John 8:42-47
42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me. 43 Why do ye not understand my speech? even because ye cannot hear my word. 44 Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.45 And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not.46 Which of you convinceth me of sin? And if I say the truth, why do ye not believe me?47 He that is of God heareth God's words: ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God.
So many people can't identify the stronghold of the enemy and this is the reason why they remain under the bondage perpetually. It is so unfortunate to note that many so-called "deliverance ministers" are victims of this ignorance too! This has rendered their ministry and zeal ineffective and has even made them victims of the enemy from which they claim to deliver people.
What is the enemy's stronghold? The answer is found in John 8:44:
"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it."
The falling of man in Genesis chapter 3 authenticates the reality that deception is the strongest chain with which the devil has held men down over the ages. Many times I wonder why those who are supposedly educated or enlightened are caught in the trap of the devil, but then I quickly remember my own days of ignorance. I remember the story of a man, despite all the logic he had learnt from mathematics, still he went to a witchdoctor for protection, and witchdoctor gave him a charm which eventually turned out to be a lie of the devil. He had two road accidents in one day with this charm hanging in a hidden part of the driver's seat of his car. Thank God for his saving grace that kept him alive!
In Genesis 3:2-3, Eve told the old serpent, which is the devil, what God had said about the forbidden fruit in the middle of the garden, but the father of all lies said to her: "Ye shall not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." Genesis 3:4b-5
This was the epitome of all lies, and the devil is still using this strategy to destroy people's life and sending them to eternity in hell. Beloved, which of the devil's lies have you believed? Is it the lie that some books of the Bible, especially the espistles of Paul, were not originally written for you and so are not applicable to you? Is it the lie that tithes and first fruits are Old Testament ordinances and so should be ignored by New Testament worshippers? I pray for you, just as Jesus did, that you will embrace the truth in the unfailing word of God today, and this will set you free (John 17:17). The great truth you need to embrace today is found in 2Timothy 3:16: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:"
LET US PRAY: Father, please give me divine wisdom to always detect the lies of the devil so as to always escape his snares in Jesus' Name.