Sermon Central
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Recovering Yourself From The Snare Of The Devil Series
Contributed by Jerry Gatson on Jan 21, 2020 (message contributor)
Summary: In a previous message entitled "Lord, Show Me ME", we discovered that God will reveal to us: 1. Our Secret Faults 2. The Stories We Tell Ourselves (Why what is not OK for you is OK for me) 3. The Solution (Acknowledging the truth)
RECOVERING MYSELF FROM THE SNARE OF THE DEVIL
TEXT - 2 Timothy 2:25-26
25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
The snare of the devil is what snared the devil. Psalm 91 calls it the snare of the fowler where those that were born to fly are brought down to ground level and trapped by their own soul’s lusts and desires. If our soul is Spirit-led, God gives us the desire of our heart so the very things we desire, long for, and pray for are the will of God so God can answer His prayers and our prayers at the same time. Otherwise, we’ll be drawn away and enticed by our own lusts.
For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
The lust of the flesh – I want it!
The lust of the eyes – I’m looking for it! (It's window-shopping and channel-surfing for sin.)
The pride of life – I deserve it! ("I know what the word of God says, BUT...")
We’re drawn and enticed by the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes then ensnared by the pride of life. The snare of the devil is what snared the devil… it’s the pride of life.
12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
"I" is the center of every sin (S-"I"-N) because “I” is the center of pride (P-R-"I"-D E). In order to recover myself from the snare of the devil, I must deal with the “I” of selfish, soulish pride. I need to be delivered from myself so I must recover myself from the snare of the devil by doing these 12 things:
*1. Examine myself.
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
Examine yourself and admit to yourself when you make a mistake.
*2. Prove myself
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
It’s called taking a step of faith. Get back up on the horse (or wagon) and start over again. In an experiment, the difference between testing yourself and proving yourself is whether or not you already know the outcome. When you received the Lord, Jesus Christ, you were born again to win. So the end result is sure. The outcome is, you win! So don’t try again.. Prove yourself! How many times did great men in history like Thomas Edison fail before they proved what they were sure of from the start. You are more than a conqueror… you are an overcomer. Keep proving it until you prove yourself right.
*3. Know myself - I have Jesus Christ in me.
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
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.
To know myself is to know your worth! A thing is worth what someone is willing to invest in them.
16 And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
*4. Behave myself - (inside and outside the house of God) 1 Timothy 3:15
14 These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly:
15 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.
