Vol. 35, No. 3  March, 2011

YOUR ADVERSARY, THE DEVIL.
       Dr. George Mills

“Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion walketh about seeking who he may devour.” (1Peter 5:8) “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan.” (Rev 12:9).

No one would be more qualified than Peter to warn us about the devil. Our Lord Jesus warned Peter; “Satan hath desired to have you that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee that thy faith fail not.” (Lk. 22:31-32).
Satan did try to sift and destroy Peter, but thank God for the intercessory prayers of Christ for Peter, and for all of His own. (John 17).
Many years ago, as a young soldier, I was in the army when the Korean War started.  We did not know much about the Koreans, so we had to spend time in classes trying to learn about our enemy, and about his tactics. On that troop ship enroute to the Far East, our leaders gathered us into classes to tell us as much as they could about our enemy, his terrain and tactics. What does he look like? What are his weaknesses? His strengths?
As believers, we too are at war with an enemy. We must learn about him and his ways. These things I want to share with you are not new, and certainly they are not all original. It is not possible to cover such a subject in the small limited space I have in this publication. Men have written volumes on this subject. Today let us think about a few things concerning our adversary, the devil.
Unseen by the natural eye are satanic forces that move and entice men to sin and to rebel against God. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in High places.” ((Eph. 6:12). When you begin to understand that, you will begin to understand what’s wrong with our society, what’s wrong with the world.

1. HIS ORIGIN. Where did he come from?
 He is a created being.
“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 pipe 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 all 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; 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.”
(Ezekiel 28:12-17) It is clear that the language of this text goes far beyond the king of Tyrus unto Satan himself. Before man was created, Satan was here. He was lord over this earth. He was commander of many angels.

2. HIS FALL.
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which did 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.” (Isa. 14:12-17). Satan rebelled against God. When he said, “I will,” sin began. Evidently, from the testimony of other scriptures, many angels followed Satan in his rebellion against God;
 “And there appeared another wonder in heaven, and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth, and the dragon stood before the woman that was ready to be delivered for to devour her child as soon as it was born.” (Rev. 12:3-4). About one third of the angelic force followed Satan in his rebellion. The text in Rev. 12 is a brief history of Satan and his attempts to prevent the birth of Christ. The woman mentioned there is NOT Mary. The woman is Israel, the nation through which our Lord was born. (Gen. 37:8-10). Many times Israel is referred to as a woman. (Isa 54:5, Jer. 3:6-10). Some of the fallen angels who followed Satan in his rebellion are in chains, (Jude 6, 2Pet. 2:4). Some of these fallen angels are active. Many New Testament verses point these out for us; (Eph. 2:2, Eph. 6:12, 1Tim. 4:1). Satan and his army are alive and active in the world. We wrestle with unseen forces. The more we learn, and the quicker we learn, the more equipped we will be in this battle of the ages.

3. HIS ATTACK UPON THE HUMAN RACE.
“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 in the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden. But 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 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 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…” (Gen. 3:1-7). Satan’s attack upon the head of the human race was not lustful or fleshly.

(1) HIS TACTIC. His tactic never changes. It is the same today; TO ALTER THE WORD OF GOD!

(a) He DILUTES the Word by ADDITION  “Ye shall NOT surely die.” He only added the small three letter word “NOT” but we are in the fix we are in because that three letter word, “NOT” was added.

(b) He DESTROYS the Word by SUBTRACTION. He omits “FREELY” (Gen. 2:16, 3:2) and “SURELY,” (Gen 2:17, 3:3). “God is keeping something from you.”
When you total the DELETIONS and ADDITIONS in new ‘versions’ you come up with a ‘has been’ ‘not quite’ ‘almost’  ‘not sure’  ‘I gotta check,’ bible.

THIS IS THE GREATEST ATTACK UPON THE HUMAN RACE SINCE THE ATTACK IN EDEN. WITH EACH NEW TRANSLATION THERE IS ANOTHER ATTACK UPON THE PURITY, THE INTEGRITY OF THE WORD OF GOD!
Let us follow the example of Paul who said, “For we are not as MANY which corrupt the Word of God..” 2Cor 2:17).

