Our Battle With Satan

[Music] [Music] [Music] and Ephesians chapter 2 if you'd like to turn there with me I want to begin the sermon and it's very familiar verse here but let's turn there in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1 can you all hear me all right and Ephesians 2 verse 1 Paul tells the Ephesians and certainly all of us because God put this here for all of us and you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins in which you once walked according to the course of this world according to the Prince of the power of the air the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience Satan works he is busy 24 hours a day and I want to be speaking on our battle with Satan our battle was Satan because brethren he is going to strike he is striking now perhaps in ways we do not fully understand and he will continue to strike more and more and more powerfully as the months and years go by he is the Prince of this Earth's atmosphere he's in charge of the television programs that were watching he guides them he influences them he's in charge of the media and the kind of stuff that comes out in the radio and the internet and the motion picture industry and all the rest of it he is the Prince of the power of this world he is the Great God of this world and remember Jesus said there the end of the Gospel of John the the prince of this world is coming and has nothing in me nothing yet he calls Satan the prince of this world and Jesus knew of course and Satan was on the way to him perhaps right then through Judas Iscariot who had possessed Judas by that time so he is very real and we have to be aware of that over in Ephesians chapter 6 Ephesians chapter 6 verse 12 I'm sorry beginning in verse 10 Ephesians 6 verse 10 finally my brethren be strong don't be weak you're not going to win any kind of battle if you're a weak be strong in the Lord and then the power of his might you can't do it of yourself as mr. Pyle says we can only do it through Christ in us I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me Paul said if he Philippians 4:13 we can only do it that way as we brought out so many times but we must constantly remind of ourselves of that we've got to walk with Christ talk with Christ let Christ rule our minds let Christ rule our thoughts let Christ rule our attitudes so he says be strong in that power put on the whole armor of God we've got to have that armor that you Mabel to stand against the wiles the machination 's the dirty tricks the attitudes the ways that satan tries to get at us in so many different ways the wiles of the devil for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood often we think we do I know when I felt I was being persecuted by the leadership sometimes or the lower leadership not mr. Armstrong but others in worldwide I might have thought well these are these men but then I had to realize no Satan is trying to destroy the church and he did eventually destroyed the church in the sense that they became a non Church of God Worldwide Church of God is no longer a Church of God at all it is simply an apostasy gone back into mainstream Protestantism and confusion but the ultimate battle is not against men and as I learned that and prayed more and more about it I didn't need to get resentful against so and so and so on so I could just realize they were very weak some of them had never been converted one of the great big guys that was very carnal back in the 70s suddenly got sick when I got in power as the director of the ministry and during the crisis of 79 and literally laid down and either was sick or pretended to be sick for months all of a sudden when the Liberals came back into power bang he's right up again resurrected immediately in power and had a lot of energy suddenly to help destroy the church people like that around and they'll kind of go underground at times but they'll be right back there to get you later on unless they're really conquered by God and most of us in this room are not conquered by God as mr. Armstrong used to say to the extent we should be probably none of us are we've got a lot to grow a lot to go so let's understand that we need to pray for each other on that constantly so he tells us here put on the whole armor we need armor that you may be able to stand against the devil and his tricks for we do not wrestle with flesh and blood but against principalities high ranking beings against the rulers of the darkness of this age against wicked spirits in high places as it may be translated and some translations have it that way wicked spirits we are battling Satan the devil and his demons that as our real battle and brethren we have to understand that more than most of us do some of you think well you just talk about when things are a problem you know like what's his name Bill Cosby kind of had a joke about that some of his joke records that the devil the devil did and I guess he says and others you know he'd say devil but devil like the EBI oh but the devil did it people sometimes say things like that well that can be an excuse of course for people who don't want to control their own problems and we all have our own problems and our own weaknesses but nevertheless we are battling Satan the devil who will influence us take advantage of our weaknesses guide us the wrong way influence us discourage us confuse us every way he can and her ultimate enemy is Satan the devil we know that human nature as bad as we say the heart of man is you know wicked above all things are deceitful and wicked above all things Jeremiah 17 verse 9 but as mr. Armstrong said that heart of may that human nature is not normal human nature it's human nature under the influence of satan the devil because as he would go back to the Garden of Eden Adam and Eve had basically a weak nature but they had a neutral nature they were not hostile against God but so much of the people today much so much of the world actually has a hostility to God the vast majority of human beings do it's not active it's not known by them but there's a natural resentment against a God who will but his nose into your life and tell you what to do so to speak if people put it in that terms as you know and it tells us in Romans have little off my notes here but I'll turn to this scripture anyway since I brought it up as Romans 8 and verse 7 a very important principle where God's tells us back here about human nature he says because the carnal mind the human mind we all normally have Romans 8 verse 7 is enmity against God that's the normal human mind a quart sort of a natural resentment a natural hostility against the real God who would tell us what to do and what not to do and sometimes do it through his word sometimes do it through his ministers preaching or reaching or writing however it comes people resent that they get their back up about as we say the carnal mind has a natural enmity against God why for it is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be it just doesn't want to submit to God and to God's laws in God's ways so we have that normal human mind to fight but of course that that normal human mind as we say today as influenced by Satan the devil and it has a devilish influence quite often working with it and aggravating the normal human self is just very very much so we have to understand we're battling a very real force brethren as we've said God is not real to most people in the world and that's absolutely true maybe God is real to the majority of you in this room and your brethren around the world who may hear this later I hope he is we know he's not fully real to everyone because some people in God searches are among us and they don't really get it but he's real perhaps the most of us but if Satan the devil also real to all of you Satan the devil as a spirit personality exists and his demons are spirit personalities and they exist and they are very very real my brethren and there is a spiritual warfare going on and you have to really understand that to grasp what is going on often even in God's church certainly in the society around us and certainly in the world as we've said before the leadership in Europe of the nations is basically normal carnal we know that they're not converted men as we understand conversion but basically decent or well-meaning men as a whole that's