Our War Against Satan

Brethren, one thing that is happening now is that we are entering the great crisis of the time of the end. And unfortunately, we see a lot happening in this world about people accusing one another, pointing fingers. The blame game. Whose fault is it? Whose fault isn't it? And we have to be careful, brethren, that we don't get involved in this blame game. You know, people are accusing, well, it's this political party's fault, or it's that political party's fault. Or people are saying, is this group political group, or is this person, or is this president? People are saying different things, and we have to be careful. We have to be careful that we don't get wrapped in this situation. Turn with me, please, to Matthew 24. Matthew 24. And starting in verse 7, we see that problems will arise and will get worse and worse as time goes along. And then a little bit later in verse 10, it says, many will be offended and will betray one another. You know, brethren, people are being offended today. People are accusing and pointing fingers about this situation and that situation and this problem and that problem. And I don't need to go into specific details. You know what I'm talking about. There's too much of this, and particularly in the world. And this is affecting the church. You know, you know the story of an apple. If you keep an apple in a basket with rotten apples, sooner or later that's going to affect that good apple. And we know, brethren, the world is rotten. And you and I have to be careful that we do not get affected by this bad world. We've got to be careful. And that's why it says people start betraying one another. Why? Because this attitude of the world, this attitude of anger, this attitude of accusation, this blame game is starting to infect brethren in the church. And we see it by some of the comments on the internet. Where people are saying things on the internet that they should not say. We should not say these things. And what happens, therefore, around us, and brethren, if you can't see it, of course you can, is around us lawlessness is abounding. That's what it says here in verse 12. And it equals lawless will abound. It's abounding in this world. You and I can see it. And the result is the love of many is waxing cold. Brethren, we've seen that this coronavirus and all these other issues that have happened, and all these crimes that have happened, and whatever it is, all these things are just creating a spirit of hatred, of accusation, of blaming. And brethren, it's not good for us to be involved in this, because it then says a little lighter in verse 14, and this gospel of the kingdom of God will be preached. Brethren, this is where our mind needs to be in. Our mind must not be in the things of this world. Regrettably, many of us in the church are getting involved with these things, and putting comments on social media, on Facebook, saying, oh, if you don't do this, you don't have faith, and if you don't do that, or whatever it is, brethren, please do not get dirty with the world. Be you different. Be you sanctified. Be you separate.

You know, we have the teaching of the clean and unclean foods. You know one thing the teaching of clean and unclean foods teaches us? It teaches us to always, when we go shopping, and when we're involved with buying or eating, or always being conscious, is this clean or unclean? And you know what? Take that lesson to the spiritual world. Every time we get into a conversation on Facebook or with things, we need to be said, is this clean or unclean? And be separate.

Brethren, that's what we're going to do. The problem, brethren, really, getting me down to the real nitty-gritty of this, the problem is we think that we are fighting flesh and blood, but we are not. Our fight is against the spiritual world. It is against Satan. And we must not forget that, brethren. And therefore, my purpose today, brethren, is to help you. And I know you are aware of this. So, but remind you and help you and I to be fully aware all the time, all the time, when we see a thing on Facebook, when we see a thing on Facebook, and it says, oh, it's that person.

No. It's not that person. It's not that party. It's not that president. It's not that whatever leader. It's not that IT leader. And put whatever name you want to put in there. It's Satan.

It's behind us. It's Satan. Our fight, brethren, is against THE spiritual force that is stirring up every evil in this world. So please, don't underestimate him. Don't think that it's something else or somebody else. And you know why? You know, if you've been or studied a little bit of strategy of war, when you are in a war, you have what you call a deploy.

And you kind of distract people to go this way, and then you go the other way. It's like a game of chess. You create this deploy. And that's exactly what Satan is doing. His deploy is that he doesn't want you to be aware of his tricks. He doesn't even want you to be aware that he exists. That's his trick. So you want, hide. Why? So that you and I are caught and aware. So that's why it says, watch and pray that you may be counted worthy to escape. We've got to be watching all the time.

