From the Palace to the Pit | Part 1

From the Love Word Finding studios in Memphis, Tennessee, I'm Byron Tyler, here with Kerry Vaughn, the CEO of Love Word Finding. Kerry, today Adrian Rogers brings us a message from the palace to the pit. You know, our war is not against flesh and blood. You and I have talked about this before. We wage war against the evil force behind it all, Satan. Absolutely. And here in Ezekiel, this is a different story.

It's one from riches to rags. And so God created this beautiful being and he chose not to follow Christ. Yeah, I'm glad you emphasized the fact that God created a beautiful being because, you know, God didn't create the devil. It was by choice the devil decided to rebel against God. And he gives us the same choice, right?

I mean, people today have the same choice whether to call him savior or to call him judge. Well, the devil is the chief terrorist who divides. He depresses the devil. He depresses and he destroys. And I like what Adrian Rogers says, Satan sells a sinking ship.

He rules a doomed domain. There's coming that final glorious day when Jesus will come and put his bruised heel upon Satan's head. Satan's headed to the pit.

He's headed to the pit. And so we must be sober. We must be vigilant because our adversary, who we're talking about right now, the devil, is going around like a roaring lion seeking and looking to whom he may devour, right? And so we must be on guard 24-7.

That's right. We need to be on guard. Well, we appreciate so much our listeners all over the world who write love we're finding and let us know what's on your heart, how the ministry is touching your life.

We have a response from Facebook and that's one way that you can let us know through Facebook. You can go to our website. You can go to LWF.org. But this listener says, Pastor Rogers, one of the greatest teachers and preacher of the Word of God. Thank you for these faithful messages from a faithful speaker.

They have been very encouraging to my life and have strengthened me in my weakness. LWF is a blessing. Amen. We love that. We love it.

Send us more of those types of responses. That's a blessing to us. Absolutely. That's wonderful.

But you're right. I think LWF.org, everything is at your fingertips. Take advantage of that.

We have a resource at our website we want to tell you about too. It's called His Story. It's a wonderful book about Jesus. It's about Jesus' life in a new way.

All of the messages from our Easter sermons and even plus some. So you're getting a lot there in His Story book. Great book. Take advantage of it. From the covenant to the cross to the crown. You'll love it. And now from the palace to the pit.

Here's Adrian Rogers. We'll read that Old Testament passage. Turn to chapter 28 and verse 8. They shall bring thee down to the pit, and thou shalt die the deaths of them that are slain in the midst of the seas. Now this scripture that I just read to you was talking about the king of Tyre, who lived high, wide, and handsome, had a lavish marble and cedar palace. And yet he went from the palace to the pit.

And God takes the king of Tyre and uses him as an illustration of Satan himself. Now, ladies and gentlemen, we are at war and it is a bigger war than we realize. Our war is not primarily or only against terrorism. Our war is not a political war. Our war is not a philosophical war.

Our war is not a cultural war as such. Therefore, our great enemy is not terrorism. It is not pornography. It is not liquor. It is not drugs. Not violence. Not sexual perversion. Not abortion.

All of these things are terrible. But unless you see the power behind them all, behind all modern day terrorism, behind all of these cultural and philosophical problems, you're not going to win the war. Your enemy, lady, is not your husband. Sir, your enemy is not your boss or your in-laws, not the IRS. There is a kingdom.

Listen carefully. There is a kingdom of evil. It is headed up by Satan and he is the power.

The power behind the throne. Now, Satan is not some medieval superstition. You cannot, as a child of God, afford ignorance. You need to be informed there is a kingdom of evil.

And we need to understand that we are citizens of another kingdom and that we have victory day by day if we will appropriate it. But we are living in this day and age in what the Bible calls hell's headquarters. Listen to Revelation chapter 2 verse 13. God said to the church at Pergamos, I know thy works and where thou dwellest, even where Satan's seat, literally where Satan's throne is. Now, we live in a world that is dominated by a kingdom of evil that has a king.

Jesus called him in the Bible in John 14 verse 30, the prince of this world. That's what Jesus calls Satan, the prince of this world. There is a kingdom of evil. Now, the king of ancient Tyre that we see described here in Ezekiel 28 is used in the Bible as an illustration of Satan himself. And as you read Ezekiel 28, you find God speaking to the king of ancient Tyre, a wicked malevolent terrorist king. But God goes right on through the king of Tyre and God addresses Satan himself who has the power behind the throne. Now, in the Bible, you'll often find God speaking through something or someone to the devil. For example, in the Garden of Eden, God spoke to the serpent, but it was really speaking to Satan. When Simon Peter said to Jesus, you're not going to the cross. Jesus was speaking to the cross. He was speaking to Simon, but really to Satan when he said, get thee behind me, Satan, for thou savoureth not the things that are of God. Sometimes God takes an individual or a thing and sees the power behind that thing and speaks to Satan himself. Now, that's what God has done here in this 28th chapter of Ezekiel. So, what we're going to do is we're going to look at Satan himself, the power behind terrorism, and we're going to see what we are.

