A Few Thoughts About the devil Our Adversary

 

1 Peter 5:8-11 in NKJV 

1 Peter 5:8-11 WEL Be clear headed. Be alert, because your enemy, the Devil, like a roaring lion, walks around seeking whom he can devour. 9 Resist him, [be] immovable in the faith, realizing that the same kind of afflictions are being faced by your brothers who are in the world. 10 But the God of all grace, who has called us into his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, will mend you, make you resolute, give you strength, and support you. 11 To him [be] glory and supremacy forever and ever. Amen.

Notes: 

B1 1 Peter 5:1-11 deals with the topic of living out our salvation specially dealing with the church family. 

B2 We are to be clear headed. Many translations use the word sober or sober-minded. A clear mind is one not clouded by anything that slows our thinking or hinders our judgment. A person with a clouded mind would be dangerous driving a vehicle or doing surgery. God lets us know our need to be clear headed. There are many Christians who believe in a passive approach to prayer and worship. I’ve heard it termed as by-passing the brain, silencing the brain, entering the silence, etc. Those Christians are deliberately disobeying God and setting themselves up for spiritual danger. 

B3 Be alert. A person is always more alert when there is danger around them. 

B4 The danger we face is the devil and his agents. They are roaming seeking those who they can deceive. If deceived, then they hope to destroy their Christian faith. 1 Timothy 5:6 NIV but the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. 

B5 God helps us by 

C1 Giving us three helpful things 

D1 Resist. We resist, because we know the truth. We learn the truth from reading and study the Scriptures. The devil will stir up our memories of failures, or when we didn’t resist in the past, so why should we now. He will accuse us of being evil. He will offer excuses we can use to justify our bad choices. He can stir up emotions and make sins look pleasant. But knowing the truth we can resist. Freedom starts with knowing and acknowledging the truth. If we have a little skepticism we can question and then recognize error. 

D2 Be immovable in the faith. We have been taught (hopefully) by our church leaders and self-study. We know the truth. We know basic doctrine. We must stubbornly hold on to our faith. 

D3 The family of God. We suffer together. We need support each other in prayer, encourage each other to continue, assist each other in other ways. We are a family, so let us support each other. 

C2 God gives us grace to know truth, to apply wisdom, to remember what we have studied and learned, past victories, etc. He gives us the strength to resist and be unmovable. 

B6 God restores us 

C1 He mends. The idea of the Greek word is to repair. After we suffer awhile, we have hurts that need healing. God provides that healing. Two principles for us to know. See Psalm 23. 

D1 Suffering is used by God to build endurance. We cannot learn much if there is no resistance. Romans 5:3-5 GNB We also boast of our troubles, because we know that trouble produces endurance, 4 endurance brings God's approval, and his approval creates hope. 5 This hope does not disappoint us, for God has poured out his love into our hearts by means of the Holy Spirit, who is God's gift to us. 

D2 God is the one who heals. Psalm 23:3, Psalm 147:3, 2 Thessalonians 2:17. 

C2 Make you resolute. God builds up our spiritual muscles through troubles. Our faith is stronger. Our determination to live and think as Christians is stronger. Our love for God and desire to obey the Scriptures is stronger. We need to emphasize the truth in thoughts, desires, words, and deeds. Psalm 1:1-3. 

C3 Give you strength. We are weak. Problems are often greater than we are. God gives the grace to be stronger. We become more mature as Christians through trials. God uses afflictions and troubles to perfect us. Hebrews 2:10 CSB for in bringing many sons and daughters to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God—​​for whom and through whom all things exist—​should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 

C4 Support us. He gives us strength. God’s strength in us is seen best when we are suffering. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9. Luke 7:48 GNB He is like a man who, in building his house, dug deep and laid the foundation on rock. The river flooded over and hit that house but could not shake it, because it was well built.  

B7 Praise God. The Psalmist has gone through much suffering. He shares his thoughts. 

C1 Psalm 119:49-51 Remember your word to your servant, for you have given me hope. My comfort in my suffering is this: Your promise preserves my life. The arrogant mock me without restraint, but I do not turn from your law. 

C2 Psalm 119:107 I have suffered much; preserve my life, O LORD, according to your word. 

