The Invisible War: Subtle Deceptions of the Enemy
September 24, 2006
Pastor Kent Wise
Introduction
It doesn’t surprise me one bit that the last six weeks have been filled with tremendous stress, emotion, and conflict for me and for those around me. When we started this series many of you commented that you had never heard this subject taught or really did not know what to expect from these teachings. My prayer has been, as we went through this series, the Holy Spirit would begin to reveal to each of you certain areas where you are caught in the middle of this invisible war, this spiritual battle. Today’s message will reveal the subtle ways that Satan deceives us as Christians. Brothers and sisters, today’s message… will trouble some of you. … will upset some of you. …will cause some of you to rethink your personal feelings of God’s love. …will be rejected by some of you. I already know this going into this message, and my heart is burdened by that revelation because it could mean the difference between eternal life or eternal damnation.
Matthew 7:13-23
13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy1 that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it.
14 For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
15 "Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves.
16 You will know them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thorns, or figs from thistles?
17 In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit.
19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
20 Thus you will know them by their fruits.
21 "Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.
22 On that day many will say to me, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’
23 Then I will declare to them, ’I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers.’
John 14:6
6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Deception occurs every day in our lives. It is often times so subtle that we don’t even realize the lie until it is too late. Our culture is bombarded with images daily that are designed solely for their persuasive message. TV shows, computer games, commercials, songs, books and the list is endless are designed to arouse and stimulate us. For many of us they create a longing for something that we don’t have, …for something that we can’t have, …for something that we must have. They draw us into a simulated reality where we no longer recognize the TRUTH. We begin to question our values, our ethics, our beliefs, and yes our purpose. In essence our lives become entangled in deception as we deny the impact of these things on ourselves, our children, and our society.
I can still remember the impact that Madonna, “the material girl”, had on teenagers in the 80’s and 90’s. In November NBC will air a special showing of Madonna’s recently completed “Confessions Tour”. In the show, Madonna, wearing a fake crown of thorns, descends on a suspended mirrored, disco ball-type cross. When some Christian leaders complained about the mockery, NBC ignored their concerns.
Making mockery of the crucifixion of Christ has been a trademark of Madonna for many years. In 1989 she had a video for the hit song "Like A Prayer." The video featured burning crosses, statues crying blood and Madonna--representing Jesus--freeing a saint from his sexual repression by seducing him. This is the same Madonna who once said, "Crucifixes are sexy because there’s a naked man on them." AFA Website
However, the subtle deceptions are not just a product of Hollywood. They occur right in our own backyards in the organizations that we belong to and in the community that we live. In the scriptures read today, Jesus is revealing to us that the subtle deceptions of our enemy is designed to keep us from realizing the promise of eternal life. 13 "Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road is easy1 that leads to destruction, and there are many who take it. 14 For the gate is narrow and the road is hard that leads to life, and there are few who find it. We get so caught up in the “good works” that we limit or forget to make time for prayer, …for the study of God’s Word, …for fellowship with other believers, …for authentically worshipping our Lord.
Over the last three years, I have heard many of you talk about the promise of eternal life as if it is a “give me”. Statements such as, “Since God is a loving God, I cannot believe He will condemn anyone to hell.” Brothers and Sisters, God is not condemning anyone to hell, but rather by our choices, …by our reluctance to be radically sold out to Jesus, … by our not accepting the warnings from scripture, we condemn ourselves to hell. Look again at the scripture today, “21 "Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ’Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many deeds of power in your name?’
23 Then I will declare to them, ’I never knew you; go away from me, you evildoers’.”
Good works are not a pre-requisite for eternal life. Jesus tells us in the scripture that many will do good things, but still will not receive the reward. We should not be doing “good works” to receive a blessing, but rather we should be doing good works because we have been blessed. When we are doing the will of the Father our works become known by the good fruit that is produced. Therefore,let me ask you two questions that should help us put TRUTH into perspective,
1. Where do you place the relevance of scripture in you walk? Another way to ask this question is, Is God’s Word true and primary to your life or is it simply another book?
John Wesley wrote, “It might also be of use, if while we read, we were frequently to pause, and examine ourselves by what we read, both with regard to our hearts, and lives. This would furnish us with matter of praise, where we found God had enabled us to conform to his blessed will, and matter of humiliation and prayer, where we were conscious of having fallen short.
And whatever light you then receive, should be used to the uttermost, and that immediately. Let there be no delay. Whatever you resolve, begin to execute the first moment you can. So shall you find this word to be indeed the power of God unto present and eternal salvation.” Preface to Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament EDINBURGH, April 25, 1765.
John Wesley reveals in his words that scripture allows us to see the will of the Father in our lives and that we should without delay execute God’s will for our lives. Scripture is our roadmap for life that gives us the truth. Scripture is the test for all statements made. If we can not reconcile a statement of faith with the scriptures, the statement is deception. Believing that God will not condemn people to hell may be comforting for us but it is not Biblical.
This past week I visited Yogaville with someone to see what fascinates people with the place. Many of you have stated how beautiful the Lotus temple is and how peaceful the surroundings are. Don’t be deceived. This place is anything but peaceful. This place is nothing more than the deceiver’s den. While I will concede that good people may live within the compound, the teachings of the compound are inconsistent with the scriptures. Brother’s and Sisters, this is right in our midst. On the entrance arch as you leave, you read these words, “One truth, Many paths”. Jesus himself taught just the opposite. So my question to you is who do you believe? Yes subtle deception is all around and the Bible tells us in 1 Peter 5:8, “8 Discipline yourselves, keep alert.1 Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour.”
So many churches today are so afraid of offending anyone that they have relegated their pastors to mere hirelings limiting the prophetic voice in the pulpit. Consequently, we see churches are becoming mere images of the world where deception permeates the core of the church. As Christians, we need to wake up. Personally, I believe the Gospel should offend people. This is known as conviction. Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit. Without conviction how are we as Christians going to grow in God’s sanctifying grace? That brings me to the second question.
2. What place does Jesus have in your life?
As we drove down to the Lotus temple, we came upon a cross over where we could turn around to go back. I am reminded that we too have a “cross” over when we find ourselves caught in the web of deception. That cross over is Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This statement is very specific and gives absolutely no room for alternatives in coming to the Father. Denying that Christ is the only way to the Father is dangerous and negates the sacrifice made on the cross of Calvary. The teachings of Yogaville, the Unitarians, the Jehovah Witness, the Mormons, and the Muslims to name a few deny the Diety of Christ thereby relegating Christ to simply being a famous man. For them, Jesus is not the only way to the Father. Many paths exist which lead to self-actualization. Self actualization is the opposite of dying to self so that Christ can come alive in you. Sadly, some of you are caught up in trying to reconcile this very point. You may see Jesus, but not really know Jesus. You may know about Jesus, but not really know Jesus. For some of you, complete surrender to Jesus is something that continues to elude you. You keep coming up with excuses while all the time falling prey to the deception that is being taught.
Again I ask you, what place does Jesus have in your life? Do you see Jesus as the “cross-over” from a world that is full of deception? My son, Grayson, has a shirt with a picture of 3 nails and a hammer and reads, “Son, Go and build a bridge – Love Dad ”. Jesus Christ is the bridge that brings us out of the depths of sin and death and into the light of hope and eternal life. Only by knowing Jesus, and I mean KNOWING Jesus can we truly come to the Father.
To close our time together this morning I want to share with this story I read from Clarke Frailey:
There’s a story I heard once, about a man who was trying to cut costs, so he began to gradually substitute sawdust in the oats of his mule. Everything was fine for a period, and the animal was satisfied with sawdust. Then he died. We see the same in spiritual life. We exchange truth with error in our believer’s lives and it’s great for awhile.... but before you know it they are dead.
When deception takes root in our hearts and minds, it leads to death. Subtle deception is a life killing plague that jeopardizes our salvation and places you on the wide, easy path. Knowing Jesus and understanding our faith by using the Word of God assures us of being on the strait and narrow path. Come, take a closer walk today and everyday.
