[0:00] This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfredo, Georgia. It is our prayer that you will be blessed by the preaching of God's Word. Take your Bibles now, if you would, and turn with me to the book of Mark, chapter 1.
[0:13] Mark, chapter 1. We're going to talk about how Satan is operating in our world today. We have been looking at this story of how Jesus walked into the synagogue. He's beginning his ministry.
[0:24] In the book of Mark, he walks into the synagogue, and immediately there's a man with an unclean spirit who attends their synagogue. And this unclean spirit knows who Jesus is, and he immediately says, Why are you here? Have you come to destroy us?
[0:42] He knew that that was what was going to happen. He knew what the prophecy was. He knew that Jesus was going to come and to take victory over Satan, and that's what's happening.
[0:52] And so I know that we spent just a little bit of time on this spiritual warfare between the God's kingdom and the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of light, the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of heaven, the kingdom of hell.
[1:06] We've talked a little bit about that. And I think very likely that most of us would tend to like to ignore Satan and think he doesn't exist, and he doesn't have power, and he's not anybody really real.
[1:19] But if we study the Bible, we're going to come to a very different conclusion. So look with me, if you would, in the book of Mark at chapter 1 and verse 32 in what we read today. There are two mentions in the Bible, two types of things.
[1:32] There's demon possession and demon oppression. I'm going to read you both those verses, and then we're going to look at how we can have victory over Satan. The Bible says in Mark 1, 32, at even when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased, and them that were possessed with devils.
[1:52] In Jesus' ministry, you might think, well, it's kind of crazy, people possessed with devils. We don't believe in that. The Exorcist was a movie. It wasn't fact, and all that kind of stuff is kind of creepy and kind of foolish.
[2:04] So what's the Bible say about all that? In Acts chapter 10 and verse 38, the Bible says, And how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, who went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him.
[2:22] I think most of us would kind of like to ignore the fact that there's a real devil, there really are demons, there is satanic warfare, and there's plenty of Bible evidence about it.
[2:32] I think most of us would kind of say, well, if that happened, it happened in the days of the Bible, in the New Testament, in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It's not really relevant for today.
[2:44] One of the most popular books probably preached, though, is the book of Ephesians. And when the Apostle Paul wrote the book of Ephesians, and we preach and say that all the time, look at what he said.
[2:55] I want you to open your Bible there. Go to Ephesians chapter 6 with me, starting in verse 10. In Ephesians chapter 6, and starting in verse 10, and we're going to read several verses here, if you would, in the Bible.
[3:07] It says, finally, my brethren, I'm finishing up my letter now, and I need to go ahead and say something to you before I close out my letter. Be strong in the Lord.
[3:18] Be strong in the Lord. Y'all need to really get grounded in God. You need to know him, serve him, walk with him, have strength in him, and in the power of his might.
[3:28] You're going to need God to do the work in you. You're not going to be able to do this on your own. Verse 11. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
[3:43] The Apostle Paul assumed, and you can see it right here in the verse, that they were going to need to be able to stand, fight, not give up, not quit, not run, not give in to the world, not give in to sin, not give in to doing wrong.
[3:59] They were going to need to be able to stand against the wiles, the tricks, the deception, the deceit of the devil. And to do that, they were going to put on their whole armor.
[4:10] Verse 12. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
[4:23] Now that verse is like completely foreign to us. I mean, we want to fight with people. You know, we might not come to fisticuffs with them.
[4:34] We might not want to get in a fist fight with them. We just want to get in a Facebook fight with them. And, you know, Facebook is like spiritual fist fighting. You ever notice that? Some guy posts something.
[4:45] Somebody else says he's stupid. Somebody else says, well, you're stupid and I'm stupid. I read that and I'm like, I don't know where. And, you know, I just keep my opinions to myself before I put them in print. But anyway, it's a deal.
[4:55] So we think, I've got to fight with you. That guy cut me off in traffic. That lady picked up the last loaf of bread or whatever it was. And, you know, back when our kids were little, you're not old enough to know about this.
[5:07] But there was a time when there was this doll that was extremely popular called a cabbage patch doll. Now, a lot of churches preached against them. But in our backslidden condition, my wife went to buy some for our daughters.
[5:20] I drove her there. But I sat in the car because I didn't want to participate in her saying. But anyway, she got in there. And, you know, you had to get there like four hours before the store opened.
[5:32] And you had to stand in line. Dumbest thing I've ever seen in my life. What a marketing ploy. And they were fighting over the dolls. People got in fights over the dolls. Jerking them out of each other's hands.
