IF I WERE SATAN PART #2



I. NEHEMIAH AS AN EXAMPLE:
A. We are so blessed to have a book in the Bible that tells us exactly how Satan works.
We don’t have to guess what he is up to.
1) The book of Nehemiah tells the story of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem.
2) Nehemiah and the people came to Jerusalem with a clear mandate from God.
3) They said, "Let us arise and rebuild" for they "had a mind to work" (Nehemiah
2:20).
B. As is always the case, when:
1) God’s people have a mind to work: Satan has a mind to wreck;
2) When God’s people seek to build; Satan seeks to tear down.
C. In the New Testament age when churches begin to grow because people have a mind
to work and evangelize, Satan gets nervous and begins to throw his fiery darts at us
in an effort to discourage us.
D. The Grant County church has grown considerably in the last two plus years.
E. If I were Satan, I would have my eye on the Grant County church of Christ.
F. I would be trying to stop her love, unity, soul-winning efforts and growth.
G. Let us notice some of the “darts” that Satan threw at the people of Nehemiah’s day
and be ever aware that he could use the same ones to destroy this church as well.
H. If I were Satan here’s what I would throw at Grant County church of Christ.

II. The Dart of Discouragement:
A. Nehemiah’s enemies laughed and made fun of their efforts to do the Lord’s work.
“Even if a fox were to go up against those walls they would fall” (Nehemiahs 4:3).
B. Even the builders said, “There’s too much rubbish and we cannot finish the walls”
(Nehemiah 4:10).
C. Discouragement is one of the Devil’s favorite and most effective tools.
D. If he can get us down, he can destroy us.

III. The Dart of Danger:
A. In Nehemiah 4:11 the adversaries said, “You will not know when or where we’ll
strike to destroy and kill you.”
B. Satan uses the threat of harm to get people to stop doing the Lord’s work.

IV. The Dart of Discord:
A. The devil delights when God’s people “fight among themselves.”
B. His plan is to “divide and conquer.”
C. Satan is tenacious and if one dart doesn’t work, he’ll try another.
D. He sows discord among the brethren to distract from our mission.
E. Proverbs 6:16-19 God hates those who sow discord among the brethren!

V. The Dart of Distraction:
A. When their enemies saw that they were not winning, they offered negotiation.
B. They invited Nehemiah to “come down to the plains of Ono” and talk.
C. But Nehemiah knew their motive was mischief (Nehemiah 6:1-4).
D. We can’t stop God’s work to negotiate with sinful people in or out of the
brotherhood, nor can we compromise with them.
E. Romans 14 teaches that we are to be tolerant of weaker brethren, but not to the point
of stopping the work of the church!

VI. The Dart of Defamation:
A. Sometimes if one can’t be in control of the work of the church, the next step is to
embarrass or defame the leader.
B. The enemy sent a letter to the King in which they used rumor and innuendo to
slander Nehemiah and cause the people to lose respect for him.
C. Slander and rumor have ruined many good preachers and elders in an effort to stop
them from accomplishing God’s work!

VII. The Dart of Deception:
A. A false prophet who claimed to be Nehemiah’s friend with a message from God
said, “Go in the temple and lock yourself in,” but Nehemiah knew that he was
working the enemy because what he said did not square with the word of God.
B. That part of the temple was reserved only for the priest and Nehemiah was not a
priest.

CONCLUSION:
1. If I were Satan, I would be bombarding the Grant County church with these and other
fiery darts of destruction.
2. Let us ever be on guard and heed the warning given by the Apostle Paul to the church
in Ephesus. “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in
among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up,
speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves” (Acts 20:29-30).