Satan's Devices - Part 2

Exactly what the Bible tells us happened. And I think that you will discover here this morning that that has happened to you more times than you might have realized. But David's not our only example. We turn to the pages of the New Testament and we find something similar with the great apostle Peter. You remember the story where Jesus had asked his disciples, who do men say that I am? And they responded with a variety of responses. Some say you're Elijah, some say you're one of the prophets, some say you're John the Baptist come back from the dead. Jesus said, but who do you say that I am? And Peter spoke up and he said, you are the Christ. You're the son of the living God. And Jesus said, oh, blessed are you Simon, son of Jonah. Flesh and blood hasn't revealed this to you, but my father in heaven, he has shown you this. So Jesus tells Peter that he has just been spoken to by God. He's just had a revelation from God. God just put that understanding in Peter's mind and he spoke it out, you're the Christ. A few minutes later, as Jesus continues to talk to them and he tells them about what's going to happen to him, he talks about the fact that he's gonna be betrayed, he's going to be beaten, he's going to be crucified, he's going to be killed and so forth. Peter suddenly blurts out, he says, not so Lord. That's never gonna happen to you. Be it far from you, Jesus. And Jesus looked at Peter who just a few moments ago had a revelation from God and he says, get behind me Satan. You see, Peter now is under the influence of the enemy. This thought in his head that no, no, Jesus, these things can't happen to you. Jesus said that was a satanic thought that was planted there. So we see it in David, we see it in Peter. Another example in the New Testament is with the couple Ananias and Sapphira. And perhaps you remember the story. They came up with, they concocted a story, it was a lie. And so Peter exposing that lie, but he asked them this question. He says, how is it that you've allowed Satan to fill your hearts to lie to the Holy Spirit? You see, Peter was suggesting that Satan had put this thought into their heads. We also read concerning Judas Iscariot that Satan put it into the heart of Judas to betray Jesus. And then in this fourth chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul will make reference to Satan as the God of this age, the one who blinds the minds of those who do not believe. So from all of these different examples, even though we don't really understand how it is possible, we know it's a reality that the enemy has the ability to influence our thinking process at times. And here's what he does. He will come to us and he will put thoughts in our minds. He will put suggestions in our minds. And in doing so, he's trying to trip us up. He's trying to get an advantage over us. And there are a number of things that he will use. And I wanna look at a few of them with you today. First and foremost, I think this is indeed his most frequent tactic. And it's a very effective one. I'm sure that's why he uses it so often. But it is, we might just put it under the heading of condemnation. But what I'm talking about is the enemy will come along and especially if we've had any failure, if we failed in some way in our Christian lives, maybe we've sinned. Maybe it's been a, you know, not all that big of a deal, but yet we've sinned or perhaps it's been a little more serious or in some cases it's been very serious. And of course, once we come to the realization of our sin, we long for God's mercy, his forgiveness, and we would sort of think to move in that direction. But here's what I'm talking about. The enemy will come along and say, oh, no, no, no, no, you cannot be forgiven of that. You know, you have gone too far. How many times have you done this anyway? How many times have you asked God to forgive you? You think he's gonna forgive you again? You know, you keep repeating the same things over and over again. You have exhausted the mercy of God. There is no forgiveness for you. You might as well just forget it. You might as well give up. Don't go back to the church. They know you're a big sinner. They know you're a big hypocrite. They don't wanna see you over there. And you might as well just give up the faith. Don't try to pray. God's not gonna listen to you. Don't read that Bible. God doesn't have anything to say to you. And in the worst case scenario, the enemy will drive people to a point of despair where he would even suggest to them, you know, it's a hopeless cause. This can never be reversed. Why don't you just go out and jump off of a bridge? These are real thoughts that go through our minds. And guess who's behind them? You see, this is the work of Satan. This is what he does. He's the accuser of the brethren, we're told. And that's what he does. He comes with that accusing finger. And I have found this so many times in my life. And I find that quite often, it seems to come when I am, you know, stepping out into some act of service to the Lord or, you know, some events coming up that I'm preparing for, or maybe it's even a teaching like here this morning, the enemy will come along and he will start to suggest that, oh, you're so unworthy. You know, who are you to think that you could do that? Oh, you, you know, and sometimes he will bring up things, he will, you know, dredge things up from years and years and years ago. And I've had occasions where I've been there in times of prayer and preparation, and suddenly in my mind, something I did, maybe when I was a kid, 10 years old or something, flashes on my mind and, oh, do you remember that? Oh, that was bad. That was wicked. That was horrible. Oh, you're a wicked person. Oh, yes, I am. Wow, that was horrible. I can't believe I did that. Oh God, I think I asked you to forgive me, but I don't know if you really did. And maybe we need a new pastor and I just need to quit. And after all, I can't teach the Bible. I'm such a.