Amen. And the people said together, amen. That is so right. Thank you so much. Practical applications. What we're looking for here today, we found out this morning. Now, the first two were easy and trying to identify how Satan works. And hopefully there were some messages there that were a little bit of an eye openers for you. Eve, his target was the what? mind, his weapon was his purpose to make her ignorant of God's will and our defense. God's word, the inspired word of God, Job, what was his target? His body, his weapon, suffering. What kinds of suffering are there? The two kinds. Corrective And perfecting, the correcting suffering is to get you, after you've been out of God's will and disobeying God's will, to get you back into it. That's discipline. You're counted as a child of God if you're disciplined and not left alone. If He doesn't discipline you, that's not good news. So that's that. And then the other was perfecting. In each one of us we have our problems and things that we don't even recognize sometimes. And God's Holy Spirit shines His light like a big old flashlight right down there into our hearts and shows us some of those sins. And that suffering that we go through there is for the perfecting to try to get rid of that dross that we carry about with us. Sometimes we don't even know we carry. Now we get to the next two. that are a little bit more. His purpose was suffering, but his purpose was to make him impatient with God's will. We get so impatient with God. Now, I hope you caught, really, in one sense it wasn't funny, because this morning it was a little bit of a play on words. See, I was talking about this lady back here who was gas-riding, trying to get by, and what did I say I was doing? Keeping the 55 speed limit at what? 65? Because I was wanting to get to church too, see? And so what I'm saying is it's easy to get that way, to become impatient. And for me, this has been a lesson for me to even say, all right, let's go this way right here and realize that when I'm showing an act of impatience, really it's an act of unbelief from Isaiah and it's an act of immaturity on my part because God is the God of the future. Our times are in whose hands? It's in His hands. And so He knows the way that we travel and all. And so we need, in my case, all right, I know that so to speak we can have that extra ten miles over, but it's better to just obey a little bit better than what I was doing. And so I hope you caught that this morning, that even preachers should not be put on a pedestal We are all made of flesh, too, and we have our problems we have to wrestle with. And this study, for me, was an eye-opener. I was so excited because, you see, Brother Chris, for years and years, I've been trying to put these pieces of the puzzle together. I've heard some of these things preached, but then as this study began to develop, I began to get excited because I said, this is giving me a key that I have been missing for so long in my own life. And that's why I was excited about sharing it with you. You see, I didn't really come to the grips about impatience so much as being impatient as being that bad. But really what it is, is being impatient with God's will, and that is bad. You know, and then the ignorance of God's Word is so, so prevalent there. Our defense, the imparted grace of God, and that's where we come. Now we come to David. I asked you this morning what you thought was probably David's greatest sin, and Titus said, well, it may not be, knowing the type of question I would ask, is, well, David's adulterous relationship with Bathsheba, and that's not it. And we're going to find out today what David labels as his greatest sin, and God brings it out very much too. And you talk about something that is an eye-opener. I think this is going to do it. So, thank you for your prayers. Most people would say that David and Bathsheba was it, but the greatest of his sins is recorded in 1 Chronicles 21, 1 through 8. So, let's turn there. And take a quick moment and read this passage. 1 Chronicles 21 verses 1 through 8. And Satan stood up against Israel and provoked David to number Israel. And David said to Joab and to the rulers of the people, Go number Israel from Beersheba even to Dan and bring the number of them to me that I may know it. And Joab answered, The Lord make his people a hundred times so many more as they be. But, my Lord the King, are they not all my Lord's servants? Why then doth my Lord require this thing? Why will he be a cause of trespass to Israel?" Now, here David has someone coming up before he's committing the sin and saying, don't do it. Don't do it. Joab is saying, don't do it. In the case of David and Bathsheba, nobody stopped him. Nobody came to him and said, don't do it. He knew it was wrong. He knew at the outset it was wrong. But then nobody came to him until ten months later after the baby was born. And then what prophet came up to him and confronted him with it? Nathan the prophet. Nathan confronted him after the sin. You would think David would learn a lesson here. But no, how many times do we not learn lessons? So, when we're pointing the finger, boy, if I'd been in David's shoes, I'd have obeyed you had three fingers pointing right back at yourself. Three fingers. Joab, it says, don't do this. This is going to cause all of the nation of Israel to sin. Now, that was the speaking right from the word of Joab as a prophet coming in and talking to him. Nevertheless, nevertheless, and you know what's going to happen, right? the king's word prevailed against joab wherefore joab departed and went throughout all israel and came to jerusalem and joab gave the sum of the number of the people under david and all they of israel were a thousand thousand and a hundred thousand men that drew sword and judah was four hundred three score and ten thousand men that drew sword but levi and