Overcoming Satan's Deceptions And Accusations — Zac Poonen

Overcoming Satan Through Knowledge of His Deceptions

Our subject for this weekend is what's written there, forgetting the things that are behind and pressing on to perfection. From the time that the devil deceived Adam and Eve, man has been living under condemnation all these many centuries.

Now I want to turn with you to Revelation chapter 12, where the devil is given a number of titles. I want to speak to you a little bit about Satan today. Why should we talk about Satan? Because the Bible says, we fight with all these evil powers of which Satan is the head.

That we read in Ephesians 6, 10 to 18. And when we fight an enemy, it is good to know something about the enemy. Because if you know something about the enemy, then you know how to fight him. In all warfare, every army tries to find out some details about the enemy.

That's why they send spies into that country to find out. Then we can overcome the enemy more quickly. So, when we fight to overcome Satan, it's good to know something about him. Paul once said, we are not ignorant of the schemes of Satan.

That's why he could overcome him. In Revelation 12, in verse 9, he is called dragon. And serpent. And devil. And Satan. All these titles are there in verse 9. And then we see another title. In verse 9, middle, the deceiver of the whole world.

That is one of his main functions, to deceive people. That means make them think something is the truth, when it is not the truth. Make them believe in a false god. Make them believe wrong things about Christianity.

He is the deceiver of the whole world. And he brings a bad name on Christians, by the way many Christians behave. For example, Jesus once said, in Luke 16, 13, that you cannot serve God and money. But the devil says, you can serve God and money.

The Deception of Serving God and Money

That is how he deceives people. He makes them believe, that what Jesus said is not true. That is how he is the deceiver of the whole world. Jesus said very clearly in Luke 16, 13, you cannot serve God and money.

They are two masters. You have to choose which you want. So how to find out, if somebody is serving God and money? How to find out, if I am serving one master here, or another master there? When both of them call me, the one I answer, that is my master.

If two people are standing here, saying both, Zack is my servant. You say, ok call Zack. Then I go to one person. I am his servant. When God calls a person, and money calls a person, and the person goes towards money, that means he is serving money.

There is nothing wrong in earning money. Jesus also worked as a carpenter to earn money. But money was not his master, it was his servant. Money is a very good servant, but a very bad master. On earth, they put gold on top of people's heads.

It is a crown. In heaven, gold is on the street. People walk on it. So, the people who are ready for heaven, are the people who have learned to put gold and money under their feet now. Just like the tree of knowledge of good and evil, was a test for Adam.

There were two trees there. The tree of life, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. God wanted him to go to the tree of life. The devil wanted him to go to the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And they went to the wrong tree, and ruined their life. Today also, there are like two trees, God and money. And God wants us to go to him. The devil wants us to go after money, to make money our master.

Actually, then you are rejecting God. So, how does the devil deceive us? The devil says, no, no, no, no, you can serve God and money. That's why in so many churches today, the pastors are only interested in collecting your money.

Every Sunday, they will be telling you to give your money. You say, how can we run a church without money? Jesus also needed money to feed his twelve disciples for three and a half years. But he never took a collection.

Even when thousands were healed, he never said, okay, now we'll take a collection. Today, when nobody is healed, they still go around taking a collection. This is a deception. And so many Christians sit there and believe this deception.

We have proved in our churches for 43 years that we can serve God without loving money. So, do you believe this? That in 43 years, in all our nearly 100 churches, we have never taken a collection of money.

We keep a box, like there are a couple of boxes here, and say, those who want to give, give. Why? Because Jesus said, when you give, your left hand must not know what your right hand is doing. But if you put a bag in front of them, everybody knows that you are giving.

And every church is disobeying that command of God. But Jesus taught us how to give. We read once, he was sitting here, an offering box. One widow came and put money. No, nobody saw it. Jesus saw it. That is how we have to give.

We keep an offering box. Those who want to give, give secretly. And we have proved in 43 years that we can run churches without asking for money. Not in one or two churches, but in a hundred churches.

We have proved that we can use money, but not serve money. Because we trust our heavenly father. I have seen so many people who come to our church in Bangalore. I never invite them to come. They come on their own.

