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JUL2010
SCRIPTURES - John 10:10, 2Cor 2:11 JULY, 2010
The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.
SUBJECT - THE DEVICES OF THE DEVIL[3]
When I left off last month, I was explaining the danger of having people in the pulpits of the churches in this nation, that are not God's anointed.
The danger is not that evident to the lay people, because all they may know about the pastor, is that he/she has a degree, from some university, or is the relative of the founder or previous pastor of the church. And to them [the lay person], that is all that is necessary.
This is where the Devil comes in. He uses these people, to further tear the church apart, and destroy lives, because the pride of the people, mixed with ignorance, further sets up a situation, that could conceivably render this nation, especially, completely hopeless, and further hasten God's wrath against us.
As I had mentioned earlier, the main qualification for being a pastor, is God's anointing, PERIOD!! Nothing can take the place of it, because, without God's appointment to that, and other offices of the ministry, 'THERE WILL BE NO EVIDENCE OF GOD'S POWER, THE POWER THAT SEPARATES CHRISTIANITY, FROM THE OTHER RELIGIONS IN THE WORLD.!!'
Think about this.
When you get sick, or injured, where do you go?? To the doctor, or a hospital, right?? Why?? Because they are in the business of healing. Right??
Now, what distinguishes one doctor/hospital, from the others?? It is usually their ability to heal whatever ails you.
Well, 'NEWS FLASH!!! The Church, is supposed to be God's answer to all of our sicknesses and diseases. There is not one single disease, injury, malady, infirmity or problem that is, or ever will be, that He has not already conquered. And, that includes, death.
The problem is, that is not happening, in most churches in this nation,
because, the pastors, through whom God shows forth His power, are not authorized/anointed by Him, to administer His services.
No one, should go to a doctor that is not licensed, for any serious problem.
Well, if you are in a church, that has a pastor that is not called of, and anointed by God,, you are in a far greater danger, because it is possible, that he, may not only short-change you, on healing and deliverance, but, may lead you in to eternal damnation.
Go to any other religion, and inquire if they have any sort of divine healing, opening blind eyes, unstopping of deaf ears, and the ultimate, raising of the dead, and they will tell you, no.
Well, look at a few things Jesus told His disciples, [John 14:12] Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. [Mat 10:7-8] And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give.
Anybody, that knows anything about Christ's ministry, knows all of the miracles He did. And for Him to tell His disciples that they would do greater works than those that He did, is an indictment of the Church today, that tells people, to get health insurance, so that they can have a doctor to go to, when they get sick.
If the Devil, can get people to believe that Christianity, is no better than any of the other thousands of religions on the earth, then, he is winning the battle for souls. Especially if you consider God's wrath on the church, for not being what it should be, because of these preachers.
They, when asked about these things, will tell you something like, 'those things, are not for this dispensation, God doesn't do those
things anymore.' What they are doing, is covering their own shortcomings. Then if someone else, is demonstrating these things, these preachers will call it phony, further damning themselves.
Another trick he [the Devil] uses, is putting ministers in front of people that have apparent healing and deliverance ministries, that, when investigated, are found to actually be phonies, and thus, giving credence to the idea that all healing ministries, are phony.
Remember now, the devices the Devil uses, are designed to keep people from the blessings that God has for them, in this life, as well as, damning them to hell.
Without the supernatural power of God, being demonstrated, then all that stands out about Christianity, is the message of God's Love, which is a message that sounds good, but is lacking in real substance because, while that is the message of the gospel, there is no action behind it.
What do I mean by that??
If you love someone, would you let them suffer, if you could heal them?? If you love someone, would you deliver them from their bondage, if you had the power to do so?? If you love someone, and they had a need, and you could fill it, wouldn't you??
Well, the message of these preachers today is, you have to bear your own burdens, and things will get better in the 'sweet, bye and bye!!' That is the same thing you can find, in any religion. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that out.
God, is a 'right now' God. Read the scriptures. Any time someone came to Christ, for healing or deliverance, He didn't turn them down, or tell them, they would eventually get better. He did it, right then. This is the same thing He does today.
So, Christianity, is far and above, the greatest, of all faiths, bar none.
Another tool he uses, is circumstances.
One of the biggest tools that he will use, is his ability to bring about circumstances, that, will put a person in a position to do something they wouldn't ordinarily do.
Irregardless of what people may believe, or how strong their confession of faith, circumstances can occur, that will make them consider abandoning that faith.
This area covers so many situations, that I can't possibly list them all, so, I will list some of the primary examples.
Using the first 'law of nature', which is survival, the devil will put people in situations, where they perceive a problem facing them, that might require them to act outside of that realm of what they believe.
Example. Very few people would think of stealing, just to be stealing.
However, if the person, or their family is starving, or destitute, then, there is the possibility they may resort to stealing, or worse, just to relieve that situation.
While few of us would blame the person for resorting to this type of action, given the circumstances, God, has a different view.
First, we should be aware that storms[problems] will come in to all of our lives, at some point in time, the bible tells us that in Mat 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun[blessing] to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain[problems] on the just and on the unjust.
Yet, Christ does tell us something very interesting,
Mat 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26 And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
He says, depending on how we have reacted to His teachings, [accepted, rejected] them, will determine whether the outcome will be good, or a disaster.
The main weapon that the devil uses, is fear.
In every circumstance that I have mentioned in this series, there is one thing they all have in common, and that is, fear. Fear of rejection by family and friends. Fear of looking foolish. Fear of being a failure. Fear of possible injury, or even death.
Since the devil, has the ability to bring about catastrophic circumstances, he can use any, or all of them, to tempt us to stray away from our faith in Christ, just to avoid trouble.
So many of us, and I am talking primarily about Christians, operate in the area of fear, more than we might care to admit. The reason being, we may be full of pride, and fearful of having to admit we are wrong about something.
A classic example of this type of thing, can be evident, when it comes down to how we think the problems this nation is facing, can be solved.
Next month, I will show you why many of us, are 'shooting ourselves in the foot' so to speak, when trying to solve our problems.
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