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The WIles Of The Devil. Part One. RCCG SOD Manual
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Ephesians 6:11
“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the Devil”.
The Bible has an advice for those of us who are disciples of Jesus Christ, we are to beware of the wiles of the devil.
What are these wiles of the devil? We will want to look at the major ones, that is flattery.
Everyone, (at least before you are born again ) has at least one weak point. This weak point usually becomes the stronghold of the enemy. If the devil discovered that you have a weak point, he will then want to use that weak point as his own stronghold. You may say, “I have no weak point”, however, there is one weak point that is common to everybody, and that is that everybody want to be number one. Anyone who does not want to be number one (at least before they are born again) must be sick. The devil knows it and God knows it.
What the devil does by the use of flattery is just to add petrol to the fire of pride that is in every individual.
Before you are born again, I am sure you attended parties and you observed the method used by the musicians to collect money. it is by use of flattery.
Even if you were a messanger, they begin to call you names and say you are the Managing Director even when you know you are not the Managing Director. But you had always secretly wished you were a Managing Director. So while they sang your praise, the little kobo you had in your pocket , before you knew it, you gave to them. That is Satan ‘s method in flattering people so that they do things that they wouldn’t normally have done. In fact, the Bible says that anybody who flatters you is spreading a net for your feet. If somebody spreads a net for your feet, he intends, of course, for you to be caught in that net. And if you look at Proverbs 29:5, the Bible says:
“A man that flattereth his neighbour spreadeth a net for his feet”.
When somebody flatters you, he is planning your ruin. That is why God hates flattery. God hates flattery because anyone who flatters you is just laying a trap for you and is preparing trouble for you, God says to the flatterer, “I will deal with the fellow”.
In Genesis 3:4-5, what the devil said to Eve there essentially is this:
“Eve you are less than God in only one thing, and that is that you have not eaten this fruit. If you eat this fruit, you will become as wise as God, Then you will know the difference between good and evil”.
And Eve said “That is true I would like to be like God”. The devil spread a net for her feet and unfortunately , she went into it.
#2 Joshua
Joshua 7:2-4 How did Joshua fall? They had just defeated Jericho; he also sent spies to spy Ai. And when the spies returned , they send unto Joshua:
Joshua fell because he felt big- the conqueror of Jericho. We dont have to use all our strength on a little town like Ai. And then if you look at Joshua 9:2, the devil used the same trick on Joshua again and he fell. You see, some neighbours in the country where he was conquering came to him and said, “Oh ,. your God is great, fantastic. He can do anything, we just want to be your friend , because of your great God. Enter into partnership with us. Joshua fell int0 the trap.
#3 Samson
Judges 16:6 . Delilah flattered Samson until he fell into the hands of the enemy. Judges 16:6 says:
“Ans Delilah said to Samson, Tell me, I pray thee, wherein thy great strength lieth, and wherewith thou mightiest be bound to afflict thee”.
Look at what she said first. “O man of Great strength, where did you get this strength is great. Tell me, is there any possibility of anybody of anybody ever conquering and tormenting you? What is the source of this great strength ? And when Samson heard “a man of great strength,” he fell into the trap.
#4 NEBUCHADNEZAR
Daniel 4:29-33 : The Devil whispered to him, “Oh Great Nebuchadnezzar, look at the great Babylon, that you built, no king like you. Is there any king that can build something as great as this?” And Nebuchadnezzar fell for it and of course, he paid for it.
If you look at Daniel 6:6-9, you will see the example of Darius. He was another King in the time of Daniel and he loved Daniel. He knew Daniel was serving the living God . He was a very hard working and honest man, and he would not want any evil to happen to him. But the enemies wanted to get Daniel.
They went to Darius, -“Oh Darius, there is no king like you. You are very wealthy , you can supply the needs of the whole nation for at least one month. We want you to make decree telling everybody, “Nobody must ask anything from any man or any god for one month, except from you. And Darius fell for their plan. And that is how he was persuaded to get Daniel to the lion’s den.
So, how do we escape the net that the flatterers can set for us? How do we escape from the wiles of the devil?
HOW TO ESCAPE FROM THE WILES OF THE ENEMY
To escape from the wiles of the enemy, you have to:
#1 Steer clear of flatterers
In Proverbs 20:19 the Bible says:
“He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore not with him that flattereth with his lips”.
So do not play with anyone that flatters.
#2 Whenever anyone flatters you, reject it immediately
In Matthew 19:16-17 , the Bible tells us that a man came to Jesus Christ and said: Oh, you are a good man and Jesus asked, why he called him a good man and that anybody is good except God. He returned the flattery immediately. Dont accept flattery . When somebody tells you you are greater than what you are , tell the fellow , “dont say that to me again”.
3. You must refuse to be the channel the devil can use to flatter. Therefore , refuse to be a flatterer because it is a very dangerous thing to do. So, you should refuse to flatter anybody.
4. If there is any pride in you, ask God to help you to be crucified with Christ, in Galatians 2:20 . Paul said:
“I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God who loved me, and gave himself for me”.
if you are dead , then nobody can flatter you. If you are dead to anything people call great or wonderful, the devil cannot come around and begin to call you Managing Director when you are nothing. So steer clear of flatterer. Refuse flattery when it is brought to you. Refuse to be a channel for flattery and anywhere in your life where there is still pride, ask the Lord to push it out. Ask him to remove anything the devil may use in your life.
PS: I know you might agree with some of the points that I have raised in this article. You might not agree with some of the issues raised. Let me know your views about the topic discussed. We will appreciate it if you could drop your comment. Thanks in anticipation.
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