Post by Sunnysnet on Jun 10, 2004 14:26:01 GMT -5
Overcoming The Deceiver -- Mike Forest
Mike Forest
Jun 9, 2004
As posted on Rivermail
One of the characteristics of the end time in which we are living in is deception. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when questioned about the last days and His coming emphasized that deception would be common. Our Lord warned His disciples to "be not deceived." The enemy deceives because his very nature is that of a liar. The opposite of the lie is the truth. Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ is the One who is "The Truth." The Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of truth." The Word of God is "the Word of truth."
A deceived Christian is in a perilous position, because anyone who is deceived has taken the lie as being the truth. The only thing that can bring someone out of deception is the revelation of the truth. Our eyes must be opened so that we can see clearly. Only the truth can dispel the lie. Only the knowledge of Jesus Christ can deliver us from deception.
One of the areas that the enemy deceives many Christians in is concerning his own workings. There are many Christians that believe that because the devil has been defeated, and that they are saved, that the enemy is no threat to them. They believe that if Jesus Christ has already defeated the enemy then he is no longer a problem for a child of God. This attitude is a deception in itself, and it is this very mentality concerning the evil one that causes many Christians to lay down their armor, and to become careless and unwatchful concerning the enemy. There are many things that are in opposition to the believer such as sickness, poverty, tiredness, depression, worry and fear that we attribute to natural causes that are in many instances the work of the powers of darkness.
There are many Christians who need deliverance, but because that they have been taught that evil spirits cannot have any place in a Christian, the enemy maintains his ground, and the Christian stays defeated in one or more areas of his life. The Word of God says that we are to "give no place to the devil." But many Christians have given ground to the enemy either through ignorance or willful sin.
An evil spirit is not going to depart through counseling or some other spiritual exercise, but an evil spirit will go when it is exposed to the light, and cast out by the power and authority that is in the name of Jesus. Deliverance begins when we allow the Lord to show us that there are areas of our lives that we have been deceived in, and in some of these areas the enemy has obtained a foothold. The enemy must be dealt with, and all ground recovered, and the empty room that was once inhabited by the evil spirit must be filled by the Spirit of God. What we must see is that any area of our lives that is not in subjection to the Lordship of Jesus Christ is being controlled by the enemy. "Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7.)
If the deceiver cannot get a Christian to ignore him and to believe that he is no longer a threat, he will often go to the other extreme in an attempt to keep the believer occupied night and day with his evil activities. We are to be God conscious and not demon conscious. We are to be a God chaser and not a demon chaser. We are conformed to the image and likeness of Jesus Christ by beholding the glory of the Lord, and not by focusing on the enemy.
While we are not to be ignorant of Satan's devices, it is very easy to fall into the trap of the enemy by being overly involved with his activity. There are Christians that have been entangled in the enemies trap, because they have believed that by studying what the enemy is doing, they would be better able to war against him, and they have been entangled in the very thing that they were seeking out information on. This is the eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and this will always produce death. There are ministers that have been entangled in pornography because they began to do research on the subject and subjected themselves to the spirit that is behind this perversion. The same can be said in studying out the cults or witchcraft. We are not to be ignorant of these things, but also we shouldn't be overly absorbed in the deep things of the enemy and allow ourselves to be entangled in the very thing that we know is evil.
It is true that the best way to know the difference between the truth and the lie is not by doing extended research on the lie, but by believing and receiving the truth. The more that we know the truth and have a love for the truth, the greater discernment that we will have in recognizing the counterfeit and the false. Knowing the truth is knowing Jesus, and to know Jesus is to know the truth.
Jesus Christ has said this to those that believe on Him: "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31, 32.)
In His Love,
Mike
Mike Forest
Jun 9, 2004
As posted on Rivermail
One of the characteristics of the end time in which we are living in is deception. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when questioned about the last days and His coming emphasized that deception would be common. Our Lord warned His disciples to "be not deceived." The enemy deceives because his very nature is that of a liar. The opposite of the lie is the truth. Our Lord and savior Jesus Christ is the One who is "The Truth." The Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of truth." The Word of God is "the Word of truth."
A deceived Christian is in a perilous position, because anyone who is deceived has taken the lie as being the truth. The only thing that can bring someone out of deception is the revelation of the truth. Our eyes must be opened so that we can see clearly. Only the truth can dispel the lie. Only the knowledge of Jesus Christ can deliver us from deception.
One of the areas that the enemy deceives many Christians in is concerning his own workings. There are many Christians that believe that because the devil has been defeated, and that they are saved, that the enemy is no threat to them. They believe that if Jesus Christ has already defeated the enemy then he is no longer a problem for a child of God. This attitude is a deception in itself, and it is this very mentality concerning the evil one that causes many Christians to lay down their armor, and to become careless and unwatchful concerning the enemy. There are many things that are in opposition to the believer such as sickness, poverty, tiredness, depression, worry and fear that we attribute to natural causes that are in many instances the work of the powers of darkness.
There are many Christians who need deliverance, but because that they have been taught that evil spirits cannot have any place in a Christian, the enemy maintains his ground, and the Christian stays defeated in one or more areas of his life. The Word of God says that we are to "give no place to the devil." But many Christians have given ground to the enemy either through ignorance or willful sin.
An evil spirit is not going to depart through counseling or some other spiritual exercise, but an evil spirit will go when it is exposed to the light, and cast out by the power and authority that is in the name of Jesus. Deliverance begins when we allow the Lord to show us that there are areas of our lives that we have been deceived in, and in some of these areas the enemy has obtained a foothold. The enemy must be dealt with, and all ground recovered, and the empty room that was once inhabited by the evil spirit must be filled by the Spirit of God. What we must see is that any area of our lives that is not in subjection to the Lordship of Jesus Christ is being controlled by the enemy. "Be subject therefore unto God; but resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7.)
If the deceiver cannot get a Christian to ignore him and to believe that he is no longer a threat, he will often go to the other extreme in an attempt to keep the believer occupied night and day with his evil activities. We are to be God conscious and not demon conscious. We are to be a God chaser and not a demon chaser. We are conformed to the image and likeness of Jesus Christ by beholding the glory of the Lord, and not by focusing on the enemy.
While we are not to be ignorant of Satan's devices, it is very easy to fall into the trap of the enemy by being overly involved with his activity. There are Christians that have been entangled in the enemies trap, because they have believed that by studying what the enemy is doing, they would be better able to war against him, and they have been entangled in the very thing that they were seeking out information on. This is the eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and this will always produce death. There are ministers that have been entangled in pornography because they began to do research on the subject and subjected themselves to the spirit that is behind this perversion. The same can be said in studying out the cults or witchcraft. We are not to be ignorant of these things, but also we shouldn't be overly absorbed in the deep things of the enemy and allow ourselves to be entangled in the very thing that we know is evil.
It is true that the best way to know the difference between the truth and the lie is not by doing extended research on the lie, but by believing and receiving the truth. The more that we know the truth and have a love for the truth, the greater discernment that we will have in recognizing the counterfeit and the false. Knowing the truth is knowing Jesus, and to know Jesus is to know the truth.
Jesus Christ has said this to those that believe on Him: "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." (John 8:31, 32.)
In His Love,
Mike