IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!
Satan is the master illusionist!
Before David Copperfield, before David Blaine, before Criss Angel, there was Lucifer!
Illusionists major in the art of optical illusion.
They divert your attention away from what’s really happening, getting you distracted, so they can implement their “smoke and mirrors” tricks and when you look back at what you thought was real, it appears to be something different altogether!
And, that’s what Satan specializes in, making something that’s not real appear real!
Making you think something is there that is not really there!
Taking a real situation and thru falsehood and deception, making it appear to be something it’s really not.
Satan first appears in the book of Genesis as a serpent, by the time we read Peter’s writings, he appears AS a roaring lion, and by the end of the Bible he has become a dragon!
How did this happen?
Lamentations 1:9
9 ……………….. O LORD, behold my affliction: for the enemy hath magnified himself.
Now, magnify doesn’t mean to make anything bigger, it literally means to:
2. To cause to appear greater or seem more important than is in fact the case; exaggerate.
I want to take a few minutes to lay the foundation here and make us understand that Satan has no real power over a child of God, he only has the ability to intimidate us with false illusion!
The main weapon in the enemy’s arsenal is deception.
Satan deals in FEAR, which someone has said was an acronym for:
False Evidence Appearing Real!
In fact, that’s his only weapon, since he has no real power over a child of God.
Colossians 2:15
15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Romans 6:14
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
DOMINION – to exercise lordship over, to have control over.
Matthew 6:13
13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
If we serve God, we have the dominion and power over sin, whether we use it or not!
Luke 10:19
19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
Satan has no power over us, other than what we grant him!
He has no authority over us, other than what we surrender to him!
He has no way to hurt us, or destroy us, but his goal is to make us destroy ourselves!
And, his goal is to take something that’s not real, and convince you that it is real, and cause you to act on a false assumption!
If satan can cause you to believe a lie, you will destroy yourself, you will give up on your hopes, your dreams, your vision, your promise from God, and you will walk away grieving, never realizing that you are acting on a lie.
I.) AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED TO JACOB IN OUR PASSAGE TODAY.
Joseph’s brothers had thrown him in a pit, sold him into slavery, and essentially rid themselves of the problem of having a younger brother that was so much more highly favored than them.
But, one problem remains; what are they going to tell their father?
Notice their tactics, they dip their brother’s distinctive coat into the blood of an animal, and brought it back to their dad, and notice what they said:
Here is a coat we found, we don’t know if it’s your son’s or not, only you know!
And, notice Jacob’s response:
And he knew it, and said, It is my son’s coat; an evil beast hath devoured him; Joseph is without doubt rent in pieces.
Notice the power of the optical illusion!
The enemies of Jacob, which in this case were his sons, came and presented FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL and Jacob made his own assumptions!
False assumptions, but to him they were very real.
The evidence was incorrect, but it was real enough to Jacob to make him respond with defeat, and he rent his clothes and mourned.
But, if someone could have gotten to Jacob they would have told him,
JACOB, IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!
Your promise is not dead, it’s in the process of being fulfilled so it can save your life later!
Your dream is not over, it’s just beginning!
What God has promised you is not dead, it’s alive and it’s in the process of bringing about a victory that you can’t even imagine!
Don’t let your enemy make you jump to conclusions, stand on the promise God has given you, it’s not over!
It’s not what it looks like, it’s false evidence appearing real, but God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and love and a SOUND MIND!
It’s an illusion!
II.) SATAN’S DESIRE IS TO GET OUR ATTENTION OFF OF WHAT’S REALLY HAPPENING, AND MAKE US BELIEVE WHAT’S NOT REAL.
A.) Jesus called Peter out of the boat to walk on the water with him.
And, as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, he was alright!
But, something distracted him:
Maybe it was the continued criticism from well meaning ship mates.
Maybe it was the howl of the wind that began to break through his euphoria.
Maybe it was a dousing of water from a rebel wave that caused his steady gaze to falter.
But, something happened to destroy his focus on the Master, and suddenly as though for the first time, he began to watch the storm, he saw the wind.
And, when his focus was turned from the Master of the storm to the storm itself, he began to sink!
Peter, if you are going to walk on water, you can’t watch the wind! You must Jesus!
Peter, if you are going to move in a new realm of the Spirit, you can’t listen to the critics!
