The Accuser of Brethren | Mac Hammond
Recap
Pastor Mac taught a message entitled, “The Accuser of Brethren.” “This message is important,” he said, “because it encapsulates our challenge in this life and summarizes things in a significant way.” His subject? How to avoid deception! The basic truth of this message is this: If the enemy can’t deceive you, he can’t defeat you!
Dive Deeper
The subject of the message is about “avoiding deception.” Pastor Mac explained, “If the enemy can’t deceive you, he can’t defeat you.”
One of the points of deception among people that are not grounded in the Word of God is that they are unaware that there is a war going on. The fact that we live in America is a factor in their not being able to realize we are in a war. Life in America is good; although, not so much lately. But even still, compared to what is going on in the rest of the world, life in America is good.
So what are we talking about?
We’re talking about the spiritual war that typifies how Christians experience life and determines how their lives are going to be lived to the degree to which they experience success in realizing the promises of God and His provision in the true riches of life—His peace and joy, His contentment, His satisfaction and fulfillment in life. For believers, this is the only way we should aspire to live.
Living this life is dependent on the subject of deception. The enemy is already a defeated foe, so he cannot defeat you if he can’t deceive you.
Through Jesus, we are delivered from the “death realm.” Without God, the world is a death realm where everything dies. People die. Bodies die. Businesses die. Relationships die. Everything is touched by death.
But as a believer, you have been raised with Christ. The same power that raised Jesus from the dead will raise you out of the touch of cursing and death!
Many believers celebrate the fact that the promise of eternity with the Lord is ours through our Christian faith. They don’t realize that eternity begins now!
The Bible talks about having eternal life. The Greek word for eternity is “zoe.” It’s usually rendered as everlasting life or eternal life. However, according to W.E. Vine’s Expository Dictionary, the word “zoe” is not just a reference to the timeless dimension of eternity but a quality of life. Says Vine’s, “Life as God has it!”
Life as God has it. The Lord isn’t sitting on His throne with the sniffles. He doesn’t battle sickness or disease. He doesn’t have a work stoppage because of relational upheavals with the angels.
Heaven is an arena where there are no more tears, no more sorrows, no sickness or disease. It’s a place where supernatural provision is provided beyond what you can ask or think. And it isn’t a place for eternal retirement!
What does eternity look like? It’s not going to be laying in a hammock for an eon or two sipping papaya juice. You’re going to live a life that is hard to even imagine.
The fact is that we are in a battle while we’re on this earth to demonstrate the life of God as well as to live it and bring as many people under the influence of what we call the Judeo-Christian ethic as we possibly can.
Even though we’re a long way from heaven in the natural sense, you can experience heaven on earth if you live right and fight your battle.
What is your battle? Your battle is with the enemy of your soul. He is a defeated foe. The only way he can bring defeat to bear in your life or to bring the touch of death in one of its many forms is to deceive you.
However, if you are grounded in the truth of God’s Word, it will set you free from the attacks of the enemy. It will bring you a level of freedom you cannot experience any other way.
The truth that you know is the truth that will set you free. And it is truth that you can share with other people and bring freedom to them.
Caveat: The truth that you share with others has to be spoken in love. Truth spoken in love will bring liberty.
Truth not spoken in love can be used as a weapon. You can tell a person the truth: “You’re a loser. You’re a pothead. You’re a drunkard. You’re a wife beater.” Telling someone the truth in a way that is painful becomes a weapon and will only hurt, not heal.
When you learn how to speak the truth in love, you will begin to influence others with the same kind of truth that set you free. It will set them free as well.
Satan is aware that he is in a war with God. He knows what the Word says about his eternal destiny. He is arrogant enough to believe he can postpone his destiny by delaying the will of God… one believer at a time.
The will of God is comprised of His purpose for all of us as we come together as the body of Christ. The enemy’s view is this: if he can defeat the will of God, one believer at a time, he can delay the destiny that is to come.
God has said that He has set before us this day “life and blessing, death and cursing.” He tells us how to live the good life. This is how you’re going to be happy and successful in life. This is how you will experience the true riches of life—fulfillment, contentment, joy, and peace.
For the rest of the message, click on the link above to listen to Pastor Mac’s entire message!
Discussion Questions
Can you state the rest of this sentence: “If the enemy can’t deceive you…”
How can the enemy delay God’s destiny for him?
What does the Greek word “zoe” mean?