Understanding how the devil operates and deceives us is important. If the church yields to the devil a little bit now, it will yield to him more later. Small sins, that seem innocent now, will cause more tolerance for bigger sins of the world later. Every worldly thing, approved and tolerated by the church, moves people further away from God and closer to the devil. That’s exactly what the Apostle Paul was telling Timothy.
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; – 1 Timothy 4:1 KJV
If you go and study this scripture out, you’ll find that the meaning of “depart from the faith” is actually “a slow turning away” and it’s almost unnoticeable it’s so slow. Imagine you’re going to fly from New York City all the way to Los Angeles, CA. You set your course before you take off and in a few hours, you’re planning on being at LAX airport. If you get off just a few inches though, you won’t notice any change in course. However, when it comes time for your arrival time, you’ll look down and you won’t see LAX. You may find out that the only land underneath you is Mexico! It’s a whole different country. That’s how far you can get off just by being off course a little bit. That’s why we have to be so careful what we allow in our lives.
Today we live in a world where what is right to me, may not be right to you, but you should respect that and learn to deal with it. In other words, what’s up is down and what’s down is now up. That’s what the world is saying and it’s creeping into the church.
This tolerant gospel of not hurting anyone’s feelings in the church, is of demonic origin. Today, many churches put up with all kinds of demonic lifestyles and actions because they are more concerned about hurting someone’s feelings and losing people from their congregation. You must rebuke the devil when you recognize him in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. If you don’t, evil spirits will begin to dominate the entire church. If you tolerate just a little false doctrine, it opens the door to more false doctrine. If you buddy up with the devil and tolerate him, it opens the door for more devils to come in. There is absolute wrong and absolute right and we must know the difference by God’s Word and deal with it.
Churches are so afraid of offending and running off people that they will tolerate the lies and deceptions of the devil. This is why people can’t wait for the dead, dry church service to be over so they can get out of there. The atmosphere is heavy and full with the tolerance of people’s feelings, devils, irreverence for God and disrespect of His Word. My Lord! I would want out of there too!
Instead of being so concerned with offending people, why don’t we be concerned with offending God? Why doesn’t the church arise and be the church of the Lord Jesus Christ? Why are we more concerned with what man will do to us instead of what God will do to us? People are searching for things to satisfy their hunger and they won’t find it from a candy bar! They’re not going to find it in a church that is being manipulated and deceived by false doctrines and devils. They’re not going to find it in a church that is more concerned about people’s feelings than about God’s feelings. They desire to find peace inside. They are looking for comfort and seeking real love – the kind that will tell someone when they are wrong. What they desire and crave is something that only a relationship with Jesus can satisfy! We have to start telling people the truth instead of giving them sugary, chocolate coated lies. We have to get the devil out of the church! Don’t let people warm the church pew and go to hell! Be bold in Christ and tell them the truth! God is with us!