I ask some of them, why have you come here? They say, Brother Zach, in our church, every Sunday, they are talking about money. It is only here that we hear about being free from sin. There they tell us how to be free from our money by giving it to the church.

Here we are taught how to be free from sin. So, we are fed up of listening to money, money, money, money every Sunday. Some of you sitting here from other churches, I am sure you are hearing the same thing in your church.

But you will never hear it in a CFC church. We talk about holiness, not money. We talk about being free from the love of money. That is one area in which Satan has deceived the whole of Christianity. They have said, you can do what Jesus never did.

Jesus never asked for money, but you can do it. The apostles never asked for money, but you can do it. That is one of the great deceptions of Satan in our time. And we want to be like a light in the midst of this darkness.

Hidden Sins and the Final Judgment

And Satan also deceives people that you can secretly sin, and still God will accept you. When Jesus comes back, what is he going to judge? Is he going to judge how many times you went to church? Whether you sang in the choir?

Whether you played some instrument in the church? Whether you gave money to the church? He is not going to judge any of these things. Let me show you what Jesus is going to judge when he comes back. It is good to know it now.

1 Corinthians 4, verse 5. If you have a Bible with you, please turn to this verse. It is a very important verse. The final day of judgment is like the final examination of school. 10th standard, matriculation, SSLC, final examination.

The final judgment of God is like that. Supposing the examination board says, SSLC board says, this year we are going to give you all the question papers before the examination. All the students will be so happy.

Free. We are going to give you the exam question paper before the examination. That is what is written in 1 Corinthians 4, 5. What question will come in the final judgment day? What is the important question that will come in the final day?

You are being given the question paper for the final examination now. Prepare for it. Okay, verse 5. 1 Corinthians 4, verse 5. When the Lord comes, middle of that verse, and judges, the first thing he will judge is the hidden things in darkness.

And then, second, he will judge the motives of people's hearts in what they did. Not what they did, but why they did it. Not what they preached. But why did they preach? Did they preach to make money or did they preach to get honor for themselves?

That will be more important than what they preached. Not did they come to church, but why did they come to church? To show their face, how to glorify God. First of all, the things hidden in darkness. So, God will judge not what this person did in public.

Not how holy he looked in the church. That is not what God is going to judge. He is going to judge what was this man doing in the darkness. Okay, he had a smartphone. When everybody was asleep in his house, what was he looking at on his smartphone?

When he connected to the internet, what pictures were he looking at? Nobody saw it. His wife is asleep and he sits there watching all types of filthy videos on his computer in the darkness. He thinks nobody is watching him.

The angels and Jesus are watching what he is looking at. But Sunday he comes to the church and he is singing and acting as if he is a very holy man. Now there are people in the world also who are doing this.

But they don't come on Sunday to church and sing like they are holy people. So these people who come to the church and do it will get a hundred times greater judgment than those people who do it out in the world.

Because those worldly people, they boast, yes, I see a lot of filthy videos in my smartphone. But the people who come to church, they act as if they are only listening to messages on the smartphone. Deceivers, hypocrites, things hidden in darkness, most important question in the final examination.

And it doesn't matter whether you are a pastor or an elder in a church, if you are doing those things, God will judge you very severely. Or if you are a very respected brother in the church, God doesn't care for that.

Or, in your office where you signed something false to make some more money, or cheated somebody in a very clever way to make some money, there is a lot of cheating that goes on in business. Only to make money.

Now, Jesus also did business. He was a carpenter. But he never cheated people. If he did something, he told people exactly what he did and earned his living like that. But if there are things hidden in darkness in your life, that is the most important question that will come up in the final day.

Repentance and God’s Judgment of Hidden Deeds

And in the church, in CFC, we preach about that. That the things hidden in darkness, you must cleanse from your life. And you must repent of that. All the bad things. Then there are certain good things hidden in darkness.

Like, you gave without anybody saying, seeing you gave some money for God's work. Nobody knew it. People thought you never gave anything. In the day of judgment, God shows how many thousands of rupees you gave for God's work and people will be surprised.

