Restoring Communication – Wallace Articles

June 16, 2012

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“RESTORING COMMUNICATION & RESISTING TEMPTATION”

INTRO:

God created mankind with the ability to have direct communication with Him. This is how it originally was with Adam & Eve; and how He has designed it to be in all of His intelligent created beings. Mankind later lost this ability to speak openly with God when temptation led us to break our relationship with Him. We allowed ourselves to be led away from God when our indulgence of “self” and wrong desires were not kept in check. We now find ourselves in need of Restoring Communication and Resisting Temptation.

Let’s look at how to Establish Communication & how to React to Communication; how to keep from being deceived by Temptation & by our Old Nature; and how to not Deny Christ.

A. RESTORING COMMUNICATION

1. ESTABLISHING COMMUNICATION

PASSOVER TO PENTECOST

God is looking to restore to us an open, face-to-face relationship with Him, such as He once had with Adam & Eve. We often say we too are looking for the same; but are we really? Those times that God has attempted to re-establish this kind of relationship, the people involved have balked. Are we sure that we will be different?

When the Israelites were released from Egypt they were led to the foot of Mt. Sinai, the “mountain of God”, where they encamped for several months. After their arrival at Mt. Sinai, God called Moses to come up the mountain where he was given the 10 Commandments. Moses then presented the 10 Commandments to the Israelites.

The record of this event focuses on the Law received from God because this was the main thing they took from the occasion. There was much more than just the Law offered to the Israelites as they stood before God, but they weren’t able to receive it. Their mindset had been so narrowed by their generations of slavery that they were unable to grasp the significance and fullness of what God was truly offering them. God wanted them to be “a kingdom of priests” and leaders of all other nations (Ex 19:5-6); but they couldn’t stop thinking as slaves and in terms of following laws and orders.

God’s purpose was to enter a covenant relationship with His people; with the primary blessing to be that they could each one have direct communication with Him. Shortly after arriving at Mt. Sinai the people were instructed to cleanse themselves physically and spiritually, then to assemble the entire company at the foot of the mountain on a specified day. When the appointed time came, God spoke to them in such a manner that everyone present heard Him with their own ears, and saw some form of Him with their own eyes. But the people were terrified of the voice and glory of God, and afterwards requested that God not speak to them openly again; they wanted all future communication to come through Moses and his selected leaders. Although God was willing to give them direct access, they refused it. God granted their request and thereafter spoke to them only through appointed representatives.

Thus, where it had been God’s initial intent that each person and each family be able to approach Him and have direct communication; as a result of the people’s request and their breaking of the Covenant, they could now only communicate with Him through representatives. This end system was inferior to what had been planned by God. Paul says in He 8:6-10 that since the Covenant wasn’t received as it should have been it was inferior, and therefore had to be established again through Jesus; so that the “more excellent” Covenant that had been intended could finally be enacted. Thus, at Mt. Sinai, their misapprehension resulted in negative effects and diminished blessing which continued until the Messiah appeared to restore the full Covenant with them 1,300 years later.

Just as at Mt. Sinai where God had attempted to establish a covenant with His people and restore open communication; a similar purpose was manifested on the Day of Pentecost. By filling His disciples with the Holy Spirit, a means of direct two way communication was established. The Pentecost was to restore to man the covenant relationship with God that had been refused at Mt. Sinai.

At Pentecost, He gave His children the Holy Spirit to dwell within them. The Apostles who had known Jesus were able to receive this endowment, and they cherished this gift that was given by their Lord and which enabled them to communicate with Him again. But to the Christians that came after them, as the consequences of this type of commitment became known, closeness with God became frightening. As they saw the Apostles suffer martyrdom and other dedicated Christians suffer persecution, and as they saw the total commitment of life that is required to be able to receive the Spirit of God, they determined this was too much to give; and they left it to be the responsibility of just a few representatives, a few spiritual leaders. Hence over time the gift was lost. Just as with their ancestors, their mindset which had been influenced by generations of spiritual slavery was not able to grasp the significance of freedom and dominion over spiritual things. So once again the benefit of a covenant relationship with God was lost.

