SOME OF YOU CAN HARDLY EVER FAST, YOUR STOMACH CONTROLS YOU, I HOPE YOU WILL DO SOMETHING ABOUT THAT TODAY
WHEN THE DEVIL WANTS TO DEAL WITH A MAN HE LOOKS FOR ONE WEAKNESS IN THAT FELLOW
Pastor E. A. Adeboye at RCCG Special Sunday Service. Going Higher (Part 32)
‘Give No Room To The Devil’
1 Kings 18:40
It is interesting that he killed all the Prophets of Baal himself, he didn’t ask the people to help him, he killed four hundred and fifty of them.
My prayer is that the Almighty God will open your heart today that you will be able to absorb what we are about to teach.
Our God is a God of absolutes. Church Gist. When God is talking about purity, He is talking of absolute purity. James 1:17, He is a Father of light, in Him, there is no variableness or shadow of turning. His own light has no shadow hiding anywhere.
Jesus Christ said in Ephesians 5:25-27, that Jesus is coming back for a bride without spot, wrinkle, without any blemish at all. Church Gist. The Word of God says in James 2:10, if you keep all the laws and you offend one, you are guilty of all.
If you have been alive for seventy years and during these seventy years you have been hundred percent law-abiding and then a day or two after your seventieth birthday you kill a man, nobody will remember that for seventy years you have been keeping the law. For that one law you broke you will die.
As far as God is concerned, there is no room for half measures,
Revelation 3:15-16, If you want to be cold be hundred percent cold, if you want to be hot be hundred percent hot. If you are lukewarm neither here or there, He will spew you out of His mouth. Incidentally, that is a letter written to the Churches. Church Gist. That is a statement in the New Testament, the dispensation of Grace. God says you are lukewarm, you are gone. If God spews you out of His mouth He is not going to take you back, He is not a dog. It is only a dog that will go back to his vomit, you cannot afford to be lukewarm.
Elijah killed them all, brethren, it is written, every plant my father did not plant shall be rooted up, not some. Why must you get rid of everything that is not of God? Ask the doctors, they will tell you that if they find an infection in you and they give you antibiotics to fight the infection, they will tell you you must use every bit of the drugs recommended because if you stop halfway or you go ninety percent of the way and a single bit of this infection remains it will come back bigger than ever before.
1 Corinthians 5:6, a little leaven will leaven the whole lump. Joshua 11:2-22, the Bible tells us that when Joshua was clearing the land of Anakim the producers of giants, he wiped out the Anakims in every bit of the land except in Gaza and Gath. He left some giants behind. Church Gist. Years later, in 1 Samuel 17:1-16, the Anakims that Joshua left behind produced Goliath. If you allow any little bit of evil of the devil to remain in you, you are the one preparing for trouble in the future.
I preached a sermon years ago titled ‘the Devil’s Joker Card’. You may get it in the archives.
Those of you who have ever played cards before will know that in cards you have Kings and Queens, e.t.c. there is a card called the joker card. Church Gist. Once you pick the Joker Card, it doesn’t matter what the other fellow may have, either queen or king once you put down your joker card you win.
When the devil wants to deal with a man, he looks for one weakness in that fellow. As soon as he gets one weakness in that fellow, he has got the joker card. He can wait patiently until a very crucial moment then he will present his joker card.
Examples:
- Noah: The only family God spared after the flood. The Bible says in Genesis 9:20-27, Noah loves just a little bit of wine, you know once in a while. One day he took a little extra and became drunk and laid naked inside the tent, his youngest son came in, saw the father naked, he said what kind of joke is this, he went out and told the brothers, come and see papa is drunk. The elder brothers because they were wiser, took a piece of cloth, went inside backward and dropped the cloth on their dad. Papa woke up, he heard what his son had done and placed a curse on him. He had three sons and destroyed the future of one of the three.
Joker card! - Lot: The Bible tells us in Genesis 19:30-38, Lot loves just a glass of wine occasionally and one day the two daughters who had been rescued from fire and brimstone held a meeting, let’s give papa extra wine today and when he is drunk, the elder one will go and sleep with him, tomorrow the younger one will do the same. This man rescued by an angel of the Most High God from destruction, because of a little problem, he didn’t drink outside, he was always drinking at home, he produced two boys through his own daughters. Church Gist. The first one is Moab, the other Ammon. It will interest you to know what God said about these two boys. Jeremiah 48:25, the Almighty God said, the horn of Moab shall be broken. Ezekiel 25:10, God said Ammonites will not even be remembered. Look at what a little evil in the life of a man that has been so favoured by God can produce. His heritage was wiped out.
