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

Rock Point Church

69 min

Pastor Bill Bush · Aug 22, 2021 · 4 min read · 69 min listen

The big idea

When the devil twists God's word, we defeat him by trusting God's word instead.

In this message

The big idea
Point 1 of 6The devil's strategy is to isolate, instigate, and annihilate — and the instigation is always a twist of truth, not an outright lie.
Point 2 of 6Twist one: do it yourself — Satan tempts Jesus to turn stone to bread instead of trusting the Father's provision.

Point 3 of 6The prosperity-gospel version of this twist trades relationship with God for a contractual bargain for blessing.
Point 4 of 6Twist two: take the easy way out — Satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world without the cross.
Point 5 of 6Twist three: believe it when I see it — Satan dares Jesus to jump from the temple and prove Himself.
Point 6 of 6The real difference is between believing in God and believing God — giving Him residency, not just visiting Him as a neighbor.
Take it into your week
Transcript

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Scripture in this message

Luke 4
Luke 4:1-4
Matthew 6:33
Luke 4:5
Luke 9
Luke 4:9

Rewind AI drafted the Big Idea and some point headings shown here from the sermon transcript. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

Pastor Bill Bush · Aug 22, 2021 · 69 min watch · 2 min read

The Devil's Playbook | Week 2 | Bill Bush

In this message

Big Idea
Key points
Application

Scripture in this message

Luke 4
Luke 4:1-4
Matthew 6:33
Luke 4:5
Luke 9
Luke 4:9

Big Idea Key points Application

Big Idea

When the devil twists God's word, we defeat him by trusting God's word instead.

Jesus shows us that the devil's playbook never really changes — he just twists God's word enough to get us off balance. But when we hold to the truth, trust the Father's plan instead of doing it ourselves, and choose the cross before the crown, we can stand exactly like Jesus stood in the wilderness.

Key points

1
1The devil's strategy is to isolate, instigate, and annihilate — and the instigation is always a twist of truth, not an outright lie.
Pastor Bill explains that the devil rarely touches anyone directly; instead he waits until we are alone, then twists truth just enough to get us to hang ourselves. He compares this to a song getting a new dance beat: same old lyrics of temptation, dressed up in a fresh, modern-sounding rhythm for every generation.
2
2Twist one: do it yourself — Satan tempts Jesus to turn stone to bread instead of trusting the Father's provision.
Working through Luke 4:1-4, Pastor Bill shows how the devil suggests Jesus bypass the Father's plan since He has the power to meet His own need. Jesus answers that people don't live by bread alone, showing that seeking resources apart from relationship with God is the same lie Adam and Eve fell for in the garden.
3
3The prosperity-gospel version of this twist trades relationship with God for a contractual bargain for blessing.
Pastor Bill warns that redefining blessing as material success turns faith into jumping through hoops, breeding pride when it works and despair when it doesn't. He points to Jesus' words in Matthew 6:33 to seek the kingdom first, arguing we should seek relationship before resource.
4
4Twist two: take the easy way out — Satan offers Jesus the kingdoms of the world without the cross.
From Luke 4:5-8, Pastor Bill shows Satan offering Jesus kingship through worship of him instead of through suffering, essentially a crown without a cross. He illustrates the emptiness of that offer with the story of the Titanic's captain, and Luke 9's call to count the cost and take up the cross.
5
5Twist three: believe it when I see it — Satan dares Jesus to jump from the temple and prove Himself.
In Luke 4:9-12, the devil even quotes Psalm 91 to Jesus, twisting a real promise into a test of God rather than trust in Him. Pastor Bill uses the story of the rich man and Lazarus to show that signs and spectacle never produce belief; only the word of God, received in trust, does.
6
6The real difference is between believing in God and believing God — giving Him residency, not just visiting Him as a neighbor.
Pastor Bill tells the story of his uncle Skip fixing a carport with a sledgehammer and then walking home, comparing that to how many people want Jesus as a handy neighbor rather than a resident King. He uses Martin Luther's quote about Jesus answering the door of the heart to press the point that Jesus must live there, not just visit when summoned.

