© Copyright 2007 by Phil Scovell - All Rights Reserved
59
Believing The Lies Of Satan
By Phil Scovell
A teenage friend of mine and I were walking down the street
together after school. We were just passing in front of the church
where we were both members. A car pulled up. A man wound down his
window and said, "Say, boys. I am looking for the location of an
automobile dealership in this area." He then called the dealership by
name and said, "Do you know how to tell me how to get there from
here?" I had heard of that car dealership but I had no idea where it
was. My friend, who had lived in the neighborhood all his life, said,
"Sure, I know where it is," and he proceeded to tell the man where to
turn, right and left, and what streets to look for. The man thanked
my friend and pulled away.
I said, "I didn't know you knew where that dealership was because
I sure didn't."
He said, laughing, "I didn't."
"You didn't know where it was?" I asked; surprised.
"Nope," he answered."
"So why," I asked, "did you give him such detailed instructions
when you didn't know where it was?"
"Just to send him on a wild goose chase," he grinned.
Now, I know you would never have a friend like this nor would you
ever do something like this. I certainly never would, especially
being the fine outstanding and upright Christian that I am. All of
that aside, I told this, somewhat, embarrassing, childhood story for a
perfectly good reason. It has to do with how we live even as
Christians.
In my true story, the driver of the car honestly thought he was
being given correct instructions. So he believed in them. He likely
followed them to the letter, too. Why wouldn't he? He believe them
to be true. Regardless how much he believed, however, he ended up in
the wrong place down the road because he believed a lie. What do you
suppose might have been his reaction upon making his discovery?
Frustration? Disappointment? Discouragement? Despondency? Anger?
Hatred? Perhaps even revenge?
Let's compare this story to a typical scenario by way of
illustration.
A child grows up in a home where love is never experienced from
his parents in any tangible or emotional way. Furthermore, he never
sees love expressed between his parents. Let's suggest, furthermore,
he is basically ignored by his parents overall unless, of course, he
gets into trouble; then he definitely gets attention.
You can now expand this story illustration into any scenario you
wish because the possibilities are endless. Would you say this child
just might grow up thinking his, or she, wasn't loved and this was
probably due to the fact they weren't smart, good looking, creative,
intelligent, popular, valuable, or even wanted? What if the person
happens to be handicapped in some way, educably slow, physically
abnormal in some way, was clumsy, had a speech impediment, wore thick
glasses, or perhaps hearing aids? What might you think the
possibilities would be this child would grow up with, to say the
least, some form of inferiority? Well, you don't have to be a rocket
scientist, a psychologist, a psychiatrist, a pastor of a large church,
the president of a prodigious Bible Seminary or even a dedicated
herbalist to calculate the chances are super high he will face
something of the nature of inferiority in his life. Why would he, or
should he, suffer such emotional pain? I mean, those reasons were all
false. Right? So why would there be an emotional or psychological
response to something false and untrue? Are his parents to blame? Is
it his fault? Couldn't he have done better or changed and improved in
some way? Maybe it was God's fault. After all, God is in charge of
who is born to whom. Right? Couldn't a loving caring god have given
him better parents? Couldn't God have made him in such a way that his
parents would be proud of him instead of burdened by him? If so, why
didn't God do any of these things? Regardless of your answer, what
about the boy who grows up with feelings of inferiority? Is he doomed
to thinking about himself the way he does or can he read a couple of
hundred self help books, a few dozen books on psychology, and watch a
hundred positive thinking videos to overcome his inferiority? What
about drugs? Can't they help?: Can he not visit a psychologist or
psychiatrist a few dozen times to be taught skills which will enable
him, at the very least, to cope, or even quite possibly, to overcome
his inferiority complex? I mean, millions are made on such self
esteem books so if self esteem is all that is needed, then what's the
problem? All he needs is to believe. Right? It is sort of like all
the miracle hair growth products. Any one of them guarantees to work
or your money back. So if even one of them is true, why do we still
have bald men running around loose and scaring the begeebers out of
unsuspecting innocent bystanders?
