Recovering Stolen Property
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." (John 10:10)
INTRODUCTION: The son of God reveals much about the nature of our adversary in this verse. He calls him not simply “a Thief” but “The Thief”. The Greek word is klep'-tace; and it is from this word that we get our term “kleptomania” meaning the urge to steal. Satan is a compulsive liar and thief. Here are some things Satan will try to steal from you:
1. YOUR FRIENDS Ps 55:12-14 (Ahithophel)
Satan will seek to steal your friends through:
A. DECEPTION (False or Foolish Friends)
(1 Tim. 1:18-20 Hymenaeus and Alexander)
2 Cor. 11:2 "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."
B. CORRUPTION James 4:1-4 (Filthy Friends)
Demas hath forsaken me having loved this present world…” 2 Tim 4:10
1) Satan has drawn many away hoping to draw others after them. (Pr. 1)
C. CONFUSION: Job 19:19-21 (Fickle Friends) (Prov 17:17)
"A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." 1) 1) Job’s friends came to comfort, but stayed to condemn.
2) Job was passing through a confusing set of circumstances that no one understood.
3) God wanted to grow Job and deliver him from the bitterness over his friends treatment. Job 42;10 "And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends:"
2. YOUR FAMILY (Ps. 127)
> Your children who were once prayed for and dedicated to God.
> Your affection for your spouse who you once vowed to love and cherish.
Satan will seek to steal your family through:
A. BUSY-NESS:
1) Preoccupation with personal agendas
2) There are three types of Child training:
a) Child Centered Parenting “Whatever you want”
b) Parent Centered Parenting. “Because I said so”
c) God and Goal Centered Parenting. Pr. 22:6
B. LAZI-NESS: Good relationships are hard work!!!
1) It’s too much work to correct the past mistakes.
C. HAZI-NESS:
1) We fail to recognize the signs of deterioration.
3. YOUR FELLOWSHIP (1 Jn 1) (Or your First Love {Rev 2:1-5})
Satan will seek to steal your fellowship through:
A. FORGET-FULNESS Vs 1-4 “Remember from whence thou art fallen…” Rev. 2:5
1) What We’ve learned. Heb. 12:5 "And ye have forgotten the
exhortation which speaketh unto you "
2) How We’re loved. Jer. 31:3 "I have loved thee with an everlasting love:."
Ps. 103:2 "Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:"
3) Who We Loved “Lovest thou me more than these?” Jn 21:15
B. NEGLECT-FULNESS Vs 5,6 “Do thy first works…” Rev. 2:5
Heb. 2:1 "Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them slip."
1) Many relationships die a slow death from the poison of neglect.
C. BITTER-NESS Vs 6 “remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” Rev 2:5
1) It is the silent killer of Relationships.
a) The word Bitterness: {pik-ree'-ah} literally means an acid or poison. It comes from a word that means to pitch or fight against.
b) Bitterness is to the soul what Cancer is to the Body. Both are an insatiable poison that cannot help but spread. (Heb. 12:15)
"Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;" (Heb 12:15)
(1) The word “Defiled” here (Me-ah’ee-no) means to contaminate.
2) It will affect virtually every other relationship we have, including our walk with God.
"Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you" (Eph 4:31)
4. YOUR FAITH (Fulfillment)
> God once moved you to serve him but you got sidetracked.
Satan will seek to steal your faith through:
A. DECEIT 2 Cor 11:1-3
1) Since Faith is mightier that our Foe, He must resort to deception before he can defeat us.
1 John 4:4 "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
1 John 5:4 "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith."
B. DEFEAT (2 Cor 4:8,9)
1) Failure isn’t Final
a) Virtually all of God’s people have known disappointing defeats.
b) Satan tries to convince us that our failures are final so we stop fighting.
2) Disappointment or Disaster isn’t necessarily defeat.
a) Defeat: To conquer. Defeatism: At attitude of those who accept defeat as inevitable.
b) Many apparent defeats were actually Victories. CALVARY!(Ro. 8:31-38)
C. DEPENDENCE ON ANYTHING OR ONE BUT GOD.
1) Dependence is the essence of Faith.
APPLICATION: Maybe Satan has stolen Your Friends, Family, Fellowship or even your Faith. Don’t give up! Follow David’s example in 1 Sam. 30
Imagine the horror of wondering about your wives and children!!!!!
