FALSE
APPEARANCES
[The Lord is Speaking:] Look not on his countenance, or on
the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD sees not as man sees; for
man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the HEART (1 Samuel 16:7);
[Emphasis Mine]
For
we know in part and we prophesy in part (1
Corinthians 13:9);
For
now we see through a glass, darkly (1 Corinthians
13:12);
But strong meat belongs to them that
are of full age, even those who
by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil (Hebrews 5:14).
Deception is everywhere and it is on
the rise because we are living in the Last Days. Satan is aware that his ultimate fate is to
be cast into the bottomless pit and bound for 1,000 years. Since he knows that his appointed time is
short, spurned by his great wrath, he is unleashing on mankind, every weapon in
his arsenal (Revelation
12:12).
Circumstances, things and people
that we see every day are often deceiving and misleading. Have you ever been deceived or misled by
something or someone that looked and sounded good on the outside, but was actually
rotten to the core on the inside? I
certainly have! THUS IS THE SEDUCTIVE POWER OF FALSE
APPEARANCES!
But evil men and seducers shall wax
worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived (2
Timothy 3:13).
Brothers and Sisters, we are living
in perilous times! Satan knows his time
is short, so he and his minions and human agents have accelerated their
End-Time agenda. The United States that the
“baby boomer generation” once knew—the idealistic post-WWII decade of the
1950’s—no longer exists. While the
adults of that generation recovered from the war and our nation prospered—while
children grew up watching unrealistic T.V. programs like “Leave it to Beaver”
and “Father Knows Best,”—Satan was working behind the scenes to bring his
perverted agenda to the forefront. The
world in which we live today is inherently evil and worsens every day. That’s why it’s imperative that we not walk
by sight, but by faith and discernment.
TWELVE FALSE APPEARANCES THAT DECEIVE
SATAN
If the devil appeared as popularly
depicted—sporting horns, pointed ears, a forked tail and carrying a pitchfork—people
would fear him and flee in terror. So,
in order to propagate and execute deception, Satan and his demons simply
transform into an “angel of light” to disguise their true malevolent nature and
intent. I find it intriguing that,
although I am not a student, believer, or follower of mythology, that in mythology,
folklore and modern fantasy fiction, shape shifting is the ability of a
being to physically transform into another form or entity. This is allegedly done as an inherent faculty
of a mythological creature, or by means of magic and sorcery.
Tragically,
millions of people today who have become curious about or involved in some form
of occultism (magic, mysticism, alchemy, extra-sensory perception, astrology,
spiritualism, divination, witchcraft, Satanism, New Age, etc.) have knowingly
or unknowingly opened a door into the spirit realm and welcomed demon spirits
to enter in and deceive, influence, possess, control and destroy them and
everyone they persuade to believe and practice as they do. The Bible clearly warns that we are not to
give place to the devil (Ephesians 4:27).
FEAR
The letters F E
A R stand for False Evidence Appearing Real. Since
Satan’s battlefield is the MIND (SOUL),
fear is a demon spirit that Satan sends to attack believers in the realm of their
thoughts, imaginations and emotions.
This is why we should practice “casting down imaginations and every high
thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity
every thought to the obedience of Christ (2
Corinthians 10:4-5).”
Among all of the weapons in Satan’s
arsenal, Fear is his most effective because fear paralyzes, immobilizes and
prevents forward motion and progress.
Fear also prevents us from exercising our authority in Christ Jesus!
… For this
purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the
devil (1 John 3:8b);
Then He [Jesus] called His
twelve disciples together, and gave them power and authority over all devils,
and to cure diseases (Luke 9:1);
[Jesus
is Speaking:] Behold, I give unto you power to tread on
serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall
by any means hurt you (Luke 10:19).
Fear will make us believe and accept
Satan’s lies as truth! For example, fear
will make us believe that the enemy will defeat us because he is stronger. This is only true if we are committing
willful sin while engaging in battle with demons. But if we are walking in submission and
obedience to God’s Word, we are assured VICTORY when we fight with spiritual weapons!
