Know Your Enemy

How Satan operates

To overcome the influence of Satan in our lives and the world, we need to fully understand how he operates and why he is so hell bent on influencing the world with evil intent.

The key to winning any battle, whether on the battlefield in natural warfare or in spiritual warfare, is to study your enemy—to get to know their tactics by looking for patterns in the way they attack and defend, to allow us to get inside their heads to understand the way they think. We do this to better understand the enemy's moves so that we can go into battle well prepared, properly protected with suitable body armour, and armed with superior weapons of warfare for the battle ahead.

Before taking their teams out onto the field of play in the sports arena, coaches prepare their teams to do battle in the games ahead. To achieve this, coaching staff and players will watch and study video footage of opposition teams for hours, days, even weeks. They put their games and moves under the microscope to learn every detail of their playing style, their tactics and their strengths and weaknesses; so that they can pick their game to pieces and develop the best strategy to defeat them.

Before going to war; senior military officers, strategists and intelligence, study their enemy to learn their tactics, and gather crucial intelligence “Intel”, to ensure their fighting forces are suitably prepared to enter warfare, do battle, and win the war.

Just as sports teams and armed forces need to study their enemy to defeat them, we also need to study our enemy the devil, to defeat him as he daily sets snares and traps to catch us in sin. Satan's attacks are usually subtle and sneaky, just as he suckered Eve into eating that piece of fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil way back in the Garden of Eden. He is the master of subtlety, trickery and cunning when it comes to coaxing us into sin, so we need to be fully armed and informed about the way he operates. To understand your enemy puts you in a position to defeat him. Not knowing your enemy and how he operates, puts you in right the path of the tank to be squashed by the enemy like a bug from lack of critical knowledge and defence.

So how does Satan lure us into sin, and why does he do it?

Satan - hater of God

The reason Satan is so intent on destroying mankind is because we were made by God, for relationship with God, to love God, to be loved by God and to worship God. Satan knows that God’s greatest creation, mankind, is also His greatest love. God loves us with a love that is so deep it is beyond our understanding and Satan hates God with such intensity, he knows the best way to hurt God is to hurt us.

Satan’s mission is to steal, kill and destroy mankind and he will try every devious and subtle trick in the book to bring us down. He wrote the book on dirty tricks, lies, murder and every form of evil known to man. He is the author and inventor of every conceivable kind of perversion and depravity.

Defeating the enemy

The good news is we don’t need to live in fear of Satan or of what he can do. Satan is no match for our ALMIGHTY GOD and Heavenly Father— who looks after us and protects us every minute of every day, and gives His holy angels charge over us.

Satan cannot influence us unless we allow him to. Accordingly, we need to know how and why he operates so that being armed with this knowledge; we can stand against and defeat all of his suggestions, tricks and devices.

The scriptures clearly demonstrate that we are well able to stand against the wiles of this enemy, if we embrace and use the many weapons and defences provided for us in the Whole Armour of God.  (See Whole Armour of God pages in chapter 17 in this book).

Satan the tempter

Satan is the master of suggestion and temptation, of using our weaknesses against us, and enticing the unwary into his snares of sin and pleasure.

Satan the Fisherman

We could liken Satan to an evil fisher of men. This is the way I see, visualise and understand him.

As a recreational fisherman with a lifetime of experience in most forms of fishing—and from manufacturing a range of highly lethal fishing lures in our own business until 1997, I well understand the principles of fishing, how to catch fish, and how the principles of fishing relate to and mirror the way Satan operates.

Understanding the elements of fishing

Understanding the fishing environment and its influences

Choices of bait:  Live baits, dead baits and lures

Live bait: In fishing terms, a live-bait is generally a small to medium sized bait fish that has been caught and placed in a live bait tank to keep it alive for future use.  Live baits are generally used to bait and hook ocean-going pelagic fish which swallow bait fish whole. Once the angler is at the desired fishing ground, the bait fish is hooked through the back just under the dorsal fin, then placed in the sea to entice the targeted fish into taking the bait. Then the angler waits for the target fish to be suckered into swallowing the bait fish, thus becoming securely hooked with the hook firmly embedded in its mouth or gut.

In human terms, a live-bait being used by Satan might be a person dressed or acting in a way that excites and tempts others into impure thoughts that can lead to impure actions. A live-bait can also be a person caught by the hooks of flirtation, to be dangled in front of others in places like the office or at social occasions. If we allow ourselves to respond in kind to this type of temptation by maintaining eye contact with the bait and flirting back; it can us lead into to acts of betrayal and disloyalty to our spouse—in the case of married men and women.

Live bait is the primary bait used in the pornography industry, which dangles its live bait victims in front of internet navigators or in magazines—to hook and ensnare others into this addictive and destructive practice. These Human live baits are often hooked themselves by the deadly snares of drug addiction, lust for easy money, as well as financial desperation and despair—which can lead to hooks of self loathing and depression in the people being used as bait.  The end result is exactly the same as in ocean fishing. The live bait and the target both end up as dead victims of the skilled angler. One ends up in the belly of the target fish, and the target ends up in the belly of the angler.

It is important to understand these principles and the way Satan operates, to help us guard our responses and actions. If we are not careful, we can allow ourselves to become live baits; to be manipulated and used by the enemy, to provoke others into swallowing hooks of anger, frustration, violence and envy. This can happen when we fail to successfully use the Armour of God to fend off the enemy’s attacks, and allow our actions to bait others into sin. Conflict is often caused and enflamed by individuals baiting others with their actions and words, whether they do so consciously or unconsciously.

We have two clear choices in every situation that has the potential to make us angry or offend us

1: We can react badly by making rude comments or gestures to the person or persons causing us indignation— which will lead to further conflict, bad feelings, and negative reactions.

2: We can take a deep breath and realise we are being baited, then make a decision not to allow ourselves to take the bait. Not to become part of the enemy’s chain of baits and hooks, but instead, we can choose to respond with all humility, in a kind, understanding and gracious way.

Some examples: When we are served the wrong meal or poorly prepared food at a restaurant, when we receive bad service from a “clerk” or “receptionist”, when we are greeted at a supermarket checkout or at the bank by a less than friendly staff member, or when someone behaves in a way that offends us when we are driving on the road.

Our reaction can be to flare up, get rude, make a scene, tell the person concerned what we think of them and behave in a way that shames us. If we allow ourselves to be baited into reacting in this way, our actions will present us as live bait that will cause the person we have confronted to react negatively in return, and so the situation can escalate and get ugly.

