Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God. Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve. Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him. (Matthew 4:5-11)
In the above scriptures, we see that Jesus had spiritual encounters that were from the devil. He was set on the pinnacle of the Temple and told to jump. He was shown all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and was told to worship the devil, and He could have them. These were spiritual encounters from Satan. Both experiences were given to, hopefully, seduce and deceive Jesus Christ, the Son of God. If the devil used supernatural encounters against Jesus, you should know he will attempt to do the same thing in your life. Do not be deceived.
Sometimes, I have to remind myself that not every Christian or minister is deceived by the devil, as it sometimes seems. Elijah thought he was the only one not deceived.
What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.
Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.(1 Kings 19:9b, 10, 18)
You see from the previous scriptures, Elijah thought he was the only one serving God. The Lord revealed to him that seven thousand had not bowed to Baal and kissed the statue. It was customary to kiss the statue of Baal when worshiping it. About ninety-nine percent of the people had bowed and worshipped Baal. When the Lord said seven thousand had not bowed to Baal, He meant exactly that, so about 99% of the people of Israel worshipped Baal.
Could it be possible, that 99% of the church is worshipping Baal today? Cultural trends and fads of society have permeated the church instead of sound Bible doctrine. That is worshiping the Baal of this world. God is calling His people to repent!
Today Christians, ministers, and pastors are building their lives, churches, and ministries on what the world says, rather on what God says. I am amazed by this! TedTalks, psychology, social clubs, and business strategies have taken the place of seeking the Holy Ghost. Cultural fads of society have been embraced and made the church weak. Demonic activity is running rampant in the nation because of the failure of God’s people to follow the plan of God. The direct result of this is exactly why we have the political, social, spiritual, financial and health instability today.
Just because someone has a vision, that does not mean it is from God. I am also not moved by these “super apostles and prophets,” to borrow Paul’s words. Many of them have missed it so much you can hardly believe anything they say. Some are yielding to familiar spirits and they are built up and promoted right on international Christian TV, even by faith people. It is a disgrace to the church and it is a joke. Take heed, someone that tells you they travel back and forth to heaven like you go to the gas station is deceived. They are yielding to a seducing spirit and are having demonic spiritual experiences. The devil gave Jesus Christ a vision didn’t he? Yes, he did. Read your Bible and quit listening to these deceived people. You will become just as deceived as they are, if you listen to them long enough.
Don’t follow after ministers or prophets. You follow after the Word of God and the Holy Ghost. When we become acquainted with God, we will recognized when something is not of Him, even if it’s coming out of a well respected minister. Get more acquainted with God than you are with the world. God is with us!