We thought he was a miser, keeping all the money for himself. He loved money and he used it. But now we see that he gave so much for the work of God. We will get a surprise. Like the other surprise you get when you see this holy man who is watching filthy things at home.

Please remember, in the day of judgment, the things hidden in darkness will come out. The devil deceives the whole world saying, no, no, no, nothing will happen, don't worry. No, God will not do that.

That's what he told Eve. Has God said that you will die if you eat this? No, no, no, you will not die, don't worry, God will not punish you like that. And all the problem in these six thousand years came upon this world because Eve believed the lie of the devil.

He is a deceiver of the whole world. He is a deceiver of the whole world. And another title in Revelation 12, in verse 10, we are talking about Satan. He is the deceiver of the whole world. He deceives about money, he deceives about the final judgment, the final judgment, and he deceives about the final judgment.

Satan as the Accuser of Believers

And in verse 10, he is called, Revelation 12, 10, the accuser of all the believers. That means, he will accuse this person, accuse that person. How does he do it? He doesn't come like the devil to you and say, okay, that is what that person did.

No, because if he comes like the devil, you will run away from him. But he will come through a brother, through a sister. One brother or sister will come to visit you in your house and say, brother, I want to tell you something about so and so.

I want to tell you a story about sister so and so. And I want to tell you about that person's daughter. And they will accuse them. They are like this and they do this. They behave like this and they did this to me.

And you don't recognize this is the devil speaking through them. He is accusing not directly but through a person. The devil has got many agents on earth. All those who accuse somebody to you are an agent of satan.

So don't hold hands with satan to accuse people. What should you do if you see something wrong with some brother or sister or his children in the church? I'll tell you what you should do. Go to the elders of the church and tell them secretly, Brother, I saw this.

Please verify if it is correct or not. That way you can help that person. Supposing you see one brother drinking and getting drunk. Go to the elders and say, Brother, I saw this brother drunk that day.

Please help him. Okay, he made a mistake. The elders can go and help him and we free him from that habit. We won't drive a person out of the church because he made a mistake. Even if he's got a bad habit, we'll deliver him from that habit.

Supposing your son has got a bad habit. Or your daughter. Will you drive them out of your house? No, no, no. I say all the children in our churches are my sons and daughters. I can't drive them out. I want to help them to be free from that habit.

So come and tell the elders if you see somebody having a bad habit. And don't tell anybody else. Let the elders help that person to be free from that bad habit. But the devil has got a desire to accuse, to destroy that person.

Don't be a co-worker with Satan in that business. But here it says there were certain people who overcame Satan. Verse 11. That means Satan will come to accuse you also. He not only accuses others, he will accuse you.

Overcoming Accusation Through the Blood of Christ

What will he say? You remember ten years ago when you were in so and so place. You did this terrible sin with this other person. Nobody in the church knows about it. But the devil says I know. And you know.

You are guilty. And then you also know. Seven years ago in this other place you did this other thing. And then five years ago you did this over here. And even last year you did this over there. You hear all these things and you get, oh, discouraged.

Because everything the devil said is true. Because he knows all the sins you committed in secret. And he will remind you even of what you did twenty years ago. Many of us in our younger days were so foolish that we did so many stupid foolish things.

Not only some but all of us. And the devil reminds you what you did then what you did twenty years ago what you did twenty five years ago. What you did before you became a believer and the sins you did after you became a believer.

And one after the other he tells you and you get discouraged. How to overcome him? Don't argue with him. It says here in verse eleven they overcame him by the blood of the lamb. And the word of their testimony came together.

What does that mean? That means when the devil kept on saying this sin, this sin, this sin, this sin see yes you are right, you are right, you are right. Not only those I have committed many more sins also.

You make the full list and when you have made the full list you write across it the blood of Jesus Christ has cleansed me from all those sins. That is the word of your testimony about the blood of Jesus Christ.

Don't say oh but I have changed now and I am not so bad. I didn't really want to do it but I slipped up. All those things you cannot overcome him. Let him accuse you of every sin you committed in your whole life.

