The Deceptive work of the Enemy

OPEN WITH DECEPTION ILLUSIONS FOR FUN!

I was reading from a post this morning by our brother and church presbyter, J. Lee Grady, and the news that the article dealt, which saddens my heart, made me really start to think about how aware we need to be at all times, of our adversary, the devil, and the reality of what can happen if we take our eyes and our hearts and minds off of Jesus.

In a word, the devil will DECEIVE us, if we allow him the chance to do so!

The article by Lee Grady was entitled, “Can We Prevent Sex Scandals in the Church?”

Want to receive Fire in My Bones by email? Sign up hereShareTweetEmailMore

This article started off talking about the sad news, but the very real news, that came out recently regarding another church in this nation. Here is brief exert from Lee’s article:

Can We Prevent Sex Scandals in the Church?

“Those of us who care deeply about the health of the global church have been in mourning the past few weeks as yet another sexual scandal has surfaced, this one involving 25,000-member Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago and its founder, Bill Hybels.

I was hoping this was only a nightmare, but it's really happening. We'd rather sweep the whole mess under the rug, but apparently there has already been too much cover-up. Repentance requires us to face the ugly truth. It also requires us to have the courage to treat victims of abuse with compassion rather than silencing or shaming them.

All told, 10 women have come forward with allegations that Hybels, who is 66, engaged in inappropriate sexual behavior with them when they were on staff at Willow Creek. Hybels has denied the charges, but the entire elder board of the church and two lead pastors resigned this month because they believe they mishandled the accusations.”

Now, before going any further, let me quickly add something here. These are in fact allegations of another brother. They may or may not be completely accurate, or partly accurate, or lies all together.

The thing that I want us to focus on right now, is that the subject that I am mentioning tonight and warning each if us about, is the DECEPTION that the enemy brings and that NO ONE is immune to it!

We have ALL SINNED and were it not for the grace of God and our faith and belief in Jesus, through God, then we would all be doomed for eternal death!

That being said, the sad allegations of Pastor Hybels and his reported acts of sexual transgressions, along with another incident from the same church of a church volunteer who sexually abused a couple of disabled children some 4-5 years ago, leads me to say this to you this evening: WE NEED TO PRAY FOR OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS in that church and the PASTOR and the staff!

Instead of pointing our fingers at them and shaking our heads in judgement, as the enemy wants us to do, and thus pronouncing pride of self-righteous judgement over them, we need to stand in the gap for them and pray for reconciling and healing.

PRAY FOR Willow Creek Community Church in Chicago and their staff!

OK, so I wanted to very briefly tonight, speak to you about something that, although we all probably know this, or at least say that we do, it is something that should be reminded and reminded of, from time to time in our meetings!

That something, is of course the reality that there is in fact, a very real presence, known as Lucifer, the devil, our adversary and the only enemy that we recognize.

Our enemy, as Christians, is not the person down the street that flips you birds when you drive by (MENTION JEAN STEEL!)

Our enemy is not the man, or woman, who gossips about you and starts rumors about your marriage that deal you years of heartache and pain!

Our enemy is not that man, or woman who murders your family member and then scoffs about it!

Our enemy is not the person who drove the car drunk that night and hit your best friend’s car, which left your friend a quadriplegic for the rest of their life!

In fact, there is no situation in which another human ever becomes your enemy. We have only ONE ENEMY and that one enemy is the devil himself and the host of fallen angels that he now commands that do his bidding!

Trust me when I say that I know, in the natural and by our own strength and will, we would normally not forgive someone who murders or rapes our own child, or wrongfully cheats us to the point of losing our homes or our marriage!

It is only through Jesus Christ and His grace and love that we could ever forgive and release someone who has wronged us in such a way!

There are numerous stories that you can read and that I have looked at, on the internet, about couples who have forgiven the murderer of their child, and then led them to the Lord!

This kind of love and forgiveness can come only from those who love Jesus the Christ!

Anyway, my point is that we have a very real enemy and he is very much active in trying to destroy our lives, our homes, our families and our futures here on this earth and with the ultimate goal of destroying our eternal lives with God the Father!

