Giving Place to the Devil

You know, sometimes as we come to the house of the Lord, we come rejoicing, delighted in the Lord, and I think we should come that way. Sometimes we come with burdens, with desires. Just this morning, earthly life ceased.

Our dear sister Emma Raber took her last breath, last heartbeat. The thanks be to God, as her brother Mel shared already, precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. What will it be for you, when you take that last breath? What will it be for me? To understand from Scripture that it's appointed unto man, once to die, and then the judgment.

A message I feel led to share this morning. It's been on my heart for quite some time, so it wasn't just birthed in the last number of days here, but it's been on my heart. It's a message that applies to all of us, who have come to the age of maturity to be able to discern good and evil, to have an understanding of right and wrong.

It's for husbands, it's for wives, it's for children, it's for employees, it's for bishops, elders, ministers, deacons, brothers and sisters in Christ. It's for all of us. Sometimes messages are more specific.

This message that I believe God has led on my heart is one for all of us and it is my desire today that this message could be to the overcoming of the devil and to the saints pressing on to higher ground. So blessed is the song that hymns I'm pressing on the upward way. Sometimes we elders need a little encouragement from the Lord that, yes, you heard right.

Take courage and preach the Word. But I also recognize my humanity, that in me dwells no good thing. I'm taking my flesh, my earthliness, where I could maybe become harsh or critical even in the preaching or shout at you or get in the flesh.

And I don't want that. I don't want to get in the flesh at all. I could get in the flesh by being afraid to say it like I ought to say it, like the Lord would say it.

Lack of obedience to keeping of this commandment or lightly esteeming this or ignorance of the commandment, maybe some blindness, can bring a lot of heartache, bring a lot of destruction, defeat and division, death and eternal damnation and ruination. So you might say it's a hard message. But glory to God, if the devil is exposed and his hidden works of darkness are exposed and it causes us to come to Christ in repentance and the devil is defeated, then it's a message of victory and of glory to God.

Hallelujah. Let's open our Bibles to Ephesians chapter 4. In verse 17 to the end of the chapter, praise God, we have the Word of God this morning that we can look into. I don't need to preach something of my own invention or thoughts, but we can look into the Word of the Lord.

Ephesians 4.17 This I say therefore and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind. Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart. Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness with greediness.

But ye have not so learned Christ. If so be that ye have heard him and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that ye put off concerning the former conversation, the old man which is corrupt according to the deceitful lust and be renewed in the spirit of your mind. And that ye put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Wherefore putting away lying speak every man truth with his neighbor for we are members one of another. Be ye angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.

Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor working with his hands a thing which is good that he may have to give to him that needeth. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.

The title of the message today is Giving Place to the Devil. Can we kneel together in prayer? Father in Heaven, we bow before You, Lord God. We submit ourselves to You, Lord.

And Father, we ask in Jesus' name, Father, that You would bring light, grace, and truth to bear upon our hearts, Lord. Father, we pray that You would give enlightenment, Lord, and expose any hidden work of darkness, expose any area where Satan is lurking, where he has any place in any of our lives. Father, that this could be a day of defeat to the devil and a day of victory unto the Lord Jesus Christ.

Oh God, I cannot do nothing of that. It's all the work of Your Holy Spirit. So Father, we do ask in the name of Jesus, yes, come gracious, heavenly, holy Spirit with light and truth and comfort from above, Lord.

Father, bless each one that is here today. Open our hearts, Lord, to You. Father, let every thought be brought into the obedience and captivity of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Father, I ask in the name of Jesus that Your Word will have free course, that the light will overcome the darkness and illuminate any darkness. Thank You, Lord God, that You are light and in You is no darkness. And Father, thank You that it is a good thing to sense and feel the spirit of conviction upon our hearts.

It's a good thing, it's the goodness of God that leads us to repentance. It's the goodness and the mercies of God to expose sin so that we may be cleansed and washed in the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ who died for our sins. Praise You, Lord Jesus.

Lord Jesus, walk in the midst of Your people. Let this be a time of blessing from the presence of the Lord. In the name of Jesus we ask, Amen.