The word of your testimony is I have confessed my sins to Jesus Christ and 1 John 1 .9 says if we confess our sins he is faithful to forgive us and cleanse us. 1 John 1 .7 says that if I come into the light the blood of Jesus cleanses me from all my sins.

You must believe that every single sin you committed in the past if you have repented and confessed it has been cleansed in the blood of Christ. You must know these scriptures 1 John 1 .7 and 9 it says if you walk in the light if you hide something you will not be forgiven.

You don't have to confess it to man you don't have to confess to an elder or a priest or anybody you have to confess it to God Lord I did this it's my mistake I don't blame anybody else please Jesus died for that sin please forgive me even if it is the worst sin like murder or adultery or anything the blood of Jesus can cleanse you completely if you have turned from that sin and said Lord I never want to do it again and you acknowledge the guilt and say Lord it is my fault not anybody else's fault.

I'll tell you something if you blame somebody else you will not be forgiven. Adam blamed his wife his wife blamed the serpent so God kicked them out of paradise. If you blame other people you will also be kicked out of God's presence.

See the thief who hung on the right side of Jesus on the cross he was more wicked than all of us. You have never committed one murder. He committed so many murders. He was a thief who robbed so many people.

But in the last moments before he died he said Lord Jesus I am guilty. I don't blame my mother and father. I don't blame my friends. I am guilty. It is my fault hundred percent. Please forgive me. Remember me.

Jesus said really you are taking the blame for your sin and you trust in me. You want me to remember you when I come in my kingdom. That's what he told Jesus when you come in your kingdom. Please remember me also.

So Jesus said coming in my kingdom will take another two thousand years. But you don't have to wait. I will remember you today. Today when I die and you die we will be in paradise together. Such a wicked man because he was honest about his sin.

That blood that fell from Jesus body just next to him. That blood cleansed his sin and he entered heaven the same day. One reason he was honest he repented and he trusted in Jesus. The devil could not touch him.

Resisting Satan with the Word of God

So when the devil tries to accuse us quote the word of God. Turn to Matthew chapter 4 when the devil tried to accuse Jesus. Or rather tempt Jesus when he tried to tempt Jesus. Three temptations. Matthew 4.

Verse 3 if you are the son of God turn these stones into bread. You know what Jesus said. It is written. Verse 4. Second temptation. Verse 6 if you are the son of God throw yourself down. And he also quoted a scripture.

But Jesus said on the other hand verse 7 it is written. And the third temptation I will give you all this verse 9 if you fall down and worship me all the world again. Jesus said in verse 10 it is written.

How did he overcome by the word of God which came from his mouth every time every temptation. He didn't argue or discuss anything with Satan. He quoted the word of God and it says the devil left him and the devil will leave you.

If you quote the word of God that is why you must know the word of God. But to know the word of God you must first receive the word of God. It says in verse 4 man shall not live on bread alone but on every word that proceeds from God's mouth.

So do you know that every day God wants to speak to you. We saw that in Genesis chapter 1 the whole week first day second day third day. Every day God spoke every day God wants to speak to you. That's the message in the first page of the bible.

If you receive it and receive it and receive it it's like you are saving money in the bank. You don't need the money right now. So you save it. Put it in the bank. Put some more in the bank. And then suddenly a big need comes hospital bill advance for school fees or advance for renting a house.

Suddenly you can take from what you saved. Saved saved. God's word is like that you receive it receive it receive it. Then one day you are tempted you can quote that to the devil and he will run away.

Daily Reception of God’s Word

I want to show you some pictures now because there is a saying that one picture is worth one thousand words. So here is picture number one. Just have a look on that screen. Can you see it receiving God's word every day.

See that person is humbly waiting before the Lord. The Lord is giving him his word. It's a picture. There is a sword lying on the ground and that is a picture of the word of God. Also every day he must humbly kneel down and say Lord give me something today.

Like some people have a motto no Bible no breakfast. Supposing you make a rule like this. No Bible no breakfast any day. What a wonderful rule that will be. You go to eat your breakfast. I haven't read my Bible today.

