07.Being Protected From Deception, Ourselves - Zac Poonen

you so today we want to think about how did these messages come to be missing in much of today's Christianity because if we understand that then we can be careful ourselves and aspects of the truth missing in our churches and in our lives and I believe there are there could be portions in our Bible that are like that portions that we neglect portions that we don't take seriously it's very easy to see what's missing in other people but much more important is to see what's missing in us so when we see something missing in others that reminds us that perhaps something is missing in us it's like when you find that somebody is very difficult to bear with because of his peculiar mannerisms or habits or you know sometimes husband and wife get married they are brought up in two different ways of life in their homes and they come together and they're very difficult to adjust to each other because 25 years they have lived in some other way and now they have to live try and live together and it's very easy for one to get irritated with the other because they're not doing it the way this person was brought up all their life and that person is irritated with the first person because he's not doing it the way she was brought up and everybody's got this foolish idea that of course my way is right and that's where all the problem arises so one of the things that it can happen in a church where you find it difficult to bear with a brother because he's always doing things in a certain way that irritates you sometimes it can be just the tone of his voice that irritates you and that happens sometimes in husband wife relationships or the tone of voice it serve irritates the partner and one of the things that has helped me is to recognize that I know God showed me this years ago that when I have to bear with a brother he probably is unconscious of what he's doing that bothers me he's just living his normal life the way he lived for twenty thirty years but something in that way of life irritates me all the time but he's not aware of it and therefore I must be merciful to him and the other thing the Lord taught me was that if he is like that it's quite likely there may be something in me which irritates him which I'm unconscious of and which he is bearing with me very patiently very silently and that has helped me to love my brothers and I tell you you husbands and wives it'll help you to love one another when you find something in your partner which really bugs you bothers you consider two things one he or she may be totally unaware of it that's the way they were brought up you happen to be brought up in a different way secondly there is something in you which you are unaware of it which bothers him or her and they are bearing with it silently none of us are perfect so if we recognize this it'll help us so the same way in our church we need to see Lord what are the areas of Scripture that we are neglecting in our church search your heart and you know very often people say we are related to CFC we come to the conference's because we are connected with CFC well I'll tell you something in the different churches which are related to us not all are equally spiritual just because we are connected to CFC doesn't mean you're a spiritual church spirituality in a church depends on its leader that's what we read in Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3 if there are missing messages in a certain church it's because the leader has not got those things in his life every Church becomes like its leader it's just like children when children are born you can see the image of the father or the mother or both of them usually in that child and more than that the father and mother can have certain hidden sicknesses in their blood and that gets transmitted to the child and if both father and mother have the same sickness in their blood that gets transmitted to the child the child looks very healthy but there's something problem in their blood it's exactly the same in a church if two elders have the same weakness they will produce children with that weakness it may be hidden for a long time but it'll manifest itself in other words if two elders love money they're going to have a church where people love money or if two elders are worldly then it'll produce a church which is worldly the reason we have two elders is so that at least one will balance out the other and generally speaking when a father has a particular sickness in his blood the mother usually doesn't have it that's why they say you shouldn't marry close relatives because then there's a greater possibility of the sickness being transmitted in the blood but otherwise generally speaking father and mother may have different sicknesses that cancel out each other it's exactly the same why we have two elders in a church and not one pastor because they balance out each other and one person's weaknesses take care of the other the other person's weakness take care of it and there's less chance of deception there's less chance of having a torn Bible because unless one elder is a blind follower of the other never expresses his opinion unfortunately there could be some elders like that who never expressed their opinion they just say yes sir yes sir yes sir yes sir yes sir such a person should resign from eldership and go and sit in the back of the church is useless because the whole purpose of double eldership is that one person can say hey I don't agree with that brother I love you very much and I'm gonna be in fellowship with you till Jesus comes but I don't agree with that sorry you know that's the type of mature fellowship that we need to have among elders and even among husband-and-wife if you get a wife who