The Schemes of the Devil--You Better Know Them

Every thought of temptation that comes from the devil is always a thought that is in direct opposition to what God has declared as Truth in His Word. Every thought that the devil brings to you is for the intent of leading you away from the Truth. The devil always waits until you have left your time of fellowship with Jesus and the Father to bring his thoughts to you. When you are looking at the Lord by looking at the Word (the Word is Jesus Himself--Jn 1:1) and fellow shipping with with God by meditating His Word, there is no place available for the devil and his thoughts. You're in that secret place (Ps 91:1) called faith, for faith comes as you hear and look at the Word.



But when you leave the place of fellowship with God, the devil will come and try to steal the Word that you received from God, by giving you another thought that usually will try to generate fear. The devil is after your faith, and he uses fear to get it. The devil also uses one other tactic to steal from you. He uses the very same thing against you that separated him from God and got him thrown out of Heaven. The devil uses pride. Pride is where you think more highly of yourself than you ought to. Pride is what tempts you to exalt your throne above God's (by exalting what you think about something over what God thinks about it), just like the devil tried to do (Isa 14: 12-14). God said, "you'll have no other God's before you" (Ex 20:3), and that includes yourself. When you exalt what you think above what God thinks, you're in serious trouble and most vulnerable to the devil.



You see the perfect example of this as you look at Jesus on the Mount of Temptation (Matt 4:1-11). Jesus had just fasted and prayed, or you can say it this way, Jesus had just spent 40 days fellow shipping with the Father, and with that completed, He realized He was hungry. Jesus knew that His Father would supply the food that He needed because His Father is the Lord God Provider ( Jehovah-Jireh meaning "the Lord will provide". This is one of the seven redemptive names of God). But the devil came immediately and tempted Jesus to look away from the Truth, and exalt Himself in that situation by trying to get Jesus to take care of Himself by having Jesus prove that He was the Son of God by speaking to the stones (see, even the devil knows how the Kingdom of God works) and telling them to turn into bread so that Jesus could take care of Himself by eating that bread. But instead of Jesus taking the devil's bait of temptation, He responded with the Word of Truth (His Father's Word), and said, "man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matt 4:4).



If you don't have the Word of God abiding in you, then you'll not be able to resist the devil's temptation when he comes to kill, steal, and destroy you. For example, when the devil comes and says, "you are sick, the doctor said so, and he said your going to die, and that's exactly what is going to happen to you", and unless you have the Word of Truth abiding in your heart (your spirit, the real you), you'll give into the fear the devil has brought to you and you'll believe the lie. And when you believe the lie, then that is what you will speak from your mouth. You'll hear those words out of your own mouth and they will produce fear. And if you are in fear, you are not in faith. But, if you have God's Word in your heart in abundance, you will respond to the devil's temptation in faith by saying, " Jesus bore my sicknesses and carried my diseases (Matt 8:17) and by His stripes I am healed (1 Pet 2:24), therefore, I shall live and not die and declare the works of the Lord (Ps 118:17), for God has said to me, because you love Me (My Word) I will satisfy you with long life and show you my salvation (Ps 91:14-16)." With God's Word in my heart, I'll take my stand of faith and resist the devil's lies with the Word of Truth.

Let me say it again, every word (thought) that the devil speaks to you is always in direct opposition to God's Word of Truth. You'll believe the lie if you are moved by fear. But you will believe God's Word if you are moved by faith. Which ever word you believe and act on, that is what you will receive.

Meditate on the Word day and night (Josh 1:8). Keep it in your heart in abundance, so that your mouth can be filled with the Word of God whenever you need it, and trust me, you'll need it, because the devil is always after that Word that is in your heart (because it will produce faith) and he will do anything you let him to get it.

Now Jesus said in Mark 11:23, " he (a man/woman) who believes that those things he says will come to pass, he will have whatsoever he says". Now this scripture has so riled up the Church over these last 40 years. It's caused divisions and splits among Christian brothers. Who does that sound like? Who do you think is behind that? The devil knows the Word of God better than most Christians. He has distorted that truth (believing what you say) by tempting man's flesh with it, and men have carelessly misused this Word to fulfill their own lust. But, nevertheless, the Truth behind what Jesus said is still true (today). It's a spiritual law. It works just like the natural law of gravity. It always works when applied. ALWAYS! And the devil knows this, so he knows if he can get you believe with your heart (the lie) and say out of your mouth what he says (instead of what God says), then you will have what you say and he will kill you with your own words.

If you want to live and not die, then you are going to have to do what Jesus did. He said, "I only do what I see the Father do (John 5:19), and I only say what the Father says (John 8:28).
Whatever situation of life that stands before you, you must say what God says about it and live and have victory, for if you say what the devil says about it, you will lose and be destroyed.

Read Josh 1:8 and Ps 1 and do what it says. The key to strong overcoming faith is meditating the word. If you don't like the word meditate, than I'll say it this way, just spend time in the Word, for that is where the Life of God is hidden. And that God life will come alive in you when you put that Word in your heart. Hold fast to the Word of God and it will hold fast to you.

And remember this Truth as well. "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap (Gal 6:7)". Sow the seed of God's Word in your heart today and when the devil comes to plant his seeds, run him off. Which crop are you going to allow to grow in your heart?