I want to share my experience when I was with my German parent walking to enjoy the Christmas market in the city. That was a wonderful moment, I love her so much, she is so kind to me and treat me as son. I am blessed to have known her.
We went to one of the shopping centre for she wanted to see some clothes. But then something happened while we were observing them, we didn't realize that 2 people, a 40's years old woman and her daughter were trying to steal from my parent's bag. I still can't imagine how can that happen, it was so fast and we didn't realize it at all.
Actually, she always put her bag in front and so careful with it (she has been robbed twice in her life) and I was standing beside her. But just in seconds, when we both focused on the clothes, the bag suddenly switched to her back for somebody has pulled it smoothly, then the thief's daughter covered it with jacket and her mother opened it and tried to steal something. Suddenly, 2 young men came and stopped them.
They are detectives hired by that department store to prevent pickpocket. They said that they have watched these 2 people for quite some time and become suspicious about them. This shocked me even more. On one side, I saw the thievery that even though I was so close to it, I can't feel it and on the other side, I saw men disguised themselves as costumers to observe people and keep their eyes on them.
God teaches me something through this situation. "Alvin, do you know that you and your parent almost become a victim of pickpocket?" "Yes, Dad, but I can't feel it happened. It was so fast and if the detectives didn't came on time, I know that we would have lost something. Dad, I was standing beside her, so close to her bag, but I really can't feel it. How can that be possible, Dad?" "My son, now you learn something, right?"
Then God made me remember the verse that said "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full (John 10:10). He teach me also that the eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good (Proverbs 15:3).
Two things that many people seem to neglect.
- Satan is the thief, he comes only to steal and kill and destroy. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44).
- Even though we can't see God with our own eyes, and some of us even can't feel His Presence, but God is near. His eyes are everywhere. To His children, He keep watching them to help, to protect, to hear their cries, to provide them. And to the children of darkness, He keep records of them and once their cup of wrath is full, God will judge them.
As I didn't realize that I would have been robbed if those detectives didn't intervene, how many of us didn't realize that the devil has taken hold on us, has prisoned us, has robbed our freedom?
Many of us didn't realize that we are under Satan's yoke. Remember, my friends, when Satan lies, he speaks his native language, we will understand him clearly. Let me give you an example. I have a neighbour and I always try to preach to him. I asked him about whether he believes in God or not. He said, "I believe in God, in eternity, in afterlife. But I don't want to be religious, I don't want to be under Him. God only limit my freedom."
Allow me to tell you what Satan has lied to him and maybe to you. My friends, do you smoke? Do you addicted to drug, porn, masturbation, caffee, sugar, or even work? Some people are really work addict (workaholic) or love stealing even though they have money to buy (kleptomania). Are you one of them? If your freedom means to smoke without cease, to commit immorality without condemnation, to gain more weight till you suffer obesity, to work without rest. You tell me then, are you not the one who are slaves?
- If every 5 minutes you need to smoke, otherwise your body react. You can't even one day stop smoking.
- If everyday you need to inject/inhale drugs, or to eat pills, otherwise your body react.
- If everyday, you need to work more than normal time, until you abandon your health, your wife, your children, your parents, etc, otherwise you feel lacking of something.
- If everyday you want to watch porn, do masturbation, or have sex, one night stand, sex before married or even do homosexual, otherwise you will get unsatisfied.
- If everytime you see sugar, chocolate, candy you want to eat them and you find it difficult to resist until you gain more and more weight and become obesity
Let me ask you, my friends. Are you a human being or beast? Every time it comes to pass for your mating period, the women will sell themselves cheap, become get so drunk and sleep with any man come across to her, and the men will behave like a dog, they want to have sex with every woman they meet in the street.
Are smoking not killing you softly? I am not talking about what has written in the label of cigarette box, can kill, not healthy, bad for pregnancy, bla..bla..bla.. I am talking about your future. Everyday you need to spend 5€ to buy cigarette, and if you don't have money, you buy cigarette paper and tabacco and make your own. If you don't have enough money to buy, you borrow from your friends or even steal from people. Or you even take money from your saving account for your children's future, etc. Are your life not miserable?
