Free A Sad Soul Can Kill You by Catherine Flowers Page A

will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.”
    â€œSatan,” the pastor shouted out, “has so many different snares that he uses to hold a soul captive. Bullets,” he hollered. “Let’s call them bullets. Now, the first bullet only grazes you by finding your weakness, and if you’re not saved, let me tell you there are many.” He paused to wipe the moisture from his forehead with the white cloth he always had with him.
    â€œThe second bullet,” he continued, “is just a flesh wound, but it draws you in nonetheless by enticing you with whatever your weakness—or weaknesses—may be. Now, in the beginning it’s pleasurable.”
    Tia tugged at the collar on her shirt. It was hot in the sanctuary—or was it just her?
    â€œUh-huh,” the pastor continued. “Oh yeah. The enemy’s going to see to that. But after awhile,” he slammed his fist down onto the podium, “after awhile, you’re going to find that it holds less and less pleasure!” He let out a little moan, and then he wiped his forehead again.
    Tia caught the attention of one of the ushers and asked for a fan. Moments later, he returned with a small hand held fan. She gripped the thin wooden handle and began waving the round piece of paper connected to it back and forth in front of her face.
    â€œYou’re gonna want to walk away from it,” the pastor said, “but now your flesh—” he was interrupted by the congregation’s stomping of feet and clapping of hands, “—your flesh, having been wounded, is too weak to do so!”
    â€œThis,” he pointed his finger out into the congregation. Tia glanced around at the other members. Had he only been pointing at her? “This,” he continued, “is the point when the third and final bullet gets embedded deep into your flesh.” He swayed backward as he emphasized the word deep .
    â€œAnd you are now being held captive by the enemy.” He stopped to catch his breath. “He ends up enslaving you with the lustful desires of your own heart! And the Bible says, ‘. . . sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.’”
    The man sitting next to Tia jumped up from his seat and began clapping his hands as he yelled, “Preach!”
    Various members of the congregation shouted out, “Yes, Lord!” “Amen!” and “Have mercy!”
    Tia remained stoic and showed no outward signs of the turmoil going on within her.
    Pastor Worthy concluded his sermon by asking, “Brothers and sisters, do you see how that old devil works? He’s doing the same old thing, the same old way. This ain’t nothing new!” His eyes roamed across the congregation. “Just look in your Bible,” he said. “There are countless stories in there about individuals who got caught up by the lust of their flesh: Samson, David and Bathsheba, and more.”
    The pastor lowered his voice. “Remember what 1 Corinthians, Chapter 6, Verses 9 through 10 tells us about the consequences of unrepented sin.” He began to read.
    â€œOr do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.”
    Tia stopped fanning.
    â€œNow, folks,” he said, “this is God’s Word, not mine so don’t get mad at me.” He extended his arms out to the congregation. “If anyone is here tonight and you’ve fallen into one of those categories . . . or maybe you fell into another category that I didn’t mention, but you want to know Jesus—you want a new life—you want to be changed . . .” He stepped down from the pulpit. “You don’t want to do the things