Satan - Cullen Smith

You're visiting with us. You're our honored guest.

If I were to tell you tonight that this was outside of our

building, I would I would promise you that there would be

a reaction. If I were to tell you that, if

you walked outside that door, there's this little kitty cat

waiting on you. You would probably think to

yourself. I'm gonna go after you, you

know, you only have to be faster than one person to get away from

a cat like that. That's kind of how it works.

But when you stop and think about the devil, And how the

scriptures describe him like this, we're talking about an

incredibly powerful being somebody that stalks and

somebody that knows how to capture prey.

If you watch natural, geographic, or any of those

animal shows this, this, this cat right here knows exactly

what's up and what to do with its prey, and it's talks and it

works and it creeps and just at the right moment at the

unsuspecting moment, he pounces, he does everything he can.

And tonight I want to talk to you.

About Satan's devices the way that he operates the way that he

works in First Peter, 5:8, be sober be vigilant because your

adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion seeking whom

he may devour. Now, if I were to tell you that

the line is outside, you would say, well, duh, I'm not going to

go outside. If I were to tell you that your

there was a lion in the backyard of your house, you would say,

kids, don't go in the backyard. Don't go in the backyard at all.

Wait till make sure, but that's not how safe.

Works whenever the Bible describes him like this, it's

describing his power and his prowess, but he never operates

in the form of just basically showing up, like, you would see

a line. If I see something this big, I

gotta tell you. Nobody had to tell me when I was

little, when I first went to a zoo in Baton Rouge.

Louisiana, never been to the zoo before still remembered nobody

had to tell me. Hey, stay away from sticking

your hand through the wire. Up to the animals.

Know that I know the signs were Were there, I've always wondered

why those signs had to be there because anybody pretty much off

to know except there's a real problem, the little ones don't

know, they don't know. In my mind, I'm always pretty,

pretty scared of dogs. I've had a couple of dog

experiences that ended me up on the top of a car.

I had fight or flight and of course look at me.

Come on when I was younger we're talking about flight there was

no fight you just run for all you're worth.

You get away from it for all you're worth.

You know, one thing I've learned is that are not everybody

assesses danger. The first thing that I always

tell my girls every time that they go anywhere is look.

Hey listen, there's a dog this dog, my girls are naturally

gravitationally drawn to dogs. And so, I'll say what what's

going to happen if you get down in a dog space, if you this dog

doesn't know you from anybody who knows about this though.

We don't know this dog. Are you going to go?

Crouch down over this dog and I'll make them.

Tell me no daddy, we're not going to do that, why?

And they will tell because that dog get up.

Your face off. That's what I tell him.

Every time I scare him to death about dogs because I know if

they don't have it awareness, I got one that's going to go and

try to let that dog lick her face every single time.

You see, she doesn't know. She doesn't recognize it.

And a lot of us are the same way we don't know what's coming.

We don't recognize the danger. When we stick our hand through

the fence, and we wonder how it is that this powerful animal

Yanks us through and into some place that we never thought we

would end up and does what he does best with us, which is

literally consume us when the Bible talks about the devil

seeking. Whom he may devour, he does not

say nibble. We're talking about devouring in

second Corinthians 11, verse second Corinthians, 2.

Verse 11, lest Satan should take advantage of us for.

We are not ignorant of his devices and he in Ephesians 6,

11 and 12. The Bible says, put on the whole

armor of God, that you may be able to stand against The Wiles

of the devil who we do, not wrestle against flesh and blood,

but against principalities and Powers against the rulers.

Of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of

wickedness in the Heavenly places.

Now that's a pretty good army. We're not dealing with weakness

here. I just showed you a picture of a

lion and none of these scriptures say, don't worry

about the devil, just live your life.

However you want to not at all. They constantly warned us that

we're in a were in a life-and-death game but it is

not with flesh and blood, it's with the spirit and it's with

the soul of man, Satan operates through our flesh.

But ultimately what's on the line is there is not a

flesh-and-blood contest people. You're gonna die.

There's gonna be all kinds of stuff that go.

It's not a normal war that you fight.

It is an inside War. It's an inside our heart war and

Revelation 12 and 9. So the Great Dragon was cast out

that serpent called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole

world and he was cast to the Earth, and his angels were cast

out with him. Listen.

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now, salvation and

strength and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ

have come for the accuser of our brethren.

Who accused them before our God day and night has been cast

down. Now none of those scriptures say

hey it's gonna be great. What I'm not telling you about

and I'll go ahead and say this. Now this is not meant to just

make you afraid. It's meant to make you assess

who your true enemy really is and make you bear up against

him. Make you think about who he is

and make you think about the weaknesses in our own life

because we all have them. One thing I know I can preach

tonight with accuracy is every single person in this room has

weaknesses. Now Satan is not allowed to

climb in and read our minds, but we can open the door for him in

the same way that I could go to the fence.

If you were to think about my greatest fear many times, it

would be that picture of a little child inside of a

fenced-in enclosure. They're smart enough and big

enough to recognize how to operate the lever.

