Quiet Talks by Samuel Dickey: Gordon, Samuel Dickey - Quiet Talks About the Tempter: 052. How He Came

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Quiet Talks by Samuel Dickey: Gordon, Samuel Dickey - Quiet Talks About the Tempter: 052. How He Came



TOPIC: Gordon, Samuel Dickey - Quiet Talks About the Tempter (Other Topics in this Collection)
SUBJECT: 052. How He Came

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How He Came

Please note three points as to how he came. He came under cover; he used somebody else, or something else; he worked in disguise. That is immensely suggestive. Was he afraid to come out into the open? I think he was. Is he afraid? I have no doubt of it. Satan, coming plainly as he is, with the light we have, would be booted out most times, and with no easy booting either. And so he comes under cover. It is his favourite way of working, under cover. He came through a serpent, through an animal. And mark you this, he got the very best he could; and he always does. The animal he used was the subtlest there was in the whole animal creation.

The word "subtlest" suggests this: not what it means to us sometimes—craftiness—not that; but mental keenness, if I may use the word "mental" for an animal. That is the thought of the word "subtle"—mental, intellectual keenness and acumen. He got the best there was, and behind that came his snaky, sneaky, crafty foot-tread; and he is still coming. He is the keen man who will find out how to detect Satan's disguises.

Then he made his attack through the body; and this again is immensely suggestive. The suggestion to Eve came through a perfectly natural bodily appetite, the desire for good food, something tasty and toothsome. Through that he came to her. And if you will mark very keenly again, it is one of his favourite modes. He came, and he comes through the body; through a purely natural, normal function of the body, the desire for food, the desire for drink. He still works through the natural functions of the body. You quickly think what they are, all in themselves perfectly right when held to their true uses.

And then having gotten into the body he comes through bodily weakness, through disarrangements of bodily functions. Through excess in the use of the body he can come in, and he does. And I think to-day he is having a very wide sway among men through his bodily approach, far more than we guess. And far more than we guess, too, there is deliverance from him in our bodies through our Victor, Jesus Christ.

Then he came through the mind. Indeed, he came to the mind to reach the body. Of course he spoke to Eve; he could not touch her body except through her consent. But he tempted and confused Eve mentally, got her ideas mixed up, put in false thoughts and wrong thoughts and wrong ideas, and half truths. He confused her mentally and so confused her morally, and so got the consent of her will to his own will. And I may say here just this, the whole thing he is driving at is to get the control of our will. But he cannot without our consent. Every man is a sovereign in his will. Every man stands alone in imperial solitude in the realm of his will. And so Satan tries to affect that, to control it.

He still works through our mind. He can cast on your mental vision disturbing, distorting, and startling thoughts. He does; and following that, he affects the whole mental life marvellously, far more than we suspect I do not mean just now simply those who have been taken to insane asylums. Without doubt in large measure he is responsible for their condition, though always through their consent. Everything is through human consent. But the devil cannot use these folks very much. They have gone too far. He is far more concerned to influence mentally us folks who are reckoned to be sane. He is working upon our mental condition, seeking to confuse, and distort, and swing us away. Remember this, that just as there is far more victory in our bodies through Jesus Christ our Saviour than many of us know, so there is far more victory in the matter of clear minds, and quiet minds, and minds strong for the service of life, through the Lord Jesus Christ, on the ground of His blood, than we have guessed.

And so these are the three ways he came: under cover, through the body, through the mind.