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to follow, and we pray these all in Jesus' name, amen. Amen. Okay, we're in John chapter eight. Look down at your Bibles at verse 44, and no, I'm not preaching on replacement theology. I know this is a text verse for that. I'm gonna talk about a little something different. John chapter eight, verse 44, says, ye are of your father the devil, and the lust of your father will ye do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar, and the father of it. And the title of this sermon this evening is What the Devil Doesn't Want You to Know, What the Devil Doesn't Want You to Know. There we see that Satan is not only a liar, but the Bible specifically says here, Jesus is saying in verse 44, that he's the father of lies. So when there's lies being propagated out in the world, we can find all these lies originating with Satan himself, especially dealing with religions, that which is pertaining to the afterlife or the things of God, lies that are said about God, lies that are said about Jesus, about the Bible, they find their origins in Satan himself. He is a liar, and the father of it, the Bible says. Now go to 2 Corinthians chapter number four. The title is What Satan Doesn't Want You to Know, What the Devil Doesn't Want You to Know. The Bible tells us, you're going to 2 Corinthians chapter four, I'm gonna read to you from chapter two, verse 11, Less Satan should get an advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices. So the Bible specifically says, hey, we shouldn't be ignorant of these things, even though Satan is seeking to put the world, leave the world in obscurity and in darkness regarding some truth, we should be not ignorant of his tactics, of his methods, of the wows of Satan, the devices that he's putting forth in order to keep us and the world in obscurity. Now why would someone lie? Why is it that someone lies, puts forth a lie? Why do they do those things? Because they're trying to keep truth from you, right? They don't want you to know a specific truth about something. This is the reason why Satan lies, because he's trying to keep you from knowing the truth, okay? And the Bible tells us in Revelation 12, verse nine, the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. He was cast out into the earth and his angels were cast out with him. So we see here that Satan's deception is worldwide, it's global, he's been doing this since the beginning of time with Adam and Eve, and thereafter, he has deceived the whole world. The Bible says in Ephesians, chapter number two, in verse number two, wherein in time past ye, referring to Christians, walked according to the course of this world, according to what? The prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in time past, in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. So we can say prior to salvation, we walked according to the course of this world, and what does that mean? We were deceived, right? We were in that course, that road of deception, whether in regards to salvation and other truths that the Bible tells us, the Bible says we were caught up in that type of deception. And what does Jesus say? Ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Now what are some things that Satan wants to keep from you? What are some things that Satan is lying to you about, that is deceiving you about, that he's trying to keep you from knowing, what truth is that? Well, the first thing is this, and this obviously does not pertain to us, but it did at one time. He doesn't want you to know that salvation is available. Not the way of salvation, but just that salvation is available, period. Because here's the thing, obviously there's a way of salvation, which is through Jesus Christ, but the vast majority of the world sometimes don't even know that salvation is even available for them. I mean, think about this, China has 1.3 billion people in that country, and the vast majority of them don't even look for salvation. Why? Because they don't even know it's available to them. They don't even know that they deserve hell. They don't even think of the afterlife. They're atheists, they're agnostic, they don't adhere to any specific religion, they don't think about God, they don't think about those things, they don't understand that salvation is available to them because they need it, okay? The Bible says in 2 Corinthians chapter number four, and verse number three, but if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Now, when we go out there in Solon, when we're preaching the gospel, we obviously want to tell people that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. But part of that is teaching them that they're sinners, right? I mean, you gotta teach them that there's a consequence to their sin, that they deserve hell, that if they were to die today, that they would spend an eternity in a place called hell, they're gonna be cast into the lake of fire, and it's in recognition of that that they need a savior, right? They realize, I need a savior, I need to be saved, and that's when we hit them with the gospel. We hit them with the fact that Jesus Christ died on the cross, he resurrected, et cetera. And you may think to yourself, well, this is a pretty obvious point. Yeah, but again, there's 1.3 billion people in China who obviously don't know this. And there's plenty of others in other communist countries that I guarantee you don't even think about God. They don't think about the afterlife. They don't think about salvation. And in fact, those 1.3 billion in China are not the only ones. Generations of those who lived in China have lived, were born, they died, they went to hell, not even realizing that salvation was available to them. Not only that, but he doesn't want them to know the true way of salvation, because once someone knows, oh, salvation is available, God exists, there is an afterlife, then there's another obstacle to overcome, right? What's that obstacle? False religions. There's all types of religions out there that teach a false manner of salvation, that they have to do works, they have to repent of their sins, they have to adhere to sacraments, they have to be baptized, and the list goes on, and on, and on, there's all types of perversions of the gospel, and so knowing that they need salvation is one thing, but getting the right salvation is another. And people have to overcome that. The Bible tells us in Mark chapter four, verse 15, these are they by the wayside where the word is sown, but when they have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and taketh away the word that was sown in their hearts. This happens frequently when you're out sowing, you're preaching the gospel, and you're giving the gospel to an