The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
Bishop Paul Zink on Defeating Deception in the Church Today
About this episode
Bishop Paul Zink, founder of New Life Christian Fellowship and Providence Christian School in Jacksonville, Florida, joins Philip Cameron for a penetrating conversation about one of the most urgent threats facing the church today: spiritual deception. Paul Zink draws a direct line from the serpent's deception of Eve in the Garden of Eden to the divisive, suspicious spirit he sees fracturing congregations and undermining church leaders right now. Bishop Zink identifies two distinct levels of deception — supernatural deception, which originates from the voice of the serpent, and heart deception, which rises from the intent of the heart and can "manipulate your whole life." He points to John 10:10 as the diagnostic test for every thought: "The thief comes but to kill, steal, and to destroy" — and urges believers to judge every idea by its nature. He also makes a compelling case that the church's rejection of praying in the Spirit is itself a form of deception, cutting believers off from their greatest source of spiritual power. The episode closes with a live prayer of deliverance over the church and a practical daily discipline Bishop Zink practices himself: writing down every thought the Holy Spirit gives him each morning. "We move by revelation, not calculation," he says — a word for anyone navigating confusion, betrayal, or a season of spiritual fog.
Part of our Holy Spirit collection of conversations.
Quotes worth sharing
“God wants to direct you, and the devil wants to deceive you. He wants to make you distracted. You see, if the devil can distract you and bring deception into your life, I promise you this, he doesn't have to fight you. You'll do it all by yourself.”
“I had no money, no teachers, no curriculum. I had nothing. And God spoke. Just a word. That's the secret. Just a word. And today, we have right at 1,800 students, K through 12.”
“Thoughts are seeds. They are seeds. Good and bad. Seeds — maybe thoughts are either seeds or weeds. And even weeds started with a seed. That's why you've got to judge everything by its nature.”
What's Discussed
Bishop Paul Zink, founder of New Life Christian Fellowship and Providence Christian School in Jacksonville, Florida — a K–12 campus of 1,800 students with $11 million in scholarships awarded to its most recent graduating class — delivers a sobering diagnosis of the church's vulnerability to satanic deception. He traces the enemy's tactic from Eden to today, identifying two entry points: supernatural deception from the voice of the serpent and heart deception rooted in the intent of the heart. Citing John 10:10, Bishop Zink urges believers to test every thought by its nature. He argues that rejecting the gift of praying in the Spirit is itself a deception, and that the antidote is the Word of God and the Holy Spirit working in tandem. The episode ends with a live prayer of deliverance and a practical challenge: write down every Spirit-given thought daily.
- Providence Christian School Founded by Prophecy
- 1800 Students and $11 Million in Scholarships
- Satanic Deception Targeting the Church
- Two Levels: Supernatural and Heart Deception
- John 10:10 as a Test for Every Thought
- Praying in the Spirit as the Antidote to Deception
- Live Prayer Against the Spirit of Deception
- Writing Down Daily Holy Spirit Impressions
Scripture in this episode
Episode Transcript
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Intro
Philip:Welcome to Daily Faith. My name is Philip Cameron, and I am absolutely delighted that you are with us today. We have got a great program. One of the great friends of my life is on the show with us today, Bishop Paul Zink. And he pastored and founded a church in Jacksonville, Florida, one of the great churches in this country. And he's just been part of my life. We knew each other when we were teenagers. He was working with his dad as a youth pastor, and I was singing and traveling with my dad in ministry. And so we've known each other most all of our lives. I'm younger than he is, so I'm sure he'll make some comments about that.
Philip:But he's got a tremendous ministry, a tremendous impact and influence on people's lives. And we're going to be talking today about deception. It is a disease. It is poison in your soul. And if the devil can deceive you, he doesn't have to fight you. You'll do your own work for yourself. You'll destroy yourself. You've listened to stuff and lies. Someone said something and put a poison seed in your heart and your mind, and from that moment on, it affects everything you look at in your life. It's a trap of the devil, and we are going to talk about it today.
