We Don’t Have Time To Look Back

Luke 17:29-33

29 But the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

30 Even thus shall it be in the day when the Son of man is revealed.

31 In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field let him likewise not return back.

32 Remember Lot’s wife?

33 Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it.

Today there are way too many people living on the edge, living too close to deception, too close to just jumping right back into the past and all its failures.

Ask yourself about how bad it was and how bad you were before God drug you from the pit.

Ask yourself how bad would I be if I turned back and took on more spirits even worse than the ones I had.

Ask yourself how would it affect my children and those around me?

Matt 12:43-45′

43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest and finds none.

44 Then he says, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he finds it empty, swept and garnished.

45 Then goes he and takes with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.

The living translation says it like this: Matt 12:43 “This evil nation is like a man possessed by a demon. For if the demon leaves, it goes into the deserts for a while, seeking rest but finding none.”

Then it says, ‘I will return to the man I came from. So it returns and finds the man’s heart clean but empty!

Then the demon finds seven other spirits more evil than itself and all enter the man and live in him. And so he is worse off than before.”

1. We find ourselves living on the edge because life is not as we want it.

2. We are not seeing the results of our faithfulness to God bringing rewards we expect to receive.

3. In other words people turn back because God doesn’t produce for us fast enough.

4. We grow discouraged and the enemy sees and opening to come back and then brings back more misery than we ever knew before and not only us but our family and friends will suffer for our sins.

I have watched this happen ever since I have been in the ministry,

A. I have seen people that seemed to be on fire for God become nothing but a puff of smoke

B. And when Satan is finished they are nothing but ashes from a burned out fire.

· To make it down that narrow road that leads to heaven you have to walk in the middle of the road.

· People who walk on the edge eventually fall and they take everything and everyone beside them.

· Meaning their family and friends and anyone else they can pull with them as they fall into eternity never to return.

When you’re living on the edge and you see yourself falling you reach and try to grab ahold of something to save you from falling but soon you grow tired and lose your grip or you pull whatever you have ahold to over the edge with you.

1. How many people have tried to hold to both worlds?

2. And we watch as they turn loose and fall into eternity?

3. We reach for them but they seem to lose their grip and Satan stands ready to accept them with open arms.

We see them every day and they try to avoid us knowing we can see the change and see the despair in their lives.

I hear them say I am miserable but I can’t make it back I want to but I can’t seem to turn loose.

Some of you tonight are fighting to hang on, you know that if you let go of God you lose the only thing that can save you.

You think what will others think if I fall, my family and friends that I testify to, people who have seen the change in my life, they have seen how good God is to me what will they think?

Ask yourself will I be the instrument that Satan uses to destroy the only chance they have for salvation?

Listen to this story of one who was willing to pour it all out to Christ and was saved and another who was willing to sell out and be lost forever.

John 12-3-6

Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly and anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped his feet with her hair and the house was filled with the odor of the ointment.

You can’t serve Christ unless you are willing to give it all and humble yourself before him.

4 Then said one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, which should betray him,

5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence and given to the poor?

6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief and had the bag and bare what was put therein.

This story tells the real heart of Judas who betrayed Christ he was self-motivated not lead of the Lord like the others.

John 13:27… And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

Judas had an influence on many people, remember he was among those that Christ sent to preach the gospel to cast out devils and to heal the sick and the love of money cost him his eternity with God.

Matt 26:14-16

14 Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went unto the chief priests,

15 And said unto them, what will ye give me and I will deliver him unto you? And they covenanted with him for thirty pieces of silver.

16 And from that time he sought opportunity to betray him.

You see Judas lived on the edge and when Satan had the opportunity he pushed him and he fell.

It’s not hard to be pushed over the edge when you are standing so close.

I honestly believe that at first Judas wanted to be a disciple of Christ but scripture had already prophesied his betrayal in Psalms 41: Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me.