They

There are many professing Christians who disregard the word of God.  They will either not study it for themselves or pervert the text so that it aligns with their own lusts.  However, it never ceases to amaze me how the word of God is true!  The Scriptures truly reflect the mind of God and everything the Lord Jesus has said will happen will happen because He is God.  For those with ears to hear, the Lord will surely confirm His word and prove it to be a living word.

In regards to the last days, the Scriptures say specifically that a man's enemies will be "they" of his own household (Matthew 10:36).  It also says that "they" will deliver you up to be persecuted, to be arrested, to be judged, and to be killed (Matthew 10:16-26; John 15:20).  The one who lifts his hand up against you will be nothing less than your own familiar friend (Psalm 41:9).

Why do "they" do this?  Because the light of Christ removes the cover for sin.  It is Christ and His righteousness which causes the affront.

"But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.  If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloke for their sin." John 15:21-22

Further, I would venture to say that it is not even the person primarily who fights against you in such cases but it is the unclean spirits which have them bound. 

Sin is a separator.  Two cannot walk together unless they be agreed (Amos 3:3).  I am not talking about being sinless.  I am speaking about not being in covenant with sin.

There are only two types of people in the world; those who are being purged from sin unto holiness and those who are being ensnared by sin unto reprobation.  People will appear to walk right alongside you in the faith up until you reach the small gate and the narrow road.  There, you will part ways.

The question we must all consider is, "Which road are we on?"  Are we on the narrow road which sanctifies us from the world or are we on the broad road which creates commonality with the world?  Not only will the condition of our own souls reveal to us the truth, the Scriptures say that those who stay on the broad road will eventually find themselves fighting against God and His Church, erroneously thinking that they are doing God a favor (John 16:2).

The following message from Omega Ministries is entitled "They" and examines what the Scriptures have to say about such persons: how not to be one of them and how to not be surprised or derailed by them.

• In all of the Gospels, Jesus speaks about bewaring of a certain group of people and what "they" will attempt to do to you.
• People are systematically & slowly losing their minds.  On a large scale, people are detaching from reality causing their minds to be more prone to accept lies, make-believe, and fantasy than truth.
• Evil lurks in what appears to be normal, and you need to see life through the lens of Scripture in order to recognize it.
• The Bible does not just contain "truths"; rather, the person of Jesus Christ - who is Truth - is revealed in the pages of the Bible.  This is what separates you from the average Church person.
• God does not accept or love all humans the way people try to make Him out as doing.  He sees some humans as His enemies whom He will destroy. 

• There are people presenting themselves as supposed shepherds over God's flock who do not even know God or His ways (Isaiah 56:9-12).  And there are even people who follow them due to the blindness which has taken folks over.
• Something can appear to be the light of truth to you, but actually be darkness because you have heard and received a lie as the truth (Matthew 6:22).  As a result, you will not be able to see the truth for the darkness will blind you to the light.
• You can tell the true Christian from just the professing Christian by their reaction to the truth as revealed in the Scripture.  If something rises up in a person against the word of God, then you know you are dealing with another Jesus, another gospel, and another spirit (II Corinthians 11:4).
• When a sinner is sinning, they will modify the Bible to accommodate their sin.  Some people are not going to submit to God's words and you cannot be shocked or shaken up by that.
• One's personal conviction is not the basis for doctrine, only the word of God (II Timothy 3:16).
• If Jesus says to take no thought for your life and you do, then that is called sin.  Anything we do which is against God's word is sin.  The old nature will be caught up in and thinking about itself by nature; this is why it must be crucified. 
• When a person is into themselves, they will react and respond to you based upon how they think you treat them.
• Never try to justify your own sin by pointing to what someone else is not doing.  No person's disobedience changes God's requirements.
• God is looking for someone to reflect His character, regardless of how others treat them.
• "They" are ravening wolves (Matthew 7:15).  Why? Because they seek to "shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain." (Ezekiel 22:27).  They lead you astray in order to get stuff from you.
• You shall know "them" by their evil fruit as they produce thorns and thistles - cursed things (Matthew 7:16-17).  

• "They" may have soulish power by which they prophecy, cast out devils, and do many wonderful works, but if they do not perform the will of God, then they are workers of iniquity (Matthew 7:21-23).  God is looking for inner transformation, not for the presence or absence of activity.
• "They" are the children of the wicked one (Matthew 13:38).  They are planted amongst the children of God in the Church world so as to choke off the life of God so that the wheat won't bear fruit.  They have no personal conviction to live for Christ.  Their main concern is not Christ, but that you are wrapped up in them; they are self-centered.  If you really want the Lord, then you must forsake everything else (Matthew 13:46).
• "They" will eventually be formally separated from God and His Church (Matthew 13:49-50).  A tare will look at outward performance as being evidence of a spiritual change; it is not.
• "They" are hypocrites or play actors (Matthew 15:8-9).  They honor the Lord with their mouths, but their hearts are far from Him.
• "They" are blind leaders of the bind (Matthew 15:14).  They are defiled by the perverse desires of their own hearts and try to get people bound to their personalities vs. reconciled to God.
• "They" create false doctrine to fit their lusts instead of having a foundation on the word of God (Matthew 16:12).
• In the fallen nature, man is always looking for another man too be his hope or salvation.
• "They" despise those who really serve the Lord (Matthew 17:12).
• "They" like to use and take advantage of others (Matthew 23:4).
• "They" liked to be seen, exalted, and worshiped by the people (Matthew 23:5-7)
• "They" are Church leaders who displace the real Christ with a false christ in order to turn people in the Church into anti-Christs (Matthew 23:13-38).  Just watch the animosity that rises up in people when they are confronted with the word of God.
•  "They" are demons trying to mingle themselves with the seed of man (Daniel 2:43).  They want to pollute mankind by siring a hybrid creation.  You must flush out the demonic influence in your soul to be free.
• God is forging a vessel of recovery in the Church to turn the people from idolatry.
• You have got to be able to take the repercussions of preaching the Gospel because the unclean spirits you are preaching against will come see you to try and stop you.  The devil has power, and the only thing he respects is the power of God.
• The devil will always come to make you second guess yourself or condemn you.  Don't allow the Devil to open up that door of doubt, but trust the Lord to lead you and correct you if needed.
• God will  not make you do anything.  You must choose to yield.

SERMON:  They