Interesting Sermon

[dvanderdeen]

My pastor spoke about something this Sunday that really opened my eyes. It made me think about things in a way that I never have before. He told us that many good things in our lives are sent to us by Satan. At first this statement seemed very strange to me, but as he went on to explain I realized that I can agree with him. He told us how God has a plan for each and everyone of us, and how he desires to use us for his glory. Satan knows that God has these things planned for us and will stop at nothing to keep us from doing God's work. One tool that he uses that we are all familiar and aware of us playing on our fears, doubts and temptations. He works in our hearts to make us question God and doubt that he really loves us. He makes us doubt God's will. My pastor then went on to tell Satan also tempts us with other things. Remember Jesus being tempted and offered all the kingdoms of the world if he just bowed down and worshiped Satan? Well he tempts us in the same way. He sets a good job before us and a comfortable life so that we feel content and happy where we are. Then when God comes to us with an opportunity to serve him in another way, we embrace that comfortable life and close the doors that God has opened for us. We find excuses not to serve and obligations to keep us busy. His challenge to us was to exam our lives and really look at what we are doing, are we closing the door on God and his work because we've been given something good? He reminded us that God doesn't want what is good for us, but that he wants what is best for us. God does reward us for doing his work and gives us many great things, but if we aren't where he wants us to be, than it is not always a gift from God.

I found it to be a truly amazing and eye opening sermon. I had never really considered that I could be tempted by Satan in that way before this.

 

[SonicBOOM]

I don't think I agree with your pastor.

James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

God will open doors he wants open and close doors he wants closed. Satan doesn't give us good things. He comes to steal kill and destory. Your pastor's ideas almost remind me of Jesus statement "a house divided can not stand". A healing occurs and the people blame it on Satan. Why would Satan [who is bent on destruction] give people good things? It completely contradicts his mission.... there is no way Satan would give us good things in order to draw us further from God because there is no way that any good thing can draw us further from God! Satan always ALWAYS works in counterfits. Everything he tempts us with is far from good. If you receive something good.... it's from God. Thats biblical truth

 

[WileyCoyote]

Run, you demonic spirits of comfort. You have been exposed.

I wish I could have heard that sermon.

 

[SonicBOOM]

Run, you demonic spirits of comfort. You have been exposed.

I wish I could have heard that sermon.

why is confort so bad? Confort CAN be bad if it's misused and obtained for wrong reasons. But confort in and of itself is a GOOD thing.

 

[WileyCoyote]

why is confort so bad? Confort CAN be bad if it's misused and obtained for wrong reasons. But confort in and of itself is a GOOD thing.

I agree with you, Masked Chris. But I think the OP was trying to point out that 'comfort' can be a tactic of the enemy to keep us in an unproductive state. The Bible says that God comforts us, but we have to be discerning enough to tell the difference between God's comfort and the devil's 'comfort'. God will sometimes yank us out of our comfort zones when He needs us to do something for Him. God once woke me up in the middle of the night to pray. That wasn't very 'comfortable'.

 

[dvanderdeen]

I agree with you, Masked Chris. But I think the OP was trying to point out that 'comfort' can be a tactic of the enemy to keep us in an unproductive state. The Bible says that God comforts us, but we have to be discerning enough to tell the difference between God's comfort and the devil's 'comfort'. God will sometimes yank us out of our comfort zones when He needs us to do something for Him. God once woke me up in the middle of the night to pray. That wasn't very 'comfortable'.

Exactly, he wasn't saying that comfort in itself is a bad thing, but that our comfort can be used by the devil to keep us from doing God's work. God provides and gives comfort to us, but we need to make sure we are making our choices for him and not staying with what is comfortable just because it is comfortable. Although I've always known that sometimes we need to leave our comfort zone, what really struck me is the idea of Satan sending good things our way in order to keep us from better things.

 

[Wyvern]

Complacency...

From my own experience...

Is not a good state to be in...

 

[GQ Chris]

I don't necessarily agree with all that. There are Christians who can use their material blessings to bless others even moreso, and then there are those who end up worshipping the created things rather than the Creator.

 

[KarrieTex]

I believe it is a mixture of what everyone is saying. Yes, satan can tempt us with material gain and some fall of it. Remember that the root of evil is the LOVE of money.

However, God also blesses us with material gain.

The key would be the person themselves.

 

[dvanderdeen]

I am probably not stating it clearly although I am trying to... He did not say that material gain is evil, nor did he say that God never blesses us with it. He did not say that we can't use material gain for God's glory. What he did say is that just because things seem good and our life seems comfortable where we are, we can't ignore doors that God opens for us. He said that Satan likes it when we think everything is good and don't want to change. It prevents us from taking those opportunities that God wants us to take. Opportunities where if we take them, not only will we be doing God's will, we will also be more blessed because we are doing God's will. He says, and I believe this as well, that no matter how good or successful we are now, if we follow God's will and do what he asks of us, then we will being even more blessed and more successful. That blessing may or may not be material in nature, but we will be more blessed.

 

[KarrieTex]

I know what he is talking about and that is apathy and it is a HUGE issue in the Body.