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Well, tonight we're starting a little mini-series on when the devil knocks. So this is part one: when the devil knocks, who's there? So who is it who's knocking? What is he like? And this is a good reminder for us, because all of us need to be reminded that there's more going on in life than what our eyes see. Paul says in Ephesians chapter 6 this reminder: for our struggle is not against flesh and blood. The problems you're facing, the battle that you have, there is in, and I would say, most of it, a spiritual component. If it's not brought on by the enemy, he's seizing the opportunity to try to discourage you, to try to come against you, to cause you to doubt God, to attack your faith. And so we have to be wise that there is an enemy. Look at it: but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world, and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. All of those are our classifications, categories of demonic beings that he's telling us, and there are, they're arrayed against us and they're fighting us. It's really, really good for us to remember. I used to tell my kids when I drop off at school, you know, not when they're little little kids – their eyes would get real big, you know – as they got older I'd say, "Hey, listen, you've got a bull's-eye on your back and the devil's after you. Just remember that he is after you, and so remember that, and it will, it will help you stand strong in the midst of his attack." I would say that to him all the time. He wants to attack you, he wants to stop you. And I would say to everybody in this room, the devil is coming after you. That's what Peter says, right? He says Satan's like a roaring lion; he's, he's walking around looking for people to devour. And so he wants to attack.
So who is the devil? Well, the devil is an angel. He's a fallen angel. He was created when all the other angels were created – which demons are fallen angels – according to Job chapter 38 and verses 4 through 7. It happened some time before the creation of the earth. So before God created the earth, there were angelic beings who in eternity past were created by him, and somewhere along the line decided to rebel against him. And when they did, it was probably a third of the angelic hosts. Why they would want to rebel, what it is exactly that caused the number that large to rebel, we really don't know. We can speculate that certainly it would be in the hundreds of millions, maybe even in the billions of angelic beings who fell, who rebelled. In Ezekiel chapter 28, it chronicles the fall of one in particular, the leader of all of the demons, an individual that we call the devil. And when you come to Ezekiel chapter 28, the prophet's talking about the king of Tyre, who was cruel, who was ruthless, he was an evil king, he claimed to be a deity. But then beginning in verse 11, Ezekiel goes from the king of Tyre to begin to talk to us about the devil, and he talks to us about his rise and about his fall. The first thing he tells us about the devil is that the devil was exceedingly beautiful, that he was, he was the perfection of beauty. So we read this in Ezekiel chapter 28: it says, "You were the model of perfection, full of wisdom and exquisite beauty." So not only, not only was he beautiful, but he was very, very wise. And it says, "You were in the Eden, the garden of God; your clothing was adorned with every precious stone," read carnelian, in all of these different gemstones, all beautifully crafted for you and set in the finest gold. They were given to you on the day you were created, self. So his being reflected a, a brilliance, a radiance of gemstones with light flashing through them; he was, he was stunning to look at. We also learned that he was not only beautiful, but he occupied a position of honor that, that God gave him – what you would call the highest honor. In verse 14 it says this: "You were the anointed cherub." So from that we learned that he is a – the devil's a cherub. And so there are types of, of angelic beings; cherub being one of them, cherubs being the guardians of the throne of God. So there are Seraphim who worship around the throne of God, then there are cherubim who guard the throne of God, and he was the anointed cherub. "I placed you on the mountain of God; you strolled in magnificence among the stones of fire. From the day of your creation, you were sheer perfection." But then he sinned, he became proud, evil entered into his being. Verse 15 we read this: "From the day of your creation, you were sure perfection, and then imperfection, evil, was detected in you. And much buying and selling, you turn violent." You say, "What do you mean? In going here and there?" There is the idea in the Hebrew, and going over here and going over there – in going about your business would be a way – it really gives you a little translation of the Hebrew, but it's an idiom: "and going about