Monday, November 19, 2012

The devil's #1 trick...little, tiny, white lies...Speak out. Don't get torn to shreds.



             Have you ever felt like you just couldn't be helped, healed or 

set free from what bothers you repeatedly?  Here is Leah's most 

anointed, powerful Sunday Sermon. Read it all the way through. 

You'll be set free from those little tiny white lies.  A spider web 

with just one thread at a time would never capture an insect, it is 

the multiple threads that trap and snag.. Just like lies. Learn the 

power of the Holy Spirit, the Liberty, the freedom. Learn how, why, 

and when to use scripture to kick the devil to the curb.

Job 8

13 Such is the destiny of all who forget God;
so perishes the hope of the godless.
14 What he trusts in is fragile [ ;
what he relies on is a spider’s web.
15 He leans on his web, but it gives way;
he clings to it, but it does not hold.
16 He is like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
spreading its shoots over the garden;
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
and looks for a place among the stones.
18 But when it is torn from its spot,
that place disowns it and says, ‘I never saw you.’
19 Surely its life withers away,
and  from the soil other plants grow.


Isaiah 58 Ministries                                        November 2012

Pastor:  Leah Svensson 
Graduate:  Rhema Bible College  

Scriptures:  Job 8,  Isaiah 59, Acts 5:4, Acts 5:29-32, Jer 9:23, Eze 23:37, Matthew 5:28, Titus 2:1-5, Deuteronomy 30:15-16, Genesis 2:24-25,Mark 10:5-8, Romans 8:13-15, Song of Solomon many scripts.,Genesis 12:10, 1Samuels16:12-13, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Romans 8:28, many more

Subject: Speak out, not to convince someone else but so that you don't start to believe the Lie yourself! 


2 Corinthians 10:3-5
 weaponshave divine powerto demolish strongholds
take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

              My mom once said. “ you don't speak out against a lie in an effort to convince the other person. You speak out so that you don't start to believe the lie yourself.”  :)  When someone attacks your faith, you have only two choices, believe them or combat it with the truth found in the Word of God. Like Jesus in the desert. Jesus spent 40 days alone hearing from God and at his weakest physical moment the devil comes in and tells him 3 little white lies to try to get Jesus to deny his Father. Jesus combats each of these lies with the truth. The problem for most believers is: the smaller the lie, the more believable it is. The easier it is to take root and grow in our hearts, causing us to fall into doubt and unbelief and ultimately, sin.
            In the desert, being tempted, Jesus was not silent to the devils accusations, nor was he in anyway trying to convince the devil of the truth. They both knew the truth anyway. No, Jesus spoke out to SHOW US WHAT TO DO, AS AN EXAMPLE TO US that when someone or something comes at you, contrary to the Word, you IMMEDIATELY need to quench the fiery dart with the shield of faith, with the truth, the Holy Spirit, with scripture. Usually the devil wants to tempt us through fine good things, but you have to sell out your family and go to work (moms especially) or take an 8 hour a day office job that calls you away from being there for your wife and children. It costs your soul to work for the almighty dollar. You've got to be ready with the Word that says no man or corporation is your lord, master, or provider, but God Almighty is your provider and you work for Him.

Acts 5:4 You have not lied to men but to God.”
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died.

Acts 5:29-32
29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than men!30 The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead—whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

            When the world comes at you to tempt you with the lust of the flesh, namely today the perversion of looking at the opposite gender, (those who are not God's one true match for you, to awaken a lustful desire), you have to be ready with, what Jesus told the pharisees “even to look at a woman lustfully is adultery and “if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out for it is better to go into the kingdom of Heaven blind and manned then to spend eternity in hell...” Leah paraphrase, but you get the gist.


Jer 9:23Because they have committed 6213 villany 5039 in Israel 3478, and have committed 6213 adultery 5003 with their neighbours 7453' wives 802, and have spoken 1696 lying 8267 words 1697 in my name8034, which I have not commanded 6680 them; even I know 3045, and [am] a witness 5707, saith 5002 the LORD 3068.
Eze 23:37That they have committed adultery 5003, and blood 1818 [is] intheir hands 3027, and with their idols 1544 have they committedadultery 5003, and have also caused their sons 1121, whom they bare 3205 unto me, to pass for them through 5674 [the fire], to devour 402 [them].
Mat 5:28But 1161 I 1473 say 3004 unto you 5213, That 3754 whosoever 3956looketh 991 on a woman 1135 to 4314 lust after 1937 her 846 hath committed adultery 3431 with her 846 already 2235 in 1722 his 846heart 2588.
 
