Avoiding the Trap

Avoiding the Trap

First Peter 5:1-4 and 8 and “The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed:

2 Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

3 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

4 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. 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.”

I can tell you right up front that I had reservations concerning presenting this God sanctioned message. Prayers have led me down several good ideas in my own mind. We must, however submit to God’s nudging. The snares of the devil are many and devious.

Verse 8 is the key to the information in this presentation. Keep in in mind as we proceed. Verse nine is the pointed verse. It brings the topic to clear understanding.

God is the one to be glorified. He is and must be our all and all. We’ve come to a great catastrophe in COVID-19. Complacency and acceptance has bloomed in many hearts. Satan has set a trap. There are still some precautions necessary if we are to experience a full recovery. Everyone puts fourth their own set of ideas as to what we might do to accomplish spreading the virus. Success or failure is in our court. It depends on how well we have resisted the roaring lion in his effort to sidetrack us. Unless we see the trap, we are sure to be in his presence carrying out his plan. Traps are a major part of God’s Word; they come with detours.

Way back in time before there was an earth, Satan, the greatest of God’s creations rebelled thinking himself equal to God. He was demoted and cast out of heaven along with all those sympathizing angels that he had convinced help set traps for earthlings. He brought depravity to we the people of earth. It is within we Christians at times also. Healing cannot happen until the church fully recognizes the need to properly enlighten the flock. Satan was there in the garden where he began to perfect traps. He is our real enemy today. He has never stopped perfecting his traps and developing delivery methods. Lets consider this monster. I can’t fight him, you cant fight him no mortal stands a chance against him and his well designed traps bated especially for his chosen mortal. Without the Holy Spirit we are sitting ducks. Satan stalks us: His purpose in strolling all over the place, he’s seeking whom he can devour. He’s looking for any weakness in our armor. There are several we need to recognize and consider. Otherwise the devil’s trap is going to kill the Christian establishment. It is going to kill us all.

For over 6, 000 years Satan has refined and re-refined his traps until they are just about perfect. Only the strong will survive. It isn’t the worldly people he seeks. He seeks our flock...he seeks us. He has a 99% effective trap for each of us according to our weaknesses and those of the flock. I have no wings. He knows my weaknesses and in time past I followed after him begging more and more of his special poison. It took the Holy Spirit, The Lord Jesus Christ to break the bonds I let him tie; the trap I allowed him to set. Within myself I am not beyond his reach. My righteousness is as dirty rags before God. Better men than I have fallen. I’m no knight in shining armor… I’m flesh and blood and that’s all. All glory is success belongs to our Lord.

Trap # 1 is unhealthy pride We can have no power if we have pride in ourselves, our church possessions, works, and the likes. You and I have observed the growth and fall of pride filled church group. We hear conversations like: Our offering was this much, our attendance is so so, our building cost a million or so and were adding on. We pay our pastor over 100K annually, furnish him a car and home. I we we! There is no resisting power there. They are choked on pride. They are nibbling of the devils devils bait. Bragging is the evidence of deadly pride and it travels outside the group having it. No one can be in tune with God if they are filled with earthly pride. (1 Timothy 3:6) “Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride he fall into the condemnation of the devil.”

God’s chosen must have a forgiving heart. Yet, un-forgiveness mounts in all church groups and in the heart of worshipers. Satan thrives where forgiveness is not practiced. Hatred in the heart is a well set trap.. God can’t work in a heart housing un-forgiveness. Satan will have a field day until all who pastor, teach or lead in any way has deep love in their heart. Jesus spoke of the remidy as recorded in Gods Word ( Matthew Chaper 5) It’s high time we began to follow God’s personal directives for a heart suited to ask Him for and get deliverance from storms. Too many of our church attendees nibble Satan’s bait of un-forgiveness. Encourage the flock to cease to drink from that cup of bitterness. The adage “be quick to forgive and fast to forget” is well to follow.

The trap of Bitterness grows from un-forgiveness and solidified PRIDE. Bitterness comes on little at first. Don’t wait to take a full bite of the devil’s concocted bait of bitterness. Forgive and forget. Deliverance will not come in a church group where the flock has bitterness for others or God in their heart.

Several baits lead to the trap of addictions There is pleasure in sin for a season and then comes sorrow. Nip by nip the devil feeds you his lie of deception. There are too many to call out in message form. A few are: Joy in worldly activities, gambling, pornography, alcohol. Sports. Addiction bait grabs onto you little by little and claws its way to the center of your soul. It will take you farther than you want to go and keep you longer than you want to stay...the end there of is death.

Consider how advanced the devil has become in mixing and bait over some 6,000 years. Large is the number who will bite of the multitude of his baits. Many of them are sitting in the pews of our churches every Sunday. Their mind is not on God but on some addiction they won’t give to the Holy Spirit for destruction. Consider how technology has enhanced Satan’s ability to capture and hold the mind of children and adults alike. ie. Hearts on wall, phones, soul = mind. Boy. How can we pray for revival with so much sin in our flocks. Growing worse every second. With internet and its components, a child can reach all over the globe. There is no trash they cannot get and broadcast. Even church goers view things thy aught to not view. The language and pictures and jokes shared by individuals and groups are astonishing. The devil has the world trapped and thousands descend into hell every day because addiction’s bait replaced God in their lives or killed their Joy.

The bait of religion: The devil’s bait here is selfish adherence. Relationships are the bases of religion. There are many forms of religion, many denominations and worship methods. They range from blood sacrifice to mental transference into eternal life. Some bow toward Mecca, some rub a fat belly but no one group will associate with anther of different belief. Also internal strife exists in all groups. Every designation of worship “flock together in relationship” There may be more professed Christians in hell today than a few. For what ever reason they went to the altar not of the HG leading and they got up and testifies unsaved. Ask them & “Oh I am a Methodist, Baptist, Pentecostal etc or I go to such and such church.” They have lived a religious life but Christ wasn’t the bases of it. Going to the alter won’t save, baptism won’t save, traditions of Mom, dad Grandma etc can’t save and attending church can’t save, tithing and good works can’t save...It takes a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan’s bait of procrastination of, wait...wait...wait for a more convenient time, until alone, in our church, tomorrow, after this last fling, when I am old, on and on the bait is laid on his trap. Death is eminent unless we as leaders do not take command and alert the deceived to Satan’s methods and plan for them. Hell is real and it’s hot. Know God, know peace. Amen. 05-06-2020 BLL