Participants: Sandy Smith (Host)
Series Code: FC
Program Code: FC000298
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00:30 Welcome to Faith Chapel, my name is Sandy Smith;
00:34 I'm the Founder and Speaking Director 00:37 for Layman For a Finish Work. 00:39 At the present time I am also the 00:41 Recreational Director for Atlantic 00:44 Union college in Lancaster, Massachusetts. 00:47 What an honor to be a spokesman for God, 00:50 yet what a humbling experience. 00:54 People worldwide are scratching their heads 00:58 and wondering what's going on in this world, 01:02 they're saying all types of events taking place. 01:06 I know, when I left North Carolina 01:08 and moved to Boston, the Boston area 01:13 I was told that you will experience 01:15 some of the worst weather in your life. 01:19 But yet the past winter was not really 01:22 a bad winter at all, I was told that it was the 01:26 warmest winter in 32 years, strange signs. 01:32 Many are thinking that these signs perhaps 01:35 are the signal of a stupendous event 01:39 that will take place in the world very soon. 01:43 My sermon today is entitled Satan's greatest fear 01:47 which will deal with some of these concerns, 01:50 but let us pause for prayer. 01:54 Holy Spirit, we thank you for this opportunity, 01:57 we ask that you might manifest 01:58 yourself here in Jesus name, Amen. 02:04 God's owns mankind twice, once physically every man, 02:11 woman, boy, girl born in this world was born 02:18 by the loving hands of a loving creator. 02:23 But then they are those who have experienced 02:27 a second birth that is they have accepted Jesus Christ 02:34 as their Lord and Savior and they have experienced 02:38 recreation or the rebirth or redemption. 02:41 They are born again, please turn with me 02:45 in your Bibles to Second Peter the first chapter 02:51 and we will read together verses 3 and 4 02:56 "According as His divine power hath given unto us 02:59 all things that pertain unto life and godliness, 03:04 through the knowledge of Him that hath 03:06 called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given 03:10 unto us exceeding great and precious promises; 03:13 that by these ye might be partakers of the 03:17 divine nature, having escaped the corruption 03:20 that is in the world through lust." 03:24 God is the King of the universe 03:27 He is the Spiritual sojourn of Heaven and earth, 03:32 He owns everything, the gold, the silver, 03:33 the diamonds, the rubies, the oil, 03:35 at the cattle upon a thousand hills. 03:38 As the Spiritual sojourn that means that He looks out 03:44 for His subjects, He defends His subjects. 03:50 And in turn His subjects defend Him 03:52 and they look out for Him, 03:55 where atheists or Christian, 03:57 all owe their existence to God, 04:02 if we have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior 04:05 then we share His commonwealth 04:09 and belong to God's commonwealth. 04:13 If we have completely surrendered our wills to God, 04:17 He makes himself completely responsible 04:20 for our every need protection and guidance. 04:24 Please turn with me in your Bibles to Philippians 04:28 the 4th chapter and begin reading at verse 13: 04:35 I can do all things through Christ 04:38 which strengtheneth me. And then verse 19: 04:45 But my God shall supply all your needs according 04:49 to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. 04:54 Satan is trying his best to thwart God's plan for us. 04:59 Please turn with me to First Peter 05:02 the 5th chapter verse 8 as we verify this, 05:08 the Bible says: Be sober, be vigilant; 05:11 because you are adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, 05:16 walketh about seeking whom He may devour. 05:22 God has limited Satan's powers, 05:28 Satan does not have unlimited power 05:30 when it comes to human beings if he did, 05:32 he would totally overwhelm us. 05:35 I would like to think of Satan in comparison 05:39 to God as a lion in the zoo, 05:43 now I've been to the San Diego Zoo which is 05:45 reputed to be the number one zoo in the country. 05:48 And I want you to picture a lion at the zoo 05:53 in his steel cage and as you stand gazing at him 05:58 behind the fence and he's in there 06:03 on a short leash or chain. 06:05 His teeth have been, have been extracted 06:09 and his claws removed and so with God and Satan 06:16 God has limited him whereby he cannot do 06:20 what he wants with us. 06:22 Just as the lion could not get to you 06:25 unless you jump the fence, open his cage 06:28 and went in and laid down before him. 06:30 So, Satan cannot harm you, but I remember once being 06:34 at a zoo and when it came time to feeding the lion, 06:39 he had such a furious roar, roar that it scared 06:43 the people in there so does Satan. 