[0:00] Mike here, please open up your copy of the Scriptures to the book of 1 Peter and chapter number 5.
[0:17] And last Wednesday night, I preached a message out of this passage of being sober and being vigilant and a warning about our adversary, the devil.
[0:34] And in verse number 8 and 9, I want to read that to you again. I want to continue on that thought because there's more to it and look at it in a little, maybe the next step, different material and then even possibly Lord willing Wednesday night, have some more thoughts about resisting him.
[0:55] But look at verse number 8. The Bible says, Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour, whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
[1:14] Now I know some of you weren't here Wednesday night and I'm not going to take a whole lot of time to backtrack and get you up to date with this. But I will introduce what we're going to get into today by just commenting a short minute on that.
[1:31] There's a command in verse 8 for us to be sober and to be vigilant. The thought of having our eyes open and being keen and aware and attentive and having our minds clear and free of distractions is because we have an enemy.
[1:46] We have an adversary and he's the devil. And the devil's not some fake figure and he's not some guy sitting on your shoulder with a pitchfork.
[1:56] He's a real being, a powerful being, a magnificent, wise, and even as he was originally created, glorious and beautiful being. And he's nobody to be playing with.
[2:09] And he's nobody to be overlooking. And Paul said some things that we commented on Wednesday night that we'll just not be able to get into too much. But he said we're not ignorant of his devices.
[2:22] And there's an adversary to the Christian and to really, it's not just at the Christian, but it's against God. That's who he's against. I believe that completely, that his beef, his fight is with the Lord God Almighty, his creator.
[2:39] And because he rebelled against God and because God did some things in reaction to that, there was consequences to that, he seeks to destroy, to counter, to oppose anything that God's interested in.
[2:53] Anything that brings God pleasure, then Satan's going to get involved. In the Garden of Eden, he created a man and a woman. It was a perfect situation. Innocence. Why did Satan have to go in and mess with that?
[3:06] Is it because he didn't like the way Adam looked? Or Eve? Didn't like her hair color? It had nothing to do with them as people. Maybe a bit of resentment that they were kind of taking his place that he had, but sinned and rebelled and was destroyed.
[3:23] Nevertheless, he got into that because this was bringing God pleasure. He said, you want that? You want to make a new race here on earth? You want to populate the earth with something else and get glory out of that?
[3:38] No. I'll get involved. I'll see to it that you never get glory out of that. Anybody, if you know, or anybody that gets saved and tries to serve Jesus Christ with their life, they have an adversary. Because they're now bringing glory to God.
[3:51] And they're doing something that pleases God. The adversary is going to show up. And I showed you some things on Wednesday night of some areas. We saw that in 1 Corinthians 7 that when a man gets married, the Bible describes that he doesn't have the ability now to just do the things that please the Lord.
[4:07] He has to care about the things that be of the world, how he may please his wife. And the thought was that there's some responsibilities that come along with being married, children, career, job, all these.
[4:18] There's responsibilities in life. They're just the things that be of the world, just natural things that, what I warned you of, they can be a distraction. And it could be more than just your wife and kids.
[4:28] It could be a hobby. It could be chasing something that you just have a proclivity toward and you're good at. Maybe you're good at art or good at writing and you go that direction.
[4:39] And you're good at music and you start to go that route. And there's things where Satan can see that. He's watching. He's walking about seeking whom he may devour. And he sees an area in your life that you may tend to lean toward.
[4:52] He sees something that you may pick up and give a little more time to than you should. And he sees an inn. And he goes after you there. And I've said this before. I believe it's true that people who have talent in certain areas, for instance, a musician, they have ability.
[5:07] They just get it. They hear it. They breathe it. And other people, like myself, and you struggle so hard just to stay up to know what you're talking about and doing. Some people just have a knack.
[5:18] They're gifted. And Satan knows it. And if they lean that way and start going into that stuff and give their heart to it, you can better believe he's going to show up and try to find a way to let that get a hold of their heart and find that whatever it would be, to take them away from serving God with it and to be pleasing to their creator because he's after God.
[5:40] There's another area I talked about in 1 Corinthians 7 where the husband and the wife are coming apart and they're fasting and giving themselves a prayer and fasting. And Paul says to come together again, lest Satan tempt you.
