#10—Don't Go to the Cross

Fred R. Coulter

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• Does God have a purpose?
• Is He accomplishing this purpose?
• If He is, what aspect of it does Satan fulfill?
• What does Satan do?

We're going to find that

• God does have a purpose
• God does have a will
• God does have a means and a way

that He's going to accomplish what He is going to do. When you think about God and talk about God and understand about God, you need to realize that

• if God is God—which He is
• if He is true—which He is
• if His Word is Truth—which it is

then the revelation of God to us tells us what God is doing. But it also tells us that there is another antagonist, and that is Satan the devil.

Satan the devil wants to take over God's place, God's throne, and Satan wants to get rid of Jesus Christ—all knowledge of Christ and all knowledge of God. But Satan is not going to succeed, because God has a purpose.

In this fight in the universe God is going to prevail, but let's see how Satan has always attacked God and how Satan is still attacking Christ and what he is doing to you. Satan is not going to rest until he comes after each and every human being. To either get them on his side, or to destroy them because they belong to Christ.

Isaiah 14:24: "The LORD of hosts has sworn…" Whenever you read in the Bible that God has sworn, that means you can be absolutely guaranteed that it's going to happen. God doesn't need to swear. He doesn't need to go into court and put His hand on the Bible as they do in court today and say, 'I promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth so help me God,' and then turn around and lie. When God says He swears, that means that it is absolutely going to happen!

"…saying, 'Surely as I have thought, so it shall come to pass; and as I have purposed, so it shall stand'" (v 24). God is not going to be turned back. Satan has tried everything that he can to destroy God's way. But it's an impossibility to do it.

• God is greater than Satan!
• God is more powerful than Satan!

Verse 26: "This is the purpose that is purposed upon all the earth; and this is the hand that is stretched out upon all the nations, for the LORD of hosts has purposed, and who shall reverse it? And His hand is stretched out, and who shall turn it back?" (vs 26-27).

There is one being identified in the Bible as Satan the devil. He thinks that he is going to turn back the hand of God. He thinks that he is going to thwart the purpose of God. But Satan also has a purpose. What is that purpose? If he could succeed with Christ or against God or against all human kind, then Satan would, in fact, be God! That's what he is looking at. That is what he is trying to do!

What happened to Lucifer? After God created the heavens and the earth, and He created the angels and Lucifer was to be the 'light bringer'; then:

• he rebelled
• he went against God
• he went against the purpose of God

Remember Luke 10:18[transcriber's correction], Jesus said, "…I beheld Satan fall as lightning from heaven."

Isaiah 14:12: "How you are fallen from the heavens [Lucifer], O shining star, son of the morning!…. [or light bringer] …How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations!" That is sure true!

• We are weakened!
• We are indebted!
• We are diseased!
• We are corrupted!

All the nations of the world are, and it's going to be even more before the return of Jesus Christ.

Let's see Satan's purpose, because he has a purpose, and he is trying everything that he can to fulfill that purpose: to be like God; or to be God!

Verse 13: "For you have said in your heart, 'I will ascend into the heavens, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High'" (vs 13-14).

God says, 'Who can be compared to Me? In what likeness will you compare Me?' So, there is this great war going on.

When we go back to Revelation 12 we find the summation of the entire battle between God and Satan completely encapsulated for us. This encompasses everything that took place before Adam and Eve were created after God had to repair the earth with the destruction that took place in the war with Satan.

Also, it reveals what Satan is trying to do to us today, and what Satan tried to do to Jesus Christ when He was here. Stop and think of it for a minute. Go back to the beginning with Adam and Eve, and what did Satan say to them? He preached his purpose, his doctrine, and he said that if you will eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and taste the fruit; for it tastes good and pleasant to the eyes and it's going to make you wise. If you do you shall be like God!

Satan has tried to usurp God's purpose before Adam and Eve were created with the war in heaven. He was cast back down to the earth. Then he tried to succeed through Adam and Eve. He's going to eventually fail in that. He tried to destroy all human life until there were only eight left during the days of Noah, and God destroyed everything but those eight. Satan tried to thwart the plan of God at the Tower of Babel, and you just go right on down through the history of Israel and you see where Satan was there trying to destroy and thwart the plan of God. But he has not won! and He will not win!

Revelation 12:3: "And another sign was seen in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns on his heads; and his tail swept away a third of the stars of heaven, and cast them to the earth…." (vs 3-4). In symbolic and prophetic language, the stars mean angels. Satan drew a third of the angels with him.

