Watch Out!

Matthew 6:¹² “Then at last they understood that he wasn’t speaking about the yeast in bread, but about the deceptive teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” (emphasis added).

Remember, a bait is not effective if it is obvious to the prey that it is a bait. The Bible says in Proverbs 1:¹⁷ “If a bird sees a trap being set, it knows to stay away.” If you just put a hook in water and you are trying to catch a fish, no fish is going to bite on that cold iron hook. No fish is going to see the cold iron hook and use it to pick its teeth. Similarly, if you put raw poison on the ground, no rat is going to eat it. But if you mix the poison with nice chicken for the rat or bait the fish with a nice worm, then they can bite it. It is the deception that empowers the bait. The more experienced fish says to the younger fish, “I have seen that thing before. Your uncle ate one of those things, and he is no more. He landed in pepper soup, so do not eat it!” But the younger fish says, “What are you talking about? I know what I have seen, I know what it is. This is a nice meal for me. You are just trying to prevent me from enjoying it, jealous fish. It is because I found the meal before you”.

The inexperienced rat says to the more experienced rat, “But I can see the meat. I know what I am talking about.” Meanwhile, it doesn’t change the fact that it is destructive. The power of baiting is in the deception thereof. My advice is, even when you think you are sure, step back and ask the Lord. Even when you think you are sure, it may just be a bait. The baits that the Lord wants to deliver us from and has been delivering us from are short sentences, nice phrases, and things that you can easily overlook. And Jesus is saying be careful of the bait because all the rat can do is not eat the bait. The rat cannot prevent the poison from working once it eats the bait. All the fish can do is not bite on that bait. The fish cannot stop the hook from lodging once it bites on the bait. We often think that we can bite on any bait, but we cannot. Jesus is warning you, as He did the disciples, be careful, don’t bite that bait.

The fourth bait that you must not bite is the People Like Me Don’t… Bait. Do not ever look at yourself and conclude that people like you don’t… Someone said to me, “Pastor, people like me don’t drive brand new cars.” “What did you say?” I asked, amazed. And he said, “I am grateful, Pastor, my dad never had a car. I am the only person in my family who has bought a car. So, a fairly used car is fine.” And I said to him, “In the Name of Jesus, you will break that ceiling and you will buy a brand-new car.” People like me don’t live in that kind of estate. People like me don’t get visas. People like me don’t… You can fill in the blanks. It is a lie. Don’t bite it!

Prayer: Father, in the Name of Jesus, I will fulfil all that You have written about me. Amen!