What’s Under Your Tent? Preparing for New Things – Lesson 2 (Lies We Believe)

Isaiah 43:16, 18-19 (ESV) “Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters. Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. 

“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” John 10:10 

Each week I will remind us of our foundational scriptures; Isaiah 43:16, 18-19 and John 10:10.    Everything we will study is based on the realities that God is doing a New Thing this year and has New Things in store for each of us, and that the enemy will stop at nothing to prevent us from receiving those things!!!  

 

Today we will look at some lies of the enemy that many Christians believe. These lies not only hider our ability to receive from the Lord, but they also often prevent us from maintaining close fellowship with God and other believers.  

Lie #1: I am not worthy. I am not enough. 

Here we will look at Moses. In Exodus 2 we are introduced to Moses for the first time. He was a Hebrew by birth; however, we see that he was raised in the house of the Egyptian Pharaoh. Moses was given the best education Egypt had to offer.  

Exodus 2 goes on to tell us that when he was grown, he went out to visit his people, the Hebrews. After killing an Egyptian for beating a Hebrew, Moses was forced to flee from Egypt for his life. Bible scholars tell us Moses was 40 years old when he fled from Egypt.  

Fast forward 40 years. Now at 80 Moses came face to face with God in the form of a burning bush (Exodus 3). God called him to return to Egypt to free the Hebrews from their slavery. Moses began to point out his weaknesses to God. He felt inadequate to face the Hebrews and Pharaoh.  

This was a huge lie of the enemy. Who beside Moses understood the life of the Hebrew slaves as well as the intricacies of the Egyptian culture? Who among the Hebrews was able to speak on the level of the King? God knew who He was calling, and He knew how He had already prepared and equipped Moses for that call.  

It has never been, nor ever will be, about our worthiness or our abilities! It has always been about Christ in us. Colossians 1:27 (NIV) “To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” 

We do not have to believe the lie of the enemy that we are unworthy or unprepared. Christ in us makes us worthy and He equips those He calls!!!!  

Lie #2: My sins are too big for God to forgive.  

We will look at two biblical writers whose lives demonstrate that no sin is too big for God!

 

We will begin with Isaiah. After seeing a vision of the Lord, Isaiah cries out that he is unclean. His sins are great and so are the sins of his people. “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for. Isaiah 6:5-6 (NIV)  

Isaiah’s cry was one of both grief and repentance. In response God sends an angel to cleans him with the coal to his lips. Isaiah’s sins were not too big for God to remove. 

Following that encounter, Isaiah went on to prophecy to the nations of Israel, Judah, as well as others. He also prophesied more about Jesus than any other prophet in the Bible.  

“Isaiah is widely regarded as one of the greatest prophets of the Bible. His name means “YHWH (the LORD) is salvation.” He lived in Jerusalem and the prophecies God gave him were directed toward Israel, Judah and other nations. Jewish tradition says he was of royal descent, and he may have been a cousin to King Uzziah. This may have given him access to the kings of Judah in Jerusalem.”  

“Almost one-third of the chapters of the book of Isaiah contain prophecies about Jesus Christ, addressing both His first and second comings. Isaiah provides more prophecy of the second coming of Christ than any other Old Testament prophet.”i 

Next, we will look at the Apostle Paul. We know that Paul was born a Roman citizen to Jewish parents. He studied Torah in Jerusalem with Gamaliel and became a Pharisee. We also know from the book of Acts 8:1 that Paul (Saul) agreed with the stoning of Stephen. Then in Acts 9 we see Saul headed out with letters from the High Priest giving him authority to arrest any followers of the Way (Christ) he found in Damascus.  

We know that on the road to Damascus, Saul was arrested by God and his name was changed to Paul. He became one of the greatest contributors to the New Testament as well as one of the greatest missionaries of all time. This one who had been so fervent to kill all who followed Christ became the most outspoken supporter of Christ.  

However, Paul still identified himself as the worst sinner to live. “Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.” 1 Timothy 1:15 (NIV) 

Both Isaiah and Paul were mightily used by God despite their past sins. Nothing they had done could keep God from forgiving and using them to carry His message to the world. This is a powerful statement: Nothing we have ever done or will ever do is too big for God to forgive.  

2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV) “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus became sin for us! He paid the price for our redemption. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Our responsibility is to repent!  

We repent – He is faithful and just – He forgives us and purifies us! NO sin is too big for God!!!! 

Lie #3: Everyone is against me.  

Have you ever felt like nothing is going your way and everyone seems to be out to get you? You are in good company. This is just how Elijah felt after God’s great victory on Mount Carmel. God proved He is the one, true God by sending fire from heaven and consuming Elijah’s sacrifice and even licking up all the water on and around it. Following this miracle, Elijah has all the prophets of Baal put to death.  

Elijah then tells King Ahab that he better hurry back to Jezreel because it is going to rain after three long years of drought. The King gets in his chariot and heads to the Jezreel. 1 Kings 18:46 says, “The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.”  

After such a great victory and demonstration of God’s power, followed by receiving the power to outrun the King’s chariot, you would think Elijah’s faith would be at an all-time high. This, however, was not the case. Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah and the man of faith turns to despair. 1 Kings 19:9-10, There he went into a cave and spent the night. And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah? He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 

How often are we like Elijah? This reminds me of the Parable of the Sower and the Seeds found in Matthew 13. Matthew 13:22, “The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.” I believe this can apply to victories God gives us as well. God comes through powerfully for us and then immediately the thief comes to steal away the joy, peace, faith we had. He highlights the things that are still wrong or areas we still need victory in while downplaying the victory we just received/witnessed.  

We fall into these lies and others like them because we have our focus on the wrong thing! 2 Corinthians 5:7 (NLT) tells us, “For we live by believing and not by seeing.” Hebrews 12:1b-2 (NLT), “And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” Our focus must remain on Christ and not on ourselves or our circumstances. 

As believers we will often find ourselves in a valley. The valley is the time when we need to remind ourselves of the truths from God’s Word. 2 Peter 1:3 (NIV) “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”  

How do we receive all we need for life and godliness? Through our knowledge of Him. How do we gain knowledge of Him? Through the Word. We must be reading, studying, and meditating on the Word so that we know how He is and who we are in Him. Even though we, like Moses, do not always feel adequate. Even when we, like Isaiah and Paul, are confronted with our sin. Even when we, like Elijah, feel like everything and everyone is against us, God is with us! Hebrews 3:5b, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” Romans 8:31, “What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?”  

In conclusion, the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines a lie as: a false or misleading impression. Our enemy, the devil, is called the father of lies because the truth is not in him. He deceives us with false or misleading impressions about God, ourselves, and those around us. To be postured to receive the new things the Lord has for us we must root out all the lies and misleading impressions that we have allowed to be buried under our tents.  

I encourage us to ask the Father to expose the lies we have believed and to reveal His truth to replace each one. 1 Kings 19:18, “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” Elijah was not alone!!! Just as God revealed the truth to Elijah in 1 Kings, He will reveal the truth to us when we ask.  

Works Cited:

ihttps://lifehopeandtruth.com/prophecy/prophets/prophets-of-the-bible/isaiah-the-prophet/