Don’t Be Deceived II

“So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding” Col.1:9

It is dangerous to depend on visions or revelations to confirm who you are in Christ Jesus. Someone can speak to you about a dream or a vision but it should align with what God is telling you, or what you know God will have you do in accordance with His Word. It shouldn’t mystify or intimidate you. It shouldn’t make you want to add anything to Jesus. For instance, people start visiting a certain man because he sees visions for them. This same man has been seeing visions for many people but his own life is not going anywhere. Solomon said, I’ve seen an anomaly in this world where princes are walking and ordinary people are riding horses [Ecc.10:7]. It is the lie of the enemy; his plan is to rob us of our priestly inheritance where we should be the ones expanding the Kingdom of God. We have to know who we are as Christians. God has called us kings and priests [Rev.1:6].

Asceticism means giving up a right or responsibility. Let me explain- it is your right to be wealthy as a child of God because Jesus said that He was made poor so that we could be made rich. It is your right to be healthy as a child of God because Jesus says that healing is the children’s bread. But some people feel when they are afflicted it is for righteousness sake. For instance, when they are sick, they will bear this illness in their body because it makes them holier. If they are in pain, then they are suffering for God. Jesus has done it all so don’t subject yourself to further suffering. “But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.
He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed” Isa.53:5. Enjoy the abundance of the Lord.

The story is told of a preacher who was invited to Hollywood to share the gospel with some actors and actresses. When he saw the smoking and drinking crowd he was not sure if he was in the right place. But he checked and this was the right crowd. So he went up and spoke about Jesus for about 30 – 45 minutes and made an altar call. A young Muslim from India stepped forward and accepted Jesus. The Indian was extremely excited about having Jesus and said, “Do, you know what this means?” The preacher said, “No tell me”. He said, “This means I now have two gods; I have Mohammed and Jesus Christ”. It’s funny but that is really what a lot of us do when we do not live our lives on the sufficiency of Christ. When we allow ourselves to be swayed and confused by the opinions of men and by the doctrines of devils, which was what was happening to the Colossians.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, I ask that You will reveal Jesus to me and give me knowledge, discernment and understanding in spiritual things, in Jesus Name.