Overcomers Will Reign In Christ - Part 3

In other words, we're not going to have an easy time in this world if we are Christians. If you went to the 1st century Christians, who were being persecuted and chased in 2nd, 3rd century particularly, running from cave to cave, wholehearted disciples, people whose relatives were being killed because they believed in Jesus and they wouldn't say that Caesar is Lord and they were being killed. And you went and told them, Hey, you know, you got to just trust the Lord, man. You'll be prosperous and you'll be living in a big house. You won't be running from cave to cave. They'd have straightaway called you a false prophet. But today nobody calls such people false prophets. You know why? Because we love to hear that message that in the world you will have prosperity. And when we love to hear something which is contrary to what Jesus taught, God himself will allow you to be deceived. Because you don't love the truth. See, it says that in 2nd Thessalonians in chapter 2. I believe this is, I've often said that, one of the most frightening verses in the whole Bible. Because we've spoken about deception. And the Bible says in Ephesians 4, I think it's verse 22, that our lusts are deceitful. And it says in Jeremiah 17, that our heart is deceitful. It says in Revelation 12, verse 9 to 11, that Satan is a deceiver. Do you get it now? Satan is a deceiver. The lusts in our flesh are deceitful. And our heart is deceitful. Above all things. You know, our only hope against the deception of our lusts and the deception of the devil and the deception of our heart is if God gives us light. Then none of these things, we won't be deceived by any of them. But if God himself also deceives us, then there's no hope at all. That's why I say this is a terrifying verse. This is the one verse in scripture where it says God will deceive certain people. It says here in 2nd Thessalonians 2, verse 11, For this reason, God will send upon them a deceiving influence. You can look it up in any translation. That's exactly what it says. God will send a deceiving, deluding influence on people so that they believe what is false. Imagine God making people believe what is false so that they will be judged. Now for this reason, when you read a word like for this reason, I really want to know why is God, what is the reason why God allows people to be deceived? And that's in the previous verse. They did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved from sin. It's not because they didn't get healed of their diseases. It's not because they didn't become prosperous. It's because they didn't want to be saved from their sins. Thou shalt call His name Jesus, first promise in the New Testament, because He shall save His people from their sins. He didn't come to make us rich. He didn't come to make us healthy. He came to make us holy. He came to save us from our sins. And when people don't want to be saved from their sins, God will allow them to believe what is false. And look at the millions who are believing that. Look at the millions today who don't want to be saved from sin, who want to be rich, who want some gift of the Holy Spirit, who want to speak in tongues, who want to fall down when somebody lays hands on them, all types of things today. But how many of them want to be saved from their sins? And when we don't want to be saved from our sins, look what happens. God allows them to believe what is false. And it says here about receiving the love of the truth. There are two types of truth. One is the truth in the Bible. God's word says, sanctify them. Jesus said in John 17, Father, sanctify them through the truth. Thy word is truth. And the other is the truth about ourselves. The Holy Spirit is called the spirit of truth. Jesus said, when the spirit of truth is come, John 16, He will lead you into all the truth. Let's look at that verse. John's gospel. He's called the spirit of truth. And it says here in John 15 and verse 26, When the helper comes, whom I will send to you, that is the spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father. And He's gonna come and convict the world of sin, etc. And He will lead you into all the truth. That's also in one of those chapters it says. Now what is all the truth that the Holy Spirit is gonna lead us into? First of all, all of the truth of God in His word. I don't mean truth about whether Christ is gonna come before the tribulation or after the tribulation. That's also truth, but that's not as important truth as the truth that helps us to be saved from sin. Or the truth about whether healing is for today or whether all speak in tongues. Those are also truths, but they're not as important as the truth that saves us from sin. So there in 2 Thessalonians 2 it says, They didn't receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. Some of these other doctrines, whether women should cover their heads or men should not cover their heads or whether women should wear ornaments or not and whether we should have, wear dresses as pastors or be called pastors or bishops. Well, those are not major truths. We're talking about the truth that leads us to salvation. There are many, many truths in Scripture, but here it's talking about the truth that leads us to salvation, to be saved from sin. The spirit of truth will lead us into all the truth. In other words, it's possible for us to be saved from every known sin. Now I may know only 10% of my life, but in that 10% I'm to be totally saved. The other 90%, as little by little as God gives light, I can be saved, but I can't be saved until I get light on something. But the point is this, the truth of Scripture and the truth concerning myself. Now if I don't receive the love of the truth, for example, in some particular situation, the Lord shows me that I was proud. I don't accept it. I don't receive the love of the truth. The Lord says, you were proud there. That's why I didn't give you grace. And that's why you fell into sin. No, but I don't accept it. God says, okay. He's not going to force us. But when we don't receive the love of the truth, we are opening ourselves up to the rest of that verse. God sends upon them a deceiving influence so they believe what is false. What will happen to such a man after some time? I'll tell you. He'll believe that he's spiritual when he's not. Do you know multitudes of people today in the world who think they are baptized in the Holy Spirit? No, I don't believe one bit they are baptized in the Holy Spirit. Some of them are the biggest lovers of money on the face of the earth. How could they be baptized in the Holy Spirit? But they call themselves pastors, who are spirit-filled. God has allowed them to believe what is false about themselves. Do you know the number of people in the world who think they are born again? Just because they repeated a formula or sat in the right church. So many people who imagine they are born again. I'm born again. I'm okay. God allows them to believe what is false because they don't receive the love of the truth. If you want to marry somebody and you're very eager to marry that person, you can convince yourself that that person, that boy or girl is born again. Because you're so keen to marry that person. Oh yeah, yeah, he is born again or she is born again. Okay. You don't face up to the truth.