Jesus tells us Matthew 10:16, “¹⁶ “Look, I am sending you out as sheep among wolves. So be as shrewd as snakes and harmless as doves.” (NLT)

Here we see a cautionary tale for every person who professes to follow Christ and to believe in the power of God, which raised Christ from the Dead.

Jesus, whom we declare as Lord of our lives, told us clearly that we can be known by the Love we have for one another.  It is not the size of your Tithe that determines your commitment to Christ, though it, too is an expression of Love for the work of God's Church.  It is not your constant participation in every available worship experience or church gathering, that validates your profession of faith.  No, it is the Love you express to others. 

Any other measure of commitment or expression of affinity is impotent unless we live sacrificially for the benefit of other believers who are the household of faith.  Anything we do that wounds, disrupts or hinders the promotion and existence of a healthy, life-giving and loving fellowship of believers is the express work of the Thief. 

Christ expressly tells us in John 10:10 "¹⁰ The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy..."  If we hear these words correctly, then we must acknowledge that the only purpose of the thief is the work of the anti-Christ.  Jesus says the thief won't show up if there is no opportunity to steal, kill and destroy which are all works in direct opposition to the work Jesus Christ came to do.

The spirit of the thief will not come into the fellowship of believers except for one cause to wound, to hurt, and to damage the life-giving work of Jesus Christ in the fellowship.  The thief’s chief purpose is to sever the ties that bind our hearts in Christian Love to one another as followers of Jesus Christ. 

If the love I have for other believers validates my identity as a follower of Jesus Christ, it also becomes a high-value target for attack.  It stands to reason that sowing dissension, discord, and causing fractures in a fellowship of believers is a proven and effective method of destroying the light in that community of Christians.  We must watch ourselves first.  What spirit am I carrying with me every day?

We must ask a personal and challenging question of ourselves.  How many times have we been the victim of the anti-Christ's spirit in the church, and more importantly, how many times have we been the agent who victimizes others by the power of the anti-Christ's spirit?