Ascertaining Spiritual Traps

What if some of the battles you face are actually traps designed to gain an advantage over you? In this episode, we explore how offence, unforgiveness, arguments, and the desire to defend yourself can subtly give the enemy influence over your life. Discover why protecting your peace, resisting instant gratification, and recognising the small signs of a trap are essential to walking in spiritual victory. Listen now and learn how to stay alert, guard your heart, and refuse to give the enemy an advantage.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

So welcome to Christ Congress where we endeavor to build you into being Christ-like. This is a gathering of individuals who are excited and looking forward to being more Christ-like. Amen. And that is the beginning of prosperity. Amen. Hallelujah. So today we're going to talk about ascertaining spiritual traps. To ascertain spiritual traps. It's a very important subject. What's the ministry of traps? Thank you, Holy Spirit. Now try to keep your ears peeled. Amen. So I want us to go to Second Corinthians chapter two from verse eleven.

SPEAKER_01 1:42

Thank you, sir.

SPEAKER_00 1:43

Sorry, if you can read from verse 10 to 11, please. Thank you.

SPEAKER_01 1:49

Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. Second Corinthians chapter two from verse 10 says, 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. Verse 11, lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Praise God forevermore. The Bible says, To whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also. For if I forgive anything to whom I forgave it for your sakes, forgave I it in the person of Christ. I'll touch on that in a second, but what I want us to focus more on is as lest Satan should get an advantage of us. For we are not ignorant of his devices. Praise God forevermore. This scripture is important because it shows that there is a way that Satan can have an advantage over you. There is a way that he can have an edge over you. And one of the major ways Satan can have an edge over you is if you're ignorant of his devices. Now Apostle Paul was informing the church in Corinth that if you don't forgive your neighbor for what they've done to you, that by virtue of doing that, you've given Satan an advantage over you. Do you understand that? And this is something that they didn't know. They simply thought, I'm hurt. I'm hurt. Someone has hurt my feelings. I reserve the right to hold these feelings and what I'm feeling against them. Praise God forevermore. But Paul, Apostle Paul had to give them further information. He said, What you're doing, you don't know the spiritual implications. He said, If you don't forgive, God also doesn't forgive you. And by virtue of God withholding his forgiveness of your trespasses, Satan has an advantage over you. Praise God. Do you know why traps are so effective? I'm gonna outline to you why traps are so effective. And traps, traps are tactics that were used in wars to win wars. Praise God. Alright, there was a war I think in the 18th uh century between the US and the UK. That specific war was won by the US because they set traps. One of the advantages of traps are that they present instant gratification, but the end of it is detrimental to you. Do you understand that? This is the kind of message I will try to carefully minister to you about because I really want you to receive it. Traps are very effective. And they're effective in so many ways. Traps usually are proposed to you with what you desire. Which means that it is usually a bait. Praise God. Many many Christians didn't know that that man that you dated that was a trap. He came into your life, destroyed your life, messed up your mind. You were a devoted sister in the church. Focused. You loved God. You let that man in because he looked like what you liked. There was a bait. You let him in and then you messed up everything. Praise God. Traps also exploit ignorance. That's a big one. When traps are set, they're set to exploit your ignorance. The areas in which you know not of. And that's why it's called a trap. It's called a trap because it's not obvious. Praise God. Can I show you a scripture quickly and then we'll come back to this? Look at this. Psalms 141. From verse 9.

SPEAKER_01 9:33

Thank you, sir. Psalms chapter one hundred and forty-one from verse nine says, Keep me from the snares they have laid for me and from the traps of the workers of iniquity.

