15 - DELUDED INTO SIN

As stated earlier, spiritual pride has been the underlying root cause of the fall of many ministries. The fatal presumption that "all must be well" (despite whatever sin or deception they’re involved in) just because the anointing is still there, and the miracles are still happening, is oh-so-common. And it is clearly this subtle pride which gives the devil a ’legal doorway’ through which he can begin to deceive them in other areas also. You would be amazed at the excuses that such deceived individuals come up with as to why a certain sin is "OK for them", even though it is certainly NOT OK for everyone else. The devil managed to delude and defeat a number of prominent ministries involved in the American Healing Revival. He got to some of them with love of money, ease and comfort, others through selfish ambition and envy, and some even became drunkards. And yet many of them were still performing miracles right to the end. But eventually, they lost everything. Speaking of the decline of the Healing Revival, Gordon Lindsay observed that many ministers had stopped "fasting and waiting before God." He said that many of the ministries had declined, "largely because of a lack of humility and because of a tendency to self-exaltation." He was reportedly sickened by the increasing emphasis on money. "Lindsay later concluded that even at the height of the revival many of the evangelists ’hadn’t prayed through, they hadn’t touched God for their ministry, they just put up their banner.’" (D. Harrell Jr, ’ALL Things are Possible’,pg 139).

One of the most common of the devil’s lures down through history, of course, has been sexual sin (sometimes of a perverted nature, but usually simple adultery). Please remember that the devil will be literally throwing everything at such ministries (though usually in a disguised or subtle way). They are hurting him, and he will not just stand idly by. He will search and probe for that one chink in their armour. This is why in the past God has often spent years training and preparing such ministries in obscurity, before giving them their anointing and their commission. He had to test them - to see whether or not they could survive the attacks of the enemy, and the temptations to pride, etc. He had to feel confident that He could entrust them with His anointing. And even then, He knew that some of them would let Him down. In his book, "Set the Trumpet to thy Mouth", David Wilkerson uncovered some very interesting facts about the reasons why pastors and other ministries in America were falling into adultery. A survey had been done, and it became obvious what the number one strategy of the devil was. In the vast majority of cases, these men had developed a close ’spiritual’ relationship with a woman other than their wife, and this is who they ended up committing adultery with. They would often pray or discuss the Bible with this spiritual woman, until eventually they became close and intimate, and would be sharing things with her that they should have been sharing with their wife. How ’spiritual’ it all was! Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be married to a woman like this! (Not that they ever tried to share with their own wife in this way). What subtle and cunning deception. And Satan has had vast success in ’taking out’ many promising ministries just through this one technique alone. Then there’s the old, "I’m allowed more than one wife at a time" deception. (Despite what the Bible says in 1 Timothy 3:2, etc). Or, "God has shown me that my wife may die, so I need another companion." As I said before, it’s amazing what the devil can get us humans to believe at times.

Almost every deception plays on secret desires or strongholds deep within us. Part of us wants to believe that the deception is true. This is why we must be so searingly and brutally honest with ourselves in RENOUNCING such deceptions and strongholds, if we are ever going to be truly free of them. (’Self-pity’ is another subtle yet deadly one - the true cause of much depression. Many people quite enjoy having the ’blues’ or feeling sorry for themselves, and this can be a most debilitating stronghold in one’s life. Don’t make a "pet" of it - RENOUNCE IT!)

Another thing I also want to briefly touch on here is the danger of "ENVY" entering into one’s ministry. This too can be a very subtle yet immensely destructive evil. (The Pharisees had Jesus killed due to ’envy’, after all - Mark 15:10). If you ever find yourself feeling like attacking or murmuring against a leader who operates in more power or is better-known than you, just check your motives very carefully to see that envy or selfish ambition is not one of the causes of your antagonism. You would be amazed at the number of team ministries, etc, that have been destroyed through this kind of envy of the leadership (whether coming from without, or even worse - from within the group). Who knows what motivated Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus? (Remembering that Judas was one of the Twelve HAND-PICKED disciples). For some time now, I have wondered whether or not the Antichrist that is to arise at the very end of the age could be one of God’s genuine end-time apostles - gone astray. Does not the Bible call him the ’son of perdition’, just like Judas? And will he not move in powerful signs, wonders and miracles, just like the genuine Last Days apostles? A frightening thought! (However, God’s people will discern the truth when the time comes). The pattern of the devil’s own fall seemed to be: Spiritual Pride, Envy (& selfish ambition), then Rebellion. And of course, this same pattern is now constantly found amongst fallen humans also (even Christian ones, sadly). For God’s true ministries, the secret to surviving the coming Last Days period is basically the same as it’s ever been. They must have a deep hatred of sin, a genuine fear of God, a searing honesty with themselves, and a heart after God’s own heart - just as His servant David did. Only then can they truly be sure of "enduring to the end". This is why God has spent so long preparing and ’breaking’ these ministries, before sending them forth to lead His people out of bondage and into His glorious light once again.