Like you watch all the time for cleaning and clean foods. You and I have to watch all the time about whatever we read and what it comes from and separate the clean from the unclean. We have to. We have to, brethren. You know, in Revelation 19 verse 7, it says, the bride of Christ will have made herself ready. Are you and I ready? Or do you and I have spots and wrinkles? And we're not ready. You see, time is short. You and I at least can agree one thing. Time is short. And you know what? We better be ready. Regrettably, some of us will not be ready.

You know the pettable of the ten virgins. Matthew 25. So just one page ahead or two in your Bible when I was a moment ago. Matthew 25. Christ says, you know, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, will be like ten virgins. You know, they are virgins. In other words, symbolically speaking, they're in the church of God. They're in God's church. But five are wise and five are foolish. Brethren, are we, quote unquote, in those pettable terms that Christ spoke, are we foolish Christians?

Are we getting wrapped in into these things of the world? Or are we prudent? Are we wise? Are we prudent? Are we careful? If we take this pettable literally, it means that half, 50% of us are in the terminology of this pettable, are foolish virgins. Half of us. So I don't know how many are watching this sermon, but imagine half of us. That is frightening, brethren. And therefore, my purpose today, brethren, is to make us really aware that we are in a spiritual war. These things we see around us are just deploys by Satan to distract us.

Yes, they're real. They're real. But we understand that the real, real is the instigator behind us. He's the one that he's trying to make everybody else a scapegoat by blaming somebody else. He is the real scapegoat. He is the one that is the real cause. And so you and I, as it says, Paul wrote in Colossians chapter 3, we have to put our minds on the things above Colossians chapter 3. Let's go there. Colossians chapter 3.

It says, Seek those things which are above. Brethren, every time we, for instance, go somewhere and have something to eat. We go to a restaurant. What do you do? You are conscious to see, was this cooked with pork? Was this cooked doesn't have lobsters or doesn't have unclean food?

Is this fish, is it called fins and scales or what? You know, we are so cautious. Likewise, every time we are in a conversation with people, whether it is on the Internet or not, we have to be careful. You know, it's so easy when we're on the Internet. I will just put it because nobody's listening. But you know what? Everybody's listening. As one of my children said, it's like taking a loudspeaker and broadcasting it aloud.

Because when you do it on the Internet, that's what it is. You're broadcasting it aloud to the whole world and you don't know who's going to pick it up. We've got to be careful, brethren. We've got to be careful. Set your minds on the things above, not on the things of the Earth, says Jan Colossians 3 verse 2. You know? And in verse 4 it says, when Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear within in glory. Brethren, this is our goal. Our goal is to be children of God in the kingdom of God. And we will be with the same type of glory as Christ has.

See, not as large as his, but if we suffer with him, we'll be glorified with him. Remember that in Romans? In other words, that's what it says here. You also will appear with him in glory. Our goal, brethren, is to be in the kingdom of God. And the kingdom of God is not the Constitution of the United States. The kingdom of God is not the Constitution or the rules of Canada or of Brazil or of Portugal or of China or anywhere else. This is the faith of the world. Yes, things like that. And hopefully we all have put to death already things like it says here, which are fornication and cleanness, passions, evil desire, covenants, etc.

It says in which, verse 7, you yourselves once walked. So Paul is saying, hopefully you have put those things out already. Have we? Have we? But the question is, are we going beyond? Because he says, are we going beyond? And now he says, put on the new man, renewing the image of God. Are we now avoiding, putting on, you know, things that come out of our mouth? Are we being careful with what comes out of our mouth?

In other words, immerses, kindness, humility, all those attitudes that are of the heart. That is kind of the next step that we got to go through and that we got to be careful. That's the new man that we got to put on. We have to be completely renewed. There was a very interesting sermon that some of you may have heard, lost Sabbath from Cincinnati, about renovation, extreme renovation, complete renovation. That's what we got to do, brethren. We got to be completely renewed in our minds. And the problem is we forget that Satan is the enemy.

That's what we got to watch. Look at the scripture right at the end of your Bible in Revelation 22. Right at the end, Revelation 22 verse 11. It's kind of sandwiched within two statements, which says Christ saying, I'm going to come quickly. So Revelation 22.11, before that, in verse 7 says, Be all that come quickly. And in verse 12 says, Be all that come quickly. But in the middle there, it's saying, He was unjust. Let Him still be unjust. He was filthy. Let Him still be filthy. He was righteous. Let Him be righteous. And He was holy.

