“Watch out that no one deceives you.” Matthew 24:4a (NIV)
It is not hard to figure out if you’re standing with God! We get to choose life or death, blessing or curse (Deuteronomy 30:19, Joshua 24:15). What you stand for, demonstrates who you are standing with. So, what does He stand for?
Life!
If you are in any way standing with people who advocate abortion, or you yourself support it, I can adamantly declare you are NOT standing with God! Even the Ten Commandments include this “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13)! Yet this year to date, some 30 million innocent unborn children have been slaughtered in the womb across the globe! THIRTY MILLION!
Israel!
God said if you bless Israel I’ll bless you! If you stand with those who oppose Israel or you yourself stand against them I can declare that you are not standing with God! Genesis 12:1-3 describes the covenant God was going to make with Abraham, which was ultimately passed through Isaac (Genesis 17). Then we are told clearly by David that we are to pray for Jerusalem, and that those who love “her” will prosper (Psalm 122:6).
Those are just two clear ways to know if you are standing with God! In light of how clear it is to know who you are standing with, Jesus’ first words about His return was, “be careful not to be deceived!” He even narrowed it down to there will be people and lies that look “Christian!” For example, many are saying “love” is what matters. And that is true but that actually needs to be defined and exercised in the context of Biblical faith, because “love” can be seen as two men, two women, a man and a dog, etc…! Jesus commented that even the elect could possibly be deceived (Matthew 24:24). Right now, the bully culture is intimidating everyone to comply, to do as they want you to do, to operate out of fear instead of faith. When we operate out of fear, we open ourselves up for deception! And because of this, sadly, many “Christians” are deceived, believing a false narrative, drinking the toxic elixir of the slithering serpent. By the nature of deception, those deceived don’t even know it!
Cry out for God to show you any and every place where you have been influenced by the lying spirit operating in our land! Ask Him to show you where and with whom you are standing. Ask Him for the grace to make whatever changes you need to make to be sure you are not deceived and standing in the wrong place. Pray for your pastor to likewise understand with whom he is standing. Ask God for the church in our city to realign completely with where God is standing in this hour!
(Gleaned from message by Brenda Kunneman at the Open the Heavens Conference, September 18, 2021)
