Archive for Satanic Influence
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The following is a sermon outline that can be used to call people to a place of personal responsibility regarding revival. Such a sermon may not be the most popular but it will be one of those sermons that God will bless if preached in a spirit of humility.
Who is the Ultimate Enemy of Revival?
by Eddie Lawrence
INTRODUCTION: One of the most well known passages in the whole Word of God concerning revival is 2 Chronicles 7:14. It records for us the condition or restoring God’s favor upon a land and a people when they are in the midst of a spiritual downturn accompanied by famine and drought. In this famous passage also is the revelation of the greatest enemy to revival.
2 Chronicles 7:14 if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. (NKJV)
TRANSITION: I will share with you three culprits you might suspect to be the ultimate enemy of revival and then reveal what I believe the Bible teaches the ultimate enemy of revival to be.
1. IT IS NOT SATAN
I suppose a number of people would say that Satan is the ultimate enemy of revival. While he is certainly behind many schemes, snares, deceptions, and slanderous accusations that would thwart revival, I do not think He is the worse enemy of revival.
-Make no mistake he is God’s enemy.
-Make no mistake he is the Church’s enemy.
-Make no mistake he is your enemy.
Yet, I think there is a greater enemy to revival than Satan.
In the passage above there is no mention of addressing Satan in order for revival to come.
2. IT IS NOT THE WORLD
We are warned to not love the world nor the things in the world. The worldly system does run contrary to the ways of God. The world is uninterested in revival or your spiritual growth. The "prince of this world" is behind worldly influence.
All through the Scripture you see the world moving one way and God another way. The worldly system is the enemy of God and His people.
Yet, I think there is a greater enemy to revival than the World.
In the passage above there is no mention of addressing the World in order for revival to come.
3. IT IS NOT SIN
Surprisingly, I do not think sin is the greatest enemy of revival. Sin brings the penalty of death upon humanity. When sin entered the world, the curse entered the world. The enemy and the world work hard to see that sin abounds.
Yet, I think there is a greater enemy to revival than Sin.
2 Chronicles 7:14 does mention a need to address sin and wickedness, but the truth is revival is only hindered when God’s people choose to commit sin.
4. IT IS NOT LOST PEOPLE
The passage above speaks of God’s people but not lost people. Revival means to live again. It speaks of renewal and a refreshing life flow. Lost people are dead in sin. They do not need revived. They need "vived."
The enemy may work through them to stand against revival and the things of God.
Yet, I do not believe they are not the ultimate enemy of revival.
Who is the ultimate enemy of revival?
5. IT IS OUR OWN FLESHLY SELF
2 Chronicles 7:14 calls for God’s people to turn from "their wicked ways". You see God will forgive and cleanse us from sin. Sin, however, arises out of our on fallen nature. Now I know we sin because we have a sinful nature and we have a sinful nature because of sin. But in Christ, we now have a new nature. The old selfish, sinful nature, is to be reckoned as dead.
When Satan came to Jesus, the Bible says he found nothing in him. That is, there was no landing pad for sin in the life of Jesus. Revival is about God’s people operating under the favor and blessing of God as they live out of the new life in Christ. The Chronicles passage in this study is an example for us. It shows God’s people can choose to repent and bring renewed blessings upon themselves and their land.
Have you ever thought about this:
-Satan will not be in heaven in eternity, He will in the lake of fire.
-Sin will not be in heaven for the lamb will have cleansed it all away.
-The wicked will not be in Heaven
-God’s people will be in Heaven. Their new resurrected glorified bodies will be in Heaven. Their spirit will be housed in their glorified bodies in Heaven. But their fallen fleshly nature will not be in Heaven. Neither will it be in Hell. It simply will not be. It is dead and no more.
To defeat the ultimate enemy of revival, we simply must see our sin nature crucified with Christ and live his life in the here and now. When he is truly living enthroned in our lives, then sin, Satan, and the world cannot keep us from experiencing revival. Dear friend, when he is truly enthroned and we are honoring him, and allowing him to live through us…..that is REVIVAL.
