And may we all be found resting in the Lord today. If you would please, we want to take out our Bibles and let's turn together in the Word of God to Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 6. As we continue in our exposition of the book of Ephesians, and we are considering in these days, this section here toward the end of the book, where the Apostle Paul is addressing the subject of spiritual warfare. The fact that we do indeed have an adversary and that we are to be engaged in this warfare, it isn't physical, but it is a spiritual reality. And let me read in your hearing in Ephesians 6, beginning in verse 10, I'll read verses 10 through 13. Paul writes and he says, finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand. Let's now join together before the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you again as we come before your word. We thank you that we can turn to your word in a world of deception and falsehood, and we can find absolute truth. For your word is indeed infallible and errant. It is all sufficient and authoritative for our living the life you've called us to live. Help us, Father, that we today would place ourselves under your Word, that we would seek to be learners, that we would seek to be followers of its principles, that you would grant us that grace that we might be those who are not only hearers of your Word, but those who are doers of what it says. Father, we pray that those who do not have Christ as their Savior In accordance with your sovereign mercy and grace, you would be pleased to open their eyes to see and their ears to hear the gospel. They might turn to Christ. They might receive Him who is the only Savior and deliverer from sin. And Father, we praise you and thank you for that salvation, that we can be forgiven and cleansed and made your people through the work of your son. We pray all of this in his holy name. Amen. As we continue here looking at these verses, we have already considered in this passage the victory and the source of the victory that we have in spiritual warfare. In verse 10, he says, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. And we are reminded that we in spiritual warfare do not rely upon our own strength. Amen? No, we rely upon the Lord's strength. And it is the Lord who enables and strengthens us in the spiritual warfare we are engaged in. We last time considered the reality of our adversaries, and we looked at verses 11 and 12. And in verse 11, we read about the devil, the very last word of verse 11, the devil. And then in verse 12, we read of these various descriptions of the demonic hosts, principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and these various ways that they are described. The devil, diabolos, means the accuser or the slanderer, and that is what he is. In these demonic hosts, they are all, as we said last week, they are all fallen angels. God created all of the angels initially as holy. And Satan and a third of the angelic hosts, in rebellion to God, they fell in sin and in opposition to their original state. This satanic rebellion was prompted, according to the scriptures, by the pride of Satan's heart. And we looked at scriptures that describe that reality last week. The devil and demons have various names, various titles. We listed many of those in our exposition last week, and we said that those various names and titles, they give us something of more description of their nature, their activity, and the ferocity of this foe that we are engaged against in spiritual warfare. We concluded last week by saying that we must remember Satan is that slanderer and accuser of the brethren. And so as God's people, we must remember that we are not to be engaged in slander. We are not to be engaged in being accusers, criticizing, backbiting, and whispering against our fellow brothers. We are no more like Satan. than whenever we are engaged in that kind of activity against a fellow brother or sister. We said secondly that Satan was prompted by pride in his rebellion. And so that is a word for us as well. We must be on guard against pride. We must be on guard against that spirit of arrogance and superiority and haughtiness. Oh, let us pray that we would be humble before the Lord so that we might be teachable and we might be careful in our walking in the ways of Christ. We said that it is true that we have even this great slanderer and accuser of the brethren But we have a defender before the throne of grace. Amen? For the Lord Jesus Christ is our advocate. And whatever the Lord has hurled in our regard to Him, we have the Savior who is our defender and our advocate. And we who are covered in Christ, we are secure. and defended as those who are part of his family. Whatever the evil adversary may say in attack, We have an advocate. Now today we want to consider looking at verse 11 again, the last phrase of verse 11, and we want to think about this phrase describing our adversary. It says at the very last of verse 11, well let me just read the verse, put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. I want to talk about the wiles of the devil. First of all, that word wiles, it is the Greek word methodias. It might even sound like a familiar English word. It's where we get our word method. That's the Greek word that is translated as wiles in verse 11. It speaks of the methodologies of the devil, the schemes of the devil, the stratagems of the devil, if you want to put it in those terms. Satan's strategies include many and subtle ways in which he assails the people of God And we must be aware of those strategies. In fact, turn with me