• Jesus taught us to pray: And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.” (Mat 6:13)
• There IS an evil one, an enemy
• Today we are going to look at what Jesus himself said about this subject, in parables and other occasions
  • Why am I not going to include later writings?
  • Because there is a development in revelation
  • The foundational teaching is by Jesus, and the rest of the N.T. builds on it
  • When Jesus began preaching the Kingdom of God, we see the conflict with the Kingdom of Satan in it’s starkest form
  • Buy focusing on Jesus, and not flattening the N.T. we see the foundation that the rest of the N.T. builds on
• Before we look at our parable, even from Jesus’ birth there was a conflict:
  • Matthew 2:16 “When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he became enraged.
    He sent men to kill all the children in Bethlehem and throughout the surrounding region from the age of two and under,
    according to the time he had learned from the wise men.”
• As Jesus began to preach the Kingdom of God, the conflict intensified

• The Romans passed laws against people doing this kind of thing, so we know it must have been a problem (Snodgrass p.201)

• Darnel can carry a poisonous fungus that would make the flour inedible
  • Leaf blades are around 2–3mm wide, wheat slightly wider 4–5mm

• What is the point?
  • Jesus, you are bringing the kingdom, but there is still evil happening?
  • Today: Why is there evil in the world if there is a God of love?
  • Evil will not ultimately be destroyed until the day of judgement
  • Until then, Satan will try and spoil everything that God is doing
  • Do not be surprised, but be prepared!

• His main power comes from telling us lies
  • Jesus calls him “the father of lies”
  • He lied to Eve, telling her that God was not a good father and was keeping good things from her

• lies —what kind of lies? Can you give me examples?
  • God has forgotten you, he is not listening to your prayers!
  • You are a loser, you will never amount to anything
  • Nobody loves you
  • Does it sound like an audible voice? —no, it sounds like our own minds speaking
    • This is one of the things that convinced me that God still speaks to us today—Does Satan have more power than God?
• He loves to cause disunity by lies
  • Several decades ago I was asked to help a church that was split
  • Little things were misunderstood. He said this, but really he meant this...
• We fight against this by always trying to think the best
  • never attribute motive —you cannot possibly know
• distract
  • We are easily distracted!
• sickness (under God’s limitations)
  • I don’t pretend to understand how this works, since we know that God is ultimately sovereign, but this is what the text says.
• Feeling of being oppressed
  • Whenever I preach on a subject like this it seems to be such a struggle!

• What are your weak points?
  • It was after Jesus had not eaten for 40 days (“famished”) that Satan came and tempted him to make food
  • Are there particular times of weakness for you?
  • The enemy knows them, so either avoid them, or protect yourself with prayer
• Precious Remedies against Satan’s Devices by Thomas Brooks
  1. Offers the bait and hides the hook
  “Think how great you would feel if you did this” —but what about afterwards
  • Then he says “what a loser you are, to sin like that”

3. How does he attack Kingdom work?

• July 28, 1982 Satan somehow clouded his judgement —12 people
• About to start the very first Newlife Church meetings in our home
  • Target—to get the ground floor fixed up
  • John Hosier (sickness, disunity)
• Causes division and disunity
  • often by causing misunderstanding
  • John Hosier elders story
• We need to guard the unity very carefully
  • recognize this kind of attack

• Former Hindu Priest (page 4)
• Vicious attacks on the church in many places in the work, especially Muslim countries
• We may get more opposition
• We are hoping to move the church right into the downtown
  • We will get attacked!
• How does he often work today in our lives?
• How do we recognize him?
  • Not every bad thing that happens to us...
  • Sometimes our fault (I was late for work...)
  • There is a general chaos of life
    • Car: nail in the tyre, hole in the muffler, several other things
    • Did Satan put the nail there?
  • Our sin did, ultimately!
• If it is unusual, or an attack on what we do for the kingdom
  • my vocal chords?
  • sometimes it is the timing

• Also see: Mat 12:28–29
  28. But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has already overtaken you.
  29. How else can someone enter a strong man’s house and steal his property, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can thoroughly plunder the house.
  • Luke 11:
  22. But when a stronger man attacks and conquers him, he takes away the first man’s armour on which the man relied and divides up his plunder.

• Pray
• David & Goliath
  • There is an enemy
  • gospel