06:45 He has a very loud roar that causes you to fear him, 06:51 we have nothing to fear but fear itself. 06:54 I ask you the question, why is there hatred and racism 07:00 and prejudices and divorce and pain and suffering, 07:04 death, earthquakes, volcanoes, 07:08 hurricanes, wars and terrorism. 07:11 What about mental illnesses and Alzheimer's disease, 07:15 cancer, where did it all start. 07:18 You ask me preacher, 07:22 if the God you serve is a God of love, 07:24 then why does he allow such things to happen, 07:27 such as divorce and prejudices 07:29 and earthquakes and suffering and pain. 07:32 Why doesn't he put an end to these things you say, 07:36 maybe he is responsible for them? 07:39 These are relevant questions 07:40 that deserve relevant answers. 07:44 Let me take you on a journey that will explain 07:47 this dilemma, eons and eons ago before there were 07:53 any human beings or any beings in the universe, 07:56 the trinity lived or existed out in space somewhere 08:01 and because of their magnanimous love 08:03 they decided to create beings 08:05 that they could have a reciprocal relationship with, 08:08 that is beings that they could love 08:11 and who would love them in turn. 08:14 And they created the angels first 08:18 and other worlds came into existence, 08:23 these beings did not have Ten Commandments. 08:27 They didn't have written laws on stones 08:30 or notebooks or pages, but God wrote 08:34 these laws in their beings, 08:37 in their hearts, they were all happy. 08:40 Everybody lived in total bliss, 08:44 then there was the one angel who was believed to 08:47 be the first created being in the universe, 08:50 whose name was Lucifer. 08:52 Lucifer was the choir director, he was brilliant. 08:58 He was the covering cherub before God's 09:00 throne and that's why his name Lucifer means the, 09:05 the shinning one, the bright one, 09:07 the anointed one, the morning star, 09:09 because he stood with outstretched arms 09:12 right in front of the throne of God 09:14 and all of the brilliance of God shown on him. 09:19 To be in the presence of God is, 09:21 is beyond words unapproachable light, 09:25 but after perhaps eons and eons, we don't know, 09:31 a strange thing happened in Heaven. 09:34 Lucifer thou having this exalted position 09:40 somehow became jealous of Jesus God's son 09:46 and Lucifer began spreading falsehoods about Jesus. 09:51 You know how it goes, mystery loves company. 09:55 He started saying things about Christ that was, 09:58 there were not true. 10:00 He started just laying little seeds of doubt 10:03 in the angels' minds concerning Jesus Christ, 10:07 Jesus bore with Satan 10:09 for a long time not confronting him. 10:12 But then after a long period of time, 10:15 Jesus patience even wore thin 10:19 and he called Lucifer aside and said to him, 10:22 Lucifer, I realize what you're doing, 10:24 I've been watching you the whole time. 10:27 And you have been spreading falsehoods 10:30 concerning me and I'm asking that you repent, 10:33 we love you Lucifer and we want you 10:36 to remain the covering cherub, 10:38 but we just want you to be truthful. 10:40 But Lucifer refused to repent 10:44 and then the God head allowed Lucifer 10:47 to maintain his present position 10:50 as the covering cherub. 10:52 And after a longer period of time then God the Father 10:57 summons all of the angels to His throne 11:01 and He explained to the angels 11:05 that Jesus was not like them, 11:07 even though He was among them 11:10 and He appeared to be a created angel, 11:13 He was their creator. 11:15 And that He was as much God as the Father, 11:20 and Lucifer again refuse to repent, 11:24 He refused to accept the council of Jesus 11:28 and He also refused to accept 11:30 the council of God the Father. 11:34 This is a mystery, how can a perfect being, 11:39 living in a perfect environment 11:42 with the perfect God, 11:43 with perfect angels commit iniquity, 11:48 who did he copy it from? Where did he see it? 11:51 It's called the mystery of iniquity, 11:53 the mystery of sin. 11:56 Please turn with me in your Bibles 11:57 to Revelation the 12th chapter 12:02 and we want to read verses 12:06 7 through 9 and the Bible says: 12:11 "And there was war in heaven: 12:13 Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; 12:16 and the dragon fought and his angels. 12:20 And prevailed not; neither was their place 12:23 found any more in heaven. 