Deception (Part 17) - Resisting Deception (Part B)
Submitted by Pastor Chad Wagner on Sunday, June 28, 2020.
D. Never equate emotion with the Holy Spirit. i. Charismatic churches rely on emotion to deceive scripturally ignorant people. a. It is true that joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22). b. But the feeling of joy is not always from the Holy Spirit (Pro 2:14; Pro 15:21; 2Th 2:12). ii. Deceived professing Christians assume that because they feel so good when they go to their church that it must be of God. a. It is true that we should experience joy in church (Psa 42:4; Psa 122:1; Rom 14:17). b. But we should first and foremost experience true worship and teaching in church (Joh 4:23-24). c. Often times we should be reproved when we go to church, not given a motivational talk (2Ti 4:2-4). iii. Consider how godly men in the scripture often felt when they were doing the will of God. a. Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief (Isa 53:3). b. Moses was stressed, overwhelmed, and wanted to die (Num 11:10-15). c. Elijah felt lonely and wanted to die (1Ki 19:4, 10). d. Job was in total misery and wished he was dead (Job 3:1-4, 11). e. Paul was troubled (2Co 4:8), perplexed (2Co 4:8), depressed (2Co 4:9), weary (2Co 11:27), forsaken by friends (2Ti 4:16), and had a thorn in the flesh that God would not take away (2Co 12:7-9). f. Does this mean that Jesus, Moses, Elijah, Job, and Paul did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them? iv. On the other hand, the wicked who have not the Holy Spirit often experience joy and goodness in this life (Psa 73:3-7; Psa 17:14; Job 20:5). v. Emotions do not determine who is filled with the Holy Spirit, but having the word of God dwelling in richly in all wisdom does (Eph 5:18-19 c/w Col 3:16 c/w Pro 1:23). vi. In summation, never believe teaching and assume that it's from the Spirit of God just because it comes from a church that makes you feel so good. vii. Never base truth on feelings. E. Never equate feelings, impressions, or coincidences with God's leading. i. The devil leads people into all manner of foolish choices by these things. ii. Always test the feeling, impression, or coincidence with "what saith the scripture" before making a decision based on it (Act 17:11; Isa 8:20). iii. Prove all things by the word of God (1Th 5:21; Pro 14:15). F. Most people make decisions emotionally and then afterwards try to justify them logically. i. There are usually two reasons people have for doing something: the reason they give for it, and then the real reason. a. I "bought" this new smart phone (on a payment plan, of course) because... (i) The reason I give to other people: my old one was probably going to die soon, or it was too slow, or it didn't have enough space. (ii) The real reason: I wanted the latest phone because it has some new neat features and it makes me look cool. b. I "bought" a new car (on credit, of course) because... (i) The reason I give to other people: interest rates are so low that it makes sense to take out a loan and leave my money in the bank. (ii) The real reason: I wanted a new car to fulfill my lust, and so it will make me look like I'm doing well in other's eyes (and by the way, I don't actually have any money in the bank). c. I "bought" a bigger house (with a 30 year mortgage, of course) because... (i) The reason I give to other people: interest rates are so low and a house is actually a good investment (housing prices never go down, you know), and plus my mortgage payment won't even go up very much. (ii) The real reason: I wanted a bigger house to fulfill my lusts and have status among my friends and peers. And although it won't make my monthly mortgage payment go up much, it will extend my payments for another 30 years so I will be a debt slave for the rest of my life. ii. If you feel like you have to justify your decision to others and persuade them that you made a good decision, you would do well to consider the real reason that you made the decision. G. People who make decisions emotionally are easily deceived. i. Examples a. You see pictures of a mass shooting and then decide we need more gun laws and surveillance. b. You see pictures of an alleged chemical weapons attack in a country on the other side of the world, and you decide we need to bomb "them." c. You hear the words "for the children" and you agree we need to pass a new government spending bill. d. You feel bad that healthcare is so expensive for the poor, so you vote for the "Affordable Care Act" because after all it must provide "affordable care" since the bill's name contains those words. e. There is a terrorist attack and you support the PATRIOT ACT because it has the word "patriot" in it. f. You listen to a sob story from a stranger or a relative who has made foolish decisions or is lying about his situation and are compelled to give him money. g. You meet a guy in NYC that is selling gold necklaces out of a briefcase for bargain prices and immediately buy one because you think you're getting a great deal, only to later realize it's only gold-plated. h. The media tells you that the coronavirus pandemic is going to kill millions so you immediately give up your liberties out of fear. 5. Try the spirits to see if they are of God (1Jo 4:1). A. Remember the following: i. Satan can perform lying signs and wonders (2Th 2:9). ii. Satan's ministers are ministers of righteousness (2Co 11:13-15). iii. Satan's men can do miracles (Mat 10:1 c/w Mat 10:4 c/w Joh 6:70), preach the gospel (Mat 10:7), be philanthropists (Joh 12:4-5), and prophesy (2Pe 2:15-17). B. The gift of prophecy ended by the close of the first century. i. When the New Testament was complete (perfect), prophecy ceased (1Co 13:8-10). ii. Therefore, if someone claims to be a prophet today, he is lying. C. If any man claims to be a prophet, prove him by the word of God. i. Test #1: Has every prophecy that a prophet has made come true? a. If even one prophecy he has spoken has not come to pass, he is a false prophet (Deut 18:20-22). b. One false prophecy negates 1000 true ones. ii. Test #2: Does the prophet's doctrine accord with the teaching of scripture? a. If a prophet makes a prophecy that comes true, but his doctrine is false, he is a false prophet (Deut 13:1-3). b. If he speaks not according to the scripture, there is no light in him (Isa 8:20). c. If he does not acknowledge that Paul's doctrine is the truth, he is a false prophet (1Co 14:37). d. If he doesn't hear the teaching of the apostles, he is not of God (1Jo 4:6). 6. Avoid the occult entirely. A. Wizards, séances, witches, necromancers, psychics, palm readers, tarot card readers, astrologers, etc. are all evil (Deut 18:9-12). B. Occultic books owned by Christians should be destroyed (Act 19:19). C. Ouija boards should never be played with. D. Shows or movies depicting "good" witches and wizards should not be watched for the purpose of entertainment. i. There is no such thing as a good witch or a good wizard (this includes Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, etc.). ii. To call a witch or a wizard good is to call evil good (Isa 5:20). iii. Christians that have pleasure in them that sin are just as guilty as the sinners themselves (Rom 1:32). 7. Avoid allowing garbage into your mind. A. TV i. The "news" is mostly propaganda designed to deceive you. ii. Look at how the media managed to whip the entire country into a frenzy about the coronavirus which turned out to be far less deadly than they claimed. iii. TV programming (think about that word) is designed to corrupt your mind and desensitize it toward wickedness such as fornication, sodomy, blasphemy, etc. iv. If you want to protect yourself from deception, get rid of your TV. B. Movies i. Most movies have an agenda to change the thinking of the culture. ii. The few that don't have sex, nudity, violence, and blasphemy promote the feminist agenda which to most people is imperceptible. iii. Many Hollywood actors are inspired by Satan (see sermon on Hollywood). C. Music i. Music has a way of becoming quickly engrained in our memories. ii. Once heard a few times, it is nearly impossible to forget. iii. The evil messages will either overtly or subliminally affect our thinking. D. Books i. There are good books and there are evil books. ii. There are nonfiction books that teach lies. iii. There are other nonfiction books that teach a lot of truth, but contain lies. iv. Just make sure that you have good discernment if you are going to read a book that you know contains error. v. Fictional books can contain the same filth and propaganda that TV and movies do, so beware. E. Internet i. The internet is a cesspool of filth, lies, and propaganda. ii. There is of course much truth to be found on it as well. iii. Be very careful of the type of content you view on the internet. iv. Do not assume that just because you read something on the alternative media that it is true. v. We should subject it to the same scrutiny that we do the mainstream media.
