Exposing Satan's Playbook The Perry Stone

T HE P REACHER H AD “N O O NE TO T ELL” Many years ago a world-recognized minister was caught in a very serious allegation that proved true. Pictures and stories filled the television, newspapers, and tabloids, blasting the sin of this minister for the entire world to see. Later this same minister was speaking privately to several close friends, and they asked him why he did not go to someone he trusted and tell them he was struggling with thoughts that eventually led to his actions. His reply was that in his position, “Who was there that I could trust?” He felt anything he said in private would be repeated in public and bring harm to him, his family, and the ministry. In reality, it would have been better to expose it to friends and gain freedom than to be exposed to the world. After the news broke, I recall many people saying, “He is a liar, deceiver, and a hypocrite. He preached one thing and lived something else.” What most people do not know is that this same man prayed intently after he sinned and begged God for cleansing and forgiveness. He fought a private demon, but he was also seeking forgiveness. By definition he is not a “hypocrite.” A true hypocrite would indeed preach one thing, live another, and never ask for cleansing, never weep hot tears of repentance, and never seek God’s help for freedom. A hypocrite lives in and enjoys the struggle. Judas was a hypocrite; by position he was appointed an apostle, but he was a devil in his thoughts. A struggling believer seeking help is not a hypocrite but is a person who needs total freedom.