benjamin counted he not among them for the king's word was abominable to joab so he didn't go ahead and number those And God was displeased with this thing. Therefore, he smoked Israel. And David said unto God, I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing. But now I beseech thee, do away the iniquity of thy servant, for I have done very foolishly. You know, one good thing about David, and it's so much hope for us, is that when we are confronted with our sin and conviction comes on us, that he did repent. That he did repent. Now then, you see, let's get into the matter of this. You see, in this part right here that we're looking at, why did Satan attack David in this way? And what was and is his approach for us today? His target wasn't David's body. David was in great physical health at this point in time in his life. He was just right on top of things as far as it goes with his body, physically speaking. He couldn't have been in better physical shape. It wasn't his mind. Satan was not deceiving him or the devil in terms of a lie. David's target was, what do you think? His will. David's will. If this isn't an eye-opener, the target that Satan was aiming at was David's will. He aims at our will. He aims at David's will. Now, here it goes. He wanted David to make a decision that would be out of God's will. That's the way He works with us today, too. He will want you to make a decision that is contrary to the will of God. Now, the will is important, but far too many Christians live on the level of emotions and intellect. That's not where it's at. The Christian life is a life that is lived from the will as well, and it's very strongly so. Your will is the master control of your life. That's why I tell you all the time, be careful what you think. Bring every thought and captivity to the obedience of Christ. Tearing down those strongholds. Your will makes decisions. It determines actions and directions that you're going to take. The will is that which builds character in your life. God says, my people will be willing in the day of my power. We're going to start looking at some real verses in just a moment to get into this and lay a hold upon this. For example, love is not just some shallow romantic emotion, is it? But it is an act of the will. John chapter 14 verse 15 says, if you love me, what? Keep my commandment." He didn't say, if you love me, you'll feel good about it. That's not what he said. He didn't say, if you love me, you're going to feel good about this now. Satan wants to get your will. He may try to do this through your body. He may try to do it through your mind and through the intellect. In this case, he gave David an attack through his will, the will of David. Now, what do you think, then, if he's attacking David, and you've already read the Scriptures with me when Joab's confronting him, what was his weapon that he's using? The weapon. I want Israel numbered. I want to know how many there are. What was it? P-R-I-D-E. Pride. That's exactly right. David was feeling very important at this part of his life in history, in biblical history. When you read the encounter of this particular decision, you find out that David had been winning many, many victories on the battlefield. He was successful on the battlefield. And the nation of Israel was standing at its highest peak of glory under David's leadership at this point. You see, Satan loves to pull every one of us down by using our pride. That is one area that he loves to use to bring us down. Let me ask you, is there anything wrong with numbering people? Anything wrong with that? You don't quite know, do you? You're afraid to answer me. No. We take a census. every 10 years, but even the census that's being taken in our day and time is wrong because they're asking way too much information. They have no business knowing, right? But our Constitution says take a census so you know the number of the people. That's just about all that was involved there. Now we've got census taking and they're asking questions they have no business asking at all, period. All right? So, it's not wrong to take a census. It's just what the motive is behind the census is being taken that you have to look at. Number two, Moses. In Moses' day, did he take a census? They numbered all the people. As a matter of fact, there's a book in the Bible called what? Hello there. You know? Yeah. It was for God's glory. In the book of Acts, The Holy Spirit started counting numbers. In chapter 1, 120. Chapter 2, 3,000. Chapter 4, 4,000. In the middle of the book, it says multitudes. So, the Holy Spirit was counting Even then for us, and having Paul and Luke and all of them to record it, the problem is what was the motive behind it all. And that's where we come into the pride issue with our dear brother David. And see, in the days of Moses, as they were taking and numbering the people, it's those who could go to war, the older ones, they would have to pay a half a shekel in a tax. They paid that. They paid a tax. That tax money went into the temple. And it was to remind the people, listen, this is why that half a shekel tax was taken upon the men. It was to remind them that they had been redeemed by God. That's what it was to remind them of. They had been redeemed and so they're putting that money into the temple and to the tabernacle. It is pride. It is pride. And every one of us now realize, okay, Brother Tim, you've gotten into another issue here. It steps on all of our toes. Well, if the Holy Spirit's doing that, praise God, because He did it for me while I was doing the study too. So if David had taken the census God's way, the way God had wanted him to do it, it would have been all right. It would have been fine. But he didn't take it that way. He didn't take the census to remind the people that they belonged to God. He took the census to remind the people of Israel that they