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he
will flee from you (James 4:7);
Finally, my brethren, be strong in
the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you
may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For 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. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that you
may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about
with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod
with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of
faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and
watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; (Ephesians 6:10-18).
Fear also prevents us from operating
in the realm of faith. If you frequently
find yourself being attacked by a spirit of fear, meditate on 2 Timothy 1:7:
For God has not given us the spirit
of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
Meditating on this Scripture will
get it down inside your SPIRIT, where it will take root and bear the fruit
of BOLDNESS
and COURAGE
when you need it.
PERSONAL TESTIMONY
I want to share a personal testimony
to prove that holy living and exercising authority in Christ can prevent
Satan’s agenda from being accomplished.
I once married a man that I thought
was a Christian. As a married couple, we
attended a denominational church, where he taught the adult Sunday School
class. Unbeknownst to me, he was
pretending to be a Christian and leading a double, secret life that included an
addiction to pornography and adultery.
Since I was a babe in Christ and didn’t have the gift of “discerning of
spirits” (1
Corinthians 12:10), I was unable to see through the façade of his
disguise.
Seven years into the marriage, Jesus
baptized me in the Holy Spirit and God began to show me in dreams, what my
husband was doing in secret. (This is
yet another advantage of receiving the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.)
One day, I went to visit a Christian
aunt that I had not seen in a long time.
We became so engrossed in fellowship that we talked for six long hours. Around midnight, my aunt’s phone rang. It was my husband, angrily demanding that I
come home. My aunt was concerned about
my safety because she did not like the tone of his voice or his attitude. I told her that I would be fine, hugged and
kissed her goodbye, and departed.
As soon as I got in my car, I began
to pray “in the spirit” (in tongues) because I didn’t know what the devil had
waiting for me at home. Forty-five
minutes and 35 miles later, I backed into the garage and found my husband
tinkering at his workbench. I knew
something was up because he never tinkered in the garage at one o’clock in the
morning. Exiting the car, I spoke to
him, but he only glared at me.
I walked into the house, shed my
coat, and proceeded to the kitchen where I found the sink full of dirty
dishes. As I began to load the
dishwasher, I noticed that my husband entered the house from the garage. The next thing I knew, he walked briskly to
me, grabbed my left upper arm, and started to drag me into the dining room.
That’s when the Holy Spirit stepped
in and took over. Wrenching my arm free,
I backed up a step, planted my feet firmly, raised my right arm, pointed my
right index finger in his face, and boldly proclaimed:
DEVIL!
… IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST, I TAKE AUTHORITY OVER YOU AND BREAK YOUR
POWER! BACK OFF NOW, OR YOU’LL BE
DEALING WITH MY ANGEL!
My husband’s reaction was instantaneous
and extraordinary! A look of sheer astonishment
and fear displaced the anger and hatred that I had seen moments before. His eyes got as big around as hard-boiled
eggs, his jaw dropped, and he immediately backed out of the kitchen into the
dining room and walked away!
Returning to the task of loading the
dishwasher, I was shaking like a leaf inside.
In utter amazement, I wondered where in the world my proclamation of
authority had come from! I knew that I
had not premeditated to say those words.
In fact, I had never even practiced saying them!
Suddenly, I understood! The Holy Spirit rose up inside of me, took
control of my vocal chords and spoke the Word of God out of the abundance of my
HEART,
to defuse the situation because a demon of violence manifested through my
husband to cause me bodily harm! I
believe that praying in tongues on the way home built up my inner man and
thwarted the enemy’s intended assignment! (Jude 1:20).
After my husband left for work the
next morning, I found several bottles of beer in the garage trash
receptacle. So, it took Satan’s bottled “spirits”
to embolden my husband to threaten me with physical violence. But, it took the new wine of the Holy Ghost
and the authoritative Word of God only seconds to deal with a manifesting devil
and the inebriated man that was yielded to Satan!
This is the power over demons that
Jesus Christ has given to every believer!
Again, the key to successful warfare is SUBMISSION and OBEDIENCE!
