Guess Who's Coming To Church

"²¹ Then they went into Capernaum, and right away He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and began to teach. ²² They were astonished at His teaching because, unlike the scribes, He was teaching them as one having authority.
²³ Just then a man with an unclean spirit was in their synagogue. He cried out, ²⁴ “What do You have to do with us, Jesus—Nazarene? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are—the Holy One of God!”
²⁵ But Jesus rebuked him and said, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” ²⁶ And the unclean spirit convulsed him, shouted with a loud voice, and came out of him.
²⁷ Then they were all amazed, so they began to argue with one another, saying, “What is this? A new teaching with authority! He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.” ²⁸ News about Him then spread throughout the entire vicinity of Galilee.
²⁹ As soon as they left the synagogue, they went into Simon and Andrew’s house with James and John. ³⁰ Simon’s mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever, and they told Him about her at once. ³¹ So He went to her, took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her, and she began to serve them. ³² When evening came, after the sun had set, they began bringing to Him all those who were sick and those who were demon-possessed. ³³ The whole town was assembled at the door, ³⁴ and He healed many who were sick with various diseases and drove out many demons. But He would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew Him."
Mark 1:21-34

Good Morning Beloved,

Thank you all for joining us today.

So, why in the world would the devil want to go to church?
Because the devil has always been religious, and he goes to church because he’s seeking worship.
Satan and his demons are even rather orthodox in some of their beliefs.

A. W. Tozer said, "The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still."
So, it’s not just what you believe that matters. It's who you believe in!

Today's Message: Satan Goes To Church

First, let us bow our heads together in prayer.

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for those who are present with us today. Lord, we thank You for the precision clarity, the incredible truthfulness, and the power of this glorious text we've been given today for our worship.

Thank You for Your Son, Jesus Christ, Savior and judge. Father, we are both amazed at such a Savior and terrified at such a judge. Because if He is not our Savior, He is assuredly our judge. There is none upon the earth, who will escape either His loving eternal embrace, as He receives His own to take home to the place He has prepared for us. And if He face Him as our judge and executioner, sending the impenitent hearts and unbelieving souls, to an eternal hell prepared for the demons. The evidence is in. All the demons know it. May sinners know it also. Lord, we pray, that Your grace and mercy would be in abundance to sinners this day and on the day of Your Coming!
With a contrite heart, may they cry out, in repentance and seek forgiveness and salvation.
In Your name we pray
Amen

I'd like to begin by saying the devil is monotheistic. The devil is monotheistic. He is fully aware, that there’s only one God, that is not the issue. The issue is, he doesn’t worship God. In fact, he refuses to worship God. When he shows up at church it isn’t for true worship, of the One True God, but rather for false worship. Satan has his own agenda, his own religion. Satan’s religion is a false religion but it is a 'religion' nonetheless. And, he doesn’t even mind if we show up for worship, just so long as its false worship!

Does that surprise you? Are you having a hard time accepting that idea?
I believe that I can safely assert that the devil spends more time in church than most Christians. It makes sense for him to do so. If he can hang around Christians and create confusion, division, or discouragement, then he has effectively gotten us off-track and he has gained a great victory.

Open with me, your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark chapter 1, Mark chapter 1, as we come to the Gospel of Mark chapter 1, we'll be looking at verses 21 through 34. Mark 1:21-34
Mark’s purpose is to demonstrate to us what is essential if we are to accept Jesus Christ, the Son of God, as the new King, as God’s Messiah

Before we begin, I'd like to pose a question, have any of you ever experienced the Sunday Morning Wars? It happens to Christian families all over the world, just as they're preparing to worship in their local congregations.

Why is it that? Sunday morning just happens to be the one time that everything seems to go wrong?
Beloved, do not be deceived! Well, then, perhaps you ought to consider these:

Think about it, kids cry, cars won't start, parents are unusually on edge, fussing with one another. The money set aside for tithing, was used for some other pressing expense. And it doesn’t always end when we reach the friendly confines of the church parking lot or even the inside of the building either! And, in many ways, it can actually intensify.

