TRICK OR TREAT

                          

2 Corinthians 11:1-3                                              

Pastor Rick Jackson

 

As we near Halloween most of us can recall saying or hearing “Trick or Treat.” It is not my purpose tonight to weigh the pros and cons of the evening before “All Saints Day” and thus “all hallows eve” but rather to remind us all that all Satan offers are tricks and all God offers are treats.

 

I. THE SUBTLETY OF THE SERPENT [Genesis 3]

 

1. Darken [v. 1-3] Maximize the negative, minimize the positive

- NOW the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.

 

2. Denial [v. 4] - And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:

 

3. Deception [v. 5-6, 1 John 2:16]

- For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.

-For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

II. THE SATISFACTION OF THE SERPENT

 

1. Satan Loves to Beguile [Romans 7:11, 16:18; 1 Corinthians 3:18, 2 Thessalonians 2:3]

- For sin, taking occasion by the commandment, deceived me, and by it slew me.

- For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.

-Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you seemeth to be wise in this world, let him become a fool, that he may be wise.

-Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;

 

2. Satan Loves to Corrupt [1 Corinthians 3:17, 15:33; Ephesians 4:22; Jude 1:10; Revelation 19:2]

-If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

-Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners.

-That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

-But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.

-For true and righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.

 

3. Satan Loves to Complicate [2 Corinthians 11:3, Gal. 1:6-7, 3:1]

-But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

- I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

- O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

III THE SOLUTION TO THE SERPENT

 

1. God’s Nearness [James 4:7-8]

- Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.

 

2. God’s Enabling [Eph. 6:10-18]

- Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

 

3. God’s Word [Luke 4, Mt. 4, 2 Tm. 2:25-26]

- In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.