When someone truly believes the message of the Gospel, it should radically change your heart. Let's say you're planning on coming over to my house. You're running 15 minutes late, but finally come in through the front door. I ask you why you're late, and you tell me that a semi-truck was traveling at 80 miles an hour. You accidentally step in front of the semi, and it hits you square on. You were late because this semi-truck hit you. I would call you a liar. You would be dead if you were truly hit by a semi going at 80 miles an hour. It would have changed you. Now God is much more powerful than a moving truck. If there is a genuine collision between you and Jesus Christ, then you will not be the same. It should change you. It will change you. The message of the Gospel changes our hearts, which leads to a change in action. Satan will often push forward a false Gospel with a hint of truth. It smells good, but lacks taste and substance. This type of Gospel usually has no conviction of sin or change tied to it. One example of this false Gospel is the Gospel of Beliefism. Beliefism teaches that if you simply just believe in God, you're good to go to heaven. There is never a need for people to see their sin or a call to change. There's a little bit of truth in this Gospel. We are to believe that Jesus died for our sin. However, that belief should lead to a transformed life. It should lead to repentance. Many do not want to hear that, so instead of coming to the true Gospel, they find a Gospel that will tickle their ears. One way the enemy attacks a believer's life is through despair, depression, and discouragement. When Paul wrote his second letter to the Church of Corinth, he had endured horrific events, three shipwrecks, he survived the stoning, endured five lashings, frequent imprisonments, and three beatings. All of this was enough for Paul to fall into depression and despair. This was enough for Paul to be left discouraged. Under such pressure, many Christians would have fallen into a pit of despair, but I want you to see what the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 8 to 9. We are hard-pressed on every side, but not crushed, perplexed, but not in despair, persecuted, but not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed. We may face battles and attacks in this world, but we can trust in our mighty God to be our shelter through it all. In these times, when we're tossed to and fro through the waves of adversity, this is when we should gear ourselves up to fight. This is the time that we have to pray, fast, and study God's Word in order to find peace in the midst of it. So during those seasons, in those moments when we feel overwhelmingly discouraged and without any strength to keep going, this is the time that we must call out to God. This is the time that we must seek strength from the Lord. This is the time that we must cling on to the power of the Holy Ghost. In Corinthians 10, verse 3 to 5 says, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God, for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. This is one of those passages of Scripture that really puts things into perspective. The Bible is telling us here that although we live in this world, we do not, and we should not, fight our battles like the world. In fact, the weapons that we have available to us aren't physical weapons, but note how the Bible says, For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God. The weapons we can access as children of God have divine power. They are weapons unlike anything in this world because they are heavenly weapons. And at the mention of the word weapons, people usually think of the physical weapons in this world like a bat or a gun. However, the Bible says in Hebrews chapter 4, verse 12, For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. The word of God is one of the weapons that we have as children of God. It's a weapon that is powerful and sharper than any two-edged soul. The word of God is a weapon that you can use against the devil. It's an effective weapon against the devil, in fact. So what does the Bible mean when it says, For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh? As a believer, you're not fighting people. You're not just fighting circumstances. No. You're fighting the spirit behind the person, the devil behind the situation. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. This is what the Bible says in Ephesians 6, verse 12. So here's what I am encouraging you to do today. Pray for victory in all areas of your life. Declare God's promises in all areas of your life. Believe that there is power in the name of Jesus Christ. There is power in God's word and through His spirit. When we pray, we can be confident that the Lord is always near to those who seek and call on Him. Believe that God will break every plan of the enemy. Trust that the Lord will have the final say in all matters concerning you. The conflicts you face, the battles you face, the Lord has the final say over all of that. So I encourage you people of God to trust God, trust in the word of the Lord, trust in His promises, and you will have the victory. For what is normal to the world tends to go hand in hand with what is sin. The Amplified translation of Romans 12, verse 2 gives a detailed account of what we need as the children of God. The Bible says, and do not be conformed to this world any longer with its superficial values and customs, but be transformed and progressively changed as you mature spiritually by the renewing of your mind, focusing on godly values