Let me tell you, as a pastor, I have often wondered if the devil pinches little babies at just the right time, you know, the critical point in the sermon, when everyone’s attention is focused on the Lord.
And the babies let out a loud cry! Then, just consider the use of modern technology in our services. It can be wonderful or it can be another opportunity for the devil to distract us as we experience sound-system malfunctions, video projection breakdowns, or you can fill in the blanks.

And, during this pandemic, Zoom meetings all across the world, were getting hacked, and well, I'm sure many of you know what I mean. Pornographic images!

Remember the apostle Peter's warning in I Peter 5:8? "Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour." There is a great spiritual battle going on between the forces of God & the forces of Satan.

That is what the apostle Paul was speaking about in Ephesians 6:12,"For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens."

Those of us who have become Christians are people who have switched teams, so to speak. Since being saved, we're now on God’s side in the battle. Have you ever thought about it in that way? Paul writes about this switching of sides, when he says in Ephesians 2:1-5, "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler who exercises authority over the lower heavens, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!"

As a result, the enemy of our God has indeed become our enemy. When Christians gather as the church, believe it or not, we become a real threat to Satan!  We are there to worship, we are there to pray, we are there to encourage one another to live a life worthy of the kingdom of God. And, as a pastor, we are there to teach. Satan will do anything and everything he can to prevent that from happening!

C.S. Lewis, the British writer and lay theologian, attempts to help us understand this concept in his book, "The Screwtape Letters." In it, Satan is instructing Wormwood, an apprentice demon. Satan says, "One of our great allies at present is the Church itself. Do not misunderstand me. I do not mean the Church as we see her spread out through all time and space & rooted in eternity, terrible as an army with banners."That, I confess, is a spectacle which makes our boldest tempters uneasy. But fortunately, (that church) is quite invisible to these humans."

Could this be true? Are we so wrapped up in our own little world that we never see the beauty and the glory of the church for which Jesus died?

And as the result, have we become completely unaware of the enemy’s plots and schemes? It would  certainly seem, as if we act as though difficulties within church are just normal, completely natural occurrences. When churches are divided over whether or not to use a particular hymn,  a contemporary chorus, beloved, this is not normal, or natural! This is the undermining work of Satan within the church!

You may say, but "How can that be?" Because as saints, we are called to live in love, rather than spending their time criticizing one another, beloved, that is not a normal or natural or accepted behavior for God's people! In these circumstances, it should be extremely easy for us, those who are in Christ, to see that Satan has indeed, come to church!

There is one thing about Satan’s attacks, that should be obvious to us, the devil is consistent! Down through the ages, his strategy hasn't changed! He has done the same things over and over again, in church after church. We should easily recognize them as: Doubt and Deception, Discouragement, and Division.

So, let's take a closer look at Doubt and Deception, shall we?
Sowing doubt and deception has been one of Satan most effective weapons! From the very beginning of time, looking back to the Garden of Eden, the serpent came to Eve, causing her and Adam to doubt God’s Word. He caused them to ask the insidious question, "Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden?" We know this to be true, as it is written in the book of Genesis 3:1.
"Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?"

So in other words, when we question God's Word, what we're really saying is, "Does God really mean what He says?"

Then when Eve told him what God had said, and that the punishment was death, in Genesis 3:4-5, the devil replied, "You will not surely die … For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened & you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

The devil is going to church today and he is still trying to cause doubt in the people of God, therefore, God’s Word. Don't believe me? Just listen to the controversies going on in various denominations today!

The Bible speaks very specifically, very clearly on many of the subjects which are being discussed, debated over, and because of this, there are many who doubt if God really means what He says. So, what is the result? Discord and Division, within the church, are the result. Again, there is no shortage of Bible studies in churches today.

However, too often, rather than living out the intent of God’s Word, we end up debating its meaning! This being the case, we have fallen into the devil’s trap that James warned us about in James 1:22. He writes, "But be doers of the word and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."

