Living Hope Fellowship Church

DIVERSIONS

Training Material

by Pastor Kevin Badgley

DIVERSIONS

Preface

(temptations)

            God said in Exodus 20:3, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”  Our God is a jealous God.

          “Normal” does not cast out devils. We must get rid of diversions, things that sidetrack us from God and keep us from being holy.

          We should strive to be totally dedicated to God by removing the diversions, and stumblingblocks, and idolatry from our lives.

DIVERSIONS

by Pastor Kevin Badgley

          Luke 9:39 says, “And, lo, a spirit taketh him, and he suddenly crieth out; and it teareth him that he foameth again, and bruising him hardly departeth from him.”

          Luke 9:41 says, “And Jesus answering said, O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you, and suffer you? Bring thy son hither.”  Even the disciples could not cast the devil out of the man’s son. Jesus called the people a faithless and perverse generation! That is a generation that has been perverted, turned aside from right and good to the wrong and twisted.  Someone who is faithless does not have enough, and their faith is not just right.

          Mark 3:14‑15 says, “And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils.”  Jesus gave his disciples power, so what was wrong?

          If luxuries become your main focus, they become your god.  Some call evil good, and good evil.  Luke 16:15 says, “And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”  Some things that are acceptable to men are hated by God; they are an abomination to Him. 

          2 Corinthians 6:16 says, “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”  God won't work with abominations!

          Some people will not discern the difference between perverted preaching and right preaching.  Mark 7:7 says, “Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.” 

          We have been given power so why are devils not cast out?  We are faithless and perverse.  If sin is not openly condemned, how will people know what it is?  If you become presumptuous, you become perverse.

          Diversions are things that attract. They are made to draw someone from one point to another. There are many things that can divert your attention, and some people are too busy (diverted) to pay attention to God.  If the preaching is too straight, people get “busy” to get away from conviction, like Herod did with John the Baptist.

          Perverse means turned away from what is good and true.  To pervert means to corrupt, to misdirect, to divert.  Some diversions are perversions.

          1 Corinthians 6:20 says, “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” 

          Proverbs 27:20 says, “Hell and destruction are never full; so the eyes of man are never satisfied.” We can’t let rest periods be too long and deep for us to press in and on with God. The devil puts so much pressure on those who are pressing in to God that some have backlash and are more worldly than others. They are not showing the “goods”, because they are diverted from God's way.

          James 4:17 says, “Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”  According to John 9:31, God heareth not sinners. Christians DO sin sometimes, but we should cease from sin. We are supposed to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). 

          David said in Psalm 139:24, “And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” 

          Numbers 32:23 says, “But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.”

          In Luke 10:17, “. . . the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.”  They were anointed of the Lord, and were casting out devils in Jesus’ name.  However, they could not cast the devil out of the boy mentioned in Luke, Chapter 9. 

          Where can devil possessed people get deliverance if God’s people are not able to bring that deliverance?  When you get DIVERTED long enough, you get PERVERSE!  If you are diverted, distracted, or preoccupied, it is because you yielded to the devil, and he got you there.  You are too busy to press in and do the works of the Lord.  You are no good in the kingdom of God.

          In Judges, Chapter 6, we find that Gideon was called a mighty man of valor. He was to be a savior for Israel. They were idol worshipers and were given to Midian for seven years. Gideon had to FIRST tear down his daddy’s altar to Baal before he could save Israel from the Midianites.  He did it at night, because he was scared.

          Idols divert us from God.  They do not hear or speak, but they are a “point of contact” for faith in false gods.  Jesus is our “point of contact” for true faith in God.  Gideon broke the linage curse on himself.  Images are idols and icons.  An idol replaces God all or partially.  We are commanded to serve God with ALL of our hearts.

          Covetousness is idolatry.  This takes place when you use things to satisfy you in place of God.  You must get rid of idols before you will do anything for God!

          Rachel sat on Laban’s idol god.  Jacob said to let the one die who had taken it, and later she did die.  Deuteronomy 7:26 says, “Neither shalt thou bring an abomination into thine house, lest thou be a cursed thing like it: but thou shalt utterly detest it, and thou shalt utterly abhor it; for it is a cursed thing.”

          It takes something out of a person to possess something.  When you put your trust in something, it can become a god to you.  Idols can become a drug to you.  An idol can be anything you have or use to satisfy you.  An idol is something you look to as a comfort, a healer, a deliverer, or a keeper.  Playing cards have 52-plus devils with them. Little statues of Buddha are little idol gods.  There are many more that people just do not realize.

          Ezekiel 14:4 says, “Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the LORD will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols.”  We lean to our “self will” until God answers.  We comfort ourselves with counterfeits till He answers.  These are things we don’t give up until we seek God more deeply.

          Hebrews 12:1 says, “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

          An idol is a stumblingblock.  It is a landmark that says go here, this far, and no farther.  There is no Bible doctrine that says we must just “cope”.  We must overcome.  We have become “idol” dependent.  God said in Exodus 20:3, “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”  Our God is a jealous God.

          “Normal” does not cast out devils. We must get rid of diversions, stumblingblocks, and idolatry in our lives. Satan will see us sifted as wheat, like he tried to do with Peter, if we don't get right.

CONTACT INFORMATION:

PASTOR KEVIN BADGLEY

LIVING HOPE FELLOWSHIP, P. O. BOX 111, GRAND CHAIN, IL  62941

CHURCH / FAX (618) 634-2541

E-mail  livinghopefellowship@lazernetwireless.net

These condensed Bible studies have been published to help new Christians in their new walk with the Lord.  Kevin Badgley, the author, is the pastor of Living Hope Fellowship Church.

This is a Living Hope Fellowship publication.