The underlying problem was the same for both generations — it’s hard for those who have been subject to slavery all their lives to stop thinking as slaves. They have learned to be comfortable in that condition; and they find the demands and responsibilities of freedom too frightening.

Despite mankind’s repeated rejection of God’s attempts to restore open communication between us and Him, He is not willing to give up on us. He has told us through prophetic Scripture that He is willing to give mankind a Second Pentecost. Once we decide that we truly want to have the restoration of a relationship with Him, He will pour out His Spirit again on all who are willing to receive Him. We’re further told that this “Latter Rain” of the Holy Spirit will be even greater than the “Early Rain” that was given to His first Disciples.

This will be another great attempt to establish a Covenant with His children which will restore the relationship lost at Eden. This final attempt will be even greater than the ones before. So hopefully this time we will be ready to accept it.

But, is our mindset today any different from that of the Israelites at Mt. Sinai? Or from the Christians which came in the years after the first Apostles? Do we grasp the significance of what is being offered to us through a restoration of the Covenant? Are we any more prepared for a face-to-face encounter with God than any who have gone before? Are we ready to exert the dominion over this physical world which Adam once had? Can we comprehend the power over death and disease that Jesus gained and wishes us to wield? Will we accept the full provisions of the Covenant when it is offered to us? The answers to these questions remain to be seen.

But let us pray for God to be gracious to us, and along with the Covenant to give us the ability to receive it. To receive Him! Now let us prepare ourselves as best we can with what we have. Let us use the Holy Spirit we have; then wait for God to call us. Once He does, accept all He offers!

2. REACTING TO COMMUNICATION

ACCEPTING PROPHECIES

We’ve just considered how people respond when they’re offered “open” communication. Next in our study let’s consider how we react when God talks to us more subtly.

I invite you to consider a question: Has God sometimes let us know what will be coming to us, but because we were out of tune with Him we didn’t hear Him? Or we feared the message? Or maybe we doubted what we were told? Or perhaps we just didn’t know the right way to respond.

I believe that God sometimes tells His children in advance about important events which lie before them. Am 3:7, “God will do nothing except He reveal His secrets to His servants.” You may call this a prophecy or a warning or an announcement. Also, foretold events may be positive or negative. Sometimes it’s a blessing which God wishes you to receive; sometimes it’s a curse He wishes you to avoid.

I also believe God warns us many more times than we recognize. But we don’t take time to listen to the message, examine the source, and identify the purpose of the warning. So then all we’re left with is a fear of something coming, but no thought of trying to do anything about it.

When God gives us a prophecy, however, it is important to realize that just because He tells us what lies ahead, this does not make the event a foregone conclusion with no hope of changing it — we have a choice: if we recognize that choice. Just as in all things with God, He gives us free will. We can choose to accept or to resist the announcement. This is true whether the event is positive or negative. He wants us to consider what’s coming then make an intelligent decision.

We can accept or reject prophecies for good which are given to us. We may also be forewarned that something bad is coming to us, so that we can choose to change things about our life or actions, if we wish. For example, in the Garden of Gethsemene, Jesus considered for a few moments trying to change the event that was before Him; but at last consented to follow through. Mt 26:39, “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt.” Also, King Hezekiah, upon being given an announcement that he was about to die, fought against it. We read in Is 38:1-5, the prophet told him, “Thou shalt die”… Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed… Then God answered, “I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: I will add unto thy days fifteen years.” Since the message had come from God, it was with God that he argued. God then quickly accepted his decision. It wasn’t that Hezekiah had to change God’s mind: it’s that God gave him a warning about pending trouble, hoping that Hezekiah would fight it; Hezekiah then listened to the warning and responded.