Concerning Christianity and Biblical evidence, if the Bible says,
"Fear thou not, for I am with thee," (Isaiah 41:10), then why would we
be afraid of anything. If we are afraid, is that due to unbelief of
God's Word on our behalf? "And be not dismayed, for I am thy God,"
(Isaiah 41:10). The word "dismayed" is the word for discouragement or
literally to gaze about anxiously. Actually, if you simply study the
word "dismayed," it is clear the Bible is talking about depression.
So, if we are commanded not to be depressed and we are depressed, are
we committing the sin of unbelief? Maybe I should quote the rest of
the verse, too. "I will strengthen thee; yeh, I will help thee; yea,
I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Of
course, you likely know this is only a single verse of promise in the
Bible. The Book is full of such promises.
The bottom line is this. If the promises of God are true, and
they are, and if God promises to give us strength and help to the
extent of even holding us up by the power and authority of His right
hand of His own righteousness, what is, therefore, wrong with us that
we cannot seemingly rise above our inferiorities, depressions,
anxieties, Posttraumatic Stress Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive
Disorders, bulimia and anorexia, or anything else you want to add to
this list? Yes, there is an answer and one which is Biblically
absolute.
In my earlier example, my friend played a childhood prank on a
man who believed he was hearing the truth. The man did not realize he
was being literally lied to at the time. Thus, he was, in fact,
innocent. He did, of course, find out later he had believed a lie.
If you are depressed and experiencing fear, you are believing a lie.
If you suffer from doubts and insecurities, you are believing a lie.
If you feel inferior and you don't feel anybody likes or loves you
because of who and what you are, or are not, you are believing a lie.
If you are angry because you have been rejected time and time again,
and your pain is just simply more than you can bear, you are believing
a lie.
Now, about this time, some Christian gets good and mad because
they have been a Christian since they were little and going to Sunday
school. They have, therefore, almost their entire life, believed the
Bible and specifically, the promises of God's Word. The anger cranks
up another notch or two when you say, then why are you afraid,
fearful, doubtful, and a dozen other things which the Bible says you
should not be. The reason for the anger is because they think, when
you talk this way, you are blaming them for not believing God's Word.
That's the way I lived my Christian life for 45 years as a born again
Christian until I discovered I had been lied to by the Enemy. Once
those lies were exposed and removed, the real truth, God's eternal
Word, began to work in places of my life where it never had worked
before. Let me show you what I mean.
When anxiety and panic attacks began controlling my life, it was
after I had been born again more than 35 years. When I began hearing
voices, things grew worse. Eventually the voices got around to
suggesting that I commit suicide. I drew the line at taking my own
life simply because I was too big of a chicken to figure something out
that I could do that wouldn't hurt. Learning that they could not
tempt me with killing myself, they suggested I kill my wife instead.
That one got my attention and the anxiety and panic attacks and
nightmares blew off the scale. By the way, try telling either one of
those things I just mentioned to your pastor, a Christian counselor,
psychologist, psychiatrist, or any mental health provider and see what
happens next.
If you are wondering how all this began, we discovered we had a
witch in the church I was pastoring. I knew nothing about demons,
witches, warlocks, Satanists, or the occult other than it was evil and
that a smart Christian should stay away from anything of this nature.
So I did, I thought. I did not know at this time, unfortunately, that
such people can come after you; by using their craft to destroy you
and your church and your family.
By this time, of course, I had already been to Bible college and
been preaching for more than 25 years. I had read the Bible more than
100 times. I had committed hundreds of Bible verses to memory. I had
led many people to Christ. I had seen several hundred people walk
down the aisles after my sermons to receive prayer and to make things
right in their lives with God. I had preached in several states and
in many churches and in Bible conferences. I had even been a youth
pastor in one church and the pastor in another church when I began
hearing voices. Yes, I knew those voices were demons. It took me
awhile to learn this but after I recognized it for what it was worth,
I fought against it with God's Word and the name of Jesus Christ.
