North Park Apostolic Church

04/27/2011 LESSON 1

The Bait of Satan

hates me who has exalted

himself against me; then

I could hide from him.

But it was you, a man my

equal, my companion

and my acquaintance.

We took sweet counsel

together, and walked to

the house of God in the

throng.”

Luke 17:1 NIV

Jesus said to his disciples:

"Things that cause peo-

ple to sin are bound to

come, but woe to that

person through whom

they come

Luke 17:1 TLB

"There will always be

temptations to sin," Jesus

said one day to his disci-

ples, "but woe to the

man who does the

tempting

It is one of the en-

emy's most deadly

and deceptive

traps. It imprisons

countless Chris-

tians, severs rela-

tionships and wid-

ens the existing

breaches between us. It

is __THE TRAP OF

OFFENCE_________.

In Psalm 55:12 David

laments, “For it is not an

enemy who reproaches

me; then I could bear

it. Nor is it one who

From Where do Offences Come?

From those whom

we sit with and sing

alongside,

Or perhaps it is the

one who is delivering

the sermon.

The people that we

spend holidays, at-

tend social functions,

and share offices

with.

Or perhaps it is

closer

__SELFISHNESS____

reigns in our society.

Men and women today

look out for themselves

to the neglect and hurt of

those around them. This

should not surprise us.

The Bible is very clear

that in the last days men

will be “__LOVERS OF

THEMSELVES__”.

(II Timothy 3:2)

Pastoral Note: Paul

was not referring to

those outside the

church. He was talking

about those within it. Wee

kly

Bib

le S

tudy

PAGE 2 THE BAIT OF SATAN

Jesus made it very clear that is impossible to live

in this world and not have the opportunity to

become offended. Yet most Christians are

shocked, bewildered, and amazed when it hap-

pens.

We believe we are the only ones who have been

wronged. This response leaves us vulnerable to

a root of bitterness. Therefore we must be pre-

pared and armed for offenses, because our re-

sponse determines our future!

See Revelation 3:14-20

Jesus addressed the church of Laodicea by first

telling them how they saw themselves as rich,

wealthy, and having need of nothing, then by

exposing their true condition—wretched, miser-

able, poor, blind, and naked. They had mistaken

their financial strength for spiritual strength.

_PRIDE HID THEIR TRUE CONDITION_.

Jesus told the Laodiceans how to get out of their

deception: to buy God's gold and to see their

true condition. Jesus' first instruction for break-

ing free from deception was to “buy from Me

gold refined in the fire” (Revelation 3:18).

The Cure

One way the enemy keeps a person in an of-

fended state is by keeping the offense hidden,

cloaked with pride. Pride will keep you from ad-

mitting __YOUR TRUE CONDITION__.

Pride keeps you from dealing with truth. It dis-

torts your vision. You never change when you

think everything is fine. Pride hardens your heart

and dims the eyes of your understanding. It

keeps you from the change of heart—

repentance—which will set you free. (II Timothy

2:24-26)

The Hearts True Condition

Is It Our Fault...? The Deceptive Trap...

The Greek word for “offend” in Luke 17:1

comes from the word _SKANDALON_. This

word originally referred to the part of the trap to

which the bait was attached. Hence the word

signifies _TO SET A TRAP_ in someone's way.

(II Timothy 2:24-26)

Those who are in quarrels or opposition fall into

a trap and are held prisoner to do the devil’s

will. Even more alarming, they're unaware of

their captivity!

Like the prodigal son they must come to them-

selves by awakening to their true condi-

tion. They do not realize that they are spewing

out bitter waters rather than pure, (see James

3:11). When a person is deceived, he believes he

is right even though he is not.

THOSE WHO ARE IN QUARRELS OR

OPPOSITION FALL INTO A TRAP AND

ARE HELD PRISONER TO DO THE

DEVIL’S WILL

PAGE 3 LESSON 1

have hurt us. For this reason Je-

sus counseled, “Anoint your eyes

with eye salve, that you may

see” (Revelation 3:18). See what?

_YOUR TRUE CONDITION_!

That's the only way we can “be

zealous and repent” as Jesus com-

manded next. You’ll only repent

when you stop blaming other peo-

ple.

SOMETIMES WE

RESENT THOSE

WHO REMIND US

OF OTHERS WHO

HAVE HURT US.

Jesus said our ability to see cor-

rectly is another key to being freed

from deception. Often when we

are offended we see ourselves as

victims and blame those who have

hurt us. We justify our bitterness,

un-forgiveness, anger, envy, and

resentment as they surface.

Sometimes we even resent those

who remind us of others who

See Your True Condition!

The first step in refining

gold is grinding it into pow-

der and mixing it with a

substance called flux.

Then the mixture is placed

in a furnace and melted by

intense heat. The alloys and

impurities are drawn to the

flux and rise to the surface.

The gold (which is heavier)

remains at the bottom.

The impurities or dross

(such as copper, iron, and

zinc, combined with flux) is

then removed, yielding a

pure metal.

HOW DOES GOD REFINE US?

God refines with afflictions,

trials, and tribulations, the heat

of which separates impurities

such as un-forgiveness, strife,

bitterness, anger, envy, and so

forth from the nature of God in

our lives

The Steps to Refining Gold...

2515 Lemon Grove Ave.

Lemon Grove, CA 91945

Phone: 619-229-2800

Fax: 619-667-8821

www.apostolicpower.org

North Park Apostolic Church

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