     It’s the little white lies that ultimately spell our downfall into sin or depression. I know that sex outside of marriage is a big sin, no one can convince me otherwise. I know abortion is wrong, no one can tell me differently.  I know moms should stay at home and raise their children. But what about birth control...that is a much harder moral principle and doctrine to argue. What of “harmlessly looking at the opposite gender” and “what of single women working or married women with no kids or men with office jobs?” 

Titus 2

What Must Be Taught to Various Groups
1 You must teach what is in accord with sound doctrine. 2 Teach the older men to be temperate, worthy of respect, self-controlled, and sound in faith, in love and in endurance.
3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy,(homemakers, mothers), at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Deuteronomy 30:15-16
God's Blessings: many children
15 “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, 16 in that I command you today to love the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; 

            Mmmm, I know it’s all wrong, but the world and a spineless, weak, compromising church have made these things so common place. It’s like brushing your teeth and much more difficult to argue. Not impossible but people look at you really funny. So what do we do? In order to keep the peace, we remain quite. That is suicide. Unless we combat those little white lies by speaking out in some way, the little white lies are harder to identify and can take root easier than the big ones, whereby we fall ill, sick, and troubles enter our lives, etc.

      A friend of mine rooted out a big “little” lie the other day, not to convince the other person, he knew he was not going to be able to do that at the time. No, he spoke out to stop the lie from having any effect on him. The other person was insisting that there wasn't a man in the world who wouldn't look lustfully at another woman. So, in turn, she said women have a God given right to lust after men with rippling muscles. Well, this goes against everything in the Word of God. Somewhere along the way someone led by the devil put all kinds of little lies in this person’s head to make them believe that what the Bible said was not true! Oh my, but see, the really sad part about this lie is that this person is not living a fulfilled life with their spouse. How wonderfully romantic is a pure love life with our one true match to wake up and go to sleep next to. The only person you will ever have eyes for. All others are mere shadows in comparison to their strength and beauty. 

Genesis 2:24-25
24 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.
25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
           Mark 10:5-8
5 “It was because your hearts were hard that Moses wrote you this law,” Jesus replied. 6 “But at the beginning of creation God ‘made them male and female.’ 7 ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, 8 and the two will become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two, but one.9 Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

            When the most delicious meal is prepared just to your specifications, you don't look at someone else's plate and desire to eat  off theirs.  No, you keep others from eyeing or taking a bite from yours!

     My friend was able to combat this lie in his head and in doing so, kept himself open to God's wonderful blessings of a good, Godly,  beautiful wife and children. If he had let that lie go, it might have tried to take root or at least torment him later.

    It's easy to get rid of the little white lies; we just have to stay on top of it!! To do this, the Bible instructs us to “take every thought into the obedience of Jesus Christ” meaning, any thought that does not line up with faith or the Word of God, must be fixed. This is also easy to do.  God promises us that we don't have to have any man instruct us. Ministers are led by God to remind us and guide us to follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit of God himself.  We must follow the Lord on our own, others can only confirm what God has told us. How? The Holy Spirit will bring the Word of God to our remembrance! :) 

Romans 8 :13-15
 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live,14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba,  Father.
            The person who lusts after shirtless men has never experienced the greatest of all passionate romances as laid out by the wisest man to ever live, king Solomon. He wrote a book called the Song of Solomon so we could see what true romance really looks like, what God in his infinite wisdom had planned for man and woman. 
Song of Solomon 1:2
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine. 
Song of Solomon 2:16 My lover is mine, and I am his.
Song of Solomon 4:10 How delightful is your love, my sister,(in Christ), my bride! How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume than any spice! 
Song of Solomon 8:6 Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame.
Song of Solomon 8:7 Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away. If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned. 