They did not leave. Yet, I still believe God and His Word but God's
Word was not working.
Some suggest at this point that you are not confessing God's Word
enough. Some suggest you just aren't believing it because, they say,
if you really really really believed it, this wouldn't be happening.
Some suggest you aren't even born again and that's why it isn't
working for you. Some suggest you aren't in the right church with the
right pastor or reading the right translation of the Bible. Some
suggest your depression is inherited. Your father had it and his
father before him and now it's your turn. Some offer the idea you are
chemically imbalanced and your serotonin levels are all out of whack
and certain drugs will save the day for you. My problems went a whole
lot further than that.
If, for example, you are being demonically attacked, as a born
again Christian with all the authority of Christ behind you and
confirmed again and again through the Word of God, you should be able
to tell demons to leave you alone. Right? I stayed up all night
doing this more than once and sometimes they would go away and then
the next day they would return. What about the truth of God's Word?
I mean, if it says, we can cast out devils, why don't they leave and
why don't they stay away? I am one of the Lord's disciples, so what
was wrong? Why would they return?
In my case, I discovered through agreement in intercessory prayer
with a friend, that I had misinformation in my mind which was
implanted at times I was unable to process the truth. Like the man in
his car looking for the truth, he had no other choice but to believe
the directions he heard. To whom you listen makes all the difference
in the world of what you believe. If you are unawares of who is doing
the talking, you can be deceived and deceived quite easily and quite
innocently.
My situation began as a child when I was 11 years young. My
father had just died and six months later, I began having problems
with my retinas. Multiple surgeries were performed and my vision
deteriorated after each one. I was finally pronounced totally blind
and sent home on the exact same day my father died a year earlier.
While in the hospital, everything was strange to me as a child.
My mother was with me most of the time but we were over 100 miles from
our home. We had friends in the hospital town with whom my mom was
able to stay at night but many times, I felt and sensed loneliness all
around me. I never once remember of thinking of my dad during this
time but I know I must have thought of him because this was the very
hospital to which he was taken when his eyes were operated on a few
years earlier and for the same reason.
In one prayer session with my prayer partner, we began with
anger. A super intense anger had been generated within me, which I
had seen in action before over the years, but I never knew why it hurt
so much. It always took a lot to get me mad but when I finally
reached that point, my anger was hot and sharp.
One day, someone accused me of something that was untrue. I had
always noticed that any such accusations which were false that were
related to my character, easily brought my anger to the boiling point
instantly. Until this particular prayer time, I never knew why. As
we began to pray, I saw myself back in the hospital. The anger had
taken me there and there were some elements of anger that were rooted
there as the Holy Spirit revealed truth to me. For one, I was angry
with God that He let me go blind. He could have changed it. He could
have kept me from losing my sight. It was His fault, then. As we
prayed, I could feel the anger in a little boy's heart who was
confused about why such a terrible thing was happening to him.
As we continued to pray together, the Holy Spirit revealed
another point of anger; the death of my father. Why did God let my
dad die? I needed my dad now and God took him away from me. I saw
God in my dad and I wanted to be just like my dad and love God and
love His Word but now my dad was dead and God took him. That's what
all the grownups said; God took him home. Why God? Why did you take
my dad from me? How can I see you now without my dad?
We pressed on with more intercessory prayer and I saw my mom
suffering and afraid and lonely herself. I couldn't help her. Why
did God take dad away? Why did God hurt my mom? Anger burned and
seared deep.
Then, suddenly, a truth came to me that I had never wanted to
face in my life. I had never felt God's love for me. I knew He loved
me theologically and intellectually and spiritually. I had
experienced some magnificent spiritual things that only a loving
caring God would have allowed me to experience in the spiritual realm.
