Those who cling to the truth in Christ are fighting a war
on all fronts. The dragon that desires
to devour us has turned into a hydra. So
many heads of destruction striking at us, and when we cut off one head, two
grow in its place. Throughout human
history, the good guys and the bad guys have been pretty well-delineated. The difference between good and evil, holy
and unholy could be plainly seen. We've
had the luxury of being able to look at the bad guy and say, "This is the
bad guy, here he is right here, well-defined." The church can successfully fight such an
enemy. But what happens when the bad guy
looks just like the good guy? What
happens when the enemy so infiltrates the church and so confuses the world population
that he has pitted against itself, that there is no discernible delineation
between holy and profane? Between what
is Christ and what is Antichrist? How do
we fight an enemy that blends in among us so well, that we cannot perceive
him? When we are so ignorant of
Scripture that his lies sound like truth?
What are we to do when ignorance frolics among us and
apathy takes it by the hand and leads it along like a child? When the spirit of haughtiness smugly sits in
the pews and fraternizes with the elders?
When immorality preaches from the pulpit in tandem with pride, and
arrogance struts among us unchecked, ever waiting along the sideline to pat us
on the back? When demons are our pastors
and devils are our priests and the congregation is devoured because they do not
know nor seek the truth? When we are led
astray by the desires of our own heart and seek our own will in Jesus
Name? When we seek God's will as long as it looks like our own? When the ancient serpent once
again employs his subtle tactic of using God's own word to pervert our
understanding of Him?
God said to Eve, "Do not eat from this tree or touch
its fruit or you will die." (Gen 3:3)
Satan said to Eve, "Surely you will not die! You will have His wisdom and His power and
you will be just like God! You will not
die, you will live! And you will live in abundance!"
Jesus said, "If anyone wishes to come after me, he
must deny himself, and take up his cross every day and follow me. For whoever
wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake
will save it....anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not
worthy of Me." (Luke 9:23,24; Matt 10:38)
Satan says, "Surely you won't have to die to follow
Jesus! You will live abundantly and
command heaven's armies and perform many miracles if you just have enough
faith! You are meant to wear His crown,
not His cross!"
Satan appeals to the desires of our heart to mislead us
and if the desire of our heart is Jesus' crown more than His cross, then we
follow our own will and not God's. The
way to the crown is through the cross. Make
no mistake. Satan knows Scripture, and
he knows it better than most people in the church. From the very beginning Satan used God's own
words to deceive us because he is a master at weaponizing our ignorance and
weaknesses against us. Satan comes to us
enrobed in enough truth so that we cannot perceive the lie shrouded
underneath. Satan tried to deceive
Christ Himself with God's word, too many of us seem to forget that (Luke
4:9-11). When Jesus was tempted in the
desert by Satan, Satan used God's own word to try and lure Jesus into doing
something outside God's will for Him. During
Jesus' temptation in the desert, each time Satan tried to deceive Him and tempt
Him, Jesus spoke Scripture back. Jesus
didn't quote Scripture to manipulate His circumstances in an attempt to carry
out His own will. Jesus quoted Scripture
to refute the devil's lies and to correct his misuse of Scripture.
When Jesus told his Apostles that He had to suffer many
things and be rejected for the purpose of following God's will for His life,
Peter said to Jesus, "Surely You will not die! This shall never happen to You!" And Jesus recognized the serpent's ancient
lie being spoken from the lips of His own disciple, which is why Jesus
immediately rebuked Peter and said, "Get behind me Satan! You are a
stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests,
but man's." (Matt 16:23).
When Satan deceived Eve, he deceived her based on the
truth of her own purpose: to bear the
image and likeness of God (Gen 1:26).
Satan approached Eve with the truth of God's own words, but he was using
God's word to manipulate her into doing something outside God's will for her
and bend her to his own will so he could shape her into his own likeness. Satan approached Eve with the truth so he
could get close enough to her to tell her his lies. Satan appealed to her through the truth of
her purpose: to be like God in His character; then he deceived her with his lie: to be
God in His power. We cannot be God, we
can only bear His image, and we cannot walk in the power of that image unless
we bear the fullness of His character:
the willingness to die to our own will and desires so that we can
fulfill the Father's (Luke 22:42). Jesus was a humble servant willing to die to his own plans and desires to fulfill the Father's will, and Jesus said, "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher and a servant like his master" (Matt 10:24,25). The
serpent hisses, "You will not die, you will live!" Jesus says, "You must die, so that I can
live in you."
It means absolutely zilch to me when someone says,
"I believe in God" or "I believe in Jesus" or "I read
the Bible." My answer is always the
same, "So does the devil." The
devil believes in God. The devil
believes in Jesus, and he believes that Jesus rose from the dead and saves
humanity from our sin. The devil knows
Scripture and is a better theologian than any human on earth. But the devil doesn't submit to Jesus as
Lord. The devil doesn't obey
Christ. The devil does not die to his
own will and his own desires so that the truth of God can live in him, so he
wanders in the putrid stench of his obstinacy, pride and selfish ambition,
trying to tempt others to do the same.
The devil lusts after Jesus' power, glory, and crown, but rejects His
suffering, humility, and cross. The
devil builds you up with his words to make you feel empowered, God strips us
with His word to expose our weakness.
The devil promises your best life now, Jesus promises us our best life
is yet to come. The devil speaks
abundance to our heart, Jesus calls out the lack in our soul. We must first submit to God's will for us to
die, before we can ever truly walk in His will for us to live.
For the time will come when men will not tolerate sound
doctrine, but with itching ears they will gather around themselves teachers to
suit their own desires. So they will turn their ears away from the truth and
turn aside to myths. (2 Tim 2:3,4)
My son, keep my words and treasure my commandments within
you. Keep my commandments and live...that they may keep you from the
adulteress..who flatters with her words...With her many persuasions she entices
him; with her flattering lips she seduces him. Suddenly he follows her as an ox
to the slaughter..he does not know that it will cost him his life. Now
therefore, my sons, listen to me and pay attention to the words of my mouth. Do
not let your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths. For
many are the victims she has cast down..her house is the way to Sheol,
descending to the chambers of death. (Prov 71-27)
But I have this against you, that you tolerate the woman
Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, and she teaches and leads My
bond-servants astray so that they commit acts of immorality and eat things
sacrificed to idols. Even though I have given her time to repent of her
immorality, she is unwilling. Behold, I will cast her onto a bed of sickness,
and those who commit adultery with her will suffer great tribulation unless
they repent of her deeds. (Rev 2:20-22)
Not everyone who says to Me, "Lord, Lord," will
enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in
heaven. Many will say to Me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy
in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many
miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you; depart
from Me, you workers of lawlessness!" (Matt 7:21-23)
Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and
broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But
small is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to life, and only a few find
it. Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but
inwardly they are ravenous wolves. (Matt 7:13-15)
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