individual, and it seems as though they're getting it, but something happens. They're pulled away by a family member, or for some reason they just lose interest in what you're talking about. I believe that that's Satan coming to snatch the seed out of their heart. He's trying to keep them from the knowledge of the true way of heaven, okay? The Bible says the parallel chapter to that is Luke 8.12, where it says, those by the wayside are they that hear, then cometh the devil, and taketh the word out of their hearts lest they should believe and be saved. Now, turn with me if you would to First Corinthians chapter number two, First Corinthians chapter two. Now look, once you know your need for salvation, once you know the true way of salvation, you have a gospel preacher come to you, give you the gospel and you get saved, I mean, you're good to go, right? You're pretty much good to go, you have eternal life, you have access to the truth, okay? You have access to understanding the Bible, you have access to all these things that God makes available to you at salvation, but there's still some obstacles to overcome because Satan doesn't stop there. Even though he's lost your soul, so to speak, that he can no longer damn your soul, he can't keep the truth away from you because you're already saved, you know, he can still pretty much damage your life thereafter if he wants to, and if you allow him to, okay? Now, what's one way that he doesn't, what's something that he doesn't want you to know? Well, he doesn't want you to know God's word, okay? Because here's the thing, if someone gets saved, they believe on Jesus Christ, great, they go to heaven, but you know what, if they don't get into church, they don't know about the right Bible, they don't know about biblical truth, their lives can be destroyed. They can make all kinds of bad decisions in their life, they can get involved in all types of sin, not be involved in a local New Testament church, and it can ultimately ruin their lives, okay? So he wants to keep them, he wants to keep us from God's word. How does he do that? Well, first and foremost, there's not false versions of the Bible out there. NIVESV, he gives you a myriad of different choices of the Bible, right? And he popularizes the false versions so that you don't go for the right one, okay? Which is the King James. But even aside from that, how about you, well, I already know the King James Bible is the word of God. Well, you know what, he can cause you to become distracted with the riches of this world, the lust of other things entering in. He can allow you to become bitter towards another individual. And in fact, in 2 Corinthians 4, when the Bible talks about his devices, it's actually referring to bitterness. He can cause that to take place in your heart so that you're not reading the word of God, you're not adhering to its principles, you're not getting what you really need to get out of God's word. You know, he could cause you to be busy in life, right? I mean, we're always busy, okay? There's always something more to do, there's always a trial that's coming forth, there's always something taking place in our life that can really push out our time spending time in God's word, okay? And that's often a part of Satan's agenda to try to get you away from God's word. You say, well, you know, it's just one day that I missed, or it's just a few days that I missed. Yeah, but a few days adds up. And often it's a lot more difficult to pick up the Bible and read it if you haven't read it for an entire week, okay? The Bible says in 1 John 2, you're in 1 Corinthians, I have written unto you fathers because you have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you young men because you are strong and the word of God abideth in you and you have overcome the wicked one. So we overcome Satan, obviously at salvation by believing on him, but even thereafter, how do we overcome Satan? How do we overcome his temptations, his devices, the things that he puts forth to destroy us by God's word? Right. We overcome him by God's word. We don't overcome him the Pentecostal way, by trying to cast him out and curse Satan and exorcise the demons out and all these things. You know, we don't overcome him the Catholic way by throwing holy water all over the place and putting the Virgin Mary in crucifixes all over the place. We overcome him by the word of God. How did Jesus overcome Satan in the desert? He did it by the word of God, okay? Because you can do nothing against the truth before the truth, the Bible says. So we need to use the truth in order to overcome Satan. You say, why is that? Because Satan, again, is the father of lies. And Satan doesn't come with a red cape and a pitchfork and a long tail and horns. He doesn't come in that manner. The Bible actually says he comes as an angel of light. So he comes as an angel of light. He seeks to deceive you. Why is he coming as an angel of light? Why doesn't he come like a devil with horns and a pitchfork and all that, the way people would perceive a devil to be? Because then you would know it's him. Why doesn't he come looking like Baphomet? Right off the bat, because it would scare the crap out of you if that was the case. You would know right off the bat. So what does he do? He comes as an angel of light because he wants to deceive you, the Bible says. He's trying to deceive you into believing a lie, and therefore we need to cast down imaginations in every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. So the battle is actually in our mind. You're not fighting demons physically, okay? I remember I had a friend, he was a Pentecostal guy, and this is actually prior to getting saved, and he'd tell me, he's like, my dad kills demons. And his dad was a pastor. And you know, I'm like not even saved, and I thought that was pretty cool. I'm like, for real? He's like, he slays demons. I'm like, how? You know, and I'm going through all the Hollywood movies that I've seen, and I'm like, maybe that is possible, you know what I'm saying? And he's like, yeah, he goes to sleep, and he's like slaying demons in his sleep and stuff, and he's sending them to hell. I'm like, dang, that's cool. You know, walk me through that. Like, how does that? But obviously, looking back, it's like that's a bunch of nonsense. Either the guy was just a complete false prophet liar, or the dude is just having too many onions on his burger prior to sleeping. I mean, those are some pretty crazy dreams that the guys have. But that guy literally thought that that's how you fight off demons. Is by, you know, three on one in a dream or something, you know, where you're just going at it and slaying them like that. And by the way, looking at that pastor, it's just like, yeah, you would