Deception

The Bible says that Satan is the great deceiver and the father of all lies and much more.  It says this in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”

Every true believer knows that Satan is their enemy along with all his demon helpers, which are many.  Our enemy is very cunning and crafty and he has been responsible for deceiving many.  Satan is responsible for the hindrance of many ministries, even Paul the apostle said in 1 Thessalonians 2:18-20 when he wanted to visit with the church there, “Therefore we wanted to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.”

Paul knew that Satan was real.  Satan is called, “The god of this world,” in 2 Corinthians 4:4 and also, “The prince of the power of the air,” in Ephesians 2:2.  We may not know the exact reason Paul couldn’t go to Thessalonica but we can be sure that Satan was behind it.  It is very important to know who Satan is and how he works because his desire is to destroy every believer.

From the beginning Satan used the Serpent to deceive Eve and then Adam took of the fruit also and because of it sin, disease and other things entered into the world.  Satan blinds people’s eyes to the gospel and inflicts people with diseases.  Satan is behind all the evil in this world, you can trace its original source to Satan himself.  

Some people think it is God that makes them sick, but God is our healer.  It says in Luke 13:11-17 “And behold, there was a woman who had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bent over and could in no way raise herself up.  But when Jesus saw her, He called her to Him and said to her, ‘Woman, you are loosed from your infirmity.’ And He laid His hands on her, and immediately she was made straight, and glorified God.  But the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath; and he said to the crowd, ‘There are six days on which men ought to work; therefore come and be healed on them, and not on the Sabbath day.’  The Lord then answered him and said, ‘Hypocrite!  Does not each one of you on the Sabbath loose his ox or donkey from the stall, and lead it away to water it?  So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has bound—think of it—for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?’ And when He said these things, all His adversaries were put to shame; and all the multitude rejoiced for all the glorious things that were done by Him.”  All the Jewish leaders could do was complain about Jesus healing on the Sabbath, but the main issue was that a lady was bound by Satan and had been that way for eighteen years and Jesus had compassion on her and healed her, praise the Lord!  

The Word says, “By His stripes we are healed.”  How do we keep Satan from deceiving and destroying us the same way Jesus did?  With the power of the Holy Spirit, faith and resisting him.  The Word says in James 4:7, “Therefore submit to God.  Resist the devil and he will flee from you.”

Always try your best to walk in the Spirit and don’t let your flesh take control and you will be able to resist the Devil and his temptations, humble yourselves and draw close to the Lord and He will draw closer to you.  And don’t forget what Jesus did when He was tempted by Satan; He came back with the Word, study it and you will be able to do the same.  God bless and have a great day!!