West Concord Church of Christ

Satan is crafty and will do what it takes to get you. Do you have what it takes to avoid his schemes? Are you aware? Are you prepared? Let's look at 5 ways he tries to capture us.

Lies - Satan has lied before and will continue to lie.

Satan tries to convince us with these lies:

1) This sin will not hurt you.
2) A loving God will not condemn you to Hell.
3) Your belief is not against the Bible.
4) You don't have to do that for God.
5) Your opinion matters.
6) You don't need God.
7) You have plenty of time.

Temptation - Satan uses this to lure us to sin.

1) Temptation itself is not sin, but can and will lead us to sin if we aren't prepared!

2) It's dangerous because it involves man's desires.

3) We must be prepared to beat it!

4) We need to examine how others dealt with temptation. Jesus (Matthew 4) beat it with his knowledge of the scripture!

Diversion - Satan knows how to lead people astray.

1) He knows how to divert us away from our mission.
2) He knows how to draw our attention to:
a) Pleasure
b) Pain
c) Matters that are pressing

Twisting of Scripture - Satan knows how to use (or misuse) God's word too. This is why we need to examine the scriptures ourselves and know what they say. Our knowledge must be our own.

What's your battle plan when dealing with temptation? Jesus used scripture and won. Take a look at Joseph and how he beat it. His mind was resolved.

Delay - Satan will convince you that there is plenty of time.

1) I don't need to obey the Gospel right now.
2) I don't need to be faithful right now.
3) I don't need to bring my children to church right now.
4) I don't need to be a leader right now.

We aren't promised a tomorrow!

Let's be on guard and know that Satan is doing what he can to get us. Our defenses need to be strong. We'll explore this more tonight! Join us at 6 p.m.