Down in the Dumps Letter D's of the Devil

This is a story I came across this week. It's a little bit of an odd one, but I think you'll see how it applies. It was advertised that the devil was going to put his tools up for sale. On the date of the sale, the tools were placed for public inspection, each being marked at the sale price. There was a treacherous lot of implements.

Hatred, envy, jealousy, doubt, lying, pride, and so on. Laid apart from the rest of the pile was a harmless-looking tool, well worn and priced very high. The name of the tool? Asked one of the purchasers. Oh, said the adversary, that's discouragement. Why have you priced it so high? Because it's more useful to me than the others. I can pry open and get inside a person's heart with that one when I cannot get near him with the other tools. Now, once I get inside, I can make him do what I choose.

It's a badly worn tool because I use it on almost everyone, since few people know it belongs to me. The devil's price for discouragement was so high, he never sold it. It's still his major tool, and he still uses it on God's people today. That is from John Lawrence's book, Down to Earth. The Bible is full of example after example describing our adversary, Satan the Devil.

God wants us to know about his history of who Satan was, who he is still today, his rebellion against God, his hatred for mankind, and his desire that we all lose out on the kingdom of God. This is the enemy that we are up against. In 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 10, Paul is speaking in this example about a brother in Christ who has been put out of the church, but it's time for the brother to be allowed back in.

This is in 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 10. But here, in this passage, Paul makes an interesting, or I think a profound comment about our adversary, Satan the Devil. This is 2 Corinthians 2 and verse 10. Here Paul says, "'Now whom you forgive anything,' speaking of this person who was put out of the church but is to be brought back in, he says, "'Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ.'" And here's the key, "'lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices.'" We are not ignorant of his devices.

This enemy of ours is described as our adversary and a roaring lion. That's from 1 Peter 5 and verse 8. He is described as the accuser of the brethren. That is in Revelation 12 and verse 10. Apollyon, which is translated destroyer in Revelation 9 and verse 12. The deceiver, that's in 2 Corinthians 11 verse 3. And he's described as the father of liars and a murderer. That's in John 8 verse 44.

The message today might be a bit heavy for some of you, especially if you're going through trials or going through challenges. As you're in the midst of weighing out your feelings and different things, or if you feel like you're being attacked by Satan. But it's an important one because just as we read, we must not be ignorant of his devices.

So to lighten the message up just a little bit, today we are going to explore the down and the dumps, letter Ds of the devil. The down and the dumps, letter Ds of the devil. If you like titles, it's the same. The down and the dumps, letter Ds of the devil. Number one, down and the dumps, letter Ds is doubt. From the beginning of mankind, Satan was in the mix causing problems for mankind. In the very beginning, he caused Eve to doubt God and it has been one of his most powerful tools ever since. Spiritual doubt makes you question God's word and his goodness.

This is exactly what happened in the Garden of Eden. So let's look at the very beginning of the story in Genesis chapter 3 and verse 1. Satan was able to get Eve to doubt God. Genesis 3 and verse 1. Here we read, Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, Has God indeed said, You shall not eat of the tree of the garden?

And the woman said to the serpent, We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die. Then the serpent said to the woman, You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.

Satan was able to get Eve to doubt God's goodness. He presented a false view of a God that was strict, stingy, and selfish, and for not wanting Eve to share in his knowledge of all good and evil. That's what Satan was able to convince her of, and to put that doubt in her mind.

But all of this was false, none of it true. We know from... and Eve didn't have this at her disposal like we do, but one of the Psalms, Psalm 33 verse 4 says, For the word of the Lord is right, and all of his work is done in truth. The New Living Translation says, For the word of the Lord holds true, and we can trust everything he does. We can trust everything that God says. What he says is going to happen, the prophecies that he's outlined, what he wants us to become. All of that is true, and we must remember those things.

Because faith in God is the killer of all doubt. So when doubt enters in, we can use faith as a killer of that doubt.

Let's look at Hebrews chapter 11 when we consider the power of faith. Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 1.

