Psalm 37:4 – Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
To delight in something is to be happy about it; take exquisite delight; to make merry over, or make sport of.1 Within this writing, we take notice to the delight that is in the Lord, but there is another ‘delight’ that affects the hearts and souls of men as well.
There are but two delights a person can place their hearts upon. To witness the first delight, we can go to the beginning with Adam and Eve. The Lord created the heavens and earth. They had been dressed and arrayed according to His good pleasure. The man was created out of the dust of the ground and the woman out of one of his ribs. She was to be a help meet to share a common purpose: to be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over ever living thing that moves upon the earth (Genesis 2:29).
One of the reasons we’re unsuccessful against temptation and sin is we don’t take an active stance against it.
1 Peter 5:8-10 – Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world. But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
If you’ve ever watched a nature show with lions, you would witness how they select their prey. The female lions wait in a distance to select the weakest, youngest, animal that has strayed from the pack. They do not select the strongest, fastest, or one among the group. They choose the one they would have the most success in overtaking. Our adversary is the same.
He will wait for moments of weakness in our heart, mind, or lives to attack us and tempt us into sin. Honestly, you may notice that he uses the same tactics/things to get you over and over…and over again. Therefore, it is important that we understand what we must do to combat the attacks of the enemy.
Genesis 3:1-7 – Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons.
When the serpent came to Eve, he wanted to create within her a desire she had never experienced. He wanted her to see what was being withheld from her. All he needed to do was plant a seed and allow her mind (and flesh) to do the rest. Does that sound familiar?
Satan and our own flesh (lust) will take the opportunity to present us with something that we do not have (1 Peter 5:8-9; James 1:13-15). Not only will it be something that we do not have, but it will be something they believe you must have as your own. (Now this is concerning temptations that lead to sinful acts.) However, there are some problems:
Matthew 7:15-20 – Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
1. Many false prophets (and teachers) dwell among our congregations. Most people would probably be surprised because they think they could recognize these individuals easily. The goal of a false prophet is to be among the people without being identified in order to spread their message.
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