Derek Prince - Who Will Stay Loyal To Jesus
This is an excerpt from: Take Heed That You Are Not Deceived
Paul wrote two things to the Corinthians, in 2 Corinthians chapter 3, 2 Corinthians 3: verses 12 and 13: "Therefore, since we have such hope, we use great boldness of speech", but the other translation is "we use great plainness of speech", "and unlike Moses, who put a veil over his face so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the end of what was passing away". So the Old Testament was veiled. It had truth in signs and types and allegories. It wasn’t fully unfolded. But in the New Testament, that’s not the way we present truth. We use great plainness of speech. I tell people when they want, in a deliverance meeting, "If you want to be delivered, number one, be humble; number two, be honest". And you won’t be honest unless you’re humble. And I say, "Call your problem by the right name".
If it’s lust, call it lust. Don’t use some fancy psycho-analytic term. And I believe in plainness. I believe that’s part of the New Testament ministry. We call things by simple terms. We call a spade, a spade, and not "an agricultural implement". And then Paul goes on in the same epistle, chapter 11, part of which I have already read. He says to the church in verse 2: For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. That’s an astonishing statement when you think what kind of people the Corinthian Christians had been: homosexuals, prostitutes, drunkards, every nasty thing that you can think of. And Paul says, "I want to betroth you as a chaste virgin to Christ". That’s the miracle of salvation. That the most impure can become the purest. But, you see, he used the word "betrothed". Betroth is not marriage. In the biblical culture, a betrothal was binding but was not marriage. You couldn’t consummate the relationship. But it was as authoritative and legal as marriage.
Now the church today is betrothed to Jesus. But the marriage supper of the Lamb hasn’t come. And we are being tested. What’s the test? It’s very simple: Will we be loyal to Jesus? Or will we abandon our commitment to Him? The church that is loyal to Jesus will be the Bride; the church that abandons loyalty to Jesus will be the harlot, the prostitute. They’re both very clearly formed already in the world. We’re not going to see that emerge, it has already begun to emerge. There is a false church today. Very important to remember that. And it’s a false church because it’s betrayed Jesus. And then Paul goes on and comes back to the to the issue now: But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity [and purity] that is in Christ. Stay simple. Don’t try to be too clever. In my opinion, stay away from theology.
Well, I’m not a critic of theologians, but I think theology has brought much more damage to church than it has done good. I don’t think we’re required to make a system out of the Bible. We’re required to find out what it teaches and live that way. You know why we make theology? Because it’s too simple. We have to find a way round explaining the simple commandments of the Bible. Like, "If anyone slaps you on one cheek, turn the other cheek". "If anybody asks for your coat, give him your cloak". "Do good to those who hate you". "Bless those who persecute you". That’s not difficult to understand, but it’s pretty difficult to do. There’s no complication in the message; the complication comes in our crooked human nature.
The next thing is: Exercise your senses for discernment. Hebrews 5:12: For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. [We have a lot of overgrown babies in the church today.] But solid food belongs to those who are of full age [or mature], that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern [between] good and evil. So, in order to have discernment, you have to exercise your senses. You have to practice. Every time you confront anything, you need to subject it to your discernment.
Learn to discern between that which is true and that which is false. Between that which is spiritual and that which is soulish, because they’re completely different. What appeals to your emotions may not touch your spirit at all. We have a lot of worship in the church today which is soulish. People worship God in order to have a good time. "Wonderful worship service," they say. But the purpose of worship is not for us to have a good time, it’s for us to worship God. And we have to come to the place where we’re sensitive to the difference between the spiritual and the soulish. And that will only come as we practice. Always have your discernment antennae out. Pick up what’s in a meeting. Pick up what’s in a message. Then you won’t be so easily fooled when the crisis comes.
Finally, and this is the last: Cultivate the love of the truth. 2 Thessalonians 2, beginning at verse 9. This is speaking about the antichrist. 2 Thessalonians 2:9: The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, [Notice, Satan can come out with very powerful signs and wonders, but it’s still Satan.] and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. Why did they perish? Because they didn’t receive the love of the truth.
If you refuse the love of the truth, you are bound to perish. The love is a strong word there. It’s not a weak word. It’s not "tolerating the truth". It’s not letting somebody come and present the truth to you. It’s finding out the truth for yourself. It’s searching and seeking the truth. Those are the people who will not be deceived. The others will. Why? Because they didn’t receive the love of the truth. I would like to urge you, dear brothers and sisters, cultivate the love of the truth. Give time to finding out what is the truth. Take time with your Bible in the presence of the Lord.
Now I’m going to read those nine recommendations and I’m going to close:
First of all, it’s only by God’s mercy that we be faithful.
Second, we need to cultivate humility and the fear of the Lord.
Third, we need to base everything on the Scriptures. First, general revelation before special revelation.
Fourth, we need to focus on Jesus. The testimony of Jesus is the essence of prophecy.
Fifth, we need to leave the initiative with God. Be weaned.
Sixth, we need to beware of fantasy. Stay within the guardrail of the Scriptures.
Seventh, keep it simple and plain. Don’t become too complicated. Don’t use too long words. You’ll find that most of the important statements in the Bible are made with words of one syllable.
Number eight, exercise your senses. Cultivate discernment.
And number nine, cultivate the love of the truth.
Now I would like to pray for all of us to close this message. I think it would be good if we were all to stand. You’ve been sitting a long while. And I invite you to join with me in this prayer. It’s a prayer for the mercy of God that we need. I need it. Brothers and sisters, I need it just as much as anybody else here. Because with the influence I have, if I went wrong, I’d lead a lot of other people wrong. And I’m always conscious of that. So let’s bear in mind, we need the mercy of God. And let’s tell God we want the truth. We want to cultivate the love of the truth.
Heavenly Father, we come to You tonight in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, our wonderful Savior and our Lord. And we thank You for this so great salvation which You have purchased for us through the blood of Your Son. And Lord we are reverent, we are appreciative. We do not take it lightly. We move in the fear of the Lord. We thank You for the guardrail that You’ve put around us—the Scriptures. We want to stay within that guardrail. We humble ourselves before You and acknowledge our total dependence upon You that it’s only by Your faithfulness that we will be preserved. By Your mercy. So, Lord, we commit ourselves to You. We want to renounce any area in which deception may have gained some control over us. We want to turn against it, drive it from us, loosen ourselves from it, in the Name of Jesus. And we want to embrace the truth that is Jesus, that is the Scripture, and that is the Holy Spirit. We open our hearts and minds tonight to that truth and ask you to fill us with the truth of God. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.