need to fight a demon in your sleep, because physically, you don't really look like you would be able to do much. Okay? But you know, we don't war against flesh and blood. So where's the battle? It's in the mind. And why is it in the mind? Because it's a lie that Satan seeks to put into your mind to believe a lie, because that's the greatest way for him to take you down is by you believing a lie. So how do you combat it? With the truth, okay? But here's the thing. How do you know the truth if you don't read the Bible? How do you know the truth if you're not walking with God, you're not reading the Bible, you're not listening to preaching, you're not constantly having the truth entering into your heart, so that when the lie comes, you're able to perceive it and say, this is a lie, I'm not gonna accept this, okay? We overcome the wicked one when the word of God abideth in us. The Bible says in Revelation 12, 11, and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb, of course, because they're saved, and by the word of their testimony, and they love not their lives unto death. Look at 1 Corinthians 2, verse 9. I mean, think about this, folks. You know, there's a lot of Christians out there who are saved, obviously, that we've gotten saved, and they never come to church. They never come to church. You know, sometimes people, they hate that, you know, they're like, man, does so many even work? Of course it works, because so many is not to get people in the church, so many is to get people saved, right? It just so happens that in the day and age in which we live, so many is not the most effective way to get people in the church, okay? The most effective way to get people in the church is by people in the church inviting their family, people in the church having babies, amen? Church transfers, amen? That's how you do it. But you know, there's people out there that get saved, but they never come to church, and they're missing out on a whole lot. I mean, aren't they missing out on a lot? And why are they missing out? Is it because Satan is hiding the blessing from them? No, he's actually hiding the word of God that reveals what the blessing is. Because once they find out what God's blessing is, what they'll get if they obey God, that's a great motivation for them to obey the Lord, right? Well, look what the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 9. But as it is written, I have not seen, nor ear have heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love him. Plenty of people out there, they're saved, and you know what, they have no idea what God has for them. They have no idea the blessing that can be upon their lives on their marriage, on their children, at their job, in their personal life. I mean, God wants to bless them. And he says, these people have not seen that. They haven't heard that, it hasn't entered into their hearts. Verse 10, I like this, but God has revealed them unto us by his Spirit, for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. Who is he talking to, the church of Corinth? You know, if you're in church, then you hear about those things. If you're in church, you perceive those things, you see those things, you see it and you know it's real. Right? You hear a sermon on how to improve your marriage, your child rearing, your personal life, and you see the love that God has towards you, okay? And it'll reveal them to you by the Spirit. Verse 11, for what man knoweth the things of man save the Spirit of man which is in him, even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God. So what does Satan not want you to know? He doesn't want you to know God's word. That's why it's important that you open up the Bible and you read it every single day. That you come to church and you listen to the preaching of God's word every single Sunday, Thursday. You try to get as much Bible content in as possible because there's a nugget of truth that God wants you to get that Satan does not want you to listen to. And look, there's times, you know, where you're going through an issue, you're going through a problem, and I might not even know about your problem. Most of the time I don't. And God lays it on my heart to preach a sermon for your sake, you know what I mean? To rebuke you or to give you hope or to encourage you. And that's like your time of visitation. So when God wants you to get something from God's word, you know what happens is you don't come to church, you don't get it. You miss out. And yes, I mean, God even uses me to kind of, God kind of rats you out and puts something in my heart to preach something and it's like, man, I needed this or something. You know, but unfortunately, you know, sometimes people, they miss out on what God has for them. They miss out on the biblical truth because they're not learning God's word because Satan is trying to keep it from them. Okay. Now go to Proverbs, if you would, Proverbs chapter 20. Proverbs chapter number 20. Let me turn there myself. Proverbs chapter number 20. We're talking about what Satan doesn't want you to know. Proverbs chapter 20. Now what's the next thing he doesn't want you to know? Well, he doesn't want you to know about the consequences of sin. That's something that he's trying to keep as secret as possible. Okay. He wants you to know it's pleasurable. He wants you to know that the pleasures of sin are for, and then he leaves that blank. He just wants you to know that it's fun, it's pleasurable, it's enjoyable, you'll like it, but he never wants to tell you the consequence of that sin. Why? Because if you knew the full extent of that consequence, you wouldn't commit it. So what is something that Satan does not want you to know? He doesn't want you to know the wages of sin is what he was trying to keep from you. Okay. Satan tries to sell you a bill of goods. Now let me show you something that in the book of Proverbs, that really symbolizes Satan, okay? Look at Proverbs 20, verse 14. It is not, it is not, saith the buyer. When he's gone his way, then he boasteth. Now what does that mean? Well, the picture we see here is someone bartering for something, right? And the buyer comes to the person who has the goods and says, this is nothing. Just sell it to me for cheap. It's nothing, it doesn't even matter. And he's like, all right. And he sells it to him. And what does he do when he walks away? He boasts. Like, ah. He basically Jews them. Right? That's what it says. It is not, it is not, saith the buyer, no, this isn't even worth that much. Look at it, it's all kinds of problems. The wheels don't work. How old is this thing? He points out all the issues and all the problems. And then the person who's selling it is like, all right, well, I'll sell it to you for cheap. And then when