Diabolical - Agenda #1 - Divide and Conquer, Part 1

Where you good and evil come from. Have you ever thought about that if something is good. Where does business come from. If something is evil. Where does evil come from to begin a series today called diabolical Satan's agenda for planetary including together will discover the force behind the evil in this world will find out how to perfect ourselves from Satan attacks on us. Welcome to this Edition of Living on the Edge with your finger tip survival to this daily discipleship program motivating Christians to live like Christians just mention the series were about to dive into focuses on Satan's evil intentions for every follower of Christ in the coming programs to point out the obvious and subtle ways, real or personal, and spiritual life will also learn about the biblical defenses we can use to protect ourselves and our families against our true enemy. That said, if you have your Bible ready turn to acts chapter 6 core chips message divide and conquer holding something in my hands and you probably recognize maybe from junior higher elementary school as you were learning about the world, but this is the glow what I want you to know for this entire planet and everything and every person on this planet. There are two competing agendas. God has an agenda for every person on this planet. He has an agenda for nations is agenda for every man, every woman, every child and it's an agenda of unstoppable grace of compassion and love and restoration. By contrast, Satan has an agenda for this planet.

He has an agenda for nations and how they function for communities for every man for every woman and every child and his agenda is to kill and to steal and destroy, and anything that is good. Anything that is of God.

Anything that is positive. Anything that is wholesome and winsome. He wants to destroy somewhere your on this. I'm on this and as a result were involved in a pretty big battle that if were not careful you just find yourself like the Google maps zooming, zooming, zooming, zooming this tiny little spot, and you can think that little spot that where you're living is where life happens and you can miss the big picture agenda for the talk about Satan's agenda for planet Earth, including you, we looked at God's unstoppable agenda in acts chapters 1 through five. Jesus defined the agenda in one verse John chapter 10 verse 10 he says the thief, speaking of Satan. His agenda purpose is to kill and steal and destroy. He says my purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. I love the way the new living translation but that I came he might have life. Jesus said, and have it more abundantly. So I just want to get a macroscopic view of the whole world and the planet in history and realize God's agenda is one word life would you write that in your notes's life. It's unstoppable. It's forgiveness it's healing its grace, its peace it's removing shame it's giving new life is doing something inside of you, so that the love of God isn't just experienced, but shared US ambassador, you his agent, Satan's agenda can be described in one word as well.

It's death, he deceives the lies he corrupts. He brings shame and then he brings temptations to you and me to get you to do a something or to treat someone or try to get a good thing in a bad way or the bad time that will kill relationships that bring shame to your heart that makes you depressed. The ruins relationships that divides families breaks up small groups that ruins churches and business places is is diabolical is not passive. It's not kinda bad, is not something over there if you know if we don't mess with it.

It won't mess with us know it's diabolical.

As I was studying these chapters and praying came up with a lot of very bad titles and for the Lord. I know those are ones that we you show me an early one morning just as I was waking up like the spirit of God said diabolical and not about you, but I don't use that word a lot and so I went to Webster's and then I went to little Wikipedia, and here's what between the two of them.

This is what diabolical means mean something extremely wicked or cruel, evil, fiendish, hellish, vile, vicious, a tannic infernal, demonic, despicable, deplorable, doesn't like the worst words in the whole world you need understand that you are in a battle and there's competing agenda and God has one.

And Satan has gone in your soul and your relationships and your life are constantly being bombarded by agents of grace and agents of evil and you need understand the lay of the land and what to do and when and how and recognize when it happens when I thought about. I thought if someone asked me to come to draw a box and write in it. Things that I think are diabolical.

By that definition. I jotted a few things that got encourage I left a few blanks to me.

