Deception of the World

Spiritual Warfare

Deception of the World

In our last study, we began a series on deception. We saw;

• How it comes.
• How powerful it is.
• The damage it causes.
• How to overcome it.

In our first study, we showed you that deception comes by the Devil;

• He deceived at least 33% of the angels.
• He deceived Eve.
• In (Revelation 12) he deceived the whole world.
• In (Revelation 20), at the end of the 1,000-year reign of Christ, he deceives many to go against Jesus.

The Devil has great power in deception!

Then we saw how to overcome the deception from the devil:

Like our Lord Jesus Christ did in (Matthew 4):

• We must commit ourselves totally over to our heavenly Father’s will for our lives.
• By God’s Word: read it, study it, listen to it, soak it in, retain it in mind and heart, live by it, use it.
• (James 4:6) Resist the devil and he will flee from you
• (Revelation 12:10-11) By the word of our testimony, showing our faith (real, genuine). Our testimony is powerful. It overcomes Satan’s deceit.

The next way deception comes is by the WORLD

In this study we will see:

• How deception comes by the world
• How powerful it is
• The damage it causes
• How to overcome it

Deception from the world comes from three powerful means:

• Riches
• Pleasures
• Religion

Riches – Prosperity

(Luke 12:15-21), And He said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.” Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ‘ But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’ So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

Look at how powerfully deceiving riches and prosperity are! Look at the damage this deception causes! This man was only concerned about himself and enjoying pleasure. He was not interested in God’s desire and will for his life.  He was not interested in helping out the poor and needy.

When you have everything that you possibly can think of, there is a strong temptation to think that you do not need God to continue to help you and supply your daily needs. You begin to think that you obtained these things by your own strength and power and not from God’s blessings. You begin to think that you deserve them and then believe that you can use them any way you feel that you want to without being accountable to God.

What if God suddenly blessed you with a tremendous amount of money? (Stop and Think);

What is the first thought that entered your mind? 

What would have been a nice thought is, “Lord, thank you for your blessings. Please help me and guide me to use this money the way that you want me to so that I can be a blessing to others and further your gospel to a lost and dying world.”

Jesus also gave us another warning concerning riches;

(Luke 18:18-25), Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.” So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when he heard this, he became very sorrowful, for he was very rich. And when Jesus saw that he became very sorrowful, He said, “How hard it is for those who have riches to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

In the beginning when this ruler approached Jesus, he sounded sincere but Jesus tested his faith and true desire to be saved. In the end, the man’s desire for his worldly riches kept him from making the right decision to obtain eternal life!

If the Lord does bless you with much prosperity in this life, stay close and faithful to Jesus relying on Him to guide you in using them in a good, honest, and righteous way. He puts you in that position to not only glorify Him, but to be a help and a blessing to others.

(1 Timothy 6:6-10), Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

(1 Timothy 6:17-19), Command those who are rich in this present age not to be haughty, nor to trust in uncertain riches but in the living God, who gives us richly all things to enjoy. Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold on eternal life.

Cares and Pleasures of this Life

(Luke 8:11-14), “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.

The Word of God slowly died and faded away in their heart. God’s Word became choked by the pleasures of this life.

This is how it often happens;

• When a person sincerely believes in God’s Word and makes the decision to love Jesus and trust Him for saving them from their sins, they are filled with thankfulness and willingness to do the things that God would want them to do.
• They begin to read God’s Word and learn that God desires them to do the following things;

Pray.

Study God’s Word.

Assemble together with other believers often to encourage each other in their faith.

Spend time telling others about Jesus.

Spend time helping out others with their needs.

• At first, they are excited and willing to do these things. But as time goes on, they stop doing these things because they become busy and more excited about playing sports, going fishing, going out and playing games with friends, watching television, and playing video games, etc. etc. They are no longer excited about doing the things they have learned in God’s Word that showed them what God desires them to do. The pleasures of this life have choked God’s Word in their heart.

God wants us to enjoy the things we do, but it is up to you to find that proper balance in spending time with the things that God’s Word teaches us that we should be doing and not letting the pleasures of this life throw you off balance.

(2 Timothy 3:1-4), But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money… lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

False Religion

(Matthew 15:1-14), Then the scribes and Pharisees who were from Jerusalem came to Jesus, saying, “Why do Your disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” He answered and said to them, “Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?… Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy about you, saying: ‘These people draw near to Me with their mouth, And honor Me with their lips, But their heart is far from Me. And in vain they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’…Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”… Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind leads the blind, both will fall into a ditch.

The Lord Jesus exposes the power of the deception of false religion and their leaders by showing us that they are blind leading the blind. It is up to each and every one of us to search out the truth. There is nothing more important than finding the correct answer to the question, “What must we do to be in heaven one day forever and ever?”

We must question, and search, and discover for ourselves what really the truth is. We must examine the evidence and facts. We should not just take anybody’s word for it.

This is how God designed truth. It is there, but you must be serious and sincere in finding it or else you will be greatly deceived by false religion! Tell God that you need His help and that you just simply want to know the truth and that you do not want to be deceived.

The power of the deception of religion that the world offers is so strong, that it literally has millions blinded to the truth. One of the most difficult things the Lord Jesus faced was convincing the people that their religion was false. In fact, it was the “religious” crowd that wanted Jesus killed more than anyone else!

How to Overcome the World’s Deception of Riches, Pleasures, and False Religion

• Set affections on things that are above. Let your motive for wanting God’s blessings be to glorify God, help others and meet your needs.

(Colossians 3:1-2), If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.

• Pray, and be content with such things as you have.

(Proverbs 30:7-9), Two things I request of You (Deprive me not before I die): Remove falsehood and lies far from me; Give me neither poverty nor riches– Feed me with the food allotted to me; Lest I be full and deny You, And say, “Who is the Lord?” Or lest I be poor and steal, And profane the name of my God.

• Get into God’s Word, stay in God’s Word, and keep His commandments.

(Proverbs 7:1-5), My son, keep my words, And treasure my commands within you. Keep my commands and live, And my law as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; Write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,” And call understanding your nearest kin, That they may keep you from the immoral woman, From the seductress who flatters with her words.

• Continue to believe and trust in the Lord Jesus and His Word.

(1 John 5:4-5), For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Always remember, the deception of the world wants to take you away from being part of the bride of Christ. Stay strong in your faith and focused on really what are the most important things in your life and for all eternity!

In our next lesson, we will learn what is the most powerful deception of all. You might be surprised!