just say yes sir yes sir yes sir to you that's a useless wife God gave Adam a wife who was a helper to him how can he be a she be a helper if she doesn't correct him where he's wrong I mean if Adams got a black mark on his face from Zone charcoal or something and she says and he says darling is my face okay yes sir your face is perfectly okay is she a helper and the same way if there's some other defect worse than a charcoal mark on your face it could be something worse than your personality or character I hope you have a wife who tells you listen honey there is something wrong in the way you do these things you know I'll tell you other people won't tell you but there it is and it's a wonderful if you can have an elder brother in a church who tells another person you know brother I think you're very abrasive in the way you speak you make a lot of enemies the way you do it I mean you got to tone that down a little bit or another person may say another situation one elder may say brother you are a just a compromiser you just want to please everybody in the church or you're partial that's not right you know we need to help one another and we are afraid to say these things because you're afraid of fellowship will break ah then it is pathetic you know like a newly married couple and they have a period called a honeymoon in the honeymoon they'll never say anything wrong about each other you're so nice and everything's so beautiful and you're so pretty you're perfect how am i darling you're perfect honey etc that goes on for a period but that's all deception I mean that's because we don't know each other you may love each other but it's an unproven love but show me a couple that have really loved each other for 30 years been honest with each other they're not afraid to tell the truth to each other they're not afraid they'll divorce me she'll divorce me or he'll divorce me no it's a proven love we can help one another that's the relationship we must have in the church and that's what protects us from deception because that person sees something which I don't see and if I'm humble enough to accept it I can be protected from deception so these missing things in different churches including ours don't think we can exclude ours there is no perfect Church on the face of the earth and ours also may lack something so as I said just because some church some part of India is linked to us doesn't mean that's a spiritual church and shall I surprise you by telling you something you'll get a big surprise when you hear this when some brother from Bangalore is transferred to another place and we have a church in that place you know what I tell him I tell him we have a church there you can go there but if you find that Church doesn't help you to grow spiritually and become a disciple of Jesus and you find another Church there may be another Pentecostal church or a charismatic church where you find the pastor it may be they don't have the correct pattern like we have but the pastor there is a god-fearing man challenges you be a disciple brother don't go to the church connected with CFC go to that church I'll tell you I say that publicly my loyalty is not to CFC my loyalty is to Jesus Christ and if in a particular town one church related to us is worldly and some brother goes there and says well that's a worldly church I don't want to go there and he finds another church better than that I say go there I won't stop you I'm not here to sponsor and support worldly elders just because they are connected with CFC I want people to be disciples of Jesus I don't want them to be connected to us in some type of denominational relationship I'm against denominations I finished with denominations years ago and I want to tell you if CFC becomes a denomination I'll have nothing to do with it we're interested in building local churches we have fellowship but were not a denomination denominations get corrupt you know that's how Methodist Church you know what happened to Presbyterian Church you know what happened to a Catholic Church the whole thing gets the sickness if it's a denomination but you look at the churches in Revelation chapter 2 and chapter 3 Church in Ephesus church in Thyatira church in Pergamos Smyrna Philadelphia Laodicea they're all within if you look at a map at the back of your Bible you'll see they're all within about 30 40 kilometers of each other very close by I mean it's closer than from here to coal are 40 50 kilometers of each other but they're not one denomination if they were one denomination the Lord would have told John just write a letter to the bishop of that denomination and ask him to circulate it to all the seven churches because they are all in the same condition know to eat Church give this message because the condition of each church is different each elder is in a different condition even though they're 40 kilometers from each other here was one Church utterly worldly they'd lost their first love God was about to remove their being even called a church Ephesus here was another Church which was worldly rich plenty of money but worldly dead wretched the Lord is about to reject that and 40 miles of kilometres away was another church Philadelphia wholehearted radical so supposing some and you know in those days I was of cause only one church in each place but when the church in Ephesus when God if they did not take God's Word and they finally did not repent the elder did not repent the church may have five six hundred people they didn't repent the Lord said I will remove the candlestick from you I will remove the lamp stand and then it's no longer a church in God's eyes the Lord said there were a few over comers there to every Church he said him who comes in every dead church there'll be some overcomers