Peter Tan-Chi - Do Not Be Deceived, Be On Guard
Victorious Living, you will discover, is something that you need to maintain day by day, 24/7. In the Bible, you have 2 occasions where Joshua failed. Where Joshua made mistakes. Do you recall the mistake of Joshua? Over confidence. He did not pray. He did not ask God. And then one of the men was stealing something from God, remember? What is the lesson for us? Sin is the kryptonite of believers. If you allow sin in your lives, in your midst, there is no way you can stand before the enemies. God is saying you will be defeated. The first thing you should do, if you have problem, if I were you, I am going to humble myself. I will say, «Lord, is there something in my life? If there is something my wife is doing, is there something that You want us to learn»? Humble yourself. Do not blame others. Just look at yourself.
Today, we look at the 2nd failure of Joshua. The Bible tells us, he was deceived. Many times, you and I have problems simply because other people did something against us. In this case, it was not the sin of Joshua. It was not the sin of the people. It was deception. Now, the reality is this, you and I are in a spiritual warfare. There are enemies used by Satan to make you trip, to make you fall. It is called 'Deception.' How many of you have been deceived, at least once in your life? Higher, higher. Do you realize most of us have been deceived? So today, I want to share with you a very important message. «Do Not Be Deceived». Turn to your neighbor. Tell your neighbor, «Do Not Be Deceived. Be On Guard». One more time. «Do not be deceived. Be on guard».
How are we deceived? You know, the Bible is very clear in 1 Peter 5:8. Let us read this together. Everybody. «Be of sober spirit, be on the alert…» Notice the word «sober» and «be on the alert,» meaning, hey guys, wake up. Be watchful. Why? «Your adversary…» Meaning, there is an enemy. «the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour». Look at the graphic picture. It is like a roaring lion. You know why lion roars? It is to tell everybody, «I am the king of this property». But then when the lion is about to attack, the lion does not roar. It is quiet. It will slowly follow the prey. What else do you notice? The lion will usually attack, when the prey is not knowledgeable of his attack. He will look after the weakest.
Ladies, gentlemen, there is a warfare ongoing today. It is a warfare for your soul, for your life. And many Christians are totally ignorant. You are not aware of the warfare that is ongoing. That is why I love the book of Joshua. The book of Joshua is a lesson for us that God wants you to be victorious. However, there are divine principles in order to be victorious. So you see, victory is promised by God, but there are conditions to those promises, and you got to know your part and do your part. So, what have we learned? Remember Joshua 1 gives you the foundation. The Bible says, «Let this book of the law be in your mouth. Meditate on it, day and night. Study the Bible so that you will be careful to obey». And then when you obey everything written in it, the promise is what? You will be successful, and you will prosper. That is the foundation of Christian victory.
So tell your neighbor one more time, «Be on guard». «Be On Guard. Do Not Be Deceived». So what should you guard? I suggest you guard, number 1, your mind. You have to check out what is going on in your mind. Everybody say, «Check it out». Why is that important? Because the battle is in the mind what you believe. So you got to check it out. What are you listening to, what are you believing. Check it out. One more time. «Check it out». Number 2, What must you do? «You must consult». In the story we just read, What did you notice? They did not consult God. But after consulting God, what must you do? You must commit. Commit to follow God’s way. So let us talk about the 1st principle. (1) «Check it out».
You know, if you look at Joshua, because you have read the Bible already, I do not plan to read everything, but I just want to highlight a few things, all right? I want you to see the map. The map tells us the following. Joshua and company, they crossed the Jordan River and they stayed in Gilgal. So Gilgal is the headquarter. So the 1st city they have to attack is what? Jericho. Remember? That is the first city. The next one is, Ai. Ai is around 15 or 20 miles. After Ai, the next one is, Gibeon. However, the Gibeonites deceived Joshua. They sent a delegation to Gilgal, and they made up an amazing story. Do you know how they deceived Joshua? They were saying, «Look at our clothes. Look at our, bread. It is all old stuff. We come from a far away country». No, but I want to give you advanced information. So because Gibeon was able to deceived Joshua at Gilgal, Joshua and company made a vow. Remember what is the vow?
