Joyce Meyer - Is the Devil Real? - Part 2
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Names of the devil that you'll see in the Bible, and this is just a small smathering. Prince of darkness, Beelzebub, Lord of the flies, the antichrist, the evil one, prince of the power of the air, ruler of this world's system. He's not the ruler of this world. God's the God of this world, but Satan is the ruler of the system that's going on in the world. The deceiver, the father of lies. He was kicked out of heaven, took one third of the angels with him, and they're now called demons. And he is not omnipresent. He can only be in one place at one time, but his demons do a lot of his dirty work.
Now, I understand this is not like a happy subject, but how many of you believe you need to hear it so you can protect yourself at the right time? For some of you, it's probably been a long time since you've heard a good rousing sermon on the devil. Amen? And we need, sometimes, preachers don't like to preach things that aren't pleasant. But I'm kind of addicted to preaching what I think people need and what God tells me to preach, not what's popular. He was kicked out of heaven down to the earth, took a third of the angels with him. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, "And don't be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul: but rather be afraid of him who can destroy both soul and body in hell".
So, Satan in the Garden of Eden, he apparently can take on different forms because he appeared to eve as a serpent. Now, obviously, she wasn't afraid of snakes. Because if he appeared to me as a serpent, I would run. Amen? But they had no fear until they sinned. And something interesting that I just read about eve, and I agree with this is, you know, we always kind of think she was kind of bad because she listened to him and did what God told her not to do. But actually, he deceived her because she loved God so much that when he told her if she would eat of that tree of the knowledge of good and evil that she would become like God. And she loved him so much that she wanted to be more like him. And sometimes, the easiest people to deceive are those that love God so much that they just will do anything that they think is God without really checking it out. Amen?
We know that as soon as Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit, that that same spirit drove him out into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil for 40 days and 40 nights. This account is in Luke 4, the first 11 verses. And I'm not gonna take the time to read the whole thing because I've got something, in particular, I want to get to. But it's interesting that "Jesus full of and controlled by the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Holy Spirit". See, don't think that the Holy Spirit is always going to lead you into nice, comfy, cushy places. I can see you love that. "For (during) forty days in the wilderness in the (desert), where he was tempted (tested, tried, exceedingly) by the devil, he ate nothing during those days, and when they were completed, he was hungry. Then the devil", so, what I saw really clearly in this is that Satan waited until he was at his weakest point.
And that's what he does with us. He waits until you're so tired you can't hardly stand it. Or he waits until you've had your problem so long you're really positive you can't put up with it one more day. I'll tell you something about the devil that you need to realize is he is extremely patient. And he knows you better than you know yourself because he's watched you your whole life and he knows what your weak points are. And he waits until we are tired. And in this case, Jesus was hungry. And then he made three specific attacks. "If you are the Son of God, turn these stones into bread". Well, he was trying to do two things. He was attacking his identity. "Who do you think you are"?
You ever heard that one? I have many times. And he was trying to get him to move independently of God. "If you're the Son of God and you're hungry, then just make yourself some bread. Don't wait on God, just do it yourself". Come on, that's a big temptation the enemy throws at us. "Don't wait on God, here's what you can do, do this". The Bible calls it "Works of the flesh". I call 'em "Works that don't work". I know because I tried enough of 'em. Now, I know I'm goin' kinda fast and covering a lot of ground but hopefully I don't lose you. Then he tempted him with the world. And I love this one, "If you will bow down to me just once," the just once lie. "Well, it's just a little bit". "Everybody does it". "Just once". No, don't be trapped by that, you're not everybody else, you're not like everybody else, you're called to be separate.
And if you're the only person in the whole earth that does it right, then stand strong and do it right. Because all of us are going to stand before God and give an account of our lives. Romans 14, every one of us. And if you happen to be watching and you're one of the ones that doesn't believe in God, you're gonna get surprised. Because he said that the "Time will come when every knee will bow in heaven, on earth and under the earth". Amen. I watch a lot of documentaries and I see some of the silliest stuff. I saw one the other day that said, it was talking about creation, I love it when they try to explain creation. Sometimes, for me, knowing what I know, it's almost like watching a comedy. And they said, "This giant asteroid fell out of the sky and hit the earth and caused an explosion that flew up in the air and created the moon".
Okay, my question is, who created the asteroid and who created the earth that it hit? See, you can't go far enough back to not eventually run into God. And the other big theory is that "There's these life forms in the sea and one of them crawled up on the beach, and billions of years later, here we are". Okay, who created the sea? The big bang theory, I don't know what that is. But who created the bang? I mean, how could we see how our bodies work and how the earth works and think that we're some cosmic accident? You know why Satan wants you to think you came from an ape? Because he doesn't want you to think that you have any value. He doesn't want you to know that God especially created you in your mother's womb with his own hand carefully and that he has a plan for your life. He wants you to think you're an animal, so you'll act like one.
