6/29/11~Take note that there are charts througout this writing and in order to read the charts, you may need to scroll back and forth, left to right.
In this day of great deception, there is something very important that I wish to address and that is, the wiles of the enemies of our souls. I believe that part of our stand against these foul spirits involves seeking the Lord for purified hearts and motives. Certainly, we desire purified hearts for our Lord and we know that He is purifying us by His wonderful grace and continued faithful workings. Also, by having purified hearts we are free from giving ground to Satan and his emissaries. Day by day, as we die to self, more and more of the elements of self are laid down which means that more and more of the Life of Christ is being formed in us. Where the enemies see impurities of our hearts, they are free to work to deceive and to lead astray. But let not the mature believer think he/she is off the hook! No, indeed! Even a more mature believer, one who's heart and love and life is set on Christ, can be deceived. If anyone thinks they cannot be deceived~~they are already deceived. Remember, the fallen angels are still out to kill, steal and destroy, each one of us, even though, positionally, they were defeated when Christ gave Himself as our sacrifice on the cross.
Be on guard, children of the Lord. We are still at war each new day. There's never a time we cannot be off guard. We must take our stand against these fowls of the air, for they are ever ready with all of their new deceptions, i.e., new to us. At the same time we can ask the Lord to guide us and give us His discernment as we pray to Him and as we take our stand against every foul trick of the devil so we can recognize them.
Ask the Holy Spirit, where you might be deceived, where you need His light and illumination to help you come increasingly out of darkness. Nests of deception are ever present among so-called Christians, even those who are broadcasting and posting comments and writings on their site or on www.YouTube.com. Watch out for those who call themselves pastors, evangelists, prophets, teachers, leaders, etc. for they are especially to be discerned. How we desperately need God's wisdom each new day. And those among so-called "Christians" and "friends", beware and be much more aware. Go deeper into the Lord for fresh discoveries of where the enemies are hiding out, for where they are swirling about with all their lies and counterfeiting tricks IN the Body of Christ. We have Christians thinking it's all right to enjoy rock, heavy metal, hip-hop music under the banner of "Christian" names. We have Christians who think it's ok to be a homosexual or lesbian, bisexual or transgender and also to watch pornography on their computers as well as on videos. We have lots of 'strange fire' as the bible calls it, just doing whatever in the name of the Lord, but apart from His Life. Leviticus 10:1--And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. How about gnosticism~~the churches are loaded with these teaches which are surely a deception leading the sheep astray! We have ecumenism, big time, which is to Satan's glee as he watches all the sheep following the Mother of Harlots right back into the Roman Catholic Church through leaders and conferences and beliefs straight from hell! ECT, Evangelicals and Catholics Together being just one of the many detours that the majority of people take today off the straight and narrow road. Then there's always the Jesuits and the Illuminati and the false brethren who have INFILTRATED ALL the denominations. All of these beliefs are deceptions to lead the sheep astray and away from the true Jesus Christ of the Bible.
Excerpts from Carter Conlon--
Rom. 1:25, 28--"...they worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator...and God gave them over to a reprobate mind..."A reprobate mind means corrupt thinking, a crooked mind...after years of refusing to obey God, it is almost as if their thinking cannot be straightened. They choose instead to worship the thoughts of their own hearts, and sin and religion eventually become friends, bringing them to a place where they begin to call evil good..There is no greater darkness than when that which is inwardly corrupt takes on a COVERING OF RELIGION...Mat. 23:33--"You serpents,...In other words, (Jesus said) "You have so covered yourselves in corruption and religion that you have bought yoursleves a ticket to hell. How will you escape? How will you change/ You have embraced this corrupted reasoning fo Satan, covering death and decay with fine clothing and sweet religious words, but inwardly you hate God!"...John 8:44--"You are of your father the devil,..." ...Now you are entrenched in a wrong way of thinking, leaving you with two alternatives--either you will repent of your sin, or you will kill the voice that has been sent to draw you to the presence of God...Unfortunately, many people reach a place where they sit in the house of God, having put on a covering of religion while embracing a wrong view of God and His ways...Do you not understand the power of your own heart to deceive you? Each of us has an inner capability to walk away from God and develop completely corrupted scriptural reasoning around it. BEAR IN MIND THAT IT WAS THE MOST RELIGIOUS NATION ON EARTH THAT CRIED OUT FOR THE DEATH OF THE SON OF GOD...It is important to realize that the light shone in a religious darkess--THAT was the religious darkness that didn't comprehend it. Isn't it strange that the lepers comprehended it, the prostitutes responded to it, and even the dead could har it? Yet religion has a certain death about it, making it almost impossible to hear the voice of God...You will not be in darkness if you are singly focused,...saying, "Lord, whatever You say is wrong, I will regard as wrong; and whatever You say is right, I will follow. By Your Spirit I will do what You ask me to, and wherever You lead me, I will follow."...There is a distinct call to each of us, and this is where we will either cover sin with religion, or throw off that false garment...saying, ..."I will not create a religion in my own heart that allows me to move in the direction of death, thinking it is life..."...As we make the choice to do things God's way, allowing no friendship between sin and religion in our lives,...it will be joy and strength, direction in the storm, provision in famine, victory in battle."
We have Another Jesus, Another Gospel and Another Spirit presented to us from the lukewarm congregations, whether they be called denominations, non-denominational, independent, sects or by any other name! 2 Corinthians 11:4--For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. And let's not forget the New Age doctrines that have crept into the churches with their labyrinths and their contemplative teachings. How about the Jewish Roots movements and their teachings of discovering your Jewish roots and joining in with such nonsense which is straight from the Old Covenant. It's one thing to know what the holy days represent but quite another to celebrate them and be stuck there. We are in the New Covenant now and our substance IS Christ. For sure, when Isa. said, All we like sheep have gone astray, he was 100% accurate! Isa. 53:6. And one of the greatest deceptions of all is to think we are all ok, just doing fine! When we see a woman dressed in a Burka, covered from head to toe, we might feel sorry for her and all her beliefs and restrictions that hold her in bondage, but I tell you that in a crowd of people, at least we know what the woman with the Burka stands for and what she believes, even if though they do not follow what they believe.