About a year and a half ago, I did a short sermon one Wednesday night, about the reality of the place called Hell and that this is a LITERAL place of judgement and torture reserved just for the devil, his demons and everyone who rejects the TRUTH, the entire TRUTH, of about the Son of God, Jesus the Christ!

In doing this sermon, I was thanked by several people that night, one such person was a young lady who told me that after spending years growing up in church, this was the first time that she had ever heard a preacher teach about the reality of Hell from the pulpit!

I was floored to think that we have stopped teaching about the consequences of our actions here on this earth and that people no longer hear the truth about the eternal destiny of those who reject Jesus and His offer for salvation!

How has the church gotten so far from its job to teach the ENTIRE TRUTH about salvation, both of the eternal reward of being with Jesus, as well as the eternal separation from He and His Father in the place we know as Hell?!!

Why is it that we shy away from making sure that people have the full knowledge about their decisions dealing with their eternal destinies? We witness to people and with great enthusiasms, about heaven and its splendor and beauty, but that is only one side of the decision. The rejection of Jesus and his salvation by a person, means an eternity in Hell and eternal separation of that person from any love or comfort, as well as an eternity in utter and complete darkness and torment!

Why and how have churches gotten so far away from teaching the FULL truth of the Bible and of what Jesus had truly saved us from?

I think that, many, many churches and preachers, like a vast majority of the population, have been DECEIVED and they are unwilling or even unable to grasp the full truth of what the Bible teaches!

There is in fact a very real and LITERAL place called Hell, which, according to , was made for the devil and his demons, but also for all who would reject Jesus and His salvation,

Matthew 25:41 NLT

“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons.

also tells us,

Revelation 20:10 NLT

Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

This same judgement that the Bible says awaits the devil and his demons, is also the same place that awaits every man and woman who reject the TRUTH of Jesus while here on this earth and whose name is never to be found written in the Book of Life, as and tells us,

Revelation 21:8 NLT

“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Revelation 21:8 NLT

“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

Revelation 20:11–15 NLT

And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 20:11–15 NLT

And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God’s throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books. The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds. Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death. And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Revelation 21:8 NLT

“But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars—their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”

,

Matthew 10:28 ESV

And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

There is a real place called Hell and equally and just as true, there is a very real and literal enemy of our souls, called the devil!

And this very literal enemy of our spiritual lives is busy, 24/7 making sure that his imps, or what we call his demons, are doing everything possible to block and hinder our initial walk, or even limit our progressive walk and growth with the Lord.

He does this very effectively through his tools of DECEPTION!

Just a few minutes ago, I used the little fun and entertaining mental tricks and illusions to fool and deceive you, to make a point for tonight.

An illusion is nothing more than something that we think that we see and understand, but in reality, our natural senses are DECEIVED and the TRUTH turns out to be totally different!

I don’t cling to the moniker of “magic” for such things, due to the negative connotation, but rather, I like to say illusions or tricks!

This is exactly what the enemy does to every person that walks this earth; HE DECEIVES and lies and tricks us into sin and disbelief!

And do not think that you are too strong and immune to his deception, for we all have sinned and are likely to sin again.

As tells us,

1 John 1:8 ESV

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.

The devil and his role of deception and that of the believer, is something that the Bible continually warns us about and in fact, it is the very first thing we see the devil doing when he is introduced to us in the creation account in ; HE IS THERE FOUND DECEIVING EVE IN THE GARDEN!

In his letters to his disciple Timothy, Paul warned everyone who read these epistles about the grave danger of deception and the falling away that would occur in the latter times, as we read of in and in ,

1 Timothy 4:1 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,

2 Timothy 3:13 ESV

while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.

Look here, Jesus, Himself, said of the devil, in ,

John 8:44 NLT

For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.

This is the best description of our enemy, as given straight from the mouth of the Lord. And as part of his description, it is also fitting within his MO against each one of us.

, tells us this of satan,

Revelation 12:7–12 NLT

Then there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and his angels. And the dragon lost the battle, and he and his angels were forced out of heaven. This great dragon—the ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, the one deceiving the whole world—was thrown down to the earth with all his angels. Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night. And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.”