[5:43] But here's what the Bible says. Hey, we don't wrestle against flesh and blood. We're not fighters. We're not fighters with human beings. We're not fighters with other people. We realize there's something going on bigger and farther out that you can't see.
[5:56] That's a problem. You don't see it. But if you're a Christian, you love Jesus, you want to learn to see what's really going on. So here's what the Bible says. Read Ephesians 6.12 with me one more time. We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
[6:15] All of that's rankings of demons. All of those words are rankings of demons. Different classes of demons. It's like saying we fight against privates and sergeants and captains and generals.
[6:29] We fight against all sorts of stuff. We fight against the air force and we fight against the marines. We fight against all of that, but it's all satanic in that verse. Verse 13.
[6:40] Verse 13 says, Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Now, wherefore means since you understand we're in this big fight.
[6:53] Since you understand we're in this big fight. Since you understand we're not fighting people. You're going to have to learn how to put on spiritual warfare weapons. You're going to have to learn how to put on spiritual armor. Since you understand that, go ahead and get the whole armor of God.
[7:07] And here's why. Because you got saved and God wants you to live for him until the day he takes you to heaven. You got saved and God wants it to be real for you. He wants you to be able to enjoy Christian life.
[7:18] He wants you to have the abundant Christian life. He doesn't want the thief to steal, kill, and destroy. Because he came that we might have life and have it more abundantly. And he knows that if there's any way to destroy your faith, Satan's going to go about doing that.
[7:32] Now, I know what you're thinking. What's this got to do with Mark? It has everything to do with Mark. Because in the book of Mark, where we're going to study here, it's talking about Jesus walking in. And there was a confrontation between Jesus and demons.
[7:43] There was a confrontation between Jesus and unclean spirits. There was a confrontation between Jesus and people possessed or oppressed by satanic influence. But look at the verse.
[7:54] Wherefore, take on the whole armor because it's an evil day. It's an evil day. And the facts are that every way possible to destroy your family, every way possible to destroy your walk with God, every way possible to destroy your faith, Satan's coming after you.
[8:09] And he's a tricky, tricky guy. He's got the wiles, the tricks of the devil. And he's coming after you. So if you would look with me at verse 14. Stand, therefore.
[8:22] Stand, therefore. Having your loins girt about with truth. And having on the breastplate of righteousness. And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
[8:33] Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery hearts of the wicked. Now, I'm really not going to study Ephesians chapter 6. It's just so you'd understand.
[8:44] You know why I'm reading Ephesians 6? Because I hear some of you really smart people that live in 2017. And right now you're thinking to yourself, We'll go for that demon junk. He's watching too much TV.
[8:55] He's watching too much sci-fi. He's watching too much of stuff that's talking about demons. I'm reading to you out of the word of God. Amen? And so he's talking about it. He says, hey, there's a demon.
[9:06] There's devils that are throwing. The wicked one is throwing fiery darts at you. Verse 17. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.
[9:18] Praying always with all prayer and supplication. So, let's go back through Mark chapter 1 if I could with you. The reason to take time to study Satan, his work, demons, is this.
[9:30] Go with me to Mark 1.25. Mark 1.25. Jesus took their existence and reality like matter of fact. There's not any indication in the Bible.
[9:42] Look at Mark 1.25. And Jesus rebuked him and said, Hold thy peace and come out of him. Now, you could hope that maybe if this was just a nut case, this is just a nut case that needs to be taken to Milledgeville, if that's the case going on here, you could hope that Jesus would have looked at the guy and said, Oh, stop acting foolish and say, I'll be quiet.
[10:05] You could hope that he would have said, Somebody call the doctors. Somebody dial 911. But Jesus looked at the man with the unclean spirit and rebuked him and said, Hey, hush.
[10:16] Hush. Hush. And just come out of him right now. Hush. And come out of him. So, it seems like Jesus thought it was real. Look at Mark 1.27. Mark 1.27. Jesus had power and authority.
[10:30] And when they were all amazed, in so much that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.
[10:42] Now, most everybody was kind of used to these unclean spirits, but the idea would have been, man, you can't do nothing with him. Them guys get in the room. Them guys take over people. Them guys do whatever they do. We just give up.
[10:52] And Jesus walked around and said, Hush. Get out of him. And it happened. And they're like, Hey. So, here's a lesson for you. Jesus is the winner.
[11:04] We have victory because of Jesus. Could you say amen right there? Look at Mark 1.24 with me if you would. The demons knew about Jesus and his ministry. Not really been announced yet.
