Discerning Deception

This episode contains portions from the following programs:

"The Danger of Deception"

"Master Your Mind"

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Dannah Gresh: Do you remember any of your Greek mythology? You know, Poseidon, Hercules, and then there’s the lessons we can learn from the fable of the Greeks conquering the city of Troy.

According to legend, they had besieged the city for a full decade, but it just wouldn’t fall. So the Greeks built a huge wooden horse and left it outside the city walls. The Trojans pulled it into their city, assuming it was a gift. And, well, you probably know the rest of the story, but let me tell it again.

The Trojan horse was hollow, full of Greek soldiers inside. That night they snuck out and opened the city gates, allowing the Greek army in. All the men of Troy were killed. The women and the children were taken into slavery, and the city was burned to the ground. The whole thing was a grand deception!

What does that Greek myth have to do with us today? I’m glad you asked. Welcome to Revive Our Hearts Weekend. I’m your host, Dannah Gresh. 

If we’re not careful, you and I can unknowingly be pulling big, hollow Trojan horses into our homes and into our minds, preparing the way for the enemy to wreak havoc in our lives. We’re being deceived.

Here’s my friend Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth to help us understand the importance of discernment. 

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: The city of Troy, as I’ve been reading about this, is a picture of many of our minds and our hearts, because the battle really is in our mind. What we think determines who we are and how we live. What some of us don’t realize is we have an enemy.

We know it intellectually, but we don’t realize how endlessly and relentlessly and tirelessly that enemy is working to capture our hearts and our minds and our relationships.

The enemy has a goal that is no less than to conquer and control our lives. That’s your life, and your life, and your life, and your life, and my life. He never stops in that effort in trying to deceive and trying to control, and he constantly lays siege. He doesn’t give up and go away.

Many times he doesn’t have to use force to conquer us. He often uses subtle, deceptive means. Because if he came in very obvious ways, we would recognize his attempts and we would resist his efforts.

So he worms his way into our lives, our thoughts, our culture, by deceptive means that are subtle, that sometimes come disguised as gifts—things we think will be good for us, things we think will be helpful, things we think will be blessings—and they turn out to be very, very dangerous, something that is harmful.

Deception is one of the primary means, primary weapons of our enemy. He uses deception as the Greeks did with the Trojans to lure us in, to ensnare us, and to gain entrance into the fortress of our hearts, and sometimes he does that without ever firing a shot.

The thing is that we open the door and let the enemy in. I’ve become very concerned in recent years as I hear from women who listen to Revive Our Hearts about the extent to which so many women today, including many women in our evangelical churches, are being deceived.

It’s made me think, to be evaluating: how does the enemy work? How does deception work? How do we buy into deception? What are some of the areas where we’re being deceived today?

There’s a story I want to have us turn to in our Bibles in just a moment here of another Trojan horse. It took place thousands of years before the Trojan War. I’m referring to that passage in Genesis chapter 3. If you have your Bible, I would encourage you to turn there.

I want to look at the story of what was really the first Trojan horse. It wasn’t called that, but that’s what it was. Genesis chapter 3. This is how we get our first glimpse of how deception works and how the enemy works to sabotage and control and take captive our hearts.

Genesis 1 and 2, you know how God creates the heaven and the earth and he creates the animals and the vegetation, and then he creates man and he creates the woman and the first marriage. Everything in Genesis 1 and 2 is beautiful. It’s good. It’s blessed. You have all these really positive words about what God has done.

It’s a reflection of who He is. Then we come to chapter 3:1, and we have the entrance of something very jarring in the scene. We’ve had truth. We’ve had beauty. We’ve had life. We’ve had relationship, fellowship—so many good things, blessing in those first two chapters.

Now we come to chapter 3, and all of a sudden the whole thing goes topsy-turvy. What makes a difference is the entrance of the serpent: verse 1 of Genesis chapter 3, “Now the serpent was more crafty . . .” That word can mean cunning, crafty, subtle. “He was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.”

“He said to the woman”—now we know that there was a man and there was a woman, but who did he go after? He goes after the woman. We know from later in this passage that actually the man was there with the woman at the time. What’s he doing? We don’t know. Nothing, apparently.

The enemy is intentional in this instance and in many other instances in going after the woman, singling out the woman, having a conversation with her. “He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, you shall not eat of any tree in the garden?’”

We could unpack that as to why he said that—what he was suggesting, what he was implying—but I think the obvious thing there is that he raised a question about the Word of God. “Did God actually say . . .?” Has God really said? I think of all the things about the Word of God that people question today, things that are hard to believe.

• Has God really said that Jesus is the only way to the Father?
• Has God really said that those who reject Christ will suffer eternal judgment in a real lake of fire?
• Has God really said that marriage is a permanent, lifetime covenant between a man and a woman, regardless of what Supreme Courts in our states may say to the contrary?
• Has God really said that sex is beautiful in marriage, but not to be participated in outside of marriage?