2. HIS TARGET…The MIND!  His argument to Eve was, “Just reason this out. Just think about it. You are free to make your own choice.” His target has always been the MIND. From religion, to the educational system, the entertainment industry, social organizations, new world order, the music, everything is geared toward the MIND. “In whom the god of this world, (Satan) hath blinded the MINDS of them which believe not lest the light of the Glorious Gospel of Christ who is the image of God should shine unto them.” (2Cor. 4:4).

4. HIS POWER. If we think our enemy is weak and helpless, think again. Just look around at the condition of man and you will begin to see how powerful our enemy is…

(A) He claims to have authority over all the earth. He showed our Lord all the kingdoms of the world and offered them to Christ if He would just “fall down and worship me.” (Mt. 4:8-9). The Lord Jesus did not question the enemy when he claimed authority.

(B) He is able to sow tares (counterfeit) among the wheat. God sowed the good seed of the Word of God, (Mt 13) Satan has sowed his tares, (2Cor. 11:13-15).

(C)  He is able to catch away the Good Seed if we do not receive it. (Mt. 13:4-9, v19). It is dangerous to hear the Word of God and neglect to respond.

 (D) He can hinder the work of God. In many ways he hinders. “We would have come unto you, even I Paul, once again, but Satan hindered us.” (1Thess. 2:18).  There is so much more to study. Satan has power, but he is not all powerful. “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” (1Jn. 4:4).

5. HIS WORK AGAINST THE CHURCH.
(A) He comes against the Church as a roaring lion. “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the Devil as a roaring lion walketh about seeking whom he may devour.” (1Pet. 5:8)
This pictures his open opposition against the Church. He hates the church. He will do what he can to destroy.

(B) He comes against the Church as a slithering serpent. “That old serpent which is the Devil and Satan.” As a serpent he spews his poison, which is false doctrine. This is where he spends his time today. In our homeland there has not been much persecution against the Church. However, this is rapidly changing. Satan does more damage with false doctrine than he ever did with persecution. False doctrine weakens. We should ever be on guard concerning false doctrines and the many inroads into the Church today. Sound doctrine never changes. We should know what we believe and why we believe it. As I have stated, there is far too much on this subject to cover in just a small space. There is so much more!

6. OUR RESPONSIBILITY.
(A) Be sure you know that you are saved.  Peter said, “Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.”
(2Pet. 1:10).

(B) Grow in Faith. Now that you are saved, grow in the Lord. Read 2Pet. 1:5-10. Add these graces , one by one, to your life.

(C) Resist. “Our text says, “Whom resist steadfast in the faith.”

(a) Resist by the Word. The faith once delivered. It never changes. As Christ resisted the Devil in the wilderness, do the same. He resisted Satan by the Word of God, rightly divided. See Luke 4:1-13.

(b) We resist by a strong, meaningful Prayer life.  Near the garden of Gethsemanae Christ warned His disciples to pray. “The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.”

(c) We resist when we keep our mind on Christ. “I write unto you in both which I stir up your PURE MINDS by way of remembrance.” (2Pet. 3:1) Keep your mind pure. Keep your mind, your affections on Christ. “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose MIND is stayed on thee.” (Isa. 26:3)
There is so much more. This is only a brief, basic outline. Child of God, KNOW YOUR BIBLE! (KJB). In it, God has revealed His plan for the ages. He has revealed our beginning and our future. He has revealed the enemy, His TARGETS, and TACTICS.  Only when we are filled with the knowledge of God are we prepared for the many onslaughts of the enemy. STAY CLOSE TO JESUS!
Now, have you personally called upon Christ to be your Saviour? If not, the Bible says, “Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Ro. 10:13). Christ is there, wherever you are in the Person of the Holy Spirit. He will hear your prayer of faith and will save you from the power of SIN, and of SATAN. Call upon Him now, and begin TODAY to live FOREVER!

