How Will I Know?
Pastor Jim Kilby • January 9, 2023
I received a neat letter from a young woman today. She reminded me that I write a lot about encountering evil, but since evil is often very subtle, she wondered how she'd know it if she encountered Satan or a demon. A great question, and one that every Christian should know the answer to. My young friend is correct, there is plenty of evil in the world. Of course, when you do encounter it, knowing God's Word (and especially knowing God) is our best defense. But, as my young friend pointed out, the subtleties of evil can be quite confusing. Surely, many knowledgeable brother or sister in Christ has met a demon and unknowingly followed their instructions. I believe that most cults are started this way... someone sees an "angel" who they assume is from God. They're assuming is the biggest problem because we're clearly told in Scripture that "Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light" (1 Corinthians 11:14). So what are we supposed to do? We're supposed to ask them? Yep, that's right! We're supposed to boldly ask them who is the Christ. Any other answer than "Jesus" is an automatic indicator of who their father really is. Remember this and put it into practice. And also remember, demons don't come wearing red suits and horns; they come looking just like you and me!
"Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them [demons and those who follow demons], because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood." 1 John 4:1-6
Pastor Jim Kilby
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Some people just can't leave well enough alone! They bother others with their religious talk, if given a chance they'll go on and on about their "God" and how they love Him. They'll "share their faith" with you without even taking a breath. They pray over absolutely everything and serve others until everyone else is left uncomfortable. When things are happening that are not of God but maybe are being done in His name, they can't keep their mouths closed then either. Some people! They just make everyone who wants to live life for themselves totally uncomfortable! When he [Ahab] saw Elijah, he said to him, "Is that you, you troubler of Israel?" 1 Kings 18:16 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
C.S. Lewis, the author of the "The Chronicles of Narnia," wrote many other awesome books. Some of the most inspiring Christian books I've ever read were penned by him after he gave his life to Christ late in his life. Today, I was looking through some notes and found this quote: "The man who has God and everything has no more than he who has God alone." As I pondered this thought I realized that Mr. Lewis was (during at least some parts of his life) quite wealthy. Like the Apostle Paul, C. S. Lewis grew in Christ and then began to count as loss everything he once counted as gain. The bottom line is that money and possessions aren't worth pursuing. Their pursuit will always leave a person empty at the end of the day. A personal, living and growing relationship with God is worth more than anything this world has to offer. It's no doubt been preached more than a million times. I only wish more of the members of the Church of Jesus Christ believed it were true! Fifty percent of Jesus' parables are directed toward the dangers of chasing money and possessions and still our actions prove who our real "god" is. "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." Jesus of Nazareth (Matthew 6:24) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
A sizeable number of Christians have a real hard time supporting their churches financially. I once had a young man tell me he was a Christian, but he didn't believe in giving money to the church because "It just let's them keep on with what they're doing!" Obviously he didn't see eye to eye with the way his place of worship was spending their money. Typically though, people don't give because they have other things they'd rather be doing with the money they have. Unfortunately, when Christians take that attitude it actually shows they have a foundational misunderstanding of how God works, and where their money actually comes from. The truth is God doesn't need our money, our time or our love. He just wants our hearts, and once He truly gets them, then we begin to understand that all of our time, our money and our love are the least we could give Him. Generally though, a person's willingness to give to the Lord's work financially is a far better barometer of their love for Him than all the "spiritual sounding talk" in the world. "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand." King David (1 Chronicles 29:14) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
Have you ever seen a really rich idiot? If you haven't seen one in person, you soon will. And if you can't wait, then just watch a movie or two. You'll see plenty of them there. People like to think money somehow makes a person better than others, but it just makes them a person with more money. Money doesn't make anyone better, and it certainly doesn't make anyone smarter. There are a lot of wealthy people who love the Lord, and there are a lot of poor people who love the Lord. Likewise, there are a lot of rich people who are flat out ignorant, and many people who have little or nothing who are wise beyond their years. In the end, I'd rather have wisdom and some sense of what was going on in the world around me than all the money in the world. And that wisdom, true wisdom, comes only from God. Anyone who thinks differently is an idiot. Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold, for wisdom is more precious than rubies, and nothing you desire can compare with her. Proverbs 8:10-11 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
