The Lethal Lies of Lucifer

Introduction

Flip Wilson made us laugh through his character called Geraldine. Geraldine always got a laugh when she used her favorite excuse, “the Devil made me do it!” Many of us are mad at Flip Wilson because it’s hard to use that excuse without being laughed at. But the old one-liner does raise a question.

Can the Devil make you do things without your approval? The Bible teaches that we have been made in the image of God and we are free moral agents able to choose that which is good and Godly or that which is wicked and wrong. The Bible would also teach that we live in a fallen world. When Adam and Eve sinned, a perfect world became distorted and doomed. For this reason, the child of God must depend on God everyday for guidance and power to live free from the wooing of wickedness. Also, the Bible does teach that the Devil has a sinister strategy to wreck our lives.

The Bible Has GOOD NEWS!

First John 4:4 says, “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”(NKJV)

Colossians 1:13 says, “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” (NKJV)

Satan is not all powerful, all knowing, and ever present!

God our creator and sustainer is all powerful, and knows everything from the past to the future, and only he can be everywhere in the universe at the same time.

Satan has his limits and boundaries!

The Bible Has BAD NEWS!

Satan is a Liar and wants you to believe him

“He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources for he is a liar and the father of it.” John 8:44 (NKJV)

“But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” 2 Corinthians 11:3 (NKJV)

Satan targets our minds

“For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” Proverbs 23:7 (NKJV)

“For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” Romans 8:6 (NKJV)

The Lethal Lies of Lucifer

Revelation 12:9 teaches us that … “the Devil, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”

He was a deceiver and liar in the beginning and he has not changed his ways.

Studying the encounter with Adam and Eve, we can vividly see how Satan lies to us.

Here are some of the ways Satan lies to us.

I. The Lie of Doubt

Genesis 3:1, “And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said …?

Satan loves to cast doubt and make us question if we heard God clearly. Eve heard God. Now, she is being confronted with doubt.

Then we get to thinking things like the following.

“Maybe I misunderstood God’s voice when He …..”

“Maybe I owe it to myself to rethink what I thought God was telling me to do.”

Remember how the Devil confronted Jesus in the wilderness temptations with … “If you are the Son of God?”

Now, if the Devil used that trick on Eve and Jesus, why wouldn’t he use it on you?

II. The Lie of Denial

Genesis 3:4, “You will not surely die.”

The twin brother of “doubt” is “denial”. Together they are dynamic duo of destruction.

Denying God’s Holy Word is essentially looking at God and calling him a liar.

III. The Lie of Distortion

Genesis 3:5, “….your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.”

The truth is that Adam and Eve were made in the image of God. So are you. So am I. Satan come along and more or less tells them that they can be like God! When Satan was first called Lucifer, his great sin was to be like God.

Isaiah 14:14 has Lucifer saying, “I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.”

IV. The Lie of Desire

Genesis 3:6, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate…..”

Eve had first heard the truth, now she believed Lucifer’s lie and acted upon it. She took and chance and make a choice. He choice was lethal and long-lasting. Did the devil make her do it? No, but he played his unique role by tempting her. Does the Devil still work in the same way today? Yes, he does. He is pictured as a Lion roaming around seeking fresh meat (you/me).

Conclusion

My First Line of Defense is the Inspired Word of God. Only by knowing the Word of God will you have the ability to detect and defeat the Devil’s lies. When you try to talk, argue, or reason with the Devil you are headed for trouble. Jesus aimed both barrels of God’s Word into the heart of the Devil. Don’t try to be smarter than Jesus; our human wisdom is no match for the wiles of the Evil One.

Here are three ways to use God’s Word as your Sword.

A. Make God’s Word – Priority

Determine in your heart that you will take God at His Word in every area of your life.

B. Memorize God’s Word – Purposefully

Develop a plan of committing key verses of scripture to memory – each week.

C. Meditate God’s Word -- Prayerfully

Start each day devotionally in the Word of God. Reading the books of men is helpful, but reading and meditating on God’s Word is life-changing!

Most of all, know the WORD that was made flesh and dwelt among us. Call on him by faith as you trust Him to forgive your sins and make you His child.