(1) WE RECOGNIZE THAT GOD CREATED US
Christians believe in CREATIONISM not in EVOLUTION. Why? One of the reasons is that evolution does not make any sense.
Illus: Did you hear about the six year old girl that was sitting in a classroom? The teacher was going to explain evolution to the children. The conversation went like this:
• Teacher: “Tommy do you see the tree outside?”
• Tommy: “Yes.”
• Teacher: “Tommy, do you see the grass outside?”
• Tommy: “Yes.”
• Teacher: “Do you see the sky outside.”
• Tommy: “Yes.”
• Teacher: “Do you see God?”
• Tommy: “No.”
• Teacher: “That's my point. We can't see God because He isn't there. He doesn't exist.”
A little girl spoke up and wanted to ask little Tommy some questions. The teacher agreed:
• Little Girl: “Tommy, do you see the tree outside?”
• Tommy: “Yes.”
• Little Girl: “Tommy do you see the grass outside?”
• Tommy: “Yessssss” (getting tired of the questions by this time).
• Little Girl: “Did you see the sky?”
• Tommy: “Yessssss”
• Little Girl: “Tommy, do you see the teacher?”
• Tommy: “Yes”
• Little Girl : “Do you see her brain?”
• Tommy: “No”
• Little Girl : “Then she must not have one!”
The lost world is still trying to figure out how we got here, but we believers know that God created us and put us here.
The Word of God says in 2 Cor. 4:7, "For we walk by faith, not by sight" By faith, we know that everything we can see or not see was put here by God the Creator. We recognize that God created us and ..
(2) WE RECOGNIZE THAT GOD HAS A PLAN FOR OUR LIVES
As Christians, we can not help but think about the will of God for our lives. However, sometimes as Christians we do not seem to recognize that SATAN ALSO HAS A PLAN FOR OUR LIVES.
Much of the Scriptures deal with that one thing. For example, the Lord foreseeing the danger of Peter being used of Satan, tried to forewarn him and put him on guard that Satan desired to use him. Look at Luke 22:31, “And the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat.”
Notice, the Lord Jesus said two things to Peter:
1. “Satan hath desired to have you”
But notice, according to the scriptures, he can never have us as he once had us. The Lord tells Peter something else in the same verse, he tells him why Satan wants him. He wants to ..
2. “Sift you as wheat”.
The Lord knew that these folks were familiar with the sifting of wheat.
Illus: Years ago our mothers had “Sifters” in their kitchens. They would place flour in these little round sifters (about the size of a half gallon container) that had a little screen wire on the bottom, and a wire wheel that would turn with a handle on the side of the sifter. As she turned the handle, the sifter would “sift” out the bad stuff.
Make no mistake about it, Satan wants to sift every one of us to find those he can use to promote his evil cause. The Lord tried to forewarn Peter, but he was not smart enough to heed the warning.
There is a television commercial that says, “A mind is a terrible thing to waste.” But there are some people walking around today that make us wonder if they have a brain in their heads.
Illus: Three idiots walked into a bar and appeared to be very happy about something.
• “I can't believe we did it in only 120 days!” The first one says. “The drinks are on me!”
• The second one says. “The drinks are on me!” “I can’t believe we did it in only 120 days!”
• The third one said, “I also can not believe we did it in a 120 days! The drinks are on me!”
The bartender is curious and asks, “What are you fellows celebrating?” One of the idiots replied, “We put this here jigsaw puzzle together in only a 120 days, and on the side of the box it says from 3 to 5 years!"
Yes, a brain is a terrible thing to waste. Evidently Peter must have been that dense, because the Lord tried to warn him that Satan desired to use him, but he could not grasp it.
I believe the Lord would have us consider that Satan wants to use us, for example-
I. SATAN WANTS TO USE YOU TO DIVIDE THE CHURCH
Look at Eph. 4:3, we read, “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Notice, the word “Keep”, This is the word “Tereo” (Pronounced as “Tay-reh'-o”) which means TO GUARD BY KEEPING THE EYE UPON; TO PREVENT ESCAPING.
