John Piper said Scholars and commentators including me are not generally confident or certain about why Satan is called the prince of the power of the air in Ephesians 2:2 that's the first point which I certainly agree with no one can definitively say why Satan is called the prince of the air and the air being talked about here is not oxygen or radio or broadcasting waves no Piper goes further on to say the fact that Satan has some measure of authority in the Air does not imply that he's omnipresent or omniscient we are not told in
the Bible the extent of Satan's knowledge or how a non-spatial reality like a spirit which he's called In This Very verse the spirit that is dominating the sons of Disobedience with no up down or sideways reality positions himself in the world but he's not God he does not share God's omniscience and omnipresence but we do know that he has many unclean spirits demons at his disposal and they are deployed all over the world in the air the air is where his flaming arrows fly according to Ephesians 6:16 now the God of this world has a
major influence on the ideals and even opinions of people he has a big influence on the hopes and views of people and it's in a deceptive way that he does this 2 Corinthians 4:4 says Satan who is the God of this world has blinded the minds of those who don't believe they are unable to see the Glorious light of the good news they don't understand this message about the glory of Christ who is the exact likeness of God here's a trick that the devil uses he's out to desensitize people to sin and here's what I
mean if you're sensitive to sin you will be quick to react and get away from it but if sin has become your norm and you no longer see sin as Sin then you begin to tolerate it you begin to accept it and compromise a different example is if you look at someone who has a fear of dogs most of the time they didn't grow up around dogs and so they have this fear about how dogs should act around them and the mannerisms of different dogs but given enough time around dogs there'll come a stage where
that fear of animals goes because they're used to seeing the animals they're used to the dog's behavior and so what the devil does is that the devil puts sin in front of you so often and so frequently so that it goes from being sin to being the norm you're in your car and all day you're listening to music that is talking about violence and it's full of profanity you're around a group of friends or acquaintances who are very vulgar and unclean in their speech you get home you watch movies and TV shows full of violence
and profane language now can you imagine what this does to you it Fosters and nurtures and brues the spirit of anger your mind is filled with violent and angry thoughts because uncleanliness is everywhere this is what the God of this world has done the God of this world is after your mind if it isn't sexual promiscuity that's being advertised it's something related to gambling if it isn't gambling it's something related to alcohol or some substance abuse the God of this world is after your mind if he can get you to put your own image above
the image of God if he can get you to love pleasure more than you love God if he can get you to stay in the snare of Pride or bitterness then he knows he can blind you from seeing the goodness of God now this is not to say that the devil rules the world completely no God is still Almighty and he is still Sovereign he has only allowed Satan to operate in this world within a set of boundaries but one day Revelation 20:1 says and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the Lake
of Fire and sulfur where the Beast and the false prophet were and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever there will come a day when the devil is defeated and destroyed once and for all there will come a day when Jesus Christ will rule and Reign forever more there will come a day when we who believe and endure to the end shall be with Jesus Christ for all of eternity so reject the advances of the God of this world do not accept what the world accepts do not Embrace what the world Embraces
but instead only accept the word of God only accept Jesus Christ as your lord and savior only accept that there is one true king and one who has the keys to life and Death In His Hands and that is Jesus Christ sure enough if you take a look at this world through the lens of the Bible you will notice a trend what the word of God stands for the world is against what Jesus Christ stands for and represents the world is against those who have been blinded by Satan live under a delusion they won't see
that the Love of Money drives so many ungodly things instead they will focus on the notion that everyone needs money everyone needs to make a living of course and the Bible never says money is evil it says the love of money is evil and when you love money so much that you're willing to do things that are unethical and immoral then money has become an idol when you're willing to steal or to overlook the detrimental effect you have on others all so that you can make money then it has become an idol to you when
you love money so much that you're willing to stand in front of a camera and not only commit sexual sin but lead others to commit sexual sin then money has become an idol take a look at what the Amplified version says in 2 Corinthians 4: 3:4 but even if our gospel is in some sense hidden behind a veil it is hidden only to those who are perishing among them the God of this world Satan has blinded the minds of the unbelieving to prevent them from seeing the Illuminating Light of the Gospel of the glory of