       Now, in practice, he probably didn't get to experience this romantic kind of relationship for his entire life because he was not saved and given the mind of Christ and the sin of his father had come down upon him. The Holy Spirit would come upon him and write through him. He knew the truth and laid it all out for future generations.  All whose minds our renewed by Christ can have this.  Ester, Ruth and Boaz, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebekah, Mary and Joseph, all had one true match. It is said that Abraham knew his wife Sarah; she was the most beautiful woman in all the land. 

Genesis 12:10
10 Now there was a famine in the land, and Abram went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe. 11 As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. 
1 Samuel 16:12-13

Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; he is the one.”
13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came upon David in power. Samuel then went to Ramah.
            These marriages were fulfilling until old age. Hey, Abraham and Sarah even got together to have a son, (had to keep trying you know, they knew how a child comes into this world), even when their bodies had otherwise told them to just give up on the romance...God said 'nope, keep the love fires burning, for I have a son to give to you! Woo hoo! That too shows how God intended marriage and relations to be...lasting even until old age...goodbye nursing homes and Depends, hello to Gods way of living and True fulfilling pure romance! So, you tell that little white lie in your head the truth and you gain will gain the victory and get stronger in your faith! 

            Another example of a little white lie deceptively taking root was when Michelle and I did not quench the lie that we had to pay big money for a house we already owned free and clear. How in the world could this happen? A bunch of little, tiny lies we knew were lies but we did not speak out and nip them in the bud one by one. This is the devil's greatest trick "oh, I know the truth here, so I'll let this one slide." Nope, bad idea. We ended up repeating a lie as truth, that we KNEW DEEP DOWN was NOT true. Our grandma had left us her house free and clear of any snags- only problem? She was relying on her other children who were known liars to speak the truth and do the right thing. We could have turned things around right from the beginning if we had not kept repeating their lies that "they were supposed to give us the house." It sounds right, but actually it was a tiny white lie that grew into a great big one. We needed to speak the truth, “Grandma gave us the house.” Under God, (man's rules do not always line up with God's rules), when Grandma told everyone she wanted Michelle and I to have the house- that was it, it was ours. She knew we were not selfish. She knew it meant we would be sacrificing and taking responsibility for her son for the rest of his life- but she was raped of her sound mind deceived / forced by brainwashing into giving the wrong guy power to get it done. 
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments/imaginatons and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
1 Timothy 5:8
 8 If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Brainwasher/con artist
John 10:1
7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who ever came before Me [fn1] are thieves and robbers,
           
      If Jesus can take down the devil in the desert with the truth, so too, can we. We thought "just get along with them for now, don't make waves." But when the devil is staring you in the face- MAKE WAVES! It's the only way to defeat him for his trickery,for he is like a “trained,  practiced, black magician. He has been doing it since he asked Eve "Did God really say?" Did grandma really give us the house? Absolutely!!! Good news!!! We had to see it all the way through. Now we are speaking the truth, it will make a change.  Everything is redeemable, everything can be healed. The truth will heal the whole thing up and have it to happen right way, in the Lord "All things work together for those who love the Lord and are called according to His promise." So, we will have the victory now that we know to always speak out against the littlest white lies. A little late but just in time!!! :) 


Comfort for the Contrite, Isaiah 57:14-15
14 And it will be said:
“Build up, build up, prepare the road!
Remove the obstacles out of the way of my people.”
15 For this is what the high and lofty One says—
he who lives forever, whose name is holy:
“I live in a high and holy place,
but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly
and to revive the heart of the contrite.

2 Chronicles 7:14 
14 Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land.

More Than Conquerors, Romans 8:28
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[fn10] who [fn11] have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies.

     I have a friend who is working very hard to get all the little white lies out of his head so he too can walk in all God has for him. Like myself, as a child he was told things about himself and encouraged- even forced to do things he knew deep down were lies. "If anyone causes a little one to sin, it would be better for them to have a millstone tied around their neck and for them to be cast into the bottom of the sea than what he will experience on the day of judgment." Matthew 18. Just the other day he told us he was told he had terrible handwriting. Actually, he has a very good, legible script. Better than mine most of the time, (that's why I type, so I can read my own writing :). 
Matthew 18:5-7

5 “And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. 6 But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
7 “Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

Matthew 18:1-4 Let God heal your Childhood memories. Your faith in God is in those memories erased by the devil. Get it back!!!
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 He called a little child and had him stand among them. 3 And he said: “I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.


