Bible Studies
Those Satan Seeks
Series: The Reality of SatanIntroduction:
1. Tonight we continue our series “The Reality of Satan.” Our study this evening is entitled “Those Satan Seeks.” 2. If there was ever a lesson with broad application this must be it. If my understanding is correct there is no one that Satan does not seek. Young and old, male and female, the rich and the poor, you and me, we are all objects of his malicious intent. 3. Job was a righteous man and yet Satan sought him, but the unrighteous is certainly not exempt from Satan’s attempt to destroy him/her. 4. Ananias was a believer and yet Satan filled his heart to lie to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:5), but unbelievers are not exempt. Satan snatches the word from their hearts so that they will not believe and be saved (Lk. 8:12; Mk. 4:15). 5. Peter was a disciple and was sifted like wheat (Lk. 22:31). Jesus was the very Son of God and He was tempted by the Devil (Matt. 4). 6. It does not matter whether you are a new covert (1 Tim. 3:6) or an overseer and shepherd of the flock Satan has his sights on you (Acts 20:28-31). 7. But there is one thing that we all have in common that makes us vulnerable to Satan. We will identify what that is in a moment. Suffice it to say for now, that we need insight into ourselves if we are to respond appropriately to Satan.Discussion:
I. First, we need to realize that we are weak (Heb. 4:15).A. Weakness is universally associated with the human condition.
1. When the Son of God took on humanness (Phil. 2:7) He joined us in our circumstance.
2. He can sympathize with our weaknesses. He was tempted in all things like we are.
3. Jesus experienced our weakness of human fleshliness.
B. If we can acknowledge that Jesus experienced our circumstance . . .
1. Then perhaps we can embrace our own circumstance. We are vulnerable.
2. This affects how we see ourselves and our battle against Satan. We need help.
3. It should affect the way we respond to others—with compassion rather than railing judgment (Heb. 5:1-3).
4. That is what this passage is saying about the Son of God. He can sympathize with our weaknesses and extends mercy and grace to help in time of need (Heb. 4:16).
C. You may be weak in one area, I in another, but we are all vulnerable.
1. Ignorant, misguided, beset with weakness.
2. How can I hold a hot iron of condemnation against another when I am in the same condition that he is?
3. I envision a line going into heaven. Quite frankly, I do not like those I see around me: fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminate, homosexuals, thieves, covetous, drunkards, revilers, swindlers—washed yes, sanctified yes, but I do not like seeing myself as needing the same washing and sanctification that they needed. Cf. 1 Cor. 6:9-11).
4. Some see the church as all these “perfect people.” They are perfected only by the blood of forgiveness. They may be dressed in white linen robes today, but yesterday they were dressed in filthy garments stained with sin. And today they still need the blood of Christ to keep them clean (1 Jn. 1:7-10).
D. Those the devil seeks are those who are weak—and that is me, and you! But what is this one thing that makes us all vulnerable to Satan? Yes we are all weak, but from where does this vulnerability come?
II. The one thing that we all have in common that makes us vulnerable to Satan is our desires.A. James 1:14 says, “Each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust” (“desire, ESV).
1. The English word “lust” is generally associated with something evil. Often our thinking shifts immediately to “sexual lust” when the word is used.
2. But the Greek term is not so narrow in its definition.
a. It can refer to evil desire and is so translated in Col. 3:5.
b. It can refer to sexual lust as in Matt. 5:28.
c. More general it refers to any kind of desire. Paul wrote of his desire to depart and be with Christ (Phil. 1:23) and of his great desire to see the Thessalonians face to face (1 Thess. 2:17).
B. In each of these instances the same word family is used.
1. In the noun form “epithmia;” in the verb form “epithumeo.”
2. This word family is variously translated: “desire,” “lust,” “crave,” “long after,” “covet,” “passionate longing.”
3. There is an intensity suggested by the word, but just how intense the desire is is not identified by the word itself and must be interpreted from the context.
C. There is nothing evil about desire itself. Indeed it is part of our being created by God.
1. Jesus’ desire for food was not evil, but Satan attempted to use this desire to destroy Him.
2. There is nothing wrong with sexual desire, but Satan often attempts to use this desire to destroy.
3. There are many other “fleshly desires” (desires that are characteristic of being human). For example: the desire for praise or approval, the desire for power, the desire for relationship, the desire to be free of pain, grief, hurt, the desire for justice, the desire for pleasure.
