Deception

          

                         Deception 

	Gen 3:13 Then the Lord God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” And the woman said, “The serpent deceived me, and I ate.” How do we avoid deception??? (With the truth, (God's word is truth), so if were seldom in the word (gleaning godly insight) deception is unavoidable! Fame, fortune,  power, and pleasure are deceivers attached to our flesh for the purpose of destruction. Apart from the spirit of Jesus in you, there is no hope! This world spirit equals deception!)
	“Deut 11:16 Beware that your hearts are not deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods and worship them.  Stay out of the word of God and your heart will be deceived. Your only protection from deception is God's word revealed through the Holy Spirit! Religion is a deception, born-again relationship with Jesus through his Holy Spirit breaks deception. We must be honest by revealing what and whom false gods are. Myself-sports-children-work-materialism-etc. only we ourselves can determine that for our own lives! Whatever gets between you and seeking Jesus with all your heart is an idol!
	Josh 9:22 Then Joshua called for them and spoke to them, saying, “Why have you deceived us, saying, ‘We are very far from you,’ when you are living within our land? Example: figtree, many pretending to be Christians influencing the body negatively in regards to the faith of Jesus. Most Christians are empty professing they are not, unable to tell the difference!
	1 Kings 22:22 “The Lord said to him, ‘How?’ And he said, ‘I will go out and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and also prevail. Go and do so.’ God will give you what you want, if you want leaders who will tickle your ears, telling you what you want to hear, God will accommodate us in our embraced deception. It is our responsibility to avoid deception through diligently studying and acting on God's word.
	1 Kings 22:23 “Now therefore, behold, the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all these your prophets; and the Lord has proclaimed disaster against you.” Catholic example: people of the Catholic persuasion because their parents' tradition or whatever are bent on their own traditional ways regardless of the truth of God's word. If they are taught to use a rosary and the rote prayers that go along with the rosary, this tradition will not allow them to receive truth in that area. If they have been brought up to worship Mary or whatever their traditions proclaim, and if they are not teachable - their tradition will hinder the Word of God . In a sense, God will give them over to their tradition. The traditions of man make the Word of God of no effect. The Holy Spirit only leads in truth because He is truth and those who don't want the truth or are deceived from the truth are being ministered by a false deceiving spirit. (Organized religion, (most denominations) such as the Jews in Jesus day!)
	“2 Chron 18:21, 22 He said, ‘I will go and be a deceiving spirit in the mouth of all his prophets.’ Then He said, ‘You are to entice him and prevail also. Go and do so.’ if people are bent on their own way God will allow them to have at it. Without the Holy Spirit and a heart for truth, deception is inevitable!
	“Job 15:31 Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself; For emptiness will be his reward. Emptiness is everything but the truth, Jesus, His word by His Spirit, and the heart that seeks him totally.
	“Ps 89:22 The enemy will not deceive him, Nor the son of wickedness afflict him. The heart of one totally bent on truth according to God's word in the power of the Holy Spirit cannot be deceived.
	“Jer 9:5 Everyone deceives his neighbor And does not speak the truth, They have taught their tongue to speak lies; They weary themselves committing iniquity. The nature of man is pride of which he will do and say anything to be exalted for self gain, a true friend is hard to come by. The marriage that works is the one where two are truly teachable, determine to obey the truth in God's order, meaning the husband leading.
	Jer 29:8 “For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Do not let your prophets who are in your midst and your diviners deceive you, and do not listen to the dreams which they dream. Because someone (people in positions of authority, pastors etc.) says they are prophets or God told them, doesn't mean it's true. We are all responsible to follow the truth for ourselves. Make sure everything lines up with the word of God in the context of the character of Jesus. We are called to follow Jesus and Jesus alone, God uses people but we must determine who is of God. Without total commitment to Jesus, it can't be done, deception is inevitable.
	“Jer 37:9 Thus says the Lord, ‘Do not deceive yourselves, saying, “The Chaldeans will surely go away from us,” for they will not go. Sometimes we say things that we want to happen to make us feel good but unless it be by the word of God its false hope.
	Jer 42:20 For you have only deceived yourselves; for it is you who sent me to the Lord your God, saying, “Pray for us to the Lord our God; and whatever the Lord our God says, tell us so, and we will do it.” Without a pure heart deception is inevitable. Each one of us is responsible to search for truth and follow him (Jesus)
	Jer 49:16 “As for the terror of you, The (arrogance of your heart) has deceived you, O you who live in the clefts of the rock, Who occupy the height of the hill. Though you make your nest as high as an eagle’s, I will bring you down from there,” declares the Lord. Our own ways will always bring us to destruction
	Obad 3 “The arrogance of your heart has deceived you, You who live in the clefts of the rock, In the loftiness of your dwelling place, Who say in your heart, ‘Who will bring me down to earth?’
	Obad 7 “All the men allied with you Will send you forth to the border, And the men at peace with you Will deceive you and overpower you. They who eat your bread Will set an ambush for you. (There is no understanding in him.) Lesson to be learned here is to trust nobody except Jesus through His Word. We are not talking about paranoia but just because someone is walking beside you professing to be your friend--they may have wrong motives. Jesus through his word by his Holy Spirit must always be first place. in your heart. There is only one good!
	Rom 16:18 For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Jesus but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting. Many are charismatic, extremely convincing, but are for self gain deceiving many goodhearted people. Keep your eyes on Jesus, diligently in his word, having a heart sensitive to his Holy Spirit of which will protect you!
	1 Cor 3:18 Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. We must deny what the world considers prosperous and hold on to what Jesus considers prosperous!
	1 Cor 6:9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous (will not inherit the kingdom of God?) Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, this is God's view of which must be our view of which the world repels but remains the truth!