not every dead church but in many dead churches that could be an overcomer even Laodicea the Lord spoke to him to the overcomer so let's take Ephesus there were some over comers there what would the overcomers do when Jesus has left the church will they stay there no I won't stay in a church where Jesus is left no the Church in Laodicea in Revelation chapter 3 do you know what the Lord said to that church in Revelation chapter 3 verse 20 I stand at the door and knock so where is he outside or inside hey outside but what are they singing inside Lord thank you to where two or three are gathered together in your name we are here and you're here he wasn't there just because you caught that verse he's outside and it's very easy for the Lord to go outside your church even if you're connected with CFC the Lord's not connected with CFC the Lord's connected with people who love Him I remember hearing of I don't know whether it was John Wesley but somebody there's a story that he went and he went to heaven in a dream and he asked the angel at the gate do you have any how embarrassing do you have any Catholics here and all do you have any Baptists here and you have any Presbyterians no do you have any Methodist that's the church he started he said no he got a shock no method is here in heaven then who do you have here just a few people who love the Lord then he went to the gates of Hell and asked the demon there do you have any Catholics or plenty of them do you have Methodist plenty of them method is also plenty of them oh yeah do you have anybody here who loves the Lord not even one do you know that the Lord is not connected with any denomination and it's very important for us to remember that just because maybe you have an elder brother who's radical wholehearted god-fearing that doesn't mean every church connected to CFCs like that 40 miles away maybe a church just like Laodicea connected to CFC that come for the conference but dead like anything which God one day will reject and it's no use saying to God in that day Lord we went to the conference's we were connected with CFC Lord says it makes no difference we need to understand the principle of the local church Jesus stands in the midst of a local church and the church in Bangalore its condition the Lord knows the church in different different parts of places God knows the condition one may be spiritual another forty kilometers away belonging to the same group may be absolutely dead and it all depends on the leader and so God protects us each local church by giving good leadership you know the church in Ephesus was a wonderful Church as long as Paul was there when Paul was there they did not leave their first love they really loved the Lord the wolves were outside there was no problem there it was a wonderful church but once Paul left he told them he's I know what's gonna happen when I leave this church is gonna go to the dogs the wolves are gonna come in because I know that none of you elders I've observed you fellows for three years none of you have the ability to keep those wolves outside you all love yourselves you seek your own your compromisers you're not strict at the door and when you're not strict at the door the wolves get right in and it's through your gentleness and kindness that those wolves will come in and those wolves will destroy your church and it'll be too late before you may be able to come and destroy the church and then you wake up and realize it so that's happened in many many churches there are people who come in and in places where there are mission compounds people have come in and occupied their buildings and they won't go out and finally you have a court case trying to get the person out of the mission compound and hasn't happened yet in any of our meeting places but it can happen all it needs is a elder who is a careless doorkeeper and all types of people creep in unnoticed so it's how does how do these things get missing in our churches how is it that one church connected to CFC doesn't have certain things missing another church connectors he has those things missing it depends on how god-fearing the elder is and if we are honest when God shows us something instead of imagining then of course everything is okay with us no it's not you know you can say well we're connected with brother Zach he gives us words that protects us you know what John the Baptist sent to the Jewish people in Matthew chapter 3 verse 9 don't say we have Abraham for our Father don't say we are connected to Abraham it means nothing to God he says you are a generation of vipers and verse 7 even though you say you're connected to Abraham you can be connected to any man of God in the world and it doesn't make a difference to your life I have seen churches I've been in churches that claimed a connection with some godly man and the church was corrupt as anything those elders were corrupt as anything it's an individual thing God has no respect of persons don't think that because you're invited to a conference because you're linked to a CFC therefore everything is okay with you that's the most dangerous thought that can come into your mind everything is not okay everything is not okay even with you as an elder brother you have to walk with God and let me come to this if you want to be protected from deception there's one very important condition you have to love the truth about yourself when the Holy Spirit shows you some truth about yourself in some situation that that you was selfish there you love money there you sought your own there you were partial to a brother or a sister there you discipline somebody because you did not like his face not because of a spiritual reason or you treated somebody badly because your wife told you something about him