Satan, too, can tell us that certain things are about to happen. Likewise, these also may be positive or negative. For example, he may say that if you play the lottery you’ll win; or he may tell you that because you did something wrong now you’ll get cancer. Just as with prophecies from God, our response to these predictions has a strong effect on us and on what will happen.

When a blessing or a gift is declared for us we can have one of three reactions. We can actively “accept” the blessing and begin considering it our own. Or, we can actively “refuse” the blessing, then look to see if something needs to be done to confirm our rejection of it. Or, we can passively “do nothing” and just wait to see if the prophecy really comes true. In this last case, the blessing may come anyway or it may be lost to us, depending on the circumstances.

Likewise, when a curse or punishment is pronounced against us, we can have one of three reactions. We can actively “accept” it, feeling that we deserve to be disciplined in such a way. Or, we can actively “refuse” it and fight to find a way out of it. Or, we can passively “do nothing” and let come what may; thinking that it’s not possible to avoid such things.

The first problem we have upon receiving a message is to realize the announcement can be changed. We often think that because it’s been declared there is no way to alter it. But actually we can change the course of declared events if we try. Our Enemy has been using this possibility against us for a long time. He causes us to lose blessings we should have received; and in so doing causes us to mistrust God. And he’s caused blessings which we’ve given to others to be lost to them. Yet we haven’t learned the lesson. Events can be changed if we try. Again I refer to the warning given to Hezekiah; he didn’t want to receive what was coming, so he changed it.

The second problem we have with prophecies is to perceive the source of the message. Is it from God or is it from Satan? Knowing this will help us determine if we wish to receive it or fight it. When Satan tries to give us prophecies he often claims to be speaking as a messenger of God. This is so that later when the event doesn’t happen in the expected manner we blame God or we doubt our ability to really hear God. Or if the event does come to pass, we then trust this false messenger more fully. Never forget that Satan is the “Father of Lies” (Jn 8:44), so he’s not shy about making bold claims. The Holy Spirit whispers to us trying to help us, as often as we’re willing to listen. But Satan also whispers to us things that he wishes us to do. And he tries to make us think that it’s our own desire, or worse, that it’s a message from God. Our best defense is to be sure we truly know the voice of our God.

The third problem comes once we’ve determined the message is from God. Is He telling us of something He wishes us to pursue or is it something to avoid? To answer this requires good communication with God. You must study to discern if the message is a reflection of the “perfect will of God” or involves the “permissive will of God”. If it’s God’s perfect will, you should always accept it. If it’s God’s permissive will, you should seek to know as much as you can about the possibilities or consequences of accepting the message. For example, for the Israelites at Mt Sinai it was God’s perfect will that every individual have direct communication with Him. But the Israelites found this to be too intense; so they asked that God speak to them only through intermediaries, or priests, instead. This choice soon led to a loss of relationship; but God accepted their decision, then worked with it as best He could.

The fourth problem is to actually make an active and informed decision and to then be prepared for what will follow. One mistake is to not actively decide; and this can lead to changes in what will happen. Another mistake is to not fully understand all that will result from our decision one way or another. Both blessings and curses bring not only the expected results, but also contain additional responsibilities or effects which may be easily overlooked if you make a hasty choice. For example, when Joshua was told that he would be the one to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land, in place of Moses, he likely thought it would be easy. After all, hadn’t God done great miracles to help Moses? Surely with God’s leading, and with a few more miracles, all they would have to do is just walk in and set up house. But once it came down to actually entering the land, he found he faced several years of wars to come into possession of the land. Thus the plan to lead the people into the Promised Land may have been more involved than he first imagined.

Getting back to the question of how to respond when we receive a prophecy, there are several principles to learn. When we face prophecies, blessings, curses, diseases, or major events, we have a choice as to whether or not we will accept what has been laid before us. Therefore, when given a prophecy, look to know the source, seek to identify if it is beneficial, find if it represents God’s perfect will, then actively make a decision as to whether or not you will accept it.