Philip:And if you know someone that needs a rhema, maybe they're off in crazy land right now because the devil's deceived them, this is going to be a very important program to help them see and you see. So if you could give them a text right now or call them and say, "Hey, watch Daily Faith." Really simple. Dailyfaith.tv is how you get us, and you're going to enjoy this program today with my dear friend.
Philip:As you know, or many of you know, 37 years ago, my father called me and made me go to Romania. And this has really captivated my mind in the last few months again. In fact, I was talking to some folk this last weekend in Philadelphia, and as I was telling this story, how God got me involved in the work that I'm involved with for all these years. My dad called me and says there are babies dying in Romania, and he made me go with him. He called me from Scotland until I had to go.
Philip:So I went there, and when I got in the orphanage, listen to this. We walked around the lower floor of the orphanage, horrendous mess. Terrible. And I'm beside him. I've got 2,500 miles to drive back to Scotland. He has had cancer surgery, and he's got a wound that big on his back that the wound had turned septic and burst. It was a mess. And here he is walking around, and I said, "Dad, you've seen it. Let's go." "Hold on. There's upstairs." And I says, "No, Dad, let's go." He ignored me, as he normally did, and went up the stairs.
Philip:So I'm walking behind him up the stairs saying, "This is ridiculous. You're sick. I've got 2,500 miles to get back to Scotland. Then I've got to fly home to America to Chrissy." And I'm getting mad at him. And he's up to the top of the stairs, and there's a door to his left, salon five is written on it. Then he goes into this room. He went in, and I went past him into the room, so I'm further in the room than he is. And I'm saying, "Dad, this is ridiculous. It's all the same up here as it is downstairs. Let's go."
Philip:And as I said that, I looked into the room with 30-odd kids in all the rows of cribs, and right in the middle of that room, a wee face was looking back at me. And it struck me, I mean, physically, and I heard the voice say, "That's your son." Listen to this. If I hadn't gone up the stairs, if my dad hadn't ignored me, I would have missed adopting Andrew as my son.
Philip:God wants to direct you, and the devil wants to deceive you. He wants to make you distracted. You see, if the devil can distract you and bring deception into your life, I promise you this, he doesn't have to fight you. You'll do it all by yourself. I almost lost one of the delights of my life by deception. And so we have a mission work in Moldova. And they just sent me a video. I haven't seen it. My daughter, her husband, and their two boys have spent the whole summer there going out to youth camps. And while they were there, just last week, a container arrived that we sent from here. We send several a year. And watch this video.
Hello, everyone. We're coming to you from Moldova on a very busy, rambunctious day. As you can see, there's lots of action going on behind us. We're unloading yet another container of all kinds of items that we need for our outreach here in Moldova. We've got clothing, baby items, supplies for camps that are going on right now in Moldova as we speak across different parts of Moldova. So we just wanted to let you see what your giving and your donations is making happen. This is just another small way, but impactful way that your giving is helping to change lives. Thank you.
Philip:When our containers arrive in Moldova, it is always exciting because they carry all the supplies all through the wintertime when winter comes. There are thousands of boxes in that container with clothes and warm material for widows and orphans and all kinds of things. And our kids, we've an amazing place. Listen to this. We've an amazing place in a village called Vatra Village, and our ministry's been running and operating Vatra Village for at least a dozen years now. And the kids come to this village and they find Jesus.
Philip:We put them back in school, and in this amazing place, every girl you're watching right now is worth $300,000 if a trafficker gets her. And then they come to us, we share the gospel with them, and the amazing thing is that these kids become missionaries. So the container is connected to the kids in that they send, that's the materials that they give away as they evangelize in all the villages around. Each of our homes adopts a village for a year, and in that year, they learn every widow, every broken family, and they have camps through the year and summer camps right now where they're all at at this moment.