in your Bibles as we think about another statement back in 2 Corinthians. If you please turn with me in 2 Corinthians chapter 2, the Apostle Paul describes it in a similar way, this idea of the wiles of the devil, the schemes of the devil. And we read here in Second Corinthians 2, picking up our reading in verse 9, talking about offending, forgiving this offending individual there in the church, and Paul writes in verse 9, for to this end, I also wrote that I might put you to the test, whether you are obedient in all things. Now, whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ." He's talking about forgiving this offending person. And then notice verse 11. He says, we are to be forgiving people lest, verse 11, Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices. This idea of Satan taking advantage of us, seeking to overcome us, seeking to get the upper hand over us. This is what Paul was concerned for as he called for obedience and walking in the ways of the Savior. And he describes the wiles of the devils. He says, we are not ignorant of his devices. And that's how he describes this activity of the devil. It is the word noemi, which means the thoughts, the purposes, or the plans of the devil. Our enemy has plans. Our enemy has strategies. Our enemy has schemes. They are cunning. They are crafty. They are very deceptive in their engagement. The Geneva Study Bible described this phrase, devices, this way, quote, it is Satan's mischievous counsel and his devilish will. And that congregation very well sums up this activity of the devil. The devil is not like leprechauns and fairies and other imagined things. We have a very real adversary. Amen? And it's not enough for us to say, yes, there is a devil. Yes, there are demons. We need to be aware. In the words of the Apostle Paul, we do not need to be ignorant. of the devices, the schemes, the strategies, the purposes and plans that he is engaged in against us in this life. So today I want to talk about the wiles of the devil and I want to talk about it today and again next week, Lord willing. But I want to lay out a few things in terms of what is Satan's present activity. And I want to say four things today. Number one, as is very obvious from our text here in verse 11, we would recognize that Satan's present activity could be described as he is presently waging warfare against Christians. He is waging warfare against Christians. I mean, the very assumption of Ephesians chapter 6 is that we have an adversary. He's waging warfare against Christians and we need to put on the whole armor of God because we are indeed engaged in a warfare. And we read here in verse 11, this activity of Satan, he seeks to take advantage of us. because he is engaged in a very real spiritual warfare against believers. Turn with me please in your Bibles over to 1 Peter chapter 5 and note in 1 Peter chapter 5 verse 8 and verse 9, again Peter addressing believers and he says this about our adversary and this very real warfare that he is waging against believers. Peter writes and he says, 1 Peter 5, 8, be sober, be vigilant. Why, Peter? Because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood around the world. Notice here, Peter says that we must recognize this warfare that we are engaged in. And it calls for a spiritual sobriety and vigilance. We are not to be passively just kind of riding along for the ride. No, we are to be very dialed in and vigilant because it is a real warfare. This adversary, the devil, notice how he is described. He is roaming around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. And so in verse 9, what is the duty of believers in the midst of this warfare? We are to resist him, steadfast in the faith. Now, we recognize that there are different understandings of the activity of the devil in our present age, depending on your eschatology. There are those who would say that Satan is very active in our age, unrestricted in his activity, and he will be unrestricted in his activity until the end of the age. There are others who have said and hold to the position that there is indeed a binding that took place in Christ's coming in the first century. We actually read passages to that effect. We looked in John chapter 12 and other passages about that binding of Satan. But that even in that present binding, There is not a complete restriction of his activities. He may no longer be able to entirely deceive the nations completely. but he's still active in this present age. And this is exactly what we read here in our text. We have an adversary, the devil. He is engaged in warfare against God's people, and we are to be not ignorant of his devices. We are to be very well informed of those things, and we are to be engaged with a sobriety and vigilance, and we are to be resisting the devil in all of his activity. Secondly, not only in this present age is the devil engaged in warfare against believers, but number two, and the second thing that we would note, the devil presently is blinding the minds of unbelievers. He is blinding the minds of unbelievers. Turn with me, please, back to 2 Corinthians. We were there just a moment ago, but if you would, let's turn back to 2 Corinthians chapter 4. And listen to what Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 3. Paul writes and he says, but even if our gospel is veiled, It is veil to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. Now, the first question that we have to ask ourselves when we read this passage is, who is this individual described as the God of this age? Well, most commentators are universally agreed that is referring to