Don't Be Deceived || With Pastor Femi Ibikunle Life Ministries

Devotional

Day 1: The Serpent’s Twisted Question

The serpent approached Eve not with claws but with a question. “Did God really say…?” he hissed, twisting Yahweh’s clear command about the forbidden tree. Eve engaged the deception, ate the fruit, and hid when God walked in the garden. Her confession—“The serpent deceived me”—revealed Satan’s oldest tactic: distorting God’s character through half-truths. [03:06]

Satan still uses this strategy today. He amplifies suffering by whispering, “God allowed this to teach you,” just as he reframed Eden’s boundaries as divine deprivation. Jesus exposed this lie when He called Satan “the father of lies” (John 8:44)—not a teacher sent to refine us.

When hardship strikes, do you hear echoes of Eden’s question? Do you assume God withholds good from you? What specific lie about His character might you need to confront today?

“Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God actually say, “You shall not eat of any tree in the garden”?’”
(Genesis 3:1, ESV)

Prayer: Ask God to reveal any area where you’ve believed twisted half-truths about His nature.
Challenge: Write down one situation where you’ve questioned God’s goodness. Replace that lie with a truth from Deuteronomy 28:1-14.

Day 2: Eighteen Years of Bent Backs

Jesus spotted the woman crumpled under an 18-year infirmity. He didn’t say, “This teaches resilience.” He declared, “Satan bound her,” then shattered the chains. Her spine straightened. The synagogue crowd saw suffering; Jesus saw a robbery needing reversal. [08:51]

God permits no sickness to “build character.” James 1:17 says every good gift comes from Him. The enemy steals; Jesus restores. Like the woman, your prolonged struggle isn’t God’s lesson plan—it’s a battleground for His deliverance.

What “bent” area have you resigned to live with? Chronic pain? Relational brokenness? Jesus calls these Satan’s bonds, not His tools. Will you bring your bent place to Him today, expecting liberation?

“And ought not this woman, a daughter of Abraham whom Satan bound for eighteen years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
(Luke 13:16, ESV)

Prayer: Thank Jesus that His will is always liberation, never prolonged bondage.
Challenge: Speak aloud to a specific struggle: “In Jesus’ name, I resist you as a thief, not a teacher.”

Day 3: Curses Broken at the Cross

Deuteronomy 28 lays out two paths: blessings for obedience (verses 1-14), curses for rebellion (15-68). Poverty, sickness, and confusion fill the curse list. But Galatians 3:13 shouts, “Christ redeemed us from the curse!” His crucifixion swapped our penalties for Abraham’s blessings. [11:58]

Jesus didn’t suffer so you’d learn grit—He suffered so you’d inherit healing. When Job lost everything, he had no mediator. But you have Christ, who became your curse (Galatians 3:13) to give you His righteousness.

Are you tolerating any “curse” as normal? Identify one area (health, finances, relationships) where you’ve accepted defeat instead of enforcing Christ’s victory.

“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.’”
(Galatians 3:13, ESV)

Prayer: Confess areas where you’ve passively accepted curses instead of claiming Christ’s exchange.
Challenge: Read Deuteronomy 28:1-14 aloud. Circle three blessings to declare over your life.

Day 4: Job’s Lament and Our Advocate

Job’s famous “The Lord gives and takes away” (1:21) wasn’t theology—it was grief. Later, he repented: “I spoke without understanding” (42:3). Without a covenant, Job faced Satan’s accusations alone. But you have an Advocate—Jesus—who silences every charge. [16:10]

New Covenant believers aren’t Job. We stand on better promises (Hebrews 8:6). When loss strikes, Satan whispers, “God did this.” Resist him. Your Father doesn’t teach through theft—He restores through Christ.

What loss have you mislabeled as “God’s will”? How might viewing it as Satan’s robbery (John 10:10) change your prayers?

“I had heard of you by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees you; therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
(Job 42:5-6, ESV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to intercede for you in areas where you’ve misunderstood God’s heart.
Challenge: Replace Job 1:21 with Psalm 84:11 as your response to loss. Write it where you’ll see it daily.