[11:16] Not really making it clear yet. He's going to take about three years to make really clear that everybody understands who he is and what he's doing here. But look what the demons do in Mark 1.24.
[11:27] Saying, Let us alone. Us. Not just me. Not just his unclean spirit and his God. Us. What have we, a bunch of us, to do with you? The, thou Jesus of Nazareth.
[11:39] Okay, that's his name. Everybody knows that. That's Jesus of Nazareth. That's Austin of Tennessee. They know him. Thou, Jesus of Nazareth, art thou come to destroy us. Are you here on a mission?
[11:50] Have you been sent from God to take us out? I know thee, who thou art. You're the Holy One of God. So, demons, man, they really know what's going on.
[12:02] They know stuff that the rabbis don't know. They know stuff that the scribes don't know. They know stuff that the Pharisees, the Sadducees don't know. These demons are in on it, buddy. They know. They are in on the know.
[12:13] They know what's happening. They're in there. Look, if you went at Mark 1.32. Jesus acknowledges a demon-possessed man. And at evening when the sun did set, they brought unto him all that were diseased and then that were possessed with devils.
[12:27] So, some people were sick and some people had demons. Look at that. Some people were diseased and some people had demons. And so, there was a difference. This isn't a guy that's having some kind of seizure. There was some demon-possessed people there.
[12:40] And look at Mark 1.34. In Mark 1.34, it says that he healed them, many that were sick of divers disease. That means lots of different kinds of diverse diseases. And cast out devils.
[12:52] Cast out devils. And suffered not the devils to speak because they knew him. And suffered not the devils to speak. He said, hey, you keep your mouth shut. I know you know who I am, but you're not going to tell them.
[13:03] I'm not ready for that to be told. And I don't need you to tell people. I'm fixing to tell people who I am. God's got a plan. Oh, well, stop a second. It's pretty obvious Jesus was like talking about devils.
[13:17] It's pretty obvious the word of God's got devils and demons and oppression and possession and talking and doing stuff. It's pretty obvious. So what's that got to do with us? What's happening there?
[13:28] So here's what I want you to notice. First, I want you to see why. But the second thing I want you to look at with me, if you would, is this. You already have victory. How many of you are born again? If you're born again, say amen. Now listen to me.
[13:38] I'm not asking if you're a member of a church. I'm not asking if you've been baptized. I'm not asking if your name's on a church roll somewhere. I want to know if you ever come to the point and place in your life when you realize I sinned against a holy God.
[13:50] Mama didn't do this for me. Daddy didn't do this for me. A preacher didn't do this for me. But I realized that I had sinned against a holy God and that I deserved to go to hell. And when I realized that I was, we call that conviction.
[14:03] That's when the Holy Spirit convicted me. That's when the Holy Spirit convinced me. That's when I realized my need and I trusted Jesus. How many of you are there? If you're there, say amen. Amen. If you're there, you're saved.
[14:15] By the way, if you're a member of church, you might not be saved. If you've been baptized, you might not be saved. There's no holiness in the water up here. There's no holiness in the water up here. There was no holiness about the guy who put the other guy into the water.
[14:29] That doesn't save anybody. It doesn't change anything. But if you are saved by Jesus Christ, you have victory. Go with me if you would to 1 John chapter 4 and verse 4. 1 John 4.
[14:40] Now, you have to write these down. We're going to take another week or two and look at some of this so you'll really get some victory here in your personal life. 1 John chapter 4 and verse 4. We are in Christ and have victory.
[14:54] The Bible says, ye are of God. Now, he's not talking to all humans here. He's talking to the Christians, the church, the people that have been saved.
[15:05] He said, you guys belong to God, little children, and you have overcome them because greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world.
[15:15] Now, we can stop on that verse forever. Look at that verse, would you? How many of you are of God? Hold your hand up. You say, I am of God. I belong to him. I've been saved. My sins are forgiven. I'm on my way to heaven.
[15:25] That's pretty good. Amen. Well, not only does it say that, cause you little children because we're children of God. And it says, you have overcome them. You've overcome the world. You've overcome the flesh. You've overcome the devil. Look at this. Because greater is he that is where?
[15:38] Talk to me. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. So, you know what? I am not worried. I am not afraid of the devil. I don't walk around thinking, man, he's going to do something to me.
[15:50] I'm not scared of black cats. I was in Haiti years ago and I was riding a horse. And I started to cross over a stream and there were a bunch of people washing their clothes in the stream.
[16:02] I'm on the horse. I'm with another guy. And the other guy with me can translate from Creole to English. And this lady washed her clothes, looked up and said to me, she said, I know you're here for that other God.
[16:14] I'm going to turn you into a frog. I said, have at it, lady. I'll be a big frog. Say amen there. Go ahead and try. I said, I'm not the least bit afraid of you. I said, translate. He said, we don't usually talk to them like that.
[16:25] I said, I tell her, I ain't scared. I know I have the victory. Greater is he that's in me than he that's in the world. If you understand that, say amen. That's what the Bible says in 1 John 4, verse 4.
[16:35] Now look at this. Colossians 1, verse 13. Before we get around to this, you just need to know we don't fight to victory. We fight from victory. We're not hoping we can win.
[16:46] We have already won. We're not like saying, I hope we can hang on to the end and beat the devil. We already got the devil beat. We didn't beat him. Jesus beat him. Look if you went at Colossians 1, verse 13.
[17:00] The Bible said, who hath delivered us from the power of darkness and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. Do you know where I used to be?
[17:10] Do you know where you used to be? Under the power and the authority of darkness. That's sin. That's death. That's Satan. That's hell.
[17:21] That's where every human being is when they're born and raised and coming up in life. The fact is, if you're here this morning, you're not saved. You might not even believe that. You might say, I see fine and everything's great.
[17:33] But you're under the power of darkness. You don't know this, but you're already marked for hell and that's where you're headed. You're under the power of darkness. But that's not us.
[17:44] How many of you would say, man, I am glory to God. He saved me. I know he came into my life and he changed me. Well, let me tell you what that means. Then he has translated you. He has moved you.
[17:55] He has picked you up and transported you into the kingdom of his dear son. You were in the kingdom of the devil. Now you're in the kingdom of his son. You were in the kingdom of darkness. Now you're in the kingdom of light. So we have victory.
[18:07] I don't belong to the devil. And he hasn't got power over me. That's what it's saying. Can you read the verse for me? Who had delivered us from the power of darkness. He got me out of there.
[18:17] He rescued me. He pulled me out of that mess. Go down to Colossians chapter 2 and verse 14. Colossians chapter 2 and verse 14. Jesus has already defeated Satan.
[18:30] This is kind of a verse. Like it's a kind of a crucifixion verse. It's kind of like a verse about what happened on the cross. And you might think that Jesus was losing at the cross. But he was winning big time at the cross.
[18:41] And look what it says in Colossians 2 verse 14. Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us. Blotting out all the rules and all the laws and all the commandments that could be said about you.
[18:55] He wiped them out. He cleaned up your list. He removed that. See we're going to find out if we get to it today. That the devil likes to attack you and accuse you.
[19:07] And to call you all kind of names to make you feel like nobody. To make you feel like a loser. To make you feel like nobody loves you. And he loves to use junk that's been written down for you.
[19:18] But this is what Colossians 2 verse 14 says. He said Jesus blotted out the handwriting of ordinances. The rules that were written about us. He blotted them out. They were contrary to us. Look at the verse. Contrary to us.
[19:29] And he took them out of the way. And he nailed them to the cross. So this accuser of the brethren likes to come down and look at you and say. You know you are a liar. I've got it written down right here.
[19:40] There's the rule and there's the times you broke it. You were a thief. Here's the rule and there's the times you broke it. And here's what you can say. Well that's been taken care of. That's been taken care of.
[19:51] At Calvary that was taken care of. They picked that up. Wiped that clean. And you know what Jesus did when he got through wiping it clean? He didn't say. He didn't say. He didn't say.
[20:01] Well you and I know that. He said let's just make it real public. He said let's just make it real public. I'll wipe it clean. I'll get it out of your way. And we'll nail it to my cross. And so when the devil comes and accuses you.
[20:12] You say hey son. Run to the cross. And look at the cross. My stuff's already been nailed there. Look at the verse. Is that what it says or not? Read with me. Colossians 2.14. Would you read it out loud with me?
[20:24] Read with me. Blotting out. Blotting out. A handwriting of ordinances. That was against us. Which was contrary to us. And he took it out of the way. Nailing it. To his cross.
[20:36] To his cross. Well. Verse 15. And have. That's the next verse. And having spoiled.
[20:48] Having defeated. Robbed. Stolen. Destroyed. Principalities and powers. You remember those guys from those other verses? Demons. He made fun of them publicly. He made a show.
[20:59] Of them openly triumping over them. It's a. I don't follow sports very well. A whole lot. I don't get into it a whole bunch. But I know that in football.
