It was interesting to me as I was preparing this message that it fell right around Halloween time. We're going to be speaking on the subject of deception. Colossians 2:8-10 says this, "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world and not according to Christ. For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in Him who is the head of all principality and power".
Father, we thank you this morning for this word that is rich and powerful. Holy Spirit, as we come to you we thank you for your presence in this place and the love that we have for one another here. Lord, may we decrease and you increase. In Jesus name, Amen.
Deception is one of those subjects that sometimes seems to be such a heavy thing in the sense that you're talking about what the enemy tries to do in people's lives. But how many understand that everything that God does for us is in absolute and complete love? We live in an amazing time where so many different philosophies are spreading around the world and we're watching as Christians. Even those that have known the Lord solidly are getting into some wierd areas that have nothing to do with God. How many believe that we need to make sure that we're always following Jesus? We need to be sure of that. When Paul writes throughout the Word of God there is warning after warning to the church, not to everybody else but to us to make sure that we are not deceived.
The instruction of God's word is done to make sure that we're never fooled, never betrayed so that we're not taken advantage of by the enemy. How many of you have ever been fooled, betrayed or taken advantage of enough already? Everyone of us have undergone some of those things. Deception is all around us from swindlers who are gaining our personal information for identity theft to those who have become a part of multi-level marketing schemes only to realize that the only people who are getting wealthy are those who are selling you the cd's on how to get wealthy. Deception is one of the oldest tricks of warfare, It's the cloak in cloak and dagger.
Some of us have been in some of the greatest battles of all our life. How many of you have found that the enemy just seems to be on the attack more and more? I want you to hear me, it's so easy as Christians to get so caught up in what the devil is doing. How many of you are thankful for what Jesus is doing? How many of you are thankful that he is your savior and your friend, that he protects and surrounds us, he's got your back, he's going before you, he is faithful in every way. Part of him going before us is making sure that in his word we realize how not to be deceived in the middle of the warfare that we're in. Some of us are going through stuff and we must always realize as Christians that we are in a battle. It's a spiritual battle that is being waged for keeps, things are being said and taught in our schools that are constantly going through the airwaves. How many of you with children have found that it is real important that you are constantly teaching your children the truth so that they never go astray. How many of you have found as Christians with godly children you have raised that every once in awhile when you think they've got it they're coming back with questions that you never thought they'd question?
Deception is one of the oldest forms of warfare. In Psalms 38:12 it says, "Those who seek my life lay snares for me. Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction and plan deception all day long".
I want you to make no mistake. As believers it is important that we know the truth of God's word and that we understand who he is because how many know the devil has had plenty of time on his hands to plan what he wants us to think? I don't believe that we need to live in paranoia. I know Christians who are always looking over their shoulder waiting for the devil to get them, waiting to be tricked or fooled. I remember when I was growing up when Proctor and Gamble was doing some things and the barcode was just coming out. I remember some evangelist saying there were demons in the toothpaste because there's a barcode on the thing. Silly stuff, how many know what I'm talking about?
We should be worried about what God is saying and know his truth and his word. The truth is if we will know his word we will recognize deception. We must live with our eyes wide open and not be ignorant of the devil's schemes and we must not be ignorant of his devices to steer us away from the one true God. Deception is real simple to understand, it is getting someone to believe a lie. It is cheating someone out of what is their's, it is giving a false appearance and a false intention. It is tricking with the desire and the intent to harm or to defraud.
In Jonah chapter 19, when God's children were going through a battle, the Gideonites were being defeated by God's children and God said to Israel, "you need to make sure you destroy the enemy". I want you to hear me Christian, if you're letting the enemy in your life, if you've got areas of compromise, areas of sin, one of the key things that God says when he comes into the camp you need to make sure that they don't leave the camp, that they leave dead in a box. The Gideonites who were being defeated recognized that they needed to make a treaty with Israel. What the enemy tries to do even when he's being defeated is try to trick us into believing that he's something that he's not so that we will be at peace with him. The Gideonites dressed themselves up like people who had been traveling from a long distance. They put moldly bread into their camel packs and made sure that the meat that they had was wore out and the clothes looked wore out, and they showed up and made peace with Israel. They said, "We've come from afar and Joshua looked at the leaders and said, "How do I know that you're not the enemy?" They said, "Look, you've got all this proof. We don't look like the enemy, we don't smell like the enemy, we look like we've come from a different place and we want to have peace with you". Pretty soon the Israelites made a peace treaty and when they did the Gideonites moved right into the land, took off the old rags that they were pretending to be and now because Israel had made peace with the enemy they were forced to live with it.