your business, this is what happened to you. You sinned. I threw you, disgraced, off the mountain of God. I threw you out, you the anointed angel cherub, no more strolling among the gems of fire. For you, your beauty went to your head; you corrupted wisdom by using it to get worldly fame. I threw you to the ground." You say, "What exactly happened?" Well, we know from Isaiah, in Isaiah chapter 14, that it was pride that entered in. The, the devil, as he, as he began to think about his beauty, as he began to think about his wisdom, pride filled his heart. Here's what Isaiah tells us about him: "For you said to yourself, 'I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God's stars.'" He said, "You know what? I think I'm gonna be the king of all the angels. I'm gonna send to heaven; I'm gonna rule over all the angels. I'll climb the highest heavens and be like the Most High." In fact, it wasn't enough for him even to think, "You know what? I'm gonna be over all the angels. I'm gonna be over God. I'm gonna take God's place." And so out of that, God removed him from heaven. You say, "Well, why – if God could do that, why doesn't God just get rid of him now?" Well, I mean, certainly God could have destroyed the devil and all of his followers, or he could have suppressed the rebellion for a season. But I want to suggest you, God gave them the full opportunity to exploit every avenue of their power, from Genesis chapter 3 to the time when Jesus sets up his kingdom, for this reason: so that when the devil is finally defeated, no one will ever wonder if God's Authority can be usurped. I mean, God's gonna let him do everything you can do, and when it's all said and done, then we will understand that nobody – not even somebody as powerful as the devil – can challenge God's Authority.
So the question is: what does the devil like? Well, he's an angel, so everything that would be true of an angel be true of him, in this sense: angels don't have a physical body; there are spirit beings. So can they take on the form of a physical body? They can. But in essence, they're spirit being. Angels do not have a soul like we have, so they're incapable of salvation. And there's some things angels don't understand relative to our experience and are interacting with God. In fact, it's Peter says angels long to look into these things. There are aspects of our salvation that angels are trying to figure out. There are aspects of God in his glory that angels would not know, would not understand, would not see or perceive or have an example of, were it not for God's redeeming fallen human beings. So angels – they don't know everything, and they're learning, and they're watching as God works with humanity. But the, the devil was the most powerful angelic being, certainly one of the most, and maybe the most powerful angelic being God ever created. Now, that being said, he's not even this close – or a million miles close – to God in power. He can't touch God's power. A lot of times people have the idea like there's two equally great powers going at it – there's God and there's the devil. No! There's one equally great power, and then the devil's power is like – you know, like this – compared to God's power. So the devil was created; God was never created. So God's without creation, without beginning, is without end. The devil had a day when he was created. Second, the devil's power is not unlimited. He is very, very powerful, and so on the one hand he is fearsomely powerful. One of the things you never want to do – and I think in both 2nd Peter and Jude talk about it being a mark of false teachers is when you slander celestial beings – you don't ever slander the devil. So slanders when you, you know, when you're insulting him, you know, he is fearsome, he is powerful. And the example that Jude uses is he says even the Archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil over the body of Moses, did not dare slander him, did not dare bring a slanderous accusation, but simply said, "The Lord rebuke you." And, and Jude's point is: listen, if an archangel wouldn't get in a name-calling match with the devil, then human beings shouldn't. So we're not, we're not afraid of him, but we respect the fact that he was created powerfully by God, and there's a measure of, of just simply respect for that native act of God that, that was evidenced in his being. And so he, for right now we are made a little lower than the angels; someday will be over the angels, but right now we're a little lower than the angels. Angels are ministering servants sent to, to serve those who will inherit salvation, but still they're very, very powerful. So he rules over a domain of demons; he cannot cross God's established boundaries. So, so the devil is powerful, but his power is limited at God's discretion. So God has established boundaries that he cannot cross, so he doesn't operate without God's permission or allowance, we could say.
