Beware of Deceit

A brother was in a terrible marriage. He did everything he could to survive that marriage, but nothing was good enough. At the end of the day, he was thrown out by his wife. He went to the office one day and by the time he returned his wife had changed the keys to the house, gone to the police station to file a restraining order against her husband. He met some of his clothes in a box by the main door of the building. He called his wife several times. His wife eventually picked up his call and told him the marriage was over. The brother slept at the train station that night, and the next morning, he called an old friend and shared his dilemma with him. The friend asked him to come over and stay in his house for a while.  While he was with the friend he called the pastor, the elders of the church, and family members and family friends to inform them of what had happened. Everybody called the wife with the aim of intervening. The wife blocked their numbers and told those who dared to come to the house she would shoot them the next time they dared to darken her door.

Two years went by. The wife had filed for divorce and the case had been concluded in court. In the third year, God visited the husband with a business idea that gained a lot of support in London. He started a tourism business with a slant toward African tourists. The business boomed. The years he spent with his ex-wife were good years in terms of his career, but the business took his life to another level of grace and blessing. The ex-wife heard about it and called the pastor to please help her talk to him because she wanted to continue the marriage. The pastor sent the husband several messages seeking an audience. Eventually, the pastor met with the pastor. Typical of pastors, there must be a divine way with which he would present the message so that the husband will be receptive to it. So, he told the husband he saw a vision of him and his ex-wife. The pastor said he saw the man and his ex-wife going into heaven for the marriage supper of the lamb hand in hand. The pastor said they were both glowing as they were called by the angels to sit at the right hand of Jesus. The pastor asked the man, do you know what this dream means? The man said, “I do” The pastor was shocked because the man couldn’t have known what the vision meant since he was making it up right there and then. The man said “My ex-wife saw the billboards with the name of my companies on them which are all over the tourist areas of London, suddenly she didn’t want a divorce anymore, but she had burnt too many bridges to come back and tell me how she feels. She reached out to you. You thought of the best approach with which to present the message to me so that I would forget all the evil she did to me and take her back. You decided to make up a vision of heaven knowing I will most likely forget the pains I had to endure in the hell she threw me in three years ago for the prize you are trying to set before me. How am I doing pastor? The pastor swallowed hard. The man said “I saw this move long before you made it. I know Tonia and I know by now she would be plotting a comeback. It is unfortunate that you allowed her to put you in this position, sir” The pastor apologized to him and left!

Do not be so deceived and misled! Evil companionships (communion, associations) corrupt and deprave good manners and morals, and character (1 Corinthians 15:33 AMPC). The Lord Jesus warned us to be wary of deception. In Matthew 24:4, He cautions, “Take heed that no man deceives you.” In the epistles, the Apostle Paul repeatedly warned of the dangers of deception. Notice what he said in the opening text, “Do not be so deceived and misled, because it’s easy to be deceived. Satan’s capital strategy in derailing Eve was deception. In 2 Corinthians 11:3, Paul captures it; it says, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Therefore, by understanding how Satan deceived Eve, you can gain insight into how to stay ahead of him and prevent yourself and others from being deceived. Remember that Paul was speaking to God’s people when he said, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God…” (1 Corinthians 15:34).

The knowledge of God keeps your heart in the right place. So, get your mind on the right subject, and get your heart in the right direction! The cure for deception, therefore, is the knowledge of the truth: the accurate knowledge of the Word; this will both deliver and protect anyone from deception. Keep in mind what the Bereans did in Acts 17:11: “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.” Also, note Paul’s admonition to Timothy, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). You see, the enemy can perform what seemingly looks like a miracle but in the end, you would suffer the consequences. This is because whatever the devil does will not last. If the devil gives you money, he doesn’t only give you money, it must be conditional. There must be conditions that you must fulfil in order to sustain and keep that money. And this applies to many other things. So, when people fail to understand how God functions, they are susceptible to deception, and they open themselves wide to the adversary to destroy them. My heart bleeds when I see so many Christians who because of long-standing conditions, allow themselves to be taken to places that negate the Word of God. If their practices negate the Word, then God is not there, because God cannot contradict Himself.

Beloved don’t take away your eyes from the real thing simply because you are experiencing delay and challenges. “Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God.” (Matthew 22:29 KJV). According to our Lord Jesus, the reason you go into error is ignorance of the scriptures. The reason you are easily deceived, and the enemy has held you captive is that you don’t know the scriptures. You don’t know the power of God. It is not because God is powerless. Delay is not denial! That you are being delayed doesn’t mean that it won’t happen. It is all about timing. So, you must understand the timing of God. You do err, not knowing the scriptures. In other words, ignorance of the scripture will cause you to err. When you don’t know what God has said concerning you, concerning his promises and concerning where you stand in Him, you will go into error. Anything the Word cannot validate can never be the truth. The Word of God is the acid test for anything, no matter the manifestation.

A lot of Christians are deceived today by their pastors, fellow Christians and church leaders. Sometimes these leaders are themselves deceived into deceiving the believer who trusted them and took their word to be words from God. Imagine that the devil did not approach Adam directly. He knew Adam had a soft spot for Eve and therefore he deceived Eve in order to get to Adam. In the same way, the devil deceives many pastors whose members have come to trust their words and judgment and as a result, such a church member is deceived indirectly by the devil. The pastor will say at the end of the day that he was only trying to reconcile the couple according to the dictates of religion. This is why religion is so dangerous. The Holy Spirit can ask you to do something, and religion will ask you to do the direct opposite of it. If you are not discerning, you will grieve the Holy Spirit by acting according to religion and not according to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Zaccheus was a tax collector, a very corrupt man who had made illegal money through kickbacks, bribery, and unwholesome practices. Jesus was passing by and Zaccheus wanted to see him, so he climbed a tree. Jesus saw Zaccheus and gave him an audience. Religious people knew Zaccheus was corrupt and anyone who is Holy would not associate with Zaccheus. It is like associating with a known criminal and giving this criminal a sort of validation. Jesus was led to dine with Zaccheus and bring salvation into his house. He knew religious folks would condemn him for it, but he chose to save the lost rather than treat Zaccheus like a pariah just like other religious leaders. This was the practical way in which Jesus followed the leading of the Holy Spirit against the dictates of religion. This is why knowing the Lord yourself, reading the word of God, and growing in divine wisdom are important for the believer. Do not allow yourself to be spoon-fed by any GO or any Daddy. Christianity is a personal relationship with God. You can hear the Lord for yourself in making divine decisions if you trust the Lord and Lean on his words

 

GSW

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