C3 Psalm 119:152-154 Long ago I learned from your statutes that you established them to last forever. Look upon my suffering and deliver me, for I have not forgotten your law. Defend my cause and redeem me; preserve my life according to your promise.

Thank God that He does not harm us. We see a wonderful difference in God, His kingdom, His worldview, and His lifestyle. Let us imitate His ways and reject the enemy and his ways.

Be at peace brothers and sisters. God watches over us. We are in this life together.

A Few Thoughts About the Greatest Liar

 

John 8:44 WEL You are of [your] father, the Devil, and you want to do the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he has not continued in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he tells [it] from himself, because he is a liar and the father of it.

 

Some basics about the devil:

B1 He was created

B2 He was originally sinless

B3 He originally was a servant of Yahweh

B4 He was gifted more than any other created being

B5 He started admiring himself and as a result became proud

B6 He was removed from his privileged position

C1 He was rebuked

C2 He sin was exposed

B7 He became all that God is not, that is, God’s character traits are opposite of the devil’s character.

C1 He became violent

D1 The Hebrew word is חָמָס châmâç.

D2 It means violent, false witness, oppression, and doing what is wrong.

C2 He became a murderer

C3 He became the Father of lies in whom no truth resides

D1 He lies

D2 He deceives

D3 He pretends to be an angel of light

C4 He will become humiliated

B8 He will be thrown out of heaven and will never enter again except for judgment

B9 He will be thrown into the Lake of Fire to suffer eternal, never ending, conscious torment

B10 Verses:

C1 Isaiah 14:12-14 NKJV How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, You who weakened the nations! 13 For you have said in your heart: 'I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.'

C2 Ezekiel 28:11-17 GNB The LORD spoke to me again. 12 "Mortal man," he said, "grieve for the fate that is waiting for the king of Tyre. Tell him what I, the Sovereign LORD, am saying: You were once an example of perfection. How wise and handsome you were! 13 You lived in Eden, the garden of God, and wore gems of every kind: rubies and diamonds; topaz, beryl, carnelian, and jasper; sapphires, emeralds, and garnets. You had ornaments of gold. They were made for you on the day you were created. 14 I put a terrifying angel there to guard you. You lived on my holy mountain and walked among sparkling gems. 15 Your conduct was perfect from the day you were created until you began to do evil. 16 You were busy buying and selling, and this led you to violence and sin. So I forced you to leave my holy mountain, and the angel who guarded you drove you away from the sparkling gems. 17 You were proud of being handsome, and your fame made you act like a fool. Because of this I hurled you to the ground and left you as a warning to other kings.

C3 Matthew 25:41 NIV Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.

C4 Revelation 12:9 NRSV The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

C5 Revelation 20:7-10 NKJV Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

 

Some ways the devil lies:

B1 Charm

B2 Curiosity

B3 False promises

B4 The true source of knowledge about something

B5 Pretend to tell the future

B6 Being the ultimate narcissist.

B7 The Narcissist’s Charm

B8 The Incredibly Seductive Pull of a Very Skilled Narcissist

 

 

 

Diverse ways of lying

B1 It can be in thoughts, desires, words, and deeds

C1 Thoughts where we deceive ourselves.

D1 Pride

D2 Low self-esteem

D3 Excuses not to do something. We think we are not smart enough, strong enough, gifted enough to do something. Others tell us we can, but we still refuse.

C2 Desires

D1 We want to do something we know is wrong, but we justify it.

D2 Manipulation to get what we want. This might be faking pain to get pain medicine or disabled status.

C3 Words

D1 Exaggeration

E1 Telling others of your great deeds, that are lies.

E2 False resumes.

E3 Writing a book with plagiarism, etc.

E4 Starting rumors.

D2 Selectively leaving out some details.

E1 Salespeople might do this.

E2 Politicians might do this.

E3 In this type of lie, only what is winnable, manipulative, etc. Is mentioned.

D3 Broken promises

E1 If someone promises his children that he will take them fishing this Saturday, but then a friend calls and tells you that he must move, can you help. What do you do?

E2 If we promise our friends that we will go and _____ this Saturday, but then you get a phone call from the physician that your dad is dying. What do you do?

E3 We apply the highest priority rule. Our children are a higher priority than our friends, so we keep our promise. Our parents are a higher priority than our friends, so we break our promise to our friends.

