The Seduction of the Church — Phil Beach Jr.

Receiving the Word and Growing in Spiritual Maturity

The Lord has given to me Luke chapter 6. Father, I pray that You'll take the Word this morning that has been spoken, all the words, Lord, the prayers, and that You will place Your Spirit, Lord, upon these things that have been spoken through many different voices, Lord, and that You will give us good ground, Lord.

Oh God, I pray that You'll bring forth the fruit that glorifies You through these different words that have been spoken this morning, Lord. We know, oh God, that when You birth into the spirits of Your people, that which You are saying, and it's something that's been born into us, Lord, we know that when those words are prayed, those words are spoken and uttered, we know, oh God, that that's the Word that will not return void, but will fulfill the intention for which it was sent, Lord.

And we pray, God, that You will give us hearts, Lord, that are able to receive in meekness the engrafted Word that we might grow and that we might continue in this process of spiritual maturity, that we might become a holy temple, a place where God is.

A place where Jesus Christ is seen. A place where the authority of the kingdom of God is manifested. We pray, God, for a continued work of Thy grace and spirit in our lives for Jesus' sake. Amen and amen.

How encouraging to hear the words that God is speaking into our hearts, and how encouraging to hear and to pray that God will give us hearts to receive these things that God is speaking. We are living in an hour where there are myriads of seducing spirits.

Seducing Spirits and the Church's Spiritual Warfare

Paul admonishes us in 1 Timothy, you don't have to turn there, but you may if you like. 1 Timothy, chapter four, he says, now the Spirit speaketh expressly that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils.

There are seducing spirits that are in the world, and the church, the called out body of believers who have been born again by the Spirit of God are in the world, but they're not of the world. And being in the world, we are susceptible to the warfare that's going on in the world.

And this warfare has to do with seducing spirits who are being sent from the very pits of hell with the intention to seduce, to spiritually seduce. Not only are seducing spirits succeeding in blinding the entire world, because the Bible says that the God of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not, and it also says in Ephesians, chapter two, that the prince of the power of this air, the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience, Ephesians, chapter two.

So there is a prince of the power of the air, it's a spirit that works in the children of disobedience. So the enemy is succeeding in deceiving the whole world. John says in 1 John, chapter five, that the whole world is under the power or lays under the authority of the wicked one.

1 John, that's found in 1 John, chapter five, verse 19. And we know that we are of God and the whole world lieth in wickedness. So it would be very profitable for us to remember that we are in a warfare and that there are seducing spirits that are in the world, seducing the world, but based on Ephesians, chapter six, not only is the world engaged in a war and the powers of darkness are seducing those who are in the world and the spirit that is in the air, the spirit of antichrist, the spirit of hostility toward God, not only is that spirit controlling the minds and the actions of those who don't know the Lord, but the Bible says in Ephesians, chapter six, that the church is to be the enemy.

Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, verse number 10, chapter six, that we are to put on the whole armor of God that we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. So the spirit of God is addressing the church, the redeemed, the body of Christ, and admonishing us to put on the whole armor of God and to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

The reason why is because we are in a warfare too. There is a warfare that is being engaged in this late hour specifically targeting those who are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ. You are in a war if you are a believer.

You're in a war if you're not a believer. The devil wants to bring your soul to hell. But if you are a believer, you are in a war and the intention of Satan is not so much to bring you to hell because you've been redeemed by the blood of Jesus Christ.

So therefore, the intention of the devil now is that he might do whatever he can in order to, listen carefully, in order to render your Christianity powerless. It is to render your Christianity powerless.

It is to somehow make you ineffective as the body of Christ and individually as members of the body of Christ. Notice what the Bible says here. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood. We are in a wrestling match.

Believers who are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ are in a wrestling match. You are wrestling now not with flesh and blood. Not with people and personalities. But you are engaged in a warfare and in a wrestling match against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

The intention of the enemy is to seduce you in this wrestling match. I do want to say here that we have on the back of our bulletins now a place for notes in case you're interested in taking notes. God might drop something in your heart.