Okay, let us look at the Bible. «When the inhabitants of Gibeon heard what Joshua had done to Jericho and to Ai,» their neighbor, «they (also) acted craftily…» Guys, check it out. When you hear stories like what they were telling Joshua, they «set out as envoys, and took worn-out socks on their donkeys, wineskins worn-out and torn and mended, and worn-out and patches sandals on their feet, and worn-out clothes on themselves; and all the bread of the provision was dry and not become crumbled». In other words, what you see is not really true. But that is how they deceive. How will people deceive you? People do not deceived you blatantly. They deceived you by sounding something true, but that is so true. Am I correct? That is the technique of the devil.
Now, continue reading. Let us look at Joshua 9. Continue verse 7. «They went to Joshua to the camp at Gilgal and said to him and to the men of Israel, 'we have come from a far country…'», to make the long story short, «We are your servants. Joshua was said to them, Who are you and where do you come from»? You know, the men of Israel were suspicious. You know why? They said, «The men of Israel said to the Hivites, Perhaps you are living within our land; how then shall we make a covenant»? You see, because God told them, you cannot make a covenant with the people. They think, «Hmm, maybe these guys are not telling the truth». Let us read the next few verses. «They said to him, Your servants have come from a far away country…» But we heard «the fame of the Lord your God».
Do you recall? They are sounding like Rahab. Remember Rahab? We heard about God, and Rahab was willing to change her religion. Now, similar to these people, «So the men of Israel took some of their provisions…» Everybody read aloud, «(and) did not ask for the council of the Lord». And that my Friend, is our usual problem. We do not ask counsel for the Lord. They «made peace with them and made a covenant with them, to let them live; and the leaders of the congregation swore and oath (to them)». Now, let me share with you the style of the enemy. Just like this one, so that you will understand why you should be on guard. Okay, everybody. If you want to remember 1 point, it is simply this today. «Do Not Be Deceived, Be On Guard».
Can you repeat? Do not be deceived. Be on guard. How do you guard yourself? Can I share with you amazing verses from the Bible that I want to encourage you with? In 2 Peter 3:17, the Bible through Peter warned the believers. Everybody read. «You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand,» everybody, «be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,» The context has to do with the second coming of Jesus. It has to do with being prepared to meet Jesus. And Peter is telling the believers, «Be on guard». Friends, be on guard. The Apostle Paul told these disciples in the Book of Acts. Let us read this together. Together aloud. «Be on guard for yourselves and for the flock, (among) which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood».
I want to apply this to all fathers. Fathers, be on guard. Start with yourself as the leader, but then be on guard for your flock, for your family, for your children. Many parents, many fathers do not understand their responsibility is not just to guard. Many pastors fail to guard themselves and then they fail to guard their own family. You can be so busy guarding others that you forget to guard yourself. Do not be deceived that you are spiritually so strong, that you can handle all kinds of temptation. No. Be on guard. Do not be deceived, be on guard. This is warfare. Now, where is the battle? Where is the battle? I do not see warfare. I want to show you where is the battle. It is in the mind. Look at 2 Corinthians 10. «for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh…» Not of the flesh. This is Spirital Warfare. Continue, «but divinely powerful for destruction of fortresses…»
Now, «fortresses». What enters your mind when you see the word «Fortress»? In the olden days, Fortress are like castles. There are military headquarters, very hard to attack. They become so strong. Satan is building fortresses in your mind. That is the context of this verse, «divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses…» Which Satan has built in your mind. Why do I say that? «We are destroying…» The apostle Paul is saying, «we are destroying speculations…» Again, guard your mind. Guard what you are thinking, «and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God,.». Everybody read, «we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…»
So the battle has to do in the mind what you believe, what you think. That is the main battle. But many of us have no idea that what is going on in your mind is the crucial battle ongoing right now. As you are listening to me, I will not be surprised if there are voices entering your head and these voices, depending on what kind of voice, many times, if it is against God, it is from who? Listen to me. Satan does not appear in front of you. Satan appears to us. The Bible tells us like the angel, he whispers, he put thoughts in your mind. You see, if Satan were to appear and tell you what to do, you will not do it. What will you do? You run away. Now, I do not know your weaknesses. but let me share with you examples of lies of Satan. Okay? For example, «Everyone is doing it».
