D E S TR O Y I N G   D E C E P T I O N

SERMON STARTER

 

          My Spiritual Foundations professor in Bible College taught, "The Worst Deceived are the Self-Deceived." My sermon this morning is concerned with people who wrongly believe they can be spectators and observers of Christianity, but do not have to get personal with God. These are the people who are the easiest to deceive because they have no testimony for Christ, nor essential knowledge of Christianity.

          I awakened this morning with the words to the song, "No One Ever Cared for Me Like Jesus," running through my head. In my youth I played this song at a number of churches with Lois accompanying on the piano. I never held back on my testimony for Christ and have struggled to understand the silent, no-testimony crowd who sit quietly in church pews.

          Jesus said in his discourse in Matthew 24 that there would be many deceivers and many who would be deceived in the last days. This is a growing condition in our national and world-wide churches. Popular myths about what happens after death proliferate. Unitarian Universalism has crept into the popular mindset about salvation, God and heaven.

"There is no hell!"

"There is no judgment after death!"

"Everyone's going to heaven. A loving God wouldn't send anyone to hell!"

          No wonder lukewarm believers are so easily persuaded to abandon their faith in Christ. Most of them don't know what they believe. I have included in this sermon, two ancient documents that summarize historic Christianity. This sermon is a wakeup call to those who have forgotten their first love and their on-going relationship with Jesus.

 

Pastor Phil  <><<

 

October 24, 2010 - Sheepfold Ministries

Pastor Phil Roland

 

D E S TR O Y I N G   D E C E P T I O N

2 Corinthians 11:1-4;  10:4,5

"Christians must be warned of end-time deceivers.  The will look good, and sound nice, but if you smell their fruit carefully, you will see it is all rotten.”                                                                                                                               Pastor Phil Roland

Matt. 24:4,5  “Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ, ' and will deceive many.”

Proverbs 16:32  “Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city.”

Genesis 2:16,17  “And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

Corrupting The Mind:

1.  The Mind Is Enmity (at war) With God - Col. 1:21

        "And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works,

       yet now He has reconciled."

2.  The Mind May Be Blinded - 2 Cor. 4:3,4

      "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose

       minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the

       gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them."

3.  The Mind May Be Doubtful - Romans 14:23

     "But he who doubts is condemned if he eats, because he does not eat from

      faith; for whatever is not from faith is sin."

4.  The Mind May Be Defiled - Titus 1:15

     "To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving

       nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled."

 

WE  MAY DESTROY  DECEPTION

BY A THREE-FOLD PROCESS:

                                                   2 Corinthians 10:3-5 "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.  For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,"

 

I.  CAST DOWN VAIN IMAGINATIONS -  2 Cor. 10:5

        A. Logic  - Human Reasonings - Proud Arguments -

                        1. King Saul was given a command - 1 Sam 15:3

                        "Thus says the LORD of hosts: 'I will punish Amalek for what

                          he did to Israel, how he ambushed him on the way when he

DESTROYING DECEPTION, CONT.

                          came up from Egypt.

                           Now go and attack Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they

                           have, and do not spare them. But kill both man and woman,

                           infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey.'"

                        2. Saul was Deceived, and Rejected by God - 1 Sam. 15:20,23

                          "And Saul said to Samuel, "But I have obeyed the voice of the Lord,

                            and gone on the mission on which the LORD sent me, and

                            brought back Agag king of Amalek; I have utterly destroyed the

                           Amalekites. But the people took of the plunder, sheep and oxen,

                            the best of the things which should have been utterly destroyed,

                            to sacrifice to the LORD your God in Gilgal." So Samuel said:

                           "Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices,

                            As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better

                            than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams. For rebellion is as

                            the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.

                            Because you have rejected the word of the LORD, He also has

                            rejected you from being king."

          B. Man is not Equal with God

                        1. Saul deceived himself and though he was equal or above

                        2. He could not pit his mind against the Almighty

 

II.  CAST DOWN EVERY PRETENTION - 2 Cor. 10:5b

          A. All Human Pride - See Gen. Chapters 8-11

                        1. Noah's generation, independent, self-sufficient, fell

                        2. Babel, monument to human pride, rose and fell

            B. All Human Empires Will One Day Fall

                        1. Greeks with all their intellectual prowess, fell

                        2. Rome with its power and might, fell

            C. All human arguments/reasonings will one day fall

                        1. "I'm a good person."

                        2. "I go to church."

                        3. "I give to the poor."

                        4. "I'm a humanitarian and love people."

                        5. "My parents were good Christians."

                        6. "My church has the correct doctrine."

                        7. "I've been a church leader all my life."

                        8. "I don't believe in hell. A loving God wouldn't allow that!"

 

III.  TAKE CAPTIVE YOUR THOUGHTS - 2 Cor. 10:5:c

          A. WHAT is Filling Your Thoughts?

                        1. Love for Jesus?

                        2. Ask yourself: "What would Jesus Do/Think?"

                        3. Cast out unhealthy obsessional ideas

            B. Three-Fold Process:

                        a. Recognize - Source of Thoughts= World/Flesh/Devil

                        b. Refuse - Those that are not of God

                        c. Replace - With the Word of God 

D E S TR O Y I N G   D E C E P T I O N

2 Corinthians 11:1-4 (NKJV) 1 Oh, that you would bear with me in a little folly--and indeed you do bear with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted--you may well put up with it!

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 (NKJV) 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

 

 

The Apostles' Creed

The basic creed of Reformed churches, as most familiarly known, is called the Apostles' Creed. It has received this title because of its great antiquity; it dates from very early times in the Church, a half century or so from the last writings of the New Testament.

 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,     the Creator of heaven and earth,     and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord:

Who was conceived of the Holy Spirit,     born of the Virgin Mary,     suffered under Pontius Pilate,     was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended into hell.

The third day He arose again from the dead.

He ascended into heaven     and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty,     whence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy *catholic church,     the communion of saints,     the forgiveness of sins,     the resurrection of the body,     and life everlasting.

Amen.

 

*The word "catholic" refers not to the Roman Catholic Church, but to the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

 

MODERN NICENE CREED

 

We believe in one God,

the Father, the Almighty,

maker of heaven and earth,

of all that is, seen and unseen.

We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ,

the only son of God,

eternally begotten of the Father,

God from God, Light from Light,

true God from true God,

begotten, not made,

of one being with the Father.

Through him all things were made.

For us and for our salvation

he came down from heaven:

by the power of the Holy Spirit

he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary,

and was made man.

For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;

he suffered death and was buried.

On the third day he rose again

in accordance with the Scriptures;

he ascended into heaven

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again in glory

to judge the living and the dead,

and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father [and the Son].

With the Father and the Son

he is worshipped and glorified.

He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic (universal) and apostolic Church.

We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.

We look for the resurrection of the dead,

and the life of the world to come. AMEN.