Their grief turned to anger and focused on David. "And David was greatly distressed; for the people spake of stoning him, because the soul of all the people was grieved, every man for his sons and for his daughters: but David encouraged himself in the LORD his God. …And David inquired at the LORD, saying, Shall I pursue after this troop? shall I overtake them? And he answered him, Pursue: for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all.” 1 Sam 30:6,8)
1. REDEDICATE YOURSELF TO GOD.
2. RECLAIM WHAT SATAN HAS STOLEN.
FRIENDS:
> False friends are like a shadow, keeping close to us while we walk in the sunshine, but leaving us when we cross into the shade.
> A friend is one who comes in when the whole world has gone out.
> A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you today just the way you are.
> Insomuch as anyone pushes you nearer to God, he or she is your friend.
> The neighborhood bar is possibly the best counterfeit there is to the fellowship Christ wants to give his church. The bar is an imitation dispensing liquor instead of grace, escape rather than reality, but it is permissive, it is accepting and it is an inclusive fellowship. It is unshockable. It is democratic. You can tell people secrets and they usually don't tell others or even want to. The bar flourishes not because most people are alcoholics, but because God has put into the human heart, the desire to know and be known, to love and be loved. And so many people seek a counterfeit at the price of a few beers.
FAMILY:
> Dear Ann Landers:
> "Please come home early." This was the most unreasonable request ever made by my wife of almost 40 years. She didn't make this request often. It came mostly on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, but it seemed that I always had so many things to do that in spite of her gentle urging, I rarely came home early. I don't want to give the impression that I was never at home. I was at home a lot. We rarely did anything out of the ordinary. We enjoyed the kids and the grandchildren. We listened to music, read the paper, and had meals together. Sometimes we would just talk about how the day had gone. Now I know why she asked me so often to "Please come home early." She wasn't just lonely, she was lonely for me. When she passed away a short time ago, I learned firsthand what loneliness is all about. I have a supportive family and many good friends. I'm free now to go places and do things, but I'm lonesome. Lonesome for her. Now that she's gone, I've found the time to "come home early," but there is nobod to come home to. There is nobody to do those simple little things with, such as watching the evening news, listening to music, and reading the paper. And nobody cares how my day went. If I should get a call from the good Lord to "Please come home early," I won't fight it. -- Lonesome in K.C.
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> Socrates wrote: “ Could I climb the highest place in Athens, I would lift my voice and proclaim: "Fellow citizens, why do you turn and scrape every stone to gather wealth, and take so little care of your children, to whom one day you must relinquish it all?"
FELLOWSHIP:
> What happens when God grants the gift of genuine Christian fellowship? Deep, joyful sharing replaces the polite prattle typically exchanged by Christians on Sunday morning. Sisters and brothers begin to discuss the things that really matter to them. They disclose their inner fears, their areas of peculiar temptation, their deepest joys. Ronald J. Sider
> The secret of true obedience is the clear and close personal relationship to God. All our attempts after full obedience will be failures until we get access to his abiding fellowship. It is God's holy presence consciously abiding with us that keeps us from disobeying Him. I must consciously include the Lord in every thought, activity, and conversation until the habit is established. Andrew Murray
FAITH:
> A skyrocket is lovely to watch but its beauty doesn't last long. There are people who have Christian experiences as brilliant as skyrockets or like giant Roman candles. They fairly dazzle our eyes for awhile. But then they sputter and go out and their lives are sick or disappointing and disillusioning. All of us know that it's the people who through the years maintain the spiritual glow who make us believe in the genuineness of Christianity. Their devotion is deep and constant because it is real.
> Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it. Helen Keller
> Only by desertion can we be defeated. With Christ and for Christ victory is certain. We can lose the victory by flight but not by death. Happy are you if you die in battle, for after death you will be crowned. But woe to you if by forsaking the battle you forfeit at once both the victory and the crown. Bernard of Clairvaux
DEFEAT:
Paul Wylie was skating in the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary when he fell in front of 20,000 people. He he later wrote: "A flash later my hand touches the ice; the blade will not hold. I start slipping and now I rialize I am falling. All I hear as I collapst to the ice is the empathetic groan of what seems like a million voices." Knowing that he could never win now, He could have focused on his mistake and "bad luck" BUT he said that the verse in Ps. 37:24 came to his mind: "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down." He jumped up and skated "Heartily as unto the Lord." He didn't win the medal, but he won the enthusiastic applause and respect of the croud for his courage and determination.
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