I shared this in IDC. It must be okay. Everyone is doing it… Be Holy. I am Holy. You see. Who do you follow? Who do you believe? Satan, «whatever makes you happy». It is okay. God wants you to be happy. Use Happy toothpaste. No… This is the one. «Deny yourself and follow Me». In other words, to be happy is compared intuitive. Deny yourself and you will find life. Satan says, «No, no, no». Satan says «Whatever makes you happy, you only live once». Remember this, «YOLO». You Only Live Once. There is life after death, my Friend. «Follow your heart». Oh my goodness. This is the favorite. Follow your heart. My Friend, the Bible tells us, the heart is deceitful. How come there are so many divorce? Why? That is precisely the problem. They followed their heart and their heart deceived them.
Friend, (Tagalog) Do you think God loves you? Louder. If He loves you, is He after your interest? What do you think? Is God after your interest? If God loves me and He is after my interest and God knows what is best, don’t you think to follow Him is the most logical thing you and I can do? Satan is a liar. Satan says, «God does not love you». Satan will tell you, «No, no, no. You do it your way. Your way is happy. God’s way is unhappy». Why do you think people commit suicide left and right? Why do you think famous actresses, famous movie stars, they are happy now, then after a while they divorce? Why? Because the reality sets in. God knows reality. So, this is a famous one. «Premarital sex and living in is okay». Everybody is doing it.
My Friend, God is saying «Immorality is wrong». So my question to you is simply this. How do you protect yourself? How do you guard yourself? Who will you believe? Will you believe media? Will you believe society? Will you believe your teacher? Or will you believe the Bible? Eventually it is a choice. Yes or no? I cannot force you to believe anything. You have make a choice. In my case, I have decided I will follow the Word of God. I will follow Jesus. Number 2, what must you do? «Consult». Consult God. Can I teach you how to pray? If you want to marry the right person, will I teach you an amazing attitude of prayer? George Muller shared this, okay? «I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are overcome when our hearts are ready to do the Lord’s will, whatever it may be».
In other words, when people come to me to ask help in making decisions, they ask for advice. Even in CCF, when we pray to God, we do our best to be neutral in our heart. Because if you pray with this idea, «Lord, this guy I want to marry, is this your will? Yes, yes. Thank you». No. If you want to pray, you must say, «Lord, I open my heart». In fact, I tell all my children, «Do not give your heart to anybody until you are sure this is of God». Because once you give your heart, it is really painful to say no. So that is my advice. When you pray, come before God. «Lord, should I go abroad? Should I stay? Should I quit my job? Should I not quit my job»? You pray to God objectively, «Lord, whatever you tell me that I am willing to do».
Then I give people advice. How do you know it is God’s will? Will it bring God the greatest honor or will it dishonor God’s name? Are you bothered by the fact that God tells Joshua to kill everybody? Children, women, everybody? Does it bother you, yes or no? How do you resolve that? That is why I want to teach you theology. This is the elephant in the room. When you study the book of Joshua, not many is willing to discuss that theology. What happened? Why will you kill everybody? All right. Quickly, for you to understand, why? You need to know the heart of God.
Example, for you to process things, to pray very well, there are a few things I want you to know about God, okay? In fact, 5 of them. Number 1, I like you to know, number 1, that God is «Sovereign». Yes or no? You got not theology. God owns everything. He has the right to do whatever He wants to do because God is sovereign. Absolute power. Number 2, God is «Holy». God will not do anything that is sinful. Number 3, not only is He Holy, He is «Good». God is absolutely good. He is perfectly good. God cannot improve to become good. No, no. God is good, period. Why? He is perfect. He does not need to improve. He is perfect, perfectly good. And God is «Omniscient». He knows everything. He knows what is best. And then God is «Love». He wants what is best for you.
Now, once you understand this theology about who God is, you will now interpret everything based on the lenses of scripture. Okay? When God does something, God will not violate 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. R. C. Sproul said the following: Everybody read. «God’s grace is not infinite. God is infinite, and God is gracious. We experience the grace of an infinite God, but grace is not infinite. God sets limits to His patience and forbearance. He warns us over and over again that someday the ax will fall and His judgment will be poured out». So my Friend, I am just telling you, God is Holy, He is infinite, but His grace, His patience is not infinite. You cannot keep on sinning and sinning and expect to get away with murder.
Look at the next quotation, which I hope will help you. «Without holiness…» Everybody read. «Without holiness God’s patience would be an indulgence to sin, His mercy a fondness, His wrath a madness, His power a tyranny, His wisdom an unworthy subtlety. Holiness gives the decorum to them all». You see, God is Holy. Therefore, there will be judgment. Now to share with you, why God commanded Joshua to kill everybody in the Promise Land? If you do not mind, will you please read Deuteronomy 9:4. Together. «Do not say in your heart when the LORD your God has driven them out…» The Canaanites. «Because of my righteousness the LORD has brought me in to possess this land, ' but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you». The Canaanites have reached a point where God is saying, «Enough is enough».