Hebrews 11 and verse 1. Now faith is a substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of the things which are visible. And then verse 6. But without faith it is impossible to please him, for he who comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him.

So for us to combat doubt in our own lives, we must remember the truth is in the promises of God, and to remember the times that he has intervened in our lives. Think back to those times when doubt starts to creep in, what has God done for you? If we took time and let everybody kind of march up here, I'm sure we'd be here till tomorrow morning, with the stories, with the examples, as we think through the times where he has touched our lives.

He's opened doors. He's made himself seen to us, not just through maybe a physical way, but through the Spirit, that we know that he's with us, that he's leading us. Other people would say, I don't know about this whole God thing, and we'd say, I know 100% about this whole God thing. Because we've read his word, and we've seen him work in our lives.

One of the greatest interventions being the calling that you have received, and the knowledge that you have of God in his way. Let's look at James chapter 1 and verse 5. Just one book forward, James 1 and verse 5. Because as we recount our life stories, and remember the times he's intervened, we also recount the knowledge that he's shared with us through his word, that he's placed on our heart.

And it speaks, and James chapter 1 and verse 5 speaks to this. It says, If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith. Let us ask this prayer in faith for this wisdom.

And it goes on to say, With no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind. I love that description, because we can all see it in our mind. This storm blowing in on the coast, and the waves just crashing. And maybe there's some people out there playing in the waves, or you see a boat, like a little small sailboat or something, that's just kind of getting tossed to and fro by these waves.

When we doubt God, we feel lost in a sea of waves, and we ourselves are being tossed to and fro. Our foundation has been removed. The waves are just crashing on one side and then crashing. We're not getting that break when doubt enters in. When we feel this way, though, we can pause in the midst of the storm. We can go and ask God for the wisdom that we need in the situation, and then trust that he will provide. Then the direction we go will be based on solid ground again, not the waves of the sea.

So we have power to combat doubt. It comes with faith in God's word, and with the remembrance of his way that he has worked in our lives so powerfully, so many different times. And we can push out the doubt when it enters into our minds. The second way, the second down in the dumps letter Ds, is discouragement.

Discouragement makes you look at your problems rather than to God. It draws our attention away from our vision on God and onto the weights, the challenges, the difficulties that we face. Often when we are feeling the weight of discouragement, our problems seem so large that it appears nothing can be done to escape them.

There's no way out. There's no hope. There's no rest for the weary. Satan wants us to dwell on those challenges that we face and then obsess over them. Have you ever obsessed over good things? Maybe that new house that you're wanting? Maybe that future spouse that you're about to marry and you're excited for your future? You're excited for these hopes and dreams and it's hard to get it out of your mind?

Have you ever obsessed over the weights of life? The things that don't seem to be going according to your plans? And you're laying there in a pitch-dark room trying to go to bed and that thought just doesn't seem to disappear. It just sits on you. It's oppressive. It's waiting you down in that bed. It's like somebody's piled rocks on your chest. It's hard to breathe. We can't ignore our problems, but we have to seek a way to free our minds from the constant pull of the challenges that we face.

One of the ways that we can do this is by sharing with others our challenges that we face in life and then ask them to pray for us. It's a powerful tool that God has given to each one of us. The ability not only to pray to Him for our needs, but so powerfully to pray for those who are going through challenges.

To share in their challenge. To imagine, put ourselves in their shoes and say, What would it be like to be going through that disappointment or to be going through that challenge themselves? And then we take that to God and we say, God, please help them. Help show them the path. Take the weight off of their shoulders. Allow them to rest at night to be able to get that sleep that they need.

This is a powerful opportunity that each one of us has to share these intimate challenges and these details with one another and to ask in humility that others pray for us.