I am living by a rule. No Bible no breakfast. Read your Bible every day especially the New Testament. Say Lord speak to me. That's what you need to do daily. We go to picture number two in the second picture.

Here you see these demons are whispering accusations to this person's ear. What do you think. This man has received God's word and he's got the sword and he's going to fight fight the devil. So these demons come and say no no no.

That's not true. No no no. And so many things wrong in your life. Lord whispers accusations against that brother this sister and all those things. But you see he's not turning and listening to any of them.

He's looking forward and going straight. Remember this picture. Next time you hear some voices in your mind you are bad. You are useless. God doesn't love you reject it or tells you stories about somebody else say no.

I'm going forward to follow Jesus. Satan I will not listen to you. Or when he tells you you remember those terrible sins you did 20 years ago. Don't listen. The blood of Jesus has cleansed me. Please remember this picture.

Next time you hear accusations against yourself or against others. The Holy Spirit never accuses. He always encourages. Accusation against you or against others always come from demons. So we must resist it.

Walking the Narrow Way of Holiness

The devil comes to attack us. Go to the next picture. See here is Satan coming to attack. He is trying to frighten us. But we don't have to be afraid because Jesus defeated him on the cross. So the sword showed to the spirit in Jesus name I resist you.

Satan. Whenever fear comes into your mind in Jesus name I resist you. See what will happen in the next picture. He is running away because you use the word of God in Satan. In Jesus name I resist you.

Jesus my Lord Jesus defeated you on the cross. Even you little children you can do that. If you get bad dreams at night and you wake up and you say Satan I resist you in Jesus name you can't touch me.

Jesus defeated you. I belong to Jesus Christ. He will flee. Satan sometimes tries to scare us. The bible says he is like a lion. Sometimes we go to the next picture. See this is a narrow way in which this man is walking and there is a lion on the left side and a lion on the right side and he is saying you can't walk this way.

We will bite you. We will eat you up. And in the beginning he is scared. How can I go. One lion this side one lion that side. That's a picture of the devil. But if you look carefully you see the lion on the right side.

You see a chain coming from there and the other lion also has got a chain that teaches us that God holds the devil back with a chain. So if you walk the narrow way that Jesus walked Satan can't touch you.

But if you go because they cannot come into the narrow way let me show you Isaiah in chapter 35 which describes this picture. Isaiah 35 and it says in verse 8. Isaiah 35 verse 8 and 9 and 10 there is a highway there which will be called the highway of holiness.

And that is what Jesus called the narrow way that leads to life. See this is a very narrow way. And verse 9 no lion will be on that way. No vicious beast can come on that way. But the redeemed will walk there and the ransomed of the Lord will come with joyful shouting to Zion.

So but it's when we go away from that narrow way when you start accusing other people when you start watching dirty pictures on your computer or smart phone then you are going away from the narrow way.

Then what will happen to him. If he goes away from the narrow way left side or right side then the lion grabs him. But in the narrow way it says no lion can walk there. So we must be very careful to walk the narrow way.

Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6, 7 Matthew 7 and verse 13 and 14 enter through the gate narrow gate. Because the gate is wide and broad that leads to destruction. The gate is small. Verse 14. And the way is narrow that leads to life.

Very few on that way. So this is the narrow way. So I'll show you the next picture. See how narrow the way is this side there's danger. The other side there's danger and there are fires and the demons on one side and there's a pit you can drown on the other side.

In the middle of all these dangers there's a narrow way that leads to life. In this world there are so many dangers. This side danger that side danger. But in the middle of it there is a way that leads to life.

That's why when you're tempted by the devil to go this side you say no. When he tempts you to look at that dirty picture on your phone or computer you'll fall into that demon's hold on the fire there.

Or he'll tell you to accuse somebody. You heard some news. Go and tell somebody that don't tell the elders tell all the others. Then you fall on the other side. But if you say no and this side you say no you can walk all your life on that narrow way.

Jesus said it leads to life. And the Holy Spirit will help you see Isaiah chapter 30. Isaiah chapter 30. Verse 21. Ears will hear a word behind you saying this is the way walk in it. When you turn to the right or to the left that means if you're taking a step to the left or the right in the wrong direction the Holy Spirit will say hey danger.