He might speak something to you. Always remember to write it down. I did want to make that. That'll be a permanent part of the bulletins now because we find many times we want to write things down. Now listen, there are many, many different ways that the devil is succeeding in getting us sidetracked.

The Seduction of Worldly Fullness

And I would like to talk about some of those ways today. Luke chapter six. The ultimate result of being seduced by the devil as a Christian, as a Christian being seduced by the powers of darkness, the ultimate result is found in six ways.

I want to put those words here in Luke chapter six, verse number 25. Because when this results, when this results, then the work of God, the intention of God, the full intention of God is greatly hindered in our lives as Christians.

This is the specific warfare that I want to talk about for a short time this morning. Luke chapter six, verse number 25. Woe unto you that are full. Woe unto you that are full. Beloved, when we are full, full of things, full of plans, full of interests, full of activities, whatever it might be, a hunger for God.

Right now, the particular spirit of seduction that there needs to be an emancipation from, we need to be delivered from this particular spirit of seduction. It is a spirit of seduction that is bringing fullness into the Lord's people, but it's not the fullness of Christ.

It's not the fullness of God. We are admonished in Ephesians to be filled with all the fullness of God. We are admonished in Ephesians to be filled continuously with the spirit of God. We are admonished in the book of Colossians that as the body of Christ, we have received and are receiving the fullness of Christ.

But there is a spirit of fullness that is in this country and that is succeeding in seducing much of the church of Jesus Christ, and it is a spirit that is bringing fullness to the people of God, but it is not a spiritual fullness.

It is not a fullness that has to do with God getting more of his heart's desire in our lives. Now, I want to talk to you about this fullness. Micah chapter two. Micah's in the Old Testament. This is what the prophet Isaiah said about this kind of fullness.

And I pray that God will begin even now as we're listening to the word. I'm asking the Holy Spirit now to begin to reveal to us. Are you full? Have you been satisfied? Are you being satisfied with something other than Jesus Christ?

You can be assured that to the measure of fullness that you are experiencing that is not Christ's fullness, you are in fact losing a hunger for God. I'll say that again. To the measure of fullness that you are experiencing that is not the fullness of God's blessing and the fullness of God's Spirit coming into your life.

Whatever fullness you're experiencing apart from that, you can be sure that in direct relation to that, you are missing and growing cold for desire for God. Because when you are full, you're not hungering after God.

When you are experiencing fullness, you are not hungering and thirsting after righteousness. And that's the very intention of the devil. Now that we are the redeemed of the Lord, and now that God has placed His Spirit within us, the devil in America is saying, listen, we have seduced this country into following after things and pleasures and entertainment and the love of money and the pursuit of success.

We have got to get this Spirit into the church. This country is a perfect place to birth and bring to maturity the Laodicean church. And we see this is happening everywhere. And the intention of this message from the Lord this morning is not for us to sit as judges and to think of other believers and other churches, but it's that we might take it to heart and say, God, where has my life become full with something other than You?

Where am I currently drinking where I'm getting satisfied, at least I think I am, but it's not from the river of life. Micah chapter 2, verse number 10. I can't describe the magnitude that the Lord spoke these words to my spirit.

Arise ye and depart, for this is not your rest, because it is polluted, and it shall destroy you, even with a sore destruction. Now these were prophetic words spoken to the prophet Micah, southern Judah, and they had forgotten who their rest was.

They had forgotten that as the people of God had begun to do what they were called in order to find rest in God alone. Had begun, as the Scripture says, to covet, verse 2. After fields and houses, and they began to oppress one another, and they began to turn to various different things in the land where they were at, and they started to camp, and they started to set their heart on things, and the prophet, as a result of this, began to cry out, and actually what they began to do was they began to say, prophesy not unto us.