Has God really said? That seems so strange. That seems so outdated. That seems so unfair. That seems so limited. That seems so exclusive.

• Has God really said wives reverence and submit to your husbands? What country are you from? What generation, what century are you from? This is the twenty-first century. Get a life! Has God really said?
• Has God really said if anyone sins against you, forgive him?
• Has God really said, don’t take your Christian brother to court, resolve it outside of the court?
• Has God really said you can’t claim to be a Christian and hold on to your secret sin?

Has God really said? We see God’s Word and God’s authority being questioned all around us.

The woman said, verse 2, to the serpent,

We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, "You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden. [And what’s that tree called, by the way? The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil], neither shall you touch it," [which God had not said, by the way] "lest you die" [which God had said], but the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die."

Here, again, we have a contradiction to the Word of God. God may have said that, but God’s wrong. It won’t happen. You won’t die.

"For God knows [the serpent says to the woman] that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desired to make one wise . . .

It makes me think of that old phrase, “How can it be wrong when it feels so right?” It’s good for food. It’s a delight to the eyes. It’s desired to make one wise.

. . . she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate (Gen. 3:1–6).

So we have a situation here where this Trojan horse—it’s a gift or it appears to be a gift. It looks good. It seems so right. It seems so helpful. It seems so pleasant. It is so beautiful. It was beautiful. It seems like something that will bless you. It will bring you benefits. It will bring you knowledge. It will elevate you. You can be like God.

All the things that appeal to pride, to the lusts of our flesh and the pride of life. It seems so right. Then we hear ringing those words of Proverbs 14:12, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.”

Isn’t that what God had said? In the day that you eat, you will surely die. So what the enemy, the serpent, made to be an unreasonable restriction or prohibition, God knew was actually in the best interest of Adam and Eve. It was protective. It was for their good. It was for their blessing.

But an enemy came along and switched the price tag and challenged the Word of God and promoted what seemed to be a gift.

Of course, you know as they opened that gift, they found that it was swarming with enemy troops who came in and captured their hearts and minds, their marriage, their city. It threw them out of the city, looted Eden, and caused them to be banished from the garden and to live with all the kinds of fallout of sin that we experience to the present day.

I think that’s something that’s important we remember about deception. It looks valuable. It looks good. It looks healthy. It looks wholesome. It looks like something that will make us happy. They ignored the warning of God, just as those Trojans ignored the warnings that were given to them.

They listened to the enemy. God had said you will surely die. They believed the enemy instead of God.

Dannah: That’s Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, from a series she recorded for Revive Our Hearts called "Discerning Truth in a World of Deception." You’ll find a way to listen to the entire series when you go to ReviveOurHearts.com/weekend, and click on the link there.

I just loved how Nancy helped us understand how critical it is to be able to recognize and distinguish the truth from the devil’s lies.

If you have found yourself stuck in the trap of the enemy—your own personal Trojan horse, I have a promise for you. But it, too, starts with a bit of a warning. Lean in, if you feel trapped.

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This is Psalm 91:3

For he [God Almighty] will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.

First let me tell you why this is a bit of a warning for us.

A fowler is someone who catches birds, but the term can be interpreted as a trapper who sets a snare. Of course, no one is setting bird traps for you! So what does this mean figuratively? It is most likely referencing the devil. It could also be an evil person who entices you to sin. For example, in Psalm 119:110, the psalmist declared, “The wicked have laid a snare for me.” 

At a glance, it’d be easy to think the target of the fowler is a complete victim. Except for the use of the word "snare." A snare isn’t your typical steel foothold trap, which looks painful and nasty with its iron teeth. A snare is far more subtle. It’s a simple piece of cable that forms a loop. It appears non-threatening. When an animal walks through a snare, it walks calmly. Soon, it may feel a little tension, but it just plods on. As the animal feels greater tension, it pulls harder and presses forward with the intention of breaking free. But its own force of movement actually is what tightens the snare. The capture is subtle and is empowered by the animal’s own actions.

Think about that! 

Yes, there’s an enemy who sets the trap. Yes, sometimes the enemy uses people to pull us in. But ultimately, our own actions lead to enslavement to sin. This is why discernment is so crucial! We must not step in to the trap. And when we do, we must be careful not to move forward in it. That's the "snare."

And then, there’s the "deadly pestilence" in this verse. In the Hebrew language, “deadly pestilence” could have one of two meanings. The first meaning is a fatal disease. The second option is that this could be symbolic for dangerous doctrines about life and living. In this psalm, the second meaning seems more plausible. One reason is because the snare mentioned is not literal.