Now to apply what we’ve learned: Suppose you dream you are going to get sick and die. Is that a prophecy or a warning? First analyze it according to the perfect will of God. We know that in God’s perfect will we shouldn’t be sick. We also know He doesn’t use diseases to teach lessons. So the conclusion we reach is that it’s a warning and we must fight it. Seek God in prayer; call on prayer warriors; but fight against it! If you don’t fight, the dreamed disease may indeed come.

If we don’t fight against negative messages and afterwards end up in a bad situation through the permissive will of God, He can still use the situation to reach His end purpose to save us. He always has the ability to transform a curse into a blessing. But just because He can make good come out of an evil situation doesn’t mean that this has been the perfect will of God.

In both God’s perfect will and His permissive will, He seeks to give us Salvation and life eternal with Him in Heaven. But it is in His perfect will that we find happiness and life abundant in this world as well. If you live only in His permissive will, you subject yourself to a lot of avoidable problems. But He lets you make your own choices. If you live apart from His perfect will, although you’re His child, you may have to suffer and die; but you’ll still go to Heaven. On the other hand, if you live in His perfect will, you avoid much suffering, and also find your true fulfillment as a son or daughter of God, even while still in this world. So always be alert for His prophecies and warnings, then actively choose His perfect will.

B. RESISTING TEMPTATION

1. DECEIVED BY TEMPTATION

WHAT IS TEMPTATION?

What is ‘Temptation’? As Christians we often hear this word. It’s used in Bible verses, sermons, and religious discussions very freely. Yet, no one ever defines it. It’s always assumed that people inherently know what it is. So, … What is it? Where does it come from? And most importantly, What can we do about it? Having an understanding of its basic workings can be helpful to us when those occasions arise where it tries to affect us.

The first place to look, for a practical understanding of it, is the Bible. We find a clear description in Ja 1:14-15, “Every man is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desire and enticed. Then when desire has developed, it brings forth sin; and sin when it is finished brings forth death.” So we see the progression: first a thought, which turns into a desire, which leads to a sin, which brings death.

We learn from this that it begins as just a small thought. At this initial stage it has no power over us; therefore it would be easy to resist it. If we did this, we would find we have no struggle. But, unfortunately, we don’t always reject these types of thoughts right away. This, despite the fact that, if we listen closely, we will hear the Holy Spirit telling us that it’s a wrong thought and we should let it go. So we continue dwelling on the thought and indulging it, because it gives us some sort of pleasure to do so. But this too needs to be examined.

Why? Why does that thought give pleasure; even though we feel it’s wrong? It feels good because it is stimulating our carnal nature. Recognizing this will help you. Remember, our new desire is to grow closer to God. To do this we must develop our spiritual nature, and suppress our carnal nature. With this in mind we can understand the importance of not indulging thoughts which build up the very thing we’re trying to tear down.

So, as various thoughts occur to us, we must be attentive to the Holy Spirit within us and listen for His indication as to whether this particular thought will lead to good or to evil. Then, having received guidance, we follow the advice of Paul the Apostle. He says in 2Cr 10:5, “We take captive every thought and make them obedient to Christ.” As you determine this as your course and call on God to make it happen within you, you will find that the Holy Spirit begins working with you to give you success. But, remember the description given at first; a thought develops quickly into a desire. So you must be alert to address these things promptly. While they are still small you can control them; once they grow large they can overcome you.

How do we do this? Go to God! Instead of running away from God when we sin, as Adam & Eve did; we should run to Him and ask for help. Go and ask Him to take it all away — take away the sin, and take away its consequences; take away the desire for sin, and take away the thoughts which build desire. Give it all to God, and He will take care of it all!

Let’s look at the experience of some other beings to see what lessons we may learn. We’re told about Lucifer in Ez 28:15, “You were perfect in all your ways, from the day your were created, until iniquity was found in your heart.” The beginning of Lucifer’s downfall was Pride and Curiosity. Ezekiel 28:13-15 tell us that he began to think of himself as smart and beautiful. By allowing his pride to grow, rather than rejecting it, he eventually started thinking of himself as equal with God. As this thought developed, it led to the next step. He became curious about what was happening in God’s private meetings. Finally, he decided he wanted to know all that God knew, and make the decisions that God made. This was his Fall.