Philip:It's an amazing thing. We have six homes there. We also have a home in Odesa, Ukraine. Please pray for our kids in Odesa, Ukraine. And we've just opened a brand-new vision in a town called Ungheni, which is right on the border of Romania and Moldova. And we bought a farm there with two homes and a barn on it and an orchard. And we're converting those two homes into homes for little kids between the age of four and 16.
Philip:And so the lawnmower that you saw in that video, we sent that lawnmower over because we've got a whole bunch of grass to cut in the farm, and so we sent that over there right now. We need people to help us. Every home we open takes about 300 people giving a dollar a day. You can change a life for $1 a day. You sure can't buy a gallon of gas. But you invest in the Kingdom of God into these lives, and we are watching miracles take place every day.
Philip:Some of the houseparents in Vatra Village were once orphans that we rescued. The young lady that is in charge of the daily operation of the whole ministry has been with us for almost 20 years. Her name is Nadia. And God is using these orphan kids to change a nation. So if you can give a dollar a day to help us, you can contact us. We need one-time gifts. If you could help us in that as well, because we're right in the middle of rebuilding these homes.
Philip:We just put in underfloor heating the other day, and it's a tremendous challenge, and you can make a miracle happen. You can contact us by, really simple, The Orphan's Hands, PO Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. You can also go to Daily Faith. There's a giving page on dailyfaith.tv, and you can give a gift through there. It's a secure way to do that. We have an 800 number, 1-833-DAILYFAITH. Really simple. Just dial 1-833 and then spell out DAILYFAITH on your phone, and a real live person will pick up the phone and talk to you.
Philip:And if you could help us, a dollar a day could change a life, and a one-time gift could help us continue getting these houses built. And we're believing God to have them ready, with at least one of the houses ready by September. And we just need a miracle of God's grace to make that happen, and you can make that happen for us. God bless you.
Philip:I am delighted to have a dear friend, a lifelong friend, a mentor in my life, and he is with us today to share, I believe, a word, a rhema. Bishop Zink has founded New Life Christian Fellowship and also one of the greatest schools in America, Providence Christian School. If you are planning on starting a Christian school, and I think that we need to have Christian schools everywhere, because the garbage that is preaching and indoctrination in the schools that our kids go to is unbelievable. Providence School is one of the great schools in America, and I'm going to get him to tell you a wee bit about it as well. So if you could help me welcome Bishop Zink to the program today. God bless you, my dear brother.
Providence Christian School Founded by Prophecy
Paul Zink:How are you doing?
Philip:Doing well, Philip. Good to see you again.
Paul Zink:It's great to have you on Daily Faith. We go way, way back.
Philip:Yes, we do. We first met each other when we were both teenagers, which is a few decades ago. But you've always been a foundation stone in my life. You've always been that voice of encouragement. And I mentioned about Providence, one of the great names of a school, but tell us the scope of what you've managed to create in Providence.
Paul Zink:Well, it's amazing in this light. It came to me through a prophetic word on a Sunday morning that they spoke in front of the whole church. I was not expecting to do that and had no intention of doing it, but the Spirit of God came on me, and I spoke this prophetic word about building a school. And the whole church responded by standing and applauding. And where two or three agree, it's settled.
Philip:Absolutely.
Paul Zink:And so it's settled, and He started telling me what it would be and what it would look like and what level of excellence it should be. And it was K through 12, which you never start a school K through 12. You start maybe with two or three grades and then let it develop. And it turned out to be I had no money, no teachers, no curriculum. I had nothing. And God spoke. Just a word. That's the secret. Just a word. And today, we have right at 1,800 students, K through 12.
1800 Students and $11 Million in Scholarships
Paul Zink:And many of them are... Well, let me put it this way. The graduating class this year had $11 million in scholarships. And they're going to the finest universities. I have them at Cornell, I have them at Yale, some of the greatest schools in America. But we prepared them ahead of time with biblical worldview.
Philip:Absolutely.