[5:51] And the point was that Satan obviously is paying attention to husbands and wives. And he's paying attention to what they're doing. He's paying attention. He's looking for a way in. And when he sees them come apart from each other and give themselves a prayer and fasting, he says, oh, I think I could tempt one of them right now.
[6:09] I think I could. I think I see a way in right now. And Paul said, he warned you. Be sober. Be vigilant. He's paying attention to the marriage. He's paying attention to your relationships with others.
[6:21] He's looking for a way in. And then finally, we looked at the church. And we looked in the church at Corinth. And we looked in Galatians. And saw that Satan's looking for a way in.
[6:33] He's looking for a way to get in. When he sees a way in, he'll exploit it. And if he can get in, he'll get in. And our job is to be sober. Our job is to have our eyes open.
[6:43] He's seeking whom he may devour. And so we saw some areas Wednesday night where he's looking for a way in. And so our counter is to be sober and to be vigilant, to be paying attention, and to resist him when we perceive that he's close.
[7:01] To resist him. Now today I want to notice some evidence in the scripture that he might be in. Or that he might be getting in. Or that he might have affected somebody.
[7:13] Or that he may be affecting you. And we'll see some of these evidences here. Some people that had, they wouldn't have known it. But the Lord identifies it as Satan's behind this.
[7:25] And so we're going to take a look at a few characters in the Bible and just receive some instruction, Lord willing. Let's bow our heads together and pray. Father, please bless the time. Please help each one of us to focus on what the scripture says.
[7:37] And to submit ourselves to the word of God. And to not be lifted up in pride. Being sober about our own tendencies. And being aware that our adversary would use our own pride against us.
[7:52] To cause us to say, not me. Couldn't happen to me. God help us to see ourselves as sinners. I pray, Lord, that it be the spirit of God that would have access to our hearts right now and our minds.
[8:05] And that we'd yield ourselves and submit ourselves. Lord, I pray that we'd be innocent. And that we'd recognize his working. And that we would stand and we resist. And may Jesus Christ be glorified.
[8:17] May you get the glory out of us that you seek and deserve. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Come back to Matthew chapter 16 with me. Matthew chapter 16.
[8:30] And let's take a look at our guy here, Peter. And notice something that he didn't notice.
[8:40] That there's a lion walking about. Seeking whom he may devour. Matthew chapter 16.
[8:56] We're going to notice some evidences that he's working and that he's active. Verse number 21. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes and be killed and be raised again the third day.
[9:18] Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him saying, Be it far from thee, Lord, this shall not be unto thee. But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan.
[9:29] Thou art an offense unto me. For thou savest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Wow. That's kind of a harsh reply.
[9:45] From who though? From Christ or from Peter? Who's the one that's guilty here? Well, it's obviously Peter. It's not the Lord Jesus Christ. We did see that, didn't you?
[9:57] That Peter took him and began to rebuke him. Did Peter honestly rebuke the Lord Jesus Christ? And say, What you just said is not true.
[10:07] And it's not going to happen. Maybe he's standing there saying, Not on my watch. I've got your back. I'll protect you. Maybe he's being noble. Or so he thinks.
[10:19] At any rate, He rebuked Jesus Christ. And I want you to consider this right away. And what Jesus said was, You're savoring the things that be of men.
[10:31] You're not even thinking about what God's will here is. You're just worried about what happens to men. You've got some human or emotional connection here going on.
[10:41] And you're not willing to let go of it or look past it and see that God's working. And may God's will be done. The working of that lion, our adversary, is evident when somebody is more concerned with man's will than what God's will or God's purpose is.
[11:01] Peter's just thinking like a man, a humanitarian. Well, that's noble. That's kind. That's compassionate. And we would applaud that unless we understood that, no, there's something way bigger and way more important going on here in what Jesus Christ is revealing to his disciples.
[11:20] It's a negative message about him dying and being killed and being scoffed and rebuked and all these things that would take place. That's a terrible thought for Peter.
[11:31] He doesn't like it. And so Peter decides to say something about it. To let Christ know how he feels. Now, never mind it came from the mouth of Jesus Christ.