going to change but it will not be perceived by the world but we in God's church at a point in time as new leaders come in probably within the next ten years or less probably less as they come into power in the next six to nine years we will sense a different spirit among those leaders and there will be a sort of a gleam in their eye member one guy's to know and the work way back in the 50s and had lunch with him and knew him fairly well had lunch with him just him and me a number of times and one of the few things we had in common besides a general interest in world affairs was rocky road ice cream and we both enjoy rocky road ice cream but a very smart guy but he suddenly later on after one guy failed and another guy failed and another guy failed to take over the work trying to overthrow mr. Armstrong he thought I'm in the best position and he tried to take over the work and I could see suddenly a gleam in his eye and a whole different spirit came over him he was going for it nope I knew that before most people not because I'm smarter I'm not but because they've been around more and watched all this stuff before and because the law had many other weaknesses and my intelligence and understanding I was a fairly good at picking up on attitudes and situations among people and I sensed that and knew that no question about it it happened but these leaders in Europe are going to get the gleam in their eye and you'll sense that they're going to get in power and suddenly you know they're going to be very friendly very charming but things are going to start getting worse they're going to tighten the screws on us they're going to tighten the screws on many people who stand up for righteousness they're going to tighten the screws even on the Protestant evangelicals who oppose the great they're gonna do it cleverly but they'll have laws they'll have situations and suddenly anyone who's doing right will be in trouble he who is righteous will make himself a prey it tells us back in Isaiah 59 the righteous man will continually be persecuted and harassed and he'll feel well what's going on he won't know but those in God's church ought to know there is a spirit warfare going on in these men who will be influenced but the devil are going to be in charge over there and this beast power that will be arising very very quickly and the next 10 years or less and I won't say the final culmination will be in ten years but it probably will be there arising I mean and being in power it's going to be kind of spooky because most people won't get it many people even in God's church and various branches of God church let's say won't get it but we if we're close to God hopefully we'll get it and we will understand a spirit war is going on and Satan the devil has spirits behind every Gentile nation he has demons behind every major false religion by the way - and they reflect the spirit the personality of that demon when you understand it so we have to understand and the Satan must become very real to us and we've got to realize that Satan is very good at confusing people and confuse think about what's going on so they don't even know it's Satan doing it they'll blame it on some other person or they'll blame it on something or someone in God Church they'll accuse the wrong people they won't know it's coming from Satan whatever happens to them it their fault in it or whatever we've got to know our enemy I've told you before how a number of historians have written the General George Patton you know blood and guts Patton studied when he was going to the North African campaigns against her when Rommel who was probably the most cagey outstanding strategist in the entire Second World War except for perhaps General Douglas MacArthur he studied Rommel Rommel was very smart a top German general you say why didn't he win well because the United States became the arsenal of democracy we had a mountain um Byrd outgunned and everything else finally but he held on a long time very smart man but Patton studied all the things he could where did Rahm we'll go to school in Germany and during the peacetime they published that what military historians did Rommel read who were his heroes he got inside Ronald's mind so he could understand his enemy you see and then when these battles he thought what did Rommel do before what did his heroes do and a similar what will he do and then he could figure it out and beat Rommel which he did on a couple of occasions not always anyway we've got to know our enemy that's a very important thing and you've got to know that your enemy is real and there are spirit beings right around here who would like to get at you and get at me and I'm not kidding they are real I can be overcome by them I can any one of you can any one of our ministers in here can as I've told you before I can go back and show you the list of the vice presidents great big beautiful double spread picture back in 1969 the vice presidents of the Worldwide Church of God very impressive envoy the most beautiful big envoy we ever published the big college yearbook is also telling about the work as well where are they most of them fell away one way or the other I don't need to go into details most of them evangelist bleeding men of God helping mr. Armstrong at that time falling away getting confused getting disoriented getting bitter it can happen to anyone whether you're an evangelist pastor elder doesn't make any difference Satan the devil is powerful and we've got to realize that so brethren we need to know our enemy turn with me back to Daniel chapter 10 if you would Daniel chapter 10 and I'm going to begin reading here in Daniel 10 and verse 10 it easy to remember 10 10 here Daniel was left alone after a certain vision and was shaken was weak and this great angel came to touch him in Archangel I think and suddenly he touched me and which made me tremble on my knees and on the palms of my hands the spirit being touching him and he said to me Oh Daniel man greatly beloved and brethren even in the darkest hour if you are really serving God and crying out to God God knows your heart and you will be greatly beloved of our Father in Heaven and He will help us through the things that are going on but Daniel was especially faithful and loyal and courageous and he was a man greatly beloved understand the words that I speak to you and stand upright for I've been sent to speak to you and Daniel then stood trembling and then he said do not fear Daniel for from your for from the first day that you set your heart to understand you know I've been some time and Daniel thought I prayed and prayed and nothing happened apparently nothing did happen and he could have gotten discouraged he didn't he didn't turn aside at least but here's this angel came and encouraged him he said it's not too late from the very first time you begin to understand and you set your heart to under stand and to humble yourself now that's another very very key thing that God looks at and that we have to bear in mind when we're fighting the devil if we think we're important if we think that we're strong that is perhaps one of our greatest weaknesses at that point as I read you a few weeks ago from first Corinthians 10:13 first Corinthians 10:13 he who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall God tells us so he said and to humble yourself before your God your words were heard God heard your prayer right away and I've come because of your words because of Daniels heartfelt prayer and just pouring out his heart to God over and over you can see how Daniel did that kind of thing back in Daniel 9 the first he verses but the prince of the kingdom of persia who was this prince we don't read about him in world history this was the prince that's never mentioned in world history he was the spirit being behind the king of persia the spirit the demon who was guiding that nation overall a very real being and God knows about it and God talks about him the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me 21 days they actually had a spirit war going on here this demon was able to block him off and I guess God permitted that for whatever reason for three weeks and behold Michael one of the chief Prince's here came the super Archangel the terrible to help him for I had been left alone there with the kings of