In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the need for believers to take God's Word seriously and not be deceived by the world. He encourages the congregation to rise up and make a difference in people's lives by leading them to Jesus Christ. The preacher highlights the importance of being vigilant and sober, as the devil is constantly seeking to devour believers. He urges everyone to write down 1 Peter 5:8 as a reminder to stay alert and not be deluded by the culture.

We need men that will rise up. We need a Joshua that says, that's for me and my house, I'm going to serve the Lord. We need a Caleb who says, you know what, even though I'm seasoned, even though I'm old in years, I'm going to go and take the land. I see the giants. I see what's going on in the land. Oh, but you don't see how big my God is. I want to see Caleb's rise up from this congregation. I want to see Nehemiah's rise up. Nehemiah's, they've got to stand balance, and Tobiah's all around them. They're saying, you can't, you can't, don't do this, don't do that. And Nehemiah's rise up men from this congregation today, and they say, I'm going to stand for the Lord. And I want to welcome you to another broadcast of This Day in the Word, the radio teaching ministry of This Day Ministries. It's a joy to have you listening today, and our prayer is that you'll be challenged and motivated to live for Christ like never before. Well, I don't know about you, but I need to be fed through scripture today. And so let's go to God's word now, and let's see what he has to say. The reality, because we like to deal in reality, is that we are living in a time in our culture, which I refer to as the great deception. But we are living in a time in our culture in 2012, which is none other than the great deception. You heard that video that we just saw there by casting crowns, and what powerful words those were in that message of that song. I believe there's some real truth to the reality that I believe there are people that are heading to Christ, but they're tripping over us. We're getting in the way with our belly aching, and our initiatives, and our traditions, and we want this, and we want that, and they're so disgusted with it, that no wonder they're at Bedside Baptist visiting Pastor Pillow this morning. Amen? Because they see what it really is about. They see that we've made it about us, and what we want to do, and we want to be comfortable, and we really don't care that there's a lost world. We say there is. We give great lip service as an American church, then, oh, there's a bunch of poor lost people. Isn't that sad? Isn't that a shame? But the reality is they will know us by our fruits, the Scripture says, and the question is are we doing anything to truly impact the world for Jesus Christ? We're living in the great deception. That is a fact. Our world is going down quicker, and quicker, and quicker, and we need to do something. We need to sound the battle cry. We need to join together, not just as this church, but churches all across America to truly join as one body who believe in Jesus Christ and say, as for me and our churches, we are going to serve the Lord. That there's not going to be any more options. There's going to be one option, and that is to serve the Lord, to go make a difference, not to pacify people, not to please man, but to truly please the audience of one, which is God Himself. There's only one opinion that matters, and that's God's opinion. And the American church has been lulled to sleep. We've drifted down this river to nowhere for far too long, and unfortunately, we haven't just drunk the Kool-Aid, we've dove headfirst into the Kool-Aid. The great deception is real. I think of Romans 10, 21. But to Israel, God says, all day long, I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people. That's America right there. All day long, God is stretching out His hands, I believe, to a disobedient and contrary people. Oh, we need to rise up. Something needs to happen. Something needs to happen, so even if we're just one person, we will make that difference in one person's life. That they won't be tripping over us any longer. That they won't be tripping over us, but no, we actually usher them into the presence of Jesus Christ. And so as we look at this text this morning, it's a very simple phrase. Simple. Almost too simple. But my question before I read this phrase is, do we take it seriously? Do we understand the impact of what I'm going to read from God's word that it's going to have on my life and your life, if we don't take it seriously? It's a very simple phrase, and here it is as I read out of the New King James, 1 John 3, 7, just part one. Little children, let no one deceive you. That's it. Little children, let no one deceive you. What is he saying there? Is he saying that don't let, you know, the guy at the lunch table next to you steal your Doritos? I mean, what is he getting at here? What is met here as John is writing in that Gnostic culture, but one that certainly applies to our Gnostic culture today in 2012, and not only Gnosticism, but as we've talked before ad nauseum, about all the isms going on, the universalism, the relativism, the pluralism, add any ism you want, and you've got a recipe for disaster, because it goes against God's word. Anytime we go against God's word, we are destined not only for failure, we are destined to pay a high price, whether it's in this life or we definitely will in the next. I can assure all of us that. I can assure us that. We may think we're getting away with something, no one knows, but I promise you this, on that day, I'm going to give an account, you're going to give an account, and for some of us, that's going to be an uh-oh moment, isn't it? So I guess the question is, do we even care? Does the American church even care anymore? Let no one deceive you. What does that mean to deceive? Well, it's very simple. We want to keep it really