or her and your mind was influenced by what your wife said or your children couldn't get along with his children and therefore you also had a problem with that person because you listened to your children are you a man of God or a politician we have so many politicians in churches and when God shows you something admit it don't ever say oh no no I'm not that's the way to destroy yourselves admit it there's corruption in our flesh Paul said in my flesh dwells no good thing now I want to say to all of you remember Romans 7:18 in my flesh dwelleth no good thing and none of us have got rid of our flesh yet so we have to acknowledge the possibility that there could be wrong on christ-like attitudes even in some of us who think we are very spiritual and of course we never do such things you see if you say you have no love of money you know what will happen you will never get victory over the love of money you'll remain in deception all your life and God may have shown you in some particular situation that there you love money but you won't face up to it or in some other situation God may show you there you had partiality but you won't face up to it God dooms you never to get light on your partiality all your life till you stand at the judgment seat of Christ and discover how horribly partial you were it's much better to acknowledge it now it could be some selfishness somewhere and the Lord points it out and say no no no no I wasn't selfish I was acting in in the interest of the glory of God aha okay you are doomed never to discover the selfishness in your flesh for the rest of your life because God showed you something and you would not acknowledge it let me show you that verse 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 this is how we miss certain sections of Scripture and then if you're a leader it gets miss missing in your church as well 2nd Thessalonians chapter 2 we read it says here about the last days he's talking about the coming of Jesus Christ in the first verse and the days immediately preceding it and it says in verse 3 don't be deceived before that day two things are to happen before Jesus comes again one is many Christians are going to fall away from the true faith that doesn't mean they'll denounce Jesus Christ no they will not seek a gospel of holiness they'll seek a gospel of earthly prosperity that is a falling away it definitely is a falling away if you are more interested in holiness if you are more interested in money than in holiness if you're more interested in healing from physical sickness than you are from deliverance from sin you have already fallen away you may not realize it but it is a falling away and I see all around me Christians have fallen away from the gospel that Jesus and the Apostles preached now if you don't believe me take some time to read the New Testament and read the Gospels and read the episodes and see how much did the Jesus and the Apostles teach people how they could become materially rich show me one verse you don't have to show me two or three show me one and show me how many sermons they preached on physical healing shall I surprise you that Jesus never preached a single sermon on physical healing people ask me brother Zak why don't you preach on physical healing as you show me one sermon Jesus preached on physical healing then I'll do that not even one he healed thousands but he never preached one sermon on healing today we have thousands of sermons and books on healing and very few people really healed it's a deception what's going on those who have the gift of healing will heal the sick they won't preach sermons on it Jesus did not those who have the gift of miracles will do miracles they won't preach sermons about it this is the deception going on today in the world and multitudes of Christians sit there with their mouths open and they are thoroughly fooled by all this I'm not fooled I see through the whole thing it's deception and I'll tell you something if you want to know how I got light personally I haven't got light on everything but how I got the little bit of light I have which I have shared with you in these last 31 years it is through one reason whenever God has shown me anything about myself the corruption in my pleasure I've said yes Lord it's true I have never never tried to justify myself and say no no no it was not because of that sometimes God has shown me that thing about myself in my relationship with other people sometimes I've seen selfishness in myself in my relationship with my wife and I the Lord says that was very selfish the way you did that or didn't do that and I say yes Lord absolutely right sometimes it's been in relation with my fellow elders and other brothers I I get light on myself and I say Lord that's right I got some light in that situation I God is my witness that for 30 years I have loved the truth about myself and God has protected me from a lot of deception he's given me light on the areas where people are being deceived left right and center and Christendom today you can get that light to God is not partial he does not love me more than he loves you he'll give you the same light if you love the truth about yourself when God shows it to you and don't try to justify yourself so it says here in the last days they'll be first a great falling away and second the Antichrist will arise in verse four and then it says there's going to be so much deception in the those days he calls it in verse nine the last part Falls wonders how do you distinguish it in a true miracle in a false miracle if you don't love the truth about yourself you will not be able to distinguish it you'll see a false miracle and you'll sit there with your mouth open and say boy in the name of Jesus that fellow did that and you