Can the Devil Really Make You Do It?

If you had a stalker, would you want to know who it was and what he was up to? You do have a stalker, and his name is Satan. He commands an army of beings that are hot on your trail. They hate you and they have an awful plan for your life. Maybe that's why God's word gives us specific descriptions and defensive plans for dealing with them.

Would you like to know what God has said about protecting yourself against the stalkers?

First off, you need to know that Satan is a created being. He was created as the most powerful angel of all; even Michael the archangel would mess with him (Jude 1:9). He had the awesome privilege of hanging out with God and enjoying a special relationship with the King of all Kings.

But then a little thing called pride crept in, and things went bad in a hurry. When sin was found in Satan he was cast down from heaven, along with a third of the angels that had bought into his evil plans to usurp God. You can read about it in Ezekial 28. Ever since that day, Satan has been on a mission to oppose God at every turn. Since he couldn't destroy God, he has a one-track mind to destroy God's purposes, plans, and people.

What gets really scary is what happened after that. It goes something like this... God made a perfect world with perfect people. Enter the serpent in the Garden of Eden and just like that you have lying, lust, murder, and mayhem as a part of planet Earth. So God sent His one and only Son to the world, and Satan brings his best song and dance to tempt Jesus to sin. When that didn't work, he pulled off a masterful plan that ended with Christ being killed on a cross.

But God had already put into play the ultimate plan, and Satan's schemes didn't work out so well after all. When Jesus died on the cross, He opened the way to heaven for us and sealed the fate of the devil and his demons. Which brings us to today.

As Christians we are God's children and the objects of His eternal love, which means that Satan hates us with the intensity of a thousand white-hot hells, which is why he stalks us. Pure and simple, he is out to kill us.

That's what Jesus believed anyway:

"The thief's purpose is to steal and kill and destroy." (John 10:10)

Join us this week as we take a Biblical look at who Satan is and what his plans are for this world and why as Christians we can rejoice over the fact that we have already won the war against him and his minions.

See you at The Refuge!

Special thanks to Dare 2 Share Ministries for material used in this week's lesson.