Let Him be holy. You know what that means? That means that God is going to come to a point when time is so short, He's going to come to a point that He's going to say, that's enough. That is enough. I'm drawing the line here. So who's and just stay there. And who's holy? Just stay there because I've drawn the line. Time is going to come to a point that God will say, time has ran out.

Or has ran out. If you and I are not focused on what's really important, which is God's kingdom and God's character that you and I have to put on, we can get wrapped in. We can get involved in the things of this world.

And you know what? Time moves on. And yes, God gives us time. God gives us time. God gives us time. And things are going to explode. Things are going to explode. Which the Bible calls it the correct tribulation. It will explode. And then there's going to be the heavenly signs, which basically says, that is enough. Now I'm going to intervene. And it's a year of God's intervention. But before he does that, there's the sealing of his servants, both Israelites and Gentiles.

Which means it's that time that says, he that is evil, stay evil. And it is clean, is clean. That's it! That is it! So brethren, the key that I want to leave with you today is that Satan is working hard to influence our minds.

He's working hard in this war, which is a war to destroy your mind and your heart. And not just your mind and your heart, my mind and my heart. He is in a war to destroy us. He's in a war to get into our minds and destroy us. How? Because he's the spirit of the power of the air. And because he's broadcasting these radio stations, this ugly quote-unquote, vibes. Vibes. And we either are tuning in or tuning out to that. You know, it's like, for instance, we have this radio blaring.

You've got the radio blaring. And the radio's got this music that kind of is making you educated. You know, and, oh, I wish they would stop that music. Oh, I wish they would stop the music. Do you know what? Why don't you just go and switch it off? You see? You've got the power. God has given you and I the power to control, to control what goes into our minds. You and I can switch off Satan.

But the problem is we leave the radio on. We keep allowing the junk of this world, the politics, the whatever it is, the Facebook stuff. And we keep watching and watching and watching and getting better in the stuff. And this is agitating us. And we say, I wish they would stop that. It's like listening to that music on the radio. It's kind of making you educated. Just switch it off. Don't listen to it. You see, the more you listen to it, the more the ratings go up, for instance, of the media.

The more you listen to this junk, the more the media ratings go up, and the more they can charge for the adverts, and the more money they can make, and therefore they'll keep doing that.

You see, the media is also at fault. But yeah, we get into this blame game, you know? The problem is Satan. The problem is Satan. You see, quite often we think, oh well, we've got to be careful of false doctrine. Right. We've got to be careful of false doctrine. But you know what? It's more than that. We've got to be careful of the real danger that Satan is deceiving us daily with the things of this world.

With these politics, with these opinions, with these highly opinionated little Facebook messages or social media stuff, or people saying, don't do this, or if you do that, or whatever it is, you don't have faith in. Brethren, why are we getting into that? Why? Are we prudent or not? Are we wise or not? Are we the wise virgins or the foolish virgins?

Why? Why? You know, as Paul said in Romans, who do we serve? You are servants who obey either of God, of being, or servants of sin. And you know, all this stuff is sin. Yes, it's not just false doctrine. It's all the dirt, all the mack of the swole that is infecting us and is causing people to get offended and to go to one another, and the love of many is waxing cold.

But our job is to preach the kingdom of God. In other words, our job is to have our minds focused on God's kingdom, and God's kingdom is not the swole. God's kingdom is not the swole. You see, you remember Christ when he was talking to the Pharisees? That's in John 844. He says, you are the children of Satan. He says, he's a murderer from the beginning. What do you mean a murderer? Because he created the spirit of murder, of hatred. And that's why he created angels to go against God. They became demons. That's the spirit of murder, the spirit of creating his opinions and all this in politics.

Imagine politics in the angelic world before mankind was created. Do you know what that means? That means Satan is an expert in creating the vision. He's got a master degree in individual making. That's his expertise. And therefore, he says, in him there's no truth. He's the father of lies. I mean, let me cite you a few scriptures. I'm not going to go through them. I'm just going to cite them, and you can write them down and study them at a young time. There's a little bit of homework for you. But yes, some of Satan's characteristics.

