Stealer of Hearts
September 16, 2012 Evening Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: Satan does what he can to steal our hearts away from God.
Focus Passage: 2 Samuel 15:1-6
Supplemental Passage: And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' (Matthew 22:37 NASB)
Introduction: On a recent trip to Haiti, I heard a Haitian pastor illustrate to his congregation the need for total commitment to Christ. His parable: A certain man wanted to sell his house for $2,000. Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn't afford the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: He would retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door. After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still owned. Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail. The Haitian pastor's conclusion: "If we leave the Devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ's habitation." Dale A. Hays, Leadership, Vol. X, No. 3 (Summer, 1989), p. 35.
I. Diversion
a. Absalom grabbed people before they got to the King
b. Satan will do anything to keep up from going to God
i. Money
ii. Tasks, occupations, hobbies, etc
iii. Relationships
iv. Pleasure
II. Derision
a. Absalom complained that he should be judge
b. Satan makes us think that we should be the judge
c. Satan makes us think that we have cause to complain against God
III. Subversion
a. Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel
b. Satan steals our hearts away from God
Invitation:
