Welcome to a firm foundation presented by Princeton Ministries with Dr. Ken Smith. This is Carol Smith, Ken’s wife. Please enjoy.

He loved animals. And he decided one day that he would purchase a little lion kitten. It. And it really was cute, so cuddly as it would run across the living room floor. And it was the delight of all of the neighbourhood as they would come to see the little lion kitten. And it was like a big, friendly dog. And as he became part of the family, as we do with our pet dogs on occasion, we let them sleep with us. And so at night, this little baby lion would sleep and purr through the night and was a friend of the family. As the days and weeks passed, and then the months passed, something changed. It changed the day that the master got a little cut on his hand that night, as they had done so many times before.

That lion, which was no longer a kitten, would crawl in and lay and sleep the night away with her master. And as the custom, that lion would wake up the master every morning by the licking of the hand. But on this morning, the first taste of blood. And something was triggered inside of that lion. It began to prance, and it began to look upon its master with a totally different eye. And the master was totally unaware of what had happened. And he did not realize the change in his pet until he felt the thud as the lion leaped upon his master. You say? Well, did that ever happen? Not physically, but it has happened hundreds, thousands, millions of times in the lives of men and women who have not realized that. The scripture teaches that there is a being called Satan, the devil.

And we are told in one Peter, those who have come into the faith of Jesus Christ, that we are to be sober, to be vigilant, and know that your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may to devour. Usually the teaching of the scripture. We spend a great deal of time talking about salvation and what Jesus Christ has done for us. And that is a wonderful message, the message of grace and mercy and compassion. On occasion, we even talk about angels and what God has done in his creation. We think of the wonderful blessings that the Lord has given to us. But there is also within the created order of God, a being whose name originally was Lucifer.

We read about Lucifer as being the greatest of all of the seraphim, of all of those group of angels called Seraphim. And Lucifer, we are told, was full of wisdom, and he was perfect in beauty. Lucifer was perfect in all of his ways. Until the day when sin came into the heart of Lucifer. The name Lucifer means the son of the morning, the light bearer. And so, as Lucifer, watching over all of that band of Seraphim, he brought the light. But as sin would enter the heart of Lucifer, he then became the prince of darkness. From that point on in scripture, referred to by many names, he’s called the devil, Beelzebub, the dragon, the serpent, the God of this world, the prince of this world, the accuser of the brethren.

He’s called the enemy, the tempter, the wicked one, the father of lies, the sower of discord. He is called our adversary. Well, how did the fall of Lucifer occur? Well, we read in Isaiah, chapter 14, verses twelve through 14 of the falls of Lucifer. And he made these statements. I will ascend into heaven, said Lucifer. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will also sit on the mountain of the congregation. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the most high. And with that fivefold declaration, Lucifer was plunged into darkness with a host of angels who went with him and did his biding. Today, in the world in which we live, I think we hear the growling of this lion. We live in a world that is full of all manner of problems.

And if you have been listening, as I have, almost never, except within the context of the church, is the subject of Satan ever considered as part of the overall factoring that must go into the problems that we would face? How many of you have heard that if we change the environment, the world will become perfect? How many of you have heard that the problem that we face is education? If we could simply educate more people, why, that will satisfy all of the needs that we have. There are others who say, no. The problem is more psychological. We have to understand the inner workings of a person as important as psychology and the environment and education are.

When was the last time, in the context of any of those conversations, did you hear introduced into the subject that we live in a fallen world in which there is a force of darkness, a force of evil that would oppose any godly steps in faith, that would attempt to thwart any effort to make things better and certainly would thwart all efforts at the sharing of the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so we live in a world where vice and crime seem to be reaching epidemic proportions. We live in a world where our prisons are overcrowded. We live in a world where mental institutions. You stand on a waiting list to get in. And if you’re planning a divorce this year, it will take you one year in Mercer county before you can even get into the courts. It’s so backed up.

Does modern man consider in all of these problems the factor of a devil, of a wicked, dark force that would oppose any godly gain? Carl Sagan, in his first episode of Cosmos, which was put out by the public broadcasting system, one of the most popular presentations of sociology of an understanding of our universe, cosmos. And how did he begin that first program? He said, and I quote, there never has been, nor is there now, anything in the universe except matter. What a fool. For there certainly is something else in this universe. There is a God, and according to scripture, there is Satan. And that to understand our own lives, to understand the struggles that we face as christians, we must factor in an understanding of this adversary.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 611, put on the whole Armor of God that you may be able to stand against the scheming of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts, of wickedness in heavenly places. And from the moment that Satan fell, he has been very busy opposing all that would be godly, all that would be good, some say, well, I think that Satan is simply a myth. I think it was built into the scripture over a period of time. It’s interesting that Jesus did not think that Satan was a myth. Some of the most graphic encounters of the devil. Satan is with Jesus Christ, and Jesus was tempted by Satan. Jesus opposed Satan by the speaking of the word of God.

