Thursday, September 1, 2011

What To Do When Satan Has His Bulls Eye on You (Sifted for Service)

Sermon: What To Do When Satan Has His Bulls Eye on You (Sifted for Service)
Sermon Text: Luke 22: 31-34 (NKJV)
Sermon Notes
August 24, 2011


31And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” 33 But he said to Him, “Lord, I am ready to go with You, both to prison and to death.” 34 Then He said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow this day before you will deny three times that you know Me.”

Satan always wants to take out the person with the most faith, the person trying to grow their faith, or the person using their faith to live by. He comes with every weapon to sift the Lord’s people.

Jesus was praying that Peter didn’t lose his faith. We always pray that we don’t lose things, such as a job, car, or a house. However, we should be praying that we don’t lose our faith. Your faith must HOLD up, GROW up, or TAKE YOU up.

Point 1: Sifting Signifies (vs 29)
Jesus did not pray that Peter didn’t get sifted. The devil decided to sift Peter to put him to the test after he received a promise from Jesus.

Usually when you’re sifted, its right after you’ve received great revelation, or God is at great work in your life, or you’re desiring to do more in life. We always claim that we want to be great, but we don’t want to be sifted. You must be on your guard when you get spiritual revelation.

If Satan is after you, it means that you have potential to do great harm to his kingdom. When we make a decision to follow God, an alarm goes off in hell. Satan wants to take you out so that everyone connected to you will go down too. He wants to sift you because he knows what’s coming in your future. What is it that God has in your future that you don’t even know about? Often times we get caught up in the sifting and not the signal.

Point 2: Sifting Separates (vs 33)
Peter expressed that he was ready to go with Jesus to both prison and death.

Don’t ever become too “puffed up”, or in other words, too overconfident in your spirituality. Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 10:12 “Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall.”

Sifting-to be turned upside down, shaken, and separated so that all the dirt can come out.

Things to remember:
A.)Sifting silences Satan
B.)Your sifting helps to develop sifting for others
C.)Sifting increases your dependence on God. John 15:5-“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”
Passive denial
D.)When we’re too busy to pray, we deny that God is the center of our life
E.)When we neglect his word, we deny that he’s competent enough to guide us
F.)When we worry, we deny that he’s the Lord of every circumstance

Point 3: Sifting Gives a Second Chance (vs 32)
Jesus said Peter would still return and decided that Peter was worth saving. Jesus also knew that Satan desired Peter, but Jesus desired him more.

Let us warn others that are going through difficult times that we’re praying for them. Let us also tell them that when they are restored, God will use them.

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