Day 5: Resisting the Roaring Lion

James 4:7 gives two commands: submit to God, resist the devil. Many reverse them—submitting to sickness as “God’s will” while resisting persecution for righteousness. Jesus resisted Satan’s oppression (Luke 4:1-13); He endured persecution for truth (John 15:20). [21:44]

Sickness, poverty, and addiction are lions to resist (1 Peter 5:8). Mockery for your faith? That’s persecution to endure. Stop tolerating what Christ died to destroy.

Where have you been passive against oppression? What step of active resistance (prayer, declaration, seeking healing) will you take today?

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
(James 4:7, ESV)

Prayer: Ask for boldness to resist the enemy’s attacks, not just endure them.
Challenge: Identify one “lion” to resist today. Speak James 4:7 over it aloud three times.

Sermon Summary

Deception opens the question and names the game plan of the enemy: “don’t be deceived.” Revelation says the serpent “deceives the whole world,” not with a head‑on attack but with a twist that questions God’s word and character. Genesis shows the move: “Has God indeed said?” Eve names it plainly, “the serpent deceived me,” and the Hebrew nasha points to a seduction of the mind that makes a lie feel like truth. That same lie still hides in a religious suit when the heart wonders if God is using oppression to “teach a lesson.”

Genesis 1 and 2 carry no pain, no sickness, no poverty, no brokenness; suffering enters only after the fall. Suffering does not originate in God, nor did Satan force it into the world; human disobedience opened the door, and the enemy has been amplifying it ever since. Jesus reads the scene in Luke 13 and calls eighteen years of infirmity what it is: “whom Satan has bound,” and his response is simple, “be loosed.” Jesus only does what the Father does, so the Father’s will sounds like freedom, not bondage.

Psalm 115 says the heavens are the Lord’s, but the earth he has given to humanity. Stewardship on earth means not everything that happens equals God’s will. Deuteronomy 28 draws a bright line: blessings are health, abundance, fruitful relationships, victory; curses are sickness, oppression, fear, confusion. James says God tempts no one and every good and perfect gift is from above. The principle is not complicated: if it is good, it is from God; if it steals, kills, or destroys, that is the enemy’s signature.

Job often gets pulled in as a counter, but Job had no covenant, no temple, no priesthood, no mediator. Under the new covenant there is an Advocate, an Intercessor, a Mediator, and better promises. Even Job’s line “the Lord gives and the Lord takes away” gets corrected by Job himself when he repents for speaking what he did not understand. So Job is not a template for a believer’s life in Christ.

James orders a two‑step: submit to God and resist the devil. Resistance is not distrust; it is obedience. A story of deliverance drives it home: fear bows when the name of Jesus is trusted in practice, not theory. Acts says God anointed Jesus who “went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil.” He came as an anointed man to model ministry and as Messiah to be the Substitute. At the cross he made the great exchange: sin for righteousness, poverty for riches, curse for blessing. The finished work is enforced, not begged for. The only suffering to endure is persecution for godliness, not the oppression Christ redeemed. Through every oppression faced and resisted, God remains present and faithful, because his plan is uninterrupted fellowship.

Key Takeaways

1. Deception questions God’s word and character Deception rarely kicks the door in; it leans in with a question that makes God’s heart look stingy and his word look suspect. Genesis shows that a twisted half‑truth can move a whole life off course. Clarity about God’s character is protection against clever lies. Truth must be worn, not just quoted. [02:29]
2. Suffering follows human disobedience, not God Genesis locates pain after the fall, not in God’s original design. Sin opened the door, and the enemy has been amplifying suffering ever since. That diagnosis keeps the heart from calling evil good or blaming God for what Christ came to undo. Discernment starts with where the story began. [06:59]
3. Jesus reveals the Father’s freeing will When Jesus meets bondage, he calls it satanic and he looses it. He only does what the Father does, so deliverance is not God overruling himself but God revealing himself. Acts calls oppression the devil’s work and goodness God’s work. That line must stay bright in prayer and practice. [08:51]
4. The new covenant outshines Job’s frame Job had no mediator; believers have an Advocate, an Intercessor, and a better covenant. Even Job retracts his most quoted line when light finally lands. New‑covenant promises are not suggestions to admire but legal ground to stand on. Let Job’s confusion drive toward Christ’s clarity, not replace it. [17:02]
5. Resistance is obedience to God’s order James ties submission to God with active resistance to the devil. Resisting is not suspicion of God; it is agreement with God against what Christ already bore. Prayer enforces the finished work rather than begging for what has been given. Endure persecution for righteousness, but resist oppression without apology. [21:44]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:20] - The hard question about suffering
[01:57] - Satan deceives the whole world
[06:59] - Pain enters after the fall
[08:51] - Jesus looses the bound woman
[10:43] - The earth given to mankind
[12:45] - Every good and perfect gift
[14:39] - Can Job be a template?
[18:32] - Context matters, not viral verses
[21:44] - Submit to God, resist the devil
[22:56] - Testimony: fear, prayer, freedom
[27:08] - Two dimensions of Jesus' ministry
[29:27] - The great exchange to enforce
[31:15] - Endure persecution, resist oppression
[34:33] - Prayer and invitation

