“Deception in the Last Days: Staying Anchored in Truth“

Matthew 24: 11 v2 Thessalonians 2:3 2 Timothy 4:3-4
John 10: 4-5

INTRODUCTION

Family, last week we talked about the shaking of nations-wars
And rumors of wars. This week, Jesus shifts out attention from
external shaking to internal shaking.

He says another sign of the end-time season will be the rise of
deception.

Not deception in the world-that has always existed. But deception
inside the Church, among believers, among those who once
walked in truth.

This is not a message of fear.
This is a message of discernment,
clarity, and spiritual maturity.

I. JESUS’ WARNING: “MANY WILL BE DECEIVED“

Matthew 24: 11

“Many false prophets will arise and deceive many.”

Jesus is not talking about fortune-tellers or obviously false religions. He
talking about:
persuasive voices
spiritual influencers
charismatic personalities
Teachers who sound right but are not rooted or grounded
movements that feel good but are not of God.

He says many will be deceived, not a few.

This is why discernment is not optional in this season. It is essential.

II. Paul’s CONFIRMATION: A FALLING AWAY

2. Thessalonians 2: 3

“That day will not come unless the falling away comes first.”

Paul says that before Christ returns, there will be a drifting, cooling,
compromising, a departure from truth, and a generation that prefers
comfort over conviction.

This is not the world falling away. This is the Church falling away.
Not from religion –
but from truth.

III. THE CULTURE OF DECEPTION

2 Timothy 4:3-4

“They will not endure sound doctrine.. they will turn away from the truth
and aside to myths.”

Paul describes a generation that:

rejects correction
resists accountability
prefers emotional comfort
follows teachers who tell them what they want to hear
replaces Scripture with self-help
replaces holiness with hype
replaces conviction with convenience

This is the climate we are living in.

IV. THE ROOT OF DECEPTION: A DISTRACTED EAR

Deception does not begin with a lie.
It begins with a distracted ear.

Jesus said:

“My sheep know My voice… a stranger they will not follow.”
– John 10: 4-5

The issue is not the presence of false voices. The issue is the
absence of familiarity with God’s voice.

When you stope listening to the Shepherd, you start following
strangers.

V. HOW DECEPTION CONNECTS TO ISRAEL

End-time deception is not random. It is strategic.

1. Israel is the prophetic center of truth
   Every major doctrine, covenant, Messiah, prophecy, flows
   from Israel.
2. The enemy attacks truth by attacking Israel
   If Israel is discredited, Scripture is discredited.
   If Scripture is discredited, faith is discredited.
3. The rise of deception prepares the world for the Antichrist
   Paul says the Antichrist will deceive nations with signs,
   wonders, and persuasive speech.
   This deception will center around:
   
   Israel
   Jerusalem
   convenant promises
   prophetic fulfillment
   
   This is why clarity about Israel matters in the last days.
   
   VI. HOW BELIEVERS STAY ANCHORED IN TRUTH
   
   1. Stay anchored in Scripture (not it is not easy)
   Not opinions
   Not friends
   Not personalities
   Scripture.
   
   2. Stay submitted to the Holy Spirit
   
   He is the Spirit of Truth.
   He exposes deception before it reaches your heart.
   
   3. Stay connected to healthy spiritual leadership
   Isolation is the breeding ground for deception.
   
   4. Stay discerning
   Not suspicious
   discerning
   
   5. Stay anchored in Jesus’voice
   
   The more familiar you are with the voice, the less power deception
   has over you.
   
   VII. CLOSING
   EXHORTION
   
   Family, deception is not something to fear. It is something to overcome.
   Jesus did not say, “Be afraid.” He said, “Be watchful.”
   He did not say, “Hide.” He said, “Stand.” He did not say, “Panic.” He said,
   “Endure.”
   
   This is the hour to be anchored. This is the hour to be steady. This is the
   An hour to be rooted in truth.
   
   Lift up your head.
   Steady your heart.
   Stay Anchored.
   
   Truth is not losing.
   Truth is rising.
   