What about drugs? Tell me how long the esctacy, the good feeling lasted? Go and see yourself in the mirror. Are you not pitiful and miserable? You messed your life. Can you tell me the person who are drugs addicted but success in his life and so well-known? I don't think you can find it for once they declared themselves as drugs addict, the interpol, the police will come and put them to prison. Or if the police are so corrupt, they need to bribe them a lot of money until they are broke and still, in the end the police will put you in prison. You tell me then, are you happy, my friends? Do you think it is worthy to always have worry of being captived by police, of HIV because of the injection, etc?
What about drunkenness? Do you not have head-ache every time you drink a lot? You want to throw up and then lay in your room, and the day go wasted? Do you not easily get offended if you drunk? You shout like a mad man, you behave like an animal. You beat your wife, your children. You laid drunk in the street unconciously and somebody just came and steal your watch, your pocket, your money. Is that okay for you?
If you still do these things and think that you are okay, you have been robbed by the devil. He has spoken his lies to you and you didn't realize. He told you about "freedom" which in fact, you are under his slavery, his yoke. Go and see the people whose in their life never smoke, never use drugs, never drink alcohol, are they not happier than you?
The second lies is itching ears. I don't want to hear anything not good to me. I just want you to tell me what I like. I don't want to be rebuked, to be corrected, to be reproofed, etc. That's what itching ears means.
Do you believe that there are spirits? If you don't, do you know that if you go to cemetery, there are spirit of death? If you go to brothels, there are spirit of adultery, immorality? If you go to black magic, there are spirit of evil and wickedness? If you go to party, there are spirit of drunkenness and addiction? If you still can't believe it, Satan has lied again to you. Because right now, he is hindering your eyes to see, your ears to listen, your heart to understand.
I have experienced many times when we are inviting people to the church. Even on the Sunday morning, 2 hours before the service they agreed to come, but then, they didn't appear at all. Do you know what exactly happen to them? If your spiritual eyes are opened, you will see that in their feet, devil has put chains, in their eyes, devil has put scales. Even inside the church, they become so sleepy for devil tried to close their eyes, shut their ears. There is a story in the Bible when Paul preached and young man felt asleep and he fell to the ground and died.
Acts 20:9
Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.
Do you know the reason why you go to the church but nothing happened to your life, God's word didn't make sense to you? Because you are sleeping in the church, even though your eyes are opened, you are blind spiritually. Why? Because you just fulfilling obligation, not want to be taught. God see your heart, my friends. His Gospel is too precious to be given to those who don't need it, who don't humble themselves, who think that they are okay, no need to know God at all.
Matthew 7:6
"Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.
If you still go to church because your parent, your girlfriend force you, why don't you stop it and declare yourself as an atheist, instead being a stumbling block by saying that you are a Christian and for that, God will judge you more strict for who knows that unbelievers who has heart to know the truth will change his mind when he saw your behaviour. He will think that Christians are no better than unbelievers, even worse.
Another devil's lies is following "Golden Rules". Some people believe that they are okay, some people believe that they will enter kingdom of God when they die even though they have no faith in Jesus shown by their love. Why? Because they think they are good people, never done anything bad to their neighbour, never commit adultery, steal, murder, and honor their parents, etc. That's another devil's lies. Your "Golden Rules" means nothing to God for there is another story in the Bible where a rich young man came to Jesus asking how to get eternal life? Jesus said "Follow all the commandments" Then the man said "I have done that since I was a boy" Do you know what Jesus said? "One thing you lack, go sell your possesion and come, follow me".
If you want to get eternal life. Come and follow Jesus. Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Religions mean nothing. Religions are the ways of men to reach and know God. Do you think that God who is holy can be found by men who are unholy? There is no way for the unholy thing to come to the holy thing, there is no way for we, human, with all of our weaknesses and sinful life come and know the Almighty God, who by His word the universe was made, who by the blast of His nostril the water pilled up and separated, the mountains tremble, heaven and earth shake. There is no way for human to reach the Sovereign God in His Majestic, Gigantic Holy place unless He revealed Himself to us and show us the way. Jesus is the way.
