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You can download a PDF of this study: The Deception that Devours! – PDF
You can also download and listen to an Audio of this study: The Deception that Devours! – Spotify Podcast
We tend to have the mindset that sin is something that is very easy to distinguish, an act that is purposefully taken in convenience and clarity. And we generally perceive ourselves to be good people who desire good things and make good decisions. However, SIN is devious, it is insidious, it does not come at the time of our strength, but it comes at our lowest and weakest moments to ensnare us. When the Devil tempted the Lord he waited until He was hungry and weak then the devil acted to tempt Him, and when he finished tempting Him the bible says, he went away to await for another opportune moment. An opportune moment such as when the Lord is on His knees faced with the Cup of suffering before Him. Sin is not convenient, it is an opportunist. Peter loved the Lord, and went into the very court of the high priest to be close to the Lord in solidarity, but being alone in the court surrounded by all those that hated the Lord, fear crept in him. And at his very weakest moment, the devil used a lowly servant girl to point at him and simply suggest he might be one of the disciples of the Lord and Peter immediately folded.
David was a man after God’s own heart, one who will do all that God wanted but when he was weak Sin stepped in, and caused him to commit adultery and led him to even commit murder. Each step David took he justified it to himself. He is the King of Israel after all, one the whole nation looks to, how could he be implicated in having an affair with one of his mighty men’s wives, how would that look? So he gave his friend a way of escape in order to hide his own sin, so that both of them could be exonerated and live a happy undiscovered life. What is wrong with that? And when that did not work then David resolved to kill him not by his own hands but as a consequence of his friend’s own profession, as the outcome of war. Sin did not advertise its intent to David from the very beginning when he walked out on his balcony that evening but through David’s own desire it led him to a path of greater and greater folly. I wonder what God would have thought of David, if David said to Nathan, hey what do you expect me to do, the kingdom of Israel is bigger than both of us, I had to do this and would support anyone who is caught in a similar situation to do the same. My Choice saved my life, do you not know the penalty for adultery is DEATH, not to mention the life of Bathsheba and her baby, one life for the life of three that is good wisdom.
But it is David’s readiness to repent and seek forgiveness from God when confronted by the prophet Nathan that distinguished him from Saul and endeared him to God. While Saul went astray being led away by the fear of man, and said to the prophet Samuel that confronted him, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice. Now therefore, please pardon my sin, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord.” 1 Samuel 15:24. Now, Saul may sound sincere in his request for forgiveness but it was empty words. He did not care for the forgiveness of God, he only cared that he did not lose face in the sight of the people. So when Samuel refused declaring the kingdom had departed from him, Saul begged saying, “I have sinned; yet honour me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.” 1 Samuel 15:30. Saul just wanted to GIVE the impression that God was with him, so that he may not lose favour in the sight of man and not God.
Job said, “If I have covered my transgressions as Adam, by hiding my iniquity in my bosom, because I feared the great multitude, and dreaded the contempt of families, so that I kept silence and did not go out of the door—” Job 31:33-34. The devil holds the temporary disappointment and anger of those around us, as a means to fan the flame of our shame so that through the fear of man we would take the route he has always intended for us to take, and says “no one needs to know.” He holds our desires and aspirations and says, “are you going to allow this little thing to be a hindrance to you, you are not as determined to achieve your goals as many supposed.” But his goal has always been that we may take life to save our own. Worst of all, from the height of our success in the accomplishment of our dreams, we could look back and say that blood sacrifice made me all that I am, so now we seek to encourage others to do the same.
Lisa Bevere, a minister of the Gospel, had a dream about women cuddling baby dragons in their bosoms and they were seeking to convince her of the unique value of these dragons. And she was perplexed, how these women could be gently stroking and caring for the very thing that seeks to devour and destroy them, until she grabbed one and broke its neck telling them “he is not your friend.” And she used Revelation 12:4 that states how the devil waited for the woman to give birth so that he might devour her Child, to give meaning to her dream. The point she was making was, the women were oblivious to their enemy who was seeking to devour their own children and were duped into thinking he had their best interest at heart.