We're going to see what we are really up against because we'll never win the war until we see where the true enemy is. Now, there is a system of iniquity. The Bible calls it the mystery of iniquity. There are four things out of this passage here in Ezekiel chapter 28 that I want to lay upon your heart. Many more things, but four things I want you to see about the devil himself. You may think that it doesn't involve you, but you are a target of a sinister enemy. He is your personal enemy and don't think that you can afford neutrality and ignorance is dangerous.

Four things I lay on your heart. First of all, Satan was created in perfection. Satan was created in perfection. People ask this question, why did God ever make the devil to begin with? Friend, God did not create a devil. Satan, who became the devil, was created in perfection. Look, if you will, now beginning in verse 11. He was a perfect in beauty.

Today, we would say he was a perfect ten. He seals up the sum, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. Thou has been in Eden, the garden of God. Now, right away, we know he was not talking about the little king of Tyre because the king of Tyre was not full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

The king of Tyre had never been in Eden, the garden of God. Every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, and the barrel, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold. The workmanship of thy tabrets and thy pipes was prepared in thee from the day thou wast created.

This tells us that Satan was a created being. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth, and I have sent thee so. Thou wast upon the holy mountain of God. Thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire.

Now, the king of Tyre never did all of that himself, so God is speaking through the king of Tyre to someone else. But now notice verse 15. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day thou wast created till iniquity was found in thee. Now, verse 15 tells us that Satan was the noblest, the most beautiful of angelic creation. Satan was surpassing in beauty. He was superlative in wisdom.

Originally, his name was Lucifer, which means light bearer. Verse 13 teaches that when Satan spoke, it was like music. His voice was like a great pipe organ. Look in the last part of that verse.

And thy pipes were prepared in thee from the day thou wast created. When he would speak, he would fill the universe with music. He lived in a jeweled city that is adorned with precious gems. What he's talking about here is heaven. There was a time when this created being dwelt in a place called heaven. Verse 14 tells us he was on the holy mountain. A mountain in the Bible speaks of God's government. The mountain of God speaks of the administrative authority that this one had.

He was the chief of the chief. He was the prime minister of heaven. Verse 14 tells us that he was a cherub. The cherubim were the highest of the created angels.

He was the highest class of angels. And verse 14 tells us that he was the chief among them. He was the anointed cherub that covers.

He was the one who was the leader of the leaders. He was the highest of the high. Verse 18, look in verse 18, it speaks of his sanctuaries.

Thou has defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities. A sanctuary is a place of praise. This anointed cherub, this one, the highest of the high, this one full of wisdom and beauty, was a person who would receive and offer praise to the almighty. He was like the high priest of heaven.

And it was his responsibility to orchestrate the worship and the praise to God the Father. But remember that he was a created being. Never get the idea that Satan somehow was co-equal and co-eternal with God. Satan had a beginning. He was created by almighty God. God did not create a devil. God created a perfect being. Absolutely, totally perfect. So the first thing I want you to learn about this sinister minister of evil is that he was created in perfection.

Got it? Now here's the second thing. Not only was he created in perfection, but number two, he was corrupted through pride. He was corrupted through pride. Now look again in verse 15. Thou wast perfect in thy ways.

See, God did not create imperfection. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created till, underscore the word till, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned. Therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God. I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, and thou hast corrupted thy wisdom because of thy brightness. I will cast thee to the ground. I will lay thee before kings that they may behold thee. Now here was this Lucifer, this son of the morning, who is absolutely beautiful, wise, having all of the attributes and accouterments that God could give to him. But then he was infected with pride. He came to believe, I'm too good, I'm too wise, I'm too holy, I'm too great to be anything less than God.

The counterpart of this passage is found in Isaiah chapter 14, where the Bible says that he was lifted up with pride and said, I will be like the most high. Now look at the word merchandise in verse 16. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence. What is merchandise? Merchandise is that which passes through our hands.

A merchant is something that takes something from somebody and sells it to somebody else. This merchandise comes through his hands. Now Satan made merchandise of his office. All of this praise that was coming, it was coming only to him that it might go through him and up to God himself. But what he began to do was to put his hands on that merchandise and to try to let that merchandise stick to his own fingers. And he made merchandise of his office.

And because of that, he fell from his exalted position. Look, if you will, in verse 17. Thy merchandise is lifted up because of thy beauty. Thy heart was lifted up because of thy beauty. Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness.

Now get it down plain because some people stumble over this fact. God did not create a devil. He created a holy angel. And he gave that angel the power of choice between good and evil. And this angel chose to do evil. God gives everybody a power of choice. If we had no choice, we could neither be praised for doing good or blamed for doing evil. This angel had a choice.

And because of pride, he chose wrong. And Lucifer, the son of the morning became Satan, the father of night. And verse 17 tells us that his wisdom and his beauty are corrupted. But now listen carefully.