[11:43] This is a master and disciple relationship here. And for some reason, the disciple disregarded who the master is and decided, I don't like what you said there, so it's not true and it's not going to happen, and then I'm going to give my opinion on it.
[12:02] Somebody's out of bounds. Somebody's wrong. Somebody's being carnally minded. Somebody's caring about the things of men above the things that be of God.
[12:13] And we wouldn't even really perceive it to be an issue. We'd just say, oh, Peter, I know how you feel. But Jesus Christ attributed Peter's concern to the working of Satan.
[12:25] Verse 23, But he turned and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art an offense unto me. Those are some strong terms for a guy that he's pretty tight with.
[12:40] I bet if you're a bystander or if you're one of the other 12 and you're standing there and you hear this exchange, you're like, well, hey, hey, hey, settle down.
[12:51] How did it get to there? Peter, what's going on? I think this is like, you know, we were just, he was just talking a minute ago. He was just telling Peter that God revealed something to you and the keys of the kingdom.
[13:05] And now all of a sudden, get thee behind me, Satan. Thou art a fence unto me. I mean, very direct, very hard. I'm not spicing this up.
[13:18] This is reality. And the bystanders would think, he's just saying he doesn't want you to die. Why are you jumping down his throat about it? The reason is the Lord knows what's really going on.
[13:30] The Lord Jesus Christ knows that Satan is influencing this man, one of the closest men to him. He's influencing him in an effort to deter God's purpose for his son, the will of God, the things that be of God, and one of his own 12 handpicked close disciples, is unknowingly influenced by Satan and trying to turn against Jesus Christ.
[14:00] And he's doing it because he's thinking a positive message. I don't want that to happen to you. I don't want this hard road. In Genesis chapter 3, I mentioned this before, that subtle serpent is identified picking on a woman.
[14:19] And according to 1 Timothy, he deceives her because she believes his viewpoint. Partaking of this fruit is a good thing after all.
[14:30] It's good for food. It's pleasant to the eyes. And it's desired to make one wise. Why wouldn't I take it? And she was deceived by him to go against the word of God.
[14:45] She saw things that benefited her, things that be of men, and partook. And Satan's working is evident when somebody's more concerned with how they feel or how someone else feels or the things that be of men.
[15:02] More emotional than spiritual. And when you're concerned with things of men more than things of God, it's evidence there's a lion walking about, seeking whom he may devour, and it looks like he's already getting in.
[15:20] And you're told to resist it. You're told to have your eyes open, to be sober and vigilant, to be paying attention for this stuff, so that when it shows up, you can resist it.
[15:33] And so don't allow, church, don't allow an emotional attachment to anyone. Cloud your vision. Get in the way of seeing something for what it is.
[15:47] Be sober. Be vigilant. No matter if it's a friend or a family member or a mentor or whatever the case is, you better be careful and watch out that it's not Satan getting involved and working an angle so that he can devour.
[16:04] His working's evident here because somebody's more concerned with man, with the things that be of man than God's purpose and will. Now look with me at Luke chapter 22.
[16:16] And here's Peter in Luke 22, a little different time. But he's got a similar problem. He's got an adversary that's working against him.
[16:32] While you're turning, I'll just save some time. And if you can, get Mark chapter 14.
[16:44] We're going to go right there in a minute and compare these two passages because it's dealing with the events of the same night. So Mark 14 in one hand, if you will, and Luke 22.
[16:56] We'll begin in Luke. And I'll begin reading in verse 31 through verses 34. This is the night.
[17:10] The night that Christ will be betrayed and will be taken before different councils and judgments and governors and then ultimately be crucified.
[17:23] Verse 31, Now what do you think Peter's going to say to that?
[17:46] Verse 33, And he said unto him, Lord, I'm ready to go with thee, both into prison and to death. And he said, I tell you, Peter, the cock shall not crow this day before thou shalt thrice deny that thou knowest me.
[18:06] Satan is in the picture again and is working, is evidenced here by somebody thinking more about themselves than is real, more spiritual than they are, more righteous than they are, maybe stronger than they are.
[18:23] In Peter's case, perhaps more loyal than he really is. Peter talks a good talk. And by the way, be cautious when somebody talks a good talk.
[18:36] It doesn't necessarily mean anything. Peter talks a good talk. But Christ saw through the whole thing. He knows what's inside Peter. He knows the end from the beginning.
[18:47] And he knows and he tells him what's about to take place. But Peter denies it. And Satan's involved. There's a lion looking on. There's a lion getting in.
[18:58] He's found a way in. I think when Peter talks a good talk, I think the disciples probably believed him. And they even followed his bold lead. Peter's a leader.
[19:10] There's no question. When something takes place, Peter's the first one. It's just his instinct. It's his nature. He just speaks out. He just, he says what he thinks. Other people are just thinking about it, mulling it over, probably like looking around.
[19:22] What should we do? Peter just steps right out, lets it fly. And he's the guy that speaks for the group. I mean, that's just, God uses that later in the book of Acts. It's not a bad thing.
[19:34] It's misplaced in some times. But I believe the rest of the guys saw Peter as that bold man. He's the one that pulls the sword out later on that night against the entire army against him that are coming to take Christ.
[19:49] He's the one that's ready to fight. He's a bold man. They know this guy. He's tough. He doesn't back down from anything. When Jesus, when he stands there and says, I'm willing to go with you to prison, even unto death.
[20:03] I think the rest of the disciples believed him. Look at Mark chapter 14 with me now and see something they said in this same time. They didn't just believe him, they followed his lead. Mark 14, and we'll start in verse 26 to 31.
[20:20] Mark chapter 14, and when they had sung in him, they went out into the Mount of Olives. And Jesus saith unto him, All ye shall be offended because of me this night. For it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered.
[20:33] That's a prophecy against them. But after that I am risen, I will go before you into Galilee. And Peter said unto him, Although all shall be offended, yet will not I, me.
[20:45] And Jesus saith unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Peter, that this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.
[20:56] Now look at Peter's response. But he spake more vehemently, I will, if I should die with thee, I'll not deny thee in any wise. And notice I'm to tag on to that, Likewise also said they all.
[21:11] So now all the disciples are following Peter's lead. They're all saying, Yeah, yeah. We're not going to, we're not going to scatter from you. You are our shepherd. We will follow you all the way to the death.
[21:24] Just like Peter said. Hmm. So all the disciples now are rebuking Jesus Christ. Now you don't maybe see it that way, but he just told them, that's what the scripture says, and that's what I'm telling you is going to happen, and you're all going to tell me it's not going to happen, and I'm wrong, and the scripture's wrong?
[21:47] In one accord, contradicting the Lord Jesus Christ to his face? Are you picking up what's going on here? This isn't just, I mean, on the surface, humanitarian size, it's like, yeah, we love you, we're loyal to you, we're going to stay with you.
[22:03] What Christ sees is the devil's influencing you boys. Something's wrong here. You're telling me I'm wrong. You're telling me the scriptures are wrong? You better be careful.
[22:14] There's something underneath here going on, and Jesus Christ is very aware of it. These men are deluded about their own selves, and their own strength, and their own loyalty, and what they're really made of, and look in Mark 14, look over at verse 50.
[22:29] Just a few hours later, when it gets on, and push becomes shove, verse 50, they all forsook him, and fled.
[22:43] How many of them? All of them. They're gone, just like he said. Evidence of the working of Satan is somebody thinks more of themselves than they ought to think.
[23:00] Somebody thinks higher of themselves. Christ identifies here that Satan hath desired to have you. He's seeking whom he may devour, but Peter, he's not sober.
[23:12] He's not vigilant. He's deceived about how strong of a guy he really is. You know what Peter thinks? I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. I'm one of the twelve.
[23:25] Not only that, I'm one of the inner three. Peter, James, and John, I'm one of them. He took me up into that mountain and let me see some things that you else didn't see, much less the rest of Israel.
[23:38] I'm a disciple of Jesus Christ. He promised me that I'm going to have a throne in the kingdom. That's who I am. I'm the real deal. I'm not going to run from you.
[23:51] I'm going to stand my ground. I'm willing to stick my neck out for you. All the way to prison? No, all the way to death. And it's that kind of deception.
