Glen Bond 5-7-06 May 7, 2006 Picayune, Mississippi Subject: The darkened understanding 2 Corinth. 4:3,4 3 But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: 4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them. Ephesians 4:17,18 17 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: The mind and understanding of every lost sinner is darkened, or blinded by the god of this world. Who is the god of this world? Satan. Satan has you blinded and it is his job to keep you blinded. When you start looking at Gods word, or start praying earnestly, he will try to distract you, or confuse you, or do something that will stop you from coming to the light. John 12:46 46 I am come a light into the world, that whosoever believeth on me should not abide in darkness. Every person is blinided to the fact that he is a sinner. And only the power of God can lighten that understanding so that the person can see and understand. Only the Power of God. No teacher nor preacher or pope, no one but God can open or lighten the understanding. This plainly shows that the lost sinner is subject to the power of Satan, the god of this world. Look what Gods word tells us about Christ: Isaiah 42:6 6 I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7 To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. Also Acts 26:18 18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me. Christ came "to bring out the prisoners from the prison". So, if you are not in prison, then you need not look for Christ to help you. God the father sent his son, Jesus Christ, to open your blind eyes, or, understanding, and to bring you out of the prision of Satan. Now, the first problem that a typical worldly person (that is you - yes) faces is this: You are blinded and cannot see that you are a sinner. You don't see that you are going to a devils hell, you don't see that there is nothing good in yourself. Romans 3:23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Romans 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: Gods word, the Bible, tells us that we have all sinned, and that there is nothing good in us. Therefor we need a redeemer to deliver us from the penalty of sin, which is eternal death in Hell. Do you believe what the bible says? Some people want to say: "Oh, the Bible contradicts itself." or, "Oh, there are discrepancies in the Bible." "The Bible was written by man, and not by God." "I don't believe all that is written in the Bible." To you I can only say "The Bible must be believed." You must believe what it says. If you won't believe it, then you will never be saved. You will believe ALL of it, or you will never be saved. Gods word is true wether you believe it or not. YOUR unbelief doesn't change the validity of the Gods word. Lets remember, your understanding is darkened, and your mind is blinded. Satan will fight you every step to keep you blinded and under his power. That is why we must be delivered by POWER. Satan is an angel of light to deceive you. 2 Corinth. 11:13,14 For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. I know that most people won't believe that Satan has them blinded. They think that Satan is a wimpy devil that can be bargained with and outwitted, but they are wrong. Satan has very great power, and would destroy us all if God did not hold him back. Satan is much more powerful than any man. He is much more wise than any man. No man is a match for him in any way. So, every person will continue as a slave of Satan unless God himself steps up to deliver you. You are helpless to deliver yourself. This is part of the soveriegnty of God. If God never chooses to deliver you, you will never be delivered. This is one of the great things that I praise Him for. He didnt have to deliver me, but He did. He should NOT have delivered me, but He did. Romans 1:16 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. Salvation is by the power of God. and it must be - because man doesn't have the power required to deliver himself. Now I want to show some examples of how blind a person is. First lets look at the selfrighteous Pharisee: Luke 18:10-12 10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. This Pharisee was blinded to his sinful condition. He was righteous in his own eyes, but not in the eyes of God. He could not see his own pride. He could not see that there was nothing good in himself. He was blinded by Satan. The publican could see that he was nothing but a sinner. God hates pride and a proud heart. Proverbs 16:5 Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: Psalms 10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: When he says "wicked" he is talking about YOU". Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the LORD is to hate evil: pride, and arrogancy, and the evil way, and the froward mouth, do I hate. Mark 7:21 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, 22 Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: 23 All these evil things come from within, and defile the man. Now for one more example of a blinded sinner, lets look at Acts 8:3 Acts 8:3 As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Saul was dragging Christians to prison because of their faith. He thought that he was doing God a favor. He thought that he was doing a good thing. His mind was blinded and his understanding was darkened. He could not see that he was doing the work of Satan. Lets read Acts 9:1-21 The Lord opened his blinded mind and enlightened his understanding. The Lord saved Saul by HIS mighty power. Just as Saul was saved by the power of God, every sinner will be saved by the power of God. You say, "Oh If God shined a light around me and spoke to me, I would believe then." I tell you, even if God shined a light from heaven and spoke to you, you would not believe except the Lord God should give you the power to believe. Because you are held captive by Satan. The Lord opened Sauls blinded mind and understanding, and even though God were to speak to you, if He didn't open your blinded mind, you would not believe. Jonah 2:9 Salvation is of the LORD. You can't save yourself, I can't save you, nobody can save you execpt the Lord.