The Power Of Suggestion

The Power Of Suggestion

Genesis 3:1-4

Have you ever changed your mind due to what someone has said to you?

Whether you would like to admit it or not our lives have been influenced by other people’s suggestions.

Spouses have said, Honey your not going to wear that are you?

I have watched people let an Interior Decorator influence them and they never like it.

But it is not you!

Why would you let someone tell you what you like?

On the same note I have had co-workers start talking about certain foods and find myself eating that food before the day is out.

I think one of the greatest effects of suggestions on our lives is found in advertising.

TV Commercials especially! (Elaborate About Recent Ones That Have The Biggest Impact)

They want you to believe that you are missing out on something.

That was the same thought that Satan planted in Eves mind. That this fruit that was forbidden must have been the most delicious of all that was in the garden.

He wanted her to think that something good was being withheld.

This is the first step in temptation, the step that involves our thoughts, the thoughts of suggestion.

The suggested thought is that we are missing something that looks good, feels good, and tastes good or that perhaps God’s Word is causing us to miss something that is delicious.

We are victims of suggestion!

Our difficulty today is not knowing what is right but rather accepting that which is right.

Let me for the next few minutes share with you what Satan will try to suggest or influence you with.

I. Satan Will Suggest That There No Such Thing As Sin.

He wants you to believe that you are being deprived of pleasure if you don’t do as you please.

Do whatever makes you happy you can do no wrong!

It is only bad to the older generation, if it is so wrong why did they do it then and still do it every now and then.

John 8:11 (KJV) ”And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.”

Jesus challenged, but warned: "Go, and sin no more." Stop your sinning—make a clean break—do it no more. The warning is clear: repentance is essential for forgiveness.

1 John 2:1-2 (KJV) 1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2 And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

Romans 6:12 (KJV)12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.

He must not let sin reign (basileuetô PWS: 3220): have authority, rule, control, occupy, hold sway, prevail over him. The present tense is used, so the idea is a continuous attitude and behavior. The believer is always to keep his mind off sin. He is to keep his mind under control.

The believer is not to let sin dominate, control, and reign in his mortal body.

Sin is not to dominate his thoughts and life.

He is to resist sin by standing against it and by rebuking and fighting against it.

He is to oppose sin with all his might.

II. Satan Will Suggest That There Is More That One Way To Get Saved.

He will suggest…

that all is required is for you to do your best or

that if you will be faithful to church or

that because your family is Christian, you are in.

God said…

John 3:3 (KJV) 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 15:3 (KJV)3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;

John 14:6 (KJV)6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

III. Satan Will Suggest For You To Wait Until Tomorrow To Get Saved.

Acts 24:24-25 (KJV) 24 And after certain days, when Felix came with his wife Drusilla, which was a Jewess, he sent for Paul, and heard him concerning the faith in Christ. 25 And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.

Felix trembled under conviction. The word "trembled" means to be terrified and frightened. Felix was living a life diametrically opposed to what God demanded. He was under conviction, for if Paul was right—if Jesus was truly the Son of God—then he, Felix, was condemned and doomed.