the devil. It is Satan. He is described as the God of this age. And what is he doing? He has blinded the eyes, the minds, as we read in verse 3, of unbelievers, lest they come to the gospel and the saving awareness of Jesus Christ. Now, obviously, we recognize that we are all in our unsaved state. We're all in total depravity, and we cannot, of our own accord, come to Christ, because we are dead in our trespasses and sin. We need that sovereign, supernatural, regenerating work of the Spirit that enables us to come, believe, and receive the Lord Jesus. But here we read that not only is it the own depravity that keeps sinners from coming to the Lord, but the devil's activity is also engaged against the unbelieving world. They have their eyes blinded. Now, what exactly does that mean, to say that their minds are blinded, their eyes are blinded? Well, it means that Satan is engaged, and we already have said that he is the ruler of this world in a sense. Now, obviously God is the ruler of all things, but this is his domain, and this current world system is satanic. and he has great influence over this fallen satanic world system. It means that he is filling the minds of unbelievers with all manner of lies, deception, and ways of deflecting the truth so that they believe lies instead of the truth. Do you realize, congregation, that we live in a world that is filled with satanic lies in every direction you look? Wherever you look, you find the activity of Satan trying to mask and cover and blind and deflect. from the truths of God and his word and the gospel. We think about the lies of communism and cultural Marxism. This is a big thing in our culture today. People are blinded by these realities. These things have Satan as to their origin. They're not simply just the folly of men. These are satanic lies and deception that has been promoted through his influence in the world. Contrary to what the Bible says. We think about the whole movement of the sodomy movement in our culture today. We think about transgenderism. These things that deny the very basic realities of what is a man and what is a woman and what constitutes marriage. Well, congregation, these are the lies out of the pit of hell. And this is the kind of lying deception that Satan is promoting and propagating in our world. We think about the lie of feminism. Feminism, as we noted several months ago, we preached on feminism. And we looked at those first waves of feminism. And it's almost like one after the other of those main proponents They were filled with Marxist ideology. They were filled with all of these undermining currents of demonic, satanistic, and spiritualistic influences that were the prominent promoters of this movement. Feminism is an attack on the Bible, and it is no coincidence that this is in many ways the majority report in our country. Satan promotes this kind of blinding to the truth. We think about globalism in our day. That's a big thing today. Up until very recently, we did not have globalism as a movement. I personally am of the belief that globalism will be that very movement which will usher in the future antichrist through a globalist movement of a one-world dictator through this globalist mentality. Globalism is inherently anti-nationalistic in its orientation. The Bible is a book that promotes nationalism, that God establishes nations and he sets the boundaries of nations. Satan is involved in destroying that kind of thinking. Well, we could go down the list. These are the kind of lies that Satan is engaged in in our world. And they blind the minds of unbelievers. They blind the minds of those who are unaware, those who are ignorant of his devices. So they are corrupted by these false things. Not only does Satan wage warfare against believers, not only does he blind the minds of unbelievers, but number three, Satan promotes counterfeit Christianity. He promotes counterfeit Christianity. You're there in 2 Corinthians chapter four. Please turn with me just a few pages over to chapter 11. 2 Corinthians chapter 11. And we read here, again, the Apostle Paul as he writes, and we'll take up our reading in verse 12, 2 Corinthians 11, verse 12 through 15. Promoting counterfeit Christianity. Paul writes and he says, but what I do, I will also continue to do that I may cut off the opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the things of which they boast. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. What is Paul dealing with here? He is dealing with false teachers. They're false apostles. They claim to be true apostles of Christ, but they're actually counterfeit apostles. They are presenting a false Christianity. And he says, they are false apostles, verse 13. Look at verse 14. And no wonder, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works. He says, these false teachers, they're false apostles. And he says, they transform themselves into the appearance of being apostles of light, that is of truth, genuine apostles, but actually they're simply doing what Satan does. Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light and they are his, verse 15, ministers who lead God's people astray. This has seen many places that we could turn, but turn with me over to 1 Timothy chapter 4. 