For more than two centuries, George Whitefield has been considered the most brilliant and popular preacher the modern world has ever known. He began preaching at an early age of 22, and his voice startled England like a trumpet blast. He boldly preached the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith and was attacked by clergy, the press, and even mobs. Most of his preaching was in the open air to crowds of 20 to 30,000 people. Yet for all his popularity and impact, he remained a man of humility and deep spirituality. He died at the age of 55 and had preached an estimated 30,000 sermons. His penetrating comments are as wise and relevant today as they were when he first preached them. His sermons have been consistently recognized, and their usefulness and impact have continued to the present day, even in the outdated English of the author's own day. Why, then, should expositions already so successful and of such stature and proven usefulness require adaptation, revision, rewrite, or even editing? The answer is obvious. To increase its usefulness to today's audience, the language in which it was originally written needs updating. Though his sermons have served other generations well, just as they were preached in the 18th century, they still could be lost to present and future generations simply because, to them, the language is neither readily nor fully understandable. My goal, however, has not been to reduce the original writing to the vernacular of our day. It is designed primarily for you who desire to listen in the language of our own time. Only obviously archaic terminology and passages obscured by expressions not totally familiar in our day have been revised. However, neither Whitefield's meaning nor intent has been tampered with. Satan's Schemes by George Whitefield In order that Satan might not outwit us, for we are not unaware of his schemes. 2 Corinthians 2 verse 11 These words were spoken by the Apostle Paul to the church of Corinth. In that church there was an unhappy person, one who had committed the sin of incest, and of a kind that does not even occur among pagans. the man had taken his father's wife, but either on account of his wealth, power, or for some other reason, like many notorious offenders today, he had not been exposed to the discipline of the Church. The Apostle Paul, therefore, in his first epistle severely reprimands the Church for this neglect of discipline and commands them, when you are assembled in the name of our Lord Jesus, and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord. That is, they should solemnly excommunicate him, which back then was commonly followed by some bodily disease. The Corinthians, being obedient to the apostle, as soon as they received this reproof, like dear children, submitted to it and cast the offending party out of the church. But while they were endeavoring to amend one fault, they unhappily ran into another. And as they had formerly been too mild and negligent, so now they behaved towards him with too much severity and resentment. The apostle therefore in this chapter reproves this and tells them that the punishment inflicted on him by the majority is sufficient for him, that he now had suffered enough, and that therefore, lest he should be tempted to say with Cain, my punishment is more than I can bear, therefore forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. Now that he had given proof of his repentance, you now needed to forgive him, to confirm your love towards him and to restore him in the spirit of meekness, in order that Satan, who is trying to tempt him to despair, might not outwit us.

Satan wants the church to be unforgiving and to be the vehicle that drives a repentant sinner to despair, thereby representing you, the church, as being merciless and cruel. and to cause the holy name of Christ to be blasphemed by which you are called.

For we are not unaware of his schemes. We know very well how many subtle ways Satan has to distract and deceive unguarded and unthinking men. Thus, as Satan has many schemes, and as his quiver is full of other poisonous darts, besides those which he shoots at us to drive us to despair, I shall this morning discuss the following.

First, I will briefly attempt to help you understand who Satan is. Secondly, I will point out to you the principal schemes he generally uses to lead astray new converts to Christ and also prescribe some remedies against them.

First, who is Satan? The word Satan in its original definition means an adversary, and in its general understanding is used to point out to us the chief of the devils, who was found guilty of trying to raise his throne above the stars of God and for trying to make himself equal to the Most High.

For this great sin he was cast out of heaven and is now permitted with the rest of his demons in high places to prowl around the earth, like roaring lions looking for men and women to devour and destroy.

We hear of Satan immediately after the creation, when in the form of a serpent he lays in wait to deceive our first parents. He is called Satan in the book of Job, where we are told that, one day, The angels came to present themselves before the Lord and Satan also came with them.

