We live in an age of opportunities; there are so many ways God can use us.
But preachers all across this nation do not preach enough on how the devil wants to use us.
We have to make the decision in this life if we are going to:
(1) Allow God to use us.
(2) Allow Satan to use us.
WHY SHOULD WE MAKE THAT DECISION?
• Because the devil has declared a SPIRITUAL WAR on every Christian.
• But many Christians have never declared a WAR ON THE DEVIL.
We are at a disadvantage in this battle with Satan.
(1) He has had thousands of years of experience in fighting Christians. THOUSANDS OF YEARS!!!
(2) He knows everyone here has weakness and he know what weapons to use to defeat us.
(3) He has record of defeating some of the greatest Christians who ever walked on this earth. Including Preachers, Missionaries, Sunday school teacher, song leaders, deacons and Christians in the church.
While Satan has this advantage over us we read in II Cor. 2:11 the Word of God tells us “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
AS MUCH AS:
• GOD WANTS TO USE EVERY CHRISTIAN HERE
• ALSO, THE DEVIL WANTS TO USE EVERY CHRISTIAN HERE.
When Lucifer was in heaven before he sinned, he was an anointed cherub situated in close proximity to God’s glory. HE WAS IMPRESSED!!!
Look at Isaiah 14:14 tell us that Lucifer wanted to be like the most High”.
After he saw what it was like to be worshipped Satan started comparing himself to God, he felt inferior.
In Lucifer’s case, as an angel he was created superior to man, yet inferior to God.
He said, Isaiah 14:14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
• Because God created man in His image and likeness (Gen 1:26), jealousy took root in Lucifer’s heart.
• Consequently, he sought to hurt God deeply by causing His precious creation to fall. (Mankind)
• Each time a soul enters Hell another part of God’s creation is lost for eternity.
This grieves our Heavenly Father deeply.
In order for inferiority to exist at all, there must be a comparison of some kind.
It could be argued that ‘comparison’ was the first sin.
Illus: For example, in the Garden of Eden, Satan made Eve feel inferior by suggesting, if she ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, she’d be ‘like God, knowing good and evil’ (Gen 3:5).
Ironically, Adam and Eve were already like God, being created in God’s image and likeness.
But notice, Satan’s suggest that Eve was inferior in her present state was the very bait he used to entice her.
Satan wanted to be like God. And today in this ungodly world in which we live he has become the god of the ungodly in many ways.
His kingdom is of this world…
• Lost people worship the god of sports
• Lost people worship the god of Hollywood
• Lost people worship the god of material things
• Lost people worship the god of money
• Lost people worship the god of NASCAR
We Christians are at war with the devil and every day he pulls out every weapon he has to entice us to serve the gods of this world.
Illus: The famous book “The Art of War,” is an ancient Chinese military exposition, written by Sun Tzu.
Within its pages, the primary takeaway is that before one goes to war, one must fully understand not only the enemy, but the strategies he consistently utilizes.
This is why the Lord tells us we should not be IGNORANT of the weapons he uses against us each day.
• The devil has no intrinsic authority over the believer in Christ; he can only gain a foothold through deception or ignorance.
• The devil can’t ‘make’ you do anything…he can only tempt, coerce, manipulate or suggest.
• Ultimately, we are responsible for our actions and cannot lay blame at the door of the devil.
We cannot, and we must not be ignorant of HIS DEVICES lest he get an advantage over us.
Christians should be constantly on guard against the weapons of Satan.
There are two things we all will agree on in this congregation:
(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 boy 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 said: “Yes.”
• Teacher: “Tommy, do you see the grass outside?”
• Tommy said: “Yes.”
• Teacher: “Do you see the sky outside.”
• Tommy said: “Yes.”
• Teacher: “Do you see God?”
• Tommy said: “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 also. The teacher agreed:
• Little Girl said: “Tommy, do you see the tree outside?”
• Tommy said: “Yes.”
• Little Girl said: “Tommy, do you see the grass outside?”