Say not unto us, thus saith the Lord. They had gotten so comfortable with the things of this life, and they had begun to look to things as their rest. They began to look at things that the world looked at as getting the need of their heart met, and they got so comfortable that they didn't want to hear the prophet speak.

They said, don't prophesy unto us. Don't disturb our life. Don't disturb our world. Don't disrupt our comfort zone. Let us alone. And the prophet Micah speaks out and says, Arise ye and depart, for this is not your rest.

God had promised Israel that the land of Canaan would be their rest, a place where they would serve the Lord and that they would cast down all the idols of the world and all the altars of the false gods, and they had forgotten this.

And the Spirit of the Lord is speaking through Micah to you and I today, and He's saying to us, arise, and depart, for this is not your rest. Wherever it might be that you have begun to get fullness or satisfaction at the expense of growing cold toward the Lord, you need to arise from that place and depart, for that is not your rest.

It is not your rest, beloved. It is not my rest. Arise and depart wherever it is that you are getting something at the expense of losing out with God. This is the spirit of seduction that has come into the church and is seducing multitudes of believers everywhere.

Everywhere. There is a spirit of fullness that's coming to the church, but it is not a fullness of Christ. It is not a fullness of His life, a fullness of His manhood being expressed, but it's a fullness of that which perishes.

This is the war that we're in, beloved. This is a warfare, and unless we are on our knees before God and encourage one another daily and search the Word and let God try our hearts, we will be seduced.

The Church as Pilgrims Seeking a Heavenly City

Now, here's a wonderful Scripture, a prophetic word, Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter 11. Here's what the Holy Spirit says. In addition to arise and depart, for this is not your rest. Yes, thank you.

Hebrews 13, 14. Listen closely to these words again. These words are being spoken to the church right now in America. They're being spoken to you and I. They're being spoken to our hearts. God is searching our hearts through this word, and believe me, beloved, the Word of God is clear on this issue.

We are not going to experience the fullness of God's presence in our lives. We are not going to experience this great outpouring of the Spirit. We're not going to experience maturity in our lives if this issue is not settled in our life.

Now, the Lord will love us to the end. The Lord will never be unfaithful to us, but we will not satisfy the Lord's heart in coming into the full intention of God unless this particular seducing Spirit that is running rampant in the body of Christ is identified, is recognized, and is condemned by every blood-washed believer in the church of America today.

Now, here's what the Lord says. Hebrews chapter 13, verse number 14. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come. We do not have any continuing permanent place of rest down here on earth.

The Bible makes it very clear that the body of Christ are pilgrims, we are strangers, we are sojourners. We are just passing by. We are to use the world's goods, but we are not to abuse them. We might possess the world's goods, but golly gee, in the name of Jesus Christ, don't let things possess you.

We have no continuing city down here. Arise and depart, for this is not your rest, for we have no continuing city. We are strangers, we are pilgrims, we are sojourners. We are looking for a city whose builder and maker is God.

We've seen that city. We've seen the cornerstone of that city. We know His name is Jesus Christ. We know that He is God's ultimate intention. That's the thing that we're after, and we can't allow our hearts to be seduced and our minds to be seduced so that we are getting fullness that is somewhere other than in Him.

Earthly-Mindedness and the Fullness of Christ

Philippians chapter 3. This also echoes the same spirit as found in Hebrews chapter 13. Beginning in verse 18,. For many walk of whom I have told you often and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.

For our conversation is in heaven. Now see, he is comparing two kinds of people or two kinds of mindsets. The one mindset is that there is a mindset of being earthly minded. It is a mindset of being an enemy of the cross of Jesus Christ.

It is a mindset whose end is destruction. You see, God's end for the church is fullness. God's end, God's ultimate intention for you and I is fullness. It is His fullness. It is the full stature of His manhood, of His character being manifest in our lives.

See, God does have an end for us, but the enemy's end is destruction. And the way the enemy accomplishes his end of bringing ruin and spiritual destruction into the church is by offering them fullness apart from the fullness of Christ.