12:25 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, 12:29 called the Devil, and Satan, 12:31 which deceiveth the whole world: 12:35 he was cast out into the earth, 12:37 and his angels were cast out with him. 12:40 And then verse 4, the same chapter, the Bible says: 12:46 And his tail drew the third part 12:49 of the stars of heaven, 12:52 and did cast them to the earth: 12:54 and the dragon stood before the woman 12:56 who was ready to be delivered, 12:58 for to devour her child as soon as it was born. 13:02 Lucifer's name was changed to Satan, 13:06 he was no longer called the shining one, 13:09 the anointed one, the brilliant one 13:11 but he was called Satan which means 13:12 the adversary, the enemy of God. 13:15 He and one third of his angels 13:18 were booted out of Heaven by Jesus 13:21 and His two third of the Holy Angels. 13:24 Satan and His cohorts are forever banned from Heaven 13:27 and the other worlds and they are now occupying 13:31 planet earth where you and I live 13:34 and where they have brought their evil 13:38 machinations and their schemes and temptations. 13:43 Adam and Eve were created 13:46 and they lived in the beautiful Garden of Eden, 13:49 most people think that the Garden of Eden 13:50 might have been just a small area, 13:52 it could have been miles we don't know. 13:57 But they were placed in the Garden of Eden 13:58 and they were told to be on guard for Satan, 14:01 the Father and Son visited Adam and Eve 14:05 in the cool of the evenings, the Mediterranean breeze 14:10 blowing they were happy all of their needs were met, 14:13 there was nothing that they stood in need of. 14:18 The Bible says that they were naked, 14:20 but they didn't know that they were naked 14:22 because they were covered with a light, 14:26 beautiful light of God, the righteousness of Christ. 14:30 They were given conditional eternal life 14:34 and placed on probation that is if they pass 14:38 the mild test that God setup for them 14:42 and placing the tree of life in the middle 14:45 of the garden which if they partook 14:47 of they would continue to have eternal life, 14:50 but then there was the tree of the, 14:52 the knowledge of good and evil. 14:54 God, specifically told them that on the day 14:56 that they ate from that tree, 14:58 they would surely die, 15:01 but if they could pass this test and they would 15:03 receive unconditional eternal life and live forever. 15:07 Please turn with me in your Bibles to Genesis 15:11 the third chapter and we want to begin 15:14 reading at verse 19, no that's verses 1 through 19 15:21 excuse me, the Bible says very plainly: 15:24 Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast 15:28 of the field which the Lord God had made: 15:30 and he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, 15:34 Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 15:37 And the woman said unto the serpent, 15:40 We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, 15:43 but of the fruit of the tree 15:44 which is in the midst of the garden, 15:46 God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, 15:50 neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 15:53 And the serpent said unto the woman, 15:56 Ye shall not surely die, for God doth know, 15:59 that in the day ye eat thereof, 16:01 then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall 16:05 be as Gods, knowing good and evil. 16:08 And when the woman saw 16:09 that the tree was good for food, 16:11 and that it was pleasant to the eyes, 16:14 and a treat to be desired to make one wise; 16:17 she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, 16:20 and gave also unto her husband 16:22 with her, and he did eat. 16:25 And the eyes of them both were opened, 16:27 and they knew that they were naked: 16:30 and they sewed fig-leaves together, 16:33 and made themselves aprons. 16:36 And they heard the voice of the Lord God 16:38 walking in the garden in the cool of the day, 16:42 and Adam and his wife hid themselves 16:45 from the presence of the Lord God 16:48 amongst the trees of the garden. 16:50 And the Lord called unto Adam, 16:52 and said unto him, Where art thou? 16:55 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden: 16:58 and I was afraid, because I was naked; 17:01 and I hid myself. And he said, 17:03 Who told thee that thou wast naked? 