• he is very convincing
• he is very subtle
• he is very powerful

And those angels became demons.

"…And the dragon stood before the woman…" (v 4)—personified in the person of Mary, who was a type of all Israel, also a type of the Church. So, the woman here portrays three specific things:

• Israel
• Mary
• the Church

In this case, "…before the woman who was ready to deliver, so that he might devour her child when she gave birth" (v 4). That is talking about Mary specifically. Satan was there to devour the child. Satan was there to try and destroy Christ, as we will see all the way along in his battle and war against Christ during His ministry. Satan was intent, unrelenting, just so powerful against Christ all the time. If Satan could have once gotten Christ to sin; if Satan could have gotten Christ to obey him once in anything, then Satan would have succeeded in destroying Christ and the plan and purpose of God. Not many people really understand and realize that fantastic part in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ.

So, as soon as the child was born, Satan tried to devour and destroy Him. He tried to beforehand also.

Verse 5: "And she gave birth to a man child, Who was to shepherd all the nations with a rod of iron; and her child was caught up to God and His throne." There is a really brief resume of the whole Gospel encapsulated right there.

Verse 6: "And the woman escaped into the wilderness… [v 7]: And there was war in heaven; Michael and his angels warred against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels warred." The third of the angels that followed Lucifer became demons and they are there doing Satan's purpose and Satan's will.

Verse 8: "But they did not prevail, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, the ancient serpent who is called the Devil and Satan, who is deceiving… [actively, ongoing, now] …the whole world; he was cast down to the earth, and his angels were cast down with him" (vs 8-9).

Let's notice something here, because this shows that there was war against Christ, to destroy Him. But it also shows that there was war against us, because it says, v 10: "…who accuses them day and night before our God." There is an intense war even against you!

Let's first of all examine the war against Christ. There are some very interesting things that we'll find in the book of Matthew. We will see that Satan tried to destroy Jesus Christ before He was born. We find when Joseph found out that Mary was pregnant before they got married, he was going to go ahead and divorce her, put her away. In today's society, Satan would have been there to try and tempt Mary to have an abortion. Of course then, that would have destroyed Christ.

God had to reveal to Joseph through an angel as he thought on this, what he was going to do. Joseph was going to put her away privately. That means divorce her—quietly; not make a public spectacle.

Matthew 1:20: "But as he pondered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary to be your wife, because that which has been begotten in her is of the Holy Spirit.'" That's exactly what happened.

• Satan Uses Herod to Try to Destroy Jesus Christ

After Jesus was born, who was the first one that Satan used to try and destroy Jesus—innocent little baby; try and destroy Him. Of course, what Herod did, it talks about what happened; talks about how the wise men came—there may have been more than three—and they asked:

Matthew 2:2: "'Where is the one who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and have come to worship Him.' But when Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him" (vs 2-3). Herod wanted to know all about this. Herod was jealous, and wondering, 'I wonder who He is. When you wise men find out who He is you come back and tell me so that I can also go and worship Him.'

After the wise men gave their presents and gifts to Jesus and worshiped Him, v 12: "But being Divinely instructed in a dream not to go back to Herod… [God has His part in directing what He wanted to do. God's will is going to be done.] …they returned to their own country by another way. Now after they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, 'Arise and take the little child and His mother, and escape into Egypt, and remain there until I shall tell you; for Herod is about to seek the little child to destroy Him.'" (vs 12-13).

Satan was right there putting it in the heart and mind of Herod to destroy Jesus, so they left. God warned them and they left at night and were gone.

Verse 16: "Then Herod, seeing that he had been mocked by the Magi, was filled with rage; and he sent and put to death all the boys who were in Bethlehem and in the area all around, from two years old and under…" So, there was a great slaughter of children, because Satan—in his wrath stirred up inside Herod—wanted to kill and destroy Christ. That is the war that began right there to destroy Christ. It also occurred throughout His entire life.

After this Herod had died, there was another, Herod Antipas. People came along and were trying to warn Jesus about Herod.

Satan Uses the Pharisees Try to Destroy Jesus Christ

Luke 13:31: "On the same day certain Pharisees came to Him, saying, 'Go out and depart from this place because Herod desires to kill You.' And He said to them, 'Go and say to that fox, "Behold, I cast out demons and complete healings today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected"'" (vs 31-32). Jesus wasn't afraid.

