OF DEMONS, DEVILS AND
FALSE TEACHERS
The King James Bible speaks of the devil sixty-two times,
devils fifty-four time and Satan fifty-two times
1 Timothy 4:1 Now
the Spirit speaketh expressly, (in direct terms) that in the
latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits,
and doctrines (or teachings) of devils;
Paul is saying
here the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last days some will turn away
from what we believe.
They will follow
lying spirits and teachings that came from the doctrines of devils. False
teachers were and are still a threat to the church.
Even today it is
not enough that a teacher, minister or evangelist appears to know what they are
talking about or says she or he is speaking for God.
If their words
contradict what the bible says they are teaching false. These hypocrites, false
teachers are lying spirits that are teaching what come from demons.
We are guided by
Demonic spirits, or we are guided by the Holy Spirit.
The devil
deceives people by offering a clever imitation of the real things of God. Don’t
be impressed with a teacher’s style or credentials, his teaching must line up
with the word of God.
Because we still
live in the flesh we sometimes get weak in our thinking and that is very
fertile ground. It leaves room for the devil to work on our minds.
Eph
4:23-27 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on
the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.
25 Wherefore putting
away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of
another.
26 Be ye angry, and
sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath:
27 Neither give place
to the devil.
Your mind is what you think with,
Your will is what you want,
Your emotions are what you act on.
We need to be careful about what we think, what we want,
and what we act on.
Our old way of life before we got saved should be
completely in the past. We must put on the new nature, go in a new direction
and have a new way of thinking that the Holy Spirit gives us.
Don’t give place to the devil. Why, because it is his goal
to deceive you. It is so important to avoid the worthless deeds of evil and
darkness and stay away from evil influences.
When things don’t work out the way we think they should or
the way we want them to, that is when wrong thoughts start coming into our
minds. That is when we start thinking of things. Satan fights with lies and
sometimes his lies sound like truth.
Satan often attacks our heart, the very center of our
emotions… self worth… and trust. He wants us to think the good news of the
gospel is worthless and hopeless.
Satan wants to make us doubt God. Never doubt in the
enduring power of the heavenly realm.
Did you ever have a bad habit that you actually hated, and
know in your heart that it is wrong? Sinfully wrong. In your heart you would
say, I am never going to do that again.
But as sure as we declare it, this nagging thought would
drive you crazy, and without thinking you would do it again. The temptation was
so strong that you could not stop yourself.
You are not alone, that probably describes a lot of the
population. Bad thoughts lustful thoughts and thoughts of wrong desires only
come from one source, the flesh way of thinking.
We all have areas where temptation is strong and habits are
hard to conquer. These weaknesses give the devil a foothold. We must deal with
our areas of vulnerability.
We still live in the flesh; most people struggle with a
particular sin. The sin is bad enough but the big problem is when we try to
justify it.
1 Peter 5:8 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your
adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may
devour:
Your
adversary, the devil, is always on the prowl, seeking someone to devour. Just
like a real lion who seeks out the young and feeble (the young of spirit and the
weak of spirit) to attack.
John
10:10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I
am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
Who
is the thief? The one who comes to kill, steal and destroy. How does he kill steal
and destroy? He does it by deception, getting you to doubt yourself and God. He
may not physically kill your body, but he does want to kill your spirit, your connection
with God.
This deception does have a good ending,
Jesus says I am come that you might have life and that they might have life
more abundantly.
Yes, you will be tempted, Jesus was
tempted, yes there will be thoughts that come to your mind, some not so good,
some worse.
You need to consider the source; you know
these thoughts are not of God so they must be from the adversary the devil. Or
wrong thinking on your part.
James 4:7
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist
the devil, and he will flee from you.
Resist
the devil and he will run from you. Tell him as Jesus did to get behind you.
Stay
in the word,
Brother
Andy
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