[24:03] It's that kind of pride that shows up in a man. There must be a lion close by. You need to open your eyes, Peter, and be aware because he's working on you and he's got somebody deceived.
[24:17] Somebody didn't even expect it. Somebody thought they were more spiritual than they are. Somebody thought they were stronger than they are. Somebody thought that they were more righteous and called of God and gifted of God.
[24:27] I'll never fall. But when that lion shows up, down he goes. He's working. He's working. He's seeking.
[24:38] Now come to the two places again. Matthew 26, back to your left. Here's another situation here where we've got to look at two angles of the same thing.
[24:52] Matthew 26 and John 13. So, Satan's working is evident when somebody is more concerned with the will of man and how man feels about it than with what God's will is and God's purpose.
[25:14] His working is evident when somebody thinks more of themselves than is reality. And here's a third case and a third person.
[25:26] And I'll start in John 13. If you keep your place in Matthew 26, we'll be there shortly. John 13 and verse 1. Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.
[25:44] And supper being ended, the devil, having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him.
[25:55] And it goes on. That's the scene. The devil's active. And he found somebody to engage with. Somebody who wasn't vigilant and sober-minded and paying attention.
[26:10] And he let him in. And he put into his heart to betray him, it says in verse number 2. Now this has already happened. So now come back to Matthew 26. The devil had already put that in his heart.
[26:24] It didn't happen after supper. It's saying, it's present tense there. It had already taken place because we see earlier that time, that evening perhaps, 26 verse 14.
[26:38] Matthew 26 verse 14. It says, Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priest and said unto them, What will you give me? And I will deliver him into you.
[26:49] And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver. And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him. So the devil's already put it into his heart to betray him. He's now just looking for the right time.
[27:02] And this evening's going to present the right time. Alright, so that's what's taking place. Now look at Matthew 26. We're still there. And skip ahead to verse 20.
[27:14] And this is that supper that we read about in John 13. Verse 20 says, Now when the evening was come, he sat down with the twelve. And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.
[27:30] And they were exceeding sorrowful and began everyone to say unto him, Lord, is it I? So they don't know who it is. And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me.
[27:42] The Son of Man goeth as it is written of him, but woe unto that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It had been good for that man if he had not been born. Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I?
[27:57] He said unto him, That was said. Yep, it's you. You know what? That's a serious question. Is it I? Are you talking about me?
[28:11] This thing about betraying you and he didn't know that Jesus knew. And furthermore, he didn't know that all along Christ had been making these comments.
[28:24] If you still have your place, look at John 13. All along, he'd be making these comments like in John chapter 6, Have I not chosen you 12 and one of you is a devil? They all heard that.
[28:35] Judas didn't know, Oh, that's me. He didn't know it was him. What's he talking about? One of you is a devil. He didn't know that. But there was a lion walking about seeking whom he may devour.
[28:51] And keep following this. Christ spoke about that devil several times, even in this night, even before they're saying, Is it I? So just before that, look at John 13.
[29:04] And he's talking about washing their feet at the beginning of this. From verse 4, he riseth from supper and laid aside his garments, took a towel, girded himself, and so forth.
[29:15] And as he's coming through that, notice verse 10, Jesus saith to him, this is to Peter, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit. And then he says, And ye are clean, but not all.
[29:28] For he knew who should betray him. Therefore said he, Ye are not all clean. So again, he drops that hint because it's on his heart. He knows one of these 12 is going to betray me.
[29:39] The scripture says, And one of these 12 right here is going to do it. And you're clean, but not all. One of you is a devil. And then he says later, verse 18, I speak not of you all.
[29:52] I know whom I have chosen, but that the scripture may be fulfilled, quote, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. A prophecy that one of his 12 are going to betray him.
[30:04] And Judas doesn't realize he's the one. He says, Lord, is it I? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, you're the one. In verse 27, After the sop, Satan entered into him and then said, Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.
[30:22] Now, Satan is seeking the whole time. He's seeking whom he may devour. Do you know who he devoured?
[30:32] the one with which he found an opening. You say, What are you talking about? What's that opening? Well, Judas had a hang up.