SPEAKER_00 9:47

Amen. This was a psalm from King David. This is a man of influence. He had wealth, he had influence, he had anything a man could dream of properties, everything. Praise God forevermore. He had all of this, and he he wrote this prayer to God and said, God, keep me from traps that have been laid by my enemies. Keep me from these traps. Now I want to tell you something. Did you know you were conscripted for these traps too? Oh, yeah. The moment you decided I want to follow Jesus as my Lord and Savior, you became conscripted to this war full of traps. The moment you said, Yes, Lord, I receive you as my king, you became conscripted to this war full of traps. And I know you can relate to what I'm saying because many of you have probably found yourself in situations where you felt like there's no way out. Have you felt like that before? Like I'm stuck. That's what a trap is. Let me perhaps boil it down a little bit more. There's been individuals who have you you you took your time, you made the decision, you picked the university, and when you did it, you were happy. A couple of months into uni, you're like, I hate this place. What enticed you? Could have been your friends, could have been the area. You heard so many good things about the area. You could have been running away from home, but you picked the university, you even picked the subject, you said, This is what I want to study. A year in, you say, I hate this, I don't like this. Praise God. The enemy uses traps to get the body of Christ stuck in one place, and if you're there long enough, you develop something called trained behavior. So I saw a a uh a test that was done on an ant. They drew a line, all right, like a square, put him inside, and put a true like a box on top of him. And every time the ant would try to cross the line, they would electrocute the ant. Praise God. And after some time, the ant began to realize that I can't go over there. Now they removed the box, they removed everything and let the ant see that it was removed, but the ant still had this idea that if I go there, I'll be electrocuted. Amen. That's what Satan does when he traps you. He starts to teach you. Traps are the place where Satan ministers to you. He starts to teach you how to be like him. Praise God. Say, I will not fall into the trap of the enemy. I will not. You gotta say it like you mean it. I will not, I will not fall into the trap of the enemy. I will not fall into the trap of the enemy. Praise God. Now, one of one of the major traps of the enemy is offense. Alright? Offense is a major trap of the enemy. Major. Major. You got to know it. The moment you get offended, all right. It's a very enticing thing to be offended. Like I reserve the right to be upset. Praise God. You know, like I was hurt, right? I've heard this before. I'm human. Let me feel the emotion. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Let me feel the emotion. I'm human. Let me feel first. Praise God. Can I put something else to you? Some emotions you don't want to feel. Because the moment you allow yourself to feel them, you've fallen into the trap. Offense is a massive trap. Massive. In case you don't know what offense is, I'll explain. I'll give you a definition. Being offended is feeling a negative emotion by virtue of how you've been treated or dealt with. So that negative emotion can be anger, could be rage, could you could feel disrespected? Praise God. And many situations will present themselves for you to feel rightfully offended. But just because you have the right to be offended, it doesn't mean you should be offended. Now you will ask me, Pastor, why should I not be offended? I'll explain. Because the moment you find yourself in offense, you've entered what I call hypnosis. Many people don't know that. When you get offended, you're hypnotized. I'll change the word. When you get offended, you're under the influence. Many individuals, when they're offended, most individuals, when they're offended, they cannot process facts. You present facts to them, and they they cannot receive the facts because they are offended. It means you're under the influence of something else. Praise God. Now the only thing the scripture allows us to be under the influence of is the spirit. He says, be not drunk with wine where in excess, but be filled with the Holy Spirit. So if you're if you're to be outside of your own influence, it should be under the influence of the spirit. But some have chosen to be under the influence of alcohol. You're too quiet. Seems like we have a lot of drinkers in here. You have a lot of drinkers. So some want to be under the influence of alcohol. Alright, that's your choice. Others want to be under the influence of emotion. Praise God. So when you get offended, all right, someone could talk to you in a certain way. The moment you get offended, God cannot minister to you the details in which can keep you humble in that situation. I'll give you an example. A few years ago, I said I went to a restaurant and the food took so long. I mean, it took so long. Praise God. So long. And I found myself getting a little upset. You know, I started going on company's house to see who the owner of this place is. You know, that's how I think. You know, I start going into details. I would like to know who owns this place. So I can email him directly, and I'll send a letter and stamp it. Because I'm upset. This is terrible. The food took over an hour and a half. And I would see others receiving their food. And the more I saw others receiving their food, you know, it was itching me. You understand that term? Yeah, it was winding me up. So I thought this is terrible. And I concluded that I'm in a racist environment. This is the conclusion I came to that these people are racist. But you know how I got to that conclusion? I got to that conclusion because I was offended. Not factoring in that the others that were receiving their food were black. Praise God forevermore. I was so offended and so annoyed and so under the influence of my own belly that I decided that this place is racist. This establishment is a racist establishment. I'll find the owner, I will email him, I'll send a letter, I will stamp the letter, and if I don't hear back, I'll make a TikTok. Nothing shakes tables like TikTok, amen. So these are all cogitations I was having in that moment. Alright? And I thought to myself, no, hold on a second. You're a man of the spirit. Relax. Put your belly under control. So I did that. It took me about 15 minutes to get myself under control, get myself back to where I was supposed to be in the realm of the spirit. Amen. And then you know what I noticed? I started noticing facts. I looked around, I noticed that the people being served are black. One, two, I noticed that it was only one waiter running around with everyone's food. You know what that did? It gave me compassion. Because I chose not to be offended. Don't be so quick to give Satan an advantage over you by being offended. Don't be so quick to be offended. Yeah. Don't be so quick to be offended.

