Deuteronomy Ch13
V. 1-5 Enticement of false prophets and their miracles and signs.
I would like to share a testimony about this subject with you. I know a sister who loves the Lord. Her last name is Ting. She came to Home of Grace for Christ’s Workers and became one of the co-workers. When she was at her hometown, she usually prayed with an older sister, Mrs. Hsieh. This sister was a widow.
Mrs. Hsieh usually helped others by praying with them for their problems. Sometimes when Mrs. Hsieh prayed for others, she would receive some revelations. Many times it came true. Once Mrs. Hsieh lost a bag of jewelry stolen by the thief. She told sister Ting that when she prayed for it, she knew her jewelry would be returned to her soon. Few days later, sister Ting went to Mrs. Hsieh’s house. When two of them were praying on their knees, suddenly they heard a noise outside the door, then a sound of “pu-tung”. It sounded like someone had dropped something heavy into the mail box. They went out at once to check and saw that stolen jewelry was returned, sound and peace lying in the mail box. Sister Ting was so amazed about it. Many sisters believed that Mrs. Hiseh was a prophetess.
It took a very long time for people to realize that the spirit in her was not from God. When some people who were experienced in the spirit went to pray with her, they found that there was a block in the spirit. If there was any one did not believe what she prophesied, she would be so depressed. In addition, people found that most of her prophecies were about things of the world. Just as the Bible said, “Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1) Jesus also warned us that many false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect.
V. 6-11 Enticement from family and friends.
This is also a very difficult enticement for Christians to discern or overcome. Brother Wang was a young leader of house churches in China. He preached the Gospel in the villages. When we first met him, he was full of spiritual authority. Whenever he appeared on the pulpit, the Holy Spirit would work strongly that the audience would start to cry and confess their sins. He and his family led a very poor and simple life. But he was so rich in the spirit. He was a rich blessing to everyone who went to him for help. My co-worker and I took train to visit him for three times. But we were surprised to see that he was less and less powerful. We asked him what happened, he told us the reason. During that period of time he was under great pressure from the government asking him to join the “Three-Self” Church. Brother Wang did not know what to do. Should he join it? Or should he resist it till the end even if it would take his life? He went to his spiritual father brother Zhao for advice. Brother Zhao told him that he could join it, then he could preach the Gospel freely. Brother Zhao taught him not to be afraid of the “Three-Self” Church. He said, “When you see the meat, you eat it up. When you see the bone, you spit it out.” Brother Zhao meant that if he saw something was reasonable in that organization, he could accept it into his ministry. If he saw something was unsuitable, he simply rejected it. Brother Wang felt so relieved when he heard it. He then joined the “Three-Self” Church, an religious organization to support the ruling of Chinese Communist Party. Since then his living standard was improved, higher and higher. But he fell to the bottom in the spirit.
The Bible told us, “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?” ( 2 Corinthians 6: 14-16 ) “Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.” (V. 17)
How pity that brother Wang was enticed by his spiritual father, brother Zhao, to go astray from the Truth.
I would like to give another example of this kind of enticement. Pastor Wang, Ming Dao was the most famous pastor in China. He openly confessed how he failed to stand up for his faith in the beginning. He failed because of his love for his wife. Before he was arrested by the government for the sake of Jesus Christ, he was like a light of Truth shinning in China. He stood up bravely for the Truth and refused to join the “Three-Self” Church. Then the government put him into jail, they also arrested his wife. He felt so ashamed when his wife was put in jail because of him. He remembered when he married his wife how his parents-in-law had asked him to take good care of their daughter who was much younger than Pastor Wang. His heart melted when he thought about his beloved wife suffering in the jail. He compromised his faith in Jesus with Chinese Communist Party for the sake of his wife. He admitted to the government that he was wrong in preaching against the “Three-Self” Church. Then the government released him and his wife. Both of them could go home. But when he got home, his wife rebuked him, “How can you face brothers and sisters at church? What you did is the opposite to what you usually preached.” When Pastor Wang heard it, he was awakened. God rebuked him and promised him victory through the book of Micah 7: 8-10, “Do not gloat over me, my enemy! Though I have fallen, I will rise. Though I sit in darkness, the Lord will be my light. Because I have sinned against him, I will bear the Lord’s wrath, until he pleads my case and establishes my right. He will bring me out into the light; I will see his righteousness. Then my enemy will see it and will be covered with shame, she who said to me, ‘Where is the Lord your God?’ My eyes will see her downfall; even now she will be trampled underfoot like mire in the streets.” He confessed his sins completely to God and to the true church. He went back to jail by himself, the government again arrested his wife. But they both stood up for the Truth. Many times Pastor Wang refused to be released by the government until God wanted him to come out to shine for Jesus in the whole world. He always recited the scriptures from Micah 7: 8-10 to every visitor who came from all over the world to see him. He was full of fruit of repentance till the end of his life.
