Presenting Mr. SELF

Today we come and look at these verses of scripture of John 8:38 through verse 44 but we will be primarily focusing on verse 44. And we read that Jesus spoke to the Jews that were present, saying “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him.

When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.” With this said I know that by now you know that the title of this sermon refers to the devil. And the Jews listening knew that in the core of their heart that their nature was that of self, as like their father the devil. They wanted what they wanted and how they wanted and when they wanted with no regard to others in the nature of their self. They were not open to God neither to his truth of his son Jesus who was standing right in front of them before their very eyes.

They were ignoring it.

We in our old nature know that we are self centered and because of self choose to make choices that are not in line with Gods will. Why is this? Well it all began in the Garden of Eden where man disobeyed God and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This put man in the world of self, independent of God. Tasting the fruit of his wrong choice the consequences of being separate from God began, he became spiritually dead as it is our problem as well.

The Jews because of this nature, being spiritually dead, did not know that God, who in his infinite wisdom since before the foundation of the world, knew his son Jesus would come to earth to fulfill his justice for all of mans sins once and for all and make his love known towards man. The Jews that were speaking with Jesus knew of sacrifices and of the temple but they only knew it in the nature of their self and not in the fact that God was standing right there personally with them. Because of their circle of self, disobedience and unbelief they were in, they could not acknowledge Gods way of selfless unconditional righteous love through Jesus Christ.

They claimed that God was their father only they did not understand that their nature of self in their heart was that of the same way as of the devils way of doing things, this is why they did not love Jesus. Only through Jesus could someone be born again spiritually and have this love of God and then respond out of knowing that God loves them. This is why Jesus said “You speak of your father the devil” (John 8:44).

This truth is for us who are walking in the carnal nature of self. Yes this is true of many believers that walk in the carnal nature of self and not in the power of the Spirit. How is this possible you may ask? Well most people have never entered into the Lordship of who Jesus is in regard to self. Jesus having died for our sins once according to the scriptures and is now alive forevermore for Gods promise towards us. So that through someone surrendering to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, our response towards God, the Spirit of God for our carnal nature is there available to us by letting us know when we are walking in the spirit or in the flesh.

The book of John 16:8 states: “And when he (The Holy Spirit) is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” We read in 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity” (1 Cor. 13:13). We know that these three are contrary to our nature of self because it is only wrought out in us by the Spirit of God through Christ Jesus. One may have faith that, God is, one may have trust in Gods Word but only by God’s power can one have charity by fully surrendering to the Spirit of God to have real maturing faith and understanding of Gods word by God revealing it to you. Do you need charity of Gods Spirit, self. And do you agree that this your need? Then humble yourself (Jam. 4:6, 1Peter 5:6) in Gods sight and ask him for his charity by the power of the Holy Spirit in the name of Jesus his son and God will show you his will for you personally in the power of the Spirit. Tell God about yourself.

God is a good God and holy and just and understanding to our need to walk by his Spirit. We as his children who are born again as John 3:3 points out need his loving guidance through his Spirit and God by his love wants us to walk by his Spirit. As Jesus shares with us in the book of Luke 11:13 “If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?” Do not be as boy who is hungry for love in the heart, because of disobedience, and does not ask for forgiveness from his father with confession of his transgressions. God the father is gracious and kind and wants you to know who he is through a personal walk with him through the promise of his son Jesus. Jesus said in John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent."

But the spirit of the antichrist is here as 1 John 4:3 points out which says, “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.”
Can the term “spirit of the antichrist” also signify self against Christ? The points that are presented here in Gods word (the Bible) for us to read is relevant to our nature in order for an individual to either choose to walk in the carnality of self or choose to walk in the Spirit(Gal. 5:16).

The stories of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11) and the rich man and Lazarus (Luke 16:20) as told by Jesus attests to this idea of “Self on the throne.” God’s Spirit moves upon us to do of his will. Yes we are partakers but God is the author and director of our spiritual well being. If one has been born again by the Spirit of God’s power through Jesus Christ then he or she should be walking by the Spirit of God, with God holding our hands as well as we are holding his hand, this is his intention for us. Take the time and implore God of your need.

Mr. Self, the devil, has taught us the wrong way. This is true indeed and seeks to destroy us through our weaknesses apart from the truth of Gods word. Now for a true story now to try to help illustrate this would be that a long time ago there was this fighter in the nineteen thirties and forties named Joe Louis who was one of the greatest if not the greatest heavyweight fighter who ever lived? He was fast, strong and an intelligent fighter. He was everybody’s living nightmare who ever fought him he was unstoppable.