4. Satan tempts us to satisfy our desires in distorted ways. Thus, Gal. 5:17 says, “The flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh, so that you may not do the things that you please.” Read also Gal. 5:18-24; 1 Pet. 4:3.
D. Illustrations of how Satan uses our desires in distorted ways.
1. The desire for food. Gluttony. Satan would have you eat yourself to death. Adam, Eve, Jesus.
2. The desire for acceptance. Because people want food, but want attractive bodies they may become involved in bulimia, or anorexia. Satan would have you to starve yourself to death.
3. The desire for praise or approval. I believe this is what happened in Acts 5. Seeing how the disciples responded to Barnabas who sold his land and gave to the needy, Ananias did the same.
4. The desire for sex. Nothing wrong with the desire. Designed and created by God as a good thing. But Satan uses it to bring shame. He distorts it into polygamy, same gender sex relations, fornication, adultery, rape, prostitution, incest, evil seduction, bestiality, kidnapping and sex slave trading, to name a few of his distortions.
5. The desire for justice. Nothing wrong with justice. God is in the justice business. Satan’s distortions: anger inappropriately expressed, paying back evil for evil, hurt, slander, hatred, malice, war, murder, to name a few.
6. The desire for power. Nothing wrong with power. Jesus used it as He gave His life a ransom for us. Satan’s distortions: racism, sexism, extermination of whole groups of people, domineering husbands, lording over the flock, employers taking advantage of employees, the rich taking advantage of the poor, parents abusing their children.
7. The desire for pleasure. Nothing wrong with pleasure. I certainly enjoy it and thank God for it. But Satan distorts it into murder, fighting, quarreling, adultery, and enmity against God (James 4:1-4).
E. The one thing we all have in common is our desires. The devil seeks to destroy us by using our desires against us. The Lord’s instructions in all these areas are designed for life. Satan’s distortions lead to death.
III. We are vulnerable. We are weak. And we have all these desires. Is it just inevitable that we be defeated? Is it hopeless? Should we just throw in the towel and give in to sin and death? Let’s take courage!A. Satan and his demons are not capable of reproduction therefore their population is not growing. Things may be getting worse all around us as more people follow Satan’s destructive ways.
B. But Satan and his angels are not omnipresent or omniscient like God is.
1. They can’t read our minds or know our thoughts.
2. They have their limitations.
C. We have a High Priest who understands (Heb. 4:14-5:3).
D. We have the living word of God that is powerful for us (Heb. 4:12-12).
1. Yes, we often interpret this to mean that it penetrates us deeply so that all our sins are exposed.
2. But that is really not the point in this text. The point is this word is powerful for us.
3. It is not some dead word. We sometimes think that through some pure logical force of and our belief in the truth of mere words we have our power. This passage is saying the word is living. It has life power. It is not dead seed. Therefore we should use it as such. Some of us don’t believe it is living and active and that is why we do not use it. We are praying for God’s help in some other way.
E. We have the Father’s discipline (Heb. 12:1ff).
F. We have one another (Heb. 12:12ff; 10:24-25).
G. We have a sacrifice (Heb. 10:19ff).
Conclusion:
1. Who are those whom the devil seeks? 2. They are weak. They are vulnerable. They are ignorant and misguided and beset with weakness. 3. They are people with desires that Satan would distort into tools of destruction. 4. As he struggled with the exasperating enigma of existence, Scottish agnostic, Richard Holloway, couldn’t escape the feeling that there must be more to life than this world. “This is my dilemma. I am dust and ashes, frail and wayward . . . riddled with fear, beset with needs . . . the quintessence of dust and unto dust I shall return . . . But there is something else in me . . . Dust I may be, but troubled dust, dust that dreams, dust that has strong premonitions of transfiguration, of a glory in store, a destiny prepared, an inheritance that will one day be my own . . . so my life is spread out in a painful dialectic between ashes and glory, between weakness and transfiguration. I am a riddle to myself, an exasperating enigma . . . the strange duality of dust and glory.” 5. The God of heaven has broken the grip of this dust through His son Jesus Christ. His blood is powerful for cleansing from sin. His word is living and brings life to those who are troubled. 6. Satan seeks us, but our Father has sought us too. 7. Would you be found by Him? Turn away from the things of the world and turn to the Father who gave His son for your forgiveness.
