Exposing Satan's Playbook The Perry Stone

Pennsylvania. At one time it was the largest church in America, and his voice was heard over the radio on the East Coast. Through a series of tragic events he divorced his wife and left his children to be raised by their mother in another state. He continued to pastor and eventually ended up living like a hermit in a small apartment in the back of the church. Because he suffered from depression, he turned to alcohol and only refrained from the substance when he knew he was going to preach. It was his confession before his death that struck my heart. An evangelist friend visited him and asked him questions about his life. In response he made this comment: “For many years I have had a struggle in my flesh. However, I have never denied the Word of God, never denied the name of Jesus, never denied God’s power, never denied Christ’s saving blood, never denied the faith, and never turned my back upon God. May God remember this when I stand before Him.” This was such a sad confession; he did many things right, but one thing wrong—he never got victory over his besetting sin. While I know of his sin, I will not be his judge—God alone is the Judge of all men, and only God knows the man’s true spiritual condition at the moment of death and whether he made confession or repentance to God. There are weights and sins that only God’s power can deliver a person from, and there are other weaknesses that we are to “cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit” (2 Cor. 7:1). The word filthiness is used four times in the