E4 Pretending to be interested in someone for a relationship, then dumping them or disappearing or even worse to hurt purposefully.

E5 “I’ll never do ______ again.”

E6 If we make a promise, we must keep it as much as possible. Yet, remember the priority rule above.

D4 Manipulation

E1 Telling a lie to make a sale or to recruit someone to the cause.

E2 In relationships, as seeking a boyfriend or girlfriend.

E3 Lying to law enforcement as in swatting, false child endangerment call, etc.

D5 White lies

E1 A physician who does not tell the patient the seriousness of the disease.

E2 An excuse for not coming to a meeting, a date, an occasion, work, etc.

E3 Promising to be someplace in a few minutes when you know it will be 15 minutes or more.

D6 Lies

E1 Starting rumors

E2 False witness or testimony

E3 Joking about someone that obviously is meant to hurt, and then saying, “I was only joking.”

E4 False oath

C4 Deeds

D1 Covering up sin, errors, mistakes, forgetfulness, etc.

D2 False appearances

D3 Presenting oneself as a physician, nurse, law enforcement, preacher, holy person, etc. When it is not so.

D4 False weights and measures.

D5 Falsifying documents.

D6 Changing a document for cover-up or whatever.

D7 Destroying evidence

 

Some thoughts about lying:

B1 It is against God’s character: Titus 1:2 CSB in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.

B2 It is against God’s laws: Exodus 20:16 GW Never lie when you testify about your neighbor.

B3 It is loving my neighbor to NOT lie. Galatians 5:14 CSB For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.

B4 It is human nature:

C1 The heart of human is

D1 Deceitful, wicked, beyond understanding: Jeremiah 17:9 NLT The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?

D2 The source of our evil: Matthew 15:19-20 ESV For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.

C2 Corrupted: Romans 5:12 NRSV Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death came through sin, and so death spread to all because all have sinned.

B5 It has a source: John 8:44 WEL You are of [your] father, the Devil, and you want to do the lusts of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and he has not continued in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he tells a lie, he tells [it] from himself, because he is a liar and the father of it.

B6 God hates it: Proverbs 6:16-19 NRSV There are six things that the LORD hates, seven that are an abomination to him: 17 haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, 18 a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that hurry to run to evil, 19 a lying witness who testifies falsely, and one who sows discord in a family.

B7 It is to be hated and not done by Christians: Colossians 3:9-10 WEL Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have completely rid yourself of the old nature with his deeds, 10 And have put on the new [nature], which is being renewed into knowledge according to the image of him who created him.

 

How do I avoid lies and liars?

B1 Skeptical: don’t believe, check it out, take your time (don’t be impulsive), resist bullying. (If it involves a crime, then report it to law enforcement. This applies to abuse of any sort, molestation, etc.).

B2 Study: multiply sources, pros, and cons

B3 Research: seek those who have been reasonable in the past (yet be cautious), search in different countries, use safe and private search engines, be cautious

B4 What is reasonable and most reasonable?

 

When is lying not lying?

B1 To protect someone else.

C1 Compare the ten Boom family hiding Jews to protect their lives.

C2 Rahab:

D1 Joshua 2

D2 Hebrews 11:31 NKJV By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe, when she had received the spies with peace.

D3 James 2:25 NKJV Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent [them] out another way?

B2 To carry out God’s will. 1 Samuel 16:1-4 NIV The LORD said to Samuel, "How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king." 2 But Samuel said, "How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me." The LORD said, "Take a heifer with you and say, 'I have come to sacrifice to the LORD.' 3 Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate." 4 Samuel did what the LORD said. When he arrived at Bethlehem, the elders of the town trembled when they met him. They asked, "Do you come in peace?"

 

What to do when found out to be lying?

B1 Tell the truth.

B2 Psalm 51

B3 Jeremiah 3:13 GNB Only admit that you are guilty and that you have rebelled against the LORD, your God. Confess that under every green tree you have given your love to foreign gods and that you have not obeyed my commands. I, the LORD, have spoken.

B4 James 5:16 NIV Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

B5 1 John 1:9 EMTV If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

C1 If our sin is only known to God, confess, and repent (don’t lie anymore).

C2 If our sin is known by 1 or a few persons, confess to God, confess to that person/s, ask forgiveness, then pay what is owed, etc.

C3 If our sin is known publicly, then confess to God, confess publicly, and restore.