He comes as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11, 14. He's our adversary. 1 Peter 5, verse 8. He's a tempter in any age, in any society. 1 Thessalonians 3, verse 5. He's a deceiver. He deceives us. 2 Corinthians 11, verse 3. He hinders. How many people find difficulties and problems and things hindering them, particularly just before the Holy Days or before a Sabbath?

He's the hinderer. 1 Thessalonians 2, verse 18. He's a roaring lion, looking who he may devour. 1 Peter 5, verse 8. He's the god of this world. 2 Corinthians 4, verse 4. He's got a hidden agenda because he hides. Ephesians 2, verse 2. He's the prince of the power of the earth. You see, brethren, you and I have to be vigilant. This being is smart. He's clever. He can outwit you and I.

He's got millions of years of experience. He's got thousands of years of experience watching mankind for the last 6,000 years. He knows he can read you like a book. He knows what's your next step. He's watched you throughout all your life. He's watched mankind for 6,000 years. He knows where you're going. Not that he can read your thoughts, but he can see.

It's like parents, you can see what your children are going to do next. You cannot guess them. Why? Because you've watched them. And 2 Corinthians has watched us very closely for many years in every circumstance, even when we are in private. So he knows. So are we vigilant? Because he is the arch enemy of you and of me, of us. He's that verse, he's that evil lion, he's that tempter and deceiver. He's that powerful being as God that appears as an angel of light to deceive.

You know, brethren, there's a scripture in Deuteronomy 28, which is, you know, there's blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. You know, Deuteronomy 28. But there's one verse here, which is interesting, that I want to quote you in there in that section of disobedience, you know, curses for disobedience. And that's Deuteronomy 28 verse 34. Just turn there. Deuteronomy 28 verse 34. Deuteronomy 28 verse 34, it says, you know, things are going to go so bad that says in verse 34 that you will be driven mad because of the sight which your eyes will see. You know what? Things will get so bad. Things will get so bad that you will go mad, that you will go mad.

You know, brethren, things are getting bad out there, but they're going to get a lot worse, unfortunately. And if you and I don't have our minds on the real anchor, which is God, and his son our Savior Christ through the power of his Spirit, we'll go mad.

Brethren, verse Society, whoa! Deuter-great! Do you know what deuter-great means? It will fall apart. America, with its Constitution, will fall apart. And so will all other nations. Don't say this at home. Well, that's the Americans, you see. It will fall. Everybody, the whole world will fall apart. The Society will fall apart. That's why it says, Luke 21, verse 36, watch and pray that you will be counted worthy to escape. Watch our attitudes. Watch our minds. Brethren, turn with me to Philippians chapter 3, verse 20. Philippians chapter 3, verse 20. Philippians chapter 3, verse 20.

For our citizenship is America. No! Our citizenship is Canada. No! Our citizenship is Brazil. No! Our citizenship is the Kingdom of God, which is in heaven, which will come and rule on earth. But you know what? The Kingdom of God is God's rule. And God is ruling all the time. God is ruling now, but He is allowing, as Mr. Peci put it in a recent sermon called The Kingdom, which I really recommend you to listen to. He is allowing this anomaly. What do you mean? You see, God rules everything. And He's got a great plan to make sons and daughters of God in His family with His glory. And these sons and daughters have to learn some lessons of character that they will never afterwards go wrong. Therefore, He has to allow a time for people to make their voluntary choice and learn of their own free will that the character of God is better. And therefore, we live in this anomaly by design for our own good, ultimately. Because as Paul says, the sufferings of this time are not to be compared with the glory that we'll receive later on. God has got this all worked out, brethren.

Do we grasp the Kingdom of God? Do we grasp that is our goal? Or are we getting wrapped in with the politics and the dirt and the mud and the accusations of this? Whoa! Are we being wise virgins, wise prudent virgins? Or are we being foolish? Foolish, as Christ stated. These are not George's words. They're from Christ.

And so, it says, cry aloud, spare not, tell God's people. And you are God's people. And this is our job as ministers of God to cry aloud and spare not and tell you, stop being foolish. Put God first!

I'm sorry I got to raise my voice. I didn't mean to. But I want us all to grasp that this is serious. Time is short. And we in the church have to cry aloud and spare not. And we have to plead with you and say, please, brethren, repent, change. Put God first. Look at the plan that God has. Yes, He's allowing this for a reason, so that we learn the character of God that will do what's right. Regardless. Regardless.