Persia now I have come to make you understand what will happen to your people in the latter days for the vision refers to many days to come and of course he was telling him a whole series of things then in chapters 11 and 12 tremendous things were going to occur which we've often preached to you then down in verse 18 again one came to him and the likeness of a man because demons I mean not demons but ain't Jules appear as a man usually a young man touched me and greatly strengthened me and he said o man greatly beloved this is repeated three times I've noticed in this long passage in Daniel I haven't read the third time but three different times God tells Daniel he's greatly beloved that must have been very encouraging to him fear I'm sorry fear not he says peace be to you be strong yes be strong so when he spoke to me I was strengthened and said let my lord speak for you have strengthened me by the way I stumble here a little bit at times more than I used to I need a new set of glasses and as they get older I better get brighter lights and everything else but so so it's not that I can't read but I have a problem I don't always didn't used to have when I was younger so you'll understand that I've kept telling Monica and and Steve Stifler and the other people around and Tom and Turner and others in the office I said you've got to learn to boy and one thing what's that old age you've got to avoid it it's a bad business anyway then he said do you know why I've come to you and now I must return to fight with the Prince of Persia you see another spirit battle and when I have gone forth indeed the Prince of Greece you see another demon guiding that situation there will come but I tell you what is noted in the scripture of truth no one upholds me against these except Michael your Prince and then he goes on and tells what's going to happen so God allowed wicked spirits to actually block off this one angel until a super Archangel a Carib became one of the three carobs Michael Gabriel and Lucifer and of course Lucifer turned aside and became Satan the devil so one of the two remaining faithful carobs came and backed him up and helped him break through this barrier and get to to Daniel and helped and encouraged him and given this message behind the scenes in Europe demons are going to guide and influence things behind the scenes over and try in India and perhaps causing sometimes a big big misunderstanding or a partial war or something to weaken us if the Chinese try to go wrong across the Taiwan Straits and crush them and we promise to back that up but you say oh that's all human yes but demons may be there to guide situations in ways we do not understand and God allows that at times and shells about it in the Bible things that we do not understand a spirit world spirit armies going on in spiritual battles and we don't see those armies but they are very very real turn back to 2nd chronicles if you would second chronicles chapter 18 here we find that Jehoshaphat the righteous king of Judah was going to help a hab verse 3 this wicked king of Israel as you know you read about him is one of the wick most wicked kings now God tells us in Proverbs he said choose your friends carefully and he that walks with wise men will be wise Jehoshaphat didn't do that just because it was the you know the other king here that they're used to all be together in one nation oh well I'll go along with you that was one mistake Jehoshaphat made right there he just went off and said my people are your people and we'll just hang together regardless he should not have done that big big mistake right away but he got in here and then these false prophets said oh go up and fight these people and we'll win but Jehoshaphat said in verse 6 is there not still a prophet of the everliving one here isn't there a prophet of Yahweh the true God that we may inquire of him and so well they'll asked around and they said well there's one prophet Mike hyah the son of imlah and Jehoshaphat said let anyway he always says evil about me and this other King said but Jehoshaphat said don't say that he knew this was a right prophet so but the other king was putting down this righteous prophet and then the king of Israel called one of his officers said bring Mike hyah he's the one that always said bad things but he was God's prophet he was one of the only prophets left of Yahweh the everliving one and so they brought Mike hyah and in verse 12 the messenger who had gone to call Mike ayah said to him now listen to the words of the prophets with one Accord encouraged the king therefore let your words be like the word of one of them and speak encouragement all the other ministers say was easier to keep Sunday and that's the normal rest day and why don't you go along why don't you learn to fit in don't cause trouble don't get out of line you're just sick in your neck out but here was a true prophet Mike I said as the eternal lives whatever my lord my God says that will I speak he was a true prophet of God so he came to the king and they asked him then what's going to happen in this warfare if we go up to fight these people and so then he first kind of sarcastically said well you win you'll win but obviously said it in a sarcastic tone because you hast a phat sense that says well what's really going to happen and then Mike I said verse 18 therefore hear the word of the Lord I saw the everliving one sitting on his throne here's God sitting on a throne and all the hosts of heaven standing on his right hand and his left and the eternal said who will persuade a hab see this wicked king of Israel the ten tribes had rebelled and gone away from God and Jehoshaphat and most of the people of Judah were so remaining faithful to God at that time but who's going to persuade this wicked king of Israel they have to go up that he may fall at ramoth-gilead and that was God's will apparently and one spoke in this manner and another spoke in that matter then a spirit probably a demon spirit I'm sure because of the advice he gives but God allowed the demons to come there Satan the devil you know Kay the time a job you know and appeared before God a spirit came forward and said I will persuade him and the eternal said in what way so this demon says in verse 21 I will go out and be a lying spirit and we find elsewhere in the Bible that God's faithful angels they're not lied they keep God's commandments so this was the demon spirit I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his ministers he would say today all his preachers all his prophets do this demon sometimes influence false ministers of course they do we know all the other scriptures on that they are in charge ultimately this world's religion in this world's atmosphere in every way I'm going to be a demon spirit and if confuse him through his false preachers and the Journal said you shall persuade him and prevail go out and do so now there for a look the eternal has put a lying spirit in the mouth of these prophets he allowed it to be done of course through the devil or through this demon of yours and the journal had declared disaster against you so that's what Mike I warned Jehoshaphat about but it's interesting we find here one of the very few places in the Bible where a conference an encounter in heaven is described and spirit beings are there and they're having a conference and here is Christ saying God the Father maybe Christ a son they're together the word was perhaps saying this what do we do and what's the best way and getting some advice and so on and they had a conference to decide if we'll do it this way we'll let this demon go out and confuse a hab because the whole nation was going wrong anyway it was time for God to punish them but it was done through this fault spirit demon spirits influencing Nations demon spirits influencing warfare demon spirits including people in the highest places demon spirits influencing any one of God's people you see the devil and his demons don't have to spend a tremendous lot of energy on the people who are already worshiping idols of Buddha over somewhere or all these other religions around the they're already under Satan's influence he will tend to zero in on the ones who are training in training now right now in training to replace him and his demons ruling this world so if he could get at us