Avoiding the Traps

The devil is a trapper, he sets traps for his prey, which are people.  I know a lot of people who as children grew up in church, but they have been kid-napped by the devil.  The devil caught them and used the bait of the world to entice them away from their Father.  So, some folks live freely in this world and some are taken captive of the devil.  How does one maintain their freedom?
 
Galatians 5:16, 18 This I say then, walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lusts of the flesh.  If you be led of the Spirit, you are not under the law.
             
So, how does one walk in the Spirit?  How are we led of the Spirit?  Jesus said, “My Words are Spirit”.  So, be led of the Spirit, we must be willing to do what He says to do.  We begin by doing the written Word recorded in our Bibles.  As we grow and advance, the Lord will speak to us a personal Word, custom made to fit our situation.  Whatever He speaks to us can be substantiated in His recorded Word, so there can be no doubt of its authenticity.
 
The law was a book of rules, a lot of do’s and don’ts, it made no provision for the Spirit.  So, when you choose to be led of the Spirit you transition from flesh to Spirit.  You are no longer bound to the limits of the natural man, you become a supernatural being.  When a person is led by the Holy Spirit of God they drive the devil crazy because he cannot figure out their next move.  The devil can easily snare a creature of habit, but a man who receives instructions from the Lord is totally unpredictable.
 
2 Kings 6:9 Elisha sent word to the king of Israel, warning him not to go near a certain place, because the Syrians were waiting in ambush there.
 
The devil is always plotting an ambush against God’s people, but the Holy Spirit always has an alternative plan.  We must constantly choose between making our own way or being led by God’s Holy Spirit.  We cannot see where God sees but He can clearly see what the devil is plotting against us.  Sometimes God will lead us right into the valley of death and He will empower us to come out unscathed.  Other times He will lead us around an impending storm and we won’t ever know how blessed we were!
 
Acts 19:2 And Paul said, have you received the Holy Ghost since you believed?  And they said, we have not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost.

The devil knows that once a Christian receives and is led of the Holy Spirit, he will have a difficult time trying to ensnare him.  So, the devil does his best to keep the Holy Ghost out of the churches.  Without the Spirit of God the people will grope around in the dark and stumble into the traps of the devil.  A wise man is not a self made man, he knows he cannot be successful in this life without the Spirit of God.

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