Church, we should never make peace with the devil. This isn't something we were ever meant to be comfortable with. He is constantly wanting to get in the midst so we can never get him out. Make no mistake, deception violates the very spirit and the soul, stealing our sense of security and especially our purity. Just like Samson did with Delilah, she pretended to love him, pretended to like him. Even when she was tricking him left and right and calling the enemy in, he still messed with it and pretty soon he wound up defeated. Deception is all about what you believe. It's about Satan making his lies appearing to be true.
2nd Corinthians 11:14 says, "For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light". What does that mean? He's going to make himself look like he's coming like Jesus. How many have ever found today that some of the stuff trying to sneak into the church masquerades as something that looks like a Christian thing but when it finally gets unwrapped it's in the midst causing confusion, wrong teachings, wrong ideas. Satan knows how to look good and his trickery is appealing. God gives us a ton of warnings in his word.
2nd Thessalonians 2:9-10 says, "The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan with all powers, signs and lying wonders and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved".
2nd Timothy 3:13 says, "But evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse deceiving and being deceived". Matthew 24:24 says, "For false Christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive if possible the very elect". Think abouth that, to fool even the elect, those who love God, those who are following God, those who have spent time in prayer, those who are faithful to the house of God. The Bible says in the last time if we are not careful even those that were sold out to God will be fooled by the devil's schemes. I want you to hear me, we live in that day and I love that God loved us enough to warn us in his word to make sure we can recognize what is of God and what isn't.
People are looking at the politics and wondering how much sooner before the one world government comes. How many understand that it's already being put in place? A couple weeks ago the Palm Beach Post was even printing about how our President is having a meeting very shortly with the other nations about the global currency that will start to flow. We look at the European union and we know they have that but how many understand all of that makes sense? We live in those days.
I love the people of God and I know that Jesus loves us and in his word he says, "Do not be deceived". The truth is he writes that because he saw his children, his people that would walk away and go after the lies of the enemy. That's why this is such an important subject in the word of God. Satan is the father of lies and many today, even the very faithful are being deceived with one form of falsehood or another.
The Bible says that he'll come with lying signs and wonders. Did you realize that the devil can heal the sick? Do you realize that he can do certain things and he'll trick and I've watched certain evangelists and different teachings that have gone on. In Africa they've got a guy right now who has attracted thousands and thousands, even people from America have been flying in and this man is having miracles happen, people are walking, eyes are being opened. The devil doesn't care if someone sees or hears as long as people follow the wrong thing. That's why we must be careful. In America we've had recent revivals where that same kind of stuff has happened and it turns out the evangelist was getting drunk and having an affair but he was still coming and doing those things and people were flocking to that stuff. That was here in Florida. Do not be deceived.
Many are exchanging the truth for a lie. I call it the great ripoff, Satan is good at this. The truth is he will tell you the lie that you are most likely to believe. If you're insecure, Satan will come in and tell you that God doesn't love you, he doesn't care for you, he never has. He'll even send a couple people your way to make you feel bad that day. Have you ever noticed on the days when you're feeling your worst there's always someone who comes in and tries to bring you down? It never fails and it's not coincidence. How many of you know the enemy is trying to do that? When I began to find out the enemy is doing those things I'll start to smile now because I figure if he's going to target me then I must be doing something that makes him upset. So I don't want to be deceived, I'll go back and remember what God's word says.
If you're proud, Satan will tell you that God is ok with your sin and you're going to get away with it because you're alright and you're all that. If you're an intellectual, Satan will tell you that God is a crutch and he'll try to tell you in every way that this religion thing isn't the truth. He'll tell us lies that contradict God's word but listen to me, God's word is a seed that helps us to grow and helps us to become strong. I want to encourage you Christian not to allow the enemy who is the deceiver to steal God's seed from your life. That word "devourer" also means "seed eater". We need to guard this and protect it and to let it grow and fertilize it and make sure that the word of God is having it's absolute way. I'm talking to you this morning as people who I know love Jesus, people that I know love the Lord and I want to encourage each and every one of us to make sure that we are not unaware. Halloween is coming up soon, how many of you are tired of the trick or treating? Satan will give you a treat and he'll try and trick you with it.
Satan has four avenues that he uses to deceive God's people. Colossians 2:8 says, "Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy, through empty deceit according to the tradition of men and according to the basic principles of this world". Did you see those 4 things that are right there in scripture? The first one is Philosophy and that is simply worldly wisdom, the way that man would see things instead of it being God's wisdom. How many understand that sometimes the wisdom of God absolutely confounds us? It's a marvelous thing.