And then when we've asked that and we've prayed for it ourselves, we have to remember God's promises and remember how God views us. We're not some lost children in the forest that nobody cares for. We have a wonderful, loving, awesome God, Father, our Dad, that looks out for us and wants the best for us and just intimately loves us. We must never forget that, how God views us. But Satan, though, wants us to think God can't really love us, can he? These weak human beings with all their problems, all their challenges, they get themselves in so many mixes and messes themselves. How can God, the creator of the world, the Eternal, how can he even for a moment change his eyes and cast his eyes down on this creation? That's what Satan wants us to believe. Not only that, but can our sins be forgiven, really? I mean, God wants to, I'm sure, take away our sins, but will he really do that? These are these things that Satan wants us to ponder. But again, God's promises are true, as we read in Hebrews 6, the second part of it, in that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. One of those promises that we have to hold firm to. What about when we are discouraged by others around us? Those that we are around should be the ones lifting us up. But sometimes, in certain moments, we find ourselves discouraged by others. Or maybe it's others who make negative comments about your faith, or mock the fact that you proclaim to be a Christian. They make fun of that. What about when we share God's truth with others, but it doesn't lead them down a better path? They reject the words or the guidance that we give them from Scripture, and they may even get angry with us for sharing God's word with them. In these instances, we have to remember we're not serving and following people, but rather we are serving and following God. We must be focused on what it is that He expects us to do, and remember who is the source of discouragement. Satan is that source of discouragement. When we do what is right, then we can't worry about the decisions others make, because they are each responsible for their own decisions. Too many times, we get into the mindset that we have to fix people. We have to provide them the solution, and then if they decide not to walk it, we've got to kind of urge them along. Push them a little bit. Make sure that they're getting there. It's good to be involved. It's good to be family. It's good to be that motivation for one another, but when it truly comes down to it, everybody is responsible for their own decisions. There's a story in 1 Samuel 17. I'd like to kind of walk through with everybody today.

1 Samuel 17, verse 1.

In this story, or this account, David was a young lad. He had older brothers. What do older brothers do to younger brothers a lot of times? Do they lift them up, or do they kind of press them down a little bit?

Maybe I only had that type of an older brother. He's a great support to me now, though. In this account, we see David caring for the sheep, doing his father's wishes of providing for the family while his sons are away at battle. And yet, as we'll read, David would go to the battle and provide with food and other encouragement so he could report back to his father how his sons were doing. So let's go ahead and read 1 Samuel 17, verse 1.

2 The Philistines stood on a mountain on one side, and Israel stood on a mountain on the other side, with a valley between them.

3 And a champion went out from the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath from Gath, whose height was six cubics and a span.

Skipping down to verse 8. 4 Then he stood and cried out to the armies, and this is Goliath, and said to them, 5 Why have you come out to line up for battle? Am I not a Philistine, and you the servants of Saul? 6 Choose a man for yourselves, and let him come down to me. If he is able to fight with me and kill me, then we will be your servants. 7 But if I prevail against him and kill him, then you shall be our servants and serve us. 8 And the Philistine said, I defy the armies of Israel this day, and give me a man that we may fight together. 9 And when Saul and all of Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid. Verse 15. 10 But David occasionally went and returned from Saul to feed his father sheep at Bethlehem. 11 So David rose early in the mornings, and he left the sheep with the keeper, and took the things, and went as Jesse had commanded him. 12 And he came to the camp as the army was going out to fight and shouting for battle. 13 Then as he talked with them, for Israel and the Philistines had drawn up in battle over against army against army, 14 And David left his supplies in the hands of the supply-keeper, ran to the army, and came and greeted his brothers, just as his father had asked them. 15 And as he talked with them, there was the champion, the Philistine of Gath, Goliath by name, coming up from the armies of the Philistines. 16 And he spoke according to the same words, so that David heard them, and all the men of Israel, when they saw the man fled from him, and were dreadfully afraid. 17 Imagine David in that instance. What would he be thinking? A younger lad, he's got older brothers, he sees these men in battle over A.

