The Devil’s Discipleship Plan
Leadership in Context with Keith Tucci
Episode 095
The devil has systems in place where he tries to get us to think in darkness, instead of light, as the Scripture says.
The book of Daniel is about the beginning of 70 years of captivity where God handed Israel over because of their sins and rebellion against God. The first 9 chapters of Daniel is the process of tyrant kings trying to bring people into a Babylonian worldview/thinking process--something that is very relatable today.
The book of Jeremiah was written to warn Israel before this time happened. In Daniel 9, we find Daniel reading the book of Jeremiah. There is a lot to learn from Jeremiah and his warning for Israel.
Jeremiah 23:14
Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: the committing of adultery and walking in falsehood; and they strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like Sodom, and her inhabitants like Gomorrah.
God is addressing that they weren’t dealing with the sins of the nation. One of the effects of what we see happening right now is the Church’s failure to deal with the shedding of innocent blood of abortion and being far too tolerant of the sin of homosexuality.
The first chapter of Daniel outlines the devil’s discipleship process and how the tyrant kings are going to take over the nation.
Daniel 1:4
Youths in whom was no defect, who were good-looking, showing intelligence in every branch of wisdom, endowed with understanding and discerning knowledge, and who had ability for serving in the king’s court; and he ordered him to teach them the literature and language of the Chaldeans.
The devil went after the royal kids--the young people who have been raised in our churches, raised in ministry, who are creative, who are sharp. The enemy wants to capture their mind, seduce them, get them off track. They are under the most intense warfare that we could ever imagine.
The process is described in verse 4. The enemy wants to teach them the language and literature of the Chaldeans. Not of Israel. Not of Jewish roots. Not from an understanding of Hebrew. Not of their family connections. He wants to replace their history.
Right now, there is a move going on in our country to replace our history. That is not to say that all our history is good. Of course, we have bad history. People are discovering who we had good people that did bad things, and they're acting as if this is the first time they’ve heard it.
History is HIS-story. His story is that of redemption. His story is one of taking frail, flawed, fragile people and, in spite of themselves, doing something with them. His story is not man being self-righteous or good enough on his own.
Our history understands that there are flawed people who have done something significant. That doesn’t justify their flaws, but it should cause us to seek God and understand how these two things go together. How can someone who is so brilliant in one area still support slavery? Slavery is unfathomable, in any era, even when it was “culturally acceptable,” as that is not a good excuse. But to tear down the statue of General Lee and pretend that he never existed or is that he was different from other human beings because he had sins is unacceptable.
What about some of the replacement people? Are they suggesting that those people have always been on the right side of things? Where were they before George Floyd? There have been gross violations of human dignity prior to his death; what were they doing then?
The enemy wanted to teach them the language of the Chaldeans. Let’s look at the implications of that today with the phrase “black lives matter.” I believe that all black lives matter, maybe even more than most people. I believe that the unborn black life matters. That the elderly black life matters. But when our culture says “black lives matter,” it wants me to adopt a whole agenda that includes radical socialism and radical LGTB task force support. That is what that language means, and I’m not going to do that. It might sound silly because it’s just words. But words mean something. When you hear certain words, it’s not just the definition, but what it implies. I will say that all black lives matter because they matter to Jesus and He died for them. I’m not going to adopt the language of the Chaldeans. Instead, I’m going to use that as an opportunity to witness and talk about Christ.
Scripture says that our speech needs to be seasoned with salt. A little bit of salt really changes the flavor of something. A little bit of salt, graciously and wisely applied, can change the flavor of a conversation and get people to think a little bit instead of just identifying problems. It doesn’t take a lot of grace to identify problems. It takes a lot of grace to inject yourself into that problem--standing in the gap and making a difference.
The devil had a discipleship strategy many years ago. And he has continued to use that strategy to replace history and to teach us the language and literature of the Chaldeans who represent those who are heathens, those who are railing and denying God, those not submitting to God, those not looking or praying or repenting to God. I am not going to further that agenda.
There is a real problem, but it is bigger than the real police problem or prejudice. That’s the microcosm of a whole government that is out of control. We have to be the people who know HIS-story and stand up and tell His story—that God is a redeemer.
The enemy is attempting to change our history. God wants us to look at our history in amazement and understand that He is a redeemer looking for a place to happen. That is HIS-story!
Join us next week as Keith Tucci continues to put leadership truth in the context of the local church. And as always, please like, share, rate/review, and invite others to listen. See you next week!
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