belonged to Him. David was feeling important. He became proud. And pride is one of the sins of the devil. And here it is, I will be like the Most High. What did we say in the Garden of Eden? That man began to be his own God and he's only accountable to himself and no one else. So, his target is the will, his weapon pride, his purpose to make David independent of God's will. How many times are we striving to be independent of God's will and act in our own way? That was indeed the purpose behind Satan attacking David in this way to get him to violate God's will. David got where he was because he depended on the Lord. There's two ways about it. He depended on the Lord, but now he's come to a place where he thinks that he does not need the Lord. I want to count up the soldiers I have and see how many soldiers I have. I want all the people to know how many people we've got here, how many people I have, how many people are living in my kingdom. It sounds a lot like Nebuchadnezzar, doesn't it? Doesn't it? Remember Nebuchadnezzar the king? This is the kingdom I have built. and turned into a donkey or something for a number of seven years. Well, David right here is thinking the same thing. And it's like he said, here's what I want to do. I want to issue a press release. And it's going to tell all the nations, this is how big Israel is. Israel didn't conquer nations because of how big it was. Remember, I have chosen you because you were what? A small people. Now, David has got it reversed. I want the people of all the nations to just know how big we are. And that ought to rattle their teeth and scare them where they'll stay away. Nobody going to challenge us now. Depending on his own strategies rather than depending on God's will and disobeying God's will on top of that. You know, David here, Satan enjoys having Christians compare themselves to one another? That's just the way it is. Satan enjoys that because it makes some people feel small and it makes other people feel big. So that's why God says, quit, don't compare yourselves to one another. That's nothing but a pride issue. And that God resists the proud, that he raises up the humble. Satan's purpose then is to make us independent of God's will. Now, David acted independently. God gave him ten months to repent and he didn't do it. Do you know what happened then? A great plague hit Israel and 70,000 people died. And David became his nation's own worst enemy. Because you see, in the thing that went on with Bathsheba, who can write quick, tell me how many people died? Who? The baby? Uriah, the husband of Bathsheba, and two of David's own sons ultimately died because of that one sin. So there was actually four. Four. Because jealousy set up and God said, the sword will never leave your house. And it didn't. His own sons began the battle. So ultimately four. How many people died in this instance? 70,000 people, innocent people, died because of this plague that hit. Because of David being out of the will of God. And you know what David had to say about it? You read it? Was it verse 8 right there? In Psalms 51, he says, I have sinned. I have sinned against you, O God. Now, let me tell you something. To sin in the flesh is indeed a very great sin. I don't have to wait about it. David's sin was a bad, bad, bad sin, like any of us will do. Whatever it may be in the flesh, it's bad. But there's a difference here in sinning in the flesh and sinning in the spirit. And David was sinning in such a manner, right here, that it was... where he finally got to it, he said, I... in verse 8 of chapter 21 of 1 Chronicles, I have sinned greatly. Greatly! Boy, that tore his heart apart right there. How many times does the sin of pride cause us to say, I have sinned greatly? So it is possible not to be guilty of the lust of the flesh. It's possible not to be guilty of the lust of the eyes. I don't know how some people could do that, but I say it is possible to do that. But how about the pride of life? How about the pride of face? That could go in the way I look, or boy, I've done something and I've got to, quote, save, got to save face, reputation, How about the pride of place, the pride of race as well? Well, you could be proud of this church building, and God would despise it. You could be proud of your race, and God will despise that. So, you see, it reaches far, far, far out, doesn't it? It's easy for us to fall into the trap When Paul writes to Timothy about appointing leaders to the church, he says, appoint someone. Do not appoint somebody who's a novice, who's not studied, who's not learned, somebody who has not grown, a beginner in the Christian faith, a beginner in the Christian walk, lest they get puffed up and fall into the snares of the devil. That's what Paul would tell Timothy. So, Satan's target was David's will. His weapon was pride and his purpose to make us independent of God's will. Every time you're tempted, start analyzing, is this a pride issue? If it is, then I'm about to be tempted to go against God's will. It is possible for a Christian to sin independently, deliberately, and suffer for it. You can do that as a Christian, independently and deliberately. I don't care what it says. I'm going to do it because, for one, it feels good. It looks good. It tastes good. And I'm going to do it. Ever know anybody like that? What about on a personal level? Have you or I ever been in that position before? Yeah, I have. I've done that. I've done that. And you know what? I am so thankful for God's discipline in the matter, too, when that does happen. It's one thing to be deceived in sin. That's what happened to Eve. Eve was deceived. But friends, Adam walked right into it, eyes wide open. He knew what he was doing. He sinned that way. That's why the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15, 22, as in Adam, not as in Eve, but as in Adam, all die. Eve was deceived