Pastor Barry's  "Chapter & Verse"  Day 251

September 8;       Acts 8:4;       97/260(III);       ‘Can’t Win For Losing’

Acts 8:4 Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word.

The Lord Jesus won.  Anything the devil does, can be turned around for good.  Take this verse for example.  A great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem.  In the natural that seems bad.  However, this verse tells us that the believers who were scattered because of the persecution went everywhere preaching the gospel.  So instead of hindering the Word of God from spreading, the Word of God spread.  Often when you hear the testimony of someone, they share about severe challenges that happened to them.  Many times the devil initiates these circumstances to hurt this person.  However, if the problem is severe enough, that person will many times look to the Lord for help and get born again.  The greatest example of this is the crucifixion.  The devil thought when the Lord Jesus was crucified, that he won.  I Corinthians 2:8 teaches that satan had no idea that he was fulfilling the very reason that the Lord Jesus came for.  The Lord Jesus took our sins upon Himself and gave us His right standing with the Father.  That frees every Christian to continue Jesus’ work without guilt or condemnation.  Jesus also took our sicknesses on the cross, enabling the body of Christ to walk in divine health.  After the Lord Jesus’ spirit went to hell and paid our price, He arose from the dead, returned to heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to empower us to continue His ministry. If you are a Christian, your side won.  The devil, can’t win for losing.