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The Book of 1st Peter: Message Sixty One
By Dr. Michael
Guido, D.D.
A New York doctor committed one
crime after another. Finally he was caught and convicted of murder.
Commenting on his career of crime, the Baltimore Sun said,
"What's the moral? It's extremely dangerous to monkey with sin.
The devil always leaves the marks of his claws on all who choose him
for a companion." How true! For it's written, "The devil,
as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."
The devil devours the Scriptures.
It's written in Matthew 13:3 and 4, "Behold, a sower went forth
to sow; and when he sowed, some seeds fell by the wayside, and the
fowls came and devoured them." Are you wondering, "What's
the seed and what's meant by the fowls?" Our Lord answers your
question in Matthew 13:18 and 19, "Hear ye therefore the
parable of the sower. When any one heareth the word of the kingdom,
and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth
away that which was sown in the heart." Looking briefly at the
story of the sower, you see that the seed is the word of God, and
the soil is your heart. At this very moment I'm sowing the seed.
While I can broadcast the Bible, I can't make you believe it. If you
don't accept it and act upon it, then Satan will come and take it
from your heart and head. Have you ever wondered why it's easier to
remember a story that's foul and filthy but hard to remember the
Scriptures? Satan helps you to remember that which is evil, but he
hinders you from remembering that which is holy. Every time the word
of God is given out he stands ready to take it out of your heart,
lest you should believe and be saved. My friend, I have delivered to
you God's word. It's in your heart. If you don't heed it, Satan will
hide it. He'll devour it, and you'll be destroyed. A Finnish infidel
willed his farm to the devil. The will was studied by the courts,
and it was decided that the only way to carry out the will was to
leave it untouched by man. In a little while there was no fruit, nor
any flowers, nothing but defeat and desolation. That's the way your
life will look if you don't accept the Bible and act on it. Do
nothing when the Bible is preached, then Satan will devour it, and
you'll be doomed.
The devil devours the subsistence.
It's written in Luke 15:30, "But as soon as this thy son was
come, which hath devoured thy living with harlots, thou hast killed
for him the fatted calf." Satan has but one hunger, that to
hurt you; and to do it he'll tempt you, knowing that if you're
deceived he'll devour you. No one is free from his temptations. He
tempts all folk - the young and the old, the good and the bad, the
single and the married, the boys and the girls, the up-and-out and
the down-and-out. But he doesn't tempt all folk alike. He used a
tree to tempt Adam and Eve, and devoured them because of their
desire. He used another man's wife to tempt David, and devoured him
because of his disobedience. He used silver to tempt Judas, and
devoured him because of his delinquency. He used worldliness to
tempt Demas, and devoured him because of his desertion. So give no
place to the devil.
The devil devours the saved,
according to 2nd Corinthians 11:20, by moving the unsaved
to persecute them. It was he who put the thought into the heart of
Judas to betray Jesus. It was he who put the thought into the heart
of Saul to imprison the Christians. And it was he who brought sorrow
to Peter. Our Lord said to Peter, "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan
hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat." It
was this sifting that caused Peter to deny his Lord, but it brought
out the wheat from the chaff, and Peter became a stronger witness
for the Lord.
"Well," you say,
"since the devil goes around like a lion roaring in fierce
hunger, seeking someone to devour, is there no defense?" There
is! You'll find them in three things God has given. First, the
Spirit of God is our power. The Bible says, "Be strong in the
Lord, and in the power of His might." Can you think of any
power that's as strong as the power of His might? An old man was
asked, "Isn't the devil stronger than you?" "He
is," he answered. "Then," he asked, "aren't you
afraid he'll get you?" "Oh, no," he answered.
"Just as soon as I see the devil coming, I look to the Lord and
say, 'Lord, look after Your property!' and I stand in the power of
His might." Second, the Son of God is our protection. The Bible
says, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ." If you apprehend
Christ, He'll be your Protector and Protection. Third, the Scripture
of God is our prevalence. A man once declared, "I'm not afraid
of the devil." "That's not the point," answered his
friend. "But this - is the devil afraid of you?" What was
it that the Lord used in defeating the devil when He was tempted?
The Word of God. Accept it, acquaint yourself with it, and you'll
defeat the devil when he comes to devour you!
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic
Association
All Scripture verses are
quoted from the New King James Version..
This series of messages on the
books of the Bible were originally written for
broadcast on Dr. Guido's radio program, "The
Sower." They are collected and reprinted here
for your enjoyment and spiritual edification.