Number three: the devil does not know everything. That's a question a lot of people a say – they to things people want to know: can the devil read what's going on in my mind? And the answer's no, you can't. Only God can do that. Now, the psalmist says in Psalm 139 that, speaking of God, "You see my thoughts from afar; before ever the words over my lips, you know them full well." So God knows what's going on in your heart; he knows what's going on in your head; he knows what you're gonna say before you ever say it. God knows. The devil doesn't have that ability; cannot read your mind, he cannot. And you don't need to say, "Well, you know what? I'm gonna pray silently so the devil can't hear my prayers, because they don't know what I mean." All of that's ridiculous, because our prayers are more powerful than his power, because greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world, right? So, so this idea that somehow we got to be afraid to talk out loud or pray out loud because we don't want to tip the – your prayers are more powerful than the devil, so we don't need to be afraid of that as well. The devil can't see the future, so fortune tellers, all of that – the devil cannot. We say, "Well, I know somebody who – there was a witch or fortune-teller and they told, and it happened." Listen, if you sat around and for millennia you watched human beings, and you were like one of the wisest creatures ever created, and for millennia you watch human beings, you'd be able with a fair amount of accuracy to predict what was going to happen, right? So he can look at it, he can guess, "Hey, all things being equal, this is the way life plays out." He takes a long-term view; he's watched it over and over again with billions of people over millennia; he can, he can tell you how it's gonna play. So in that sense he can forecast the future, but he cannot foretell the future. That's a big, big difference. God, on the other hand, can tell you the future, and the reason why is because God is at the future; he's, he is eternal; he lives in one eternal now. God is at the beginning, at the end simultaneously; he exists outside of time. So as we've said, if this is the continuum of time – time began here, time ends there – God is looking at it just like you're looking at it, and he exists outside of it, and he can tell you what's there even if we're living here, because he sees what's there right there. I mean, he can see it, and he is there. So God lives in one eternal now, and so he can predict the future; the devil can't.
So the devil does not know everything. The devil can only be one place at one time. So the devil can be everywhere all the time? No! The devil is not in hell; hell's not open for business yet. So, no, nobody is in hell; there's a place called Hades, but it's separate from Hell – the lake of fire, the second death. So the devil doesn't hang out in hell; he doesn't hang out with a bunch of flames with this pitchfork and his horns. Really, what he does – he hangs out, scripture pictures him most often hanging out in heaven. So he's before the throne of God, and he is accusing everybody in this room; he's, he's saying, "Hey, look what they did! Look what they did! Look what they did!" He is the accuser of the Brethren. So he can only be at one place at one time. That's not to say he doesn't at times come down onto earth, but by and large, he would, he would leave most of what he does to the hordes of demons that follow his command. So he is only in one place at one time. God, on the other hand, is everywhere at once. So I mean, God is so much bigger, so much more powerful than the devil. His name gives us – or his names, I should say – give us insight to what he's like and what is, what he does. He's called Satan, and Satan is the Hebrew word for adversary, used 52 times in the Bible. So the devil – whenever you see the word Satan, it means adversary. He's the adversary of God; he's the adversary of God's angels; he's the adversary of God's plan; he's the adversary of God's people; he was the adversary of God's Son; he absolutely fights and opposes anything connected with God. So this is why we're gonna have the musicians come. This is why it is so critical for you and I to recognize we're in a battle. It's so critical for you and I to not try to fight the battle in our own power, and that's why we need to be in the presence of the Lord, because being in the presence of the Lord sensitizes our hearts spiritually, and, and it makes us sensitive to the spirit world, which is really, really important. So that we can sense – I you know, you don't have to worry about what he's up to; you just have to be sensitive to what's going on around you, because it's important. There's times you can sense the presence of the Lord, right? You're in a place or, or you're, you're doing something, and all of sudden you sense Lord speaking to you. Or there's times you're in a situation and you realize the enemy's at work here, and that's valuable because that tells you how to pray. Or you can, you can sense – you can have a discernment of spirits; you can tell what, if what is motivating – you can tell, you know what, Satan is motivating these people, this situation, this circumstance; the enemy is at work. And you know what, sadly to say, he can work in God's people or through God's people. You know, I mean, remember Jesus said to Peter, he said, "You, I'm gonna be crucified," and Peter said, "Lord, that's not gonna happen." And he said, "Get thee behind me, Satan." So, you know, Peter at one moment – just moments earlier said, "You're the Christ, the Son of the Living God." And he said, "Boy, flesh and blood didn't reveal that to you; that came to you by my Spirit." And then, you know, just a few sentences later, Peter speaking and prompted and motivated by the devil. So it's really important for us to, to be aware and to be in God's presence so that we can cultivate a spiritual sensitivity to what's happening around us, what's happening in circumstances, so that we can pray, so that we can stand, so that we can be strong.
