Good morning 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 tell you a little story.
It seems like every spring we have three huge antpiles that suddenly come to life down by our lake. They are really large, probably over a foot tall and three feet in diameter. Sometimes when we ride our bikes or go for a walk, we will take a minute or two and watch all of the ants at work. Slowly, they will follow each other in a big line, carrying all types of things into their new summer home. But if you take a stick and drop it on the ground in front of them, you can angle it in such a manner as to cause them to go a different way. Through your influence, you can point them in the direction that you want them to go.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
In this world, many people are in a place of influence over others. A professional basketball player might try to influence a college student to go pro, while their dad might try to influence them to wait. A guidance counselor might try to influence a student about where to go to college, while their employer might try to influence them to make a career out of their after-school job. When it comes down to making certain decisions, you are going to have people on both sides of the aisle, each of which will try to convince you to follow their advice. All over the world, the devil is trying to influence people to go against the teachings of scripture, while a true man of God will persuade you to obey the Word of God. Your own salvation depends on who’s advice you are going to listen to. Eve allowed herself to be influenced by the devil, and because she listened to what he said, it ultimately resulted in being removed from paradise.
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.
Whenever the devil and his angels try to convince and persuade you away from the teachings of scripture, they must be completely resisted. When you do this, they will eventually give up and run away because greater is HE that is in you, than he that is in the world!
“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7
When Jesus resisted the devil, he left him.
Matthew 4 ¹⁰ Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
¹¹ Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him.
We must be filled up with the teachings of scripture, so we can resist all the lies of the devil.
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
The devil is a liar, and the best way to defeat him is with a liberal dose of Gods truth.
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” John 17:17
“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
Ephesians 6 ¹⁶ Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. ¹⁷ And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
There is right and wrong, light and dark, and truth and lies, and a true man of God is helping you to make the right decisions based in the teachings of scripture. The Apostle Paul was using his Godly influence to turn people to the light.
Acts 26 ¹⁹ Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto the heavenly vision: ²⁰ But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.
He was persuading them to depart iniquity.
“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 2 Timothy 2:19
He used his influence to guide Timothy in the right direction.
“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” 1 Timothy 4:16
We want to make sure that we are influenced by the teachings of the Holy Spirit found throughout the gospel of Christ, because sometimes when people are not strong in there faith, they can be led astray. Consider a young child, who can be influenced very easily. It is the devil who wants to attack them and lead them away from the conservative teachings of Christ Jesus. Be very careful who’s advice you are going to take, because the devil is very cunning and can take on many forms, from a smiling old woman, to an angel of light. All they want to do if to deceive you, and you must be strong enough in the teachings of scripture to recognize them and their lies.
“That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;” Ephesians 4:14
Galatians 5 ⁷ Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? ⁸ This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. ⁹ A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. ¹⁰ I have confidence in you through the Lord, that ye will be none otherwise minded: but he that troubleth you shall bear his judgment, whosoever he be.
As you walk through this world you have to be very careful who advice that you are going to listen to, because many people will try to lead you astray. This is why we must be filled with the knowledge of God, found throughout the teachings of Holy Scriptures. God’s Word is filled with men of God who through their Spiritual influence, help guide people in the right direction. When we are filled up with the light of truth we also need to be a light for others, pointing them in the right direction, just like the ants down on….
…….The Anthill
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.❤️
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 