Satan Attacks the Church

Satan Attacks the Church

Deliverance Center - Portland, Maine

Rev. James R. Reynolds, Sr.

Sunday am, March 20, 2011

Text: Matthew 16:18-19

Most people do not understand what is going on. The devil is busy! He goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devor. He wants to destroy. That is his main objective to jestory

Matthew 16:18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.\\

There are all kinds of interpretation. Some say Jsus beuilt hs church on Peter. What a poor foundation to build on! Before it was over he cursed swore I don't even know Him. The rock is nothing else than the Christ. He is the rock. God wants to talk to us today.

He has been with us,

Taking out of these Scrptures, the subject I want to deal with this morning, Satan attacks the church.

and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it

The reasons behind satan's attack: HE HATES THE CHRIST. Yet now because of his position, he cannot touch the Christ. Jesus said to his disciples:

John 14:30 Joh 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

He can't find a thing! Christ laid it all down, he gave itall. Satan was defeated as far as Christ was concerned at the cross. The devil may have thought and I have heard eveangelists saying hell was having a great time that day because crhist was on the Christ bu little did they realize that the cros was part of God's plan. Christ defeated the devil at the cross and brought live and victory for us.

God hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness…

You might sa, You aren't too trighteous! But I have no rightness of of my own , but it is His , My rghtousness is as filthy rags.

Heb. 7:26 Heb 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

I Peter 2:22 Who did NO sin.

Who can stand and say, I have done no sin?!? Yo uhav eheard my testimony enough to know, I was a sinner. All have sinned and come short of the glory, but Christ never did any sin never did anything wrong.

Heb 7:26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

Is that the Christ you serve? High and holy No Sin

I Peter 2:22 no sin…no guile

Pure, spotless, lamb of God. One man said, My blood could save you too, but he is deluted! My blood, your blood, his blood is contaminated by Adam's sin. When Adam sinned all the world fell in the condemnation of sin, but Christ never sinned

I John 3:5 He was manifested to take way our sin..in Him no sin.

Satan Hates the Christ and he hates the Church. Why does satan hate the church? Because Christ lives in the church! The Scripture says, he turned his vengueance on Christ's spiritual body the church and the only way he can affect the head, who is Christ is to attach the church Christ's body. The church is a people and the building.

Ephesians 2:22 for an habitation of God….

We are built together for a habitation . God come sin this building but only because YOU ARE IN HERE!

Galatians 6:7,8—7 Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. 8 For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting

What a difference! Sow to the spirit reap life, sow to flesh reap death.

Must be born again, John 3:3 born of the flesh is flesh, born of the spirit.

sAtian is a spoiler, He knows that any attempt to produce the spiritual life through carnal effort is an abomination to God. the devil wants you to exercise the flesh which is an abomination to God. God hates the flesh. You can't work the work of God through the flesh. So satan knows that any attempt to produce the spiritual work thorugh the flesh is an abomination so satan does everything in his power to cause the flesh to so called, "glorify God. " We see all kinds of it. They are on the radio and television what is so called 'the church' but in reality that church could go on without EVETR seeing the spirit move. It is moving in the flesh and God's hates the flesh.

Looking at the church. Much of what is being produced is in the flesh. God rejects that which is done in the flesh. Satin is a deceiver he has always been a deceiver from the beginning when he deceived Eve. I t is amazing traveling to the universities to and seeing young people preparing themselves to carry 'garbage.' They re so filled with this evolution! I didn't come form a monkey and yo udidn't either. WE came from Adam and Eve and had Adam and Eve not failed we would be different. But now because of Christ, we ahv ea chance. Much of what the devil has done has been done from the flesh.

The devil told eve, eat the flruit and you will be lIKE GOD. The same thing He is dong to the church, God is lieing to you, keeping something from you, the devil is lieing, deceiving. God accepts only that which is done by the Spirit.

If you want to follow the devil, this is where he ends up….

Rev. 20:10 IN the lake of fire…hwere the BEAST and the FALSE PROPHET are…

What company! You will have no friends in hell.

Satan is a liar

John 8:44 Ya are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father, you will do, when he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it.

Do not loan your vocal cords to the devil. If you have faound yhourself telling something untran ue quickly say Jesus forgive me! He is a liar and a father of it! Where do lies come form? From the devil. H is lieing to the church today.

One man stood behind the microfphone on the television, " I am no trhying to tell you that I ma lIKE God. What I am trhying to tell you is, I AM GOD."

He is a devil and a liar inspired of hell. You never will be God, never was. You can be like God, conromed to his character and nature, but onlyh HIe is God.