[30:44] Judas had a weakness. Look at John chapter 12. Look back a chapter to John chapter 12. And just a few days before this, Christ is at a house of some of his friends.
[31:00] And in verse 3, Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard very costly and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.
[31:17] Then said one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which should betray him, Why was not this ointment sold for 300 pence? That's quite a, that's quite a bit of money.
[31:28] And given to the poor. This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief and had the bag and bear what was there, put therein. Then said, Jesus, let her alone.
[31:40] Against the day of my burying have she kept this. There's something bigger and more going on, but why does Judas speak up here? What is it that Judas is saying?
[31:51] He's not concerned about the poor. We know that. The Bible says he's a thief. He saw that ointment and he just saw money. You know how much money that's worth? And then speaks of some good thing we could have used it for, but he doesn't care about the poor.
[32:04] The Bible lets us know that. He cares that. Look at that money you're wasting. He held the bag. He was the guy that had the numbers. That's where his heart was. He was a thief.
[32:16] He didn't care about Christ's burial. Remember what we read back in Matthew 26? He went to the chief priest. The Pharisee said, what will you give me? What's it worth to you? I got something you want.
[32:28] You got something I want. You know who Satan devoured of the twelve? It's the one he found a way in. It's the one that he found an opening.
[32:39] He found a hang up. He found a weakness. And Judas has a thing with money. Now you don't need to turn here. Let me read you two verses that Paul warns us about in this very specific application of money.
[32:52] And I'm just going to read to you from 1 Timothy 6 verse 9. But they that will be rich, Judas, fall into temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition.
[33:12] Judas is called the son of perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil which while some coveted after Judas, they have erred from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
[33:27] Now who would tempt and lay a snare to drown somebody in destruction and perdition to devour them? Who would do that?
[33:39] I think we know. There's evidence. There's a lion at work in the life of Judas Iscariot looking for a way in and he found one. And so his working is evidence here the third way today when somebody is willing to betray Christ for whatever reason it would be.
[33:58] But they're willing to betray Jesus Christ. Judas' case, it was for money. It could be for you a weakness in your flesh. It could be some desire that you have. I desire a spouse, a man, or I desire a woman and I'll go chase that woman or that man and it's taking me away from Christ but I just want to get married.
[34:17] I don't want to be single anymore. And the devil, put somebody in your path. Don't think he won't do it. Somebody just good enough, not bad enough, but good enough to take you away, to get you to betray Jesus Christ and what you know is right and put that thing or that one above Jesus Christ.
[34:38] He's looking for some weakness and when he sees it, he'll attack it to get you to sell out for advantage, for promotion, for money. The God of this world, my goodness, he has money, he has wealth at his fingertips.
[34:53] He can promote you with the snap of a finger, he can promote you. Don't think he can't work things out. So be sober and be vigilant and learn how to pray and learn how to seek God and learn how to get an answer from God before you make a decision in your life and make sure that it's what God wants for you because it might be the devil, just like Judas, putting it into your heart.
[35:17] Do you think he put it into his heart to betray Jesus like he's sitting there looking at Christ saying, I just want to betray you. I'm so sick of you telling me what to do. No. You know what he put into his heart? You know how much money they'd give if you just tell him how to get him?
[35:34] That's how he put it in his heart. The thing that he loved. You know how much money you could get if you went and did that? You better be careful, Christian. There's a devil and he's nobody to be playing with and he knows how to take men down.
[35:49] Believe it. He's no one to be playing games with. Now one more thing and we'll be done. 2 Corinthians 4, last place in the Bible this morning. And something before we leave, I cannot help but to warn you.
[36:02] And I have to tell you, there's one more area, one more evidence of the working of the lion that's seeking whom he may devour. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and look at verses 3, 4, and 5.
[36:24] 2 Corinthians 4, verse 3. But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. In whom the God of this world...
[36:36] Who's that? That's Satan. That's the devil. That's the lion that's walking about seeking whom he may devour. In whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them.
[36:55] For we preach not ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. What's happening here? They're preaching Jesus Christ.
