King James Bible Study – “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34
Date: Wednesday, May 20, 2020
Chapters: Psalms 5, 38, 41, & 42
Message: The Tricks of Satan
Hello My Friend,
As I was reading the chapters for today one word came to mind, enemy. Over the years we certainly have had to deal with some enemies, we may have even been an enemy to some as rivalries will always see us as such. When we really stop to think about who the real enemy is, there is no other name, but Satan himself. Whether he is known by Satan, the devil, the accuser, Lucifer, or even the angel of light, yes, he is is transformed as an angel of light, he is the true enemy, [II Corinthians 11:14]. Our only defense against our enemy is Jesus Christ. One day, Jesus will return and Satan will be defeated once and for all, until then we have to deal with him as God sees fit, and the only way we can do that is by putting on the whole armor of God. [Ephesians 6:11-13 Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. 13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.]
[that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.] Wiles; Cunning arts, deceit, craft, trickery. The devil sure does know how to trick us, and how he tricks us is by getting right to the source of the things that weaken our mind, body, and spirit. For years I had a distorted body image of myself, and allowed the devil to trick me into thinking that I was not a beautiful person, and that affected my way of life more than I care to admit. Then something strange happened, I was talking to someone briefly and he encouraged me to take a picture of myself, and for the first time in my life I actually saw how beautiful I am. You see, until we get to the source of what is really in our heart, the devil will keep us in bondage to it, and it does not matter if we are saved, he can still get into our heart if we are not armed. So, exactly what is the armor of God?
[Ephesians 6:14-18 Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; 15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;]
[having your loins girt about with truth,] Satan is a liar! Christ is truth! Instead of listening to the lies of Satan, arm yourself with the truth of Christ. Believe it or not, prayer is our most powerful weapon against Satan, all we need to do is cry out to our Father, He will hear us, and He will destroy the enemy.
[Psalms 5:1-8 To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. 2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. 3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. 4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. 5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. 6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man. 7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple. 8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.]
[in thy righteousness because of mine enemies;] Christ is our righteousness, our faith in Him alone is all we need to stand before God in righteousness, [Romans 3:24-25]. Keep in mind that as powerful as Satan thinks himself to be, he is only as powerful as God allows him to be, he too has to answer to God, and is only allowed to afflict us as God sees fit. We often question the severity of the affliction when horrible things happen, like abuse, rape, murder, how could God see fit to allow Satan to attack us with such horrible acts. To understand this we need to look at the source once again, Satan. The people that are capable of committing such horrible crimes are not God’s people, they are Satan’s, and he actually controls them without God’s approval. Jesus came right out and told the religious crowd who their father is, [John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.]
Another trick the devil uses on us sin, and it does not have to be current sin, we often wrestle with past sin. I would actually count my affliction as a punishment from God that I must deal with on my own. When we face affliction, especially harsh affliction, it can feel like God has walked away and forgotten about us, then we find ourselves at His mercies, pleading with Him to forgive us of all our sin.
[Psalms 38:3-4,9-15 There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. 4 For mine iniquities are gone over mine head: as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me. 9 Lord, all my desire is before thee; and my groaning is not hid from thee. 10 My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me. 11 My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore; and my kinsmen stand afar off. 12 They also that seek after my life lay snares for me: and they that seek my hurt speak mischievous things, and imagine deceits all the day long. 13 But I, as a deaf man, heard not; and I was as a dumb man that openeth not his mouth. 14 Thus I was as a man that heareth not, and in whose mouth are no reproofs. 15 For in thee, O LORD, do I hope: thou wilt hear, O Lord my God.]
[as an heavy burden they are too heavy for me.] Let me tell you, we have not because we ask not, God does not want us to live this way, and in fact, it is a sin to not accept the fact that you are forgiven and your sin is forgotten in the eyes of God, [I John 5:18 We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not.]
[and that wicked one toucheth him not.] You see, Satan cannot touch us! Yes, we get afflicted in the flesh, but our soul belongs to Jesus, and if we want to be free from this bondage we need to ask Jesus to set our minds free. We are going to mess up more times than we can count because, believe it or not, the tricks of Satan throw us off guard more than we realize. Because we follow Christ, God does not forsake us, and is not far from us, and will help us when we cry out to Him. [Psalms 41:1-4,9-11 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble. 2 The LORD will preserve him, and keep him alive; and he shall be blessed upon the earth: and thou wilt not deliver him unto the will of his enemies. 3 The LORD will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. 4 I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee. 9 Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. 10 But thou, O LORD, be merciful unto me, and raise me up, that I may requite them. 11 By this I know that thou favourest me, because mine enemy doth not triumph over me.]
[the LORD will deliver him in time of trouble.] Christ will always deliver us from all our trouble, Christ will forever preserve our soul, Christ will never all Satan to destroy us. Doubt, fear, disbelief, pride, these are all things that Satan tricks us with, you have the power within you to rebuke the devil by calling out to Christ. [Psalms 42:5,8-11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. 8 Yet the LORD will command his lovingkindness in the daytime, and in the night his song shall be with me, and my prayer unto the God of my life. 9 I will say unto God my rock, Why hast thou forgotten me? why go I mourning because of the oppression of the enemy? 10 As with a sword in my bones, mine enemies reproach me; while they say daily unto me, Where is thy God? 11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.]
[Where is thy God?] This is Satan’s biggest trick, to make us feel as though God is not with us, and has forsaken us. You know, our hope truly is with God, and if we talk to Him He will help us through every affliction. God loves us, but if we are not asking Him for the help, we will fend for ourselves until we come to Him. We often hinder God because we simply do not ask, but as soon as we go to Him that is when He will do a great work. Nothing is impossible with God, we just have to keep believing that, [I Thessalonians 5:8-10 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. 9 For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, 10 Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him.]
Today’s Prayer: God, When we are constantly praying and seeking answers from You when facing affliction, You know that it can be trying on our mind, spirit, and body, so much so that it disquiets our soul, we feel hopeless, powerless, and weak, and all it takes for us to fall into sin is to believe the tricks of Satan, who is nothing, but a liar. I will praise You through the affliction, when I feel weak and feeble lead me to the Rock that is higher than me, let me stand upon Him as You allow the devil to afflict me for a season. I know You will not let me fall because I belong to You. Lord, Lead me and guide me, give me Your power, strength, wisdom, guidance, mercy, and grace to overcome all of Satan’s tricks. Keep my eyes, ears, mind, and heart on You so that I am always on guard, and should I fall for His tricks, let me quickly get back up and stand with You. I ask these things in Your name, Jesus. Amen.
God Bless You, I am praying for you,
Christina
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