he takes it, what does he do? He boasts. You know, some of you are like that when you're bargaining on offer up or something. It's like, man, I got such a good deal on this. I talked him down to the very lowest, you know? It is not, it is not, saith the buyer. This is Satan's device right here. He got something that was worth a lot more for nothing. All right? This is like him buying someone's virginity for nothing. Oh, it's not, virginity or innocence. What is that, go have fun. Go sleep around, go fornicate, go enjoy life. It's a small price to pay. And then he walks away and what does he do? He boasts. He was able to remove the innocence of a young person and they give up their virginity, they give up their innocence. And what does Satan do? He boasts about it, that's what he does. You know, he removes your good reputation. He purchases your good reputation for nothing. For some sin that you're not even gonna enjoy. For some situation you're not even gonna enjoy. And what does he do? He boasts thereafter. He says it's not, your virginity doesn't even, it's not even worth that much. Your innocence is not even worth that much. You know, your reputation, it's not even worth that much. And then what does he do? He walks away and he's like, I got myself another deal. I made another deal. It is not, he says your family, it is not, it is not. Your children, your job, anything that you would hold dear to your life, Satan wants to buy for cheap. How does he buy that from a young person? With some slut out there, some whore? Who is hunting for the precious life of a young man? Some e-boy out there that's trying to hunt for the precious life of a girl, right? He says, it's nothing, you're not even that, you're not even that good looking. You're not even that handsome, you're not even that pretty. You're just kind of, you should just go for this. You're not gonna find anybody in church. Just, this girl's paying attention to you out there, doesn't matter if she's not saved, doesn't matter if he's not saved, you know, they're giving you the attention, just go for it. It is not! But then what happens, he turns around and he boasts. And you know what he typically boasts about? He typically boasts to you and says, that's how much you're willing to sell that for? Isn't that what Satan does? He tells you, he tries to tempt you with the sin, and then once he has you give in to the sin, what does he do? He rubs it in your face. Say, oh man, and you're a Christian? Oh man, and you go to first works? Oh man, this is what you do, why? Because he's the accuser of the brethren. It is not, it is not, saith the buyer, but when he has gone his way, then he boasts it. He's a liar, and he's trying to keep the consequences of sin away from your life. Go to Genesis chapter 25, if you will, Genesis chapter 25. He got something that was worth a lot more for nothing. Let me say this, is that Satan unfortunately has a trophy case worth of bargains that he has gotten throughout the years, right? Solomon was a trophy. David was a trophy. You know, Samson was a trophy. The strongest man of the Bible, the wisest man of the Bible, the godliest man of the Bible, all fell into sexual sin. You know? And he had, I mean, they're laid down in the Bible for us to read about, to be admonished about, to be instructed about, about what? About the buyer. I mean, Samson is the strongest man of the Bible. He's a man of value, and God bought that value with Delilah. Something that was cheap. Not God, Satan bought that value, that, bought Samson's value with Delilah. You look at David. David was the godliest man in the Bible. He's the sweet psalmist of Israel. What did the devil do? He bought that reputation. With who, with Bathsheba? Something cheap? You look at Solomon. Solomon was the wisest man in the Bible. He was used greatly of God to rebuild the temple. I mean, he wrote the book of Proverbs. He wrote the book of Ecclesiastes. And what did Satan buy that virtue with? He bought it with a bunch of wives and concubines that turned his heart away from God. And what did Satan do every single time he did that? He turned around, and he was boasting about it. Let's look at an example of this. Look at Genesis 25 and verse 28. It says, And Isaac loved Esau, because he did eat of his venison, but Rebekah loved Jacob. And Jacob sawed pottage, and Esau came from the field, and he was faint. And Esau said to Jacob, Feed me, I pray thee, with that same red pottage, for I am faint. Therefore was his name called Edom. And Jacob said, Sell me this day thy birthright. Now, unfortunately, Jacob means like deceiver. That's probably why his name had to be changed, right? To Israel. But Jacob, the heel catcher, he's a deceiver. He's like, Sell me your birthright, and I'll give you this pottage. Folks, pottage for a birthright? Are you serious? A bowl of beans for your birthright. Esau said, Behold, I am at the point to die, and what profit shall this birthright do to me? Go tell your mom to make you a bowl of pottage. What do you mean? Just go get it somewhere else. Jacob said, Swear to me this day, and he sware unto him, and he sold his birthright unto Jacob. Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils, and he did eat and drink, and rose up, and went his way. Thus Esau despised his birthright. And what do we see later on in Hebrews chapter 11? That he sought it carefully with tears, but he found no place for repentance, the Bible says. You don't really know the consequences of your sin until it's already too late sometimes. Jacob, who is the deceiver, who represents Satan here, he's like the buyer who came, said, It is not, it is not. Just sell me your birthright. Just sell me your blessing for this bowl of beans, because you're going to die. If you don't eat this, you're going to die. Is he really going to die? I'm sure he could have just gone to mom and just be like, Mom, make me a bowl of pottage. Make me some beans. You know, feed me because I'm about to die. But you know what this is called? And by the way, that's called delayed gratification, amen? He wanted something right away, and it cost him more than he wanted to pay, because later he realized he messed up. It was later when he realized, man, this guy's boasting against me now because he took my birthright. The Bible says in Proverbs 20, verse 17, Bread of deceit is sweet to a man, but afterwards his mouth shall be filled with gravel. Very similar to what we see with Jacob and Esau. You know, bread of deceit is sweet to a man, and when he eats it, it tastes good, but afterwards, it's like your mouth is filled with gravel. It's like when you drink Diet Coke or something. I'm probably a fan of a lot of people. Or those bang energy drinks or something. You drink, oh, this