[37:08] It's the gospel is what he calls it. The light of the gospel, the glorious gospel of Christ, the death, burial, and resurrection that Christ died for our sins.
[37:21] That we can be saved and forgiven of our sins because Jesus shed his blood to pay for our sins. We don't have to pay for them. We don't have to suffer God's wrath against our sins.
[37:33] That's the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can receive forgiveness because of what he did for you. You receive him. You receive his righteousness. But that gospel, that good news, that wonderful message, that glorious gospel is hid.
[37:49] It's hid from people. Who's it hid from? From people who have their minds blinded by the devil. Their minds, meaning their understanding.
[38:02] They don't understand it. They don't see the need for it. They think differently. It's probably, I'm okay. They think, well, I go to church. I'm good enough.
[38:12] And the devil's blinding their minds to their self-righteousness. I'm good enough. You know what? His working, his working is evident when somebody doesn't believe on Jesus Christ.
[38:24] When the preaching of the gospel is ineffective. You can tell there's a lion close by. He's blinding their minds. He's keeping them from seeing the gospel.
[38:35] How's he doing that? Just like he's putting it in the heart of Judas to betray him, he's putting it into their heart and mind to trust something else. You don't need that preaching, that Christ stuff, that Jesus stuff.
[38:47] You know what? They just want your money. You know what? They just, it's not that easy. You have to be good. And he blinds their mind. He shows them, you do this.
[38:57] Here's what some people have a big hang up on. It's family oriented. It's cultural. It's, if I believe that message that Christ died for me and that all I have to do is place my faith in him, it's just about believing on him and that settles it.
[39:13] My mom and dad don't believe that. My great grandparents, none of them believe that. They all go to this church. They all follow this way. And if I believe that, then I'm saying, you're wrong.
[39:27] And the devil puts that over his eyes. He says, you can't forsake them. You can't walk away from the way you've been raised, the way you've been trained to take Christ.
[39:39] And he's blinding them. He's blinding them saying, don't you love them? Won't you stay with them? Do you know they're going to get angry with you? And it's not, and what I'd say to you, if that's you and if you're in that case, don't think of it, you're not walking away from them.
[39:56] You're receiving what Christ did for you. You're believing on him, what he said to you and taking God at his word. You're not turning your back on somebody else. You're taking the free gift of eternal life.
[40:09] And you know what? It is true. They need it too. But the devil will blind your mind. And when you see the devil working, when you see somebody who won't receive the gospel, it's evidence because the God of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not.
[40:27] He's sold them a different story and they've received it. If you're not saved, let me ask you this, do you want to be damned? Do you want to pay for your sins in hell?
[40:39] I mean, I'm not making it up. That's what the book says. Do you want to go to hell? Then why not trust Jesus Christ? Do you want to suffer for your sins? God made a way for you to escape that.
[40:50] He made a way for you to go free. He punished his son so that you could go free. In plainer words, Christ died for you. And you can receive forgiveness of sins and you can receive salvation by putting your faith in what the Lord Jesus Christ did for you.
[41:08] I don't know who's here, who knows Christ. I don't know who's saved or like this verse says, them that are lost. I don't know if you're lost. But if our gospel be hid, it's hid to them that are lost in whom the God of this world has blinded the minds.
[41:22] Them which believe not. Have you believed on Jesus Christ for your soul's salvation? If not, somebody's blind in your mind. Somebody's working. Somebody's close by and he doesn't want you to get saved.
[41:37] But salvation's easy. It's one of the easiest things I've ever done in my life. I just believed what Jesus did for me. I believed what the Bible said and I exercised my faith in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
[41:52] I came to God as a sinner saying, guilty, I'm a sinner and I understand from your word what I deserve but I also understand from your word that you made a way for me to get out of it.
[42:08] And I'm going to take it. So I invite you today if you're lost, if the devil has your mind blinded thinking you're going to get there by being good, your righteousness is good enough for him, you're wrong.
[42:20] You're not. Why would Christ die? Why would he die if you're good enough? He died because you're not. I want to invite you to take the blinders off.
[42:33] Invite you to come to Christ and receive what he's offering, forgiveness and a home in heaven, eternal life. Let's bow our heads together with every head bowed, please, every eye closed.