when she sinned. Job was under just great, horrible suffering. But as for David, it was a matter of pride of his will. When Satan attacks your will and wants you to presumptuously disobey God in a presumptuous matter, you know it is wrong. You do it anyway. What defense do we have? All right, what defense do we have now? Here it goes back to something else he's already given to us with power, and I said it at the very beginning. With this we have the power to overcome. Our defense is the indwelling Spirit of God. The indwelling Spirit of God. Too many times we ignore the third person of the divinity of the triune God. We think the Father and the Son. What is the Holy Spirit? Here is our defense. It dwells within you. It lives in you. When Satan attacks our mind, the defense is the Word of God. When he attacks our bodies, our defense is the imparted grace of God. And when he attacks our will, our defense then is the Spirit of God. Because in the day of thy power, God has his people to become willing in the right way. And we have to call out and ask God, I'm being tempted, Father. I'm in my weakest moment. I need you. I need the power of the Holy Spirit to come and pull me out of this horrible thing I'm facing here, whatever it might be. Philippians chapter 2, verses 12 and 13 says this, Wherefore, my beloved, As you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, here it comes, for it is God which worketh in you both to what? To will and to do of His good pleasure. You can't work out something that's not already in there, folks. And so, if the Holy Spirit is there, He said, you work it out, for it is God that's working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure. Now, to work out your own salvation doesn't mean you're working for salvation. You're not working to gain eternal salvation. Paul is writing to people that are already born again when he's writing to the Philippians. So, it's something deeper and richer. He means to work out your Christian life for which you were called to walk. You were called to walk a certain walk and for the purpose to which you were saved. Then the question comes, how do I do this? How do I do it? It is God working in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure and the Holy Spirit of God who dwells in you is that which controls your will. I want to suggest that when you find your will getting stubborn and proud, right there at that point, you surrender it to the Holy Spirit. You surrender it. I surrender this to the Holy Spirit. Lord, I surrender my will right now. It's getting stubborn. It's getting proud. I can see that. I'm recognizing it based upon Your Holy Word, and I want to surrender that right now to the workings of the Holy Spirit because Your Word tells me that it is You that worketh in me both the will and the do of Your good pleasure, Lord, and I want to do Your good pleasure. So work in my will. Work in my will and bless me to do what your will is." So our wills are one. When Jesus Christ met with the public and sinners, those people who were really the lowest, wrong side of the track people, the harlots, the publicans, He had sympathy on them. And he had mercy and he had compassion. But when he spoke to the Pharisees, the religious people of the world, what did he do? He condemned them. He spoke harshly about the way that they were doing, the way that they were treating others. So, here you've got the Pharisees coming in, stubborn, proud, self-righteous, independent-speaking people. He condemned them. What do we do? We do just the reverse. We condemn the sinner and pat the back of the Pharisees. That's what happens sometimes in our life. God came in the world, Christ came in this world to save whom? He didn't come to call who? The righteous to repentance. He came to call sinners to repentance. Let's take the case of the prodigal son right here. Boy, he was out there living, got it, finally left, spent all of his dad's money and got into the hog pen and finally came back home. His dad said, You know, kill the fatted calf. Bring on the cloak and clothing. Bring on the ring and the signet and let's put it on him. And everybody was rejoicing. Everybody was happy except for one person who came up and heard the news and it was the brother. And there he was pouting and mad because this sinner had found forgiveness in Christ Jesus. This sinner had been forgiven. Praise God for the prodigal returning. Praise God for the mercy of the lost sheep being found. Amen. Right? Are you in that case? But woe be to that prodigal son who is looking in and condemning all of the action that was taking place. You see the tale of the prodigal son that's found in Luke 15 isn't just about the prodigal son, it's also about the brother that had to go there. So, his was a sin. This brother was a sin of presumption. Why didn't you kill one for me? You know, you've never done this for me. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, this. And also a pride. I have been here doing all of this. I have been doing all of this. I have been doing this serving you. And this guy's getting off the hook. I don't see that. That's what he would say. So Satan's target is the will, his weapon is pride, his purpose to make us independent of God's will and our defense, the indwelling of the Spirit of God. If you and I depend upon the inspired Word of God and upon the imparted grace of God and indwelling Spirit of God, we may by faith defeat the devil. Amen to that? We may by faith defeat him. James chapter 4 verse 7 says this, Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the proud devil and he will flee from you. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Did you see the order of that? You have to do something first. Your will has to do something. What is it? Submit to God. You say, God, cleanse me, O God. Search me, O God, and see if there be any evil way within me. and cause me to walk on the paths of righteousness." And that's a pretty big prayer when you're asking God to start showing you your sins. Then resist the devil, then he will flee from you. But you can't go out there resisting the devil if you're not submitted to God. That comes in part into play by tearing down those strongholds that we've been talking about. Those areas that you want to hold on to in your life. Unless we submit, we cannot resist. Well, what are we to submit then is the next question. What are we to submit? Anybody have an idea? I will, I what? What did she say? You submit yourself to the Word of God? But what do you submit to the Word of God? Your mind? How about Romans chapter 12 verses 1 and 2? I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service, and be not conformed to this world, but be ye renewed by your mind, be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." You know why he said this, a living sacrifice? And the Old Testament, you know, just offered a dead sacrifice. You slit its throat and put it on the altar. A living sacrifice can crawl off the altar. A living sacrifice can crawl off the altar. You might be on the altar, then you decide to just get off. But he says, don't do that. He says, you have to present your bodies. Your bodies! So what are you submitting to? You're submitting to God your bodies. You're submitting to God your mind, your will. And the verse tells us, give God your body, give God your mind, give God your will. And so what you say then is, God, here's my body. God, here's my mind. God, here is my will. You see, God wants me to surrender to Him. And boy, is this the one that really hit me too. God wants me to surrender to Him at the beginning of every day. My body, my mind, and my will. These three areas. If you submit to God every morning, before you even get out of the bed, your body, your mind, and your will, then they're going to be protected by God because God is faithful for you in that area. He's going to help you with that and you can depend on God to give you the victory. When you get up, just before you get out of the bed then, start praying to God and really dedicate your life to Him. Make that sacrifice. Say, God, I'm presenting my body to you today. God, I'm presenting my mind to you today. God, I'm presenting my will to you today. Take it. And then he has, and then also, lay out before God the schedule of your day. God, here are all of the activities that I've got to do today. I've got this. I've got piano lessons. I've got to study for science. I've got to study for English. I've got to do this. I've got to clean up my room. I've got to go take a bath, take a shower. I have to do that, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. And you lay out to God. You're not complaining to Him. You're just laying out your schedule. And when you do that and you're dedicating that to God, you're giving God then the opportunity to arrange the schedule. in His way, the way He wants you to operate in it. And if you know He is the one that's in control, you're not going to worry a whole lot about it then. You're going to be able to move. Now, that doesn't give us an excuse not to do things. I'm not saying that. I'm saying as you won't be panicky and it won't be... you're submitting to Him in a way that you're acknowledging Him as being the author of your faith. And this is the... so this is what's really happening. And then... You're also going to read God's Word. Grab a hold of something in that Word right there. Read it and nourish your spirit, nourish your soul with that Word of God that you may be able to prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Then after you've read that and He's spoken to your mind and cleansed and renewed your mind, then you go into prayer. You begin to pray. Let Him arrange it. So you yield your mind, your body, and your will. These areas are available then for Him to work. And the inspired Word of God can renew your mind, the imparted strength of God can renew your body, and the indwelling Spirit of God can control your will, that stubborn will of ours. This is what it means, then, to be dedicated to a living sacrifice in the hands of the Lord. You see, Satan rebelled against God, didn't he? Satan's will is rebellion. His mind is filled with lies, and he's doing all he can to fight you. to cause you that. So daily turn all of these things over to the Lord, and you're submitting yourselves therefore to God, and then in the outcome of that, you're going to be resisting the devil. I don't care what temptation comes your way. Remember the title of this message, A Way of Escape? You'll be able to resist the devil, and he will flee from you, not you fleeing from him. So these are the three tactics. Now then we come to one. that I think is probably the culmination of all of these three. That's so exciting. Oh, my. Just hang in here with me. We're going to go to Zachariah. Zachariah was a prophet of the restoration. They just come out of Babylonian captivity. And Zechariah was one of their chief prophets. So, like I said earlier, this is the Joshua now that we're going to be looking at. And Joshua was their high priest. He wasn't the one that fought the battle of Jericho. He wasn't the one that took control after Moses. This is a different time and a different Joshua. How many of you people know a person named Joshua? How many of you know two people named Joshua? See, Joshua was a popular name back then. Two different times, two different people. So read with me now in Zechariah chapter three, verses one through four. And he showed me Joshua, the high priest, standing before the angel of the Lord and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan, even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee. Is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel. And he answered