The scripture also declares in the book of Chronicles that Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. In the New Testament, he goes under different titles. Sometimes he is called the evil one because he is evil in himself and tempts us to evil.

Sometimes he is called the ruler or prince of the kingdom of the air because he resides chiefly in the air. Other times he is referred to as the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient because all those who are not born of God are said to be in league with him.

He is an enemy of God and goodness. He is a hater of all truth. Why else does he slander God in paradise? Why did he tell Eve, you will not surely die? And why did he promise to give all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor to Jesus Christ, if Jesus would only bow down and worship him?

He is full of hatred, envy, and revenge. For what other motives could induce him to molest innocent man and woman in paradise? And why is he still so restless in his attempts to destroy us, who have done him no wrong.

He is a being of great power, as is evident in his being able to act on the imagination of our blessed Lord, so as to depict some sort of vision to him of all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor in a moment of time. His power is also displayed in the transporting of the sacred body of our dear Savior through the air up to the highest point of the temple, and also of his driving a herd of pigs so furiously that the whole herd rushed down a steep bank into a lake and died in the water. Yes, so great is Satan's power that I do not doubt that if God was to permit him to use his full strength, he could turn the earth upside down or pull the sun out of its orbit. But Satan is most known for his remarkable ability to use his cleverness against mankind. Since he is not given power from God to take us by force, he is therefore required to wait for opportunities to betray us and to catch us by the use of deception. He therefore made use of the serpent, which was the most crafty of all the beasts of the field, in order to tempt our first parents. And accordingly, he and his accomplices are described in the New Testament as being cunning and crafty in their deceitful scheming.

In the words of our text this morning, the Apostle says, we are not unaware of his schemes, thereby implying that we are more in danger of being seduced by his system of deception than overpowered by his strength. From this short description of Satan, we may easily judge who his children are. They are those who love to tell a lie, who slander and speak evil of their neighbor, and whose hearts are full of pride, deception, hatred, envy, revenge, and cruelty. Surely they have Satan for their father, for they know Satan's character and they do the works of Satan. But if they could either see themselves or Satan as he really is, they would be terrified at their resemblance to him and totally hate themselves with a deep remorse.

But the justice of God in allowing us to be tempted by Satan and his demons is justified from the following. First, that we live on this earth in a state of disorder, which was caused by the sin of Therefore, we are getting what sin deserves. Secondly, that God has promised us that he would never let us be tempted beyond what we could bear. And not only that, but when we have stood the test, we will receive the crown of life.

It even appears that the holy angels themselves were once put to a test whether they would be faithful or not. The first Adam was tempted even while he lived in paradise. And Jesus Christ, the second Adam, though he was a son, yet was carried as our representative by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And there is not one single saint in heaven among the fellowship of the prophets, the glorious company of the apostles, the noble army of martyrs, and the spirits of righteous men made perfect, who, when on the earth, was not assaulted by the fiery darts of that wicked one, the devil.

We must not think that we will be exempted from the common experience of all of God's children and of the angels, yes, even of the eternal Son of God himself. No, it is acceptable if we are made perfect through temptations as they were. Therefore, since we can't prevent the temptations of the devil and his evil ones, we should, instead of fretting over our condition, rather be inquiring at what time of our lives will Satan most violently assault us, and what those schemes are which he commonly uses in order to get an advantage over us.

As to the first question, What time of our lives can we expect to be most violently assaulted by Satan? I answer that we must expect to be tempted by him in some degree or another all of our lives, because this life is a continual warfare. We must never expect to have rest from our spiritual adversary the devil or be able to say our combat with him is finished. Our fight with the evil one will continue until we bow our heads and our spirit is removed from our body and is brought into the presence of our dear, precious Savior, Jesus Christ. But the moment of our conversion, when we take our first few steps as a new Christian, is the most critical time at which Satan, for the most part, violently assaults us, knowing well that if he can prevent us from getting a good start in the Christian walk, then he can lead his captive to do his will.

