Big D  2 Thess. 2:10-12 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO

In Texas, the Big D stands for Dallas, but in the Christians life the Big D is for words that start with the letter D that can ruin your walk with God – you have to really watch out for these.

Deception – 2 Thes 2:10-12 – you and I have been given the truth in the King James Bible – we must humbly read it, believe it and follow it – it is the one thing that can keep us from deception.

• You can deceive yourself – 1 Cor 3:18
• Your own heart can deceive you – Jer 17:9-10
• Others can deceive you – Rom 16:18
• Churches can deceive you – Eph 4:14
• The devil can deceive you – 2 Cor 11:13
• Riches can deceive you – Mk 4:19
• Sin can deceive you – Rom 7:11
• Lust can deceive you – Eph 4:22

Discontentment – Heb 13:5 – when you are discontent you are not satisfied with what you have, your home, your spouse, your job, your church, your friends, your possessions, etc. – you think you need more of or better than what you have – you are like the Jews in the wilderness who were much better off than they were in Egypt but because they were discontent, they didn’t think so – you miss out on all your blessings that you do have when you are discontent – Paul said that he “learned” to be content [Phil 4:11-13] – godliness with contentment is great gain [1 Tim 6:6].

Discouragement – Deut 1:21, 28 – it is so easy to get discouraged – discouragement usually stems from unfulfilled expectations or not living up to your own standards – sometimes it stems from depression – sometimes others can discourage you – David’s men were discouraged when they returned to Ziklag and rather than become discouraged also, David encouraged himself in the Lord, instead [1 Sam 30:6].

Division – Rom 16:17-18; Acts 20:29-30 – God divides things that should not be together and joins things that should be together – the devil is just the opposite – he divides things that should be together [like churches and families] and he joins things that should be separate [like nations].  You need to stay connected in the body of Christ [Eph 4:2-3].

Distraction – 1 Cor 7:35 – there are many things going on in the world that keep you distracted – a lot of entertainment is for the purpose of distraction – but while we need rest, we do not need distraction – we need to be wide awake and vigilant [Eph 5:14-16] – remember, magicians use distraction so you will look at something other than what they are doing in order to pull off their tricks.

Conclusion: You must be guarded against these five D’s in your Christian life – they will take you down and ruin your fruitfulness and your testimony for the Lord.