Application

Pastor Bill's charge is to stop just believing in God and start actually believing God, giving Him the whole house rather than treating Him as a helpful neighbor.

Seek relationship before resource
Stop chasing what you want from God first and instead seek His kingdom and His presence, trusting that what you need will follow.
Pick up the cross before the crown
Don't look for a cost-free faith or the easiest way through; count the cost and follow Jesus on mission even when it costs you something now.
Don't test God, trust His word
Resist the urge to demand a sign or proof before you'll believe; let God's word itself, not spectacle, be what changes you.
Give Jesus residency, not a visit
Stop keeping Jesus as a neighbor you call in emergencies and let Him actually live in and run your life day to day.

Take it into your week

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

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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”

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. Always trust the sermon itself over anything here. How Rewind uses AI

7-day devotional

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

Sign in to track your progress through this devotional.

Day 1

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.

Day 2

Forty days with nothing to eat, and the first thing Satan says is essentially: take care of yourself. Turn this stone to bread. It sounds almost reasonable — Jesus was hungry, He had the power, and meeting a physical need isn't a sin. That's exactly what makes twist one so effective. It doesn't ask you to do something obviously wrong; it just asks you to go around the Father and handle it yourself. Pastor Bill named this the 'do it yourself' temptation — seeking resources before relationship, solving the problem on your own terms rather than waiting on God's provision. Jesus answered with Deuteronomy: people don't live on bread alone. That's not a dismissal of real hunger. It's a reordering of what comes first. Self-effort to earn blessing, to manufacture outcomes, to make things happen outside of God's timing — that's the same twist dressed in different clothes. It shows up in careers, in relationships, in finances, in the quiet desperation of just wanting the problem to go away. The invitation here isn't to be passive. It's to ask honestly: am I moving in my own strength, or am I trusting the Father's provision even when His timing feels too slow?

For reflection

Where in your life right now are you most tempted to turn the stone to bread — to solve something yourself rather than wait on God?

Pray

Pray for the patience and trust to seek God's provision rather than engineer your own.

Day 3

Pastor Bill offered Matthew 6:33 as the direct counter to twist one — seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. That word 'first' is doing a lot of work. Jesus isn't saying that food, money, relationships, and stability don't matter. He's saying they follow when they're placed in their right order. The trouble is that most of us have a pretty good intellectual grip on that idea and still wake up every morning quietly running the opposite direction, organizing our lives around what we need and folding God into the margins when there's room. Believing in God and believing God look very different here. Believing in God says, 'Yes, He provides' — and then reaches for the stone anyway. Believing God says, 'He provides' — and then actually orients the day, the schedule, the money, the relational energy around what He's called you to first. That's harder than it sounds because the kingdom isn't always visible or measurable the way our needs are. But this is where trust gets concrete. Seeking the kingdom isn't a feeling; it's a direction. It's a thousand small choices to let what God values shape what you reach for first.

For reflection

If someone looked at how you actually spend your time, money, and energy this week, what would they conclude you're seeking first?

Pray

Pray for a genuine reordering of your priorities around what Jesus called 'first,' starting with today.

Day 4

The second twist is subtler and, in some ways, darker. Satan shows Jesus all the kingdoms of the world and offers them without the cross. Just one act of worship and you get everything you came for — no suffering, no betrayal, no death. From a purely strategic standpoint, it sounds efficient. Pastor Bill put it plainly: the crown without the cross. The easy way out. This temptation doesn't just come at us in dramatic moments; it shows up in the ordinary choice to cut corners on integrity, to keep quiet when speaking up would cost something, to choose the comfortable path when the right one is harder. Grace is free, but as Pastor Bill said, it isn't cheap. Jesus didn't debate the offer or negotiate a counterprice. He worshiped — and He refused. Worship is itself the counter here, because it reaffirms who holds the final authority over your life and your future. The kingdoms of the world will always be dangled in front of us in some form. But Jesus knew they were already His by right — and that the Father's way to them, through the cross, was the only way worth taking. Whatever shortcuts are being offered to you right now, they're probably not as free as they look.