18 I can only think what I probably would have done. I would have been finding my older brother and standing sure to be behind him. 19 But then what did David do going on in verse 25? 20 So the men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who has come up? Surely he has come up to defy Israel, and it shall be that the man who kills him, the king will enrich with great riches, 21 will give him his daughter, and give his father's house, exemption from taxes in Israel. 22 Then David spoke to the men who stood by him, saying, What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine, and takes away the reproach for Israel? 23 For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God? 24 And the people answered him, and this man, saying, So it shall be done for the man who kills him. 25 And here we have the older brother, Elab. Now Elab, his oldest brother, heard when he spoke to the men, and Elab's anger was aroused against David. 26 And he said, Why did you come down here? And with whom have you left those few sheep in the wilderness? 27 I know you have pride in the insolence of your heart, for you have come down to see the battle. That's a great way to greet your brother, isn't it? 28 It's a great way to be... I mean, you don't have the courage yourself to meet this Goliath. 29 But yet here is David with the courage that he has, but yet the discouragement that potentially was to be placed on his heart.

30 But in verse 29, David said, What have I done now? Is there not a cause? I think I've said that to my brother before. I think maybe even that exact line. 31 Then he turned from him towards another and said the same thing, and these people answered him as the first ones did. 32 Now when the words of David spoke were heard, they reported them to Saul, and he set for him. 33 The story of David, we know how it finishes up. It's a classic, one of the most classic accounts that we have in God's Word of faith, from not even somebody who's lived a full life, but that strong faith from someone who was taught and knew God's way and was brought up according to God's Word.

34 What if David had become discouraged enough that he decided to quit? Right there. To no longer face this Goliath. To say, You're right. Who am I? I'm just some little kid. I should go back and be with Dad. You're right. 35 What if he would have done those things? God would have provided another way. But would we have the King of Israel? David? Later on?

36 David kept his eyes on God through this account. He recognized a strength that was not in him, but it was in God. So to combat discouragement, we need to keep our eyes not focused on the challenge before us, but keep our eyes focused on the tasks given to us to do by God. Keep our vision securely focused on him, and he will guide our paths.

37 The third down in the dumps letter Ds is deception. This makes the wrong things seem attractive so that you will want them more than the right things. The phrase, Good is bad, bad is good. We see that in Isaiah 5 and verse 20. Let's go ahead and turn there.

38 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter. Woe to those who just mix everything up, who switch everything around, who discourages us instead of lifting us up, who disappoints us instead of helping us to see how we can be good.

39 Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness. This deception of the world that we have around us, of society, and we know where these ideas are being planted from, where they're coming from, and who is that master of those lies and deception. John 8 verse 44 spells it out extremely clearly. John 8 verse 44.

Who is this adversary, who is this enemy that switches good and calls it bad and then takes the bad of the world and calls it good? John 8 verse 44. Christ says, Christ says, Imagine the emptiness of no truth. No truth. We know God's words accurate, so if it says there's no truth, there's literally no truth in Satan. Imagine that vast emptiness, that void of truth that is in our adversary. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. Another description. The father of lies, not just a liar, not just somebody who gets caught up in lies. Satan is the father, the author, the beginning of lies. Remember back to Genesis 3, you will not surely die. Right from the beginning, Satan lied to humanity. And we must remember and heed the warnings we receive from Christ about a future time of lies and deception that we must be aware of today. This is in Matthew chapter 24 in verse 3. I know we're looking at a lot of scriptures, and we have more to still look at, but when we need to consider who our adversary is, let's not use our own words, let's not use our own experiences, let's not use our own descriptions. Let's make sure that we are diving directly into God's word, because he is the one that points out and gives us these heeds and warnings of who our enemy is. And here we have another description from Christ of what the future, this deception, that we may fall prey for. We can fall prey for, will you? As we read through this, ask yourself, consider that. These warnings are here because some will fall. Matthew 24 in verse 3.

And will deceive many, not might deceive many or could deceive many, will deceive many. It's interesting that when Christ was asked this question by the disciples, he didn't give them an answer that they were probably expecting of when he would come. He said, take heed that no one deceives you. The fact is that if we get caught looking for signs, we may find them, but they most likely won't be of God. If we're looking for the signs of the times, how much energy will we spend?