The 2nd thing is deceit and that is really an illusion, making something look like something that it's not. The 3rd thing is the tradition of men, the way that we've always done it. Literally, it is empty customs that say we have to do this and we have to do that. Next are the principles of the world. Literally it's what makes sense to us. Everybody doesn't like this, I call this the lemming principle, we just follow each other. Do you know what the problem with that principle is? It's that the world's principles have no principle because the opinions of the world always change. What's popular today isn't popular tomorrow, what seems right today won't be right for another generation. How many of you are thankful that this word hasn't changed from generation to generation, life to life, it has always been the same.
Deception is subtle. Satan realizes that the light of God's love and the light of God's word is appealing. How many of you are thankful for every sunny day in Florida? The truth is Satan knows that light is appealing. After having lived most of my life up in Pennsylvania I love living in Florida. Every once in awhile a rainy day like this will be nice, we'll watch football this afternoon and enjoy a little bit of rain but I love getting up to the sun. The Son of God is marvelous and Satan knows that we really do like the light, so subtly he comes in so that we begin to adjust to the darkness.
Satan is wicked but he's patient. He'll take time until your eyes adjust and you decide you like it. He works on us in a 4 part process that he uses to kind of draw us away from God. The first part is deceit, he tells us a lie and the goal of deceit is to sow seeds of doubt and unbelief. He'll say "Did God really say that? Are you sure God will take care of you? I know he's done it before but how do you know he'll do it again? How many of you have ever found yourself on that rollercoaster ride? I want to tell you that it's time to get off. God will be faithful all the time. Why is it like this? if God really loves people why do so many people hurt, why do you have to struggle? He'll come in and place that seed of doubt, that seed of unbelief. That's why we call ourselves "Believers". So before the enemy can begin to trick you he has to cause us to doubt what God said.
The 2nd thing that he leads us to is denial, we begin to ignore the truth around us. How many of you are sitting in homes and in families where God has done powerful things? But then he'll cause just enough havoc so that you'll begin to doubt that what God did was lasting. They begin to see contradictions around them and after they've begun to doubt now they have to begin to deny the things that they see. That's why so many people believe in evolution today. At some point they had to start denying that there was a God. All you have to do is look around you, we live in Florida, you know that there is a God.
The 3rd step is that our heart begins to grow dark and cold to the truth of the Lord. Romans 1:21 says, "Although they knew God they did not glorify him as God nor were they thankful but became futile in their thoughts and their foolish hearts were darkened". Listen to me, after you begin to deny and begin to doubt, the enemy wants our hearts to grow cold. Some of us are going through some hard times but how many know God has been faithful time and time again? You've known him and loved him but Satan knows the process to our hearts growing cold and dark. You stop being thankful for the blessings that he's given, you start to become discontent. The stuff that you couldn't wait to have that God blessed you with, the things that you were praying for whether it's a child being saved or maybe just certain things that you had your heart set on and then as time went on you just began to stop appreciating that thing God gave you. The enemy comes in and says, "Well that was nice but not enough, it could be a little better than this". Then all of a sudden what you used to praise God for and be grateful for you're not satisfied with anymore. How many know we're alot like kids? Your kids wanted stuff and you blessed them with it and they thanked you for it for the first 2 weeks after Christmas and then all of a sudden they're bored with it and saying "But you didn't get me this". How many know if my kids say that it's all going back? Glory to God. Some of you feel guilty and go out and buy the other thing. Take the thing from him and let him learn how to play out in the sand, it's a good thing.
When we stop being thankful for his greatness and his goodness and the enemy begins to put that doubt and that coldness in us then we begin to start liking the darkness around us. John 3:19 says, "And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil".
Church, I pray that you will never get so used to the dark. I like going cave exploring but I sure like coming out of the cave. The last part is that people then begin to live a delusion. Once you've bought into the lie and you've grown cold toward the Lord you begin to believe an alternate reality and you begin to live in that lie like that's real instead of living in the truth. There are alot of people that I knew who started out with God and had a passion for the Lord and things began to come into their life and the enemy began to beat down on them and they began to doubt that God cared for them and slowly the enemy drew them away. Then they began to live in the place where they think "God really doesn't love me, he never did care for me" and from that they feel alone. How many know when you feel alone and you feel desperate you'll do just about anything?