unknown 21:59

What

SPEAKER_00 22:00

Happens when you're offended is you are disarmed. The Bible says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. So these weapons can pull down strongholds, pull down imaginations, pull down ideas, but you lose all those things when you get offended. I didn't say you lose authority, I said you lose the weapons. You're disarmed. Amen. You come in, all right, into the church, they give you a seat. You don't like that seat. It's not something to be offended about. You're too quiet. It's not something to be offended about. No, I want to sit here. You just arrived. Amen. You just came. Relax. Praise God forevermore. Offense is wrapped around your ideology of who you are, not God's ideology. One thing I learned from walking with the Lord Jesus is that my boss is a humble man. You understand that? My boss is a humble man. Very humble. Very, very humble. And where that became very, very, very, very apparent to me is when I read the disciples literally telling Jesus, teach us how to pray like John the Baptist taught his disciples. And I asked myself, how many pastors would accept that? That their members say, Can you teach us the way that church teaches? Most pastors will get offended. Why don't you go to that church? Am I lying?

unknown 24:11

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00 24:13

Jesus didn't even respond. He didn't even respond to that. He said, Okay, no problem. Let me teach you how to pray. What humility? As a lady, your husband says to you, Can you cook for me the way that lady cooks?

unknown 24:30

Yes, sir.

SPEAKER_00 24:32

Look at your reaction. Look at your reaction. Look at your reaction. Wrapped around your ideology of you. You know what that tells me and God is that you have a big ego. And you think so highly of yourself. So your husband, your husband cannot recommend to you how to cook. He can't. So your husband says, I notice another lady dressing this way. Can you dress like her? Oh the offended people are coming out now. Praise God. But what I'm saying now, that's the same as what happened with Christ. Do you not agree with that? That's what happened with Christ. He's the pastor. His members are telling him, Teach us how another pastor's teaching. Why have you not taught us how to pray? The way he has. Jesus, knowing that he is God, the creator of everything, humbled himself and said, No problem. So, question what's wrong with you saying to your husband, no problem. Show me this young lady. Let me see how she dresses. Am I challenging your mind? Tell your neighbor, get out of your own way. No, tell them, get out of your own way. Tell them you are your biggest issue. You think too highly of yourself. Tell them again, fight offense. I'm still studying it, but it's this thing I'm studying, right? I'll just give you a piece of it. It's the difference between communicated information versus received information. Listen to this. You say to your wife, I would like you to dress like that young lady I saw yesterday, or do your hair like her. And she hears that girl is better than me. So most women will say, Go and go go over there and go and go and go and go and get her number then. And go and pay her bride price. Go ahead and marry her. So you said I would you're saying effectively, I like the hairstyle I saw. Not that I like the girl, I like the hairstyle. She hears you like the girl. Are you listening? This is a marriage sermon I'm actually giving you. Amen. But has it occurred to you that what you hear at the end of what he said is a lot to do with what you feel about yourself and how you perceive yourself? And men, you can't get away from this either. Imagine, imagine, imagine. Um is gonna be holy spirit. So perceive that she says, I would like for you to take care of me the way Brother So-and-so takes care of his wife. I know that most men would turn around and say, Go be with him then. Praise God. And so the question is, what are you hearing versus what is she saying? So it's very important that you start actively fighting offense. Okay, so one way to tackle it is this if such a conversation presents itself to you, all right, differentiate between how you're feeling and what is being said. So before you respond to what was said, you can say, just before I respond to that, this is how I'm feeling at the moment, because this is what I'm perceiving is being said, but I trust you enough to know you're not saying that. Amen. That's not a that's not a communication of someone who's offended, that's a communication of someone who wants to seek peace. Do you understand that? So the man says, I would like you to dress like sister so and so. Or there's a lady I saw at the train station yesterday, she was wearing exo. This is what I want you to wear, just the way she dressed. You can respond and say, Okay, um, before I respond to that, I feel attacked. Or I feel like you're saying she's better than me, but I know you're not saying she's better than me. Because I trust you that you wouldn't think like that. Praise God. And if your husband is wise, he will reassure you. Amen. He'll reassure you. Praise God. Because no, because there's many disagreements happen because one has communicated their mind, the other has communicated their feelings. Praise God. It's not just in romantic relationships, we find this even at work. Work relationships.

