Expose him for who he really is!

(Before you read any further, please bare in mind this blog post isn't to put the devil on a pedestal but in hopes to achieve a better understanding to who he is and how he creeps into our lives)

Let's begin by getting an understanding of who he is

From lucifer to the devil 

Isaiah 14:12‭-‬19 NKJV

“How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.’ Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, To the lowest depths of the Pit. “Those who see you will gaze at you, And consider you, saying: ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble, Who shook kingdoms, Who made the world as a wilderness And destroyed its cities, Who did not open the house of his prisoners?’ “All the kings of the nations, All of them, sleep in glory, Everyone in his own house; But you are cast out of your grave Like an abominable branch, Like the garment of those who are slain, Thrust through with a sword, Who go down to the stones of the pit, Like a corpse trodden underfoot.

Lucifer

Who is Lucifer? Good question. Not the kind of topic that's spoken about very often I find. You may hear the words sin, repent, forgive. But not so often do you hear anything about Lucifer or even the names we now know him as, the devil or Satan. You see Lucifer wasn't always the Devil. He was made by God in heaven: he was made beautiful and very musically talented. You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The sardius, topaz, and diamond, Beryl, onyx, and jasper, Sapphire, turquoise, and emerald with gold. The workmanship of your timbrels and pipes Was prepared for you on the day you were created.

Ezekiel 28:13 NKJV.  Yet strangely enough it wasn't enough. Which in my opinion is absolutely obserd, because just being in God's presence is a true honour and truly a breath taking experience. Yet we read that it wasn't enough for Lucifer. He wanted more.

 

Oh dear! 

I'm sure I don't have to go into detail about what greed does to a person. But in this case greed was in abundance within Lucifer. He wanted to be number one. He wanted it all. Being this way brought to him his exit ticket. God put him and the angels that followed him out of heaven. As Jesus puts it I saw lucifer fall like lightning from the heavens. This sadly birthed the whole deceptive scheme we know today, that started with adam and eve taking the forbidden fruit in the garden of Eden. 

When God made the earth and everything in it, there would be no denying it would have been beautiful. Nothing tainted, vandalised or polluted. The sea the colour it should be without toxin, no damage, no pollution. I can imagine this would have fueled the devil's rage and bitterness. So much so that when God made Adam and Eve, he couldn't wait to get his hands on destroying God's precious creation. Sadly as we read in Genesis he succeeded; he convince Eve who convinced Adam to eat what God had previously warned should not be eaten. The fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. I personally think Adam and Eve had good intentions, I just don't think they really thought it through. Think about it, in Genesis we read that the devil slithered like a serpent to trick them into thinking when they ate the fruit they would be more like God. “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

Genesis 3:4‭-‬5 NIV . So many alarm bells going off here. 1: a serpent talking. Totally not normal. 2: if God says don't eat something why would he get an animal to say he was joking. 3: Adam and Eve walked and talked with God so freely in person, unlike what we have now, why would they need anything else. The devil knew the one thing they wanted was to be close to their creator, so he used that tactic to bring them down. Yet if they remembered what they had, the reality, the closeness. They wouldn't need anything else. But as crafty as the devil is, he knows what to say and what tactics to use. Sadly we read they followed through and sin entered the world, unravelling disaster and disaster. 

× hate - fighting, death, broken relationships

× greed - stealing, pain, loniness 

× rage - paranoid, thinking everyone's against you

× envy - bitterness, decete

× murder - jail, hardship, deception 

× addition - panic, anxiety, fear

× gluttony - never enough, never satisfied 

Just to name a few ideas, I'm sure you may reckonise some of these whether from your own past or in someone else's life. Each one is a spark that sets of a whole explosion of mistakes and crimes we see commited throughout our life. Whether that be on the news, on social media, or closer to home. 

Unfortunately for us the devil is clever at what he does. The Bible tells us to resist the devil and he will flee: (Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you James 4:7) this doesn't mean resist him and he'll flee for good. No he's still prowling around waiting for the opportunity you take your eyes off Jesus Christ. All it takes is a tiny bit of doubt, a speck of negativity, a smidge of pain. And he's in. Full force. All he's got to do is make us self doubt, toy with our insecurities, plant ideas in our mind. Although, just like God! because of our free will he can't make us do anything. He can only influence us, plant thoughts in our mind, and boom the train of thought has set off on its track.

You belong to your father, Satan, and you want to carry out your father’s desires. From the start he was a murderer, and he has never stood by the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he is speaking in character; because he is a liar — indeed, the inventor of the lie!