Neither give place to the devil. This is a command of Scripture. And I think, you know, at times maybe because of my ignorance or my preoccupation and involvement with life as it just rushes on, I do things in my life, respond to a situation, a circumstance, without a lot of thought.

The Bible says that we should not be ignorant of Satan's devices. Paul said we are not ignorant of his devices, of his wiles, of his character, of who the devil is and his purpose and intent. We're not ignorant of that.

Bob says that the devil is going about and he has a target. He is looking for something. He is looking to whom he may devour.

The devil is going about. Just like he did in the account that we have in Scripture concerning Job. Satan, where were you? Well, I was going up and down to and fro in the earth.

In Revelation we read Satan is cast down. He has come down to you having great wrath. Woe to the inhabitants of the earth! Do I live my life as if there were no devil? As if there were no adversary? As if somehow it's just a playground to have fun and just enjoy life? I would like to pray one more thing.

It was on my heart to pray this earlier and I failed. So, can we just bow our heads in prayer? Father, I do ask in Jesus' name that You would shelter Your little lambs under Your gracious, loving, mighty hand. That there will be no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus and who are not walking according to the flesh.

They love the Lord and they love God and they love His commandments and they are delighted with God and they are free. Their conscience is not guilty. They are free before the Lord.

Lord, I pray that You would shelter Your precious children under Your mighty hand. And Lord, that there would be no condemnation. But Father, I pray where the devil has got a foothold, has a place in anyone's life, I pray that there would be illumination and exposure to those places and those dark areas and the devil could not hide and there would be true acknowledgement of sin and repentance and faith toward God.

Oh, yes, Lord. This is our desire and longing in prayer. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Amen. You know, sometimes we tremble to preach it hard because tender conscience may be disturbed. But I trust the Lord to cover us and to take care of us.

So we're not to give place to the devil. You know, it's sort of like when I become angry, I say, Here, Satan, have a seat. Here's your place.

And that anger in my heart toward my brother, toward my boss, has given a place to the enemy. And just for way of illustration, I just have a chair here. You know, and when Satan has that place, he has gotten some ground, some right.

He's allowed to be there because of that anger in my heart. Are you angry this morning? But I have a right to be the way I was hurt, the way I was treated. You know, and then when there's anger in the heart, it soon grows into bitterness, if not repented of.

And bitterness leads to defilement. It grows down into the heart, into the very nature of the individual. The roots go down and defile.

And as bitterness is allowed to be there, and Satan has this place of hatred and bitterness, then follows hatred. Hatred. I can't stand this person.

They just get under my skin, we might say. In the Scriptures that we've read, the context, he says, Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath.

Giving place to the devil. Leave no room or foothold for the devil. Give no opportunity to him.

I want to just bring in some very practical things here this morning. Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for it. Do you want to talk to us husbands a little bit? Am I the only husband here this morning? No, I know I'm not.

How many husbands do we have? We have lots of husbands. Praise God. Husbands, love your wives, just like Christ loved the church.

That's a high calling. I cannot attain unto it, except by Christ living in me and dying to my flesh, my pride, my selfishness. Husbands, love your wives, it tells us in Colossians 3.19, and be not bitter against them.

See, Christ laid down His life for the church. He gave Himself. When I, as a husband, do not want to lay down my life for my wife, I don't want to give myself.

I want my way. I want my selfish way. I want it to be me.

It's all me centered. Then when I'm disappointed in my wife, and I don't get my way, become a little from disappointment, if not dealt with, surrender to Christ, goes to maybe frustration, that doesn't get taken care of and taken to the cross of Jesus, then it goes to maybe resentment, and we still aren't dealing with it, bringing it to the cross of Christ, then it comes to bitterness. Husbands, love your wives, and don't be bitter against them.

You know, I can't just choose to not love my wife and harbor ill will and ill feeling toward her and say, well, it's not that big a deal. It is a big deal. Because you know what I just did? I just gave place to the devil.

