DO NOT BE DECEIVED

 This past week many believed that there would be a different turn-out to the election. Some had dreams, some had the LORD speak directly to them, and others have revelations of the election outcome where Trump would remain the president for the next four years. Some still believe that Trump will become president in March. This morning I want to speak to you not about the politics of the day or the election but about the warning that Jesus gave about those who would deceive many within the Church.

Last Sunday, we heard about being deceived. I want to expound on that same thought. It is often easy for us to get our hope up when someone tells us what we would like to hear. It is easy to believe the things that we want rather than the things we don't like.

First, I am not a prophet. I do not give prophecies beyond what is written in the Word of God. I have not had dreams or visions, and God has not spoken directly to me. I have not had an angel of the LORD appear to me and give me a message to the world. I rely on the Scriptures and the truth and revelation that is found in them. We are living in the last days, as shown in the Word of God. So, we will look at the Word and see what we can expect.

We are not children of the night but the day.  We are friends of Jesus who shares with us what the future holds. From the Scriptures, we can find the truth.

I would like for you to follow along with me as we will be covering many scriptures today. I will give you the summary of the scripture, and you can read it later.

 Mat 24:3-5,10-11 (NIV) ... "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?" Jesus answered, "Watch out that no one deceives you, for many will come in my name. At that time, many will turn away from the faith... and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people."

As spiritual adultery increases in the church, false prophets will flourish as highly sought-after speakers. As Christians accept more of these false teachings indiscriminately, many will fall away, believing in a phony "faith." Since we have been warned, it might be wise to seek insight into how to discern false prophecy--what are false prophets likely to say? What are they like?

We have been warned that some amazing things happen, and it will be claimed that it is from the LORD.

Deut. 18:20-22 (NIV) "A prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death. You may say to yourselves, 'How can we know when the Lord has not spoken a message?' If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously..."

But what if it does come true? Aren't we specifically warned that near the End of the Age, many would show great signs and wonders? What then? Are signs and wonders "fruit"? Practical witchcraft is not the "fruit" we look for (Gal 5:22-23). Signs and wonders are not to be sought (Mat 16:4). Does the prophet call for repentance, holiness, and loyalty to Christ? 

Here is an observation about what has happened in the past several weeks. There has been a focus on Trump being the president and not focusing on repenting and turning from sin and iniquity.  

Deut 13:1-3 (NIV) "If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, 'Let us follow other gods' (gods you have not known) 'and let us worship them,' you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord, your God, is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul." 

This is much like the test God gave Abraham with his son Isaac on Mount Moriah. Just because someone makes the right prediction does not mean that it was from the LORD.

 

Deut. 13:5 -8 (NIV) "That prophet or dreamer must be put to death because he preached rebellion against the Lord your God... He has tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you. If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, do not yield to him or listen to him..."

Back in 2008, I told teachers to take their sock investments and put them in guaranteed investments. Many did and were able to save their money from loss.  I, however, did not take my advice and lost half of my retirement. It was not that I had some spiritual knowledge of what was going to happen. I could see the signs and knew change was coming. 

The same is right for spiritual change. Look at the signs, and you will know that something is about to happen. The problem is some have their agenda and will lie to you for whatever reason about what is going to happen.

Jer 9:2-6 (NIV) "...For they are all adulterers, a crowd of unfaithful people. They make ready their tongue like a bow, to shoot lies; it is not by truth that they triumph in the land. They go from one sin to another; they do not acknowledge me," declares the Lord. "Beware of your friends; do not trust your brothers. For every brother is a deceiver, and every friend a slanderer. Friend deceives friend, and no one speaks the truth... You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit, they refuse to acknowledge me," declares the Lord.

I believe we can all agree it isn't easy to know who is telling the truth today. We do not understand the reasoning they use when they give out their information.

Jer 23:33-36 (NIV) "When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, 'What is the oracle of the Lord?' say to them, 'What oracle?..' You must not mention 'the oracle of the Lord' again because every man's own word becomes his oracle, and so you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God." What did the LORD say?

I am leery of people who tell me the "LORD said for me to tell you…". Why didn't the LORD tell me first? Ever ask yourself why does the LORD only speak to certain people and never you?

In the past few years, there has been a movement to put prophets and apostles above others in the church. There are more prophets in the Church today than in the Old Testament. Most of these self-proclaimed prophets and apostles do not qualify as Christians, let alone the LORD's voice.

Neh 9:26 (NIV) "But they were disobedient and rebelled ...They killed your prophets, who had admonished them to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies."

Paul told Timothy that there would come a time when men would not endure sound doctrine. They would only want a positive message and to be entertained.

Isa 30:9-11,15 (NIV) These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord's instruction. They say to the seers, "See no more visions!" and to the prophets, "Give us no more visions of what is right! Tell us pleasant things, prophesy illusions. Leave this way, get off this path, and stop confronting us with the Holy One of Israel!" This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: "In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it."

The message we heard from the prophets today was that everything would be alright and our political enemies would be locked up, America would be great again, and God would bless America. The problem is this was not the plan of the LORD.

Jer 5:11-13 (NIV) "The house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to me," declares the Lord. "They have lied about the Lord; they said, 'He will do nothing! No harm will come to us; we will never see sword or famine.' The prophets are, but wind and the Word is not in them..." (Ez 13:7, De 29:19)

How many times over the past few weeks have I heard, The LORD is not finished with Trump? He will be the president for the next four years. I wanted to believe them. I wanted these people to be right. However, I felt that because we as a nation did not turn from our sin and iniquity, we would be facing the LORD's judgment.

Jer 23:16-18 (NIV) This is what the Lord Almighty says: "Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their minds, not from the mouth of the Lord. They keep saying to those who despise me, 'The Lord says: You will have peace.' And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts, they say, 'No harm will come to you.' But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his Word? Who has listened and heard his Word?"