End of Personal Testimony
FALSE SYMPTOMS
Another weapon in the enemy’s
arsenal is false symptoms. He will put a
symptom on a believer, to test his/her spiritual knowledge and level of
authority. In other words, the believer
will either exercise authority over and rebuke the symptom, or he will accept
and receive the symptom.
PERSONAL TESTIMONY
When I was married, my husband and I
lived in a suburb where witchcraft was being practiced. (Yes, witchcraft is REAL!)
At the time of this incident, God
was using my church and me to specifically pray against witchcraft because we
were being targeted by witches and warlocks.
Why? Because our church was
patterned after the Early Church of the Book of Acts! We represented a real threat to Satan because
we were praying warfare “in the spirit” against his kingdom, his agendas, and
his assignments.
Witches and warlocks that lived in
our community were not happy that a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led prayer warrior
was in their midst. They began to direct
an attack of witchcraft against my heart, in the form of a false symptom. I was in my forties at the time and in
excellent health, when out of the blue, my heart started to experience heart
palpitations. Curiously, the palpitations
only occurred while I tried to sleep at night, but not during the day. I thought this was very strange … and somehow
significant.
Rather than go to a heart doctor, I
contacted a prophetess who attended our church.
I explained what was happening and asked her to seek God’s counsel and
wisdom on my behalf. For three days, she
fasted and prayed until the Lord finally showed her, in an open vision, what
was occurring ... which she shared with me:
In
the vision, I saw an arm extending out of an open mouth. At the end of the arm was a balled-up
fist. The fist was rhythmically pounding
against someone's chest.
The prophetess asked the Lord for
the interpretation of the vision and He told her that witches were chanting
prayers of witchcraft against my heart during their “witching hours,” which is
at night.
Armed with this revelation
knowledge, our team of intercessors (including me) engaged in a retaliatory
attack of spiritual warfare, “praying in the spirit,” against this attack of
witchcraft. As a result of that corporate
warfare, Satan’s assignment was broken, and I never experienced heart
palpitations again!
End of Personal Testimony
MINISTRY AFFILIATIONS
Do you currently watch one or more
Christian Television networks?
Are you giving money into one or
more of these networks, or into the ministries that are being promoted on these
networks?
Have you taken the time to seek
God’s opinion and counsel regarding these networks and ministries? If not, I urge you to do so!
If
you choose to give money to a local, national or international outside
ministry, exercise caution and wisdom!
Beloved, believe not every spirit,
but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are
gone out into the world (1 John 4:1).
By the Holy Ghost, I say BEWARE!!! All is
not well with many mega-ministries. I
know, through personal experience and by what God is revealing to me in
dreams. Just because a ministry has
mushroomed into a mega ministry and is on television and the internet doesn’t
mean that it is of God or that God blessed and prospered its growth and
prosperity. I hate to be the one to
burst anyone’s idealistic bubble but, Satan is making sure that Christian
airwaves are being bombarded with deception in the form of false doctrines,
teachers, preachers and prophets.
The
focus and agenda of false ministries has nothing to do with The Gospel of Jesus
Christ. The Apostle Paul warned us to
beware of “other gospels” (Galatians 1:8-9).
They are easily detected because you will never hear any preaching or
teaching about Jesus, salvation, healing and deliverance. The Apostle Paul said of those who are
beguiled by other gospels:
For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to
themselves teachers, having itching ears; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall
be turned unto fables” (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
The
message of “other gospels” is designed to tickle itching ears and appeal to the
flesh and carnal nature. One of the
primary focuses and messages of false ministries is money. The motivating force is greed and the
strategy or weapon is deception.
Included in this category is a popular, but scripturally unbalanced,
prosperity teaching. Supporters of this
doctrine use showmanship hype and Scriptures taken out of context to entice and
entrap believers who are easily manipulated, intimidated and shamed into giving
all that they have. Tragically, many
believers that fall for this clever deception have a pure HEART and motive for giving,
which is why this doctrine is so reprehensible.