He prayed that Satan would not be able to take even one of the sheep of the flock. Jesus said that he saw Satan fall from heaven, that on the day that Lucifer declared his fivefold declaration of independence, Jesus says, on that day I saw him fall from heaven. Peter tells us in one Peter, five eight that we are to be sober, that we are to be vigilant. Another translation is that we are to be self controlled, that we are to be watchful. What is it that you are watchful for? If you’re a sports fan, you are probably watchful for the next football game or baseball game. If you enjoy saving money, then you are probably watchful for the next sale. If you’re an enterprising entrepreneur, then you are probably watching and waiting for that opportunity to start another business.

But let me ask you, as a Christian, how vigilant, how watchful are you about the schemes, the deception of your adversary, the devil? First, we need to see that Satan is a great deceiver. In Genesis three, when the Lord had spoken to Adam and told him that he should not eat of this tree. It is the serpent Satan who comes and tempts Eve. And how does he do it? He simply deceives her. He simply declares to her, I know what God said, but if you eat of this, surely you will not die. You and I live in a world where we hear week after week God’s word being taught various principles, but then we spend the rest of the week in the world.

How often does someone come to you and simply say, you know, that principle you heard about in scripture doesn’t work here? God wants you to be honest. Why? If you’re going to get ahead in this business, you’ve got to be dishonest. I know that it says you’re supposed to be faithful, but if you’re going to make it in this world, you’ve got to be more sociable and you’ve got to put your marriage aside just for a few moments. Are there on occasion, or is it continually from every source messages that come at you and say, surely God has not said, well, that is the work of the great deceiver. And when you would hear that, you need to understand that is one of the oldest principles that he takes out of his tool chest and uses upon those who love Jesus Christ.

Secondly, we need to see that Satan is a seducer. He never simply throws you full force into the pool. No, he starts right at the bank. He says, I know that you’re not supposed to go in that water and I would never want you to go deep into that water. As a matter of fact, it’s very dangerous way out there. But, you know, right by the shore the water is warm. There’s nothing that will bother you. So why don’t you just come and just put your toes right, just a half inch in the water. Today, one of the new drugs that’s out on the street is crack. They say by the fourth time you have taken this drug; you are an addict. Now, the first time you take the drug, you experience a feeling that is incredible.

And when you come off of that drug, you simply drop slightly below the normal line. And within a matter of hours or certainly days, you are normal. And you say, what an incredible experience. Nothing dangerous here. And so you take it the second time, but the second time the graph does not go up as high. And what you experience in feeling is not quite as intense as the first time. And when you come off of that crack now, you descend below the normal line quite a bit and it takes longer for you to get up to normal. The third time, someone suggests you need to take a little more to have the same kind of experience as the first time. And so you take a little more. But this time your trip comes nowhere near the second experience. It’s just slightly above normal.

And when you come off of that drug, you descend way below the normal line and you don’t come back to normal. And by the fourth time you take that drug, you no longer are near the normal line. That they say four times, you’re an addict. Do you think that anyone who begins that life of drugs thinks to themselves, I want to become an addict? My goal is to have my life fall apart all around me. My goal is to become so disconnected from that which is normal? Sure, I want to try this. No, Satan is too clever. What about those 20 million alcoholics in America? Do you think one of them ever started by saying, I want to give up my whole family, I’d like to be fired from my job. I would like to have such internal turmoil?

No, it didn’t start out like that. He was just going for all the gusto he could get. What about that husband who stood with his young bride and she had her arm in his, and they stood saying, I will? And they looked at each other with love in their eyes. Can you imagine the horror that would be on his face or her face if they could see themselves in ten years or 20 years as the only way that they’ll talk with one another is through a lawyer? Because this isn’t working. Do you think anyone intended to start out that way? No. It is Satan who is a seducer. A seducer working with thoughts, working with principles, ever tempting, ever calling you to put your big toe in the pond. That’s the way it was with Achan in the Old Testament.

He saw only the glitter of the gold. He never considered the judgment of the lord Judas, who for just a handful of coins would betray the lord. Did he consider that act might bring him to the point of taking a noose around his neck and snapping his neck? Did it ever occur to him that’s where he was headed? I think not, because the business of Satan is to deceive us, but also Satan is very progressive in his deception. It’s a very frightening thing to consider that we can be brought to do something which we actually today would be horrified at the thought of doing. But in six months, six years, we find ourselves doing those things. In the academy at Lyon in France, a young man handed in an essay, the title of the essay on the dangers of ambition.

The author Napoleon, who later would squagger across France and crown himself the king, would that this hand had never learned to write, said Nero when he signed the first death warrant. Later, this same Nero would light his gardens with pitch covered christians for light. Satan is progressive. He is not interested in winning the war today. He’s only interested in a little battle, a small thing, an inroad, so that he can then go to step two. How many christians have said, I will never look at a movie that is higher than a g rating? And at first you held the line, but then you found out that all of the movies that were being made were pg., and less than 5% of the movies that are being made today are g. Then you said, well, pg., it’s the same as g.

