Truth Encounter: What Deception Pumps Out

by Jeff Fry

I.       Intro

A.   "Our needs motivate our behaviour".  Does anyone know which famous psychologist said that?

B.   Abraham Maslow

II.    What Deception Pumps Out

A.   State

1.     All of us are born with needs - legitimate needs. 

2.     In fact, psychologist Abraham Maslow cited his hierarchy of human needs as follows with the most basic needs at the bottom of the pyramid:

a)    physiological - food, water, breathing, etc..  When you have these needs met you will then seek …

b)    safety - security of body, of employment, of morality, of health, of property

c)     love/belonging - friendship, family , sexual intimacy

d)    esteem - self-esteem, confidence, achievement, respect of others, respect by others

e)     self-actualization - morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, etc.

3.     Maslow believed that these needs motivated a lot of our behaviour as humans.  The crucial question for you and me is how will we go about getting these  needs met?

4.     In our Truth Encounter series we have been talking about the fact that the truth (of God) will set us free:

a)    See Diagram #1: Truth Encounter Overview

(1)  set you free FROM SIN TO GOD

(a)    it does not mean that it will set you free to do anything you want.  It sets you free from the power of sin to do God's will which you could not do before since you were slaves to sin. 

(b)   Our main purpose in life must be to glorify God even at the expense of our own comfort - physical comfort, emotional, psychological or any other kind.  If anything tells us that it is the costly sacrifice of Jesus that we remember at this time of year.

(c)    We have two wills - one which wants to do God's work and another which wants to do evil (sin).

(d)   Jesus frees us from the power of sin

5.     We seek to get these needs met - either God's way or some other way which is not God's way.

a)    When we pursue our needs other than God's way we often are under the influence of the world, the flesh  and the devil

(1)  world - worldly philosophies that lead to death and not life, destruction of relationships and not to the building up of relationships. 

(a)    We begin to believe the worldly ideas are okay and maybe even good.  We hear about them on the radio, read about them in the newspapers, and watch television programs which flaunt these unbiblical lifestyles as okay if not preferable (e.g. Torchwood propagates homosexuality).  Also, we see that these ideas will meet our needs

(i)      for example, we can live together without being married - that's good as it meets my need for acceptance and companionship and sex but frees me from any long-term commitment.

(ii)    But is that really good?

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released figures last week, collated from six years’ worth of government data on family life, which showed: that couples who cohabit are dramatically on the rise; that their children do less well at school, leave education earlier and have a higher risk of developing a serious illness; and that children thrive if their parents are married." (October 7, 2007, "TimesOnline", 'Give Marriages an Expiry Date')

(2)  flesh - temptation of fleshly desires such as money, sex and power (the big three) lead to a breakdown in the family and in important relationships like the marital relationship.

(3)  devil - Satan or his demons often work to deceive us or accuse us by putting thoughts into our heads like he did when he gave Judas the thought to betray Jesus.

(a)    John 13:27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. "What you are about to do, do quickly," Jesus told him,

6.     These false ways to meet our needs lead to a lot of pain and turmoil in our lives and sometimes even death.

a)    He is known by his names:

(1)  Satan is called "a liar and the father of lies" (John 8:44).

(2)  Accuser (rev 12:10)

(3)  Adversary (1Pe. 5:8)

(4)  Angel of the Abyss (Rev 9:11)

(5)  Beelzebub (Mt. 12:24)

(6)  God of this Age (2Cor 4:4) (think he doesn't effect you - think again)

(7)  Murderer (Jn 8:44)

(8)  Prince of Demons (Mt. 12:24)

(9)  Prince of this world (Jn 14:30)

(10)         Ruler of Darkness (Eph. 6:12)

(11)         Serpent (Gen 3:4)

(12)         Tempter (Mt.4:3)

(13)         Unclean Spirit (Mt. 12:43)

(14)         Evil One (Mt. 13:19)

b)    These are not nice names.  You don't name your child "Accuser" or "Serpent" or "Evil One" because there is nothing good in these names.  And Satan and his demons are not good.  They are not here to help people, only destroy, kill and oppress us and they do it through

(1)  worldly philosophies

(2)  tempting us with fleshly, evil desires

(3)  putting deceptive and accusing thoughts into our heads and hearts which we then act upon because we don't have Jesus in our life telling us "that's a lie, don't believe it."

(a)    drugs will help you feel better?? - maybe for a minute or two and then you will come down from the high feeling terrible and needing some more expensive drugs and then you're addicted and paying a lot of money for them.

(b)    

7.     But thanks be to God that Jesus frees us from the power of sin and the devil.

B.   Apply

1.     What needs do you see in your life right now?

a)    need peace, rest, money, relationship(s), direction (as you are confused), courage, meaning or purpose, freedom from pain, freedom from depression, freedom from health problems, freedom from addiction, etc..

2.     How are you going about fulfilling your needs?  Are you depending on God or are you seeking to fulfill those needs independently of God? 

III.  Conclusion