Satan does not want you to be filled with the Holy Spirit nor does he want you to learn that you have not been filled with the Holy Spirit when you think you have been. He is quite satisfied with his deception that the church thinks they are filled with the Holy Spirit. He does not fear the powerless church as it stands. According to scripture he has taken the church captive due to our rebellion. As we see in scripture, when God’s people return to Him, satan will be defeated. Until that happens the church has no power to destroy the work of the devil. 1 John 3:8 “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” We cannot do as Jesus did without the power of the Holy Spirit and we definitely cannot defeat satan in our own strength. What greater deception is there than to get Christians to think they are secure when they are actually not? He has been able to convince the church that being powerless is just how it is supposed to be. Doctrines of demons like cessationism deceives the church into believing the power as described in scripture is not available for today even though scripture does not say that.
After Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, He was then tempted. Luke 4:1 “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.” This shows that even filled with the Holy Spirit a person has to be very careful not to fall away by not obeying. 2 Peter 3:17 “Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.” To protect from this Ephesians 4:11 “Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” If you look at the life of Saul, Samuel told Saul, 1 Samuel 10:6 “The Spirit of the Lord will come powerfully upon you, and you will prophesy with them; and you will be changed into a different person. 7 Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hand finds to do, for God is with you. 9 As Saul turned to leave Samuel, God changed Saul’s heart, and all these signs were fulfilled that day. 10 When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.” But then he refused to obey God’s command to Him. Many confuse the promise given to David as an individual promise, which gives a false sense of security. Even though God gave this promise specifically to David, this promise tells us there would always be a remnant. 2 Samuel 7:14 “I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’” David understood this when he said, Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Almost immediately we saw Solomon loose the kingdom David was given and in the end all of Israel and Judah were taken captive, yet the remnant was saved. Scripture makes it clear that we must obey and follow wholeheartedly as Deuteronomy tells us Deuteronomy 28:1 “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come on you and accompany you if you obey the Lord your God: 15 However, if you do not obey the Lord your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come on you and overtake you.” satan knows this and is at war with you to get you to turn away from the commands of God. He knows that God will turn His face from you if you disobey.
satan is still asking the same question he asked Adam and Eve. Genesis 3:1 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” He is so arrogant he even repeated what God said and then Eve repeated it. Genesis 3:2 “The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” 4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” satan then tells her the lie you will not certainly die by disobeying God’s word. The truth is we will die and we will not live forever that is until Jesus came to give us eternal life. satan is still telling the same lie and the church is still listening to his lies. There are two voices, one leads to life and on leads to death. You will either hear Matthew 25:34 “Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world or you will hear ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” Matthew 25:46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
satan has also done well getting the church to salivate over the power he has to offer. Many in the church have fallen for this offer of power satan tried to seduce Jesus with. Luke 4:5 “The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’” Many churches exchanged the truth for a lie and loved prosperity instead of truth. Many have become very powerful and very wealthy selling out the gospel for cash. satan has blessed many ministries and sadly many follow these gurus thinking God had blessed him when He has not. Paul said 2 Corinthians 2:17 “Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.” So many have fallen for this offer of fame and fortune because they did not do as Jesus showed us. Matthew 4:10 “Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Luke 4:13 “When the devil had finished all this tempting, he left him until an opportune time.” Notice that satan did not go away.
satan also wants you to take your eyes off Jesus. He wants you to stop following His way, stop listening to the truth and totally mess up your life. satan wants you to think from the world’s perspective. We saw this happen to Peter. Matthew 16:21 “From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” 23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” We also saw with Peter Luke 22:31 “Simon, Simon, satan has asked to sift all of you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” We also saw this happen to Judas. Luke 22:3 “Then satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. 4 And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. 5 They were delighted and agreed to give him money. 6 He consented, and watched for an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them when no crowd was present.” Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. 2 So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor. 3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.” “What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.” 5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.”
Keep this at the forefront your thoughts; SATAN WANTS TO DESTROY YOU. 1 Peter 5:8 “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (Think about what happened to the enemies of Daniel when thrown into the lions den) 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” Revelation 12:9 “The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
Our only hope is to stand firm on God’s word. Be faithful. Trust Him. Obey Him. Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” Exodus 14:13 “Moses answered the people, “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again.” 2 Chronicles 20:17 “You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’” Matthew 10:22 “You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” 2 Chronicles 15:3 “For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. 4 But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. 5 In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. 6 One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. 7 But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.” Isaiah 30:18 “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! 19 People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you. 20 Although the Lord gives you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, your teachers will be hidden no more; with your own eyes you will see them. 21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it.”
Stand firm on God’s word and do not give in or up. Tell satan to get away from you. We must keep our focus on Jesus or we will be destroyed. Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
