We are born into a world that is evil.
The Bible describes the world as the
valley of the shadow of death.
We are surrounded by the pain, hurt,
and death produced as a result of not serving the living God.
The evils of what this polluted world
brings will be felt by all of us.
It is not a matter of if we will
escape it but rather how we deal with it!
God said that He has set before each
of us life and death and it is our choice as to which one we will allow to rule
our lives.
When we are under assault of the evil
of this world we can choose to cast down those thoughts or allow them freedom
to grow and prosper in our daily lives.
We have the direction of the
scriptures to cast down any thought that exalts itself above the thoughts of
God.
We are to bring into captivity those
thoughts and render them powerless over our lives.
We are to renew our thinking process
with the thoughts of God.
We are to renew the spirit of our mind
to the things of God and by this overcome evil with good.
When gloom despair or any other mind
set overcomes us we must ask ourselves is this of God or the Devil?
Is this good for me, others, or God’s
will?
If it doesn’t bring glory to God it is
of the Devil and needs to be cast away and abandoned as only a failure waiting
to happen.
Gen 3:17: And unto Adam he said, Because
thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which
I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it:
cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt
thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
18: Thorns also and thistles shall it
bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of
the field;
19: In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for
out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and
unto dust shalt thou return.
Don’t be overcome by shadows of evil.
Ezek:2:6: And
thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words,
though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be
not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a
rebellious house.
Sin effects
our souls
Jonah:2:5: The
waters compassed me about, even to the soul: the depth closed me round about,
the weeds were wrapped about my head.
Shadow of death
Mt:
There is light in the shadow of
darkness
Lk:1:79: To give
light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our
feet into the way of peace.
The result of the activities of those in
the shadow of death can bring a cloud of doom around us.
Job:3:5:
Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let
the blackness of the day terrify it.
Evil brings a shadow of gloom and doom
if we dwell on it’s message
Job:
Darkness robs us of the ability to see
the light
Job:
Dwelling on the fruits of darkness
brings the shadow of death around us
Job:
The dread of the evil will bring with
it despair of soul
Job:24:17: For
the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are
in the terrors of the shadow of death.
Avoiding the light will bring a
defeated life style
Job:27:20:
Terrors take hold on him as waters, a tempest stealeth
him away in the night.
We are of the light and light dispels darkness
Ps:91:5: Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the
arrow that flieth by day;
There is a way to escape the shadow of
darkness
>Job:28:3: He setteth an end to darkness, and searcheth
out all perfection: the stones of darkness, and the shadow
of death.
Darkness is evidence of it’s location
Job:34:22: There
is no darkness, nor shadow of death, where the workers of iniquity may hide
themselves.
Have you been in contact with the
shadow of death?
Job:38:17: Have
the gates of death been opened unto thee? or hast thou
seen the doors of the shadow of death?
Though we walk in the place of death,
sin, and darkness we have been equipped with the power to not be overcome
Ps:23:4: Yea,
though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
This is were
we live but God has provided a way of escape.
Ps:44:19: Though
thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow
of death.
Don’t surrender to the attempts of
darkness to place you in captivity.
Ps:107:10: Such
as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, being bound in affliction and
iron;
God delivers us from death’s power
Ps:107:14: He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of
death, and brake their bands in sunder.
Isa:9:2: The people that walked in darkness have seen a great
light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the
light shined.
If we surrender to and don’t resist
the darkness we have no hope of recovery
Jer:2:6: Neither said
they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led
us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a
land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed
through, and where no man dwelt?
Stick with God or your future is
doomed to darkness and evil
Jer:13:16:
Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet
stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into
the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.
Seek the cure and don’t surrender to
the captivating draw of evil
Amos:5:8: Seek him that maketh the
seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of
death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with
night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is
his name:
Mt:
We are shrouded by those that follow
after darkness
Mt:
Mt:
It is God’s plan for us to remain on
earth in the shadow of darkness to rescue them that are taken captive by the
devil
Mt:
30:
Let both grow together until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will say
to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to
burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn.
The parable of
the tares
Mt:
We are the good
seed and the children still held captive by the Devil are the tares or children
of the Devil
Mt:
God is interested in the harvest of
the earth when it is ready for harvest until then we are to remain and be a
light of hope to those held in captivity
Mt:
The effects of sin are readily
apparent by the lives of those that live by the laws of the shadow of death
Mt:
Don’t waste your time being locked
into the world created by those that are given to the works of darkness, why
should their sin rule over you?
Mt:13:7: And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up,
and choked them:
Not acting out our deliverance will
lock us into a future of despair and grief
Mt:
The darkness makes an assault against
or souls but
Mt:27:29: And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they
put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee
before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
If we choose to run in the mud do not
be surprised when you have dirty feet
Mk:4:7: And some fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up,
and choked it, and it yielded no fruit.
We all are planted among thorns but
the Word of God will be our breath of refreshing in the troubles darkness
brings
Mk:
Mk:
We can determine who is in control of
our lives at any given moment by the fruit it is bearing. Gloom, doom, and
despair are of darkness, while love, hope, and optimism are of the light
Lk:
If our attention is focused on the
works of darkness we will be overcome by it
Lk:8:7: And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprang up
with it, and choked it.
Doing things the way the world does
and responding the way the natural person responds will guarantee failure
Lk:
Jn:19:2: And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put
it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
Jn:19:5: Then came
2Cor:12:7:
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the
revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of
Those that refuse to turn their backs
of evil and accept God’s provision have a destination of hell on earth as well
as in eternity
Heb:6:8: But that which beareth
thorns and briers is rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be
burned.