 

Some articles:

B1 30 Reasons Why People Lie

B2 Top 10 Bible Verses About Lying

 

1 John 3:8 EMTV He who practices sin is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. For this reason the Son of God appeared, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

 

We will be destroyed, too, if we do what the devil does.

 

God gives grace to help:

B1 James 4:6 EMTV But He gives more grace. Therefore He says: "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

B2 Hebrews 4:16 EMTV Therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

B3 Jude 1:24-25 EMTV Now to Him who is able to keep them from stumbling, and to make you stand before His glory, blameless with exultation, 25 To the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.

A Few Thoughts About Light

John 3:19-21 NIV This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.

Light is understood in Scripture as

B1 Pure

C1 Purity is defined as something being 100% with 0% impurities.

C2 God’s words are pure: Psalm 12:6 WEB The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

C3 God’s wisdom: James 3:17 NLT But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.

B2 Truth: Psalm 43:3 NASB O send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your dwelling places.

B3 Holiness

C1 Here we see the contrast between darkness and light. It is the Lord who brings into the light. We see His righteousness and our unrighteousness. Micah 7:8-9 NLT Do not gloat over me, my enemies! For though I fall, I will rise again. Though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light. 9 I will be patient as the LORD punishes me, for I have sinned against him. But after that, he will take up my case and give me justice for all I have suffered from my enemies. The LORD will bring me into the light, and I will see his righteousness.

B4 Clarity

C1 Uncovers what is hidden

C2 Opening the heart and mind to truth

C3 Psalm 119:130 NIV The unfolding of your words gives light; it gives understanding to the simple.

C4 Psalm 18:28 NLT You light a lamp for me. The LORD, my God, lights up my darkness.

B5 God’s glory and character

C1 1 John 1:5 NIV This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.

C2 Ezekiel 43:2 BSB and I saw the glory of the God of Israel coming from the east. His voice was like the roar of many waters, and the earth shone with His glory.

B6 God’s kingdom (Kingdom of Light)

C1 Colossians 1:13 NLT For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,

C2 Acts 26:18 BSB to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those sanctified by faith in Me.’

B7 Guidance: Proverbs 6:23 ASV For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; And reproofs of instruction are the way of life:

C1 God’s commandments instruct us in what is right/lawful and wrong/unlawful.

C2 Principles are taught helping us make wise decisions.

C3 Instructions given as reproofs are positive criticisms instead of shaming.

B8 Victory:

C1 Psalm 27:1 BSB The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—whom shall I dread?

D1 War is not very successful if all the soldiers are blind.

D2 The spiritual life is a battle.

C2 God gives us light to know where and how to fight (Ephesians 6:10-17)

C3 Micah 7:8 BSB Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will arise; though I sit in darkness, the LORD will be my light.

B9 Bringing light into the unsaved soul, freeing the will and understanding.

C1 John 1:9 NASB There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man.

C2 Acts 16:14 BSB Among those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.

C3 Psalms 107:13-14 BSB Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble; He saved them from their distress. He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke away their chains.

B10 Blessing

C1 John 1:5 NRSV The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.

Darkness is understood in Scripture as

B1 Impurity: Ephesians 5:11 NET Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.

B2 Lies

C1 Some people have a different persona in public than they do in private. This life, this person, is a lie in darkness: Mark 4:22 NLT For everything that is hidden will eventually be brought into the open, and every secret will be brought to light.

B3 Sin

C1 Rebellion and Despising God’s counsel: Psalms 107:10-11 BSB Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, prisoners in misery and chains, because they rebelled against the words of God and despised the counsel of the Most High.

C2 John 3:19 NRSV And this is the judgment, that the light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.

C3 Proverbs 4:19 NLT But the way of the wicked is like total darkness. They have no idea what they are stumbling over.

B4 Obscurity

C1 Blinds to the truth of the Gospel: 2 Corinthians 4:4 BSB The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

C2 Living by the lifestyle and worldview of darkness: 1 John 2:11 NRSV But whoever hates another believer is in the darkness, walks in the darkness, and does not know the way to go, because the darkness has brought on blindness.

B5 Devil’s shame and character: If God is light and no darkness in Him, then it is reasonable to accept that the devil is darkness and there is no light in him.