Jesus was not afraid at all of what Herod could do to Him, and God protected Him when He was a child and Jesus resisted Herod when He was in His ministry.

The next tool that Satan used to destroy Christ was, in fact, the Pharisees themselves. Even on the Sabbath—supposed to be the Holy Day of God, which it is—the Pharisees were claiming how righteous they were—which they weren't. After Jesus healed the man on the Sabbath Day and told him to take up his bedroll and go, the Jews sought after Jesus.

John 5:18: "So then, on account of this saying, the Jews sought all the more to kill Him, not only because He had loosed the Sabbath…" Jesus was chased out of towns! Jesus was sought after to be killed, destroyed! We find that at one time they couldn't lay their hands on Him because 'His hour was not yet.'

Let's see what happened in the synagogue where Jesus preached. After doing a fantastic and tremendous miracle: Mark 3:1: "And again He went into the synagogue, and a man who had a withered hand was there. And they were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, in order that they might accuse Him" (vs 1-2).

• Who is the accuser of the brethren? Satan!
• Who is the accuser of God? Satan!
• Who is the enemy of both? Satan!

But Satan uses human beings to do his work. Now look at what happened in this scene:

Verse 3: "Then He said to the man who had the withered hand, 'Stand up here in the center.' And He said to them, 'Is it lawful to do good on the Sabbaths, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill?' But they were silent. And after looking around at them with anger, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand.' And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as sound as the other" (vs 3-5).

Rather than rejoicing; rather than being happy; rather than being glad that the man was healed, notice what the Pharisees did:

Verse 6: "Then the Pharisees left and immediately took counsel with the Herodians…" We've had something to say about Herod before—didn't we? Well, the Herodians were the followers of the party of Herod.

"…against Him as to how they might destroy Him" (v 6). At every turn Satan the devil was there to try and destroy Jesus Christ; to try and keep God from fulfilling His purpose.

Jesus said of God's purpose: I did not come on My own; I did not come to do My will, but the will of the Father Who has sent Me! God was going to do and complete His purpose in spite of all that the Pharisees could do or wanted to do. You read time and time again:

• they were to cast Him over a cliff; but He escaped
• they were going to get stones and stone Him

'Oh we're just dying and anxious, tell us who You really are. Are you the Son of God?' Jesus said, 'I have told you before that I am the Son of God.' Then they sought to stone Him because of that. So, Jesus said, 'Why are you seeking to stone Me, for what good work are you going to stone Me?' We're not trying to stone you for a good work, but because You, being a man, said that you are the Son of God.' Jesus said, 'Isn't it written in your own law that He said, you are Gods, and the Scripture cannot be broken?' Then He had to escape out of their hands again so that He would not be stoned.

Satan was there to try and destroy Jesus Christ all the way along in everything that Jesus did. Let's look at another account.

• Satan Uses the Elements to Try and Destroy Jesus Christ

Many people really do not even get the picture of this. Mark 4:36: "And after dismissing the multitude, they took Him with them, as He was already in the ship; and there were many other small ships with Him also. And a violent windstorm came up…" (vs 36-37).

• Who is the prince of the power of the air? Satan!
• Has Satan ever used storms before to destroy? Yes, read the book of Job!

There was a whirlwind that came and destroyed, and the Bible reveals that Satan was given permission of God to do that to Job.

I want you to notice what was taking place here; I want you to notice the reaction of the disciples; and I want you to notice carefully what Jesus said and did, and we have to examine why and the way He said what He said.

"…and the waves were crashing into the ship so forcefully that it was rapidly filling up" (v 37). It says in the parallel account in Matthew that the waves were great.

I don't know if you've ever been in a boat where the waves coming in on you are great; or if you've been on a ship on the ocean. And believe me, when you stand on a pier and look at the ship it looks gigantic! But when you get out on the ocean, in the middle of the ocean, and you look around and see all the ocean, it is so teeny it is unbelievable!

I remember one time when I was on a troop ship coming back from Japan, after spending a year in Korea, that we were in a storm in the Gulf of Alaska coming back to Seattle. There were waves almost as high as that huge ship, which made it look like a little tinker-toy.

Just imagine that you're in a smaller boat. Obviously, in the Sea of Galilee they can't have very big boats there; they can't have troop ships like we would see today. So, here are the disciples and here comes this storm that the waves were so much that they were crashing in, coming over, and the boat is filling up with water.