Genocide is diabolical coming, the Holocaust, Bosnia, Sudan, Stalin, 50, 60 million people kills his own people, ethnic cleansing diabolical should never happen. The sexual abuse of children slavery of sex life diabolical betrayal someone you trust someone you love someone who commits to you and then just lies and just does the exact opposite. You learn about later evil, fiendish, terrible abusing kids taking a prescription that you know secretly will cause certain side effects, but you can get billions of dollars and passing it on through knowing the cancer and death, even if it's just 1% of the people, it occurs follicle taking resources and putting poison and water that destroys people down the road or downstream because you can leverage it here for profit diabolical. What would you put in that box was the most evil diabolical terrible thing running acts, murders, serial killers, kidnapping, little girls and chaining them to beds in basement. Horrendous things. Those are.there's evil in the world. This is philosophical. This is a metaphysical there's evil and there is evil pointed at that planet and there's an agenda to make it global and individual, and pervasive money can be discussed. Seven things that the Scripture teaches that will give you a framework as we talk about this diabolical agenda number one precepts to remember good and evil are realities that are not merely concepts or metaphor. It comes right out of the life of Christ. Matthew four it's Jesus face-to-face with Satan. This wasn't just some ethereal it was a real angelic being who is evil, trying to tempt our Lord to bail out on God's plan very real. Second, God is the source of all good and Satan is the author of evil James chapter 1 says every good and perfect gift comes from above, above, from the father of lights, with whom is no variation or shifting shadow says don't let any man say when he is tempted and tempted of God for God content no one evil was introduced into our world system through our enemy Satan through our original parents. Genesis chapter 3 third fact Satan is a fallen angel who led one third of the angels in rebellion against God. You can read about that Ezekiel 28 or Isaiah 14, sometimes with all the Hollywood in all the different TV shows and all the sensationalism we get this idea that you know there's this gory scary crazy sensational. That's what Satan is all about.

Actually, Satan was called Lucifer, star of the morning. He was the chief of all the cherubs which were the highest level of angels. He served at the side of God. He was the most beautiful of all the angels he was the wisest as most knowledgeable of all angels in his will was he got caught up in his own beauty and his own pride and he started a coup he wanted to take. He wanted God's job and 1/3 of the angels followed him.

And when angels that's what they are when they turn evil there called demons and so that's out.

There's a battle it's very real for where an invisible war with temporal and eternal consequences. Can't you step back from emails and voicemails and work issues and relationship issues and realize you are in today and invisible war in the battle for your soul and the souls of people. This real Ephesians 6 will tell you very clearly the armor that you have the protection that you have your being bombarded by the light by lies by condemnation but by feelings and senses that you don't measure up by relationships we you think it's all your fault there's something behind evil that product provides all the resources for us to hurt one another. Relationships we own and realize we do things wrong but there's a tempter and you need to be very aware and you also need to know how to address it. Five.

We face a formidable but defeated foe. I just want you knows were going to this title anybody going home with bad dreams do not okay these formal he's a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

But he's defeated. Colossians 215 he was defeated at the cross, which leads to the very next point we don't fight for victory were not trying to figure out who's gonna win this. We fight from victory not for victory.

Greater is he that is in us as followers of Christ than he that is in the world but is still a real battle, you need to know who you are in Christ, you need to know how to do spiritual warfare you need to identify is this just me.

Could this be demonic activity you need to understand all that, because the very last point is that ignorance is lethal. I mean lethal.

You are so set up to get hurt or to hurt others, or to have everything that God wants to do in you and through you forwarded if you're ignorant when the apostle Paul wrote about these issues. He said it like this to one church. He said you are not ignorant of his schemes. We get our word strategies you you're not ignorant of Satan schemes or strategies what he divides and what he condemns in the way he lies in the way he deceives.

I don't think Paul could write that to most churches today. I think most churches. Most people are absolutely ignorant of his schemes. Now I don't know what your expectations are. But this will not be a series about kind of overt sensational spiritual warfare. Bring a look at. Behind that the subtle agendas.

But if these seven things that I've outlined is a quick review are foreign to you notice up a little Asterix at the bottom. We have a study called the invisible war we have in the book form we have it enough small group form with your small group doesn't know what you want to do yet I you can get it on CDs or go to Living on the Edge MP3s real cheap, but you need to be aware of how that operates were not going to talk about that side. I'm to talk about huge soluble agendas and movements that are wrapped in goodness that are often wrapped in religion that are wrapped in practices that you and I unconsciously accept that will ruin us and ruin other people and so first I just want you to get here some precepts. You gotta remember, here's the framework of what were talking about the second thing before we dig in. It is there some perceptions I want to challenge me when you talk about Satan, we talk about the devil you will have some background in pictures pop up. I love CS Lewis E. He said there's two great errors when you talk about Satan. One is you think too much about him. The second is you think too little, I made it. Believe me this is not a church and where not a place where everything is Satan. There's a demon behind every bush you know I'm driving my car got a flat tire. Oh know it must be the flat tire demon know it might be a nail spiritual realities are real, but so are everything else.