1 Timothy chapter 4, and look with me please. We'll just read the first verse for the sake of time. Paul speaks of this in 1 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 1. Paul says now, 1 Timothy 4.1, Now the Spirit expressly says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of, what? Demons. The reality is there are many counterfeits of Christianity. There is true Christianity. And then there are many counterfeits to Christianity in our culture today. And these are influenced, they are propagated, they are promoted by deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. They may appear as angels of light, that is authentic, but actually they are counterfeit. We could go down the list of the various types of expressions of this. Mormonism is a counterfeit Christianity. Amen? You have a lot of people today that say, no, no, it's just regular, it's true Christianity. No, Mormonism, it denies the Trinity, it has a works salvation, it has a false gospel. Mormonism is a false, counterfeit Christianity and that is propagated by the devil. And how many people fall into this? This last week, I was doing my morning walk in my neighborhood and two young men came up and they wanted to pray with me. And we had a very interesting conversation where I had an opportunity to share with them about their own misunderstanding and to witness to them about the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. And it concluded with me urging them to repent and turn to Christ and true Christianity. Mormonism is counterfeit Christianity. Jehovah's Witness is a false, counterfeit Christianity. It denies the Trinity. It has a salvation by works. It is a false gospel. And sadly, many ministers and churches don't even talk about this because they're worried about keeping how many goats in the building rather than preaching the truth. But we must be aware of this reality because it is satanic in nature, and we can go down the list of all these different groups that vie for the souls of men in our land. They are counterfeits, they lead people to hell, and it is Satan who promotes and propagates these counterfeit forms of Christianity. They all say they have a Jesus. They all say they believe the Bible, but they don't believe the true gospel, and they don't believe the entirety of the Bible. Congregation, this is not some sort of a strange just happenstance. This is the activity of the devil. Satan is engaged in this present activity by waging warfare against believers. He is blinding the minds of unbelievers through this incredible ocean, this tsunami of lies and deception in our culture today. He is promoting counterfeit Christianity that has a little bit of Jesus and some of the same terminology, but is not true Christianity. And then number four, Satan is involved in this age in the sense that he is behind all false religions. all false religions. Satan is not only engaged with promoting what we would call counterfeit Christianity, he is engaged and behind all false religions. He is the originator and he is the promoter of all false religions. Turn with me to Deuteronomy chapter 32. Deuteronomy chapter 32. Here in Deuteronomy 32, what we have is this passage that is called the Song of Moses. Of course, this was before God's people. They didn't have books to carry around. They didn't have cell phones where they could go and look something up. So they would remember the teachings and instruction of God through song. And this Song of Moses, it has a way for God's people in its intention of communicating that they were to serve the living and true God. Over and over again it speaks about who is their rock? Well, their rock is the living and true God. It also has a testimony to them and a prophecy of the things they will fall into by way of reminder and warning and admonition to walk in the ways of the Lord. So now if you would please notice in Deuteronomy 32, I want to pick up our reading in verse 15. Verses 15 through 18, we find these words. It says, but Jesheron grew fat and kicked. You grew fat, you grew thick, you are obese. Then he forsook God who made him and scornfully esteemed the rock of his salvation. They provoked him to jealousy with foreign gods. With abominations they provoked him to anger. They sacrificed to demons, not to God, to gods they did not know, to new gods, new arrivals that your fathers did not fear. of the rock who begot you, you are unmindful and have forgotten the God who fathered you." So here we have this statement. It is a word of admonition and warning for God's people not to turn from the rock that is God and turn to these foreign gods. In verse 15, you have that word gescheron. This word gescheron literally means righteous or upright one. And this is a clear indication where we have sarcasm in this statement. He calls them the righteous, upright people who have turned to worshiping demons. It is a way of rebuking them through sarcasm, a use of showing them their shame. You are fat, you are thick, you are obese, you so-called upright, righteous people. Notice in verse 16, he says that they had provoked God to jealousy with foreign gods. These abominations. These other gods. You say, well what foreign gods is it talking about? All gods other than the living and true God. Amen? All gods other than the living and true God are foreign gods and false gods. They are not true gods, they are false, and they will lead your soul to hell. Notice in verse 17, we read here another description of these false gods, these false foreign gods. What is another way to describe them? They are demons who do not know God. They sacrifice to demons, not to God, to the gods they did not know, to these new gods, these new arrivals that your fathers did not fear. Here we have this idea that these foreign gods of these foreign religions, now they did not show up and say, we are demons, worship us. No, they simply were the gods of other religions. And yet God says here, what you're actually doing is you are