“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” — John 8:32
We are living in the end times spoken of in Scripture. Many believe there is no remaining prophecy that must be fulfilled before the catching away of the Church, commonly referred to as the Rapture.
In Matthew 24, JESUS gave repeated warnings to Believers in these end times to beware of two things:
(1) DECEPTION
(2) OFFENSE
These two often work hand in glove.
Jesus repeatedly warned, “Take heed that you be not deceived…”
Deception is directly mentioned multiple times in Matthew 24 and strongly inferred and implied throughout the chapter.
And then Jesus said:
“Then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.” — Matthew 24:10
When people become offended, they often become vulnerable to deception.
Knowing this, satan will do everything he can to cause you to be offended, because OFFENSE opens the door to INIQUITY.
Look at the word iniquity — how many “I’s” are in it?
At its core, iniquity speaks of self-will.
But beneath offense, deception, and iniquity lies a hidden ROOT:
PRIDE.
Jesus taught that temptation comes in three forms:
(1) Lust of the Eyes
(2) Lust of the Flesh
(3) Pride of Life
Of those three, only one is not self-diagnosable:
PRIDE.
PRIDE is the root of iniquity.
PRIDE is the root of offense.
PRIDE is the root of deception.
And deception itself is rarely self-diagnosable.
In fact, pride was at the center of the original rebellion — through the master deceiver himself.
God gave us the antidote:
“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray…”
— 2 Chronicles 7:14
Notice the order:
BEFORE we pray…
BEFORE we seek His face…
BEFORE we turn from wicked ways…
God said to HUMBLE ourselves.
THEN He said:
“I will hear from heaven…”
“I will forgive their sin…”
“I will heal their land.”
So how do you know when you have humbled yourself?
When you SUBMIT yourself to God.
How do you know when you are submitted to God?
By submitting to:
• The SPIRIT of God
• The WORD of God
• The MAN of God
(spiritual authority He places over your life, principally your Pastor ~ Jeremiah 3:15)
Here is the true test of submission:
As long as we AGREE, we may not know for certain whether we are truly submitted.
But when we DISAGREE — with God’s Spirit, God’s Word, or God’s Human Spiritual Authority — submission is revealed through our:
OBEDIENCE
ATTITUDE
LOVE
In these end times, guard your heart against both DECEPTION and OFFENSE.
Truth does not merely inform us — TRUTH sets us FREE.
And whom the Son of Man makes free, is free indeed…
Speaking the Truth in Love,
~ Bishop Art Hodges III