Christ who is the image of God the devil wants you as far away from Jesus Christ as possible he wants you to be blind from the truth even if it is right in front of you the devil wants you to take God casually not seriously meaning you use God like a convenience store you go to him when you need something and if you don't need anything then you put him away that's blindness now with this all being said I want to be very clear about this next Point while the devil is described as the God
of this world he is limited he is not all powerful the devil rules the Earth in a limited capacity capacity but he does not have ownership of the earth nor is he all knowing omnipresent and omniscient he is not the devil has boundaries because God is still Sovereign and holds the final say Revelation 12:12 says therefore Rejoice oh heavens and you who dwell in them but woe to you oh Earth and sea for the devil has come down to you in a great wrath because he knows that his time is short the devil's time on
this Earth is short and what I want you to understand is that Hebrews 12:2 says looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God when you look to Jesus there is no devil no demon that can blind you when you look to Jesus there can be no love for money in your heart because your love for Christ is greater when you look to Jesus you cannot be blinded
distracted or whisked away by immorality sin greed or pleasure I encourage you to really focus be fixated on the Lord this way you can't go wrong there are a lot of things happening in this world World there is a lot of evil the Bible in 2 Corinthians 4:4 says in their case the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God think about that for a moment the God of this age the God
of this world Satan has prevented unbelievers from seeing the light of the gospel now in case you didn't know the devil is very influential on this Earth whether you see it or not whether you believe it or not the devil can and has influence on the ideals opinions and standards in this world that's why the Bible says the God of this world the devil has his tentacles in the world's philosophies they are in so many institutions and you may think well how exactly does he do this well look at the driving force of many many
major companies it's money money has become a god an idol to many people including the bosses of many major corporations they will track your movements watch what you're watching analyze what you click on some even take your personal information and sell it with the objective of what money money is the number one objective money is the only objective for so many institutions in this world yet the word of God says the love of money is the root to all evil but you see the God of this world the devil he blinds unbelievers and they don't
see this they don't see how money has become an idol to them another example to illustrate just how the God of this world the devil has blinded the minds of unbelievers is this the Bible tells tells us to flee sexual immorality the Bible tells us that fornicators and adulterers and the sexually impure will not inherit the kingdom of God however in this world what type of content is searched for the most on the Internet it's all sexually explicit content that is related to opposing the word of God one site by the name of Covenant eyes
reported that 30% of Internet content is pornography 30% of content on online is geared to promoting sexual impurity and the sad thing is the number of visitors to these sites are in the billions this is the work of the God of this world I came across an article recently and it was titled most notorious con artists in history and their famous scams number one on the list was a man named Charles Ponzi he was an Italian businessman and swindler who was responsible responsible for duping thousands of investors in the early 20th century Ponzi cheated investors
out of an estimated $32 million the Ponzi scheme is a simple yet effective con that continues to evolve and trouble unassuming investors even today it involves falsely promising people high Returns on their investment paying them from previous investors money and continuing the cycle till it gets bigger and bigger isn't this just like the devil he promises High returns but delivers Dreadful results he promises high yields but he doesn't tell you that you will end up paying a far bigger price than you anticipated now Charles Pon he enjoyed a lavish lifestyle before getting caught after spending
years in and out of prison he was deported to Italy before World War II and moved to Brazil where he died died penniless and alone and I wonder how many people are promised Fame wealth and money by the devil but yet end up with nothing but Hellfire look at Judas a scar he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver yet how did his life end up after that dear listener there are preachers today who sell you a lukewarm gospel a motivational go gospel but there is no Christ in their gospel discernment is needed there are
preachers today who spend more time in their private jets than they do in the word of God and in prayer discernment is needed pay close attention to who you're listening to Jesus said about the devil in John 8 verse 44 he was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him whatever he speaks a lie he speaks from his own nature for he is a liar and the father of Lies but Jesus however is the way the truth and the life and his word is truth
so it isn't surprising that we see a battle between lies and truth in our world and in our minds let's look at some examples of Lies We encounter and the truth that sets us free the devil says if God really loved me I wouldn't be suffering This Is A Lie Jesus suffered crucifixion was a horrific and painful form of punishment that he went through job suffered though he was a righteous man he faced a level of suffering that none of us could ever comprehend David suffered his success and popularity caused King Saul to become jealous