So he's Satan, the adversary. He's also called the devil 37 times in the New Testament. The devil is mentioned – we first meet him, you know, right away in Matthew chapter 4, I mean, he's tempting Jesus. The word devil, the Greek word, means one who slanders or one who trips up. Our word "diabolical" is, is right out of that word. So you can – when we say the devil, what are we talking about? We're talking about a diabolical being. I mean, he is evil to the core; he is absolutely – and he is trying to trip you up. He, he knows where everybody's weaknesses; he knows how to get to people; he knows how to work people; he knows how to work situations; and he's trying to trip you up. He's, he's trying to work to, to slander. He slanders God; he slanders Jesus; he slanders the Holy Spirit; he slanders the church; he slanders the Bible; he slanders doctrine; he slanders Christians; he slanders anything associated with God. So you know, you have – you have when somebody was – today I read an article and it was talking about somebody, and they were essentially slandering the vice president, who is a really very deeply committed Christian. And when I read it, I just thought, "You know, there's the devil at work." I'm not saying the person that was saying it is demonized, but the devil works through people; he works through situations; he works through circumstances. He wants to slander. When you hear people slandering this church or any other church, you just know that's the devil that's working. You know that, I mean, right away – "Well, there's the devil, he's, he's at work." When you hear somebody slandering another Christian, there's the devil, he's at work. When you hear somebody slandering God – I mean, when you watch how so much of the entertainment of this world slanders God, how much so much of the, of the wisdom of man slanders God – that's, that is the devil at work. He's called the serpent; he's called the dragon; and he's called a roaring lion. In Revelation 12, he's the old serpent; and Revelation 12, he's called a dragon; in 1st Peter chapter 5, he's called a lion; in 1st John chapter 5 verse 18, he's called the evil one. He, he above everybody else is evil to the core. The most evil person you can think of, the most evil person you've ever, matter you can imagine, times a billion – and that's the devil. He is evil. He's called the accuser, Revelation chapter 12 and verse 10. And in John chapter 8, Jesus called him the father of lies. All he does is lie, lie, lie, lie. But Jesus said that's his native tongue. That's so – he's gonna, he's gonna tell you untruths, half-truths; he's gonna tell you white lies and big whoppers; he's gonna, he's gonna, he's gonna tell you whatever he thinks he can get you to believe, whatever he can do to cause you to doubt. And he's gonna lie about God; he's gonna lie about God's Word; he's gonna lie about, about you personally; he's gonna lie to you about you. He's, I mean, he is a devil; he is diabolical. All of it designed to discourage God's people.
So that's just a brief primer on who he is and what he's like. The good news is greater is He Who is in us than he who is in the world. So what we want to do, though, is we have to be aware. You know, the Lord lets us know, "Hey, listen, this is what's going on around you," so that you can be aware of it. This is, this is what you're up against, because that should motivate every single person. When I took – when we talked about all those things, it should motivate every single one of us to say, "Wow, now's not the time for me to be coasting. Now's not the time for me to be complacent. I need to bring my A-game." Because, because the devil is at work. And we don't have to be afraid of him, but we certainly have to be aware of him, and we have to be ready for the attack. And the best way we can do that is just to be, you know, in the presence of the Lord, stay close to Jesus. Jesus said, "Watch and pray so you won't fall into temptation." [Music]