Or, we can take a breath, smile, give a friendly wave or make a friendly comment and be gracious and kind; just as Jesus would do in the same situation.

A kind word to a person who treats us in a way that we feel is unacceptable or impolite—can make a world of difference in situations and to the person we may be offended by.  Our responses can cause conflict and hurt, or they can change lives for the better.

Who knows what kind of day the person we are offended by may have had that has made them less than happy with the world. Who knows what pain that person may be suffering because of some problem at home, at work or in a relationship, AND, who knows what effect we might have in a situation where instead of heaping more pain on that person by saying something harsh and unkind to them, (which we may feel they deserve)—we choose to speak softly to them and say, “Hey, it’s OK”. “It doesn’t matter”, and speak a kind word instead. Who knows how these kind words and responses might bring some light and hope into that person’s situation, and give us an opportunity to speak words of encouragement and life into their lives that might lead them to the Saviour?

We need to watch for, recognise and avoid live baits at all cost. We need to know and understand that the impulse to eat and consume live baits—which may be so tantalisingly and deliciously dangled in front of our eyes to tempt us—can end up hurting us and others if we allow ourselves to swallow them.  

Dead bait: In fishing terms, a dead-bait is a slice or piece of dead fish that is placed on a fish hook. The skilled fisherman will carefully sew his or her chosen hook into a succulent piece of dead bait-fish, in such a way as to hide the hook from view. When the hook is successfully concealed within the bait, all the intended victim sees is a juicy piece of meat just begging to be eaten. The target of the angler’s attention is completely unaware that hidden underneath this apparent delicacy, is a razor sharp point and barb with lethal intentions.

In human terms, dead-baits can be things, actions or attitudes; that take us away from God or lead us into sin. Some examples of dead baits are money, or more correctly; the love of money. Dead-baits can be things that distract us from God like materialism, the trappings of life, pride and selfish ambitions that cause us to focus entirely on what we want, our own success, fame, pleasure and selfish ambition. Dead baits can lead us into addictions of gambling and the lust for easy money, alcoholism, drug addiction, eating disorders, tobacco addiction and other behaviours that damage our bodies, minds and spirits.

Lures or artificial baits: In fishing terms, a lure or artificial bait is a man made bait. It is generally shaped and coloured to look like and impersonate a real bait-fish, and is designed to make it move like a real fish when being used to entice the targeted fish into swallowing it.

The action of the lure is designed to

1.  Excite the predator fish by stirring its natural aggression, in fish species that are territorial.

2.  Attract a hungry fish to strike the lure because it wants a free meal.

The territorial fish will strike a lure just because the lure is encroaching on its territory, or because the fish is spawning or about to spawn, and so it sees the lure as a threat to its eggs.

In human terms; the lures and artificial baits used by Satan to lure us away from God—are presented to us in such a way as to make them look perfectly safe and natural.  They can appear like genuine articles of food to the unwary and hungry soul, but beneath the frills and skirts of the lure there are deadly hooks hidden and ready to ensnare us.

An example of lures and artificial baits are; people in our lives that may look and sound like they are walking close to God—but in reality may not be. They may be saying some of the right things, but are also doing or saying things that are not consistent with God’s Word and His principles. We need to love and pray for such people but be careful not to associate too closely with them socially or in business—so that they don’t have the opportunity to negatively influence us in a way that might lead us to fall also.

Other examples of artificial baits are false doctrines or religions that at first glance may sound and feel like they are of God, but can lead us down a wrong path and into error. These lures can manifest themselves as religious cults, generally driven by people who have been lead astray by deceiving spirits, unhealthy doctrine or pride.  It is important to test everything that presents itself to us as being from God, with The Word of God, and then reject it if it is not consistent with God’s Word.

Here we have illustrated the principles of fishing, how to understand the natural fishing environment, the components of the fishing environment, the players involved, and the tools and devices the fisherman uses to bait, lure, catch and consume his prey.

The Good Fisherman

Jesus “The Good Shepherd,” also understood the principles of fishing. In fact we could think of Him as Jesus the Good Fisherman. We read in Mark 1:16-17 where Jesus said to Simon and his brother Andrew as He was walking beside the Sea of Galilee,  ¹⁷"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."

When Jesus instructed His disciples to become fishers of men—He meant fishing for men using the good net of the gospel of hope and eternal life in Jesus Christ. It is no surprise to me then that Jesus chose fishermen as His disciples, to catch and reach the world for the kingdom of God.  Jesus the Good Fisherman—came into the world to catch and save mankind from the clutches and hooks of Satan, to free us from the hooks of sin, and to release us into eternal life in God’s kingdom. In fishing terms we call this “Catch and release”. 

The battle for mankind

Using fishing as the perfect analogy to demonstrate the commonality of principles used in fishing and the continual spiritual battle taking place between God and Satan for the souls of men and women; here below is another very interesting correlation.

When God created mankind, we were created for relationship with Him as Father and children—and were tied to God in the perfect bonds of unity and love.  Man at this time was perfect in every way, and was the perfect reflection of God who made us in His image.  At that time mankind had unlimited access to God, because we had not yet been corrupted by sin. When Satan convinced man to sin by eating fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, our connection and lifeline to God was broken and severed—because God is Holy and He cannot look upon or countenance sin.

From that time onwards, mankind was separated from God by a gulf of sin and once the hooks of sin were firmly embedded into mankind; things got rapidly worse. The world quickly spiralled out of control as we got deeper into sin. This is because man had now taken on the nature of the evil one who had corrupted us.

From the time of the fall of man, God the Father set about reconnecting the lifeline between Himself and mankind, to reconcile us back to full relationship Him. For the next four thousand years or so, mankind, in obedience to God, attempted to tie themselves back to God through the sacrificing animals to atone for their sins. The shedding of blood as a covering for our sins was necessary during those years until God implemented His master plan to reconcile mankind back to Himself.  For man to be washed clean from sin and once again able to stand before God, there had to be a perfect sacrifice that was worthy to wash us free from the stain and contamination of sin. Only one sacrifice would ever be suitable and worthy for this, that being the sacrifice and shedding of the blood of the only begotten Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.

Finally some two thousand years ago, God sent His only Son to earth in the form of a man—but unlike the rest of mankind who are contaminated by sin at conception because we inherit our blood genes from our fathers, Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, as God placed His own DNA into the seed of the virgin Mary, who was the blessed and chosen vessel of God—to bear and carry the Son of God into the world as a mortal man. While Jesus, God’s Son, was now housed in an earthy human body, he was absolutely sinless. He was uncontaminated by sin, because His Father is God. Thus Jesus became the second Adam, the second sinless man to enter the world.

