God’s Got This
Sermon Series – Overcoming the Ten Major Threats to God’s People
As Saints of God, we have the Word of the Lord as our guarantee that we will win and that nothing will separate us from the Love of God. Yet, as God’s People, we must be on the alert for the attacks of the enemy. We must be aware of the vicious attacks that will seek to destroy our faith. Through it all, let us bear in mind that God will take care of us.
37. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us.
38. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
39. Neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:37-39
What are the ten major threats to the children of God? These pressures should be the warning signs that the end is approaching. Bear in mind, that the child of God must be fully equipped to stand in the evil day. These are the threats:
1. Deception
2. Fear
3. Hopelessness
4. Restlessness
5. Lack of Compassion
6. Rage
7. Wickedness
8. Idolatry
9. Perversion
10. Selfishness
Beware of Scams
3. As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives opposite the Temple, Peter, James, and John, and Andrew asked Him privately,
4. “Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?
5. Jesus said to them, “Watch out that no one deceives you.”
Mark 13:3-5
Many of us have experienced those strange emails or phone calls from someone we never heard of promising outrageous rewards. It doesn’t take long before you recognize that it is a scam. If it sounds too good to be true it is probably not true. This particular scam happened around 2011 to an elderly woman living in Southside Virginia. She came to the Credit Union and asked to withdraw a thousand dollars from her savings. What made this request so unusual is that it was raining and she had walked over a mile from her house. The teller also noticed that she seemed to be very upset about something and so proceeded to ask, “if everything was, okay?” She said, “No, my grandson is in jail and I have to send this money by Western Union to get him out of jail.” The teller instantly knew that this was a scam. The hard part was to get the grandmother to see that this was an attempt to steal her money. Acting quickly, the teller asked if she had her grandson’s telephone number and they would call to confirm. The teller phoned the real grandson and much to the relief of all, everything was fine and the scam was averted. While this story had a good ending, there are hundreds of thousands of scams that do not have a good outcome and innocent people suffer loss as a result of vicious deception. These tricks have become so common place that many have accepted as the way of life. Our Lord Jesus, however, gave us some sharp and clear words of warning: “Do Not Be Deceived.” The question is, how do you avoid deception and what are some warning signs that can help us expose fraud before it happens.
Each of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) record the question that was asked by the Disciples, “Lord, what will be the signs of the end?” With the events that are taking place in the world, many are asking that question today. I felt the prompting of the Holy Spirit to speak on the end times, but prior to that, I feel very strongly that God’s People need to be prepared to receive the message. The simple reason is that we must not develop a spirit of anxiety but rather have the calm assurance that God is orchestrating every event for His Glory as He fulfills His Divine Plan. For that reason, we must address the major threats that are facing God’s children. The End Time must never be a time of intimidation but of preparation. The End Time is not a time of anxiety but rather a time to celebrate the Lord’s soon return. Yes, there will be great struggles and conflicts that will sweep the world but these should never sweep the Saints off their foundation in Christ. Yes, there will be suffering but that suffering should draw us closer to the One Who loves us beyond measure. The End Times should be a reminder that God’s got this.
Jesus warned His followers of the ultimate scam and we must pay attention. Our Lord said that we should not be deceived. Then He proceeded to tell of what this great scam would entail. Many will come in My Name saying I am the Christ and shall deceive many. Why is that a threat? For starters, it is nothing new. The only new twist will be that more perpetrators will be making this false claim. Since there is no way to stop the deception, what should be the believers’ response to such evil? What can we do to prepare ourselves for these threatening times?
Four things Christians must do to deal with Deception
For every crisis that we will face, the child of God must remember that they are never alone. In every situation, including those times when Satan will use trickery to attack our faith, we must recognize that God is with us. This is more than simply trying to realize that God is there. It is much more than reading the Bible. This is what Brother Lawrence (the 17th century monk) referred to as ‘practicing the presence of God’ in every day life. This principle is brought out in Colossians 3:17, whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do all in the Name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him. It is when we are so absorbed with God’s presence that we will know instantly when something is attempting to intrude that sacred space. Some make the mistake of narrowing God’s presence to mere security concerns, but it is much deeper than that. God is constantly with us, guiding, comforting, teaching, encouraging, strengthening, and even fellowshipping with us. Through Jesus Christ our Lord, every Christian can enjoy the complete and constant communion with God and it is wonderful. When I first came to know the Lord, I was told that if you were constantly seeking God, you would go crazy. That is what I was told. Since that time, I have discovered that it is just the opposite. If we don’t have constant fellowship with our Lord and Savior, the world and its chaos will drive you crazy. The deception is real and it is powerful. Jesus even pointed out that if it were possible, the very elect would be lost as a result of it. So, abiding in Christ is our key to dismantling every deception for what it is. As our Lord fought off the Satanic deception with the Word, we too will be equipped to guard our hearts and minds. Simply put: God’s got this.