We got a couple of those at church back home.

We got a couple of kids that are just big enough but not quite

big enough when I say big enough, but not quite big

enough. Here's what I mean, there's a

big there's a big highway, right?

On the on the side, right? Close to the road.

We put in a fence, you know, we want to keep them all in.

The problem is there's Gates on that fence and we don't really

have locks on them yet. So sometimes you have that that

chill inside of somebody that's big enough but not big enough.

They're big enough to flip the lid of the lock, or the, the

latch up and go out and toward the road, but they're not big

enough to assess how fast that car is coming.

And all they know is they want that ball that went into the

road. And they're not looking at how

fast and they're not able to judge the distance and there's

an adult or there's somebody out there that begins to scream at

them. Hey get back in here and they

come back in. And in that moment you realize

just how fragile life really is. Well Satan is somebody that is

not to be trifled with and he has a little while to work as

we'll talk about in just a moment.

Whenever you look at natural geographic, anything, one of the

things you find is that's a very real image that Over and over

and over again. I don't know if your kids love

it, but I always have my new to and it's one of those pictures

of how the food chain works. It's not a pretty picture.

It's really an ugly thing to think about but you have a

defenseless pitiful. Poor listen to what the

scripture says again. Therefore Rejoice O Heavens.

You who dwell in them, woe to the inhabitants of the earth and

the Sea. For the devil has come down to

you having great wrath because he knows that he has a short

time. Satan is defeated He already

knows that but his goal is to hurt.

God, the devil who deceived them, the Bible says was cast

into the lake of fire and brimstone.

He only has a short time left. Do you know the only way that he

can hurt God you the only way you can do it, you see what

Jesus did whenever he died was buried and rose again, as he

secured the pathway for you, two to start an eternal relationship

with God right now, tonight, I can tell you, there is a God in

heaven that whenever you surrender to his will, whenever

you identify with the death burial and resurrection of

Jesus, in baptism, you are entering into an eternal

Kingdom, you start right now tonight in 2019, our And ship

that will take you through. Eternity.

You can't find. You can't find something that

amazing. You can't find anywhere.

You could be a part of like that only in Jesus Christ but make no

mistake about it. What Satan is trying to do is

he's trying to get one at a time and he picks off and he peels

off. And he tries to peel that one

away. Or right now, it might be you

And I don't know if you've ever felt like Satan was coming at

you but the fact of the business is he is angry.

And if you've ever had a day where it seemed like the world

was lining up on you, you don't have to think too hard about who

it is. That's behind that.

What I want you to also know is, there is a God in heaven that

limits his ability to operate and what God expects from us.

Is that no matter if we get another good thing from God, we

recognize who he is and that he's infinitely, good and he's

great and he's amazing. And if God never gives you

another thing in your life, if he never answers another prayer,

God is still infinitely. Good and God is still

infinitely. Amazing.

And God is still deserving of Your Allegiance and your

adoration every day. But he's not just a God that

leaves it alone. He's not a God, that leaves his

children tonight. We prayed in our assembly and we

prayed for a reason we have a father that listens to us.

In fact, you may have had a bad dad experience.

You may have had in law and Outlaw and step this and step

that and Blended Every Which away.

And you may have not had a great experience with a father.

But one thing I can tell you is that you've got a father in

Heaven, that is absolutely amazing and does exactly what's

right by you. You can't find that anywhere

else and of all the things that you will find about.

God, you will find a God that wants what's best for you all

the time. But he also was a God that

whenever you have to leave the nest and you begin to have your

own Wings representative of free will when you lead the

foolishness of childhood, not sin but the foolishness of our

childhood and we grow up and we're accountable now and we

start making big boy and big girl send decisions.

The simple reality is there is Someone that is tracking us and

he's got an angry disposition. I don't know anybody that ever

watches natural G National Geographic and thinks oh that is

the nicest kitty cat. I'd like to add.

That is a sweet cat. No, you recognize the power and

the prowess and how that is an absolute enemy of this

defenseless cap. Except the calf, for the most

part except for the instincts inside, really doesn't know

what's happening to it until it's too late.

We got to be more aware. We've got to understand what it

is that we have in Jesus Christ in the protections.

We have in Christ, will God trains us for the enemy?

So, Satan's worse can become our blessing.

That's something we need to believe.

In, in Psalms, 144 blessed, be the Lord.

My rock who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle.

Did you know? God is training you today, he is

never trained any of his children to be the victim.

He's never trained. Any of his children, not to be a

people that don't know how to overcome in fact, he trains us

to be a people. That no matter of Satan knocks

us down. God will give us the strength

inside to get up and whoop, the devil.

She won't do it by yourself notice.

He said the Lord is the one that trains my hands in First Peter 4

and 12. He talked about some of this

beloved do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which

is to try you as though some strange thing is happening to

you. But Rejoice to the extent that

you / take of Christ's sufferings that when his glory

is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy and he

said, if you are Approach for the name of Christ.

Happy are you for the spirit of glory?

And of God rests upon you on their part.