I just gave place to the devil to get into my marriage relationship and to bring division, to destroy, to cut at the very root of the love that I'm to have for my wife, the love of Jesus. Husbands, love your wives, don't be bitter, resentful, harsh. Did your wife ever say, why do you speak so harshly? Can you quickly defend yourself and say, I'm not harsh.

I wasn't speaking harsh. Don't be bitter. Love your wives.

Because you see, when there becomes a division and I harbor any ill will evil thoughts, disrespectful thoughts, dishonoring thoughts, they turn into attitudes that grow and build. And finally, there isn't that honor, giving of honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel, being the heirs to the grace of life. And so, the devil gets a second victory.

Not only does he have his place there in your marriage to bring contention and division, and you know, you can't be on very good speaking terms about really the realities and depths of life. And so now, your prayers are hindered. Because you're not dwelling in unity and in oneness.

So your prayers are hindered. And hindered in the King James is a pretty light word. But rather, it means your prayers are cut off.

Because the relationship is broken down. Because the devil has his place there. I wouldn't want to embarrass anyone to bring anyone up here, but consider, it's like I'm sitting here and my wife is sitting over here.

And the devil has his chair right between us. He has his place there because I'm bitter toward my wife. I've given the devil a place.

Wives, you submit yourself to your own husband. As unto the Lord. Be subjective to your husband.

Just like you are to Jesus. Hallelujah. You know, wives, I share with my wife about this.

I don't really like to preach this. Or the subject for the aged women to teach the younger. But it is in Scripture.

I believe we can share what it says. But, you know, wives, when you choose when you choose your way. Because, you know, my husband, he's just not quite as smart in that area as I am.

He just doesn't have quite the wisdom that I do. And so, if I submit to him, I'm a little scared. I don't know how this is going to turn out.

So, I better keep a hold of the of the steering wheel here. And my foot on the gas pedal and on the brake. I don't know if I can submit to my husband in this.

You know, when you choose your wisdom and your way over submitting to God, you've just given place to the devil. And many times in a marriage, it sort of compounds. The husband gives a little place to the devil.

Well, not the whole chair. We'll just let him have the edge of the seat. The wife gives a little place to the devil.

Well, no, not much. But, you know, it compounds. And the husband's lack of love and his resentment and bitterness result in a response or a reaction.

And, you know, Satan's just got his place there. And he's just smiling. Your prayers are ineffective.

Your marriage relationship is struggling. The children are sensing the tension and feeling it. And the children are seeing the works of the flesh come out.

Anger, unkind words, harsh words, ill treatment, ill will. Sometimes the tension is so thick you could cut it, as they say. Word of expression.

And the devil has his place there. Titus 2 says that the women are to be sober and to love their husbands, to be obedient to their own husbands. So, I just ask you, dear sister, you who are a wife, are you obedient to your husband? Or do you argue and debate and whine and, God forbid, maybe shed some tears till your husband finally relents? Because he wants a wife who's happy.

He wants a wife who's loving, cheerful. And so you can turn on the tears and you can get your way. And I don't have to obey.

But you know when you do that, do you ever consider you're giving place to the devil? Here, just have a seat. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger. You know, we fathers can be very exacting, demanding.

Junior, it's time to grow up. You know better than that. Rather than loving instruction and loving discipline, a demanding, a demanding of perfection, a demanding of provoking.

You know, that gives place to the devil. I could say a lot about all of these subjects that we're talking about. But I want to keep the message very simple this morning.

Keep it very simple, very practical. Children, obey your parents and the Lord in all things. For this is well pleasing unto the Lord.

And like I said, this is for the children who are at the age of understanding and discerning good and evil and right from wrong. We're not talking about toddlers. We're not talking about those that are innocent.

They need instruction. They need correction. They need discipline.

But you know, disobedience to parents is giving place to the devil. Children, young people, to disobey is to dishonor your father and your mother. Are you giving place to the devil? Children, obey your parents in all things.

Don't argue. Don't talk back. I think one of the things that's so grievous at times is to see how children at times just don't have the respect and honor and just are free to talk back.