Until a suitable sacrifice was made for mankind that was holy and worthy to cleanse man from sin, we were still contaminated by sin and separated from God.

When Jesus went to the cross of Calvary to take upon himself the sins of the world, and the penalty and punishment for our sins, His life blood which He freely shed for us completely cleansed us from all sin. When we ask the Father to forgive us in Jesus name, we are washed clean in the precious blood of His son.

At that moment in time when Jesus was beaten and killed by mankind, His blood became the knot or bond, that ties us back to full relationship with our Father and Creator.

This is so perfectly demonstrated in that beautiful Hymn, ‘Nothing but the Blood of Jesus’.

What can wash away my sin?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

What can make me whole again?  Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

Oh, precious is the flow; that makes me white as snow.

No other fount I know; nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my pardon this I see, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

For my cleansing this my plea, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Nothing can for sin atone, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Naught of good that I have done, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my hope and peace, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

This is all my righteousness, nothing but the blood of Jesus.

Why this truth is so closely related to one important aspect of fishing is because—when we are fishing and our line breaks; the broken line needs to be replaced or repaired to make it long enough to reach the seabed. In the world of fishing there is only one knot that is suitable for joining new line to old line; that will be strong enough to withstand the stresses put on the knot and line during fishing.  A compact knot having super strength is required for this job, and no other will do. A knot that is virtually as strong as the line itself. There is only one knot with these qualities and characteristics and it is no surprise that this knot is called ‘The Blood Knot’.

In life; there is no stronger human tie than the ties and bonds of blood. We even have a saying for it, ‘Blood is thicker than water’, meaning; if it comes to a choice between siding with someone who is not a blood relative and someone who is, the blood relative will almost always get first consideration. Blood is the knot that binds families together.

So also is the shed blood of Christ. His blood alone is the only knot that can tie us back to our Creator because absolutely NOTHING else in heaven or on earth can cleanse us from all sin and reconnect mankind back to God the Father.

Just as in fishing where the Blood Knot is the only knot suitable for reconciling and repairing the fishing line, so that once again it can reach the seabed and the food source; so also the Blood of Christ is the knot that binds and restores us back to our creator God, who is the true source of life and power for mankind.

What can tie me back to God?  Nothing but the Blood of Jesus!

Only the Blood of Jesus can make us completely clean, whiter than snow and worthy to stand before the Father. Truly the Blood of Jesus is the tie-that-binds, and nothing else will do.

The really interesting thing about Jesus—‘The Good Fisher of Men’—is that unlike Satan who uses lines of lies to attach his hooks of evil intent, the fishing line that Jesus uses to catch and save mankind from sin is the line of self sacrifice and pure love which has no hooks.

The evil fisherman

When Satan fishes for mankind, his goal is to see us gutted, filet-ed, sliced, diced and in his frying pan. He is a master at fishing and his intended catch is the souls of men and women. There is no limit to how far he will go to try and lead us astray and destroy us, and He will use every conceivable hook and bait imaginable to entice us into sin, to see if his baits taste as good as they look.

BUT! No matter how juicy and succulent his baits might seem, underneath are hidden razor sharp hooks with painful and deadly barbs. Just like a fish in the natural world, when we bite into Satan’s tempting baits and lures, we experience momentary pleasure followed by guilt, remorse, self-loathing, suffering, fear and panic—as we fight to get free from Satan’s hooks and the line of sin. We need to be ever vigilant and careful of his ways because if we continue to fall for the same hooks over and over again—it can lead us into habitual sin and we can ultimately end up in Satan’s frying pan.

The bigger the fish, the larger and more tempting the baits or lures he will use to entice us with, so no one is immune to his hooks if we don’t constantly guard and protect ourselves. Once again, this is where the Whole Armour of God comes into play, because Satan’s hooks and barbs cannot penetrate the armour of the person who knows how to use it and prayerfully wears it every day.

Satan will use every device imaginable to try and keep us hooked and secured in sin. Just as the natural fisherman has a huge array of equipment and hooks at his disposal to suit every fishing situation, Satan also has a huge variety of hooks, baits and lures at his disposal as illustrated below.

Satan’s Tackle—Hooks, Baits and Lures

Understanding the various kinds of hooks and bait Satan uses.

He baits us with temptation, money, material things, lusts of the flesh, circumstances, the actions of others, you name it. In turn, if we allow ourselves to react and take his bait, our actions and reactions often become the baits he uses for others to react to, swallow and become hooked by. See some examples below.  

Stupidity hooks: Where Satan baits us into doing dumb or inconsiderate things that may cause others to swallow ANGRY HOOKS.  Example: Careless driving causing offense to other drivers. This can make them angry and bait them to swear, give impolite gestures, and can even result in acts of road rage and violence.

Anger Hooks: Things that make us flare up, respond in anger and say or do things that hurt others. These negative reactions from us present us as live baits to others that can bait them into reacting angrily in return, thus perpetuating the cycle of anger that can escalate out of control.

Selfish Hooks: Things that tempt us to act selfishly, that are likely to bait and hook others into feelings of anger and negative responses. Some examples are:

Wanting to be first at any cost, and forgetting our manners; such as grabbing the biggest or best, and putting ourselves above the needs of others. Always wanting to be first in the food queue, bank or airport lines—where we may give in to the temptation to push in and queue jump. Another good example is vehicle drivers who queue jump from selfish motives. The selfish driver is the person who pushes in front of others in traffic, or change lanes dangerously, and weaves in and out of lanes of traffic to get somewhere a couple of minutes faster. This behaviour; baits and causes other road users into eating anger and resentment hooks; that can result in the offended party becoming angry, venting, cussing, and giving rude gestures. It can also lead to the baited and offended driver serving the offender with a different kind of hook. A right hook, also known as a knuckle sandwich.

Mean Hooks: The mean hook can manifest in many ways and is a first cousin of the selfish hook. It is the hook that baits and encourages us to be mean in spirit, mean with our money, possessions, our time, and in our generosity to man and God. The mean hook causes our pockets to grow longer and our arms to grow shorter—so that we can never reach the money and resources in our pockets that might bless others. Sadly, many among us that fall foul of this hook may never discover the pure joy that we experience when we give to others, and put their needs ahead of ourselves and our own selfish interests.

Manifestation of the mean hook in our lives may also be revealed in our attitude toward giving to God, who owns everything and blesses us with his provision. Until we learn to honour God with our first fruits and tithes, we will never fully experience God’s Blessing and provision in our lives. This concept is best revealed in God’s word in Malachi 3:10  ¹⁰ Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.