Verse 38: "Now He was at the stern… [the back of the ship] …sleeping on a cushion. And they aroused Him, and said to Him, 'Master, don't You care that we are perishing?' And after being awakened, He rebuked the wind…" (vs 38-39). Why would He rebuke the wind? The Greek gives the meaning or connotation like you would command or reprimand. Why would He do that? Because Satan was there stirring up the storm, hoping to sink the boat and drown them all in the water!

We have another account where Peter, in another storm, walked on the water to meet Christ. That's another whole subject. The point is, Satan was there stirring up the storm and Jesus had to come and rebuke it!

"…and said to the sea, 'Silence! Be still.' And the wind died, and there was a great calm" (v 39). Who is more powerful? Satan? or Christ? Obviously Christ! Satan is there as the antagonist! He was there dogging Jesus' life step-by-step, seeking every way to destroy Him; seeking every means to keep Jesus from fulfilling His purpose; to keep Jesus from going to the cross.

Satan knew that if Jesus made it to the cross, that he was through. So, Satan was seeking everything he could do to keep Jesus from obtaining that purpose and going to the cross.

• Satan Tempts Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane

Jesus went out there before He was arrested and was praying for strength from the Father, asking the Father to give Him the strength, power and ability to go through the crucifixion. It was a great agony. If Satan could have gotten to Him there, and would have discouraged Jesus so much that Jesus would have said, 'Father, I can't go through this'—Satan would have succeeded! Satan didn't want Jesus going to the cross to be crucified.

Luke 22:41: "And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw; and falling to His knees, He prayed, saying, 'Father, if You are willing to take away this cup from Me… [That temptation was there; the weakness of a human being—as He was the Son of man—was there.] …nevertheless, not My will, but Your will be done'" (vs 41-42). Yes, God's purpose, God's plan, God's way is going to be done and carried out in spite of all human beings! Yes, it will!

Verse 43: "Then an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly…." (vs 43-44). The whole power of God had to be there to give Him the strength because of the agony and the wretchedness of the crucifixion that Jesus would have to go through. Satan was right there tempting him: 'Don't go! Don't go!' So, Jesus was strengthened.

"…And His sweat became as great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (v 44). That was a pretty powerful prayer that Jesus had to go through. Notice the strength that He had:

Verse 45: "And after rising up from prayer, He came to His disciples and found them sleeping for grief." Isn't that the way it always is with us as human beings? When the important moments come along we're asleep at the switch!

Verse 46: "Then He said to them, 'Why are you sleeping? Arise and pray, so that you do not enter into temptation.'" Why did He say that? Obviously, Satan was there trying to get Jesus not to go to the cross!

Satan's Ten Most Believable Lies by Dave Breese is one of the most profound books you can have today. In this book he has #10—Don't Go to the Cross. That is talking about Satan's efforts to get Jesus to not go to the cross. Also, Satan's effort to get us to not go to the cross. That is the war against Jesus that Satan was perpetrating against Him, and also, against us!

Let's see some of the comments that Dave Breese has written. You don't need God. Who needs God? Who needs stupid religion? Who needs all of these things? You don't need that! You just need yourself! There's no God! There's no purpose! Eat, drink and make merry and have a good time.

p 119-120—Life has a purpose.

Life does have a purpose! You need to understand why you were born; the very purpose why God has created you. What are you going to do with life? What are you doing with it now? or Are you like the disciples, sound asleep at the switch and ready to enter into temptation? Ready to give up on God? Ready to say, 'Oh well, you know, this God bit is no good. I don't need God anymore.'

Then you are being deceived into exactly what Satan wants, that you don't go to the cross of Christ and have your sins forgiven and walk in God's way. Satan then has won that battle! He has executed his purpose in your life.

We are here in this world on a Divine mission. There is a reason for our existence, a reason that is realizable in time and understandable in the light of eternity. Unfortunately, this fact remains forever obscure to most people.

Just to show you how obscure it is to most people. Just take one little thing that happened during the election in California (1990). It was just one little blurb on one little report on the votes. There was a man in northern California in one of the most liberal counties, which has a lot of homosexuality, New Ageism, witchcraft, and all the things that go with that: adultery, fornication, demonism, Satan-worship, the whole thing.

