TITLE: THE DEVIL WROTE A CHECK FOR YOUR LIFE, BUT IT BOUNCED
SCRIPTURE: ST. JOHN 10:10
I realize this is a very familiar text, it is a well-known verse to millions of believers around the world, but today I want to see if I can provide us with some fresh insight into this powerful scripture. Rather than simply read it as you’ve read it a thousand times before, let’s dig a little deeper into the Greek words behind this verse to see what we can learn from the treasures of the GREEK NEW TESTAMENT!
On the Surface, or the Basics of the text, we know what a THIEF is -- A thief is one that takes that which does not belong to them. They will often try to acquire that which does not belong to them without being noticed; however, they will destroy things in order to get what they want and will even take a life to get that which doesn’t belong to them.
There is a difference however, between a THIEF and a ROBBER. This text for examination identifies the actions of a thief whereas MALACHI identifies the actions of a robber. You remember the text – “WILL A MAN ROB GOD? Theft and robbery are crimes that are interrelated which makes people use these terms almost interchangeably. However, there are major differences in the two types of crimes.
• A thief conducts his operation in stealth when no one is around as he does not want to attract any attention – come home from work and discover your stuff is gone
• Robbery is also a form of theft as the robber has the intention to take away the property of someone else but in addition here he makes use of violence or intimidation
• So when the Lord asks “Will a Man Rob God” He is saying we don’t tithe and give to the Church blatantly - we in essence strong arm God out of our giving – it is not done quietly and unnoticed
Now let me give the identity of the thief. I PETER 5:8 says “BE SOBER, BE VIGILANT; BECAUSE YOUR ADVERSARY THE DEVIL, AS A ROARING LION, WALKETH ABOUT, SEEKING WHOM HE MAY DEVOUR.”
• Your adversary is not the person that made you upset
• It is not the person that cut in front of you on your way to church
• It is not your spouse that got on your last nerve
• It is not the choir that didn’t sing your favorite song
• It is not the Pastor that preached the message that ended up whipping you up one side and down the other
• Your adversary is the devil – it’s right there in the text
• Stop fighting with one another
• Stop getting angry with one another
• Your adversary is the devil, not one another!
The word “Thief” comes from the Greek word “KLEPTO” - which means to steal. It gives a picture of a BANDIT – PICKPOCKET - THIEF who is so artful in the way he steals that his exploits of thievery are nearly undetectable. This reminds me of the pickpockets who work the streets in certain areas of our major cities. They can slip their hands into a person’s pockets, take what they want, and be long gone before that person discovers they were even there, that their pocket had ever been picked!
++++Jesus uses this word to let us know the devil is very cunning in the way he steals from people. He knows that if he does it outright, his actions will be recognized; therefore, he steals from people in such a deceptive way that he often accomplishes his evil goal before they even know he has stolen from them!
Often the devil injects thoughts into a person’s mind to steal his peace - joy - beliefs. The Greek word KLEPTO describes a thief’s uncontrollable urge to get his hands into someone’s pockets so he can take that which doesn’t rightfully belong to him. I find it very interesting that this is where we get the word KLEPTOMANIAC, which describes a person with a persistent, neurotic impulse to steal.
• Just as a kleptomaniac can’t help but steal
• The devil can’t stop stealing because it is his impulse and his very nature to steal
• This is precisely the nature and behavior of the thief Jesus told us about!
So, understanding who the devil is, we need to understand his purpose as well. The text says the devil comes to “KILL.” Let’s make sure we understand what this means. At first glance, it appears that this means to kill, as to take someone’s life. But the Greek word is “THUO” which means to sacrifice. It originally referred to the sacrificial giving of animals on the altar. It could mean to sacrifice; to surrender; or to give up something that is precious and dear. It was particularly used in a religious connotation to denote the sacrifice of animals, and it had nothing to do with killing in terms of murder.
One of the main things the devil wants to kill is our WORSHIP. Look with me at PSALM 22:3 “BUT THOU ART HOLY, O THOU THAT INHABITEST THE PRAISES OF ISRAEL.” We take this scripture and say -- GIVE PRAISE BECAUSE GOD INHABITS THE PRAISE OF HIS PEOPLE -- however, for us to come into His presence we must worship Him.
• If we don’t go into the presence of God we cannot grow spiritually
• Therefore we die spiritually
• Praise must be part of our morning worship experience if we want to be in the presence of the Lord during our time together on Sunday morning or anytime we meet in this place
When we come into the sanctuary to worship we need to get our minds off all the stuff and negative things in life and concentrate as well as focus on God. UNDERSTAND THAT WE CAN’T WORSHIP GOD IF OUR FOCUS IS EVERYWHERE BUT ON GOD. I admit this can be challenging at times, but we are being robbed of God’s blessings when our heart is not into it. When that is done remember what Jesus said – ST. MARK 7:6 “HE ANSWERED AND SAID UNTO THEM, WELL HATH ESAIAS PROPHESIED OF YOU HYPOCRITES, AS IT IS WRITTEN, THIS PEOPLE HONOURETH ME WITH THEIR LIPS, BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR FROM ME.”
