Know Your Enemy Part 3: Satan’s Plan Today
We continue the series today on Knowing Your Enemy Part 3: Satan’s Plan Today. Satan still seeks to be worshiped. It was pride that led to his fall and removal from heaven. He hates mankind but desires its worship. Today, I want to tell you Satan’s three-part plan to destroy God’s plan and work. Satan will not succeed. I have read the back of the book and I know his ending and so does he. Let us stand for truth and battle for truth (and that is real spiritual warfare, the battle for truth). Satan’s plan is to destroy God’s plan. Here is what Satan wants to do:
Deify Man in Salvation;
Degrade the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit; and
Discredit the Word of God through Human Experience.
Section 1: Deify Man in Salvation
Jonah 2: 9 reads: “Salvation is of the Lord.” Man cannot save himself. Man is dead in trespasses and sins. (Ephesians 2: 1) Without the grace of God being given to the lost sinner, the sinner would never come to Christ. In the 1900s, a number of preachers began using techniques developed by an evangelist named Billy Sunday. He would preach a fire and brimstone message and then offer a “sinner’s prayer” to relive their guilt. Later, he would have people come forward and shake his hand as evidence of their intent to follow Christ. Charles Finney used a mourners bench in the 1800s to get an emotional conversion. Billy Graham did much the same by conducting large crusades and offering the following sinner’s prayer: "Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be."
All these methods are seen today in the opportunities for “salvation” found in the following methods:
Making a decision for Jesus.
Making a profession of faith.
Saying the sinner’s prayer.
Getting baptized.
Joining the church.
The consistent theme is that man is in charge of when he comes to Christ. It is his free will that chooses. This is false! Man’s will is free but it is also depraved. Read Romans 3 and you will see a description of man’s free will without the grace of God regenerating the sinner to cause him to want the Lord Jesus Christ. All these methods are designed to convince the sinner to be saved , but he can’t without Holy Spirit conviction. The error believes that man s in charge of his salvation. Satan wants man deified and God reduced to a helpless old man on the sidelines hoping that someone will believe in Him. This is a lie from the pit of hell. No one is saved without Holy Spirit conviction and that is God’s business not yours. You come when you are called. Remember John 6: 37-38, 65; 10: 27-30. God’s children chosen before the foundation of the world will come when the Holy Spirit calls. Gifts of faith and repentance are responded to by the one who exercises the faith given to him. THERE IS NO SALVATION WITHOUT HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTION!
What is Holy Spirit Conviction?
We read in Genesis 1: 2: “And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” In the first creation we find the earth that was without form and void. It was empty and darkness was upon the whole earth. Then, the Spirit of God moved upon, or brooded over, the face of this dark, empty earth. In the 3rd verse we read, “Let there be light: and there was light.” This was the beginning of the restoration of the earth. It was the work of the Holy Spirit who took the Word of God and brought order out of chaos and life out of death in the first creation.
In II Corinthians 4, we read the following: “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: in whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God,who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”
This is a vivid picture of a lost sinner. When Adam fell, the light went out of his heart. Man is a threefold being: body, soul, and spirit. In his body he is world-conscious; in his soul, or mind, he is self-conscious; in his spirit he is dead. Romans 3 says in part: “There is no fear of God before their eyes. (Every unsaved person is an atheist at heart). There is none that understandeth.” Again the Apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 2: 1: the sinner is “dead in trespasses and sins.” The sinner’s understanding is darkened (Ephesians 2:1). He has a mind that is blinded (2 Corinthians 4: 4).
There is chaos and darkness in the heart and mind of the lost. He is lost, empty and void of life. It is only the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit, the same Holy Spirit who brooded over the first creation, that broods over the second creation and says, “Let there be light.” Thank God that one day the Holy Spirit brooded over my heart and said, “Barry, let there be light in your heart, soul and spirit.” What did He mean? “For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4: 6) Just as the Holy Spirit one day brooded over this empty world covered with darkness, and out of the heavens came the command, “Let there be light: and there was light,” so the Holy Spirit broods over the heart of the sinner, and God gives the command, “Let there be light,” and there is light! Has the light of God ever shined on your heart? Have you received the light of the gospel?