He has blasphemed but on your part he is glorified therefore

let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their

souls to him in doing good asked to a faithful Creator.

There's a lot of things that Satan is going to do and it's

going to look like that. It's bad for you and that it's

not a good thing at what God does is he transforms it and he

makes it something that bills even character.

He makes it something that even though we have to endure, some

of the things that Satan, the tribulations that Satan wants to

make us just to destroy us. God, turns it into something

that literally becomes our character and out of that

character, becomes an Earnest expectation or hope.

I'm not talking about Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes kind

of hope. I don't know about you.

I'm not really buying into the whole Publishers Clearing House

Sweepstakes thing. They've never come to my

neighborhood. They have never contacted me.

I have Filled out their junk more than 50 times every time

they send me an email says act. Now and I act if you'll just

look through this list and buy something, I've even bought some

of their junk before they still hadn't showed up in my

neighborhood, I don't have much hope in the Publishers Clearing

House, Sweepstakes showing up and giving me five thousand

dollars a week for life. But I've got a tremendous amount

of Hope because Jesus died on the cross and every time it

looks like that I'm going to fall down and every time it

looks like that I'm down and out and every time it looks like

I've messed up and I messed up again or I messed up again and I

feel like what I figure out is that you got to get up one more

time than you fall down and you can win this and you can whoop

Satan and no matter what he's trying to do to you, and no

matter how much he's trying to kick your teeth in right now,

there is a God in heaven, that wants you to know that, although

it may feel like you're defeated what God is preparing.

His Greatest Victory because one day he's going to show up and

you're going to be glorified with him.

And Satan is going to be destroyed and Cast Away.

That's a day. You want to be on the right

team. You want to be on the right team

that day, and what he was writing to these people, these

are people that were under fiery trials and he said, don't think

that it's strange understand that the blessing you have is

you get to participate in Christ's sufferings, there's a

blessing in some of the stuff that we just have to go through.

I don't know. The, why of it?

I just know this, the Lord made his son died on a cross for our

sins. And the Bible says, the servant

is not greater than his master. If they persecuted the lord,

they're going to persecute you. Also, there's gonna be junk.

You just got to deal with. And you got to know what the

real motive behind it is. Satan's goal is to destroy you.

God's goal is to make you better and those things are happening

at one in the same time, in our hearts and lives, Satan lies,

and he's the father of Lies. Listen, he said to them in John

John 8:44

8:44, you are you are of your father, the devil, and the

desires of your father, you want to do, he was a murderer from

the beginning and does not stand in the truth because there,

There is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks

from his own resources for he is a liar and the father of it.

Now again, he had just told them that they could be free, you can

be free. If you're my disciples, you can

be free, and they did not want to accept that, and they

rejected his teaching. And he told him, why?

It was they rejected it? If I reject the teaching of the

word of God, one of the most incredible things that I have to

face is, who's my father. Because when I read the word of

God, I'm reading the words of my father and one of the key

characteristics of what it means to be a person that's going to

make it and going to win in this life is somebody that is on the

father's team and wants to please the father.

Now that has to be, that has to be in our hearts and our minds.

And he called out these people here because literally, they had

a different father, they wanted to argue with him about

religion. They wanted to argue about him

having the authority because they made an authority argument.

They're basically like, who do you think you are?

He says, I'm going to tell you who I am.

I'm going to tell you about my father and I'm also going to

tell you about your father and he appealed to their credibility

and the acrylic appealed to who they were really following and

that was the devil and there's only two options.

We've got We're either going to make God our Father or Satan is

going to be our father in Genesis 3:1.

Genesis 3:1

The Bible says, now the serpent was more cunning than any beast

of the field, which the Lord God had made, and he said to the

woman has God, indeed said You shall not eat of every tree of

the garden and the woman said unto the serpent.

We may eat of the fruit of the Trees of the garden.

But of the fruit of the tree of which is in the midst of the

garden of God, God said You shall not eat of it.

Nor shall you? Touch it, lest you die in The

Serpent said to the woman if you, you will not surely die for

God. Knows that in the day that you

eat of it, your eyes will be open and you will be like, God

knowing Good and Evil. Notice how Satan Works he comes

along and he takes a circumstance, where you clearly

understand what the word of God teaches, and he begins to

altered. And we begin to say what about

what about? Well, I don't, I don't really

see it that way and somebody gets in our head and that

somebody that gets in our head begins to twist around the

obvious and we began to question the obvious.

And we now make our question of that obvious, our new faith.

Stop. And think about that for me, so

many people are trading what they know to be the revealed

word of God for what they're thinking in their mind.

The question in their mind. Listen, I'm honest with you.

When I tell you that your mind will think of questions that I

may not have the answer to. In fact, you may think of

questions that the Bible may not have an answer to but what God

expects you to do is be able to filter some of that sometimes

and recognize that you won't get an answer to everything that

comes up in your mind, you won't know the answer.

All the prophet in the Old Testament would say is God's

ways are higher, his thoughts are higher than our thoughts,

his ways are higher than our ways.