   🙏🏽 COMPANION PRAYER
   
   Father,
   We thank You for Your Word- a Word that cuts through confusion and
   brings clarity to our spirit.
   
   Lord, in a world filled with noise, teach us to know Your voice. Sharpen
   our discernment. Strengthen our conviction. Anchor our hearts in truth.
   
   We come against every deceptive voice, every false teaching, every
   counterfeit spirit that seeks to pull Your people away
   from Your Word.
   
   Holy Spirit,
   be our Guide.
   Be our Teacher.
   Be our Light.
   
   Guard our minds.
   Guard our hearts.
   Guard our steps.
   
   Father, we pray for Israel- the nation of covenant, the keeper of prophecy,
   the anchor of truth. Cover them. Protect them. Fulfill every word You
   have spoken.
   
   And Lord, keep us steady.
   Keep us rooted.
   Keep us faithful
   Let us be a people who endure, who discern, who
   Stand firm until the day of Your return.
   
   In Jesus’ name,
   Amen.
   
   ✨SANCTUARY LETTER
   “When Truth Is Tested: The Quiet Battle for Your Ear”
   
   Beloved, there is a battle happening on the earth right now,
   And it is not loud.
   It is not violent.
   It is not dramatic.
   
   It is quiet.
   It is subtle.
   It is strategic.
   
   It is the battle for your ear.
   
   Jesus said many would be deceived in the last days-
   not because the lie is powerful, but because the ear
   becomes distracted.
   
   Deception does not begin with a false prophet.
   It begins with a believer who stops listening.
   
   This is why the Spirit is calling you into a posture of
   anchored listening this week.
   
   Not anxious listening.
   Not fearful listening.
   Not frantic listening.
   
   Anchored listening.
   
   Listening that comes from stillness.
   Listening that comes from Scripture.
   Listening that comes from knowing
   the Shepherd’s voice.
   
   Beloved, Truth is not fragile.
   Truth is not losing.
   Truth is not fading.
   
   Truth is rising.
   And so are you.
   
   Stay anchored.
   Stay discerning.
   Stay close.
   
   God is guiding you into truth.
   
   With Grace,
   Rev. Debra Stith
   
   
   
   
   
   

Forbidden love – Week One

When love Rises Higher Than God Intended

Beloved Sanctuary Reader,

There are moments in our journey when God invites us to pause and
look honestly at the places where our hearts have wandered. Not in
shame. Not in fear. But in truth.

This week, as we open the Forbidden Love series, I feel the weight and
tenderness of what God is doing. He is not exposing us to embarrassment.
He is revealing to restore us.

Sometimes love becomes complicated, not because it is evil, but because
It rises to a place in our hearts that we were never meant to carry.
Love is beautiful – until it becomes ultimate.
Love is holy – until it becomes a substitute for God.
Love is a gift – until it becomes an idol.

And idols don’t always look like rebellion.
Sometimes they look like longing, hope, the version of ourselves we wish
someone else could make us become.

This week’s lesson, When Love Becomes an Idol, It is not about condemnation. It is about clarity. It is about reclaiming the parts of ourselves we gave away too freely.
It is about recognizing the subtle ways our hearts attachto what drains us, distract
or delay us.

God is not asking you to stop loving. He is asking you to stop losing yourself in the
name of love.

He is calling you back to the place where you first loved him, where your identity is not shaped by who stayed or who left, who chose you or who ignored you, who
affirmed you or who mishandled you.
Your identity is shaped by Him and Him alone.

This week, let the lesson sit with you.
Let it breathe.
Let it speak.
Let it uncover the places where your heart has been stretched thin trying
to hold what was never meant to be held that tightly.

And as you reflect, may you feel God gently restoring the parts of you that
were lost in the name of love.

You are not behind.
You are not broken.
You are not disqualified.
You are simply being realigned.

One lesson at a time.
One truth at a time.
One healed place at a time.

I’m walking this journey with you- slowly, intentionally, and without
rushing ahead.

With grace,
Debra