Here was a man who stood for the one truth. He was totally and absolutely against abortion. Guess how many votes he received in that liberal county? None! Not one vote! So, it is not extreme for Breese to say that the fact of the purpose of God's plan remains hidden forever to most people, because they love their evil. They love their deception.

The lives of a majority of people, and most would readily admit it, are without a personal goal.

God has given us the great overall personal goal of seeking first the Kingdom of God. But how many people have any goals in their lives? What are you going to do tomorrow? What are you going to do the next day? What is your life? Where are you going? What are you doing? Most lives are accidents walking along and waiting for a disaster to happen in the palm of the hand of Satan the devil.

If it ever occurs to them that life has a purpose, they quickly escape from this nagging suspicion into a world of amusement or indulgence.

Just to show what it's like. On my way over this morning I stopped at 7-Eleven and I got a cup of coffee. I walked into the store right about 9 a.m. and they had this terrible, awful rock music banging away. It wouldn't have been so bad if it wasn't so loud. The rock music scrambles every brain that ever listens to it, so don't anyone come and try to defend rock music to me under any basis at all, under any circumstances. That is totally satanic, demonic and meant to destroy, pervert and scramble your brain.

Whenever I hear this it just sets me on edge. I looked at the clerk and said, 'How can you stand that; it's only nine in the morning?' It does good to complain. He went and turned it to another station and said, 'How's that?' I said, 'That's lovely.'

Most people don't even know! It just their music, their indulgence, their sports, whatever they're going to do; their hobby, they're just driven to do their own thing. Who's doing the driving? Satan the devil!

Life's purpose is given insufficient attention by most of us. This inattention becomes tragic when we remember that nothing in all of the world becomes useful or significant unless it functions in the fulfillment of its purpose….

That includes you and what is the purpose for your existence? Why did God create you? and me? and all human beings? Satan doesn't want us to fulfill our purpose; he wants to destroy us!

We can draw an inference from this disinterest in life's purpose, namely, that when a person ignores the purpose of life...

Isn't that something? That we walk around in the world—most of the world—blinded, deceived, empty, hollow, wretched, miserable, to where now in grade school one of the biggest crimes is rape! They don't know what to do about solving the problem—the poor, bleeding satanic hearts! Put in the commandments of God and you will stop all of that nonsense! They miss the whole purpose in life!

…he is not merely stupid, he is spiritually subverted.

• Why are you here?
• Why were you born?
• What is the meaning of your life?
• What is the meaning of life?
• Where is God?
• What should you do about it?

He is being drawn into irrationality by a force acting upon his thought processes, clouding his reason, so that he does not see the foolishness of his position. As Scripture warns, Satan himself is blinding his mind so that the simple truth that life has a purpose continues to escape him.

We have already seen that one of the doctrines of the devil is to suggest that God has no true destiny for our lives. The final satanic doctrine what we shall consider is an expansion of this earlier suggestion. It is the call that says, "Don't give yourself to fulfill the purpose that God has for your life." Or, as he expressed it, in effect, "Don't go to the cross."

We can express it yet in another way: Don't let Satan win his war against you!

This satanic doctrine is revealed through a conversation between Christ and His disciples. As Christ approached the end of His three-year ministry, He began to introduce to His disciples the subject of His coming suffering and death on the cross. The possibility of the death of their beloved Leader was a prospect so foreign to the thinking of the disciples that they were hardly able to comprehend His presentation of this unspeakable fate. Was He not the Messiah? Did He not come to establish a great kingdom? Were not they, the disciples, to reign with Him in that kingdom? With these questions in mind, they could hardly endure the dark foreboding that grew in their minds as Christ talked about the future.

Let's see about a very interesting and profound event.

(go to the next track)

When we read these Scriptures, it misses most people. They don't understand it. Today, you would be thought of as totally arrogant, totally neglecting the law, the concern that Peter had in his heart for Jesus.

Matthew 16:21: "From that time Jesus began to explain to His disciples that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem, and to suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, and to be raised the third day. But after taking Him aside, Peter personally began to rebuke Him, saying, 'God will be favorable to you, Lord. In no way shall this happen to You.'" (vs 21-22). We won't let it happen. What did some of the disciples say, 'We are ready to go to the death with You.

Peter said that, and what did Jesus say to him? Before the night is over, you're going to deny Me three times! Did that not happen? Sure did! Everyone of these things was a satanic attempt to keep Jesus from going to the cross.