2nd Thessalonians 2:11-12 says, "And for this reason God will send them strong delusion that they should believe the lie, that they be condemned who did not believe the truth that had pleasure in unrighteousness". Christians who begin to live in sin because they believe that it's ok and God is alright with it. Delusion is simply us walking around believing that we're right when we are clearly wrong and we have no remorse, no check in our spirit, no care and we're believing that we're ok even when at the very beginning of the whole process we knew we weren't. Listen, my encouragement to us as a church is not to be deceived. I think this is probably one of the best messages I've ever preached at Halloween time. Do not be deceived. I want to encourage you, Christian, when you start to see this coming on you, recognize what the enemy is doing, be aware and begin to run to God instead of away. Run to him hard.
There are several areas where the Bible tells us not to be deceived in and every one of these are worth hearing and listening to. Number one is never be fooled into believing that those who are unrighteous will go to heaven. We live in the world today where we are told that good is evil and evil is good and that all these things are ok. My prayer as Christians is that we will never stop believing the word.
1st Corinthians 6:9-10, says "Do you not know the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God. Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, not adulterers, nor idolaters, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the Kingdom of God and such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God". How many of you are thankful for the things that God has brought us out of today? Everyone of us has a past. You and I sit here today and when I read that verse, "And such were some of you", I can read that list and know which one of those was me. Paul says, "Do not be deceived".
Our world today wants us to believe that it's going to be ok and many Christians are buying that lie to believe that sin is ok with God when it's not. We need Jesus and sooner or later our sin will find us out. Never be deceived, trust God and live a holy life. We must never believe that that sin will never touch our hearts.
We must never believe that we can be close friends or business partners with those who are living these kind of lifestyles and think that we won't be affected. 1st Corinthians 15:33 says, "Do not be deceived, evil company corrupts good character". Listen, if you get into bed with the devil, you're going to get devilish stuff. Do not be deceived.
Some of us today are playing with those or hiring those or getting into business partnerships with those who are not living for God and we believe that we can be yoked to those people. Listen, you can love those people, you can teach them. God isn't saying to be rude, ignore them, don't go near them, he's saying to love them but he's saying don't become a partner with them because you will be affected by it. Mom and Dad, if you've got children who want to date unbelievers, stand up for the truth and constantly speak into their life. They need to be yoked with someone who is going to follow Jesus. If not, they're going to struggle.
Those of you who want to get into business with someone, there is a difference between partnering with someone who is saved and someone who you know is wicked and they're not serving God. If you partner with them they're going to begin to corrupt your business practices. Don't do it, don't be deceived. Many people today are being deceived. I've watched Christian after Christian where the enemy ruins their life or their business or their friendships or family because they thought they could take those fiery coals in their lap and not get burned by it. I pray that we'll see those things. There's not one of us in our right mind that would reach into a hot fire and grab the embers but really many Christians are believing that lie. You are not covered with spiritual asbestos. God is there and he will protect you but if you forsake it and you dive in you're going to get burned. I want to tell you as your pastor, I love you and I don't want to see you get burned. Some of us have learned the hard way, don't partner with it.
Those who are deceived believe that they can live one way and expect a good harvest in life. Those who sow wild oats are always going to get a wild harvest. Galatians 6:7-8 is probably one of the most famous verses in the Bible, "Do not be deceived, God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of his flesh reap corruption but he who sows to the spirit will of the spirit reap everlasting life". Listen, how many of us in this room want everlasting life? How many of us in this room want that blessing of the Lord? Listen to me, we will reap what we sow. God won't be mocked, his word his true and it will always come to pass. What that means is that many of us think that we're going to do one thing and get a different thing. If you sow lima beans you're not going to get corn and if you're sowing lima beans you can have them, It's probably one of the worst vegetables in all the world.
I want to ask you Christian, how do you like your life so far? Because you have what you've sown. Sometimes there's hard work in planning a good harvest but if you'll take the time to do it, God loves us so much he just wants us to know. How many of you are so thankful that he's just laid it out there so it becomes easy? You reap what you sow. I believe that's one of the most powerful verses in all the word of God. If you don't like the crop that you have in your life, plant something different. Begin to fertilize it and pay attention to it. Do you know what I've found? Some things grow faster than others and if you'll choose to go after God with all your heart and begin to follow that word of God, you'll be blessed sooner than you think.
Refuse to buy into the enemy's lies that God is the one who brings evil and bad into your life. How many of you have ever found that when stuff starts happening the mind wants to think, "Well, if God really loved me.." That's the enemy. I remember there's been times when I've been sitting in bed at night and I can't sleep and the enemy is speaking to me saying "God doesn't love you, he doesn't care" and one night I woke up my wife because that voice was so loud in my head I just said, "Shut up Devil and leave me alone in the name of Jesus".