B6 Devil’s kingdom (Kingdom of Darkness)

C1 Colossians 1:13 NLT For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,

C2 Ephesians 6:12 WEB For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

B7 Confusion: Isaiah 5:20 NIV Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.

B8 Defeat: Psalms 143:3-4 BSB For the enemy has pursued my soul, crushing my life to the ground, making me dwell in darkness like those long since dead. My spirit grows faint within me; my heart is dismayed inside me.

B9 Brings darkness into the soul

C1 Matthew 6:23 NRSV but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!

C2 Ephesians 4:18 NRSV They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart.

B10 Judgment

C1 Amos 5:20 NRSV Is not the day of the LORD darkness, not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?

C2 Matthew 8:12 BSB But the sons of the kingdom will be cast into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

C3 Acts 13:11 NRSV And now listen—the hand of the Lord is against you, and you will be blind for a while, unable to see the sun." Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he went about groping for someone to lead him by the hand.

Some things we learn:

B1 No mixing of the two is allowed: 2 Corinthians 6:14 NRSV Do not be mismatched with unbelievers. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship is there between light and darkness?

B2 Darkness does not win, overpower, or overcome light: John 1:5 WEL The light keeps on shining in the darkness, and the darkness can’t overcome it

B3 God has no darkness: 1 John 1:5 NLT This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all.

B4 Our worldview and lifestyle is totally different than the kingdom of darkness: 1 Thessalonians 5:5 NLT For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don't belong to darkness and night.

An explanation: God is said to be living in thick darkness: 1 Kings 8:12 CSB Then Solomon said: The LORD said that he would dwell in total darkness.

B1 The Hebrew word total darkness is עֲרָפֶל ʻărâphel.

B2 It means a thick, heavy cloud.

B3 Our example would be our sun is very bright. A thick cloud hides the sun from direct sight. The sun is not in darkness. God is not in darkness, but there is a cloud between our sight and God.

B4 God lives in light: 1 John 1:7 NLT But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.

Two Kingdoms, Two Kings

1 John 5:19 NRSV We know that we are God's children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.

Introduction

We are living in a world with two kingdoms.
B1 Devil’s

C1 1 John 5:19 NRSV We know that we are God's children, and that the whole world lies under the power of the evil one.

C2 Matthew 12:26 NRSV  If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 

B2 God’s

C1 1 Chronicles 29:11 CSB Yours, LORD, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the splendor and the majesty, for everything in the heavens and on earth belongs to you. Yours, LORD, is the kingdom, and you are exalted as head over all.

C2 Psalm 45:6 CSB Your throne, God, is forever and ever; the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.

C3 Psalm 145:13 CSB Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom; your rule is for all generations. The LORD is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his actions.

C4 Matthew 26:64 CSB You have said it," Jesus told him. "But I tell you, in the future you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.

Characteristics of the two kingdoms

B1 Devil’s

C1 Hates God. Reason? God reveals to them that they are evil and are doing evil in thoughts, desires, words, and deeds. John 7:7 NRSV The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify against it that its works are evil.

C2 Refuse God’s leadership and kingship (This is from the Parable of the Ten Talents): Luke 19:14 GNB Now, his own people hated him, and so they sent messengers after him to say, 'We don't want this man to be our king.'

C3 Hate Christians: John 17:14 NRSV  I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.

C4 In darkness and the power of satan: Acts 26:18 NRSV  to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.'

C5 Evil desires for fleshly happiness and satisfaction, what we see will our eyes (I want ____ fill in the blank), pride, financial riches and goods: 1 John 2:15-17 NRSV  Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world;  16  for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world.  17  And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.

C6 Claims all the kingdoms of the world: Matthew 4:8-10 NRSV  Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor;  9  and he said to him, "All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me."  10  Jesus said to him, "Away with you, Satan! for it is written, 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.

B2 God’s

C1 Truth (reality)

D1 John 14:17 GW  That helper is the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept him, because it doesn't see or know him. You know him, because he lives with you and will be in you.

D2 Titus 1:2 WEL In hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before the world began.

C2 An abandonment of the world system, lifestyle, and desires for what God wants and loves: 1 John 2:15-17 NRSV Do not love the world or the things in the world. The love of the Father is not in those who love the world;  16  for all that is in the world—the desire of the flesh, the desire of the eyes, the pride in riches—comes not from the Father but from the world.  17  And the world and its desire are passing away, but those who do the will of God live forever.