But there was one fighter who did beat Joe his name is Max Schmeling.

Max knew that Joe was a very great fighter that in order to win in a fight against him he would have to find a weakness in Joe’s defense in the ring. So Max watched every recorded film of Joe’s fights that he had with other opponents, running the films both forwards and backwards until it happened Max found the weakness in Joe’s defense. When the day came the two fighters stepped into the ring. Joe was the favorite and according to everybody Max would lose, it was only a matter of how long it would take Joe to knock out Max. The bell rang and out came the two fighters each one eyeing the other while throwing punches. Then Max threw the punch right at the moment Joe was defenseless in his actions and Joe got knocked down. Nobody could believe it! Max went on to win the fight against the greatest fighter of all time in the ring.

If a human being can find a weakness in someone’s defense, how much more does Mr. Self the devil find.

He looks for the weakness of any believer not walking in the spirit of Gods truth without relying on the Holy Spirits help. Mr. Self, the devil, is a fighter against Gods truth and is against our soul. Mr. Self watches the film clip of our lives to find and use our weaknesses against us in the ring of life. 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 (1 John 2:16).

He does this to steal, and to kill, and to destroy us (John 10:10). Mr. Self, the devil, is also called the accuser of the brethren. He tries to use the believer’s sinful nature (our weaknesses) against us in front of God. But he can only accuse. He also tries to keep individuals from accepting the promise of the word of life as his first task against man. But through Jesus Christ you and I can have the victory over this enemy of our souls. Yes, you too can have the victory, because Jesus is our savior and can be your sin bearer.

Whether a person who does not know Jesus or whether they fail to grasp the victory they possess, they can walk in the light by Gods Holy Spirit through the promise of God. A free gift, freely given to those that ask God and believe that Jesus died for them to pay a debt that they could never pay and believe that God raised Jesus from the dead; you can walk in the light by Gods Holy Spirit. For those who never made a decision to call on Jesus you can call on Jesus right now as your savior and as Lord to lead you.

Through Christ Jesus we are set free through this truth to become sons of God (John 1:12). Yes right now would be a good time to introduce you to Mr. SELF, the devil. Here’s what he has to say.
“The bible is against me and I hate it. When it talks about Gods chosen people and the Christians I get mad as hell. The Lord Jesus even quoted it to me when I tempted him in the wilderness and I had to flee when commanded by him (Mat. 4:3).
The bible is the only place where it talks about Gods people. I rather have any good than Gods absolute right and wrong. Self then rules by its own understanding with God not being in the picture. My hope is that no one else will turn to Jesus as their sin bearer so that they can have eternal life. Please, please use your wisdom and do not ask God for his wisdom by asking him for it in the name of his son Jesus.
This way, because of SELF, the mistakes keep on happening and happening and I just sit back and watch you in your folly until one day you die and you even lose your self. I influence people’s motives without them realizing it is me, the devil, that’s doing it. I help to develop SELF in people, and keep them in bondage to the hating of born again Christians who are no longer in my domain because of the promise of Gods love expressed through his son Jesus Christ and the hope of placing ones trust in Jesus as their sin bearer!”

If the devil could speak I think these words could best help explain his intent towards all men especially those who have been born again by the power of God and not by the wisdom of man.

I must take the time here and address what was just said. A lot of people may have said a prayer or go to church but they never trusted in Gods power to save them through Christ Jesus. They have only trusted in mans wisdom. Jesus is God in the flesh (John 1:1 & 1:14) and only he can save you if you call on him because of your need of him.

All of this truth you may or may not have worked out for yourself. My prayer for you in all that you heard just now is that you would ask God, in prayer, for his promise of his son and that you would walk in the spirit of his truth. And when you ask for his power, by the Holy Spirit, to overcome your weakness of your carnal nature of your self, God’s truth will take root in your life (John 8:32) because without the truth of his word being established in your heart you will always be in bondage to Mr. self, the devil, and to your weaknesses that you have from your old nature (Rom. 6:6).
The Lord Jesus has overcome all of this as Galatians 5:16 and 17 says, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.” Mathew 10:38 states, “And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.”
1 John 2:16 says, “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.” Take the time right now and ask God to nail this message into your heart by agreeing with him about your self and tell him that you will take up your cross and follow him. This is the Fathers will for you to live for Christ by his Spirit. “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” as Philippians 1:21 so lovingly points out. And this brings real peace indeed and real victory. So now I end today’s message with a question for everyone listening. How will you respond to God with what you have heard here today?
(All verses above is from the King James Bible)