But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren. (Luke 22:32)
We think of Satan standing before the Lord Jesus and asking Jesus to worship him-Jesus his Creator!
We think of the Pharisees as they had in mind to kill Jesus, and not only Jesus but Lazarus whom the Lord had raised from the dead, and we see the seed of Satan-the one who desires to be exalted above the stars of God.
People who desire to be exalted above their brothers and sisters need to be converted even though for many years they may have professed to believe in Christ.
The "wolves" that attack God's sheep are fairly easily identified if one will keep these four characteristics in mind. But remember, the worshipers of their own belly deceive the naive and unsuspecting with pleasant words and speeches. Those who are not watchful and prayerful will be deceived by them.
If we would be sons of the Kingdom let us purge ourselves from the four characteristics of Satan (prior essay) and pray that the Lord will teach us to wait on Him, being always ready to confess our sins and yet refraining from judging others. Let us pray for a good understanding. Above all, let us be humble of heart, seeking the good of others, having no desire to be exalted above our brothers and sisters in the Lord. If we do these things we will not be removed from the Kingdom when the shaking comes-and it surely shall come!
Three areas of sin. There are three basic areas of sin, as portrayed in the three temptations of Christ in the desert. Every son of God must pass through these same testings.
The first temptation is the bread question-that of material life and survival. It includes covetousness and the desire to acquire the comforts and conveniences of life. The life lived in the pursuit of material riches produces spiritual death. It is difficult for the rich to inherit the Kingdom of God.
The second temptation involves the pursuit of pleasure. This is the area of worship. Satan is the incarnation of physical lust. To live in the lusts of the flesh is to worship Satan. The person who is bound by lust, drugs, alcohol, perversions of the flesh, is in chains. He cannot know the freedom of the Spirit of God. Satan is his master. He will destroy his own body and soul unless he turns to the Lord. He is wallowing in the pen with the hogs.
The third temptation is that of presumption, ambition, a willingness to act apart from the will of God. The present booklet has to do with four aspects of the third temptation. It may be true that personal ambition, which is the mother of envy, is far, far more destructive and evil than the other two areas of sin combined.
Personal ambition in spiritual matters is close to the heart of Satan and provides an entrance in the believer for the deceptions of Satan. One has only to consider the harm done to true believers by those who desired to take away their place in the Kingdom to see how truly wicked spiritual ambition is.
Throughout the Scriptures there are many instances of religious people attacking the leaders God has chosen. We hear of church splits in our day. Why are there church splits? Is it because one or both sides is walking in the flesh and not hearing from the Lord?
Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. (Revelation 3:9)
Two kinds of religious people. It appears there are two kinds of religious people. The one seeks the will of God continually and is careful to do all God says. The other is desirous of status in religious affairs and makes a profession of loving and serving God. However, this type of person does not hear from God and does what seems to him or her to be the Lord's will.
The difference is expressed as follows:
Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. (Habakkuk 2:4)
The individual who lives according to the desires of his soul is not upright in the sight of God. The righteous trust in the Lord and constantly wait on him for direction. They live by faith in God.
Again:
Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that compass yourselves about with sparks: walk in the light of your fire, and in the sparks that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow. (Isaiah 50:11)
The individual whom the Lord uses is often barren for many years, sometimes confined in some kind of prison. It is in the place of waiting that the true witness of God is formed. The self-directed religious person looks on all such barrenness and imprisonment as the efforts of people or of Satan to frustrate his desire to serve God. He simply cannot understand why God would prevent someone from performing the work of the Kingdom in the earth.
He views waiting on the Lord as passivity and foolishness. Why should he wait on the Lord when there are obvious needs all around him? If he sees someone injured in the street is he to wait on the Lord before he will help the person? So his reasoning goes.
The man or woman of God, even when he is compelled to act quickly in an emergency, is calling on the Lord for wisdom while he acts. He does nothing apart from the Lord!
Perhaps religious denominations often do what seems good to them before they hear from the Lord. It would be well for every denomination, every religious institution, to set a time aside at least once each year to hear from God; not to pray to God to accomplish the needs perceived by the institution but to wait until direction is given.
If the Catholic Church had waited on the Lord through the centuries it never would have persecuted the true Christians that God raised up. To keep on performing religious service, assuming that this is God's will, and yet not hearing from the Lord, can prove to be the most destructive wickedness there is. Religious zeal (religious efforts apart from the immediate direction of the Lord) is a murderer of the prophets. It does not come from the Lord! It comes from the ambition of Satan. Those who participate in such wickedness are tares in spite of all their professions of faith in Christ, and shall be removed from the Kingdom in the last days if they do not purge themselves. Babylon, which is the efforts of religious people to reach God by their own strength and wisdom, is destined to become a prison containing every kind of foul spirit.
To be continued.
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