sacrificing to demons. All of these foreign gods and religions actually is demonic. And it is worshipping demon gods. This of course is a very strong statement. And you can read in these verses how politically incorrect all of this is. Fat-shaming, calling them fat and obese. Here stating this idea of them having these foreign gods. What a sad reality. And yet what a parallel with modern America in our day with the flooding of foreign gods into our country. As we flood our country with millions of those who follow false religions, their religion is worshipping the devil. And so what we are doing is we are transforming our nation into a nation of devil worshipers. That may not be what we say we're doing, but that is the end result of what's happening in our country. Turn with me, please, in your Bibles over to another place. Turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10, and look with me, verses 18 through 20. Again, talking about the activity of the devil. The devil is behind all false religions, and we must be aware of this. And we read the Apostle Paul again, he affirms this reality too. He says, 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 18, he says, observe Israel after the flesh. Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? What am I saying then? That an idol is anything or What is offered to idols is anything? He says, idols aren't anything. They're just a piece of wood. They're not actually any true God. But notice verse 20. Rather, those engaged in this false religions, he says, rather that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons. and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. Paul, as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, he says, false religions, they are not real. They have so-called gods. They're not real gods. These gods don't actually exist. What they're actually doing is they are serving, worshiping, and sacrificing in their service to demons. They are of the devil. Congregation, this is a very strong statement and yet we must affirm what the apostles and the Bible says on this issue. False religions have their origin and their nature in the devil. Listen to what John MacArthur says. John MacArthur says this at this passage. He says, quote, Paul is making a comprehensive condemnation of all false religions. Worshipping anything other than the God of the Bible amounts to demon worship." End of quote. Worshipping any other God than the God of the Bible amounts to demon worship. People who hold false religions, they would never show up and say, well, we worship demons. We worship the devil. And yet they are deluded, they are doomed in their place, and they actually don't realize they are serving and worshiping the devil and demons. Again, listen to John MacArthur. John MacArthur says this, while they, speaking about those who follow after false religions, While they wouldn't self-identify as demon worshippers, demons are nevertheless behind all false religion and at work in all false systems." End of quote. So congregation, we want to be polite and we want to be nice and we want to be winsome, but we also need to declare the truth. Amen? And we have in our day a plethora, a millions, who are worshiping false religions. And it is transforming America as we know it today. That is without a doubt. So congregation, whenever we think about the present activity of the devil, and next week we're going to follow this up and talk about the issue of his devices as it relates to our own personal engagement in the warfare, because that's a separate subject altogether. But let us remember as God's people, the wiles of the devil. His devices, as it were, in this present age is that he is waging a warfare against believers. He is blinding the minds of unbelievers through the various lies that he propagates in our culture. And so many people quickly suck in. as they accept the propaganda. Thirdly, he promotes counterfeit Christianity that has a Jesus and a Bible, but it's not true Christianity. And he is number four behind all false religions. What does this mean for us? Well, number one, congregation, it means all religions except biblical Christianity are false. They are satanically inspired. They are demonic. And we need to understand that. And as God's people, we need to be speaking to this. We are to speak the truth in love. And we are to see those who are engaged in these false religions as people who need Jesus Christ. Amen. We're to be witnessing to them. Just like I was talking with those caught up in counterfeit Christianity this week. We need to be witnessing to them. But we don't need to be seeing them as those who kind of, well, they're just kind of have a little different type of religion and we're all just trying to get to the same place. No, all false religions are worshiping the devil and they are demonic. Buddhism is of the devil. Hinduism is of the devil. They're building these massive idols. You've probably have seen this on social media. There's like a 90-foot idol to a demon monkey god of Hinduism that is in Texas. You see this all over our state today as we're being transformed. Mohammedism is of the devil. And then I would say this, which some of us may not have thought about as much, but post-biblical Judaism is of the devil. It is a false religion. We need to recognize Judaism is not true religion. Amen? It does not have the gospel. In fact, turn with me in your Bibles, if you will, back to 1 John. 1 John chapter 2. 