Bargaining With The Enemy?

2 Corinthians 6:14-16

Message No. 0787 | Twitter @GodandUs | www.wisdom-speaks.ca

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The devil sells different products, and is constantly looking for prospects and opportunities to sell. He brings propositions and bargains to God’s children and makes it seem that he loves them and is on their side. Those who fall for his tricks always lose in the end. This week, we encourage believers to never negotiate with the enemy. The devil is not, nor ever will be your friend.

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The devil is in the business of selling lies, his prime product, and as with any salesman, the more he sells, the better it is for his kingdom. One might ask, who are his customers? Well, the answer might surprise you, because many are actually born again children of God. Let’s not be deceived, the devil is no respecter of persons when it comes to his mission to harvest as many people into his kingdom as he possibly can, before the trumpet sounds.

If you think that just by being a child of God, you are exempted from the devil’s opportunity list, then please read Matthew chapter 4 verses 1-11. In it, the Bible says that after Jesus had fasted for 40 days and nights, he became hungry, and the devil came with his first product - the lust of the flesh. It was like this: Jesus, how are you doing today? Let’s talk; I know that you have been fasting and now you must be very hungry. So, why don’t you turn these stones into bread and eat? You are the Son of God after all, and c’mon, this small conversion is a small thing to you, because you’re bigger than that.

Today, the devil picks on poor people, believers inclusive, and entices them with food. He did the same to Esau, and he said, what is this birthright to me anyways, I am hungry and about to die. Just give me food and you can go anywhere you want with my birthright. Unknown to him, he had just sold his future and his descendants’ future for a plate of pottage. Don’t fall for the devil’s lies. Don’t sell your body for food. You may eat the food today but your soul will ache tomorrow and for years to come, and sometimes for your remaining time on earth. That temporary tradeoff is just not worth it.

When Jesus refused to negotiate with the devil on his first product, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, he quickly moved to the next product - the pride of life. In Matthew 4:5-6, the Bible says:

Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: 'He shall give His angels charge over you,' and, 'In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.'"

The devil continued his negotiation with Jesus, asking Him to throw Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple. In other words, Jesus, You are so powerful, and nothing can harm you. You can do anything without anyone’s permission. Just show everyone that You have all powers, so they can respect you right from the get go. He wanted Jesus to exhibit pride and prove that no one else even comes close to Him. What was Jesus’ response? It is written again, you shall not tempt the Lord your God. 

In our societies today, people want others to know what they can do. They want to show off. They want everyone to praise them, give them thumbs up and tell them, only you could have done this. You are so wise, so energetic, so powerful, so philanthropic, etcetera. They want the praise of men. Unknown to them, there is nothing that they can do that God has not created millions of other people to do. When Elijah thought that he was the only one left who had not worshiped Baal, God told him, don’t fool yourself, because I have reserved for myself 7,000 faithful Israelites who have not bowed down to Baal. Don’t let the devil tell you that you are the only person who can do something, because you are not. 

Yet, the devil was not done. He felt that if he put enough pressure, he could sell at least one of his products. So, he moved to the next - the lust of the eyes. The Bible says that he took Jesus up on an exceedingly high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. I bet he showed Him New York, Los Angeles, London, Dubai, Toronto, and other beautiful and powerful cities, and told Him the trillions of dollars generated in these cities yearly, and said, all of these I will give to you for one simple thing: just bow down once to worship me, and that’s it; you have all the wealth.

Don’t let your eyes deceive you. Everything you see on earth is temporal. Nothing is worth exchanging the love and worship of our Saviour for. You may have all the houses, all the cars, all the golds and the silvers and all precious metals of this world. Yet, no one dies and takes away his or her wealth; they all leave them behind. The rich fool who laid his goods in barnes and sat back and asked his soul to relax and enjoy in the Bible, had his life retrieved on the same day. This world is too temporal and not worth exchanging eternity for. Jesus finally told the devil, get away from me Satan, for it is written, you shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve. This is what I recommend you do. Don’t negotiate. Don’t settle, because if you do, you have already lost.

What to Do?

Don’t negotiate with the devil; your life is too previous.