Deception of the Heart

Spiritual Warfare

Deception of the Heart

In our last two messages in this series on deception, we saw how the Devil and the world have powerfully deceived multitudes for the past 6,000 years. 

We saw how strong their deception is, but as powerful as they are, they are not our worst enemy, nor are they our most powerful foe.

Our worst enemy is not the devil.

Our worst enemy is not the world.

Our worst enemy is our own selves. Our own heart is our worst enemy.

(Jeremiah 17:9), The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

The world or the devil have absolutely no power over the child of God unless the Christian allows them to have power through unbelief and rebellion towards God and His Word.

It is one thing for man to allow the world or the devil to deceive him, but to actually allow his own heart to deceive him could be almost unbelievable, especially when you see some of the shocking accounts that you are about to read from God’s Word.

The purpose of this study is to:

• Show the powerful deception of the human heart
• Show the damage that it causes
• Show how to overcome its deception

The Power of Deception that the Heart is Capable of

(Romans 1:20-32), For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened…. Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Wow! Is it possible that the heart could be so deceiving? Man knows it is wrong to commit such things that are worthy of death and yet, not only do they do these things, but have pleasure in doing them!

Let us look at another example.

Pharaoh and Israel’s Heart

• In (Exodus 4), God tells Moses to tell Israel He has heard their cry and will deliver them, (vs. 29-31). 
• In (chap. 7), both Pharaoh and Israel see the waters of Egypt turned to blood. 
• In (chap. 8), both Pharaoh and Israel see God bring judgment upon Egypt:
• He covered the land with frogs
• Turned the earth’s dust to lice
• Filled the land of Egypt with swarms of flies
• In (chap. 8), both Pharaoh and Israel see God continue to devastate Egypt with more plagues:
• The plague of sickness upon Egypt’s cattle, sheep and livestock
• They plague of boils upon man and beast
• They saw hail come from out of the sky with crashing thunder upon man, beast, and every herb of the field, while fire ran along the face of the ground with its destruction.
• In (chap. 12) Israel saw God smite the firstborn of all Egypt as Pharaoh holds his firstborn in his arms – dead – (Israel is set free). 
• In (chap. 13) Israel sees God appear to them in a towering pillar of fire and smoke.
• -n (chap. 14) Israel sees God split open the Red Sea:
• Israel sees that God gives them time to pass through as God holds off Pharaoh’s army by a massive pillar of fire and smoke.

Now here is the SHOCKING part;

As you read (Exodus 14:19-31), after all that Pharaoh saw God do to Egypt, from the waters turning to blood to the death of the firstborn, PHAROAH STILL BELIEVED HE COULD FIGHT AGAINST GOD!

Why?

Because of the power of the deception of the heart!

This is an amazing ability of deception that the human heart is capable of!

Now watch this;

Israel’s heart:

After God does all these things to free Israel from Pharaoh and Egypt, He then leads Israel to Mt. Sinai as Moses goes up to get the Ten Commandments. Look what happens next;

(Exodus 32:1-4), Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, “Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him.” And Aaron said to them, “Break off the golden earrings which are in the ears of your wives, your sons, and your daughters, and bring them to me.” So all the people broke off the golden earrings which were in their ears, and brought them to Aaron. And he received the gold from their hand, and he fashioned it with an engraving tool, and made a molded calf. Then they said, “This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!”

This is truly a terrible power of deception. And we ought to fear and cry out to God to save us from it because it comes from our own heart!

Jesus warned about the great deception of the heart

(Matthew 7:21-23), Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

There are many people today that believe they are doing God’s will and even using the name of Jesus. But the truth is, their heart is greatly deceiving them.

(Proverbs 16:25), There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

We must remember that the only way we could have a true relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is by doing what God’s Word tells us to do and not some man-made religion. Our hearts can convince us that we are doing the right thing when we truly are not. God’s Word will keep our hearts from deceiving us.

How to Overcome Your Heart’s Ability to Deceive You

As much as the heart could be deceitful and desperately wicked above all things, it could also work for the good of you. 

• Overcome your own heart’s deceit by commanding your heart to make the choice to always believe and trust the Lord Jesus Christ. 

(Romans 10:9-10), that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

As we have studied in our past lessons, we do not choose to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ by blind faith, but rather by indisputable facts that will stand up in any court of law. We have the ability to make the choice in our hearts to have faith in these indisputable facts which will lead us to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. When we do this, we have power over deception that would try to lead us in a wrong direction.

• Overcome the deception of the heart by studying God’s Word, believing it, obeying it, and keeping it always first in your heart. 

If temptation or anything else comes your way that does not agree with God’s Word, make the decision in your heart to believe, obey, and trust God’s Word and reject the deception.

(Luke 8:15), But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.

(1 Corinthians 6:9-10), Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.

When we truly and sincerely make the decision in our hearts to believe these words, God’s Word gives us the power to overcome the temptation and deception of these things that would lead us astray.

Overcome the deception of the heart by obeying God’s Word and keeping it always first in your heart.

(James 1:22), But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.

When a moment comes that we realize our heart is desiring something that we know is not pleasing to God, we overcome the temptation to reject our own heart’s desire. We remember verses in God’s Word where it tells us such desires are wrong. We then make the choice to obey God’s Word rather than our heart’s desire that was wrong.

When we obey God’s Word, we find ourselves;

• Replacing evil with good
• Replacing hatred with love
• Replacing anger with gentleness
• Replacing vengeance with forgiveness
• Replacing pride with meekness
• Replacing short temper with patience
• Replacing unbelief with faith

We know that our human emotions are very powerful but we also know that our love for God and His Word to be first in our lives will overcome anything that will try to lead us in a wrong direction.

Encourage ourselves daily

(Hebrews3:12-13), Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

We can be very forgetful and quickly grow weak in our faith. God knows this and that is why He warned us to DAILY encourage ourselves. Here are some things that you can do DAILY to make your heart strong for God;

• The very first thing in the morning, spend 30 minutes praying.
• Look forward to be able to tell someone about Jesus.
• Spend some time reading and studying God’s Word.
• Memorize a verse in the Bible that is helpful for you.
• Let God’s creation around you inspire your faith in God.
• Hope in your heart that today Jesus might come as He promised
• Encourage another believer that you know.
• Join a weekly small group Bible study and fellowship.
• Be faithful and serve in a local church group.
• Look out for the needs of others and be a blessing to them.

Try to find ways that are simple and common that are part of your daily life that will simply exhort and encourage your faith in God and His Word. If you look a little closer, you will be amazed how many things are in your daily life that will make you more aware of Jesus’ constant love and care for you. 

By doing these things, you will keep your heart on the right path.

We are in a spiritual warfare. God wants our heart but so does the world, the flesh, and the devil. Who we give it to is up to us.