Paul Zink:Because what's wrong with America is most of the teachings they're getting is not biblical worldview, it's humanism. Their chapel service is unbelievable. It's like a Holy Ghost prayer service. You have to tune in sometime and just look up the chapels because it really is awesome. It's amazing. So that's what's happening there.
Paul Zink:And this year, we're breaking all records as far as attendance is concerned. The campus is paid for. It's like a $32 million campus completely paid for. And you have football programs and all different kinds of programs. I have football players that are in NFL, and we have football players in NBA, and yeah, it's everywhere. So God has really touched and blessed. And it came through a prophetic word I didn't want to say. I didn't want to speak. I argued with the Holy Spirit.
Philip:Because I know the magnitude of the challenge that you faced. I was part of it in the board and I watched just miracle after miracle. And it's one of the most respected schools in the whole Jacksonville area. And there's someone watching today, and they've got a dream and a vision from the Lord, and the devil's saying, "You can't do this," because he's a deceiver. We're going to talk about deception. Obey the voice of the Lord, and if you do, divine provision comes with it.
Philip:Tell us what God's been talking to you about deception, Bishop.
Paul Zink:Philip, I am so concerned over the church itself, because they are the target of satanic deception. Massively. And if you just go back to the Garden of Eden, the serpent came and deceived Eve. And that is his tactic. Now, he didn't deceive the fallen angels. He did that when they were in Heaven. So they could not be deceived. And now he comes, and the creation of man, he deceives, and it's still going on. And deception divides and conquers.
Satanic Deception Targeting the Church
Paul Zink:And so I see the church being so deceived. And there are ministers who have fallen, made huge, horrific mistakes. And sure, there is a consequence for that, but the church is concentrating, not all of them, but a few people are trying to get them to concentrate on the failures of leaders. And deceiving in such a way that they're suspicious of every minister. And then they talk. People talk. They campaign. Whether they realize it or not, they're campaigning.
Paul Zink:If we did it the way they did it in the Bible, look at David, who fell. He even committed murder. And yet God put him in the place of the Kingdom of God. There were no greater than David. I think of Peter. One of the great examples of Peter. He denied Jesus, which is the ultimate deception. But when Jesus gathered his men together again, he specifically said, "Bring Peter." And in today's world, he would never have got back. He was done forever. But Jesus doesn't see the way that we see.
Two Levels: Supernatural and Heart Deception
Paul Zink:And I do understand there are consequences with ministers. Of course. To whom much is given, much is required. And they will, sorry, but they will never, never recover to the place they were before. Sorry to say that, but it's true. And so I feel like we're in a day of deception in the church. The church is being deceived.
Paul Zink:And deception, there's two levels it comes in. There's spiritual deception and heart deception. Supernatural deception comes from the voice of the serpent. And it can be a thought. Heart deception comes from the very intent of the heart, and it can easily manipulate your whole life. And so this is the... See, Philip, you know this. Thoughts are seeds. They are seeds. Good and bad. Seeds, maybe thoughts are either seeds or weeds. And even weeds started with a seed. That's why you've got to judge everything by its nature.
John 10:10 as a Test for Every Thought
Paul Zink:What is its nature? Jesus said in John 10:10, "The thief comes but to kill, steal, and to destroy." Okay, so what is this thought? Is it coming to kill, steal, and destroy? Or is it that better life can come? My people, they come to kill, steal, and destroy, but I'm coming that you may have abundant life. Yes, life more abundantly. And so the church is not thinking. The church is easily deceived.
Paul Zink:There's two ways of getting pure thought, and that is from the word of God and the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit will never override the word of God. They work in tandem. They're together. And the church has fallen into ignorance, I think. And we're wanting to blame somebody. You look on the media, everybody's wanting to blame somebody. Right now, we're living in a gotcha mentality. Everything, it's a gotcha. And we'll destroy the church, we'll destroy a nation.