and ethical attitudes so that you may prove for yourselves what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect in His plan and purpose for you. In other words, stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you. Don't allow the world to mold you in its own image. The key for us as believers is that we are to be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit. And it's when you allow the Holy Spirit to transform you, to transform your mind and how you think, it's only then that you will discern God's will. The key is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will help you to eliminate disobedience. It's the Holy Spirit who will bring a total reformation of how you think. And once this happens, once you allow the Holy Ghost to move within you, righteousness will be what you pursue. Jesus Christ is who you will desire, and the Kingdom of God is what you'll become passionate about. Now I'm going to say something that will really capture your attention, and this statement should really stir you up to seek the truth. The Bible is the Word of God. The Bible reveals Jesus Christ. The Bible is a resource for every believer who seeks to know God. The Bible is what every believer should meditate on day and night because it brings faith. Faith comes by hearing and hearing through the Word of Christ. When someone takes God's Word and internalizes it, when they study it and follow it, it can transform your heart and destroy sinful patterns of thinking. With that being said, there are many who use the Bible for evil. They use it for monetary gain. They use it as a means of manipulation. And what often happens is that a lie is told with just a little bit of truth. The goal of Satan is to take harmful beliefs with just a little bit of truth and get people to believe in them. However, the true message of the Gospel is that Jesus Christ saves, and it is this knowledge that leads to change and repentance. 2 Timothy 4, verse 1-4 says, I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead and by his appearing and his kingdom. Preach the Word. Be ready in season and out of season. Reprove, rebuke, and exhort with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. Paul is writing to check in on his good friend Timothy as he pastors the church in Ephesus. Paul was more of a mentor and father figure to Timothy. He reminds Timothy to keep preaching the Word of God. Despite his preaching, there will be people who do not want to hear the Word, but only things that make them happy. In doing so, they will make up false Gospels. The Gospel of Jesus Christ never changes. The Gospel teaches us that we are sinners who deserve the judgment of God. However, God made a way to save us from that judgment. He sent Jesus, who was perfect. Where we had sin in our life, Jesus had no sin. But despite being blameless and without sin, Jesus was put on the cross. The judgment that we deserve for our sin, Jesus took from God on the cross. He died, yet rose again three days later to show that he had power over sin, death, and Satan. Now those who by grace through faith, trust in Jesus, will receive the reward of eternal life with God. Another false Gospel that Satan often pushes is the Prosperity Gospel. This Gospel teaches us that if we accept Jesus into our life, that everything will go well for us. If we just believe hard enough, we will get rich, never get sick, and live the life of our dreams. There is a bit of truth in that, in the sense that we will receive a blessing from God when we accept Jesus. However, that blessing is not physical, but spiritual. We get the very presence of God in our lives, and we will get to be with Him forever in heaven. When looking at Jesus, who was perfect, his life was nothing but hard. He was homeless, hated, and even killed. The Gospel of Jesus Christ also promises us that suffering and persecution will come to those that follow Him. However, the preaching of the Prosperity Gospel tickles the ears of those who are listening. It does not call to heart transformation, but calls the hearer to a more appealing life. One last false Gospel that tickles the ears is the Gospel of Moralism. This Gospel teaches that all God wants is for us to be good people. There is some truth in that as well. God does call us to be good people. However, our goodness does not come from ourselves, but Christ. The Gospel of Moralism teaches us that to get God's favor, we must be good. The Gospel of Jesus Christ teaches us that we get God's favor, which leads to a life changed by the Holy Spirit. In the Gospel of Moralism, there is no grace. In the Gospel of Jesus Christ, grace leads to a changed heart. Now, it is human nature to not want to be told we need to change something about our life. We feel guilt and shame when we know that we are not good enough. That is why Satan uses false Gospels. These false Gospels often don't center around our own sinful nature needing to be changed, because there is no call to change. That's why people's itching ears are attracted to this kind of false doctrine. Now, the Gospel of Jesus Christ tells us that there is none righteous on this earth, and that sin in our hearts has polluted our life. However, God does not leave us there. He sent Jesus Christ to fix our sinful hearts and thus change our actions. But you see, Satan wants to deceive us so that we think we do not need change. Yet, Jesus came to show us that we need change and that change comes through Him. So, I encourage you to seek truth. The truth that is in God's Word. The truth that is Jesus Christ.