Everything isn't demonic. Sometimes I have really bad situations because I do really stupid stuff. Sometimes I do sinful stuff and its consequences. So I want you know that you know we don't assign or think everything he's behind everything, but there's others you don't think about them at all. You don't think why do you have these unexplained waves of depression.

Every time you want to get the Bible when you work on your marriage and you go to counseling and making some real steps. Why are you having more flights than before. You know you finally decide to go to small group and some of that group says something that really offends you, and you just feel pushed away. Why is it every time you take steps toward that which is good thing start to fall apart will then you know what maybe you need understand there's an enemy of your soul. Second, perception is a when I thought of this term diabolical and I thought what I'm going to name the series Lord, could you best. I know that's what you want to do. I think we have a view of diabolical and as I've been studying. God has a different view.

It's not that he doesn't think that acts murderers and serial killers and genocide that is evil, for sure we don't. We think those are those diabolical evil terrible things out there that can that's not us. I been reading through Proverbs and has been reading through Proverbs.

This little phrase the Lord detests and then it will say this, the Lord abhors God hates and as I was reading through pretty soon. I thought I start my Bible up little box bundled the Lord detests store every time he hates this or hates that I came up with a list and I thought to myself, you just dawned on me as I was studying if God hates something it must be diabolical right and he hates it, but I don't have any verses like he hates serial killers or hates genocide or hates infanticide or all of those things would certainly be true, but can I just give you a highlight of this is just what Proverbs says is diabolical in God's eyes. Chapter 3 it says God detests perverse men, perverse women, and so so what is a perverse event will the passage goes, a perverse person in this passage. One who withholds what is good when it's in your power to repay another would you owe someone money you got the money you know Pam got hates that he thinks that's diabolical. It's when you plot to harm someone else. When you accuse someone for no reason. It's when we envy violent people. God says he hates that later on.

It says he hates and detests haughty eyes, a lying tongue. The shedding of innocent blood, a heart that devises evil feet rush to evil in a ready and people that stir up dissension people that gossip people that take little thing divide people that make you think less of other people. People that mess with God says he did. He hates it. Haughty eyes, thinking I'm better than other people. A proud heart arrogance. God says he hates it. All of a sudden I realize I need to get my little box into a much bigger box because all of those those who oppress the poor.

He abhors those who have different weights business deals where you put stuff on Craigslist. You know it's worth this in July little bit about each contestant. All of a sudden when I realize was it's in the lying and the scheming and the deception that happens in small areas in our hearts.

God detests in the things we call diabolical are just what happens when they bloom and multiply over time CS Lewis in his book the Screwtape letters.

If you've never read it. It is a classic in its it's it's it's placed as an older demon coaching a younger demon about how to deceive God's people and if you ever want to learn the subtlety cacique. This is not going to be about demons and they have big eyes like this and there's manifestations like that and this might happen, there's a time and place for, spiritual warfare I'm gonna tell you 90+ percent maybe 99% of all the demonic activity that you ever face will come package so sweetly so subtly and so deceptively that you will be on course moving in a direction that will bring ruin to your soul and sheer relationships and those around you and you'll never know it.

In fact, most of the ways within a talk about were accepted. We have unconsciously accepted some things and you look at them in all look at them and will realize why so many marriages don't work why so many kids take the parents why so many churches have so many factions working to see these big subtle ways that his agenda for this planet. He is happiest when what he is doing to us were oblivious to. So you ready to go on a journey open your Bibles to acts chapter 6 Morgan to learn a pattern to recognize the church is exploded for five chapters 3000 come to Christ 5000 usually only count the initially the men then their whole families in the Lord's adding to their number every day. So maybe we have who know somewhere between 20 to 50 maybe 80,000 people in these first few months. The church is exploding in the churches inside Judaism right now.

So all those that are coming to Christ in Jerusalem are Jews now want to give you little context here right down the context is rapid growth or change what you get that. So what's happening now is that there's tens of thousands of people in the marketplaces are full and Peter is in you. He's these boys, John and James, and there's all these demands and organizationally it's growing.

