“Beware! A spirit of deception has been loosed upon your land. It will come in many forms and from many arenas. Many false prophets and false teachers will proclaim in loud voices things that are not true. They will proclaim misinterpretations of My Word to hinder you from laying your lives down completely during these times and seasons.
“You also need to be aware of the plans of the enemy of your soul, so that you do not fall for his tactics to separate you from one another and waylay you from your appointed tasks. This spirit will have a twofold front. It will inhabit those who spread the deceptions, and it will be waiting to invade the hearts of those who are ripe to receive the lies.
“Those who will participate in spreading words that are not My Words have been walking in deception for a long time. They will simply become more prevalent. Each of you, however, must be on guard to protect yourselves from receiving the deceptions pointed in your direction. Do not think that you cannot fall. Do not allow your pride to set you up for failure. Guard your heart. The enemy will attempt to plant seeds of discord, doubt, unbelief, contention, and fear in your hearts, wanting you to entertain them long enough to eventually have you fully embrace them. He is attempting to destroy any unity and cooperation within the body so that My work will go unfulfilled.
“You must be on guard at every moment. Be advocates one for another. Do not listen to gossip. Forgive easily and often. Reconcile fast. Communicate openly. Live a life of repentance. Trust your alliances fully. Trust Me with all your heart. Trust My Word. Spend many moments of time with Me and I will give you the proper discernment to prosper. You are safe with Me. I will keep you in truth.”
Ezekiel 13:7-8 AMP
7) Have you not seen a false vision and have you not spoken a lying divination when you say, The Lord says, although I have not spoken?
8) Therefore thus says the Lord God: Because you have spoken empty, false, and delusive words and have seen lies, therefore behold, I am against you, says the Lord God.
James 1:21-22 AMP
21) So get rid of all uncleanness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness, and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls.
22) But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth].
I Peter 5:5b-7 AMP
5b) …Clothe (apron) yourselves, all of you, with humility [as the garb of a servant, so that its covering cannot possibly be stripped from you, with freedom from pride and arrogance] toward one another. For God sets Himself against the proud (the insolent, the overbearing, the disdainful, the presumptuous, the boastful)-[and defeats them], but gives grace (favor, blessing) to the humble.
6) Therefore humble yourselves [demote, lower yourselves in your own estimation] under the mighty hand of God, that in due time He may exalt you.
7) Casting the whole of your care [all your anxieties, all your worries, all your concerns, once and for all] on Him, for He cares for you affectionately and cares about you watchfully.
Several decades ago, Merry and I ran an AM radio station. We focused on praying over everything, including the words we spoke, each and every song we played, and everyone we hired. We had many challenges; but all in all, we often marveled at the freedom the Holy Spirit had in our midst. There were many sold–out believers involved, who wanted only the Lord’s will for their lives and in the station. There was a unity of spirit that was rare for any working environment. Most of the time, everyone really worked for the benefit of the other. It was truly fun being in that atmosphere.
Once, however, almost overnight, strife and division became very evident. People began talking about other people, accusations of minor consequence were ballooned into rivalries; and friends sided against friends. It seemed as if our camp was split right down the middle. This went on for several days. Nothing could be accomplished because there seemed to be no reason for all of the discord.
To get to the bottom of things, after much prayer, I interviewed everyone who worked there one at a time in my office. It wasn’t long before a pattern emerged. The name of one of my air staff kept popping up. I would be talking to a person and he or she would say, “Sue (that’s not her real name) said this,” or “Sue said that,” or “Sue told me that you said…” and so on. By the time everything was resolved, almost half of my staff had to leave because they were so deceived by Sue that they would not repent of their actions toward the others and me. They believed the lie and could not see the deception. It was incredible. The tragic thing was that all of the nonsense was totally unfounded.
It took many years - and only after the same thing happened with Sue and another group of people - for some of the deceived to find the truth. They then came back to us and were reconciled. True deception is blinding to even the most spiritual people. It sneaks up on the unwary and destroys the best of plans. Our little company almost didn’t survive.
The seasons in which we live are very important. Much is at stake. Each of us must be acutely aware of our need for God and also the tactics of the enemy. Each of us can be vulnerable to attack if we do not make our relationship with our Lord the priority of our life.
Needing Him more than ever,
Jim Corbett
