Satan's Lies & Rebellion - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) July 26, 2022

Many of us think Eve committed the first sin by eating of the forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden. However, the original sin happened before that. The first sin was pride, committed by an angel who wanted to be greater than God (Isaiah 14:13-14). That angel was Lucifer and he sparked rebellion among God's angels. Nowadays, Lucifer is called 'satan' because he lost his angelic position and name. Just as he deceived angels into challenging the Lord's authority, he remains a destroyer, enticing people to rebel against God. He does this mainly by crafting believable lies. These untruths stoke an individual's insecurity, encouraging them to break covenant with the Lord.

But, how exactly does satan get people to rebel? A common way is through the lack of knowledge of God's word. In fact, the Lord states in Hosea 4:6 - my people are destroyed from lack of knowledge... Satan takes great advantage of this. And it is especially successful because satan makes sure many don't study and can't remember most of the instructions in the Bible.

Although the average person knows they shouldn't lie, how many of us know how much God detests lying? Most don't consider lying a big deal. Many don't realize being deceptive is a sin. After all, we've been conditioned to expect lies and actually look down on those who can't do so successfully. In fact, the truth often seems to be more trouble than it's worth as it is believed a little white lie solves many problems. Yet, God is very clear that He destroys liars (Psalm 5:6). The Lord also warns about lying against others in Psalm 101:5 - Whoever slanders their neighbor in secret, I will put to silence... However, satan - the father of lies - will craft the perfect conditions to force people to lie and slander so they rebel against God's instruction.

The Lord warns against sorcery, witchcraft, casting spells, consulting a medium/spiritist and the dead in Deuteronomy 18:10-11. Yet, all of us know of at least one person who does one or more of these. In fact, we might not need to look past ourselves. Besides, psychics, horoscopes, tarot readers and crystals for spells are readily accessible. To one person, the 'magic arts' are a source of peace while to another, a source of power (depending on the psychology of the end user). And suddenly, a believer who loves God unknowingly ends up living a life in rebellion to His instruction because they've bought into the well-marketed lie that they need horoscope, spells, manifesting or crystals to make life better.

How many of us realize the use of foul language and gossiping run afoul of God's commandments? Colossians 3:8 - But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Apostle Paul gives more details in Ephesians 5:4 - Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. And as for gossiping, Ephesians 4:29 tells us to use our speech to build up others and therefore not tear them down. How many of us can claim to do this? It's hard, but we have to do it. Never forget that satan wants us to unnecessarily utter curse words with every sentence and destroy people for fun with our words. All so we rebel. That way, satan can accuse us and stand in the way of our blessings.

And this is why we can't cooperate with satan. We need to study the word and commune with the Lord. It is only He who can help each of us to steer clear of the traps satan sets. And when we're about to do something wrong, His Holy Spirit will remind us of the godly option (John 14:26). Praise God that we are told nothing can separate us from the love of God in Romans 8:38-39, therefore, when we realize our mistakes, we can seek His forgiveness. In 1 John 1:9 He promised to overlook our iniquities when we repent and having received this grace, we can try again and do better.

I pray you will join us for today's fellowship hour where we'll honor God with our praise and worship. Then, we'll intercede in prayers for others and seek the Lord's forgiveness for rebelling against His instructions. I know the Lord will hear us, answer our prayers, and restore us to Him renewed, refreshed and ready to crush satan's lies. God bless you and see you at Noon EST.

Read the rest of the Satan's lies series:

1. Satan is a destroyer - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) July 15, 2022

2. Satan's lies, insecurity & self reliance - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) July 19, 2022

3. Satan's lies & breaking covenant - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) July 22, 2022

4. Satan's Lies & Rebellion - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) July 26, 2022

Satan's Lies & Breaking Covenant - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) July 22, 2022

We've learned that satan uses lies as a weapon to plant seeds of insecurity which have long-reaching consequences. Today, we examine how satan's deception causes us to break our covenant with God.

Satan whispers words that cause many to become insecure in themselves and unknowingly, in God. Say the devil tells a male Believer, "you're not good enough, and everyone knows it." It might take a while, but that man eventually believes this untruth and takes steps to ensure he's 'good enough'. Mr. Career aims to climb the corporate ladder, and decides working harder than others is the key to overcome the (supposed) questions about him. All that work leads to him spending less time with God, causes stress, and ill health. He might get a hefty pay raise in the process, but at the cost of burn out, less communion with the Lord, and the reality that he still believes he's not good enough.

Yet, Mr. Career rises up the corporate ladder and becomes convinced that his approach - work harder than everyone else - is a successful strategy. His attitude changes. He becomes mean and close relationships disintegrate. His coworkers quietly despise him but he sees that as confirmation he's doing just fine. Outwardly, his pride and arrogance increase. However, when alone, he battles with doubts and other negative thoughts.

What could this man have done differently? He should have called satan a liar (John 8:44). He should have declared he is made in the image of God and therefore good enough (Genesis 1:27). After all, He is God's masterpiece and thus fearfully and wonderfully made (Ephesians 2:10; Psalm 139:14). Furthermore, Mr. Career didn't need to rely on his might - working harder than others - because God promises to provide for His beloved even when they are asleep (Psalm 127:2). Therefore, this man could have trusted God to make all necessary provision arrive at the perfect time be it in his job or elsewhere. This provision would be spiritual and physical. This would include favor from a boss, wisdom to solve complex problems and more.