Studying Scripture without doing what it says, is one of Satan’s great deceptions. Why? Because it’s not just doubt about God’s Word that the devil seeks. When tragedies come in life, and believe me,  they will, even Christians will sometimes find themselves victims of the devil’s devious schemes seeking to cause us to doubt the love and mercy of God.

And he causes us to cry out, "How could a loving God allow such terrible things to happen to me?"
Now, it would be entirely possible for me today, to spend our time debating that question with you. However, this is not my intention, at least today. All I'd like you to see is that Satan, who is an enemy of God, is constantly at work! He is consistently seeking to cause God’s people to doubt the goodness, the power and love of our God.

Truly, I tell you, the devil is going to church today! He is as Peter warned us in I Peter 5:8, "Be serious! Be alert! Your adversary the Devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour."

Discouragement:
Yet another weapon that Satan uses, quite effectively, I might add, within the church is discouragement. There is a verse of Scripture, that most preachers can appreciate, because in it the writer of the Book of Hebrews urges Christians to be faithful in gathering together to worship Christ, just as we desire you to do in church service. In Hebrews 10:25, he urges them, "not staying away from our worship meetings, as some habitually do, but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day drawing near."
 
I'd like you to notice, that the focus of the passage is not merely on meeting together, but one of encouraging one another.

One of the practical reasons for this scriptural command is to counter the devil’s strategy of discouraging believers. Many a faithful Christian who have withstood the attacks of Satan in the area of morality, truth, and righteous living, has found himself blind sided by the art of discouragement.

A few words of criticism here and there, a down day, a little loss of vision, a program that didn’t go according to plan and suddenly we find ourselves discouraged, left wondering if we can continue to go on. There are many great men and women of God, who have had severe battles with discouragement and depression. Perhaps the clearest example of this, is Elijah, just following his great victory over the prophets of Baal. In the wake of that victory, Queen Jezebel ordered his execution.

In fear Elijah ran, ending up in this situation. I Kings 19:4 teaches us, "but he went on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. He said, “I have had enough! Lord, take my life, for I’m no better than my fathers."

Beloved, that is serious discouragement for a great man of God. And it took the intervention of the Lord Himself to bring Elijah out of his depression. Though you may not be sitting under a tree with a desire to die, but discouragement can and does, happen to all us. The Word of God, to the church, in this case is that we are called to be an encouragement to one another. We are to build one another up in our faith.

Our gatherings, need to be times of encouragement, rejoicing and joy. Beloved, a church that is a place of love, support and encouragement is a place where our enemy’s plans have indeed been thwarted!

It reminds me an old story about discouragement called, "The Devil’s Tool Sale."
It was advertised that the Devil was putting his tools up for sale. And, on that date the tools were laid out for public inspection. They each had prices on them, there were a lot of treacherous instruments: hatred, envy, jealousy, deceit, pride, and so on.

Lying apart from the rest of the Devil’s tools, was a seemingly harmless tool, it was worn, noticeably more than any of the others and its price, was very high.
"What’s the name of this tool?" one of the perspective buyers asked. "That," the Devil replied, "is an exceptionally valuable tool, it is discouragement." "So, why have you priced it so high?" he asked.
"Because discouragement has been more useful to me than all the others combined! I can pry open a man's heart, enabling me to get inside his heart, and so, when I cannot get near him with any other tool. And it’s badly worn because I use it on nearly everyone, since so few people know it. Most do not know that this tool really belongs to me."

Beloved, when we truly understand that discouragement comes from our adversary, we can begin to counter it using the weapons of warfare, found in Ephesians 6:10-18. Which teaches us, "Finally, be strengthened by the Lord and by His vast strength. Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil.  For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. This is why you must take up the full armor of God, so that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having prepared everything, to take your stand. Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness
for the gospel of peace. In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints."

It is not natural for a Spirit-filled child of God to walk about this life discouraged. This is, plain and simple, an attack of Satan, intended to thwart God's purpose and plans, and put us on the sidelines.

Division:
I am thoroughly convinced that Satan is trying to plant his seeds of destruction in your life and in mine, seeds of:

Doubt: To cause you question God’s Word and His goodness.