For reflection

Is there an area of your life where you've been tempted to take the easy path rather than the right one — and what has that cost you so far?

Pray

Pray for courage to choose the Father's path even when a less costly option is right in front of you.

Day 5

Jesus said it plainly: if anyone wants to follow Him, they must deny themselves, pick up their cross daily, and follow. That word 'daily' is the part we'd rather skip. It's easy to say yes to the cross in a big, emotional moment — at a retreat, in a hard season when you have nothing else left, on a Sunday when the Spirit is moving. Daily is different. Daily means the cross shows up in Tuesday's schedule, in a hard conversation you've been putting off, in the generous choice that costs you something real, in staying faithful to what God has called you to even when no one is watching and nothing feels dramatic. Pastor Bill's point about the cross coming before the crown isn't just a theological sequence — it's the texture of the Christian life. Every day, in small ways and occasionally in large ones, we're handed a version of twist two: take the easy way, avoid the cost, get the outcome without the surrender. And every day, Jesus invites us to pick up the cross instead. That's not a punishment. It's the path. The people who seem most free and most alive in their faith are almost always people who have learned to pick it up and keep walking.

For reflection

What does 'picking up your cross daily' look like in the most ordinary parts of your actual life this week?

Pray

Pray for willingness to say yes to the daily cross, especially in the places where following Jesus is quiet and costly.

Day 6

Twist three is the most sophisticated of the three — and it uses Scripture to do the damage. Satan quotes Psalm 91 accurately and invites Jesus to test the Father's protection in a public, spectacular way. Throw yourself off the temple; the angels will catch You. Believe it when you see it. This is the demand-a-sign temptation, and it's one most of us know from the inside: 'God, if You're real, prove it. Show me the outcome before I commit. Give me certainty before I trust.' Jesus doesn't argue with the scripture Satan quoted. He answers with a different truth — you don't test the Lord your God. There's a difference between faith that trusts God's Word and faith that requires God to perform before it will commit. One is surrender; the other is control wearing the mask of faith. Believing God means taking Him at His word before the evidence shows up. It means moving in the direction He's pointed even when the outcome is unclear. It means trusting that He is the Way and the Truth and the Life — not as a statement of theological conviction, but as the actual operating principle of your real, daily decisions. The enemy will keep running this play. The counter isn't more willpower; it's a deeper trust in the Word.

For reflection

Where are you currently waiting for proof before you'll trust God — and what might it look like to trust Him ahead of the evidence?

Pray

Pray for the kind of faith that takes God at His word, especially in the area of your life where uncertainty feels loudest.

Day 7

Looking back over the whole passage, a pattern is clear. Every twist Satan ran at Jesus had the same underlying target: the relationship between Jesus and the Father. Do it yourself — don't need Him for provision. Take the easy path — don't trust His way. Demand a sign — don't believe His word until it's proven. And every counter Jesus gave had the same underlying source: the Word of God, spoken from a place of deep, settled trust in the Father's plan. Pastor Bill closed with a question worth sitting with again today: are you a Christian who believes in God, or one who actually believes God? The difference isn't a label or a level of theological knowledge. It shows up in whether Jesus is a helpful neighbor you call in a crisis, or whether He's the One who actually lives here — the One who answers the door when the enemy knocks. Inviting Jesus to take up full residency isn't a one-time transaction. It's the ongoing, daily surrender of the things we're most tempted to manage ourselves: our money, our relationships, our schedules, our futures. The enemy's playbook doesn't change. But neither does the Word. And the same Spirit who led Jesus into that wilderness and out the other side is the Spirit who lives in you.

For reflection

After this week, what is one specific area of your life where you want to move from believing in God to genuinely believing God — trusting Him with your actions, not just your words?

Pray

Pray for full surrender — ask Jesus not just to visit when things are hard, but to take up real residence and answer the door on your behalf.

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. 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

Rewind AI contributed study material from the sermon transcript; church-authored wording and verified sermon quotes keep their own source. 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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