The Hit List Of The Adversary

TITLE: THE HIT LIST OF THE ADVERSARY

SCRIPTURE: JOB 2:1-2

I have listened to testimonies from this past Wednesday evening Prayer Service as well as the past few weeks during the Sunday morning Worship experience, seems to me there are many of us that are going through. The past 30-days seems like my whole life has been TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. On last Sunday evening when Mother and Elder Hansell left our Bible Training Union they were involved in a serious car accident. We thank God they were not injured any worse than they were. Received calls the past few weeks from those seeking counseling because of the normal pressures of life. I stand here this morning feeling as though some you ought to be counseling me as the pressures of life have begun to weight me down as well.

Have you ever felt as though the Adversary has taken direct aim at you and now has you placed in his CROSS HAIRS? Have you ever felt like you have made The hit list of the adversary? I stopped by to let you know and to caution you that the devil is alive and well on planet earth. Isn’t it interesting how much the BIBLE says about the devil?

• He appears the first time in Genesis 3 and the last time in Revelation 20

• Among his many titles, he is called Satan, the devil, the serpent, the deceiver, the evil one, and the accuser of the brethren

• Every New Testament writer mentions him

• Jesus encountered him at the beginning and end of his ministry and spoke often of him in order that we are not deceived

SATAN’S GOAL IS TO DISCOURAGE YOU SO THAT YOU FEEL LIIKE GIVING UP. Oftentimes we are defeated because DISCOURAGMENT sets in and the adversary takes control of our situation because we relinquish it. We must realize no matter how we boil it – OUR GREATEST PROBLEMS ARE SPIRITUAL - not FINANCIAL – PERSONAL – INTELLECTUAL - EMOTIONAL. Our real enemies are unseen because the real battlefield lies within the spirit man. That’s why a change of scenery, a change of job, a change of circumstances, a change of lifestyle, a change of appearance, or a change of relationship so often accomplishes nothing. We’re the same people because we face the same enemies and fight the same battles even if things on the outside change. You can move from MIAMI to MAUI from WICHITA to WESTCHESTER from OKINAWA to OKLAHOMA - and nothing will change unless you change on the inside.

We need to be able to identify when we are on The hit list of the adversary. I am sure that we will all agree that it is important for our names to be on CERTAIN LISTS. There are good lists and there are bad lists. How many of you have heard of the “DO NOT CALL” list? How many of you asked that your name be placed on the “Do not call” list? As you know, this list was created because telemarketers who for the most part would call at a most inappropriate time to try to sell some product or service and were overwhelming people throughout America.

• Some telemarketers were unrelenting

• Some were rude

• Most were overbearing

• To most of us these telemarketing calls were an intrusion, a pesky nuisance

• We welcomed the chance to get our name on a list that would penalize them if they called

• I am told that since the list has been created the number of such calls has been drastically reduced

When someone has a GRUDGE against one who has offended or hurt him or her in some fashion we may hear the offended party say about the offender, “HE OR SHE IS ON MY LIST.” In other words they are going to remember what was done and maybe even seek to RETALIATE. In an even more serious sense, being raised in NJ, we learned quickly that in realm of Politics and Business - you don’t want to be on the MAFIA’S HIT LIST – that list was usually a death sentence.

I was once on the DEAN’S LIST in college and I do mean once. That was good because it meant that I made good grades once. One of the lists we don’t like is the WAITING LIST. Only because we want instant gratification and we don’t want to have to wait to get what we want. Some, like my sister Charlene know what it is to be on an ORGAN TRANSPLANT WAITING LIST.

Whether ACTIVELY or PASSIVELY in some way, some form, fashion, and for some good or bad reason we all have our names on a list somewhere. Your name is written down on some record either in a book or perhaps a computer.