C3 God, Yahweh, is greater in every conceivable way. He overcomes all enemies. We are now not of the world as our King is not of this world’s system and kingdom. We are God’s children. Rebirthed by the work of the Holy Spirit. We have and follow the Spirit of Truth. 1 John 4:4-6 NRSV  Little children, you are from God, and have conquered them; for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.  5  They are from the world; therefore what they say is from the world, and the world listens to them.  6  We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us, and whoever is not from God does not listen to us. From this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

C4 Wins the conflict over the devil: John 12:31 NRSV  Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out.

Two Kings

B1 Devil

C1 A murderer from the beginning (of creation) who is unable to tell the truth: John 8:44 GW You come from your father, the devil, and you desire to do what your father wants you to do. The devil was a murderer from the beginning. He has never been truthful. He doesn't know what the truth is. Whenever he tells a lie, he's doing what comes naturally to him. He's a liar and the father of lies.

C2 Blinds people to truth, God, and Gospel: 2 Corinthians 4:4 NRSV  In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

C3 Brought death to the world, through, Adam’s sin: Hebrews 2:14-15 NRSV  Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,  15  and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.

C4 Deceiver: Revelation 20:7-8 NRSV When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison  8  and will come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, in order to gather them for battle; they are as numerous as the sands of the sea.

C5 Enslaves people and totally controls them: Matthew 8:28-29 GW When he arrived in the territory of the Gadarenes on the other side of the Sea of Galilee, two men met him. They were possessed by demons and had come out of the tombs. No one could travel along that road because the men were so dangerous.  29  They shouted, "Why are you bothering us now, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before it is time?"

C6 Pretends to be holy: 2 Corinthians 11:14 NRSV And no wonder! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

B2 God

C1 Destroys satan: Hebrews 2:14-15 NRSV  Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil,  15  and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death.

C2 Casts out satan: Matthew 12:26-28 NRSV If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand?  27  If I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges.  28  But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

C3 Declares believers to be His children (we are adopted): Romans 8:16 NRSV  it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

C4 Prays for us:

D1 For deliverance from satan: John 17:15 NRSV I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.

D2 Romans 8:34 NRSV Who is to condemn? It is Christ Jesus, who died, yes, who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who indeed intercedes for us.

C5 Gives us victory: 1 Corinthians 15:57 NRSV But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

C6 God loves us, so He will come back for us: John 14:28 GW You heard me tell you, 'I'm going away, but I'm coming back to you.' If you loved me, you would be glad that I'm going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I am.

Two Decisions

B1 Resist God

C1 John 5:39-40 WEL Search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they are the very ones that testify about me. 40 You are not willing to come to me, that you might have life.

C2 Luke 13:34 NKJV O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing! 

B2 Believe God

C1 God, Yahweh, rescues, transfers, redeems, and forgives us from the devil’s kingdom, power, and sin to the kingdom of Jesus, the beloved Son, Colossians 1:13-14 NRSV He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son,  14  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

C2 John 14:1 GW Don't be troubled. Believe in God, and believe in me.

Two Outcomes

B1 Of the Devil’s Kingdom (those who do not believe God):

C1 Revelation 20:10 NRSV And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

C2 Matthew 25:41, 46 CSB Then he will also say to those on the left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels! ... "And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.

B2 Of God’s Kingdom (those who believe)

C1 Daniel 7:18 CSB But the holy ones of the Most High will receive the kingdom and possess it forever, yes, forever and ever.

C2 1 Peter 1:3-4 CSB Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.

C3 John 3:15-16 WPNT so that everyone who believes into Him should not be wasted but should have eternal life. Because God loved the world so much that He gave His only begotten Son, so that everyone who believes into Him should not be wasted but should have eternal life.

2 Corinthians 6:2 WEB  for he says, “At an acceptable time I listened to you, in a day of salvation I helped you.”Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation.

2 Corinthians 6:2 GNB  Hear what God says: "When the time came for me to show you favor, I heard you; when the day arrived for me to save you, I helped you." Listen! This is the hour to receive God's favor; today is the day to be saved!

Today is the day to be saved!

  
Matthew 25:41, 46 CSB - "Then he will also say to those on the left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels! ... "And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life."