Then we have lots of cowdarice and a lack of spine and gut, consequently there are many who are not confronted with the truth. And how about unforgiveness~there's ground given to the enemy for sure. We must keep our forgiveness up-to-date. Through the ages, this has been a great problem and surely gives the enemy ground to walk on and deceive us with tricks of self righteousness and pride.
Being ever so thankful for each new discovery of their evil workings only increases your deep love for Our Great, Living, Loving, Merciful God. It is important to ask the Holy Spirit to help us to recognize their workings and to expose them so we can refuse them. This takes humility as we look to the Lord, knowing that our dependency is truly on Him. Also, we must be wearing the armor of Light, the whole armor of God, 24/7 along w/ being open to the Lord 24/7. We all need to continue to develop our active stand of faith against their wiles. Please examine your lives, the past as well as the present to see if there is any place where the enemy has tricked you. It could be a matter of unforgiveness~~is your forgiveness up-to-date? It could be a matter of a so-called Christian friend who is deceiving you. We are to notice the enemies' workings and rebuke them and resist them. We are also to confront others with the truth. Yes, we fight against the invisible spirits, but we are also to speak the truth to others about the problem or the sin that we see as Paul tells us in Ephes. 4:25.
The subtle tricks of Satan are more subtle in these last days. Unless we are rooted and grounded in Christ, we can be led astray with wonders and signs or workings that seem to be divine, certainly they are supernatural. We do not have to accept anything supernatural until we know what the source of it is.
For more help in this area, please see Jesse Penn-Lewis's book entitled: War on the Saints. Also, see Poor Lost Christian (PDF) through a google search.
Here are some important charts taken from War on the Saints by Jesse Penn-Lewis:
THE WORD "DECEIVED" THE DESCRIPTION OF EVERY UNREGENERATE MAN
The word "deceived" is, according to the Scripture, the description of every unregenerate human being, without distinction of persons, race, culture, or sex. "We also were . . . deceived" (Titus 3: 3), said Paul the Apostle, although in his "deceived" condition he was a religious man, walking according to the righteousness of the law, blameless (Phil. 3: 6).
The man is deceived if he is a hearer, and not a doer of the Word of God (Jas. 1: 22).
He is deceived
deceived when he thinks himself to be "something" when he is nothing (Gal. 6: 3).
He is deceived when he thinks himself to be wise with the wisdom of this world. (1 Cor. 3: 18).
He is deceived by seeming to be religious, when an unbridled tongue reveals his true condition. (Jas. 1: 26).
He is deceived, if he thinks he will sow, and not reap what he sows
(Gal. 6: 7).
He is deceived, if he thinks the unrighteous will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6: 9).
He is deceived , if he thinks that contact with sin will not have its effect upon him. (1 Cor. 15: 33).
THE BASIC PRINCIPLE FOR TESTING TEACHINGS
BY TEACHING SPIRITS
Since thought, or "belief," originates either from the God of Truth, or the father of lies (John 8: 44), there is but one basic principle for testing the source of all doctrines, or "thoughts" and "beliefs," held by believers, or unbelievers, i.e., the test of the revealed Word of God.
All "truth" is in harmony with the only channel of revealed truth in the world--the written Word of God. All "teachings" originating from deceiving spirits--
In the heathen world:
Excerpts from Sodom Had No Bible by Leonard Ravenhill~~
From the chapter, We Need a Baptism of Holy Anger
Paul was angry at the power of false religion to delude the people.
Paul was angry at the reckless devotion...to powerless gods.
Paul was angry at the staggering wealth sacrificially given to build
temples to frauds.
Paul was angry that Christ was cheated of the love which He should
have had...
Doesn't this sound like the day in which we now live?! Shouldn't we then be angry even as Paul was?!
*********************************************************************************
COMMENTS FROM PHIL ENLOW~~
John 10:10
1 Peter 1:2
Deuteronomy 11:16
1 Timothy 1:18--This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them might war a good warfare;
Luke 8:5
2 Corinthians 10:3-5--For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
In this day of great deception, there is something very important that I wish to address and that is, the wiles of the enemies of our souls. I believe that part of our stand against these foul spirits involves seeking the Lord for purified hearts and motives. Certainly, we desire purified hearts for our Lord and we know that He is purifying us by His wonderful grace and continued faithful workings. Also, by having purified hearts we are free from giving ground to Satan and his emissaries. Day by day, as we die to self, more and more of the elements of self are laid down which means that more and more of the Life of Christ is being formed in us. Where the enemies see impurities of our hearts, they are free to work to deceive and to lead astray. But let not the mature believer think he/she is off the hook! No, indeed! Even a more mature believer, one who's heart and love and life is set on Christ, can be deceived. If anyone thinks they cannot be deceived~~they are already deceived. Remember, the fallen angels are still out to kill, steal and destroy, each one of us, even though, positionally, they were defeated when Christ gave Himself as our sacrifice on the cross.
Be on guard, children of the Lord. We are still at war each new day. There's never a time we cannot be off guard. We must take our stand against these fowls of the air, for they are ever ready with all of their new deceptions, i.e., new to us. At the same time we can ask the Lord to guide us and give us His discernment as we pray to Him and as we take our stand against every foul trick of the devil so we can recognize them.
