Thoughts for Life: #34 Satan's Strategy

C. Peter Wagner continues with his
information about our battle: "Overcoming
the strategic-level demonic forces ruling a city demands a basic understanding of Satan's modus operandi.

I think it is accurate to summarize all the evil and tactical activities of Satan in this statement:

Satan's central task and desire is to prevent God from being
glorified.

Whenever God is not glorified in a person's life, in a church, in a city or in the world as a whole, Satan has to that degree accomplished his objective.

The underlying motivation, as we are fully aware, is that Satan himself wants the glory due to God.

As Lucifer fell from heaven, he was exclaiming,

'I will be like the Most high!' (Isa. 14:14).

He tempted Adam and Eve by telling them that if they ate the forbidden fruit 'you will be like God' (Gen. 3:5).

He unsuccessfully tried to tempt Jesus into worshiping and glorifying him (Matt. 4:9)

How does Satan go about keeping God from being glorified? To answer this question, it seems helpful to separate his activities into primary objectives and secondary objectives.

Satan's primary objective is to prevent God from being glorified by keeping lost people from being saved. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.

God sent His Son that whosoever believes on Him should have everlasting life. Whenever a person is saved, the angels in heaven rejoice.

Satan hates all of the above. He wants people to go to hell, not to heaven. And the reason this is his primary objective is that each time he succeeds he has won an eternal victory.

Satan's secondary objective is to make human beings and human society as miserable as possible in this present life. The enemy has come to steal, to kill and to destroy.

When we see wars, poverty, oppression,
sickness, racism, greed and similar evils
too numerous to list, we have no doubt
that Satan is succeeding all too much.

None of these things brings glory to God. But these are secondary objectives because each is only a temporal victory.

Satan is skilled at both tactics. He has accumulated millennia of experience. I agree with Timothy Warner who says,

'Satan's chief tactic is deception' and he does it 'by telling
people lies about God' and 'by deceiving them through his
shows of power.'

How he so massively prevents people from believing the gospel is almost incomprehensible to me.

Why is it that when we share the gospel with our neighbors they don't even hear what we are saying much of the time?

The gospel is such a good deal. The benefits are enormous. Becoming a Christian is better than winning the lottery! Yet many of our neighbors would prefer the lottery to eternal life.

Why? The answer is clear in 2 Corinthians 4:3, 4. The apostle Paul was experiencing similar frustration. Not enough people were accepting Christ. So he said the gospel is veiled to those who are perishing

'whose minds the god of this age has blinded...lest the
light of the gospel of the glory of Christ,...should shine
on them' (2 Cor. 4:4).

People do not become Christians pure and simple because their minds are blinded. The glory of Christ does not penetrate to them. Satan is doing his thing!"

(Google images and emphasis added)

Warfare Prayer

#34 Satan's Strategy
By C. Peter Wagner

(pgs. 61, 62) Regal Books

Mark I. Bubeck shares with us from his book The Satanic Revival : "God never intended that warfare with darkness should be relegated to a mental nod
of friendly assent. Evil supernaturalism must be faced directly and boldly by using the spiritual weapons of warfare."

Pray for your pastor: "Pray that your pastor will love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. Pray that God's spirit will work in his heart in power and that he will value and follow biblical priorities." (Deu. 6:5; Matt. 6:33). www.lifeaction.org

Pray with me:

Father, it is my desire to always be a
glory to Your Name.

I understand that Satan's main purpose
is to try to discredit God's moving in my life, so I come against it with determination to live my life in such a way, as to glorify Jesus.

I'm so thankful for the many benefits of my being a Christian, and I ask for Your Spirit to continue to guide me in all that I do so Satan won't get a foothold in my thinking, speaking, and acting.

I ask for this in Jesus' name. Amen.

Today’s Bible verse: Joel 2:21 "Fear not, O land; be glad and rejoice; for the LORD will do great things."

Today’s quote: Max Lucado – “We fear the evildoer will slip into the night, unknown and unpunished. Not to worry. God will repay—not He might repay. God will execute justice on behalf of truth and fairness. Fix your enemies? That’s God’s job. Forgive your enemies? Ahh, that’s where you and I come in. We forgive.”

Some thoughts today: We can examine what is in ocean water by a bucket of ocean water. It has all the ingredients found in the body of ocean.

- Jesus was "cut down" to our size so we could see and get to know the Father. Jesus is God manifested in the flesh. We are invited to know Him intimately by inviting His Spirit into our hearts and lives to live and rule.

- Genuine Christianity goes beyond the mindset of Who He is.

24th- Saturday’s post: I Am Resolved
James H. Cagle

25th- Sunday evening's post: We All Have A Part
Jean Oathout

27th- Tuesday's post: #35 Blinding Three Billion Minds
C. Peter Wagner

29th- Thursday's post: #36 Seeing Our Cities as they Really Are
C. Peter Wagner

A popular post: Prophetic Declaration Note #105 Dutch Sheets tells us: “Let’s look at some biblical examples of prophetic words that precede God doing something.

In Jeremiah 6:18, 19, Jeremiah prophesied and said, “Therefore hear, O nations…Hear, O earth.”