            This is a lie he will have to eradicate. Along with all the others, especially with food. They always forced him to go hungry so he has a different way of viewing food. "If only I could just skip eating all together and live hooked up to an IV." They made food fun for themselves but awful for someone who burned 1,000s of calories a day and needed a lot to refuel. They made him feel guilty for the bonafide hunger pains he experienced. He has and is going back to those times when he was told "no pizza for you. no cotton candy, no extra green beans even," and fix it so he actually ENJOYED EATING- He will eventually learn to love all the good food the Lord has for us, including fruits and vegetables that he just couldn't stomach in that depressing and unhealthy environment, but it will take some time to unravel all the lies and take every thought into the captivity of Christ. But with each lie wiped away with the truth, a bigger part of our minds is opened up so we can experience all the great things God has for us!!!! 
             (Side note, whether it's overeating or under eating, or not liking certain natural foods- when we are abused, healthy things do not always appeal to us because our abusers want us unhealthy and they will make it very unpleasant to actually enjoy being and eating healthy. But NEVER FEAR! I had a hard time with many foods until I got set free from my dad who messed up my eating habits with abuse. The longer and farther away I got from that mess, the more natural foods became pleasant and enjoyable for me to not only eat but to prepare!!! Fast food is a drug to keep us from dying because of the pain. It's a painkiller that the Lord says is okay to use until we are not being beaten anymore. Until the hitting stops, we need something to ease the pain. Then, the Lord can show us a better way! So, don't feel guilty for only liking certain fast foods, etc.- just know, the closer you get to God your tastes will change naturally on their own!:) 

So, to sum it all up- when the devil comes in like a flood- raise up God's banner against him! Don't let EVEN ONE LIE go by unchallenged! This can be a challenge itself and I am working on it myself. But remember, we don't always speak out to convince others or even convince ourselves. We speak out so we don't get accidentally swept up in the devil's #1 trick...little, tiny, white lies... 

             Isaiah  59

Sin, Confession and Redemption
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken lies,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;
no one pleads his case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments and speak lies;
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
Their thoughts are evil thoughts;
ruin and destruction mark their ways.
8 The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks in them will know peace.
9 So justice is far from us,
and righteousness does not reach us.
We look for light, but all is darkness;
for brightness, but we walk in deep shadows.
10 Like the blind we grope along the wall,10 Like the blind we grope along the wall,
feeling our way like men without eyes.
At midday we stumble as if it were twilight;
among the strong, we are like the dead.
11 We all growl like bears;
we moan mournfully like doves.
We look for justice, but find none;
for deliverance, but it is far away.
12 For our offenses are many in your sight,
and our sins testify against us.
Our offenses are ever with us,
and we acknowledge our iniquities:
13 rebellion and treachery against the LORD,
turning our backs on our God,
fomenting oppression and revolt,
uttering lies our hearts have conceived.
14 So justice is driven back,
and righteousness stands at a distance;
truth has stumbled in the streets,
honesty cannot enter.
15 Truth is nowhere to be found,
and whoever shuns evil becomes a prey.
The LORD looked and was displeased
that there was no justice.
16 He saw that there was no one,
he was appalled that there was no one to intervene;
so his own arm worked salvation for him,
and his own righteousness sustained him.
17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate,
and the helmet of salvation on his head;
he put on the garments of vengeance
and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak.
18 According to what they have done,
so will he repay
wrath to his enemies
and retribution to his foes;
he will repay the islands their due.
19 From the west, men will fear the name of the 
For he will come like a pent-up flood
that the breath of the LORD drives along. 
20 “The Redeemer will come to Zion,
to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,”
declares the LORD.
21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the LORD. “My Spirit, who is on you, and my words that I have put in your mouth will not depart from your mouth, or from the mouths of your children, or from the mouths of their descendants from this time on and forever,” says the LORD.

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