How much time will we spend doing those types of things? But they might most likely won't be of God. We don't have to look far to find deception when it comes to those who misuse God's word or don't understand the context of what was recorded for us in Scripture.

We don't need to look for signs when we have the Word of God right in front of us and it provides the direction that we need in our lives. As we look at Scripture, we look to God for the answers, not signs or other types of deception. Continuing on in verse 6, Christ says, And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.

See that you are not troubled, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. Verse 11, As we pause, how do we counter this deception that Christ is speaking of here? We must continue to keep our focus on the gospel of the kingdom and continue to share it with our families, continue to share it with one another, continue to share this powerful message with the world and society that we are part of.

Then we will, in doing that, as you've done in your own life, the more times you teach something, those who are homeschoolers, the more times you prepare your kids to learn something, you actually get pretty good at it yourself. I was trying to teach Kelsey some algebra this past year, and yeah, I'd taken algebra, but I'd forgotten most of it. But how well it started coming back, because when you teach it, you know it.

As we teach this gospel of the kingdom to others, as we teach it to our kids, we're planting the truth into our own minds. And so we have our focus sharpened, and we continue to see clearly what God is doing on this earth and with mankind, as Christ continues here in Matthew 24, verse 23. Then if anyone says to you, look, here is to Christ, or there, do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will rise up and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect. Again, in Christian circles around this nation, we may hear nice sounding messages about God and Jesus Christ, but these messages many times don't agree with God's messages in the Bible.

This is why we must be building that solid foundation in our lives to counter these nice sounding messages that we hear and to avoid the false teaching that we know is out there. Continuing in verse 25, he says, See, I have told you beforehand, therefore if they say to you, look, he is in the desert, do not go out. Or look, he is in the inner rooms, do not believe it. For as the lightning comes from the east and flashes to the west, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be.

One of the commentaries said something I found pretty funny. I'll share it. He said, the second coming of Christ will be so obvious that if you are hearing and being told that Christ has come, then it should be obvious that he hasn't come. It should be so obvious by the signs that we will be able to see clearly that Christ has come. If we have to trust and rely on other people sharing stories and saying, he's here or he's there, that should be obvious that he hasn't come. Because you and I will know without a shadow of a doubt when Christ has come again.

We're not going to sneak in under the radar at night and find a hotel someplace down the road and nobody knows where he's at. That's not how Christ is going to return. It's going to be obvious and the whole world will see it. So if we hear of people coming out and saying, he's here or this prophecy or this is happening, and it says that Jesus Christ has returned, his own word says, do not believe it.

To battle against deception, we must keep our eyes on what we know to be the truth. What is the truth? John 17, 17. Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. This word that we have in our laps is truth. This is what we must keep our eyes on. This is what we must be internalizing to avoid deception. When someone approaches you with a new idea or a new way to behave as a Christian, we must go right back to God's word and see if it matches up to what his word says.

His word is what is truth and we must verify that truth. It's way too easy to follow a new idea or something someone tells us to be true. But go back to the source. Ask the questions. You need to get to the bottom. Take it to God and ask him to show you the truth. This is what you're being told.

This is what you're reading in his word. God cannot lie, so he will lead you to the truth if you truly seek it out. This is how we battle deception. The fourth down in the dumps letter D is delay. Delay makes you put off doing something so that it never gets done. Satan uses this tactic of delay to make us feel like we can't or shouldn't get back on track with the things that we must be doing in our life.

Maybe it's with our Bible study. I've missed studying so long that I don't even know where to start again. Or maybe it's with our prayer life. It's been so long since I've talked to God. I'm sure he probably doesn't even want to hear from me right now.

Probably ever again. Maybe it's reconciling with our brother or sister in the faith. Well, this issue between us has been going on so long, it's probably going to be awkward if I approach it at this point. Or they're not. They're going to say, Why are you still worried about this? Why are you still thinking about this? These are all excuses that our human nature can come up with. Maybe we are even delayed in going before God to express our sins and to seek reconciliation again with God. We know that our sins do create separation between us and God. Let's look at that in Isaiah 59 and verse 1.

