Satan is Real

(Notes from a radio broadcast in 2020 – Pastor Robert Jeffress)

The World at War is a Real-life Drama

It is easy to awaken to the evil deeds being carried out if you look around in your local area, do research on current events, or read the world news online or see it on television.  It is a real drama created by Satan especially for our culture.  Many people miss it, because they are too busy with everyday life to pay attention.

This drama is part of Satan’s attack plan.  He has an army of demons who assist him in his attacks.  He loves it when you don’t believe it because he can then infiltrate your life. 

Satan has 3 strategies for the Destruction of Humanity

Strategy #1:  Discouragement

Satan loves to discourage people from worshipping God.  He doesn’t care if you are a Christian.  While he takes the souls of unbelievers, he still hasn’t given up on believers.  He knows you are going to Heaven for eternity, but he can still entice you while you are living your life.  He will pry into your MIND.  He loves to do this to you because it will discredit God’s word and God’s work in your life.

John 10 tells us that Satan is a thief who has come to kill and destroy.  Ephesians 6:11 lays out Satan’s schemes against humanity.

But take heart!  You can protect yourself from spiritual attack by remembering God’s promises through your faith. God says “trust me,” even when you can’t see His entire plan for your life.  This is why Satan has no power over you once you trust in God.

Strategy #2:  Distraction

Satan works overtime to distract people from serving God.  He knows you won’t reject God, but he can distract you so that you ignore God and delay God’s plan for your life.  This is one of his powerful tools because he can distract you with the details and delights of everyday life.  This is called “worldliness”. 

Everything that works toward Satan’s goal of distraction includes focusing on things of the world (your job, watching television, stockpiling money for pleasure and retirement, etc.).  Along the way, your heart becomes hardened toward God.  If you want to grow in your faith, don’t allow any distraction to take control of your life.  Remember, Satan’s strategy for your neglect of God will cause unnecessary worry, as well as a strong desire for money and an overindulgence of worldly pleasures.

His strategy comes in the form of two extremes that will drain you physically and emotionally: (1) that you shouldn’t enjoy life or (2) that you need to consistently focus on fun and games. 

Be able to recognize Satan’s strategies!  God wants us to enjoy life but Satan wants to compete with God for our attention, so Satan twists God’s instruction to us.  He lies to you, telling you it’s okay to overindulge in pleasure and think only of yourself when God wants you to focus on Him and others.  In 2 Timothy, there are warnings about being lovers of pleasure and self.  Instead, we are called to be lovers of God and others, and to be productive until the end.  It’s good to have the money to fund vacations and retirement, but don’t stop being productive and serving others—this is where our focus should be until the day we die.

Strategy #3:  Deception

Deception is Satan’s most powerful tool because if he can get us to disobey God, our outright disobedience not only affects us, but the lives of others.  When we disobey God, we are experiencing an internal change that results in a change of priority and it allows external competing factors to infiltrate our lives.  It’s a devious strategy because if we accept evil thoughts and actions with a reward of personal gain (one example would be divorce or an affair that affects a family), the end result is always the death of something important to you.  It will never lead you to the promise of satisfaction.  Satan’s lies are destructive.

James 1:13-14 warns against being enticed by your own lust—Satan is always at the core of these types of feelings.

Do not be deceived!  Sin is appealing at first—and then it turns lethal when consequences arise and you have to live with those consequences.

Satan is the Father of lies.  Here are ways he deceives us:

· The first person he deceived was Eve.  He tempted her with the idea that God’s command MUST be wrong (“it’s ok to eat the apple from the forbidden tree”).

· He watches you experience success, and then he lures you into thinking success is the only priority in your life.  And then he will tempt or entice you to do things you wouldn’t normally do, in the name of success.  You usually wind up thinking more of yourself than you ought.

· He swoops in when you are tired with random, evil thoughts (or angry responses).

· He tempts you when you are alone—once you are isolated, he can infiltrate your mind and tell you his lies.

· When you pray and wait for answers from God, Satan will make you believe God is unable to help you or that God must not exist if you aren’t getting answers.

Remember:  We choose whether or not we take Satan’s bait.  We have the power to say no to sin.  Romans 6:6-7 says when we have faith, we are no longer slaves to sin.  Satan’s power over us is broken.  When we become Christians we are strong and have the same power Jesus received from the Holy Spirit.

God Wants to Protect You

He wants you to know that He created us and He loves us.  He takes away our guilt and shame over our rebellion and the sin virus we inherited from Adam and Eve.  When sin cripples us, we can feel hopeless because we are far away from God.  But the brutal reality of the cross is that Jesus paid for our sin and God now provides a shield of protection from Satan and evil people we come across in this life.  He is willing to restore everything we’ve lost as a result of our sin.  Jesus took our guilt and shame when he died on the cross—He is the One who can restore us!  He offers us His eternal Kingdom and we become co-heirs with Jesus, sharing in all the blessings of Heaven.  Tell God you are aware that your sin has crippled you.  Tell Him you want His forgiveness and His desires for your life.  He will lift you up as a recipient of His royal inheritance!  This is His offer.  Don’t reject it.

Actions You Can Take Today to Move Toward God

Remember that Heaven is your real home—as a Christian, your citizenship is in Heaven, not here on earth.  He took you when you were helpless and made you new.  You are now a child of God.

1/ Receive Jesus.  Rest in Him as the only one whose guiding light can save you from your sin and from the evil in the world.

2/ Demonstrate your faith by separating yourself from the culture.  Since we are worthy by grace through faith alone, we separate ourselves so that we can demonstrate to others what Christianity means.  We do this through kindness, compassion, forgiveness, humility, and speaking about God and His goodness to others.  Keep an eye out for the different kinds of bait constantly dangled in front of you by Satan—and avoid it.

3/ Prepare for the day you will meet Jesus.  Christians continually praise Him for being the cornerstone of the people and the world.  God guides us through the preparation process by asking us to find other Christians with which to bond and grow in faith.  We do this at church, bible study, and through daily prayer.  Consider baptism—it doesn’t save you, but it demonstrates to God and others your faith and your intention to live an obedient life.  Baptism represents your future resurrection but also a new way of living in this life.  Through baptism, you are saying to the world that you are rejecting your old way of living.  That same power allows you to say no to sin.  James 4:7 says you do not have to yield to Satan.  Resist sin, yield to God, and Satan will flee from you.