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GOD’S POWER FOR YOUR THORN
2 Cor. 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. 8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. 9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
1. Satan’s Attack on God’s Revelation
2 Cor. 12:7 And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure.
-All through the Bible the enemy attacks those people who carry a message from God or those people who are becoming a message from God.
-Satan attacks to keep us from advancing the kingdom.
2. The Prayer for God’s Deliverance
2 Cor. 12:8 Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me.
-It is natural for us to call on God to back the Devil off.
-It is not wrong but Scriptural to pray for God to deliver us from evil (or literally, the Evil One).
3. The Reassurance of God’s Grace
2 Cor. 12:9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
-God promises Paul He will give him enough grace to handle the Devil’s harrassment.
-God works to manifest His glory through man’s frailty.
4. Paul’s Resolution to Rest in the Power that Rested on Him
2 Cor.12:9 …Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
-We must come to the place where we know God is doing something even when we feel nothing is happening.
-We must realize the power of Grace to overcome all our human deficits.
-We must consciously receive and be secure in the grace God gives rather than struggle through our fleshly efforts.
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Following is one of my sermon outlines that deals with some basic but important information Jesus taught about the enemy of our souls.
TEXT: John 10:10: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
1. Satan’s Basic Nature
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy (He is a Taker!)
2. Satan’s Contact with Humanity
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy
How does Satan or his minions come to us?
A. Thoughts (2 Cor. 10:3-5)
B. Assaults (2 cor. 12) Paul was buffetted by a messenger of Satan
C. Temptations (Jesus Temptation Luke 4)
D. An Angel of Light (Deception) (Paul taught this to the Corinthians)
E. Stirring the Memories
F. Condemnation and Accusation
3. Satan’s Single Objective
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy
Satan’s Comes to Substract
Satan Comes to Slay
Satan Comes to Sabatoge
Satan will promise to give you anything in his attempts to take everything from you.
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This little sermon outline is one of our free sermons that’s great to use for a Father’s Day sermon. Take and shape it and use it!
A FATHER WHO FOUGHT TILL HE WON!
Mark 9:14 And when He came to the disciples, He saw a great multitude around them, and scribes disputing with them. 15 Immediately, when they saw Him, all the people were greatly amazed, and running to Him, greeted Him. 16 And He asked the scribes, “What are you discussing with them?”
17 Then one of the crowd answered and said, “Teacher, I brought You my son, who has a mute spirit. 18 And wherever it seizes him, it throws him down; he foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth, and becomes rigid. So I spoke to Your disciples, that they should cast it out, but they could not.”
19 He answered him and said, “O faithless generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him to Me.” 20 Then they brought him to Him. And when he saw Him, immediately the spirit convulsed him, and he fell on the ground and wallowed, foaming at the mouth.
21 So He asked his father, “How long has this been happening to him?”
And he said, “From childhood. 22 And often he has thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, have compassion on us and help us.”
23 Jesus said to him, “If you can believe,[a] all things are possible to him who believes.”
24 Immediately the father of the child cried out and said with tears, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief!”
25 When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!” 26 Then the spirit cried out, convulsed him greatly, and came out of him. And he became as one dead, so that many said, “He is dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him up, and he arose.
In this familiar story, let’s change our perspective a bit and focus on the father in the story. When we do we discover that–
He was a Father who knew how to:
1. Work for His Child
-This was a father who worked hard to find the best for his child. For years he provided for this child stricken by the enemy. He did not abandon his child. He was not embarassed to bring his child into the public arena to search for help.
Give honor to working fathers….
2. War for His Child
-He fought the enemy for years. He fought this disease for years. He fought through the crowd to bring him to Jesus. He had a daily battle which he warred on behalf of his son.
Give honor to warring fathers….
3. Wait for His Child
-Since childhood, his now much older son, had suffered. Think of the time his father had pulled him out of the fire, had to wrestle him to stop him from hurting himself. Yet, this father, years down the road was still searching and waiting for his son to be set free and healed.
