.  Living Hope Fellowship Church....Sermons by the Pastor 

LYING

by Pastor Kevin Badgley 07/17/05 P.M

            Ephesians 4:27 says, “Neither give place to the devil.”  He is talking to Christians, not sinners.  Revelation 21:8 says,

“. . . all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone. . . .”

            Jesus said that Satan is the father of all lies.  Lies come from not walking in the truth.  People try to reinvent the truth, which makes a lie.   

            You can deceive yourself, you can be deceived by somebody else, and you can deceive others.

            Proverbs 6:16-19 says, “These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him:  A proud look, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, An heart that deviseth wicked imaginations, feet that be swift in running to mischief, A false witness that speaketh lies, and he that soweth discord among brethren.”

            Deuteronomy 8:2 says that God led his people in the wilderness to prove them, and to know what was in their heart.  In Verse 3 He said to them:  “. . . by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the LORD doth man live.”

            Anything contrary to the Word of God is a lie.  A melancholy spirit will say that you have a right to be depressed, but 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says, “Rejoice evermore.”

            In John 11:40 Jesus said, “. . . Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?”  Yet, a lying spirit comes and says, “The Lord is not going to do it for you like He did for others.”

            Understand your enemy.  When you have thoughts that go contrary to the Word of God, you are under an attack of a lying spirit, because any way other than God’s way, is a lie. 

            Romans 6:16 says, “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”

            Some people feel the presence of an infirm spirit immediately after a lying spirit has told them that they are sick!  That spirit may say, “You are feeling poorly, and after all, it is going around!”  However, you weren’t feeling poorly until the devil lied to you! 

            The lying spirit is the door to Satan’s operation.  The first man and woman did not sin until first a lying spirit tempted them to act upon a lie.  When you believe a lie, damnation comes unless you repent.  When you listen to a lying spirit, sickness, disease, and difficulty will come to you.  That is how things operate in the spirit realm.  The entry of the devil is always gained first by a lying spirit. 

            People are easy prey for the devil’s purpose when they are in rebellion.  If you don’t like authority a lying spirit might say, “They are no better than you,” or “They haven’t been in it as long as you have, so even though they have authority over you, don’t listen to them.” 

            1 Samuel 15:23 says, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. . . .”

            All the powers that are in the universe are ordained by God whether it is godly power, devil power, or earthly power (see Romans 13:1 & Isaiah 45:7).  People who don’t believe there is a devil are some of his best servants. 

            You might even break out in a sweat because the devil’s temptation is so great.  God allows things to come to prove us, and all of us have been tempted to do wrong, but take the escape God has promised you!  1 Corinthians 10:13 says, “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.”

            Why would a Christian believe a lie?  Sometimes a lie sounds better than the truth, or it is easier to live than the truth.  A lying spirit is your first and forefront attack of the devil.  A lying spirit doesn’t just lie!  A lying spirit has power and anointing (remember he used to live in heaven) to make you believe a lie. 

            Some religions are full of lies.  Some say they can pray to a priest, and he can pray them out of hell after they have gone there.  That is a lie!  Some people believe that once you are saved, you are locked in to heaven even if you sin and don’t repent!  That is a lie! 

            A lying spirit spoke to Eve in the Garden of Eden.  God had already told them they would die if they ate of the fruit of a certain tree!  Genesis 3:4 says, “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:”  That was a direct contradiction of what God told her, and she knew it. 

            The Bible says that all are capable of sin (see Romans 3:23).   A lying spirit will tell you that your kids can’t sin, but they will.  If you ask them, they may lie and say no!  

            A lying spirit can lie and tell you that your spouse is committing adultery.  A jealous spirit can come right after a lying spirit.  A lying spirit gets you to believe something, and that gives him ground to operate whatever he wants to, so give no place to the devil. 

            You can’t come to the truth by means of a lie, because the Bible says that no lie is of the truth.  God sends strong delusion to those who have rejected the truth so that they might believe a lie.  (See 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12.)  However, He never sends strong delusion except first He sees a rebellious seed.

            The truth sets us free.  If it hurts us, makes us cry, or makes us angry, we must still be valiant for God’s Word and His truth!