Ask the Holy Spirit, where you might be deceived, where you need His light and illumination to help you come increasingly out of darkness. Nests of deception are ever present among so-called Christians, even those who are broadcasting and posting comments and writings on their site or on www.YouTube.com. Watch out for those who call themselves pastors, evangelists, prophets, teachers, leaders, etc. for they are especially to be discerned. How we desperately need God's wisdom each new day. And those among so-called "Christians" and "friends", beware and be much more aware. Go deeper into the Lord for fresh discoveries of where the enemies are hiding out, for where they are swirling about with all their lies and counterfeiting tricks IN the Body of Christ. We have Christians thinking it's all right to enjoy rock, heavy metal, hip-hop music under the banner of "Christian" names. We have Christians who think it's ok to be a homosexual or lesbian, bisexual or transgender and also to watch pornography on their computers as well as on videos. We have lots of 'strange fire' as the bible calls it, just doing whatever in the name of the Lord, but apart from His Life. Leviticus 10:1--And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. How about gnosticism~~the churches are loaded with these teaches which are surely a deception leading the sheep astray! We have ecumenism, big time, which is to Satan's glee as he watches all the sheep following the Mother of Harlots right back into the Roman Catholic Church through leaders and conferences and beliefs straight from hell! ECT, Evangelicals and Catholics Together being just one of the many detours that the majority of people take today off the straight and narrow road. Then there's always the Jesuits and the Illuminati and the false brethren who have INFILTRATED ALL the denominations. All of these beliefs are deceptions to lead the sheep astray and away from the true Jesus Christ of the Bible.
Excerpts from Carter Conlon--
Rom. 1:25, 28--"...they worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator...and God gave them over to a reprobate mind..."A reprobate mind means corrupt thinking, a crooked mind...after years of refusing to obey God, it is almost as if their thinking cannot be straightened. They choose instead to worship the thoughts of their own hearts, and sin and religion eventually become friends, bringing them to a place where they begin to call evil good..There is no greater darkness than when that which is inwardly corrupt takes on a COVERING OF RELIGION...Mat. 23:33--"You serpents,...In other words, (Jesus said) "You have so covered yourselves in corruption and religion that you have bought yoursleves a ticket to hell. How will you escape? How will you change/ You have embraced this corrupted reasoning fo Satan, covering death and decay with fine clothing and sweet religious words, but inwardly you hate God!"...John 8:44--"You are of your father the devil,..." ...Now you are entrenched in a wrong way of thinking, leaving you with two alternatives--either you will repent of your sin, or you will kill the voice that has been sent to draw you to the presence of God...Unfortunately, many people reach a place where they sit in the house of God, having put on a covering of religion while embracing a wrong view of God and His ways...Do you not understand the power of your own heart to deceive you? Each of us has an inner capability to walk away from God and develop completely corrupted scriptural reasoning around it. BEAR IN MIND THAT IT WAS THE MOST RELIGIOUS NATION ON EARTH THAT CRIED OUT FOR THE DEATH OF THE SON OF GOD...It is important to realize that the light shone in a religious darkess--THAT was the religious darkness that didn't comprehend it. Isn't it strange that the lepers comprehended it, the prostitutes responded to it, and even the dead could har it? Yet religion has a certain death about it, making it almost impossible to hear the voice of God...You will not be in darkness if you are singly focused,...saying, "Lord, whatever You say is wrong, I will regard as wrong; and whatever You say is right, I will follow. By Your Spirit I will do what You ask me to, and wherever You lead me, I will follow."...There is a distinct call to each of us, and this is where we will either cover sin with religion, or throw off that false garment...saying, ..."I will not create a religion in my own heart that allows me to move in the direction of death, thinking it is life..."...As we make the choice to do things God's way, allowing no friendship between sin and religion in our lives,...it will be joy and strength, direction in the storm, provision in famine, victory in battle."
*****END OF QUOTES BY CARTER CONLON*****
The TRUTH IS THAT THE CHURCH IS IN THE WORLD AND THE WORLD IS IN THE CHURCH!!! Now let's take a look at all these things that 'seem to look so good' from the eyes of our Lord and His Word.
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY LOOK BETTER?! IN REALITY, THIS ‘GOOD’ LOOKS EVIL IN THE SITE OF THE LIVING GOD! We are living in the days of Isaiah's word : Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Christianity~~it looks good! We have the beautiful buildings where people can go each Sunday plus other days of the week, and you can even dress any way you want to now. We have finely dressed teachers and preachers, too. It looks good! We have Christian retreat places where all denominations can gather together to hear the "best" or "latest" speakers. The retreat is replete with books, CD's, DVD's, gifts and more in their stores. We have special speakers who fly in from all over the world. It looks good! We have fellowship meetings, pot luck dinners, picnics, sports teams, movie nights, youth fellowship, and how about those rock--metal--hip-hop--rap music bands, lights and concerts drawing in the youth. It looks good! Oh, but the Christian bookstores are the best! Wait, there's more--how about all those 12 step recovery meetings which are sure to bring about your inner healing? It looks good! And the church claims to be 'in order'. It looks good! Then there's all those Christian skits and dramas to enjoy. It looks good! Then we have Christian coffee houses, Christian clubs, Christian dating, Christian dances, Christian tolerance. Come on, it looks good! Youth camps! Now there's something that excites our youth! Why we even have church lock-ins for our youth. It looks good! And how about all those missionaries who travel far and wide to spread what looks good. No wait, we have the good works--for sure, that's a good thing. We do visitations, we try to help others get more involved with our church work, we usher, we collect the tithes and offerings, we order flowers for the church, we print bulletins, etc. It looks good! And the Christian church is emerging and is seeker friendly, too. It looks good! Wow! even labyrinths and candles and images and 'new age', gnostic teachings. It looks good! And they are free to play video games and play the "dungeons and dragons", World of Warcraft," and "Runescape." Here we go, taken right from a site to promote RPG's. http://www.ehow.com/info_8207632_roleplaying-activities-church-youth.html "For example, the parable of the Good Samaritan transforms into the story of a gay student attacked by a group of intolerant classmates. The Pharisee becomes a teacher too busy to stop and the Levite converts to a school administrator. Students explore how they might react to a real situation and the cost of action.
That can't be all that bad, can it? It looks good! Puppets and magic and games galore, even computer games. It looks good! And how about all these New Apostles and prophets, teachers and leaders to lead the sheep?! My that looks pretty good, too!