Likewise with Adam & Eve. First they became curious about what God was withholding from them. Then they decided they wanted to know what God knows. Finally, they took the fruit. They thought themselves able to make a decision contrary to God’s counsel to not eat. This was their Fall.

As a side note: Before you men say it was Eve not Adam who was to blame, let me remind you, in God’s eyes husband and wife are considered “one”! (“The two shall be one.” Ge 2:24.) Each bears responsibility for what the other does. Adam understood this. That’s why he stood with Eve in her decision even though he knew she was wrong. Husbands and wives must learn to make decisions together, not independently of each other.

For these individuals, what did their little, uncontrolled thoughts cost them? Far more than would seem possible. Small thoughts: Large consequences!

Lucifer was ruler over the angelic realm. But he desired to reach outside his given area to try to take what God wished to withhold from him. That was, certain of God’s powers and inclusion in closed meetings. Seeking more made him lose what he had — his own realm.

Adam was ruler over the human realm. But he desired to reach outside his given area to try to take what God wished to withhold from him. That was, certain of God’s powers and knowledge of evil. Seeking more made him lose what he had — his own realm.

After Lucifer lost his place, he wanted a realm again; so he tricked Adam into making the same mistake he had made, and lose his position just as he had done. Thus Lucifer was able to take Adam’s realm. Lucifer may then have said to Adam, “If you want a realm again, you’ll have to trick someone else out of theirs; just as I did to you.” Fortunately, Adam didn’t follow this course. God had a different way. Through the sacrifice of Jesus, Adam would get his own realm back.

From these examples we see the power of thoughts. When thoughts are indulged, a desire soon develops. Once a desire has formed, it too has power. Effects may be good or bad, depending on what it is that is desired. But anything that arouses us can lead to repercussions.

SPIRITUAL CONNECTIONS

A spiritual connection is made, for good or evil, whenever a desire for something is formed. This happens whether it is a desire for something that has been offered to us, or for something that has been forbidden to us. This connection then has strong power to influence.

You may notice this effect when you are praying for someone to help them. When blessing or healing others, a spiritual connection is made between the two people. That connection then lasts as long as both parties are absorbed in what’s happening. Once one or the other’s attention is lost and their interest goes to something else, the connection ceases.

Let’s look again at Eden. As soon as Eve became curious about “the Tree”, a spiritual connection was established. This happened even before she actually approached the Tree. This occurred as a result of her developing an interest in the Tree. Once Satan became aware of this connection he was able to use it to begin influencing her toward the Tree and building her desire and curiosity. Ge 3:1-6 tells us she saw that “the tree was beautiful and its fruit desirable”. She then began to think about what it would be like to know as much as God knows. If you consider this thought a little, you can recognize that this was actually Lucifer’s desire. But he was now able to instill this same thought in Eve because of her spiritual connection with the Tree.

Jesus made an indirect reference to this concept in Mt 10:11-13 when He told the disciples, “When you approach a house, give it your peace. If your peace remains on that house, you may abide there for your stay; but if your peace returns to you, then move on to a different house.” Where there is a desire to receive good, a positive spiritual connection is made; where there is no desire for good, either no connection is made or a negative connection is made.

We today would gain use of an important tool if we trained ourselves to discern these connections and learned how to understand them and use them.

2. DECEIVED BY OUR “OLD NATURE”

CONQUERING SELF

Prior to becoming Christians we indulged every desire and every thought no matter where they led; with the only limitations being imposed by our fear of the legal authorities.

Then once we became Christians and learned about God’s great love for us; there was stirred within a desire to live up to a higher standard. We then did our best: swinging back and forth between occasional small successes and far too frequent conspicuous failures, interspersed with periods of despair when we wondered if we would ever be as good as we wanted to be.