And here you have a circumstance where Even Adam clearly

understood the rules of the game, and they made a bad choice

and that choice cost them be evicted from the garden from the

tree of life. And they begin the process of

physically dying. And it's a process that is

stung. Every man and woman in all the

world. Death has fallen upon all men

because of sin. Romans 5 and verse 12.

But again, Satan does his very best to try to change?

He he does his very best to alter just a little bit of what

God has said. He does it just a little bit and

so in order to do that he wants to destroy, he lies and he's the

father of Lies. He also blinds and our neck of

the woods. We have these lovely creatures

called dear not dears dear. You just say it the same way

every time doesn't matter if it's one or a hundred is a bunch

of deer out there, we got a bunch of deer when you When you

were to drive up on dear, what you will find is they will stop

in the middle-of-the-road. You put your your eyes your

headlights out there and all the sudden that deal will just just

sit there if you're sitting in a field and you've got some kind

of a spotlight in you shine that light in the deers, I all the

sudden that deer will just pop its head up.

It's just one of those ignorant things that they do.

They can't figure it out. They don't know what's going on

and that car can come closer and closer and faster and faster.

And that deer just stands there. Looks at you.

And all the sudden, it doesn't end well.

A lot of times, it doesn't end well.

This is what Satan does. He blinds the mind.

He said, even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those

who are perishing, whose Minds the God of this age has blinded,

who do not believe less, the light of the Gospel of the glory

of Christ, who is the image of God should shine on them.

They're blinded, now, that's a terrible thought but there are

many times where the Lord would say he who has ears to hear, Let

Him hear. Here, and Jesus would use a lot

of circumstances, where he would basically say, your ears have

grown dull, your eyes, they're glossed over.

You're not really open to the understanding of what I'm trying

to give you Paul by inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Basically said it like this. Satan shining something in your

eyes. He shot him, something here.

And whenever that happens, what you'll find is that those people

will not listen to The Gospel, they that you can't reach them,

I can sit down with you and I can show you, okay?

This is what the Bible says, very plainly.

The Bible says this, and that person says, yeah, I can read

that. They read it out loud and say,

okay, what is the answer to that?

Let me give an example of that. The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6

Hebrews 11:6

without faith. It is impossible to please him.

For he, that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he

rewards those who diligently seek him, too.

Things in that passage are very, very important.

Number one, the key question is, can I please God if I don't

believe in him with all my heart do I can't possibly know.

Well certainly you can see that? Well then there's the next part

of that where the Bible says, he rewards those who do what

diligently seek him. Two things.

And that passage very, very important things that he does.

The problem with that is today, the blindness of humanity, is

there there there is a stop mechanism.

Somebody can say, yeah, you know, I know it says that but

here's the problem, I've always felt like I've always thought

that really I just need to do that.

I just need to believe in him and it's all going to work out,

okay? You know, that there's another

part to that it says those that diligently.

At least take him. There were a lot of people that

believe that Jesus was the son of God, but they were not

willing to follow him because they had money tied up and they

had money on the line. And they had people that were

Jews, that didn't like Jesus, and they wanted to fit in with

him. And so, Jesus would say, you're

really close to the kingdom, but you're not in the Kingdom of the

reason you're not in. The kingdom, is you've got these

affections with other things and he would say things like this.

He said, look, You can't be part way with me.

He said you can't hold hands with the world.

You can't be in love with this stuff and hold hands with me.

Because what's going to happen is you're going to have a

divided Allegiance and you're going to try for a while but

it's not going to work out. You're going to have to be all

in to be with me or you're going to have to go.

Do what you got to do in your life.

You know, how many people have tried their, very best to live

their life and still have Jesus Christ, and it's not working out

for him because God requires the basic tenets of Christianity is

deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow

me. That's diligently, seeking him.

That's the challenge. And what Satan wants to do is he

wants to shine a bright light in your eye and he wants you to not

be able to see it and he does a very good job of making that

bright light available and it is not the light of Jesus Christ.

It's the blinding light of his lies.

Will Satan Disease deceives by invitation for for such are

false Apostles, deceitful workers transforming themselves

into Apostles of Christ and no wonder for Satan himself

transforms. Warms himself into an angel of

Light. Therefore, it is no great thing.

If he, if he, if his ministers, also transformed themselves in a

Ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to

their works. Now listen, keep going on.

The mount the very first Sermon on the Mount.

That Jesus gave, he said, Beware of false prophets, who come to

you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.

You will know them by their fruits.

Keep going for a second. Now, the spirit expressly.

Says that in latter times, some will depart from the faith

giving heed to seducing, or deceiving spirits and doctrines

of demons. They will speak lies in

hypocrisy having their conscience.

Seared with a hot iron forbidding to marry and

commanding to abstain from foods, which God has created to

be received with Thanksgiving by those who believe and know the

truth. Now, he goes on for a little bit

talking about this explanation of how God made food to be

something you enjoy. If you bless it with prayer,

that was a different teaching that they had ever known.

