Resist the devil

-Matthew 4:1-11

Matthew 4:1–11 (CSB)

1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 After he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. 3 Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” 4 He answered, “It is written: Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.” 5 Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: He will give his angels orders concerning you, and they will support you with their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.” 7 Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.” 8 Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. 9 And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve only him.” 11 Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him.

-Its been said, the devil comes at your highest

Recently there was a famous actor who disgraced himself during an award ceremony.

You may have heard about it, being that it was the headline news for several weeks not long ago.

To which another actor who came to his defense, is being celebrated for having said “At your highest point, is where the devil comes for you.”

-He is always there

Well, that must only be with the rich people, because I have found that the devil comes for you when you are at your lowest point too.

And, he also comes when you are at your middle point,

And he comes when you least expect it.

He will also come when you do expect it.

Actually unless you “Resist” him, he’s always there

James 4:7 “Resist the devil and he will flee from you”

He is crouching at your door, and his desire is to rule over you.

Genesis 4:7 (CSB)

7... “But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

So, Make no mistake about it.

The devil is always there.

You all know I love the arts, I love theater, etc.

Im reminded of a scene from the movie, Prophecy.

It's not a Biblically accurate movie but it's fun to watch nonetheless.

There is a scene that always struck me as a preach-able moment.

The character, the devil, is trying to convince the protagonist priest, to come over to the dark side So-to-speak.

When the priest refuses the devil begins to antagonize him by recalling all of his secrets in order to embarrass him into submission.

Then the devil says something like this.

“Remember when you would jump into your bed & pray every night so afraid of I was under there? I was”

That scene always stuck with me because I understood it to be true.

He is there, always.

Always waiting for an opportune time!

And for most of us, his influence makes itself known every once in a while in our actions and responses.

Even in the most unexpected times.

Example: If you wake up in the middle of the night, go to the bathroom, and stub your toe! What's the most probable response from some of us? Uh-huh!

It's a wonder some of us are even saved. Lol

He’s even there at the expected times.

If you expect him to show up, at say, in the middle of a fight you have.

He will not disappoint.

He will not fail at showing up upon request.

He is not one to miss an opportunity to help you make an idiot of yourself.

Especially if you call yourself a Christian.

-He loves it when a Christian falls

Oh, to him, that's a BONUS!

He loves it when a Christian fouls up and ruins his witness.

He loves it when a man or woman of God messes up and gets soiled in controversy over a love affair.

Or gets caught with their hand in the church’s proverbial cookie Jar.

Ruining his or her ministry and being the cause of people losing their faith in the church of God.

In fact one of my most admired Christian Apologist, passed away a couple of years ago, afterwards he was found to have been living double life.

This man was a powerhouse, and had many people deciding they needed to get closer to God,

Now, many of those same people are left questioning his motives all along, ruining his earthly witness.

It seems like every other day we heard another church is breaking away from a large megachurch over another scandal involving adultery, etc.

What People fail to remember is that the devil isn’t in hell yet.

He is sitting on his counterfeit throne right here on planet earth.

He is the power and principalities of the air

He was the power behind the prince of Persia that withheld the angel's arrival in Daniel’s time.

He is “never” not there and “unless you resist him”

He’s probably sitting right here next to you right now, this very moment whispering in your ear about how I, the pastor must be full of it right now.

And pointing out all of my faults to you, along with all the faults of the leadership team, the youth departments team, etc.

Or that, the pastor doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

We all know that voice.

-Familiar Spirits

We’ve been hearing it since we can remember.

That's why the Bible calls the demons in scripture

“Familiar Spirits.”

They are familiar because they have been filling our minds with junk since we could understand.

Do this.

You don't need that.

You can stop all by yourself.

You didn't mean that.

Or even worse ones like, “No one will ever know!”

God is a liar

Those thoughts do not come from heaven.

Jesus married Mary Magdalene and had love children etc.

Or that Illinois Governors should never go to prison, lol

But Seriously,

The devil is always there unless you resist him.

We should all be so filled with the Holy Spirit, that he departs from you, even at the least for a little while.