One of the most difficult tasks in the church is KEEPING THE DEVIL OUT OF THE CHURCH.
Illus: Look at the New Testament church in the book of Acts. They had probably the greatest revival the church has ever seen. For example:
• In chapter two, thousands were added the church
• In Chapter three, Peter and John are going to the temple and God miraculously uses them to heal a crippled man
• In Chapter 4, the lost world tried to stop them from spreading the gospel from WITHOUT, but could not
• In Chapter 5, the devil tried to stop them from WITHIN, by using the hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira
You can mark it down, when God begins to move through the Saints of God to do a great work, Satan is going to find people WITHIN the church that he can use to divide the church. This is why the Bible says, “Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Look at Eph. 4:3, we read, “Endeavoring”, this is the word “Spoudazo”, (pronounced as, “Spoo-dad'-zo”) which means TO LABOR.
For a church to have unity, all the godly members have to LABOR at trying to keep UNITY in the church.
Illus: We can post some of the BIGGEST, MEANEST, TOUGHEST, UGLIEST MEN on the face of the earth at every door of the church, and they would not be able to keep Satan out.
The only ones who can stop him are the Saints of God. Why? Because the devil is always trying to find someone he can use to divide the church.
HAVE YOU NOTICED:
• It is small segment in our society that breaks most of the laws
• it is a small segment in the church that keeps trouble going in the church
Illus: God can be blessing in a church, with souls being saved, and people joining the church, and someone can say, “How is your church doing?” And they will say, “It’s surviving!”
There are some folks that can never find anything good to say.
Illus: They remind me of Joe the barber, who had a reputation for knowing everything, and was always negative.
One day a man was getting a hair cut, and he told this barber that he was going to take a vacation and go to Rome.
Joe the barber said, "Why would you want to go there? It's a
crowded dirty city full of Italians! You'd be crazy to go to Rome!”
• “So how ya getting there?" "We're taking TWA," the man replied. "TWA?!" Joe said immediately, "They're a terrible airline. Their planes are old, their flight attendants are ugly and they're always late!”
• “So where are you staying in Rome?" The man says "We'll be at the downtown International Marriot." "That DUMP?!" says Joe. "That's the worst hotel in the city! The rooms are small, the service is surly and slow and they're overpriced!”
• “So whatcha doing when you get there?" The man says "We're going to go see the Vatican and hope to see the Pope." "HA!” laughs Joe. "You and a million other people trying to see him. He'll look the size of an ant. Boy, good luck on THIS trip. You're going to need it!"
A month later, the man comes in for his regular haircut.
• Joe says, "Well, how did that trip to Rome turn out? Betcha TWA gave you the worst flight of your life!" "No, quite the opposite" explained the man. "Not only were we on time in one of their brand new planes, but it was full and they bumped us up to first class. The food and wine were wonderful, and I had a beautiful 28 year old flight attendant who waited on me hand and foot!"
• "Hmmm," Joe says, "Well, I bet the hotel was just like I described." "No, quite the opposite! They'd just finished a $25 million remodeling. It's the finest hotel in Rome, now. They were overbooked, so they apologized and gave us the Presidential suite for no extra charge!"
• "Well," Joe mumbles, "I KNOW you didn't get to see the Pope!" "Actually, we were quite lucky. As we toured the Vatican, a Swiss guard tapped me on the shoulder and explained the Pope likes to personally meet some of the visitors, and if I'd be so kind as to step into this private room and wait, the Pope would personally greet me. Sure enough, after 5 minutes the Pope walked through the door and shook my hand. I knelt down as he spoke a few words to me."
Impressed, Joe asks, "Tell me, please! What'd he say?" "Oh, not much really. Just, 'Where'd you get that lousy haircut?"
When trouble pops up in the church, most of the time it is the same people who started it the last time. They are always looking for trouble, and they can see it in the life of everyone but themselves.
The devil is “sifting” people to find those he can use to divide the church. Listen, the devil wants to get into Christians lives and use them to cause as much chaos as he can stir up through them.
