2 Cor 11:3-4
But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. (KJV) The world is full of snakes, some are poisonous, others not. These snakes apprehend their prey in different manners but with the same results - DEATH. Thank God all snakes don’t look the same. Can you imagine getting bit, not knowing whether the snake was poisonous or not? Over the years, through much research and sometimes through actual experience, the snake world has been catalogued to identify every snake known to man. There is, however, ONE snake that man has yet to catalogue properly. This snake has many names, many forms, many methods of apprehending his prey, but always with the same results - DEATH. It is this snake that I want to present to you in light of the Word of God. I not only want to SHOW him to you, but I want you to see what happens when this serpent bites the BODY. Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. (KJV) Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, (KJV) To begin understanding this serpent, we have to go to his origin. From Revelation 12:9, we see that this serpent has several other names attached to him - dragon, Devil, Satan. This same verse says that this serpent is a deceiver. In addition, this serpent has a following - his angels were cast out with him. We know that angels are heavenly beings created by God, so for this serpent to have angels that followed him, he must have been in a place of position and power in heaven. Isa 14:12-17 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High. Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, Is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; That made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners? (KJV) Ezek 28:12-19 Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground, I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee. Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee, and I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more. (KJV) WHERE has this serpent been? IN THE GARDEN OF EDEN! Gen 3:1-4 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: (KJV) This serpent has been in heaven with God, as an Anointed Cherub. Because iniquity was found in Lucifer, he was dispelled from the regal of heaven’s glory and the presence of God’s holiness. In the creation of humankind, God gave Adam the position of being in authority of planet Earth and all its splendor. The only way for the serpent to gain access to the seat of authority was for the man to give it to him. Genesis shows the bite of this serpent and the result of his bite - DEATH. “.....the woman saw that the tree was good for food.” Her BODY was affected. “...pleasant to the eyes...” Her SIGHT was affected. “...a tree to be desired to make one wise..” Her REASONING was affected. I Jn 2:16-17 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. (KJV) From the conception of the church to this very present day, the serpent has always been near the hedge of God’s protection. He is waiting, watching for men and women to step out of that hedge so that he can sink his poisonous fangs into their soul. Eccl 10:8 He that diggeth a pit shall fall into it; and whoso breaketh an hedge, a serpent shall bite him. (KJV) Many in the church today have broken the hedge that is around them through disobedience. Pride has entered into their heart and they refuse to humble themselves, repent, and turn from their wicked ways. [See 2 Chronicles 7:14] Many churches in America today are dying from the poison of the serpent and this condition is largely in part to the fact that they don’t even know they have been bitten. They know something is wrong with them, they are sick, defeated, beaten and worn. They know they do not have the joy, peace, love, faith, gentleness, goodness, meekness, temperance, power, praise, prayer, and patience that the Bible speaks of and yet NO ONE will stand up and point to the serpent. We are afraid it might offend Sister Do Good if we tell her she has a devil! If the deacon is living like a devil, then he may have one!? There ARE brothers and sisters in the Body of Christ who have been bitten by the serpent who are not in secret sin, but they have not been taught how to deal with the serpent either. Adam and Eve believed a LIE, were bitten, and died spiritually. Many churches today have believed a LIE, have been bitten and are dead spiritually. There is NO anointing at all in their Churches. Until men and women are willing to accept the TRUTH, the whole TRUTH and nothing but the TRUTH, they will continue to be bitten by the serpent. Most in the church today feel they are better than most and not as bad as some, this is the venom of the serpent. When men speak evil of the man of God, they have been snake bitten. When Christians gossip and backbite, they have been BITTEN! When men and women condone homosexuals and lesbians to preach, they have been BITTEN! When men had rather believe a LIE than the TRUTH, it is evident, they have been BITTEN by the serpent. In closing, there is only ONE antidote for the poison of the serpent. It is the BLOOD OF JESUS. Only that precious blood can wash away the sickness, disease, despair, depression, degradation, defeat and death of the serpents bite. Friend, Jesus died on a cross for you and I that we would not have to die in our sins, but that we might live with Him for eternity. If you are lost, apart from God, do not know him as your Father, or Jesus as Lord and Saviour, you are dying, you have been bitten by the SERPENT. If you are a Christian and are backslidden, living in rebellion, out of relationship with your God, you have been bitten. Brother, Sister, you need to ask God for the antidote serum so you can LIVE! Don’t DIE when you can LIVE. Don’t go to HELL when you can go to HEAVEN. Jesus is waiting, He is standing at your hearts door with the serum for a sin sick soul, let Him come in, please. God wants you to LIVE. The SERPENT wants you to DIE. CHOOSE LIFE! |