Ginger Stache: Joyce, today, on candid conversations, we're gonna just dig right in and talk about the enemy that comes against all of us, as Christians. And I grew up in a church that I'm so grateful for. I learned so much, got such a wonderful foundation in the Lord, but they didn't talk a lot about the fact that the devil is real. And that we have weapons to fight back against what's happening in our lives. So, I've learned so much about that. And for me, at the time, and for many people, that's an entirely new concept. Is the devil even real?
Joyce Meyer: Well, I had the same experience. I didn't grow up in church, but the first church that I went to for quite a few years... Here, again, I thank God for the things that they did teach me, but I didn't hear much about the devil either. And a book that I read, 45 years ago, which I guess, is still in print, was called, "The devil is alive and well on planet earth". And it really opened my eyes to realize that, you know, we have a real enemy and he hates us and he's against any kind of progress that we have. And the devil is real, and hell is a real place. And today, especially, I think there's a big push to get everybody to think that, you know, "Well, God is good and loving and he would never send anybody to hell". And people just like to think that's not really a place. And the devil's just a myth and that's not really real. But, I mean, there's so much evil and wickedness in the world, and we have to ask ourselves, "Where did it come from"? And, you know, when Satan was created, he was created as an angel, but he was given freewill, and he chose to try to lift his throne above the throne of God. And he was cast out of heaven, down to the earth, and the atmosphere above the earth. And he hates God and anything that God has anything to do with. And so, scripture is the best way to prove my point.
Ginger Stache: Right, yeah.
Joyce Meyer: And in John 8:44, Jesus was talking to unbelievers and he said, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies". So, just think about that. My native language is English. So, when I speak, I always speak English. And he's saying the devil's native language is lies.
Ginger Stache: That's a really interesting thing to think about. Like, that's all he can do.
Joyce Meyer: That's all he does is lie. The mind is where he tries to launch his major attack because the devil can lie to us, and this is very important. If you believe his lies, then you're deceived. But even if you believe something that's not true, if you believe it, it becomes true for you. It's a reality for you. So, like, for example, I was abused growing up and the devil had me convinced, I didn't know it was the devil, but he put thoughts in my head, all the time, that I would always have a second-rate life because I'd been abused, that nobody would ever love me. And if I ever had a man show any interest in me, I needed to grab the first thing that came along, and I did, and that was another huge mistake. And so, the only truth that we have is the Word of God. I know people today, wonder what truth is. And, you know, the world has strayed so far away from real truth that our society is in such a horrendous mess and it's just getting worse and worse all the time. And the only hope is if people will return back to what the Word of God says. And, you know, there's such a push to get rid of God, which you're not gonna do because he's not going away. But all you have to do is look at anybody's life who really serves God, and you can see that even though they have trouble in their life, their lives are a lot different. Their attitudes are different than people who don't serve God. And Satan is very much alive and well on planet earth.
Ginger Stache: So, what is the danger in not understanding what you're saying? What does that do in our life if we don't realize that this force is coming strongly against us?
Joyce Meyer: Okay. Well, I mean, I can take my life. I believed all the lies that the enemy had told me. In John 10:10, there's a scripture that I love. It says, "The thief", talking about the devil, "Comes only to kill, to steal, and destroy". But Jesus said, "I came that they might have and enjoy their life, and have it in (the full, until it overflows)". Well, I didn't have any joy. I didn't have any peace. I believed I was no good. I believed that what had happened to me was my fault, something was wrong with me because my father wanted to sexually abuse me. I believed all these lies that the enemy had told me all these years. So, as a result of the danger of believing all those lies is they become your reality.
Ginger Stache: Oh, yeah.
Joyce Meyer: That becomes your world. I told Dave the other day, I said, "I think our real life is on our mind". You know, I mean, that may sound like a strange statement. But I think, you know, your real life is really...
Ginger Stache: Reality, yeah.
Joyce Meyer: In your head. And the Bible says, in Proverbs 23:7: "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he". So, naturally, Satan wants us to believe every lie that he can possibly tell us, because then we're deceived and we spend our lives in bondage, thinking things that are not true. And he lies to us about ourselves. He lies to us about our future. Lies about our past. He lies about God. He lies about how other people feel about us. Anything to make people miserable.
Ginger Stache: So, if we don't know that all these things are coming from him and that they're lies, he's really just winning the entire time.
Joyce Meyer: And there's no way that you can know if you don't know the Word of God.
Ginger Stache: Right, yeah.
Joyce Meyer: And that's, you know, I just plead with people and beg them and try so hard to get people to study the word. And it's not just, "Oh, read your Bible every day, because if you don't, God's gonna get mad at you". There's truth in there that will renew your mind. Romans 12:2 tells us that, "The only way we can prove for ourselves the good will of God is to have our minds renewed according to the Word of God". So, God has a good plan for our lives, but if we're ever gonna actually see it, and live it out, we have to learn to think like God thinks.
Ginger Stache: So, when you're doing that, then what are some of those things that you use, those tools that you find in the Bible to fight back against this devil that we now know is out there and real?
Joyce Meyer: Well, for example, James, 4:7 says, "Submit yourselves to God. Resist the devil. And he will flee from you".
Ginger Stache: Flee, yeah.