So many people today are plagued by anxiety, depression, stress, discontent . . . you name it. They are trapped because they have entertained dangerous beliefs that are not based on the Bible’s inspired Word of God. Again, this is not just a passing hearing of lies, but it is entertaining them. I sense here again the warning to be watchful—discerning. We have some responsibility here!

I know that some of my battles with emotional unwellness has been a result of sin in my life. I think back to Genesis chapter 4. The world is barely begun before we see the sins of hatred and jealousy. Cain feels all kinds of bad things about his brother Abel. The Bible says, “So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.” His face fell!

Anyone who’s struggled with depression knows what it feels like to have your face feel like it’s slipping right off your skull. There’s just a weight to your own skin. In this case, it was Cain’s own actions that caused his emotional unwellness.

Let me keep reading from Genesis 4.

The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”

We can choose to rule over our temptation, or we can step into the trap of the enemy and feel the full impact of our sin.

Thankfully, it’s not all up to us. 

Ready for the promise? The hope? We can call on the God Almighty. This verse begins: “For HE will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence.”

Do you see what a promise this is—even when we lose our discernment and get caught in a trap? God Almighty has written in Psalm 91 a promise of His desire to deliver! To deliver who?

Well, if you back up a verse or two, you’ll see that it’s the person who “dwells” and “abides” in the presence or shadow of the almighty. This is such a sweet, positive invitation to plant ourselves not in the lies and deception of our world, but in the truth and peace of the presence of God. It brings us all back to Him.

You do not have to overcome the Liar, the Deceiver, the Devil! But you must be discerning. Ask God to show you when you are in a trap. (It can be hard to see it.) And then call on Him, go back to Him, return to Him and let Him deliver you today!

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I'm so glad you’re with me for this important episode of Revive Our Hearts. We’re talking about how we can be discerning about deception. As I said, that involves being aware of the devil’s schemes. His modus operandi. Mary Kassian wrote a book called The Right Kind of Strong. She says that a spiritually strong woman makes a habit of checking whether her thoughts are in line with God’s thoughts, and then correcting them if they’re not. 

Let’s listen. This is Mary Kassian, talking with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth and yours truly, Dannah Gresh. 

Mary Kassian: One of the things that Paul told Timothy is to pray that people would come to their senses so that they would no longer think the wrong way, and begin to think the right way. It comes down to having a mind that is in Christ Jesus. When we become Christians and are filled with the Holy Spirit, we are given the capacity to think God’s way, and to learn God’s way, and to begin to love God’s way. We begin to form those neuro-pathways that take us down that way instead of the negative way of carnal, immoral thinking. 

The devil is the sccuser. He’s called the Accuser. 

• He wants us to think negatively. 
• He wants us to think negatively about ourselves. 
• He wants us to think negatively about our husbands. 
• He wants us to question the motives, to be critical. 
• He wants our fingers to start flying on social media and be critical, or jump to the worst conclusions about others. 

He is the accuser, and when we play his game, that begins to form as the pattern and the habit in our life. And a strong woman says, “No. I’m not going to do that. I am going to let my mind be shaped with Truth.”

Nancy: Sometimes we focus first on our emotions. What am I feeling? What is the sadness, the discouragement, the fear, the anxiety, the worry, the guilt? But we have to realize that those negative emotions are rooted in ways of thinking. It’s not just enough to go and start to deal with the emotions (which we do need to do).

Dannah: Your thoughts are the boss of your feelings. 

Nancy: You’ve helped me with that, Dannah, so much. Say it again!

Dannah: Your thoughts are the boss of your feelings. I actually wrote that sentence prayerfully, trying to translate Lies Women Believe for Lies Girls Believe. How do you tell a ten-year-old that her thought life matters? Your thoughts are the boss of your feelings. 

Nancy: So you need to identify: what are the wrong thoughts that are resulting in these negative feelings? And people have some really understandable reasons for having negative emotions. I mean, they may not have been parented well. They may have experienced hurt or pain in their past or in the present. I mean, they’re not just making this stuff up.

Dannah: They could be in a season of grief. Grief is appropriate, but we can’t stay stuck in the grief. We can’t fixate on the thoughts of the loss. We don’t ignore them . . . Jesus wept.

Nancy: We’re going to talk more about those feelings, but I don’t think we can deal with them if we don’t go back to: what are the ways that we’ve allowed our mind to be captured by the enemy?

Mary: There’s a lot of popular psychology that talks about, “We just need to have more positivity, more positive thinking, and we need to counteract our negative thoughts with positive thoughts.” 

Nancy: Tell yourself how wonderful you are.

Mary: Tell yourself affirming thoughts. It’s not all bad. But I think that the Word of God takes us to a deeper level. It addresses the problem more at the root cause. Ultimately, if I’m feeling bad about myself, telling myself that I shouldn't feel bad about myself might help a little bit, perhaps for a period of time.

