The Wrong Voice ~Greg Laurie

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

The Wrong Voice

He made us accepted in the Beloved.
--Ephesians 1:6

Like the pain we feel when we step on a sharp piece of glass, guilt is our moral warning system.

Guilt is not necessarily a bad thing, because it is a reaction to something in our lives that is not right. But sometimes the devil can use guilt to drive us to despair.

This is why it is important to distinguish between Satan's accusations and the Spirit's conviction. A feeling of guilt and shame is not a bad thing if it comes from the Spirit of God. But if it drives us to despair and hopelessness, then we have listened to the wrong voice.

The devil will accuse us, saying that we are not worthy to approach God. May I be blunt? We were never worthy. We will never be worthy. On our best day, we weren't even close to being worthy.

As believers, we have been made acceptable to God through what Christ did for us on the cross. We have been made acceptable in the Beloved. It is because of Jesus that we can come to God.

So don't ever let the devil's accusations drive you away from the cross, where you will find forgiveness.

You have a choice. The next time you sin, you can either give up in despair, or you can come back to the Lord and repent.

Remember this simple truth: Satan will always seek to drive you away from the cross, but the Holy Spirit will always draw you back to the cross.

Copyright © 2009 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000.

For more relevant and biblical teaching from Pastor Greg Laurie, go to www.harvest.org
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The Enemy's Tactics~Harvest Daily: Greg Laurie

The Enemy's Tactics

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. . . .

— Genesis 3:1

In the Garden of Eden, the serpent was clever. When he wanted to lead the first man and woman into sin, he was crafty.

I point this out because we need to know what his strategies are. He has not changed them one bit. Just look at his attacks and temptations in the Bible, and you will see that he still uses the same tactics today.

But if we learn what these strategies are, we can recognize what he is up to. Let's see how Satan tempted Eve in the Garden.

Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?" And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.'" Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:1–5)

In the verses above we see three things that Satan did to bring about Eve's fall:

1. He questioned the word of God.
2. He denied the word of God.
3. He substituted his own lie.

Eve was in the wrong place at the wrong time, listening to the wrong voice, which led to her doing the wrong thing. But don't blame Eve or Adam. If we had been in the Garden, we would have done the same thing.

Let's be mindful of the tactics of the devil. Don't be in the wrong place, listening to the wrong voice, and doing the wrong thing.

Copyright © 2009 by Harvest Ministries. All rights reserved.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000