Give honor to waiting fathers….
4. Worship for His Child
-In the moment, when it was just him and Jesus and he was called upon to have faith, he humbled himself before God, he wept and admitted he had the desire to believe but it was shrouded with unbelief. Jesus was moved by this man’s honestly and Jesus also knew the man brought the son to him because he was believing.
Give honor to worshipping fathers…
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This is one of my free sermons that is given to encourage believers to understand some of the dynamics involved where God’s word is being recieved and honored among a people. As with all our sermon outlines, use this bible sermon to bless your people.
The Battle between Faith and Unbelief
Acts 14:1 Now it happened in Iconium that they went together to the synagogue of the Jews, and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and of the Greeks believed. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brethren. 3 Therefore they stayed there a long time, speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
4 But the multitude of the city was divided: part sided with the Jews, and part with the apostles. 5 And when a violent attempt was made by both the Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to abuse and stone them, 6 they became aware of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding region. 7 And they were preaching the gospel there.
The Battle between Faith and Unbelief
The man who believes nothing will find himself opposed to everything.
The bible tells us a lot about the power of faith, but also about the power of unbelief. Whatever your faith will move you toward, your unbelief will keep you from.
1. A double-minded man is unable in all his ways.
2. Jesus could do no mighty works in Nazareth due to their unbelief.
Unbelief is more than "just not being sure."
Unbelief is choosing not to believe.
When a person is presented with a claim and the evidence is there to back it up, then they decide that they still do not believe, then they are in unbelief.
The Passage which we are studying in Acts 14:1-7 gives us some insights into understanding the struggle taking place when faith and unbelief are active in the same crowd. There are four observations to make. First notice that there was–
1. A Place and A People (v1)
A. The Place (Iconium at the synagogue where people gathered to hear the Scripture taught. It is where God’s Word is being released that faith and unbelief collides.)
B. The People (The Apostles carrying the Word of God in power, the Jews with knowledge of the Old Testament revelation, the Greeks steep in various world viewpoints. Among the Jews and Greeks hearts and minds were being influenced as the Holy Spirit opened their hearts to the truth of the Gospel. Many of them believed. It registered upon their spirits and they embraced it. This is the power of God’s Word at work.)
2. A Passion and A Poison (v2)
A. A Passion (The unbelieving Jews got stirred up. Passion moves us to do something about the object of our passion. They came against the Apostles and those who embraced their teaching.)
B. A Poison (The posion is seen in how they came against the Apostles and believers–by poisoning the minds of the Gentiles. They distributed their poison through trench warfare political tactics. This dynamic is very much alive today. It thrives on fear, suspicion, and is fueled by passion for a cause. It lives in politics, it lives in churches, it lives in the offices of the workplace, it can be found in most anywhere people are. The goal of this is to create division–v4 and opposition –v5, violence and abuse.
3. A Persistence and A Power (v3)
A. The Persistence (They stayed there a long time. They dug in and kept ministering.)
B. The Power (boldness, signs and wonders, and grace were flowing. God was confirming His Word by the release of wonder working power.)
4. A Persecution and A Plan (v4)
A. The Persecution (The enemy took things to the next level. There was an outbreak of violence and abuse. This is the way of the enemy and ubelief. It can take a stand just like faith can take a stand. Persecution has the idea of "to drive away."
B. The Plan (Rather than allow the Gospel message to be isolated and distracted with the enemy’s tactics, they decided to leave a city and reach a region. This is not defeat but rather exporting and expansion. This is seen more than once in the Book of Acts.
This is God’s way of bringing good forth in the face of evil. He does it all the time (Rom. 8:28).
Conclusion–God will do this in your life as well. Don’t allow the tactics of the enemy to cause you to give up. The Devil never trumps the purposes of God and he never check mates God. God is never on the defensive. Remember this and you will have courage in the storm and stamina filled with wisdom to see your way forward into victory. This is the heart of faith!
