HAS THE DEVIL TAKEN YOU CAPTIVE?
2 Timothy 2:24-26
TEXT VERSE: 2 TIMOTHY 2:24-26 “AND THE SERVANT OF THE LORD MUST NOT STRIVE; BUT BE GENTLE UNTO ALL MEN, APT TO TEACH, PATIENT, IN MEEKNESS INSTRUCTING THOSE THAT OPPOSE THEMSELVES; IF GOD PREADVENTURE WILL GIVE THEM REPENTANCE TO THE ACKNOWLEDGING OF THE TRUTH; AND THAT THEY MAY RECOVER THEMSELVES OUT OF THE SNARE OF THE DEVIL, WHO ARE TAKEN CAPTIVE BY HIM AT HIS WILL.”
That was great scripture but I want to point out to you verse 26: “that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.” I want to preach to you for just a few minutes on being taken captive by the devil. Now I want to go back up to verse 24 because I want you to notice two words: The servant. Because it says the servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, in meekness instructing those...and in verse 26 that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil.”
I want to tell you what Paul said in Romans 7:21 “...when I would do good, evil is present with me.”
There’s a lot of evil in this world. I’m not preaching necessarily to those that are lost, I’m preaching to those that have been saved by the Grace of God and are not living it. There’s a lot of Christians today that claim to be saved by the Grace of God but their not living that Godly life. Has the devil taken you captive today? I’ll say this...the devil can’t get your salvation. If you’ve been saved by the Grace of God there’s no way the devil can take that from you. The Bible says we’re sealed with the Holy Spirit of Promise until the day of redemption. It’s engraved in the palm of God’s hand and nobody can take it away. But the devil can capture you. And it says he can do it at his will. A lot of times he captures us in our minds. Sometimes he can even capture us in our heart. I remember reading in the book of Acts where Annanias and Saphire, Peter said, “Why has Satan filled your heart that you’d lie to the holy ghost.” Listen, the devil is not someone to be messing around with if you’re not strong enough to take him on. You better stay just as close to God as you can. Because if you don’t, you’ll falter and fail and fall short of the glory of God. Let me make this statement here: There’s no way that we can simultaneously follow the Lord and the devil. There’s no way! We cannot serve the Lord and Satan. I remember reading in Matthew 12:30, Jesus said, “He that is not with me is against me. And he that gathered not with me scattered abroad.” The Bible says we cannot serve two masters. Either you’ll hate the one and love the other. There are too many Christians in the world today trying to follow the Lord and Satan at the same time. The devil has a lot of power and I want to share these things with you.
1. The devil wants to confuse you. The Lord started dealing with someone and the old devil came along and said that ain’t real. He said these people in here is crazy. He said everybody laughs at the preachers and deacons. He was trying to tell someone that there was no way that you needed to go down to an old fashioned altar and give your heart and your life to Christ when he had everything. He was trying to throw a big confusion block in front of someone. I’ll say this though....GOD IS NOT THE AUTHOR OF CONFUSION. If you’re confused you can bet it’s not coming from God.
2 CORINTHIANS 11:14 “For Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.” He’s trying to confuse people. He’s trying to paint a pretty picture and trying to let you think that everything he’s telling you is right and what you’re doing is right but if you cannot support the life that you’re living Biblically, it’s not right. The devil wants to deceive you. That’s how he confuses you. I’ll say this, God wants to deliver you. God wants to set somebody free today. If you don’t get it today it’s not my fault, it’s your fault. Too many people come into the house of God and don’t even have the mentality of what worship really is. I’m going to tell you what worship is. It’s the overflowing of a Godly life. Get it on the inside and it’ll show up on the outside. That’s what worshiping the Lord is all about. There’s a lot of people wandering afar off. You remember old Peter when they came and got Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane to lead him over to pilots hall? The Bible says that Peter followed him afar off. There’s a lot of Christians like that today. They don’t know what it’s like to get in the fire!!!! You get your life right with God and you’ll be right.
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.
4; The devil wants to condemn you. LUKE 22:31 “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.” The devil will strip you of every thing you have and at the end of your life you will have had nothing. There’s a lot of people in that situation today. The devil has condemned them. That’s the way people look at you if you’re being condemned or if you’ve been taken captive by the devil. You have stink written all over you. You can’t walk close to God and smell like the devil. The devil wants to get all you have. But God wants to give you all he’s got. If only you’ll accept Him in your heart. Just say Lord I’m not living like I ought to. God can give you everything you need in this present life. It’s not easy being a Christian. But it’s a prosperous journey because of where we’re headed. I know where my treasures are at. Won’t it be glorious to close your eyes down here and wake up in heaven?
5: The devil wants to convince you. JOHN 8:44 “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar and the father of it.” He wants to convince you that everything he’s telling you is the truth. NOTHING THAT THE DEVIL GIVES YOU CAN DO YOU ANY GOOD! But EVERYTHING GOD GIVES YOU WILL ALWAYS BE GOOD! Have you been taken captive by the devil today? You think because you’re saved, it’s not possible. If he can tempt Jesus in the wilderness, he can tempt you. The devil wants to betray you but God wants to bless you. The devil will make you think he’s your best friend. Then after a while and you’re alone and you have nothing....and the devil will leave you to sit there and wallow in your sadness. Remember the prodigal son? He went out and spent all he had on devilish things and when he came to he realized he didn’t have anything. He said, why my fathers servants have more than I do. He said I will arise and go to my father. I wonder, would you do that today? Maybe your life is just not where it ought to be for Christ. It’s easy to be a Christian . try being one now! You get around all those wolves. He said he’s send us forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. You know what a wolf will do to a sheep? It’ll eat it up. You better make sure the good shepherd is close by.
You say pastor, I just don’t know how to make a change in my life. I don’t know how to make it better. I want to tell you, you can’t make it better, only God can make it better.
EPHESIANS 6:11 “Put on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Leave part of that armour off and the devil can get in.
JAMES 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God and resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Wouldn’t that be a blessing to look up and see the devil running from you.? I believe when we’re close to the Lord we can stand up against the devil.
LET US PRAY: Father, I ask your forgiveness of my sins and ask that you come into my heart. I believe you sent your only Son to die on a cross for my sins and that he died and arose and now sits at your right hand interceding on my behalf. I ask you to come into my heart and into my life and help to me resist the devil that I might grow and become a strong Christian in the army of God. In Jesus name I pray.
LET US PRAY: Father, I have slid back in my Christianity. I have allowed Satan to rule my life and I ask for your forgiveness for this. I want to live a life that is worthy of you. Help me to grow in my Christianity and become closer to you that I might have the power to resist the devil when he comes at me. Let me live a life that will be a light to others that your glory might shine through and that I might witness to others about you and win them over to you before Satan rules their lives. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