It is the work of the Holy Spirit, not the work of man, or some celebrity, or worldly worship music, to get you in a spiritual mood. The sinner is dead and without a supernatural act to bring him to life, he will stay in the darkness and go to hell. But when the Holy Spirit broods over that soul and that spirit, and takes the Word of God, not some joke or illustration or movie theme, and opens the heart of that sinner, and lets the light of the glorious gospel of Christ shine in, that sinner begins to feel for the first time in his life what he is by nature.
In summary, Holy Spirit conviction includes the following:
Showing the lost soul his or her true depravity and spiritual deadness. That he is a lost sinner without hope. That he is headed to hell.
Showing the lost soul the gospel of Christ (this is why true gospel preaching is necessary. God has ordained the method of preaching as the means to reach the sinner's mind and the Holy Spirit will apply the truth to the heart).
Bringing the repenting soul to the foot of the cross to see that Christ’s blood has been shed for him.
The average preaching today does not produce conviction, because the Word of God is not preached under the power of the Holy Spirit. The average church member is brought in as a member of the church through a decision for Christ, and not by and through Holy Spirit conviction; therefore, he is not saved.
We must stand for truth and preach the truth that salvation is of the Lord. Man should not put off making Jesus Christ the Lord of his life because if you delay, the call to you to come may disappear. KNOW THIS BECAUSE SATAN DOES, IF SALVATION WAS UP TO MANKIND, NO ONE WOULD EVER GET SAVED!!!
Section 2: Degrade the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit
Satan has sought to degrade, mock and blaspheme the Holy Spirit so that He will be hindered from His purpose in the world today. We will first look at how Satan has deceived so many people regarding the true doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Then, we will seek to rediscover and make clear what the role of the Holy Spirit is in the world today.
Satan’s Deception about the Holy Spirit
Make people believe that the Holy Spirit is an impersonal force that has His purpose to make you healthy, wealthy and wise.
Make the Holy Spirit into a laughingstock: bark at imaginary trees, tree the devil, uncontrollable laughter, roar like a lion, fall down and shake just like the Kundalini spirit from Hinduism, act drunk or high, e.g. “toking on the Holy Ghost.”.
Make people believe that the Holy Spirit will talk directly to you providing extra-Biblical revelation so you don’t need the Word of God.
Make the Holy Spirit’s focus on spiritual gifts, healings, miracles, etc. All the things that are not His priority.
Have people seek the Holy Spirit, not the Lord Jesus Christ.
Make people think it is about worship, actually the music, and make sure they feel good.
The Role of the Holy Spirit Today
The church today desperately needs to rediscover the true person and work of the Holy Spirit. The 3rd member of the Trinity has been grossly misrepresented, insulted, and grieved by a counterfeit movement that. is being propagated in His name. The charismatic flood of bad theology has rapidly drenched the broader Christian landscape, and it has left a swath of doctrinal error and spiritual ruin in its wake. It is time for those that love the Holy Spirit to take a bold stand and confront any error that blatantly and blasphemously dishonors the Spirit of God. Thinking rightly about Him and His work is essential to our worship, doctrine, and proper application of theology in everyday conduct.
Scripture teaches that the Holy Spirit's primary work is to point people to the Lord Jesus Christ (John 15: 26; 16: 14). He brings sinners to a true knowledge of the Savior through the gospel and conforming them through the Scripture to the glorious image of the Son of God (2 Corinthians 3: 17-18). Thus, the focus of His ministry is the Lord Jesus, and those who are Spirit-led and Spirit-filled will likewise be Christ-centered. We must be vigilant to point out error when it comes to the ministry of the Holy Spirit. To misrepresent Him is to slander God.
The Holy Spirit is one in essence, majesty and power with both the Father and the Son. Sadly, many within evangelicalism have silently watched the mainstream charismatic movement mock His true nature, as if there were no consequences for such blatant blasphemy. Much of the problem, it seems, is that the modern church has lost sight of the Holy Spirit's Divine Majesty. While charismatics treat Him like an impersonal force of energy, evangelicals have generally reduced Him to a form of a peaceful dove, often portrayed on Bible covers and bumper stickers. The Holy Spirit, while depicted in Scripture as a dove, is not a dove. He is the omnipotent, eternal, holy, and glorious Spirit of the living God. His power is infinite, His presence inescapable, and His purity a consuming fire. Those who lie to Him face the real possibility of imminent death, as Ananias and Sapphira learned the hard way (Acts 5: 3-5, 10).
