"For such are false apostles, deceitful workers,
transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
And no wonder, for Satan himself
TRANSFORMS HIMSELF INTO AN ANGEL OF LIGHT;
therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also
transform themselves into ministers of righteousness,
whose end will be according to their works."
2nd Corinthians 11:13-15
Satan's "ministers of righteousness..."
He sets up his servants to be DISGUISED as ministers of the Gospel.
The parable of the wheat and the tares in Matthew 13 teaches that the wheat and the weeds grow up together and before they are ripe you can't tell by looking at them which is which. And so it is with false ministers in the churches, or on TV. They know how to talk the talk and use Scripture to appear righteous. They "transform themselves into ministers of righteousness" and few recognize the fact that they are Satan's plants in the churches. They tell the people what they want to hear. They give such a feel-good message that people go home thinking they've heard something wonderful, not realizing they've been fed "doctrines of demons."
"Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times
some will depart from the faith,
giving heed to deceiving spirits
and doctrines of demons,
speaking lies in hypocrisy..."
1st Timothy 4:1-2
Why do they succeed? Because that's what the people want to hear.
"For the time will come when
THEY WILL NOT ENDURE SOUND DOCTRINE,
but according to their own desires,
because they have itching ears,
they will heap up for themselves teachers,
and they will turn their ears away from the truth..."
2nd Timothy 4:3-4
Think mega-churches, not all, but most. When you see people flocking to a church, that should send up red flags for you. They're flocking there because they're hearing feel-good messages: it's all about YOU, how you can be more successful and how you can be happier. When it's all about YOU ...RUN. The true Gospel is all about HIM. It's all about Jesus Christ who calls you to take up your CROSS, not your Rolex, and follow him. His message is far from being a feel-good message. FAR. As far as hell is from heaven.
Jesus spoke more about hell than he did about heaven. Why? Because there is only one way to avoid hell, there is only one way to enter heaven. It's not about self improvement, which he would call pride.
The great revival which swept across the United States under the preaching of Jonathan Edwards began with his sermon, "Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God." That one sermon sparked one of the greatest revivals of all time. Edwards did not preach how to become the best YOU, no, he preached on sin and on hell.
You don't hear much preaching like that anymore - because it doesn't fill the pews. Jonathan Edwards was not interested in filling pews and receiving gifts and offerings, he preached the uncomfortable truth, the painful truth, he described the deadly results of rejecting the true Gospel and focusing rather, on self-enrichment. The Holy Spirit quickened his message and revival broke out and spread throughout all of New England and then across the country.
It all started with the truth about sin and about hell.
If you're not hearing this in your church - RUN, because you're hearing from "false apostles and deceitful workers" whose feel-good messages will lead you ...to hell.
"And when he had sent the multitudes away,
he went up on the mountain by himself to pray.
Now when evening came, he was alone there."
Matthew 14:23
How does one pray? Well ...we won't have a better example than Jesus himself. He shut out the world, sent his disciples away, then went off by himself to a place of seclusion.
Prayer is not something to be done lightly or half-heartedly, it's far too important for that. Prayer can change situations. A man I knew told me that before his grandmother died, she told him she had prayed for him every single day. It was only many years later that those prayers were answered, but the question remains, what if she had not prayed? What if she got tired of it and gave it up? What if she saw him go astray and concluded that prayer is useless? What if she lost heart and just stopped? But she remained faithful, and now this man is following the Lord with all of his heart. Because she didn't give up nor tire of it.
Then ...Jesus told us what NOT to do in prayer:
Do not pray before people to show them how religious you are. That kind of prayer is useless. It doesn't come from the heart, and is couched in religious words to make you look "so spiritual," but that prayer will not leave the room you are in, it will bounce off the ceiling and go no higher because your motive is to make yourself feel religious. No, go into your room where you are alone, and pray in secret. In a setting like that, when there's no self-glorifying motive, knowing full well that you can't impress God, pray from your heart. Speak to the Lord as though he were sitting in a chair opposite you. From the heart. In all honesty and humility.
"But you, when you pray, go into your room,
and when you have shut your door,
pray to your Father who is in the secret place;
and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly."
Matthew 6:6
vs 7:
"And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do,
for they think that they will be heard for their many words."