Our hearts are usually controlled by the things in our lives that are most precious to us. “Where your treasure is there your heart will be also”—Matthew 6:21. If our money, wealth and possessions are the most important things in our lives, it will be revealed in our attitude toward God and those in need around us. A tight fisted person who ignores the genuine needs of people when they are able to help—misses out on the joy that comes from blessing others. This is something we can only begin to understand as we start to practice generosity to God and our fellow man. We will also fail to receive the full blessings of God’s provision in our lives until we begin to bring the first fruits of our labour and income to the storehouse of God, and honour Him with our tithes and with a willing and generous heart. It was not until we personally discover this concept and put it into action that we will truly open our lives to the miraculous provision of God.

God loves a generous heart: When we learn to honour God with our obedience and our finances, and put Him ahead of our own interests and priorities, He is faithful to honour us with his blessings of provision in our lives. Simply put, we cannot out-give God. He doesn’t need our money; He only wants our hearts, our love and our obedience, by learning to put Him first in our lives. When we do that, and learn to trust in God; He is faithful to honour us and provide all of our needs. His word says so—and God cannot lie. Try it! Believe it! And put Him to the test!  He will never let us down. He is Jehovah Jireh, God Who Provides.

God has called us to be generous givers—generous in heart and in spirit.  His word confirms it, again and again. 

2 Corinthians 9:10-12

¹⁰ Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown And increase the fruits of your righteousness,

¹¹ while you are enriched in everything for all liberality, which causes thanksgiving through us to God.

 ¹² For the administration of this service not only supplies the needs of the saints, but also is abounding through many thanksgivings to God.  

²⁴ One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. Proverbs 11:24  

⁶Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.  2 Corinthians 9:6

Measured against eternity, our lives are but a vapour. They are so very short, as is our grip on the things we possess. As I have mentioned already that we come into this world naked and with nothing, then soon enough leave the world with no more than a cheap suit and a wooden overcoat.  We can take absolutely nothing with us when we go, but we can store up treasure in heaven; by our actions and by our generosity toward our fellow man and God while we are here.

When we see the joy that our giving brings to those in need, their joy spills over into our lives and does something truly wonderful inside us. This is God’s love and provision at work.

If we become reservoirs for wealth and God’s blessings but have no outlet, our lives will become stagnant and will not support life for ourselves or others. This is true in the natural world, where water provides life to the world and to ALL forms of life. If a lake or reservoir has no outlets or rivers, it stagnates and over time it will cease to support life. The Dead Sea is a perfect example of this. It has no natural outlet, so over time the water of the Dead Sea has absorbed the salt, minerals and chemicals from the lake bed and has become so toxic it cannot support life.  A healthy lake that supports life is a lake with outlets to feed and irrigate the country around it. In doing so it releases the minerals it has absorbed up as it flows outward. The out-flowing rivers of the lake carry the water of life to support fish, plant life, animals, humans and all living things downstream of the lake.

How does God provide for our needs? Through other people! Just like a river, God has created us to be the arms and tributaries of His provision into the lives of those around us.  Into the lives of those who depend on us, those we do business with, and those we are led to give to under God’s direction.

How do we know when to give to others? Sometimes by the prompting and urging of the Holy Spirit as He directs us, and sometimes by just having our eyes, ears and hearts open, to recognise those in need combined with the ability to do something about meeting those needs.

In God’s economy, God’s is the lake of life and the source of all our provision. We who are His children—are the rivers and tributaries of His blessing and, like all rivers; we are meant to be open-ended. A river is not a river unless it flows freely and channels the blessing of water downstream. We are not designed to stop up the outflow of God’s blessing in our lives and keep it all for ourselves, but to be channels for God’s blessing. Each one of us is a small part of God’s river of provision; designed and destined to absorb and store what we need for our own lives and channel the excess of God’s blessing on to others further downstream. Just as those members of the river above us have channelled blessings into our lives and we feed from that provision, we are designed to channel God’s provision on to those downstream of us.

When God blesses us with finances and other good things in our lives, it can be for our own blessing. But sometimes when God blesses us with provision and wealth He has someone else in mind for us to bless.  To be efficient channels for God’s blessings, we need to have generous hearts, ears that are open to the voice of the Holy Spirit and a willingness to bless others as we receive blessings from our Heavenly Father.

Indifference Hooks: Seeing others in need or in pain—then being baited to ignore their need and pretend we don’t notice by looking the other way.

Lust Hooks: These hooks generally come with live baits attached.  See live-baits and how they work in Chapter 16.

Envy / Covetous Hooks: See dead-baits in chapter 16.

Pride Hooks: These hooks like to tickle or inflate our egos, make us think we are larger than life and think we are better than others. They fill us with false pride, arrogance and feelings of superiority. This was the sin that reduced Lucifer from the most powerful angel in Heaven, into the deceiver and destroyer we now know as Satan.

Dishonesty Hooks: Garnished with dead-baits that encourage us to take what is not ours. One example is: Being baited by the enemy to take something from our employer, and listening to his lie when he says, “it’s OK… it’s just a perk of the job”.  Another more subtle example is; illegally downloading or copying the intellectual property and artistic works of other people like music, movies, software and video games. Many people don’t see illegal downloading or copying of intellectual property as theft because they are not stealing something tangible—just a bunch of ones and zeros, the binary code that all digital data is created and transmitted in. Satan uses our desire to get something for free to participate in this behaviour, and then he heaps condemnation on us when we do it. At the end of the day there is no free lunch in life, and we need to understand that this behaviour is theft, it is sin, and we know what the wages of sin are if we persist in it.

Lazy Hooks: Used with dead baits that may entice us to sponge off the hard work of others and not pull our weight. This in turn presents us as live baits to the people we sponge off because our actions, or rather our inactions, cause offense to the people in our lives who work hard and feel unappreciated—because of our lack of concern for them and willingness to sit back and watch them work. Lazy hooks are a major factor in broken marriages and relationships, in being terminated from employment, and/or—being overlooked for promotion.

Greed Hooks: Garnished with your classic dead baits. The greed hook can be accompanied by a whole family of hooks including the selfish hook, the covetous hook, the gambling hook and the disrespect hook. The greed hook is the one that says, “I don’t care about anyone else, I want it all for myself, and I don’t care how I get it”. Once swallowed, the greed hook presents us as live baits, to bait those who our greed affects; with hooks of resentment.  Being greedy, and being seen to be greedy; causes a bunch of negative responses in those around us. The greedy hook can have a very negative effect on our relationships with people.

