Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. One of the most masterful
of all of Satan's devices is to plant the thought in the minds
of men that he is actually not real, but is only a figurative
method of defining evil. By doing so, he is able to sow
lies while men sleep, unaware of his pervasive power to deceive
even the very elect if it were possible. In this scheme, he
would make truth to appear as less than true and seldom of
an absolute nature. He would equate his own perversions
of the truth with the truth and even attempt to supplant the
truth by making himself into an angel of light. Another of
his devices is to convince those who nonetheless believe he is
real to consider that he is just as eternal as God. This line
of thinking involves considering him as co-equal with God. Satan
is considered as being the cause of all bad things, as men would
define them, while God is considered to be the cause of all good things,
as men would define them. In this view, he and God are
locked up in some sort of life and death struggle, with the
outcome of all events constantly in jeopardy. This is called dualism,
and seems to be the prevailing thought among most so-called
Christians in these modern days, which they share with all pagan
religions. Yet the scripture is abundantly
clear that Satan is a created being designed by God to carry
out his purpose in the earth while doing so with a perfect
hatred of the truth of God and desiring to destroy the seed
of the Lord. He is God's devil and like a dog on a leash can
go no farther than God allows him to go in order to fulfill
his greater purpose in the earth. His ultimate destruction is already
revealed and he is yet allowed to roam the earth as a roaring
lion knowing that the everlasting chains of hell await him. All
events that transpire in the earth occur according to the
ordained purpose of Almighty God. But our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. He said, I form the light and create darkness. I
make peace and create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things.
God uses the evil designs of men and Satan to accomplish his
purpose in the earth. Surely the wrath of man shall
praise thee. The remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. So
Satan is very real and is even now plotting and scheming to
destroy the kingdom of God and all of its heirs. His success
in this endeavor is an absolute impossibility since the Lord
has already demonstrated his destruction and overthrow of
Satan's principalities and powers when he made a show of them openly
triumphing over them in it by his death on Calvary and his
resurrection from the garden tomb. But make no mistake, he
is yet a very able adversary of the saints, and God has purposed
that he will continue to aim his fiery darts at us until the
day of our change. God could have kept him chained
forever, but it has pleased him to loose him for a season of
time until he has wintered his wheat and purged his gold. Satan
most definitely has many devices or schemes whereby he would intend
our destruction. and make a mockery of God before
our eyes. But Paul said, we are not ignorant
or blind to those schemes, nor are we unequipped to do battle
with him, for we have been given an armor, a sword, and a shield
with which to quench all of the fiery darts. Paul said, for though
we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. For the
weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God
to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and
every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge
of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience
of Christ, and having a readiness to revenge all disobedience when
your obedience is fulfilled. The major venue where this warfare
takes place is the battleground of our minds. Paul said, likewise,
Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead unto sin, but alive unto
God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign
in your mortal body, as ye should obey it in the lust thereof.
For sin shall not have dominion over you. For ye are not under
the law, but under grace. We are to reckon it to be so,
which is to let our thought process dwell upon the very fact that
we are not the servants of sin, but have been made righteous
by the blood of Jesus Christ. God uses the exhortations of
his word to stir up our minds. Paul said, let nothing be done
through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind let
each esteem other better than themselves. Let this mind be
in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Satan's most desired device
is that of trying to move our thinking away from the contemplation
of Christ to any other number of other issues. Yea, doubtless,
and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found
in him, not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith, that I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made
conformable unto his death. For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, Send an email to forthepoor at windstream
dot net.