compact this morning, and really understand what God's word is saying. Let no one lead you astray. Let no one lead you astray from God's truth. That's literally what that means in the Greek language. Let no one lead you astray, but furthermore, lead you astray from God's truth. We are living in 2012, where there are so many homes and churches of professed, and I put the quotations around that phrase, professed believers, who have actually been duped, who've been hoodwinked, who are really not living for the Lord, but if you ask them if they're a Christian, they would certainly raise not only one hand, they'd raise both hands, both feet, and they would say hallelujah all at the same time, amen? And then you drill down and you ask, well, how do you know you're a Christian? Will I go to church? Fantastic. Are you really saved? Will I give to the church? Praise the Lord. Are you really saved? I've been to church for 47 years. Fantastic. We'll get you a certificate, but the real question is, are you really saved? We've been duped for so long that just showing up and throwing up makes us a Christian, but the reality is, unless we're a bond servant, a sold-out, surrendered disciple of Jesus Christ, we are not saved. We've exchanged the truth of God for a lie, always saying that we're saved. No, what's happened is we've been deceived. We've been led astray. We've been led astray from God's truth, and it's high time that we get back to God's Word. You say, well, how do we do that? Or what's the main problem? Well, I have an opinion on this. Here's my opinion. This is going to make some people really upset, but that's okay, because we're going to speak God's Word. Amen? But my opinion on this matter is simply this. We have been living, and we currently are living in a professed American church culture, a professed believing culture of Jesus Christ that we profess supposedly. We've been living in this culture with a bunch of weak men. I'm not talking physically weak. I'm talking spiritually weak. We've got a culture of men that are professing Christ that are about as spiritual as that plant over there. And no wonder we see the chaos that's going on. We have a culture right now of men that are so asleep at the wheel, they don't know what end is up and what end is down, and I don't really think they even care, to be quite honest with you. We need men to rise up and to be bold for Jesus Christ. We need men to lead their families like they're supposed to be doing. We need men to lead the church like they're supposed to be doing. Not gathering together, arguing over this and that, but no, let's start talking about spiritual matters. Let's start talking about how many people are reaching for Jesus. Let's start talking about who we've ministered to at the workplace and how we've been a witness. Stop the bellyaching, stop the crying. We're going to start issuing pacifiers and binkies if we're not careful here, you know what I mean? We've got a bunch of wah-wahs going on. It's high time we give back to God's Word. We need men to be bold for God's Word. We need men to be bold for God's church. We need men to be bold because what's happening is the men are being deceived and Satan's not stupid, is he? Oh, he's crafty. He knows if he can hit the head of the house, he knows typically the rest of the family will follow. And I'll tell you what, we can all think of examples if we know where he got the dad and the rest of the family, even to this day, is following all the way to that pit. They see what dad's doing. They see how he's asleep at the wheel, how he's not serving the Lord, how he's not being that witness for Christ, how he's living a hypocritical double life, and the rest of the family typically does the same thing that dad does. We got men right now, I believe in 2012, that are really little boys masquerading in grown men bodies. They will put more time into playing video games and doing this and doing that, but they won't sit down with their families and read God's word. We have been deceived. We have been led astray. We have been led astray from God's word, and it's high time that we get men in God's game. It's high time that men realize there is a game going on and to get off the bench, get out of the locker room, and go live for Christ. Men, I'm talking to us. What's God saying to you? Is God right now, men, speaking to you, saying, that's you? You've been asleep with the wheel far too long. You've been deceived. You've been led astray. What's God saying to your heart, men? Is He convicting you right now? I know He's convicted me. I've been greatly convicted since I thought through this. This is one of those that you don't want to impact you. You really don't want to say it, but you got to say it anyway because God's leading to say it, and it's God's truth, and it's God's word. I'm convicted by this because I know there's areas in my life that I got to raise the bar because we don't want to be deceived. We don't want to be hoodwinked. We don't want to be led astray. I guess one of the questions we could ask is, who are we following? And this is not just for men. This is for women and children alike, but who are we following? And then the question is, are we living a life like we're following God? Or are we living a life like we're following self and deceit and lies? God's word is powerful, isn't it? You know, John knows there's evil and deception infiltrating the believers through Gnosticism. And there's really two options, in my opinion, that we have as an American church. Two options in this arena of this great deception we're living in. We can do this. We can either continue. We can continue to sit on our hands and do nothing, men. We can continue that. Or we can rise up and confront it. Now, here's the challenge. When you sit on your hands and do nothing and just let things go along so we pacify everyone to make sure everyone's okay, when we do that, God's church and God's