get at God's people upset them confuse them turn them against one another do anything he can to destroy the Church of God the people of God the work of God he will do that that is his plan that it is his purpose that is his strategy and we've got to realize that and we've got to realize the very real enemy that we're facing right now today and will continue to face so we've got to constantly be praying for one another because any one of us can fall prey to that any one of us and that's the important thing to understand in this age above all others brethren as far as I can know certainly above most other ages Satan will attack and he will increase his attacks on the true Church of God why because we're near the time of the end when you're at the time when he's going to be kicked out where he's enraged as repeated a little bit later and turns against God and God's people in God's church this time Satan's attacks will come to their apex turn now to Revelation chapter 12 and we'll see that Revelation chapter 12 here John under inspiration tells us of some other tremendous things that have happened and are going to happen now a great sign appeared in heaven it describes the woman ancient Israel bringing forth the Messiah as you see and it describes another sign a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns so here's the devil behind this fault system that God describes back in Daniel 2 and 4 and 7 so the devil is behind that and his tail drew a third of the stars of heaven we've explained the details of that too many times stars are used as a symbol of angels as you read in Chapter 1 of Revelation so he drew one third of the Angels this great dragon who's identified in verse nine has Satan the devil and it's amazing you had Michael Gabriel and Lucifer you know who were mentioned as the three Caribes are three super Archangels we could say and says he drew a third so apparently we can't prove it mathematically but the indication is that Satan drew the entire third or at least the vast majority of his entire contingent of angels he is very persuasive those angels certainly should have known better they're bigger and stronger more powerful and intelligent than we human beings are he got them he took the whole bunch and turned them against God and made them become demons what a powerful enemy we have we have to understand that so he drew a third of these stars of heaven threw them to the earth and the dragon stood before the woman ancient Israel as it was then the church and the wilderness as Christ calls it through Stephen in acts 738 the ancient Israel was the church in the wilderness that brought forth the Messiah and the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child us and it was born we know the story on that Satan tried to destroy Christ you know Herod tried to tell the wise men after you find out where the Messiah come and tell me and I'll come and worship him he wanted to go and tell him and you know the rest of the story as we say from the very beginning Satan tried to destroy Christ then he started to destroy Christ's Church and almost did during the time of the Apostles and right after the Apostles he did wipe out the vast majority by either killing them or caused him to be confused and disoriented and going to what became the Catholic Church horrible times back there where people were impaled on snakes tortured thrown to wild animals all kinds of things we've never had to face and ever never had to face things like that anyway and she bore a male child Christ came morn of Israel who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron that tells you that child was the coming Messiah and her child then it jumps ahead from his birth to his death thirty three and a half years later was caught up to God and his throne then it jumps they had a few hundred years during the dark ages where then the woman fled into the wilderness where she had a place prepared by God and they had to hide the Church of God in various places and the Alps and the mountains of Europe from the great false church whose going to wipe them out persecute them kill them torture them then verse six the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God that they should feed her there 1260 years and of course we know how that was a year for a day so from that period of time they had twelve hundred and sixty years of hiding out and from 554 to what it was in 1814 till Napoleon came or it had its demise I mean and then you have suddenly the Protestant Reformation beginning to come to the fore and a great deal more safety from then on and war broke out in heaven now what is this this earlier verse verse 6 tells us about what happened in the Middle Ages this verse 7 you skipped ahead several hundred more years another war he's just described the other war when the woman had to flee now he comes to the final war of Satan war broke out in heaven Michael you see one of the three carobs super Archangels and his angels fought against the devil and the devil fought against them but they did not prevail nor was the place found for them and heaven any longer Satan and his angels were cast back to earth at that point they couldn't stay up in heaven so the Great Dragon was cast out that serpent of old called the devil and Satan notice what it says he's called the devil and Satan of course the the serpent who deceives the whole world is not some minor thing every sing last human being is deceived at one time or the other except Jesus Christ who is the exception every last single human being has no doubt at one time the other been deceived until God calls them God deals with in God begins to open their mind and then they become what the little flock in fact the tiny compared to our 6.3 billion people on earth the very very little flock that the rest of the world are not deliberately evil they're not a bunch of demons out there but they're just under the general influence of the Spirit being who says well God is not fair and we don't agree with God and we want to have fun and we want to do a real thing in this whole thing of laws and rules and some harsh Oh God and they're taught all this stuff to confuse them and it's implied by the put-down movies making the teacher preacher often in this film the Jackass they employed the Jackass formulas you know they call it they use that term as I've said I read it they use that term in Hollywood in the movies and in the television productions they make a righteous man or they make some men that's a little old-fashioned or won't go along with the latest fad of homosexuality or gay marriage or stuff like that then he becomes the Jackass they make him stumble over himself literally slip on a banana peel and fall he'll say the wrong thing do dumb thing that kind of stupid they can do that real cleverly real cleverly and so they employ that humor put-down humor and then they have other techniques of course and the whole world then is influenced then but the wrong kind of music telling you in a sense giving the kids the idea that they're supposed to shout and scream the kind of a demonic thing coming out of their throats and these powerful amplified guitars that sort of send out an attitude of rebellion and frustration the demons trying to break out of their cage so to speak and you can sense that spirit coming out a lot of the modern music not all of it at all I'm just saying a lot of it's there and I hope you young people hearing this can begin to understand that there are moods behind music and some of the moods of the old fashioned music don't seem as to the young people during the time I grew up America was basically a positive nation still carnal but we used to have just literally scores and scores of beautiful songs that were the popular songs I'm looking over four-leaf clover you know happy happy positive and you know all the things you are and how beautiful you are and the love songs were positive and just one song after the other I'd made it better not sing anymore I'll Drive you away but anyway I could just go on and on if I've met Britain these things out here but use the different positive words they had you know and and in the songs back then and later Elvis came along Elvis the pelvis and we call him and he wiggled his hips and he began to be suggestive it had kind of had Johnny kind