“The serpent was the shrewdest of all the wild animals the Lord God had made. One day he asked the woman, ‘Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden?’” Genesis 3:1 (NLT)
Anytime we enter into discussion with the devil we are setting ourselves up to lose. There is nothing in him that wants to help us out. He comes to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). He is a murderer and the father of lies (John 8:44). He is the accuser of the saints (Revelation 12:10). His desire is to get us to disbelieve things about God. That’s why you can’t believe a word he says to us.
The Apostle Paul warned us of this when he wrote that we are to demolish strongholds. A stronghold is an argument and pretensions that sets themselves up against the knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Instead of listening to these lies, we are to tear them down, to take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. The devil told Eve, “Did God really say that…?” Ed Silvoso says a stronghold is a mindset impregnated with hopelessness. Any place where our hope is attacked, is a lie, because in God anything and everything is possible. Hopelessness makes us doubt God’s ability to do anything and everything.
We must tear down, totally reject every lie contrary to the word of God. Any thoughts that stir anger, hatred, revenge (“getting blood”), immorality, perversion, confusion, fear, hopelessness… must be torn down. Stop listening to the devil. Remember, he is shrewd and slips his lies through propaganda that is coming from both sides of the platform. But he is blatantly speaking through the “fake news” reports. He is censoring, canceling, attacking and wearing down truth. His lies keep us from trusting Christ and His word. Right now, we are being inundated by his lies.
Instead to seeking the latest information, or breaking news story, chase after God and His word. In this season, please spend more time in His presence than you do drinking the elixir of the devil. Which foundation you drink from will impact how you walk. As we renew our minds with truth, that is meditating upon His word, saturating ourselves in His truth, we are transformed into Christ’s likeness (Romans 12:2). When we swim in the cesspool of the devil’s seductions we come out looking and thinking more like him.
Please pray that you’d be able to discern the devil’s voice, as it always lies (though it may be subtle)! Ask God to grant you grace to tune into His voice, and to be better able to discern between the two. Pray for a greater level of discernment for your pastor. This is an hour when we must know the voice of the Lord, and stop listening to the voice of the devil.