By failing to trust in God's faithful character, Mr. Career "broke faith". This means he didn't rely on the Lord to fight for him and work all things out for his good as promised in Jeremiah 29:11. This is a breaking of covenant with God because as a Believer, he'd committed to trust the Lord. Instead, however, he trusted in himself - his capacity to use his time and smarts (both of which are gifts from God in the first place) - to prove everyone wrong. All this because he believed a lie. A falsehood peddled by satan to ensnare Mr. Career into an ungodly cycle that could lead to rebellion against God's purposes for him, wickedness toward others, and ultimately, separation from God.

Many of us are Mr. Career, believing satan's lie and forgetting God created us for exploits. We think we need to be smarter, more beautiful, skinnier, richer, have a better network or some other strategy to achieve self-determined goals. We ignore the fact that God can do anything, after all, Moses only needed his staff to be the most powerful man in Egypt. Joseph was armed with dreams, which were enough to make him Prime Minister of Egypt. Esther fasted to gain favor before her king and The King of kings. All 'ordinary' people who became great because they relied on the Lord and not on their own understanding (Proverbs 3:5).

Of course, believers are expected to do good work and create great product. Even more so because they have the mind of Christ and can access the Creator of the Universe for all their needs (1 Corinthians 2:16). But, when we behave like Mr. Career, we ignore God's purpose for us. This results in failing to acknowledge God and breaking our covenant to honor, trust and submit to the Almighty.

We've talked about how important God takes covenants. He expects us not to break them, even if it hurts to do so. Fortunately for His children, He Himself has covenanted to forgive those who repent (1 John 1:9). As such, Mr. Career need only return to the Lord to be redeemed (Isaiah 44:22). It may take a while for him to grow in his faith but praise the Lord, he only needs to start with a mustard seeds-worth and God will build him up in faith over time.

May the Lord help us recognize our errors. May He help us to return to Him for redemption. May we seek His face for understanding on how to deal with the challenges satan throws our way to ensnare us. For the word says the Lord will always warn His children of what is to come (Psalm 81:8; Proverbs 3:32). Lord, we thank You and look forward to Your increased presence in our lives, IJMN, Amen.

See you all at Noon EST for fellowship.

Satan's Lies, Insecurity & Self Reliance - Tuesday Praise & Pray (for others) July 19, 2022

Satan is constantly peddling falsehoods to God's children. He's been doing it from the very beginning and his lies truly hurt Eve, Adam, and all of creation. He deceived Eve (who'd never been lied to and was unprepared), couching the falsehood so it sounded true. Eve and Adam then ate from the forbidden fruit and humans lost their invite to the Garden of Eden.

Millenia later, and satan continues to successfully lie to people. Everyday, he creates elaborate deceptions to trap people in false understanding and paradigms. Unfortunately, we don't realize how bad it is to believe even the smallest lie from satan. Nor do we realize how steep the consequences can be. Take, for example, what happened to the Israelites when the 12 spies returned from scoping out the Promised Land. Ten of them said their army couldn't enter the Promised Land because there were giants there. In Numbers 13:33 these ten said, we seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them. Only Caleb and Joshua believed God would give them the victory. God's response to the people's inability to trust Him was to give them 40 additional years in the wilderness to come to know Him better.

Who told those 10 spies they looked like grasshoppers and therefore would be easily defeated by the original inhabitants of the Promised Land? It was none other than satan. Because the father of lies (satan) convinced them they weren't strong enough, these men forgot how God parted the Red Sea (Exodus 14) and how God brought water out of a rock (Exodus 17). They also forgot how they'd defeated the Amalekite army by the grace and strength of the Lord (Exodus 17).

That's what the devil does. It gets into people's heads whispering lies that sound just true enough to not be questioned. That gives people memory loss and suddenly, everything God did for them previously is forgotten. Satan plants seeds of insecurity in individuals with one primarily objective - to make them doubt God's capacity. And when people doubt God - even a teeny bit - they forget that He is big enough to do all things. Insecurity can morph into impostor syndrome, self-doubt, body dysmorphia, and other unhealthy attitudes towards one's self and others. This then becomes a rejection of God's word in Psalm 139:14 that human beings are fearfully and wonderfully made and the person ignores that they are His "workmanship" (Ephesians 2:10). The devil wants everyone to forget what Jesus declared in Matthew 19:26 that "with God all things are possible" and the proclamation everyone should make, "I can do all this through him who gives me strength" (Philippians 4:13)

Satan's lies cause people to then feel they have to rely solely on themselves or other humans to achieve things. This in turn leads to the very self-reliance the Bible warns against in Proverbs 3:5 - Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. And it gets much worse if you consider the curse contained in Jeremiah 17:5-6 - This is what the LORD says: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the LORD. That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes. They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives. Don't let the devil punk you into thinking these verses talk about trusting a man or someone else. You can be that very 'man', if you trust in yourself and not the God Almighty!

Last week, we asked ourselves how satan is keeping us from being godly people and we took time to consider what pressure points satan pushes in our lives. This week, we will look at how satan's lies cause us to think less of ourselves, others, and worse, of God. What lies did you believe about God? About yourself? About other people? Today, we're going to worship to enter the Lord's presence, pray for the needs of others, then call on God to help us reject and renounce satan's lies. Join me at 12 Noon for today's Praise & Pray (for others).