Satan's Sole Purpose

We WANT to walk upright, don't we?
We desire to walk upright in the paths of righteousness, yes?
We long to follow the ways of our Savior, correct?

Constantly we are buffeted by the enemy who doesn't want us to do any of those things. It is the enemy's JOB, it is the enemy's SOLE PURPOSE to keep US- each of us- from following the Savior. If something is your sole purpose what exactly does that mean?


You've heard someone say before - 'It's my sole purpose in life to love you, or they might say it's my sole purpose in life to get revenge on you.' They're in essence saying that they are LIVING for this reason. They are living to love you and without you they have no other purpose in life. Or they are living to hurt you and for no other reason. We know that when people say stuff like that it's usually an exaggeration. The same person who said they live to love you might turn around and ask for a divorce a few years later because they no longer can stand to be near you. As well as the one seeking revenge, their ire may cool and life make take on new purpose. But with Satan his IRE never cools, His love to deceive us never grows cold and will exist as long as He exists. This is the truth. He will EVER go about seeking to devour who He can, untiringly in his angelic spirit heritage he needs no sleep, no resting. And if we understand how intense it can be on a human to human level to have someone with a 'sole purpose' that is very changeable, how much more intense is it on the spirit level with a being who won't ever change?


We desperately wish to be Christ's and we have an enemy that will stop at nothing to keep us in doubt, keep us confused, keep us questioning, keep us hopeless and all he has to do is hold up our shortcomings to us and make us believe we will never be Christ's not with how exceedingly sinful we are. He loves to act as a circus funhouse mirror reflecting back at us our evilness, and yes, sin is evil and the sin we commit is evil- we can't pretty it up and say it's just a tiny little bitty sin, not one of those awful ones. And the funhouse effect of this mirror is to make us feel HOPELESS, so evil we can never be forgiven, never hope to be sin-free in Christ. He gets us to keep looking at ourselves so that we have no desire to take our eyes off ourselves and our failings. And as long as Satan has us looking at ourselves we are not looking at our SAVIOR! We have no hope in ourselves, NONE and the sooner we realize this the better. We have to STOP looking at ourselves and look beyond ourselves to our Savior. HE IS able to save us, we are NOT able to save ourselves!


The questions were…


We WANT to walk upright, don't we?
We desire to walk upright in the paths of righteousness, yes?
We long to follow the ways of our Savior, correct?


Then we have to LISTEN to the LORD! We can't close our ears to Him and expect to walk upright. We can't ignore Him and expect to walk upright. We can't close our eyes and expect to follow Him. Do you know how quickly one falls off a path once they are blindfolded? If we blind ourselves, if we keep ourselves in the dark we can't expect to find light on the path.


Remember yesterday's study… all those things we are told to do to understand the fear of the Lord and to find the knowledge of God?


RECEIVE, HIDE, INCLINE, APPLY, CRIEST, LIFTEST, SEEKEST, SEARCHEST!


Actions, verbs!

Here read it again…


Pro 2:1 My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;
Pro 2:2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;
Pro 2:3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;
Pro 2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
Pro 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.


And there is more...


Pro 2:6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.
Pro 2:7 He layeth up sound wisdom for the righteous: he is a buckler to them that walk uprightly.
Pro 2:8 He keepeth the paths of judgment, and preserveth the way of his saints.
Pro 2:9 Then shalt thou understand righteousness, and judgment, and equity; yea, every good path.


Pro 2:10 When wisdom entereth into thine heart, and knowledge is pleasant unto thy soul;
Pro 2:11 Discretion shall preserve thee, understanding shall keep thee:
Pro 2:12 To deliver thee from the way of the evil man, from the man that speaketh froward things;


Pro 2:13 Who leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness;
Pro 2:14 Who rejoice to do evil, and delight in the frowardness of the wicked;
Pro 2:15 Whose ways are crooked, and they froward in their paths:
Pro 2:16 To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words;
Pro 2:17 Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Pro 2:18 For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead.
Pro 2:19 None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.



Pro 2:20 That thou mayest walk in the way of good men, and keep the paths of the righteous.
Pro 2:21 For the upright shall dwell in the land, and the perfect shall remain in it.
Pro 2:22 But the wicked shall be cut off from the earth, and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.


Righteous and wicked.


We choose.


We are told to act in upright ways - to -
RECEIVE, HIDE, INCLINE, APPLY, CRIEST, LIFTEST, SEEKEST, SEARCHEST
And when we DO NOT do as we are told is it any wonder we can be tempted away to the wicked path?


We can do absolutely nothing and hope that doing nothing is enough. Or we can do the things we are told to do and HOPE that by the grace of OUR Savior it will be enough.


We can stand without armor on and hope to live, but the chances of that are very, very slim. We are told to wear spiritual armor and we are told what that armor is.

Salvation
Righteousness
Truth
Gospel of Peace
Spirit of the Word of God
Faith


We have to choose these things.

Not, put the armor on once and never again; not, only wear one piece of the armor and no more; not, put on the armor when the mood hits us. The war we are in is ongoing- night and day, everyday. Ask soldiers that go to war if they sleep in protective gear when they are close to or among the enemy lines. We exist in the enemy's camp without any hope of survival unless we have our armor on.


We must have SALVATION first and foremost and with our head protected we must protect the rest of us and that Salvation we have in Christ is also where we get the rest of our protective gear.


We have an inheritance in Christ and the Holy Spirit will guide us and keep us in the promise of that inheritance if we allow Him. We can be blessed with all spiritual blessings. We can be before Our Savior without blame in love. We are adopted by Jesus Himself! We have redemption through His sacrifice. This is WISDOM, the knowledge of HIM and His love towards us! It is the WILL of our Savior that we be with Him! Read it! I didn't write it… HE DID!


Eph 1:2 Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Eph 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
Eph 1:4 According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:
Eph 1:5 Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,


Eph 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.


Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Eph 1:8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence;
Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
Eph 1:10 That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:
Eph 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Eph 1:12 That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.
Eph 1:13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Eph 1:14 Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.


AMEN!