forget that there are people who do miracles in the name of Jesus will one day stand before the Lord and the Lord will send them to hell saying I don't know you false miracles and he says the thing is the deception of wickedness verse 10 the reason for the deception is listen to this verse 10 very important verse they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved saved from what not from hell to be saved from everything on Christ like in their life how many of you are interested in being saved from every single UNCHR ice-like attitude behavior speech in your life I am I raised my hand without any fear to God and say Lord I'm interested in being saved from every single smallest teeny-weeny little UNCHR i slackness in my life in speech in thought in attitude and the way I look the way I think the way everything give me light I will acknowledge it I will never justify myself and God has been very very good to me to me this is one of the marks of God's love for me that he gives me light on myself in fact if I went through one day one day in a year without getting light on myself I'll call myself a backslider that's my standard I don't know what your standard of backsliding is but for myself I have kept this as my standard of backsliding if I go by one day in my life without discovering some uncrushed likeness in my life in some situation I say Lord I've started backsliding please protect me I don't want to go any further one day went by and backsliding has started I didn't get any light on myself yesterday I went through the whole day imagining that I was as as Jesus himself whoa what a deception Lord what happened I'm in darkness give me light that bothers me I don't have to go and watch pornography to say I'm a backslider just light on little spiritual pride was there and I didn't get light on it sometimes something happens and I get a little proud about it and I discover it five minutes later oh I say Lord five minutes it took me five minutes to discover that pride lord please save me this is terrible imagine me getting a thorn in my foot and my discovering in five minutes later don't wouldn't you think that series if you got a thorn in your foot and you discovered it out of five minutes oh I felt a little pain how is your body supposed to respond you put your hand on a hot stove five minutes later oh it's hot no it's immediate I want my conscience to be like that that it has pride somewhere impurity somewhere selfishness immediate reaction do you want that in your life how many of you are eager for that are you eager just to come for conferences are you eager just to get knowledge or do you want this type of reaction to sin that as soon as you touch it say hey that's that's that's hot I don't touch that that's a thorn that got in there we take such care of our bodies we don't want a handstand we don't want our feet to get infected what about our soul love the truth about yourself in order to be from every UNCHR ice-like attitude thought word action in your life especially at home and in our relationship with our fellow believers why did Jesus say all men will know you're my disciples not when you love them now we were saying that word we would have our logic says people will know you are disciples of Jesus when you love them God says my ways are not your ways my thoughts are not your thoughts he says something completely different which doesn't seem to fit with our thinking I mean what is you tell me logically isn't it when you love somebody that he sees that you're Christ like that you're a disciple of Jesus isn't that how your brain works that's how my brain works that if I love somebody and show love to him he'll see I'm a disciple of Christ Jesus has nothing doing i humble myself and say lord your thoughts are not my thoughts i humble myself I accept your word that that fellow will know we are disciples of Jesus when not when I love him but when I love my fellow believers in the local church now you can see the reality of it let me ask you who have been in your churches for many years you as many of you have been in CFC Bangalore for many years tell me honestly the absolute don't tell me but answer to yourself isn't it more difficult for you to love some brother in your own church and some brother in another denomination don't you have a bigger struggle with some sister in your own church than some other sister in some other denomination who may be an absolute compromiser but you're so happy to greet them but some sister in this church don't please the problem is here you husbands if a stranger comes to your door he is greet them so warmly with a smile what about your wife long face it's the people whom we call loved ones whom we don't love it's a deception familiarity breeds contempt we don't value the elders in our local church it's true if you don't value the elders in your local church is because you become so familiar with them that you don't realize their value people in a hundred other churches may realize the value of million times more than you do and they get blessed you don't realize their value and you're the loser there's a lot of contempt that has come out of familiarity in Christendom and I am very careful with that I don't want to ever get so familiar with the person that I stopped valuing him and respecting him as a brother that's not for your salvation it's for my salvation if I get so familiar with a brother that I treat him with contempt I'm going to be the loser not him do you think if you treat me with contempt I'll be the loser not in a million years you'll be the loser it's true so Jesus says when you love one another you demonstrate that you're my disciples because it's very difficult to peep to love the person whom you see regularly it's true husbands and