May it be said very clearly this morning, one cannot know the fullness of Christ while one is in the posture of being full, as Jesus spoke of in Luke chapter 6. Woe unto you that are full. Woe unto you that are satisfied.

Woe unto you that are finding the satisfaction of your life being met through things other than me alone, says Jesus. But then verse 20 says, for our conversation is in heaven. From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

So the proper mindset that the church should have is that we have no continuing city. We have nothing down here that we can permanently call our own or that we can begin to find rest in. You can't rest in anything but God.

Beware of anything that you're resting in. Beware of anything that you're finding an inordinate satisfaction in. Now, it doesn't mean you can't enjoy a hot shower. It doesn't mean you can't enjoy a comfortable bed.

It doesn't mean you can't be glad if God gives you a home or you're driving a car. But I'm telling you from the Lord's heart, don't begin to take hope in it. Don't begin to set your heart on it. Don't begin to get so comfortable with these things that you have that your walk and your relationship with the Lord begins to suffer.

Because you can be sure that the moment you set your heart on something more than you ought to, the Lord is going to do something about it. He might take it from you. He might make that which is sweet turn bitter.

You can be sure if anything gets too big in your eyes, God will put His hand on it. And it's not because He hates you. It's not because He doesn't like you. It's not because He's trying to be mean. It's just the opposite.

He loves you too much to let your heart get divided because He knows that if you find rest, if you find a sense of tranquility in something other than Him, Micah said, the end will be destruction. So it's His goodness and His love that takes from you that which you might think you would find happiness in.

You'll find happiness in nothing but God. One of the fickle, the confusing qualities of a young person, I'm seeing it in my children as they get older. They're always looking at something and thinking that if they got it, they'll be happy.

You said it. It's the truth though, isn't it? Solomon said, the eye of man is never satisfied. The eye of man is never satisfied. And the snare is trying to find satisfaction in something other than God.

And this is a seducing spirit that is right now working in the church. The Lord looks down in our hearts and He says, you're not hungry for Me. You're not thirsting for Me. It's because you're full. You're full of things.

You're full of pleasures. You're full of pursuits. You're getting your needs met other ways. And let me tell you, this is not a word of condemnation. It's love. Jesus is saying, listen, what does He say in His word?

It's your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. But I'm telling you, beloved, Jesus is not gonna pour out His fullness amidst those who are full of things. What did He tell the widow woman? Bring empty vessels, not a few.

We've got to bring empty vessels. We've got to be empty before the Lord. We've gotta have a sense of desperation before the Lord. We've gotta have a sense of, oh God, I am empty, I need You. Lord, it is only drinking from the fountain of Your cistern that is going to satisfy me.

If there's anything in your life today, beloved, that has come in and has somehow began to fill you and you have gotten a fullness from it, but it's not directly the Lord Himself, then I say that you need to reevaluate this thing and get it in its right place.

Get it in its right place, lest you sell your birthright for it. You remember Esau, that wasn't an issue of salvation, that was an issue of inheritance. That was an issue of the blessing of the firstborn.

He sold it for a pot of oats. And then when he repented, there was no space of repentance. And this issue of the fullness of Christ coming into the full inheritance hangs upon our being brought in and maintaining a posture of emptiness, a sense of need for God.

And it's very hard in this world that we live in, unless we are so very careful and so very diligent in our study of the Lord and in our pursuit after Him, it's very easy to get sidetracked and distracted.

Rest in Christ and Hearing the Word of the Lord

So fullness comes to empty vessels. First Samuel chapter three, verse number 21. There is a lot of unrest. Listen carefully. There's a lot of unrest within the hearts of God's people. There's troubled spirits and anxious spirits and impetuous spirits.

And the Lord would respond to that by first Samuel chapter three, verse number 21. And the Lord appeared again in Shiloh, for the Lord revealed Himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord. The word Shiloh means a place of rest, a place of tranquility, a place of quietness.