This is the picture that we see of satan coming before God in and in , where the devil comes before God to cast doubt and judgement before the Lord, against us!

He accuses us of our fallen nature and sins and tries to claim access to us!

Look people, it doesn’t take long to look around at the state of this nation and see how successful, our enemy, the devil, has become. And not just in the lives of secular world, but in the lives of believers and the church!

In His Olivet discourse, Jesus tells His disciples this, in ,

Matthew 24:24 ESV

For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

Jesus said this would happen and Paul mentioned that there will come a great falling away, a great rebellion of people’s before the time of Jesus’ return, as in ,

2 Thessalonians 3:3 NLT

But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one.

2 Thessalonians 2:3 ESV

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,

And although Paul warned the church not to become deceived, we are there. We are now so close to the return of Jesus, that it is undeniable.

LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE FROM FOX NEWS: READ on iPad the Fox News article on the Pro-gay church.

Let me share something that I found very interesting from a teaching that I listened to,some time ago from Kris Vallotton at Bethel Church in Redding.

And the only reason that I read this to you now, is because it factor in with the tool of deception of the devil.

In , (turn there with me in your Bibles please), we read a very familiar spiritual warfare verse that says,

Ephesians 6:12 NLT

For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

Now in your Bible version, what is used for the part where it says, “but against evil rulers”? In other words, what word does your Bible version use to refer to “rulers”? Some may say principalities, some rulers. etc.

Well, that word there that is used for “rulers/principalities” is the Greek word, archē, and this word actually means, its PRIMARY meaning, is: beginning, first cause, the origin.

Now, if you turn to , we will read Paul saying this,

Philippians 4:15 NASB95

You yourselves also know, Philippians, that at the first preaching of the gospel, after I left Macedonia, no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone;

The word that is used here for “first preaching”, that Paul mentions, is again, the same Greek word, archē, and this time we see it used as “beginnings/origin”.

Here is the point, when Kris Vallotton taught on this, he was bringing up the point of a spiritual force or a demonic power called, “origin” and this demonic power is used by the devil to redirect us in our lives and way of thinking to a beginning point of something, but with a different meaning. That is, it redefines a particular way of thinking about something in our lives and for our society and families and churches!

Something that is out of the original way and teaching of God! This is done through science and the

For instance, years ago pretty much everyone believed that life began at conception. However, “origin” takes us back to this point and teaches us that this is not a life yet at first trimester, second trimester. It is only tissue, not life yet.

Then it gets really smart people to believe this lie and propagate it.

Origin says that everything began with evolution, not creation!

This same spirit of “origin” teaches mankind now, that at birth, they are not male or female, but that it is subjective and up to the parents and the child to figure out later on.

This spirit works in people’s minds and tells them, “you were born a man, but you were supposed to be a woman. You can change this, you know!”

Do you see what I am saying?

This is how this spirit, this demonic presence that the devil assigns, causes deception and confusion!

Here is the bottom line guys, the devil is working overtime to DECEIVE everyone he can, including the chosen/elect of God, leading into these last days. And because people are teaching that it is impossible to walk away from your position with God and you are eternally secure no matter what you end believing and the lifestyle that you end up living, we must draw closet together and UNIFY as a church body. We must become like minded and strengthen ourselves in our faith and dependence upon Holy Spirit to guide and direct us into all TRUTH!

The devil is doing everything that he can to deceive and to keep believers locked into quarrels and arguments and pointless and fruitless seasons, just as we read of in ,

2 Timothy 2:23–26 NLT

Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people. Gently instruct those who oppose the truth. Perhaps God will change those people’s hearts, and they will learn the truth. Then they will come to their senses and escape from the devil’s trap. For they have been held captive by him to do whatever he wants.

How effective has the DECEPTION of the enemy been, within the last 40 years alone, well, if you EVER watch or listen to the news, then this last passage from , , will sound spot on with nation and that we live in now!

2 Timothy 3:1–5 NLT

You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that!

2 Timothy 3:8–9 NLT

These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith. But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.