Comparing the Two Systems World-System God’s Design End Goal Total Destruction Lasting Freedom & Gratification Key Strategy Diminishing Returns Secure Identity in Christ leading to Others-Centeredness Ultimate Reward Vanishing Hope Fruit that Remains Perspective Temporal Eternal

Universal Destruction The only thing that matters to the enemy is separating us from God…his aim is to steal our love for God, kill our devotion to God’s mission, and destroy our very lives! 2 Cor. 4:4  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Revelation 12:9-12 9 This great dragon – the ancient serpent called the Devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world – was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. 10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, "It has happened at last – the salvation and power and kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ! For the Accuser has been thrown down to earth – the one who accused our brothers and sisters before our God day and night. 11 And they have defeated him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of their testimony. And they were not afraid to die. 12 Rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea. For the Devil has come down to you in great anger, and he knows that he has little time."

He persuades us to buy into lies. In the spiritual realm, power is gained & shifted through influencing thought patterns… John 8:44  You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 

Deceived thought patterns Deserving Fearful Secrecy Dabbling Fatalism Arrogance Excuses Rationalization Self-Righteousness

What results from buying lies? Enslavement “Considering that Jesus said loving God and loving others are of highest importance for his followers, many of our most devastating sin habits will likely be sins of omission, where we fail to do what we should have done (James 4:17). By capturing believers in more subtle habits, Satan can undermine their spirituality in a way that they can easily rationalize and perhaps not even notice. Outwardly well-behaved Christians who are spiritually stalemated satisfy Satan’s goals.” (McCallum, Satan and His Kingdom)

What results from buying lies? Enslavement Preoccupation

What results from buying lies? Enslavement Preoccupation Ineffectiveness for Christ

Understand how temptation works Tactic God’s Truth Devil’s Deception Result Questions the Word of God Gen. 1:28-29 Gen. 2:16-17

Understand how temptation works Tactic God’s Truth Devil’s Deception Result Questions the Word of God Gen. 1:28-29 Gen. 2:16-17 Gen 3:1 "Indeed, has God said, `You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?"

Understand how temptation works Tactic God’s Truth Devil’s Deception Result Questions the Word of God Gen. 1:28-29 Gen. 2:16-17 Gen 3:1 "Indeed, has God said, `You shall not eat from any tree of the garden'?" Inserts a seed of doubt about the goodness of God

Understand how temptation works Tactic God’s Truth Devil’s Deception Result Questions the Word Gen. 1:28-29 Gen. 2:16-17 Gen 3:1 Doubt Denies God’s Word Gen. 2:17

Understand how temptation works Tactic God’s Truth Devil’s Deception Result Questions the Word Gen. 1:28-29 Gen. 2:16-17 Gen 3:1 Doubt Denies God’s Word Gen. 2:17 Gen. 3:4 "You surely shall not die!”

Understand how temptation works Tactic God’s Truth Devil’s Deception Result Questions the Word Gen. 1:28-29 Gen. 2:16-17 Gen 3:1 Doubt Denies God’s Word Gen. 2:17 Gen. 3:4 "You surely shall not die!” Doubt digs in a little deeper

Understand how temptation works Tactic God’s Truth Devil’s Deception Result Questions the Word Gen. 1:28-29 Gen. 2:16-17 Gen 3:1 Doubt Denies God’s Word Gen. 2:17 Gen. 3:4 Doubt digs in a little deeper He lies Gen. 1:26-27

Understand how temptation works Tactic God’s Truth Devil’s Deception Result Questions the Word Gen. 1:28-29 Gen. 2:16-17 Gen 3:1 Doubt Denies God’s Word Gen. 2:17 Gen. 3:4 Doubt digs in a little deeper He lies Gen. 1:26-27 Gen 3:5 “…you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

Understand how temptation works Tactic God’s Truth Devil’s Deception Result Questions the Word Gen. 1:28-29 Gen. 2:16-17 Gen 3:1 Doubt Denies God’s Word Gen. 2:17 Gen. 3:4 Doubt digs in a little deeper He lies Gen. 1:26-27 Gen 3:5 “…you will be like God, knowing good and evil." God is power hungry & holding back good stuff

Cultivate a deep love for the Gospel Rev. 12:11a  And they have defeated him because of the blood of the Lamb Satan can’t ever argue against the Gospel…that God shed His own blood & died for you and me!

Remember the ways God is changing your life Rev. 12:11b  And they have defeated him because . . . of their testimony.   Testimony = declaring what God has done in your life

Replace sin with a life of sacrificial love Rev. 12:11c  And they have defeated him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of their testimony. And they were not afraid to die.  “Believers who discover the thrill of being used by God in others’ lives are often able to resist the allure of the kosmos, while those who never develop a personal ministry cannot resist it.” (McCallum)

Get in God’s Word “Never forget that when we are dealing with any pleasure in its healthy and normal and satisfying form, we are, in a sense, on the Enemy’s ground. I know we have won many a soul through pleasure. All the same, it is His invention, not ours. He made the pleasures: all our research so far has not enabled us to produce one. All we can do is to encourage the humans to take the pleasures which our Enemy has produced, at times, or in ways, or in degrees, which He has forbidden. Hence we always try to work away from the natural condition of any pleasure to that in which it is least natural, least redolent of its Maker, and least pleasurable. An ever increasing craving for an ever diminishing pleasure is the formula…To get a man’s soul and give him nothing in return – that is what really gladdens Our Father’s heart.” (C.S. Lewis, The Screwtape Letters)