Satan, as the serpent, caused Adam and Eve to sin, and death came to all of mankind.
This past week, a nearly two-foot long Egyptian cobra, weighing just three ounces, escaped from the Bronx Zoo. The snake's venom is so potent that it can seize the nervous system and cause respiratory failure within 15 minutes. Zoo officials are confident the snake is contained in its reptile house, but others aren't so sure. Evidently, the snake has been roaming the Big Apple posting updates on Twitter.
A few days ago the snake tweeted, "Leaving Wall Street. These guys make my skin crawl." Then he tweeted, "Holding very still in the snake exhibit at the Museum of Natural History. This is gonna be hilarious!" And then he tweeted, "A lot of people are asking how I can tweet with no access to a computer or fingers. Ever heard of an iPhone? Duh."
A few weeks ago we met a serpent far deadlier than an Egyptian cobra. You usually think of a serpent striking one person, and that one person dying. But this isn't the case with Satan. The moment Satan induces Adam and Eve to sin, death comes to all mankind. It's true. Look at Romans 5:8. From the moment we're born, our bodies begin to die. And the same is true of our children, and of our children's children. And it's been this way ever since the beginning when Adam and Eve sinned. The sting of death is sin. Once the venom of sin entered Adam, death came to all mankind.
If an Egyptian cobra were let loose in your house, what would you do? Last fall I was raking leaves and noticed a tiny snake in the grass. I went to the garage, got a small container, and caught the snake. It was a baby. So, being a good pastor, I brought the serpent to church and put it on Jay's desk. The snake escaped the container, and took up residence in Jay's office! Supposedly, Jay and his girls, and I think Mark Gannar, tore up his whole office until they found the snake!
Satan was a created being.
Something else we saw is how Satan was a created being. He was an angel who attempted to lead a rebellion against God along with one third of all the angels in heaven. Having been defeated, Satan and his angels were cast out of heaven and hurled to earth. And once on earth, Satan continued to wreak havoc. Starting in the Garden of Eden, he's continued on earth the same mission he began in heaven-- inciting rebellion against God. He first induced angels to sin and now he's inducing the sons and daughters of God to sin.
I know there are a lot of naysayers out there. But Satan is very real, his activity is very evident, and his strategy is very effective. He is a deceiver and murderer.
Once upon a time there was a serpent who was badly injured in a fight with another animal. It managed to slither away to safety, but would have surely died if a benevolent man had not seen it suffering by the side of the road. The godly man carefully wrapped the snake up and took it to his house, where he bestowed the kindest and gentlest care on the snake until it was healed and could return to the wild.
But just as the man was releasing the serpent back into the grass, the ungrateful snake turned and bit him on the hand. "What did you do that for?" cried the man, who knew that the bite of this particular snake was usually fatal. "Didn't I take care of you when no one else would?"
The snake shrugged (no small feat for a snake!) and replied to the benevolent, and now doomed man, "What did you expect? You knew I was a snake when you picked me up."
This morning I want to talk a bit more in-depth about Satan's strategy. We know his character. We know his hostile intentions. We know the power of his deadly venom. But what is his strategy? How can we protect ourselves against this attack?
Satan's strategy is smooth words.
The snake in the Bronx Zoo tweets, while the serpent in Genesis speaks to the woman, Eve. Even today, Satan speaks and deceives. Genesis 3:1 (NIV) says, "Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, 'Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden?' "
I wonder if it ever dawned upon Eve to consider the source of the serpent's words? The serpent already had a reputation for being more crafty than any of the other wild animals. Why didn't she take that into account as he spoke to her? Always consider the source. A snake may seduce and charm you in the beginning, but in the end it will always leave you with a fatal wound.
How often do you investigate the source of things you hear? For example, you may think your music is innocent and fun. But who wrote that music? Who wrote the lyrics? Who produced the album? What are that person's beliefs, motives, and agenda? What is his character? Who has he been influenced by?
We often think words and lyrics are harmless. But what we don't realize is that words have the power of life and death. See Proverbs 18:21. And what we don't realize is that the serpent has a double tongue that deceives and connives.
Satan's strategy is to twist God's word.
Satan's strategy is to always make God look ridiculous. "Did God really say.....?" His strategy is to create confusion and muddy up the water. We see this in both Matthew's and Luke's gospels, when Jesus is tempted by Satan in the wilderness. On three different occasions, Satan comes at Jesus with some verse he's twisted up from the Old Testament.