Discouragement: Intended to cause you look at your problems rather than looking at God.

Diversion: To cause the wrong things to appear more attractive, so that you will desire them more than that which is right.

Defeat: To cause you feel like a failure, so that you will give up, won’t even try.

Delay: To cause you put off doing something until later, so that it never gets done.

Division: To cause the church to be divided, so it will never be the mighty army that God so desires.

Beloved, one of the most effective strategies of Satan, has always been to bring about division in the church, the body of Christ. Therefore, it only makes sense, that our enemy would push for a splintered, divided church, since Jesus desired exactly the opposite.

Do you not remember the prayers that Jesus prayed that last night in the Garden of Gethsemane? First of all, He prayed for himself, in Matthew 26, which says, "Going a little farther, He fell face down and prayed, "My Father! If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will."

In John 17:6-19, Jesus prayed for His disciples, the apostles He would soon be leaving behind. He asked God to watch over them, to protect them, and to help them do the work that He was leaving them behind to do. "I have revealed Your name
to the men You gave Me from the world.
They were Yours, You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word. Now they know that all things You have given to Me are from You, because the words that You gave Me, I have given them. They have received them and have known for certain that I came from You.
They have believed that You sent Me. I pray for them. I am not praying for the world
but for those You have given Me, because they are Yours. Everything I have is Yours,
and everything You have is Mine, and I have been glorified in them. I am no longer in the world,
but they are in the world, and I am coming to You. Holy Father, protect them by Your name
that You have given Me, so that they may be one as We are one. While I was with them, I was protecting them by Your name that You have given Me. I guarded them and not one of them is lost,
except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture may be fulfilled. Now I am coming to You,
and I speak these things in the world so that they may have My joy completed in them. I have given them Your word. The world hated them because they are not of the world, as I am not of the world. I am not praying that You take them out of the world but that You protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. I sanctify Myself for them,
so they also may be sanctified by the truth."

Then He prayed for us. Listen to His prayer as recorded in John 17:20-22, "I pray not only for these,
but also for those who believe in Me through their message. May they all be one,
as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me. I have given them the glory You have given Me.
May they be one as We are one." Beloved, that’s all of us, we believe in Jesus, because of their testimony.

The main focus of Christ’s great prayer for us was that His followers would be united. A strong, united church with a testimony to the world, of the reality and love of God. I cannot impress upon of you enough, that in these last days, Satan is doing all that he can to destroy that testimony!
This  I honestly believe with all my heart that the price we’re paying for a divided Christianity, for so many denominations, so many groups – is an unbelieving world.

I have heard a number of people say, "With so many churches, so many different denominations, so many different teachings, I just don’t know who or what to believe."

I ask you, is it any wonder why Christ’s last prayer was for us? That we might be as one? That we might be united in soul and in spirit with each other and with God, so that the world might believe!

However, it is not just the worldwide church that the devil seeks to divide. He’s just as interested in dividing and conquering the local churches, too. When a congregation finds itself facing issues that bring division, I'd like to suggest this, a prayer meeting is far more effective in defeating Satan than the board meeting!

In Closing.....

Beloved, I would to make something very clear here today, where there is division, whether in a church congregation, or our family, is always a spiritual issue and beneath the surface, at its root, you will find, our enemy, the devil, Satan, is always, always, ALWAYS involved at its core!

But truly I tell you, the ultimate victory belongs to the Lord Jesus, Ruler of Heaven and Earth. And I’m thoroughly and completely convinced that our best defense against Satan and his divisive tactics, his devious and deceptive schemes, is a congregation united! A congregation, a family, who is united in prayer, with an overwhelming, all consuming love, an unbreakable commitment to Jesus Christ, and to one another!

May we each do our part, striving to be the answer to the prayer of our Savior and our Lord, Jesus Christ.

And now may the Lord bless you and keep you;

the Lord make His face shine upon you,
And be gracious to you;

The Lord lift up His countenance upon you,
And give you peace.

Now and forever, in Jesus' name
Amen

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