Paul Zink:There are people, and you're watching it on TV every day, they would rather destroy America than support our president. They would rather give up the future of the greatest experiment ever known to mankind, just to get him. Whatever it takes, we're going to get him. And the church is just the same. And to some degree, people who are disgruntled or angry with a pastor will do that against the pastor. Just the same. Destroy a church just to get the pastor. And it's a sad state of affairs, but this is what's burdening my heart today.
Praying in the Spirit as the Antidote to Deception
Philip:So what's the answer? How can we contradict this thing, this deception that's in the church?
Paul Zink:Well, I really personally believe there's two things. I think praying in the Spirit, for we know not what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit makes intercession for us. Okay. So if you don't know what to do, shut off your logical mind and pray in the Spirit. Yes, speak in tongues. Because the Holy Spirit speaks purity and truth. And yet so much of the church doesn't believe in the operation of praying in the Spirit. Is that deception? Sure it is. Absolutely. So if the devil can cut us off from the strength gift, the thing that can imbue us with power, then he's already halfway to victory because we're not accepting the power of God in that area.
Paul Zink:And the second thing is we're ignorant in the Word. I believe we know more about newscasts than we do about the word of God. Twitter, all those things. And so the answer is going to be when Jesus comes. As long as there's man's interference in the church, there's going to be mistakes and overreactions.
Philip:What I find in my own life is that I've got to continually pull myself back from overreacting. The devil can throw up deception. You see, he did all this thing to Job, and he showed him all these things, and Job looked beyond where he was going. Even his wife said, "For God's sake, curse God and die." "Bring this to a conclusion." And Job says, he had this right in all of his confusion and pain and loss, "If He slay me, yet will I trust Him."
Philip:And we need that kind of focus on trusting the voice of the Spirit in our ears and in our spirits. But if you are watching today and you're trusting what someone else is saying, I'm 99% sure that you're listening to the wrong voice, because the only voice is the voice of the Spirit that comes to us by revelation, as Bishop said, or through the word of God.
Paul Zink:Yeah, I teach this all the time. We move by revelation, not calculation. Because if we try to calculate, which is what most people do, "Well, I'm not going to turn my mind off. I'm a free man. I can think for myself." You can think for yourself. But what is your spirit saying? His mind must be in us. What is the nature? The nature of what you're thinking. And it's a dangerous, dangerous time. We are living in that right now.
Live Prayer Against the Spirit of Deception
Philip:We are living in the moments. We've got 3 minutes and 30 seconds left. Could you pray that God break this spirit of deception that is plaguing the church and plaguing the people of the church, and ask God to set us free so we can see clearly what the devil's trying to do?
Paul Zink:Well, Father, I pray right now in the name of Jesus for everyone who's listening to this program today. Your pastors and ministers and congregants, all Christians all over the world, that they will shut their thoughts off to only listen to the mind of the Spirit. Holy Spirit, speak loud, strong, clear, distinct, and guide your church. We come against deceptive spirits. We pray for a recognition of the nature of God and the nature of the thoughts that are behind your decisions. Father, I pray in Jesus' name that the power of the blood of Jesus, which comes to us and gives us covenant with Him, that that blood covenant will cover the church.
Paul Zink:Holy Spirit, you said in your word that you guide us into all truth and show us things to come. Guide and show. Show and tell. Holy Spirit, let it be so in every area of life. I pray, Father, for that one right now who's been deceived and coming against the work of the Lord, maybe it's a church or a pastor or whatever, for them to come back to a place where they be quiet and hear your voice and do what you want them to do. And I pray in the name of Jesus.
Philip:In the name of Jesus. Amen. Hallelujah. Thank you for your wisdom, always. One thought. We've got a minute and a half to go. One last passing thought to let us carry home.
Writing Down Daily Holy Spirit Impressions
Paul Zink:Well, every day I write down a thought that the Holy Spirit gives to me. Every day. And every day it's fresh, and every day it's new. And so my thought today is start doing that. Start writing it down. It'll come to you, and you'll forget it. So take the time to write down the thoughts that you know come from God. It could be in the wee morning hours, all through the day. Don't let those get away from you. Write the truth down and put it in your heart. It will guide you for years to come. I know that's not a truth, but it's a guidance to get a truth.