[21:11] They don't like them putting on them end zone shows too big. You know. The show offs. And really. They've had to limit it. And say. You can triump over your enemies. But you got to keep it to X number of seconds. And you can't do too much of it.
[21:23] Because it's embarrassing the guy you beat. Have y'all ever heard of that? Is that true? Is that the way it works? It is the way it works. Huh? You know what. You know what this verse says? Jesus did an end time.
[21:34] A goal line. Jesus did a goal line. Dance. He. He was just down there going. Look at that devil. Take that big boy. I have stomped your rear.
[21:45] I have wiped out their stuff. I put it on the cross. Everybody knows this. I have openly beaten you. That's what he did right there. You ought to be able to say amen right there. We have victory in Jesus Christ.
[21:57] Go with me to Revelation chapter 12 verse 11. We're well into the introduction now. I think we're going to be all right. Revelation chapter 12 verse 11. God's people have defeated the evil one already.
[22:09] And we can do it the same way. Look at Revelation chapter 12 verse 11. The accusers mentioned in verse 10. In verse 11. In Revelation 12 11. He said. And they overcame him. The accuser.
[22:20] By the blood of the lamb. By the word of their testimony. And they loved not their lives till death. This is a fantastic verse. I'm deputation. I used to preach so far out of this.
[22:31] But watch this. Watch this. You know when the devil comes talking to you. You know how you beat the devil. You just remind him of the blood. Look at it.
[22:41] They overcame him by the blood. You know what happened. Where's my sin. It's under the blood of Jesus Christ. Where's my past. Where's all the mess ups. And where's all the way up.
[22:51] I ruined everything I ever did. It's under the blood. So what happens is. I know the facts. I know I'm saved by the grace of God. I know that Jesus paid my sin debt.
[23:03] How many of you know that say amen. See if you don't know that you need to. That's how you'll have victory. That's how you defeat Satan. Because you know the facts. And the facts are when Jesus died. He won the victory.
[23:15] But knowing it's not enough. Because notice what they did next. They said we know what the truth is. But we ain't ashamed to tell it. The word of their testimony. So what happened was the devil came up.
[23:27] And this Christian could look at him and say. Jesus whipped you on the cross. And I know he whipped you on the cross. The devil would probably be like. Yeah he did. But I don't know about that. That has to do with you. And the guy said. Well I'm saved.
[23:37] I've been born again. I'm in Christ. I have a new life. And the word of their testimony. And they loved Jesus more. Than they loved their own life. They didn't love their life. They were willing to die for Jesus. And they were able to have victory.
[23:50] So I would like to take you. To the third thing this morning. Go with me to 2 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 11. How does Satan attack us? How does Satan attack us?
[24:01] Now I think you have to be honest. And say. That in Mark chapter 1. Without a doubt. There is. In Mark chapter 1. Without a doubt. There is evidence.
[24:11] That there is spiritual warfare going on. There are. We've already recently. In 2 Kings. We looked at angels. And now we've looked at demons. And there's all this stuff going on. So that's happening.
[24:23] Well how does Satan attack us? How does he attack you? How does he mess with your life? So look at 2 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 11. The Bible says.
[24:33] Lest Satan should get an advantage of us. For we are not ignorant of his devices. Now this verse is pretty clear.
[24:45] You know how Satan takes advantage of you? Because you're so dumb. You don't know how he does stuff. You're not expecting it. Barney Fife I believe it was. If it wasn't Barney or somebody else.
[24:57] One of them old movies I used to watch. Said fool me once. Shame on you. Fool me twice. Shame on me. And so the truth is. We.
[25:08] Satan shouldn't be able to win. Because we should learn. What Satan does to mess people's lives up. And that's what we're going to do. Over the next couple of weeks.
[25:18] That's what we're going to do. We're going to learn how Satan. Messes up. People's lives. This particular verse is written in the context. Of a local church.
[25:28] And the devil loves to do this in churches. I mean. One of his favorite playgrounds. Is a local church. Because so many church people are so dumb.
[25:41] They keep doing the same dumb stuff. And so Paul wrote this. To say don't do that dumb stuff. So go with me if you would. To 2 Corinthians chapter 2 and verse 7. You see what Satan does.
[25:52] Is he likes to use the law. To remind us of our failures. Instead of us seeing the grace of God. We like to. It's like Christians like to live beat up lives.
[26:05] You know sometimes I think we're masochists. Self masochists. We want to walk around. We want to be like the Catholic priest. That I used to watch in the convent.