There is a satan's lie that tell you all roads lead to heaven, and it is also satan's lie that Bible belongs only to Christians. God is God of all tribes and tongues. He shows no favoritism. Many Christians even misrepresent the true and living God. God's name is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of those people behaving as stumbling blocks, as hypocrites who ruled and attended in the churches, who said they have faith, but do not love their brothers. How can you love God who you have not seen, if you can't love your brothers who you have seen? Don't be a liar, my friends.
There are a lot of devil's lies. I will just give you one last lies and the rest, read your own Bible, don't always expect somebody to teach you for do you know that false prophets, false teachers are a lot out there? If you are too lazy to know and love the truth, your life is at stake. Do you know that satan can transform into the angel of light?
2 Corinthians 11:14
And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
If he can be like an angel of light, how can he not masquarade into your friend, who always ask you to go drinking, go partying, go doing bad things? Or why can't he transform to your sin partner that ask you to commit immorality? Or why can't he transform into your preachers who said "Say with faith that during this time next year, you will have Mercedes" or "You are the children of the living God, you will all go to heaven, once saved forever saved, God loves you as you are, even though you commit your sins again and again, He will forgive you in the end"
They are children of darkness, they speak what their father, the devil, speak. Do you not know that "No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God (1 John 3:9).
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God (Hebrews 10:26-27).
This is the great lies of devil to tell you that you are okay which in fact, many of you are going to hell straightly. Please read these 2 verses and ask yourself. How many time I have been robbed and lied by the devil?
Galatians 5:19-21
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10
Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
Are you now under Satan's yoke? Under His chains? Do you want to be set free? God gives you freewill to choose, nobody force you to believe in Jesus. But if you really sincere, Bible has answer for you. It said, "Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free (John 8:32)." Who is this Truth? Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me (John 14:6). Jesus is the Truth.
And once you repent with all your heart to God, asking and begging His mercy and forgiveness, invited Jesus to come to your life and turn your life upside down, once you know how dirty you are and humble yourself before the Almighty God. Stop putting Him in your box, but put it on the right place in your life, as King and Lord. He will transform your life. You will be a new creation, He will give you new heart, heart of flesh, not of stone, He will give you His Spirit and because Spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. Now you can overcome those Satan's lie. Ask Jesus to heal you. If you are addicted to porn, cigarette, drugs, alcohols, etc. Jesus is the Life.
I was in your position too. I have made many commitments in my life to fight against it. It worked for awhile. But as the Bible said that "When an evil spirit comes out of a man, it goes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, 'I will return to the house I left.' When it arrives, it finds the house unoccupied, swept clean and put in order. Then it goes and takes with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there. And the final condition of that man is worse than the first. That is how it will be with this wicked generation (Matthew 12:43-46)." My condition was just even getting worse and worse. I fulfilled my commitment for 3 months, but I did more sins for 3 years.
If you try to fight your addiction, your workaholic, your obesity, your problems with your own might by making commitments, I can guarantee you that your end will be more miserable. Why don't you stop fighting with your own might and start asking Jesus for help, to heal you? Ask Him to give you His eyes, His hands, His feets, His mouth, etc.
When you have Jesus' eyes, every time you see porn, you will start to weep for those souls. Those actresses are daughters and sons of King who have lost their own way and need help. You will ask God's mercy upon them.
When you have Jesus' stomach, you will not eat sugar, chocolate, candy, caffee, anything that you can't prevent, but you will do fasting for souls. You will be hungry and thirsty for souls, for them to come to the knowledge of the truth, God will give you burden in your heart about those lost souls and you will even sacrifice your meals, your precious time for them, by praying and fasting.
When you have Jesus' feet, you will walk even to the deepest and darkest place to bring the Gospel and preach the Word. Many people are under Satan's yoke. They can't help themselves unless somebody who has Jesus inside them come and set them free through their Gospel.
When you have Jesus's mouth, your mouth will not asking for cigarette, drugs, pills, etc. You will say to your mouth when you see lost souls, like Jesus when He saw Samaritans woman, "This is my food".
John 8:36
So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.
No comments:
Post a Comment