And I'm not saying we should go back to the way it was in our grandpa's house when he ruled with a rod. And if he just lowered the newspaper a little bit and looked out over the top, everything got quiet. Because you knew what was next if you didn't obey.

Sometimes not even a word spoken. Anybody know what I'm talking about? Anybody remember those kind of things? You know, of our prior generations? But let's look at the biblical honor. Children, honor your father and your mother and obey your parents.

This is well pleasing. Don't give place to the devil. Don't mock your father and your mother.

Don't despise to obey your mother. Proverbs 30.17 He that despises to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out. Employees, do we give place to the devil by disobeying our master? Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters.

Let as many servants as are under the yoke count or esteem their own masters worthy of all honor, fullest respect. We live in a society where honor and respect is falling. Falling.

Don't be one of those who talks bad about the boss behind his back. Don't even think it in your heart. Servants, honor your master.

Show full respect because otherwise the name of God and His doctrine may be brought into disrepute, into disrespect and the name of God be blasphemed. Do I as an employee give place to the devil by talking about the boss, how dumb he is? We ought to do it this way. Boy, if I were the foreman and out comes that pride, arrogance and the devil has his place.

Brethren, ancestors, all of us, speak not evil one of another. Brethren, speak not evil. Oh, let's see.

Do I need a Greek concordance so I understand what it means? You know, it's so simple. Speak not evil one of another. Brothers and sisters, let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth but rather that which is good to the use of edifying.

You see, when I take that liberty and I'm tempted to speak evil of my brother, do I think, now wait a minute, if I speak evil of my brother, I am giving place to the devil. When I accuse my brother, I am siding with the devil. The devil is the accuser of the brothers and of the sisters.

And so when I take up an accusation against my brother and I speak evil of my brother and I malign him and I put him down, that's devilish. That's giving place to the devil. When I'm bragging about myself, jesting, foolish talk, boasting, let it not be once named among the saints.

In Timothy 5, he said about those that wander from house to house, they go from house to house and are idle and they're tattlers and busybodies speaking things which they ought not. Gossips, telling the latest stories, the latest news. Maybe we should really hide this word deep in our hearts.

Jesus said, every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Maybe I should put that on a little card and tape it to the dashboard of my car and put it right next to my computer monitor where I type my emails. Maybe I should put it on my phone where I send my text message.

Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. Speak not evil one of another, brethren. How about the Philippians 4.8 test? Is it lovely? Is it of good report? Is it true? Is it virtuous? Well, we talked about a number of different things.

Maybe we'll get a bit more specific in another way. Scriptures are very clear. Unforgiveness gives place to the devil.

I'm going to hold on to that thing. I'm not going to forgive. Many more Scriptures we could look at.

Broken relationships. Offenses. Jesus said, if you bring your gift to the altar, there remember as thy brother hath aught against thee, leave there thy gift at the altar and go thy way and first be reconciled to thy brother.

Then come and offer thy gift. We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer. Very strong words. Giving place to the devil.

What do I do with my free time? Is there such a thing as free time, spare time, for the child of God? I belong to God. He bought me with His own precious blood. I am His.

And He is mine. What do I watch? What do I look at? My free time, you know? I don't have to be working. Don't have to be doing the other things that are demanded of me, but now I can do what I want to do.

What do I watch? What do I look at? What do I listen to? Do I listen to gossip and evil speaking? What music do I listen to? Is it music that I would be ashamed of? To say, hear Jesus, like Brother Zach said, you've got to hear this. Oh, I like that practical, you know, just take your CD and say, Lord, I've been so encouraged with this. I want you to hear it too.

Or do you listen to music that is dishonoring to the Lord? Music that is inspired of the devil and speaks of wickedness and glorifies sin? You know, when you listen to music like that, my dear friend, you're giving place to the devil. You listen to ungodly music. What do I watch? What do I look at? Satan wants to be very crafty and sneaky, wily.

What do I look at? Seriously. You can maybe grin a little bit, but you know what? What I watch that comes in through these eyes and enters into my heart has an effect. Anything from silly things that just distract us from the Lord, distract us from sobriety and the fear of the Lord.

