The Devil's Playbook | Week 2 | Bill Bush · Rewind

Pastor Bill Bush · Aug 22, 2021 · 69 min watch · 3 min read

The Devil's Playbook | Week 2 | Bill Bush

Big Idea

When the devil twists the Word, we must trust the Word — not just believe in God, but truly believe God.

In Luke 4, Satan attacks Jesus in the wilderness with three targeted twists: do it yourself, take the easy way out, and believe it when you see it. Jesus defeats every twist the same way — by trusting the Word of God empowered by the Spirit of God rather than going around the Father's plan. Pastor Bill shows that these same three plays are run on us today, and that our only real defense is to stop merely believing in God and start fully believing God — surrendering residency of our hearts to Jesus so that when the enemy comes knocking, Jesus is the One who answers the door.

Key points

1
1The devil's playbook never changes — he isolates, instigates, and annihilates, twisting truth just enough to get us off balance.
2
2Twist one — 'Do it yourself': Satan tempts Jesus to turn stone to bread, urging Him to go around the Father's plan and seek resources over relationship.
3
3The counter to twist one is to seek relationship before resource, trusting Matthew 6:33 — seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.
4
4Twist two — 'Take the easy way out': Satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world without the cross, tempting Him to grab the crown before paying the price.
5
5The counter to twist two is to count the cost and pick up the cross — grace is free but not cheap, and the cross always comes before the crown.
6
6Twist three — 'Believe it when you see it': Satan quotes Psalm 91 out of context to get Jesus to test God publicly, but Jesus replies that you must not test the Lord your God.
7
7The counter to twist three is to stop merely believing in God and start believing God — fully surrendering to Him as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Application

Pastor Bill closes with a pointed question: are you a Christian who merely believes in God, or do you actually believe God? The difference shows up in everyday choices — whether you try to earn blessing through self-effort, grab for the easy path that avoids any cost, or demand a sign before you'll trust. The call is to stop treating Jesus like a helpful neighbor you summon in a crisis and then dismiss when the problem is fixed. Instead, invite Him to take up full residence — let Him answer the door when the enemy knocks. Practically, that means more conversation with God that leads to Spirit-empowered action: trusting His Word with your money, your relationships, your schedule, and your future, even when it feels like going hungry in the wilderness.

Take it into your week

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Scripture in this message

From the transcript
“what we're gonna see in Luke chapter four, we're gonna turn there in a minute, is that this plan, this playbook is always the same, he just changes it for every generation”
From the transcript
“So in chapter four verse one, the first four verses, I'm gonna read them here. Then Jesus full of the holy spirit returned from Jordan River. He was led by the spirit into the wilderness”
From the transcript
“Jesus said it in Matthew six thirty three when he says seek ye first all the stuff you want, plead with God, do good things so you think he'll give it to you”
From the transcript
“It says seek ye first what? The kingdom of God and his righteousness. What that means is seek the relationship with him”
From the transcript
“Verse five, then the devil took him up and revealed to him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And get this, this is weird, the power that he had”
From the transcript
“Jesus in Luke nine says this. He says, count the cost and then look for the cheapest, quickest way to get it. No. He says, count the cost and then take up pick up your cross and follow me”
From the transcript
“So then verse nine, then the devil took him to Jerusalem to the highest point of the temple and said, if you're the son of God jump off”
From the transcript
“he quotes one of the Psalms right here. He literally quotes scripture. And he says this, for scripture says, now he does it. He does it. He's alright. You wanna play that? I'll play the game. For the bible says, he will order his angels to protect and guard you and they will hold you up in their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone”
From the transcript
“Because Jesus said this in John fourteen six. He he said, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. You realize he didn't say I am I know the way”
From the transcript
“look what it says here in verse 13, when the devil had finished tempting Jesus, he left him until the next opportunity came”
From the transcript
“as your word says, to live is Christ, to die is gain. And the second they close their eyes on this earth they gotta open their eyes to you”

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7-day devotional

A personal reading plan from this message — scripture, reflection, and prayer for each day.

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Before the enemy ever speaks a word, the stage is already set. Jesus has just been baptized, the Spirit has descended on Him, and the Father has spoken His approval out loud — and then the Spirit leads Him straight into the wilderness. Not away from God, but with God, into a hard place. That sequence matters. The attack didn't come because Jesus was far from the Father; it came right after the closest moment of communion He'd had. Pastor Bill pointed out that the devil isolates, instigates, and annihilates — and isolation is always the first move. When we feel cut off, worn down, or just plain hungry, that's precisely when the twists start coming. The wilderness isn't evidence that God has abandoned you. For Jesus, it was a Spirit-led appointment. If you're in a hard stretch right now, it may be worth sitting with that — not to spiritualize real pain, but to notice that your enemy works hardest when you feel most alone. The good news is that Jesus went into that wilderness full of the Spirit, and He came out the same way. He knows what it's like in there. That's not a small thing.

For reflection

When you're in a hard or lonely season, what is your first instinct — and does that instinct move you toward God or away from Him?

Pray

Pray for awareness of the Holy Spirit's presence in whatever wilderness you're walking through right now.

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Small-group discussion guide

For leading a group conversation about this message.

Open

Satan ran three plays against Jesus in the wilderness — and Pastor Bill made the case that he runs the same three plays on us. Let's look at what those plays were and how Jesus responded to each one.

Discussion questions

1
In Luke 4:3-4, Satan urges Jesus to turn stone to bread — essentially to meet a real, legitimate need by going around the Father. What do you think the difference is between seeking a resource and seeking the relationship behind it?
2
In Luke 4:5-8, Satan offers Jesus all the kingdoms of the world without the cross. Pastor Bill described this as grabbing the crown before paying the price. What does the cross-before-crown pattern suggest about how God tends to work in the stories we see in Scripture?
3
In Luke 4:9-12, Satan actually quotes Psalm 91 — Scripture — to tempt Jesus. What does it tell us about the enemy's tactics that he is willing to use the Bible itself, just out of context?
4
Pastor Bill drew a distinction between believing in God and believing God. Based on what the message laid out, how would you describe the practical difference between those two postures in everyday life?
5
Pastor Bill used the image of Jesus taking up full residence in our hearts — so that when the enemy knocks, Jesus is the one who answers the door. What might it look like for a community of people, not just individuals, to live that way together?
6
Jesus countered each of Satan's twists with the Word of God, and Luke 4:1 connects that to the Spirit's empowerment. What do you think the relationship between the Word and the Spirit looked like in Jesus' responses, and what might that mean for how we approach Scripture as a group?

Pray together

Trusting God fully — not just believing in Him, but surrendering residency of our hearts to Jesus so He leads when the enemy comes

Made by Rewind AI from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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Go deeper

Continue the series

The Devil's Playbook

Week 2 · 5 messages

Where these passages are preached

Luke 4 Matthew 6 Luke 9 Psalm 91

Explore related topics

Satan's Deception Surrendering to Christ Temptation and Sin The Cost of Discipleship Trusting God's Word

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