Yet, I could not feel His love. Now, in prayer, I was standing at my
own bedside forty years earlier and the Holy Spirit touched that
painful woundedness of my life and I wept. Fear tried to tell me that
this was the focal point but I would never get to know the truth. It
was another feeble attempt by the Enemy to misdirect me once again but
it failed.
The Holy Spirit revealed God's truth to me. He had been there
with me all the time. It wasn't His fault and He wasn't mad at me
even though I had been mad at Him. He spoke to me in a split second
of time, faster than the speed of light, and revealed the truth about
what was wrong. I was looking for His love on the outside; He said,
"You should be looking on the inside for my love for you because that
is where I am. I am love and I dwell within you." The chains were
broken that had bound my emotions for nearly forty years. Then God
showed me why I thought the way I did and why I believed the lies
instead of the truth in His eternal Word.
As I stood and watched in my memory of that hospital bed where I
helplessly lay, a demon appeared; amorphous, dark, and evil. He was
bent over at the waist as if he were talking to me on the bed and
though I heard nothing, I felt his lying words of deceit as he took
advantage of a little boy who had already been traumatized by events
over which he had no control.
As my prayer partner and I continued to pray together, letting
the Holy Spirit lead me to each individual lie that had been implanted
in my thinking, suddenly everything was gone. The room felt empty and
I was so very much alone. Then I knew where my loneliness had come
from all my life. Yes, I had a family and I had many friends, yet, I
was totally alone. The loneliness pressed in upon me and I was
helpless to feel anything other than the loneliness.
We prayed about the loneliness and suddenly, I was no longer in
the hospital but standing at the final graveside service for my dad.
The Holy Spirit, through the loneliness, let me feel the anger. This
was the origin of my anger toward God. I prayed and gave it to the
Lord and it vanished. That memory had no more woundedness because I
had been healed completely through the Lord speaking His truth to me.
Returning to the hospital memory in order to see if we had missed
anything, I felt a small amount of anger still lingering. My prayer
partner and I asked the Lord about it and the Holy Spirit explained
that we were friends and sometimes friends have misunderstandings
which occur for various reasons in their relationship with each other.
He explained to the little boy back in the hospital room that He
understood why I had been angry and that I had been lied to and
deceived into believing lies about Him. He told the little boy, He
wasn't angry at him for being angry and it was all over now because we
were friends. I left that place with the Lord and He told me that we
were never coming back again.
I was often told through my life that I was a shy person. What I
felt was less than wholeness in my life and I felt inferior. I
secretly wondered if God truly loved me because I never felt His love
for me. I felt shame for the things I felt in my heart about the Lord
but I couldn't explain what I felt nor would I have understood it even
if I could explain it. So Jesus, explained it to me through agreement
of prayer and the renewing of the mind, who searches the hearts,
because He, Jesus, knows the mind of the Holy Spirit, since He, the
True Lord Jesus Christ, makes intercession for us according to the
will of God. Thus says Romans 8:26-27 which reads, "Likewise the
Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should
pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the
hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh
intercession for the saints according to the will of God."
How did the Lord Jesus reveal the lies to me so I could see what
He saw? the answer is simple; agreement through intercessory prayer.
Jesus said, "Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on
earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is in heaven," Matthew 18:19). Either God's
Word is true or we have been misled, given wrong directions, and now,
the True Lord Jesus Christ, wants us to find Him in His Word.
Have you found the true God who never lies but always tells you
the truth? Have you been given the wrong directions? Are you lost
even as a Christian? Has the Enemy sent you on a wild goose chase?
Do every day experiences bring up terrible and horrible woundedness
that you just cannot explain? Do you still suffer from things the
doctors still are unable to help you resolve? Are the drugs just
helping you cope? Do you want to be free? If so, call me. I'll
introduce you to the same God who healed my woundedness, silenced the
voices, and flew kites with me.