Look at our next verse. «It is not your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you are going to…» enter the Promise Land, «but it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the LORD your God is driving them out before you, in order to confirm the oath which…» is toward your fathers. Now, how wicked were the Canaanites. Let me give you example from historical perspective, Leviticus 18. (20-24). Everybody read. The sinfulness of the place. Sounds like today. «You shall not have intercourse with your neighbor’s wife…» That is adultery. «to be defiled with her. You shall not give any of your offspring to offer them to Molech,…» Child sacrifice. «You shall not lie with a male as one lies with a female…» That is called what? Homosexuality. «It is an abomination. Also you shall not have intercourse with any animal…»
According to God, you are going to be defiled. «nor shall any woman stand before an animal to mate with it; it is a perversion». You want to know what is happening to people? Perverted. Read the next verse. Let us look at Deuteronomy 18 (9-11). «When you enter the land which the LORD your God gives you, you shall not learn to imitate the detestable things of those nations…» So he gives example of sins. «There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, one who uses divination, one who practices witchcraft, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who casts a spell, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead». In other words, the place was so sinful. It is like cancer. You know, when doctor tells you, «You have cancer. I need to cut your arm».
Is the doctor being ugly, is the doctor being bad, or is the doctor being loving? See, it depends on your perspective. You see friends, it is so important you have a proper picture of God’s Holiness and God’s descernment. Sometimes a place is so sinful that God is saying, «It is beyond hope. I am going to judge it». Now people ask me, what about children? What about children? Can I tell you God’s perspective on death? God’s perspective on death is different from you and from me. The Bible tells us, God does not like the death of the wicked. Right? The Bible is very clear. You want to see that verse, about the death of the wicked? If you look at Ezekiel 17:32, «I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies…Therefore, repent…» However, God In another passage in Psalm 116 (15) says the following, «Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His godly ones».
How can that be? If you ask my opinion, children, when they die, I believe, I do not know what up to age. They go to heaven, because they do not know what is right or wrong. But children, if they are allowed to live in an evil environment, will grow up learning all the foolish things of this world and they will commit sin. And God is saying many times, it is better to save the children from future sin. Why? Precious in the sight of God is the death of his people. Can I tell you why? Because for God, death is never final. For God, death is to be with Him. So your concept of theology is very important. If not, you will have a problem. You will believe the lies of Satan, and then your attitude towards God will no longer be happy. You become angry at God. All right?
So as we close, I like you to see what happened to the Gibeonites. You know what happened with Gibeonites? God allowed them to live. Yes or no? But do you know, because God allowed them to live, many of them got converted? I call that the grace of God. What do I mean Converted? Look at Chronicles. In the book Chronicle, the Bible described to us the Gibeonite, okay? Let us read that together. 1 Chronicles 9:2. «Now the first who lived in their possessions in their cities were Israel, the priests, the Levites and the temple servants». Who are the temple servants? They are called, «Nethinim». Who are Nethinim? These are the Gibeonites. What is my proof? I will share with you.
Look at Nehemiah 3:7. In the restoration of the temple. «Next to Melatiah, the Gibeonite and Jadon (the Meronothite), the men of Gibeon and of Mizpah, also made repairs…» In other words, in God’s mercy and grace, the Gibeonites became worshipers of God. Even though they were consigned to become servants of the temple. For the rest of their lives, they are servants of the temple they serve. But you notice even hundreds of years later, many of them continued serving. They would rather go back to Jerusalem than stay in Babylon. Because God is merciful. Amen? So, how do you know God was happy with what they did? Because they told the Gibeonites, okay, this one you can read on your own. We cannot kill them because we made a promise to God.
