22 Principle 18 - The Satanic Counterfeit

Principle 18 The Satanic Counterfeit Though God is always working in different ways and with different means, it is still only by the Spirit of God that the Church will grow. Over the past 50 years, particularly originating in Western countries, there have been such excesses and abuses of what is considered Spirit-filled Christianity that many true believers have been repulsed completely from even seeking the Lord for the true filling of the Spirit. This is not only a tragedy, but one of Satan's tactics to hinder the growth of the true Church of Jesus Christ. The genuine believer should never feel scared to call out to God for fresh infusions of the Spirit of God for service, and to foster a dependence on the Holy Spirit of God daily . We have to remember that Satan is the father of lies. He is a murderer from the beginning and dwells in falsehood. He never wants the glory to go to Jesus Christ, but rather twists the truth and deceives those in the Lord's work to take glory to themselves. He is also the master counterfeiter who has been deceiving God's people since the beginning. He spoke to Eve and deceived her by twisting the truth of God, saying, Has God indeed said? Such twisting of the truth is his normal activity. Since the earliest days of the apostles, even with our Lord Himself there were deceivers and false brethren present, those who secretly came into God's flock for personal gain and to infiltrate the liberty of the believers. Betrayers, deceivers, false brethren, false prophets, and those desiring preeminence among the saints. We must have a strong trust in the Lord to see these individuals purged away from the flock of God as believers meet in gatherings under the headship of Jesus Christ. One key to understand is that if the Spirit of God is working in a meeting, then Jesus Christ will be glorified. If men, manifestations, and even the Holy Spirit Himself is glorified, then you can start to know that this is not a pure work of the Lord. A brother said this same truth in this way. Any spirit that focuses on the Holy Spirit and glorifies the Holy Spirit is not the Holy Spirit. It is contrary to His whole nature and purpose. Once you grasp that truth, it will open your eyes to many things which are going on in the church that are otherwise difficult to understand. The Scripture states, He shall not speak of Himself. Those that worship, honor, and glorify the Holy Spirit more than Jesus Christ are not led by the Holy Spirit to do that. The Holy Spirit will always honor Jesus Christ. Thus, the true working of the Spirit can be distinguished in measure. There are multitudes of false teachers who speak words without life. They make a show with many great swelling words that will never produce spiritual fruit in the hearers. Brothers and sisters, we are in the last days and perilous times are upon us. Deception is rampant in the church itself with many false ministers who are angels of light. Many famous preachers call themselves by His name, but they do not know Him. And what about the Cancer of the Prosperity Gospel? Worshippers of the gold and the treasures of this world? What does Paul say about such men? He says that they are men of corrupt minds, reprobate concerning the faith. Sadly, many follow these teachers and are embracing a strong delusion. We must stand fast amidst this great deception. God brings judgment and expresses His displeasure over those who disobey, even while deceived by Satan. As a church, we must be on guard from this deception so that we will not be deceived by the evil one, but rather follow the simplicity of truth and obedience found in Jesus Christ and His glorious gospel. As we are in the end times, there will be an influx of those in the church teaching doctrines of demons to deceive even the elect of God. There will be many false teachers who claim to be of the truth, but are not. Perhaps one of the most dangerous weapons against the church is not persecution, but apathy and deception. At times, the deception in teaching is not obvious, but in character it becomes more obvious. Does the minister live like Christ, or is he full of greed, selfishness, self-exaltation, soulish, and carnal? The opposite of Christ is called the Antichrist in the New Testament. If Christians do not see this clearly, then when the Antichrist turns up on the world stage with his false signs and wonders, they too will blindly accept him. A brother from the past century said of this demonic counterfeit, When Satan gets into the pulpit or the theological chair and pretends to teach Christianity, when in reality he is corrupting it, pretends to be teaching Christian evidences, when in reality he is undermining the very foundation of faith, then look out for him. He is at his most dangerous work. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, but where religious flesh is, we can almost always find evil spirits parading as anointed vessels. Without keen discernment, we will be taken in by one with a false anointing. The devil's servants know how to act and talk like the Lord's servants, but they are counterfeit and we must learn to recognize them by their fruit. They are all around us and will continue to increase in number as the coming of the Lord draws near. We must be on guard against Satan's co-workers who appear to have a form of godliness, who seem impressive with a show of power but are devoid of the truth. We must be on guard against Satan as he can transform himself into an angel of light to deceive us. This calls for a need of discernment in the body of Christ, especially as it relates to the end times. As we near the end of the age, there will be many false prophets and teachers using supernatural miracles and healing to deceive even God's elect. Our prayer must always be for discernment and a love of the truth as we near the coming of our Lord and as we gather under the headship of Jesus Christ.