A Subtle Intrusion

A Subtle Intrusion

A SUBTLE INTRUSION

Sunday, 7/21~/07 A.M. PPHC

Text: Matt. 24: 3-4 “And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what [shall be] the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.”

I. Take Heed

A. A Word for our Times

1. If ever there was a word for these times, it is deception.

a. Very important - recorded a second time: (Mark 13:5–6) “Jesus, answering them, began to say: ‘Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, “I am He,” and will deceive many’ ”

b. Repeated yet again in Luke 21:8: “And He said: ‘Take heed that you not be deceived.

2. There will be an increase in deception and a tremendous potential for people to be deceived.

a. Three separate times in the space of twenty verses Jesus warned His disciples about the deception to come.

II. Deception In Our Day

A. Deception In Our Day

1. Today men and women are being deceived right and left.

a. Advertisements abound on the Inet, newspapers, tv about the latest doctrine.

b. New methods of understanding the Bible.

c. Opportunities to raise our children in “fresh” and “exciting” ways. (Family vs. A Village)

1. Yet, many times their teachings are unbiblical, dangerous, and deceptive.

· “This is a time when all of God’s people need to keep their eyes and their Bibles wide open…asking God for discernment as never before.” Dr. David Jeremiah, Until I Come

2. Does it sound strange to you that people who know God could be deceived?

a. Very real danger - NT warns God’s people about the possibility of being deceived no fewer than eleven times.

b. History teaches us that even faithful men and women who have named the name of almighty God are vulnerable to the deceptive tactics of the enemy.

III. A Subtle Intrusion

A. In Israel

1. “When Israel fell into idolatry, it did not openly renounce the worship of Jehovah in order to bow down before the pagan shrines.”

a. They did not break with the former in order to embrace the latter.

b. A subtle intrusion into their worship eroded the affections and effectiveness of His people.

c. Israel’s policy of spiritual “tolerance” and “diversity” left the door open wide enough for deception to slip in unannounced.

2. In the temple of Jehovah were articles made for the vile Canaanite deity Baal!

a. Fusing the worship of Yahweh with the worship of Canaanite demon-gods.

B. In the Church

1. There is concern about the spiritual direction of our nation and of God’s people.

a. In the name of “tolerance:

1. Today’s church believes it must call God both “he” and “she”.

2. That it must describe the mother of Jesus as a “young woman” rather than as the Virgin Mary.

3. According to the scholars of the group, Jesus Seminar, Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah.

4. The Lord’s Prayer was drawn up by Christians after Jesus died...

· (2 Timothy 2:26) speaks of “the snare of the devil” and not being “taken captive by him at his will.” What steps can we take to make sure we avoid this? I think we must begin by getting our minds ready for the attack to come.

In order to effectively confront the deception of the enemy we must be reminded of the truth!

III. Three Crucial Truths

A. The Personality Behind These Deceptions is Satan

1. Not just a happenstance; There is a “someone” behind these deceptions.

a. He is the father of lies (Jn. 8:44), and since the very beginning one of his primary weapons has been deceit.

b. (Revelation 12:9) speaks of him as “that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.”

c. However Satan advertises himself, his main weapon is deception.

d. (2 Cor. 11:14) Satan transforms himself into an angel of light.”

B. The Principles of Deception Have Not Changed

· In the 80’s, it was no mystery – when you lined up against Danny Ford’s Clemson Tigers you knew what was coming – they would line up and run the ball over you. Why use the same strategy game after game, week after week…? Because it WORKED!

Satan has one proven strategy that he has used from the beginning. He doesn’t have a new playbook and he doesn’t need one.

Identifying Satan’s master plan and how it applies to what goes on today.

1. He Disputes God’s Word

· Genesis 3:1 says, “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, ‘Has God indeed said, “You shall not eat of every tree of the garden”?’ ”