The Deception of Satan
There are two world systems in the earth, the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of Light. Both systems are available to mankind but he must decide which will reign over him in time, thoughts and even his destiny. It is important to see how these two world systems operate and influence humanity. Satan is known as the father of lies, being full of pride and he wants to instill fear in humanity.
Satan deceived mankind in the Garden of Eden and still has not changed his tactics or deception to try and cause mankind to doubt God and His love for us.
The simple plan of God from the beginning was for man to rule and reign in the earth. It was Satan who came to kill man, steal his inheritance and destroy his destiny. He tried to derail God’s plan with treason, causing man to believe a lie rather than God’s truth but God had a greater plan. The enemy is doing the same thing today; he lies and tries to have us believe his lies rather than God’s truth and faithfulness.
Jesus is known as the Prince of Light, The Word of God and He operates in faith. God is an all seeing and all-knowing God and He knew Satan would attack man and cause him to fall. God also had pre-planned a solution that would reconcile man back to Himself. God was not taken by surprise at attack against humanity but He made provisions for it.
The attacks on us today and things we are going through they do not take God by surprise. He has made a way of escape from every situation. However, we must be willing to take that way of escape even if it means us fleeing the situation. Some may think their “pride” is at stake and do not want to look bad in front of others. It takes humility to trust God even in the face of ridicule. Pride is a powerful tool that the enemy uses because he knows it was pride that lead to his fall. We can trust God with our lives, homes and families because God loves us.
I Corinthians 10:12-13 So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall! 13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. NIV
Before the foundation of the world was laid, we were chosen by God to be in the family of God. Jesus paid the price for our sins and the treason we committed against God. Jesus brought us back into the family of God and brought His kingdom to earth. That is the Good News of Christ; the kingdom of heaven is now available to us on earth. The kingdom of heaven is mentioned more than any other subject in the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus preached, the good news of the kingdom of heaven is at hand and is now available to all humanity. This is the gospel of Jesus that the kingdom of God has arrived on earth.
I Peter 1: 17-21 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. 21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
Jesus preached, “Repent,” which means, change the way you think. Jesus is saying, because God’s kingdom has returned to mankind on the earth we can change the way we think about life and ourselves. Jesus tells us what the kingdom of God is like and how we are to operate in this new kingdom. Jesus taught in parables that most people did not understand and many still do not. But, for His disciples, those who sought and asked for the meaning of the parables, it was revealed to them. It is the same today. Jesus tells us to ask, seek and knock and when we ask for wisdom God will give it to us. God is ready to answer our prayers and the word tells us we have not because we do not ask God or we ask with the wrong motive.
Matthew 7:7-8 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.
James 4:3 You do not have because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Mankind was made in the image of God and was the pinnacle of all God’s creation and yet mankind still fell in the Garden of Eden. Jesus came to do what we could not do for ourselves, live a perfect life. He died for all humanity and those who accept Jesus as Lord are transformed into a new creation, sons of the Most High God. We become joint heirs with Christ, children of the King of Kings and adopted into the family of God! Before the fall we were God’s highest creation, but now we are adopted into the family. What the enemy meant for evil worked for our good and God’s glory.
We are now in a much greater state of value as sons of God. When we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are then accepted as the beloved children of God. God has placed us into an even higher position, into the household of God as His dear children.
II Corinthians 5:17-19 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.
We are living so beneath our value and purpose. We have been tricked, bamboozled and hoodwinked into believing the enemy’s lie about us rather than God’s truth. The world has told us we are not good enough, smart enough or of the right social or economic status. Then the enemy tries to sell us on his lie and tells us we are sinful, no good and unworthy of God’s love. But Jesus came so we may know the truth; God so loved this world He sent His Son to die for us that we may have His abundant life.
At the end of the Civil war all slaves were set free and yet many stayed enslaved in their minds and physically. Some were not told the truth and others did not believe the truth. Many lack knowledge of the change in events. They did not know they were freed and some were lied to and deceived by their owners. No matter the reason they all were still enslaved.
The enemy has deceived many into believing God does not care and he wants to keep them blind and in darkness so they do not recognize their freedom and the love of God. To keep them from knowing who they really are in Christ. They enemy knows what a person thinks of themselves will eventually become their reality, even if it is not true. Jesus’ first sermon told us to “repent,” or “change the way you think” for the kingdom of God has arrived. We no longer have to live in the state of slavery to sin and the lies of this world. .
II Corinthians 10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. NIV
We must change the way we think about ourselves and God. When we change what we believe about ourselves we will change our actions. Then we will change how we act or react to situations. We will no longer see ourselves as an accident, a mistake or believe we are less than others or worthless. We will change the way we think about ourselves by knowing and believing what God’s word says about us. We will no longer believe the lies that say we come from animals and therefore we will act like animals. We will believe God’s truth of who we are, children of the Most High King. We are made new in the sight of God by faith in the Blood of Jesus and His completed work.
Most of us live this life blinded to the light of what God’s word says. We live ignorant to the life we have in Christ. Jesus came as a man to live this life so we may have a new life in His strength. He paid our sin debt by dying on the cross, rising from the dead and placing us into the kingdom and family of God.
A baby when he is born has to learn how to crawl, walk and talk in the new life apart from its mother’s womb. When we are born again we are babes born into a new life in Christ. We too must learn how to grow and navigate this life. God tells us we are to grow by the sincere milk of the word of God.
We are to learn how to grow into the mature Christ followers in all areas such as, integrity, honesty, forgiveness, giving and loving others. When we receive Jesus as our Lord, we become a new creature in Christ. The old way of thinking must change for us to change the way we live. It is God transforming us into the image of His dear Son. But it starts in the mind and spirit and then works out into the physical and natural and we become the new creation God created us to be. We are not only a new creation but we are now citizens of a new kingdom and we are ambassadors for our Sovereign King in this kingdom. We should want to represent Him well.
II Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Integrity- People of God 