And then they came out with pg. 13 because we would never go to see an r rated movie. But a pg. 13 isn’t as bad as an r. I would never go see an r rated movie. I’m only waiting now for them to come out with an r one, an r two. And we are like that proverbial frog put in the pot, swimming gleefully. The water’s so cool, and underneath the fire has been set. Slowly the temperature rises. We don’t even notice it. We simply say, isn’t this pleasant? The water is a little warmer. I feel a little more sluggish. I think I’ll take a rest. As the water begins to boil in that pot, the frog is cooked to death. I think for many christians, that is the case.

Slowly, unnoticeably, progressively, we have fallen for the wiles, the deceit, the manipulation, the fraudulent advertising of Satan. Know something about Satan. He knows the value of a soul. Perhaps, in some ways, Satan knows the value of a soul more than christians understand the value of a soul. What price would you place for your soul? Say nothing. I wouldn’t give anything for my soul. Let me ask you, what price have you already paid for your soul? What have you already compromised that is long since gone? When you and I stand before God and Jesus takes his place at that judgment seat and this world crashes all around us. The skies are rolled up, the caves are taken away. There’s no ocean to hide in. The Wall street finally has fallen totally the stock market. No one cares about that ticker tape.

On that day when you stand before God, how much will your soul be worth? On that day, five minutes into eternity, what would you pay for your soul? Be sober, be vigilant, knowing that your adversary, the devil, is seeking whom he may to devour what can we do? Well, Peter tells us, first, be watchful. Don’t dismiss this message and say, well, that was just the preacher talking about the devil today. He’s supposed to do that once a year, you know. No, be sober, be vigilant. The things that we endure, the sin that at one time seems so incredible to you. Can you believe that people are doing this? You’ve endured it. You have seen the activity, the lifestyles, as they parade day after day on Phil Donahue. They come and you say, I can’t believe. Did you see that? Who was on that lifestyle?

And the first time it so shocked you. But by the 10th time they were on, or the 20th time, you were all familiar with that lifestyle. It’s a very interesting principle, that which we endure, we then begin to pity. And so we look upon these lifestyles and we pity them. We begin to have a type of compassion that would not be godly, because on occasion we begin to embrace the thing that at first was so foul. Secondly, we must resist him. To resist him means that we do not flirt with Satan. We flee him. Scripture tells us to flee youthful lust and fornication. When was the last time that you were able to look at a situation and say, I am right now in the midst of a spiritual battle? There is Satan, who would devour me if he could.

How often at that moment do we say, I think I’ll stay just a little longer. It’s important for me to understand this lifestyle. It’s important for me to see how this movie ends. I want to understand the world in which I live. Flee him. Don’t flirt with him. I think ultimately, we will come to realize that if the battle is to be won, that none of us can do it on our own. We are dependent upon the work of God through Jesus Christ in our own life. And if you are a Christian and you realize that you are facing the various temptations of the devil, then the first thing I would ask you to do is turn your life over to Jesus Christ. Ask Christ to forgive you of your sins. Ask Jesus to come and to defend you.

And we read in scripture that he who is in us, Jesus Christ, is greater than he who is in the world. If you are a Christian and you are facing the battle with Satan, then I would encourage you to pray, to learn immediately in the midst of that temptation to call upon the Lord for that strength that we might be able to resist him. Martin Luther was asked once, how do you overcome the devil? He said, when he comes knocking at the door of my heart and asks, who lives here? The dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, Martin Luther used to live here, but he’s moved out. Now I live here.

And when you are faced with the temptations of Satan, that you would let Jesus Christ speak in your behalf, that you might be able to resist the attacks of Satan, that we would be sober, vigilant, knowing that our adversary, the devil, a lion, would seek to devour us. Let us pray. Our God and our father, we come before you as men and women who in our flesh understand the battle that is being waged for our very souls. We thank you for Jesus Christ, who died upon the cross, who paid the price that we might be forgiven of our sin, that he might come by his holy spirit and live in our hearts and our minds that the life we now live is not our own, but Christ Jesus would live our lives for us.

Father, we pray that you would cause us to look squarely those flaming eyes of our adversary, that we would see the fang, that we would know that he would devour us if he could, and we would thank you for your protection. And we would pray that you would help us to resist our adversary, for we ask these things in Jesus’s name. Amen.

Thank you for listening to a firm foundation presented by Princeton ministries. This programming is supported by you, the listener. You may go to our website, princetonministries.org, or send your donation to Princeton Ministries post office Box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 8543. That’s Princeton Ministries post office Box 2171, Princeton, New Jersey 8543. The Lord bless you, and Dr. Smith looks forward to hearing from you. We would like to thank Rones web development company for making this webcast possible. You can find their link at the bottom of our website, princetonministries.org.