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THINK ABOUT IT…Although Satan is powerful, he is limited. Limited, I believe, to his interpretation of the Scriptures. Stay with sound doctrine. He is no match for you there!
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AND THE WORLD IS A WILDERNESS…It is no friend to the Christian. The world attacks the MIND with it’s philosophy. The MIND is powerful. Have that SUBMISSIVE MIND, the MIND submitted to Christ. (Phil 2:5-11).
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AND THINK ABOUT THIS …
According to Ezekiel 28:12-17, Satan at one time must have led the musical and praise program. Is there any wonder why he has had such an influence in the music of the world, and in the music of the modern church world?
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From time to time some ask permission to use our articles, sermons, and other materials. Our messages have appeared in other publications both in America and overseas. Each time I hear about this ministry being used, I feel humbled by that. Our goal is to reach people with the Gospel. If your goal is our goal, you do not need our permission. God Bless!

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OUR ADVOCATE, JESUS CHRIST
 By Pastor George Mills

“We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous.” (1Jn. 2:2).

A Lawyer, Helper, Counselor True,
   There, in that Holy Place,
Where none can go,
 No, not one foe,
   Where we meet Him face, to face.

To plead our cause, to help our case,
   When the enemy assails,
Where there we meet,
At The Mercy Seat,
   Our petition there prevails.

When foes accuse, and words abuse,
   When all seems loss and vain,
 He hears when we plead,
For He knows every need,
   He has suffered for our gain.

He satisfied the Law’s demand
    His blood paid the full amount,
To set us free,
From Law’s penalty,
   “Put that on my account!”

He died for sin, the debt He paid,
   To set the record straight,
So when things said contrary,
By our Adversary,
   Are made right by our Advocate!

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The EMPTY TOMB and in EMPTY HEARTS is where God displays His power. Is your heart empty today?  There is a place in your life meant only for God. Ask Him in to fill that emptiness today!

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THE OAK TREE AND THE PINE TREE.
            By Pastor George Mills

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.” (Psa. 1:3)

“Whereby are given to us exceeding great and precious promises that by these we might be partakers of Divine nature having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.”
(2Pet. 1:4)
At the entrance of a small college in Jacksonville, Florida. Two trees grow. Now, that’s not unusual. Trees grow everywhere. But these trees are different.  Different, that is, in the way in which they grow. One is an Oak tree, and one is a Pine tree. Both trees are probably about the same age. These trees are unusual because they appear to be growing from the same root. They have grown so close together that they have become fused together at the base.  They are actually PARTAKERS of one another. Their roots are so entangled and so mixed together that they have actually become one tree.  TWO TREES, yet ONE TREE! The Oak tree has it’s branches spread out and the Pine tree has grown up through the Oak branches, ever so close to the Oak tree. It appears as though the Oak tree has it’s arms outstretched and is embracing the Pine tree. The Pine tree has grown strong and tall because it’s roots gain support from the roots of the Oak tree. Just a few years back a tornado came through where these trees live. Huge trees near these trees were uprooted. In fact, 24 Pine trees were destroyed in the tornado. But not this Pine tree, it was wrapped in the embrace of the Oak tree. I wonder just how many violent storms these two have faced and endured. But today they stand, the Pine supported by the Oak. How many wonderful lessons about life we could learn from these two! The Pine growing taller and stronger supported by the Oak. In my mind I can see that Oak tree with outstretched arms as a picture of our Lord Jesus as He holds us in the storms of life. There is only one way to endure the many storms of this life and grow stronger every day. Like this Pine tree wrap yourself in the Arms Of our Saviour. Your roots are in Him, His Word is in you, PARTAKING of Him. When the storm comes, you will stand strong because He holds you tightly. Like that Pine tree, stay close to Christ!

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THE OAK TREE AND THE PINE TREE
                By Pastor George Mills

Together we stand, my Friend and me,

      He is the Oak, I’m just a Pine tree

Our roots are together, our stand it is sure,

       No matter the weather, we long will endure.

