It is recorded in John 8:44b of the enemy that “he was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

It seems the enemy also prefers to keep to the things he knows.

Let us look at the beginning of the Old Testament, to Genesis 3:6 where the enemy, in the guise of a serpent, has just conned Eve. He led Eve to question and doubt God as he asks in v1b “Is it so that God has said, You shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” After a quick exchange with the enemy, she was lost. v6 “And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasing to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make wise, she took of its fruit, and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.” As a result of this, here we are today, still in our fallen state, still repeating the same errors Eve made – still believing the lies.

How was Eve conned? The serpent focussed on three areas:

1) The Lust of the Flesh – “the tree was good for food”

2) The Lust of the Eyes – “it was pleasing to the eyes”

3) The Pride of Life – “to be desired to make wise”

If we move on to the beginning of the New Testament and look at Luke 4 we find Jesus, after being filled with the Holy Spirit, was led into the desert for 40 days where he was tempted by Satan. Satan tried the same ploys on Jesus:

1) The Lust of the Flesh – v3 “And the Devil said to Him, If you are the Son of God, speak to this stone that it might become bread.” But v4 “Jesus answered him, saying, It is written that “man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word of God.“

2) The Lust of the Eyes – v5 “And the Devil, leading Him up into a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time.” But then v8 ”Jesus answered and said to him, Get behind me, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only shall you serve.“

3) The Pride of Life – v9 “And he brought Him to Jerusalem and sat Him on a pinnacle of the temple and said to Him, If you are the Son of God, cast yourself down from here.” But v12 “Jesus answering said to him, It has been said, “You shall not tempt the Lord your God.”

In order that we may be made totally clear on this teaching, First John 2:15-16 clearly spell it out for us in very simple terms: “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, because all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

If we look at the world in which we live, some 2,000 years since First John 2 was written, we can see how little we have learnt. How little we have progressed. Are we still blind to how we still allow the enemy to rule over us, despite being warned of his modes of operation? These are the tried and tested means of a repetitive enemy.

One look at the internet, or any form of media advertising, or the world around us and we can see the continued repetition, but “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

Amen and Amen.