Sunday, April 10, 2016

Do Not Be Deceived

Do Not Be Deceived


Have you fallen prey to the lies about God?
  • James 1:16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

The lies that say He wants to hold you back, put you down and take what you have earned; that believing in Him proves that you are ignorant; that His truths and His ways are inconsistent?
  • James 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.

The lie that He wants to condemn you and that you have to earn His love?
  • James 1:18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

James wrote very clearly to counter these dangerous deceptions because lies and half-truths about God are planted in the fertile soil of man’s heart by Satan himself.
  • James 1:14-15 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
  • Genesis 3:13 And the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.”

Satan and the ungodly world system he directs want to convince you that God isn’t real. They want you to live however you want; fulfilling your every desire without any thought of standards or consequences.
  • John 8:44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
  • Ephesians 2:2-3 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.
  • 1 John 1:10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

Satan’s goal is to keep you in the dark by hiding the truth.
  • Psalm 82:5 They do not know, nor do they understand; They walk about in darkness; All the foundations of the earth are unstable.
  • 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.
  • Proverbs 4:18-19 But the path of the just is like the shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day. 19 The way of the wicked is like darkness; They do not know what makes them stumble.

There is a battle for your soul. A battle between darkness and light.
  • John 3:19-21 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
  • Proverbs 2:11-14 Discretion will preserve you; Understanding will keep you, 12 To deliver you from the way of evil, From the man who speaks perverse things, 13 From those who leave the paths of uprightness To walk in the ways of darkness; 14 Who rejoice in doing evil, And delight in the perversity of the wicked
  • John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

If you want to know the truth, start with God’s Word.
  • Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path.
  • Psalm 119:130 The entrance of Your words gives light; It gives understanding to the simple.
  • Psalm 119:160 The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.
  • Proverbs 30:5 Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

Then turn to God’s Son, Jesus Christ.
  • John 18:37 Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
  • John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”

Escape the darkness of deception and ignorance by embracing the Light of truth and knowledge.
  • Ecclesiastes 2:13 Then I saw that wisdom excels folly As light excels darkness.
  • Romans 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.
  • Psalm 18:28 For You will light my lamp; The Lord my God will enlighten my darkness.

Jesus longs to lighten your burdens.
  • Matthew 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

He is the only way to peace with God the Father.
  • John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
  • John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.

He died to pay the debt for your sins so that you can live forever in Heaven with God. Confess Him as Savior and surrender to His Lordship.
  • Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
  • Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
  • John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
  • Ephesians 1:7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace
  • 1 Corinthians 6:20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.
  • 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,
  • Romans 10:9-10 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.


Prayer

Lord God, may Your Word speak, Your Spirit draw, and Your Will be done. In the name of Christ. Amen.