A Valiant strong young man who was going through some turbulent times in his life said to me when there was a break in the chaos that was going on.

That he was just glad that the devil gave him a short break so he could catch his breath.

I immediately responded by correcting the accolades he was giving to the devil.

Instead of where his help was really coming from, God!

Psalm 121(CSB)

1 I lift my eyes toward the mountains.

Where will my help come from?

2 My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not allow your foot to slip;

your Protector will not slumber.

4 Indeed, the Protector of Israel

does not slumber or sleep.

5 The Lord protects you;

the Lord is a shelter right by your side.

6 The sun will not strike you by day

or the moon by night.

7 The Lord will protect you from all harm;

he will protect your life.

8 The Lord will protect your coming and going

both now and forever.

-The devil hates you

You see, the devil doesn’t

respect you.

He doesn’t care about you.

He doesn't have compassion for you.

If he had the chance, he would not just kill you but desecrate your body

Jude 9 (CSB)

9 Yet when Michael the archangel was disputing with the devil in an argument about Moses’s body, he did not dare utter a slanderous condemnation against him but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

The devil is not going to take it easy on you, because he hates you with a definition of hate that our humanity cannot understand.

Even here on earth, most serial killers have a semblance of compassion.

Whether it be towards another human or animals or something.

The fact that they are human endows them with the capacity to feel compassion on some level.

The devil is not human, and is not endowed with this compassion.

He is full of hate and is the enemy God, who is love.

-No rest from him until you repent and seek God

So, this is the spirit that is hovering about you constantly, oppressing you, depressing you, holding you hostage to addictive behavior, constantly, until you repent!

And, until you seek God to cover you with the blood of His Son Jesus.

You will find your rest, comfort, and help from He who does love you.

And spilled His blood for you.

He who is full of compassion, for the ability to love comes from Him for He is Love

1 John 4:8 (CSB)

8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Don't fall for the lie that the devil only comes at you when you are doing well.

-God didn’t do it, the devil did.

I was just at a ministerial alliance meeting Friday evening where I voiced my thoughts on Ukraine.

I made the point that even as the people were desperately fleeing for their lives from invading armies.

Their home and lives already destroyed

On top of all that, it was unseasonably cold, icy & snowing.

So, I couldn't help but ask the Lord about this.

I mean, you couldn't even bring the sun out so they can escape with ease Nope!

Then a thought came to me as I was pondering with this.

It wasn't God, who made it that much harder to escape.

It was the devil.

He caused Jezebel to hunt down Elijah.

He caused Elijah, who just called down fire from heaven to forget the miracle and run for his life in fear of Jezebel.

He did it when the apostles were on the boat in the middle of the sea causing a storm to brood

Jesus rebuked the apostles, instead of the devil, for not believing they were safe with him.

Listen brother and Sisters, and those watching,

The devil is going to do his thing until God finally does away with him.

He is always there, watching, waiting, providing opportunity for you to fail God.

Our part to play in this theater of life on earth,

Is living through the storms of life in Faith

-The Just shall live by faith

For the just shall live by faith

Habakkuk 2:4 (CSB)

4 … But the righteous one will live by his faith.

My last thought is a verse,

1 Peter 5:8 (CSB)

8 Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

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Invitation / Altar Call

You are not alone in this journey; we are all flawed, but Jesus' grace and forgiveness offer a path to renewal and spiritual growth. Accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior grants you the gift of eternal life and an unbreakable connection with the Creator. It is an opportunity to be washed clean of past mistakes, to find purpose, and to experience peace beyond human understanding.

Through prayer and reflection, you can invite Jesus into your heart, accepting Him as your personal Savior. Surrendering your life to His guidance will lead you on a transformative journey, transforming your life in ways you could not have imagined.

At this time we invite you to put your reservations aside, and come on down to the altar. Myself, Pastor Zach, and Sharon are here at the altar to receive you, and to help you pray for salvation.

If there be anyone here wishing to rededicate themselves to the Lord, I also invite you to come down the isle to the altar.