'Some people miss how that Satan was there trying to get Peter. Let's see what Jesus told Peter. If Satan was there trying to get Simon Peter; if Satan was there trying to destroy Jesus Christ; if Satan was there, trying in any way, to keep Jesus from fulfilling the purpose of God, he would have done it! He tried! He tried!

Luke 22:31: "Then the Lord said, 'Simon, Simon, listen well. Satan has demanded to have you, to sift you as wheat.'" That's a profound statement! If Satan desired him, does Satan desire you? Does Satan desire every Christian? Does Satan desire to try and subvert every minister? Satan there to try and twist, distort, change and get people off the track of following God with:

• false doctrines
• subtle changes

The Bible says that 'even so much that the very elect could be deceived, they would.' That's why Satan wanted Peter. What a great prize! He would have been, in fact, the first pope! But Satan didn't get him, because Jesus said to Peter, 'I pray for you that your faith fail not, and when you are converted, strengthen the brethren.'

With that in mind, when Peter said, 'Oh, Lord, we're not going to let this happen. Far be it from You that You're going to go to Jerusalem and be killed and suffer many things of the elders. We'll see to that, Lord.'

Matthew 16:23: "Then He [Jesus] turned and said to Peter, 'Get behind Me, Satan!…." Why did He say that? Because Satan was right there and Peter at that moment was a tool of Satan the devil in a subtle way. Peter thought that he was going to 'save the bacon' for Jesus, that He wouldn't have to suffer this death. Satan was right there trying to keep Jesus from going to the cross, and Jesus said:

"…'Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me… [Pretty powerful words—right? What does Satan appeal to?] …because your thoughts are not in accord with the things of God, but the things of men'" (v 23). Looking at it from a human perspective

• we have love
• we have concern
• Lord, we won't let this happen to you, we're good people

Sounds just like these sickening politicians. Every time I see one of them on television or at some of the so-called hearings and someone says, 'We are concerned…' You can almost be guaranteed that's satanic!

Satan has his counterfeit love. Satan has his way of trying to subtly come in and 'do-gooders' to thwart and go against the will of God. Jesus didn't say, 'Well now, Peter, I appreciate your loving concern.' He just said, "…Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me…" Pretty powerful words!

That means that in this battle that Satan is warring against you, don't let your own human thought take precedence over the Word of God. Maybe those thoughts could be just as satanically inspired as it was in Peter. I'm not saying that you may be Satan-possessed or demon-possessed by any means. But Satan is the 'prince of the power of the air' and we're warned to put on the 'helmet of salvation' to protect our thoughts.

p 123—…The issue is clear, and Satan must be denounced. In this instant and total repudiation of Satan we see one of the reasons his temptation of Christ did not succeed: Christ was determined to go to the cross and fulfill the will of His Father.

Jesus said, 'I must work the works of God while it is light.'

• Satan tries to destroy Jesus when He was on the cross

How about when Jesus was on the cross; that's another whole story. Let's see the temptation that came along. After Jesus was on the cross and the sign was put up there by Herod.

Matthew 27:37: "And they put up over His head His accusation, written, 'This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.'"

Verse 39: "Then those who were passing by railed at Him, shaking their heads, and saying, 'You Who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself. If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.'" (vs 39-40). If He would have—and He could have—the purpose of God would have been thwarted by Satan the devil.

Notice who was there cheering on this attitude, v 41: "And in the same way also the chief priests were mocking, with the scribes and elders, saying, 'He saved others, but He does not have the power to save Himself. If He is the King of Israel, let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe Him'" (vs 41-42). No, they wouldn't!

Maybe they would have, because then Jesus would have been a tool in the hands of Satan. They would have said, 'Oh, this is wonderful! This is marvelous!' But you would have had no sacrifice. You would have no forgiveness from sin. Mankind could not have possibly been saved if Satan would have succeeded in getting Jesus not to go to the cross, or come down from off the cross. Jesus didn't come down off the cross; He stayed there and died. When Jesus died, that empowered Him to destroy the works of the devil. That empowered God's plan to go forward for the forgiveness of the sins of all of those God calls to repentance, and offering the forgiveness and the way out.

The Bible says that the crucifixion, Satan—the prince of this world—is cast out and judgment came upon him. Now, through death, Jesus destroyed the works of the devil, which means that the devil has been defeated. Yet, there were two more attempts that Satan tried. He was wanting to have the body stolen and removed so that Jesus could not be raised the third day. But God made sure that there was a big stone in front of the tomb. And even used the Pharisees and scribes to seal up the tomb and post guards so that His body would not be taken.

