Satan's Water Hose!

I wanted to post this thought that I have had for a while and it is something that I have experienced myself, and to be honest it causes discouragement from time to time! It is something that I believe that the devil uses to quench the zeal of the Christian who wants to work for his master. We know that Satan is the Father of lies (John 8:44), and he uses lies against Christians to make them ineffective in their service and weak in their walks with God. I have noticed, especially since I have started witnessing regularly for Christ that Satan likes to throw out lies to me which hinder me from what I am doing and cause me to second guess what the Lord has commanded and put on my heart. This just recently happened on Friday afternoon when I was out witnessing with another brother in Christ, and him and I approached a couple of guys sitting on a brick wall. One of the guys got up and went to talk to someone so we began conversation with one of the guys about his spiritual beliefs. After about two minutes the other guy came back and we asked him about his belief in the after life. The other guy had no religious convictions, and this guy said that he did not like to think about the afterlife. So we began to take them both through the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) to show them their need for a Savior.

After we had took them through the Law the guy who did not like to think about the afterlife quickly responded with the fact that Christ died for our sins, so that we are all forgiven. We replied that we must receive Christ through faith and we are not all automatically forgiven. He then said that he was saved through Christ, but he was living for himself at the moment. We then challenged him to take up his cross and follow Christ with his life (Luke 9:23-24), and he replied that this is not relevant to us today, and that he was comfortable with his own faith. He then looked at the brother that I was with and said to him, "Are you trying to make me feel bad? You are taking your own interpretations of the Bible and shoving them on me". On the inside I kind of felt a since of rejection, and then the following thought came, "Maybe I am just pushing people away with my zeal, maybe this is a bad approach, maybe I won't be effective with this, maybe I should back off from this". At this point I felt like my enthusiasm and excitement were lessening, but soon after I thought about it and saw that of course this guy isn't going to agree with what we are saying because what we are saying condemns the state that he was in. Of course he will accuse us of this because his own heart was not right! However, Satan wanted to use that encounter to discourage us and make us think that it was our fault that he did not receive the Word of God. We were just doing what God had sent us out to do. We had a holy fire to do the will of God, but Satan pulled out his water hose to put out that fire so that we would be discouraged for the rest of the day. I am happy to inform you that afterwards I kept pressing on and had a some good conversations.

My encouragement to you is not to let Satan discourage you from service in ministry, no matter what that may be. But especially in reaching out to the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ. He will try to use subtle ways to discourage you if the blunt threat of fear does not work. Keep hold to the promises and commands of God. If you find that what you're thinking or feeling is in contradiction to what God has promised or commanded then there is a problem. Do not let the devil use negative thinking to discourage you from ministry and a healthy relationship with Jesus Christ!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Watch the thoughts!

Now the following is a story of the evangelist D.L. Moody in one of his evangelism encounters where he was met with a threat and discouragement because of his approach. Read and be encouraged!

Taken from "Why God Used D.L. Moody" by R. A. Torrey.

"One night Mr. Moody was going home from his place of business. It was very late, and it suddenly occurred to him that he had not spoken to one single person that day about accepting Christ. He said to himself: "Here's a day lost. I have not spoken to anyone today and I shall not see anybody at this late hour." But as he walked up the street he saw a man standing under a lamppost. The man was a perfect stranger to him, though it turned out afterwards the man knew who Mr. Moody was. He stepped up to this stranger and said: "Are you a Christian?" The man replied: "That is none of your business, whether I am a Christian or not. If you were not a sort of a preacher I would knock you into the gutter for your impertinence." Mr. Moody said a few earnest words and passed on.

The next day that man called upon one of Mr. Moody's prominent business friends and said to him: "That man Moody of yours over on the North Side is doing more harm than he is good. He has got zeal without knowledge. He stepped up to me last night, a perfect stranger, and insulted me. He asked me if I were a Christian, and I told him it was none of his business and if he were not a sort of a preacher I would knock him into the gutter for his impertinence. He is doing more harm than he is good. He has got zeal without knowledge." Mr. Moody's friend sent for him and said: "Moody, you are doing more harm than you are good; you've got zeal without knowledge: you insulted a friend of mine on the street last night. You went up to him, a perfect stranger, and asked him if he were a Christian, and he tells me if you had not been a sort of a preacher he would have knocked you into the gutter for your impertinence. You are doing more harm than you are good; you have got zeal without knowledge."

Mr. Moody went out of that man's office somewhat crestfallen. He wondered if he were not doing more harm than he was good, if he really had zeal without knowledge. (Let me say, in passing, it is far better to have zeal without knowledge than it is to have knowledge without zeal. Some men and women are as full of knowledge as an egg is of meat; they are so deeply versed in Bible truth that they can sit in criticism on the preachers and give the preachers pointers, but they have so little zeal that they do not lead one soul to Christ in a whole year.)

Weeks passed by. One night Mr. Moody was in bed when he heard a tremendous pounding at his front door. He jumped out of bed and rushed to the door. He thought the house was on fire. He thought the man would break down the door. He opened the door and there stood this man. He said: "Mr. Moody, I have not had a good night's sleep since that night you spoke to me under the lamppost, and I have come around at this unearthly hour of the night for you to tell me what I have to do to be saved." Mr. Moody took him in and told him what to do to be saved. Then he accepted Christ, and when the Civil War broke out, he went to the front and laid down his life fighting for his country."