And that's why it says in Ephesians 6, verse 11, put on the whole armor of God.

Put on the whole armor of God. And you know, I mentioned it a little earlier, that any military strategist has a strategy to win a war.

And so does Satan. Has his strategy. And he knows he can't win against Christ. So his strategy is to destroy you and I.

Divide, conquer, and destroy and eliminate. Not just divide and conquer. Divide and conquer. And once you divide it, you know, I've watched lions in hunt. There's one thing about lions in hunt.

You see, they're not roaring when they're hunting. They're quiet. They're quiet. And they prowl quietly. Quietly. Until they get one separated from the others, then they go for that one for the kill. So divide and destroy.

You see, that is his ploy. Create the vision to destroy. Destroy what? You and I. So that you and I don't make it in the kingdom of God. And then he says one more. Take one more.

You see, we are fighting against rulers of darkness. Verse 12 of Ephesians 6. We are fighting against rulers of darkness. Satan is a ruler of darkness. We can't see him!

And you know what? It's like when you're driving. You know, one of the most dangerous things when you're driving is that blind spot. You see, because if you don't see it as a car coming on that blind spot, you're not just coming. Bang! Get one. Say, that's what cars now have these things on the mirrors and things to warn you in a blind spot. Well, Satan is continuously in our blind spot.

Therefore, be advised, brethren. Be warned, brethren, that you and I have a personal enemy. You and I have a personal enemy. An enemy that is going at you individually and personally. Fortunately, we have a personal Savior, Jesus Christ. A personal advocate, a personal redeemer. Satan is our personal enemy and is constantly conniving, conspiring to do something immoral, illegal, or harmful to destroy you or the family. Yes, it's not just your family. The family! He's a swole. He hates the family because God has a purpose for the family. He wants to destroy the church and he wants to destroy Israel because Israel is both physical and spiritual, but it's through whom God will walk ultimately.

Why? Because he hates God's plan. Or put another way, he hates humanity. He hates humanity. He's targeting you and I individually.

On the other side, the good news is Jesus Christ is intervening personally for you and I to redeem you and to help you. You know the story of Lucifer?

Lucifer, you read that in Isaiah 14, run about verse 12, and Ezekiel 28, right from also verse 12 through 15 and around that area.

He was the morning star. Lucifer, morning star, he's supposed to be light. He was the pinnacle, as Mstompsrong used to say, he was the pinnacle of God's creation. It was Jesus Christ that everything was created through Christ was the most perfect being he created with the most power, with the most strength, the most high quality being that he made. He was perfect in wisdom. He was perfect in beauty. You read that in Ezekiel 28 verse 12. That's what it is. He was perfect until the iniquity was found in him because this went to his head because he became arrogant because he said, I am great. So why am I mentioning this? Because he was created as a super powerful angelic being. He's a superpower, quote unquote, obviously much lower than God and Christ, of course, but he is very powerful. And that's why I'm saying don't underestimate him. Don't underestimate him. That's why we have in Leviticus 16 when he's talking about the Day of Atonement that he says, all the sons will be put over his head. Verse 21, Leviticus 16. Why? Because he has the influence. And he makes people, mankind, his pawns in his dirty game. He's got a dirty game of chess to destroy us, and we are just his pawns in this game. In other words, human beings, when we fall prey on his thoughts and his drives, we become his dirty workers. We're doing his dirty work. So thanks to God, we've got Christ that redeems us. So what people say, oh, Satan made me do it. Have you heard that? Oh, Satan made me do it. Brethren, that is a false statement. Satan cannot make you do it. You allowed him to inject, or those people allowed him to inject into their mind, wrong thoughts. And then we were motivated by, or influenced by, those wrong thoughts. But you know what? They could have turned the station off. They could have turned that vibe, that spiritual radio station or TV station off.

We are accountable for our actions. Yes, Satan is also accountable for his influence, but we are accountable for our actions. It's a dual role. You see, we're reading Genesis 3, verse 1. Satan was very subtle with Eve, and she fell for it. But so did Adam. Adam just listened to Eve. They were both caught and aware. You see, we must not allow ourselves to be caught and aware. We must not allow Satan to control or infect or affect our minds.