The Lord reveals Himself to His people when spiritually they enter into Shiloh. That is, when they come to a place of rest, when their soul arises and departs from all the things that it's trying to find rest in, that it's trying to find peace in, and camps and finds a place at the feet of Jesus Christ.

And as we come to Shiloh, the place of rest, the Lord reveals Himself to us. The reason why the word of the Lord and the ability to hear the Lord's voice is so limited within the church today is because there is a fullness in our lives and it's not the Lord.

Our souls have left the place of rest, the place where we are at the Lord's feet drinking of His love and His presence. Jesus admonishes us in Matthew chapter 11, believe it's verse number 33. He supports this very cry that we find in 1 Samuel, and Jesus here reveals Himself as the living Shiloh.

Jesus comes to fulfill the Shiloh that the Old Testament represented. Listen to this, Matthew chapter 11, verse number 28. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you Shiloh.

I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest. You shall find Shiloh for your souls, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

Psalm 116, verse seven, the Spirit admonishes us. Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with you. Return unto thy rest, O my soul. We need to speak to our soul as David spoke to his, and we need to say, return unto thy rest, O my soul.

Depart and arise from wherever it is that you have begun to look to find the need in your heart and to meet that need in your heart. Wherever you're looking, turn, arise. Return unto thy rest. Return unto Jesus Christ.

Don't set your heart on anything other than God, and you will find rest for your souls. You will find peace. You will find anxiety being controlled when you find Jesus Christ and hunger for his fullness in your life.

The Love of Money as a Seduction

Are we being seduced? Are we aware of this seduction, and are we fighting the good fight of faith? 1 Timothy chapter six, one of the major means by which the seducing spirit is succeeding in bringing fullness into the church that is not the fullness of Christ is through an inordinate love for money.

It's everywhere, everywhere. The lottery has plum gone crazy. Everybody's after money. Everybody feels that money's the answer, and Christians nowadays are bowing down to the God of money right along with their ungodly neighbors after money, thinking that money is what they need.

Let me tell you something. Money is not what you need. You don't need money. You need Jesus. Jesus promises, he promises to provide what we have need of if we seek him first. Verse number six, chapter six, 1 Timothy.

But godliness with contentment is great gain. Don't ever as a Christian think that great gain is being in the stock market and yielding 20 to your original investment. That's not great gain, or at least it's not the kind of gain that will affect you in eternity.

Christians, we need to be aware we can't think like the world. We have to be careful. Godliness with contentment is great gain, for we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out.

Think about these words, beloved. Remember what we're thinking about. We're dealing with a spirit of seduction that is bringing fullness to the church that is quenching their desire for the fullness of God.

It is a fullness that will perish. Believe you me, one of the great tools within the hands of this seducing spirit is money. Putting a love and a desire in our heart for money, money, money, money, money, money, money, more money.

I need more money. For we brought nothing and can't take nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us therewith be content. Beloved, listen carefully. The Lord Jesus doesn't promise to provide us with the American dream.

Did you hear what I said? I do not care what people are saying. The word of God is clear on this. Jesus is not committed to giving every Christian the American dream. The Bible says if we have food and raiment and shelter, let us therewith be content.

Many Christians are selling out to the devil and losing out with communion with God and growing cold and stale and indifferent in their heart because they're under the impression that God is committed to give them everything they want.

It is springing out of a lack of contentment. We are to be content with the things that we have. Now, this is a hard issue and we have to be honest and pray, God, show me what my heart is. But they that will be rich.

The scripture says here that if you have a desire, that word when it says they that will be rich, another translation is, but they that are always wanting to be rich or those who are always wanting wealth.

Listen to what happens. They fall into temptation, a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts which drown men into destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil, which while some have coveted after, coveted after what?

The love of money. Why would anyone covet money? I'll tell you why. Because somewhere along the way, that person has been seduced into thinking that money will get them what they need. They're looking for fullness.

They're looking for satisfaction. But they're looking for it in the wrong place. So those who have coveted after, money have erred from the faith. Now guess what another translation of erred from the faith is?

