https://youtu.be/6J8B-6vdpRM

Hello everyone and welcome to Redemption Church. My name is Chris Fluitt and I am glad to be with you today. We are in the 3rd week of our sermon series.

Deal with the Devil

The devil makes deals through words, hearts, minds, and actions. Instead of a physical contract, the devil seeks a spiritual agreement.

Amos 3:3 (KJV) Can two walk together, except they be agreed? 

When we are in agreement with the devil, we have begun to walk with him… we have made a deal with the devil.

In week 1 we told you the devil deals with pride.

The devil deals with pride

Pride is choosing your self-will over God’s will. Self-will, pride, leads to disobedience and disobedience leads to rebellion.

The devil deals with rebellion

Last week we told you the devil deals with rebellion. Rebellion is the rejection of God’s authority. Anytime you actively disobey God’s word you are entering into rebellion and walking in agreement with the devil.

Today I want to tell you the devil deals with deception.

The devil deals with deception

It is no surprise that the devil is a liar.

There is a joke used on politicians & lawyers… How can you tell a politician or lawyer is lying?  Their lips are moving. If the devil is speaking, you can be sure that he is lying.

When the devil shows up in the garden, it should be no surprise that he lies.

Jesus calls the devil the father of lies in John 8:44. The original liar is the devil and he wants you to fall prey to his deception.

Before the devil lied to Adam & Eve, he lied to someone else. Who is the first person the devil lied to? Do you know?

The first person the devil ever deceived was himself.

Isaiah 14:13-14 (NIV) You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.  I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.” 

Devil you lied to yourself. Devil you deceived yourself.

“I will ascend…”   - Wrong. You have only descended.“Throne above… enthroned…” – Lie. No throne… temporary kingdom.“Like the most high…” – Worst lie of all.

The devil is a liar. His first lie was to himself.

The devil is deceived and all he brings is deception.The devil is prideful and all he brings is pride.The devil is rebellious and all he brings is rebellion.

Everything the devil offers flows out of the abundance of who he is. (And, so it is with us!)

The devil is desolate and all he brings is desolation.

Daniel 9:27 (KJV) …and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate. 

God prophetically reveals to Daniel that the devil will bring the abomination of desolation, and then the last words of this chapter reveal what the devil is… the devil is desolate… so of course he only brings desolation.

So you can be sure that the one who is deceived, when his lips move, he is speaking deception. The devil has nothing else to offer.

Genesis 3:1-6 (NIV) 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’?”  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 certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman.  “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”  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. 

Like all great liars,