If we are to overcome deception, we need to understand how it enters in. The Church is described in Scripture as the New Jerusalem, the spiritual nation of Israel. We are in the days of the restoration of all things (Acts 3:19-20). The Lord declared by the prophet Amos: “On that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old.” (Amos 9:11). We cannot have a restoration of worship without also having a rebuilding of the city wall. We guard what comes in and out of our midst with the city gates. Nehemiah heard of the condition of Jerusalem after the temple had been rebuilt and he was deeply concerned. This led him to fast, pray and act as the Lord enabled him. There is a need for revival in the land, but it is not just a “personal” revival. We need a restoration of the Church to its original state of power and righteousness. The Church has an end-time purpose and she must rise to that purpose. We are living in a time when we need the watchman prophet, the warrior intercessor, and the faithful repairers of the breach. To repair the breach is to restore the ancient paths (Isa. 58:12; Jer. 18:15). To overcome deception, we need to repair the breach of truth.
As stated in the previous article, we must have more than a knowledge of the truth; we must possess a love for the truth (2Thess. 2:10). We have an individual responsibility to walk in truth, and we also have a corporate responsibility. If the Body is sick, then all the members suffer (1Cor. 12:26). We are all affected by the state of the Church. It is imperative, as citizens of spiritual Israel, that we consider the state of our spiritual nation. We cannot isolate ourselves into tribes, each one ignoring the welfare of the other. God sees the Church as one, and we must have the same mind. In the same manner that the enemy establishes strongholds in the lives of individuals, he also establishes them against families, ethnic groups, and nations. Believers are a part of these groups so they must be aware of the strategies of the enemy against them. There are also strongholds of the enemy against the church itself. As Paul tells us, we have mighty weapons in God to destroy these strongholds, but we cannot do that if we do not discern them (2Cor. 10:4-5). If we possess a love for the truth, we will react in repentance when anything is found in us that is not of the truth. To guard our ability to hear the corrections of the Lord, we will maintain an attitude of humility. To judge what we hear, we will rely on the witness of the Spirit in our hearts, not on outward voices. As the anointed of the Lord, we “shall not judge by the sight of our eyes, nor decide by the hearing of our ears” (Isa. 11:3).
If we love the truth, we will pay the price required to walk in truth. Have you ever spoken wrongly, or made a mistake, and then denied it to protect yourself from punishment? That was common for me until I became a Christian. Thereafter, I chose to bind mercy and truth around my neck (Prov. 3:3). Working in industry, I made many mistakes that cost my employers thousands of dollars. The price for admitting these mistakes was embarrassment, but the fruit was integrity and trust, as well as an increase in skill and understanding. If we love the truth, we will submit to the correction of the Lord for righteousness (Heb. 12:11).
We are all familiar with the passage in Ephesians concerning the maturity of the Church. To avoid being “tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men” we are to speak the truth in love (Eph. 4:14,15). It is a spiritual principle that if you speak a lie, you will believe a lie (see Luke 7:37). Those who deceive others, are deceived themselves (2Tim. 3:13). If we want to avoid being deceived, we must “bridle the tongue” so our heart is not deceived (Jas. 1:26). The need to speak only truth is critical. We should be very careful about repeating what others say unless we have personally received the witness of the Spirit concerning those things, otherwise we may simply be broadcasting the deceitful schemes of the enemy.
What makes a breach in the wall of truth is falsehood. The enemy protects these falsehoods with “arguments” that raise themselves above the knowledge of God (2Cor. 10:5). One of the biggest strongholds we face is the deception that we can use wrongful means to achieve good results. It is the age-old question, “Does the end justify the means?” I am referring to the tendency to use the ways of this world to build the kingdom of God. We would not knowingly do that, but what if it is done unknowingly? This is where discernment is needed. In the same manner that individual believers come to maturity by exercising their spiritual senses to discern both good and evil, the church in general must do the same (Heb. 5:14). Any argument we use to do something other than what God says, is an argument that is not in obedience to Christ. It is a stronghold of the enemy.
There are many things we do as humans which are not according to God’s ways. We justify them because of the results they yield, but we judge wrongly. James said: “the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (Jas. 1:20). The example James give is of anger, but we can apply it to any of our fleshly ways. They may appear outwardly to yield good result, but they do nothing to produce the “love and good works” which issue from the heart. In the natural, it is common to strengthen a metal by mixing it with another metal. This is called an alloy. To gain this strength, however, the metal must give up some of its conductivity. In a spiritual sense, if we mix man’s ways with God’s ways to obtain strength, we hinder the operation of the Spirit. God is not preparing His Bride by the might or power of man, but by His Spirit of grace (Zech. 4:6,7).
Please consider prayerfully what I am saying here and hear the words of Paul to Timothy: “But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold or silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.” (2Tim. 2:20,21).
Highway in the Wilderness 