and spoke unto those that stood before him, saying, take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with the chains of garments." All of this is symbolic of the nation Israel at the time. The nation of Israel, like I said a moment ago, had just returned from Babylonian captivity. You would have thought, had you been in Babylonian captivity, that you would have purified your life and gotten it right with God. But many of the people turned back to their old sinful ways and old sinful habits. They didn't yield their lives to God. And all kinds of sins were going on. Compromises of God's Word were going on. And the nation stood before God in filthy garments as a symbol of that. The high priest was always supposed to appear before God in clean garments. But in this case right here, Joshua was standing before God and filthy. That filthy means the dirtiest you could possibly ever imagine putting on. It wasn't just dirty. It was things like hog slime stuff. Just nasty, torn up garments. That's what that represents. Well, now, what's Satan going to do? See, this is Satan's ministry now. He has a ministry here, and it's surprising to a lot of people that Satan still had access up there where God is, and God's talking to him, and Satan is standing right there in this vision beside Joshua, pointing to him, all of this taking place. In Revelation 12.10, we are told that Satan is the accuser of the what? Satan is the accuser of the brethren. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, Now is salvation come, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ. For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. When Satan attacks my mind or will, he is trying to get me to disobey God. Then if I do disobey God, If I do disobey God, He does to me what He did to Joshua. And you know what that is? He accuses me before God. He points the finger at me and says, look at that fellow there, God. Take a look at him. That's what Satan does every time you disobey God. You disobey His Word. He's pointing to you, at you I should say, and accusing you before God. You know what his target is then when he's doing that? Your conscience. It is your conscience. He not only accuses me before God, but he also accuses my own conscience, because he's standing there talking to me too. Whenever Satan talks to me about God, it's a lie. Whenever he talks to God about me, it's the truth. Can you identify with that? Whenever he's talking about God to me, he's always lying. But whenever he's talking to me about God, he's lying. But whenever he's talking to God about me, he's telling the truth. He's telling the truth. Every time I do something wrong, he's accusing me before God. I can just see it right now. There he is. Look at him. He's supposed to be one of yours. Even a preacher. There he is. And did you see what he just did? Did you hear what he just said? Now, what are you going to do about it, God? That's the way Satan behaves. And it goes that way with each one of you, too. He is the accuser. Not only that, but he accuses in my own conscience. There's a difference between Satan's accusations and the Holy Spirit's convictions. Can we grab a hold of this for a minute? There's a difference there between accusations and the Holy Spirit conviction. You see, with Joshua, Satan's target was his conscience. His weapon that he was using was accusations. That's the weapon Satan uses against you before God. Before God. He's accusing you. Then in your own heart, in your own mind, in your own conscience, He's accusing you. The word devil means accuser. Devil means accuser. Satan means adversary. So your adversary, Satan, is standing before God as a devil accusing you and accusing me. So don't confuse Satan's accusations and the Holy Spirit convictions. If you and I have done something wrong, the Holy Spirit convicts us, and the Holy Spirit directs us to get it right, to clean it up, get it together, do what's right. That's not the way Satan works, though. Satan, in his accusation, he wants to get the upper hand. He gets you to become greatly discouraged. That's what he's doing. He says, you have failed. You can't go any further. You might as well just hang it up, get out, put it down, you're on the shelf, no good forever. That is the Satan accusing. Holy Spirit conviction that says, you did wrong, get it right. Do it right the way it needs to be done right. So the Holy Spirit convicts us because he loves us. That's why, and he wants to get it right. Satan accuses us because he hates us. And he wants us to think that nothing, nothing can be made right. Any of you ever sinned and you thought, wow, that's it, I'm done for? That's Satan talking. There was a young lady one time. Someone in the church had asked her to do something. And she said, I can't do it. She'd like to do it, but she can't do it. And she went and talked to her pastor about it, and she said, what am I to do? She said, you know, I can't do this thing for the church. And the pastor asked her, he said, well, why? She said, because I committed a real grievous sin years ago, and it's just really, really bad. He said, well, How old were you when you committed that grievous sin? Oh, I was 15 years old. Well, when were you saved? When did the Lord work on your heart and work on your life? When I was 17. Do you feel like you believe that? Do you understand that God forgave you of all your sins when you were born again, when he saved you? Yes. He cleansed me of everything. He washed them white. And then the preacher could say, then you're listening to the devil. He is bringing up your past sins to paralyze you, to make you think you can't do anything anymore. That's the way Satan works. So, he'll make you think that you can't do a thing And so, you know what happened to that young lady? She was so happy. She said, thank you God, all those wasted years I've spent because I kept