Disobedience Hooks: Used with dead baits like pride, anger and disrespect that, if swallowed, presents us as live baits and encourages us to disobey parents and those in authority over us. More importantly they encourage us into disobedience against God when we are tempted by sin; then wilfully and deliberately decide to take the bait anyway. This is when sin really has the potential to become embedded deep inside in us and get a firm grip on our lives. This can advance us from a casual taster of some act of disobedience in a moment of weakness, on to a full blown addiction.

Disrespect Hooks: Swallowing this hook influences us to dishonour people in our lives that deserve our respect. Our acts of disrespect presents us as live baits to those we have disrespected and can cause them to act negatively toward us.

Hate Hooks: (Also see Forgive & Forget in chapter 5). These hooks are used in conjunction with hooks of unforgiveness and are garnished with baits marinated in the toxin of hate. Hate hooks are extremely destructive to those that swallow them and to those the hate is directed against if they are aware of it. The hate hook can make a person emotionally unbalanced, cause them to act irrationally, and lead them down a path of destruction. The hate hook can cause the cancer of bitterness to enter our lives and our bodies. In a television documentary I watched a number of years ago, research scientists discovered that when a person is consumed with hate, their body releases carcinogenic toxins into their blood streams that can literally cause cancer. This hook can cause physical and spiritual forms of cancer that eat away at our body and soul and will consume us if we allow it to take hold in our lives. Hatred can eat away at us without the object of our hatred even knowing or caring that we hate them. There are many scriptures that warn us about the toxic hooks of hatred—which are always accompanied by the hooks of unforgiveness. If we have issues with hatred and unforgiveness, we need to get rid of them and quickly because they will destroy our lives if we don’t.

Here is what the bible says about anger, hatred and unforgiveness.

Ephesians 4:26 ²⁶"In your anger do not sin" Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry.

Matthew 6:9-13 ⁹"This, then, is how you should pray:" 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, ¹⁰your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  ¹¹Give us today our daily bread. ¹²Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ¹³And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.

Mark 11:25-26 ²⁵ “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

 ²⁶ But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

As discussed in the chapter on Forgive and Forget, we see in God’s Word that unless we forgive others who have offended us, God cannot forgive us our sins.

Unforgiveness is a weight that is too heavy to carry. It will crush us unless we bring and give it to God, learn to forgive those that have hurt us; then ask God to forgive us for harbouring the sin of unforgiveness and ask Him to help forgive, forget and move on. Learning to forgive is like lancing a boil.  It can be difficult—but brings a wonderful release as we allow the poison to drain from our lives and let all of our past hurts go by handing them over to God.

Retaliation Hooks: This hook, having been garnished with a juicy bait; is the one we might choose to have for desert after having swallowed our fill of grudge, hate and unforgiveness hooks. The Retaliation Hook (AKA the Vengeance Hook) is believed by the world to be a dish that is best served cold, but the truth is that this is a dish which is best not served at all. Vengeance delivered by the act of retaliation is seriously destructive and harmful to us. While it is Satan’s nature and by extension; human nature, to mete out acts of vengeance or payback to make ourselves feel better for some wrong caused to us—all it does is damage us. This is why God instructs us in His word not to involve ourselves in acts of vengeance but instead to forgive and move on.

Romans 12:19 ¹⁹ Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord.

There are some very good reasons why God instructs us not to retaliate and commit acts of vengeance. Beside the fact that vengeance can quickly escalate out of control and people can get hurt or worse, acts of vengeance resulting from unforgiveness damages us emotionally and spiritually—and drives a wedge between us and God. Vengeance can also result in further acts of retaliation, reciprocated by those we decide to deliver some pay back to, and can quickly spin out of control with serious consequences.

Addiction Hooks: Used with dead-baits or live baits, addiction hooks bite deep and may need to be surgically removed by the Holy Spirit. Addiction hooks come in a multitude of forms including: Smoking, drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography, and a host of other addictive products, behaviours and activities. When we realise we have problems caused by addictions that hurt us, and can hurt those around us, we may need to think about getting some counselling from someone who can provide support without judging us. This can include support from a person or agency that is qualified to provide assistance—such as church leaders or counsellors, and/or suitable government or health agencies.

The first step to recovery is to recognise we have a problem. Then of course we must actually want to do something about it and get free from it, want to be free from it more than our love for the addiction that binds us— then take positive steps to get help. If we found ourselves in this situation our first port of call should be to cry out to our Heavenly Father in true repentance and brokenness, and ask for Him for forgiveness and to cleanse us in the blood of His Son Jesus Christ.

Also go to the ‘Whole Armour of God’ pages in this book to see how it works and how applying the armour of God to our lives makes the difference between failure and overcoming. Know also that if we are in this situation—it probably took a while for us to get into the broken condition we are in, and it may take some time to get complete victory over addictions in our lives.

Above all, we need to PRAY, PRAY, PRAY, and immerse ourselves in the Word of God. Ask God for help to overcome addiction and sin by putting on the armour of God—with the power of the Holy Spirit as He gives us strength from within.

Gossip Hooks: These hooks are seriously nasty and are real destroyers. They come baited with juicy bits of information and malicious communications that cause immense damage in people’s lives. Satan just loves the hooks of gossip, which result in character assassination, and can destroy reputations. Gossip causes deep wounds that can lead to despair in the lives of those being gossiped about. It is also the best friend of the idle person with too much time on their hands and too little love and compassion in their hearts.

I am sure most of us have heard the old saying: “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” - “This could not be further from the truth”.

Gossip is like a snake’s venom, it is nasty, toxic, goes straight to the heart of the victim, and can literally kill people. It can cause the victims of gossip such levels of pain that it can drive them to despair, mental illness and can even result in suicide. It is evil, it comes straight from the heart of Satan, and it ruins the lives of its victims.

Gossip is one of Satan’s favourite devices to destroy lives, and the main delivery system of Gossip is one of the most evil, dangerous and nasty little weapons of all: The human tongue. The unbridled tongue is so perfectly summed up in James 3:6.

And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell.

Here is what God says about Gossip:

²⁷ An ungodly man digs up evil, And it is on his lips like a burning fire. Proverbs 16:27  

⁵ Whoever secretly slanders his neighbour, Him I will destroy; The one who has a haughty look and a proud heart, Him I will not endure. Psalm 101:5

⁸ The words of a talebearer (Gossiper) are like tasty trifles, And they go down into the inmost body. Proverbs 18:8

¹¹ Do not speak evil of one another, brethren. He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. James 4:11  

Gossip can be spread by word of mouth, mail, email, blog-sites, bulletin boards, the media and all other forms of communication. If we have been—or are currently involved in the destructive sin of gossip and have not asked God to forgive us for it—we need to immediately repent, ask God to help us not to gossip, then vow to bridle our tongues and not involve ourselves in it again. We may also need to swallow some big chunks of humble pie and mend some bridges by asking those we have gossiped about for their forgiveness, and by telling them we are truly sorry for any pain we might have caused them. The true act of genuine heart-felt repentance and an apology can bring healing to those who have been wounded by gossip.

