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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Of all the things God is concerned about, being convenient just isn't one of them. He often uses inconvenient requests and difficult timing to jerk us out of our comfort zones. Once He does that, getting our attention turned completely on Him seems much more likely. Of course, even then some refuse to focus on Him, choosing to dive directly back into whatever is "convenient." Several day later Felix came with his wife Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him as he spoke about faith in Christ Jesus. As Paul discoursed on righteousness, self-control and the judgment to come, Felix was afraid and said, "That's enough for now! You may leave. When I find it convenient, I will send for you." Acts 24:24-25 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
Of all the love affairs people have, the most pervasive and intense are our love affairs with ourselves. It starts almost with our first look in the mirror. Love at first sight, if you will. What God needs to do is help us understand that He loves us far more than we could ever love ourselves. In fact, the love we have for ourselves is actually in the way of Him loving us. If we are to ever understand God's love, we've got to forget about "self" and focus that love on Jesus! "No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God." Jesus of Nazareth (John 6:27) Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
Although I'm staunch in my support of pro-life and pro-family candidates, I must be honest that the two don't always go hand in hand. While I struggle with the fact that half of all the people in the world today are pro-abortion (although they would surely say "pro-choice") and many more seem to be fine with federally funding research that would destroy human embryos in favor of "science," I'm frankly concerned for the future of our nation. I see churches who call themselves "Christian" support platforms that Jesus would never have supported and I watch as fellow pastors and ministers clearly make judgment calls that are not theirs to make biblically. The whole situation leaves me wondering. Is our nation so distant from God that we could slip this far and few would notice? Maybe so... but God is still on the throne and nothing that happens has escaped His eye! Although these days are troubling in many ways, maybe they will somehow cause us to turn to Him again. When times come that we can no longer trust even our government, thanks be to God that we can still trust in Him! "But I trust in you, O LORD ; I say, "You are my God." Psalm 31:14 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
Remember that Bible guy, Jonah? He got all upset and tried to run from God, winding up in the belly of a fish for a few days. I've often wondered, why didn't God just turn him around and head him in the right direction in the first place? And what about you and me? Do we not often wind up going places, or doing or saying things that God would never have approved? We might immediately feel bad, but the damage is often already done. So when people ask you why God allows so much evil in the world, remind them that God is not the author of evil--Satan is, and we frequently do his bidding. Out of pure love, God is dealing with our evil even though it cost Him His Only Son. You might also remind them that God did not make us to be robots, but rather friends! We have the ability to do amazing good and the ability to do terrible things beyond imagination without Him. Tell them to fear not though, because evil will be put to an end soon--in God's own time. But until then, evil is not God's fault. It's ours. "Woe to those who plan iniquity, to those who plot evil on their beds! At morning's light they carry it out because it is in their power to do it. They covet fields and seize them, and houses, and take them. The defraud a man of his home, a fellowman of his inheritance. Therefore, the Lord says: 'I am planning disaster against this people, from which you cannot save yourselves. You will no longer walk proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.'" Micah 2:1-4 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
I had the opportunity to spend some time in Jerusalem and I learned a lot about the nation of Israel. In many ways it helps the Bible come alive for me as I read of places I've actually seen and attitudes of the heart I've experienced for myself. One of the things that surprised me was the incredible ability of the Israeli army to defend that small piece of land they have. It seems remarkable that such a small nation could have such military ability and could have remained viable for a few thousand years even though they have enemy nations and terrorists on literally every border. How could they be so hated by much of the world and still survive? That fact alone testifies to God's ability to bring His people through good times and bad, and still to protect and provide for them. Today's Christians could learn a lot from the testimony of Israel and God's faithfulness to them, even though they disregard His Son as the Messiah (the Savior). Friends, this is great stuff to remember whenever you feel like you have enemies all around you! "But now many nations are gathered against you. They say, 'Let her be defiled, let our eyes gloat over Zion!" But they do not know the thoughts of the Lord; they do not understand his plan, he who gathers them like sheaves to the threshing floor." Micah 4:11-12 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
Have you seen any of the newspaper and magazine headlines that claim that Christians must be "dumb" or just "idiots" because we actually believe in crazy things like the virgin birth of Jesus, a literal interpretation of the Bible, that Adam and Eve were REAL people, etc? Well if you haven't, I must admit you're not paying attention, but either way I'm proud to be called an idiot if that's what pleases them. All their worldly intelligence and "proof" that God is a myth will be piled on their heads before they know it. May God have mercy and show them the wonders of His Truth as well. "For it is written: 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.' Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe." 1 Corinthians 1:19-21 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
Today's pop culture will often try to persuade us that God loves and accepts everyone. The notion that God will eventually accept all people regardless of their deeds, their beliefs or their faith in Him is ridiculous even on its surface. Who of us would believe that God would embrace Adolph Hitler or Sadaam Hussein? But what we forget is that we are all wicked inside and capable of equally terrible evil. Without Christ as a redeemer we are also all facing the same consequence--total separation from God forever. And even this is not God's fault. Those who face these consequences do so because of their own rejection of God, not because of His rejection of them. "They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness." 2 Thessalonians 2:10b-12 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
I'm often shocked when I learn of congregations who profess Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and who also profess their belief in the values, morals, ethics and practices of the pro-choice (pro-death) movement. The arguments fly in every direction, from "Jesus never spoke against abortion" to "The Bible doesn't specifically condemn it" to "It's MY body" or "It's MY choice!" I believe there are two sins that are so pervasive in the Christian world today that there is simply no way our Lord can do anything but remove His hand of protection from those who practice them. The first is the love of "idols," which we give names like, "car, job, jewelry, DVD collection, vacation, or computer" and the other is our disregard for the millions of children who are being willfully slain on the alter of those idols. Christians who commit these acts themselves, vote for those who would expand their use, and applaud others who do them are wrong--dead wrong! Purposefully shedding innocent blood is always murder in God's eyes--the Bible speaks of it quite often. Generations of children are being murdered. True followers simply cannot be silent any more. "They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by their blood." Psalm 106:38 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
Have you ever run into someone who claims to love the Lord, but who seems to hate everyone else? The truth is they don't love the Lord either, because loving Him requires us to do what He says--and He says to love others! And He didn't mean for us to love those who had the same income level as us, or the same skin tone either. There are a lot of facets to Christianity, but none so basic as to obey the truth by loving one another deeply. Jesus said it was that love that people would see in us and know we were His followers. So if you don't have love for others, you don't have a love for Jesus. As you begin to grow in Him, you'll see it oozing out of you everywhere! "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God." 1 Peter 1:23 Pastor Jim Kilby Your donation spreads good news! www.harvestyouth.org/donate