A wise man once gave this warning to all Christians, saying, When you have determined in your heart to serve the Lord, be prepared for the temptation from the evil one.

Secondly, today, let us look at the principal schemes Satan generally uses to take advantage of new converts to Christ. and also prescribe some remedies against them. But before I get started, let me mention to you that what I am about to say is only intended for those who have actually entered into the divine life, those who have been truly born again in Christ Jesus. This is not for the so-called carnal Christians who have the form of godliness but have never yet felt the power of it in their hearts, those who are false believers

This being said, here are the various schemes which Satan uses to defeat us in our Christian walk.

1. Drive Us to Despair

When God the Father awakens a sinner by the terrors of the law and by His Holy Spirit convicts him of sin in order to lead him to Christ and show him his need of a Redeemer, then Satan generally strikes and aggravates those convictions to such a degree as to make the sinner doubt that he will ever be able to receive mercy from the mediator, Jesus Christ. We saw this in Satan's temptation of the Holy Lord Jesus. His scheme was to make Jesus question whether he was the Son of God. Satan said, you are the Son of God, do so and so."

Likewise, with many such desponding thoughts, no doubt, the Apostle Paul was assaulted right after his conversion. For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything. And therefore he speaks by experience when he says in the words of the text, we are not unaware of his schemes. a scheme that would endeavor to drive the sinful person to despair.

But don't let any of you be influenced by Satan to despair of finding mercy. For it is not the magnitude or number of our sins, but being unwilling to repent and our own foolish unbelief that will prove our ruin. No, if our sins outnumber the number of the hairs on our head, Yet the merits of the death of Jesus Christ are infinitely greater, and faith in his blood shall make them as white as snow. Always answer, therefore, his despairing suggestions as your blessed Lord did within. It is written. Tell him you know that your Redeemer lives, always to make intercession for you. And though you have sinned much, there is no reason why you should despair, but only all the more reason why you should love much, having so much forgiven.

Satan's scheme number two, tempt us to be proud or to think more highly of ourselves than we should.

Satan loves to tempt new Christians to become proud or to think more highly of themselves than they should. When a person has for a little while tasted the word of God and felt the powers of the world to come, he is commonly, as indeed he should, highly thrilled with the sudden changes he finds in himself. But then Satan will, at such a time, puff him up with the conceit of his own attainments as if he were some great person. and will tempt him to look down on his brothers and sisters in Christ, as if he were holier than they. Therefore, be careful. Let us beware of this scheme from our spiritual adversary. For as before honor comes humility, so a proud spirit generally goes before a fall. And God is obliged, when under such circumstances, to send us some humbling situation. or permit us to fall, as he did Peter, into some grievous sin that we may learn not to be egotistical. To help prevent spiritual pride, let us remember that we did not choose Christ, but were chosen by Him. We have nothing but what has been given to us. The free grace of God has alone made the difference between us and others. And if God was to leave us to the deceitfulness of our own hearts, even for a moment, we should become weak and wicked like other men. We should further consider that being proud of grace is the quickest way to diminish it. For God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Even if we were endowed with the perfections of the seraphim, Yet if we were proud of those perfections, that pride would only make us more accomplished devils. Above all, we should earnestly pray to Almighty God that we may learn to have the humble heart of Jesus Christ, that His grace we receive during the deception and deceitfulness of Satan may not become our poison, but that we may always, in humility, consider others better than ourselves. 3. Tempt us to feel perplexed and to begin to doubt God when our prayers seem to go unanswered. Though this is a term not understood by the natural man, Yet whoever has passed through the pains of the new birth know full well what I mean when I talk about a period of deadness and dryness in prayer, when God doesn't seem to be listening. And I do not doubt that many of you are even now experiencing this deadness and dryness. When persons are first awakened to the divine life, because grace is new and their old nature still seems to be so strong, God is often pleased to bestow on them some extraordinary illuminations of His Holy Spirit. But when they are more mature in Christ, then He frequently seems to stretch their faith by permitting a somewhat horrible deadness and dread to overwhelm them, at which time Satan will try to tempt them to impatience, to the great discomfort of their souls. But do not be afraid, for this is no more than your blessed Redeemer, that spotless Lamb of God, has undergone before you. Witness His bitter agony in the garden, when His soul was exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death, when He sweat great drops of blood that fell on the ground, when the sense of the divinity was drawn from Him, and Satan, in all probability, was permitted to pour out all his terrors in a barrage upon Jesus. Rejoice, therefore, my brethren, when you fall into similar circumstances, knowing that you are sharing in the sufferings of Jesus Christ. Consider that it is necessary for such inward trials to come, to wean us from the excessive love of external means of devotion, and teach us to follow Christ, not merely for his loaves of bread but out of a principle of love and obedience. In patience, therefore, control your souls and do not be terrified by Satan's suggestions. Persevere in seeking Jesus even in the use of external means, though it seems to be cold and useless at the time. Continue even though your soul feels barren and you grieve all day long. Consider that Jesus is with you though hidden behind a curtain, as he was with Mary at the tomb, though she did not know. That he was withdrawn but for a little while to make his next visit more welcome. That though he may now seem to frown and look back on you, as he did on the Canaanite woman, yet if you, like her, her blind Bartimaeus, cry out earnestly, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. He will be made known to you again by the breaking of bread or some other way.