• Tommy said: “Yessssss” (getting tired of the questions by this time).
• Little Girl said: “Did you see the sky?”
• Tommy said: “Yessssss”
• Little Girl said: “Tommy, do you see the teacher?”
• Tommy said: “Yes”
• Little Girl said: “Do you see her brain?”
• Tommy said: “No”
• Little Girl said: “Then she must not have one!”
We recognize that God created us and also…
(2) WE RECOGNIZE THAT GOD HAS A PLAN FOR OUR LIVES.
• As Christians, we cannot 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.
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”
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 were sitting at a table and appeared to be very happy about something.
• “I can't believe we did it in only 120 days!”
• The second one said “I can’t believe we did it in only 120 days!”
• The third one said, “I also cannot believe we did it in 120 days!
The man who heard the conversation was curious and asks, “What are you fellows celebrating?”
One of the idiots replied, “We put this here jigsaw puzzle together in only 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.
How does Satan want to use us?
I. SATAN WANTS TO USE YOU TO DIVIDE THE CHURCH
Look at Eph. 4:3, we read, “Endeavoring 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 experienced.
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, “Endeavoring 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 FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH and they would not be able to keep Satan out.
The only ones who can stop him are the Saints of God as a UNIT!!!
Illus: A pastor was talking to a deacon at one of the largest churches in Columbia, S.C.
He said, “Listen, you folks have thousands that attend your church every Sunday. God is really blessing your church, but with those thousands that attend:
• God sends some
• Devil sends some
HOW DO YOU KEEP UNITY IN THE CHURCH?
He said we have almost fifty deacons that are men of God and as they mingle with the congregation, and they find someone trying to sow discord among the brethren we waste no time telling them they need to STRAIGHTEN UP OR GET OUT!
Illus: That reminds me of a restaurant in town that EVERY CHURCH SHOULD HAVE…THE SIGN says, “BE NICE OR LEAVE!”
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
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 were always negative.
One day a man was getting a haircut, and he told Joe the 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 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 was 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."
Impressed, Joe asks, "Tell me, please! What did 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.
• We recognize that God sends good people into the church because the church cannot do without them
• The devil will make sure he sends some also, 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 troublemakers!"
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!
• Those who allowed God to use them to build His church when they stand before Him, He will say to them, “Well done thy good and faithful servant.”
• Those who allowed the devil to use them to divide and made every effort to destroys God’s church when they stand before Him, they are going to wish they have never been born when the Lord says to them DEPART FROM ME!!
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.
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.
Illus: 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.
Ilus: Let me tell you a true story. A lost man was in a night club late at night drinking beer on a Saturday night. Another man came and set with him, and they talked and drink together for an hour or so. Finally, this man got up and excused himself saying, I need to get home, I have to teach Sunday school in the morning.
Some horrible things are taking place in God’s church.
God’s church is in a mess today.
• We have congregations across this nation singing, “O how I love Jesus” and they do not love Jesus.
• We have congregations across this nation lifting their hand up to God while they are singing and with the other hand robing God of His tithes and offering.
• We have congregations across this nation that should be proud to have a preacher that preaches against sin, but instead they are mad because he does.
• We have congregations across this nation that have loved ones that are unsaved, but they will allow them to go to hell if they have got to tell them how they can be saved.
• We have congregations across this nation that have people committing adultery and at the same time holding office in the church.
• God’s church across this nation is in a mess because we have preachers that want preach on sin because they do not want to offend anyone!
These things even took place when the apostle Paul was here opon earth.
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 cannot bless.
Illus: In the Old Testament, Israel had victory after victory until they allowed SIN in the camp. 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 cannot be used of God or can He bless it.
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
But Satan cannot make you do anything. He can use weapons we are ignorant against us, But God want us to be aware that SATAN IS ALIVE to exalt himself and destroy God’s church that Christ died for.
IT IS your DECISION WHO YOU ARE GOING TO ALLOW TO use you…GOD OR SATAN!!!