Do you give place to the devil that way? That instead of being serious about life and sober and vigilant because the devil is going about seeking whom he may devour, instead I'm just going to sit down and laugh and laugh and laugh at this crazy video. Might the devil be laughing with you because it's taking away the fear of God out of your heart and bringing you into a place of complacency and lukewarmness and robbing you of that which is good? When I pick up a book to read, what do I read? You know, it's my leisure time. The work's all done.

Praise God. We've had supper. I got the evening free.

I'm going to pick up a book. Amen. Pick up a book.

But what are you picking up? Have your eye given place to the devil in what we read? In what we look at? In what we click on? That website we go to? Is it wholesome? Is it God-honoring? Or is it devilish? You know, I share these things this morning because I care and because I love you and I don't want to see Satan get a ground and a foothold into your life and lead you into destruction. Internet pornography is by the world's secular society, teachers in the secular world. They're saying it is so massive an epidemic, a flood that is defiling and destroying the generation growing up that they are in trepidation wondering what to do to try to stop this flood of iniquity from ruination and destroying the generations coming on.

If you've given place to the devil in internet pornography, you need to repent and kick the devil out because he's getting a stronghold in your life. Well, maybe I've said enough. Maybe I've said too much.

What are we reading? What are we filling our minds with? What is coming out of our mouths? Who is our teacher? I feel I need to give a warning on this yet also. The blogs, the social medias. You know, now you don't have to go from house to house to spread the rumor or the gossip.

Now you don't have to go from house to house to sow discord among brethren. Now you don't have to go from house to house physically to speak evil or to dishonor. Now all you need to do is post it on the blog.

And I have a real burden for this. I think people are more free to say things on the blog than they would if they were in person. And the discord, the dishonor, the disrespect, the challenge.

It's just laid out there and I really have a great concern for this. Where we do every man what's right in his own eyes and there is no absolute authority. I do what I think.

Submission to brotherhood. Is that even biblical? And we are facing perilous times and Satan comes in wily and sneakily and saying, hath God said. Is this really that important? And there is an erosion.

And now my blog has become my pulpit. And the people that view my blog are my disciples. We don't believe in women preachers, do we? We wouldn't sit at their feet and hear them preach.

But what about if they're preaching on their blogs? I do not want to be misunderstood. Please hear me. There's a right place to ask questions and the Bible tells us where it is.

If a woman have any question, let her ask her husband at home. Do we believe the Bible has wisdom for us for the age and generation we're living in? Do we believe that if we violate those principles and we just throw open the gate of information highway and everybody has their own platform to proclaim their own rightness or challenge? And I'm sorry, but there's a lot of women posting blogs and challenging churches and authorities and the Word of God. And are we their disciples? So I just say this as an encouragement and as a warning to us fathers, me included.

What is my children? Who are my children's mentors? Who are my children's teachers? And like I said, even the secular world is saying something is not coming out right. These children that are growing up on a heavy diet of blogging and social media, something is not coming out right. They're not developing good, sound, strong character.

Something is not coming out right. And so we as Christians, are we going to follow the Lord Jesus? His wisdom? His counsel? So this morning, I just want to bring this to a close. Have you given place to the devil in your marriage? In your relationship with your mother and your father? Your relationship with your boss? Have you given place to the devil in the books you open and read? Have you given place to the devil in the blog sites you visit and the things you say on there? Have you given place to the devil in the websites you clicked on? Have you given place to the devil in evil speaking of your brother or your sister? Let's bow our heads in prayer.

Father, we do thank You that Jesus Christ was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. And we thank You, Lord, that there is a remedy for sin. O Lord God, Father, today we stand before You, Lord.

We bow before You, Lord. And we acknowledge, Lord Jesus, that You are the Lord of Lords, the King of Kings. And that all things whatsoever, men and women, have done in secret.

Everything is open and naked before You, Lord. And Father, I ask in Jesus' name that it would become open and naked before You now, that sin may go beforehand to judgment. Be repented of and the devil be defeated.

