God is a God of truth. Therefore, we, His children, must not walk in lies. We must walk in the truth. We must not know the voice of a stranger, for the stranger is not of God.
We know the devil is a liar. Jesus says he is the father of lies. But there is another liar that we often overlook. Some of us do not even know he is a liar. But he is not only a liar, he is a great liar. Moreover, he is a faithful ally of the devil.
So, when we say, “The devil is a liar,” we must also say: “the flesh is a liar.”
New reality
I met God for the very first time in the middle of an armed robbery attack some 30 years ago. When I was cornered by the robbers, I heard distinctly a disembodied voice that said reassuringly: “Femi, nothing is going to happen to you here.”
However, immediately I heard this, “something happened.” One of the robbers approached my car and fired a gun at me. The bullet pierced the body of my car and buried itself in my leg.
While I was still trying to deal with this contradiction, the voice came back and said to me with the same confidence: “Femi. there is nothing wrong with your leg.”
After the robbers left with the luggage my wife brought from a trip to New York, I discovered later that the person who spoke to me was Jesus. He woke me up one morning by shouting in my left ear: “Matthew 13:13-16.”
When I checked this in the Bible, it was Jesus who was speaking, and that marked the beginning of my intimate relationship with Him.
But then the question remained: why did He tell me nothing would happen to me when something happened? Why did He insist nothing is wrong with my leg when I was shot and my leg was then encased in a plaster? How can He say nothing is wrong with my leg when there is now a bullet in my leg?
A few weeks later, God validated His contradictory reality by healing my injured leg miraculously. In effect, He brought both the attack and the bullet wound to nothing.
Suddenly, the truth of God’s perspective became clear. Nothing happened to me during that armed robbery attack, and there is nothing wrong with my leg.
What is real?
As believers in Christ, at what level of consciousness do we operate? Do we operate at the level of our senses or the level of our faith? Precisely what is real to us? Or should I ask: “What do we use to define reality?”
The scriptures are unequivocal. They insist that: “The just shall live by faith.” (Hebrews 10:38). Moreover, they reveal that: “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17).
The hard lesson that Jesus presented to me at the get-go of my relationship with him is that henceforth, my reality should no longer be determined by what I feel, see, think, or experience. My reality should now be defined by the abiding truth of the word of God.
Since we who once were dead to God are now alive to Him in Christ, we must no longer be limited by our senses. Since we have been redeemed into fellowship with the invisible God, the invisible must now have greater saliency to us than the visible.
Therefore, Paul says: “We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:13).
Jesus says to Nicodemus: “Unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (John 3:3). But now that, thanks to Jesus’ redemption, we are born again, then we should be able to see what God is doing. We should now be able to see the invisible things of God. (Romans 1:20).
Fleshly lies
Paul says again of the redeemed: “We are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.” (Philippians 3:3).
We have no confidence in the flesh because we know the flesh is a deceiver. It cannot be trusted. It specialises in telling lies.
A fundamental difference between truth and lies is that truth is eternal. It does not change. Jesus says: “Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words remain forever.” (Matthew 24:35). But lies are temporal. Sooner than later, lies are revealed to be fabrications. Lies are subject to variations.
God once said to me: “Femi, thank Me that nothing in this world lasts.” I took some time to reflect on this. Then the revelation opened to me like a book. Everything in this world is subject to change. If we hurt our foot, there is great pain initially, but then the pain starts to recede until it heals.
That means everything about this world is a lie. Nothing here lasts. That headache you are having is a lie. A simple word of God can expose it. That feeling of well-being you are having is a lie. You might actually be at death’s door without knowing it. That depression you are going through is a lie. It might simply be some demons trying to confuse you.
Whose report will you believe? Will you believe the report of your senses or the report of God? Your senses are congenital liars. Only believe the report of the Lord.
Jairus
Jairus rushed to Jesus to pray for the healing of his sick daughter. But after he had managed to tell Him about his predicament, a word was sent to him emanating from the flesh of his daughter. It said it was already too late. His daughter had died.
But Jesus knew that report was a lie. He said to Jairus: “Do not be afraid; only believe, and she will be made well.” (Luke 8:50).
When He got to Jairus’ house, He met mourners, wailing and crying. He said to them: “Do not weep; she is not dead but sleeping.” (Luke 8:52). But they did not believe Him and were disgusted with Him.
He then exposed the lie of death. He told the girl to wake up and she did. He then asked her parents to give her something to eat.
Thereby, Jesus demonstrated conclusively that what we call death in the flesh is not death at all. He shows that, contrary to popular belief, no man has ever died of sickness. No one even dies of old age. The only thing that kills is sin. The wages of sin is death. (Romans 6:23). But Jesus is: “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29).
In effect, an experience can be “real” but false. Everything we experience in the flesh is a lie. Everything we see and feel is deceptive. Everything around us is a lie.
Jesus says: “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:31-32).
TO BE CONTINUED.
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