The Word of God was sent to us in the form of a man. And His name was, and still is, none other than Jesus Christ.
He is the living Word of God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
We have come to God’s House to see Jesus as our Savior. But I also have a message the devil is not too happy about. I want to expose Lucifer for who he is and what he is trying to do to God’s people.
Jesus wants to set each of us free with the power of the Word of God. Jesus told us in I John 3:8 that He came to earth to, “destroy the works of the devil.”
Jesus also tells me in,
John 14:12
"…he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do…”
We all can destroy the works of the devil through/with the authority of Jesus Christ.
Text: Isaiah 14:12 thru 14;
John 1:14 thru 17
Prayer:
The Lord has purposed us to live victorious.
Perhaps you have faced struggles from time to time that you don’t understand.
This morning I trust that God’s Word will help us to see our lives as overcomers of the devil.
There are few things about the devil that is important for you to know.
1. The Devil has come to tempt us.
This is his first step in the devil’s attempt to destroy our lives.
I John 2:16 tells us the devil will tempt us with the “Lust of the Eye.”
What does that mean?
The devil will take the evil things of this life and dress them up.
The devil wants to make the evil things appear to look good. Enticing to the eye. This is the deception of the devil.
Did you know that the devil is not really that concerned how you sin? He really doesn’t care what kind of sin he can get you involved in, as long as it is sin.
Sometimes we may think about a particular sin and say to our self, “I shouldn’t do that…”. And even though we don’t fall into that particular sin, we will go and commit some other type of sin.
It really doesn’t matter to the devil what your particular sin is, as long as he can convince you to sin. This is because he wants to overcome us with his next step.
2. The Devil has come to accuse you.
The actual sin isn’t what the devil is interested in.
Rather, it is the Guilt and Condemnation the act of sin brings to your life.
The devil is cunning with how he wants to “DISGRACE” you.
If we find ourselves living in guilt and condemnation, we will then see the devil’s next step of destruction.
3. The devil has come to rob you.
The devil will then rob you of the authority that God has given you. The devil wants the position/seat you have with Christ.
The longer you live in the guilt and condemnation of sin, the more the devil will control your life.
If you let him, the devil will:
· Have an opportunity to rule over you.
· Control your thoughts.
· Manipulate you into living a life of defeat.
How will I know when this happens?
You’ll know. You will no longer have the peace & joy of the Lord.
You will know when the devil has robbed you. You will sense there is something missing.
As we have read in Isaiah 14, the devil originally wanted his throne to be “exalted above the stars of God.” The devil said that he wanted to “be like the Most High.”
Aren’t you glad this morning that the devil didn’t get his way? God kicked the devil out of heaven, and then Jesus came and “destroyed the works of the devil.”
Since the dawn of time, the devil has always wanted to dethrone the Lord.
And this is exactly what he wants today.
The devil wants the position you have with Christ. That’s all the devil wants.
The devil will to steal that from me.
How about you?
Jesus paid too high of price (for my soul) for me to just let the devil take it away.
The devil wants to rule in power and control from the heavens. In other words, the devil wants what Christ has given to you.
I must warn you today. The devil has not given up on what he wants.
The devil knows that Jesus Christ has all of the power and authority of the universe.
The devil doesn’t like that, and he is willing to do whatever it takes to take that away from Jesus and you. Whatever it takes!
Consider this:
What you are going through in your life is exactly what happened to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
There was a time when Adam and Eve had everything the devil wanted.
Gen 1:28
…God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it;
HAVE DOMINION over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth."
This morning, the devil is out to steal everything from you he can.
The devil is trying to take:
· The authority Christ has given you.
· The blessings that God has given you.
· The destiny God has ordained for you.
Some of you may be saying to yourself,
“I am not that foolish to let that happen.”
OH YES YOU ARE! YOU ARE THAT FOOLISH!
The devil isn’t going to give up.
The devil will:
· Tempt you with sin
· Accuse you with sin
· Condemn you with sin
Just to get what he wants!
And what’s more, he has done this to you and he will try and do it to you again.
The devil has guilt and condemnation.
Jesus has forgiveness and victory.
Guilt and condemnation is the devil’s way of manipulating you out of the forgiveness and victory Jesus has given you.
But I have some good news.
God desires to rescue you from the devil. We find in John 1, Jesus came down out of heaven with God’s Grace and God’s Truth.
In the Old Testament, God’s people only had the law to live by.
But with Jesus, we have much more than the law to give us guidance into the Truth.
We have the Grace of God, as well.
Read John 8:2 thru’ 11.
In this story we see the love and grace that Jesus has for the sinner.
We see the Grace and Truth of Jesus Christ.
The woman brought to Jesus was being accused of sin. She was taken to Jesus by an angry mob. She knew the fate she was facing.
She knew she was guilty and would soon be condemned to a torturous death.
Consider this.
This woman had faced the same temptation that many of us have had to face.
Temptation drew her into the act of the sin.
And now she was faced with her accusers.
The reason the woman was brought to Jesus is clearly stated here in verse 6.
The Pharisees wanted to trap Jesus and to find something to accuse Him of.
This is the devil’s way of doing things.
The devil wants to trap you and accuse you.
In this story, the Pharisees even tried to use the Word of God against Jesus.
The Pharisees did not understand that Jesus was (and still is) the Word of God.
The devil is determined to make you feel guilty even if he has to accuse you with God’s Holy Word.
Listen very carefully.
We should never use the Word of God to accuse and condemn someone. That is not the purpose of the Word of God.
The devil wants to accuse you.
The word of God wants to rescue you.
The Word of God is Grace and Truth, not guilt and condemnation.
In our story, Jesus would have nothing to do with the accusations being made against this woman. Jesus dismissed Himself from what was going on. He stooped down and began to write in the sand.
What did He write? Many have tried to speculate on this. I don’t know for sure.
What I can tell you is that the other person involved in this sin was not there.
Where was he? Maybe Jesus wanted to know. Perhaps Jesus stooped down and wrote out the Word of God for the accusers.
Perhaps Jesus wrote the passage found in
Lev 20:10
The man who commits adultery with another man’s wife, he who commits adultery with his neighbor’s wife, the adulterer and the adulteress, shall surely be put to death.
So where was the “Adulterer”?
Where are those that have sinned against God? Have they ran away?
Fleeing the judgment of God?
When you:
· Are accused of wrongdoing by the devil.
· Know that you have failed God.
· You have been condemned and you know there is no way out for you.
· Need someone to come to your rescue and save you from the penalty of death.
I want you to know that my Jesus will save you and justify you with His Grace and the Truth of His Word.
Closing:
There was only one person that day that knew she needed Jesus. Everyone else was confused and did not understand who Jesus was or why He came to Earth.
The Pharisees who accused the woman that day were wrong and they knew it when Jesus spoke. They could do nothing.
They dropped their stones of condemnation. They had to see this woman was now forgiven. She was innocent of any wrongdoing.
Who are you this morning?
Are you the like the Pharisees?
Are you looking for someone you can accuse and condemn?
Do you have a stone of condemnation in your hand?
Do you have any resentment towards those you think are wrong?
Or, are you like the sinner that ran away from being judged?
Are you in need of forgiveness?
The Pharisees were right about one thing (when they brought the woman to him).
They did know the only person who has the right to judge a sinner is Jesus.
But Jesus would much rather forgive you today than to condemn you.
