Don’t Listen to the big loser!  By James Lantz

      Can you imagine what it must have felt like, being one God’s top three angels, being kicked out of heaven. Satan’s eternal destiny is to be tormented day and night forever and ever in the lake of fire and brimstone.  He is a great big loser. I hesitate in calling him the biggest loser because everyone of his children (followers) who joins him is the biggest loser of their own life. The scriptures teach that all of mankind was separated from God through Adam’s sin, thus placing them in the kingdom of darkness. God laid our punishment on Jesus and said everyone who accepts Jesus will be accepted by Him.  John 1:12  But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:  By receiving Jesus, we are removed from the kingdom of darkness (Satan’s kingdom) and supernaturally immersed into the family of God.  Col. 1:13 Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:  It is sad to see people who think they are right with God but doing the devils work. Jesus loves people so much, even those who hate him, that he will go to great lengths to get their attention. He called the Pharisees, who wanted to kill him, children of the devil.  John 8:44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.  Jesus was doing his best to get his fellow descendants of Abraham to see the error of their murderous thoughts and acknowledge the truth of who He is.

      We must learn to recognize the devil’s method’s, the thought’s, suggestions, and temptations he brings to get us away from obeying and serving our Lord. The best way to recognize wrong thoughts and wrong actions is to know the word of God which shows us God’s thoughts and God’s way. Satan does not manifest himself to christians in a red suit, a long tail, and a pitch fork in his hand. The scripture says he appears as an angel of light.  2 Cor. 11:14  And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.   When Satan appeared to Adam and Eve in the body of the serpent he began to talk of the revelation they would receive by eating the forbidden fruit. He appealed to the lusts of their flesh, and the lusts of their eyes, and the pride of life. Satan said, eat this fruit and you will be wiser and you will not die. Satan will make his appeal to what your flesh wants but it will always be in a way that dishonors God and what he has said. The flesh says, grab it now,

Faith Says, If I Wait, It Will Be Great!

anyhow. Faith says, if I wait, it will be great! Lot chose the well watered meadows not considering how God’s prophet would fare. His covetous actions led to captivity and eventually losing his wife, his home, and every thing he owned and even incest in his family. You would have thought Lot would have awakened to the fact he was in danger after being captured by enemy Kings, but no, he went right back into that city where he was surrounded by sin. Decisions determine destiny! If you join with sinners, their affections, desires, and habits will get off on you little by little. The coveteous lifestyle of those around Lot’s family so affected his family that his wife was more interested in what she was leaving than what God had said and it cost her her life.  Are you willing to change your lifestyle to accommodate what God has said in his word or are you still trying to get God to change his word to accommodate your sin?   Rom. 8:5  For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.  This is why God says to set our affections on things above (righteousness, peace, and joy, and fulfilling the call of God) and not on things of the earth. The things of this world are temporary but the things of God are eternal. God appeared to King Solomon twice but somehow he thought he was so wise that he could marry wicked women and it not get off on him.  1 Kings 11:4  For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God, as was the heart of David his father. This caused the Kingdom to be torn from King Solomon and given to his servant. One tribe was given to King Solomon’s son because of God’s promise to David. 

      Lies are told to the sinner, there is no God, or God doesn’t love you, or you are to bad for God to save. Believing these lies will leave a person without God and without hope in this world.  Rom. 2:4  Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?  You have to believe in God’s goodness, that we are accepted through His Son Jesus. After we have been born again, the persecution begins and more lies come our way. Since the devil could not stop us from being born again, he now tries to stop us from fulfilling our God given destiny.  The devil can not stop us from fulfilling our God given destiny unless we believe his lies and quit. It was not the giants that kept that first generation of the children of Israel out of the promised land, it was believing the lie that they had to defeat the giants in their own strength. This is the same lie that many fall for today! I am to weak! I am to old! It’s to late! It’s to hard! I don’t have anybody to help me!  Heb. 13:5&6  Let your conversation (way) be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.  I tried and tried and I just can’t! If you tried and failed it just means that you did not connect with the power of God. The children of Israel who did not enter into their God given inheritance refused to believe and therefore went without.  Isa. 41:10  Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.  Eph. 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.  Those who are not well rooted and grounded in God’s word are easily offended. Some get offended because they believe lies. They believe that God has forsaken them because of what they have suffered. You had better get over it, quit being offended, and believe God for your deliverance before something worse happens. The truth is, much of what we have suffered was our own dumb fault. When the Lord rolls out the video tape, showing us all that he has spared us from, we will be thanking and praising God with a loud voice! Those who continued past the persecution will have to keep themselves free from worry. The lies of, you are not going to make it, will come. Resist those thoughts knowing they come from the evil one. The temptation to run after riches must be resisted unless you are willing to trade eternal reward for a moment of pleasure. I didn’t say that God wants us poor, I am saying that God is the one that we are to run after to serve, and the blessing of the Lord will make us rich.  Mark 4:19  And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful.  If you allow the lust of your flesh to be the deciding factor in your decision making you are choosing death and destruction. Ever notice how the beer commercials show the beauty of youth and the enticement of having a good time with the suggestion for sexual immorality. They don’t show the drunken person falling off of a balcony and being killed. They don’t show the sorrow of a broken home or the destruction of an alcoholic whose liver is barely functioning. They do not show the sorrow of these things because you would not be so inclined to participate. Yes, sin has its pleasures, but the price is way to high for me!  Pro. 20:1  Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.  Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. So many people are trying not to fulfill the lust of the flesh and they think that when they overcome they will walk in the Spirit. Success will be achieved when we follow instructions. Walking in the Spirit comes before you quit fulfilling the lusts of your flesh.  Isaiah 55:7&8  Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts  .   .   .  For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.  Now God is not saying that we can not think his thoughts, he is saying that his thoughts are much higher than the wicked mans thoughts. God thinks that we have been made free from every bondage in Christ Jesus. God thinks that Jesus was sacrificed for every sin. God thinks that we have been made more than conquerers in Christ Jesus. The power of God has been made available for you to walk free right now! Claim your freedom that Christ has purchased for you.   Job 22:28  Thou shalt also decree a thing, and it shall be established unto thee: and the light shall shine upon thy ways.  Listen to the Lord!