The citizen. [volume] (Berea, Ky.) 1899-1958, 1918-04-11

once In his own /
person; but his
messengers are legion. which makes 1t
practically true of him that he Is
ubiquitous, attacking us both by sug- |
eestions Of evil within and soliclta- |
lions TO evil without. His agents are
not only demons. but bad men and
women. bad literature. bad amuse-
ments, bad habits. bad examples, and
when we are resisting these we are re-
slsting him.
u) The best time to resist him is at
the beginning of the temptation, when
we are at our strongest and the temp
tatlon at its weakest point. For exam
pie have we ever known drunkard
who became one all at once1 Did not
the deceitful habit creep over his fac
ulties by slow degrees until at last II
controlled hlm7 How many latent pas
sions are there In the human breast
which never would see the light were
II not for the apparently accidental cir
cumstance that first made them known
to us7 This suggests the carefulness
WIFI WHICH We StAtiA Alit TWINS
we read as well as the society In
which we mlngle.
CD The temptations OF Satan will be
felt most powerfully at our weakest
point, and each one of US has that
point which Is a prediction towards
some special sin or error.
Gambling is an example of what is
meant, since there Is In almost every
heart desire TO possess riches, and IL
requires only n slight bend in this cur
rent to turn the youthful mind away
from honest labor and healthful occu-
patton. Some wise man has said, The
way the tide of mans constitution
runs, that way the wind of temptation
blows"
(3) The devil often tempts US where
we least expect II, and where we think
ourselves least liable TO fail. Abra-
hams name Is a synonym for faith, and
yet he fell through unbelief. When
ever we speak OF patience we think of
| Job, aud yet Job cursed his day.
/ Moses was meek above all the men
/ which were on the earth. and yet his
| lack OF meekness, as exhibited in strik-
| ing the rock at kadesh. prevented him
/ from entering the promised land.
(4) The devil can successfully be re-
sisted only in the strength Of God. That
was the way David COPIED with Goliath
when he said TO Saul. THE Lord who
delivered me out of the paw of the lion
and out Of the paw of the bear, he Will
also deliver me out of the hand Of
this uncircumcised Phlllstine." lie was
not trusting In his physical strength.
nor his personal courage, nor his great
skill In the use OF the sling. All these
were brought into active exercise II Is
true, but yet he had learned to lean
upon "A power greater than his own and
greater than which he opposed.
This gives significance TO the latter
half Of the text. "Reslst the devil and
he will Zee from you" We must do
the resisting. but our victory over him
is brought about by God. In other
words, the reason the devil will flee
from a man II he reslsts him is because
he has been overcome once for all by
the Son of God for all mankind.
q, what hope and encouragement Is
In those words, "He will fee from
you" Behold give you power over
all the power OF the enemy, and moth
ing shall by any means hurt you" said
Jesus to his disciples In Luke 1919.
What a compass there Is In this decla-
rationl The tempted Christian is in
the wilderness of despair and hears the
roaring Of the satanic lion. lie is trav-
cling on a lonely road and remembers
that he has an adversary with murder
In his heart. lie Is In the fires Of a
fierce conflict and the angel of the bot
tomless pit is stirring up the flames.
30, thou God of life and light" he
cries, us there no escape2 Can ]
not free myself OF thls2 Shall my
spiritual life be threatened every mo
ment with spiritual deathf" mo-" is
the answer of our Almighty God and
eternal savior, "Reslst the devil and
he will fee from you"
Here Is clear command and a
precious promised May he who In his
own person overcame our enemy give
us diligently to obey the one because
we faithfully believe the other.