What is deception? It is dishonesty, trickery, lies, and false claims that will cause a person to change what the believe, give up what they possess, or follow a path that ultimately leads to destruction. Without a doubt, the greatest deception occurred in the Garden of Eden. Paradise was the sight of the greatest heist in human history. Eve, gave in to the tempter’s lie and Adam joined her in the ill-fated eating of the forbidden fruit. That deception plunged the entire human race into sin because all of the descendants of the first family would inherit the sin nature. When Jesus came in the flesh to reverse the curse of sin on mankind, Satan tried to use the same trickery. He posed questions that were aimed at deceiving our Lord into performing actions against His Father’s will. Our Lord resisted the temptation. That is the same action that we must take whenever deception is being directed at us. How do we resist the deception? It is really more than simply quoting the Bible; it is actually trusting and following what the Bible says. The Bible tells us to resist the devil and he will flee. James 4:7. The encouragement is to use God’s Word against the devil and not allow him to manipulate our thoughts with his subtle lies. Make no mistake about it, when we stand on God’s Word, God will rebuke Satan.
The third strategy for dealing with deception is to test what is being presented. 1 Thessalonians 5:21, admonishes every believer to test (prove) all things … and hold on to that which is good. The test will ask certain questions. Is this good or bad? Did this come from God? Where can I find it in the Bible? Will the results bring me closer to God’s Will or will I be yielding to sin? Never take deception lightly. Never underestimate the devil’s plots and schemes. He has been at this deception thing for a long time and has had a tremendous record of victories. If there is one common theme to the deception, it is the promise of receiving something that will supposedly make life better than anything else. That was the line fed to Eve. “You will be as God … and will know good from evil.” The truth was, they were already made in the image of God. They already knew everything they needed to know because God would tell them. Eve wanted more and Adam went along with the offer and everything ended up in a dreaded disaster. If they had only tested the proposal and conferred with God, the whole mess could have been avoided.
We are in a place in time that it is proper to ask the Lord, “when will You return and what will be the signs of the end?” Our Lord Jesus had instructed them that the Temple at Jerusalem would be destroyed. This would usher in a time of devastation for the Jewish people as the nations would gather against them. Yet, despite all of this, Jesus constantly reminded them of the imminent danger of people putting their trust in something that was totally false. Jesus said in Matthew 24:5, “many shall come in My Name, saying ‘I am Christ;’ and shall deceive many.” Please note the word ‘many.’ There will be a host of false Christs who will claim to be true and will make promises based on their fraudulent statements that they are the real Jesus. Some will even have the ability to work, what the Bible calls, lying wonders and will perform miraculous signs. Others will possess impressive knowledge about certain things. Yet, the Real Jesus warns us: do not be deceived. Not only will there be many of these false Christs, there will also be many who will fall victim to these imposters. This brings us to the fourth strategy that will keep you from being deceived by these false Christ. You must know the Lord for yourself. Those that know their God have a clear understanding of Who Jesus is. They know that no one talks like Jesus. Jesus said, “My Sheep know My Voice.” Jesus said again in John 10:14, “I Am the Good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of mine.”
The reason why so many will be deceived by the Christ imposters is due to the fact that they never met the real Jesus. No one can save like Jesus. No one can love like Jesus. No one can rejoice our heart like Jesus. Many will say in the end, when the Judgment is set. “Lord, Lord” … but He will declare – “I never knew you.” Ladies and gentlemen, of all the things that you can do to avoid being scammed or misled by false Christ, you must know the Lord for yourself. Jesus said it this way, “You must be born again.” You must be born from above. You must be born by the Spirit of God. Thank God for those who have come to know the Lord and are walking with Him daily. Yet, there are many who are too proud, too stubborn, or perhaps even too busy to take that step of faith. You must not put this off. Get under God’s protection now so that you will be prepared for His soon return.
There are some who don’t believe in the miracle working power of our Lord. Others doubt that God is moving in the same way that He did in Bible times. We should all recognize that God has not changed and never will. Just to help you overcome some of those doubts about how powerful God really is. On October 4th, 1951, a woman by the name of Henrietta Pleasant Lacks passed away at John Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. Unbeknownst to many, this woman possessed a miracle cell that had the ability to reproduce a new set of cells every 24 hours. Not only that, because the cell properties were so rare, hundreds of treatments were developed including the cure for polio and a host of other diseases. Henrietta Lacks cells, called HeLa, have been called by researchers, the immortal cell. In other words, after she died, her cells still live. Millions of people have been healed through the research done using the HeLa cell. Here is the big kicker, the medical profession did not notify the family that the cells were being used until 1975. No compensation or recognition had been given. What does this have to do with deception? It shows how far people will go to use others for their own gain. But here is the good news, God was demonstrating something through the HeLa cell. It was the power of immortality. If her cell could live outside the body, you need to know that it is also possible for your soul to live outside the body. Jesus Christ is the Ultimate Healer. His Blood can wash away all our sin and give us everlasting life. While I thank God for Henrietta Lacks, I also thank God that through His Son, there is ultimate healing for all. I tell you – God’s got this.
Once you have committed yourself to trusting Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will have the confidence of knowing that no matter what comes, “God’s got this.” Those who love God and are loved by God, no one can take them out of His Hand. Isn’t that good news?