The onus is on God's children to embrace truth and the ministry He has called to preach the gospel.  To reject a man called by God is to reject both Christ and the Father! When commissioning the disciples, Jesus said, "He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me  (Matthew 10:40). But there is a caveat, for the reverse is also true. Anyone who rejects Christ's ministry, Jesus warned  "it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment." (Matthew 10: 14-15)

A spiritual war rages between light and darkness for the loyalty of God's children. Our heavenly Father offers us "glory and honor and immortality, eternal life, but in exchange for our commitment to patient continuance in well-doing. By contrast, the god of this world offers us instant gratification. Through subtility, he lures us away by placing every tool and convenience at our disposal. These  appeal to our base appetites:  lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh,  our pride of life."  Why pray for healing if you can pop a pill? Why wait on the Lord to provide when a credit card gives it to us today? To overcome and defeat Satan, we need to understand and recognize him in our lives.

Most of us fail to understand the reality and significance of the spiritual warfare we are engaged in daily. The apostle Paul stated, "we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but principalities ... against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12)  Without a genuine conversion experience, we are "cannon fodder," to use a colloquial term. Let us not confuse holiness with the traditional customs of our religion. To fight a spiritual war, we MUST be spiritual, not carnal.

We can faithfully attend church, pray, and even memorize volumes of scripture, "but without a genuine conversion, a storm will rock your boat, and you will backslide!" Brother Singh emphasized. Conversion involves a transforming of our minds (Romans 12:2). Without transformation, we are nothing more than paper tigers pretending to Christian soldiers.

"O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth..." (Galatians 3:1)

Paul's question is startling. Let us not forget the apostle was writing to Body assemblies! Pastor Singh points out "bewitched" is a term denoting demonic deception. It suggests falling under the spell of an evil force. Knowing the truth and then turning aside is akin to signing our own spiritual death warrant.  (Luke 10:12) 

The Lord has led Pastor to focus on deception recently. All duplicity (or dissimulation) has its roots in Satan. He deceived Eve through subtility and has continued to undermine the work of God throughout the ages.  Today, at the end of the age, deception is rampant!

The Bible describes three distinct bodies: 1) The Body of Moses, 2) The Body of Christ, 3) The body of the beast.

The Body of Moses is known as the church in the wilderness (Acts 7:38), describing Isreal being lead out of Egypt.  The Body of Christ is that remnant (Romans 11:5) of faithful followers of Jesus, who strive to walk the narrow way and enter the strait gate that leads to life. (Matthew 7:14) The beast's body is reflected by those seeking a wide gate and broad path approach that leads to destruction (Matthew 7:13). Many choose the easy path, deceived that it is "the way."  Jesus also described them as"tares" sown by the enemy while men slept (Matthew 13: 24-26)  In this powerful exposition, Pastor Singh looks at deception as a test for the saints of God.

While many divisions and interpretations claim to hold the truth within Christianity, we believe there is one true church on the earth, and it is called the Body of Christ. It is a body consisting of many members with one head, Jesus.  We, in Gospel Assembly Church, call ourselves the Body, the burning question is, "Does God recognize us as so?" For that reason, Pastor Singh admonishes that we need to examine ourselves daily. Corinth was once a Body church. So were the churches in Jerusalem, Galatia, and the churches of Asia Minor.  All apostatized! A Body church can be faithful today but gone tomorrow! For that reason, Jude urged that we must earnestly, "contend for the faith." 

God's purpose for the church is to transform us into the image of His Son. When Jesus ascended to the Father, he gave gifts "unto men!"  (Ephesians 4:8). Those gifts are the gifts of ministry given to the church. (Ephesians 4:11)  Pastor Singh stresses that many talented and well-educated people presume to be qualified for ministry. Some even "manufacture" gifts, BUT anyone called by God has their "gifts" bestowed by Him.  Why?  1. For the perfecting of the saints. 2. For the work of the ministry. 3. For the edifying of the body of Christ. (Ephesians 4:12)

Jesus was never complicated. Pastor Singh asks, "Is there any gift of God the devil has not corrupted?" The answer is no! For that reason, the apostle Paul wrote, "But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." (2 Corinthians 11:13)

Some of us cannot detach ourselves from the love of the world because we need a fresh conversion, Pastor Singh states. "We can attend church in a backslidden state." We substitute the symbols of Christianity for a genuine conversion experience. Israel often found itself laden with iniquity (Isa. 1:4), with religious practices that did not please God. The Body of Christ finds itself in a similar state today.  The Body of Christ has fallen from the vision and standards it maintained when Pastor Singh joined the fellowship. The chastening of the church, by COVID-19, causes Brother Singh to reconsider every aspect of service to God: "What I do in the local church; what I do in the fellowship; where I go and what meetings I attend!"  All aspects of our dedication to God need examination, both at an individual level and Body level.

Pastor Singh differentiates between first and second-generation Christians. Saved out of the world, first-generation Christians often experience dramatic conversions from a life of sin. Second-generation Christians are their children, who have grown up in the church. They often are presumed to be saved when, in fact, they usually are not. The second-generation also need a personal experience with Christ because they, though raised in a Christian environment, were also "shaped in iniquity; in sin, their parents conceived them." (Ps. 51:5)

"By the time you reach the third-generation, and beyond, we find traditionalism masquerading as salvation," Pastor Singh emphasizes.  Traditionalism results in a church full of unconverted people. They act out the mechanics of religion, believing they are saved when they are not. This condition confronted Jesus found when he "came unto his own, but his own received him not." (John 1:11)

 In a direct challenge to our assembly, Pastor Singh kicks some proverbial sacred cows. He implores us to examine how and what we substitute for the worship of God.  Symbols, such as the cross, give us a false sense of connection with God. Most of the music we love contains false doctrine. Hymns such as "Amazing Grace"  draw our focus away from God unto a manifestation of His benevolence.  Hence we come to God with carnal minds. No wonder Paul  used the phrase  God's word is"hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing." (Hebrews 5:11)