The devil is our greatest adversary. He wants to separate us from God and destroy our souls. We should know that this is his aim and that he will do everything in his limited power to make that happen. So, what does the devil want us to do? Let me suggest three things to you.

• He Wants You to Forsake the Assembling of the Saints.

Satan knows that God has commanded us to assemble, and anything that God wants us to do, you can be sure, the devil does not want us to do it. He knows that forsaking the command to assemble is to sin. I wish more brethren could see what the devil sees. Many brethren believe that they can habitually forsake the assembling of the saints, and God does not care anything about it. However, God does care.

Hebrews 10:24-25 (ESV)
²⁴ And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.

The word “forsaking” means “to leave behind, abandon or desert” (Strong). A person who becomes a deserter in the army is forever known as one who is selfish, untrustworthy, and even cowardly. Is that the way you want to be viewed spiritually? When you forsake the assembling of the saints, you are not only deserting Christ, you are also deserting your fellow soldiers in Christ. You are letting everybody down except the devil. You are even letting yourself down because our assemblings are, by God’s design, one of the greatest sources of edification that we have. No wonder the devil does not want us to assemble to worship God. The question is, “are we going to do what the devil wants?

• He Wants You to Communicate with Corruption.

It continues to amaze me that Christians cannot see the harm in associating with sin. Paul said, “Be not deceived: evil communications corrupt good manners” (1 Cor 15:33). Any consistent contact with evil, whether it be people, things or even doctrines, is harmful to the Christian’s conduct. The devil understands this. He wants us to keep company with evil; and frequent places that are swarming with sin and crowded with corruption; He wants us to indoctrinate ourselves with teachings that are contrary to the gospel of Christ because he knows that ultimately they will ruin our souls. Let us not give the devil what he wants by doing what he wants us to do. Instead, let us remember the words of Psalms 1:1. “Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners…”

• He Wants You to Engage in Gossip.

Few things have hurt the church more than gossip. The devil knows that the world is going to run down Christians. He knows that the false religions we expose with the Word are going to spread lies about us. However, when he can get Christians to run down other Christians, that must bring him great delight. Every time you or I talk badly about a brother or sister in Christ, regardless of the circumstances, we are playing right into the devil’s hands (Ecclesiastes 10:12; Proverbs 18:7; Ephesians 4:29; Colossians 4:6). It can potentially harm the church, our brethren, our families, etc., and it puts us in the precarious position of doing exactly what the devil wants us to do.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.