Do Not Be Deceived Series

Do not be deceived…….

1 Corinthians 6:9”Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived….”

We talk a lot about Eve being deceived by the serpent in the garden of Eden through sugary words and smooth talk, but let me tell you today, everyday we are being subtly deceived by satan in big and small matters. Hearken to His voice today, it might expose some of the deep-seated-hidden sins and make you uncomfortable, the fingers pointing at you are not mine but that of the Lord!

A young believer, who attends not only church on Sundays but also other weekly meetings in the church, looked at a young, married girl at work spot as his sister (he thought so…), however, he wanted to speak to her and hear from her every day, otherwise he would get restless, had a daily contact with her through email, otherwise he would go crazy and always thought about her and talked about her, whenever she stopped talking, he started weeping even during church service. His affection was not pure and clean, he was deceived by the devil into thinking that he considered the girl as his sister; whereas his flesh craved for something else. Young people, be warned today! Psalms 7:9”……..For the righteous God tests the hearts and minds.”

Some Christian musicians work for the cinema industry as well as they use their music skills in the church and other spiritual activities, they are deceived by the devil into thinking that they are blessed, prosperous and doing great because of God’s Hands on them, wake up today, you are deceived!!! God does not want His children to partake with the wickedness of the world, He said very categorically and clearly: Ephesians 5:7 “..do not be partakers with them.” Read that entire chapter, but let me mention who are the ‘THEM’ mentioned here: uncleanness or covetousness, filthiness, fornicator, unclean person, idolater, etc. If you are involved, connected in any way with the things of the above, then you are against God, the blessings are from the devil and not from heaven. Do not be deceived! Before calamity strikes your door, repent and depart from evil. The Bible unmistakably warns us…”have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them.” (Ephesians 5:11)

A young business man from hindu faith got saved, got water baptized, attended big revival meetings, yet he was selling ‘pooja materials’ that are used to worship the idols. The devil whispered to him, ‘your faith in Jesus has nothing to do with your business, continue…..’ I warned him to stop the business but he stopped attending my meetings. After 8 years, he contacted me and apologized because his wife became mentally ill due to demonic attacks, he had lost his peace and hence wanted to come back to Jesus; however, he still had a stock of his old pooja materials that he wanted to sell and make money. Even after many years of sufferings, pain and loss , such is the mentality of people who would love to hold the devil with one hand and Jesus with the other. Can’t be done friend! This man never found peace despite his decision to come back to Jesus, I called him and told him, ‘if you truly repent for your sins, throw away that ‘sinful stock’ into the gutter and trust God for your need.’ You will never come out of sin unless you deal with it aggressively. Deuteronomy 7:25”You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the LORD your God.” Anybody listening?

A Christian professional , who attends church and sends Bible verses through sms to tons of people every morning has a clandestine affair with his secretary at work…the devil tells him, ‘as long as you just flirt, it is okay….keep your limits.’ 2 Peter 2:14’having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin, enticing unstable souls. They have a heart trained in covetous practices, and are accursed children.’ The Bible warns us to ‘Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body.’ (1 Corinthians 6:18)

What about the tons and tons of pirated software that are loaded into the computers in Christian homes? ANYBODY LISTENING? Yoga guru Baba Ramdev is going on a fast against black money, Anna Hazare went on fast against corruption, but what about this toxic virus that is corroding our nation? PIRATED SOFTWARE! We smack our lips, hang our tongues and bury the Bible deep, when it comes to getting things free. Don’t we? Where are the ethics gone? The devil whispers to them, ‘don’t worry, the whole world is doing it, doesn’t matter, God will understand.’ Do we need a police man to come and arrest us for these things? 2 Chronicles 16:9 says,” For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him.” God is looking for loyal Christians! It is as hard as finding a needle in a haystack. Be it for personal purpose, business purpose or church use, let us walk in the path of righteousness. At my home or for ministry purpose, we carefully buy software and use as per copyright laws, we don’t illegally share it. Job 24:23” He gives them security, and they rely on it; Yet His eyes are on their ways.” Anybody listening?