17:08 Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded 17:12 thee that thou shouldest not eat? 17:14 And the man said, The woman, whom thou 17:17 gaveth to me, to be with me, 17:20 she gave me of the tree and I did eat. 17:23 And the Lord said unto the woman, 17:25 What is this that thou hast done? 17:29 And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, 17:32 and I did eat. And the Lord said unto the serpent, 17:36 Because thou hast done this, 17:39 thou art cursed above all cattle, 17:42 and above all beast of the field, 17:44 upon thy belly shalt thou go, 17:47 and thus shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 17:51 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, 17:55 and between thy seed and her seed, 17:57 it shall bruise thy head, 17:59 and thou shalt bruise his heel. 18:02 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly 18:05 multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; 18:08 in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children: 18:11 and thy desire shall be to thy husband, 18:14 and he shall rule over thee. 18:16 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast 18:20 hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, 18:22 and hast eaten of the tree of which I commanded thee, 18:25 saying, Thou shalt not eat, eat it, 18:33 cursed is the ground for thy sake, 18:34 in sorrow shalt thou eat of it 18:35 all the days of thy life; 18:36 thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; 18:40 and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 18:43 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, 18:46 till thou return unto the ground; 18:49 for out of it was thou taken, for dust thou art, 18:55 and unto dust shalt thou return. 18:58 Satan had deceived one third of the ones 19:02 Holy Angels in Heaven and now he moved his program 19:06 to earth with Adam and Eve and he caused them to fall, 19:12 they took his lie and accepted it as the truth. 19:17 They believed Satan over God, 19:19 now all communication between God the Father 19:24 and Adam and Eve would be ended, 19:28 all communication now would be 19:31 through His son Jesus Christ. 19:34 This is what we mean when we think of the dream 19:38 that Jacob had in the book of Genesis where he saw 19:42 a ladder that reached into Heaven 19:44 and rested on the earth. 19:47 This was to illustrate that the communication 19:49 between God and man would be through Jesus 19:53 who represented that ladder and so we find 19:57 that sin is not something to be trifled with, 20:01 it's serious. Satan's main objective is to cut off 20:05 mankind's communication with God, 20:08 how does he accomplish this? 20:11 By enticing people to accept 20:14 his thoughts, ideas, and suggestions. 20:18 Let me repeat that again, by enticing people 20:21 to accept his thoughts, ideas and suggestions 20:25 that he sends to cause them to be 20:28 confused, discouraged and hopeless. 20:31 Every created being whether in Heaven 20:34 or in other worlds or human beings on this earth 20:37 must decide who they will give their 20:40 allegiance to or who they will obey? 20:44 And I'm sure they are those listening who would say 20:46 well that's an easy question to answer. 20:49 Of course, I'm going to give my allegiance to God, 20:52 but if we are going to accept God 20:56 it has to be on a volunteer basis. 20:59 God will not force, he will not pressure, 21:01 he will not used deception or lies or pressure 21:05 to cause people to worship Him or accept Him. 21:09 But on the under hand, Satan uses any method 21:13 as possible, he will lie, he will cheat, 21:17 he will twist the truth, anything he can 21:20 to cause people to follow him. 21:22 Satan's greatest fear is that you and I 21:27 will wake up and smell the roses and realize that 21:31 he is a liar and the father of lies, 21:35 that he is out to destroy us. 21:37 And that Jesus is our only hope, 21:39 this he wants to keep away from you, 21:42 Satan is fully aware that Jesus is stronger than him. 21:45 That he can't defeat Jesus, 21:48 when I think of Jesus versus Satan it's like 21:51 thinking of an elephant and an ant. 21:54 There is no comparison, if we obey and trust Jesus, 22:00 this devil cannot defeat us, it's an impossibility. 22:05 Satan's only chance of success is to cut off 22:09 our communication with Heaven, 22:12 by encouraging people to stop praying, 22:16 to stop studying and to stop witnessing 22:21 and to have half heartedly due to three. 22:24 They don't have to stop all together, 22:27 all Satan wants you to do is to cut it, 22:32 I can remember being unemployed not too long ago. 22:38 And it was one of the worst experiences 22:41 that my wife and I and family ever had. 22:44 I can remember working on the East coast 22:46 at a college as a Athletic Director 22:49 and upon being employed at this college 22:54 the situation was a very challenging one. 22:56 And after three years the Lord really blessed me 23:00 to turn the program around, but because of some 23:04 unfortunate decisions my job was eliminated. 