What Is Satan Up to Anyway?

I saw this video earlier this week.  I can't get the tune and words out of my head.  I don't think that we as a church have given enough consideration to the attacks of Satan, especially in his subtle lies.  Check out what Scripture has to say about his work in the CHURCH!

II Corinthians 11:12-15, "And what I do I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds."

Look specifically at who are called the servants of Satan.  Not demons in this verse.  Not the world.  Satan's servants claim to be apostles of Christ!  Satan places his servants in the local church community to spread his lies and masquerade as men and women full of knowledge.  They intimidate and impress with their appearance of having something that everyone else is missing.  They place special demands on the body that only the "real" christians can understand.  These servants of Satan can call themselves preachers, apostles, house church leaders, prophets, misunderstood, devout, and all kinds of other terms. They could be leaders or they may just be a part of the visible community.  Listen to what Paul says to the church at Colossae in Colossians 2:16-19, 23:

Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. Let no one disqualify you, insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, going on in detail about visions, puffed up without reason by his sensuous mind, and not holding fast to the Head, from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together through its joints and ligaments, grows with a growth that is from God.

These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh. 

How do we spot these servants of Satan?  Well are they connected to the head, that is Christ?  Do they spend more time talking about the fundamental elementary truths of the Gospel or more time giving convincing arguments and visions?  The subtlety of Satan is tremendous.  If we overlook it, we will be duped by it.  Don't ever think that just because someone leads a church, is in a church, or sounds spiritual means that they are.  Examine them thoroughly.  If they don't lead you to the truth of the Gospel, that for God's glory Jesus died for our sins and was resurrected, so we might move from death to life, then they are not from God.  And if they are not from God, they are certainly not neutral.