Like an evil tsunami, it’s leaving a multitude of victims in its
wake. What is happening to many
believers is heart-breaking!
The
bait of this doctrine is the promise of an immediate and/or multiplied return
on all money given. The element of greed
is evident because believers are assured that the more money they give the more
money they will reap.
The
Holy Spirit has revealed much to me about the devastation caused by this
doctrine. I have personal knowledge of
believers who have fallen for this deceptive prosperity teaching. They sincerely gave everything they had
because they loved God—only to walk away disillusioned, wounded and in a far
worse financial state than when they initially fell for the deception! This financial doctrine is not of God because
it produces the fruits of covetousness, greed, loss and poverty! Ministers that teach and support this
doctrine play on the emotions of well-meaning, misinformed believers who don’t
know how to seek or hear God themselves, or they fail to. Desperate and greedy believers are also being
targeted. Some believers fall easily for
this deception because they are emotional givers. They equate a tingly, goose-bumpy feeling to
being led by the Holy Spirit. They don’t
realize they’re being emotionally manipulated.
Many
believers have been deceived and ruined by this prosperity message. The only fruit that many have harvested is an
empty bank account, fear, despair, hopelessness and disillusionment. When the miracle harvest they have been
promised and expecting doesn’t come quickly as promised—or in time to pay their
credit card bills—harsh reality replaces the fairy tale illusion.
Many
are never able to recover from their loss and sink into a dark pit of despair
and hopelessness. Some even contemplate
suicide. Others, who have charged their
credit cards to the hilt, are forced to file for bankruptcy because they can’t
make the minimum monthly payments in addition to paying their utility
bills. When their fantasy world comes
crashing down around their ears, instead of blaming the false teachers and
their own naiveté and stupidity, they have the audacity to blame God, even
though they chose not to consult with Him in the first place. When their homes are being foreclosed, when
their cars are being repossessed, when they receive letters from collection
agencies and when they’re threatened with eviction, does the ministry that
received all their money offer to help them?
No! They could care less! They
are incapable of feeling love or compassion because their father is not the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob! Their
father is Satan and they are wolves in sheep’s clothing! All they care about is the almighty dollar
and their own prosperity! I know
first-hand that these ministers and their colleague friends bless one another
with financial gifts and then have the audacity to publish their so-called
harvest testimonies on television and the internet to supposedly prove that
their financial formula produces the promised results! Jesus warned:
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in
the midst of wolves: be therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves (Matthew 10:16).
So what should we use as the
Standard to judge Christian networks and ministries? The uncompromised Word of God and the Life
and Ministry of Jesus Christ! If the
focus of a network or ministry isn’t the finished work of The Cross—if it
doesn’t exalt the name of Jesus or demonstrate the fruit of the Manifested
Power of the Holy Spirit with evidence of Salvations, Healings and Deliverances—BEWARE! If the
primary outreach focus of a network or ministry is to promote and sell a
popular financial prosperity message that manipulates believers on an emotional
level to get their money, BEWARE!
But there were false prophets also
among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily
shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and
bring upon themselves swift destruction.
And
many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth
shall be evil spoken of. And through covetousness shall
they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose judgment now of a long
time lingers not, and their damnation slumbers not (2
Peter 2:1-3).
Now, I ask—Where in the New
Testament did Jesus or the Apostles ever preach a financial prosperity
message? Never! When did they ever preach for the purpose of
getting people to give them money?
Never! Why? Because there was no need to! As long as believers walked in obedience to
His Word, God provided for them!
