Angels, Satan, and Demons - Week 310/20/2016 Parents,
Last night was a third week of our Angels, Satan, and Demons series. We took time last night to look at who Satan is, and his strategy against humanity. I wanted to make it very clear to the students that we did not want to give any glory to Satan last night. Even though we were talking about Satan, our goal is to glorify God. We started our service by singing three songs that all speak to goodness and power of God (Unstoppable God by Elevation Worship, God is Able by Hillsong, and Strong God by Vertical Church Band) to remind our students that God is more powerful and has already claimed victory over Satan. So who is Satan? We pointed to five character traits that define who Satan is.
We also looked at Satan’s strategy to take our worship off of God and give it to anything else which is sin. 1 John 2:15-17 tells us that we are not to love the world or the things of the world. This is not talking about people or even just stuff in the world. (Some people read it that way and totally cut themselves and their families off from the world which is ultimately what Satan wants. Remember this, Jesus told us to love our neighbors and also to follow his example of fellowshipping with sinners so that we can show them the love of Christ. If we cut ourselves off from the world, we cut ourselves off from obeying God’s call on our lives to minister to all people by sharing the gospel.) This passage actually tells us what the world is and the things of the world. Look at verse 16. Verse 16 tells us that the things of the world are:
The other example is Matthew 4:1-11. Jesus was preparing for his three-year ministry by fasting in the wilderness for 40 days. At the end of the 40 days Satan came to tempt Jesus. First Satan tries to get Jesus to turn stones into bread (I want to FEEL. Desire of the Flesh), but Jesus responds with the truth of God’s word. Satan then tries to tempt Jesus to jump off a building so that angels will come down and give Jesus angelic protection (I want to HAVE. Desire of the Eyes.), but again Jesus responds with truth of God’s word and says “You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.” Then Satan tries one more time to tempt Jesus. Satan takes Jesus to the top of a mountain to look down at all the kingdoms of the world and tells Jesus that he will give him all of the world if Jesus would just bow down and worship him (I want to BE. The Pride of Life.). Jesus again responds with the truth of God’s word and Satan leaves defeated. Matthew 4:1-11 shows us not only Satan’s strategy to get us to fall into temptation but it also shows us Jesus’s winning strategy to defeat Satan and resist temptation. Jesus shows us that if we want to resist temptation we must read and know the Word of God. Study God’s word so that when Satan tempts you, you can defend yourself with the Truth! Parent please be an example to your student of someone who reads and studies the Bible. Encourage your students to be people who read and study the Bible. If it is important to you, it will be important to them! Love you guys! Praying for you! Trevor
1 Comment
AuthorTrevor Williams is the Lead Pastor at Ector Baptist Church in Ector, TX. Archives
April 2024
Categories
All
|