“EASY JOB”

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos

Pulpit Series Volume 20 Issue 26 October 24, 2010

Back in the 70's, Keith Green wrote a song called, “No One Believes in Me Anymore”. He subtitled it, “The Devil's Boast”. He wrote it from Satan's point of view, to open the eyes of Christians like us to the very real problems that follow when people don't believe that there is a devil. Listen to some of the lyrics:


Well, my job keeps getting easier as time keeps slipping away.

I put some truth in every lie to tickle itching ears.

I’m drawing people just like flies, ’cause they like what they hear.

Heaven’s just a state of mind, my books read on your shelf.

Have you heard that God is dead? I made that one up myself!

They’re dabbling in magic spells, they get their fortunes read.

They heard the truth, but turned away and followed me instead.

I used to have to sneak around, but now they just open their doors.

No one’s watching for my tricks, since no one believes in me anymore.



Everyone likes a winner - with my help, you’re guaranteed to win.

Hey man, you’re not a sinner - no, you’ve got the truth within.

And as your life slips by, You’ll believe the lie

that you did it on your own. But I'll be there to help

you share a dark eternal home.



I don't like to spend a lot of time talking about the devil. He and I are not on speaking terms. But the Bible mentions the word devil 61 times and satan 55 times (NT only). Jesus spoke about him from time to time, so it’s no sin for me to do it.

Jesus didn’t mince words when He spoke about Satan’s nature in John 8:44. “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

I Peter 5:8 ... Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”



We often think this is only spiritual, but you must be aware that we are surrounded by darkness.
Even next week we will be celebrating an event that recognizes that we are entering a season of darkness.

The origins of Halloween itself lay in supernatural beliefs and an ancient Celtic festival (to honor the dead) that dates back some 2,000 years. Over the course of hundreds of years, early Christianity attempted to suppress and replace the Celtic festival with ‘All Saints Day’, which was celebrated on November 1, a holy day of obligation to honor saints and martyrs in the Christian faith. But even the powerful influence of the church was unable to squelch the supernatural festival and Halloween endured and flourished over the centuries to become a multi-billion-dollar industry that comes second only to Christmas.

People celebrate darkness, scary movies, fright festivals, ghosts and goblins. Sadly today, people are not alert. They play with things such as Ouija boards and Dungeons & Dragons. Now you may think it’s only a game. Perhaps, but in 1984, just weeks

after we moved into Orangeville, Ontario, a terrible thing took place.

Monique Babineau, 9, and her brother Daniel, 11, died at the hands of an acquaintance, a juvenile whose identity remains protected under the Young Offenders Act, at St. Peter Separate School. Their lifeless bodies were found between two portables at the school. The 13-year-old killer, an altar boy at St. Timothy Roman Catholic Church and an attendee at the funeral of his two victims before he was arrested a week after the slayings, was also a fanatical Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) player.

As the new youth pastors in town, we were invited to debrief the Roman Catholic Church membership. We also effectively shut down the D&D group who were meeting in the school.

From that point on, Judi and I were used by the Lord to shut down a coven of witches who met in a nearby town. We were able to pray with their leader and he repented and received Christ.

We were also used by the PAOC to speak to thousands of young people through our “The God Of Rock N Roll” sessions. We witnessed hundreds of young people come out from the darkness to the light of Christ.

Ezekiel 28:13 “Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone [was] thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.”

One night a report was given by three witnesses, that angelic beings were in the sky over the church where we were preaching. Later we discovered that they saw these angels with swords guarding the church at the very moment 700 young people were responding to an altar call. Rockers and punkers wept, tore off their t-shirts, pulled off earrings and studs and smashed cassettes, as they knelt at the altar, in the pews, the aisles and the foyer.

Now, let’s clear the air on some facts regarding our enemy:

Satan is a created being, created by God
Satan is not Omni-anything - God is
Satan is finite - God is infinite
Satan has limits - God has none
Satan tries to hurt God by attacking our ‘faith’

Let’s expose several lies from our enemy:

Satan is not the ruler of hell
Satan hasn’t been to hell yet, but when he does go there, he won’t be king.

Here’s what the scripture tells us
Matthew 25:41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.”

Revelations 20:10 “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”

The devil is cast into hell. He will be one of those tormented with fire, right alongside all the angels who followed him. Alongside of him, there will also be every human who does not accept Christ’s death on the cross as full payment for his or her sins.

James 1:13-15 “When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; but each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.”

You don’t fish for large mouth bass the same way you’d fish for lake trout. And you don't fish for lake trout the same way you’d fish for blue marlin. You don’t use the same bait, you don’t use the same hooks, you don’t use the same rod or the same line, and you don’t use the same methods. The bottom line is the same. You are trying to make the fish think that the hook on the end of your line is something he wants to eat.

And once the fish bites, it becomes a struggle of skill and strength to reel him in.

It’s not in your power to make the fish bite the hook. No, you have to lure him….trick him….entice him….tempt him.

Some Christians never get free of that hook and Satan has them where he wants them. Their integrity compromised, their reputation destroyed, their testimony useless to the Lord.

Those are the ones who try to fight free of the hook themselves. And satan is too strong a fisherman for us to outfight.

Other Christians just surrender and let themselves be reeled in. “The devil made me do it,” is their excuse for sinning. They convince themselves that it’s not their fault.



Ephesians 6:12 “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].”

How do we get free of that hook, if we've bitten it?

We’ll take King David as an example in Psalm 51. When the Lord confronted him with his sin in the matter of Bathsheba, David might have said, “God, it’s not my fault! I didn't go looking for that woman, she was just there when I looked over the wall!”

No, he faced the issue honestly. “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.”

If you’ve been drawn in by the devil’s bait, and if you’ve got the devil’s hook in your lip, the only thing for you to do is to forget the excuses and put all the blame on yourself, where it belongs.

Confess that sin to God and renounce it. The devil didn't make you do it and he can't make you keep doing it.
What are we supposed to do about satan? First, don't worry about him, just be aware of his methods. The devil can’t lift a finger without God’s permission. He can’t harm a hair on your head without God’s permission.

God did not call the church or the saints to fight the devil. That’s His job!