2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
I am directed to continue writing about Satan’s objectives and how we can deal with them. You’ll remember that the first one was to destroy church and family unity. The second one was to entice us into sin and gain a stronghold on our lives. Today, we will look at the third one: to lead us into false teaching. Remember that truth matters to the Lord, so much so that He has given us HE 4: 12, “The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where the soul and the spirit meet, to where the joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of man’s heart.”
This is one subject with which I have some serious, first-hand experience. It’s important to realize that the letters that Paul wrote to believers in Corinth, in Ephesus, and in Galacia, for example, were borne out of his recognition that these cities were under attack by Satan and his evil angels. The new believers were in danger of being lured into false teaching, a huge challenge to their faith. My reason for truly appreciating just how important Paul’s writing is to each of us is because of what happened to me in my past. You all know that I was raised in traditional Judaism, a faith that was not meeting my needs. I also felt trapped by a first marriage that was never a good match. After fifteen years of misery, I finally got a divorce and was left emotionally and spiritually very needy and vulnerable. It was at that time in my life when I was first exposed to a religion which I now recognize is a cult. At the time, I hadn’t read 1 PET 5: 8-9, “Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Be firm in your faith and resist him, because you know that your fellow believers in all the world are going through the same kind of sufferings.” Emotional and spiritual neediness makes the flesh even weaker than it normally is. MT 26: 41, “Keep watch and pray that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
At that time, members of this cult who were given the specific task of teaching their beliefs and “fellowshipping” new people, surrounded me with the things I thought I needed most-attention and acceptance. Being the student that I am, I read about their beliefs and gradually was sucked into them. There were many things which these “fellowshippers” were careful not to share. Only people who have been members for a long time would have the chance to be exposed to these teachings. They recognized my teaching and leadership skills and put me to work right away. My long-starved ego was being fed, but my spirit was not. Later, I met and married my dear Peter. This organization began putting enormous pressure on me to get him to join. Praise be to God, Peter saw it for what it was. The key problem with Satan’s attack through cults is the removal of Scripture from its original context and its placement in the artificial, man-generated context that is at the cult’s basis. One need only read the accounts of opposition to God’s word by those who practiced the occult in Ephesus from AC 19 to see Satan at work. This is the chapter that contains the stories of the sons of Sceva, a Jewish priest, and of the riot brought about by guild of silversmiths led by Alexander who produced statues of the pagan goddess, Diana.
Lies are lies, no matter what form they take. Christ’s words in MT 7: 15 really nail down on the danger that Satan presents. “Be on your guard against false prophets; they come to you looking like sheep on the outside, but on the inside they are really like wild wolves.” If we ever wonder how to tell who is a real prophet and who is false, the Lord has answered that question in DT 18: 21-22. “You may wonder how you can tell when a prophet’s message does not come from the Lord. If a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and what he says does not come true, then it is not the Lord’s message. That prophet has spoken on his own authority, and you are not to fear [obey] him.” As for me, the Lord brought me to recognition that I was in a cult, and I made the decision to leave it. I praise God for this, because I walked away just before I would have been exposed to the deepest evils of its teachings (about which I later learned). God was taking me on the path to serving Him full time and wanted me to know the danger first-hand of Satan’s enticements and lies, so I could share them with you. I know there are other cults which are even more dangerous than the one to which I belonged. The famous comedian, Steve Allen, ran into one of these when his son, Brian Allen, became a member of one for several years. Eventually, Steve had to “kidnap” his son from the cult and get a deprogrammer to help Brian see that he was being bombarded with Satan’s lies.
We must guard against Satan’s lie that we should have lack of assurance that we are saved. Once we repent of our sins and come to faith, we are, indeed, saved! People who fall into this trap forget what we know from 2 COR 5: 17, “When anyone is joined to Christ, he is a new creation, the old is gone and the new has come.” Never forget that God gives us the discernment from His word, direction through prayer, and the power to overcome any of Satan’s attacks.
PRAYER: O Lord, You give us so many wonderful messages to help us avoid allowing Satan to gain a stronghold in our lives. PR 4: 13-14, “Always remember what you have learned. You education is your life-guard it well. Do not go where evil men go. Do not follow the example of the wicked.” You know that cults often “snap” people, that is find someone who is emotionally and spiritual vulnerable, surround them with attention and acceptance, and entice them to commit quickly to joining the cult. You have allowed some people like me to experience this, finally come to the truth, and share it with others. That is to prevent even more people from the devil’s enticement. We offer You praise for being the always-righteous, ever-wise, and compassionate God that You are. The message of PS 24: 27-31 is branded on our hearts. “All nations will remember the Lord. From every part of the world they will turn to Him; all races will worship Him. The Lord is King, and He rules the nations. All proud men will bow down to Him; all mortal men will bow down before Him. Future generations will serve Him; men will speak of the Lord to the coming generation. People not yet born will be told: ‘The Lord saved His people.’” What comfort that gives us when we realize that all the false teaching and lies that Satan lures mankind to live by will fall away in favor or Your leadership and sovereign reign. You are a just and loving Deity Who teaches us to share Your love of the truth. In PS 50: 15, You have said, “Call to Me when trouble comes; I will save you, and you will praise Me.” We acknowledge Your presence and power to bring us from the depths of the misery that Satan produces in our lives. We pledge to turn to You first for all our needs. In humility, we confess our sins and offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, trust, obedience, glory, honor, praise, and thanksgiving. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow’s message will take up the question: What should we do and what should we know when Satan torments us? I look around me and see so many people whose lives have been reclaimed from misery caused by Satan’s strongholds by faith. How can any of us miss the fact that faith is given to us by our Abba who loves us? What a gift, and it’s not the only one. He sacrificed His Son for us. He gave us the Holy Spirit, so we could understand His word. He gave us a way to remain in constant contact with Him through prayer. He allows the circumstances of our lives to teach us about His ways. He gives us fellow believers to encourage and help us as we deal with the challenges in our lives. He blesses our lives in countless ways every day by the showering upon us of His most excellent grace. He teaches us how to recognize Satan’s attacks and combat them. That is our God, and how can we not adore Him? Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn