Fake News: Crushing the Creep: Learning the Shepherds Tone
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Fake News: Crushing the Creep: Learning the Shepherds Tone
John 4 &10, Romans 2, Ephesians 6, Colossians 2, Romans 8
October 13th, 2024
3 “processes” of winning spiritual warfare…
Identifying the tone of a lie.
Breaking agreements with the lie.
Exercising authority over a lie.
The Truth About Truth & Lies.
The origin of lies is Satan.
The intent of a lie is to control and destroy.
The power of a lie is in what we do with it.
The origin of truth is in the reality of Jesus.
The intent of Truth is freedom and life.
The power of the Truth is in my following Jesus.
Ephesians 6:11-12 (AMP) 11 Put on the full armor of God [for His precepts are like the splendid armor of a heavily-armed soldier], so that you may be able to [successfully] stand up against all the schemes and the strategies and the deceits of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood [contending only with physical opponents], but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this [present] darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly (supernatural) places.
Crushing lies is one-part discerning content (truth vs lies) the other part is distinguishing tone.
Tone is the tipoff to who is talking. Who is talking is the tipoff to Intent.
John 10:1-4, 8-10 (NIV) “Very truly I tell you Pharisees, anyone who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. 3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but the Pharisees did not understand what he was telling them. 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Jesus draws a very stark contrasts to Him and Satan.
“The thief comes to kill, steal and destroy. I have come so that you might have life, more and better life than you have ever dreamed!” John 10:9,10 (Message)
Satan wants to kill, steal and destroy what?
Your joy.
Your identity.
Your value.
Your future.
Your purpose.
Satan’s identity is a lying thief. Whatever is valuable, Satan wants to kill it, steal it or destroy it.
God’s intent is that you experience…
life to its fullness in Christ.
life richer and more fulfilling than you could have ever dreamed for yourself.
Jesus’ identity is a loving Shepherd. A Shepherd protects, provides, cares for and leads.
Tone is the tipoff to who is talking.
Who is talking is the tipoff to intent.
Tone pierces your heart before content hits your head.
Satan’s Tone: Accusatory & Condemning
Revelation 12:9-10 (NIV) 9 The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
A scheme is a large scale, strategic and systematic plot. We are at war, live like it! When you hear an accusing, condemning tone alarm bells should go off in your heard alerting you that Satan is working to destroy something inside of you.
Sheppard’s Tone: Kindness & Conviction
Romans 2:4b “it is God’s kindness that leads to repentance.”
God’s tone draws you in, it doesn’t push you down or back. We are drawn to kindness because we were created to recognize and respond to the tone of the Father. When you gain confidence in the character of the Father, you will receive all of His direction and correction.
Condemnation is meant to bury. Conviction is meant for resurrection.
John 4:4-30 (NIV) 4 Now he had to go through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. 7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” 8 (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” 11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” 16 He told her, “Go, call your husband and come back.” 17 “I have no husband,” she replied. Jesus said to her, “You are right when you say you have no husband. 18 The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband. What you have just said is quite true.” 19 “Sir,” the woman said, “I can see that you are a prophet. 20 Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you Jews claim that the place where we must worship is in Jerusalem.” 21 “Woman,” Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. 22 You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.” 25 The woman said, “I know that Messiah” (called Christ) “is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” 26 Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” 27 Just then his disciples returned and were surprised to find him talking with a woman. But no one asked, “What do you want?” or “Why are you talking with her?” 28 Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” 30 They came out of the town and made their way toward him.
Tone is the tipoff to who is talking. Who is talking is the tipoff to intent.
Listen for the tone with your feelings. Your feelings will identify who is talking.
Reject all condemnation, receive all conviction.
Break all agreements.
“Satan, I have let you get away with this lie long enough. I will no longer be agreeing with your labels or assessments. I will run to the Father for forgiveness and healing. I will walk with the Father in strength and Truth.
Colossians 2:13-15 (NIV) 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. 15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Romans 8:1-2 (NIV) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Galatians 5:1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.