tastes great, and then you got that aftertaste, and it's like, ugh, you know? It's that diet stuff, it's like, ah, that tastes weird. It gives you that weird aftertaste. How many of you guys know what I'm talking about? And some of those keto products too, but we're not gonna get into that, all right? You taste it, and it's like, oh, it tastes good, but then afterwards, it's like your mouth is filled with gravel. It's like this doesn't taste that good. The aftertaste is horrible. Well, that's how sin is. Sin tastes sweet initially, but then when you swallow, and it goes into your stomach, it leaves that nasty aftertaste, and it leaves you wondering, man, why did I even eat this? I should've just ate real bread. Why did I have this? I should've just drank water. Why did I do this? I should've just gotten regular Coke rather than Diet Coke. Why do I do this to myself? Okay? And so what does Satan try to lie to you about? What is he trying to keep from you? He's trying to keep from you this matter of the consequences of your sin. You know, he tries to butter up and make sin look very pleasurable and nice, and you're gonna enjoy it, it's gonna be great, but he never shows you the consequence of that sin. And I heard someone explain it this way. It's like a glutton, okay, who sees a bowl of whipped cream, right? And it just looks delicious. It's just whipped cream all the way to the top, and he's like, and he just goes, and he just fills his face with that whipped cream, but the bowl is actually filled with excrement. But isn't it true? That's basically what it is. You're like, yeah, what in the world? Like, you would actually forget about the whipped cream because you're tasting all the excrement. Yeah, that's how sin is. One, the moment you bite into it, the excrement actually overshadows the whipped cream. It's like gravel compared to bread, understand? And so this is a good reminder to us all, go to Hebrew chapter 10, this is a good reminder to us all that don't play with sin. And obviously we don't believe in sinlessness. We don't believe that we can be sinless this side of eternity. We need to make sure that we confess our sins daily. But you know, there's certain sins that we don't have to commit this side of eternity. Fornication, adultery, drunkenness, you know? There's certain things that we don't have to do, drugs, gambling, there's certain vices that we don't have to partake of, and what we're supposed to do is be reminded of those things, okay? And never take it lightly. Look at Hebrew chapter 10, verse 26. For if we sin willfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the truth. There remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. What's one of the things that keeps you right with God? Well, number one is obviously knowing that we love the Lord, knowing that we're gonna be blessed with God if we don't sin, but also fearfulness, right? We fear the judgment and fiery indignation of God, which is good. You know, loving God will keep you in the will of God, recognizing you'll be blessed of God if you obey Him will keep you in the will of God. But another thing is this, is just knowing that you'll be judged of God, okay? He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses. Of how much sore punishment suppose ye? Shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under the foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant wherewith he was sanctified in unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace. For we know him that hath said, vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense saith the Lord, and again, the Lord shall judge his people. We often look at that verse and apply it to the reprobates. And it's absolutely true. But here, it's not for the reprobates. Here, it's for God's people. And he's saying, I will strike vengeance upon you if you sin willfully without getting right. If you're just unrepentant, you don't get right with God, he's gonna strike vengeance on you. What are some of the things that Satan doesn't want you to know? Go with me, if you would, to Psalm 73. Let me read to you from James chapter one, verse 13 says, Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God. For God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man. But every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own lust and enticed. Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin, and sin when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren. You look at all these examples of men of God who fell in the Bible. One of the things I would often say is this, she pleaseth me well, right? So they were looking for the immediate pleasure of that relationship. They were looking for the immediate pleasure of stealing the shekels and the silver and the Babylonian garment. But they never thought of the consequences that could come after that. You know, Achan, when he's stealing the gold, the Babylonian garment, when he's stealing those things and he's hiding them under the earth, he never would have thought that it was gonna cost him the life of his family. He never took into consideration the fact that it would cost his family's life one day. He was selfish, he never saw that. Why is that? Because that's something that was Satan that was hiding from him, okay? The Bible tells us the soul that sinneth it shall die. Satan has a trophy case full of bargains. Don't become one of those trophies. You know, let's not be a church of trophies for Satan. Hey, raise up some children that don't become trophies for Satan. And you know, I've been a Christian for 14 years and I've been in a church for about 10 years, a specific church for 10 years, and it was a church that was around for many decades and I've seen a lot of young people become trophies for Satan, unfortunately. Young men and young ladies who had a lot of potential, they could have done great works for God and they grew up and they allowed the buyer to come and sell them a bill of goods and just completely ruin their lives, destroy their lives. They were willing to sell their birthright and you know what, now, years later, they're looking back, regretting the decisions that they made and recognizing this is like, I bought this from Amazon and you know, it didn't look like the picture. What's that other place? Wish. It's like, wow, this looks great. You pay for it, bring it, it's like, what is this? Some trashy product, right? But that's exactly how sin is, folks. Sin is like wish. Pay all kinds of money and you get a crappy product. Shout out to wish. Look at Psalm 73. You know, sometimes people, especially young people, one of the reasons they're still willing to buy into what Satan has, the sins of this world, it's because they're too busy looking at other