fruit of the tree which is in the middle of the garden, God has said,' You shall not eat from it or touch it, lest you die.' " 4 And the serpent said to the woman, "You surely shall not die!

Do you see what he does? He disputes the truth!

  • Eve said, “If we eat of the tree we will die.” And he says, “No you won’t. That is a mistake! You won’t die!”
  • Here is the liar accusing God of lying.

But here is what I want you to notice…especially our young people…this is so important.

Satan disputes what God has said…and the only way she could prove his statement right or wrong would be after the fact…and in this case it was too late.

  • Satan challenges what God has said and the only way it could be proven is by disobeying God and by then it is too late.

“God isn’t going to let anyone be lost eternally…so you don’t have to do what He says.”

  • Millions of people across the world have believed Satan’s lie and do you know when they are going to find out that he lied to them? When it is too late.

Satan says, “Trust me. You won’t get in trouble. Nobody’s going to get hurt. Nobody’s going to mind.”

  • They only way you can know is by disobeying God…and by then it is too late. God has proven to be right and Satan has proven to be the liar he is…but he doesn’t care because the damage has already been done and that is what he wanted all along.

In the last century there was a well-known atheist and lecturer named Robert Ingersoll. He gave a lecture one night on “Why hell is just an invention of a bunch of preachers to terrify people.” He stood up and said, “I am going to prove tonight that there is no hell.”

  • A man that came who was about half drunk stood up and shouted from the back of the room, “Do it strong Bob cause a whole bunch of us are counting on you being right and if you are wrong we are all lost.”
  • I am afraid that is what a lot of people are doing today…they are counting on Satan being right and if he is wrong…well they will be lost.

In this spiritual battle that we are fighting with Satan the thing to do is always, always trust what God says. If God says “It will hurt” you better believe it.

Look at the third tactic that Satan uses. Look at vs. 5. Satan says, “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

  • What Satan does here is he tells the truth. God knew this and down in vs. 22 God admits it.

But, do you see what Satan is really doing? He is mixing in some truth for the purpose of giving his lies legitimacy. (For the purpose of believability)

  • He is using the truth to deceive.

We have just seen a lot of this in the election. People reporting things about a candidate that was true, and turning around and reporting things that they knew weren’t true hoping people would believe the lie because of the truth they told before.

And that is very true today in the realm of religion.

  • A lot of religious groups have a message that contains a high percentage of the truth…but at the same time they have a high percentage that is not true.
  • And they will come and knock on your door and they will tell you that they “believe that Jesus is God’s Son”…and they will ask you, “Do you believe that?”
  • And then when they get you to nodding your head in agreement…they will say a lot of things that are not true.

You see, Satan loves to get you nodding your head in agreement and then he will slip some things in that are untrue…and sometimes it might be that only 10% of what he says is untrue…or it may be that on 10% of what he says is true…but whatever it is his whole purpose is to lead you astray and destroy you.

And then finally, a fourth tactic that Satan uses is simply the tactic of with-holding the truth.

  • Satan knew what would happen if Adam and Eve ate of that fruit…he knew what would happen…but he never mentioned it.
  • “Go ahead Eve and eat that fruit. You will become the judge of what is good and evil. You will become like God. And when you do it will kill you.” He never said that.
  • He never spoke of the devastation, the fallen-ness, and the sin and the reproach that would be a consequence of disobeying God.
  • He conveniently withheld the truth.

He says, “Lie, cheat, steal, practice immorality and sexual perversions, be arrogant, boastful, greedy, insolent, disobedient to parents, untrustworthy, unmerciful, unloving, filthy, haters of God…do all of those things.”

  • And Satan will build those things up and make them sound and look so good.
  • But Satan will never tell you the truth about those things.
  • He will never tell you the pain, hurt, disappointment, devastation, and condemnation that comes with those things.
  • The only time he ever tells the truth is to deceive.

We are in a “spiritual war” and it is very important to know what the enemy’s tactics are. It is important to know how he is going to attack.

  • Jesus tells us that his primary method of attack is by lying.
  • Lying about the word of God, disputing the truth, mixing truth with lies to make himself more believable, and then by simply with-holding the truth.

And if we are going to be prepared…if we are going to be able to recognize his lies…then we must fervently pray for the wisdom to recognize his deception.

  • And we have got to consistently spend time in our Bibles.
  • That is the only way we can tell what is true…and what is one of Satan’s lies.

Do remember the Falkland War between Great Britain and the Argentinians back in 1982? The British had this 3500 ton warship called the HMS Sheffield. And the Argentinians fired one Exocet missile from an airplane and sank the ship. The British were stunned! How could this happen?

  • Well, after the war was over they did some research and found out that the ship knew that the missile was coming. But the Exocet missile that the Argentinians fired had been purchased from France. And the ship’s computer said, “France is an ally.” So the ships computer said, “That is a friendly missile. Don’t worry about it.”
  • Obviously the price was high for not recognizing an unfriendly missile.
  • And that is true in our spiritual battle with Satan. He will do what he can to deceive us and we must always be alert for any unfriendly missiles that he fires.