4. Troubling the believer with blasphemous, impure, unbelieving thoughts. Troubling the believer with blasphemous, impure, unbelieving thoughts.

Among all the schemes that Satan makes use of to get an advantage over us, there is none in which he is more successful or by which he grieves the children of God worse than this fourth scheme, the tempting of us with blasphemous, impure, unbelieving thoughts, and sometimes to such a degree that they are as tormenting as any instrument of torture.

Some people are apt to ascribe all such evil thoughts to the simple wickedness of man's heart. But those who know anything of the Christian life can inform you with greater certainty that for the most part these wicked thoughts proceed from that wicked one, the devil, who no doubt has permission given him from above to test Christians by trying to confuse and rattle our fleshly body as he did Job's. that he may, with secrecy and success, ruffle and torment the soul.

You that have felt his fiery darts can attest to the truth of this and can testify how often he has suggested that you curse God and die, and darted into your thoughts a thousand blasphemous and wicked suggestions, even in your most secret and solemn times of prayer.

Even now, when you look back on these times of great temptations, it may cause your hearts to tremble. I appeal to your own consciences. Have not some of you, when you have been lifting up holy hands in prayer, been pestered with such a crowd of the most horrid thoughts that you have been often tempted to get up from your knees and been made to believe your prayers were an abomination to the Lord?

Yes, when with the rest of your Christian brethren you have crowded around the Lord's table and taken the sacred symbols of Christ's most blessed body and blood into your hands, instead of remembering the death of your Savior, have you not been busy driving out evil thoughts, as Abraham was in driving away the birds that came to devour his sacrifice, and thereby have been terrified lest you might eat and drink to your own damnation?

But do not marvel at this, as though some strange thing were happening to you, for this has been the common lot of all God's children. We read, even in Job's time, one day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord at public worship, and Satan also came with them to disturb their devotions.

And do not think that God is angry with you for these distracting, though ever so wicked, No, he knows it is not you, but Satan working on you. Nonetheless, he is displeased with and will certainly punish him, yet he will both pity and reward you for not allowing the temptations to cause you to sin.

And though it will be difficult to make persons in your circumstances to believe it is true, yet I do not doubt that you are more acceptable to God when performing your holy duties in the midst of such involuntary distractions, then when you are wrapped up by devotion, as it were, into the third heavens. For you are then suffering as well as doing the will of God at the same time. And like Nehemiah's servants at the building of the temple, you are holding a trowel in one hand and a sword in the other.