And he said, People are going to come along and they're going to

try to hijack the teaching of the church and they're going to

make traditions where God has not taught anything got to be

careful of those guys. Jesus said they're going to be

ravenous wolves. They look like sheep but they're

really ravenous wolves and here he says they're able to

transform themselves. I know a lot of really, really

good. Good acting good.

Good people in so many circumstances that have believed

somebody a preacher or whoever it is.

And they've taken no responsibility for their own

soul in this. The Bible says, we have to study

to show ourselves approved unto God.

A Workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the

word of Truth. What does he mean by that?

Here's what he means by that. When you look at the Bible,

God's holy word, right here, what I mean by that is you

should take your Bible out and you should measure everything

that I'm saying by the book. And how do you know if I'm a

preacher of God or if I'm a liar?

Here's how you know, it you take this book and you sit down with

it and you say I'm going to ride down every scripture: hats.

If you want to take my sermon home, I'll give it to you.

That's no problem. Take every scripture, I'm giving

you home, take the explanations. I'm giving you from scripture

home with you, if what I am saying is different than what

the word of God says. Not a man of God and I'm not a

preacher of God. And so many of my friends people

that I love so much. Here's here's the common thing

that I hear, they say, you know, Cullen.

I just don't feel like God is interested in the details.

Let me see if I can make sure that I understand this.

He said they're going to come to you in sheep's clothing.

He said they're going to be deceitful workers and they're

going to look like somebody. That's really righteous and

good. He said they're going to teach

details like this that are not okay with God they're going to

tell you sometimes in history. This happened for sure that you

can't marry they're going to teach you doctrines of demons.

They're going to speak lies in hypocrisy.

They're going to have a conscience seared with a hot

iron. Are those details that matter?

Yeah. You see the real problem happens

in religion, when we do this, whenever people make up their

mind that I'm going to believe what I'm going to believe and

you believe what you want to believe and it's all going to

work out. Okay, that's a major problem.

Here's why. Jesus said not every one that

saith unto me Lord. Lord shall enter into the

kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth, the will of My Father,

which is in heaven. Many will say, to me, in that

day, have we not prophesied in thy name?

And in thy name, have cast out demons in thy name.

Done many wonderful works. Then will I profess unto them?

I never knew you. Depart from me those of you that

practice lawlessness. Now let me let me back up for a

second because man, this is this is plowed pretty close to the

corn. We're trying to grow.

You're telling me that good sweet sincere, people.

In that moment that have lived a somewhat definitely, a religious

life have jeopardized their soul.

And yes, the answer is yes to that.

Jesus answered it. He said, I don't know you, what

is the determining Factor? He said not every one that saith

unto me, Lord Lord. But he that doeth, the will of

My Father, which is in heaven. So in other words, if I show you

what the Bible teaches for you to do the question, I have in

the commitment, I ask from you, tonight is this.

If I can show you what the Bible says, that's different than what

you're currently doing. Would you do it?

I can show you what the Bible says, period.

Would you do it? That answer has to be yes.

That answer has to be absolutely.

Yes. You see what the Lord is going

to do. Is he's going to start out.

He's going to teach you with what the Bible would refer to as

milk. Just like a baby.

It's not very proud thing to be able to say.

Okay I'm going to start out. I'm going to be a baby in Christ

but that's exactly what we are. But it expects us to grow, and

sometimes during that period of being a baby, we grow and we're

week well week, but then we grow to be strong but all along the

way. He's feeding us and what he

requires from us is that we would be a people that are

humble and willing to change. If he shows it to us, will you

do it one of the most effective questions I've ever heard?

Anybody asked in any religious sector, is this?

If I showed you what the Bible says, would you promised me?

You'd do it. And that answer better be yes.

How could we ever claim to be God's people, if we would not

answer that question? Yes.

So then the rubber meets the road and when I say, the rubber

meets the road you're talking about, you mean, you're going to

change me morally? You're going to change my

morals. Yep.

Yeah. You mean I'm going to have to

start doing some of the things differently than what I do.

I'm going to have to start acting different.

I'm going to have to change everything about my yeah.

It's what you're going to have to do.

But is it different? There's a Different Twist on

this. It's what you have the

opportunity to do. For an infinite.

Holy God to send his son to die for you.

Because one day it's not going to matter about what you did

today or this week or what kind of family vacation you took or

what kind of house you live in or what your lifestyle is.

Like, one day, it's only going to matter.

If the Lord says, I know you or I don't know you.

That's going to matter. That's going to be the most

important. In fact, there's not going to be

anything else that does matter. Well, Pate Satan tempts people

to send, listen and Luke 1:38, the Bible says, and the chief

Luke 1:38

priests, and the scribes saw how they might kill him.

For they feared the people then Satan entered Judas surnamed

Iscariot who was numbered among the twelve.

So he went his way and confirmed with the chief priests and

Captain's how he might betray him to them and they were glad

and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought

opportunity to betray Him to them in the absence of the

multitude. You got two groups here that

want something. You got Judas, that is selling

Jesus out. And you've got the Jews, the

scribes, and the chief priests that what his blood because

they're jealous of him. He was stealing their Thunder.