I never expected something like this. The second thing I want you to notice is the complaint, there's gonna complaints can come up of unmet needs.

When things grow rapidly, or if there is changing your world and my world. It almost always surfaces unmet needs when there are unmet needs in a marriage unmet needs in a friendship unmet needs in a small group unmet needs of the church.

Our tendency is to look at the differences and begin to blame the other person and that's where the enemy causes division. Here's what I want you to recognize here's agenda number one. Satan wants to divide and conquer wants to divide you from your friends. He wants to divide you from your mate was to divide junior small group was divide you with your parents must divide you with your kids was divide you at work. His agenda this is the agenda you use lots of different ways and temptations and peoples and personalities and backgrounds, and differences, but the goal is to divide you and the easiest place to divide us is when we have differences because left to ourselves. We move from word not were different but I'm right and they're wrong.

Now what I want you to do.

As I read the passages. Notice how the early disciples dealt with the differences in the complaint, how they didn't allow the superficial issue to be. They went to the core and how they dressed and ready acts chapter 6 in those days in the days of this rapid growth, the number of the disciples was increasing. The Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebrew Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of the food so the 12 gathered all the disciples together and said it would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables. Now here's a solution side so you have a complaint.

The complaint is rooted in.

Here's the historical situation. Judaism is made up of three groups now we read this week we can have our Christianized right now.

It's all Judaism inside Judaism. You have the largest faction are people who do not believe Jesus is the Messiah.

You now have a growing faction inside this you have one circle of people who speak Hebrew and Aramaic who lived in Jerusalem received Jesus as Messiah and their Christians.

You have another group who don't speak Hebrew but probably know some Aramaic to get around because it's the trade language along with Greek, but their Greek speakers and they came from all around the area and when they came at Pentecost, they heard the message they become Christians. And now they're living in Jerusalem, so they speak Greek they speak Hebrew. This group because they lived elsewhere, they look at the world differently meet people who speak a different language from another country. We all get along, but we eat different foods.

We think differently. We have different values with different styles. That's the situation.

Now imagine now from hundred 20 people to a few hundred to a few thousand to 10,000 maybe 40 50,000 people. Let's just say one or 2% of them are really poor and have needs a complaint is now they're saying wait a second, if you're a Hebrew speaking person. Your widows are getting the food, but ours aren't add to this historically if you spoke Hebrew and came from Jerusalem. This is well documented. You just look down your nose at every other Jew you are of the pure unmixed ancestry here in Jerusalem Jews are God's chosen people and you are the chosen of the chosen and so you basically think these second-class citizens running another okay they believe in Jesus, but we do know who is better so that's the story that's what's happening.

Notice what happens. Disciples say we had a problem they realize you have to realign their priorities.

Here's the response brothers choose seven from among you who are known to be full of the spirit and wisdom. We will turn this responsibility over them and we will give our attention to prayer into the ministry of the word. Will this proposal please the entire group and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and the Holy Spirit, and also Philip and per chorus in the canner and Tim and Arminius and Nicholas from Antioch was a convert to Judaism and they presented these men to the apostles who prayed laid hands on them basically delegated the authority now if you had time to study this all seven of these names. Guess what their Greek names. So what the apostles basically said was quite a second.

This thing is growing but we got a step back not respond emotionally to MME this is real stuff. They're complaining what's wrong with you. Hey Peter, I thought you love God, how come I know my answer, widow. What's the deal, right this is this is heavy stuff they step back and they realize were overwhelmed. We need to be servants, but the ultimate goal Jesus it won't go in there for all the world make disciples were overwhelmed. They listen and they say you know it, so they .7 of the most godly people who all have Greek names because their closest to the problem and they come up with a solution and it please the people and then look at verse seven. So the word of God spread in the number disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith and so notice on your notes here. You got rapid growth you have an unmet need and then here's the core differences are fertile ground for division when growth or change create real or perceived unmet needs.

The core issue is the disciples understood that when things grow and multiply unmet needs accentuate the differences and when there's differences. That's for the enemy gets in double-jointed insurance to this application just been listening to the first part of his message.

