19 Apr Shut the Front Door! (Learning to shut the door to the enemy in your life) PART 12
A large ministry organization here in the States has recently had a number of adulterous situations amongst quite a few pastors within their membership. They are walking them through a restoration process. Within this process they wanted to discover the root cause of these adulterous affairs so as to help prevent these situations in the future.
To their surprise, they discovered that throughout many of these adulterous affairs it was something very small that opened the door to something very big! These situations began through a woman simply fixing a shirt collar for her pastor or lightly touching one another’s hands as they both reached for something. Something this small opened the door to an emotional connection that eventually snow-balled out of control!
In this unique hour let’s make sure we shut the front door!
Over the last few months we have shared with you the key verses for this series:
- John 5:14 “Afterward Jesus finds him in the temple, and said unto him, Behold you are made whole: sin no more, lest a worse thing come on you.”
- I Peter 5:8 “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about seeking whom he may devour.”
- John 14:30 “Hereafter I will not talk much with you; for the prince of this world comes and has nothing in me.”
- I John 5:18 “We know that whosoever is born of God sins not; but he that is begotten of God keeps himself, and the wicked one touches him not.”
I then gave you “Four Biblical Balances to Opposition”:
- If you’ve never had a head-on collision with the devil…chances are you’re walking with him!
- With divine opportunity comes demonic opposition.
- When you experience opposition, don’t just assume you are doing something wrong…it may be you are doing something right!
- Many times the tallest trees experience the harshest winds.
We then began to share “Six Entry Exhibits”:
- Worry (I Pet. 5:5-8)
- Internalized anger (Eph. 4:26-27)
- Strife (James 3:14-16)
- Pride (James 4:5-7)
This week let’s continue…
5. Offense (John 13:27)
Here the Bible says, “And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.” Here the devil clearly had an open door to Judas’ life. Where and when did he get this access point?
Let’s back up a chapter and see. In John 12:4-6 the Bible gives us the answer:
“Then saith one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him. Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor? This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the bag, and bare what was put therein.”
Judas was offended!
In Mark 4:17 Jesus warns us about offense. Here the Bible tells us, “And have no root in themselves, and so endure but for a time; afterward, when affliction or persecution arises for the word’s sake, immediately they are offended.”
The Greek word translated “offense” is “skandelon.” We get our English word ‘scandal’ from it. It literally was a bait stick that a hunter would wedge between a trap to keep it open. The hunter would tie a string to the stick and place a piece of bait within the jaws of the trap. When an animal would wander by and begin to sniff the bait, the hunter would pull on that stick and the trap would clamp shut on the animal.
Over 39 years of ministry, I have watched people get offended and it is the number one reason people leave a church! The enemy will take a small mole hill and magnify it into a mountain. Little things like “The pastor didn’t say hi to me.” “The associate pastor didn’t call me back fast enough.” “The music is too loud.” “I don’t like the color of the new carpet and it seems like a waste of money.”
It started way back in the Garden of Eden when the enemy tries to get you to focus on the one tree you can’t have, instead of all the other beautiful trees in the garden that you can have!
Next week we will continue our series!