AT Calvary Christ laid down His physical body. "If you be the Christ, save yourself and save us." He could have saved himself, but doing so would not have saved them or us. The only proviosn was in Christ laying down His life for us.

On the day of Pentecost He took another body. The church has become the meeting place of God and mans. If yo have been born of God, He is in you. Christ of God, went to the Cross and laid down his physical body, but on the day of Pentecost by the Spirit of God He came into the Body His church. We are the meeting place of God. A steeple does not make a church, the poepl eof God are the church and the church is to be HOLY. The Church is to be Holy even as "I am holy."

Ephesians 2:21

This is why He gave these ministries for the perfecting of the church. Prophets, Evangelists, Apostles, Teaching Pastors.

I had an opportunity when we are back many ears ago and the evangelist that we had, was teaching you things that were not in the Scripture. I didn't wait till he was done, I walk ed right up to him and said sit down, I will finish it. It is the job of the Pastor to teach.

We are God's temple, and because of that he attachs the church. Why doesn't he attch these others? He already has them! He I going to attach the born of God, the church.

The first thing he tries to do and is prevail against the church.

PREVAIL—to be strong against

Christ wanted the Church to be strong and the devil wants to PREVAIL against it. But the devil cannot be strong agains the church,bc Christ has promised to be with it and protect it. He was defated and he will yet be defeated.

Upon this rock, I WILL BUILD THIS CHURCH, and the gates of hell will not prevail

They will try to deceive, prevail, inspire with false docgtrien, but we have a promise, the gatest of hell SHALL NOT PREVAIL. The church will still PREVAIL. It is a fortress strong against all the enemies attacks.

The seond reason the devil attacks the church, The Church has been given great power to destroy satan's works.

v.19 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven..bound/bound…loosed/loosed…

Who is he talking to? Not just Peter, but His church.

The church excercises its power through faith and not through flesh, feeling.

Without faith it is impossible to please God…

It is not altogether the voice, sincerity, real, Holy Ghost, experience genuine. A manifestation of the Holy Ghost.

Mark 11:24

It wasn't their talent and ability bu tit was the Christ. When he was here, he lived in a body, but on the day of Pentecost he came into His body.

Whatsoever things he desire, pray and believe.

Matthew 28:19,20 All power is given unto me in Heaven and in earth.. and lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world.

The same Christ that dwelt in that physical body, dwells in his spiritual body, the church.

Becareful what you listen to and give yourself to. Remember, If Christ is in us we should do the same works that He did. Is He in us?

More than our Savior, He is the Lord of glory and takes up resident in us. He dwells in His body What Christ did the church should be doing.

Acts 10:38

God anointed Jesus. The church should be going about healing the sick, casting out devils and working the works of Christ.

AT the university and lady stood next too me with crutches and I had a an urge " lady do you want to be healed" but I said nothing. We left and wen tot monument square and up there a lady came by on crutches all bandaged up. The church must believe God for the power that He has invested in the church. The devil tries every way he can to stope the church from the doing the works Christ has called it to do. I have determined by the grace of God when someone walks by no matter what it is to Belive God.

Jesus asked the man at Bethesda, Wilt thou be made whole?

"there is a Christ that is still dwelling in His people and doing the same things that He did way back then."

We were down in New Bedford and a woman with her young child born deaf and now 7-8 never hear d a sound in her life. I reached out my hands and put my fingers in her ears. " I curse you deaf spirit, come out. " As my wife played softely on the orgain, the little girl grabbed her mother terrified of hearing sound for the first time.

Christ still opens the ears of the deaf and the eyes of the blind. All power in heaven and earth has been given to Christ. Is Christ in you? Then His power is in you. Your part is to act in faith on God's word. God is true to his Word.

I remember rthe first tiem I prayed for a man after getting out of Bible school. There was a blind man on the street singing and playing his according. I thought I had what it takes, after 3 years of bible school . I got out of my car and said in the name o fJeus yees be open and nothing happened and a turned an ran back to my car and left. But one day God laid his ahdns on me and gave me power to cast out devil s, heal the blind, deaf and lame.

The devil is out to deceive and devour and estory. That is why we have r eligious world that filled with entertainment instead of a religious world filled with the power of God. God manifesting his power in the lives of people and Christ is glorified, the sick healed, and the devil defeated.

And I will give unto thee KEYS..what keys?…Power over all the power of the enemy.

What is it going to be? Fast testimony, great singing, choirs, no FAITH IN GOD.