James 1:13-17 says, "Let no one say when he is tempted that I am tempted by God, for God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he himself tempt anyone, but each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed, then when desire is conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when it is full grown brings forth death. Do not be deceived my beloved brethren, every good and perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning".
Everyone of us need to remember that God is good. We used to sing that, "God is good all the time" and he is. So when I need things and I see things happening I've got to already know where it's coming from. Satan's deception is to tell you that whatever bad is happening is coming from God. Listen, this may sound so simple to you but how many of us have found that happening in our own lives time and time again? When the enemy starts to raise those lies I want to stand up and say "I'm not taking that anymore. First of all, you're telling me stuff that's not true and secondly, you're coming against my God". How many know if someone is coming against family we're going to stand up for it? Begin to stand up.
The Bible warns us against deceiving ourselves. When I was in 9th grade I had a teacher named Mr. Ford. He fought in the Vietnam war. I loved that man of God so much and he would teach us math and he was one of the only teachers I understood math from. I'm not a good math person, that's why Dawn works in the office. The truth is, time and time again he would share his testimony. When he came out of Vietnam he had been so scarred and so hurt and angry. He was one of those men that people didn't treat right when he came back. How many of you are thankful for our soldiers who are faithful? Whether the war is popular or not, they've given their lives and put it on the line. When he came out he began to get involved in drugs to ease the pain and he told me something I'll never forget. He told our whole class one day, he just stopped doing math and began to preach to us. He said it got so bad that I began to lie to myself and I believed my own lies.
Ist Corinthians 3:18 says, "Let no one deceive himself. If anyone among you seems wise in this age, let him become a fool so he may become wise". Galatians 6:3 says, "If anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself". James 1:22 says, "But be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving yourself". I've watched this as a pastor, one of the most heartbreaking things is when people come to my office and they believe they're living for Jesus but they're not. They'll argue and I'll pick up the word and say, "Look, here's what it says". For a long time they thought they were all that in God, they thought they were the most powerful men of God but when they go home they yell at their wife and kids and be mean. They would lie at work and do all these things and then say, "I don't understand why my life is like this". They'd walk around making sure everyone believed that they were all that. The Bible says "Don't deceive yourself".
Lastly, we are not deceived in what Greg Gordon terms as "Belly Preachers". Romans 16:17-18 says this, "Now I urge you brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you received and avoid them. For those who are such do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ but their own belly and by smooth words and flattering speech deceive the hearts of the simple".
When I went to the church in Okeechobee, the 2nd church that I pastored, a famous evangelist had come by just months before I came in. A long white haired singer with his whole family who sing on TBN and they packed out the place. That little church only sat about 300 people, they packed in about 500 into the hallways. After the service, after he greeted everybody and smiled, and sang and spoke his positive teaching, he walked out of that church and into the office where the ushers were counting the money and he said, "Hey, what's the take?" Now when I became pastor, he called me back. He must have gotten a pretty good offering. As a matter of fact, I know he did. But he called and his son kept calling and asked if they could come to the church. How many know when people are coming around taking God's people, I have a problem with it. It's not a "Take", now you're using people. You're just doing what you can to put on a show. The Bible says to be careful of that. Listen, I pray that you'll never find that in this church. I appreciate Pastor's appreciation day, it encourages me. I don't deserve anything but what God has done in my life. When I get to heaven, not only do I want to know that I blessed people but I want God to come and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant".
I've been in ministry now for about 19 years and one of the things that breaks my heart is good, godly people being taken in by charlatans who just want your money, who just want to make you feel good. They won't preach the word of God and they'll trick you. It angers me.
When I try to explain that to people when I see it happening they get upset because they think that I'm touching someone who's really annointed by God. Listen, the Bible says "Do not be deceived". Don't follow men who are just in it so they can get fat and look good. There are many men pleasers who don't serve God but they serve their own ambitions.
My prayer is that as Christians we will always know the difference, that we will know God's wisdom, that we'll make sure we never get caught up in those who would cause divisions or teach things that aren't from God's word. Why do I say that? Because how many believe that we are living in the last days? And the Bible says that even the very elect will be deceived.
Do you know what happens when the elect get fooled? All those who look up to those who are elect, those who are mature, they start following them. My prayer as Christians is that we'll be the elect who don't get fooled, not being deceived, trusting God and following the Lord so that at every turn we are faithful, at every turn the enemy never has his way so that at every turn God is glorified. Do not be deceived.