Distraction Hooks: These hooks can be garnished with live baits, dead baits, or lures. Satan will use anything he can to keep us from reading the word of God, from prayer, from church, from fulfilling our commitments and obligations, and from realising our dreams and potential. Distraction hooks can come in the form of people, television, video games, the internet, a telephone call at the wrong time, sports or anything else that distracts us from building into our relationship with God and our families.

Satan is the master of distraction and if we allow ourselves to be hooked and led astray by distraction, he will have achieved his goal. If he can distract us from prayer and/or reading God’s Word, we will have made his day. Satan knows that if he can regularly distract us from prayer and the Word of God; we will become spiritually weaker and will quickly lose the power to defeat him when he comes tempting.

More than anything else; Satan wants to distract and rob us of our prayer lives and reading God’s Word, which is our primary source of power to defeat the enemy and temptation. Accordingly, it is a good idea remove ourselves from potential distractions during our prayer times and devotions—by going into a quiet room, unplugging the telephone and turning off the TV, radio, and anything else that might distract us from spending quality time in prayer and in the Word of God.

Distractions of trivia:

Another of Satan’s favourite hooks of distraction is to sidetrack us into trivial things that simply don’t matter. These could be things we may think are important and get all fired up about, that don’t even register in God’s mind. These distractions can manifest as dogmatic interpretations of things in scripture, like prophesy concerning future events and our interpretation of them that have little or no affect on our lives or on our relationship with God.  All that really matters is that we PLAN our lives as though our Lord is not back coming in our lifetime so that we don't stop living, planning and building for the future—and yet LIVE our lives close to God as if we believe He will come today.

Another common distraction of trivia is; concerning ourselves over what other people wear to church, as if God even cares about such unimportant things. What God really cares about is what is in our hearts and our attitudes toward Him, and not about our outward appearance, provided we are dressed modestly and inoffensively.

Other distractions of trivia can come in the form of arguments by Christians over the timing and order of the events in the bible. One example of this is discussions surrounding the order and timing of events in the Great Tribulation as revealed in the book of Revelation. Christians can get all hot and passionate in debates on this topic or other similar subjects as if having knowledge of the exact timing of these events is even possible—or actually matters in terms of our walk and relationship with God. All that really matters is that we are walking close to God, we are living victorious overcoming lives that glorify Him—and that we have a passion about sharing the love of Christ with the world. All of our impassioned arguments on the minutiae of scripture are a complete waste of time and energy and distract us from what really matters, being effective fishers of men, and winning souls for Christ and His Kingdom.  If we live in holiness and close to God we will be prepared for whatever the future holds for us, regardless of the differences some of us may have in our interpretation of end time events.

If Satan can distract us from having an effective prayer life, from reading and meditating on God’s Word—and can fill our minds with a load of unimportant trivia that steals our time and distracts us from the really important issues—like sharing the gospel and message of Christ to a lost world, he will have achieved everything he set out to do. That being: to silence us and make us ineffective witnesses for Christ if we allow him to.

Fear Hooks: Another hook used with dead-baits, and one of the enemy’s favourites.

Satan has devised hooks of fear for every occasion including: fear of heights, open spaces, confined spaces, death, life, failure, poverty, rejection, spiders, insects, water and fear of the dark—just to name a few. If you can imagine it, Satan has devised a phobia hook for it.

We are talking about the kind of fear that can paralyse us into inactivity, and the fear of trying something good and life building in case we fail. We see examples of this every day, and I am sure most of us know someone who is so fearful of flying; even in a passenger aircraft operated by reputable airlines—who never travel anywhere that they cannot get to by road, rail or ship. Truth be known, statistically we are far more likely to die crossing a road or in a motor vehicle than in a commercial aircraft.

There are two things in life that are absolutely inevitable and immutable. Those being: Death and taxes. So not flying for fear of dying as a result of plane crash, achieves absolutely nothing because we are all destined to die from the moment we are born. This is not morbid thinking; it is just a natural fact of life because our lives are finite. It is not a matter of if we will die, but how, when and where. Using this principle of thinking, I realise that no matter what, at my current age, my earthy sojourn will be over in the next 20 – 40 years or so and I will then be in the best place of all, in Heaven, worshiping my God with the angels, and with many of my friends and family.

It doesn’t matter how we get there, just that we do. And once we are there, who would ever want to come back? Like most people, I am not looking forward to the final journey, but I sure am looking forward to the destination. God’s Word tells us that Heaven is wonderful beyond our ability to comprehend. Here again is one of my favourite scriptures which confirms this promise.

⁹ But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man, The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

The hope, promise and awesome assurance in this inspired Word of God provides us with incredible peace, comfort, and something to look forward to when our earthly race is complete.

If we listen to fear, it can rob us of our destiny and of amazing achievements in life

It can rob us of successes in business, sports, writing, painting, works of art, music, inventions and in every other field of human endeavour. If we try something and fail, it is better than never having tried at all. If we try and fail we learn valuable lessons from the experience that show us where we went wrong—so that if we try again we may well succeed the next time or the time after that.

Here are some of the greatest heroes of TRYING and TRYING and TRYING and of never giving in to the fear of failure.

One of my favourite examples of never giving up is Henry Ford, the inventor of assembly line production. Did Henry give up trying to succeed in business and on his dreams of success after his first failed attempt—or his second failed attempt—or his third? No!  Henry Ford, who was one of the world’s most successful businessmen and innovators, went broke FIVE TIMES before he finally succeeded and forever changed the world. Henry Ford revolutionised industry; by giving the world the first affordable production line motor vehicle. So affordable were they, that it is said that two out of every cars sold in the world during those times had the Ford name on them.

Winston Churchill failed sixth grade. He was subsequently defeated in every election for public office until he became Prime Minister at the age of 62, and he later wrote;

"Never give in; never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never, Never, Never, Never give up."

This attitude of never giving up or never giving in to fear reveals his indomitable spirit—which he demonstrated during WW2 when he delivered this historical speech during the darkest period in human history.