• We recognize that God sends good people into the church because the church can not do without them
• The devil will make sure he sends some, because he knows every time the revival fires start, they are there to extinguish them
Illus: A Baptist, Methodist and a Presbyterian church all had revivals at the same time. After the revival, the three pastors met for coffee and fellowship, and they were discussing the results of their revivals.
• The Methodist minister said, "The revival worked out great for us! We gained 4 new families."
• The Presbyterian preacher said, "We did better than that! We gained 6 new families."
• The Baptist pastor said, "Well, we did even better than that! We got rid of our 10 biggest trouble makers!"
Now this is sad, but some folks will allow the devil to use them, and they are constantly causing divisions in the church. And it sounds bad to say this, but the church is better off WITHOUT THEM than WITH THEM!
Illus: Dr. Alvin Fleming, who is a retired minister, was speaking to Dr. Odell Belger one day at his church. He said, “Bro. Belger, you remember seeing that cemetery beside our church?” He acknowledged that he was aware it existed. Then Bro. Alvin said, “Through the years I have planted 73 people in that cemetery.” And then he said, “Some of them I hated to put out there and some I was glad to put out there.”
• Listen, those who have allowed the devil to use them to divide God’s church are going to be sorry when they stand before the Lord and give account for the damage they have done to the Lord’s work.
• But those who have allowed the Lord to use them to strengthen the church, are going to be blessed for the life they lived. Heaven is going to be great for them!
Illus: These who have lived a dedicated life for the Lord, remind me of the 85 year old couple that had been married almost 60 years, when they both died in a car crash.
They had been in good health the last ten years, mainly due to her interest in health food, and exercise.
• When they reached the pearly gates, St. Peter took them to their mansion which was decked out with a beautiful kitchen, master bath suite, and Jacuzzi. As they "ooo’d and aaa’d" the old man asked Peter how much all this was going to cost. "It's free, the Lord paid for this on Calvary when He died for your sins.”
• Next they went out back to survey the championship golf course that the home backed up to. They would have golfing privileges every day, and each week the course changed to a new one, representing the great golf courses on earth. The old man asked, "What are the green fees?". Peter's reply, "This is all free due to the tremendous price Christ paid for your sins on the cross.”
• Next they went to the club house and saw the lavish buffet lunch, with the best looking cuisine they had ever laid their eyes on. The old man said "How much for all this food?" "Don't you understand yet? This is heaven, it is free!" Peter replied with some exasperation. "Well, where are the low fat and low cholesterol tables?" the old man asked timidly. Peter lectured, "That's the best part...you can eat as much as you like of whatever you like, and you never get fat and you never get sick. This is Heaven."
With that the old man went into a fit of anger, throwing down his hat and stomping on it, and shrieking wildly. Peter and the man’s wife both tried to calm him down, asking him what was wrong. The old man looked at his wife and said, "This is all your fault. If it weren't for your blasted bran muffins, I could have been here ten years ago!"
• Listen, when people who have faithfully allowed God to work in their life get to heaven, THEY ARE GOING TO WISH THEY COULD HAVE ARRIVED MUCH EARLIER.
• Those who have allowed Satan to use them are going to WISH THEY HAD NEVER ALLOWED HIM TO USE THEM, when they see all the harm he did through them.
But I can assure you that Satan is “sifting” this congregation for the weakest members he can find, to use to divide the church. Satan knows there is “strength in numbers”, and he is always trying to divide.
SATAN WANTS TO USE YOU TO DIVIDE THE CHURCH, and-
II. SATAN WANTS TO USE YOU TO DEFILE THE CHURCH
Many good things happen in the church, but also there are many bad things that happen in the church. We live in a world in which we hear a lot of bad news.
• A fierce gust of wind blew 45-year-old Vittorio Luise's car into a river near Naples, Italy, in 1983. He managed to break out a window, climb out, and swim to shore -- where a tree blew over and killed him.
• George Schwartz, owner of a factory in Providence, RI, narrowly escaped death when a 1983 blast flattened his factory except for one wall. After treatment for minor injuries, he returned to the scene to search for his files. The remaining wall then collapsed on him, killing him instantly.
