Why God is This Happening? Part 2 (Pastor Ron Termale) October 17, 2021
We learned last week that those who trust God through difficult circumstances have the most influential testimonies because they can demonstrate what God has done in the end. God allows us to go through tests, but they will lead to promotions. You do not know what your faith is made of until it is tested.
You are a letter that everyone is reading (2 Cor 3:2). How you go through your challenges in life impacts the world.
God restored and doubled Job’s fortunes after Job remained faithful during his trials (Job 42:10).
While some of life’s challenges are common to man (i.e. are a natural part of being on earth or are consequences of our actions), and some are tests from God, others are attacks from the devil.
Today we are learning how to discern when a challenge in life is an attack from the enemy.
As Christians, we are not unaware of Satan’s schemes (2 Cor 2:11). We know that Satan is slick and wants to get each believer to open a door into sin, including sins that they may be more inclined to struggle with based on their lineage (i.e. generational curses). We also know that Satan can speak through people, as he did through the apostle Peter when Peter spoke against Jesus’s calling by telling Him that He would never be killed and raised back to life (Matt 16:21-23).
Peter later warned the Church, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Pet 5:8, NIV). The apostle James teaches that if we submit to God and resist the devil, then the devil will flee from us (Jas 4:7).
Two primary goals of Satan that characterize demonic attacks:
1) To deceive.
Scripture says that Satan deceives the whole world (Rev 12:9), and that some believers will leave the faith by following deceiving spirits and “doctrines of devils” (1 Tim 4:1, KJV). Satan wants you to focus on this world only, not on the things of God (as displayed by his words through Peter in Matt 16:22). Therefore, we must immediately discern and rebuke Satan’s words (as Jesus did in v. 23).
2) To divide.
Satan hates unity. He divided man and one-third of the angels against God, and today he divides families, churches, and nations. Whenever you see division and disunity, the devil is at work. Jesus says that a house divided against itself cannot stand (Mark 3:25), so do not let Satan sit at your table.
Are you going through a struggle caused by a demonic attack? Fight against the pressure to conform to deception and division, and know that “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet” (Rom 16:17-20, NIV).
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