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Defenses Against Deception | Episode 7 | God's Authority
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In the seventh episode of "Defenses Against Deception," Duane teaches the importance of having the proper and final authority in one's life, which he identifies as God and God's Word. He stresses that this is a crucial defense against the increasing deception and darkness infiltrating society and the church.
The New Testament repeatedly commands believers to "be not deceived" (1 Corinthians 15:33, Galatians 6:7), indicating it is possible to fall into deception. This deception grows worse and worse, often directly or indirectly enabled by Christians who have compromised the truth.
The first line of defense is to exalt God's Word as absolute, objective truth and final authority over every other voice, such as government, media, feelings, etc. Those who prosper spiritually all uplift Scripture's authority in their lives. There must be a final authority, and only God and His Word can rightly claim that position of supreme truth.
A second vital defense is cultivating sensitivity to the Lord's still, small voice within (1 Kings 19:12). When Jacob deceived Isaac, Isaac heard Jacob's voice but was led astray by his physical senses of touch, taste, and smell, which overrode that inner witness. Similarly, Sheriff laments how often people let their feelings trump God's clear Word when he tries to counsel them as Jesus' followers.
Using Revelation 13:11, Sheriff illustrates how the spirit of deception makes things appear lamb-like and loving on the surface while masking the dragon's voice of destruction underneath. Immorality, perversion, and ideologies contrary to biblical truth are deceptively packaged as "love" and pushed on society and even churches. But God's kind of love never harms or violates His laws.
Discerning the dragon's voice from the Shepherd's voice is crucial in this age of deception. Christians must mature in God's Word as the final authority, humbly cultivate hearing His still, small voice, and not be deceived by their senses or the persuasive yet destructive rhetoric of the world. Only by applying these divinely-given defenses can they remain undeceived.
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