of a hidden appendage well I'll do it a thing kind of an attitude and it wasn't horrible but it was not ideal it began they've set the stage and then pretty soon the Beatles came along from England you know and they growing up in the slums of Liverpool and they began to yell and scream just yell and scream and then others got even worse and then you got into acid rock and all this kind of stuff and these people that have their colored hair and spikes coming out literally trying to look like Satan the devil and being influenced directly by Satan the devil in that and that is the attitude that's beginning to permeate our youth and they can't real what that progression I can because the youth that I had from the time I was ten to twenty five was 1942 1955 let's say when I was 25 years old and they had nothing like that back then began to come in in the late 50s and even more in the 60s began to change our whole attitude and the people that let their children listen to that kind of music all the time and let their people go to the movies is all the time and watch stuff on TV all the time as it got worse and worse and worse the devil through his broadcasting system Satan the devil SBS Satan's Broadcasting System began to have those attitudes put in their minds over and over an attitude of doing their own thing and spirit of rebel and so on and it hurt them terribly hurt them terribly and a lot of you know that if you have children or grandchildren and have seen it you know that some of your friends and some of your relatives and people that you know have had their children to get it excess alcohol and drugs and so many have been in jail and so many have just got all mixed up in their minds and horrible things happen to them even though their parents didn't teach them that at all their parents said well I was in the church and I lived a right life and yes they tried but you know I can partly agree I don't agree with Hilary very much but I can partly agree with Hilary she said it takes a village to raise the child of course she went beyond what her thing would be had the government raised your child but it does have a tremendous impact and it is a tremendous tremendous help to have the whole society basically clean that is when I grew up marching us in when I was a little 6 7 8 12 10 year old kid and west-central grade school and you start out the day maybe with a short prayer by the teacher and you recite the pledge of the allegiance and salute the flag and that kind of stuff you know kind of a clean atmosphere all through the day and this kind of thing you know they don't have that most schools today that's outlaw that's wrong and our heroes are being made fun of and being torn down anyone who is good and right and decent the media tries to tear them to pieces and the young people can't fully grasp at Satan the devil and his demons resent that they're trying to destroy God's a nation Israel they know who we know who we are Satan in his demons and they're going to destroy God spiritual Israel if they can most of all God's church and get us and destroy us so we have to realize the enemy we have so Satan and his demons were deceiving the whole world and he was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him cast out from what a war in heaven when did that war take place one of the other leaders of a a sect I guess calls himself the Church of God I greatly disagree with him he said it happened I went at or was it two four years ago or something remember if you read it stuff and it has not happened yet I'm just telling you that it has not happened yet when it does happen we're going to see suddenly these people in Europe come up with all these terrible things a lot of the things are going to speed up and we will have a lot of demonism more than we have now believe me for that war in heaven will probably take place within the next five to ten years that's my prediction and you'll see a big change come over the world at that time but the world won't get it the young people won't get it they won't know what's going on but God's people should get it so the demons were cast back down or will be when that war takes place and they try to fight God directly they hate God Satan and his demons then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying now salvation strength the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ has come woe to the have come for the accuser of our brethren has been cast down the accuser of our brethren who accused them day and night has been cast down Satan the devil accuses God's people before God's throne day and night he tries to even disorient God if he could and accuse God's people and he will often get us accusing one another and of course we've got to realize that when people are worldly or they want their own way in many cases and because of worldliness or just because of power-hungry Nisour vanity or whatever then they will begin to accuse others in the church and Satan can get you accusing not the bad guys but the good guys that each one of you has to be close enough to God to understand that where is God's working and what is going on here and that requires of course a certain amount of spiritual discernment Satan can easily manipulate your mind and he can do this so that you will become confused and bitter against God or you become confused and bitter against the church or the ministers who were preaching the truth and so on I always remember a man that was in another area and he was a big shot I could mention names of course I just don't like to do that some of these people are still alive but he was a big shot and had a lot of power and all of a sudden that power began to be taken away from him in this area and he began to be bitter and made little cutting remarks about mr. Armstrong and those guys in Pasadena and so forth it was outside of Pasadena and he became increasingly bitter I warned him three times at least I said don't hang around these other guys they are misleading you they're going to hurt you please try to spend more time with so and so on so and so and he did not do that he let these other guys were very unbalanced and he became more and more unbalanced and finally turned against mr. Armstrong turned against the truth turned against everything because he was demoted and he had his power taken away from him was his power taken away from him for wonderful good godly reasons no no I agree with that some people under mr. Armstrong wanted his power destroyed and his power base destroyed so that they could do certain things with the money and so they could do other things that they wanted to do but did God allow it yes was that a test for this man yes that he passed the tests no you see he couldn't look beyond the few guys below mr. Armstrong who were wanting to get rid of him for the wrong reason but on the other hand he himself was not close to God on the other hand he himself was very weak and as I came to know him better and better I came to realize that deeply and I don't need to dwell on that became very very obvious to me as it did do others tremendous vanity tremendous self-image what happens if your self-image shattered sometimes you've got to let it be broken and I've had to let it be broken when I've had big offices and they were taken away and I was sent off I could become very very bitter I don't want to dwell on my experience it sound like I'm bragging because I didn't handle every situation perfectly at all but at least I didn't get bitter this man did get bitter and I tried to help him even after that and one of the last dinners of my wife fix four guests before she died my first wife was having him and another man over and trying to help him and talk to him and reason him out of this bitterness but we weren't able to do that so he turned completely totally away from the truth and has often Nowheresville now not with any one of the branches you'd say of God Church as far as they know but just off with some little more or less himself and whatever it's a terrible thing turned to a completely different religion different ideas about God turned away from God's law everything he formerly taught why his self-image was shattered he was not able to take that you see and so we have to realise Satan used this allowed this to destroy him even though he could