Door 2

1 John 2:15-17
15* Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16* For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17* The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.

The scripture above is our base. In the last post we examined the 1st door, the lust of the flesh. In this post we will examine the lust of the eyes.

John says do not love the things of this world. Our first contact with the things of this world is through our eyes. However, St. Augustine, to paraphrase, has added that, in a broader sense our eyes represent all of our senses. We may say something like, let me see how good that cake is. Or, I want to see for myself how soft that pillow is. Or, let's see if that song is as good as everyone says it is. What Augustine was saying is that John used the term lust of the eyes, but that statement can and should be applied to all of our senses, i.e. lust of the nose, lust of the taste buds, lust of the ears, etc. Trust me, I know it sounds funny---but give it some thought.

Our senses allow us to experience the world God created for us. And He has created great things for us to enjoy. John does not say do not enjoy or appreciate beauty. He says, do not love those things which are pleasing to our senses. Brothers and sisters think about this, our senses connect us to this fallen world. Our thoughts and faith connect us to our true home in heaven. John is saying here that we should not allow ourselves to love the things of the world because our flesh enjoys those things so much. We should never be so wrapped up in the creation that we forget to worship the creator.

Satan loves this door! Your enemy is the most fantastic marketer of all time. The Devil knows how to advertise and get our attention off the things of God and on the things of this world. He is a master at it. Contemplate the number of things that are out there to stimulate your fleshly desire. It is no accident. There is a snare or a trap around every corner.

Relying on our senses to give us direction, or loving the things of this world because they please our senses will cause us to have a stronger connection with the world than we have with God. It will lead us down the sinful path of loving the creation instead of the creator. This will lead us to disobey God's word and will for our lives in favor of pleasures we derive from our senses. Look at what happened in the garden of Eden.

Genesis 3:1
Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?



3:2
And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:



3:3
But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.



3:4
And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:



3:5
For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.



3:6
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.


When Eve saw that the tree was good for food, and pleasant to the eyes, the sensual attraction of that fruit was so strong that she disobeyed the almighty God, creator of heaven and earth. And all that dirty devil had to do was direct her attention to the beautiful fruit that God made, and make the suggestion that she misuse it. That's all it took, and here we are, thousands of years later, struggling with our sins, because of the lust of the eyes.

Satan knew the fruit was appealing. He knew that it looked delicious. He also knew that all he had to do was make a little suggestion, and the lust would take over from there. He tried the same trick with Jesus when he tempted our savior in the wilderness.

Satan had already attempted to get Jesus to rely on his own strength and not wait on the Father. Here we see Satan playing upon the lust of the eyes.

Matthew 4:8-9
Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them;

And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.

You see, Satan wanted to Jesus to so desire the things that he saw for himself than he would have forsaken the command of God. That is the great danger of Door #2. Our lust, whether through our eyes, nose, mouth, ears, or hands (or a combination of all), has the ability to separate us from God permanently. We can get so enthralled in what we see, that we get satisfied with the picture and never seek after the artist.

Hollywood, big radio, internet, television, fast food, are all things Satan can use to stimulate that lust. It is crucial that you begin to recognize when your enemy is at work and take corrective actions. We all have those things that physically move us, and our enemy knows them as well. As Christians, we need to become adept at identifying the handiwork of our enemy so we stand aganinst it. Too often we look at things through the eyes of the world and not through the eyes of God. The lust of the eyes requires us to view things in the flesh. The antidote is looking at the world's filth through a biblical lens.

When I was in school the nurse would do a lesson every year on how to brush your teeth. Then they would give us a tooth brush, and tell us to go brush our teeth. When we looked in the mirror our teeth looked clean. Then they gave us a tablet that when chewed left a red stain on any food particles left over. When we looked again after chewing the pill we could see that what we thought was clean was not so clean. Brothers and sisters when we look at things through the eyes of the world, it may look fine. But when we look at the same thing through the eyes of a holy God, we can then see the filth that lies just beneath the surface. Satan can only make evil look good on the outside. He can never make it good on the inside where it counts.