unknown 31:57

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 32:01

Another trap uh that the Bible talks about quite regularly is arguments. Run away from arguments, disputes, you know, you're you're arguing with a friend, a romantic interest, parents, children, siblings. Don't argue. I was doing a a mental study yesterday on what causes arguments. And at first I thought it was difference in opinion, but the Lord said, go deeper, it's not difference in opinion, it's defending the opinion.

unknown 32:51

Wow.

SPEAKER_00 32:52

That's what causes the argument. It's you are ready to defend what you think with everything you have. You you have built such a strong defense mechanism about what you believe, so it keeps throwing you into arguments and disagreements. You know, arguments rob you of the peace in your spirit that produces life. The Bible says peace produces life in your spirit. That life, I've taught you before, what does that life do? That peace, what does it do? It tames your environment. So okay, there's some new new people here that don't know what peace does. You see, when you have peace in your spirit, peace controls your entire environment, it tames your environment. That's what peace does. So I am a massive advocate for you to keep the peace in your spirit. Because that peace, you may go into an environment, all right, that's terrible. But because you carry peace, it begins to move the pieces. You understand that? It moves the pieces in your favor, and everything becomes calm. Same as Christ, he was on the boat. All his disciples were there screaming, you know, can you not see that we're dying? Jesus was sleeping. They woke him up, Master, Master, we're about to die. He said, Why are you crying? They thought, Why are we crying? We're about to die. He said, You have little faith. He looked at the winds, he looked at the sea. You know, water was coming in to kill them. And he said, Peace be still. Did he say, Oh, yeah, stop? You're too quiet. Did he say, Come down, come down? No, he said, peace. Be still. So that peace, you have it as well.

unknown 35:11

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 35:14

Say, I have peace in my spirit. The people on this side don't believe it. Say, I have peace in my spirit. I have peace so strong in my spirit, and it controls my environment. Praise God. Now, that peace, all right, you gotta do everything you can to protect it. Protect that peace. Don't get offended. Because once you allow offense in, it kicks out the peace. The power that is supposed to control your entire environment is no longer controlled. Hallelujah. Let's go back to that previous verse. We're not done there yet. Second Corinthians chapter 2, verse 11.

SPEAKER_01 36:31

Thank you, sir. 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 from verse 11 says, Lest Satan should take advantage of us, for we are not ignorant of his devices.

SPEAKER_00 36:47

Yes, continue please.

SPEAKER_01 36:50

Thank you, sir. Second Corinthians chapter 2, verse 12 says, Furthermore, when I came to Troas to preach Christ's gospel, and a door was opened to me by the Lord. Verse 13, I had no rest in my spirit, because I did not find Titus, my brother, but taking my leave of them, I departed for Macedonia.