• In 1983, a Mrs. Carson of Lake Kushaqua, NY, was pronounced dead of heart disease. As mourners watched, she suddenly sat up. Her daughter dropped dead of fright.
• Surprised while burgling a house in Antwerp, Belgium, a thief fled out the back door, clambered over a nine-foot wall, dropped down, and found himself in the city prison.
• Hitting on the novel idea that he could end his wife's incessant nagging by giving her a good scare, Hungarian Jake Fen built an elaborate harness to make it look as if he had hanged himself. When his wife came home and saw him, she fainted. Hearing a disturbance, a neighbor came over and, finding what she thought were two corpses, seized the opportunity to loot the place. As she was leaving the room, her arms laden, the outraged and suspended Mr. Fen kicked her stoutly in the backside. This so surprised the lady that she dropped dead of a heart attack. Happily, Mr. Fen was acquitted of manslaughter, and he and his wife were reconciled.
• A few years ago in California, there was a raging brush fire. Once the fire was extinguished, the firefighters began the process of clean-up. In the middle of where the fire had been burning, they found a dead man wearing a scuba tank and wet suit. At first the firefighters were baffled as to why a man would be out in the middle of the countryside wearing full scuba gear. Upon further examination, it was determined that the man died from the impact with the ground and not the fire. As best anyone can determine, this man was scuba diving off the coast of California, and was accidentally picked up by one of the fire-fighting aircraft when it was refilling its water tanks offshore.
Listen, some horrible things have taken place in this world in which we live. But the most horrible things that you will hear about today, take place within the four walls of God’s church. We hear about such things as:
• Some being used to embezzle God’s money
• Some being used to commit adultery within the church
• Some being used to gossip and slander other Christians
• Some being used as deadbeats, not paying their bills, causing the lost world to look down upon the church
• Some being used to desecrate God’s day and God’s name
Some terrible things are done among Christians today to DEFILE GOD’S CHURCH.
This is something that Satan has always desired to do; use people within the church to defile the church. It even took place when the apostle Paul was here.
Look at 1 Cor. 5:1, “It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.”
This is awful! Paul said rumor had it that one within the church was having an affair with his stepmother, and the church was not doing one thing to protect the sacredness of God’s name. A defiled church is a church God can not bless.
Illus: In the Old Testament, Israel had victory after victory until one man defiled the camp of Israel by taking the accursed things. God could not bless them until they dealt with the sin problem in their midst.
Listen, God never has, and never will, bless a church that is filled with sin. A defiled church only brings disgrace to the name of God, and it is the responsibility of every Christian to do all they can do to keep SIN OUT OF THE CHURCH.
The Word of God makes it clear that we are not to allow Satan to use us to DEFILE THE CHURCH. Why? Because a defiled church can not be used of God nor can He bless it.
SATAN WANTS TO USE YOU TO DIVIDE THE CHURCH and DEFILE THE CHURCH. Also ..
III. SATAN WANTS TO USE YOU TO DISCOURAGE THE CHURCH
A Bible church is built on the Word of God. This is the kind of church that God can use. But Satan today is constantly trying to detour God’s church. HOW IS HE DOING THIS?
One of his chief weapons is through DISLOYALTY TO GOD’S HOUSE
Heb. 10:25, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
It is believed by many that the devil has used church members to destroy more pastors and Sunday school teachers than anything else.
Illus: All week long, a pastor or Sunday School teacher has been reading and digging for preaching materials, After a week of preparation, it is time to deliver the message God has laid on his heart, and many members just roll over and go back to sleep.
• This would be equal to a football team practicing all week, and no one shows up to watch the game
• This would be equal to a housewife working all day to fix supper for her family, and they do not show up to eat
The devil uses many professing Christians, week after week, to constantly disappoint Sunday School teachers and ministers.
Conclusion:
SATAN USED PETER, AND SATAN WANTS TO USE YOU!!
I. SATAN WANTS TO USE YOU TO DIVIDE THE CHURCH
II. SATAN WANTS TO USE YOU TO DEFILE THE CHURCH
III. SATAN WANTS TO USE YOU TO DISCOURAGE THE CHURCH