• The heart must be focused on Jesus in Worship
• We have to check our baggage and enter with a mind to Worship
• If the devil can kill your Worship, then he kills you being in the presence of the Lord
• That is why we can leave Worship and feel we did not get anything out of it – devil killed and stole from you
• That is why we feel we should have stayed home on Sunday – devil killed and stole from you
WORSHIP EQUALS ACQUISITION – we don’t worship to get stuff, but you get stuff based upon worship. Is this Microphone on? Can anyone hear me this morning? I am preaching better than you are responding.
• Worship is what brings Revival or Renewal
• Worship brings us into the presence of God
• Worship with the Power of the Holy Ghost produces, it gets us something
• Breakthrough - Deliverance - Peace - and Victory
When we Worship in Spirit and in Truth, we are preparing the way of the Lord. When His way is prepared, He steps into the service and does a great work in the lives of people.
• And the devil can’t do anything to stop it
• He can’t stop them from receiving their Breakthrough, from being Delivered, Set Free, Cleansed, made Whole, and getting the Victory
That’s why the devil wants to hinder our worship. He understands that worship is what gives us the strength to get up out of that current condition and go on to higher heights and deeper depths in God. He knows if we don’t worship we become weak and frail and easy to defeat; therefore he will do whatever it takes to distract you to the point that when you get to church you don’t feel like worshiping God if you even come to church in the first place that’s how he robs us of our blessing.
The devil would like nothing more than to Steal and Kill your Worship, which would bring glory to him. He wants you to be so distracted – depressed - selfish that you can’t worship God.
• Worshipping God is what we are created to do
• Everything we do and are should bring glory to God
• In our Distress – Worship
• In our Hurts – Worship
• In our Tears – Worship
• In our Midnights - Worship
The Gospel Artist – WILLIAM MURPHY said it best in his hit song --
Praise is what I do
When I want to be close to You
I lift my hands in praise
Praise is who I am
I will praise Him while I can
I'll bless Him at all times
[Chorus:]
I vow to praise You
Through the good and the bad
I'll praise You
Whether happy or sad
I'll praise You
In all that I go through
Because praise is what I do
Cause I owe it all to You
Can I tell you the enemy is so jealous, he does everything in his power to steal and kill your worship? Remember, this is exactly what he tried to do with Jesus. ST. MATTHEW 4:8-9 “AGAIN, THE DEVIL TAKETH HIM UP INTO AN EXCEEDING HIGH MOUNTAIN, AND SHEWETH HIM ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD, AND THE GLORY OF THEM AND SAITH UNTO HIM, ALL THESE THINGS WILL I GIVE THEE, IF THOU WILT FALL DOWN AND WORSHIP ME.”
When Satan told Jesus he would give him "ALL THE KINGDOMS OF THE WORLD, AND THE GLORY OF THEM," if he would fall down and worship him, it is implied that he had such power and control over these kingdoms and their glory, to deliver them into his hands. Here is what has always fascinated me about what the devil attempted to do. The Bible opens in GENESIS 1:1 by declaring “IN THE BEGINNING GOD CREATED THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH.” How can the devil offer Jesus what already belonged to Him?
• That is what the devil still attempts to do to us today – Offer us what he cannot deliver
• The devil is still trying to steal and kill our worship by offering to us what does not belong to him
• That is why -- THE DEVIL WROTE A CHECK FOR YOUR LIFE, BUT IT BOUNCED
• He had INSUFFICIENT FUNDS to carry out that attack on your spiritual life
The enemy wants to put a wedge between -
• You and God
• You and the Church
• You and your worship of God
He tries all he can to destroy that relationship. It doesn’t matter if it is through, PHYSICAL - EMOTIONAL - FINANCIAL - SPIRITUAL or just SIMPLE LITTLE LIFE STUFF. Any of these things he uses to create DISTRACTIONS - PAIN - HURT - RESENTMENT. If the devil is successful he can cash in on that Check he has written for your life.
