In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes (Judges 21:25-NLT).
Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” (4) And Jesus answered and said to them: “Take heed that no one deceives you.(Matthew 24:3-4 – NKJV).
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron (1 Timothy 4:1-2- NKJV).
In our postmodern culture, we have the same personal ideology as the culture in Israel during the time of the Judges. Every person did what was right in his own eyes.
As Christians, we’re admonished not to be of the world (Romans 12:2). That is, we’re not to be swayed by the attitudes and actions of unbelievers. And instead of doing what we feel like doing any given moment, we’re to obey the Word! Our blessing in God is in obedience! What some folk don’t realize is that if we refuse to obey the Word, we’re turning a deaf ear to the Spirit of God!
We’re entering into the time period just prior to the time of difficulty spoken of by Jesus in Matthew 24, Luke 21, and found in Revelation 6-19. It’s a time of great challenge and change just before the second coming of Christ to earth. To navigate successfully through this time, it’s important for us to be people of the Word!
Notice 1 Timothy 4:1-2 (Amplified): But the Holy Spirit distinctly and expressly declares that in latter times some will turn away from the faith, giving attention to deluding and seducing spirits and doctrines that demons teach, through the hypocrisy and pretensions of liars whose consciences are seared (cauterized).
Then also notice 2 Timothy 4: 3-4 (God’s Word translation): A time will come when people will not listen to accurate teachings. Instead, they will follow their own desires and surround themselves with teachers who tell them what they want to hear. People will refuse to listen to the truth and turn to myths.
Today is a day to weigh what you hear in a balance against the Word of God. It is amazing to me that in this age of technological advancement, we are potentially more deceived than ever. If you believe everything you hear, you are most probably a deceived person.
For instance, ALL of the news organizations have built in biases. Every single one. That includes ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, MSNBC, FOX, and if I left out your favorite, then please include it in the list. I know this because all of them use the same phrases to explain a subject, and it becomes clear that they are parrots that just say what someone tells them they must say.
The social media platforms such as Facebook and Google have begun to censor what they do not agree with. There is a built in bias that is created to sway opinion. All of these media platforms are influenced by their owners who are influenced by major donors who have an agenda to push a narrative that moves you away from faith in God, believing God’s Word, and from embracing moral values that create a strong family unit with a male father and a female mother!
We all need to keep in mind that the antiChrist spirit is at work worldwide right now, preparing the world for the rise of this leader in the Middle East that will be the opposite of all things Christian, and will promote anarchy and lawlessness on a worldwide scale.
What we see now all over America with the rioting, looting, thugary, pulling down of statues, and demanding that the police force to resign or scale down in a major way is driven by a central scheme to destabilize the world. This is driven by organizations with a lot of money (the love of which is the root of all evil). This my friends is deception on a wide scale.
The only way to keep from being mentally controlled by all of this is to be a person whose mind and heart is saturated in the Word of God, and who knows the Holy Spirit very well.
Demonic forces are working today to separate people from truth. They seek to twist truth to turn people from the path of right living. Here’s the way to stay with the Spirit of God, and to stay safely in the protection and care that the Father has for you during this time. It’s really simple. Obey the Word! Don’t just listen to it or read it. Make sure your lifestyle lines up with what God says you are to be – mentally, emotionally, physically, relationally, and spiritually.
The beginning of this article verses reveal that doctrines of demons will urge people to turn away from the faith, and only hear what pleases them. So, when I hear the truth of the Word, but the Word disagrees with what I feel like doing or want to do at the moment, or the Word disagrees with what is popular in culture right now, and I ignore the Word and act on my feelings or on the demands of the culture around me, then I actually open myself up to demonic deception!
As a pastor, I’ve had the unfortunate experience of having people sit in front of me in my office and tell me that adultery for them is ok, that fornication, for them for the moment, is ok; that lying, in this situation and for the moment, is ok; and the list goes on and on!
Here’s the bottom line: Any believer that decides to ignore the Word and do what he or she knows is wrong, defies conscience and opens themselves up to demonic deception! Don’t do that!
If God says love your neighbor as yourself, then love your neighbor as yourself! If God says, be angry and do not sin, then be angry and do not sin. If God says, don’t gossip and say bad things about your fellow worker, then don’t gossip and say bad things about your fellow worker. If God says, don’t lust, then turn your eyes away. If God says, do not fear, then resist fear!
The Father’s protection, favor, and care in this hour will be with those who choose to love Him by obeying His Word! Don’t compromise the Father’s care in this time with loose living or doing what is right in your own eyes, and by responding the everyone else around you responds. Defy your own thoughts and feelings and obey the Word! That’s where you will find the blessing, protection, and favor of the Father today!
Turn OFF the news and social media, and turn on the Word of God. It is the only way to stay above this level of deception before Jesus returns!