Sunday Scoop: There is an invisible force driving deception and chaos

Pastor Julian’s sermon began with a profound truth: There is an invisible force driving the deception and chaos we see. And you don’t have to take his word for it - the Bible confirms it in 1 John 5:19, where it says the whole world is under the devil’s influence.

Then we confronted the reality that the devil isn’t ignorant himself, but rather, he rules by promoting ignorance in others.

I know you want me to elaborate, so  check this out…

Pastor Julian examined Genesis 3 to uncover the devil’s first move, revealing the strategy behind his initial attack.  And here’s the scoop, fam: His first attack was on Eve's understanding of God's Word, aiming to cloud her judgment, create confusion, and sow doubt.

You see, Adam failed to communicate the specifics of the forbidden tree to Eve (like come oooooon, Brother Adam), leaving her vulnerable to Satan's manipulation. All he did was warn her about “the tree in the middle of the garden” (Genesis 3:3) - “which tree, Adam?”. So, when Satan tested her knowledge, she couldn't identify the specific tree, and her added comment ("neither shall I touch it") showed her lack of knowledge. This created an opening for the Enemy to lead her into sin, through desensitization to the will of God. Basically, the enemy’s crafty questions and subtle lies gradually disconnected Eve from God’s Word.

Stick with me. I’m going somewhere with this!

 Eve's ignorance allowed Satan to reframe the tree as just any other tree, making her lose fear and respect for God's command. He deceived her into thinking God was holding back something good, leading her to disobey and open herself to alternative thinking AKA confusion.

Does this ring a bell? Haven’t we all ignored warnings and taken risks, only to continue pushing the limits (because we got away with it) even when we know we shouldn’t?

This deception broke humanity's relationship with God and still affects our circumstances today. The Enemy targets our response to God, exploiting our lack of understanding AKA our ignorance about our identity, marriage, finances, etc.

The Enemy knows that without a firm grasp of God's Word, our minds are open to alternatives and deception. We must settle the truth in our minds to resist the Enemy's schemes.

A Word from the Pastor: “You must settle the Word. The only way to do that is to commit to it, no matter the cost.
Imagine the worst possible situation you could face and settle it now. Don’t wait for it to happen before you live by faith. Instead, visualize it, and in your mind, settle it beforehand.”

-Sherna Williams