people, their friends, their worldly friends and how much fun they're having or whatever. Look what it says in Psalm 73, reminds me of this in verse one, truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. But as for me, my feet were almost gone. My steps had well and I slipped, for I was envious of the foolish when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. So notice that he comes out and says, you know, God is good to Israel, you know, even to such as are of a clean heart. But me, it's a little different. Oh, woe is me. What is he doing? He's just having a little pity party, right? And why is he having this pity party? Because he's envious at the wicked, he's envious at the foolish. He's envious at his buddies who are out partying on Friday or doing whatever. And of course, throughout the chapter, he goes through everything that they're involved in. Look at verse 16, go down to verse 16. When I thought to know this, it was too painful for me until I went into the sanctuary of God, then understood I therein. So here's some advice for young people. Whenever you feel envious at your buddies, whenever you feel envious at your buddies who are on TikTok and they're, you know, have 100,000 views or something like that, and man, maybe if I just did something like that, or maybe if I just became worldly, and maybe if I just become like this girl, this guy, maybe I can get that, you know, go to church. And you'll understand their end. See, what does coming to church do for you? It helps you to realize the consequences of those actions. It reminds you of the consequences of those actions. It's basically God showing you, hey, this is what you're really buying, by the way, if you purchase this. Let me show you, so me, God sends me, right? And I basically come to you and I say, hey, you know, you need to sit on this because this is actually what you're gonna buy. Look at this, it doesn't even come with batteries. It's falling apart, the paint's chipping off. This is a horrible bargain. This is a horrible buy. Don't buy this. And all of us at one time or another have been gypped, right? All right, we've been gypped. You know, you've been, you know, you purchase something on Craigslist or OfferUp and then you, you know, you drive away or you get it and you're just like, they just, they lied. You thought you were getting yourself a bargain. And then they go away and they boast. You say, well, how do I avoid that? Well, come to the sanctuary of God and you will remember their end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places. Thou castest them down into destruction. How are they brought into desolation as in a moment? They are utterly consumed with terrors. Go to Proverbs chapter 10, if you would, Proverbs chapter 10. What does Satan not want you to know? He doesn't want you to know that sin has consequences and sin has, and sometimes they're very severe consequences. That sometimes there are certain sins that you can commit that can just completely destroy and decimate your life and it can radically change your life forever. But he also doesn't want you to know that your obedience will bring about God's blessing. Because he tries, Satan tries to paint the picture of the Christian life as just being boring. What fun is there in the Christian life? What are you gonna do? You just come to church, you sit down, you sing these boring songs. You just go sowing, you come back and you read your Bible and all these things and just, you know, it's not fun. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, that's right. Yeah, it is fun to drink on Saturday night and wake up Sunday morning just throwing up your guts until that vial's coming out of your mouth and you have a hangover all day. I forgot how fun that was. It's not fun. That's what he tries to compare it to. Oh, wouldn't you rather just be on Friday night with your friends hanging out with your girls and your boys and drinking and smoking and being worldly? No, because I don't want to be raped. No, because I don't wanna wake up with a hangover. Did anybody wake up with a hangover today? Yeah, that's right, you better not. The only hangover that I wake up with is like a sugar hangover. How many know what a sugar hangover is, okay? You wake up and you're like, ah, too many, you know, too much donuts or something, you know? You're just like, that bowl of cereal that I ate was a little too late last night. But you know what, that still pales in comparison to the hangovers that I'm sure the world is experiencing on Sunday morning, okay, where they're throwing up their guts and they feel like trash and all they do is sleep all day and all these things. You know, that's not fun. Hey, a DUI is not fun. Hey, driving in a car, getting in a car accident and killing your buddy, your passenger, is not fun. Right? Oh, but it was so fun that night, we had such a good time. We made all kinds of memories. Yeah, none of those memories pale in comparison to the consequences of your actions. Killed your buddy, got a DUI. On your record for all of your life, you have to live with that. But he doesn't want you to know that your obedience will bring about God's blessing. Proverbs 10, 22 says, the blessing of the Lord it maketh rich and he addeth no sorrow with it. I said, when God blesses you, he doesn't add any sorrow. I don't know about you, but I have a great time in the Christian life. I'm not saying that there's not conflict, there's not problems and trials. Duh. I mean, there's always problems in life, right? But I'd rather face these problems as a Christian than as an unsaved person, or I'd rather face these issues and problems as an obedient Christian than as a rebellious Christian. Because at least I know if I'm facing these issues now, it's not because I'm not right with God, it's just part of the process of being a Christian. Rather than someone who's being chastised out there, they're suffering those things and they have to wonder, is God punishing me? Yeah, he probably is punishing you. The blessing of the Lord, it maketh rich and he doesn't add any sorrow to it. It's not a sorrowful thing to be a Christian. If you're a sorrowful Christian, that's your fault. You need to lighten up, you need to read the Bible, you need to go soul winning, you need to do something for the Lord and add some excitement to your life. But Satan wants you to think, well, the Christian life is just boring. Read the same book every time, all day, every day, you just gotta read through Genesis to Revelation, you gotta hear all this preaching against sin. Well, you know, I don't know if you know this, but the new man loves those things. He delights in the law of God after the inward man, the Bible says, right? So if you don't delight in