Do not be driven away from the worship service, the Lord's table, or prayer on account of these abominable suggestions, for then you let Satan get to his desired advantage over you. It is all part of his plan, by these wicked thoughts to make you stop worshiping and praying and tempting you to believe that you do not please God for no other reason than because you do not please yourselves.

Rather, persevere in going to the Lord's table and all other godly activities. And when these temptations have been resisted by you through the power of the Holy Spirit, then God will visit you with fresh tokens of his love and will send an angel from heaven, as he did to his son, with the sole purpose to strengthen you.

Satan's scheme number five. Tempting us by our carnal friends and relatives.

Tempting us by our carnal friends and relatives. Up to now, we have only observed the schemes that Satan uses personally, by himself. But there is a scheme that he uses that utilizes our carnal friends and relatives to tempt us. This is one of the most common as well as most artful schemes he makes use of. to draw young converts from God for when he cannot prevail over them by himself he will try what he can do by the influence and mediation of others.

Thus Satan tempted Eve that she might tempt Adam. Likewise he stirred up Job's wife to suggest to him that he curse God and die. And thus he made use of Peter's tongue to persuade our blessed Lord to spare himself the death on the cross and thereby refuse those sufferings which were the only way we could be preserved from suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.

And thus, in our lives, he often stirs up our most powerful friends and dearest relatives to persuade us not to keep walking down that narrow road which alone leads to eternal life.

But our blessed Lord has furnished us with a sufficient answer to all such suggestions. Get behind me, my adversaries, for otherwise they will be a stumbling block to you. And the only reason why they give such wicked advice is because they do not honor the things of God, but rather the things of man.

Whoever therefore among you are resolved to serve the Lord, Prepare your souls from many such temptations as these, for it is necessary that such attacks should come, to test your sincerity, and to teach us not to trust in men, and to see if we will forsake everything to follow Christ.

Indeed, many liberal teachers of Christianity would persuade us that many of the gospel teachings were intended only for about the first two hundred years and that now there is no need of hating father or mother or of being persecuted for the sake of Christ and his gospel.

But such persons are mistaken, not knowing the scriptures and the power of godliness in a person's heart. For whoever receives the love of God and the truth of it will find that Christ did not come to bring peace, but a sword, as much now as ever.

Now, as well as in the early days of the Church, a family will be divided by the Gospel. Father against son and son against father. Mother against daughter and daughter against mother. Mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. And if we will try to live godly lives in Christ Jesus, we must now, as then, suffer persecution from carnal friends and relations.

Satan scheme number six, not tempting us at all in order to surprise us when we least expect it. Let me say that one again. Not tempting us at all in order to surprise us when we least expect it. This sixth scheme is as dangerous as any of the former. By not tempting us at all, or rather by withdrawing himself for a little while in order to come upon us at an hour when we least expect it. Thus it is said that he left Jesus Christ only for a season, and our blessed Lord has commanded us to always watch and pray, that we do not enter into temptation, thereby implying that Satan, whether we think he is or not, is always seeking new ways to devour us.

If we would therefore behave like good soldiers of Jesus Christ, we must always be on our guard and never pretend to lay down our spiritual weapons of prayer and watching till our warfare is ended by death. For if we do, our spiritual foe will quickly prevail against us. What if he has left us? It is only for a season. Yet in a little while, and like a roaring lion with double fury, he will break out upon us again.

Satan is such an evil enemy that he seldom leaves us after the first attack. As he followed our blessed Lord with one temptation after another, so he will treat the Lord's servants. And the reason why he sometimes does not renew his attacks is because God knows our weaknesses and at times are unable to bear an attack. Sometimes the pause and the temptations come because our adversary thinks it is better to assault us at a more convenient time.

O Christian, carefully watch over your heart, and whenever you perceive yourself to be falling into a spiritual slumber, say to it, as Christ said to his disciples, why are you sleeping? Get up and pray. so that you will not fall into temptation. Awake, awake, put on strength, watch and pray, or otherwise the Philistines will overwhelm you and lead you where you do not want to go.

