Section 3: Third Device

Satan’s Devices to Keep Souls from Holy Duties,

To Hinder Souls in Holy Services,

& to Keep Them Off from Religious Performances

Third Device – Satan will present to the soul the difficulty of performing these duties.  He will tell you that it is hard to pray as you should, and to wait on God as you should and to walk with God as you should, and to be lively, warm and active in the communion of the saints as you should.  Doubtless, this device has kept thousands from waiting on God and from giving him the service that is due his name.  

First Remedy - To dwell more on the necessity of the service and duty than on its difficulties.  Instead of listening to Satan, preach to yourself!  Remind yourself that though these services are difficult they are necessary for the honor of God and the magnification of his name in the world.  They are useful in overcoming sin, strengthening weak graces, keeping clear the evidences of regeneration, scattering your fears and raising your hopes.  By such services we gladden the hearts of the righteous and silence the tongues of the unrighteous who look for every opportunity to blaspheme the name of God and besmirch His people.  Never think about the difficulties without thinking about the necessities and your soul will be lifted up above every trouble that attends religious duties.  

Second Remedy – Remember that the Lord Jesus will make such difficulties easy as he draws you to himself while you are in his service.  If meeting with God who is goodness itself, beauty itself, strength itself,  and glory itself will not sweeten your service to him, nothing in heaven and earth will.  When Jacob met with Rachel, it made his service to Laban seem easy in comparison (Genesis 29:20).  We can be sure that the Lord will assist us by His grace to make service joyous rather than grievous.  This is what gave Nehemiah confidence and raised his spirit above all the difficulties that accompanied his service to the Lord (Nehemiah 2:19-20).  While you are serving the Lord, you will find that the God of Heaven will prosper you, support you, encourage and strengthen you and carry you through the most difficult service with joy and gladness.  Remember that God will give you strength suitable to the task and when the service is most difficult you will receive the greatest assistance.  

Third Remedy - To dwell upon the difficulties that the Lord Jesus passed through for your temporal, spiritual and eternal good.  Christ did not complain that the cross was too heavy to bear; the wrath too great to endure; the cup  too bitter to drink.  Not once did Christ complain about the difficulty of the service!  Rather than plead the difficulty he sweetly and triumphantly passed through it all.  If this consideration does not move you past your discouragements then nothing will.  A soul not stirred by this, not raised up by this to be resolute in its service is a soul given up by God to much blindness and hardness.  

Fourth Remedy – Consider that religious duties and heavenly exercises are only difficult to the base and carnal part of a saint.  Here is the battle between the flesh and the Spirit! Paul describes this conflict in Romans 7:22, “For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” To the higher part of man, Christ’s yoke is easy and his burden is light (Mt. 11:30).  We are always at our best when we see the most of God, when we taste the most of God and when we find our greatest delight in serving Him.  Our prayer is that it would always be that way! Oh that our strength would not fail and our flesh would not falter and that we would work in tireless power toward that service to God that will give us the greatest pleasure. 

Fifth Remedy – consider that a great and glorious reward is given to those that cling to the service of the Lord in the face of all difficulties and discouragements.  One hour in heaven will abundantly repay you for clinging to the Lord in the face of all difficulties (Heb. 12:2).  If we would persevere we must look more to the crown than the cross, more to future glory than present misery, more upon holy encouragements than discouragements. In the same way that heat accompanies fire, there is always some degree of comfort that follows every good action (Psalm 19:11).

Section 3: Second Device

Satan’s Devices to Keep Souls from Holy Duties,

To Hinder Souls in Holy Services,

& to Keep Them Off from Religious Performances

Second Device: Satan will present all of the dangers, losses and sufferings that accompany the performance of these services.  In this way he has kept many who would have believed in Christ from confessing him.  This is what we see in John 12:42, “Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue.” 

First Remedy – Consider that all the afflictions and troubles you meet in the way of righteousness can never truly harm you.  Remember the words of Peter, “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? (1 Peter 3:13).  All the troubles that come to men in the way of righteousness can never rob them of their treasure.  The treasures of the saints are the presence of God, union and communion with God, the pardon of sin, the joy of the Spirit, the peace of conscience, which are jewels that Christ alone can give and none but Christ can take away.  A believer’s treasure is always safe in the hands of Christ; his life is safe, his soul is safe and his crown is safe. “…But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me” (2 Timothy 1:12). 

Second Remedy – Consider the saints who have gone before who have persevered in their service despite the difficulties that surrounded them.  Nehemiah and Ezra were surrounded by dangers and opposition, and yet, in the face of it all, they kept on building the Temple and the wall of Jerusalem.  Daniel and his friends, without any support and encouragement from countrymen of friends and in the face of many temptations and discouragements remained faithful to God in the palaces of Babylon. Though afflictions and imprisonments accompanied Paul and the other apostles, they persevered in their work and service to the Lord.  Why then, should we not take encouragement from such examples and carry on in our duties before God. 

Third Remedy – Consider that the dangers and troubles that hinder your service are only temporary, but the neglect of these duties can lay you open to spiritual and eternal danger.  “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard,” (Hebrews 2:3).  Following Christ may bring about the frowns of men, but neglecting to follow Him opens one up to the frowns of God.  Remember that there is no one who will not suffer more by neglecting the ways of God than he will suffer by doing them.  Heavenly duties may cause you to lose earthly possessions but neglecting them can cause you to lose God, Christ, heaven and your soul forever.  

Fourth Remedy – Remember that God sometimes delivers us from greater trouble through lesser troubles.  There once was a godly man who broke his leg on the way to the airport who missed his flight that was taking him to speak at a conference, but the plane he would have been on crashed.  God spared his life through the lesser affliction.  Sometimes God places us in a situation that makes us heartsick but it is in order that we may be made perfect.  He purges from us those actions and attitudes that would rob us of Godliness. 

 

Fifth Remedy – Consider that you will gain more through service to God than you could ever possibly lose or suffer by being found in His service. Diligent saints will discover that religious service is not mere empty formality but rather those things in which God is pleased to reveal His beauty and glory to their souls.  David says, “So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory,” (Psalm 63:2). The saints can say in all their afflictions that they have meat to eat and drink to drink that the world does not know.  In their service they receive such reward and refreshing that they would not exchange them for all the riches and honors of this world.  Let a Christian compare his temporal losses with his spiritual and eternal gain and he will find that for every penny he loses in his service he will gain a dollar!  We may lose peace with the creature but we will find it with the Creator.  In exchange for “slight momentary afflictions,” they receive an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison” (2 Corinthians 4:17).