We shall fight them on the beaches. (extract)

June 4th 1940

"... I have, myself, full confidence that if all do their duty, if nothing is neglected, and if the best arrangements are made, as they are being made, we shall prove ourselves once again able to defend our Island home, to ride out the storm of war, and to outlive the menace of tyranny, if necessary for years, if necessary alone.

At any rate, that is what we are going to try to do. That is the resolve of His Majesty's Government-every man of them. That is the will of Parliament and the nation.

The British Empire and the French Republic, linked together in their cause and in their need, will defend to the death their native soil, aiding each other like good comrades to the utmost of their strength.

Even though large tracts of Europe and many old and famous States have fallen or may fall into the grip of the Gestapo and all the odious apparatus of Nazi rule, we shall not flag or fail.

We shall go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old.

Abraham Lincoln in his early years was a grand failure. As a young man he went to war with the rank of captain, and came home as a private. He failed in business and as a Lawyer in Springfield. He then tried politics and was defeated in his first try for the legislature. He was defeated again on his first attempt to be nominated for congress, and again in his application to be commissioner of the General Land Office, and in the senatorial election of 1854. He was defeated again when he stood for the vice-presidency in 1856, and again in the senatorial election of 1858. Around that time he wrote in a letter to a friend, "I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human family, there would not be one cheerful face on the earth." Soon after this as the history books reveal, Abraham Lincoln went on to become one of the most successful and noted presidents in the United States, by guiding his nation through one of the darkest and most critical periods in US history, the US Civil War.

Thomas Edison's teachers said he was "too stupid to learn anything." He was fired from his first two jobs for being "non-productive." As an inventor, Edison made 1,000 unsuccessful attempts at inventing the light bulb. When a reporter asked, "How did it feel to fail 1,000 times?" Edison replied, "I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps."

Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because it was said; "he lacked imagination and had no good ideas." He failed in his early attempts at business and went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland. Initially the proposed park was rejected by the city of Anaheim on the grounds that it would only attract riffraff.

Daniel Boone was once asked by a reporter if he had ever been lost in the wilderness. Boone thought for a moment and replied, "No, but I was once bewildered for about three days."

F. W. Woolworth was not allowed to wait on customers when he worked in a dry goods store because, his boss said, "he didn't have enough sense."

Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team. Jordan once observed, "I've failed over and over again in my life. That is why I succeed."

There are two kinds of fear:

1: The good / healthy kind of fear.

2: The bad kind that Satan uses to rob us of our potential and enjoyment of life.

The Bible mentions two specific types of fear. The first type is beneficial and is to be encouraged. The second type is a detriment and is to be overcome. The first type of fear is the fear of the Lord. This type of fear does not necessarily mean to be afraid of something. Rather, it is a reverential awe of God, a reverence for His power and glory. However, it is also a proper respect for His wrath and anger. In other words, the fear of the Lord is a total acknowledgement of all that God is which comes through knowing Him and His attributes.

Fear of the Lord brings with it many blessings and benefits.  It is the beginning of wisdom and leads to good understanding Psalm 111:10. Only fools despise wisdom and discipline Proverbs 1:7. Furthermore, fear of the Lord leads to life, rest, peace, and contentment Proverbs 19:23. It is the fountain and life Proverbs 14:27 and provides a security and a place of safety for us Proverbs 14:26.  

In these scriptures we see how a reverential fear of God is healthy and should be encouraged.

The second type of fear mentioned in the Bible is not beneficial at all. This is the “spirit of fear” mentioned in 2 Timothy 1:7: 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (NKJV).

A spirit of fearfulness and timidity does not come from God, and yet sometimes we become afraid and are overcome by a “spirit of fear”. To overcome our fears—we need to trust in God completely and know that He will never allow us to be tested beyond our capability.

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love” 1 John 4:18.

No one is perfect and God knows this. That is why He has liberally sprinkled encouragement against fear throughout the Bible. Beginning in the book of Genesis and continuing throughout the book of Revelation, God reminds us to “Fear not.”

Isaiah 41:10 encourages us:  

¹⁰ Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’  (NKJV)

Often we fear the future and what will become of us but Jesus reminds us that God cares for the birds of the air, so how much more will He provide for His children?

³¹ Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows. Matthew 10:31. (NKJV)

Just these few verses cover many different types of fear. God tells us not to be afraid of being alone, of being too weak, of not being heard, of lacking physical necessities. These encouragements and admonishments continue throughout the Bible covering the many different aspects of the “spirit of fear.”

In Psalm 56:11 the psalmist writes, In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid.  What can man do to me?   (NKJV)

This is an awesome testimony to the power of trusting in God. Regardless of what happens, the psalmist will trust in God because he knows and understands the power of God. The key to overcoming fear, then, is total and complete trust in God. Trusting God is a refusal to give in to fear. It is a turning to God even in the darkest times and trusting Him to make things right. This trust comes from knowing God and knowing that He is good. As Job said when he was experiencing some of the most difficult trials recorded in the Bible,

¹⁵ Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him.  Job 13:15 (NKJV)

Once we have learned to put our trust in God, we will no longer be afraid of the things that come against us. We will be like the psalmist who said with confidence,

But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy, because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name Be joyful in You. Psalm 5:11: (NKJV)

Negative Hook: The negative hook is the best friend of the fear hook, because misery loves company. The negative hook distorts our view of the world so that everything we see in life is a negative image of the life we could enjoy. The negative hook will cause us to wallow in self pity, find fault with everything and prevent us from finding joy and happiness in the positive side of life. I know, or have known, people who are never happy. Who find fault in almost everything and some even seem to find a kind of perverse happiness in their misery.

For me, a healthy approach to life is; ‘Every day above ground is a great day’.

How we speak is so important to our view of the world and our lives. If we allow negative thoughts to come into our minds and negative words to go out from our mouths, our words will become self fulfilled prophesy, and we will become what we speak. If we say we will be a failure and useless, we will be. If we say we cannot do something, we won’t. If we say we are accident prone and a klutz, we almost certainly become what we say and live in defeat.

If we have negative thoughts and speak negative words from habit, we need to change our mindset and determine to only speak positive things. To only allow positive thoughts into our minds and reject the negative. Once this becomes a habit it will revolutionise our lives and the way we interact with others, and our positive attitude will rub off on and influence others by encouraging them. We can defeat the negative hooks of the devil that would keep us in failure and misery—by being positive in everything we say and everything we do.  Just like oil and water, negative does not mix with positive, so as we practice positive thinking, positive speaking and positive actions, negativity will run from us and will cease to be an influence in our lives.