Don't go to the left. Hey don't go to the right. Listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit because he knows one temptation is coming. You know one day we read that David got up from his bed one afternoon and he walked on the terrace and he saw Bathsheba having a bath in the next compound.

And his conscience would have told him that's not your wife go away. Don't look at that woman. But he did not listen. He kept on looking and finally fell into sin with her. He fell down today. Also the Holy Spirit will tell you turn your eyes away from there.

See what it says in Proverbs. Proverbs chapter 4. Verse 25. Let your eyes look directly ahead. Let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you. Verse 26. Watch the path of your feet. Verse 27. Don't turn to the right or to the left.

Turn your foot from evil. The Holy Spirit will tell you that in your conscience. If you don't listen you fall into one of these dangers. See another picture. Here is a man who did not fall at the end of his life.

He looks back and he says Lord how you wonderfully protected me from this narrow way all my life. And that can be your testimony. If you listen to the Holy Spirit everyday one day God will show you the whole way you lived on earth.

We don't see all those dangers today but He will show you in that day all the dangers this side and that side that you escaped and how you walked and came into His presence. The Lord is there to help you so that you can end your life like this.

Keep this picture in your mind and say Lord Jesus at the end of my life. I want to be able to look back like this man and thank you that you protected me from falling this way or that way because I listened to your Holy Spirit in my conscience.

The Holy Spirit is always there to help you. When the devil is attacking you we go to the next picture. And this is the last one. See you see a fire burning. That's the fire of God's holiness burning in our heart.

And you see there the Lord is pouring the oil of the Holy Spirit in our heart so that the fire will keep burning. And the devil is pouring water to quench that fire. Always pouring water to quench the fire in our heart the fire of holiness the fire of love for Jesus Christ the fire of zeal to live for God.

Always pouring water. But the fire is still burning because this man is open to the Holy Spirit filling him everyday. And so much oil is coming in that the water cannot quench that fire because the love of God is filling this person's heart.

It says in Song of Solomon chapter 8. Song of Solomon just before you know where that is. Just before Isaiah Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Solomon Song of Solomon last chapter chapter 8 verse 7. Many waters cannot quench the love of God in our heart.

The love of God in our heart is like a fire. Love for the Lord is like a fire. All the water the devil pours cannot quench it. Listen to this. Even if he sends a river into that fire the fire will still keep burning because the Holy Spirit is always pouring oil in.

Persevering in the Holy Spirit’s Fire

I was born again 60 years ago nearly and God put a fire in my heart. And through these years the devil has poured so much water to try and quench it. Sometimes I have slipped and fallen. But the Holy Spirit has kept pouring oil into my heart.

And I can testify that today the fire of God is burning in my heart much more than it was in the past. Many of you have heard me preach and known me for many years. I have not lost my love for Jesus Christ.

I have not lost my passion to serve the Lord. Not because the devil is not pouring water trying to quench the fire. He is doing that everyday. But the Holy Spirit is pouring oil and oil and the fire is burning.

I cannot keep that fire burning. But if I humble myself and say God give me your grace you can pray that prayer. I am not a special favorite of God. Jesus shed his blood for you. You are also a child of God.

Ask God to fill you everyday. Lord keep the fire of the love of God burning in my heart. Help me to love you more than everything else on this earth. That's what I keep praying all the time. Dear brothers and sisters please don't forget these pictures that you saw.

Ok you can turn it off. Thank you. Now we want to pray and please remember all these pictures. God's word coming everyday. The demons whispering to our ears. The devil coming but you resisting him in Jesus name.

The narrow way that we have to walk. We want to reach the end both sides. The demons will bite us but we know that God is holding them back. They are chained. The devil cannot touch us. If we walk the narrow way the devil can't touch us.

No lion can come to that narrow way. And whatever the devil may try the grace of God we will reach the end of life. And we look back and see amazing way God protected us on the narrow way. That that is what we preach in CFC and have been preaching for 43 years.