This is a very real danger in our own day, too. Satan loves to quote scripture. One of his favorite scriptures these days is, "Don't judge." Isn't it interesting that every time we quote the counsel of God, Satan attacks us with, "Don't judge!" In other words, keep God's word to yourself. Don't preach, don't be concerned, don't get outraged, don't notice, turn the other way, and just keep quiet. Think of how clever Satan is! He has us believing that our greatest sin is preaching righteousness! Meanwhile he goes about spewing wickedness, unchecked, unhindered, and filling up young minds. It's a scheme. It gets even worse!
Satan's strategy is to slander God's character.
Notice how the conversation unfolds in Genesis 3:2-5 (NIV). The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.' 'You will not surely die,' the serpent said to the woman. 'For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.' "
Satan's strategy is convince us that God's commands limit life, limit pleasure, and limit our enjoyment. It's like that old Billy Joel song which says, "The sinners are much more fun." Satan is always inviting us to break God's commands. Two beers are better than one, three are better than two, four, or five. Sex is better outside of marriage. Adulterers, fornicators, swingers, pornographers, the promiscuous, and the gays and lesbians are so much happier.
The lie of Satan is that you are better off not trusting God. You'll be happier coloring outside the lines of his will. You'll be happier judging for yourself what's right and wrong. You'll be happier with your eyes wide open. You'll be better for having experienced good and evil for yourself firsthand, than to take advice from God. Satan will say things like, "God isn't good. God is holding out on you. God is a cosmic killjoy, a real drag. He's cramping your lifestyle."
If Satan can get us to distrust God's character and to doubt his goodness, he can get us to do anything.
Satan's strategy is to appeal to our appetites, our emotions, and our pride.
Check out Genesis 3:6 (NIV). "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it."
The fruit appealed to Eve's physical cravings. The fruit was, "good for food." The fruit appealed to Eve's emotions because it was pleasing to the eye and it had aesthetic value. It also appealed to her pride. It would help her gain wisdom and be like God!
When Satan tempts Jesus in the wilderness, he uses the exact same strategy of attack he used on Eve. Satan appealed to Jesus' physical cravings by asking him to turn the stones into bread. Satan appealed to Jesus' emotions by showing Jesus all the kingdoms of earth in their splendor. They could all belong to Jesus if he'd bow down and worship Satan. And Satan appealed to Jesus' pride by inviting Jesus to throw himself down from the temple and command his angels to catch him in a show of majesty that would convince all that he was truly the Son of God.
Satan tempts us in the same way that he tempted Jesus.
If Satan can't lure us by our appetites, he'll lure us by our emotions. If he can't lure us by our emotions, he'll lure us by our pride. Look at 1 John 2:16-17 (NIV) which says, "For everything in the world-- the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-- comes not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."
Think of all the apples Satan offers us every single day. "This apple will satisfy your hunger, it will quench your thirst, it will take away your pain, relieve your stress, help you chill, and make you feel young again. This apple will make you happy. Look at its unspeakable beauty, its fine lines, its vibrant colors. It's sensual, it's erotic, and its smell fills your soul. You need this, you need it now, and you can't live without it. Take it and eat."
"This apple will make people notice you. It will help you make a statement. It will give you a sense of power, prestige, position, wealth, recognition, and esteem. It will make you famous and it will make people covet you. You can be the next American Idol!
It's the same old strategy. It works just as well today as it did back then. How quickly we turn from the Father to chase after the empty schemes of the serpent! But in the end, after our fifteen minutes of folly are over, Satan inflicts us with a mortal wound. We should not at all be surprised. Whereas our loving Father intended life for us, the evil one intended death from the moment we picked him up and carried him home. Oh that we might turn once more and trust the Father and turn from Satan.
The promise of a life of following Jesus' example.
1 Peter 3:10-12 (NIV) says, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech. He must turn from evil and do good; he must seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
Isaiah 45:22-25 (NIV) says, "Turn to me and be saved, all you ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other. By myself I have sworn, my mouth has uttered in all integrity a word that will not be revoked. Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear. They will say of me, 'In the Lord alone are righteousness an strength'. All who have raged against him will come to him and be put to shame. But in the Lord all the descendants of Israel will be righteous and will exult."