[26:15] In the convent down in Peru. When they carried rocks and beat their chest. So they bled. Or they carried whips. And they beat themselves. We kind of like to live that way. It's like we got to beat ourselves.
[26:27] And we feel good about it. The fact is I'm not a real good preacher. Because they don't beat you up enough. You know real good preachers. They rip your face off. Throw salt in it. And stomp you. And then put your skin back on.
[26:38] That's just not. I mean it's just. But you know I just don't see it in the Bible a whole lot. The devil likes us to use super spiritual brethren. To remind everybody else.
[26:48] How they don't measure up. There's just these. There's all these diatrophies. That's what the. John called them. There's all these guys walking around in church. Like who. Oh better than you. You don't do what I do.
[26:59] And everybody's got all that going on. He uses our guilt. So look at 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 verse 7. So that contrary wise. You ought rather to forgive him.
[27:11] And comfort him. Lest perhaps such a one. Should be swallowed up with over much sorrow. Wherefore I beseech you. That you would confirm your love toward him. Now.
[27:22] I've got to tell you the story. So in 1st Corinthians chapter 5. There's this man. Who is a member of the church. And apparently saved. Apparently he's saved.
[27:33] From what the scriptures say. And he is sleeping with his daddy's wife. And the church. Is so sweet. And kind.
[27:43] And full of grace. That nobody will say anything about it. Everybody's just kind of tolerating. That brother so and so. Is sleeping with his daddy's wife. His stepmother. And Paul writes it.
[27:55] And said. I cannot believe. You're so swole up. And puffed up. Think you're so much better than everybody. Because you're putting up with this guy. Doing that. That ain't right. And so here's what I want to do. We're going to ask God.
[28:06] To turn him over to Satan. For the destruction of the flesh. That in the day of the Lord. His spirit will be saved. I'm pretty sure that's this guy here. Now that's my. That is a supposition. Hear me. I said that's a supposition.
[28:18] But I believe that's this guy here. And so what happens. It appears. Apparently. He got disciplined. And he got his life right. And he repented. But sometimes.
[28:29] When you're around Christians. And you fix. What you did wrong. You can't get forgiven for it. God can forgive you. But other Christians. Ain't never going to forgive you. So that's what was going on.
[28:39] At the Corinthian church. So in the Corinthian church. It's like. Well we was wrong to tolerate it. So now we ain't tolerating. Nothing. We're going to get even with it. So look what Paul told them to do. In 2 Corinthians chapter 7.
[28:50] 2 and verse 7. Would you underline this? He said forgive him. Underline that. Forgive him. Forgive him. Not only do you forgive him.
[29:01] You need to comfort him. Underline that in verse 7. You need to forgive him. And you need to comfort him. If you don't. He will be swallowed up.
[29:11] In over much sorrow. The guy messed up. Okay. But he's confessed. And he's done what he can. To get right with God. But yes he messed up big time.
[29:22] But can we just forgive him. And if we don't. He's going to get so. So low. In the mess he's done. He'll just be swallowed up. In over much grief. He's going to want to kill himself.
[29:33] He's going to realize. Because I blew my whole life. And my past can never be won over. I'll never be able to. Fix the mess I'm in. As Paul wrote. He said. Whoa, whoa, whoa. Don't do that to people. Forgive him.
[29:44] That's it. This guy's gotten right. This guy's confessed it. Forgive him. In fact. Do you want to read above this? He's been dealt with in the discipline. And he's sorry. He said forgive him.
[29:56] And then he said. Comfort him. Now go to verse 8. Then he said. Wherefore I beseech you. That you would confirm your love toward him. Now listen to what I'm going to tell you.
[30:09] As you're a discipler. And as you're a man trainer. And as you're a leader. As you're a Sunday school teacher. As you're a parent. People are going to mess up. People are going to mess up.
[30:21] I mean. They just can't help but mess up. Because they're people. And people are sinners. And all have sinned. And all have control of the glory of God. And there's none righteous. No, not one. And the blunt truth is. They're just a pretty big mess.
[30:33] And so here's what. One of the things the devil likes to do. Where a church might. Be a refuge for sinners. Might help people get their lives back on track.
[30:45] Instead. We tend to like to stomp a man. When he's down. And we don't want to do that. Because it ain't right. Can I get an amen right there? One of the. One of the ways the devil works.
[30:57] Is sometimes those who have been forgiven. Forgive the least. Sometimes those that have been forgiven. Forgive the least.