That can't be all that bad, can it? It looks good! Puppets and magic and games galore, even computer games. It looks good! And how about all these New Apostles and prophets, teachers and leaders to lead the sheep?! My that looks pretty good, too!
And how about all the politics, voting, campaign involvement, etc. Surely, that's a help, isn't it?! The bible says in 2 Timothy 2:4
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
The TRUTH IS THAT THE CHURCH IS IN THE WORLD AND THE WORLD IS IN THE CHURCH!!! Now let's take a look at all these things that 'seem to look so good' from the eyes of our Lord and His Word.
So we have the beautiful buildings that have phallic symbols and images of "Jesus" that are pagan images plus the upkeep of the building for the sake of everyone who attends. It's just another financial burden for many of the members. It's supposed to make one feel good. After all, the stained glass windows and altars are very impressive to the human soul, but it does not matter to the Lord God!
Now we can dress anyway we choose to and that includes immodest dress. If people are aware of God's Presence, shouldn't they be aware of their appearance before Him? I question their awareness of the true and living God.
We are supposed to have the best of preachers, especially of the mega-church, but are there any real prophets, warning the people of their demise? Just how do the majority of these preachers and their families live since they are obviously a part of this wicked world?!
We have retreat places that only breed all manner of doctrines of demons, focus on fun and food and conversations about anything you can think of. Merchandising of the people big time through all the continual sales of so-called Christian products. Pleasing to the Lord? I think not!
How about fellowship, dinners, picnics, sports teams, movie nights, youth fellowship? Looks like the King of kings is left out there in the cold here as well! How grieved He must be!
The music just has to be good, doesn't it? Once again, where is the Spirit of God leading any of this music and where does it lead the people to? Why is standing for an hour or more such a good thing as people chant the same words over and over again only to bring them to an altered state of consciousness to become more receptive of whatever messages are given? Who needs rock, rap, hip-hop, metal music when that's what the world has to offer?! Why are there flashing colored lights emanating from the stages? Then there are the puppet shows and the magic shows--world, world, world! Ummmm seems the world in one with the church and the church is one with the world!
How about these Christian bookstores that are loaded with all manner of fiction, horror, teen books, CD's, heavy metal, rock, hip-hop CD's & DVD's
--all drawing people AWAY from the True Savior of our souls! Vestments and robes and gold toned cups and candlelabra, the round wafers which orginated with Babylon and the sun god worship! And then there are the self-help books and the 12-step books that lead people to a never ending merry-go-round with no real inner healing. Expensive gifts that really have nothing to do with our Lord or His Word fill these stores. What a disservice these so-called Christian stores are as well as grieving the Holy Spirit!
And do we need skits and dramas that only feed the soulishness and flesh of the performers and the audience?! I think not!
The "Christian" coffee houses and clubs and dating and dances all lead to lukewarmness, tolerance, worldliness, soulish relationships, yet these are the norm of the day!
Do we need teen lock-ins where the teens stay up on night and drink sugar sodas and then are in an altered state the next day to be controlled or manipulated with any message that's presented or to not hear or be able to respond to anything at all.
Since we are in the world but not of it, should any Christian partake of anything political? How can this allegiance to government leaders who are pro-war, pro-abortion, anti-God, anti-Christ, anti-righteousness, be the leading of the Holy Spirit?!
And when the Lord God said that He looked on the heart in 1 Samuel, He was NOT saying what the church teaches, i.e. that the heart is good, on the contrary, He was sayingsees that the heart is evil!
We don't need any self-appointed new apostles and prophets; we need to follow the apostles and prophets that our Lord gave us in the scriptures and in the New Testament.
The key is to truly be regenerated and truly love and follow Jesus Christ theough obedience, having a broken (open) heart and a contrite spirit. We must repent as the Holy Spirit shows us as we journey with the Lord on this narrow way.
Let's remember that the word Christian means CHRIST-LIKE!
WHAT COULD POSSIBLY LOOK BETTER?! IN REALITY, THIS ‘GOOD’ LOOKS EVIL IN THE SITE OF THE LIVING GOD! We are living in the days of Isaiah's word : Isaiah 5:20
Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
THERE ARE MANY DISTRACTIONS THAT PULL ONE AWAY FROM THE TRUE and LIVING GOD OF THE BIBLE!
The greatest deception is the spell of satan over Christians' minds and lives through the so-called church, especially here in America. Also, the deception that America is somehow special and blessed by God when, if fact, America is intertwined with all manner of evil every minute of the day and night with the Illuminati, the Jesuits, the Freemasons, the Roman Catholic Church, the rich men of the earth (as the Bible calls them), the military with all it's filth and deceptions and murderings and plunderings. pagan holidays which never glorify the Living God, ad infinitum. Read the books of Jeremiah and Isaiah especially. See Jeremiah, chapters 50-51 for a look at Babylon-America. Dimitru Duduman was given a vision by the Lord regarding Babylon-America and the Lord gave him Jeremiah 51:8-15 to confirm to him that it was truly the Babylon-America that He was speaking about. We are under judgment, but if we are truly His, we will not partake of His wrath. Seek the Lord, find Him afresh, have the fear of the Lord for it is the beginning of wisdom.
TO BE CONTINUED...
The greatest deception is the spell of satan over Christians' minds and lives through the so-called church, especially here in America. Also, the deception that America is somehow special and blessed by God when, if fact, America is intertwined with all manner of evil every minute of the day and night with the Illuminati, the Jesuits, the Freemasons, the Roman Catholic Church, the rich men of the earth (as the Bible calls them), the military with all it's filth and deceptions and murderings and plunderings. pagan holidays which never glorify the Living God, ad infinitum. Read the books of Jeremiah and Isaiah especially. See Jeremiah, chapters 50-51 for a look at Babylon-America. Dimitru Duduman was given a vision by the Lord regarding Babylon-America and the Lord gave him Jeremiah 51:8-15 to confirm to him that it was truly the Babylon-America that He was speaking about. We are under judgment, but if we are truly His, we will not partake of His wrath. Seek the Lord, find Him afresh, have the fear of the Lord for it is the beginning of wisdom.