thinking about that horrible past sin that I committed way all those many years ago. But thank God I'm forgiven. I have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. I can go forward and do that work. Defeat for Satan. Amen. I belong to the Lord. Too many Christians have put themselves on the shelf because they have listened to Satan's accusations. And he'll do it, too. He'll do it. He'll come at you real quick, especially if he convinces you that you're working in the kingdom of God. 2 Corinthians 2, Paul writes about a man who committed a gross sin in verses 6, 10, and 11. And the church disciplined him But during this time, he was very grieved and he repented and he came back asking for the people in the Corinthian church to bring him back in. And so Paul said, you know, says, this is good, this is great. He says, you forgive him. Forgive him of what he's done. You bring him back in. Lest Satan grab a hold of you and we're not ignorant of his deceptions or his devices. And so this man then was able, the Holy Spirit conviction, and Holy Spirit conviction brought him back under repentance and he was restored into the fellowship. And Satan doesn't like that. Satan doesn't want it. Satan doesn't want people to forgive other people either. You can't live in a life of unforgiveness. It'll tear you up. Sufficient to such a man is the punishment which was inflicted, to whom ye forgave anything, to whom I forgive it for your sake, I in the person of Jesus Christ, lest Satan should get an advantage of us, and we're not ignorant of his devices. And that's the whole purpose of this sermon today, so we're not ignorant of Satan's devices. The Holy Spirit convicts you and says, God loves you and forgives you. Satan accuses you and says, you're done for. That's it. You just better quit. His target, the conscience, his weapon, accusation, his purpose is to have God indict you. To have God indict you. He wants us to feel so hopelessly guilty that we'll just quit. He wants to indict us before God so that we feel like we're back under bondage and under prison. Well, what is our defense? Oh, here it is. What is our defense? 1 John 2, verse 1. When he attacks the mind, our defense is the inspired Word of God. When he attacks our body, it's the imparted grace of God. When he attacks our will, it's the indwelling Spirit of God. When he attacks our conscience, our defense is the interceding Son of God, Jesus Christ, our Advocate. There's your defense. There's your defense. Jesus Christ the Advocate. Nothing you can do in that sense right there, but He is it. What is it then? That's why John writes in 1 John 1 verse 9, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Satan was standing at Joshua's right hand to accuse him. Ah, but Jesus Christ is standing at the right hand of God to forgive him. There's your defense. Oh, Satan stands at our right hand as the accuser, but Jesus Christ stands at God's right hand as our advocate. Yes. Oh, what a beautiful thing. The word advocate means lawyer. It means somebody, a representative who will take our case and plead our cause before a just and holy judge and God. God, the Father, has promised to forgive. He's promised that. God, the Son, has paid the price that the Father would forgive. When you and I come before the Lord and we confess our sins, all of these that I've been talking about, and we confess our sins to Him through the conviction of the Holy Spirit, He is faithful to forgive us. That is a glorious promise that we should be shouting happy about. Yes. You might ask, on what basis does God the Father forgive us? On this basis, on the blood of Jesus Christ, our Advocate, just as it happened in the Garden of Eden when that lamb was slain way back then and were clothed then in His righteousness. Satan would have you to continue to think about your sins and not confess them before God. Satan would have you to live a defeated life rather than that which is a victorious life. God says you are cleansed. Rise up and walk. The blood of Jesus Christ covers all our sins, every one of them, past, present and future. And when we are forgiven, we are forgiven. You are forgiven. It's not an excuse to go out and sin, then. Oh, well, I'm forgiven, so I just go out and sin. Ho, ho, ho. No, that's not the way of it. It is the reason for us to rejoice and yield ourselves to a holy, dedicated life to God. Amen. Well, somebody may disagree. He says, well, they believe that Jesus, when he died on the cross, he took care of our past sins, but not our future sins. Then I ask you, how many of your sins were future when Christ died? How many of your sins were past when Jesus died? When Jesus died on the cross, all of your sins were future. You had no past sins. Amen? Right to that? Zechariah chapter 3 verse 2, And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuked you, O Satan. Even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuked thee. Is not this a bran plucked out of the fire?" And when he's talking about every one of now his children, you were plucked out of the fire by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You were pulled out of the mire. Remember the mire, the hole, the pit from which you were dug. And you were cleansed and made to stand upon rock. Romans 8, 34. Who is this that can condemn it? Who can condemn you? It is Jesus Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God and also maketh intercession for us. That's Romans chapter 8 verse 34. We belong to God's elect, saved by the grace of God. Satan wants to remind you of your past sins. And I'd just like to say, whenever Satan starts working on you and your past sins, you say, you're right, I did sin, but thank God I'm covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. Now then, let's talk about your future. Remind Satan of where his future is. You put your sins under the blood of Jesus