It is important we recognize the plans of the enemy and take action against him. However, do not let that distract you from Worshipping God. We must make sure we keep focused on Him and fall more in love with Him. There are distinct things we must do to insure the Insufficiency of the devil -
• Study to show thyself approved
• Learn the Word of God and hide it in your heart
• It is the “Sword of the Spirit” and “sharper than any two edged sword
• It will protect you from the enemy’s distraction
• Never give up and always allow the Holy Ghost to lead and guide you
• That is the only tool we have to ensure the account the devil has written on your life will Non Sufficient Funds
The text goes on to say the thief also comes “TO DESTROY.” The word “Destroy” is from the Greek word “APOLLUMI” -- It carries the idea of something that is RUINED -- WASTED -- TRASHED -- DEVASTATED - DESTROYED. By using this word, we discover if the thief is unsuccessful in his attempts to steal from you or convince you to sacrifice what you hold dear, he will then try to ruin it!
• He Ruins Relationships
• He Ruins Marriages
• He Ruins Good Jobs
• He Ruins Family Gatherings
• He Ruins Leadership
• He Ruins Churches
The devils biggest playground is in the Church. Satan’s religion is false religion but it is religion nonetheless. He doesn’t even mind if we show up for worship - just as long as its false worship.
• He loves to see folks go to church to talk about other worshippers
• He loves to see us go to uplift our own goodness
• He loves it when we are preoccupied with other things - like who hurt our feelings recently, and what so and so thinks about us
• He loves to hear our critical comments about the worship leaders and the pastor’s preaching
• The devil loves it when we don’t put our hearts into praising God
• He likes seeing us just going through the motions
• He can stand anything but worship of God in Spirit and in Truth
The devil wants to get you to neglect and kill your purpose by allowing things and situations in your life to become distractions. I don’t do distraction, because distractions are only designed to cause you to lose focus on something, in particular your purpose.
• He will send a distraction in your life that will cause you to lose your focus on the reason why you even come to church and that is to worship God
• Not only that but that distraction that he has caused you to focus on will cause you to say I can’t be comfortable in this place
• So the next thing he causes you to do is to turn away from your purpose
• He will speak lies and say you have no purpose here
• Things aren’t what you thought they would be
• Look at how everyone is looking at you and no-body has even looked in your direction
• Makes you feel that you would be better off if you just left
• He will begin to make you feel as if your life is useless that everything you do is ineffective
Let’s go back and take another look at this scripture text this morning. When we pay close attention to the verse we see that the verse does not say the thief can - steal from us - or kill us - or destroy us.
• It only states that his PURPOSE in coming is to steal, kill, or destroy
• And, the Good News is that he can't do anything if we don't allow him to do it
As I move closer to a Conclusion this morning, have you ever considered the fact that a thief would not try to steal something if there was nothing to steal? Thieves don't risk the possibility of being caught and punished by trying to steal something that has no value, or by breaking into homes and businesses where there is nothing to steal.
No! When a thief comes to steal, it is because he knows that the rightful person or business possesses something to steal. That is why he comes.
• If there was nothing to steal - he wouldn't bother
• You cannot steal what one does not have
• You cannot destroy what does not exist
Thanks be to God the text does not end there. THE WAGES OF SIN IS DEATH, but that is not the end of the story – THE GIFT OF GOD IS ETERNAL LIFE. The Lord always leaves us with Hope. As this devil, this adversary desires to STEAL – KILL – DESTROY the passage does not end there. There is hope. For Jesus goes on to say “FOR I HAVE COME THAT YOU MIGHT HAVE LIFE AND HAVE LIFE MORE ABUNDANTLY.”
The Greek word Jesus uses in this text to describe the kind of life He came to teach His disciples is “PERISSÓN” - meaning - superabundant - superfluous - overflowing - over and above a certain quantity - a quantity so abundant as to be considerably more than what one would expect or anticipate - In short, He promises us a life far better than we could ever envision, reminiscent of –
• I CORINTHIANS 2:9 "EYE HAS NOT SEEN, NOR EAR HEARD, NOR HAVE ENTERED INTO THE HEART OF MAN THE THINGS WHICH GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM"
• Paul informs us EPHESIANS 3:20 - that God "IS ABLE TO DO EXCEEDINGLY ABUNDANTLY ABOVE ALL THAT WE ASK OR THINK"
--There’s no doubt about it!
--The devil wants you to be defeated
--The devil wants you to struggle through your entire life
--The devil wants you to be sick, depressed, down in the dumps, glum, and miserable
--The devil wants you to feel like you will never hit the target with your life
--But Jesus wants to give you a life that is -
• Unrivaled
• Unequaled
• Matchless
• Incomparable
• Richly Loaded
• Overflowing with life to the ultimate maximum!
--Yes, my Brothers and Sisters – THE DEVIL WROTE A CHECK FOR YOUR LIFE, BUT IT BOUNCED
--The devil tried to stop you - But God Blocked It
--The devil tried to take you out – But God said Not Today
--The Devil Wrote A Check For Your Life, But It Bounced
--So Keep on Living
--Keep on Worshipping
--Keep on Praising
--Keep on Singing
--Because God’s Got You
