Stolen Property
John 10:7-10
7 Therefore Jesus said again, "I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep.
8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.
10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
INTRO
I bought a book some time back called, Dumb Crooks. It was full of stories about thieves who were not too bright¨Chumorous incidents. For example, one guy was siphoning gasoline from a someone¡¯s motor-home. If you¡¯ve ever done it, you know that sometimes you get a little gas in your mouth. Well, this poor guy got the wrong hose. He got the sewer hose!
Right here in Ionia, Michigan and intoxicated robber called the police because a service station attendant refused to hand over the cash.
The Ann Arbor News crime column reported that a man walked into a Burger King in Ypsilanti at 7:50 a.m., flashed a gun and demanded cash. The clerk turned him down because he said he couldn¡¯t open the cash register without a food order. When the man ordered onion rings, the clerk said they weren¡¯t available for breakfast. The man, frustrated, walked away.
We laugh about these. But if you¡¯ve ever been the victim of a robbery or attempted robbery, it isn¡¯t funny. Lady in Gas City didn¡¯t think it was funny when an armed robber asked her for cash.
Did you ever have something stolen from you? I would imagine that most of us would say yes to that. You can¡¯t live in this world for very long without encountering a thief of some sort.
I remember having my favorite jacket stolen form me while I was in high school. Just a short time ago, I bought my wife a beautiful pin, shaped like a butterfly. She left it in a motel room while we went out somewhere and it was gone when we got back.
Someone broke into our church in Cedar Rapids and stole a VCR, TV set and CD player.
Book thieves: They take from 200-500 books a year from the average library¨Cnational loss is well over $25 million a year!
In a recent year, 4,600 Bibles were stolen from NYC hotel rooms.
From a new hotel in NYC, in the first 10 months, 38,000 spoons were taken; 18,000 towels, 355 silver coffee pots and 1500 silver finger bowls were snatched.
AD IN NEWSPAPER: TO WHOEVER STOLE THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER FROM MY 1970 FORD STATION WAGON: WHERE YOU¡¯RE HEADED, YOU¡¯LL NEED IT!
Said the FBI to the bank teller after the same bank was robbed for the 3rd time: ¡°Did you notice anything special about the robber?¡± ¡°Yes,¡± was the reply. ¡°He seemed to be better dressed each time.¡±
In the spiritual realm, a kind of stealing is going on in many lives that is much more serious. Satan is in the business of ripping off things that are far more important that jackets or jewelry. But then, this is his nature, isn¡¯t it? As Jesus said in verse 10 of our scripture, The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy.
Obviously Satan isn¡¯t interested in things like cars or clothes. He doesn¡¯t need these things. But he is interested in stealing spiritual treasurers¨Cthings that have value with God and are of eternal significance.
Notice the progression in John 10:10. The devil begins with petty larceny¨Cthen he moves on the actual killing and finally, mass destruction. ¡°Steal¨Ckill¨Cdestroy.¡± That¡¯s his goal. But is all started with stealing.
DEVIL¡¯S STRATEGY OF THEFT
1. Our First Love
¡ö We were on fire
¡ö Our appetite for God¡¯s Word was voracious
¡ö Our eagerness to witness was strong
¡ö Our love for God¡¯s house was enthusiastic
¡ö Our burden for prayer was intense
What happened? We allowed Satan to steal our first love. We have become members in good standing of the church at Ephesus that Rev. 2:2-5 talks about.
Satan steals the hot embers of devotion and consecration. Our zeal for the things of God is gone. We¡¯ve been ripped off!
2. Our Joy
¡ö Our song of praise
¡ö The spring in our step
¡ö Positive outlook on life
¡ö Smiles have turned to frowns
According to Nehemiah, joy is the source of our strength. If the joy of the Lord is gone out of your life, you will be left weak and ineffective.
¡°There is more joy in Jesus in twenty four hours than there is in the world in 365 days. I have tried them both¡± R.A.Torrey
3. Our Unique Calling
¡ö That which we have been gifted for
¡ö Stole your dream¨Cto teach, to sing, to work with youth or children, to preach.
How does it happen? Someone gets criticized or hurt, or lets us down. We get discouraged. The devil sees his chance. He pounces on us because he sees that we have a defeated spirit; we are weak and vulnerable. He wants to steal away your calling¨Cthat which gives you a sense of purpose and meaning and fulfillment.
1 Pet 5:8: Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Lions lie in wait for the weak ones in the herd, so be alert.
4. Our Influence
¡ö Wants us to look away from Christ
¡ö Entice into sin so that others will discover it¨Cthen our influence is over! He doesn¡¯t want anyone to come to know Christ through your godly influence.
How do we lose our influence? We drop our guard and Satan moves in. We lose our temper. We gossip and the word gets out. Out effectiveness is shattered. Satan has stolen our impact.
5. Your Marriage
¡ö George Barna, the pollster, tells us that there is no difference in the divorce rate between church-goers and non-church goers.
¡ö The devil has managed to rob pastors in this area.
¡ö He is engaged in an all-out assault on our families
Here¡¯s how it happens: We have listened to popular culture¨Cthe Hollywood way of viewing things.
Young people who grew up in the church go against what they have been taught¨Cthey marry outside of the Lord. Other couples have bought into the notion that living together is the way to go¨Cbut the percentage of divorce among those who finally marry is way above the norm
6. Your Faith
¡ö And replace it with doubt
¡ö Bible speaks of ¡°lying spirits¡± and ¡°spirits of unbelief¡±
¡ö How big is your God?
¡ö Are you still honestly expecting God to answer your prayers?
¡ö Satan wants to steal away your trust in an all-knowing, all powerful God!
¡ö Do you still look forward to each new day to see what awesome things God is going to so through your life?
SO, WHAT CAN WE DO? WHAT RECOURSE DO WE HAVE?
Here¡¯s a truth we need to believe and seize: GOD RECOVERS STOLEN PROPERTY!
Abraham recovered what was stolen. Gen.14:16: ¡°He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and other people.¡±
Prodigal Son (Luke 15)
David and his fall
Peter and his denial
GOD RECOVERS STOLEN PROPERTY! So, if you¡¯ve discovered that something you once possessed is missing in your life, turn to the One who is best at repossessing what is rightfully His.
God wants to restore your first love, your joy, your calling, your influence, your faith. And He will do it if we will acknowledge that it is gone and ask Him to replace it.
Illustration: ¡°Edison Starts Again¡±
Fire in 1914 totally destroyed his lab. Two million dollar loss, and only one fourth was covered by insurance. He said to his assistants: ¡°All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.¡± He delivered his phonograph three weeks later.
Illus.: ¡°Crater Turned Into Garden¡±
During WWII, a bomb fell in a beautiful garden in the city of Dover, England. The crater was 10 feet deep and 20 feet wide. The owner looked at the devastation and decided to do something about it. He turned it into a sunken garden. The miracle of God¡¯s grace is still at work today, bringing beauty to bloom in the places where the bombshells have fallen.
Satan wants to destroy us; Jesus wants to give us abundant life. What a contrast! What a Savior!