wives have the maximum difficulty speaking courteously to one another but they have no problem talking courteously to other people whom they see only once in a while and our love is not tested with the people you see once in a while it's the people you see regularly and I want to tell you my brothers sisters if you have wonderful fellowship with people from some other church in India it proves nothing I want to know your relationship with the sisters and brothers in your own church whom you see regularly who irritate you and bother you by their ways and etc that's the test and when you see that about yourself if you say oh no that's because that sister's like that and that brothers like that you have justified yourself do you know who other people who justify themselves Jesus said in Luke 16 15 you are those who justify yourselves he told the Pharisees that's why they could never be saved and I've learned something from that anyone who justifies himself or herself will never be saved I don't want to be in that category so I decided before God that I would never justify myself if I find it difficult to love a brother in my own church I will go to God and say Lord I don't know something's wrong with me something is wrong with me it's not with that other person something's wrong with me that I cannot love that person whom I see regularly in my own home Church and I can love that total stranger who's in another denomination something is seriously wrong with me my love is not the love of Christ and I'm a hindrance to your work please save me I want I love the truth about myself so as to be saved what is the result I'm not only saved but I'm protected from deception because it goes on to say this deception comes on all the deception of wickedness comes verse 10 because they did not receive the love of the truth to be saved and God himself for this reason the reason is given the reason is they did not receive the love of the truth about themselves to be saved for this reason God Himself will deceive them do you know my brothers and sisters I have seen in people in CFC I am absolutely convinced that God has deceived them you may not think so I don't know some of you another church is so well but I know a number of people in CFC I know God has deceived them to make them think that they are spiritual when they are not spiritual some of them God has even deceived them to think they are born-again when they are not born again and if I go and tell them they are not born again their their friend Zac is prejudiced against me I hope you won't get a surprise at the judgment seat of Christ your blood is not on my hands but I'm absolutely convinced in my mind that God has blinded and deceived some people who sat in CFC for many years and I know the reason that when God shows them something about themselves they justify themselves that is the surest way to live in perpetual deception large sections of your Bible will be torn out and you will think you're a wonderful spiritual person when you're not I'll tell you something we don't have to be bothered about the opinions of men that's true we don't live before man's face no man is going to sit on the judgment seat of Christ and judge you his holy Jesus himself but I'll tell you something if a godly man told me something about myself I would take that opinion very seriously there are very few such people but if one of them said something to me I would take it very seriously and I've had occasions like that where I thought I was okay and some very godly brother whom I respected not in our churches but sometimes outside of our churches somewhere some country somewhere would tell me something and that would give me light and I would take it and that has protected me I don't say well I don't care for man's opinion I've destroy myself if I do that I want to ask you my brother sister can you honestly stand before God and say I love the truth about myself lord I want to be saved from every single on Christ like thing in my life if you can honestly say that before God every single date so it'll be a battle I guarantee in the name of Jesus Christ the devil will not be able to deceive you even 1% in any area not even 1% you'll have a full Bible you will not be deceived in any area if you are not born again you'll know that if you are not spiritual you'll know that because the first step is to know our condition do you know why the Pharisees could not be saved did Jesus die for Pharisees yes or oh yes why couldn't they be saved then because they would not admit their sin when Jesus said something they justified themselves they could not be saved and you know what Jesus was very sarcastic he was very sarcastic he looked at these Pharisees and said oh you fellows are so healthy you don't need a doctor do you let me go to these sick people these prostitutes and thieves and all the other sick ones I came for them I didn't come for all your healthy people who sit there do you think Jesus wasn't sarcastic when he said I did not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance who were the righteous there's none righteous but these guys who sat there thought they were righteous and he said I didn't sick people need a doctor right you people are not sick when I tell you about some sickness you say no I don't have that sickness then you're all healthy people please live your life and those are the fellows jesus said who went to help first it's happening today there are Pharisees sitting in our churches who are on their way to hell they won't believe it because they've been deceived into thinking everything is okay don't you know and it's also possible to have been saved when you first came to the CFC and to be lost today there are cases like that I know with my own eyes I've