You see, they did not violate. They did not violate their vows to God. Do you know what God is telling us today? When you make a promise to God, you must do it. Look at Psalm. the book of Psalm tells us about the importance of keeping your word. Okay? In the Book of Psalm (15:1, 4), everybody read. «O Lord, who may abide in your tent?..» Who may stay with you? «Who may dwell on your Holy hill? …He swears to his own hurt and and does not change». When you make a commitment, you have to do it. Look at Ecclesiastes (5:4-5) Look at what the Bible says. «When you make a vow to God, do not be late in paying it; for He takes no delight in fools. Pay what you vow! It is better that you should not vow than you should vow…»
In other words, they met a vow before God. We will spare you. We will not kill you. Did you know the blessing? Joshua was able to conquer the land faster instead of fighting the 5 Kings one at a time, God brought all the 5 kings together to fight Joshua. And what did God do? God sent hailstorms. Did you see that in Bible? In Joshua 10? The Bible tells us it is amazing. God said, «Do not be afraid of them. I have given them into your hand…» All of these 5 kings. They will be yours. «The LORD threw them into confusion… they fled before Israel». Notice, «the LORD hurled large hailstones down on them, and ore of them died from the hail than were killed…» In other words, God supported the decision of Joshua. Let me repeat.
The Book of Joshua is descriptive, not prescriptive. Do not learn from the Gibeonites. I will lie. No. The Gibeonites wanted the mercies of God, and God honored them. At the same time, God honored the mistake of Joshua because they admitted their mistake. Joshua said, «We made a mistake. We should not have made a vow, but we made a vow. Therefore, let us surrender that vow to the Lord». And you know, historically speaking, amazing. Did you read the Book of Joshua? How he prayed, «Sun, stand still. Moon, stand still». The Bible tells us, there was never a day like that. Is it in the Bible? It is. Look. «the LORD delivered up the Amorites before,» them. And then Joshua prayed. Sun, stand still at Gibeon. And the sun stood still. «There was no day like that before it or after it, When the Lord listen to the voice of a man…»
Of course there are many theories, okay? There was a big meteor who went by that reflected the sunlight, and it was like day for a long time. It does not matter. The whole point is this. God is able. Amen? So, in closing, I love Romans 8:28. Can you read that together? «…God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called…» Including your mistake. What is the lesson today? Do Not Be Deceived. Be On Guard. Check what you are hearing. When people say this, when people say that, you consult the Bible. Consult God, is what you are hearing Biblical or not? And then you must be willing to commit to follow, to commit your mistake, to commit your future to the Lord. And the result is what?
Let us bow our heads and pray. If God has been speaking to you and you have struggles, you have been deceived by Satan, I want you to surrender your mistake to the Lord. Perhaps some of you have never made a commitment. A commitment to really follow God. A commitment to study the Bible. How can you protect yourself if you do not know the truth? So today I ask you, to make commitment to study the Bible and to obey the Bible. And if that is your commitment today, remember what you commit, you must do. If you are willing to commit to follow the Bible, will you raise your hands. Higher. That is you and God.
Now remember, you are going to make commitment between you and God, okay? And God sees you. If you are not willing to make a commitment to God, do not raise your hands. God knows. But you know something is wrong with you. But if you are willing to humble yourself and say, «Lord, today, I will surrender my life, I will follow You». Raise your hands. I will pray that God will give you supernatural strength. to follow. I will pray that God will grant you mercy and strength so that you will be able to follow Him. Anybody else? Today, I want you to surrender your life, to commit even your mistakes to the Lord and trust Him completely.
Lord Jesus, I now pray for everybody who has raised their hands. You know their struggles, you know their problems. I pray you honor their desire. I pray that You grant all of us the grace and the power to surrender our mistakes. To surrender the bad decisions we have made in the past. To entrust you to correct our future. Lord God, bless Your people here today.
As your heads are bow down, I want to ask you also this question. Have you made commitments to God that you have not followed? You tell people you want do something, but you end up not doing it. You are not a man of honor. You do not give your word. I want you to repent of that sin also. Starting today, you must learn to honor your commitment like Joshua. Let your yes be yes, and your no, no. If you do not follow your commitment, that is called lying. And that is not good. You need to learn to be careful. Be on guard before you make commitments. But once you make commitment, please follow through with your commitment.
Lord Jesus, I thank you that You are a man of honor, and You are a God of honor. If You expect us to follow our promises, Lord, I thank you. I can trust you completely to fulfill your promises to each one of us. Just as you have wanted us to fulfill our vows to You. Lord, I thank you for the many promises You have made to us. You promised to forgive our sins. You promised to give us eternal life. You promised to give us a new beginning, and You promise us Lord fulfillment, love, joy. So Lord, I claim Your promises for each one of us that we will experience Your promises in Your time. In Jesus name we all pray, Amen and Amen.