Deception & Discernment
(Part 1 of 2)

I have been thinking a lot lately about the importance of discernment and the threat of deception that we all face during our Christian lives. I recently read some information written concerning a large movement in the mainstream church today in the States that was quite alarming. The main focus of these statements revolved around one man's concern for a group of leaders that are commonly acknowledged as some of the most spiritual and profound leaders within this particular movement. His observations and comments have caused me to contemplate the need for discernment and the threat of deception. What I realized the most out of this time of contemplation was that none of us are above or immune from deception. In fact, the enemy's primary ploy against the body in these days is to bring deception upon the children of God in ways that will be very subtle and palatable. Perhaps the most effective way that the enemy can accomplish his goal in this regard is to bring deception among the ranks of those who have the most influence in the body. These, in turn, through their influence cause many in the body to embrace deception since their opinions and leadings are very seldom questioned by the masses. While it is not my desire to categorically point a finger at leadership, I am aware of the power of leadership within the church as we know it. It is my prayer that God will move in the hearts of leaders throughout the body of Christ to bring them to the point that they only desire to see the body mature and grow into the full stature that belongs to Christ (Eph. 4:13). This maturity comes in the lives of believers as they come into a true knowledge of the Son of God and not some form of Jesus that has been fashioned after man's own image.

The basic meaning of the verb "to deceive" is to cause someone to accept false ideas about something. We often think of deception as some hideous thing that happens in the life of a person and leads them to outrageous ideas and behaviors that are obviously "off". On the contrary, deception is simply the process of one coming to think incorrectly about something compared to God's perspective. It is easy to see how, with this definition, everyone is susceptible to deception. We would all admit that we have areas in our lives that we think wrongly about things, especially the things of the Lord. This simply means that we are deceived.

I will spend time in part two of this teaching next month to discuss the role of discernment in guarding ourselves against possible deception. For now I want to highlight three key elements to dealing with deception. First, we need to understand that the opposite of deception is truth. God has given us His Spirit to lead us into all truth (John 15:26 & 16:13) as He brings revelation into our spirits through His word. We need to acknowledge the Spirit's leadership in our lives on a daily basis and depend completely upon Him to lead us into truth. This will automatically safeguard against us being deceived. This dependence on the Spirit must be very practical and thorough. The trap many of us fall into is that we believe that if we study enough, read enough information, follow the right teachings or teachers then we will be safe from deception. Unfortunately, this is not the answer. We must acknowledge the Spirit's guidance daily to lead us into truth and depend completely upon Him and not upon our own ability.

Second, we must understand that the cure for deception is repentance! That's right, the "r" word than many of us hate to hear. Repentance literally means a changing of the mind, i.e., thinking differently. Since deception is to think wrongly about something, repentance would mean to begin to think rightly. Once confronted by the Spirit with the truth we must confess our deception and repent. This repentance will set us on a track of thinking rightly in whatever area it was that we were deceived.

Third, and closely linked to our repentance, is the renewing of the mind. It is impossible for us to repent and think differently if we do not allow our minds to be renewed. This is why Paul stressed the importance of being transformed by the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:1-2). We must allow the Spirit to work within our actual minds to cause us to be transformed so that we can actually think differently. This process of renewing the mind is one of the most important processes in our Christian life. It is in the strongholds of our thinking that we must battle continually in order to bring every thought into the obedience of Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 10:5).

There is no excuse for any of us to continually walk in deception. God has provided His Spirit to lead us into all truth. He has given us the ability to repent and turn in our thinking. He provides us with the necessary resources to be renewed in our minds and operate with the mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:12-16). God wants us all to walk in freedom and the enemy knows that our knowing the truth is the pathway to ultimate freedom (John 8:32). So let us be aware that while none of us are above deception, we can walk confidently in the Lord's ability to keep us and protect us in all things.

Ministry Update

This month Cliff continued to be involved in meeting with men in the city to pray for direction and wisdom for the body in Worcester. These times of prayer for the men have been a real blessing and we believe there is much fruit that will come from their faithfulness to gather and pray for the church in the city.

Cliff also spent time on the YWAM base working with the DTS staff for the April school. Cliff shared with the staff on discipleship and relationship building. The staff was very responsive to the time together and we look forward to seeing what God will do in the April DTS. Cliff will be teaching in the school's lecture phase for a week in June.

We are preparing to receive Rodney Kirkpatrick this month. He is visiting from the States and will be spending two weeks in Africa. Rodney has already traveled throughout South Africa and into Zimbabwe in the past couple of years. Cliff and Rodney will be spending a week in Worcester and then they will spend a week in Zimbabwe and Botswana together working with leaders. Please remember us during these two weeks of ministry. Rodney arrives on April 19th and returns to the States on May 3rd.

Cliff continues to give input with a small group of believers in De Doorns, which is about 30 miles up the valley from us. This is a very mature group of believers that is going through some exciting times of transition and growth. They have asked Cliff to come once a month to teach and equip them during this season. This has been a really fruitful time of ministry and a blessing to everyone involved.

Car Fund Update

As many of you know, we recently sent out a special fund raising request in regards to our need for a new vehicle. As we shared in our request, we don't like to ask for money is such a straight forward way, but felt that this was a time to appeal to many of you to sow into this area of practical need that we are currently facing. Since arriving in South Africa 3 1/2 years ago we have lived by faith on the gifts that many of you give regularly to support us and our ministry here in Africa. Because of our immigration status here we are still unable to take up any type of employment. So we have continually relied upon the Lord and the faithful gifts that many of you send on a monthly basis. God has been so faithful to provide all we have needed.

When it comes to major purchases such as a car, we are simply unable to afford this type of investment without doing some special fund raising. Unlike many missionaries who serve with organizations that provide things like housing and reliable transportation, we do not have that type of benefit. As a result, we have put this need before you to consider your possible involvement. After about three weeks since our request, we want to give you an update. We are very blessed and excited that we have heard from a handful of you and have currently raised almost $4,000. We want to say thank you to those of you who have already given. This is about 25% of what we need to purchase a reliable used vehicle. As we shared before, the car market here is one of the most expensive car markets in the world. We know this is a lot of money and consider it a major decision to spend this type of money. Please pray that we will have wisdom and direction in this decision. Also pray concerning your possible involvement in sowing into this need. We know that the Lord will direct each of you to do what you should. If He says don't give, then please don't give. If He says to give, then please obey and give. Thank you so much for your understanding and support.

With love,
Cliff, Stephanie, Camille, Natalie and Wesley