Has The Devil Taken You Captive?

2 The devil wants to control you. 2 CORINTHIANS 2:11 “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” He wants to control you. He wants the kind of power that you’ll only do what he tells you to do. The kind of power where you’ll go where he tells you to go. He’s got the kind of control in people’s lives. He’s tricked them and he’s fooled them and he’s controlling their every step. You think about it. Why in the world would anybody go out and take a gun and out it up to their heads and pull the trigger and commit suicide? You know why? Because they’ve let the devil take control of their life instead of letting God take control. I’ve heard some people say that if they do that then they aren’t saved. The Bible don’t say that. The Bible says once you’re saved, you’re sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise. I don’t know if they are saved or lost but I can’t say that they are lost because they took their life. But I’ll bid you this...you better not do it. It won’t look good on your record. God has something for you to do and you cut it short. Our lives are to be given away to other people. Our lives are supposed to be something in somebody else’s life. You see people get mad and puffed up. The Bible says the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. If you’re all mad and angry then it’s because you’re serving a mad devil. God’s not the author of confusion. The devil wants to tempt you but God wants to teach you. The devil always has a condition to do something for him. He says if you come over here and do this and I’ll do this for you. That’s what he did to Jesus. He said, If you’ll fall down and worship me, all that you see before me I’ll give to you. He was trying to give away what was not in his power to give away. God doesn’t want you to be tempted by the devil, he wants to teach you out of the word of God. The Bible says no temptation has taken you except what is common to man. But God will with the temptation make a way for you to escape. Don’t let the devil control your life. You know why people don’t come to the house of God? Because the devil has control over them. God says if you draw nigh to him, he’ll draw nigh to you. If the devil has control of their lives, we need to carry Jesus to them and let Jesus take over their life.

3;The devil wants to consume you. 1 PETER 5:8 “Be sober, vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” He wants to consume you. He wants to just swallow you up. The devil has a lot of power and a lot of control over our flesh but thank God the Bible says to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. We ought to crucify the old flesh and live present with the Lord. There’s people in the world that say, Pastor, I work just as hard as I can, I have a good job but I never have any money left over. Seems like I never have anything. I give it all to settle debts. My health is getting bad and I’m having problem after problem. Let me tell you what....that’s what the devil consumes you with. God is a problem solver. If you don’t give it to God the devil will take every bit of it. If you don’t give God your family, the devil will take your family away from you. If you don’t give God your money, the devil will take your money from you. If you don’t give God your health, the devil will take your health away from you. He wants to consume you. The devil wants to tear you down but God wants to build you up. I’m glad I’m serving a wise master builder. Jesus the carpenter from Nazareth. He knows how to build things that will last.