Oak Hill Chruch of Christ 5-19-24 Message: "If I Were The Devil"

Oak Hill Church of Christ preaching minister, Randy Sterling, delivers a message on the real presence of evil in the world and the desire for Satan, chief of all evil, to corrupt the hearts of God's children, not in grand and obvious ways, but in small ones.

If the Devil truly was red-hued with large horns, cloven hooves, a spiral tail, and pitchfork, it would be easy to spot his presence and thus, reject his ministrations toward us.

If the Devil spoke only vile things in a deep, distorted voice, we would know that the words came from him, and we would reject them.

The Bible shows, however, that the Devil is actually quite shrewd and unobtrusive. The Devil isn't in the business of corrupting through horror. Rather, the Devil begins to convince by appearing to give us what we want in the most attractive package possible.

The Devil uses nice words, peaceful words, generous words. The Devil attempts to appear as a thoughtful soul who only wants good things for us, just as he did in the Garden to Eve. Satan tempted Eve with the sinful desire to become equal to God.

The Devil also used nice words to Jesus. He quoted scripture and supported Jesus' ministry as the Messiah, only, he offered a quicker route. "Just worship me, and I'll help you reach all your goals."

Of course, whenever the Devil acts, underneath his nice words and helpful demeanor is sin. The Devil seeks to drive a wedge between God and His children. "What God wants for you and the way he wants you to achieve it is unfair," says the Devil.

The Devil's corrupting influence is present everywhere you see wickedness being done while using nice words as a smokescreen. It's present every place you hear someone who purports to be a Christian, but argues that there are certain parts of the Bible that should be ignored because they're just too old.

As Christians, we must learn to follow Jesus' example of noticing the Devil's influence and rejecting him, not with our own power, but through God and His righteousness. Then, the Devil will flee, for he knows he can never defeat God.