The Scriptures repeatedly echo the sentiments "fear not," "be not afraid" and many others along those lines. I know these Scriptures well, and still I find myself struggling in this area. It's not that I'm sitting around shaking in fear or anything, but I sometimes worry how things will work out in financial situations, with my children, my church, and my friends. I used to think my inability to be fearless was something God would not be happy about, but that He would undoubtedly forgive me for. While that may be true, the Scriptures tell us that being afraid can also lead to other sins (like lying, stealing and more). So "fear" is not just a sin that stands alone, but one, like all other sins, that can and does lead to other sins. It's a vicious cycle that could easily stop by just trusting the Lord in the first place. Not only that, but someone who says he trusts in Jesus for everything and who is still afraid of anything undoubtedly looks like a total idiot to everyone around him. "That day David fled from Saul and went to Achish king of Gath. But the servants of Achish said to him, 'Isn't this David, the king of the land? Isn't he the one they sing about in their dances...' David took these words to heart and WAS VERY MUCH AFRAID of Achish king of Gath. So he pretended to be insane in their presence; and while he was in their hands he acted like a madman, making marks on the doors of the gate and letting saliva run down his beard." 1 Samuel 21:10-13 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
"Now the Feast of Unleavened Bread, called the Passover, was approaching, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some way to get rid of Jesus, for they were afraid of the people. Then Satan entered Judas, called Iscariot, one of the Twelve. And Judas went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. Luke 22:1-5 I guess this scripture proves Judas was an amazingly shallow friend, but I think there's more here. I believe Judas was also blind. Oh, I don't mean that he couldn't see to walk around. He could obviously get around on his own--he made it over to the temple without any help! What I mean is that he was blind to the truth. He traveled the countryside with God incarnate for three years, saw every kind of miracle imaginable, performed his own miracles through the sheer power of Jesus name, and still he couldn't see the truth. Satan entered Judas the evening he went to the temple, but whether Judas knew it or not, Satan had blinded him years before. My question to you is this... Have YOU seen the truth and turned away from it? Have you heard the gentle urgings of the Holy Spirit and subsequently shouted them down with the sheer pace of activity in your life? If you have, consider spending some time in prayer today. No matter what you've done to betray him, your heavenly Father stands waiting with open arms. "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Jesus of Nazareth (Revelation 3:20) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
There is a belief among Christians that the biggest and the most effective church is the best and most Godly church. Believe it or not, there are actually churches in the world today that boast in excess of 50,000 members and more. While some of these churches are no doubt excellent and Godly assemblies, simply being big and strong doesn't mean a person, a ministry, or even a mega-church is about God's business. God quite often uses the weak, the small and persecuted to do His work. He can use the littlest church, the littlest youth group, and even the littlest person to change the world forever. In fact, He more often uses those who are being beaten down by others than those that are being applauded as being great! But he [God] said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I [The Apostle Paul] will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
In the summertime, we get quite a few irritating mosquitoes around our house. We found this great repellant this summer that almost completely eliminates them. I guess they don't like the smell of the chemicals or something, so most of them stay away. Those that do get close die before they can bother us. Religion can be real similar. Religion that's not based on a genuine desire and love for Christ is always a repellant to those who are searching for Truth. Fortunately, the opposite is also true. Like moths to a flame, those who are searching for relevance in life and faith are always drawn to the joy that surrounds true Christian faith. I wonder... is your faith a repellant or an attractor for the Lord Jesus? "You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence." Acts 2:28 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
When preachers start talking about how all the destruction from hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes and the like along with endless wars and famines are part of God's judgment, listeners almost immediately think they are crazy. I was watching the news the other night and they actually laughed after a minister suggested that recent disasters might be part of God's judgment on mankind. Honestly, I'm not surprised. If a person sees the world as a place where man evolved from nothing and the earth as nothing more than the sum of a few trillion accidents all coming together to form a place that could sustain life, then laughing at God's involvement seems only natural. But if a person knows that man himself has methodically ruined this planet with his sinfulness and that Jesus will actually soon return in the flesh, then it "ain't" so crazy sounding after all! Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. "Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. Matthew 24:4-14 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