see there were immediate problems around him but beyond those problems around him he forgot he got his eyes off the big picture he forgot that mr. Herbert Armstrong was still alive mr. Armstrong was still preaching the truth a number of the rest of us were still alive as you can see and we were still preaching the truth and the work was being done the work of God and the commandments of God and the way of God was going out all over the world all over the world and he couldn't get in his mind the big picture he just saw the immediate thing well someone under mr. Armstrong got me and I can't take it my self-image is shattered now what if he had said okay I'll take it God my life is your life I gave it to you at baptism and baptism I buried the old self I'm nothing less than nothing in Manatee whatever you allow to happen is good I'm still your servant no matter what like job did you know his enemies he kids job but he wasn't perfect he had the self-righteous attitude for a while my righteousness I maintained job said but in the end he says I'm best in ashes I'm nothing and finally came to the realization of how weak he was and was willing to learn the lesson and then God gave him back double weighted head before this man was not able to learn that lesson to go through that at least at this time I hope he will but those things have happened I could cite several accounts like that I'm just giving you one and just so you can understand yes Satan can get at us in many different ways and get us to accusing one another so that's a very important thing to understand so even though there are local problems we've got to keep our mind on the big picture and where Christ is still working and know that Christ is still in charge but this man's pride was hurt and you know the proverbs say two or three times directly not the exact word but almost those exact word pride goes before a fall if you think I'm important I've been important and they can't do this to me and God sees that attitude maybe that's the first thing he'll allow to happen to you to help you not to hurt you to help you because none of us is a big shot and we all have to realize that and deeply understand that so let's try to understand it now brethren there are three key ways that Satan will try to get at us and there are others three key ways and there's certainly many other ways as well I just want to give you a picture here to try to help you to know what to do about it in general and it's important first of all he will try to make you think that God is unfair and he does that especially to our young people they began to think that God's way is not fun or this or that God won't let me just have fun or drink too much or go out here and there on Friday night or do what I want to do marry who I want to marry or whatever than other people when God allows when you know when he rebukes and chases you like he does every son he loves then you'll say God is not fair and various things who are that will come up remember Genesis chapter 3 tells about the serpent and he came to whomp to the woman Eve Genesis chapter 3 verse 1 has God indeed said you'll not eat of every tree what frog with God he doesn't let you eat of everything you know and she says well we may eat of the fruit of the trees but this one tree he says you'll not touch it lest you die and the serpent said you'll not die God knows in a day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing good and evil you'll understand everything and what's the clear implication God is not fair he's not fair he's not letting you eat this wonderful tree to understand all this stuff and you can't go ahead and try out sex before you're married and you can't go ahead and maybe try drugs and see how your mind is blown you think well I'm different I can try heroin and won't blow my mind and you try it and they say you even try one of those things and sometimes your hook from that moment on may take you the rest of your life to get over it you may never get over it literally damages the brain cells and turns your your mind into mush so to speak for a while but think I've got to try it out I've got to have fun I've got to see what it's like I've got to get drunk to see what it's like I've got to go in the world and see what it's like no you don't you don't have to learn the hard way you could learn the better way if you're willing God is not unfair he gives us laws that are good he wants us to have the abundant life jesus said John 10 verse 10 I'm come that they may have life and have it abundantly and many of us in God church have trials and tests and faults so it's not totally abundant in every aspect but I can just tell you in spite of the things I've told you about being center to exile in England being centered exile in Hawaii being center to exile and windoor where I was allowed to preach or even open in prayer for about three years and all the rest of it after being the third man and the work of God that was really hurtful man I didn't like that man I started nice my teeth and I could picture myself literally sometimes getting back at so-and-so and just better not say it but I thought thoughts many many times then it was a rod what's wrong with you I always remembered mr. Armstrong statements because they did look on him as a father figure in the right way I've never worshipped him I knew his faults probably better than most of you here better than maybe any of you here but I knew he was God servants and I came as a 19 year old kid and learned a whole way of life from him and I thought no he's still there he's been confused as he gets older certain people are taking advantage of him but the work is still being done and I've got to not get bitter at anybody or against God's work and I've got to humble myself and try to learn whatever lesson God wants me to learn in this situation that I do that perfectly no but basically I tried and God helped me and I'm still here but anyway you can easily get bitter against God or against his servants and you can think God is unfair the ministry is unfair the church is unfair I don't get my own way if you get your mind off the big picture the second key way that God can get or the devil can get at you is through your worldly lusts and weaknesses and I think that you all know that but just give me a couple of key scriptures to think about in this regard turn to James if you would the book of James near the end of your New Testament of course and I'm going to turn to James chapter 1 James chapter 1 and beginning in verse 12 blessed is the man who endures temptation all of us go through trials and tests for when he has been proved you have to prove to God that you will hang over no man hang on no matter what people receive the crown of life as mr. Pyle brought out in his very fine sermonette we have a crown waiting for us don't let any and take your crown whether he takes your job away or where he does this or where he allows you or surgeon to become bitter or whatever it is and whatever way don't let humans are Satan working through humans or humans Beaman Beaman being guided by God to deal with you but don't let that take away your crown don't let it happen you're going to see the crown of life if you make it that make the test pass the tests the crown which the Lord has promised to those who love Him let no one say when he's tempted I'm tempted by God God doesn't tempt you he's not trying to get you he loves you he sent his son to die for you he wants you to be in his family he wants you to be in his kingdom to bear his name forever that's why he puts you here that's why he gave you life and breath don't say I'm tempted by God for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt anyone but each one is drawn or is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed and then when his desire has conceived it gives birth to sin he allows it to go around and his mind well I look at this pretty girl and then I'm going to do this and do that or this man made me mad and I'll punch him out and you go through you know if I find him in the elevator he'd better watch out or wear a dark outlet I'll get him when the time comes and you let this thing go around on your mind over and over again I've wrestled with that I understand but you let those things come along and in tight and entertain those