And his place be taken away out of the life of any individual that is caught in sin. O Lord Jesus, have mercy upon us. Let's sing a verse of Just As I Am I Come.

And I want to encourage you this morning to just come and do business with God and submit yourself to God. This is a beautiful, powerful verse. Submit yourself to God.

Resist the devil and he will flee from you. He can't stand it when you submit yourself to God. But if you hold on to your selfishness and your rebellion and your sin, then he's got his chair right in the throne of your life.

So come, Just As I Am I Come. I come and we're just inviting you this morning to just acknowledge, humble yourself in the sight of the Lord and confess, and God will deliver you and set you free. And the devil has to flee.

He has no more chair. He has no more room. He has no more place.

He is put under. So today, take courage, my sinner friend, and come to Jesus and let Him cleanse you and wash you. And kick that devil out of your marriage.

Kick him out of your home. Kick him out of your church with evil speaking among brethren. So in discord, kick that devil out in the name of Jesus through humility, through repentance and acknowledgement.

What number is that hymn? Is it 228? 228 Just As I Am I Come. Just going to give an invitation here. God resists the proud.

He gives grace to the humble. Oh, you can come today and find grace and healing. Go ahead, Tim.

What a beautiful song to end with in a message like this. I was just struck this morning as Aaron was sharing, you know, the day that we live in. My, so important.

Just going over the discipleship class. In the discipleship class, reading about that little phrase, depart from me, ye workers of iniquity. And yet it says those people were involved in many wonderful works.

And I had to think to myself, I mean the word iniquity in the Bible is even stronger than the word sin. The word iniquity means perverseness, crookedness. And I believe it's those who have hidden sins in their lives.

You know, there's hidden motives of the heart like the Pharisees had. There's attitudes of the heart that no one sees sometimes except your spouse maybe, those in your home. There's a lust of the eye that maybe one is struggling with.

And I think in that day it will be those motives of the heart, those things in the inner recesses of the heart that will cause Christ to say, ye workers of iniquity, depart from me. And I know this is our day with so much of social media, so much that can take place right in our own room without anyone knowing it. We live in a dangerous day.

You know, parents are finding it difficult sometimes to... You know, I just talked to a parent recently who couldn't believe what his son was doing in their own home. I believe that is what Christ is truly bringing out at the fullest sense at least. Iniquity, crookedness and perverseness, acting like you're someone when inside you know.

And sometimes even the deceitfulness of sin deceives to the point where the person thinks his heart is... You know, when there's a praise of men heaped on one who maybe is appearing righteous, but inside you know the struggles of the heart. And sometimes even such a one deceives himself or herself believing that, hey, I must be fine. So I just plead with you with Aaron's message.

Let's take to heart. Let's take this message to heart. Realizing the day we live in, I know sin has been in the world since the beginning of time, but we live in a time, the Bible says, because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

And thus we give place to the devil. I want to be in that number, brother and sister. Amen? That loves Jesus Christ with all of my heart and mind, soul and strength until the day that I see Him face to face.

May it be so with each one of us. I want to see each one of us there that no one will hear those words depart from me, ye worker of iniquity. I never knew you.

To me that would be just shocking. To think I knew the Lord because of my wonderful works to hear those words. Others care to share this morning? Get up your hand, slip your hand up and a mic will be gotten to you.

Maybe a confession, maybe a comment, maybe something we could all be edified with in the congregation here. Brother Abner up here. I'm very thankful for this message this morning, but thinking about all the different people that Aaron was talking to, not all of them apply to me.

And something that I was thinking about recently was those verses there in Ephesians talking about all the different people that Aaron was talking about this morning. I found it very freeing. A thought just came to me, you know, I have a responsibility in some of those things, but why should I not do my part if the other party is not doing their part? That shouldn't hinder me from not doing my part.

And why should I have to be a loser if the other party wants to be a loser and not do their part? I should be able to be victorious and be a winner. Yeah, so by God's grace, I want to do my part and fulfill, whether it's at the job or my boss. I want to be there to do what God wants me to do.

God bless you, Abner. Rejoice in seeing faithful brethren. Rejoice in seeing God.