and he eventually tried to kill David also his own son Absalom tried to kill him but yet David was described as a man after God's Own Heart but in the Psalms he so often talks about his enemies even if you look at the disciples after Christ ascended to Heaven they were persecuted and and even martyred so remember that the devil will lie to you and say if God really loved me I wouldn't be suffering but let me tell you that can be a blessing for believers the Lord can sometimes use our troubles to remind us
that he is a deliverer yes God can allow you to face a storm just so that you will draw closer to him and know him as your hope and rescue consider this if Joseph wasn't rejected by his brothers if he wasn't sold as a slave would he have known that God would lift him up to become one of the most powerful men if the woman with the issue of blood hadn't suffered for so long would she have known that God Is A Healer if a man named Bemus wasn't blind would he have known that God
can give sight acts 14 21-22 the Bible reads and when they had preached the gospel to that City and made many disciples they returned to lisra Iconium and Antioch strengthening The Souls of the disciples exhorting them to continue in the faith and saying we must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God now could it be that afflictions although unpleasant although uncomfortable could it be that afflictions are necessary for the Christian man or woman to grow in Christ moving on the devil says just do it it's okay to enjoy a little sin This Is A
Lie the Bible says in Romans 8:13 if you live according to the flesh you will die but if by the spirit you put to death the Deeds of the body you will live furthermore Romans 6 verse 1 to four says well then should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his Wonderful Grace of course not since we have died to sin how can we continue to live in it or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jes Jesus in baptism we joined him in his death
for we died and were buried with Christ by baptism and just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the father now we also may live new lives Jesus took our sin upon himself when he died and set us free from it the Bible says that in baptism we die with Jesus and are raised he has given us his life we are no longer slaves to sin moving on the devil says follow your heart follow your dreams This Is A Lie Jesus says follow me in Matthew 4: 18-22 the Bible says
and Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee saw two brothers Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen then he said to them follow me and I will make you Fishers of Men they immediately left their Nets and followed him going on from there he saw two other brothers James the son of Zebedee and John his brother in the boat with Zebedee their father mending their Nets he called them and immediately they left the boat and the their father and followed him this invitation to follow Jesus
and be his disciples is extended to us as well even more than that greater than the opportunity to walk behind him on Dusty roads is the incredible truth that he lives in us if we put our trust in him we let him use our hands to reach others and we get to watch and he uses us to change lives this is far more exciting than self-indulgence ever will be some of the sneakiest lines seem to come in the first person so they sound more like thoughts we came up with ourselves even if some of them
are our own we have to take them captive and submit them to Christ the devil says if I give I won't have what I need this is a Lie the Bible says there is that scatter and yet increaseth and there is that withholdeth more than is meat but it tendeth to Poverty Proverbs 11:4 the church in Philippi wasn't wealthy They begged for the opportunity to give alongside the other churches in his thank you note to these Christians who had given from the little they had Paul included this encouragement but my God shall supply all your
need according to his riches in Glory by Christ Jesus according to Philippians 4: 19 this promise and prayer was for those who had given it when it didn't look like they would have enough another line that the devil says is putting others down will make me look better the Bible says humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and He Shall lift you up Peter reminds us God resists the proud and gives grace to the humble humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you in due time this is a
consistent theme through scripture many that are first shall be last and the last shall be first we are called to encourage one another and build each other up what we sow we will reap so let's treat others the way we would like to be treated and the final lie that I want to highlight to you is that the devil says how could you after all his work to get us to sin to convince us there won't be any consequences when we do fall to his schemes he comes after us with guilt unworthiness and shame flood
in trying to keep us from running back to our father and repentance and we wonder if he'll receive us but he does Jesus has taken the punishment for all our sins 1 John 1:8-9 says if we say that we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness don't run from the father when you've done wrong or hide in your shame run to him again you'll find forgiveness and healing put
your armor back on and walk in his light it's worth it [Music]