Once I heard a testimony about a sister. She loved Jesus very much so that she was persecuted by her husband. She opened her house for Bible Study in spite of difficulties at home. There were so many people came to her house for Bible Study that there was not enough room for them. Many had to stand on the street for Bible Study. Her husband loved gambling. Later this sister compromised her faith with family peace. How sad it was that later she joined her husband to gamble so that he would not persecute her, and the family would have some peace. (She was enticed by her husband to worship other god.) There were so many people went to her home for gambling. They even had to set up tables for gambling on the street. O! We must love the Lord and be obedient to keep His word to the every end.
How can we break through this kind of enticement? The Bible said, “You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death.” (Deut. 13: 9)
It is by praying and reading the Bible we can discern and overcome it.
I myself used to like or admire people easily and regard them as perfect in my heart. (Idolize people as gods.) I remember when I was young, my mother’s friends would play with me whenever they visited her. I would have such an affecdtion to them and cried my heart out when they left. Later on, Jesus called me to serve Him, He gave me a new name, “One Heart”. Jesus wants me to love Him with my whole heart. But this was my weakest point. It was so easy for my heart to be led astray by many things. Sometimes I admired my co-workers as gods. There were times that I admired the believers at church as gods. Even when I was in jail and in labor camp, I admired and was grateful to those who treated me nice in the jail. I forgot that it was God who had mercy on me and moved those prisoners to be nice to me. God is a jealous God. Though I had never committed any sins physically with those whom I admired (idolized), I regarded them as my happiness. Therefore God disciplined me greatly for it.
The great commandment is for us to love our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our mind, and with all our might. To love God most is to love His words most. That is to keep His words always and fully until the end. We can do that by His blood and by the help of the Holy Spirit. We must keep God’s words in our hearts and meditate on it day and night. Then we can keep the Lord’s commands without shaking.
But there was a long period of time that I always loved others or other things more than I loved God. I even thought that I did not sin against God when I loved and admired those who were nice to me. They were just like mothers and sisters to me. But God’s love is as strong as death. He made me feel that I was bounded by the rope of the grave when I got close to the people I admired. Therefore, I was forced to pray earnestly about it. During that period of time, I fast every morning and pleaded God for mercy and grace. O Lord! I could not bear this any more. I had a name as “One Heart”, but I could not love you with my whole heart. There were so many people that I admired in my heart. Lord, I could not live like this. Though I was a servant of God, I felt like a liar and a beggar. I preached what I could not do it by myself. Lord. I could not serve like this just to feed my stomach as a beggar.
Hallelujah! Pretty soon God purified me before I knew it. He changed my heart. There is no one in my heart except Jesus Christ. He has changed me that I love Jesus with all my heart. Those who pray will be answered. I learned that we must seek goodness earnestly, and we will find it. Later, Jesus even gives me a special burden for those who cannot love Jesus with one heart. I pray for them and share with them so that they can love God with one heart. How God has blessed me a new heart that is zealous for the honor of Him.