They were mad. Let me tell you why they were

mad. They had been mad ever since

John the Baptist Jesus cousin, six months older than him.

He was six months older than him and he had stood in the Jordan

River and he'd looked every one of them in the eye and said, you

brood of vipers who warned you to flee from the Wrath to come

and he told them you'd have to bring forth fruit that is worthy

of repentance. They didn't like that very much.

Now, the common people came to John and they realized, hey,

he's talking straight to everybody.

You know what? I love about God, he didn't care

who you are, where you came from, he wants you to Rendered.

He wants you to change. So Jesus comes along and he

begins to preach that same message.

And he tells people, I tell you native, unless you repent, you

will all likewise perish. They didn't like that either.

They thought that because they had blood veins.

That said, I've got Abraham's blood in my physical veins, they

thought they were good with God. Have you ever known people that

thought, you know, my parents church to me, my parents took me

to church. I've been in church.

That's the same thing that was wrong with the Pharisees.

They trusted in that but they did not have a real relationship

with God and I'm going to define a real relationship with God is

Wonder one where we surrender to the will of the father.

Because I don't know anybody they can claim they have a real

relationship with God if they're disobeying God.

I do not know where that passage exist.

I don't know what teaching that would be.

That would ever help somebody think that But here's what the

scripture says, again, Satan entered you had somebody that

wanted to sell something or needed some money.

Wanted some money. That was his weakness and guess

what? He opened the door, guess what?

Our weaknesses do, Judas had a weakness for money.

He was the guy that carried the bag at always ought to make us

nervous a little bit. You ought to be real nervous

when you start thinking about money because money is one of

those things that the love of it is, the root of all evil.

I think that's a pretty good quality pot qualifier when you

sell out Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.

Then you got other people that want blood and they're willing

to participate in this as well. Not a good situation, another

story about money ananias and Sapphira.

Guess what happened Peter said ananias, why has Satan filled

your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the

price of the land. For yourself.

You ever had some, you ever had a moment where you Justified

something to yourself Stop and think for a second how Judas

Iscariot must have Justified this to himself.

Stop and think how ananias and Sapphira this husband-wife combo

seem to be doing something really good Judas.

You can't say anything was good about what he did.

And I sense if I were were early members of the church and they

sold some land and they brought it and they put it before the

apostles. Most scholars, believe that the

reason why they were struck dead that day is because they were

attempting the apostles to see if God's.

Holy spirit, was really in them. And they were able to CERN and

see that he was cheating, they were cheating the situation.

In other words, they were telling a half-truth, I don't

know what would have been wrong with them.

Selling the land and saying, hey, I'm going to give you half

of it, but they acted like, they gave it all to him.

So, stop and think for a second. Why has Satan filled thine heart

to lie? That's a powerful statement.

We ever stopped in Justified yourself in circumstances, we

all have you get in trouble. You have somebody hold you

accountable and you say, well, the reason why I did it, Was.

Why said that was? Why did that was?

Well, imagine what justification must have been going through

ananias and Sapphira is mine and it doesn't look like they got to

give an answer. They were struck dead that day.

The Bible says that fear fell on all the church.

Yeah, somebody comes in to church tonight.

They acted like they were one way and they really weren't we

drag their dead bodies out of the church.

I think that would cause a Revival right up here in the

middle of all of us, wouldn't it?

We'd be all thinking, you know what?

Fess up before I get this, same circumstance going on.

That was the supernatural moment where God was judging his people

and helping people understand, then what he is more

long-suffering with. Now you see they were

questioning literally put in a bad situation about how the Holy

Spirit works and about how the apostles worked.

And it was really a challenge to those guys and God struck him

dead. And that ought to be, that ought

to be a warning to us. It ought to be a warning to us

about justification. And it ought to be a warning to

us about how Satan operates because he will give you a

justification for whatever you want to believe and for whatever

you want to think. And for whatever you want to do,

if you want to do it, God will let you do it.

The problem is, your choice is not free, and there are

consequences to that. And that's the dangerous side to

how this works and how Satan tempts people to send.

Well, he takes and bakes, and chokes, the power of God's word.

The solar the Bible says the sower sows.

The word and these are the ones by the wayside where the word is

sown. When they You're Satan, comes

immediately and takes away. The word that was sown in their

hearts. These likewise are the ones sown

on Stony ground, who, when they hear the word immediately

receive it with gladness, and they have no root in themselves.

So, in dirt, only for a Time afterward when tribulation or

persecution arises for the words sake immediately, they tumble.

Now, these are the ones also, sown among Thorns, they are the

ones who hear the word and the cares of this world.

Swirled the deceitfulness of riches and the desires for other

things, enter anything in choke the word and it becomes

unfruitful but these are the ones sown on good ground.

Those who hear the word except that in bear fruit.

Some thirtyfold, some 60 And some hundred, this is all of us

right here. The Wayside soil.

Who comes the Bible? Says Satan comes and takes it

away. That's not where you want to be.