family becomes weaker and weaker and weaker and weaker. When we stand for God's truth, oh, it gets stronger and stronger and stronger. However, there's gonna be pain in the offering. Because you may stand alone, man. You may literally have to stand alone at work. You may literally have to stand alone in your family. You may have to say, you know what, we're going to church. At 1045, at 930 on Sundays, we are at church. This isn't an option. This is just what you do. So I guess the question is, are we willing to confront it? Are we willing to be bold? One of the greatest tools the evil one uses with deceit is he uses that form of gossip that we've been talking about and he gets people talking, right? He gets the lips start smacking. Here they go. You know, here we go. They're just talking, right? And half the time, none of it's even true. It's a partial truth, a half truth, but we're spreading this gossip from this person to that person, from this person to this person. And in the meantime, there is carnage all along the way. And what it does then, and it takes the people that really want to serve the Lord, now they're spending all their time cleaning up the mess when they could be focused on telling people about Jesus. You are listening to This Day in the Word, the radio teaching ministry of This Day Ministries. Please make a note that all of these broadcasts are archived and are free to download at thisdayministries.org. Let's now go back to the second part of this message and let's see what God's Word has to say. We are living in the great deception. And I guess the question is, are we being deceived? Ask yourself that question. Because typically, this is the way it works. You get one person who is deceived and he wants to recruit minions to go along with him. And we start listening and we really don't know what's true because there's always two sides of the story, amen? Always, I promise you that, always. And what happens is we get deceived and we get drugged down. And I'm telling you what, if we are not careful, please listen to me. If we are not careful, we will destroy people in this life. We will destroy them. With our words of venom and our gossip and our hate, people will trip over us as they're trying to get to Jesus and they'll finally throw on the towel and say, enough of that garbage. We are living in an age of deception. But let me promise you this, this is nothing new. You go, what do you mean? Well, look at God's Word. Just listen to this. I don't want anyone turning to these scriptures. I want you looking up here at the pulpit, okay? Listen to these scriptures. This is nothing new. Listen to this. Here it is, ready? Genesis 3, 13. And the Lord God said to the woman, what is it that you have done? The woman said, the serpent has deceived me or led me astray. Obadiah 1, 3. The pride of your heart has deceived you or led you astray. Luke 21, 8. And he said, Jesus, take heed that you will not be deceived or led astray for many will come in my name saying, I am he and the time is drawn near. Therefore, do not go after them. First Corinthians 6, 9 through 10. Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived or led astray. Neither fornicators nor adulterers nor adulterers nor homosexuals nor sodomites nor thieves nor covetousness nor drunkards nor revelers nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. Second Corinthians 3, 1. But I fear lest somehow as the serpent deceived or led astray Eve by his craftiness so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. Second Timothy 3, 13. But evil men don't miss this one and impostors will grow worse and worse deceiving literally leading astray but also themselves being deceived and led astray. For Damas says here in Second Timothy 4, 10 has forsaken me. Why did he forsake Timothy? Because he loved the present world. Oh, he was deceived. He was hoodwinked. He was duped. Third John 1, 9. I wrote to the church but the atrophist who loves to have the preeminence among them does not receive. What is preeminence? Oh, he won in first place. All about him. It was showboating time, wasn't it? It was prop myself up time. He was deceived. The atrophist was. And lastly, Second Timothy 3, 1-5. But know this that in the last days perilous times will come for men will be lovers of themselves. That sounds like our culture, doesn't it? We love us, don't we? Lovers of money. Boasters. Proud. Blasphemers. Disobedience to parents. Unthankful. Unholy. Unloving. Unforgiving. Slanderers. Without self-control. Brutal. Despisers of good. Traitors. Headstrong. Haughty. Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. Having a form of godliness but denying its power. And here it is. And from such people turn away. Your mom ever tell you be careful who you hang out with. Anyone's mom ever told them that? Why don't we apply that principle to us as we get older? I mean, you hang around garbage long enough and you're gonna start smelling like the garbage. I mean, you can hang around professed people who all they do is gossip and slander and talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk, talk. And I promise you this. It will drag you down. As you bite into that apple as they have been deceived now you're deceived. And from such people turn away. My encouragement to you from God's word this morning. If you're hanging out in the trash pit get out of the trash pit. Oh, we're gonna rise up. We need men that will rise up. We need a Joshua that says that's for me and my house. I'm gonna serve the Lord. We need a Caleb who says you know what? Even though I'm seasoned even though I'm old in years I'm gonna go and take the land. I see the giants. I see what's going on in the land. Oh, but you don't see how big my God is. I wanna see Caleb's rise up from this congregation. I wanna see Nehemiah's rise up. Nehemiah's, they got Sanballas and Tobias all around them who are saying you can't, you can't. Don't do this, don't do