WHAT GOD’S WORD SAYS
ABOUT RICHES & WEALTH
That men of corrupt minds who are
destitute of the truth, believe gain is godliness. The Apostle Paul said that we are to withdraw
from such men (1
Timothy 6:5);
Ministers are to feed the flock of
God, but not for filthy lucre (1 Peter 5:2);
What
does it profit a man to gain the world but lose his soul? (Mk.8:36; Lk.9:25)
That they who will be rich fall into
temptation and a snare and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown them
in destruction and perdition (1 Timothy 6:9);
That the love of money is the root
of all evil which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith and
pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
The Apostle Paul said that we are to flee these things. (1 Timothy
6:10-11);
The Apostle Paul said that
covetousness is idolatry (Ephesians 5:5);
Jesus said to beware of
covetousness, for a man’s life consists not in the abundance of the things
which he possesses (Luke 12:15);
Greed
is essentially idolatry (Colossians 3:5), and its practitioners are idolaters
(Ephesians 5:5);
When the rich, young ruler told
Jesus that he had kept all of the commandments from the time he was young,
Jesus said to him (and I’m paraphrasing His Words): “You
lack one thing. Sell all that you have
and distribute to the poor and you shall have treasure in heaven and come and
follow Me.” When the young man heard
Jesus’ Words, he walked away sorrowful because he was very rich. (Luke 18:22-23)
Jesus also said, Lay not up for
yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust does corrupt, and where
thieves break through and steal (Matthew 6:19);
In Luke 6:24, Jesus spoke words of
woe to the rich and in Luke 18:24-26, He warned that it was hard for
a rich man to enter the kingdom of God;
Jesus
taught that where your treasure is, there is your HEART also (Matt.6:19-21; cf. Lk.12:32-34).
In Matthew 6:24, He said: “No
man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other;
or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon;”
Discipleship
requires the willingness to put God before possessions (Lk.14:33).
We
brought nothing into this world and will take nothing out of it (1Timothy 6:7).
And,
in Matthew
7:15, Jesus warned us to “Beware of
false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are
ravening wolves. You shall know them by
their fruits.”
If
gaining riches were a reasonable goal for the godly, Jesus would have pursued
it Himself. But He didn’t, preferring
instead to have no place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). He taught and commissioned His disciples to
go and preach the Gospel. In Mark 6:8,
He commanded them that they should take
nothing for their journey, except a walking staff, sandals on their
feet; no bag, no bread, only one coat, and no money in their purse. In other words, they were to accomplish their
commission by proclaiming the Gospel, with only the basic essentials and
necessities of life, and they were not to worry about what they would eat,
drink or wear because God would provide all of their needs. It should also be remembered that the
only disciple concerned with wealth was Judas Iscariot, who carried the money
bag.
Now
I ask—Do you see any similarity between the picture that the Word of God has
just painted for you—versus the picture that’s being painted by current T.V.
ministers whose commission has nothing to do with preaching the Gospel of Jesus
Christ, but everything to do with raking in and exploiting God’s money, while
openly boasting about their expensive jewelry, Bentleys and BMW’s, mansions and
extravagant lifestyles. There’s
something wrong with this picture and it’s time that the prosperity message be
exposed for the false doctrinal teaching that it is.
Another
Truth that the Lord has shown me in the Scriptures is that supporters and
promoters of the prosperity message are taking out of context, scriptures
concerning seed-sowing and the Law of Sowing and Reaping, to support what they
believe. In truth, none of them have
searched the Scriptures or rightly divided the Word. For example, nowhere in The Bible is the word
seed
ever used in the context of money. In
His Parable of The Sower, Jesus taught that the seed is The Word of God! (Luke 8:11). In another reference, the seed refers to the
Children of the Kingdom (Matthew 13:28). In another context, the seed and the act of
sowing are referenced as righteous, benevolent deeds (2 Corinthians 9:10). In the Old Testament, the seed was used in
reference to male sperm or to describe the children of Abraham (Romans 9:7).
