The spiritual deception of mankind is the direct result of rejecting readily available and reliable truth. Go ahead and read that again. ?
God does not try to hide the truth. It’s available to us all. The question is, are we going to be lovers of it ? Are we going to pursue the truth like it’s our passionate lover that we long to be with, and cannot live without ? When we reject the truth, we make ourselves vulnerable to the lies of the enemy. Jesus is the Truth. (John 14:6)
Deception is deeper than merely being tricked or lied to. We choose what we want to believe. Jesus addressed this fact in Luke 16:31, “If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.”
John 12:37 says, “Though He had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in Him.”
Unbelief is a willful act. The result of rejecting the truth is bondage, because a person has come into agreement with the lie. Somewhere in their life, there came a bitter root judgment (Hebrews 12:14-15 explains this, and verses 1-13 express how our Great Teacher, Jesus handled Himself with endurance) Please pause and read the scripture reference.
When people come into agreement with a lie, they also begin to make inner vows, declaring that they will or will not allow something, or will or will not do this or that. They become reliant on their own wisdom and preservation. It may seem wise as a means to protect themselves, but who are they relying on then ?
In Jeremiah 17:5, we can see what God says about this:
“Thus says the Lord, ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the Lord.” Then we see a response of rejection to God’s warning of truth through His prophet Jeremiah in 18:11-12, “And they said, ‘That is hopeless ! So we will walk according to our own plans, and we will every one obey the dictates of his evil heart.” Again in Jeremiah 23:16-40, we see what God’s judgment will be for those who pervert the words of the living God; the false prophets and priests. Again, please pause and read the scripture references. His authority is in His word.
Here’s an example of an inner vow that is trying to determine how to respond to a bitter root: “This person hurt me, and I’m going to do everything I can to keep myself from getting hurt again.” The bitter root is the pain of what the person did; and then that pain came to our heart’s door, and we accepted it, instead of recognizing the truth, and rejecting the lie.
When we receive what is not true according to what God’s word says, it affects how we respond to all circumstances and relationships. It affects how we will receive or reject what is actually true. Bitter roots produce bitter fruit.
Let’s take a look at Eve, in the garden. God had given to Adam and Eve, the truth. She knew the truth, but Satan came to question the truth by saying, “Did God really say…?”
She knew what to do and not do, but Satan came to tempt her with something that looked pleasing to the eye and appeared to be good. She told Satan what God had said. Yet it seemed like there was more to gain by believing Satan. Therefore she chose to disobey what God had said. Then she went a step further when God confronted her, and she blamed her decision on Satan. It’s true that Satan lied to her and was deceiving. But she chose to believe the lie. The truth is that we always have a choice in the matter. We exercise our God given will to make choices. If God had not placed the forbidden fruit in the garden, we would not have been given our free will. But because God wanted to give us the ability to choose whether to believe and obey Him, He allowed the tree to be there. His love for us allows us to choose whether we will love Him back in the same way. A dictator would not give us the choice. God gave Jesus a will. Remember in the garden of Gethsemane that He said, “Nevertheless, not My will, but Yours be done.”
God allows the consequences of our choices to come about in order to point us to the truth. Our desires for self satisfaction make Satan’s deception more powerful.
Roman’s 1:18-2:29 is a powerful discourse about God’s righteous judgment concerning those who reject the truth. It begins by saying, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.” Please take time to read and reflect on it.
1 Corinthians 10:13 is a beautiful promise of hope and help in times of temptation to believe the lies. “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation, He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” He does not cause the temptations, but He does allow them to come. Jesus was tempted as we are in all points. (Hebrews 4:14-16)
I want you to see something amazing now, about how God uses everything for His own purposes, even a lying spirit !
We go to the story of King Ahab. First we look at what God had to say about this king in 1 Kings 16:33 “And Ahab made a wooden image. Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than ALL the kings of Israel who were before him.” The prophet Elijah was present during Ahab’s reign, and served God as His voice of truth. If you read the entire story about Ahab, you will see
time after time when God brought the truth to him, and how he chose each time to reject it. As a matter of fact, he hated Elijah for always telling him the truth. So when we read on to find that God finally brought a death sentence upon Ahab, we can clearly see all the opportunities God had given him to repent and change his ways, prior to His judgement. Ahab by no means was a lover of the truth, nor did he have any fear of God whatsoever. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. (Proverbs 9:10)
Micaiah was another prophet who God used to speak truth to Ahab. He told of God’s judgment that would come upon Ahab, in 1 Kings 20:42, and 21:19. Please read these passages.
Then it gets very interesting, because we’re given a glimpse into the spirit realm through Micaiah in 1 Kings 22:19, “Then Micaiah said, ‘Therefore hear the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on His throne, and all the host of heaven standing by, on His right hand and on His left. And the Lord said, ‘Who will persuade Ahab to go up, that he may fall at Ramoth Gilead ?’ So one spoke in this manner and another spoke in that manner. Then a spirit came forward and stood before the Lord and said, ‘I will persuade him.’ And the Lord said, ‘In what way ?’ So he said, ‘I will go out and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ And the Lord said, ‘You shall persuade him, and also prevail. Go out and do so !” Verse 23 continues saying, “Therefore look ! The Lord has put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these prophets of yours, and the Lord has declared disaster against you.” Now notice what happens to God’s messenger of truth !
“Now Zedekiah (a false prophet) went near and struck Micaiah on the cheek, and said, ‘ Which way did the Spirit from the Lord go from me to speak to you ?’ And Micaiah said, ‘Indeed, you shall see on that day when you go into an inner chamber to hide.”
Ahab’s response to all this warning was in verse 27 when he ordered Micaiah to be put in prison and given the bread and water of affliction. Micaiah said in verse 28, “If you ever return in peace, the Lord has not spoken by me. Take heed all you people !”
Ahab thought he could disguise himself in going out to battle, but God used a random bow drawn by a man who we don’t have a name for, (verse 34) and Ahab is struck down. I advise you to read the entire chapter of 1 Kings 22, for the clearest picture of these events.
The prophecy was fulfilled, regardless of whether or not Ahab believed it or not. God is not a man that He should lie. He is sovereign; His judgments are all together pure and righteous. He will use whatever means necessary to achieve His divine purpose.
We even see in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12, that in the latter days before His return, “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
So when He came to earth as Emmanuel, (God with us) He spoke in parables; not because He desired to withhold truth; He is the Truth. It’s because He wants us to seek the Truth with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength; just as we would in pursuing our first love. He desires that we would cherish the hidden treasures we find, given to us by the Lover of our souls, and refuse to let the enemy take them from us, by exchanging them for his lies. When we search for the hidden mysteries of God, it shows the posture of our hearts; how deep we really want to go in intimacy with Him, and how determined we are to keep ourselves there with Him. We will always be making choices. He’s looking for those who will not be satisfied with the surface of the waters, but those who want to go out into the deep, in over our heads, to the rivers of living water. Read Ezekiel 47:1-12.
In finding out just who our Great Teacher is and how to imitate Him, we can look at the posture of another man who God used in the New Testament. We move to 1 Corinthians 1:26-2:5. Here Paul speaks to this revelation of how God works in and through us as His vessels; to bring the gospel to those God allows us to minister to. This passage answers the question about what kind of “teachers” the Lord is desiring to use, for His gospel of truth. The ones who are lovers of His truth will be allowed to go deeper. Jump in the river and enjoy unpacking His Word ! We have His truth to tell to the nations !