that. And Nehemiah's rise up from this congregation today and they say I'm gonna stand for the Lord. No, rise up. Since God is for you, man who can be against you? Greater is He that's in you, man than He that is in the world. We need men to grow up and be men. It's gonna hurt though, isn't it? Because there's something inside just that craves it, doesn't it? Here's what, I love what this says here, Andrew Storm. Many deceptions only appeal to us because there is something inside us that wants to believe them. They are seductive because of the darkness and the wrong motives in our own lives. We must search our hearts and root them out. We must mortify this desire to be deceived and to live in the gossip mill. Oh, we gotta root it out. You know what we need to start doing? Men and women, that when the gossip starts happening, we are bold enough to grow a backbone and say, knock it off. I love what Ed Litton says there in our men's conference. He says, every pastor should have a group of men that they meet the troublemakers in the parking lot and they say, knock it off. You wanna talk about a church that's gonna do something for Jesus? That's a church that's gonna do something for Jesus. But what do we do in the American church? We don't wanna confront you because we don't want you to be unhappy. No, no, no, no. We don't care about you being happy. We care about you having an intimate relationship with Jesus and living a life that backs that up. So what do we do? You say, I hear ya. What do we do? Well, here's what we do. Number one, every one of us right now write down 1 Peter 5.8. Every one of us right now write down 1 Peter 5.8. Grab some nail polish or super glue or whatever you got in your purse and write down 1 Peter 5.8. You go, what's so important about 1 Peter 5.8? Well, it gives us great biblical instruction on what we are to do because the reality is we live in a culture that's deceived and so that we gotta be in the world but not of it. We gotta function we gotta live in this but we have to do something that says, you know what? I'm gonna live in the world I'm gonna minister in the world but I'm not going to be deluded by the world. See, unfortunately what happens is we're in here well, depending on how long the preacher goes I know sometimes that can be long but oh well. But anyway, so we can be here let's say for 40 minutes some mornings on a Sunday morning listening to God's word. Do you understand that we are so diluted by the junk in the world the rest of the week that this is like detox time. And so what do we do? Do we continue to sit on our hands? Or do we finally grow that backbone and rise up and say I'm gonna pull a 1 Peter 5 verse 8 I'm gonna be sober I'm gonna be vigilant for I know that the devil my adversary he prowls around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour. In other words, what's saying there in John's speak get your head out of the sand we can no longer afford just to sit back and play church we need bold men and women that have had enough and they say we are gonna go down swinging we're swinging for the fence and if we strike out praise be to God but we're swinging for the fence business is not gonna be usual anymore we need men and women that say I'm not gonna allow it to go on just because there's been sin in church for year after year after year I'm gonna be one that leads the charge and start confronting it I'm gonna say I'm not gonna allow this to happen I'm gonna defend my church people and the second thing as I've already alluded to is be willing to grow that backbone you say well if I confront so and so and I know they're gossiping and I know they're spreading half truths and half lies they're gonna think something bad of me that's okay when Jesus hung on the cross and did the right thing a lot of people thought bad things about Him we need to understand that the price He paid and the price that we're gonna pay isn't even on the same plane we're not even in the same game so to speak as far as the playing field Jesus was butchered and executed in that cruel Roman cross chances are that's not gonna happen to you but you may need to grow that backbone and stand up and say I know you've been here 37 years but knock it off so I guess the question here is are we willing to be bold A.W. Pink says it this way thousands are deceived into supposing that they have accepted Christ as their personal savior but they have not actually received Him first as their Lord as Christ has a gospel Satan has a gospel too the latter being a clever counterfeit to the former so closely does the gospel of Satan resemble that which it parades multitudes of the unsaved are deceived by it wow that wasn't written yesterday that was written a while ago by A.W. Pink but he was dead on see unfortunately we have so many that have this false security and the reason they have false security is that they have a false conversion Matthew 7, 13-14 narrow is the way that leads to light it's a narrow brutal intense path only few will find it but wide is the gate wide, it is wide and droves are going in to destruction verse 16 you will know them by their fruits and what are their fruits it's what's in their heart amen we need today not tomorrow not next week but today we need people from this church Manhattan Baptist Church to grow up and get a backbone and let's go out and take South Tampa for Jesus Christ you have been listening to This Day in the Word the radio teaching ministry of This Day Ministries these messages are recorded at Manhattan Baptist Church in Tampa, Florida each week we hear from listeners who are being blessed by the teaching of God's word and we would love to hear from you as well you can email us at info at thisdayministries.org or you can write us at This Day Ministries P.O. Box 7267 Brandon, Florida 33508 thanks again for tuning in let's all go out intentionally and urgently this day and let's go make a difference for Jesus Christ