Contentment, Covetousness, and Idolatry

Here's an alternate translation. They have been seduced from the faith and have pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Hebrews chapter 13. We're about to close, beloved. Hebrews 13. Listen to this admonition.

Verse five. Let your conversation, that is your behavior, your entire lifestyle, be without covetousness. You see, covetousness brings fullness. It does. When we covet, we get. We're after, we get. But the fullness that covetousness brings results in destruction and sorrow and many hurtful lusts and temptations.

That's why the word of God says, let your life be without covetousness. Because we're called to be seeking the fullness of Christ. And let me tell you something. There is no man or woman or local body of believers who have not allowed God to deal with covetousness.

They're not gonna come into fullness. It's simple as that. God will not give his fullness to a people who are coveted. Covetousness. Paul says covetousness is as the sin of what? Idolatry. Idolatry. Did you know that to covet is to be an idolater?

Why? Because idolatry is worshiping what? A false god. And when you covet after something, you are saying, I want that more than anything. This is the word. This is the word. But this isn't the letter.

This is the living word. This is the heart of Jesus. What is Jesus saying to us now? This is what he's saying, beloved. You can be sure of that. This is a word from God. This is a word from the Lord addressing our hearts.

Because we've been praying, God, we want fullness. God, we want revival. God, we want... I know this sounds so bizarre and it contradicts so much of what we hear. But let's be true to the heart of God and the spirit of God.

Be content with such things as ye have. For he hath said, I will never leave you nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Let your way of life be without covetousness and be content with such things as ye have.

Matthew 6, 25, but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Beloved, the Lord Jesus is offering us his fullness today, but he's also showing us the way of fullness.

Examining the Heart and Returning to God

This message is intended for no other reason but to allow us to come before the Lord and let him search your heart. Let me close by asking you these questions. Are you full? Do you need to arise and depart because that is not your rest?

Has the Lord showed you something that you're after has become your rest? You say, well, how do I know it's my rest? Has that thing caused you to suffer with your walk with the Lord? Has that thing taken your heart away from beating and panting for Jesus Christ?

Do you spend more time after that thing than you do in the closet, groaning and weeping that God might sanctify you, that God might bring forth Jesus in you? If so, then you can be sure that you need to ask God to put that thing in its right place.

Now, I will say this. The thing might be that God has put it in your heart, but you need to learn, once God puts things in your heart, the right way to go after it and the wrong way. There's a right way to follow after what God tells you, and there's a wrong way.

And you can be sure that anytime God puts something in your heart and you start following after it at the expense of forfeiting your walk with God, you're following the wrong way and you're gonna mess things up because you're taking it into your own hands.

If you'll just give it to the Lord and not sell out your walk with God and spend time with Him, you might be surprised how He brings about the thing He put in your heart. But if you're gonna take it by the bullhorns and do it yourself, you're gonna make a mess out of everything.

And it's gonna bring sorrow and spiritual decline in your life. Let go. Depart. Come back to the Lord. Drink from Him and let Him create a hunger and a thirst for Himself in your life. Many a man have lost out with God because they heard from God and they took it.

They took it by their own hands and they tried doing it. And they lost out because their hearts departed from the Lord, they got obsessed, and they justify it because they say, I know this thing's God.

You're right, it might be God. But God doesn't need your help and God doesn't want you to get your heart all divided and all cold toward Him. He doesn't need your sweat and your effort. He owns a cattle on a thousand hills.

He controls the world by the word of His mouth. He just wants you to delight in Him. He'll show you the way. Here's your thermometer, and I'm gonna close with this. Here's your thermometer. Whatever it is in your life that is causing your walk with Jesus to suffer, you need to draw back, let go, go back to God, get your priorities right.

Don't get fullness from anything but Him. And I can assure you, the blessing of God will never depart from you or your family. Father, we thank you and praise you for the spirit of Christ that's been here in our midst.