Then the finality of thwarting all of Satan's purpose was the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Now God's plan could move forward, and the power of God's way could take effect.

pp 124-125—The results in the life of the person who believes in Jesus Christ will be correspondingly great.

With God has done through the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. You read there in Rom. 6 how that we are buried with Him in baptism unto His death! We're crucified with Him! Now we're going to begin to see the war against you and me to get us to not go to the cross of Christ for that forgiveness—and we need to.

However, we may be sure that Satan will come to every one of us and preach the same destructive doctrine of self-preservation. In many way, he will say, "Don't be a fool. Don't give yourself to so ridiculous a course as the denial of yourself in order to accomplish some abstract spiritual purpose. Accomplishment is here and now. It is made out of money, material, cars, homes, and human applause…. [and recognition] …This is the only world we know anything about, and any man is a fool to live for the world to come. Enjoy yourself. Live it up" With these and many other propositions, Satan continues to play the hackneyed record that one is a fool to live for any moment beyond the existential now. He has not been without real help in promoting that theme. From the old atheistic philosophers to the modern television writers, Satan's media representatives in almost every field have denied the existence of spiritual value or eternal purpose in life and avidly promoted that soul-destroying message. As a result, the theme of our generation is, "live now, it's later than you think."
Then you look at the millions of lives that have been destroyed because of that!

Now let's see what Jesus says to us, Matthew 16:24: "And Jesus said to His disciples, 'If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and let him take up his cross and follow Me.'" Satan doesn't want you to go to the cross of Christ, and Satan doesn't want you to take up the burdens of your life to bring them to Christ and follow Him. So, you have your own cross to carry as it were; Jesus said so!

Verse 25: "For whoever desires to save his life shall lose it; but whoever will lose his life for My sake shall find it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world, but loses his life? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his life?" (vs 25-26). Quite powerful words—aren't they?

Let's see what else Jesus said was our cross to bear; or coming to the cross of Jesus—which we have to. There is no man that can ever see eternal life unless they first come to the cross of Jesus Christ. It doesn't matter how well intentioned you are. It doesn't matter how good you think you are. It doesn't matter how evil other people are. It is what is your life. and who are you and who am I, and how is our relationship with Christ. There are things that we have got to do, and Jesus said so. They are pretty powerful! It's not that you can open your heart and give it to the Lord and say, 'I accept Jesus as my Lord.' Let's go to the Crystal Palace and have fun, fun, fun, good, good, good, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful! Jesus didn't say that.

Luke 14:25: "And great multitudes were going with Him; and He turned and said to them:

Why, I thank you everyone for following Me. What a wonderful group of people you are. Let's all work together and bring the will of God on the earth.

Bunch of baloney! He didn't say that. I say that in cynicism because so many people think that. That is Satan's way of thinking! Not God's way. Here's Christ's way of thinking:

Verse 26: "If anyone comes to Me…" I want you to ask this of yourself: Am I bearing my cross? Am I coming the cross of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness and remission of my sins?

"…and does not hate…"—love less in comparison in a sense to the purpose of God. You're not going to let anything stand in your way; everything else to deter you from it is the hatred of Satan the devil.

In that sense, yes, you must love God more than "…his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers and sisters, and, in addition, his own life also…" (v 26). Your own life! You come to the point in your life that you hate your life.

I know that's the opposite of self-esteem. But I can tell you one thing for sure, you can have greater esteem in God than greater esteem in yourself. Unless you deny yourself in the presence of God, you're not going to have eternal life.

Jesus said, unless you do that, "…he cannot be My disciple" (v 26). The Greek there means it's impossible; there is no power that can make you 'My disciple.'

Verse 27: "And whoever does not carry his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple."

Romans 6:3—concerning how this is accomplished. There is a profound transference that takes place when you are baptized. Baptism has to be a complete burial, fully submersed in water, because there is a meaning to that.

Romans 6:3: "Or are you ignorant that we, as many as were baptized into Christ Jesus, were baptized into His death?" That has a profound meaning.

• It's not just a baptism so you can be 'good.'
• It's not just a baptism so now you can 'join a religion.'
• It's not a baptism so you can be the 'focal point.'