Jer 23:21-22 (NIV) "I did not send these prophets, yet they have run with their message; I did not speak to them, yet they have prophesied. But if they had stood in my council, they would have proclaimed my words to my people and would have turned them from their evil ways and from their evil deeds."

Jer 8:6-9 (NIV) "I have listened attentively, but they do not say what is right. No one repents of his wickedness, saying, 'What have I done?'. My people do not know the requirements of the Lord. How can you say, 'We are wise...' Since they have rejected the Word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?"

Lam 2:14 (NIV) "The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading."

Jer 14:14 (NIV) "The prophets are prophesying lies in my name. I have not sent them or appointed them or spoken to them. They are prophesying to you false visions, divinations, idolatries, and the delusion of their own minds."

Jer 28:8-9 (NIV) [Jeremiah was identifying Hananiah as a false prophet:] "From early times the prophets who preceded you and me have prophesied war, disaster, and plague against many countries and great kingdoms. But the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one truly sent by the Lord only if his prediction comes true." (Jer 28:15-17 tells the outcome.)

Micah 2:11 (NIV) "If a liar and deceiver comes and says, 'I will prophesy for you plenty of wine and beer,' he would be just the prophet for this people!"

Micah 3:5 (NIV) This is what the Lord says: "As for the prophets who lead my people astray, if one feeds them, they proclaim 'peace'; if he does not, they prepare to wage war against him."

Jer 8:10-12 (NIV) "From the least to the greatest all are greedy for gain; prophet and priest alike, all practice deceit. They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious. 'Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace. Are they ashamed of their loathsome conduct? No, they have no shame at all; they do not even know how to blush."

Eph 5:6 (Jer) Do not let anyone deceive you with empty arguments: it is for this loose living that God's wrath comes down on those who rebel against him. Make sure you are not included with them.

John 10:12 (Jer) "The hired man, since he is not the shepherd and the sheep do not belong to him, abandons the sheep and runs away as soon as he sees a wolf coming, and then the wolf attacks and scatters the sheep."

 

Mat 7:15, 20-23 (NIV) "Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves... Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them... Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophecy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'"

Isa 56:10-11 (NIV) "Israel's watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around aRd dream. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, each seeks his own gain."

2 Cor 11:19-20 (Jer) Oh, you're tolerant all right! . Yes even to tolerating somebody who makes slaves of you, makes you feed him, imposes on you, orders you about and slaps you in the face.

Eze 13:17-19,22 (NIV) "Now, son of man, set your face against the daughters of your people who prophesy out of their own imagination. Prophesy against them and say,.. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live... Because you disheartened the righteous with your lies, when I had brought them no grief, and because you encouraged the wicked not to turn from their evil ways and so save their lives..."

Jer 23:14-15 (NIV) "...They commit adultery and live a lie. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one turns from his wickedness... Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets: 'I will make them eat bitter food and drink poisoned water, because from the prophets of Jerusalem ungodliness has spread throughout the land.'"

Evil "Unleashed"

Jer 23:9-11 (NIV) "Concerning the prophets:.. 'The land is full of adulterers;.. The prophets follow an evil course and use their power unjustly. Both prophet and priest are godless; even in my temple I find their wickedness,' declares the Lord."

2 Cor 11:13-15 (Phi) "God's messengers?" They are counterfeits of the real thing, dishonest practitioners masquerading as the messengers of Christ. Nor do their tactics surprise me when I consider how Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is only to be expected that his agents shall have the appearance of ministers of righteousness--but they will get what they deserve in the end.

1 Tim 4:1-2 (Phi) God's Spirit specifically tells us that in later days there will be men who abandon the true faith and allow themselves to be spiritually seduced by teachings of demons, teachings given by men who are lying hypocrites, whose consciences are as dead as seared flesh.

Jer 23:25-29 (NIV) "I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, 'I had a dream! I had a dream!' How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? Let the prophet who has a dream tell his dream, but let the one who has my Word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?" declares the Lord. "Is not my word like fire," declares the Lord, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?"

Col 2:18-19 (Jer) Do not be taken in by people who like groveling to angels and worshipping them; people like that are always going on about some vision they have had, inflating themselves to a false importance with their worldly outlook. A man of this sort is not united to the head...

Eph 4:14-15 (Jer) Then we shall not be children any longer, or tossed one way and another and carried along by every wind of doctrine, at the mercy of all the tricks men play and their cleverness in practicing deceit. If we live by the truth and in love, we shall grow in all ways into Christ, who is the head.

1 Jn 2:20-26 (Phi) God has given you all a certain amount of spiritual insight, and indeed I have not written this warning as if I were writing to men who don't know what error is. I write because your eyes are clear enough to discern a lie when you come across it... For yourselves, keep faithful to what you heard at the beginning. I had to write to you about these men who try to lead you astray.

Mat 24:25 (Phi) "False Christs and false prophets are going to appear and produce great signs and wonders to mislead, if it were possible, even God's own people. Listen, I am warning you."

A.W. Tozer: "Whatever is new or singular should also be viewed with a lot of caution. Over the last half-century, quite a number of unscriptural notions have gained acceptance among Christians by claiming that they were among the truths that were to be revealed in the last days. The truth is that the Bible does not teach that there will be new light and advanced spiritual experiences in the latter days; it teaches the exact opposite. Beware of any man who claims to be wiser than the apostles or holier than the martyrs of the Early Church."

2 Thes 2:11-12 (Phi) God sends upon them, therefore, the full force of evil's delusion, so that they put their faith in an utter fraud and meet the inevitable judgment of all who have refused to believe the truth and who have made evil their pleasure.

Luke 21:8 (KJV) ... "Take heed that ye be not deceived; for many shall come in my name..."