Are you still falling for Satan's oldest trick?
By: Rev. Steven B. Smethers DD
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Are you still falling for Satan's oldest trick?
By: Rev. Steven B. Smethers DD
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Temptation: Noun
1. Something tempting or enticing
2. The desire to have or do something that you know you should
avoid
3. The act of influencing by exciting hope or desire
Temptation is indeed the oldest trick in the
evil one's arsenal. Notice 2. 'The
desire to have or do something that you know you should avoid'.
Keep this in your mind as you read on.
The first recorded "temptation" in the
Bible is in Genesis:
Genesis 3:1-5, "Now the serpent was more
subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made.
And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat
of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent,
We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the
fruit of the tree which [is] in the midst of the garden, God hath
said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye
die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely
die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your
eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and
evil."
In the last sentence of this scripture we see how Satan tempted
Eve and began the downfall of mankind. He has been using this
tactic on people ever since, and it still works! Even on many a
good Christian.
Let's examine one standard usage of this
principle.
Advertising!
Everywhere we look today we are barraged and assaulted with and
endless onslaught of advertisements. You may not think that this
is Satan at work, but it indeed is. Have you ever taken note that
most ads (not all) use diverse tactics to capture your interest?
They use sexuality and covetous as well as pride and envy as the
basis of their adds. They try to show you how much your life will
be improved by having this or that product or service. They tempt
you with their offerings. These temptations lead us to LUST after
these things.
1 John 2:15-16, "Love not the world,
neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that [is] in
the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
"
Notice, "For all that [is] in the world, the lust of the
flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of
the Father, but is of the world." Of the world. Satan rules
over the earthly world. The very world we live in. Think of how
few our wants would be if we were not exposed to advertising. We
wouldn't be constantly told of how badly we needed these things.
We would not WANT. God promised us that through our faith He
would provide all of our needs and we would not want. Our cup
would run over. But Satan wants to put a stop to this. To divide
us from our faith.
Mark 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering
in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
Psalms 10:3 For the wicked boasteth of his
heart's desire, and blesseth the covetous, [whom] the LORD
abhorreth.
Matthew 6:19,24 Lay not up for yourselves
treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where
thieves break through and steal:
24 No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one,
and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise
the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
The Bible tells us over and over that this practice can only lead
to our undoing. How many times have you heard someone say (or you
have said) "I'm very TEMPTED to buy such and so"?
Notice then how often they follow through on their temptation and
purchase the item. Then they will JUSTIFY the purchase by saying
"it was too good of a deal to pass up" or " they
made it easy to buy" or "I'm worth it, I work hard all
the time". (justifications explain away WANTS) How often do
they say " I have needed this for a long time"?
(fulfillment of a NEED) Satan wishes us to satisify our wants and
desires. To selfishly satisify our own desires first and formost.
To fulfill the desires of our personal lust. He uses temptation
to lead us to greed and lust.
Isaiah 56:11 Yea, [they are] greedy dogs [which]
can never have enough, and they [are] shepherds [that] cannot
understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his
gain, from his quarter.
1 Timothy 6:6-10, "But godliness with
contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into [this]
world, [and it is] certain we can carry nothing out. And having
food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will
be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and [into] many foolish
and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows. "
Take a long look around you in today's world and notice how often
you can see that the things people "think" that they
NEED are actually only things they WANT because everyone else has
one or they think they will be looked upon with envy if they have
one. Look at the number of cell phones and pagers you see today;
do you really think that all these people NEED them? How about
the number of high priced luxery cars on the road or what about
the common sneaker that is worn today, do you really think it's
worth one hundred plus dollars? What is Satan's plan here?
John 10:10 The thief [Satan] cometh not, but for
to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I [Christ] am come that
they might have life, and that they might have [it] more
abundantly.
You see Satan is a THIEF. He wishes to rob you. To steal your
peace and contentment as well as your money and time. The common
situation today is for both the husband and wife to hold jobs. It
has become necessary to enable us to seek "the good
life". But Christ tells us in John 10:10:
"I am come that they might have life, and that they might
have [it] more abundantly." God wants us to prosper and has
promised to fulfill our every need if we will have the faith to
depend on Him. Our cup will run over with His blessings. Satan
tells us that we diserve all that we want for and we should have
it. He provokes us to act on our own never seeking God's divine
wisdom in our lives. He robs us by making us work twice as hard
to have these things and robs us of our time and energy. He
leaves us no time to enjoy our lives and families or to do God's
works. Essentially, he does not allow us any time to enjoy the
thing he tempted us to get .If you think he isn't devious then
just think of what he has done to people with the advent of the
credit card. Now he makes you work so you can pay off the things
you bought (and didn't need) and didn't have money to pay. He in
effect, makes you his indentured slave. He did all this with
TEMPTATION. His oldest trick. "The thief [Satan] cometh not,
but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy" (John
10:10)
Proverbs 22:7 The rich ruleth over the poor, and
the borrower [is] servant to the lender.
This brings us back to a previous point:
1 John 2:15-16, "Love not the world,
neither the things [that are] in the world. If any man love the
world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that [is] in
the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and
the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
"
Now substitute the word 'Satan' in
every instance that the word "World"
is used and this scripture reads more clearly.
["Love not Satan, neither the
things [that are] of Satan. If any man
love Satan, the love of the Father is
not in him. For all that [is] of Satan,
the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of
life, is not of the Father, but is of Satan.
"]
This may be a more accurate translation of this scripture and
certainly one that drives home the point. Satan is the keeper of
this world we live in. If we follow Satan we will NOT be blessed
by God. Look around you, how many folks have the Lord's peace in
their lives? How much corruption is present in our world? How
much chaos is in our daily lives? How much contentment do you
find? This should clearly show you how much influence Satan has
over this world and how he tries to ensnare us into his
trappings.
Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he
shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall
a man give in exchange for his soul?
Mark 4:19 And the cares of this world, and the
deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering
in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.
Seeking God is the only course to true contentment. Notice how
many people never receive true JOY from all that they have. How
many are thankful for the blessing they have received? God has
clearly given us a plan for our provision:
Matthew 7:7-11, "Ask, and it shall be given
you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto
you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man
is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a
stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye
then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children,
how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good
things to them that ask him? "
Yet many people today think they can do better and follow the
lead and temptations of Satan only to fall flat on their face and
wonder "WHY". Their finances are in ruin as well as
their lives. They have no peace or contentment at all. Satan has
won dominion over them. All they ever had to do was trust in the
Lord to provide for them. Faith is the answer and the key to all
the goodness that may be had in this life.
1 Timothy 6:6-10, "But godliness with
contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into [this]
world, [and it is] certain we can carry nothing out. And having
food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will
be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and [into] many foolish
and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some
coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced
themselves through with many sorrows. "
Is your life frought with many sorrows? Do you have a long
"WANTS" list? Are you at peace and with the contentment
our Lord provides? Is their joy and thanksgiving in your life?
OR:
Are you still falling for Satan's oldest trick?
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Written by : Rev. Steven B. Smethers DD
Senior Pastor / Administrator - UCMI