Isaiah 59, starting at the beginning of chapter 1, Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor his ears heavy, that it cannot hear, but your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. Are we delayed in going to God because I was right to be angry with that person? Are we delayed because we're not willing to admit our attitude or our behavior in another situation itself is wrong? Or are we delayed because it's been the umpteenth time that I have tripped, fallen, and sinned before God? Satan wants us to delay being reconciled with God because he so desperately wants this separation between us and God. And as we already referenced, Satan is the accuser of the brethren. This is in Revelation 12 and verse 10. Let's go ahead and turn there. Revelation 12 and verse 10.

These are all important verses. I don't want to skip us actually reading them with our own eyes. Revelation 12 and verse 10.

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come. For the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night, not just once in a while, not when he was not too busy, who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down. Satan is the one that goes before God, accusing us day and night, but we can limit his ability when we go before God and admit our shortcomings and our sins before our merciful Father. We can circumvent Satan being able to accuse you and me when we go to God and we express, when we stop delaying going to God and express to him our sins.

And again, what did Isaiah say in Isaiah 59 verse 1? Because behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, nor his ears heavy, that it cannot hear. This is the God that we worship and the God that we can go before and prayer and talk and express our sins, to stop delaying when these feelings of, I need to delay, I want to delay, I can't go and do this, creep into our minds. So how do we overcome the tactic of delay? Again, we must draw on Scripture and focus our attention back to God. Let's look at Micah 7 in verse 18. Amos, Obadiah, Micah, help out a little bit. Actually found it easier just now than normal, so I hope you guys are out. Micah 7 in verse 18.

Who is the God that we can pray to? Who is our Father in heaven that wants us to no longer delay in coming before Him, but to approach Him immediately and often? We read here in Micah 7 verse 18 who this God is. Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all of our sins into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob and mercy to Abraham, which you have sworn to our fathers from days of old. I love the imagery of casting our sins into the depths of the ocean where there's not even light for them to be seen again. There's another passage in 1 John chapter 1 in verse 5. So we go from the end of the Old Testament to the end of the New Testament, looking at God's mercy, the way that He views us, the relationship He wants with us. John 1 in verse 5. Here the Apostle John writes, We deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Getting back to the deception that Satan wants us to believe, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Let us not fall for the tactic of delay. The fifth down in the dumps letter D is defeat. Defeat makes you feel like a failure so that you don't even try. Again, we know that our sins do create separation between us and God. But when we become tripped up by the sins of our life, Satan wants us to feel defeated. Satan wants us to quit our spiritual race and to just walk away and not continue what we started. It's that athlete who's running the track, or running cross-country, and he trips and he falls, and the whole group keeps on going. And he realizes he doesn't have a chance to finish. Does he just get up and just walk off to the course to go sulk in the woods? Does he just go out to the car and get in it and drive home? Hopefully not. More times than not, that athlete will get up, dust himself off, and finish running that race, knowing that there's no chance to finish it. But they continue to run because they won't quit. There's a quote attributed to Lance Armstrong. He said, Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever. Pain is temporary, but quitting lasts forever.

Let's look at Hebrews 12 and verse 1.

Hebrews 12 and verse 1, Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, Let us lay aside every weight in the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher, the beginning and the end of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Just like an athlete that sometimes has to work through the pain of an injury, we too must work through the pain that sin causes in our life. If an athlete quit every single time that he or she got hurt, every single time that he or she had a challenge in athletics, there would be no such thing as sports. We would have nothing to watch, nothing to participate in, because every single athlete has battled challenge. They've battled injury. They've battled hurt. If Christians quit every time that we fell short of following and not following and not obeying God, then there would be no Christians, no congregations, no fellowship, no church of God. And if Satan could orchestrate this according to his desires for us, this would be what his end goal would be. No church of God. But you and I have a Savior that overcame this world. He overcame the influences. He overcame the challenges. And he now sits at the right hand of God as our elder brother, who is there to help us, to encourage us, to stay in the race. To contrast the story that we read of David and his older brother. This is not like that story. Our elder brother is rooting for us, wants us to be there. Will do everything in his power to help us get there.