SPEAKER_00 37:15

Praise God. Now just write this down. Traps exploit ignorance if you haven't already written it down. They provide what seems to be instant gratification, but at the end, it's never beneficial for you. Also add there, traps work when you think you're winning. When you think you're winning, that's when the trap begins to really kick in. Amen. So when I say do not argue, Pastor, alright, I'm gonna ask what I believe would be a frequently asked question to what I'm saying, and I'll answer it for you. So Pastor, what if I am correct in this situation? What if I'm right? What if I'm being blamed for something I actually didn't do? Surely I should defend myself. Can I give you the answer to that? You defend yourself highly dependent on who is standing in front of you. If you're in the face of an authority, my advice, don't defend yourself. What does that mean? For example, yeah, for example, um something has happened at home. Alright? And your parents think you have done something terrible, and you had absolutely nothing to do with it. And it was your siblings, and they start attacking you. It was you. Amen. You see, in that moment, hello, you see, in that moment, anything you say will be used against you. You've all been there before. The conversation goes from you being innocent or guilty to you being rude. Hello. So you're in front of your parents, they're accusing you of something. Keep quiet. And just apologize. Even if you are right. Because the moment you defend yourself, you've started an argument, and you are defending yourself against someone who believes you are wrong. Now, even if they start correcting you on something you didn't do, do you remember me saying correction is not for those who are wrong or for those who want to prosper? So there could be something that this they're saying there that you can take away that you probably otherwise didn't have. When I learned this lesson, I felt delivered that I don't have to defend myself. Now, when I take the posture of not defending myself, guess who steps in and defends me? But now you are too quiet. God, in his infinite wisdom, steps in and now begins to defend you. Because you don't have an ego, you're not fighting to be right. Ask yourself, what's my obsession with being correct? I know what it is. Being correct provides you with instant gratification, it massages the ego. You feel good. It's like a uh what's the word? It's uh it's like it's uh some sort of uh drug, you know, and makes you feel good, it massages all the opinions you have of yourself. But that's terrible because Christ wants you to find your identity in him, not in your opinions. Praise God. You know, if you get offended and you start arguing about something, it tells me that you're insecure about that thing. Like if someone attacks your weight, praise God, someone attacks your weight, right? And you have insecurities about your weight, you will erupt. This is a is a touchy area, but if you know that you're looking good, say I look good, I'm good looking, and I'm looking out, praise God. See, I'm looking good, I'm good looking, and I'm looking out, so someone can say to you, you know, make a comment about your. It doesn't move you. I'm good looking. I'm good looking out. Amen. You're not moved. Praise God. Someone says, You're broke. And you start defending yourself. This guy's suspicious. Yeah, we got you, we know. Yeah. When someone says you're broke, say okay. All right, no problem. Then you then we know, and and and God knows that you believe that you you you rich in the Holy Spirit. Yeah, praise God forevermore. So, from a romantic perspective, don't defend yourself. Hello, that's a tough one. That's a tough one. Even husbands, you know. Let me talk to you for a second. Don't defend yourself. Do you hear me? Don't defend yourself because she will believe what she believes. The most you can do is try to reassure. Amen. He says, I think you're very rude. Well the way you you know you are, you're very rude and you're very masculine. He's talking to you like that. Okay, sorry. You know what sorry can sorry disarms the person standing in front of you is completely disarmed when you apologize. And sorry is a token of what you carry in your spirit. What's your priority? Is your priority being correct, or is your priority peace? You see, this is what I'm teaching you now, is a mature message. It's for the mature. Okay, just yesterday, just yesterday, you sent money to her to take care of herself. She got upset today. She says, You never send money. Don't say, so you forgot yesterday. Praise God. No, don't don't don't don't do that. Say, I'm sorry, I'll send more tomorrow. I'm sorry, I'll send more tomorrow. No problem. Listen, it's either you want God to defend you or you want to be your own defender. You understand that? The Bible says that they trust in horses and chariots, but we trust in the name of the Lord. The issue is you think God takes long, you want instant gratification. I want it now, I want it now. But that's pride. Why should it be now? Why should it be on your time? Learn to work on God's time. Why should you get what you want in your time? And if you're wise and you're you're you're partnering with the God of the universe that can see tomorrow, is it not better for you to go off his time? He has more information than you, he knows what's to come, and he prefers that you are not vindicated now. He's planned for your vindication in two weeks. And this is where you find your husband will come to you after weeks. Say, you know that situation? I'm so sorry. And that's beautiful because your what's more important there is your character. You've built your reputation in his eyes. Praise God forevermore. You know, some I like I like uh this thing that my my wife does, and I'm sharing it because I want to help you. Okay, this is something that I notice she does a lot. So when I have an opinion, and it's a contrary opinion to hers, and perhaps she doesn't agree with what I'm saying, and I put my foot down and I say, This is what's gonna happen, and I'm not budging. Praise God. She'll say, No problem, I can't change your mind, and then she'll go off and buy me something and bring it every time she'll go off and buy me a gift and bring it. Now I interpret that gift as she's saying I have no issues with your decision, but I'll support you nonetheless. And what that does is it builds credibility. Can you do that? Don't just say yes, sir. Can you do that? Or will you fight for your for your voice to be heard? Yeah, because that's the generation we're coming up in now, isn't it? And if you're not heard, it's like you're suffering, you're dying. But can you be wise enough? Can you be wise enough to not get offended or angry or upset because you see things differently? Praise God. I want to give you one more scripture. I've been told time is up, so I have to give that to you on Thursday. It's the same guy. Again, every week. Amen. Hallelujah. One more scripture. Alright. The nature of traps. Yeah, let's look at the nature of traps. I'll give you one one last scripture. Thank you, Holy Spirit. Um, second Corinthians chapter eleven verse three.

