“And these are they by the way side, where the word is sown; but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts” (Mark 4:15).
Not only does God move suddenly, so does Satan. At least he tries to move suddenly. Jesus said in Mark 4:14-15, that the word is sown. And Satan comes immediately to take it away.
Immediately means suddenly. Satan comes immediately to take away the word that was sown in their hearts. For example, you’ll hear a teaching on walking in love and immediately the devil is going to come along and try to suddenly steal away the word. But I got news for you.
God’s suddenly is stronger than the devil’s suddenly!
Jesus said that there are five tools that Satan uses. He has variations of the plays, but there are only 5 plays in his playbook:
1. Affliction. Suddenly affliction will come against you. You’ll be healed, feeling good and everything is great, and suddenly your body will get wracked with pain.
2. Persecution. Persecution is pressure brought on by the words of people. Even Christians will persecute you because you’re following God. They’ll talk against you, and try to use words to stop you.
3. Cares of the World. Cares of the world are anxiety, worry, and fear. Satan comes immediately with these things. Then, if none of the others work he’ll try and get you with his next tactic.
4. Deceitfulness of Riches. He’ll try to get you to think that if you can just accumulate more things and more money then all your problems will be solved. But we know there are a lot of things money cannot do. Money is limited.
5. Lust. Finally, the lust of other things enters in and chokes the word, and causes it to become unfruitful. Lust is an inordinate strong desire for anything, and so the enemy will try and get you overbalanced into all kind of areas. He’ll immediately or suddenly try and come against you with these things.
But always remember that God’s suddenly is greater than the devil’s suddenly. When you continue to stand on God’s Word and not allow these five basic things to distract you, then you’ll have what it says in Mark 4:20, the word will grow in you and produce fruit, “…some thirty-fold, some sixty, and some a hundred.”
Scripture References: Mark 4:14-20; Hebrews 4:12; Psalm 1:1-3
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Keith Butler has been an ordained minister since 1974. He is a graduate of the University of Michigan and holds diplomas from Canada Christian College and Rhema Bible Training Center.
He serves in ministry with the support of his lovely wife, Pastor Deborah L. Butler, and their children: Pastor Andre Butler (granddaughters Alexis, Angela, and April), Pastor MiChelle Ferguson and husband Pastor Lee (grandson Lucas), and Minister Kristina Jenkins and husband Pastor Joel (grandsons Andrew and Austin, and granddaughter Alyssa).