TO BE CONTINUED...
We have Another Jesus, Another Gospel and Another Spirit presented to us from the lukewarm congregations, whether they be called denominations, non-denominational, independent, sects or by any other name! 2 Corinthians 11:4--For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. And let's not forget the New Age doctrines that have crept into the churches with their labyrinths and their contemplative teachings. How about the Jewish Roots movements and their teachings of discovering your Jewish roots and joining in with such nonsense which is straight from the Old Covenant. It's one thing to know what the holy days represent but quite another to celebrate them and be stuck there. We are in the New Covenant now and our substance IS Christ. For sure, when Isa. said, All we like sheep have gone astray, he was 100% accurate! Isa. 53:6. And one of the greatest deceptions of all is to think we are all ok, just doing fine! When we see a woman dressed in a Burka, covered from head to toe, we might feel sorry for her and all her beliefs and restrictions that hold her in bondage, but I tell you that in a crowd of people, at least we know what the woman with the Burka stands for and what she believes, even if though they do not follow what they believe.
Then we have lots of cowdarice and a lack of spine and gut, consequently there are many who are not confronted with the truth. And how about unforgiveness~there's ground given to the enemy for sure. We must keep our forgiveness up-to-date. Through the ages, this has been a great problem and surely gives the enemy ground to walk on and deceive us with tricks of self righteousness and pride.
Being ever so thankful for each new discovery of their evil workings only increases your deep love for Our Great, Living, Loving, Merciful God. It is important to ask the Holy Spirit to help us to recognize their workings and to expose them so we can refuse them. This takes humility as we look to the Lord, knowing that our dependency is truly on Him. Also, we must be wearing the armor of Light, the whole armor of God, 24/7 along w/ being open to the Lord 24/7. We all need to continue to develop our active stand of faith against their wiles. Please examine your lives, the past as well as the present to see if there is any place where the enemy has tricked you. It could be a matter of unforgiveness~~is your forgiveness up-to-date? It could be a matter of a so-called Christian friend who is deceiving you. We are to notice the enemies' workings and rebuke them and resist them. We are also to confront others with the truth. Yes, we fight against the invisible spirits, but we are also to speak the truth to others about the problem or the sin that we see as Paul tells us in Ephes. 4:25.
The subtle tricks of Satan are more subtle in these last days. Unless we are rooted and grounded in Christ, we can be led astray with wonders and signs or workings that seem to be divine, certainly they are supernatural. We do not have to accept anything supernatural until we know what the source of it is.
For more help in this area, please see Jesse Penn-Lewis's book entitled: War on the Saints. Also, see Poor Lost Christian (PDF) through a google search.
Here are some important charts taken from War on the Saints by Jesse Penn-Lewis:
THE WORD "DECEIVED" THE DESCRIPTION OF EVERY UNREGENERATE MAN
The word "deceived" is, according to the Scripture, the description of every unregenerate human being, without distinction of persons, race, culture, or sex. "We also were . . . deceived" (Titus 3: 3), said Paul the Apostle, although in his "deceived" condition he was a religious man, walking according to the righteousness of the law, blameless (Phil. 3: 6).
Every unregenerate man first of all is deceived by his own deceitful heart
(Jer. 17: 9; Isa. 44: 20), and deceived by sin (Heb. 3: 13); the god of this world adding the "blinding of the mind" lest the light of the gospel of Christ should dispel the darkness (2 Cor. 4: 4). And the deception of the evil one does not end when the regenerating life of God reaches the man, for the blinding of the mind is only removed just so far as the deceptive lies of Satan are dislodged by the light of truth.
Even though the heart is renewed, and the will has turned to God, yet the deeply ingrained disposition to self-deception, and the presence, in some measure, of the blinding power of the deceiver on the mind, betrays itself in many forms, as the following statements from Scripture show :--(Jer. 17: 9; Isa. 44: 20), and deceived by sin (Heb. 3: 13); the god of this world adding the "blinding of the mind" lest the light of the gospel of Christ should dispel the darkness (2 Cor. 4: 4). And the deception of the evil one does not end when the regenerating life of God reaches the man, for the blinding of the mind is only removed just so far as the deceptive lies of Satan are dislodged by the light of truth.
The man is deceived if he is a hearer, and not a doer of the Word of God (Jas. 1: 22).
He is deceived
deceived when he thinks himself to be "something" when he is nothing (Gal. 6: 3).
He is deceived when he thinks himself to be wise with the wisdom of this world. (1 Cor. 3: 18).
He is deceived by seeming to be religious, when an unbridled tongue reveals his true condition. (Jas. 1: 26).
He is deceived, if he thinks he will sow, and not reap what he sows
(Gal. 6: 7).
He is deceived, if he thinks the unrighteous will inherit the kingdom of God (1 Cor. 6: 9).
He is deceived , if he thinks that contact with sin will not have its effect upon him. (1 Cor. 15: 33).
THE BASIC PRINCIPLE FOR TESTING TEACHINGS
BY TEACHING SPIRITS
Since thought, or "belief," originates either from the God of Truth, or the father of lies (John 8: 44), there is but one basic principle for testing the source of all doctrines, or "thoughts" and "beliefs," held by believers, or unbelievers, i.e., the test of the revealed Word of God.
All "truth" is in harmony with the only channel of revealed truth in the world--the written Word of God. All "teachings" originating from deceiving spirits--
- Weaken the authority of the Scriptures;
- Distort the teaching in the Scriptures;
- Add to the Scriptures the thoughts of men; or
- Put the Scriptures entirely aside.
The ultimate object being to hide, distort, misuse, or put aside the revelation of God concerning the Cross of Calvary, where Satan was overthrown by the God-Man, and where freedom was obtained for all his captives.
The test of all "thought" and "belief" therefore is its- Harmony with the written Scriptures in its full body of truth.