seen people who came in they were genuinely saved and some years later it was clear to me they were lost we have to live in fear the our only protection is if God Himself gives us light and if God Himself starts deceiving me like it says in verse 11 what will happen little by little my Bible will be torn out like that and I'll imagine that I'm perfectly okay because whole sections of truth are not being revealed to me because God is blinding us the devil is already blinding us deceitfulness comes through many ways let me show you Ephesians 4 let me just show you some things that deceive us Ephesians 4:22 the last part it speaks about the lusts of deceit or deceitful lusts do you know that the wrong desires in your flesh are deceitful deceitful means they give you the feeling there's nothing wrong in indulging them giving into them is not so serious giving into a little bit of anger your lusts say that's not serious man we all get angry right and you say that's right your lusts have deceived you I guarantee in 50 years you won't get victory over it because your lusts have deceived you to think that that is not serious or you lust with your eyes or some other sin like that and your lusts say it's not serious I mean everybody does that and you don't take it seriously your lusts have succeeded in deceiving you lusts have a tremendous ability to deceive you and to make you think that sin is not serious and that's why you play the fool with it do you know the number of born-again believers who watch internet pornography don't you think such people have been completely deceived by their lusts I mean you just go to ask yourself would Jesus click on that side and go and watch it this is the answer but that that moment their lusts have deceived them you don't look at Jesus you just think about yourself now their lusts have deceived them you got to recognize that the lusts in your flesh and my flesh are deceitful don't believe them think you have a neighbor you have a neighbor who's a chronic liar will you believe what he says your lusts are like that they're liars another verse I want to show you is mark chapter 4 mark chapter 4 verse 19 we read this is the parable of the sower where Jesus said that about the thorns that grew up and choked the seed he said the thorns are the worries of the world and the deceitfulness of riches do you know that riches are deceitful you can see it all over Christendom people think that God has blessed them when they become rich that is the greatest deception of all if that is the case I'll tell you who is the most spiritual man in the world Bill Gates I'll tell you who's the second more spiritual man in the world you just go to go to fortune and magazine and you got a list of all the people who are the most spiritual people in the world and the sheiks in blue the king of Brunei and these are some of the most spiritual people in the world do you know the number of Christians who think that riches means God has blessed them even young people sitting here brother do you know what salary God gave me the deceitfulness of riches it means nothing how much did Paul earn from his tenth making did God bless him or not don't be deceived that because you managed to build a good house god bless you these are little crumbs that fall from the table have you got the bread that's what I want to know don't glory in the crumbs you're not a dog to sit there and see I got a crumb my salary is 50000 rupees I built a house of my own another crumb are you a dog what about the bread on the table how much have you partake in of God's nature in your life that's the mark of God's blessing the deceitfulness of riches I have seen people who came to this church poor dirt-poor we taught them to honor God God honored them bless them their children got good jobs and the deceitfulness of riches took over the family they thought God bless them how blind can you be and many of them their children lose out spiritually but they got money many of them I warned but they won't listen to my warning because the deceitfulness of riches is so powerful God has blessed me what is this warning brother zach is giving okay I have nothing more to say let me show you another thing in Colossians chapter 2 another form of deception which is very prevalent in the world today is the deception that comes through what I call religious asceticism that means you pray a lot you fast a lot a lot of churches will major on prayer all-night prayer fasting and they think they are very spiritual the deception of religious asceticism I fasted for 10 days I fasted for 21 days etc etc says in Colossians chapter 2 about such religious asceticism you know if you submit yourself to rules it says in verse 20 last part such as don't handle don't taste don't touch in accordance with the commandments and teachings of men these are matters which give you the illusion of being very holy very humble but they are just another way of showing off and making yourself look very important in religious circles by people who don't have discernment I'm not fooled by somebody who says he passed it even for 40 days I want to see whether he behaves like Jesus I'd rather fellowship with a man who didn't fast at all into us like Jesus then somebody who fasted for 40 days and who's got so many UNCHR iced likenesses in his habit in his life and who loves money deception has tremendous of mounted deception and the most humorous thing is awe of all is when these fat pastors tell us that they fasted for 40 days is something funny about their metabolism that they fast for 40 days and they're still so huge Liars deceivers don't be fooled by all this religious asceticism some people have it they think that the more they boast about how much they pray now Jesus said when