Dannah: It’s like putting a Band-Aid on a deep gash.

Mary: Exactly. So the Word of God takes us to a deeper level in that it says: listen, when you have the mind of Christ and you are able to think with the mind of Christ, instead of your own, carnal mind, then you will be able to begin to cure the problem at its root. You're not just putting a Band-Aid on it. It’s not just self-help. You’re actually taking the truth and the power of the Word of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit to begin to transform your mind. 

Romans talks about that. It says, “be renewed by the transforming of your mind.” You will be renewed, you will be continually made new, you’re going to wear that new path, that healthy path, in your mind as you bring your thinking under the Lordship of Jesus Christ and begin to think truth.

Dannah: Mary, could you speak to the woman who’s listening who can’t believe that she’s spent eighteen hours online meeting someone and she’s considering leaving her family. Or maybe she’s the woman who’s just eating Fruit Loops at midnight.

Nancy: Or she’s overwhelmed with her life or her past or her pain. There’s so, so much of that out there. It just feels like everything is broken—there is no future, there is no hope. I think this thing of hopelessness and despair is something I see so much among women. 

In fact, I got a bundle of letters, handwritten letters, recently from a group of women who are in a teen challenge program dealing with substance abuse and addictions. Just reading some of the background of these women, some of the thoughts that they’ve wrestled with, these were extreme cases, but I thought that this is something we all struggle with at varying degrees and levels. We feel imprisoned, captivated, captured by our past or our circumstances.

Dannah: Like there’s no way out.

Mary: We feel like we’re inadequate; we feel like we’re failures.

Nancy: Someone may have told us, when we were six and we believed it. Then that tape—to use an old technology—keeps replaying in our heads over and over again.

Mary: That mental chatter just wears us down. I think that you need to remember that we are in a spiritual battle, and that the battle is a battle for your mind. It’s a battle for the way that you think. The Accuser—the Creep—is always going to be trying to influence you to think negative things, to think things that are not true, to doubt God, to believe lies.

You’ve talked so much about the lies women believe, the lies girls believe, and the only remedy for that is by believing truth. Take a leap of faith and say, “Jesus, I’m going to believe what You say.” 

Nancy: You have to know what the truth is, for starters.

Mary: Which you have to know, exactly. It’s not self-help talk. It’s not perk-me-up talk.

Nancy: It’s like drinking in, taking in this Word so that every time those wrong thoughts come, you have something to counter it. 

Mary: Scripture says of itself that the Word of God is living, and it’s active, and it’s powerful—and it is! You need to trust that. If you have those negative thought patterns that you are combating, what you need to do is to get some truth into your life. 

Find some Scripture that tells you truth. Write that Scripture down. You might want to put it on a sticky note and put it on a mirror. You might want to put it as a screensaver on your phone. You want to memorize it. You want to bring that into your heart and into your mind and engage God’s help. Ask God to help you believe truth.

Nancy: I often talk about counseling our hearts according to truth. A good counselor is going to tell you truth. Well, sometimes we just need to counsel our own hearts. I think of Psalm 42 and 43 where the Psalmist is depressed, he’s discouraged, he’s overwhelmed. But then he says, “Hope in God, my soul!” He talks to his soul. He counsels his heart according to truth. 

Mary: That’s what strong women do. A woman of strength counsels her heart. She speaks truth to herself. She says, “I’m not going to believe the lie. I am going to believe truth. Instead of being captivated and captured by falsehood, I’m going to take my thoughts captive for Jesus and take them captive for truth.

Dannah: Discernment. It’s so crucial! Mary Kassian there, reminding us to take wrong thinking captive with the truth of God’s Word. You’ll find a link to her book The Right Kind of Strong at ReviveOurHearts.com/weekend, just click on this episode—"Discerning Deception."

And speaking of the truth of God’s Word, let me tell you about a special, online event that’s happening this Tuesday, September 10. It’s the second installment in our series Biblical Help for Real Life. The one on Tuesday is all about “Loving and Living God’s Word.” It’s gonna feature Kelly Needham, Kay Arthur, and Dr. Katie McCoy. It’s hosted by Erin Davis. You won’t want to miss it. For more information on how you can register, go to ReviveOurHearts.com/word. Even if you can’t watch it live, you’ll have access to it for months to come. 

Would you take a cup of mud puddle water and guzzle it down? I hope your answer is "no." I only drink water that I know is pure water. Well, we need to be feeding our souls pure teaching, pure doctrine. That’s what we’ll talk about next time on this program. Mary Kassian will be back, and we’ll hear from Dr. Christopher Yuan, as well. I hope you’ll join us for that. 

Hey, thanks for listening today! I’m Dannah Gresh. We’ll see you next time for Revive Our Hearts Weekend.

This program is a listener-supported production of Revive Our Hearts in Niles, Michigan, calling women to freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

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