Millstone

Goodmorning and welcome in everybody. Today we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture but before we do that, I wanted to ask you a little question.

Have you ever had somebody tempt you to do something that you knew was wrong in your heart? Maybe some kids from school tried to convince you to come with them to steal some bicycles that were parked on the playground. Maybe when you were in college, some of the other students tried to convince you to cheat with them on the final exam. Have you ever had somebody make sexual advances towards you, and tried to seduce you to commit fornication with them?

This reminds me of the Christian Life.

The devil appears in many different forms, from a fellow classmate, a beautiful woman, or even an angel of light. But however they present themselves, you will recognize their works. The devil will always try to convince you to go against what you know is right in your heart. Even today, this evil spirit of disobedience attempts to turn people away from the truth of the Christian faith. Over the years many of us, including children, have been raised in scriptural truth. Our conscience and convictions are held captive by the Word of God. But the spirit of the devil is running around the Earth, trying to convince others to go against the convictions that they have been taught. A true man of God preaches obedience to God’s will, while the devil preaches disobedience and rebellion. Those who seduce others to violate God’s will, are kindred to the evil one, and would be better off throwing themselves into a lake.

“But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”   — Matthew 18:6

Many people will be highly offended when you speak the truth of God’s Word with them. The Pharisees were offended at certain things that Jesus was saying to them, but that’s not the offense that we are talking about today. To offend others is to cause them to commit a sin. It is to encourage them to go against their conscience, and do something wrong in their mind. What the devil does is try to convince people away from scriptural truth. This is because he is a deceiver and a liar.

“Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.”.   — John 8:44

In whatever form the devil may appear, you must wholeheartedly resist him, out of love for Christ.

1 Peter 5. ⁸ Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:  ⁹ Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

….Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  — James 4:7

These evil devils will try to get you to go against your convictions in a coordinated attack upon your faith. After all, wolves hunt in packs, and you will find many of them much closer than you think. They lie in wait, ready to deceive you, preparing for the moment that they can pounce on your convictions with a plethora of lies. It is during these moments that we must defend ourselves with the Word of God and hold up our mighty shield of faith, 

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”   — Ephesians 6:16

“Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him.”   — Proverbs 30:5

The devil tries to seduce people, which means to lead someone away from their principles, faith or allegiance to God. This is exactly what he did in the garden of Eden and continues to do today. Many times the devils will begin their seducing conversation by using the phrase,…  ” Did God really say that? ” This is because the devil wants you to question God, and the truth of scripture, in order to lead you into disobedience.

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? ² And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 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. ⁴ And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 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.

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. ⁷ And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.

Eve knew the will of God, but she chose to believe the devil’s lies instead. Instead of listening to the command of God, she hearkened and obeyed the devil. Many people are doing the same thing today, being seduced to go against the will of God and the teachings of scripture. Just like in the days of Noah, it will steadily get worse. In fact, it will become so bad that it will be like nothing the world has ever seen before. 

“But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”

  — 2 Timothy 3:13

“For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.”

  — Mark 13:22

The devil hates God and His obedient children. He actively tries to turn people away from their faith. The Apostles were turning people from darkness to the light, while the devil turns people from the light to the darkness. But when the devil tries to seduce you, you must faithfully endure temptations. This not only proves your love for God, but therein lies eternal life.

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him.”.   — James 1:12

Just as in the temptation of Jesus, when we stand strong in our convictions, the devil is powerless against us, because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. It is through our unyielding faith that the devil will quickly understand that he cannot change anything in our lives. At that point, he will simply run away with his tail between his legs, exposing the cowardly weakling that he truly is. The elect of God will never be deceived by him, and have been granted complete power and authority over him.

When people attempt to lead you away from the biblical convictions that you were raised in, recognize them for who they really are, the devil. Take note of them, resist them, and while you’re at it, hand each of them a…..

…. Millstone 

Let’s think about these things for right now.  We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc  where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️

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