You see, as I mentioned before, Jesus Christ said in John 8, verse 44, He is the murderer from the beginning. There's no truth in Him. He's a liar. He's the deceiver.

And so He's guilty. But you know what? We also have guilt. Because Paul says in Romans 7, there is a law in my mind, Romans 7, 23. There is a law of my mind, a law of sin. You and I have a tendency to go wrong. So therefore, I am a responsible. I have an accountability. We all have an accountability to be clean, to put unclean thoughts out. And spiritually speaking, he's put those unclean thoughts and words out. Brethren, God gave Adam and Eve a choice. I've mentioned this before. Two trees. A tree of life and a tree of death. Well, that's exactly what He says later on to all of us in Deuteronomy 30. Let's look at Deuteronomy 30, verse 15. Deuteronomy 30, verse 15. Deuteronomy 30, verse 15.

He says, See, I've set before you today life and good, death and evil. And he says, Choose. Choose. You and I have the capability to choose. We have the capability to choose. Choose.

Brethren, we need to control our minds. We need to control our thoughts. And that is the real sacrifice that God wants from us. Look at Romans chapter 12. Romans chapter 12. Romans 12.

Romans 12, starting verse 1. I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God. Look how Paul is crying aloud, spitting not, but he's saying, Please, brethren, please, please present your bodies and living sacrifice. Don't get involved with the muck of this world. But be holy. Be acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. Nothing super special. And therefore, do not be conformed by this society, by this world, by these messages on Facebook and internet and social messages and all this junk and this media stuff that is thrown at us in every direction. But be transformed by the renewing of our minds. You and I have the power to turn on the switch on and off. We can control it. God's given us the power so that you can prove what is good and what is right and what is godly and what God wants us to do. You and I have the power to do it. So, you ask the question. You ask the question. Yeah, maybe this problem, you can handle it easily. Maybe that problem, you can handle it easily. Maybe that problem, you can handle it easily. But there's one problem that you can't handle easily. That it really revs you up. There's one issue that really makes you anxious that you can't handle. You know what's that called? Your weak spot. Your weak spot. And you know what? Satan knows where it is. And he's gonna play it up every time on your weak spot. He's not even gonna try on your strong areas. He knows your weak spot. And he's gonna go for it. And every time you get revved up, he says, haha, that's the weak spot. Let's go again. He hates you, brethren. He wants you destroyed. And so he's gonna go for your weak spot. He knows you like a book. He knows you when you're alone. He knows when you are the people. He can listen to your prayers if you're saying them aloud. So he knows you. He knows you like a book. You see, God is omnipresent, but Satan is not. Don't think, oh, Satan is omnipresent. Now he wants you to think he's omnipresent, but he's not. God is omnipresent. He's not. But he is the God of the Son, of the Spirit, of the power, of the air. In other words, he has the capability of transmitting this TV and radio station, which is the spiritual TV and radio station, into your mind. These folks, bing! Oh yeah, just came into my mind. I've got to be careful, because we've got to be careful. We've got to close the door, not allow these things in. You see, these vibes come into our mind, and you and I must not tune in to Satan's radio station.

Satan's radio station. Well, the point is, he's not going to broadcast it to Satan's radio station. He's going to say, well, this is an angel of light and all that stuff. I'm talking in spiritual terms, of course, not in physical, radio terms. You see, Satan has millions, millions of radio and TV stations in the spirit world. They're all his, because he's the spirit of the power of the air. You see, what some people say, well, no one's going to tell me what to do. Have you heard that? Well, nobody's going to tell me what to do. I mean, some people could even quote Joshua 24, 14, that says, me and my house will serve God, and I will serve God. Be careful, because it might be an arrogant approach. Of course, we should say, with God's help, with God's Spirit, I want to serve God and I will serve God, and with God's help, I will do. But we've got to be careful that we are not having this arrogant, selfish, I am better than thou attitude, that I'm better than somebody else, and nobody's going to tell me what to do. We've got to be careful, because that is the spirit of Satan. He says, I will raise up and be like God. I will be this...

