The Book of First Thessalonians:
Message Twenty One
By Dr. Michael
Guido, D.D.
During the
Civil War, an officer said to his superior, "I'm
unable to bring my men up to the line of
battle." "Never mind," replied the
general, "just let them stay where they are. The
enemy's going to advance, and that will spare you the
trouble." You must advance on Satan, the enemy
of your soul, or he'll advance on you. Let's meet
some Christians who advanced on Satan.
Mark the
temptation. That word signifies "a suggestion to
sin." With whom does it originate? The Savior?
No, Satan. Remember that temptation isn't sin. Christ
was tempted, yet He didn't sin. Since Christ was
tempted, Christians will be tempted. The apostle Paul
knew that, and he wrote to the Christians at
Thessalonica, "I was afraid that perhaps Satan
had gotten the best of you and that all our work had
been useless." Satan desires but one thing for
the unsaved - to keep them away from Christ and His
Cross. He desires but one thing for the saved - to
ruin his life and his testimony. To do this he'll
seek to keep the saved from growing in grace. How's
this done? By sin, carelessness and worldliness.
These things will keep you away from the Savior and
the Scriptures. If you'll stay close to the Savior
and become saturated with the Scriptures you'll not
be spoiled by Satan.
Mark the
trouble. Sometimes trouble will lead a person to
transgress. It's written in 1st
Thessalonians 3:3, "That no man should be moved
by these afflictions." "The word 'moved' is
full of suggestion," said Parker. "It's the
action of a hound that fawns upon its owner, a hound
that wags its tail, that licks the owner's hand, and
would allure the owner. It's not a mad wolf running
into the house and devouring the inhabitants; it's
the attitude and the action of a fawning dog. Thus
are men led away." Satan suggests, "Of
course, be a believer; but be broadminded. Be a
follower, but don't be fanatic. Give, but don't be
generous with God. Buy a Bible, but don't let it
interfere with your business. Join a church, it's
good for business; but have a good time, too. You're
young only once, and you have to do some things to
get ahead in life." For a while, they resist.
But along comes some trouble. Your friends ridicule
you because of your love for the Lord and His Word.
They make fun of you because you won't go with them
to the places of sin. Then the trouble begins to tell
on you. You lose the love that you had for the Lord
at the first. Then there's no blaze for Bible study,
no passion for prayer and no warm heart for
witnessing. What's happened? You've been moved by
these afflictions.
Mark the
tribulation. It's written in 1st
Thessalonians 3:4, "For verily, when we were
with you, we told you before that we should suffer
tribulation." The word "tribulation"
speaks of being "pressed." It signifies
sufferings that come from the pressure of
circumstances or the crowd. Satan used this scheme in
the early church. But in many cases it caused the
fire of truth to burn more brightly. When Saul
persecuted the church, he didn't silence the
Christians. Instead he scattered them, and the Bible
says, "they went everywhere preaching the
Word." The martyred Latimer must have had this
thought in mind when he was burned at the stake.
Addressing his companion, he said cheerfully,
"We shall this day, by God's grace, light such a
candle in England as I trust will never be put
out." So in Thessalonica, where the Christians
suffered persecution, it acted like bellows to
increase the flame of faith; not like water, that
puts it out.
Mark the
triumph. Satan can suggest that you sin, but he can't
make you sin. You can triumph over the tempter and
his temptation. How? Saturate yourself with the
Scriptures. The Lord defeated the devil with the
Scriptural sword, "It is written." Then
submit yourself to the Savior. As you trust in Him,
you'll triumph. An old man repented of his sins and
was saved. As he was being enticed by the evil one,
he said to the Lord, "Now Jesus, I'm yoked up
with You. Help me." He helped him, and He'll
help you.
Jesus is
stronger than Satan and sin, and Satan to Jesus must
bow;
Therefore
we'll conquer without and within, for Jesus is
helping us now.
That's why the
apostle Paul was able to say, "I can do
everything God asks me to with the help of Christ who
gives me the strength and power."
copyright 2000 Guido Evangelistic
Association
All Scripture verses are
quoted from the New King James Version.
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the book of First Thessalonians.
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.