We fail to recognise our part in the deeds we commit and seek to resolve the issue that best suits us, in the power of our own might in the perspective of our own life, our dream, and our expectation, and we are lovers of ourselves! God said to Cain when he was distraught and angry “sin is crouching at the door.” Genesis 4:7 Meaning the devil is ready to pile on the pressure to make you do something you know you are conflicted about but by adding one event after another to lead you to a predetermined end and you are oblivious to it. We think all that PERFECT storm just happened at the right moment when things are the least convenient for us, that it was just a coincidence and no planner behind it, how naive we are. Paul said, “We should not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his schemes.” 2 Cor. 2:11. Our part is to recognise the wiles of the devil not justify it, the devil picks those moments precisely because he knows he can tempt and manipulate us, he knows our weakness. God does not tempt anyone as James said, “But a man is tempted, being drawn away and being enticed by the own desire. Then desire having conceived, gives birth to sin; and sin having become fully grown, brings forth death.” James 1:14-15
Everyone has different reasons that affect us and all of us are bewildered at the moment of despair but our trust should always be in God. If we have made a mistake God is willing to forgive us but how are we expecting forgiveness from God when we feel JUSTIFIED in our actions? We are like Cain looking God right in the face saying, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Genesis 4:9 God is this not my choice, do I not have the right to do what I like with my body and pursue my dreams? So, like Saul we do not seek forgiveness from God because we have not accepted we have done anything wrong. And if we do believe what we have done is wrong then how do we advocate for others to make the same mistake as ourselves? It is not Love and it is not forgiveness we seek, since we have achieved our own desire whether God wanted it or not, our thought of Him is an afterthought and inconsequential. David had acted accordingly to the desires and dreams of his kingdom, yet he repented when faced with the enormity of his deed. Derek Prince used to teach from 1 John 1:9 saying, God is not obligated to forgive sins we have not asked His forgiveness for and he was saying this to believers, who are redeemed from the sin of Adam and are walking in Christ as their advocate in heaven. Proverbs says, “He who covers his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy. Happy is the man who is always reverent, but he who hardens his heart will fall into calamity.” Proverbs 28:13-14. In most instances we may readily confess our sin, but the question is do we forsake them?
Acknowledgement of our error is a big part of our healing, it is the moment we recognise we need to take a different course, it is the very meaning of repentance, that is to forsake. However the enemy had successfully duped society so that we have taken the enemy of our souls to our bosoms. There used to be a stigma against abortion, and such a decision bore so much weight but now we encourage people to wear their abortion as a badge of honour and to celebrate it on social media. Please note, this is not to advocate for silent suffering, as Solomon says, “whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy,” and James also says, “confess the sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed.” James 5:16. Sin festers and gains strength in the dark corners of our shame to destroy us, but when we bring it to light its hold is broken and we are healed. The difference between these two approaches is the first seeks to harden us and lead us to calamity, as to wipe our mouth and say, “I have done no wickedness.” Proverbs 30:20 While the other brings mercy from God in recognising our failing resulting in the healing of our Soul.
So in making sin widely publicised and acceptable the devil has managed to leaven the whole society and deadened our conscience. So, we think we are justified in our choices, and in fact we become incensed against God at the thought of asking God for forgiveness. Paul said, “the mind of the flesh is hostility toward God; for it is not subject to the Law of God, for not even can it be.” Romans 8:7 And this mindset is not in the world only but it is even among the Church who see Abortion as a viable solution to achieving their aspirations, dreams and goals. We are expected NOT to be conformed with the world and to be renewed in our minds according to the will of God as Paul says,
“And do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind, for you to prove what is the good and well-pleasing and perfect will of God.” Romans 12:2
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