{"id":11377,"date":"2016-08-17T01:28:15","date_gmt":"2016-08-17T06:28:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/making-fun-of-satan\/"},"modified":"2016-08-17T01:28:15","modified_gmt":"2016-08-17T06:28:15","slug":"making-fun-of-satan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/making-fun-of-satan\/","title":{"rendered":"MAKING FUN OF SATAN"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'><b>GENESIS 3<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'><i>Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'><i>(Genesis 3:1)<\/i>.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>When we move from Genesis 2:25 to Genesis 3:1 we note a change in textual tone. The statement that the serpent was the craftiest of the animals strikes a discordant note in the harmony which had prevailed up to this point. In Genesis 3:1 we immediately read that this clever beast challenged God\u2019s commands to Adam and Eve.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>The serpent personifies Satan throughout the Bible, especially in Revelation 20:2. The serpent in Genesis 3 was a real animal, but it was used as Satan\u2019s mouthpiece to deceive Adam and Eve.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>When we think of Satan we are often inclined to envision the stereotypical little man in a red suit with horns and cloven hooves, carrying a pitchfork. This description is not found anywhere in the Bible but was born in the minds of some medieval church scholars. These theologians, who were very conscious of spiritual warfare, sought techniques to fight Satan and overcome his temptations. Peter tells us that Satan prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8), but we have James\u2019 promise that if we resist him, this lion will flee in defeat (James 4:7). Such encouragements caused the godly men of the Middle Ages to seek ways to resist Satan.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>They determined that Lucifer\u2019s greatest sin and weakness is pride. Since a proud person cannot stand ridicule, these theologians used ridicule as their weapon against Satan. They wrote songs to mock him and drew cartoons poking fun at him. One of the most enduring and popular of these images was of Satan as a silly creature in a red suit with a tail and horns.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>In the Bible Satan is exposed as a counterfeit angel of light. He deceives the world by advocating and offering that which often sounds good (but is not godly). He hisses subtle questions in our minds about the authority and inerrancy of God\u2019s Word, planting seeds of doubt. His most cherished territory to stalk his prey is the church itself, the sacred garden where God meets men.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent: 18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Satan is ultimately powerless against almighty God. However, we mere mortals should view him as a staunch enemy. His objective is to use every ounce of power to entice us away from a life committed to serving Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;   text-align:center;line-height:normal'><b>CORAM DEO<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;   text-align:center;line-height:normal'>Exodus 27\u201328<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;   text-align:center;line-height:normal'>Matthew 21:23\u201346<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;   text-align:center;line-height:normal'><b>WEEKEND:<\/b><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;   text-align:center;line-height:normal'>Exodus 29\u201332<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;   text-align:center;line-height:normal'>Matthew 22<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-indent:   18.0pt;line-height:normal'>Because we have forgotten why Satan was   characterized in foolish ways in the Middle Ages, today we only laugh at the   image and are oblivious to his being our staunch, powerful enemy. Do not   permit his silly image to deceive you.<\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;line-height:   normal'><i>For   further study: James 4:4\u201312 \u2022 1 Peter 5:5\u201311<\/i><\/p>\n<p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center;line-height:normal'><b>WEEKEND<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>GENESIS 3 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made (Genesis 3:1). When we move from Genesis 2:25 to Genesis 3:1 we note a change in textual tone. The statement that the serpent was the craftiest of the animals strikes a discordant note in the harmony &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/making-fun-of-satan\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;MAKING FUN OF SATAN&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11377","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11377","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11377"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11377\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11377"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11377"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11377"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}