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Amazing Facts

When Satan Goes to Church

Doug Batchelor

When Satan Goes to Church, Pt. 1

This presentation is brought to you by the Friends of the Amazing Facts Ministry.

It's remarkable to look back and to see how the Lord has led through time.

And it's through progression and providence His will is made clear.

Throughout scripture, step by step, the Lord has led His people from generation to generation.

Even here at Amazing Facts, I clearly see God's guiding all the way from that very first 15-minute broadcast in 1966.

From radio, to television, to publishing, to global evangelism, it's evident that God has a divine plan in motion.

Friends, the Lord has a plan for you as well.

Jeremiah 29 11 says, I know the plans that I have for you declares the Lord Plans to prosper you not to harm you plans to give you hope in a future That great.

Hope is Christ and through him Amazing facts is moving forward, but you might wonder.

What is God's specific purpose for your life?

As you trust God with your life and walk with him day by day, he will wonderfully unfold his good plan for you.

We pray that today's program will be a stepping stone to strengthen your walk with Jesus, giving you clarity and fulfillment in the days ahead.

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♪ Our message today may have a little bit of an intimidating title talking about when Satan goes to church.

You know I remember reading in history about Oliver Cromwell when he became the Lord Protector of England.

And this is following the execution of King Charles.

Not too many kings were executed, but He was a scoundrel and Cromwell came into power and it was customary back then that when they had a new leader, they didn't have photographs, they had painters and they would get just the most skilled painters that would then paint the leaders and Cromwell gave some very interesting instructions to the painter.

You see, the custom was back then if you painted some royal figure or some dignitary, that the artist would do the old-fashioned version of Photoshop.

He would kind of remove the blemishes and make the eyes a little bigger and a little brighter and the skin a little smoother and just make them look the best they could possibly look and still look like them.

But Cromwell said, I desire that you would use all of your skill to paint your picture truly like me all of these roughness pimples warts and everything as you see me otherwise I will never pay a farthing for it This is where we get the expression we want to have it warts and all.

And so the portrait of Cromwell ended up having some blemishes on it because he said, I don't want you to smooth it over If it's going to be me, I want it to be me.

Well, we're going to be preaching about the church they works and all, so to speak.

What the Bible has to say about some of the devil's strategy that he is using in the last days to deceive.

Now, part of the reason we're doing this, you read in 2 Corinthians 2 verse 11 lest Satan should take advantage of us for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Now it's so much better for us to talk about the devil's strategy before an attack as opposed to in the middle of an attack.

You know, I'll be very honest with you, I'm a little frightened of success, because a haughty spirit goes before a fall.

And the Lord has greatly blessed this church.

We are doing wonderful compared to many other churches in baptisms, in growth, in tithe, lovely people, great experience.

And that's when you need to brace for impact.

And if I was the devil and I saw that there was a church that was prospering in its local ministry, in its international ministry, I would not sit back and cheer them on.

I'd want to do everything I could to stop it.

If you go to Revelation 12, 12, it tells us there, Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them, because the devil had been cast out, they finally had peace in heaven.

Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you having great wrath, very angry, furious, because he knows his time is short.

Now, that's 1 thing that we could learn from the devil.

Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman.

Who is the woman that brought forth the man child?

This is the bride of Christ, the church that presents the Messiah to the world.

You know, the Bible tells us there are 7 examples in the Bible of women who were barren, but then through a miracle they had a baby.

These were miracle baby boys, and they were all types of Christ.

And so this woman is the consummate example of the church who introduces the Messiah, brings forth the Messiah.

She gets 12 stars above her head and representing the tribes in the Old Testament, the apostles in the New Testament.

The dragon saw that he'd been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman.

It says he was caught up to God's throne.

So since the devil can't reach Jesus, he goes after the object of Christ's supreme regard.

What institution, what body of people on the earth does Jesus have a special love for?

The dragon saw he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman but the woman was given 2 wings of an eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to a place where she is nourished for a time at times and half the time.

After God saved Israel out of Egypt, they went into the wilderness, and God fed her there.

During the time of Elijah, when there was a famine, 3 and a half years, Elijah fled into the wilderness, He was fed miraculously there by God.

So he spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.

But the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood, which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.

You notice everything he tries, He tries to destroy her, but she's given wings of an eagle.

He tries to drown her, but the earth opens its mouth.

If he was wroth before, he's really mad now.

Just as the church is the object on earth upon which Jesus bestows his greatest love and regard, the church is the object on earth that infuriates the devil the most because it is the vehicle by which Jesus redeems the lost, and the devil doesn't want them to be saved.

Now we're going to be looking at 7 things, time permitting, if we run out of time I'll just stop.

We're going to be looking at 7 things, 7 of the stratagem that the devil uses to overcome God's people, and I've sort of divided them up to make it easy to remember as desire, disgrace, defamation, discord, distractions, dialogue, and disguise.

Very proud of myself that I was able to make those all begin with 1 letter.

Turn in your Bibles please to the book of Job 1, verse 6, when the devil goes to church.

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord.

Be in this heavenly meeting where the sons of God, probably these representatives and leaders of unfallen worlds, They come to present themselves before the Lord in this celestial gathering.

And I don't know that it was in heaven itself because Satan was cast out of heaven, but it says here Satan came also among them.

Wow, it sounded like such a pretty picture until it says that the devil showed up at this meeting in the presence of God.