Christ. Oh, thank you, God. Dare to believe that when your garments are dirty, not were dirty, But when your garments are dirty, dare to believe that you can come to Christ, that you can come to God and say, Father, my garments are filthy. I have sinned. I confess my sins before you. I'm sorry for my sins and I ask you to forgive my sins and please forgive me." And the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all unrighteousness. What does that mean? It's causing me to be reminded of the blood and the sacrifice that Christ paid to cover me of my sins. And you know what? He does. He does. God does forgive us. God does see us through the blood of Jesus Christ. He is faithful to His promise. He will not condemn us when Christ has already borne our condemnation on the cross. Do you agree with that? He's not going to condemn us. The Father won't condemn us when Christ has already borne it. Like I said, this isn't an excuse. Oh, I can go out and sin. If that's your attitude, who says you've been born again to begin with? What proof do you have that you even have really come to a realization of who Christ is, if that's your attitude? No, it is interesting that after they clothed Joshua in those fresh, clean garments in Zechariah 3, verses 6 and 7, And the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, If thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt walk, and also keep my courts. I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by." Places to walk? He did not say, Joshua, I know you've sinned, and so therefore I'm going to put you on probation for six years. And you're going to be on a shelf for these six years. He didn't say that, Bobby. He said, you're forgiven, you're cleansed, now get about the job that I've sent you to do. Get about and go to work in the kingdom of God. Don't let Satan keep you down under bondage. You get up and you move forward and you're an overcomer in the blood of Christ. You overcome by the blood. There's no other way to overcome. You're overcoming by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. So, these things that we're talking about here, if it's the sin of the mind, the target's the mind, the target is the body, the target is the will, the target is your conscience. You have the inspired Word of God. You have the inborn Spirit of God. You have the imparted grace of God. And you have an advocate standing at the right hand of God, making intercession for you. Yeah, Joshua, you're clean. Go back and serve me. Walk in my courts, judging my house." Ask the Lord to cleanse you, and He'll put new garments on you. May this day be a day where you have come to realize that there's a lot more involved in God's Word, isn't there? A whole lot more. I've tried to show you these four areas that I've needed to look at about myself. My mind, my body, and my will. And I found one of the hardest ones to struggle with is this old will of mine. So I present it to God. And I'm finding that when I pray, Oh God, this morning before I get out of the bed, here's my body. I'm yielding it to you, God. I'm yielding my body to you. That means all the members, my hands, my eyes, my mouth, my feet, I'm yielding them to you, God. And you know what will happen when you do that? God is faithful. That when you come to that particular temptation that Satan is going to hurl at you, God will be the one who's your defense. And He shows you what each of the defenses are in those areas. He'll protect you. He's faithful and just to do just that. when you submit your life to God. Let's pray. Father, I just want to pray today that all of our lives be submitted to You. Our minds, our intellect, and all the things that we think, all the things that we plan, all the activities, all the imaginations that are in our mind, Father. We pray that they're all coming under submission to you. And we pray, Lord, that we would, through the Holy Spirit and the direction of that Holy Spirit and through your inspired Word, pull down those strongholds that are so prominent in our lives by your grace and your mercy. And we pray, Father, that you would take our will and make it yours. Father, we want to know what Your will is, and no way we're going to know what Your will is, is through Your Word. So we pray, Father, that our wills will be in tune with Your will. And whenever we begin to get stubborn and rebellious, bless us to remember our will needs to be dedicated to You, and turn to You, and claim the power that is within us, for greater is He that is in us, that Holy Spirit that You have placed in us, Lord. And we draw strength and power from there looking to your throne. And Father, when we do stubbornly shut our eyes and rebelliously walk in our own way and we know we have sinned like David Lord, we pray that we would come and repent through the conviction of the Holy Spirit and reclaim the beauty of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and our Advocate Jesus Christ, Your Son, standing at Your right hand making intercession for us. And Satan the accuser standing there, Father, Lord, we pray for You to rebuke him. And as we resist Him, He will flee from us. Thank you for these encouraging words. Thank you for your word, the inspired word, that shows us the strategies that Satan uses and the defenses that we have through your power and your majesty and your glory. Bless this church to grow strong with fellowship and love for one another. Bless this church to help one another when there's a brother or sister that is falling, and they're under the strategies of Satan, that we can lovingly, in open hearts and open minds, Embrace them and let them know that we can help them through the power of your Holy Spirit as we focus their lives Back on their advocate Jesus Christ bless us with that father. Give us mercy and grace humbleness of spirit and Joy in the Lord in your name. We pray. Amen