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Confusion Can Be Our Ally
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- by Dr. Ken Matto
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- (Psa 70:2 KJV) Let them be ashamed and confounded
that seek after my soul: let them be turned backward, and put to confusion,
that desire my hurt.
This weekend, we in America remember two great battles which were turning
points in World War 2. Today, June 4th, we remember the battle of Midway in
1942, in which the U.S. Navy attacked the Japanese Fleet as it had prepared
to attack the island of Midway. This battle was significant for two reasons:
The first, it halted Japanese expansion in the central Pacific; Secondly, it
boosted American Morale because the Navy sunk the four carriers which were
used to attack Pearl Harbor. This defeat of the Japanese at Midway allowed
the U.S. sufficient time to rebuild the fleet and then begin the war in
Pacific which eventually led to the downfall of Japan.
The second great battle we remember this weekend is D-Day, when combined
allied forces hit five strategic beaches in France and began to liberate
Europe. I believe it was the Lord who sent confusion into the German High
Command because they did not move the 15th Panzer division from Calais.
Instead, they were convinced the Normandy invasion was a ruse and the real
invasion was to come at Calais and be led by General Patton. This confusion
no doubt saved the lives of hundreds of soldiers.
I think it was quite interesting that confusion played a part in the Allied
victory at Normandy and the Battle of Midway. At Midway, there was much
confusion with Admiral Nagumo’s staff. When their fleet was attacked by US
Navy planes, they had wasted valuable time in trying to decide whether they
should continue to bomb Midway or if they should re-arm their planes and go
after the American fleet. That wasted time cost them the battle and four of
their first line carriers. The confusion at Normandy also caused the Nazis
to lose the war. If they would have engaged the 15th Panzer Division, it
could have prolonged the war long enough for Hitler to develop nuclear
weapons and stick them on a V-2 and obliterate England.
In our verse today from Psalm 70, we read that David was asking the Lord to
send confusion into the camp of the enemy. Why didn’t David ask the Lord to
destroy them? As a commander of an army, David knew that confusion is the
greatest enemy of victory. One of the most excellent verses on divine
confusion is found in 2 Chronicles 20:23-25:
(2 Chr 20:23-25 KJV) For the children of
Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to
slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of
Seir, every one helped to destroy another. {24} And when Judah came toward
the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, and,
behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. {25}
And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them,
they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and
precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they
could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was
so much.
As we see in this battle, when Jehoshaphat sent the singers first, the Lord
sent confusion into the enemies of Israel and they began to destroy one
another, so the men of Israel did not even have to partake in the battle,
they just gathered the spoils of it for three days. It is the same with the
Christian, the battle against sin and Satan was won by Christ and we partake
in the spoils of that victory, namely eternal life. The principle here is
that it was confusion that defeated this enemy. Even in modern times, we see
a similar scenario. Some who are in the religion of Islam are killing their
own people. We see bombs going off in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries
as they slaughter each other. Confusion seems to play a big part in the
lives of the enemies of God.
False teachings are also an enemy of God as they usurp the truth which He
has given us in the Scriptures. The sad truth is that with the many false
teachings which are being invited into the church, many Christians are
walking around in a state of confusion and God is not the author of
confusion. Christians are in a battle for truth and if they begin to
acquiesce to the enemy of truth, then they will suffer the same fate as the
enemies of God. The Lord will allow confusion to rule the spiritual thinking
of these people who rely on the teachings of men as their primary method of
understanding the Scriptures. The problem is that men are telling us what
they think the Bible says and what they think it should mean, in other
words, they are skewing the Bible toward their way of thinking. This is why
in every church there is more difference of opinion than uniformity of
biblical thought.
Ask the average Christian what they believe and they will normally quote
somebody else. Too many Christians today if you want their opinion, you have
to ask their pastor. Discernment is an at all time low as many just turn to
prophecy books or theology books and adapt to their systems. I am on PalTalk
on the Internet normally each day and one thing I hear discussed
continuously is what theologians believe. I will tune in and hear things
like, “Well this theologian believes this and that pastor believes that,
etc.” It seems that these people have become the new versions of the Bible,
whatever they say seems to be the final authority on the subject. People
read book after book after book and with each differing opinion they read,
they wonder why there is no spiritual stability in their life. Consistently
reading the works of man is definitely going to bring confusion into a
person’s life. I am not saying don’t read, what I am saying is that their
opinions do not carry the same weight as the Scriptures. That is an
important point we all must remember because sometimes when we like a
certain theologian or pastor, we may think that everything they say is
absolute truth and if we are not careful, we may get to the point of never
questioning any teachings anymore.
We need to glean a great principle from Jehoshaphat. When Israel began to
focus totally on the Lord, He sent confusion into the other camp. If they
would have begun to focus on their own abilities to try and fight this
enemy, they may have been routed like the group which attacked AI and thirty
six of them died. If our minds are basically programmed to the Bible, there
is very little chance that Satan can throw anything our way which will cause
confusion into our biblical thinking. (Isa
26:3 KJV) Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee:
because he trusteth in thee. Perfect peace is the
absence of confusion because confusion causes much anxiety and confusion can
lead to loss. Just look at the three battles I mentioned which were lost by
confusion.
Have you ever been in a situation when you hear Christians talk and you
don’t know what to believe? That is because there is too much attention
being paid to man’s words. Whenever you hear a teaching, always take your
Bible and filter that teaching through the Scriptures. Don’t try to fit the
teaching, if the teaching is correct, it will be confirmed by your search of
the Scriptures without any over-justification. Don’t do just a cursory study
but do an in-depth study to see if the teachings you are hearing are
correct. If they are incorrect, then you are under no obligation to go with
the crowd an accept them. Remember, you are to be faithful to the Lord and
not to men. Once you get past that hurdle, you will see that confusion will
crop up less and less. (6/4/04)
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