	1 Cor 15:33 Do not be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good morals.” This is a very prominent danger. Most people professing Christianity are influenced by their company rather than influencing their so-called friends. The people we associate with determine greatly our spiritual healthiness. Unlike Moses we would rather have the pleasures and comforts of the world than fellowship with Jesus and his true people if you can find them. It is our responsibility to find them!!!
	2 Cor 6:8 by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; Those who speak out for the Lord are continually misunderstood. Ministers have those who love them and those who hate them, but true ministers of the Gospel seldom have those who are indifferent. Everywhere that Jesus and His apostles went, they either caused a riot or a revival, but they weren't ignored
	2 Cor 11:3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. I believe this is where we are missing it. Jesus must be 1st Pl. in everything. To know God, you have to know Jesus intimately. Jesus told Philip if you have seen me you have seen the father. In Jesus dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Every knee bows at the name of Jesus.
	Gal 6:3 For if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself. We are only something in and through Jesus Pride will destroy, many leaders if not most come to be served rather than serve as Jesus instructed. Because people listen to us we think we are above them. flesh is so vulnerable to fame, fortune, power and pleasure. True godly humility is rarely found. (God told me) is common. God doesn't tell 7 leaders seven different things on the same subject. We really lack the heart to search the Scriptures in truth and teach them balanced by the Holy Spirit. Example, prosperity, the word of God is clear that God wants his people to prosper and be in health. Some say God wants us to be materialisticly  rich, others say poverty is the way. It can't be both so why can't we read the word and find out God's heart? (All prosperity is, is living victoriously , having your needs met, knowing your authority in Jesus, living in his peace and love.) (Rare to be found)
	Gal 6:7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, this he will also reap. We think we can live of the world and reap the fruit of the Spirit of Jesus. Often we refuse to forgive, walk in love, diligently study to know his word, yet we think were going to say one prayer and God is going to shower us with gifts. (That is deception) we refuse to obey and know the truth of God's word, yet we think we're going to sow destruction but reap blessings.
	Eph 5:6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Disobedience refers to those who reject Jesus. Could also refer to those proclaiming to be followers of Jesus yet disobedient to his word. Without the Holy Spirit we are incapable of obedience to our master. Yet how many received the baptism of the Holy Spirit? 2 Tim 3:5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away .
	2 Thess 2:3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, we must guard our hearts with all diligence, fellowshiping with strong believers, challenging each other in love, seeking truth as a lost Pearl. Love of the world and its riches distracts and robs from our spiritual wellness. We will be bombarded by every wave of doctrine under the sun but we must stay steadfast in the truth of God's word, staying close to Jesus, following and loving him with all of our heart! Getting every thought captive obeying Jesus in his word!
	1 Tim 2:14 And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. This is a reason why the woman should occupy a subordinate rank in all things. It is that in the most important situation in which she was ever placed, she had shown that she was not qualified to take the lead. She had displayed a readiness to yield to temptation; a weakness of resistance; a bending of character, which showed that she was not adapted to the situation of headship, and which made it proper that she should ever afterwards occupy a subordinate situation. The woman opposed a feebler resistance to the temptation than he would have done, and that the temptation as actually applied to her would have been ineffectual on him. To tempt and seduce him to fall, there were needed all the soft persuasions, the entreaties, and the example of his wife. Satan understood this, and approached man not with the specious argument of the serpent, but through the allurements of his wife. It is undoubtedly implied here that man, in general, has a power of resisting certain kinds of temptation, superior to that possessed by woman, and hence that the headship properly belongs to him. This is, undoubtedly, the general truth, though there may be many exceptions, and many noble cases to the honour of the female sex, in which they evince a power of resistance to temptation superior to man. In many traits of character, and among them those which are most lovely, woman is superior to man; yet it is undoubtedly true that, as a general thing, temptation will make a stronger impression on her than on him. (Adam was not deceived, he was seduced by his wife) The woman should remember that sin began with her, and she should therefore be willing to occupy an humble and subordinate situation. 1 Cor11:3 Eph 5:22-24/Col 3:18/1 Tim 2:11, 12/Titus 2:5/1Pet. 3:1-6/
	2 Tim 3:13 But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived.Anyone walking without love and honor to Jesus and not committing to obey his word falls in this category
	Titus 1:10 For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision,Religion
	Titus 3:3 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.Notice it says we once were, not still are!
	Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.
	James 1:26 I James 1:16 f anyone thinks himself to be religious, and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this man’s religion is worthless.Speaking God's word, not our emotional feelings
	1 John 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.We trip on sin, but we do not practice it, Quick to repent (change direction)
	1 John 2:26 These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you.Oftentimes this is not malicious, but people not knowing God's word according to his spirit.
	1 John 3:7 Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;We are not Righteous just because we intellectually proclaim Jesus But Rather because we obey his word!
	2 John 7 For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is the deceiver and the antichrist.These are obvious
	Rev 12:9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.We are more than conquerors through Jesus, the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony
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	Rev 19:20 And the beast was seized, and with him the false prophet who performed the signs in his presence, by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped his image; these two were thrown alive into the lake of fire which burns with brimstone.
	a short time.Without total commitment to Jesus and his word we won't recognize false prophets who carry deception