23:09 And so my family and I returned from the 23:13 Washington DC area and we returned to North Carolina 23:18 where I had just unemployment benefits 23:21 and severance pay and it wasn't long 23:24 before all of that was gone. 23:26 And now the devil was really going to work on me 23:29 with his thoughts and ideas and suggestions. 23:31 I thought well maybe I'm not praying enough, 23:34 maybe God is punishing me for our past sins 23:39 but then I remembered the Bible verse that says: 23:42 "If we confess our sins, God is faithful 23:44 and just to forgive us from our sins, 23:46 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 23:49 And after fifteen months of putting in over 23:51 three hundred applications and or resumes 23:55 I came back with zero results. 23:57 Now we were out of money, 24:00 we're not sure what we would do. 24:03 Satan was trying his best to cut us off 24:07 from God but we refused, we prayed and God 24:10 blessed me with a job at Atlantic Union College 24:13 whereby I received the same job, a better pay, 24:16 more responsibility and I'm very happy 24:21 and so for those of you listening, 24:23 the devil is going to attack, 24:25 believe me he will attack. 24:27 But you must trust God regardless 24:30 even if it appears that God has deserted you, 24:32 abandoned you, you must hold 24:35 on to the unchanging hand of God. 24:38 There was an African that I'm told 24:41 who was in prison because of his faith 24:44 and he was going to be executed because he 24:49 refuses to recant and to give up his faith. 24:53 And when he was executed this is the note 24:56 that was found at the spot where he laid. 25:01 It's called The Fellowship of the Unashamed, 25:04 he starts by saying: 25:06 I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed. 25:08 I have the Holy Ghost Power. 25:11 The dye has been set. I have stepped over the line. 25:16 The decision has been made. I am a disciple of His. 25:20 I won't look back, let up, slow down, 25:22 and back away for my past is redeemed, 25:24 my present makes sense, and my future is secure. 25:28 I am finished and done with low living, 25:31 sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, 25:34 colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, 25:38 chintzy giving, and dwarfed goals. 25:40 I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, 25:43 position, promotions, power or popularity. 25:48 I don't have to be right, first, tops, 25:52 recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. 25:55 My pace is set, my gait is fast, my goal is Heaven, 25:58 my road is narrow, my way is rough, 26:01 my companions few, my guide is reliable, 26:05 my mission I cannot be bought, 26:07 compromised, deterred, lured away, 26:09 turned back, diluted, or delayed. 26:12 I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, 26:14 hesitate in the presence of adversity, 26:16 negotiate at the table of the enemy, 26:18 ponder at the pool of popularity, 26:21 or meander at the maze of mediocrity. 26:24 I won't give up, shut up, let up, slow up, 26:27 until I've lifted him up, prayed him up, paid up, 26:30 stored up, and stayed up for the cause of Christ. 26:33 I am a disciple of Christ. 26:36 I must fight while there is time, give until I drop, 26:39 share all I all know, and serve till He comes. 26:42 And when He does come to get His own, 26:44 He will have no problem recognizing me. 26:47 Recognizing my colors, because they will be clear. 26:50 And so as we end this broadcast my admission 26:54 to those who are listening and those who might 26:58 be going through problems at the point of giving up 27:02 and in despair trust God no matter what comes. 27:07 Trust God because God would empty all of Heaven 27:12 to come to your rescue before He would allow 27:14 Satan to defeat you, let us pray. 27:18 Father in Heaven, we thank you 27:20 so much for this sermon, 27:23 we thank you so much for your love, 27:25 we know that Satan's greatest fear is that 27:29 we will wake up and realize that 27:31 you don't send these calamities 27:33 and these problems, but he does, 27:34 we love you and thank you, in Jesus name, Amen. 27:38 We thank you for listening today 27:43 and we ask that you will tune in again, 27:45 may God continue to bless you as you trust Him 27:49 and as you continue to know that He will save you. |
Revised 2014-12-17