Great Deception In The Last Days — Zac Poonen

False Preaching and the Deception of the Last Days

When there are so many preachers going around the world preaching, you know, there's a lot of false preaching nowadays, Paul said, but I will continue to rejoice that Christ is being preached. But there are very few who are preaching discipleship, and about hell, and preaching on repentance, whereas many popular mega-church pastors are just, I think they're all preaching psychology.

So, they just say, accept Jesus and you'll go to heaven. What is the answer? The Bible says there are going to be a lot of deception in the last days, and one reason God allows deception is because He's testing people.

Teachers Who Tickle People's Ears

What do you want to hear? Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4, the time will come when people will not want to hear the truth. They will accumulate, you read that, 2 Timothy 4, accumulate teachers who will tickle their ears, telling them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear, like doctors who will not tell you the truth, that you've got a serious disease in you, who will make light of sin.

Jesus Saves His People From Their Sins

They're not proclaiming the real Jesus, and I'll tell you why. Many people don't know the meaning of the name Jesus. The very first promise in the New Testament is Matthew 1 .21. As soon as you open the New Testament, you hear a promise that's never found in the Old Testament.

There are many promises in the Old Testament that God will forgive your sin. Psalm 103, 1 ,000 years before Christ, David said, Bless the Lord, O my soul, forget not all His benefits. He forgives all your sins.

He heals your diseases. He prospers you materially. That's all there in the Old Testament. But one thing not found in the Old Testament is what you read in Matthew 1 .21. The angel tells Joseph, you must call His name Jesus, this baby that's going to be born, because He will save His people from their sins.

The Difference Between Forgiveness and Salvation

Do you know the difference between being forgiven and being saved? I use this illustration often. Supposing my six-year-old boy, I tell him, son, don't go outside the gate because the folks are working on the road there, and they've dug a deep 10-foot pit there.

If you go near it, you'll fall into it. And supposing he disobeys me and he falls into the pit, and he cries out, daddy, daddy, daddy. I say, what happened, son? I go to the pit, and he's down at the bottom.

He says, daddy, I'm sorry. I disobeyed you. I say, okay, son, I've forgiven you. Goodbye. Have I saved him? No. Have I forgiven him? Yes. There's a difference between being forgiven and being saved. Most Christians are not saved.

They're forgiven. You lose your temper, you ask the Lord to forgive you, He forgives you. You lose your temper again tomorrow, you ask the Lord to forgive you, He forgives you. You lose your temper again next week, you ask the Lord to forgive you, He forgives you.

Are you saved from your bad temper? No, not at all. You lust with your eyes, watch dirty pictures, and you ask the Lord to forgive you, He forgives you. Next week you lust again. He asks the Lord to forgive you.

He forgives you. Are you saved from lusting with your eyes? Not at all. You're forgiven. So we must be honest and say, Lord, I do not know you as Savior. I know you only as forgiver. In all these years, I was calling you Savior.

You're not my Savior. You haven't saved me from hardly anything, from my sins. I'm not talking about being saved from hell. He shall save his people from their sins. Has Jesus saved you from your sins?

Experiencing Salvation From Sin

It's there on the very first page of the New Testament, and the devil has blinded the eyes of Christians to see it. I never saw it for so many years myself. It's amazing how you can be blind when you read Scripture.

And I said, Lord, I want to experience this. So many people preach that which people like to hear. Jesus will bless you materially. Every non-Christian in the world would like to hear that. Jesus will heal your sicknesses.

Sin Is More Serious Than Sickness

Do you really believe that sickness is worse than sin? Do you know cancer can never send you to hell? AIDS cannot send you to hell. I've known people who got AIDS in their unconverted days and then got born again.

They died of AIDS, but they went to heaven. But sin can send you to hell. Let me read to you in Matthew. It says in chapter 5 of Matthew that, I say unto you, Jesus says that if you're angry with your brother, you'll be guilty before the court.

And if you let your anger come out in words, you'll be guilty before the Supreme Court. And again, if it comes out more words, you'll be guilty enough to go to hell. Anger is the first of three steps to hell.

I say to you, verse 28, if you lust after a woman, you're committing adultery. If your right eye offends you, pull it out. It's better to lose your eye than to be thrown into hell. If your right hand offends you, cut it off.

It's better to lose a part of your body and go to hell. Can lusting after women send you to hell? Dear brothers and sisters, read the Scriptures. Sin is more serious than sickness. And the day you realize that, just one little thing, the day you realize that sin is more serious than sickness, you'll see why Jesus speaks much more about being saved from sin.

The Priority of Salvation Over Physical Healing

Show me one message where Jesus preached about healing. Do you know this amazing truth that Jesus never preached one message on healing? He healed thousands, but he never preached a message on healing.

Today, we have thousands of messages on healing, but hardly anybody healed. The apostles never preached a message on healing, but they healed many people. But what did they preach? Read through all the Scriptures.

You'll find the entire New Testament is talking about being saved from sin. That is the most important thing. And if you've understood that, I believe we have understood the most important thing. Well, our time is up.

Putting the Most Important Thing First

And if you've heard and understood what you heard just now, I believe you've got the most important things. And once you've got the most important thing in the right place, the other things will fall into place properly.

Prayer for Transformation and Fruitful Faith

So let's pray to God. Heavenly Father, we want to thank you for a very good evening. Thank you for all these lovely brothers and sisters who've come here and have been gracious enough to sit here and pay attention so carefully, without distraction.

I pray that every single person here—Lord, I'm not just saying empty words. I'm saying this to you from my heart. I pray, Father, in Jesus' name, that every single person here would have got something, some seed that they can allow to go into the depth of the soil of their heart, that will bring forth fruit, that will change the direction of their life from this day to something better.

It will change the direction of their family life. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.