Living in Truth in a Time of Great Deception (part 3)

Know the Truth!

6.21.2020

Review

We are living in a strange time where what is true is twisted and warped to fit various agendas people have.

Matthew 24:4 (TPT)

Jesus answered, “At that time deception will run rampant. So beware that you are not fooled!”

1 Timothy 4:1 (NLT)

Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons.

We must be able to discern the truth from lying and deception.

1. I believe that we are living in the time just before the return of Christ.
2. We will see the rise of the antiChrist.
3. Jesus said that this period of time before His return would be typified by deception.
4. There will be a falling away of believers from the faith.
5. AntiChrist will be a deceiver.

So, how do we deal with today’s pressures and the crazy week-to-week changes that are occurring?

Today – Know the Truth

1. God’s Word brings stability.

I started my life as an unstable person emotionally and relationally. I was up and down. Up one day and down the next.

When I started to view life through the lens of what God said about it, I began to change and became a stable person.

Isaiah 33:6 (NKJV)

Wisdom and knowledge will be the stability of your times, and the strength of salvation; The fear of the Lord is His treasure.

Joshua 1:8 (NKJV)

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.

Psalm 1 (NLT)

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. 2 But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. 3 They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do. 4 But not the wicked! They are like worthless chaff, scattered by the wind. 5 They will be condemned at the time of judgment. Sinners will have no place among the godly. 6 For the Lord watches over the path of the godly, but the path of the wicked leads to destruction.

2. Ask God for a hunger for the Word.

The greatest hunger you could ever foster is for the Word.

What we are hungry for defines who we are!

Job 23: 12 (NLT)

I have not departed from his commands, but have treasured his words more than daily food.

Jeremiah 15:16 (NKJV)

Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O Lord God of hosts.

Psalm 19:7-11 (NLT)

The instructions of the Lord are perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple. 8 The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the Lord are clear, giving insight for living. 9 Reverence for the Lord is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the Lord are true; each one is fair. 10 They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. 11 They are a warning to your servant, a great reward for those who obey them.

3. Know that the Bible is the Inspired Word of God.

Once you are settled that the Bible is inspired by God and given for you to live by, life will be different for you.

Until then, you will be swayed by other people’s opinions and by the current culture.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NKJV)

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (AMPL)

Every Scripture is God-breathed (given by His inspiration) and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, [and] for training in righteousness (in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action), 17 So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 (MSG)

Every part of Scripture is God-breathed and useful one way or another — showing us truth, exposing our rebellion, correcting our mistakes, training us to live God’s way.

17 Through the Word we are put together and shaped up for the tasks God has for us.

Theopneustos;

divinely breathed in: — given by inspiration of God; God breathed.

God fills you with Himself when His Word gets into you.

Example: When you blow up a balloon, some of who you are enters that balloon. It is filled with your breath, which has your DNA.

God’s DNA enters you when you get into the Word!

2 Peter 1:20-21 (NKJV)

Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation,

21 for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

2 Peter 1:20-21 (NLT)

Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, 21 or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God.

2 Peter 1:20-21 (NIV)

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Back in my teens, I made a decision that I would allow the Bible to be my infallible rule of faith and practice.

I made a decision that it would govern me and guide me. That my decisions would be based on God’s will for me as revealed in the Word of God.

That means that now, I choose to judge my thoughts, words, actions, and choices by the foundation of the Bible. That alone has changed who I am and how I live.

For ME, The Bible is the inspired Word of God! I have chosen in my life to believe in the verbal, plenary (complete) inspiration of the Bible.

Do you believe that the Bible is inspired?

Have you made a personal choice to live by its teachings?

It takes the Holy Spirit to reveal the Word to us in a balanced way…

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 (NKJV)

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. (15) But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. (16) For “who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2:14 (Passion Translation)

Someone living on an entirely human level rejects the revelations of God’s Spirit, for they make no sense to him. He can’t understand the revelations of the Spirit because they are only discovered by the illumination of the Spirit.

4. The Word is designed to take Jesus’ and the Father’s place in their physical absence.

God revealed Himself to Adam’s spirit as Adam lived in the Garden of Eden before the fall.

After the fall, God in His great love had to devise a way for fallen man to receive information from Him, since man now has a fallen, dead spirit nature.

God devised a way to communicate with us from the outside in, instead of from the inside out, and that is through His Word!

John 14:21-23 (NLT)

“Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.” 22 Judas (not Judas Iscariot, but the other disciple with that name) said to him, “Lord, why are you going to reveal yourself only to us and not to the world at large?” 23 Jesus replied, “All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.”

