“Say No To Deceit”
Saturday, May 24, 2025Key Verse
“And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we have heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life.” 1 Kings 20:31
Text — 1 Kings 20:29-31
Message
God gave Israel victory in a battle with boastful Syria. The Syrian king had earlier threatened to destroy Israel with her king. Through God’s intervention, the Syrians were defeated and they fled before Israel. Now the remnants wanted to seek for mercy from Israel and they planned to do it through deception.
People taking advantage of other people’s generosity or kindness, as we see in our Bible passage, is a common occurrence in today’s world. The servants of Benhadad, king of Syria, advised him to deceive and take advantage of the merciful nature of the king of Israel to seek protection. Friends of Jesus must constantly rely on the Holy Spirit to detect deception in the world.
Do not engage in any form of deception to obtain unprofitable gain. Stay away from deceptive people. Avoid people who appear to be innocent and harmless, but are actually full of evil intentions. Deceivers are everywhere in the world seeking to distract believers from their focus on heaven. Say ‘No’ to such people.
Further Reading
Joshua 9:3-16
Prayer for today
Help me Lord not to fall into the hands of deceivers in my journey to heaven.
About Author - Pastor W.F. Kumuyi
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