In Isaiah 63: 10, the prophet explains the severe consequences of grieving the Holy Spirit. Speaking of the Israelites, Isaiah wrote: "But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; therefore, He turned Himself to become their enemy, He fought against them." To treat the Holy Spirit irreverently is to make God your enemy! Do people think they can belittle the Holy Spirit and get away with it?
The Holy Spirit is the power of God in a Divine Person acting from creation to consummation and everything in between. He is wholly God, possessing all the attributes of God in the fullness that belongs to God. There is no sense in which He is God diminished. He performs all of God's works. He is as holy, powerful, gracious, and loving as the Father and the Son. Thus, He is worthy of our worship as fully as the Father and as fully as the Son. If we are to honor the Holy Spirit, treating Him with the reverence and respect that is His royal due, we must rightly discern His true ministry: aligning our hearts, minds, and wills with His wondrous work.
What is the Holy Spirit doing in the world today? He Who once created the universe (Genesis 1: 2) is now focused on spiritual creation (2 Corinthians 4: 6). He creates spiritual life, i.e., regenerating sinners through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and transforming them into the children of God. He sanctifies them, equips them for service, produces fruit in their lives, and empowers them to please their Savior. He secures them for eternal glory and fits them for life in heaven. The same source of power that brought the world into existence out of nothing is today at work in the hearts of the redeemed. Just as the Holy Spirit took the world that was in chaos in Genesis 1, is the same Spirit that takes the sinner out of the chaos of their life in sin and brings them to the foot of the cross to see the Savior as One who dies for them. This is a supernatural act! People who want to see a miracle today should stop following fake healers and start engaging in Biblical evangelism. To see a spiritually dead sinner brought to life is a miracle!
When you know the truth about the role of the Holy Spirit, you can spot Satan’s counterfeit.
Section 3: Discredit the Word of God through Human Experience
Satan has been working the same strategy since the Garden of Eden. He tried it on our Lord Jesus Christ in the temptation. Satan succeeded in the first, but not in the second. The difference: in the Garden, Eve substituted her judgment for God’s Word. Our Lord Jesus Christ did not. Let us examine the process from Genesis 3: 1-7:
Satan plants a suggestion to question God’s Word: “Hath God said.”
Satan lies regarding the truth of God’s Word: “Ye shall not surely die.”
Satan promises divinity in place of God’s Word: “Ye shall be as gods.”
The one under attack relies on his experience and substitutes his judgment for the clear Word of God: “The woman saw; it was pleasant, make one wise.”
Once the person substitutes their experience and opinions or the plain truth of the Word of God, they become their own god and in effect tell our LORD that they know better than Him! If Satan can destroy the moorings and foundation for the church collectively and members individually, if he can get people to discredit the Word based on their experiences, he will have won a major victory. This is the same argument that was used to ordain women as pastors when the Word is clear on the subject. It is the same argument being used to pressure the church to affirm the LGBTQ+ community. It goes like this:
I know a woman that really loves the Lord and she has great oratory skills. Surely, she has the call on her life to preach the gospel. People have gotten saved under her ministry. But read: 1 Timothy 3: 1-5; 1 Timothy 2: 12.
I know people that are LGBTQ+ and they love the Lord. They say they believe in Jesus and they want to be an active part of the church. Shouldn’t we affirm and include them? But read: 1 Corinthians 6: 9; Leviticus 18: 22; Romans 1: 26-28, 32.
Experience might tell you one thing, but if the Word of God tells you something different, tell your experience that it must bow its knee to the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word!
Conclusion
We are living in an age where Christian beliefs are opposed, threatened and canceled by Satan’s ministers. You will have to make a stand. It will either be for the Lord Jesus Christ or Satan. If you are going to be the Lord’s, His Word must reign supreme. Don’t fall for the same trap that Adam and Eve did in the Garden. Be strong and armed with the Word of God. Be prepared.
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