Satan’s Nightmare #2

I want to continue the message on Satan’s Nightmare: In the book of Isaiah Chapter 29, in v. 7 and 8 the Lord talks about what will happen if the enemy comes against His people: He says that it will be like a dream of a night vision when a person dreams that they are eating food as they have gone to bed hungry and wake up hungry or when they go to bed thirsty and dream that they are drinking but wake up thirsty. God says that this is what the enemy will feel: they will have a dream about destroying His people but it will become a nightmare. It will never happen. This will be the same for you: Satan has a plan against your life and he thinks that it will become a reality but he is sadly mistaken, as his dream will become a nightmare.

In Acts 27 and 28, the word talks about some events in the life of Paul as he was in chains, bound for Rome on board a ship, in the midst of a great storm. I am sure that Satan was ‘licking his chops" expecting the worst for Paul: that he and the others on board would be drowned. Satan was terrified of Paul arriving in Rome, knowing how God had used him in the past. Remember when the seven sons of Sceva came to a man who was possessed by demons and wanted to cast them out in the Name of Jesus who Paul preached (Acts 19 verse 13). The demons said "Jesus I know and Paul I know but who are ye?"(verse15) Here Paul was mentioned in the same sentence as Jesus! What a reputation that Paul had! We can see why the enemy was worried about how God would use Paul in Rome. He had a dream that Paul would never make it to Rome, but his dream soon became a nightmare. An angel of the Lord appeared to Paul and encouraged him (verse24). Paul already had a promise from the Lord that he had to preach about him in Rome (Acts 23 verse 11). All the angel did was to remind Paul of God’s promise. Maybe this is all that you need today: God has made promises to you and the only one that can stop them is you! Focus on the promise, not the "dream" or plan that Satan has in front of you. When you do this Satan’s dream will become a nightmare! If God gave you a promise you have to remember that "no weapon formed against you shall ever prosper" and "if God be for you who can be against you?" Hold on to these promises! Paul and all the others escaped safely to land and landed on an island call Melita. Here Satan tried again to stop Paul as a snake bit him, but Paul just shook it off. Just shake off what the enemy is trying to do and keep going ahead in the direction that God gave you. In Acts, 8 v. 30 and 31 Satan’s dream really became a nightmare as Paul was no longer a prisoner but had his own rented house and testified about Jesus to all who came. Satan couldn’t stop Paul from being where God sent him, nor can he do so with you!

In 2 Chronicles 14 verse 9 the word says that 1,300,000 men came against God’s people. Satan sure had a dream for God’s people but Asa the king cried out to the LORD saying that He can save by using many or few, that they are resting on Him and His Name and that He is God an the enemy are mere men! (verse 11) God answered by destroying the enemy and giving His people their spoils (verse 12, 13).

In Ezekiel Chapter 16, the Lord paints a picture of us before we got saved: in verse 5 He says that nobody felt compassion on us and we were cast out into an open field, when we were born. The devil had a dream to kill us before we got saved, but Jesus protected us. Jesus says in verse 6 that when He came to save us He asked us if we wanted to live and we said Yes! We then became "born again." We then came into the family of God! Satan’s dream for us really became his greatest nightmare.

In Luke Chapter 4 verse 1-13 it is recorded that Satan had a marvelous plan for Jesus but of course, it became a nightmare: Satan tried to get Him out of the will of His Father by several temptations: Satan tried to get Jesus to change stones into bread, jump off the pinnacle of the temple and bow down to him. Each time Jesus resisted Satan with the word of God and eventually he had to flee. Jesus then went to His hometown and went in the synagogue to preach and the people really received Him until He prophesized from the book of Isaiah about the Messiah and said that He was the One (verse 18-21). They were so angry that they wanted to push Him of a cliff but because He walked in love and we know that love never fails, He just walked past them. They could not touch Him because of the barrier of love between Him and them. Satan’s dream to have Jesus killed by people in His own hometown failed miserably because Jesus walked in love.

In the garden of Gethsemane as recorded in Luke 22 verse 39-45, Jesus was tempted again by Satan to not follow His Father’s will but He resisted to such an extent that He sweat great drops of blood. I believe Satan wanted to put such pressure on Jesus that He would die, but again, his dream became a nightmare as Jesus turned His will over to the Father and was strengthened to fulfill His course. Let Jesus strengthen you right now to resist Satan’s plan or dream for your life and fulfill God’s course for your life. This is the only way for God to turn Satan’s dream for your life into a nightmare.