5. Our culture has set the Word of God aside. It now has little or no influence on lifestyle, and now God is forced to back away from us as a nation because of our choices.

The Bible has been replaced in our schools by atheism, evolution, relative values, amorality.

Pluralism is dividing the USA into separate groups, each with different values. People from other cultures bring their religion and beliefs here.

The things that united us are no longer mainstream.

Isaiah 1:20 (NKJV)

But if you refuse and rebel, you shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

Proverbs 1:24-33 (NKJV)

Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, 25 Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, 26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, 27 When your terror comes like a storm, and your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. 28 Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. 29 Because they hated knowledge and did not choose the fear of the Lord, 30 They would have none of my counsel and despised my every rebuke. 31 Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, and be filled to the full with their own fancies. 32 For the turning away of the simple will slay them, and the complacency of fools will destroy them; 33 But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil.

Proverbs 1:24-33 (Passion Translation)

I’ve called to you over and over; still you refuse to come to me. I’ve pleaded with you again and again, yet you’ve turned a deaf ear to my voice. (25) Because you have laughed at my counsel and have insisted on continuing in your stubbornness, (26) I will laugh when your calamity comes and will turn away from you at the time of your disaster. Make a joke of my advice, will you?Then I’ll make a joke out of you! (27) When the storm clouds of terror gather over your head,

when dread and distress consume you and your catastrophe comes like a hurricane,(28) you will cry out to me, but I won’t answer. Then it will be too late to expect my help. When desperation drives you to search for me, I will be nowhere to be found. (29) Because you have turned up your nose at me and closed your eyes to the facts and refused to worship me in awe— (30) because you scoffed at my wise counsel and laughed at my correction— (31) now you will eat the bitter fruit of your own ways. You’ve made your own bed; now lie in it!

So how do you like that? (32) Like an idiot you’ve turned away from me and chosen destruction instead. Your self-satisfied smugness will kill you. (33) But the one who always listens to me will live undisturbed in a heavenly peace. Free from fear, confident and courageous, you will rest unafraid and sheltered from the storms of life.

Matthew 7:24-27 (NKJV)

Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall.

6. When I choose to do what the Bible says, I put God in charge of my life!

Proverbs 3:1-8 (NKJV)

My son, do not forget my law, But let your heart keep my commands; 2 For length of days and long life And peace they will add to you. (3) Let not mercy and truth forsake you; Bind them around your neck, Write them on the tablet of your heart, 4 And so find favor and high esteem In the sight of God and man. 5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. 7 Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil. 8 It will be health to your flesh, And strength to your bones.

Matthew 4:4 (NKJV)

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”

Deuteronomy 8:1-3 (NKJV)

Every commandment which I command you today you must be careful to observe, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land of which the Lord swore to your fathers. 2 And you shall remember that the Lord your God led you all the way these forty years in the wilderness, to humble you and test you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord.

James 1:22-25 (NLT)

But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. 23 For if you listen to the word and don’t obey, it is like glancing at your face in a mirror. 24 You see yourself, walk away, and forget what you look like. 25 But if you look carefully into the perfect law that sets you free, and if you do what it says and don’t forget what you heard, then God will bless you for doing it.

So, if God’s Word says be honest and don’t lie, then I choose to be truthful.

If God’s Word says my body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, then I treat it with respect and don’t do things to abuse it.

If God’s Word tells me to love my wife the same way Jesus loves the church, then I choose to love my wife that way.

If God’s Word tells me to discipline my child, then I discipline my child.

If God’s Word tells me to work responsibly, then I work responsibly.

If God’s Word tells me to give, then I give.

If God’s Word tells me to forgive, then I forgive.

Choose to ask yourself over and over, what does God’s Word say about this in every action you take.

7. The Word is your stability in turbulent times…

Numbers 23:19

God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent.

Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good?

Psalm 89:34

My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips.

Psalm 119:89

Forever, O Lord, your word is settled in heaven.

Isaiah 40:8

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

 

Isaiah 55:11

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

Jeremiah 1:12 (AMPL)

Then said the Lord to me, you have seen well, for I am alert and active, watching over My word to perform it.

Matthew 5:18 (NIV)

I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

Matthew 24:35

Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.

Action Points:

1. Are you easily swayed by the changes in what people around you think and believe?
2. Are you spiritually hungry, or have you lost your appetite for the Bible?
3. Do you act as though the Bible is God’s inspired word to you?
4. Are the opinions of culture and others more important to you than what the Bible says?