1 Timothy 4:1-5
“Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times
some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and
teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are
seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God
created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the
truth. For everything created by
God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,
for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.”
When you see verses like this in the Bible some would say
that the writer is making a prediction on things yet to happen, and that is
very close to the truth, but these are not a guess, they will happen at a remarkable
100%. (Note: This writer believes
we are experiencing that time.) Paul is telling Timothy and us, that in the
future many will be apostates, and just for clarity an apostate is one who has
renounced a belief or commitment. “By devoting themselves to deceitful
spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose
consciences are seared,” they got conned, and it works, that’s
why the devil is referred to by Jesus, as a liar and the father of lies.
Deception is defined as; “the practice of deliberately
making somebody believe things that are not true.” Have you ever heard
someone say if I was the devil, and they go on to make a statement? There is only one small problem with
that thought, the devil is a created being just like you and me, but he has
watched mankind for thousands of years, and he has perfected the art of
deception. He is running a scam on
you this very moment, and when he speaks to you it does not sound like someone
else, it sounds like you.
So how can we know whom is speaking to us? Jesus speaks to this in the gospel of
John chapter 10:1-18, listen to verse 14, “I am the
good shepherd. I know my own and
my own know me.” Bill
Gillham called the voice of the Lord
“Channel 2” and it requires a trained ear to hear the Spirit of God and
His message. Bill also talks about
“Channel 1” it comes with volume, it is at best tuned into the message of this
world’s system, it is controlled by none other than Satan, and its goal is to
deceive. It has a history of
success, and it implies that God does not want the very best for us and it asks
the same question that the devil ask Eve in the garden, “Did God really say?” It loves to tell you that you deserve
better, much better, or it attacks your personal worth, especially after it has
led you into sin.
Let’s tune into channel two and listen to what God has to
say about channel one. Colossians 2:8, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and
vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and
not after Christ.” Many
a Christian no longer goes to church because they put their hearts in the hand
of some person, in all probability a pastor or teacher, and not on Christ. If you are reading this and that is
where you are, you got scammed by tuning to channel one and it’s time to return
to the fellowship of other believers; you are of great value to the kingdom of
our Lord.
If you are a minister of the gospel, be faithful to the
teaching of Scripture and do not be a man pleaser, but follow the counsel found
in 2 Corinthians 4:2 “But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not
walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by
manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man's conscience in
the sight of God.” As
ministers of the gospel to your local church, preach the word, as 2 Timothy 4:2
states, both in season and out of season, reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with
complete patience. Verses 3&4,
“For a time is coming when people will not endure
sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves
teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the
truth and wander off into myths.”
What channel are you tuning into?
From the Back Porch,
Bob Rice
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