wrong thoughts when the desire has conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when it is full-grown brings forth death do not deceive to be deceived my beloved brethren every good gift and every perfect gifts us from above God gives good things and we want to honor God but he allows Satan to tempt us he allows things to happen to help us to teach us lessons for all eternity if we're willing to learn those lessons and one thing we need to understand in this regard think about it Satan will try to find your weakest link and he will go after that if your weakness is alcohol he will try to get you on that if your weakness sex he will try to get you on some aspects of illness at sex that is your weakness and get you stirred up and put a temptation right in front of you you see on that kind of thing we finally had a rule where ministers were not to visit women alone ever as you know because that is a temptation sometimes and I remember we didn't have that rule and I was up in Portland Oregon as a young man and very Beryl at that time and just 20 22 years old and and visiting this woman and and she wanted to be anointed and I came to anoint her and her husband wasn't there and or they were separated I think and and she had on her housecoat and I felt well I don't know but he said oh just come and anoint me I'm so sick so okay and so she got me back but the bed said I just want to kneel down here like a dumb ox I followed her back and and then after I noted her we'd been down and she got up and and she started to fall open in front and I thought ooh she's I said I'm really busy I'm getting out of here I did God says flee fornication and I didn't run to the door but I walked swiftly just got out of there and slammed the door but you know you have those things come right at you and Satan knew I was alone he knew I was vulnerable he knew I was you know frustrated up there I'd been with all these fellows and girls an ambassador and all of a sudden I was alone up there and lonesome and and eating wheat germ you know whatever so he he put some things before me and I had to fight that of course and luckily I never succumb to that although I certainly made other mistakes in my life but anyway he he will get after you for liquor he will get after you if your weakness is sex he will get after you if your weakness is drugs he will get after if he finds you just like people and you want to hang around with friends that are just exciting exciting I remember one of my older sons used to hang around with people and I think Cheryl even mentioned that his companions were very grungy and there's one guy especially that turned out ok later but he was really grungy and I thought oh my why are you hanging around with this guy but you know when you're a teenager one of my best friends back when I throat was growing I think I've told you about him was named Donald but we didn't call him Donald Donald Duck you know we called him ducky ducky became an alcoholic and I think he had four marriages before he died and I was the only one to go see ducky before he died because he had cancer throat cancer if his ex says smoking but he'd become an alcoholic and smoked and everything but anyway I loved him he was exciting let's go do this let's go do that well I had to finally break off from ducky which I did God actually helped me he sent me to ambassador college and ducky was 1505 so back but at any rate you have to be careful of the kind of friends proverbs says choose your friends carefully Satan can get at you through the long friends wrong friends he can get at you through television a lot of people say oh it's not that bad well if you could compare the thoughts that Jesus thought and the attitudes that Jesus had and the things that he allowed himself to see remember King David said I will put no evil thing before my eyes and we in America put hundreds of ours a murder illicit sex kind of watering down stuff where they're implying fornication and it fades out maybe you don't see the one that shows the whole thing although some of them do almost today and just go on and on these attitudes are sort of put down against true religion put down against righteousness just Bews Satan is vomiting that right out of the moog tube you sit there and why is that interesting of course it's interesting I'm human I'm not some angel sure it's interesting if I allow myself get hooked on that on this stuff that comes out of the internet nowadays where men can see and young boys can flip the right button and see completely naked women with other women and all the kind of stuff writhing around isn't that exciting God made half the human beings on earth women half of more men once you figure that all out you think okay we can we can live with that we don't have to just well on it in a wrong way but a lot of young boys that they think discovered something new you know Adam discovered even the Garden of Eden something new and they just well on that and a perverted manner so you have to stay away from too much television too many movies the wrong movies you have to stay away from too much interest and worldly things are just a desire to make more money make more money make more money get ahead build by business bigger you know they asked monk or hunt back when he and his brother controlled the silver market or all right I'm almost ready to back in nineteen seventy eight and nine and early eighty they're billionaires and he kept getting more and more money and he said well why do you want to keep getting more money you can't spend it all he says I know that but he says that's how we keep score the more money we have what we got we're bigger than their you know it's fun see it's a big monopoly but when they're doing that they cut corners they cheat other people their minds on that that becomes their God and so on they have another God before the true God so don't let anything like that come between you and the true God Satan can use that very easily and first John two if you would turn there just back toward the book of Revelation now first John chapter 2 and verse fifteen God tells us through the Beloved Disciple do not love the world the things in the world don't do that I know the world's exciting interesting things and nightclubs and beautiful women and whatever there is very exciting it's alright to see the physical earth we know that the mountains and things God has created for this exciting scene that man is created under the devil's influence if anyone loves the world and remember the word world here as cosmas doesn't mean the physical earth that means the society the kind of motion pictures and the kind of music and these rock concerts and the whole scene it's exciting of course it is some we've been watching the Superbowl tomorrow night I might watch part of it it's not total totally evil but I don't usually watch the whole thing but there'll be some stuff and especially in the half so even not football is not ideal - I used to play it I loved it it was my favorite sport even though I was pretty small our big Kaminsky coach called us Russ Kaminsky called us the tiny tots and we did have one of the smallest teams he'd ever coached but we won most of the time because Roy beavers our halfback was the fastest white man we had separate schools back then as our blacks were member but he was the fastest white man in the state of Missouri three years in a row he won the class a high school 100-yard dash and the 220 at the state meet bang and we spring royal loose and he go for the goal you know and so we would win but at any rate we go bang bang every afternoon I'd come home from blocking practice or your hand would be all scarred where you'd been stopped on by the cleats and you're down here butting heads some of the big professional players literally get punched Runk you've had articles on that you've seen them just like boxers they get hit crashing against each other's head that's not exactly the most enlightening thing to do the most Christian thing to do but you watch that and then during the halftime show Janet Jackson decides to show that she is a female and didn't that exciting but you know what they'll have this time and I don't know but they get all these women gyrating around and kicking up and showing their legs and their bodies the cheerleaders and