the devil aint what he use to be

Everything we need to know about the devil is recorded in our Bible, despite all this, some folks are still ignorant.  Some church going folks think God and the devil share equal power.  Some don’t know where the devil came from, they think he always was, just like God.  When people are ignorant concerning the devil they assign him some power he just does not have. 
 
Isaiah 54:16 I have created the smith that blows the coals in the fire, and that brings forth an instrument for his work: and I have created the waster that destroys.
 
Isaiah the prophet gives us an explanation of the devil’s existence.  God created the devil but he began as an angel, he thought he was equal to God and it cost him his place in heaven and his identification.  When the angel lucifer was kicked out of heaven he became satan, the devil.  The nature of lucifer is wrath and revenge, he has never forgiven God and he never will.  He cannot touch God so he targets those created in His image, us born-again Christians.  The devil is out to destroy everything good and put fear in the hearts of God’s people. 
 
2 Timothy 1:7 God has not given us the spirit of fear: He gave us the Spirit of power, love and a sound mind.
 
God created an angel that became a fearful creature but He did not give us this creature to torment us.  If you read Isaiah carefully you will perceive God offering an explanation of His plan that went awry.  If you continue to read you will see our Lord taking care of all this, He did not saddle us with a problem He created.  The devil used a snake to deceive Adam’s wife but we can’t really blame the devil because Adam had dominion over all creeping things.  God gave Adam a prophetic promise, He would deal with the devil and make restoration with all His creation.
 
Hebrews 2:14 Jesus became a human being just like Adam, that through His death He would destroy the devil who had the power of death.
 
The devil figured that if he could crucify Jesus, His Father would have to curse Him and send Him to hell.  With the Son of God out of the way the devil would have free reign over mankind for all eternity.  But on the third day the Holy Ghost raised Jesus from the dead, sealing the devil’s fate forever.  When Jesus rose from the dead He spoiled principalities, in other words He disarmed the devil.  Now things are back to where they began, now we have dominion over creeps and every demon.
 
The devil is no big deal.
 
Why should we regard the devil as if he has power?  The devil and all his plans are destroyed, so why think he can do something to separate you from God.  The devil doesn’t even warrant a thought, he is like a bad dream, it comes and goes and we assign it no importance.  The devil is not important enough to listen to, what can we possibly gain from a committed liar.  The devil relies on attention in order to promote himself just like all phonies.  If the devil can’t get you to pay attention to him, he will sulk away and come back later because he aint what he use to be. 

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