you pray don't let anybody know about it when you fast don't let anybody know about it when you give when you sacrifice don't let anybody know about it don't let anybody know this must all be in secret before God and your father who sees in secret will reward you openly everybody will see that you're a godly man you don't have to talk about how long you fasted and how much money you gave and how much you sacrifice no the deception of religious ascetism which have an appearance of being very pious you know I've met people like that who talk very pious language I'm not fooled by it at all don't be fool yourself 1 Timothy 4 it says that in the spirit says in the last days many people will be deceived by the doctrines of demons they'll think that if they don't get married they'll be more spiritual that is another deception some people have if I don't get married I'll be more more spiritual it's not true or if I eat vegetarian food I'll be more spiritual or if I become a full-time worker I'll be more spiritual no I met unmarried single people or some of the most carnal people on earth I met full-time workers who are some of the most carnal Christians I've ever met in my life these are not the ways to become spiritual the way to speak um spiritual this is 1 Timothy 4 verse 1 I'm reading is in the previous verse 1 Timothy 3:16 the secret of godliness is in Jesus who came in our flesh and never sinned it's not in avoiding certain types of food or avoiding marriage or being a full-time worker Jesus was as spiritual as a carpenter as when he was a full-time worker he didn't become more spiritual when he became a full-time worker and we already saw the deception that comes through false miracles so all these things combine to deceive us and we shall be saved I told you by loving the truth about ourselves and I want to show you one more thing that helps us to be saved from deception and that is in Hebrews in chapter 3 and verse 13 here it speaks about the deceitfulness of sin how can I be saved from the deceitfulness of sin I want to be saved from the deceitfulness of sin and first we saw I'm duly telling you two things one is love the truth about yourself whenever the Holy Spirit shows you whenever you see some truth in the scripture love that truth acknowledge that you don't have it obey it here's the second thing open yourself to be exhorted by other members of the body of Christ don't think oh I can take care of myself I can't you know I read books by Anglican believers by old Roman Catholic saints I read books by mother Teresa I don't agree with the doctrines but if she says something that can give me light on my selfishness I thank God for it I don't care where it comes from I read magazines like missionary magazines or missionary prayer band I don't agree with all that doctrines of the CSI church and all those churches some of those people aren't it doesn't matter but I get light when I see the sacrificial way some of these people are living for God for my Savior in North India I get light on myself I get light on my selfishness and I thank God I have decided I will be open to every god-fearing member of the body of Christ I don't care what denomination they're in because I know Babylon is not in one denomination I know Jerusalem is not in one denomination it's here and there and there and as I open myself to all of God's people in different places I get light on myself I'm saved from the deceitfulness of sin it says exhort one another encourage one another lest you become hardened I don't want to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin and the only ways to allow myself to be encouraged and exhorted by others and I thank God that I can read the English language I can be exhorted by many people in many many places I feel sorry for Christians who don't read we have a generation of people today who don't read it's very sad you're going to be the loser read the scriptures open yourself to god-fearing people I don't mean everybody here and there's a lot of books that are trash but when I read a book I want to see you this is speak to my heart does this author speak to my heart I want to read more of him if I hear a CD of one particular brother I don't get where he's from he speaks to my heart I will keep on listening to such CDs of such a person I will keep on reading books by such a person I read very very few I don't have time to read all the rubbish that's going on in Christendom today I want to expose myself with that which will save me from being hardened through the deceitfulness of sin because my goal in my life is to become totally like Jesus Christ I hope that is your goal too so when we think of the messages that are missing in today's Christianity remember we are also included in today's Christianity that could be things missing in our church and there are there could be things missing in our life and there are it's good to discover them let's pray Heavenly Father help us to walk in the light as you are in the light and to get light that we can cleanse ourselves and present ourselves to you as a vessel of honor fit for the Masters use because we have cleansed ourselves from filthiness of the flesh and spirit we have purified ourselves pursuing that purity which you have we pressed on to perfection lord give us low thoughts about ourselves help us to realize that we are nobodies especially anybody here who thinks he's somebody please give him light to realize he's a nobody help us all to realize we're nobodies but we can bless one another in Jesus name

Channel: CFC India

Views: 23,856

Rating: 4.8129869 out of 5

Keywords: Missing, Christianity, Deception, Sermon, Poonen

Id: EyKwDLdl690

Length: 56min 54sec (3414 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 23 2012