“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift
you like wheat; but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail:”
Hey Gang, do you think Satan would like to sift you like
wheat? Do we sometimes, or even often,
place a bull’s eye on our back as a target for Satan’s fiery darts? “But I have prayed
for you, that your faith may not fail and you, when once you have turned again,
strengthen your brothers” Luke
31-32).
If there was ever a time when we need to heed the writer of
Hebrews words it is now: “Therefore do
not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward” (Heb.
10:35). If you are a child of God, you
are in a fierce war. In fact, you might
even go so far as to say you are in a life-and-death war. Satan has but one goal, to destroy the faith
of all of God’s elect. And the stronger your faith, the more determined he is
to sic his alligators on you.
If there is anything that gets his dander up it is
unshakable faith. I wish I could attest
to the fact that when you kick his can and stay firm on the Rock that is Jesus
Christ, Satan sees he has wasted his time and moves on – but he just turns up
the heat.
Why? Because he knows when God’s people, who are called by
His name unite their hearts and humble themselves before Him, pray from the
depth of their hearts, seek a every growing deeper relationship with Him and
put away all of the bangles and beads that become idols that separate us from
Jesus, he(Satan) is in big trouble. ”Throughout the Word we find that when we
stand on the promises of God we gain strength.
We learn what Jesus truly meant when He said, ”Greater is He who is in you than he who is the
world” (I John 4:4c).
Hey Gang, yes, the times are tough. Everything
that can be shaken is being shaken so that only those things that cannot be
shaken will remain (Hebrews 12:27-29), but we are also challenged by Paul
in his letter to Timothy, his adopted spiritual son, “Fight a determined warfare, holding faith, and a good conscience”(1
Tim. 1:19).
The apostle Peter came under a ferocious attack against his
faith. His trust in Jesus so enraged
hell that Satan asked permission to ‘sift him’ to see if he would stand. Is not Jesus’ words of tremendous encouragement
in this day of woe? “But I have prayed
for you”. I have prayed that your faith
will stand the test and when you are converted, my mission for you is to
strengthen your brethren.”
Maybe right at this moment you are going through a terrible
storm in your life. And the harder you
try the deeper is the woe in your life.
I can say, ‘been there and done that’ many times throughout my
lifetime. There have been many times
when that storm has raged within my heart and soul and many times when I have
cried out, ”Why? Lord”?
In closing this Epistle I want to share that God has given
us a powerful weapon to use against Satan’s attacks on our faith. The weapon? We are not to try and figure everything
out. We are to set our eyes on “the great cloud of witnesses” already
in glory who have made it through with their faith intact”. “Wherefore seeing we also are
encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every
weight. And the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience
the race that is set before us” ((Heb. 12:1). What joy filled my heart when this verse finally
sank into my understanding.
It is these times when we need to have Luke’s words tucked away
in our computer hard drive: “Now will not God bring about justice for His elect who
cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice
for them quickly. However, when the Son
of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth” (Luke 18:7-8). We need to
we make sure our armor is in place, our lamps are filled with the oil of the
Holy Spirit and we have the Sword, the word of God in sharpened and secure in
our hands.
Notice Jesus’ question here:
Will he find faith in his people as they endure days of darkness and
oppression? I wonder how many would
endure, if He would ask such a question today- in our nation that has chosen to
‘go its own way’. I believe Jesus is asking,
“Will the faith of the elect hold fast when the shaking storms come?” The question each believer needs to ask, in
this day of shaking is “Will my anchor hold fast?” Or better, “Will I hold fast to My anchor
Jesus?”
I pray Father, in
Jesus name, all who receive these morning gramps’ messages are solid on the
Rock who is Jesus.
Blessings,
Gramps
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