STOP WATCHING THE WIND, AND GET YOUR EYES BACK ON JESUS!
The wind, although it appears real, and the waves, although you can feel the spray pounding your face, is just an optical illusion when your eyes are on Jesus!
B.) Elisha was in Dothan one day. The King of Syria had tracked him down, surrounded the city, and was going to kill Elisha.
However, Elisha was sleeping soundly, but his poor servant was a basket case!
15And when the servant of the man of God was risen early, and gone forth, behold, an host compassed the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said unto him, Alas, my master! how shall we do? 16And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them. 17And Elisha prayed, and said, LORD, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. And the LORD opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw: and, behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha.
Elisha said,
“Son, what you’re seeing is an optical illusion!
The enemy has distracted you with some slight of hand, and you’re seeing some false evidence!
Look a bit closer, and you’ll see what’s really happening!
We’re not going to die, we’re going to live! We’re not going down in defeat, we’re walking out in victory!
IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!
C.) David came to the valley of Elah one day to bring food to his brothers.
Now, by the time David arrives on the scene, Goliath had already been stepping out into that valley and breathing threats against the people of God for 40 days!
And, for 40 days, Saul and his mighty warriors would focus on this Philistine gargantuan and that’s where their gaze would rest!
They could never get around his threats, his size, the booming of his voice as it echoed across that valley like thunderclaps.
They could never bring themselves to believe the promise of God that He would deliver them from this uncircumcised Philistine.
The evidence appeared to indicate that this giant was going to conquer Israel, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.
They could never get their gaze above the valley, above the problem, it filled their horizon, and that’s where their:
Focus
Hope
Faith
Courage
Stopped!
But, along comes a 17 year old boy who is too naïve, or too full of the spirit of God, or too arrogant to bow to this problem, no matter how big he is.
And David never called Goliath a Giant!
Now, here’s the kicker:
Saul and his army, and David were both looking at the same problem!
Yet, Saul decided that the giant was too large to eliminate, and David never even called him a giant!
Saul’s gaze stopped on Goliath, but David said, “I’m gonna look a little higher!” You can stop with the problem, but I’m going to proceed to the Problem Solver!
Saul’s gaze stopped on Goliath, and fear kept him in his tent.
But David said, “This is just an optical illusion, I will not look at the uncircumcised Philistine in the valley, I will lift up mine eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help!
Your problem, Saul and my dear brother, YOU’RE NOT LOOKING HIGH ENOUGH!
IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE, GET YOUR EYES ON JESUS AND OFF OF THE FALSE EVIDENCE!
CONCLUSION
It’s the job of the enemy to get us to focus on the problems, the current circumstances:
the lack of money in the bank right now,
the lack of spiritual hunger on the behalf of our families right now
the fact that our children are lost right now
the fact that our bodies are sick right now
the fact that we have no food in the pantry right now
the marriage that looks like its over
the hope that is gone
And I know there are very real issues, and the evidence appears to be real, and the circumstances appear to be very tangible.
And discouragement, depression, lack of faith begin to set in because we can’t see the answer!
We can’t see the natural solution, so we think about giving up and giving in.
We can’t figure out the answer to the problem through our own complex thought process, so we’re tempted to lose hope!
But, I came to tell someone today, I’m praying that God will OPEN YOUR EYES in the spirit today!
You are not going under, you’re going over!
You’re not the tail, you’re the head!
You’re not going to die, you’re going to live!
WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE RIGHT NOW IS NOT WHAT IT REALLY IS!
Whose report will you believe?
The Devil’s report says that you’re sick, and there’s no way that you’ll ever recover, but the report of the Lord says:
Isaiah 53:5
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
The Devil’s report says that you’re broke, and God has forsaken you, you’re going to lose everything!
But, the report of the Lord says:
Psalm 37:25
25 I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.
The Devil’s report says that you’re bound by your addiction, and you’ll never be free, but the report of the Lord says:
Romans 12:2
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Whatever the situation is in your life this morning, whatever fear you’re facing, whatever false evidence has been placed in front of you, you need to remember that God is faithful, and the promise He made you has not died, it’s alive!
It may appear to be dead, but in reality it’s in process, and you’re going to see the fulfillment of that promise, because God cannot lie!
IT’S NOT WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE!