That's not where anybody wants to be.

I have heard people and watched people with the gospel before

and they have an attitude of I really don't care what you're

saying. In fact they're doing

everything. But listen, they could care

less. But the word is still there.

This it's still powerful. The problem is the heart that

it's sewn on could care less. And so, the Bible says Satan

takes it away. Be real careful.

When you hear the word of God to be open to it because the next

round goes like this. Oh yeah.

That's a great idea. Yeah preacher.

Yeah, you showed her to me. I like it.

I accept it. But that's where it stops.

You see? The Bible says, we have to

continue in it and there's a natural growth process.

And the problem is when people give up on the growth process,

it goes kind of like this. I get into Jesus Christ.

I'm all gung-ho I grow a little plant.

It's looking good, but the Problem is then I take away all

the water and all the fertilizer from it and then I wonder why

the route doesn't go down and it begins to die.

In other words, it's a picture of people that literally don't

do what's necessary to grow. You have to grow, you have to

grow, what do you have to do to grow, get, Eat, You Gotta Eat,

I've never in my life forgotten, what it was like to have twins.

In fact of all the things that are probably would have done if

we would have just had one, I would have probably been some

arrogant person that gave People parenting advice.

Listen, if you're here and you got kids bless your heart,

you've survived, you've made it, it's great.

I don't have any advice for you. I remember figuring out how we

were going to put food in and get something out.

I remembered all that. It was very, very important.

In fact, it was necessary. Well, this one's not eat as

much. Well, this 18, but then it came

out, I don't know. It wasn't a proper coming out

kind either. It's supposed to you're supposed

to feed them and it's supposed to stay there and they grow.

The next time you take them to the doctor, they're a little

bigger and a little fatter and they grow and if they don't and

oh she's not eat this. Is this one is and Mama's

worried about that and they make me worry about that.

I didn't know what to worry about but I do.

Now you got to eat, you got to grow.

There's a growth chart older than 95th percentile their high

but oh, they're 40 percentile for weight.

What are we gonna do? I'm scared.

They're going to die. There's a chart, there's an

expectation. We know that with little kids

well there's an expectation. Spiritually to it.

Here's what it is. All your life.

You're trying to act like Jesus and grow to be like Jesus every

day. And he's going to help you do

it. But you got to eat it, you got

to eat the food. Sometimes, the food is going to

taste real good, and it's going to get to your stomach, and it's

going to be bitter. That's what the Bible says about

itself. Sometimes it's like sweet honey,

but then when it gets inside, and it begins to change

everything and all the relationships and everything

begins to change. Sometimes it's bitter.

You got to make that different. You got to make that call.

But then he talked about the thorns and he said, this is the

cares in the richest in the pleasures of life.

That's a very careful thing that we ought to take into

consideration. There's a lot of stuff that

Satan sends our way to try to get our mind off.

What our job is, and our job is to bear fruit.

Our job is to grow to be like Jesus, every single day to bear

fruit. Last of all for this reason,

when I could no longer endure it, I sent, I sent to know your

faith lest by some means. The tempter have tempted.

You Our labor might be in vain. In other words, the job of

everybody that preaches. The gospel and teach us the word

of God is to make sure that this see falls upon the ground and on

the good ground it to make sure that it does something.

And he talks about the labor of that process, sometimes it's in

vain because what Satan does is he wants to destroy that work.

That's what he tries to do. I gotta hurry, Satan uses

sickness disease and death. All along throughout scripture

there have been moments, where disease, and sickness and death,

Satan uses that to destroy people, even to destroy and

discouraged and try to ruin. People just know this.

What Satan uses, what Satan tries to do.

What? He's always trying to do is make

people sick and die. What God said, basically is

this? Everybody's going to get sick

and everybody is going to die. But what's It does is because he

knows that we don't want to die physically and God's put all the

cards on the table. He wants to frame it in such a

way that it's God's fault and it's God's problem.

And God is not the reason why we get sick and God is not the

reason why we die sin is. And sins are Choice problem and

that's it's our Freewill problem and all along the time he is

always used sickness and disease and death to try to destroy

people's faith. And tonight, I pray that he's

never able to do that for you. The Apostle Paul captured all

this, when he would say things like this for me to depart and

to be with the Lord is far better than this.

If I stay, it's going to be better for you because I'm going

to bless you with my life. I'm going to serve you.

I'm going to work for you. I'm going to do everything I can

for you, but it's far better to die.

And go be with the Lord. That's when we know our

relationship with God is real, Satan does not win.

And first Peter 3:8, he who sins is of the devil for the devil

1 Peter 3:8

has sinned from the beginning for this purpose.

The Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works

of the devil in his much than the children have / taken a

flesh-and-blood. Hebrews said he himself likewise

shared in the same that he might through death, he might destroy

him. That had the power of death.

That is the devil. Satan is not going to win.

You read, Luke chapter 4 and you read.

Luke 4 · chapter mention

Matthew and what you'll find is Jesus was taken up and he is the

perfect picture of what Satan tried to do.