In the workplace, in the church. I'd like to give a word of encouragement to everybody concerning social media. Don't be afraid to tune or filter, whatever word you want to use, your social media stream.

I've done that in the past and I've found it to be quite enjoyable once you find good sources of whatever, news or encouragement or whatever it might be that you get on your news feed or social media feed. Don't be afraid to tune it. I've found that really helpful.

And one other thing I've found in my own life relating to my parents is it seemed like the number one thing they focused on was communication, communication, communication. Keeping the communication open. Nothing's too bad to tell us about.

Different stuff like that. And I think that helped me a lot because then I don't think I hid stuff as much and when I did hide stuff, it was easier for me to own up to it. So I just thought I'd give that encouragement that communication and just having open communication where it's free and safe was a real blessing in my life.

I would just add, with the social media or any other thing for that matter, pluck out that eye, cut off that right arm if it's something you can't handle. Much better to enter into life maimed and halted than to have your whole body cast into hell. Yes, I don't know about you all here today, this message, but for myself, I found myself, this is who I have been.

Probably 95% of it. And it really hit hard. This morning I just found a greater rejoicing and thankfulness that Jesus Christ came and He wants to cover that all in the blood.

In Ephesians, I mean in Revelations 21.7 it says, He that overcometh shall inherit all things and I will be His God and He shall be my Son. The verse just before that says, It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.

I will give unto Him that is a thirst of the fountain of water of life freely. This morning in the devotional we heard that He remembers those sins no more as far as the east is from the west. And I'm thankful that that's the Father that we have, but many of us, including myself, remember yet and brings deep regrets.

But the verse says here, I will give unto Him that is a thirst of the fountain of water freely. That fountain is open today yet. Even though God has forgotten some of these things as far as the east is from the west, for us, many times we need to come to the fountain again and again because we remember.

And I found that so comforting. I by no means feel like I've arrived. The Lord is still working on my life.

And I've just found that the next verse here in 8, it's verse 21-8, it says, But the fearful and the unbelieving, and it goes on, it's a whole list there. I just find that every time that myself or someone else is struggling in the things that we heard about this forenoon, it's always, there's always a fear attached to it. Always.

And the next thing comes along and it's the unbelief. If we can get the spirit of fear in our life to fall and the spirit of unbelief to fall, all the rest will fall in place. For me, I have struggled with trusting, trusting the Lord.

And that brings a fear and unbelief. And the Lord has just been teaching me in many different ways to just trust Him. Just trust.

Trust Him. And I find that to be so helpful. Just to trust Him.

Then we can start to understand there, like it said in the book that Brother Emmanuel went through, we can start to see that good is good and evil is good for those that love Him. It helps me to understand that God is getting me to where He wants me through all these means and whatever comes into my life, just to trust Him. You know, Sister Emma Raver has gone on, you know, and we want to be those who hear those words, don't we? I believe she's hearing those words today.

Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of thy Lord. I want to be faithful.

Amen, brethren, sisters? Let's be faithful to the end. You know, when we sing that song, Just As I Am Without One Plea, I often am reminded of the documentary, Itau, which many of us have watched. There was this old man who was very old, and he had a burden in his tribe there that the older people would hear the Gospel.

And he went across stream and river to share the Gospel with the older folks. And they did some live footage there of the work there, and then the commentator said that, you know, the next time you'll take a good look at him, the next time you'll see him, you'll see him in heaven. He had died between the time of the footage and the time when the documentary was produced.

And then they sung the song, Just As I Am Without One Plea. And that just, I don't know, that just really imprinted upon my heart and mind. I want to be faithful, faithful to the end, just like that brother.

Once he got a hold of Christ, he was faithful to the very end. I'm sure he heard those words, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of thy Lord.

Thank you for listening. We hope this message has blessed you. If you would like additional messages, please visit our website at ccfsermons.org Call us at 855-55-CHARITY or write to us at Charity Christian Fellowship, 59 South Groffdale Road, Leola, PA 17540 This ministry is supported by your donations.

May Jesus Christ be Lord of all.