You know, he was not humble. He was not humble. And that's how he started. Lack of humility. Lack of humility. You know, in Philippians chapter 2 verse 13, he says, For it is God who works in you but to will and to do for his own good pleasure. Yes, God works in us. But you know what? As Mr. Reid mentioned last week, he says there's a difference between leading and controlling. God will never control you. God's only spirit leads us, points us, says, come this way, but he will not force you, will not control you, will not dominate over you. You and I, therefore, have to voluntarily allow God in and open the door. He says, I am the door. I knock. Right, says, open and I'll come in. We have the key. We have the key. And so, if God works with God's help, I want God to tell me what to do. That must be our attitude. That must be our attitude. Brethren, God is omnipresent, as I said, and therefore, before God, you and I are naked before him. Hebrews 13, he knows every thought, every mind. We are naked before him.

And he knows us. He knows us.

And he knows that we have to be watching so that our love does not wax cold. We have to watch. We have to be careful that the good things that God, through his word, has plotted in our minds, that Satan does not go there and take it out. Look at Matthew 13, verse 19. Matthew 13, verse 19. He has the parable of his soul. Matthew 13, verse 19. Matthew 13, verse 19. And it says, anyone who hears the word of the kingdom, they hear the word of the kingdom. They hear God's words. They hear God's plan. They hear this. And does not understand it. Does not kind of open their mind to really focus and say, hey, what is this? They're not focused on it. And here is the problem. We have to be focused all the time, making sure that we're understanding what's going on. What's going on is a spirit of evil is trying to destroy us. And so he says, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. You see, God's word gets planted in our hearts like a seed.

My daughter just the other day was planting things in the garden. And she said, well, we'll plant it tomorrow, but we'll not leave this overnight. The seeds, yeah, overnight. Why? Because she said, because the birds will come and tomorrow there will be no seeds. You see, it's the same thing. We got it. And we can't leave it there. We're going to kind of plant it in our hearts, deep in, don't even lying around, because this little evil bird called Satan will come there and snatch it. You see, he is watching for us and to try and catch us and the waves.

You and I need to have a sense of urgency and danger. This is urgent, brethren. And this is real danger. Beware. Watch and be aware and pray. So that you're not caught and aware. So he may be counted awarded to escape. You see, you can say, oh, this was such a good sermon. Oh, was such a good sermon. Oh, very good. Very good. And then throughout the week, some kind. And you know what? Didn't get involved in this infighting back on social media or on the internet or on Facebook or whatever it is. Or listening to the news and getting all agitated with all these news because we forget that this is Satan's doing. And we've got to be careful. You've got to be careful. Because otherwise, yes, it was a good sermon, maybe, but then we forget on the living doing we used to do. And that's not good enough. That's not good enough. We must not leave the doors of our mind wide open. We need to be watchful. Because if we leave the doors of our mind wide open, Satan will walk in butts and all!

Through his broadcast to destroy us.

So, brethren, look at Romans 8 verse 7. Romans 8 verse 7. Romans 8 verse 7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God, it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. Brethren, you and I are one step away from following that carnal mind if we're not careful. Because it's in us. It's in us. Paul says, there's a slowing me. I've got to fight it all the time. Therefore, you and I cannot be careless. We've got to be watching all the time. Like you watch all the time, and you read the labels about the food, whether this has got pork or not. Even more so, we have to watch all the time. What is in our minds and it comes out of our mouths. And there are opinions and our thoughts. That is even more important. Not saying there's more important things in the clean foods, but saying there's a lesson in that, that even the more important is what comes in our minds. Yes, God has forgiven us, brethren. And God will forgive us. But the point is, if we are slipping up again, are we making it worse again? Are we making more spots and wrinkles? So brethren, we have to watch every day. Every day, we have to watch ourselves. Satan is there trying to imprison us. Remember the story about Christ? And Satan, you know, tempted Christ just after he was baptized for 40 days and 40 nights and he fasted it. And then he, you know the story. Then he came and he says, well, do this, do that. And Christ always hit back with God's Word. But when you look, you read in Luke chapter 4 verse 13, you know, look chapter 4 verse 13. This is an important point. Look chapter 4 verse 13. It says, then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee. Sorry, sorry, 13. I was reading 14. Sorry. Now when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him, from Christ, until an opportune time. You know, Satan never gives up. While you and I are physical, you'll not give up. In other words, thinking it from the point of like a virus or whatever it is, you are never immune to Satan in this physical life. You have no immunity to Satan, not even Christ. He kept going at him while he was physical all the time. Now the Spirit, he can't. But as a physical being, he waited for another opportunity. That's why it says, for he says, in our Father, deliver us from the evil one, that's Satan. That's why Christ in his prayer, he says, these people are in the world. John 17 verse 15 says, but keep them away from the evil one. Brethren, we are in the world, but you and I have to do our part and close the door, not allow Satan's vites to get in.