Philip:Brilliant. And keep it. Thank you for being with me today. I love you so much. I love your wife, Sharon. I love your whole family. I love the church. If you're ever in Jacksonville, go and see New Life. It's on Hodges Boulevard in Jacksonville, Florida. And that's a mighty church. Thank you for watching Daily Faith today. I hope you've learned and imbibed some truth into your life. Don't let the devil deceive you. And if you'd like to help us get those houses finished for those kids, it'd be a great blessing. Amen. We love you. Thank you for being part of Daily Faith today. We'll see you again. Bye-bye.
For over 25 years, the Cameron family has been changing the lives of orphans in Romania and Moldova. From providing running water, flushing toilets, and clean wells, to coal for heat, new windows, as well as food and clothing. They champion the physical needs of the orphans in these broken and desolate countries. Many of Moldova's orphans are saved from the horrors of trafficking through homes founded by the Camerons, and in the process, orphans become daughters and sons. They come to know their Heavenly Father and are forever changed by the love of Jesus.
God helped the Camerons lift these amazing young men and women out of darkness. Now, no longer orphans, they want to return and invade that very same darkness with the light of Jesus Christ. The Orphan's Hands equips these daughters and sons to become missionaries. Your monthly gift of $31 will allow us to rescue and take in more girls and boys, saving them from the hell of human trafficking. Your monthly partnership will allow us to care for those in The Orphan's Hands homes in Moldova and the Ukraine.
If you want to join Philip and Chrissy in taking care of these precious young people, please contact us today by calling 833-DAILYFAITH. You can also give by going online to www.dailyfaith.tv or by writing to Post Office Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. So many lives depend on what we do. Thank you for loving the lost.
Common questions
How did Providence Christian School in Jacksonville get started?
Bishop Zink says it began through an unexpected prophetic word he spoke in front of his whole congregation on a Sunday morning — he had no intention of doing it, but the Spirit came on him and he declared they would build a school. He had no money, no teachers, and no curriculum at the time, but he launched it as K through 12 from the start. Today the school has around 1,800 students, a fully paid-off $32 million campus, and its most recent graduating class earned $11 million in scholarships.
What does Bishop Zink say are the two types of deception attacking the church?
He identifies spiritual (or supernatural) deception, which comes from the voice of the serpent and can enter as a thought, and heart deception, which rises from the very intent of a person's heart and can quietly manipulate their whole life. He stresses that thoughts are seeds — good or bad — and believers need to judge every thought by its nature, asking whether it lines up with Jesus's promise of abundant life or with the thief's agenda to kill, steal, and destroy.
Why does Bishop Zink think the church is so vulnerable to deception right now?
He believes the church has fallen into biblical ignorance, saying most Christians know more about newscasts and social media than they do about the Word of God. He also points to a 'gotcha mentality' — when a minister falls, people campaign to keep them down rather than following the biblical pattern of restoration seen with figures like David and Peter. That culture of suspicion and blame, he says, is itself a form of satanic deception that divides and conquers the body.
What are Bishop Zink's two practical answers for overcoming deception?
First, he urges believers to pray in the Spirit — speaking in tongues — because the Holy Spirit speaks purity and truth and can intercede when we don't know what to pray. Second, he calls for deeper immersion in the Word of God, arguing that the two always work in tandem and that the Holy Spirit will never override Scripture. He warns that cutting believers off from either of these is how the enemy gets 'halfway to victory.'
What daily habit does Bishop Zink recommend for staying spiritually sharp?
He says he writes down a thought from the Holy Spirit every single day, because those impressions come and go quickly and are easy to forget. He encourages viewers to do the same — capturing God-given thoughts as they arrive, even in the early morning hours — and to keep them, because they can serve as guidance for years to come.
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deceptionzinkholy spiritpraying in the spiritchurch unityspiritual warfarebiblical worldview