SPEAKER_01 51:59

Thank you, sir. Second Corinthians chapter eleven from verse three says, But I fear lest somehow as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

SPEAKER_00 52:18

Hallelujah. That scripture is very key. It tells you the nature of traps. It uses two words begowed, one, two, subtility or subtility. But some would say subtle, subtleness. Okay, those two words are very important. Number one, begowed means charmed, it's a charm. So don't think of charm as in witchcraft, think of charm as in enticing. When a trap is set, it's so enticing, it's so good in the moment. Talk, talk to any drug abuser, they'll tell you. They'll tell you that in the moment this thing is so sweet, it's so nice, it's the after effect. Praise God. There's shame, there's pain, there's addiction, and all manner of health issues that come afterwards. Praise God. And if you read Genesis 3, it says in Genesis chapter 3, verse 1, it says, Now the serpent was the most subtle, it says it was the most subtle animal that God had ever created, and Satan used the most subtle animal to deceive Eve. Praise God. Traps are subtle. So if you think carefully, the biggest disagreements you've had in your entire life started off with something simple. It's not even a major thing. You were joking. Two minutes into the joke, this this fire. So what happened? How did we get here? Yeah, because traps are subtle. They're subtle. Praise God. We went to uh I went to an event. Most of the couples there were saying, Yeah, we started off as friends. Subtle. I never noticed him. He says, I also never noticed her. We were just friends, and then today we're five kids later. Subtle. Praise God. Now I'm not saying that's bad. I want you to get me correctly. I'm not saying that starting off as friends is bad. I'm not saying that at all. What I'm saying is that the most major decisions of your life start off small, subtle. Who you have children with, subtle. The school you go to, subtle, business relations, subtle. Starts off very small. And if you're wise, you'll start to look around you now. As the word of God is being ministered to you right now, you'll start looking around your life right now. Praise God. And start fending off anything that could potentially become a trap for you, even if it's really small. Amen. Have you heard of the term one conversation too much? You heard that before? Everything was fine until that last conversation. Yeah. One conversation too far. One conversation too much. And you landed at the wrong postcode. You're too quiet. Amen. Traps, the enemy setting traps, and all of these things give him an advantage. None of the situations are mentioned, right? Can you come out of it without help? This is why I wrap up now. Alright? Okay. Traps, when they're set, you can't come out alone. Have you seen a mouse trap? Can the mouse come out of that? You yourself that set the trap, you have to help him. You have to help that mouse. So when you fall into traps, only God in heaven can help you. That's why you must avoid them. Avoid them. Avoid them. Make up your mind that you will not argue. I will not argue. Say it, I will not argue. I won't argue. I won't go back and forth with anyone. Today is the last day. Let me change that. Yesterday was the last day. I will not argue today. Not even one time. Yeah. I will focus my mind on peace. Thank you for listening. For more information, find us at Christ Congress Global.