In the midst of the storms of life we face,
  Safe in the arms of His strong embrace.
Rooted in Him, kept safe in the weather,
 When violent winds blow, we stay together

So be like us, my Friend and me,
   You are the Pine, Christ, the Oak tree.
Close by His side, partaking His Grace,
 With Him to abide in the storms you face.

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THINK ABOUT IT… What you possess in this world will go to someone else when you die. But what you are will be yours forever

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         FROM MY HEART
           By Mildred Mills

       WHAT ABOUT HELL?
“The wicked shall be cast into hell and all the nations that forget God.” (Psa. 9:17)

We love to talk about Heaven but we don’t find it easy to talk about hell, which is mentioned far more times in the Bible than Heaven. When we hear the word hell it is being used as a curse word, but there is a hell just as sure as there is a Heaven, and we that know the Lord are to be busy warning the lost of this terrible place called hell. Our neighbors, our families, and all that we come in contact with should be told there is a Heaven to gain and a hell to shun. Think about it, when someone dies without Christ they go to hell. I know it is easier to say, “they are in a better place,” or, “they are with the Lord,” but the truth is, if they died without accepting Christ as their Saviour, they are in hell. That very truth should cause us to be faithful to tell others of His saving Grace. Remember, Heaven is real, but so is hell. Let’s be faithful to warn the lost, let’s give them the opportunity to receive or reject the One who died for them. Their choice will determine Heaven or hell.

         YOU FORGOT MY SOUL

You lived next door to me for years,
  We shared our dreams, our joys and tears,
A friend to me you were indeed.
   A friend to me in every need.

My faith in you was strong and sure,
  We had such as should endure,
No words between us ever rose,
  Our friends were alike- and so our foes.

What sadness, then, my friend to find,
  That after all, you weren’t so kind,
The day on earth my life did end,
   I found you weren’t a faithful friend.
For all those years we spent on earth,
   You never talked of second birth.
You never spoke of my lost soul,
   And of the Christ who’d make me whole.

I’m lost today eternally,
   And tell you now my earnest plea.
You cannot do a thing for me,
   No words today my bonds will free.

But do not err, my friend again,
   Do all you can for souls of men.
Plead with them now quite earnestly,
   Lest they be cast in hell with me.
    (Author unknown)

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TEEN TALKS THAT MATTER
 By Ashley Stevens

            SPRING TIME

We are now about to enter the beautiful season of spring. I love everything about spring, from the beautiful weather, to the sweet smell in the air, but my favorite part of spring would have to be watching little seeds grow into beautiful, bright, and colorful flowers. When I think about flowers blooming, I can’t help but think about our relationship with God is like that. It takes time to grow from just a seed to be a beautiful flower. It takes water, nourishment, and sunlight for the flower to reach it’s full potential. The flowers need to be rooted and grounded, just like we need to be as young Christians. We need the Bible and God to be our foundation and we need the sunlight of God’s love to help us grow and blossom. As we blossom, others will see our faith shine bright like the flowers, and they will see the love of Christ that we have within us. As teenagers we are often faced with the thought of being ashamed of letting others know about our relationship with
 God. We are often scared of sharing the Word of God with others, even our friends. Just step out in faith and God will help you blossom into a soul winner. Whenever you see a beautiful flower this spring, I want you to think about your relationship with God. Are you like the seed in the ground that needs God’s help to grow? Do you want to grow into that beautiful flower? With God’s help you can! You can do that in many ways. You can spend more time in His Word. You can spend more time just praying and having a personal relationship with God, and you can share the Son Light with other seeds that need help blossoming. I hope that your spring is filled with the happiness and joy that comes with knowing Christ as your Lord and Saviour.
May God bless your life each and every day.

Until next time,        Ashley Stevens.

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                     MANNA
Let me express with much gratitude our thanks for every letter, every call, and every comment concerning this Ministry.  Words of encouragement are like “apples of gold in pictures of silver.” (Pr. 25:11).