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A GATEWAY SERMON SUMMARY


AUDIO


The devil's devices
(second in a series based on sermons by John Wesley*)

Jerry Varnado, pastor
Gateway Church, Athens GA

October 9, 2005
  • Main Scripture text: 1 Corinthians 1:26-30.
  • The devil will use every means at his disposal to destroy God's children and the work God does inside us.

  • When a person becomes a follower of Christ, he or she begins to be partaker of all the blessings God has in store for those who respond to the gospel.

  • A new Christian is just a "babe in Christ" -- but is trusting God's promise of life-change and maturity. Indeed, we all await the time when, ultimately, God will finish His work in us and we will be like Jesus in our character, full of the fruit of the Spirit.

  • The devil is clever. He uses our expectation of this greater work to destroy the "first fruits" of our life with Christ, or at least to keep those fruits from growing and maturing.

  • First, He tries to quench our joy, because he knows "the joy of the Lord is our strength." He does this in three ways:

1)

He reminds us of our unworthiness and points out every weakness, failure, and sin of our lives.


2)


He tries to get us to adopt an "all-or-nothing mentality." He menaces us with the thought that unless we rid ourselves of sin is completely in this life, we will not see God in heaven.


3)


He blinds us to God's work. We cannot enjoy the great things God has already done in us, because we're overwhelmed by the much that still needs to be done.

  • The devil's second device is to disturb our peace. He constantly pushes us think that we must be righteous in and of ourselves before God will accept us. That undermines our peace with God and our confidence in His promises, love, mercy, and provision.

  • The third device is to create worry and fear about tomorrow. Why? Worrying is essentially saying, "I can't trust God to get me through." The more we worry, the more it undermines our faith and disrupts our relationship with God.

  • How do we combat these devices that attempt to undermine the work of God in us?

1)

Believe God! God has clearly shown us that the devil is a liar by nature and everything that comes from his mouth is a lie. He doesn't have the ability to tell the truth.


2)


Know the Word of God so when the devil whispers in your ear you'll recognize the lies.


3)


Put up your shield of faith! That will protect your heart from the attack.

  • When the devil reminds you of your sin, thank him! That helps you remember that all your sin is now covered by the blood of Jesus!

  • When he tells you are unrighteous simply respond, "So what? I am accepted by God, not having a righteousness of my own, but rather a righteousness that comes from God based on faith! And He who began a good work in me will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus!"

  • No matter what the devil does to try to stop you, no matter what he does to try to stop us a a church, let's keep pressing on to glory!

  • Let's hold fast to the promise of the Scriptures in Romans 16:20: "The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet."

  • I'll end this sermon the same way John Wesley ended his sermon on this topic:

In unwavering faith, calm serenity of spirit, full assurance of hope, and rejoicing evermore for what God has done, "go on toward perfection."

Daily, "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."

"Go from strength to strength" in submission, patience, and humble thankfulness for what you have attained and for what you will attain.

Run the race that is set before you, "looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith," until through perfect love you enter into God's glory.

And the God of peace will be with you. Amen.


Supporting texts: Romans 14:17 | Nehemiah 8:10 | Romans 4:17 | Philippians 3:9 | Philippians 1:6 | Romans 16:20 |

*This sermon is adapted from John Wesley's standard sermon #42, "Satan's Devices."


A mp3 audio file of this sermon is here (36:00).
(Download to a PC by right clicking on the link and choosing "Save Target As." Mac users: click, hold, and choose "Download Link to Disk." Depending on your connection speed, the file may take several minutes to download.)

An audio tape of the sermon summarized above is available free of charge (U.S. requests only).


Request a tape by calling or writing the Gateway Church office.
Please specify tape number 051009a: The Devil's Devices.

© 2005 Gerald R. Varnado

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