Below are notes to a sermon preached Sunday evening, July 15, 2001, at Gospel Light Baptist Church, Albany, Georgia.

THE SHOCKING, SWEET SPIRIT OF CHRIST ABOUT SATAN

By Michael D. O’Neal Pastor, Gospel Light Baptist Church Albany, Georgia

Scripture Reading: Matthew 16:21-23

Text: Matthew 16:23

Matthew 16:23 But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.

Introduction: Tonight I want you to think with me again about the subject, “The SHOCKING, Sweet Spirit of Christ.” This time I want us to consider what Jesus said about SATAN.

Liberals tend to minimize the existence and work of Satan. They are so busy trying to straighten out the ills of society by social programs that they have ignored the one who holds the lost in his clutches!

Liberals think that we fundamentalists don’t have “the sweet spirit of Christ” because we expose and oppose the devil. Let’s look at whether or not the Lord Jesus Christ had any dealings with a real devil and how HE dealt with him.

By the way, how sweet does it seem to you for the Lord Jesus to turn to one of His disciples and say, “Get thee behind me, Satan”???

OUR SWEET SAVIOR SAID THAT

I. SATAN IS A PERSON (A Created Being With Personal Attributes)

I don’t think the following was said “sweetly”:

Matthew 4:10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

Jesus addressed him. He talked to him. He called him by name.

A. Satan has a dialect as a person – would you recognize his voice?

He spoke to Jesus in Matt. 4:9.

He spoke to Eve in Gen. 3:1

He speaks today through his henchmen with “good words and fair speeches” (Rom. 16:18).

B. Satan has desires as a person

He desired to have and sift Peter – Luke 22:31

C. Satan has designations as a person — names. A few of them are:

Satan

Lucifer

That old serpent

The devil

The prince of this world

The god of this world

He is not just an evil influence! He is not just an embodiment of the troubles of this world! He IS evil! He IS trouble! But he is also a PERSONALITY!!

OUR SWEET SAVIOR ALSO SAID THAT

II. SATAN HAS A PAST

Luke 10:18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

(This verse is viewed by some students as a prophecy, but Satan did have a fall in the past.)

A. He was a the sum of perfection – Ezekiel 28:12-14

B. He held a special position

The anointed cherub that covereth – Ezekiel 28:14

Associated with the music of heaven – Ezekiel 28:13

C. He developed a sinful pride – Isa. 14:12-14

A pastor should not put a young convert into the pastorate because being lifted up with pride the young man might fall into “the condemnation of the devil” (1 Tim. 3:6)

OUR SWEET SAVIOR SAID THAT

III. SATAN IS A PRINCE

John 12:31 Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.

Matthew 12:26 And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand?

A. He has a kingdom of darkness — God has a kingdom of light

B. He has a kingdom of devils

C. He has a kingdom of the deceived

D. He has a kingdom of the damned

OUR SWEET SAVIOR SAID THAT

IV. SATAN IS A PATRIARCH

Can the following be said “sweetly”?

John 8:44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

A. He is the father of the lost

B. He is the father of the lie

He filled Simon Peter to lie

He filled Ananias to lie – Acts 5:3

OUR SWEET SAVIOR SAID THAT

V. SATAN IS A PRETENDER

Matthew 24:24 For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

See my book, “To Be Like The Most High.”

A. He has a counterfeit Savior

B. He has a counterfeit salvation

C. He has counterfeit saint

D. He has counterfeit scriptures

E. He has a counterfeit spirit

F. He has counterfeit shepherds

G. He has counterfeit signs and wonders

OUR SWEET SAVIOR SAID THAT

VI. SATAN IS A POWER TO BE RECKONED WITH

Matthew 13:39 The enemy that sowed them is the devil; the harvest is the end of the world; and the reapers are the angels.

The devil is real. In the story above, Jesus said that the devil sows tares among the wheat. By the way, notice that The devil is identified as sowing tares in the 13th chapter of Matthew, the 39th verse, which is 3 x 13. Thirteen in the Bible is often associated with sin, Satan, and rebellion. The word, “Satan,” occurs in 49 verses (4 + 9 = 13), and the first occurrence of the word is in the 13th book of the Bible (1 Chr. 21:1). Judas Iscariot has 13 letters, as do the words, “the antichrist.” Jesus identified Judas as His betrayer in John 13:26 (2 x 13).

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

A. Satan has strength

He has a list of adversaries he has beaten at some time or another: Adam, David, Solomon, and many others.

Without Jesus, you cannot handle him!

B. Satan has subtilty

He is sly like a snake

C. Satan has spots of weakness

The believer can submit himself to God, resist the devil, and make him flee – James 4:10.

OUR SWEET SAVIOR SAID THAT

VII. SATAN HAS A PROSPECT

Matthew 25:41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

A. He will be cast out again

During the tribulation

B. He will be chained

During the 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth – Revelation 20:1-6

C. He will be consigned to the lake of fire forever

Revelation 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.