The devil wants, more than anything, for me and you, and everyone else for that matter, to be lost.  That is why the Bible tells us that he spends his time walking about seeking whom he can devour (1 Peter 5:8).  Because he wants everyone to be lost, there are certain things he does not want us to do.  Let us consider three of them tonight.

• He Does Not Want Us to Obey the Gospel.

If you happen to be reading this and you are not a Christian, Satan wants you to stay that way.  He knows you are lost and heading toward a hell that was prepared for him and his angels (Matthew 25:41).  That is not a place you ever have to experience; however, to avoid it you must obey the gospel of Christ.  The gospel is God’s power unto salvation (Romans 1:16), and it is the only way God calls people into His spiritual family (2 Thessalonians 2:14).  For all who do not obey the gospel, only destruction of all well-being awaits.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-9 (ESV)
⁷ and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels ⁸ in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. ⁹ They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might,

If you want to know how to obey the gospel, read these passages (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; Romans 10:10).  The devil does not want you to believe what the Bible teaches.  He does not want you anywhere near a Bible because he knows that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17), and without faith, it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).  Do not be influenced by Satan.  Obey the gospel and become a child of God before it is too late.  Now, most of you reading this are probably Christians.   What does the devil not want you to do?

• He Does Not Want Us Teaching Others the Gospel.

The devil knows that the only way to produce Christians is to preach the gospel. Paul acknowledged this in Romans 10.

Romans 10:14 (ESV)
¹⁴ How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

The devil knows the answer to this question, and we should too.  If God’s children are not willing to preach the gospel to the lost, they will never come to know Jesus and will be eternally lost.  The last thing the devil wants to see is Christians who are willing to spread the Word.

• He Does Not Want Us Teaching Our Children the Gospel

God’s plan has always been for His people to teach their children about Him (Deuteronomy 6:4-15; 2 Timothy 3:14-15).  When they failed to do this, disaster happened (Judges 2:6-12; Hosea 4:6).  Our first obligation, before trying to save the world, is to help the Lord save our children.  The devil realizes that if we are not concerned about the spiritual well-being of our own household, it is unlikely that we will ever do any damage to his cause in the world.  Let us not be cooperative with him.  Let us do the very thing that Satan does not want us to do the most, that is, spread the saving gospel to as many people as we can, and let us start at home

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