Satan wants us to feed our flesh so that it grows stronger. What we need to do is starve it.

Death's 3 Doors

Brothers and Sisters, your enemy roams around like a lion, seeking whom he may devour.  He is persistent, and he does not sleep.  Let's take a closer look at Satan's not so big bag of tricks. 

In 1 John 2:16, John writes:
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.

John is warning us of the 3 main doorways to sin.  We already have a sin nature, and these 3 doorways are in all of us because we are Adam's seed.  However, these doors exist only in the flesh, and we can resist the tempter if we walk according to the spirit. 

It would be too much to look at all 3 doors in one post, so let's examine one at a time. 

Door #1- The Lust of the Flesh
Satan successfully planted his seed in us when he caused Adam and Eve to eat the forbidden fruit.  That one act of defiance produced in every human being a sin nature and predisposition to sin.  When we say flesh we mean ones bodily desires- food, drink, sex, intoxicants, lewd music, lewd dancing, etc.  While food in itself is not sinful, when we eat too much, or eat without thanking God, we can enter into sin.  While the bible does not prohibit Christians from drinking alcohol, the abuse of alcohol is sinful.  While the bible condones sex within the boundaries of marriage (husband and wife marriage), our flesh wants us to be adulterers and fornicators.  Folks, our flesh wants us to go to hell, and when we walk according to the flesh, we are its accomplices. 

This is a wide door.  Think about the things the flesh wants-- drugs, alcohol, unmarried sex, pornography, fights, ungodly music, movies, and books.  It is but one door, but a host of temptations can enter through this door.  Our major health concerns in this nation are a result of the lust of the flesh.  Obesity and smoking related illnesses top the list of our national health concerns.  Both are results of the lust of the flesh. 

Satan knows the power of this door, and it is his first attack.  Let's take a look at him in action:

1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”


2 The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, 3 but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’”



4 “You will not certainly die,” the serpent said to the woman. 5 “For God knows that when you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”



6 When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

You see!  The first thing Eve thought was that the fruit was good for food--the lust of the flesh!  It was Satan's first attack. 
 
When Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, we this same patten. 
 
1 THEN was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil.








2 And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungred.







3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread.







4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.



Again, Satan's first attack was with the lust of the flesh.  Jesus was hungry, and Satan attempted to use that hunger to get Jesus to act of his own accord, rather than trust the Father.  We see here that our desires themselves may not be the evil thing, but attempting to fulfill our desires outside of the will of God can lead to sin.  Satan will often come to us and simply try to get us to give in to some natural urging.  The argument he uses is that it is natural to want to satisfy those urges---so do it.  Why would God give you that urge if he didn't want you to satisfy it?  The devil is a liar.  God didn't give us a sin nature--Satan did.  Any urge to sin does not come from God, but from the father of all lies. 
 
Brothers and Sisters, I hope this was edifying for you.  I found it to be revealing and useful as I continue to resist the devil.  After we have looked at all three doors, we will talk about how to 'bolt' the doors. 

We are at war, or at least, we should be!

Concerning the battle for our souls, we must join it.  It is folly to attempt to be a double agent, or mercenary since the price of the spoils is eternity.  Who can pay it?  Make a declaration as to whom you serve and put all cowardice aside.  You cannot serve God and Satan, and you must serve one or the other--a third option does not exist.  If you do not know you are God's, then you belong the enemy (luckily, God's army accepts defectors).  So be a man, or woman and choose a side. 

If you choose correctly (and I pray you do) take care brethren and be thou not deceived by the preachers of prosperity, for Jesus never promised that walking in his footsteps would be easy.  The hope that dwells in the believer is not for this world, but for the next.  Therefore, do not become discouraged by the attacks of the enemy.  We know that he is defeated in the last battle.  But he will try to bring all types of hell into your life until then. His goal is to make you go back to the world system, his system.



