Title: It's the Devil's Prank
Contents
2 Corinthians 2:10-11 It is a trick of the devil
In this world, there is the physical world that we can see and the spiritual world that we cannot see. And in the spirit world, there are good spirits such as God and angels, while there are evil spirits such as devils and demons. There are times when it is strange that we should not be helped by angels while we live in this world, while there are times when things are strangely twisted and not possible when we are hindered by the devil.
One day when I was in Korea, my mother and I were on our way home from a conversation after all-night worship. However, as my mother was about to cross a road that was about one foot low from a tall sidewalk, I saw a black figure just sticking to my mother's leg. I exclaimed in an instant. “Go away, Satan!” As soon as the words fell, my mother's legs staggered and tried to fall, but she straightened up her posture and stopped falling.
What is this? It's none other than the devil's trick. The devil was jealous of returning home after the all-night service and playing a joke. In other words, the devil tries to instill doubt in us and create a separation between us and God by knocking down God's people who have been worshiping all night, injuring them or spraining their legs. “Hey, what’s going on with having an all-night service to God? Rather, you sprained your leg!”
Guys, keep that in mind. The devil hates me when I do well. Moreover, when we come to foreign lands here, we hate our earnest belief in God the most, so we try to get in the way no matter what. Among them, the devil cleverly hides his identity and tries to undermine our faith by playing tricks at the most decisive moment. This has happened to us before in our family. My mother and my little aunt were about to cross the railroad crossing to get on the bus after the all-night service and dawn service, when a car accident happened.
My aunt bumped into a cyclist head-on at dawn. As a result, my aunt had to undergo brain surgery urgently due to a brain hemorrhage, and the person who rode the bicycle died without waking up. However, at the same time that this incident occurred, I came home from the all-night service and was praying. In a vision, I saw a black man beating my aunt at the crossroads of the road. And after a while, I got an urgent phone call from my mother. “This is St. Mary’s Hospital in Yeouido, but there was a car accident!”
If we had little faith then, and if we had not understood the tricks of the devil, it would have put us to a great test and our faith in God would have been severely damaged. But fortunately, we were able to overcome such a great test because we had faith to understand the tricks of the devil. And even to my aunt's family, who has recently believed in God than us, God has shown this devil's trick in advance.
On the day of the car accident, my aunt and uncle had a dream and saw a large snake going out of their house, and as it went out, it wounded family members and tried to leave. However, when my uncle was always thankful, I saw a snake biting my uncle, who was always complaining, instead of attacking my uncle. As soon as I had that dream, I had a car accident. Because of this dream, my uncle's family also said, "Aha, the devil has played a game!" I came to understand and believe in God even more earnestly.
Ladies and gentlemen, the timing of God's work is really accurate, but on the other hand, the devil's mischief is also quite high. The devil used to play in this way in the past, and he still plays in this way today. And the devil who played pranks in Korea also plays pranks here in Canada. And the target of the prank is Christians who try to believe in God better.
The devil likes to do these things in our homes too. One day, while I was in Korea, I had a dream like this. My sister was putting laundry in the washing machine, and I saw a black guy sticking to my sister's hand. But the next morning I was surprised. My mother scolds my sister in a loud voice. “Hey, what if you put a tax jacket and a mop in the washing machine?” When my mother rebuked me like that, my sister was also very upset. As a result, a family dispute arose.
Why did this happen? It's none other than the devil's trick. The devil stuck to my sister's hand while putting the laundry in, so my sister stopped wearing a tax jacket and put the mop into the washing machine at the same time without her realizing it. As a result, the devil was trying to create discord in the family. And this happened. I had this dream when I was in Korea. My sister put the kimchi can in the refrigerator, and I saw a black guy sticking to my sister's hand.
But the next morning I was surprised. My mother scolds my sister in a loud voice. “Hey, what if you put raw kimchi in the refrigerator?” My sister was heartbroken when she was scolded by her mother, and because of that, a cold wind blew in the house. This, too, is a trick of the devil. The devil has been playing tricks on our sister's hand. In a way, my sister is truly the greatest victim of the poor devil.
The devil continued to play tricks on his sister's hand, so he was constantly scolded by his mother. And because of that, it continued to make loud noises in the home. If my mother had known about these devil's pranks in advance, my mother would have understood it this way, rather than scolding her like that. “Alas, the ashes still have no faith and the prayer is weak, so the devil does not fall out of his hand and continues to play tricks! oops sorry my baby! I should pray harder!”
Ladies and gentlemen, when the devil takes advantage of our family members and plays pranks on us in this way, and it causes quarrels in the family and brings suffering to us, we desperately pray to defeat the devil. And they do not hate those who have been taken advantage of by the devil, but rather have compassion on them and forgive them. So, today's text also tells the story. “If you forgive anyone for anything, I will also do so, and if I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven it for you before Christ, so that we may not be deceived by Satan, for we are not ignorant of his scheme.” (2 Corinthians 2:10-11)
We can see how to forgive others in this way through the Bible. When Jesus was hanging on the cross, he said this to those who caused him such suffering. “Father, forgive us. They do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34) In other words, the reason people crucified Jesus and showed him such blasphemy was that the devil was controlling him from behind. Therefore, Jesus was able to forgive even those who crucified Him.
If we, as Christians, do not understand the devil's tricks, our forgiveness will be limited. It is very difficult to keep the words of Jesus who told us to forgive seventy times seventy times. And we cannot keep the commandment to forgive and love even our enemies. Is there an unforgivable event in your heart, and is there a person you cannot forgive? Don't be fooled by the devil's tricks. It is a prank made by the devil. In a way, the person who caused you such pain is the devil's greatest victim. So have mercy on him and forgive him.
If there were no devils in this world, this kind of suffering would not happen to us.
not. However, the devil is still working in this place. Therefore, we must resist and defeat these demons. And when the devil plays such pranks, we should not be deceived by it and hold a grudge against or hate the other person. And we need to block the devil's tricks more actively to prevent the devil from playing such pranks.
So, with whom does the devil like to play pranks? It is the proud person who is easiest for the devil to play with. The devil comes to a proud man and whispers, “Hey, you are the smartest person in the world. So do whatever you want.” Gentlemen, when a person is proud, he cannot hear God's voice and is easily disobedient. And the devil uses these disobedient people to play tricks and easily settles among proud people, trying to destroy the works of God through them.
And even those who complain regularly without being grateful are good targets for the devil to play with. Therefore, the Bible tells us to give thanks in everything. When gratitude comes, angels follow and help, and when complaints come, the devil follows and plays with them. So try to be as grateful as you can. If you have complained, turn back quickly and give thanks. Gratitude is like an insecticide that makes the devil flee.
Also, people who don't pray are easy for the devil to play with. The devil is not afraid of those who do God's work with only a human brain. The devil's IQ exceeds that of humans. Therefore, it is easy to fall into the temptation of the devil if you are doing God's work with only a human head, only human zeal, and only human effort. Therefore, those who want to do God's work more must be armed with prayer to resist the temptations of the devil.
The devil and his minions, the demons, have meetings every day. “Who are you going to play with today?” Jesus, knowing the identity of this devil, tells us. “Watch and pray so that you may not fall into temptation.” (Matthew 26:41) Everyone, no matter how busy we are in this foreign land, we must pray. That way the devil can't play tricks. And you have to stay humble. You should also be grateful for everything. In the name of the Lord, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will defeat the tricks of the devil and continue to maintain the joy and happiness God has given you in this foreign land.