Brothers
and Sisters, we don’t have to give our hard-earned money into outside
ministries, in order to get money in return because God promises to provide for
His Children! In the Old Testament, for
example, God took care of and blessed the children of Israel during the 40
years they wandered in the wilderness—even when they complained and murmured,
because of His Covenant with Abraham and because Moses interceded for them:
Yet You [meaning God] in Your
manifold mercies forsook them not in the wilderness: the pillar of the cloud
departed not from them by day, to lead them in the way; neither the pillar of
fire by night, to show them light, and the way wherein they should go. You
gave also Your good Spirit to instruct them, and withheld not Your manna from
their mouth, and gave them water for their thirst. Yea, forty years did
You sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their
clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not. Moreover You gave
them kingdoms and nations, and did divide them into corners: so they possessed
the land of Sihon, and the land of the king of Heshbon, and the land of Og king
of Bashan. Their children also multiplied You
as the stars of heaven, and brought them into the land, concerning which You
had promised to their fathers, that they should go in to possess it. So the
children went in and possessed the land, and You subdued before them the
inhabitants of the land, the Canaanites, and gave them into their hands, with
their kings, and the people of the land, that they might do with them as they
would. And they took strong cities, and a fat land,
and possessed houses full of all goods, wells digged, vineyards, and oliveyards,
and fruit trees in abundance: so they did eat, and were filled, and became fat,
and delighted themselves in Your great goodness (Nehemiah
9:19-25). [Emphasis Mine]
I have been young and now am old,
yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread (Psalms 37:25).
… the upright shall have good things
in possession (Proverbs 28:10).
Even so, God meets the needs of His
Children today. In Philippians 4:19, the Apostle
Paul assures us that God will meet all of our needs according to His riches in
Glory by Christ Jesus.
In
Philippians
4:11-13, the Apostle Paul said:
Not that I speak in respect of
want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be
content. I know both how to be abased,
and I know how to abound: everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to
be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens
me.
In
Acts 4:32-35,
God saw to the needs of the Early Church through believers that were led by His
Spirit. And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one
soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he
possessed was his own; but they had all things common. And with great power gave the
apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was
upon them all. Neither was there any among them
that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and
brought the prices of the things that were sold, And laid them down at
the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he
had need.
2 Corinthians 9:7 says, Every man
according as he purposes in his HEART, so
let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful
giver.
In
Luke 22:35,
Jesus said to His disciples: When I sent you without purse, and scrip,
and shoes, lacked ye anything? And they
said, Nothing.
I say again, BEWARE of any ministry that
promotes seed-sowing of your hard-earned money with the promise that you will gain
riches and wealth! These ministers
are nothing but pimps in the pulpit!
Jesus was well-acquainted with them, having encountered them during His earthly ministry. How did He deal with them? He overturned their money-changing tables and
whipped them out of the temple, proclaiming in Matthew 21:13: My
house shall be called the house of prayer, but you have made it a den of
thieves! All these
ministries care about is the almighty dollar and promoting their own prosperity
and extravagant lifestyles! I say again,
this financial doctrine is not of God because it produces the fruits of
covetousness, greed, loss and poverty!
Another argument that promoters of
this doctrine use to justify that what they’re doing is, “Preaching the Gospel
requires money and a lot of it.”
While money is indeed needed to
spread the Gospel, the sheer arrogance, pride and greed of these show-boat
mega-ministries serves to elevate and exalt them above God and His Will and
Ability to provide for His Children, as well as above small churches and
ministries that really desire to be about doing the Father’s business. It’s as though the mega-ministries believe
that God only wants to use their ministries to spread the Gospel! Well, if the mega-ministries continue to
promote their financial prosperity message to fleece God’s people and misuse
God’s money to promote and satisfy their own greedy agendas and finance their
extravagant lifestyles, where does that leave believers like you and me and the
smaller ministries that God desires to use to spread the Gospel? It leaves us broke, busted and
disgusted! Many believers that have
fallen for this false doctrinal teaching have willingly emptied their savings
and retirement accounts and wound up in the poor house as a result!
Here’s another nugget of
wisdom. Many believers that are being
emotionally manipulated by this teaching are being pressured to give “Faith
Promises” into mega-ministries using credit cards because the ministries are
making this option of giving available to them.
Mega-ministries are using emotional manipulation, spiritual hype, greed,
and high-sell pressure tactics so believers will give their money quickly. One of their favorite high-pressure sales
pitches is, “Delayed obedience is disobedience.” This pitch is designed to make you feel
guilty and condemned if you don’t give something quickly! Another high-pressure pitch is, “If you can’t
give the entire amount, at least give 10%!.