Joyce Meyer: So, first and foremost, if you set yourself to study the Bible, but then, not only to study it, but to do what it says. Every time you do what the word says, you're fighting the enemy. The Bible teaches us in Ephesians 6 that we have armor that will protect us from the enemy. And it's things like righteousness, and peace, and truth, and prayer, and you know, it's such a great study. But it says like, "Put on your shoes of peace". Well, when we walk in peace, we defeat the enemy. Every time that he gets us upset, then we start doing things emotionally, and he ends up winning. Like Ephesians 4:26 and 27, "Be angry and sin not. Don't let the sun go down on your anger. Do not give the devil a foothold". So, this is telling us how, you know, how many people go to bed mad at night? He saying...
Ginger Stache: Things the devil can use against us.
Joyce Meyer: And he's not even saying, "Don't get angry". Anger is an emotion. But he says, "When you're angry, don't sin". You know, so if you don't resolve the anger, you will sin. You'll try to take revenge. Or you're gonna do something you shouldn't be doing. So, you forgive. One of the most powerful tools that we have is to forgive people who hurt us. And trust God to be our vindicator and to take care of us. And...
Ginger Stache: So, it could be easy, as a Christian, to let this freak us out a little bit, right? That there is this force always trying to deceive us, who hates us. So, where do you find the peace that you need not to let this overwhelm who God is in our lives?
Joyce Meyer: Well, the Bible tells us that we have been given authority over the enemy. So, obeying God is probably our number one authority. I think, it's Luke 10:19 that says, "Behold, I have given you power and authority over all the power the enemy possesses, and nothing shall by any means hurt you". You gotta pay attention, "I've given you power and authority over all the power the enemy possesses". Satan has power. But we have authority.
Ginger Stache: Yeah, good. Yeah, you have to know that.
Joyce Meyer: Jesus has the highest authority. And our biggest authority is in recognizing his lies, and simply saying, "No".
Ginger Stache: Yeah, and knowing that God is greater.
Joyce Meyer: Right. "No". Jesus, himself, these are 12 verses but worth reading. "Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit left the Jordan and was led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tempted by the devil". He fasted during those 40 days, "He ate nothing. And the devil said to him", and this is what gotta understand, the devil talks to us by putting thoughts in our mind. Now, I don't know, in this instance, if he actually, spoke out loud to Jesus or if they were just thoughts that came to his mind. But he says, "'if you are the Son of God, then tell this stone to become bread'". One of the lies that Satan comes against us with is lies about ourself. He was saying, "Prove yourself. Prove you're the Son of God". "And Jesus answered, 'it is written: man shall not live on bread alone'. The devil then took him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said", and boy, this is where people get in trouble. "'i will give you all their authority and all their splendor'", I'll give you all this stuff. "'because it has been given to me and I can give it to whoever I want to'". And he's really not wrong because Adam, through his sin turned everything over to the enemy. But Jesus took it back for us, "For this purpose was the Son of God manifest to destroy the works of the evil one". Jesus came to forgive our sins, but to win back, our authority and to defeat the devil. And so, he has all authority. Everything's under his feet, but we're in him, so that same authority belongs to us. But we have to resist, and say, "No," and know the word, and recognize the lies of the enemy. And like I said, I've been walking with God for 45 years, and I know you've been the same way a long, long time, most of your life, but I still know that there are lies that Satan tells me that I don't catch him.
Ginger Stache: Mm hmm, yeah.
Joyce Meyer: You know, I think it's something else. Like, there's a good example in Matthew 16 where Jesus was talking to the disciples about how it was time for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer and prepare for his crucifixion, which he'd been telling them about. And Peter took him aside, and rebuked him, and said, "Oh, no, Lord, this must never happen to you". And Jesus looked straight at Peter, but he said, "Get thee behind me, Satan". He knew that the devil was speaking through Peter, trying to keep him from going to the cross.
Ginger Stache: And you think, "Ouch". You know, what would that feel like? But Jesus did that out of kindness.
Joyce Meyer: Yeah.
Ginger Stache: To help in this situation.
Joyce Meyer: But for people to realize that sometimes Satan works through people who lack knowledge. And sometimes, even really good people. Do you know, when God called me into ministry, how many people tried to get me not to do it? Because they were looking at it naturally like, "You don't have the education, you're a woman, you're not this, you're not that, you're not something else". And they were, well-meaning people, Christian people, but they were still letting the enemy use them. And so, studying the Word of God. It's our only safety net, Ginger. We don't, I mean, I still, I know that there's many, many times when the enemy lies to me and i...
Ginger Stache: Yeah, me too.
Joyce Meyer: I don't recognize it. And to me, that's one of the biggest things, as a Christian, that we need to learn. And so, I have a lot of teaching available on these subjects. And, you know, anybody who's interested can call the office and they can help them, you know, pick out the things that are gonna help them the most. But we don't, you know, all the bad things in the world, it's not God doing 'em. It's the enemy doing them. And God's got our answers, and we need to go to him to find those answers. And let me just say, you better believe the devil is real and he is alive and well on planet earth. And he will do anything that he can to keep you from any kind of relationship with God, or if you have a relationship with God to keep you from growing in that relationship and going forward.