1 John chapter 2, verses 22 and 23. You see, one of the things that is so common in our day because of dispensationalism and Zionism is that there has been this notion that is very common in America today that somehow Judaism and Christianity, well, we're just like cousins in the faith. Congregation, you've probably even heard the term Judeo-Christianity. How many of you have heard the term Judeo-Christianity? To that we say, we'll take the Christianity, hold the Judeo. Amen? Because we hold the Christianity. And Judaism is not Christianity. Indeed, what we read in 1 John 2, verse 22, Here, John says, who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either. He who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Here, John says in black and white and very clear, if you deny the Son, You don't have the Father. You don't have Him. He's not your God. You're worshiping a different God. It's not the God of the Bible. Notice, if you will, over in chapter 4. Again, when we think about post-biblical Judaism being a false religion. John writes, and he says, Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are of God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world, and by this you know the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. And every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come into flesh is not of God, and this is the spirit of the Antichrist. which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world." Again, very clearly, if you do not confess Jesus Christ, you do not have the Father, you do not have the Gospel, you are not a true religion, you are a false religion. And that includes post-biblical Judaism. To not have God, is to be according to what John says, in the spirit of the Antichrist, speaking of the devil. Post-biblical Judaism isn't simply incomplete religion. That's how a lot of people think about Judaism today. Well, Judaism is biblical, except they just don't have the Messiah yet. And that's how a lot of people think. John says, no, you can't think that way because they don't have the father, because they don't have the son. It is not incomplete religion. It is false religion. And it is in accordance with the Antichrist. So congregation, when we think about the activity of the devil, we need to recognize he is the promoter and the propagator of all of these false religions. And there is only one true religion, amen? And that is biblical Christianity. If you don't get Christ right, if you don't get the gospel right, you have a false religion. And that false religion, however sincerely you may hold to it, according to the Apostle Paul, you're sacrificing to demons. And it is in accordance with the Antichrist. Secondly, we would say that there is a way to salvation and that way is very narrow. Turn with me, please, in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7. The words of the Lord Jesus make it very, very clear. Here on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, Matthew 7 verses 13 and 14. He says, enter, verse 13, enter by the narrow For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate, and difficult is the way that leads to life, and there are few who find it. Creation, the way is not broad, the way is narrow. The way is not easy, the way is difficult. The way is very, very precise. It is faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God. And accepting Christ as your substitute for sin. He came and He died on the cross that sinners might be delivered from their sin. And praise be to God everyone who turns from their sin enabled by God's grace. And trusts in Jesus Christ They are delivered from that deception of the devil and they are brought to a saving place in Jesus Christ. Praise be to God, many of us here today have had that very reality as your personal testimony. If you're here today and you have not turned to Christ, perhaps you're engaged in the ways of this world and your mind has been blinded by the lies and deception of the devil. Or maybe you have been prey to those counterfeit forms of so-called Christianity. Or, increasingly, as our country is transformed into all of these demonic false religions that are increasing exponentially. Whatever your situation is, there is good news. And that good news is turn to Christ and find forgiveness and reception into the kingdom of God's dear Son. I pray you will do that and do it before delay. Let's bow together in prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you again for your word. As we think about these truths, about the activity of the devil, We realize that he is very active, that he is very engaged in our culture and in our world, and we must not be ignorant of his devices. We must be informed of the wiles of the devil. We must see what he is up to and what he is doing in promoting all kinds of error and lies and deception in our culture and with false religion. And Father, help us that we would stand on your word and we would be faithful to declare your truth even in a world increasingly where there are consequences to being faithful. Help us to realize that we must stand for that narrow way, that difficult way, that singular way. And that is the way of the gospel and salvation in Jesus Christ. Oh Lord, we pray that you would draw sinners to yourself today, that you would add to your church, extend your kingdom. And Father, we all, as your people, delivered from the devil and his deception, would cry out, Christ is King. and we give you praise and glory. Father, we pray this all in Jesus' holy name. Amen. Amen. Let's all stand together now as we prepare to be dismissed. Again, with the words of Holy Scripture, the Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. And all of God's people said, Amen. Amen.