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- Genesis 3:1-5 (ESV): The serpent’s deception of Eve.
- Luke 13:10-16 (ESV): Jesus healing a woman bound by Satan.
- James 4:7 (ESV): “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Observation questions

In Genesis 3:1-5, how did the serpent twist God’s original instruction to Adam and Eve? What specific words or tactics did he use?
In Luke 13:16, how did Jesus describe the source of the woman’s 18-year infirmity? What action did He take to address it?
According to James 4:7, what two steps are required to overcome the enemy’s influence?

Interpretation questions

Why do you think Jesus directly attributed the woman’s suffering in Luke 13:16 to Satan rather than framing it as part of God’s plan? How does this align with His statement that He only does what the Father does? [08:51]
The sermon contrasts Job’s experience (without a covenant or mediator) with believers under the new covenant. How does having an Advocate and Mediator (Jesus) change how we approach suffering compared to Job? [17:02]
Deuteronomy 28 clearly distinguishes blessings (health, abundance) and curses (sickness, oppression). How does this framework help us discern whether a circumstance aligns with God’s character or the enemy’s work?

Application questions

The serpent’s question, “Has God indeed said?” subtly shifts focus from trust to doubt. When have you felt a similar tension between God’s promises and a circumstance that seems to contradict them? How did you respond? [02:29]
Jesus immediately loosed the woman’s bondage in Luke 13. What area of oppression (fear, physical pain, relational brokenness) do you need to actively “resist” today, trusting Christ’s finished work? What practical step could you take this week? [21:44]
The sermon warns against misapplying Job’s story to justify enduring oppression. Have you ever blamed God for a hardship He never intended for you to carry? How might viewing it through the new covenant’s promises shift your perspective? [17:02]
James 4:7 ties submission to God with resisting the devil. What does “submission” look like in your current season? How could this posture strengthen your ability to resist lies or attacks?
The sermon emphasizes that “resistance is obedience.” Share a time when you saw breakthrough after choosing to actively resist fear or oppression (e.g., praying boldly, rejecting anxious thoughts). How did it deepen your trust in God’s goodness? [22:56]

Sermon Clips

44s

“``So the bible is clear. The bible says here that he became sin for our sake so that we can be made righteous. He became poor so that what we can become rich. He became a curse so that what we can be blessed. So whenever we are praying, it's not a matter of we are begging we are begging for these things. We're enforcing what Christ already paid for on the cross of Calvary. It's already a done deal. You have the legal right. As a child of God, you are not coming from a place of begging.”

27s

“He doesn't say that God was teaching her a lesson. He doesn't say that God was trying to build her patience. He doesn't say that God was testing her faith. It was sister and her held her bound. And what did Jesus observe? What did Jesus do when he when he saw her? He says it right there. Like, okay. He said the phrase response to that was what? For her to be loosed from the spirit of infirmity.”

36s

“God himself drew the line of what a blessing is and what a curse is. And God cannot give God cannot pronounce curses on people when he wants to bless them. He already made that distinction to us in in the bible. If you look at James chapter one verse 13 he says, when tempted, no one should say God is tempting me. For God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he what? Nor does he tempt anyone. Every good and perfect gift is from God.”

30s

“Satan deceives the whole world. It doesn't say Satan is destroying the whole world. It says Satan deceives the whole world. And this is revelation. Even if we go back to the beginning in Genesis, the very first people that were on this earth, Adam and Eve. When Satan went to Eve, he didn't approach Eve with an apparent attack. The way that he approached Eve was to ask a question.”

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