[31:08] And by the way. Jesus even told a story like that. Where a guy was forgiven of 10,000 talents. Walked out the door. And grabbed a guy that only owed two or three months salary. And he was just angry with him. That made Jesus mad.
[31:19] He said. You get forgiven. But you can't forgive. The forgiven. Say it again. Come on. The forgiven. How many of you are forgiven? Say amen. So we're forgivers. Say amen.
[31:30] We are recipients of grace. So we show grace. It ought not be that people drive down the road. And say that's the meanest bunch of cantankerous people on the planet up there at that church. It ought to be that they ride down the road and say man if you're hurting.
[31:42] That's a refuge right there. If you're hurting. There's some bomb in Gilead. Drive up the hill. At Vision Baptist Church. By the way do you play those games with yourself?
[31:53] Like never accepting forgiveness? You messed up. You did wrong in the past. This is me a lot of times. I know God's forgiven me. But I just can't forgive myself.
[32:04] You ever been there? I know God's forgiven me. But I just can't forgive myself. So I walk around wanting to beat myself up. I walk around wanting to beat. I tend to feel good beating myself up.
[32:15] I messed up and I deserve to hurt. You ever feel like that? Never accepting comfort? Never letting God confirm his love?
[32:27] Is it true you feel bad about feeling bad? No excuse me. You feel good about feeling bad about yourself? You feel good about feeling bad about yourself? I mean we love that sometimes.
[32:39] You don't realize that's one of Satan's tricks. That he's pulling. So the first one is. We ought not be ignorant of his devices. And forgiveness ought to be there.
[32:49] Number two. Go with me if you would to 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 3. He attacks us with doubts and lies. He attacks us with doubts and lies.
[33:02] The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and verse 3. Now look what happened with Eve.
[33:19] And look what happens with us. See it's so hard to believe the Bible. Now it's so much easier to believe the preacher. To believe the culture.
[33:30] To believe your parents. To believe the teacher. Than it is to believe the word of God. It's so much easier to believe your companion. Your friend than it is to believe the word of God. And here's what happened with Miss Eve.
[33:43] Back in the Bible. The Bible tells us this happened in Genesis. Look at verse 3. I fear. I'm worried. I'm nervous about this. Somehow the devil. The devil beguiled. Deceived.
[33:54] Tricked. Eve. Eve fell for a lie. Eve fell for a lie. It was a shell game. It was a sleight of hand movement.
[34:05] It was a magician's move. And she fell for it. And she was deceived. Through subtlety. Subtlety. Underline that word in that verse. You need to understand this.
[34:17] The devil knows that you would never believe the devil. You're not that dumb. I mean if the devil showed up here. In a pitchfork.
[34:28] With a pitchfork and horns. And a tail and a red suit. We'd all be like. Hey. I ain't believing that. So he'll show up in a preacher. He'll show up.
[34:39] In a disciple. Jesus was walking down the road. Saying I'm going to Jerusalem. I'm going to be crucified. And bring salvation to the world. Peter turned around and said. Oh no Lord.
[34:50] Never. Never. Never. You should never die. And Jesus knew exactly who was doing the talking. Peter was dumb enough to say something really dumb.
[35:01] And Jesus said. Oh hush Peter. Satan get you behind me. I won't listen to that. You see. That's what's going on. So this serpent that you think of as horrendously ugly and offensive and scary.
[35:16] That deceived her was evidently very beautiful and not scary. And you've got to remember they lived in the Garden of Eden. I mean goodnight they could ride zebras and elephants and giraffes. And they could play with lions and tigers.
[35:26] It was not exactly an unusual thing. And who knows what's going on. And this snake's talking to her. And she gets deceived. And brought away from the simplicity that's in Christ. Most of us aren't smart enough to say.
[35:40] I've got to stay in the Bible. That's why we bring Bibles to church. If you didn't bring yours today. You ought to always bring it. You ought to always look up the verses. You ought to always mark them down. Because you want to know. I've got to check and make sure Austin's telling the truth.
[35:51] I've got to make sure if it's in the book or not. Because somebody might try to fool me. Somebody might try to deceive me. I want to know what the Word of God says. To get them away.
[36:03] He's a liar and a deceiver. Satan is. 2 Thessalonians chapter 2 and verse 9. The Bible says. Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan.
[36:14] With all powers. With all power and signs and lying wonders. Did you know the devil can do junk? Did you know that? I have seen them pray to idols in Peru.
[36:31] And the idols answer their prayers. You say. I can't go that far. You remember when Moses walked in. And took his rod. And threw it down. The magicians in Egypt said.