- The attitude to the Cross, and sin.
| Christian Science: | no sin, no Saviour, no Cross. |
| Theosophy: | no sin, no Saviour, no Cross. |
| Spiritism: | no sin , no Saviour, no Cross. |
| New Theology: | no sin, no Saviour, no Cross. |
| 1. | Mohommedanism Confucianism Buddism, etc. | No Saviour, no Cross, a "moral" religion, with man his own Saviour. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Idolatry as the worship of demons. | No knowledge of a Saviour, or of his Calvary sacrifice, but true knowledge of the evil powers, which they endeavour to propitiate, because they have proved them to be existent. THE PLACE OF TRUTH IN DELIVERANCE
There is a fundamental principle involved in the freeing power
of truth from the deceptions of the devil. Deliverance from believing lies must be by believing truth. Nothing can remove a lie but truth. "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8: 32), is applicable to every aspect of truth, as well as the special truth referred to by the Lord when He spoke the pregnant words. know the truth of the gospel, if he is to be saved. Christ is the Saviour, but He saves through, and not apart from instruments or means. If the believer needs freedom, he must ask the Son of God for it. How does the Son set free? By the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit does it by the instrumentality of truth; or we may say, in brief, freedom is the gift of the Son, by the Holy Spirit working through truth. There are three stages of apprehending truth :--
Perception of truth for teaching, and passing on to others. Truth apparently not grasped may lie in the mind, and in the
hour of need suddenly emerge into experience, and thus by
experience become clear to the mind in which it has been lying dormant. It is only by continual application, and assimilation of truth in experience, that it becomes clarified in the mind in order to teach others. truth for their progressive liberation from all Satan's lies; for knowledge and truth alone can give victory over Satan as deceiver and liar. If the hearers of truth should resist it, or rebel against it, truth can well be left to the care of the Holy Spirit of Truth. Even in the case of resistance to truth it has at least reached the mind, and at any time may fructify into experience. There are three attitudes of mind in regard to knowledge, i.e.,
false prophet," with an assumption of knowledge; others said, "We do not know"- -taking a position of neutrality until they did know; but Peter said, "Weknow . . " and he had true knowledge. OF THE BLOOD Ere we pass on to deal with the ground for the working of deceiving spirits in believers, some misinterpretations of truth which are giving ground to the powers of darkness at this time, and which need examination to discover how far they are in accordance with Scripture, may briefly be referred to. (1) A mistaken conception concerning the "shelter of the Blood," claimed upon an assembly as a guarantee of absolute protection from the working of the powers of darkness.
The following table will show some other misinterpretations
of truth, which need clarifying in the minds of many children of God:
THREE CLASSES AMONG BELIEVERS
In "guidance," the believer should understand that when
there is no action in his spirit, he should use his mind. If in everything there must be the "Amen" in the spirit, there is no use for the brain at all, but the SPIRIT DOES NOT ALWAYS SPEAK. There are times when it should be left in abeyance. In all guidance the mind decides the course of action, not only from the feeling in the spirit, but by the light in the mind. and will, based upon, either mental process of reasoning, or sense of the spirit, or both, i.e.:--
(1) Decision by mental process, reasoning, or
(2) Decision by sense of the spirit: i.e., movement, impelling;
drawing or restraint; spirit as if "dead"--no response. Contraction of spirit; openness of spirit; fullness of spirit; compression of spirit; burden on spirit; wrestling in spirit; resisting in spirit.note 2
ACCUSATIONS UNTIL SOURCE PROVED
The steps in the working of evil spirits in their accusations
and false charges, are these, when the believer accepts their accusations:--
(1) The believer thinks and believes he is guilty;
(2) Evil spirits cause him to feel guilty; (3) They cause him, then, to appear guilty; (4) They cause him then to be actually guiltynote 10through believing their lies, it matters not whether he is guilty or not in the first instance.
|
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Here are a few quotes from Carter Conlon's July, 2011 sermon newsletter entitled: When Sin and Religion become Friends~~
As you read his comments, bear in mind that he is speaking of the church of Jesus Christ!
...it is the constant struggle between either serving God or serving ourselves as god. It is possible to have a clear vision of what is of true value, yet still choose to set our affections on something we know to be potentially harmful...Satan was in the presence of God and had an unrestricted view of the perfect Light...however, these very gifts from God corrupted him...For example, people with brilliant minds become absolutely corrupted by that intellect, using the thought process to stray farther and farther away from the kingdom of God...Just as Satan had unrestricted view of the Lord, we...have the Holy
Spirit within us, enabling us to understand the Scriptures and discern between right and wrong. So in another measure, we too have an unrestricted view of God. That means if we want truth, we can have it; if we want freedom, it can be ours; if we want life, it is promised...Even with the pureness of that Light before him, Satan chose another pathway, following his own reasoning. He began to chafe at what he considered to be narrowness, convinced that he knew a better way. He mistakenly believed that he could be his own god, create his own reality, and live by his own concept of right and wrong...Cast out of heaven, Satan then came down to Adam and Eve and sowed his own logic into the human race...In his own mind, Satan had become god, the same danger you and I face today. He sowed into all of humanity this desire to be as God~~to create our own concept of good and evil...Rom. 1:25, 28--"...they worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator...and God gave them over to a reprobate mind..."A reprobate mind means corrupt thinking, a crooked mind...after years of refusing to obey God, it is almost as if their thinking cannot be straightened. They choose instead to worship the thoughts of their own hearts, and sin and religion eventually become friends, bringing them to a place where they begin to call evil good..There is no greater darkness than when that which is inwardly corrupt takes on a COVERING OF RELIGION...Mat. 23:33--"You serpents,...In other words, (Jesus said) "You have so covered yourselves in corruption and religion that you have bought yoursleves a ticket to hell. How will you escape? How will you change/ You have embraced this corrupted reasoning fo Satan, covering death and decay with fine clothing and sweet religious words, but inwardly you hate God!"...John 8:44--"You are of your father the devil,..." ...Now you are entrenched in a wrong way of thinking, leaving you with two alternatives--either you will repent of your sin, or you will kill the voice that has been sent to draw you to the presence of God...Unfortunately, many people reach a place where they sit in the house of God, having put on a covering of religion while embracing a wrong view of God and His ways...Do you not understand the power of your own heart to deceive you? Each of us has an inner capability to walk away from God and develop completely corrupted scriptural reasoning around it. BEAR IN MIND THAT IT WAS THE MOST RELIGIOUS NATION ON EARTH THAT CRIED OUT FOR THE DEATH OF THE SON OF GOD...It is important to realize that the light shone in a religious darkess--THAT was the religious darkness that didn't comprehend it. Isn't it strange that the lepers comprehended it, the prostitutes responded to it, and even the dead could hear it? Yet religion has a certain death about it, making it almost impossible to hear the voice of God...You will not be in darkness if you are singly focused,...saying, "Lord, whatever You say is wrong, I will regard as wrong; and whatever You say is right, I will follow. By Your Spirit I will do what You ask me to, and wherever You lead me, I will follow."...There is a distinct call to each of us, and this is where we will either cover sin with religion, or throw off that false garment...saying, ..."I will not create a religion in my own heart that allows me to move in the direction of death, thinking it is life..."...As we make the choice to do things God's way, allowing no friendship between sin and religion in our lives,...it will be joy and strength, direction in the storm, provision in famine, victory in battle."
