Misrepresentation

INTRODUCTION:

Illustration of Misrepresentation

A friend of mine who had a Financial Advisor

Had them on a good plan.

Money was being put away for retirement

House was going to be paid off in less than 10 years

They were set!

This guys had become a family friend.

My friend is deployed to Iraq for about a year

Comes back and cannot get a hold of his Financial Advisor

About a month goes by and he has two FBI agents knocking at his front door.

Comes to find out this Friend (Financial advisor) had stolen my friends identity.

Took out loans against his house

Credit cards in my friend name.

Bankrupt my friend and his family.

Had to move back to his home town and live with his parents.

This financial advisor was a fraud, a crook.

He misrepresented himself to my friend and because of that my friend was deceived and his credit score was destroyed.

The sad part, for my friend, was this Financial Advisor MISREPRESENTED himself.

He cost my friend money, lifestyle and trust in people

He was a con artist

He was a liar

In the Bible, Holy Spirit warns of such individuals.

BODY:

1 Timothy 4:1–11 ESV

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer. If you put these things before the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, being trained in the words of the faith and of the good doctrine that you have followed. Have nothing to do with irreverent, silly myths. Rather train yourself for godliness; for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. Command and teach these things.

Give some context to Paul leading up to telling Timothy these things.

Timothy was, in every way, Paul’s spiritual son.

Young but gifted, Timothy had been assigned to lead the church at Ephesus—a church needing order in worship as well as doctrinal correction, plagued by false teachers.

The church of Ephesus was a strong church at one time.

Remember what Jesus said about this church:

Rev. 2:1-5 “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: ‘The words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands. “ ‘I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent.”

Paul charged Timothy to live a life beyond reproach, giving believers a standard to emulate.

We find in First Timothy Chapter 4 .....

“The Spirt expressly says”

We can presume the Spirit that is referenced here is the HOLY SPIRIT.

Capital “S”

As a matter of fact we find a cross reference to this passage found in John 14:17 “even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

NIV - “clearly says”

NASB - “explicitly says”

I like how the Amplified Bible states it ...

- “distinctly and expressly declares”

Expressly (Rhetos) in stated terms; in no uncertain words; specifically

says (Lego) make a statement; says

Can we stop for a moment to say this, “Isn’t it wonderful to serve a God who speaks?”

He spoke things into existence! (Creation)

He speaks audibly (Very rare)

He speaks through his word (Very common)

He speaks during our time in prayer (Most common)

We need to do more listening than talking.

He will speak through other ....

Angels

Man (A friend, a spouse, a stranger)

A bush - He spoke to Moses through a burning bush!

Whichever the case may be ...... HE SPEAKS!

I will say this, “When God speaks, things happen!”

I would be safe to say, He is speaking to all of us today, right at this moment.

Speaking a word of encouragement

Speaking a word of revelation

Speaking a word of direction

Speaking a word of conviction

Speaking LOVE

Church .... “When God speaks, things happen!”

In this pericope ......

“The Holy Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that .....”

“in the later times some will depart from the faith”

Paul was told by the Holy Spirit as he had shared also in .....

2 Thess. 2:3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction

This is speaking of “The Great Falling away”

I want to point out the word “SOME” (Tis) it is a nominative which means it is the subject of the sentence.

But it also means “NOT ALL.”

“depart” (Aphistemi) to withdraw ones self from; to fall away

Luke 8:13 “And the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear the word, receive it with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of testing fall away.”

This verse is a prophecy stated. “Some will depart from the faith”

This is going to happen.

Meaning this ..... There might be some people, whom we love and cherish, fall away from the faith.

This breaks my heart

But it also should motivate us to make sure, (Do whatever we have to do to make sure) the ones whom we love and cherish, are not the SOME.

This brings us to a revelatory question ...... HOW?

How will SOME fall away from the faith?

If this is a prophesy that will come to fruition ..... Don’t we want to know this

Later part of verse 1 state, SOME will fall away ....“by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons”

devoting oneself is “Intentional”

devoting (prosecho) to apply one’s to, attach one’s self to, hold or cleave to a person or thing.

They were devoted!

To the wrong thing!

Attached to the wrong thing!

Holding to or cleaving to the wrong thing!

Christ should be who we are devoted to!

The ones who will fall away are the ones who are devoted to .....

Attached to ....... holding fast to ...... cleaving to ......

“deceitful spirits and teachings of demons.”

Amplified Bible states it likes this ..... “giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach.”

Deceitful (planos) misleading, leading into error; seducing

The definition I like is this ..... misrepresenting a personal identity

a spirit that is misrepresenting someone

teaching (didaskalia) that which is taught.

OF DEMONS!

Ladies and gentlemen, let me say this .....

There are spirits that are trying to identify as the Holy Spirit.

AND

There are demons that are professor in our universities of life.

The school that you and I are attending.

HOW ARE THEY DOING THIS?

These spirits and demons are doing all of this deception and teachings .....

I Tim. 4:2 “through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared,”

Through human agents!

insincerity (hypokrisis) a better known word is Hypocrisy

This word is defined as one who assumes a role in a dramatic production; one who claims to be what he is not; play actor, pretender

How are these Spirit doing this, How are thes demon professors doing this?

through the Insincerity (hypocrisy) of liars.

liars - (pseudologos) speaking / teaching falsely; speaking lies

Here is the one I like ....

giving out false information or misrepresenting information.

Other human beings, being used by these spirits and demons:

causing them to lie! (Misrepresent)

Paul says the reason these liars are doing this, is because ....

“consciences are seared”

conscience (syneidesis) as the inward moral and spiritual frame of a person.

IT IS SEARED

seared (kausteriazo) to burn with a branding iron.

mark with a brand, in imagery of one branded for criminal activity

The Greek word for seared is the word from which the verb “cauterize” is derived. There are at least two ways of understanding this whole expression:

1. These liars have lost the use of their consciences, and they are no longer aware that their actions are wrong.

This is so because their conscience is “cauterized,” that is, burned to such a degree that it has become completely ineffective.

2. The word seared can also mean “branded.”

Taken in this sense it means that these liars have lost the use of their consciences because they have been branded by the Devil, to whom they now belong and whose will they now obey.

This position is represented in one translation as, “whose consciences are branded with the devil’s own mark.”

PAUSE

CONCLUSION:

We will look at the second half of this pericope in a few weeks.

God is SPEAKING to us today.

He is reminding us that there will be SOME who will fall from the faith.

WHY?

Because they are devoted to deceitful (Misrepresenting) spirits and the teachings of the enemy.

This is done by those who are liars (Misrepresenting).

hypocrites who have been branded by the enemy.

What can we do?

Put our ears to heaven!

God is still speaking!

Make sure our devotion is to Christ

Rebuke the deceitful spirits

Refuse the teachings of the Enemy

Pray for revelation from the Lord of who the LIARS are!

So lets go back to the beginning, “Now the Spirit expressly says ....”

Whats he saying to you today?