so the world seems exciting if anyone loves the world the love of the father's not in him for all that is in the world the lust of the flesh you see it's all right to have fun in the right way but not to just well honored or not to lust to have wrong thoughts about it the lust of the eyes and the pride of life is not of the Father but is of the world and the world is passing away and the lust of it but he who does the will of God abides forever this society is goner it is soon going to be gone young people especially because you young people are most influenced thinking the world's your big apple is exciting there have been naked women fornication three wild dancing wild music ever since before the flood not something new they just have a better way of getting it out now through radio and television influencing wrong more people the wrong way all under the influence of Satan the devil get out of it stay away from it flee it flee fornication flee that stuff so you have to understand then the third area the third key area in which Satan will try to overcome you as your own vanity and the desire that you want to be noticed you want to be important you want to have power you want to be rich this image that you create of yourself you see as mr. Armstrong said that image has to be shattered sooner or later and all of us have that image of ourselves at one time or the other and some of his carry various parts of it from time to time even after were converted we're not perfect we have to keep crushing part of that image and our own minds so you have to remember that each of us has that turned back to Isaiah chapter 14 in Isaiah chapter 14 you find the originator of this whole attitude Isaiah 14 verse 12 how are you fallen from heaven Oh Lucifer son of the morning how you're cut down to the ground who weakened the nation's you've said in your heart I will ascend to heaven I will exalt my throne above the stars of God I want to be a big shot I will sit on the Mount of the congregation the sides of the north I will ascend above the heights of the clouds I will be like the Most High I'm going to be the biggest and strongest the most important I'm going to be a big shot that was his attitude he puts that attitude in various ways the women want to show off they want to be the prettiest the men want to be the strongest or the richest or the whatever have the most power of their job or their title I will be like the Most High yet you will be brought down to Sheol to the lowest depths of the pit God says that attitude comes right straight from Satan the devil all of have had it I have had it you have had it so we have to fight that attitude every day of our lives to say I am a bond slave of Jesus Christ he bought and paid for me he bought and paid for me I am his if he wants me to be down here that's fine if he wants me to be up here I want to use my time and my talents the best way I can and if he puts me down for a while or puts me off for a while he'll bring me back I will be brought back from Hawaii we haven't seen any of you to Hawaii let yes but I will be will will work out in the end and it does I can tell you that so let's understand we've got to submit to God and put our faith and trust in him and get rid of that self-image and that pride pride goes before a fall always pride the self will the self-image turned to first Peter brethren turned to first Peter now in your New Testament and I want to read here I can find my marker first Peter chapter 5 verse 1 the elders who among you I exhort whom a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ when they saw Christ ything on the cross and he cried out my God my God why have you forsaken me and the blood then spurted out when that spirit was jammed in his side it had a great affect on them and then when he resurrected from the dead they never forgot that it gave them a sense of humility a sense of worship and adoration prep beyond what any of us have Shepherd the flock of God don't be a big shot be a shepherd be a servant the shlok of God serving as overseers not by constraint but willingly not for dishonest gain but eagerly not as being Lord don't be a big shot over God's people trying to catch them trying to overly correct them or manage them or or lord it over them in any way but being examples examples of love of service of kindness of patience the best way you can there's some bad guy causing trouble or division yes you have to deal with that to protect the flock as a whole but as best you can do it that way he tells us and when the chief Shepherd appears you will receive the crown of glory which does not fade away an ever lasting crown likewise you younger you younger people you newer people in the church whoever submit yourself to your elders all of us should do that yes all of you be submissive to one another and be clothed with humility that's perhaps the hardest thing of all to be clothed with humility no one of us is clothed with humility all day long every day the way Jesus Christ was thinking hour by hour and minute by minute I'm here as God's servant how can I help teach bless heal and courage protect strengthen and give myself to these people as their servant that should be our attitude hold with humility for God resists the proud those who get their feelings hurt those who throw fits when they don't get their way God resists the proud and he sure does brethren he doesn't like that attitude at all but gives grace to the humble therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God you've got to do that or you will never ever be in the kingdom of God humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he let him do it that he may exalt you in due time casting all your cares upon him for he cares for you he cares for each one of us he died for us he wants us to learn every lesson so we can be humble so we can submit to him so we can submit to one another throughout all eternity and not had the self well I want what I want what I wanted and if I don't get it I'll rebel against God or against God's ministers or God's work or later like Satan against God himself so he's got to be sure we learned that lesson be sober be vigilant be alert all the time against your real enemy and remember your real enemy is very very real and it's not other people it's Satan the devil and his demons that is your real enemy your ultimate enemy because your adversary the devil walks around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour he wants to destroy me he will try to get at me in various ways he will try to get at you and we have to fight it sometimes the tears in her eyes help me O God as I have this feeling of lust or vanity or whatever come over me resist 10 you've got to fight you must battle Satan resist him steadfast in the faith knowing that the same sufferings they're experienced but your Brotherhood in the world but made the God of all Grace who called us into as I've said the Greek were here is not to but ice into he's not just called us up to the foot of the mountain to see it up there he's called us into his eternal glory that we will share that glory more we have a wonderful reward to look to once we learn our lessons each of us so he's called us into his eternal glory by Jesus Christ then what after you have suffered a while and Peter's last letter that's what he says he knows after you have suffered awhile perfect establish strengthen and settled you to him be the glory and Dominion for ever and ever amen so brethren be sure you know your enemy be sure you're aware of your real enemy how real he is and how real his demons are the spirit world around you've got to resist all the time prepare for your real battle which is just ahead and which will be a continuing battle as long as we're in the human flesh prepare for that understand that fight the good fight of faith with all your heart and pray pray unceasingly for one another because if you're not being tempted right now perhaps your brother is each one of us is vulnerable I'm vulnerable you're vulnerable forgive each other help each other encourage each other have mercy on each other love each other pray for each other that we can win that battle

Channel: Living Church of God

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Length: 75min 57sec (4557 seconds)

Published: Fri Mar 23 2018