- Esau: Genesis 25:29-34, the Bible tells us that Jacob prepared pottage, Esau came hungry, he said, give me food. The boy said if you want my food give me your birthright, he said who cares? Give me food. Read between the lines, the brother had discovered that this man cannot control his appetite, he will do anything to get food. He bargained for something of eternal value because he could not control his appetite.
Some of you can hardly ever fast, your stomach controls you, I hope you will do something about that today.
Bible scholars believe that what happened in Genesis 27:1-40 when the blessing of the firstborn was about to be released on Esau and the Father said go and get me an animal, prepare the food I love and I will pour my blessing on you. Church Gist. While he was gone, Jacob had prepared something and the father ate and blessed the boy. The Bible says in verse 30, just as Jacob was getting out of the presence of Isaac, Esau came, they almost met at the door. Bible scholars said the reason Esau came that little bit late was that after he prepared the food for the Father was that he decided to taste it. He was busy and when the day of blessing came the devil presented the joker card.
- Moses: Exodus 2:11-12, two people were fighting, a Hebrew and an Egyptian, Moses got there and decided to defend his Kingsman, he was angry. Church Gist. I have heard some of you talk about righteous indignation, you are angry for God. If you want to defend your brother, do you have to kill? His temper was uncontrollable, before you know what was happening he had killed the other, buried him in the sand. The devil said I see, I know your weakness. Just in case you don’t believe that he had that kind of temper, read Exodus 32:17-20. He was coming down from the mountain where he had gone to receive the commandments and saw the Children of Israel already worshipping an idol, the Bible says his anger waxed hot, the Tablets of the Commandments, he smashed them down. Was it God who offended him? Tablets that the Almighty God himself cut and wrote the commandments, he was angry, he forgot who he was he smashed them. He took the idol, ground it to powder, put it in water and said every one of you, drink of it. The devil said, fine brother Moses, keep going, I have my joker card. In Numbers 20:1-12, the people were already at the border of the Promise Land and God said these people are murmuring again, go and stand before the rock, speak to the rock and it will give them water to drink. He was so angry, you stiff-necked people, must I bring you water from the rock? He turned himself to God, he is not the one bringing water out. Angry people say all kinds of horrible things that is why anger is called temporary madness. You know the rest of the story, instead of speaking to the rock, he struck the rock twice and God said you are not going in. Church Gist. The devil must have laughed, after forty years of ministry, I got you.
- We don’t have to talk about Samson, Judges 14:1-3, he saw a girl that is not of his own people, the parents said with all the girls here, he said who is talking, I am Samson go and get her for me, I saw her and she pleases me. The devil said you can even disobey your parents over a girl? I got my joker card. Church Gist. You know how from there he saw a harlot, went into her and finally Delilah came. Nobody should say Delilah killed Samson, Samson killed himself, all Delilah did was helped to bury him.
What is that thing in your life that you are tolerating? You say I am not proud, I just have self-respect, I never get angry unless someone provokes me, it is not every time I eat like this, I just feel like feasting today. Church Gist. Listen to me, give no room to the devil. Any weakness, no matter how tiny you must consider them, they must go otherwise the devil will just be laughing at you with all your running up and down saying you are serving God, if he has got your joker card, he will pull it out at a critical moment that is why you will need to talk to God today.
- Any plant you have not planted in me, every plant you have not planted in my soul, and spirit uproot o Lord.
Paul the Apostle had only one problem, pride. He loved to boast. Read Philippians 3, you will see him boasting but he came to a realization and he said I cannot continue like this. How did he overcome? He said in Galatians 2:20, he said I am crucified with Christ, he said I have to die completely. Don’t let anything remain in you that is of the devil, let everything that is not hundred percent Godly be crucified today.
Those of you who are not even born again, if this is the situation for those who are true children of God, what do you think is going to be your own situation? We are talking about those who are already on the side of God that they must be completely clean, what about those of you who are working hand in hand with the devil? You better run to Jesus Christ now and let him save your soul and let the salvation be hundred percent genuine. If you claim that you are already born again but you are still living in sin, you are deceiving yourself.
The Word of God says in 2 Corinthians 5:17, therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature, old things are passed away, all things are become new. Church Gist. If you are not hundred percent sure of your salvation, come to Jesus Christ today, cry to Him that He will save your soul.
Say Lord, make my salvation absolute and genuine so I can serve you hundred percent for the rest of my life. Those of us who are Christians and you realize you are lukewarm, cry to him, say, Father, I don’t want to be lukewarm, I want to be hundred percent on fire for you, please Lord, crucify everything in me that may grow up to become a danger to my future.
God Bless You All!
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