Divide and conquer from a series diabolical. Satan's agenda for planet Earth, including you, Satan's mission for every Christ follower is simple, total destruction. Unlike God's plans for you which are rooted in grace and love. Satan wants to wreck your relationships isolate you from God and turn you into an ineffective Christian but with God's help, we not only have the power to oppose Satan's tactics, we can actually defeat them through the series triple teachers to recognize Satan's diabolical schemes and defend ourselves against his evil intentions. This is such an important topic so we hope you'll make the time to be with us for this entire series for complete series information and resources discounts for diabolical just go to LivingontheEdge.org or call triple late. 333-6003 Apple listeners Special offers chip we've just started the series diabolical that comes out of the book of acts would you take a minute and give us a little context for which will be talking about in the upcoming programs, absolutely Dave you know we did this series I called it unstoppable and it was chapters 1, two, three, four and five. It was this amazing explosion of the church in the world's getting changed in this series comes out of acts chapter 6 through 10, and any time we step out and God is moving. There is always opposition. Satan steps in and there's opposition, Morgan sees division persecution prejudice. We do see all kind of things he uses to try and trip up the church. Well, it seems like Satan's agenda is being played out very clearly house the church being attacked here in the 21st century. When you know a lot of things don't change Satan's primary goal is to discredit God and he does that by causing division. He causes that by getting us to get our focus off of God and onto you know secondary causes or one another. He does it by generating hate division often isolates people sometimes he gets us to look through a lens of our prejudice the week.

We can only hear God's voice through our own lens and therefore we become very ineffective in chapters 6, seven, eight, nine and 10 literally is its diabolical. It's the strategies it's the schemes it's how Satan attacks individuals how we attack small groups and how he attacks the church and what were they to learn is how to discover what the schemes are and what you can see each and every time is kind of what the apostle John said greater is he that is in you and he that is in the world and Paul would say that were more than conquerors in Christ chapter 6 through 10 are going to teach you and teach me and help us be those conquers you to love the series FedEx chip will the series diabolical is one you're gonna want to hear again or maybe send to a friend. Let me encourage you to get the chipping remap.

It's an easy way to listen or share this message for additional resources and more information about diabolical visit LivingontheEdge.org or you can always give us a call at triple late. 333-6003 Apple listeners tapped special offers from Algiers chip as we close today's program.

I just wanted to give you a little idea about what's going to be coming in the next two weeks as we look at Satan's agenda for planet Earth, including you, and what I want you know is some things that are so subtle when you look at them through the lens of God's word there diabolical. There are certain things that are so subtle, so accepted but I mean they will ruin your relationship with God with yourself, with your family with your friends and so today we begin we begin to talk about how he wants to divide and conquer, as were to go further within realize who used traditions things that your great grandfather and grandfather and father. They were passed on from one person to another and in churches that we've come to just believe and accept, but some traditions actually pull us apart from God, and they were to look at things like God, religiosity, and prejudiced in areas that you're going to see right out of the text of Scripture that will absolutely pull you away from the things that matter most in your heart and your life.

And here's the deal. He's the deceiver see most Christians don't know his agenda and if you don't know his agenda and you don't expose it than bad things happen.

If that bad things happen and you don't even know it's happening as I taught this in our church. Once we got into about the second and the third message I mean literally okay take this right. All hell begin to break loose.

People were having manifestations of evil. They begin to come to me afterwards and say you know I never ever thought that this issue in my marriage could have anything to do with his agenda or this big friction at work or I mean, little by little by little. Staff members begin to come to me and say I'm having nightmares and satanic attack in the middle of the night and when we began to peel back what Satan was doing and what his agenda is God begin to intervene in new and powerful ways.

So what I want you to know is that great grace occurred. Great healing occurred. God worked in an amazing way in the life of our church and that's his plan for you. So let me encourage you if you can't be here at this time every day.

Go to the website and each message will be on their get the message notes click and get them for free download them but stay with me on this.

Satan has an agenda for your life. He wants to kill to steal and destroy. God wants the next two weeks to be an opportunity for you to see where and how that happens and then protect you, deliver you and make you difference maker Hobie can be within the next couple weeks. It's can be an exciting ride will find the message notes trip just mentioned of a couple places go to LivingontheEdge.org and click the broadcasts tab Apple listeners tapped. Fill in notes just before we close owner thank those of you who make this program possible through your generous financial support. If you found today's program helpful but haven't yet supported us. There's never been a better time because every gift we received between now and July 6 will be matched dollar for dollar to send a donation.

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