John 10:1-10 – “TRULY, truly, I say to you, He who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up from another place, is a thief and a bandit.² But he who enters by the door, is the shepherd of the sheep.³ To him the door-keeper opens the door; and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by their names and brings them out.⁴ And when he has brought out his sheep, he goes before them; and his own sheep * follow him, because they know his voice.⁵ The sheep do not follow a stranger, but they run away from him; because they do not know the voice of a stranger.⁶ Jesus spoke this parable to them; but they did not understand what he was telling them.⁷ Jesus said to them again, Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.⁸ All who have come are thieves and bandits, if the sheep did not hear them.⁹ I am the door; if any man enter by me, he shall live, and he shall come in and go out and find pasture.¹⁰ A thief does not come, except to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they might have life, and have it abundantly.”

Last time we focused on the mission of the thief to steal.  Today I want us to consider additional insights into the mission and purpose of the thief.

THE THIEF COMES TO KILL

I believe that the devil would obliterate us from the planet if he could.  He would kill us physically hoping to kill us spiritually and separate us from God eternally.  He comes to kill in many ways and to kill many things.

He comes to Kill our Faith in God.  A priority of hell is to create doubt raise questions that we cannot answer and distort God’s truth to the point that we are unable to embrace the Truth of the Bible.  If we cannot trust God’s Word, we cannot exhibit faith in God and His word.  The Bible tells us that without faith it is impossible to please God so if the thief can kill our faith in God, he can separate us from God.

He seeks to Kill our Hunger for God.  Jesus said, “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after righteousness…”  In Luke 12:15 we find the warning to beware of covetousness and are reminded that life is not what we possess but God.  The thief attempts to kill our faith in and hunger for God in many ways.

He seeks to develop in us a hunger for carnal things and to become so busy with busyness that we are unable to hear God or fellowship with Him.  He inspires us to focus on riches, advancement, power, possessions, status, and prestige.  As he cultivates those appetites, he turns our hearts from God and kills our faith.

THE THIEF COMES TO DESTROY

That is the ultimate desire of the devil.  He wants to destroy our ability to hear that inner voice of our conscience and sear it.  We then live with no guilt, no remorse, no fear of God, and no shame.  He tells us everyone is going to get in so no worries, just enjoy life and do your thing.

He has, in many ways, been successful in developing a generation or two of people who believe they can live in any manner and do anything, and all is okay.  Conviction has been stripped from their hearts and they no longer fear God.  Hebrews 3:13 exhorted, “But exhort one another daily, while it is called today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.”

The thief’s purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy.  The contrast is the purpose of Jesus, He came to give life and that life is abundant.  He came to destroy the works of the devil.  He came so that we could be eternally free.

We need to be aware of the devil’s works and tactics but not fearful of him.  We are more than conquerors so let’s being to live like God is telling the truth.

God bless you today and every day!