You know, he's very audacious in that he will invade sacred places.

You know, when I was reading this, and I thought about the audacity and boldness of the devil that here, this is heavenly meeting, and all that he's done to the world, and he shows up.

Now, if he would show up in the courts of God's presence, wherever this was, then should we be shocked He might show up in church?

The devil's not scared of a church building.

And we're gonna find out as we go through this series, he often shows up even in church.

Do you know the devil will take you to church?

When Jesus was tempted of the devil in the wilderness, it says, Then the devil took him up into the holy city, what the devil will take you to a holy place?

And set him on the pinnacle of the temple.

When Satan Goes to Church, Pt. 2

Jesus said in Matthew 28, 19, Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.

Here at Amazing Facts, we take the Great Commission seriously.

That's why we're an international ministry.

I've personally had the privilege of sharing the gospel in many countries, from China to New Guinea, from Russia to Africa to India, and it's evident that people everywhere have a hunger for the word of God.

As we make significant progress in delivering God's message, there's still a lot of work to be done.

It's not enough that people know about Jesus, people need to experience a new birth and to know the fantastic love of God.

Many people across the globe are struggling, but God is still love.

And it's our mission here at Amazing Facts, and it's our joy, to show that love to others by sharing the good news.

We pray that today's program will bless and inspire you to share God's word with others.

And don't forget, stay tuned for today's free offer at the conclusion of the presentation.

We're continuing with the second part in a series where we're talking about when Satan goes to church.

Now, when we're talking about the devil in church, That always sounds like it's a paradox.

But you know, the devil actually started in church.

The Bible tells us that he was right there by the throne of God from his creation.

You can read in Ezekiel 28, you were the anointed cherub who covers.

You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones.

And that fiery stone is talking about the blazing stones, the glory of God.

Jesus, who of course lived before his incarnation, he said, Luke 10, 18, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.

There was a war in heaven and Satan was cast out of heaven.

The devil knows about going to church and he wants to get back to church.

Well, let's talk a little bit about the disguise of the devil.

And this was our scripture reading last week, Acts 20.

If you have your Bibles, Acts 20, verse 29 and 30.

Paul is giving some admonition to believers in Asia.

He knows it's probably the last time he's going to see them.

And he says, For I know this, that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Also from among your own selves, men will arise speaking perverse things to draw away disciples after themselves." Now you notice something Paul says, after my departure.

If you look in the previous verse, I think it's verse 27, Paul says, I have not neglected to declare unto you the whole counsel of God.

Paul is saying, as long as I'm here, I know what the devil's up to, I know what he looks like, and I'm preaching the whole counsel of God, you're going to be safe.

But after my departure, there's other teachers that are going to come in and there's a risk that you will be confused when these wolves come in.

The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while men slept, his enemy came.

The enemy came and he sowed tares among the wheat.

Tares, I remember first read that and I thought, what's a tare?

A tare is an old word for a weed that resembles wheat when it's little.

Do you know that when you were very young, very, very young, your parents could not tell the difference between you and a frog.

Now, I'm talking about like when you were a single cell, or even if you were 2 cells.

And even after a week or 2, if you look at the little embryos under a microscope of a frog or different creatures, they all look pretty much the same.

It's hard to tell the difference between A little puppy and a snake when they're really small.

But then as they get bigger, and wheat when it first springs from the ground looks very much like tares.

And the devil, he sows his tares among the wheat.

And the servants come to the master and they say, it looks like there's some tears among the wheat.

And the servants come to the master and they say, it looks like there's some tears sewn among the wheat.

And the master says, no, no, no, because they're so similar, you're going to accidentally pull up some wheat.

Sometimes you and I think we know the difference between the wheat and the tares, but only God knows the heart.

If you ask the religious leaders to pull the weeds out of the early church, they would have got rid of Mary Magdalene and Peter right away, Right?

And they would have probably promoted Judas.

So we got to be careful when it comes to separating the wheat and the tares because it's sometimes hard to tell.

In the church, 2 Corinthians 11, 13 to 15, Such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.

And no wonder, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.

When the devil came to tempt Jesus in the wilderness, do you think that he plopped down on the ground with bat wings and red leotards and, you know, goatee and Calvin Klein suit?

He can transform himself into an angel of light.

And no wonder it says, therefore it is not a great thing if his ministers transform themselves into ministers of righteousness whose end will be according to their works." So you've got the disguise of the devil.

Then you've got the deceptions of the devil.

But I want you to notice Revelation 12, verse 9.

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.

He was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him.

So you've got the devil and his angels that are doing what?

But it's not just the world on the outside that's being deceived.

Look in 1 Timothy 4, 1 Now the Spirit speaks expressly, saying, In the latter times some will depart from the faith.

Giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.

Not just the world being deceived, but people in the church being deceived.

You know for every truth of God, the devil has a counterfeit.

You read in Revelation 16, 13, the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet, where we have the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Revelation 2, 9, it's called the synagogue of Satan.

2 Corinthians 11, 4, 5 and verse 15 says they're called ministers of Satan.

Galatians 1, 9 calls it the accursed gospel.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 10, the Gentiles sacrifice to demons.

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When Satan Goes to Church

When Satan Goes to Church, Pt. 1

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When Satan Goes to Church, Pt. 1

28m

When Satan Goes to Church, Pt. 2

28m

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