Practice positive thinking and speaking into every situation. Speak only positive words that build into the lives of those around us including our siblings, friends, children, workmates, parents and everyone we meet in everyday life. Never tell yourself, or others, that they are useless or hopeless, because these are words of destruction that can rob people of their self belief, abilities, and potential.

If we fail, then we pick ourselves up and try again knowing that we learned something from the failed attempt, that will lead us to succeed the second time, or third time, or tenth time—just like Thomas Edison who tried a thousand times to invent the light bulb, before he finally succeeded and delivered one of the most important inventions to mankind.

Negative thinking, attitudes and words are a danger to our dreams, and our mental and spiritual well being, so we need to be very careful not to put ourselves in the path of the negative hook. This may mean we need to distance ourselves from situations and maybe certain people who are a negative influence in our lives. It is not a case of rejecting friends or people; but of rejecting the negative influences they bring into our lives that can harm us, and rob us of our God given abilities and destinies if we allow them to.  Although we may need to separate ourselves for a season, from negative people or influences, we still need to love them, pray for them and ask God to deliver them from a spirit of negativity—so that He can help them become positive and reach their full potential in life.

Doubt Hooks: The doubt hook is without doubt one of Satan’s best loved hooks to bait us away from God and rob us of His promises for our lives. Doubt is one of the most dangerous hooks in Satan’s arsenal of hooks. We need to remember that this was the very hook Satan used to bring down the whole of mankind—to rob us of relationship with God and to rob us of the gift of eternal life He created us for.  How did he do this?  With the hook of doubt!

In Genesis 3 we read: ¹ Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?”

² And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden;

³ but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”

⁴ Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.

⁵ For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” (NKJV)

This one lie of Satan to Eve—the mother of mankind, introduced the hook of doubt that led to the sin and fall of man—corrupting the entire human race from that moment on, resulting in all of the misery and pain in the world since that time.

Doubt is the tool Satan uses to make us doubt our abilities, our self belief and all of the promises of God. If we listen to the lies of the devil and buy into his seeds of doubt—it can rob us of our peace, our trust in God, and of achieving all of the potential that God has placed within us.

What is the delivery system Satan uses to hook people with seeds of doubt?

Doubt is such a powerful tool in Satan’s arsenal it requires only a very small hook, baited with the small seeds of doubt.  

How does doubt come?  

By the quiet and cunning voice of Satan as he whispers words of doubt into our ears and minds. He does this by trying to make us doubt the promises, commandments, and the integrity of God as recorded in His Word.

If God says something, it is absolute and you can take that to the bank because ‘God is Truth, and God cannot lie’.

If we hear a voice that casts doubt on the promises and/or spoken Word of God or the integrity of God; it is a lie of Satan. ‘Satan cannot tell the truth’, ‘He is a liar and the father of liars’.

He casts doubt through the words of people around us, as he uses them to cast doubt on God’s promises or our abilities and/or potential.

He casts doubt through the trials and circumstances of life—that test us to make us strong and build character within us unless we choose to believe Satan’s lies of doubt.

How do we defeat his lies of doubt? With the Word of God!  

We see how powerful the hook of doubt is in the hands of the enemy if we listen to him and allow him to influence us with his lies. The way to beat him when he comes with words and thoughts of doubt is to speak the promises and Word of God into every doubt and every situation.

The key to defeating the enemy when he baits us with hooks of doubt is by becoming familiar with the Word of God, and keeping it in our hearts for future use. Then as Satan comes with hooks of doubt we can defeat him by speaking God’s word—The Sword of the Spirit to cut down the enemy and reject his seeds of doubt. (See the whole armour of God in chapter 17)  

The Word of God tells us if we have faith the size of mustard seed, we can move mountains. How do we get faith to believe God for all of His promises and to overcome in all areas of our lives, including faith to defeat doubt?

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17 (NKJV) 

The guilt trip after the sin:

Once Satan has used all of his powers of suggestion and persuasion to convince us to sin, he then lays the guilt trip from hell on us for doing exactly what he suggested in the first place. After he convinces us to sin, He accuses us of hypocrisy, tells us we aren’t good enough for God and does his best to make us shrink away from God because of our feelings of unworthiness, weakness and failure.

Satan the impossible taskmaster:

We can see that Satan is an impossible taskmaster because he works tirelessly to convince us to sin and then condemns us to ourselves and before God for doing so. Playing the sin game is a game we cannot win and has the same end as a thermo-nuclear war. It is a war with no winners, where all of the combatants lose. We cannot win playing Satan’s games so the only way to win is—by not playing the game at all.  

Getting righteously angry:

When we begin to understand what we are up against, that Satan knows he is heading for hell and wants to take as many of us with him as he can to hurt God, we should feel a sense of righteous anger at the realisation of how he tries to play us like a fish. This knowledge should help to galvanise us into action, and gives us the resolve not to play his game. It should motivate us do an about face, turn to God in repentance, ask Him for help us and take up and use the very powerful resources God has placed at our disposal to overcome our enemy.

If we have allowed ourselves to wander down a path of pleasure by sin, including harmful addictions and habitual sins, the place to start a full recovery from sin and break free from Satan’s influence in our lives—is at the foot of the cross of Christ.  Here we can lay all of our sins and failures at the feet of our Saviour in full and complete repentance. We need to come to the throne of Grace in real heartfelt brokenness and humility before God, to realise we need Him and His help to set us free from bondage to sin, then turn away from sin and determine not to continue living in sin.

Then as we study what the Word of God has to say about the whole armour of God and apply it to our lives—our enemy the devil will cease to influence us.

Our defence and weapons of warfare:

When the tempter comes knocking and whispering in our ears, we need to be well prepared. If we take up the whole armour of God and use it correctly, we can withstand anything the devil might throw at us. We need to embrace the armour and weapons of warfare God has freely given to us, wear them every minute of every day and become highly skilled in their use. All that we need to achieve these skills is the determination and self-discipline to take and use them—then practice, practice, practice to become a skilled master in their use.

Let’s pray together

Loving Heavenly Father,

We thank You that though we are weak and prone to falling into sin and disobedience, we also know that if we put our faith and trust in You to overcome the enemy, You are faithful and just to keep us from all sin.

We thank You that according to YOUR WORD in 1 Corinthians 10:13, You are faithful, and will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able—but with the temptation you will always make a way of escape for us that we may be able to bear it.

We pray that You will help us to use and become highly skilled with the weapons of warfare and armour you have freely gifted to us in the whole armour of God and that by doing so, we will be more than able withstand all of the tricks, and temptations of the enemy in our daily lives.