Spirit within us, enabling us to understand the Scriptures and discern between right and wrong. So in another measure, we too have an unrestricted view of God. That means if we want truth, we can have it; if we want freedom, it can be ours; if we want life, it is promised...Even with the pureness of that Light before him, Satan chose another pathway, following his own reasoning. He began to chafe at what he considered to be narrowness, convinced that he knew a better way. He mistakenly believed that he could be his own god, create his own reality, and live by his own concept of right and wrong...Cast out of heaven, Satan then came down to Adam and Eve and sowed his own logic into the human race...In his own mind, Satan had become god, the same danger you and I face today. He sowed into all of humanity this desire to be as God~~to create our own concept of good and evil...Rom. 1:25, 28--"...they worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator...and God gave them over to a reprobate mind..."A reprobate mind means corrupt thinking, a crooked mind...after years of refusing to obey God, it is almost as if their thinking cannot be straightened. They choose instead to worship the thoughts of their own hearts, and sin and religion eventually become friends, bringing them to a place where they begin to call evil good..There is no greater darkness than when that which is inwardly corrupt takes on a COVERING OF RELIGION...Mat. 23:33--"You serpents,...In other words, (Jesus said) "You have so covered yourselves in corruption and religion that you have bought yoursleves a ticket to hell. How will you escape? How will you change/ You have embraced this corrupted reasoning fo Satan, covering death and decay with fine clothing and sweet religious words, but inwardly you hate God!"...John 8:44--"You are of your father the devil,..." ...Now you are entrenched in a wrong way of thinking, leaving you with two alternatives--either you will repent of your sin, or you will kill the voice that has been sent to draw you to the presence of God...Unfortunately, many people reach a place where they sit in the house of God, having put on a covering of religion while embracing a wrong view of God and His ways...Do you not understand the power of your own heart to deceive you? Each of us has an inner capability to walk away from God and develop completely corrupted scriptural reasoning around it. BEAR IN MIND THAT IT WAS THE MOST RELIGIOUS NATION ON EARTH THAT CRIED OUT FOR THE DEATH OF THE SON OF GOD...It is important to realize that the light shone in a religious darkess--THAT was the religious darkness that didn't comprehend it. Isn't it strange that the lepers comprehended it, the prostitutes responded to it, and even the dead could hear it? Yet religion has a certain death about it, making it almost impossible to hear the voice of God...You will not be in darkness if you are singly focused,...saying, "Lord, whatever You say is wrong, I will regard as wrong; and whatever You say is right, I will follow. By Your Spirit I will do what You ask me to, and wherever You lead me, I will follow."...There is a distinct call to each of us, and this is where we will either cover sin with religion, or throw off that false garment...saying, ..."I will not create a religion in my own heart that allows me to move in the direction of death, thinking it is life..."...As we make the choice to do things God's way, allowing no friendship between sin and religion in our lives,...it will be joy and strength, direction in the storm, provision in famine, victory in battle."
END OF QUOTES BY CARTER CONLON
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Excerpts from Sodom Had No Bible by Leonard Ravenhill~~
From the chapter, We Need a Baptism of Holy Anger
Paul was angry at the power of false religion to delude the people.
Paul was angry at the reckless devotion...to powerless gods.
Paul was angry at the staggering wealth sacrificially given to build
temples to frauds.
Paul was angry that Christ was cheated of the love which He should
have had...
Doesn't this sound like the day in which we now live?! Shouldn't we then be angry even as Paul was?!
*********************************************************************************
COMMENTS FROM PHIL ENLOW~~
In the beginning Satan rebelled against his Maker, leading a third of the angels into his rebellion. His rebellion was itself founded on deception, self-deception! Somehow he convinced himself that he could actually succeed in rising up against the Most High. I believe it is a mark of deception that every agent of deception is himself deceived as was the case with Satan. As 2 Tim. 3:13 says, “… evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.”
Satan’s very nature is to be a liar and a deceiver. It is no surprise, therefore, that one of his chief weapons against Christ’s true followers has been deception, in particular, religious deception. He comes offering a different Jesus, a different spirit, a different gospel. 2 Cor. 11:4. Of course he is careful to disguise these substitutes so that they appear to be the real thing.
In warning the Corinthians against false ministries Paul describes them as, “false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.” 2 Cor. 11:13-15. The devil wouldn’t accomplish much if he approached Christians as a “devil of darkness”! No! His aim is that men should receive him and his servants as heaven-sent.