You have to deny yourself. You are baptized:

• into Christ Jesus
• into God's plan
• into God's purpose
• into the very being of Jesus Christ

Verse 4: "Therefore, we were buried with Him… [that's how we deny ourselves; we bury the old self] …through the baptism into the death; so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, in the same way, we also should walk in newness of life."

• God's way
• God's purpose
• God's love
• God's commandments
• God's Word

In our heart and mind and inward parts, and

• God's Spirit

to lead us, guide us and direct us! Not the way of this world!

Verse 5: "For if we have been conjoined together in the likeness of His death, so also shall we be in the likeness of His resurrection. Knowing this, that our old man… [old self] …was co-crucified with Him…" (vs 5-6). In a sense your cross is:

• your human nature
• your way
• your thoughts
• your life

as it exists apart from God is dead; crucified with Christ. Have you gone to the cross of Christ? Are you going there on a continuous basis?

"…in order that the body of sin… [which dwells in you] …might be destroyed, so that we might no longer be enslaved to sin" (v 6)—and Satan. We serve God and Christ. That's what becomes the most profound and important thing that we need to do.

How do we do that? Let's see some more about this crucifying of the self. Can you say this with the Apostle Paul:

Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ, yet, I live…. [still live in the flesh] …Indeed, it is no longer I…" You're not living for yourself; you're not living for the world; you're not living for Satan. You're living for God!

"…but Christ lives in me…." That's why you've got to come to the cross of Christ. That you can have your old self, your old nature—which has been inspired and run by, and directed and controlled by Satan the devil—be removed and Christ is in you.

"…For the life that I am now living in the flesh, I live by faith—that very faith of the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me" (v 20). That's why you need to come to the cross of Christ.

What are you going to do that Satan is there accusing you day and night? You have the crucifixion of Christ. The cross of Christ to protect you!

Revelation 12:10: "…because the accuser of our brethren has been cast down, who accuses them day and night before our God. But they overcame him…" (vs 10-11). You can overcome Satan. You can absolutely, completely thwart him and stop him and have him been removed from your life. That doesn't mean you won't have other temptations and things that come along.

 But here's how you overcome: "…through the blood of the Lamb…" The blood of Christ has got to cover your very life, your sins, by that perfect, spotless sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

"…and through the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto death" (v 11). It may require your physical death, whether by martyrdom or being faithful to the end.

One final admonition that comes from God:

• how you can resist Satan the devil and
• how you can continually come to the cross of Christ every day.
• how you can let the blood of Christ cover you
• how you can also win this war against Satan

He is warring against Christ. He is warring against you and all the brethren of God in the world. Here's what we need to do:

1-Peter 5:6: "Be humbled, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that He may exalt you in due time; casting all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you" (vs 6-7).

• Whatever your care!
• Whatever your worry!
• Whatever your problem!
• Whatever your difficulty!

Don't let Satan get an entrance into your mind to turn you from God, to keep you from going to the cross of Christ.

Verse 8: "Be sober! Be vigilant! For your adversary the devil is prowling about as a roaring lion, seeking anyone he may devour. Whom resist, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are being fulfilled among your brethren who are in the world" (vs 8-9).

Jesus said, 'Be of good cheer, I've overcome the world!' That's even though you're going to have tribulation. We can overcome Satan! We can overcome the world!

Verse 10: "Now, may the God of all grace, Who has called us unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, Himself perfect you, establish, strengthen, and settle you.

Don't heed Satan's message, which says, 'Don't go to the cross of Christ.' You go to the cross of Christ and fulfill your purpose; fulfill the purpose of God in your life, and you will win the battle against Satan!

All Scriptures from The Holy Bible in its Original Order, a Faithful Version by Fred R. Coulter

Scriptural References:

• Isaiah 14:24, 26-27
• Luke 10:18
• Isaiah 14:12-14
• Revelation 12:3-10
• Matthew 1:20
• Matthew 2:2-3, 12-13, 16
• Luke 13:31-32
• John 5:18
• Mark 3:1-6
• Mark 4:36-39
• Luke 22:41-46
• Matthew 16:21-22
• Luke 22:31
• Matthew 16:23
• Matthew 27:37, 39-42
• Matthew 16:24-26
• Luke 14:25-27
• Romans 6:3-6
• Galatians 2:20
• Revelation 12:10-11
• 1 Peter 5:6-10

Also referenced: Book

Satan's Ten Most Believable Lies by Dave Breese

FRC: bo
Transcribed: 2-2-13