[36:44] That ain't no big deal. We can do it too. Threw theirs down. The only difference was. Moses' rod ate their rod. Or Moses' snake ate their snake. And he picked it up. All the rods at one time. But the deal is.
[36:56] Satan's powerful. And he's tricky. And he's messing with people. But we can have victory. We have victory. Through Jesus Christ. Let me give you the last one. And I'll quit for the day. Though I am nowhere near ready to quit.
[37:09] But I know. Wings are waiting on you outside. The Bible says in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 1. Which is what this lying devil was talking about.
[37:21] It says. Now the serpent. 3.1. Was more subtle than any beast of the field. Which the Lord that God had made. And he said unto the woman. Yea hath God said.
[37:34] Yea hath God said. Did God really say that? Is that really what that means? Do you really understand the word of God?
[37:46] And then look at verse 4. The devil even looked at her and just flat out lied. First he cast doubt. And second he just flat lied. First he said. Do you really think God said that?
[37:58] But then in verse 4 he says. You will not die. And the serpent said to the woman. You shall not surely die. So listen to this before I close. You need to understand very clearly.
[38:09] The devil's main goal in life is to fight God. You are just a pawn on the chess board. He hates God.
[38:21] And to fight God he has to fight the Bible. The word of God. He has to make us doubt that God's word is true. And so we turn on the radio.
[38:32] We turn on the television. We read magazines. We're on the internet. And we are taught to believe anything that would make you doubt the Bible. It's old.
[38:43] It's archaic. It isn't relevant. It has nothing to do with our lives. Because the devil's like. Oh come on people. You're going to believe the Bible. I mean goodnight Google knows more than the Bible.
[38:54] You can trust Wikipedia more than you can a Bible written to all those years ago. That's how they're going to talk to you. But you already know now because you're not ignorant of his devices.
[39:06] You know that's the devil's game. Making fun of truth. Can I get an amen there? And once he gets you to cut your moorings. Once he gets you to cut your anchor.
[39:19] Once he gets you to walk away from revealed truth. Then all he's got to do is say. It ain't going to happen. There's no hell. You know one of the devil's favorite sayings is this.
[39:30] There's no devil. Goodnight. Who taught you such foolishness? Oh you got that out of that dumb old book didn't you? You believe that's true? That's what the devil's doing. And you're like.
[39:42] Yeah. I mean Google says it ain't true. Come on. That's what the devil's doing. Now watch this. You're not saved and you came today.
[39:54] But you're really not that interested in getting saved. Just to be honest. You don't really believe in that salvation stuff. You've been told that if you were to get saved.
[40:06] That God would make your life dry, dull and unhappy. He would take away all of your fun and all of your freedom and all of your happiness. And you'd have to live like a monk.
[40:18] And it'd be terrible. Well he's a liar guys. He's a liar and a father of lies. He told you. You don't have to worry about there being a hell. Of course he told you that. He told you.
[40:29] You can wait till tomorrow. He says. All right. All right. All right. I'll go along with it. There might be some truth to this heaven and hell stuff. But it doesn't have to be today. Good night.
[40:40] You're in your 20s. Whether you're in your. You're an old man like that preacher. You're like 69,000 years old. Then you can get saved. Wait till the last day before you die. And call a preacher real quick.
[40:52] Enjoy life while you can. And you're just going. Okay. How can you be so dumb? There's victory.
[41:05] There's salvation. You can go to heaven when you die. Your sins can be forgiven. You've got this battle going on in your heart. Thinking I don't think so.
[41:17] I don't believe so. I don't think that's necessarily true. You know who's telling you that. You say well it wouldn't happen at church. Well Jesus showed up at the Jewish church.
[41:28] Called a synagogue. And there was a man with an unclean spirit right there. He was in the church. Will you trust Christ today? Would you say no to.
[41:40] Sin and self. And yes to Jesus. Would you say hey I'm going to quit believing a lie. And believe truth from the word of God. Would you say that today? Would you trust Christ today?
[41:52] Would you put your faith in Jesus Christ who died on the cross for you? Well I know what they're going to say. You're hearing this. Oh how could one guy down on the cross do that for me? You can trust the word of God. You can trust God.
[42:05] You can be saved. Why don't you trust Christ right now? This message was recorded at Vision Baptist Church in Alfred, Georgia. For more information log on to www.visionbaptist.com where you can find our service times, location, contact information, and more audio and video recordings.
[42:26] Thanks. Thank you.