It says, for instance, put on the whole armor of God. And then it says, put on the sword of the Spirit. It's the only offensive weapon is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Bible. And Christ always, when Satan attacked him, Christ went back with the Bible, with God's Word. It's our only offensive weapon. Rather, it's a fight of faith. And here is kind of the bottom line. James chapter 4 verse 7. James chapter 4 verse 7. It says, therefore, submit to God. In other words, open your mind and allow God in, and allow God to tell you what is right and wrong. That's the Tree of Life. Follow that. Submit to God. Submit to Him. Resist the devil. Resist the devil. In other words, resist that spirit of arrogance, of pride, of I am better. I know what to do. Resist that. Because that was Satan's problem. He became bigger than his shoes. And his shoes were pretty big, as we've seen. He's a pretty powerful being. But it went to his head, and he started glorying himself. He became arrogant. And you see, that's why the Beatitudes, the very first Beatitude, is humility. For us, and the last Beatitude, is being a peacemaker. We've got to start from being humble, then being repentant, mourning, and then being meek, which is teachable, malleable, and gentle. And then we need to be hungry and thirsty for God's laws, and so on. All blowing up! But the base is being humble. He's being humble. And he says, resist the devil. He says, submit to God, be humble, resist the devil. Resist that attitude of arrogance, and he will duck away from you. You'll be gone! Because he says, if you are humble, he can't touch you. Because he's submitting to God. He can't touch you. That's why he says, draw near to God, and he'll draw near to you. Open the door to God, and close the door to Satan. Purify your hearts, you double-minded.

You see, brethren, we've got to be careful. That is the trick. You know the story of David and Goliath? David didn't say, I will beat Goliath. No, he says, I come to you in the name of God, and God will intervene. It's God. You and I will overcome, because God has done his word for you. As I mentioned before, it's a damn deal. God has done it from his part. But as Mr. Reed said on the day of Pentecost, we have to continue over a lifetime. We must not stop. We've got to be overcoming all the time. Even in a simple, physical example, remember a great quote by Thomas Edison that invented the light bulb? And he said, genius is 99% perspiration and 1% inspiration. In other words, he said, it's hard work. Brethren, yes, God has done his part.

But you and I have to do that 99% of perspiration, and we've got to do our part, and we've got to overcome. We've got to do our part. God has done his, we've got to do ours.

Even Michael, the archangel Michael, when he was disputing about the body of Moses, he says, the Lord will build you. And he's a lot more powerful than us. He said, that Christ. You know, when we deal with demons, I have dealt with demons, and realized that we're just so powerless, we're going to rely on God, and he says, the Lord will build you. Brethren, we all need to be submissive and say, God help us. God help us. We need to fight the good fight of faith. Brethren, Satan wants you to fight each other. Satan wants you to be a good woman and start, and it's you, and this, and that, and that. That's what this world is. That's what you see in the picture. That's what you see here. People are getting offended, getting hurt, and the wicked, and the lawlessness, the pounding, and the love of man is waxing cold. That's what's happening now! God, we see it!

Thanks to God that through Christ, he has freed us. He is our Christ, he is our Commander-in-Chief.

He is our Savior. And if he is with us, who can be against us? The enemy is powerful, brethren. Don't underestimate him. Be on guard. But Jesus Christ said, I have won, and Satan has lost the war. It's done. It's done. But you and I need to do our part. And we need to be on Christ's side, on Christ's team. If you and I submit to the Commander-in-Chief Christ himself, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, our High Priest, our soon coming King.

And remember, he wants you to be on his side. He wants you to be on his side. And he will help you, and he will give the power and the Holy Spirit to be. But there is only one thing. He will die. Need to be courageous, fear not, and go forward.