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When God Calls Satan to Substitute Teach
1 Timothy 1:18 Timothy, my son, I give you this instruction in keeping with the prophecies once made about you, so that by following them you may fight the good fight, 19 holding on to faith and a good conscience. Some have rejected these and so have shipwrecked their faith. 20Among them are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan to be taught not to blaspheme.
Introduction—Share a story about a mean teacher (Don’t use the name) and how people did not want to attend their class and then relate it to another class that you certainly don’t want to have to attend.
There are times in a person’s life where through sin, stubbornness, and pride they become enrolled in a class taught by the Devil. The above passage points this out. Following is an outline you can work on to develop into a neat teaching to equip people to skip this class if all possible.
According to the above passage, what enrolls you for the class taught by Satan?
1. Rejecting God’s Word
2. Denying the need to keep your conscience clear
3. Losing sense of spiritual direction in your life resulting in shipwreck
(shipwrecks occur from traveling in dangerous waters)
4. Attacking spiritual authorities (The Apostle Paul handed these two guys over to Satan)
5. Speaking against what God is doing (the meaning of blaspheme to “to speak and rail against”)
According to the above passage, what is the goal of having to attend the class taught by Satan?
1. To be taught
This shows us God’s heart toward sinners. He wants to see a change in their lives. Even if a person refused to be converted, it seems that God desires for them to learn to respect other people’s relationship with Him.
2. To watch what you say
Words are so important and the Lord wants people to learn the impact of their words. Words are like seeds. It seems that Hymenaeus and Alexander became candidates for Satan’s class because they could not control their tongue.
3. To respect God’s appointed servants
Paul handed them over. This means he came to a place where he used his apostolic authority to grant permission to Satan to teach them a lesson. It is difficult to know just how this operates, but there are certainly occasions in the Scripture where we see this operative. For example:
A. Satan asked Jesus about sifting Peter (This was used to make Peter more of the man he needed to be)
B. Paul encouraged the church at Corinth to hand release an unrepentant member to the enemy and according to the next letter he wrote them, it had worked.
4. An extreme resort to bring about repentance
It seems that this practice is not the first step but one of the final steps that is to be used.
Other title ideas:
Lessons from the Devil
A Course taught by Satan
When Satan is Your Teacher
When Satan is Your Teacher and Hell is Your Classroom
Going to School with the Devil
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I started working with a sermon seed I got the other day while I was reading a passage of Scripture from John 13. It was the occasion where Jesus was sharing with his disciples that one of them would betray him. I had read the passage many times previously, but this time my attention was riveted to verse 27,
As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
Why that particular moment?
Why did John mention it that way?
What applicable lesson is there for us?
What was it about that moment that created such a satanic shift in Judas’ life?
I then thought of another passage where the idea of taking the bread and sickness, judgment, etc is mentioned. I jotted down the following ideas and am still working on more. Just wanted to share it with you in case you might be interested in developing it more fully.
The Bread and The Devil
John 13:26 Jesus answered, "It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish." Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. 27As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him.
Why at that precise moment did Satan enter into Judas? The bible points it out, so it must be relevant.
1 Corinthians 11: 23For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, 24and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me." 25In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me." 26For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
27Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. 28A man ought to examine himself before he eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. 29For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. 30That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. 31But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment. 32When we are judged by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be condemned with the world.
33So then, my brothers, when you come together to eat, wait for each other. 34If anyone is hungry, he should eat at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.
-It is interesting that there is a correlation to eating bread (the Lord’s Body) and the attack of the enemy.
-It is not surprise to us that the Lord will often allow the devices of the enemy to be ultimately used to our own advantage. If this messes with you, then think of how paddling the backside of a young one can often produce needed results in their behavior. Think of the Devil as a paddle in God’s hand. I believe that Romans 8:28 is our trump verse.
-The relationship between betrayal among brothers and the unleashing of Satan.
-Tie this in with what Paul mentioned in 1 Cor. 11:23ff
I think I have shared enough to get the ball rolling, now it’s your turn, swing away and hit it again.
Blessings,
Eddie
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