Before I went to America, God warned me in a dream about enticement of friendship. In this dream, my heart was led astray again when my plane was about to land. And an English word, “Friendship” appeared in my dream. When I woke up, I thought how could that be. I not only have loved the Lord with all my heart, but also have been zealous for others to be the same. How could it be possible that I idolize people again?
The Bible said, “If you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!” (1 Corithians 10: 12) But this warning was truly from God. Few years later after I arrived in America, I moved from Baltimore to New Orleans. I met a noble neighbour. She lived across the street from Home of Grace for Christ’s Workers. Her husband was a retired soldier (veteran). Mrs. Ho always gave us flowers, candies and beautiful crads since we moved in. She especially liked me. Gradually I regarded her as a comfort and joy in my heart. She also wrote to me that I was her comfort and joy. Sometimes, I even wrote her cards when we were having meetings of Bible Study. Before long, I found that I could not write because there was a bone sticking out from my right thumb. All of Mrs. Ho’s children were doctors and they told me that it could be cancer or tumor. An operation was needed to remove it. I then confessed my sins before the Lord. I asked the Lord to forgive me because I was not eager or faithful to His entrustment about setting up 48 locations for workers to retreat before the Lord. That was why I was again enticed by Satan using friendship as a snare. I prayed for God’s mercy that I did not lead this neighbor to Jesus. Later I asked others to care for her souls. I kept myself far away from this idol, Mrs. Ho. The bone stuck out from my right thumb which lasted for about two years disappeared!
V. 12-16 Enticement from the wicked men.
According to the Bible, every Christian must submit himself to the governing authorities. But the Bible also taught us: When the government asks Christian to disobey God’s commandments, we must obey God rather than men. (Acts 5: 29)
When an atheist government has come to rule over China, many pastors, missionaries and believers refused to join the “Three-Self” Church. That is a christian organization controlled by the Department of Religion of Chinese Communist Party. This organization made use of members in churches to set up meetings of false accusations. This organization mobilizes members in churches to accuse one another just as the Gentile. It encouraged people to collect information about others and to report them to the government. It encouraged people to speak ill of one another. As a result, the government announced many who loved the Lord as guilty of against the revolution in China. And they were put into jail and labor camp. Many of them were sentenced to death for the name of Jesus Christ.
Churches were controlled by the unbelievers and those who dispised God. Their sayings sounded right but their heart was evil. They said it was to love the people and christianity that every Christian must join the “Three-Self” Church. They forced every Christian to learn their way of religion. In fact, they tried to brainwash Christians and led us away from the Truth by their teachings and practices. During that time, many people were scared for their own lives or interests that they betrayed God and their fellow brothers and sisters.
A brother who usually attended my Bible Study and prayer meeting was under great pressure from the government. They asked him to make report about where and when my meetings were and what I preached. The government brainwashed him. They told him that the government was concerned about my future. If he reported these things to them, they could have a chance to help me so that I would not end up as an “anti-revolutionist”. They also told him to think about his wife and 7 children. How they would suffer if he refused to make report of me. They asked him to consider whether it was worthwhile to sacrifice 9 people of his family for me. They told him that it would be better to sacrifice me because I was a single. At the end, he could do nothing but to make report of me. Though I had never said anything against the government, my preaching according to the Bible about do not love the world, think about things of Heaven, and so on and so forth were all regarded as against the revolution in China. Based on these information the government sentenced me 5 years in jail (Later it was entended to 8 years.) and 6 years in labor camp.
Before the second coming of Jesus Christ, the wicked men and the deceiver will go from bad to worse. If God’s children don’t take every chance to put God’s word richly in our hearts and guard it carefully, we will be led astray by the evil one. Then we will not be able to stand up for the Truth at all.
Wake up you sleepers and drunkards, hurry and follow the example of the ants. They know they need to prepare food diligently in the summer time. For there is no food in winter. Let us read the Bible diligently and continue to meet together for encouragement when there is freedom. There will be nothing when winter comes. The foolish virgins have the lamps but no oil. They cannot enter God’s kingdom when Jesus Christ come again. They can only weep in bitterness at that time. Wake up and get ready now.