those things, this probably just means because you're just a fleshy Christian. Because the carnal mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. The carnal man does not like those things. So if you're sitting in the area just like, I don't like this preaching, I'm just singing the same song, John's over here up singing, he doesn't even sing that good, and he's off, and we're singing the same song again, and all these things. You know, it's not John's fault. It's not the handbook's fault. It's not my fault. If you don't delight in those things, it's probably because you're not walking in the Spirit. Because the Spirit loves those things. Yeah, but you know, blessed assurance and stuff, and Mark was holding out that note, and you know, it's just, ugh, again? And then Jason on the cymbals, sometimes he gets it right, sometimes he doesn't. I mean, can we just like, you know, get some CCM in here? No. No! Why, because that feeds the flesh. Doesn't feed my flesh, because that stuff is gay. But there's Christians out there that feeds their flesh. I want my Spirit to be fled, and you know what? If there's ever a time in my life where I feel like I'm indifferent towards the things of God, it's not God's fault, it's not the church's fault, it's my fault because I'm not walking in the Spirit. If there's ever a time when I'm reading God's word, and I'm just like, indifferent towards God's word, I don't have an appetite towards God's word, it's no one else's fault but my own. I need to walk in the Spirit to delight in the law of God, you understand? Because the inward man loves that stuff. He loves preaching, he loves singing the hymns, he loves soul-winning, he loves people, he loves the mundane and boring things of the Christian life because they're not boring to him. Right. Yeah, but I want to get like, tattoos and stuff. I want to get like, a bird on my back or something. Yeah, but once you turn like, once you turn like 80, it's going to become like a pterodactyl or something. Back in the day, these girls, they used to wear, they used to tap these butterflies on their lower back. By now, it's like a pterodactyl. Right? It's like, you know skin gets wrinkly after a while. Right. It's like, it's like they tattoo their name on their back, but by the time they're 80, it turns into like, old English. It's like, what's your name again? You have to like, stretch out, like, oh! But that's what you thought was fun! Oh, it's great to get all these tattoos, it's great to get all these piercings. Though, what do you call them, the plugs? Right. Dude, don't get a plug. That's another subject. You guys know what I'm talking about? Those earplugs? Where they get these piercings that are like, this big. Folks, I mean, a tattoo, I'm not for tattoos, but at least you can cover up the tattoo. Right? The plug, once you remove the plug, you just got a huge hole hanging. Like, I'd be afraid to like, get my ear caught somewhere. Wherever I go. You just completely deformed your body. Not fun! Oh, but Satan comes to you and tells you, oh no, it's great to look like a freak. It's great to get all these piercings and tattoos, and oh yeah, you should tat your face like these rappers on their face, and just, it's great. Yeah, it's great till you grow up and you need a job. But you can't get one, because you have an obscene word on your forehead. It's like, what in the world? Folks, obeying God is fun. You say, how do you know that? Well, I'm having fun right now, I'm making fun of that stuff. And I go home with a clear conscience. Like, I can tell you, I'm having a great time in the Christian life. I've had a great time for the last 14 years. I've had a great time in the Christian life for the last 14 years, and you know what? We said, well, have you suffered any trials? Yeah, we've suffered some trials. That's like, that's a given. Duh. But I've still had a good time. Even in those trials, I had a good time. You know, the Bible says in Hebrews 11, 25, that Moses chose rather to suffer the afflictions with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. And here's the thing, sin is for a season, folks. Affliction is also for a season, though. Okay? And God tells us in Psalm 1, verse one, blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth he meditate day and night. He shall be future, like the tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit, when? Immediately? No, in his season. So often, Christians can become disillusioned with the Christian life, because they don't see the results right away. But what they have to realize is it comes in his season. You don't want mushrooms. You want the real deal. Mushrooms grow overnight. Real good fruit comes in his season. The Bible says, let us not be weary in well-doing, Galatians 6, verse nine, for in due season, we shall reap if we faint not. Go to Psalm 103, if you would. Here's my last two points. What does Satan not want you to know? He doesn't want you to know, he doesn't want you to know this, he doesn't want you to know that there's always a second chance. Because obviously, you know, there's people that, maybe they didn't obey that first admonition of not getting involved in sin, and yeah, maybe they suffered some consequences because of that. Well, you know, that's okay. There's always a second chance. But Satan doesn't want you to know that there's a second chance. He doesn't want you to know, hey, God will take you back if you're a prodigal son. He doesn't want you to know that God is forgiving and he'll take you back. Why? Because he knows that God can restore you. He knows that you can become like a Peter who comes back and does great works for God. He knows of the potential of an individual who is forgiven, who is restored, who gets working for God and is blessed with the Lord. Therefore, he tries to keep you in obscurity in that regard. No, if you go back, you're gonna be all ashamed, and it's gonna be embarrassing, everyone's gonna know about your sin. Pastor Mejia told everyone in the church about your sin, you know, when you got excommunicated, and all these things, it's just gonna be, no, just stay out in the world. You're already saved. Just leave it at that. Just live for the world and all these things. Whereas God says, no, there's a second chance. He says, is there a second chance for everyone? I would say yes. And for those who forfeited their second chance and they're dying to go to heaven, well, they can go to heaven. I mean, that's better, isn't it? Look at Psalm 103, verse eight. The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. I love this verse right here in verse number nine. He will not always chide. There's sometimes when maybe you sin and you think God's mad at you, he might be a little mad. You know what the good thing is? He will not always chide. Nor will he keep his anger, neither will he keep his anger forever. He had not dealt with us after our sins, nor rewarded us according to his iniquities, or to our iniquities, excuse me. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy towards them that fear him. So you know what God says? I haven't even dealt with you according to what you actually deserve. You've sinned, you've done wrong, but I haven't even dealt with you according to that. The level of that sin that you've committed. Why is that? Well, because in recognition of that, we should see the goodness and forbearance of God, and in turn should lead us to repentance. We say, man, I don't deserve, I deserve so much worse. And God's been so good to me. I want to come back. I want to be restored. You know, I want to be forgiven. As far as, east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. I didn't really know this until I had children myself. You don't really know this until you have your own children. You actually have pity towards your children, especially when they're so little. You pity them. They're so helpless. You know, my son, his eyes right now, he's just a little baby, and he's just like, he's like, mama, mama, mama. And it's like, you know, you could think, stop crying, but really, you know what it is, is like, we pity that. It's like, come here, son. You pick him up, and it might be for a selfish reason that he's crying or whatever it may be, but there's a lot of pity in my heart for my son when he does things like that. How much more God with us. When you sin, you do wrong, and you repent of that, God pities you. And why does he pity you? Because he knows, well, let's read on. Verse 14, for he knoweth our frame. He remembereth that we are dust. As for man, his days are as the grass, as the flower of the field, so he flourisheth. What is it basically saying? Hey, you know, there's a second chance. Don't let Satan tell you that you don't have another chance, that you're done, that God is through with you, God's no longer gonna bless you. Don't dwell on the past. Recognize there is another chance. If you're still alive, there's another chance. If you're still breathing, you still have another chance. If you're still in church, and you're trying to do right, you still have another chance. Satan, on the other hand, doesn't want you to know that, though. And then lastly, this, he doesn't want you to know that there's an end to your trial. Everyone's gonna experience a trial one time or another, and here's the thing with trials. When you're in it, it just feels like it's never gonna end. It's just like, is this ever gonna end? I feel like I've been here forever. Well, the lie of Satan is like, no, it's never gonna end. This is how the, this is what you wanted. Isn't this what you wanted? This is the Christian life that you wanted? Just miserable, and you're just going through this, and God's not even delivering you, and it's just the darkest season of your life. It's a lie. No trial lasts forever, folks. Not even the Great Tribulation lasts forever. It's only 75 days, and that trial lasts for 75 days, and the Bible says that it's the worst tribulation that the world has ever seen, and that one doesn't even last forever. That's how trials work. Now, your trial may not be 75 days. It might be long, but just know this. There's an end. Jesus said the things concerning me have an end. He knew it was like, this is gonna end one day. It's gonna be finished. But Satan wants you to think, no, this is your life forever. You're gonna be here forever. This is what you get for serving God. You know all those good things you're trying to do, you're trying to serve God, trying to be a blessing to people, trying to be a blessing to your husband, trying to be a blessing to your wife, trying to be a blessing to your kids, blessing to your pastor. This is what you get. You're always gonna be here. That is a complete lie. No, you're not. It never works that way. Now, why does he do that? Well, the Bible says in Revelation that Satan seeks to make war with the saints. And that's actually a quote from Daniel chapter seven where it says that he seeks to wear out the saints. So why does he do that? Because he wants to wear us down. He wants to wear us away. He wants to dwindle us, our strength, our faith. He just wants to wear us away. And just to the point where we're just like, I can't handle any more of this. I wanna throw in the towel. I can't do this anymore. But let me say this. It's typically at your darkest hour that God typically delivers you from that. You say, well, I feel like I'm in my darkest hour and I haven't been delivered. Then it's not your darkest hour. Gotcha. If you say, well, I'm in my darkest hour right now, I feel like I'm about to burst. And if you haven't burst, then you're not in your darkest hour. It probably means you can handle more. But just know this, that there's an end to your trial. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4.17, for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. These are the things that Satan doesn't want you to know. Because he knows if you have access to this knowledge, you're gonna succeed, you're gonna be blessed, you're not gonna be destroyed. You're gonna have access to these things that God has prepared for them that love him. But if he can keep you in obscurity regarding these truths, your life can be just completely destroyed. So the sermon this evening is simply this. If you don't know, now you know. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word. And Lord, we know that there's plenty of things that Satan doesn't want us to know. But as long as we remain in God's word, we can have knowledge of these things. We're not ignorant of his devices. And sometimes there's Christians out there who wanna be ignorant of the devices because they're afraid to know, or they don't want to know the consequences of their sin. They don't wanna know what it takes to be blessed of God. And they're not willing to put in the effort for that. But Lord, I pray that you help them to see the severity of their actions. And God, I pray that you'd continue to bless us with more wisdom and knowledge. And Lord, if there's ever a time in our lives, in my life, that we feel so discouraged that we wanna throw in the towel, help us to realize that we need to cast down imaginations, imaginations that Satan puts forth to try to wear us away, to try to dwindle us and destroy us. Help us to continue to see you as him who is faithful. And I pray, God, that you bless us as we're going our way. Thank you so much for all that you've done for us and all that you will do. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.