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Recap of the sermon from March 6, 2011 (Ephesians 6:10-11)
1. Paul warned believers to be aware of Satan’s schemes (his strategies, trickery, subtleties, 6:11).
2. Genesis 3:1ff is a great Old Testament illustration of Satan’s craftiness. Through subtly questioning God’s word, misquoting God’s word and denying God’s word he leads Eve (followed by Adam) into disobeying God thus bringing the “fall” into creation.
3. Dr. Allen Ross identifies three characteristics of Satan’s work in this passage:
-Temptation comes in unexpected way (Satan came in the form of a serpent) - (he comes to believers as an angel of light, his demons come as ministers of righteousness, 2 Cor. 11)
-“Eve didn’t know the Word of God well or didn’t want to remember it.” She “disparaged the privileges,” added to the prohibition,” and “weakened the penalty.”
-Satan promises self-fulfillment, divinity (he promised they would be like God, usurping His place in their lives
4. “Satan is a master at taking the blessings of God and turning them into something that brings a curse instead. If given the chance, he’ll convince you to seek the pleasures of sex outside the bonds of marriage…to exchange the worship of the Creator for the worship of the creation…to substitute what is convenient for what is obedient. The temptation will be cunning, the promise inviting. But as Adam and Eve discovered, the painful consequences will far outweigh the temporary pleasures.” (The Daily Walk Bible, p. 4)