He tried to destroy Jesus with three different times, three

different moments at the weakest moment of Jesus's life except

for the Garden of Gethsemane. And in those moments, Jesus

would say it is written. It is written, it is written

again, and that's what we have to do.

The very, the very thing that God gave us to fight with our

weapons. We don't wrestle, he said

against flesh and blood, but against spiritual hosts.

So what did Say, take up the whole armor of God, he would say

things like this. Gird, your waist, with the

truth, put on the breastplate of righteousness shod, your feet

with the preparation of the gospel of peace.

But then he said this above all taking, the shield of Faith, you

will be able to Finch quench, all the fiery darts of the

wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation

and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.

Praying, always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit

being watchful to the end with all perseverance and

supplication for all the saints. You know what he's saying?

This is what's going on. And yes, this has to happen

individually, but there's also something collectively that we

do Now, if somebody came in God forbid and they were to begin

shooting, like we hear all this crazy stuff, you know, where I'm

going to be. I'm not going to stand right

behind this. I'm going to get behind that.

If somebody came in and they were shooting darts at you or

shooting anything that you, where do you want to be, you

want to stand behind this and try to figure out a way to know.

You don't want to do that at all.

You want to try to get behind something.

That's big enough for you to hide something, to put every

part of your body, so that they don't get any part of you.

Satan Satan does his very best to destroy people before?

They have a chance to build and put together what God put in

place. But let me tell you what God

did. Before you ever have a chance to

grow your faith, the way it should be, he puts you as a part

of a body. And what our job is is, we've

got to do our very best to hide behind when we are weak or sick

or down and out, we've got to have somebody that's going to

fight off the lines and you better be that person for

somebody because there's going to become a day and time where

you're going to have somebody doing that for you.

You better have a moment in your life where you recognize that

you may be that person that somebody else is relying on and

if you don't stand in there, you don't do your part.

They're not going to make it. Listen to what the scripture

says for the body is one and has many members, but all the

members of that one body being many are one body.

So also is Christ. You notice what he said back

here, we make prayer. You know, the greatest thing

you'll ever do for anybody in your in their whole life,

anything the greatest thing you can ever do.

For me, the greatest thing that I'll ever do for you is remind

God of how important you are to me.

And I am to you. And what Satan wants to do is he

wants to try to separate off, he wants to try to make sick.

He wants to try to get somebody victimized and off by themselves

away from the herd and what the herd has the responsibility to

do is get in there and dig in. We've got to dig in and we've

got to build a perimeter around. We've got to do everything we

can, although the lion seems so close, we got to do everything

we can to fight him off. Because we're one body.

And when one of us hurts, we all hurt one of us has a victory, we

all have the Victory and that's what you have in the body of

Christ. You demonstrate that reality

When you pray for your brothers and your sisters in Christ you

demonstrate that reality when you provoke one another on to

love and good works, you demonstrate that when you call

one another, when you send text messages of encouragement, when

you're seeing cards, when you do nothing more than smile and Pat,

somebody on the back, you have a god-given job that anybody no

matter who they are in the whole wide world, you can be a

blessing to them. Specially, you can be a blessing

to your brother and your sister in Christ.

We are fighting. In fact, we are in the fight of

our life against the devil, and we, when we're together and when

we have the herd assembled around us, We're going to beat

him. We're going to beat him big

because his fate is already known.

We know what's going to happen to him, we don't want him to get

another one. And those that he's got ahold

of, we want to get back. We want to do everything we can.

To be on the Lord's Side to fight this fight for all were

worth. If you're here tonight and

you're not a Christian, won't you accept the invitation?

Jesus said come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden

and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn of me

for my yoke is easy, and my burden is light light.

Now, what I talked about tonight is not light, the Bible says,

Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.

Whenever you're baptized in the name of the Father, the Son of

the Holy Spirit, you have just called upon.

We have wheat, somebody will call upon the most powerful

beings in the universe, God the Father God, the son, and God,

the Holy Spirit, and they buy their power and authority wash

away. The dead man of sin and they

make by their Grace, they make us alive again.

According to Ephesians 2 verse 1 and then the Bible says, greater

Ephesians 2:1

is he that is in you. He that is in the world.

Who is it? That's in you.

The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

You're not going to lose when the Father, the Son, and the

Holy Spirit are in you and you're in Christ.

Do you know the place where they are?

And you should be in Christ? That's where every spiritual

blessing is your feeling weak and you're feeling alone and

you're feeling like the world has victimized you and you feel

like you need some help and you feel like you're down and out.

You find the herd and the herd is the body of Jesus Christ.

And will not only protect, you will fight some of your battles

for you will do everything we can.

Well, bear every burden that we possibly It can bear for you,

the Bible tells us that's our job.

Fulfill the law of Christ to Bear one another's, burdens.

Are you here tonight in? San is overtaking you and you

need our prayers. We'd love to pray for you.

If you only knew if you could only imagine at that moment,

where you feel the weakest, some of the greatest strength you'll

ever find, or people that are calling your name in prayer.

We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the

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