11/27/2019
"Wiles of the devil"
The 1st thing we've got to know is this:
John 10:10 says that he "only
comes only to steal and kill and destroy" and no one who loves The Lord is exempt from that. Even less so if you're in ministry!
Sometimes it's a blatant and obvious attack on our health and physical well being, or on our finances. We know when those kinds of things happen and where they come from, but often it's not so obvious and can sometimes take shape over a period of time where we don't see it happening.
Like in the Garden of Eden where he made Eve question what God had said...Gen 3:1 "did God really say that? ", he may cause you to question your faith, or the direction God has led you to go in. His demons are always at work trying to disrupt the work of God in your life and cause you to be distracted, slowing you down in your work of bringing souls to The Cross, or completely derailing your mission with road block... stopping you for a time and then maybe getting you sidetracked with a "little sin" that can lead to your being in a complete backsliden state. Or worse yet, as it states in 1Timothy 4, to completely turn away from the faith.
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith".
It all starts with a little distraction and/or a little deception. People who are completely delivered from drugs and alcohol can one day look up in shock wondering how they ended up with a needle in their arm again. It doesn't happen over-night. It starts with taking your focus off of God. This too can happen in the obvious ways like a life crisis and you slip and have a beer or get high. You get back on track, but it happens again and you eventually use anything as an excuse to get high. That's obvious, and you can see it coming, but there's also ways of taking your focus off of God that aren't so obvious.
You may be in ministry and completely on fire for God, and doing some really awesome things. As time goes by you get really good at helping people or making things happen. The more you become efficient, the more you can do. It's a good feeling to be really good at something that helps so many people! Others may come to you with more ministry opportunities and now you're making better money and things have never been better, or so it seems. But where's God? You had to pick some people up in the morning and you no longer spend that time in prayer or reading a few scriptures. Or maybe there was a really cool outreach but you missed church. Little by little you get so busy doing all those good things that you forget about the best thing...
Spending time with Jesus. You started out on fire, doing something really good, you may have done it as good or better than anyone out there because you were called to do that and God anointed you for it, but the wiles of the devil... remember that? He doesn't necessarily care if you work for The Kingdom of God or not, just that you're not as effective as you can be.
In John 15:5 Jesus says "I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, will bear much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing". Whatever the method, the goal of the devil is the same, to keep you from the blessings of God, and his ultimate goal is to steal, kill, and destroy. Stealing everything from your joy, to your possessions, and eventually to your salvation. So stay alert. God gives us clear advice in this in the book of Ephesians chapter 6 starting in verse 10:
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints.
So, as it says in Matthew 10:16:
be wise as serpents, and innocent as doves.