Corrupted or not, traces of them still remain. So when you think of the devil, don't think of some repulsive monster, some scaly beast. The Bible tells us that he is a master of camouflage and he has been transformed as an angel of light. Put this verse in your margin. 2 Corinthians 11, verses 14 and 15. Here's what the apostle Paul says. He's warning them about false prophets.

And here's what he says. And no marvel for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness whose end shall be according to their works. Now Satan is like an angel, an angel of light. If Satan were to appear in this building as an angel of light, you would be tempted to fall down and worship him. And Satan has his emissaries, his ministers. When you look for the devil, never fail to look in the pulpit. Paul says he's talking about false prophets. And he says he's transformed himself as an angel of light.

And so it's no strange thing if his ministers also be that way, be transformed as the ministers of righteousness. You see, the devil is not against religion. The devil is up to his ears in religion. He is the master of camouflage and Satan works through music.

Satan works through art, through literature. He is brilliant, but he's brilliantly stupid. He is beautiful, but he is hideously beautiful. And he has blemished beauty.

He has warped wisdom. Let me tell you some of the attributes of the devil with this blemished beauty and this warped wisdom. The Bible describes him in Genesis as more subtle than any beast of the field. The apostle Paul called him an angel of light. The apostle Paul spoke of his wiles and his snares and his devices.

Sometimes a person may be very religious and very iniquitous at the same time. Do you know what the first temptation was in the Garden of Eden? The devil in the form of a serpent tempted Eve to sin, but what was the crux of the temptation?

What was underneath the temptation? Eve, do this and you'll be like God. He didn't say you'd be like a devil. You'd be like God.

That sounds pretty good, doesn't it? It wasn't a temptation to fall down. It was a temptation to rise up, to be like God. Just do it my way.

Forsake what God the Father has said and listen to me. You have your own homemade religion. See, the devil is into this thing of worship. The devil even wanted the Lord Jesus to worship him.

That's the unmitigated gall and audacity that the devil has. He said to Jesus when he showed him the kingdom of this world, he said, all this I'll give you if you will bow down and worship me. Jesus knew the Scripture. Jesus said, of course not. The Scripture says, thou shalt worship the Lord God and him only. This world is full of religious deception. You say, pastor, then that proves the Bible not to be true.

No, it proves the Bible to be true. 1 Timothy chapter 4 verse 1. Now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to what? Seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, doctrines of demons. The devil transforms himself as an angel of light.

Satan was created in perfection. Satan was corrupted through pride. By the way, nothing will put you further out of the devil's reach than genuine humility. And the Bible tells us when we ordain a new minister, be careful that he's not a novice, lest he be lifted up with pride and fall under the condemnation of the devil. Nothing will put a preacher more out of the reach of Satan than genuine humility. Sometimes we pray, Lord, make me humble. Well, friend, if you're wise, you will humble yourself before almighty God. God has ways of making you humble, and you probably will not making you humble, and you probably.

Third thing I want to lay upon your heart. Satan continues with power. Now God says that I'm going to cast you out of this holy place. Look, if you will, in verse 17.

Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty. Thou hast corrupted thy wisdom because of thy brightness. I will cast thee to the ground. Satan is cast out of heaven. No sooner had he unsheathed his sword of rebellion than the power of almighty God cast him from his holy place from the holy place from the holy mountain. Jesus said, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Jesus was there when it happened. This was eons before Bethlehem when Satan fell.

But even though he's been cast out of heaven, by the express permission of God, Satan continues with power. Look, if you will, in verses 16 through 18. By the multitude of thy merchandise, they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned. Therefore, I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God and will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.

That is, you're no longer going to walk up and down here in this holy place. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, and thou hast corrupted thy wisdom because of thy brightness. I will cast thee to the ground. I will lay thee before kings that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities and by the iniquity of thy traffic. Therefore, will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, and it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. Now, here God is speaking of a process that begins with Satan's being cast out of heaven and finally brought down to hell. But in the meanwhile, Satan still has power. You want to know what's wrong with the world today?

There is a reign of terror, and Satan is the master and chief. And we'll hear the conclusion of this message coming up tomorrow on the program. I hope you can join us then. Do you have a prayer request you'd like to share? At Love Worth Finding, it's one of our greatest honors to come alongside you and pray with you. If you can, go to our website homepage at lwf.org and scroll down to find our prayer wall. There you'll find the option to either submit a prayer request or pray for others. This resource is one of our favorite ways to keep the ministry and the community praying continually for one another's needs. We can't wait to hear from you today. 1 Peter 5 says, be sober, be vigilant, your adversary the devil goeth about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. Remember, as Adrian Rogers warns us, the devil's wisdom is corrupt, his beauty blemished. Be sober and vigilant today and join us next time for the powerful conclusion of From the Palace to the Pit right here on Love Worth Finding.