(Jhn) 8:44 CJB

 Unfortunately for him yet fortunately for us, Christ died for our sins on the cross 2000 years ago. It is through the death of christ that we can be saved from our sins. We can be set free from the hold of our past, and feel joy, strength and perfect peace even in the midst of hardship. I remember once being asked how is it that I can have such joy in my life when I should be in pain and sadness. This was while I had cancer. Yes having cancer sucked. But I knew all was going to be OK. You see, the year before God warned me it was coming, he also told me I wasn't going to die. He was going to use this situation to glorify himself and that's what he did. People saw he was working in my life. People could see he had My back. Even the doctor couldn't understand my quick recovery. Some might ask but why didn't he stop it from happening. But my question would be, how can miracles happen when someone's life is perfect 24/7. As Christians we often ask God to use us in his marvellous plan, but when it actually boils down to it and he does. We question why is this happening to us. I wasn't afraid of the cancer, it was a shocked at first but I was excited and honoured to be used by God, as he turned a bad thing around for my good and his glory. To see God be glorified here on earth was so worth it.

Let's take a look at areas the devil likes to creep into our lives with his poisoness tactics.

Areas the devil works in.

. waste of time (because we don't see results straight away)

. Media

. Gossip

. Refusal to talk to someone

- No love

. I've done my bit (we aren't done until God calls us home)

- lack of support

- laziness

distractions stop...

. People from speaking the gospel

. Hearing the gospel

. Believing the gospel

. The devil tries to put a spanner in the works

- uses people to cast out others

- tries to change time, from the Bible time line to the science time line of this planet.

- speaks in the ear of the leadership against god's will without knowing what they are doing

- ramp up the cost... Over charge

- doubt

- fear

- anxiety

. Self esteem

- not good enough

- defined by the past

- rejection

. Questions in our mind (influencing thought)

- you don't believe this stuff!

-  did Jesus really die for you?

- is God real?

- you won't make it to heaven?

. Gluttony

- I need when really it's just a want

- I must have

- more more more.    To feel complete

- The enemy will use our emotions (our conviction, frustration, our reputation being damaged and our thoughts) to influence us in getting rid of those God sends in our lives

. Pride

. Lust

. Even scripture if it means taking our mind off the topic of prayer, encouragement, preaching at that moment

. Conviction, sometimes when a preacher or even someone in the congregation says or does something that cuts like a knife into our pride or/and convicts us. We can get into defences my mode and do what we can to get rid of that person. It can even feel like your doing God's will, that's how crafty the enemy can be. Very truly I tell you, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.”

John 13:20 NIV.. it's important that we don't get in the way of God's plan and purpose. With our own intentions and feelings. Getting to know God and building a foundation in his son Jesus Christ. Can help us to discern if the push/nudge/idea is from God or not. 

Let's bare in mind, not seeing the devil and his demons, doesn't make him less real than he is. But understanding how he can creep into our lives to drag us down into despair is a vital key in life. 

Authority and understanding 

Because of our lord God, the devil has no authority that surpasses his own... Look to the lord our God 

All this in mind, I can't help but wonder. Because God made the devil, if we mock him, is that mocking his creator. In scripture we find verses that indicates such things in regard to brothers and sister around the world, but does this imply to the devil as creation of God himself?. For example in Jude, the angel Micheal dared not rebuke, and yet said may the lord rebuke you. But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not himself dare to condemn him for slander but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

Jude 1:9 NIV. Or we read the verse that speaks of if anyone should mock the least of these mocks the creator. The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Matthew 25:40 NIV This doesn't mean I hold the devil high and mighty, but I have come to an understanding that it isn't our place to mock him, just resist him so that he would flee from our presence. Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

James 4:7 NIV

I don't know if I'll ever have the full understanding on if what I have shared if true in regards to mocking him, maybe God is revealing this, or maybe one day he will. Or maybe I'll never fully find out. One thing I do know, is it's important for the body of Christ to have some understanding of who our enemy is and what he is capable of, so we can catch him in the act in our lives. 

Remember who you are: god's masterpiece. Remember who he is.. the king of kings. 

Remember you are forgiven, redeemed, set free, and loved, Christ dying on the cross was no accident or myth. He did it for you and for me. 

God bless

Let's pray

Father God we thank you for your creation, we thank you that you care about the instricate details of our being and this world. You made it all. Mighty God lead us and guide us into your truths. Please give us the discernment to know when it is you talking and when it's the devil talking so we don't get led astray and find ourselves in a trap with consequences. Help us be sensitive to your holy spirit and responsive to your ways. Help us dear God to recognise the path that leads to destruction and correct ourselves accordingly. You are the great "I am". Be in the driver's seat of my life. In Jesus name amen