We see this in Psalm 103, verse 8. Let's look at a couple passages, reminding ourselves the way that God looks at us again. Psalm 103, verse 8. Because defeat will enter our minds at times. Ready to throw in the towel. I can't go on. There's just nothing I can do.

But we have to remember the way that God looks at us, the way that our elder brother looks at us. Psalm 103, verse 8 gives us a description.

I love this analogy, too. Casting our sins into the bottom of the ocean. Here's another one that shows how far he separates our sins from us. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father pities his children, so the Lord pities those who fear him. For he knows our frame. He remembers that we are dust. As for man, his days are like grass. As a flower of the field, so he flourishes. For the wind passes over it, and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.

But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. From as far as east to west, everlasting to everlasting. How do we measure that? On those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children. To such as keep his covenant, and to those who remember his commandments to do them.

God understands the challenges that you and I face from our own human nature, and the environment of the world that we live in. Yet, with our inability for us to lead a life free of sin, God loved us so much that he wanted to provide a way that we could be in a right, and in a good relationship with him.

We have this also described in Romans 3, verse 21.

Romans 3, verse 21. Romans 3, verse 21.

Romans 3, verse 21.

Romans 5, verse 18.

Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation. Even so, through one man's righteous act, the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one man's obedience many more will be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound, but where sin abounds, grace abounds much more. So that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Satan wants us to feel defeated, and down and out. We can battle defeat, though, by remembering that we have a Lord and Savior who has overcome the world. He, along with our fathers, is cheering us on in our race to eternal life. They do not grow weary in cheering us on. They are there at all hours of the day and all hours of the night, being able to cheer us on when we need it most.

Quitting is not an option. Defeat is our enemy. These down-and-the-dumps letter Ds are some of the tools that Satan uses against us. It is true that each of us at different times will succumb to one or another of these tactics that Satan uses against us. It's just a matter of time. It's a way of life.

We have these thoughts that he propels and pushes out through the whole world, and they do, at times, come into our minds. If you find yourself in a challenging situation like one of these that I've described today, please reach out for help. Please see me. Please see one of our other elders. Talk to us. Let us know ahead of time, early enough in the process, because far too often, my own nature, my own pride, gets in the way.

And I don't feel I can go and express some of the differences, some of the weight, some of the feet, some of the doubt, some of the discouragement that I feel at times. Do I feel I can go up? I hope that everybody in time, as we continue to be here and develop a relationship with everyone, will be able to feel that you can bring these things to me. Because I want to be able to help, just like your other brothers and sisters want to be able to help.

Reach out to someone. Let them know if you are feeling these down-in-the-dumps letter Ds of Satan. Because we do all find ourselves here at times, beat down, tired, unable to see where to go, without the energy to continue to struggle. And this isn't because we have completely failed somehow, but because no one is immune to Satan's down-in-the-dumps letter Ds. None of us are immune to Satan's tactics. So when these struggles are small, when they're manageable, when there's change that can still be done, seek us out. Let us know. Because not only in God's Word do we have a... and it is a source of all knowledge and the source of where we draw how to handle Satan's tactics, but many of us have lived life. Many of you have lived life. Find that person that you trust. Find that person that has shown you the wisdom over the years. Seek out help and assistance with these struggles, and take advantage that you're not alone in your struggle, and that he's called us as a family together to help and to strengthen and assist one another. The tricks and tools of Satan will someday be put to an end. Our Savior will come to this earth and bring with him a restoration of the earth as it was originally meant to be for mankind. He will return as King of Kings and Lord of Lords and will bring an end to the reign and influence of our adversary. Can you imagine that? Can you picture that? Place that image, place that idea on your heart, because the truth to be told, he will bring an end to the down and the dumps, letter Ds, of the Devil.