Rosaries won't work, folks. To "pray a rosary" is to take beads and recite the same prayer to Mary over and over again by rote on every bead. That is not only idolatry (praying to someone other than God which is clearly forbidden throughout his Word) but it's just plain useless. That kind of prayer will also bounce off the ceiling. It may make you feel religious, but in all honesty it's totally useless.
God does not want religious rote from us. He wants our hearts.
"These people draw near to me with their mouth,
and honor me with their lips, but their HEART is far from me;
and in vain they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."
Matthew 15:8-9
Prayer is one of the most important things one can do in life, but it has to be done right. Keep it between you and God, speak to him privately and daily, commit yourself and all that is yours to him, make yourself available to serve him, worship and glorify him; that kind of prayer will rise to the very Throne of God and will accomplish much.
"The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much."
James 5:16
"For Jerusalem stumbled, and Judah is fallen, because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory." Isaiah 3:8 How long can a people "provoke" the Lord? The Lord gives them time to repent, and as with ancient Israel, he sends many warnings before judgment finally comes. It is not the will of God to pour out his judgment upon any people, his will is always to draw people to repentance. But when they defiantly refuse, the judgment will finally come when he sees that there is no more space for repentance, when they have hardened their hearts and are deaf to his warnings. And so it is with America. They do not hide their shame, rather they glory in it. Vs 9: "The look on their countenance witnesses against them, and they declare their sin as Sodom; THEY DO NOT HIDE IT, woe to their soul! For they have brought evil upon themselves.” “Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; Nor did they know how to blush." Jeremiah 6:15 Has America gone beyond the point of no return? There's very little doubt as to the answer to that. The perversions and sins continue and only grow worse even after we've said it couldn't get any worse. In ancient Israel, people sacrificed babies to the god Molech. In America, babies are sacrificed to the god of convenience, while they demand their "rights." More than seventy million little boys and little girls have been massacred in recent years. Most people know what went on in Sodom, the ashes and desolation of Sodom remain to this day. America is at that point, shamelessly forcing their sin on society and even upon the children in their elementary schools, with society demanding that all must accept the great sin of this people. When finally judgment falls, it will be as in the days of Noah ...unexpected and final. They will perish. We see the signs of the impending one-world global government taking shape right before our eyes. We see the religions of the world coming together to form the prophesied global religion with a "pope" leading his people worldwide into a religion joined with Islam - just as it was prophesied so long ago in the Bible, the Word of God, concerning the last generation. Jesus told us what to watch for, and all the signs he mentioned are happening right now, all of them. There is no question that we are in the "last days." The wars, rumors of war, earthquakes, famines, and pestilence are all here concurrently. (And that's the definitive point, “concurrently.” It has never happened concurrently in any previous generation.) "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows." Matthew 24:7-8 In addition, it was also prophesied that society will descend into gross immorality in "the last days." "But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient 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." 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 That pretty accurately describes this generation as none other. A generation ago we could not have imagined how terrible things would get. There are even words now for all manner of perversions, words that didn't exist just a generation ago. One other factor presently before our eyes is the nations prophesied to be allied against Israel as shown in Ezekiel 38. A generation ago Russia was not allied with Iran, and Turkey was not allied with either, but incredibly they are now lined up together just as foretold. These are the three main nations that will be destroyed by God himself when they come against Israel. And they're now standing ready, just as was prophesied. And then the Scriptures go on to say that the last days would be "As it was in the days of Noah..." Events on the earth are identical to what was going on in the days of Noah. The scariest part is that the judgment fell so suddenly, so finally, so unexpectedly - even though Noah had warned the people throughout the years it took him to build the ark. They all laughed him to scorn. And ...they all perished. Only Noah's family remained. Anyone who knows the Word of God knows where we are on the Biblical timeline. Nothing of all the signs mentioned is missing. It's all here. Right before our eyes. Men warn, and people laugh them to scorn. Oh heed the words of Jesus Christ: "...unless you repent you will all likewise perish.” Luke 13:5 Life here is short. Eternity is forever. There is nothing worth the risk of eternal loss. As terrible judgment looms, give it up folks, it's not worth it. Repent. Turn to the Lord and seal your eternal fate with him now. Don't wait.