Brothers and sisters, rejoice while the enemy sends a volley of fiery arrows at your home and your family.  Rejoice, I say!  Trust in Him that is in you which is greater than the arrow shooter.  Pick up His armor, and His shield of Faith, and you will deflect all of the fiery darts of the enemy. 

Trust me when I tell you that the devil knows your weakness, and that is precisely where he will attack you.  Fortify that area with prayer when you have given yourself fully to the battle.  For the enemy will come not when you are weak in the Lord, but when you are strong.  Those that are weak in their faith, or lack faith altogether pose no threat to the enemy.  They are their own destruction and require no assistance from the enemy. 

It is us, the faithful that must press against our enemy.  It is us that are constantly under his attack.  we should rejoice when he has us in his cross hairs.  Those arrows he shoots confirm our beliefs and will strengthen our faith if we allow it to be so strengthened.

Don't allow the lies to seep in.  He will convince you that you are not worthy to be saved.  You are not worthy to be saved, that is why the gift of salvation is so precious, we didn't earn it.  When the enemy makes you feel unworthy, ask yourself, is there anything too hard for God?  Remember, the more you walk in faith, the more frequent and intense his attacks will become.  It is when those intense trials come that you need to remember that we don't war against flesh and blood, but against the spirit world.  Our battle is not ours, but the Lord's, and He is already victorious. 

Old Deluder Satan

When I was in college I had to take a class called Foundations of Education.  It was one of the most interesting classes I ever had because of the historical aspect.  In that class we learned about a 1647 Massachusetts Law called the 'Old Deluder Satan Act'.  In short, this act required every township of 50 or more people to have a public school so the students could learn to read the Bible.  This act is interesting for many reasons, but I especially like the title. 
http://www.americareclaimed.org/elements/docs/documents/Old%20Deluder%20Satan%20Law(1647)p.pdf

Friends, Satan, is a deluder.  He is a deceiver, a liar, a thief, and a murderer.  What is more friends, he is very good at it.  He is so good that when he does it, we scarcely recognize it.  He works through people, books, music, TV, and any other way he can wiggle his way into our thoughts and our hearts.  All he needs is to cast some doubt on God's word--once he does that our minds will do the rest.  It's not hard to plant weeds.  He will most likely come in a way that seems harmless to us, and speak things that seem right to our carnal minds.   I had the unfortunate experience of encountering him recently as I was reading something, and it hit me like a ton of Bibles.

Brothers and Sisters he is strong, and when he gets hold of us, or our family, his grip is tight.  Too tight for us to break with our own strength. .  I wanted to physically fight him.  I wanted to jump on him and literally rip his head off.  Instead, I prayed, because we war not against flesh, but against spiritual wickedness. (I'm paraphrasing Ephesians 6:12 here).  If  I had been being half the Christian I thought I was, I would have been truly praying, truly engaging in spiritual warfare all along.  However, the truth is that my prayers were frequent, but not fervent.  They were constant, but I was not praying in the spirit.  I may have started out that way, but over time it became routine.  I was reminded last night that warfare is anything but routine and how we do it makes all the difference. 

Where did I go wrong?  I think that I was so caught up in the storm and how huge it was that I forgot that I serve a God that can quiet the storm with a word, with a mere thought.  I was telling God how big the storm was, and I should have been telling the storm how big God is.  Friends there is nothing Satan can do that God cannot undo.  There is no situation that is hopeless.  Remember, Jesus defeated death itself, and greater is He that is in us (Christians), than he that is in the world.  The old deluder is already defeated, he is just too arrogant to believe it.

Friends, if the devil is attacking you or your family, be encouraged.  If he is fighting you everywhere in your life, count it all joy.  That devil will work very hard against Christians.  We are his targets.  The harder he fights against you, the more joy you should have.  Remember, he attacks his enemies, not his friends.  If you are under attack then it is likely that you are a friend of the most high God and an enemy of the devil.  Continue to resist him in the name of Jesus Christ and he will flee from you.