Deceived

“Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” – 1 John 4:1...."Deception is the penalty for rejecting truth." Dudley Hall..."Seeking God for discernment must be our first priority." Francis Frangiapane Dudley Hall's words concerning the ultimate cost of rejecting His Truth have been playing out since the Garden, when the serpent asked Eve about God's warning to not eat of the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. He asked her, "Did God really say that?" Satan convinced her to doubt what the Father had said, and deception took over. Satan hasn't changed his tactics since. He has cloaked the world in deception to this day. He's also managed to deceive, at various times and degrees, much of the professing church as well. The reason, at root, is that we don't know His Word or the power of His Truth. We're letting the enemy continue to ask, "Did He really say that?" as well as related kinds of questions like, "Could that still be true in this modern world where so much has changed?" and a multitude of other questions that all bring the truth and authority of His Word into question. When we entertain these questions and thoughts, we open the door to being deceived, and many have. We're living in days when so much of the church lacks Holy Spirit discernment, wisdom, and understanding. His Word may be known in our heads but it's not hidden in our heart. That was Eve. She knew what God had said, but it wasn't internalized, a part of her. Then, we not only don't test the spirits that speak the things we're listening to, we question whether such spirits even exist. A literal devil and the demonic power he operates in is doubted by more than a few. Satan gleefully rejoices in this. It gives him a wide open door into the minds and hearts of those who profess to know and follow Him. He's gotten so many to question and doubt the authority of Scripture, or even doubt that Scripture is really rooted in the personality and being of Almighty God. He spoke to His people Israel in the OT, "My people are being destroyed for lack of knowledge." We are still being destroyed. How much longer will the destruction go on? It's my prayer that the Father will raise up a generation of preachers who boldly proclaim the whole word and counsel of God. Preachers who fear God but have no fear of what the hearers of His truth might say or do in response. It's also my prayer that He will raise up preachers and teachers who instruct and teach on the realities of the spiritual realm; that we have an enemy who really does move about constantly seeking those he might deceive and then destroy. It's my prayer that He will raise up a church that proclaims the reality of sin, of hell, of holiness, and of the cross of Christ. Scripture says that when Christ is lifted up, He will draw all humankind to Himself. We lift up the Christ who truly is, not a Christ as we wish or want Him to be. A Christ fashioned by our own desires. I believe that when the church does this, deception will be crushed, His Truth will reign, and the people of God will walk in the fullness of His discernment, wisdom, and understanding. Lord, make it so. Make it so now. Blessings, Pastor O