Get your seed in the ground NOW!”
As a result, many believers are in credit card debt up to their
eyeballs. Then when their promised
harvest doesn’t come soon enough to bail them out of financial trouble, they
have to resort to filing bankruptcy.
Giving to God on an emotional level is wrong. Yes, we are to give cheerfully, but only as
we are led by the Holy Spirit. Giving at
any level using a credit card isn’t scriptural.
Proverbs
22:7 clearly states: The
rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender. Debt is bondage! God wants His Children out of debt! Many believers who don’t see the promised
financial harvest become disillusioned and walk away from God. The only fruit that many believers
harvest is an empty bank account, bankruptcy, fear, despair, hopelessness and
disillusionment. All of this represents BAD FRUIT!
Saints of God, only the Holy Ghost
knows what’s going on behind the scenes in mega-ministries. Only He knows the hidden intents, motives and
agendas. Only He knows what’s being done
in secret behind the façade or front of the glitter of gold, glamour of riches,
fanfare and hype. So, be careful,
because what you see with your physical eyes and hear with your physical ears
can steal from you and kill and destroy you.
NEW ACQUAINTANCES
When someone new comes into your
life, do you check him/or her out by the Holy Ghost or do you accept that
person at face value?
1 Samuel 16:7 says, But the LORD
said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature;
because I have refused him: for the LORD sees not as man sees; for man
looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the HEART.
PERSONAL TESTIMONY
When I filed for divorce on the
grounds of adultery, I hired a man to work with my attorney that I thought was
a private investigator. Did I conduct a
background check on this man? No! Unwisely, I took the advice of my divorce
attorney, who didn’t know the man personally, but she gave me his business card
which she had received in the mail! Did
my attorney investigate the man before recommending him? No!
Was this man a private
investigator? No! He was a con man who had been hired by a
licensed, bonded private investigator that didn’t bother to conduct a
background check on him either! That’s
how convincingly deceptive this man’s con was!
As a result of my hiring this man, I
lost thousands of dollars to a thief! He
was also a Judas who betrayed me by sharing client-privileged information with
my husband, who arranged periodic, clandestine meetings with him, paying him on
the side for any information regarding my court case against him!
BEWARE! What you cannot see with your natural eyes
can kill you!
End of Personal Testimony
YOUR BROTHERS & SISTERS IN CHRIST
Do you really know your spiritual
brothers and sisters? Has their
friendship and loyalty passed the tests of adversity and time? Devils don’t hesitate to attend church. Many will sit on the front pews. Behind that new face, is the person a saint
or a devil? Is she a bonafide prophetess
or a practicing witch? What you cannot
see with your natural eyes can kill you!
Do you know or even care about what a
brother or sister may be walking through and how their circumstances might be
adversely affecting their demeanor and behavior?
Are you quick to judge someone if
they don’t act or speak the way you think they should?
Are you quick to misjudge the intent
and motive behind what someone says or does?
If someone doesn’t easily open up or
seems distant, do you conclude that the person must have antisocial tendencies
or has been hurt so badly, they are scarred emotionally? Have you ever stopped to consider that the
person might be that way for a divine reason; that God is ordering their steps
this way for a season? Be careful that
you don’t misjudge someone because of outward appearances.
Some people hide behind a
self-imposed mask. They hide their true
selves and project only what they want you to see. Beware of the devil that lurks behind the
mask! See what’s on the other side of
the mask by asking God to show you the person’s HEART. God doesn’t want you to be deceived by anyone
and He will honor this prayer. If God
doesn’t want you to associate with a particular person, He will alert you.
THE MEDIA
YES! FALSE
APPEARANCE,
one of Satan’s most effective and powerful weapons, IS ON THE RISE! To see
evidence of Satan’s handiwork, all you have to do is turn on the television or
radio, go to a movie, or read a book, newspaper or magazine! Centuries ago, The Apostle Paul, recorded
what life on earth would be like in the last days. After reading his words, I think you will
agree that we are living in the last days!