I believe it is safe to say that deception will reach its peak right before the coming of Christ. 2 Thess. 2:8 tells us of a “lawless one” who will be destroyed at Christ’s coming. Verses 9-12 tell us, “The coming of the lawless one will be in accordance with the work of Satan displayed in all kinds of counterfeit miracles, signs and wonders, and in every sort of evil that deceives those who are perishing. They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness.”
That is a picture of Satan mounting an all-out effort as he senses the end nearing. What a terrible hold he will have on all who have rejected truth in that hour. God Himself will send them a “powerful delusion.” The remnant of true believers will need God as we’ve never needed Him before in order to stand in such an hour. What a wonderful promise we have in the words of Jesus: “...surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt. 28:20.
John refers to the “Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.” 1 John 4:6. What God’s people need is help in telling the difference. You might encounter a brand new form of deception but if you can recognize the spirit behind it you will be OK.
There is a difference between a divinely-anointed but imperfect man and a deceiver sent and anointed by Satan.
Consider some of the great religious personalities of our day in the light of Paul's simple words in 2 Cor. 4:5 -- "For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake." "We do not preach ourselves...." Christ was the center of Paul's message. Paul was just a servant – a slave. He saw Christ as the only One worthy of being the center of attention. God's great man of the hour -- of every hour -- is Christ and Christ alone. Something is not right when human personalities usurp His rightful place.
Pride is very much at the heart of such a spirit. Religion is full of pride. Religious leaders readily bask in the praise of men and gullible followers just as readily heap it on them.
Another characteristic that often accompanies deception is a spirit of self-will. When a religious leader refuses to listen to anyone else but rather imposes his will on everyone around him, something is very wrong. That too is a tactic of control and is rooted in fallen human nature and not in the Spirit of Christ. Of course this characteristic could also apply to more than one who exercise control together.
Paul wrote to Timothy about “men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain.” 1 Tim. 6:5.
Satan is very much in the sign and wonder business. Anyone who bases their discernment on signs and wonders is asking to be deceived.
1 Cor. 9:26-27 he says, “Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” The thing that would disqualify him from usefulness to the Lord would be to be ruled by his fleshly appetites.
Another major area of Satan's attack concerns the message that is proclaimed. What is it that is preached and believed? Is it "the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints" (Jude 3) or something else? Just because something is labeled "Christian" and the Bible is quoted doesn't necessarily mean it is "the faith" to which Jude referred. Satan loves to promote his lies under the banner of biblical truth. The truth, however, is all but buried in many places in our day under an avalanche of religious lies.
And Paul wasn't exactly shy in his defense of the truth. In Gal. 1:6-8 he wrote, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel--which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!" Paul actually wished that God would cast these false teachers into hell!
Far too often the truth of "Jesus Christ and him crucified" has been reduced to a trite religious formula that people rush by to get to what they really want. They have no real understanding of the message. They get "saved" without ever truly knowing, as a result of Holy Spirit conviction, what it is to be lost They join churches and profess to be followers of Jesus despite manifestly unchanged hearts. They seek happiness, fulfillment, meaning, fellowship, healing, signs and wonders, success, recognition and praise from men, etc. These self-centered goals play a large part in where they "go to church" while they miss what Paul was talking about completely. Paul understood that...
It may sound strange to some but the gospel message is focused on God's purpose and NOT on man's needs and desires. That doesn't mean that He is uncaring or unconcerned about our needs. Not at all. It just means that we need to see everything in the light of His revealed purpose and not what we think we need and want. He created us in His image (Genesis 1:27). He must have had a reason. He must have had something particular in mind in so endowing us.
But according to Paul, this invisible God has an image! That image is Christ. If you want to know what God is like, look at Christ. Col. 1:15 tells us that "He is the image of the invisible God." Heb. 1:3 says, "The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being...." That is why a true revealed knowledge of Christ is so important. Without it we will have a distorted and false understanding of God Himself.
The wide gate and the broad way simply represent all of the false teachings that convey to people the idea that they can go to heaven without actually surrendering to Christ as Lord. They would probably be ready to fight to defend the doctrine that Jesus is Lord but in practical reality He is not their Lord. Self is on the throne before they go through the wide gate and remains there all the way to the judgment. Going through the narrow gate means that Jesus who IS Lord becomes MY Lord.
The wide gate and the broad way simply represent all of the false teachings that convey to people the idea that they can go to heaven without actually surrendering to Christ as Lord. They would probably be ready to fight to defend the doctrine that Jesus is Lord but in practical reality He is not their Lord. Self is on the throne before they go through the wide gate and remains there all the way to the judgment. Going through the narrow gate means that Jesus who IS Lord becomes MY Lord.
Think about it! The essence of the sin problem is that we are rebels. Any gospel that does not begin with surrender--an end to our rebellion--is no gospel at all. It is deception. That is why the very beginning of Paul's message was simply Christ, and more specifically, that Jesus Christ is Lord. There is no way around that. Men will either reckon with Him here in surrender or they will reckon with Him there in judgment. Those are the only choices.
To put it another way, God has not given us a religion, but a Person. Our hope lies not in obeying precepts and commandments but in opening our innermost beings--our hearts--to receive that Person for all that He is, and that starts with the fact that He is Lord. Is He your Lord?
~FOR YOUR MEDITATION~
Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.
The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
1 Peter 1:2
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
Deuteronomy 11:16
Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them;
And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are called in one body; and be ye thankful.
If thy whole body therefore be full of light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth give thee light.
But all things that are reproved are made manifest by the light: for whatsoever doth make manifest is light.
1 Timothy 1:18--This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them might war a good warfare;
2 Timothy 2:3-4--Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man that wars entangles himself with the affairs of this life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.
2 Cor. 4:4-5--The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
A sower went out to sow his seed: and as he sowed, some fell by the way side; and it was trodden down, and the fowls of the air devoured it.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5--For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:
4(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
5Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Galatians 6:1--Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
Ephesians 6:10-18--Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
11Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
12For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
15And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
16Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
18Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
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