Is this life a time to lie down and slumber in? Wake up and call upon your God. Your spiritual enemy is not dead, but lurks in some secret place. seeking a convenient opportunity how he may betray you. If you don't think it is important to guard yourself against the devil, then you will cease being a friend of God. You will cease to walk down that narrow road that leads to eternal life.

Thus, I have endeavored to point out to you some of those schemes that Satan generally makes use of to get an advantage over us. No doubt there are many others. which he often uses, but these, on account of my youth and lack of experience, I cannot yet counsel you further. But those who have lived for many years in their master's service and fought under his banner against our spiritual adversary are able to discover more of his schemes and be intempted in all things, like their brethren, can in all things advise and aid those that are being tempted.

In the meanwhile, Let me exhort my young fellow soldiers who, like myself, are just entering the field, and for whose sake this was written, not to be discouraged at the fiery trials that are sure to come their way if they seek to be found faithful servants of Jesus Christ. You see, my dearly beloved brethren, by what has been revealed to us, we know that our way through the wilderness of this world to heaven is beset with thorns. that there are enemies of the cross to be grappled with on your way to the promised land. But do not let these, like so many false spies, discourage you from going up to fight the Lord's battles. But say with Caleb and Joshua, no, we will go up and fight, for we are able to conquer them.

Jesus Christ, the great captain of our salvation, has in our place and as our representative, confuse the grand enemy of mankind, and we have nothing to do but to fight under the banner of the Lord, and to go from conquering to conquer. Our glory does not consist in being exempted from, but in enduring temptation. Blessed is the man, says the apostle, who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.

And again, consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kind. And in that perfect example of prayer that our blessed Lord has prescribed to us, we are taught to pray, not so much to be delivered from all temptation as from the evil one. While we are on this side of eternity, temptations must come. And no doubt, Satan has asked to sift all of us as wheat.

But why should we fear? For he that is for us is by far more powerful than all that are against us. Jesus Christ, our High Priest, is exalted to the right hand of God, and there sits to make intercession for us, that our faith will not fail. Since then Christ is praying for us, whom should we fear? and since he has promised to make us more than conquerors, of whom shall we be afraid?

No, though a host of demons are lined up against us, let us not be afraid. Though the hottest persecution should rise up against us, yet let us put our trust in God. Even though Satan and the rest of his apostate spirits are powerful when compared with us, yet if put in competition with the Almighty, They are as weak as the smallest worms. God has them all reserved in chains of darkness until the final judgment day. They shall only go as far as he permits them and no farther. They can only go as far as God allows and there shall their proud malicious designs be stopped.

We read in the gospel that though a legion of them possessed one man, yet they could not destroy him. nor could they so much as enter into a swine without first having permission from the Lord Jesus. It is true, we often find that though demons foil us when we are assaulted by them, but let us be strong and very courageous. For though they bruise our heels, we shall in time bruise their heads. Yet in a little while, and Jesus will come again, and then we shall see all of our spiritual enemies put under our feet.

What if they do come out against us, like so many great Goliaths? Yet if we can go forth, as a young boy David did, in the name and strength of the Lord of hosts, we may say, O Satan, where is your power? O fallen spirits, where is your victory?

To conclude, let us be strong and very courageous, and let us put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the fiery darts of the wicked one. Let us renounce ourselves and the world, and then Satan will find nothing in us for his temptations to work upon. We shall then prevent his malicious designs, and being willing to suffer ourselves, and shall need less sufferings to be sent us from above.

Let us have the belt of truth buckled around our waist and put on the helmet of salvation. With this in mind, be alert and pray in the Spirit on all occasions and with all kinds of prayers and requests. Above all, let us take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God and the shield of faith, always fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.

who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning his shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. To which such a happy place may God in his infinite mercy bring all of us through our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit, three persons and one eternal God, be our honor and glory now and forevermore. Amen.