This know also, that in the last
days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves,
covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful,
unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent,
fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers
of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying
the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep
into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers
lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth (2 Timothy 3:1-7).
Instead
of showcasing and applauding what God Almighty is doing in the world today,
Hollywood and the liberal news media prefer to glorify the works of Satan! It is no wonder that people, plagued by
depression and hopelessness, suffer nervous breakdowns and commit suicide while
others deal with life’s problems by getting hooked on prescription medications
and illegal drugs! Still others seek
help, guidance and a sense of purpose and value from psychiatrists, religious
gurus and psychics, when all they have to do is reach for the family Bible that
has been collecting dust!
In the United States, the majority
of media networks are liberal, anti-Christian, and anti-American. They mislead people by lies and their biased reporting
and polls. If I watch the news at all, I
watch FOX NEWS because their reporting is fair and unbiased.
MARKETING & ADVERTISING
We’ve all seen the roadside
billboard ads and T.V. commercials. The
promotion of beer, whiskey, cigarettes … the focus on outward beauty,
body-building, modeling and sex … all serve to arouse and tempt the flesh. They appeal to human vanity and
over-stimulate imaginations and hormones.
But, the companies that publish these ads never say anything about the harmful
or addictive properties and health risks of what they’re promoting. BEWARE! What you cannot see with your natural eyes
can kill you!
THE FOOD WE EAT
When we eat a candy bar or a
doughnut, do we see what the harmful ingredients are doing inside of our
bodies? No!
When we buy pre-packaged mixed
lettuce or fruits that are grown in foreign countries, do we know what kind of
fertilizer was used in the soil? Do you
know that in cases where people have died from the e coli bacteria, the
bacteria was traced back to produce grown in Mexico because human feces was
already in the soil?
When you go to a restaurant and
order a rare steak, are you aware that undercooked meat can be tainted with the
e coli bacteria?
What about eating undercooked
pork? Trichinosis is a
parasitic disease caused by eating raw or undercooked pork or wild game infected
with the larvae of a species of roundworm.
Whenever you eat out, make sure you pray over your food
before eating it!
Remember, what you cannot see with
your natural eyes can kill you!
PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION
We’ve all seen the commercials on
T.V. that describe various prescription medications—medications that will
supposedly improve the quality of your life.
But, at the end of the commercial, the narrator delivers a long
dissertation of possible adverse side-effects—that can cause kidney, heart and
liver damage and, in rare cases, sudden death!
I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t want to find out, too late, that
I’ve become a “rare case” statistic.
“BAIT & SWITCH” QUICK FIXES
We have become the microwave,
instant gratification generation!
The BAIT of drugs and alcohol is that it’s
cool to fit in with the crowd. The SWITCH
is addiction which destroys!
The BAIT of gambling is instant riches
and wealth. The SWITCH is addiction which destroys!
The GOOD NEWS is that Jesus
Christ is greater than addiction and if the Son makes you free, you are free
indeed! (John
8:36)
Due to the advances in technology, con
and scam artists are offered a smorgasbord of avenues in which to steal, kill
and destroy you (John
10:10). Scams are
accomplished via the internet, by phone, by Facebook, on internet dating sites,
by email and regular mail. Scam artists
are after your hard-earned money and your personal identification. Since no one is safe, you need to take every
precaution to protect yourself, your personal information, and your investments.
Crimes that primarily target
computer networks or devices include:
Computer viruses
Denial-of-service attacks
Malware
Crimes that use computer networks or
devices to advance other ends include:
Cyberstalking
Fraud and identity theft
Information warfare
Phishing
scams
Computers and the Internet are also
being used for:
Child Sex Trafficking
Cyber Bullying
Cyber Warfare
Cyber-Terrorism
Drug Trafficking
Fraud and Financial Crimes
Hacking
Harassment
Obscene or offensive content
Pedophilia (child pornography)
Threats
In closing, BEWARE OF FALSE APPEARANCES! What you cannot see with your natural eyes
can steal, kill and destroy you!
Be Safe and Be Blessed!