Now, we’ve learned there is something called the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, and this experience brings power within to actually be able to resist temptation successfully and fairly consistently. As a result, our Christian experience has grown intense, our relationship with Jesus has come alive, and we see major changes happening, just as we’ve been wanting. We recognize we truly are a “changed person” and are not as we once were. We also see we’ve learned a lot, and are looking for even more. We know we’re at last on the right path; and we’re happy about it. But now that we’re finally making great gains, there is a danger to beware.

Personally, I was expecting that once I had the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and had gained power over the influence of Satan, then gaining control over my own soul and body would be relatively easy; however, I’ve found the opposite to be true. This battle is every bit as hard, and maybe even harder, than gaining authority over demons! Perhaps that is why this battle is left until after the experience of the other; for now I know how to fight, even though this requires more effort.

If you think of the test in the Garden of Eden, what was asked of Adam & Eve was to not succumb to the temptations of indulging appetite and of doing something forbidden; these are tests of the body and soul. Thus the test was, if they could control these two — body & soul, they could control everything; but if they couldn’t control these two, they couldn’t control anything.

I must learn to control body and soul; that is, appetites and emotions. But these two now rage more fiercely than ever, despite victories over them earlier in my experience. I believe that just as the HS shields us against the full force of demons while we’re learning how to fight, He does the same with respect to our old self. But now that I’m no longer a learner and have the task of conquering them, I must face their full power. My old nature is every bit as strong as any demon, and is working to retain its supremacy. It is using all avenues to regain its former place.

I have found it helpful to call on certain Bible texts during this struggle.

2 Cr 10:5, We take captive every thought and make them obedient to Christ.

Ga 5:16, Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.

1 Pe 4:1-2, Since Christ suffered in His body, arm yourselves with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. He doesn’t live his life with human desires, but for the will of God.

Let us look to the experience of Jesus. Thus we may learn how He overcame when facing these same temptations. For we’re told in He 4:15 that He has been tempted just as we are. His temptation was at its most intense during the experience in the wilderness; as found in Mt 4:1-11 & Lk 4:1-13. Jesus’ trial by Satan in the wilderness involved temptations in each of the three areas of humanly being — body, soul, and spirit.

The test of the body was, “Turn these stones to bread”. This test appealed to appetite, the test Adam & Eve had failed. Satan thought that since he had been able to get to Adam through his physical nature, perhaps he could do the same with Jesus. After fasting for so long Jesus’ body was screaming for nourishment and this temptation offered a quick solution. Please note: This suggestion by Satan would have been meaningless if Jesus did not have the ability to really turn stones into bread, so by the time of this test He had already gained power over the physical realm. Both Jesus and Satan were aware of this power; that is why Satan tried to corrupt it.

The test of the soul was, “Cast yourself off the Temple; the angels will protect the real Son of God”. Even though Jesus had resisted the appetite test, perhaps He’d succumb to an appeal to His emotions. This test was directed at any self-doubt there might be. Jesus’ emotions and intellect may have thrown up questions to Him at times — “Are you really the Son of God? Or are you just deluding yourself?” Satan may have been aware of these doubts because he chose to use this insinuation in his tests.

The test of the spirit was, “Bow down and worship me, for an easy way to fulfil your mission”. This test showed that Satan finally acknowledged Jesus’ control over His physical self and thus Satan tried to attack His spiritual being. It also was an acknowledgment that Jesus had a calling and knew what it was. So now Jesus is shown a way to complete the assigned mission, but in a different way than God called for, an “easier” way. This appealed to pride and self-sufficiency: the temptation to think we can find a way better than that which God has outlined. This is how Satan fell — he thought his own way was equal to God’s way. Adam, too, fell when he thought he could do differently than God advised. Fortunately Jesus didn’t follow this way. Pride and self-sufficiency can create a very strong temptation to go contrary to God. This then leads us to trust ourselves more and more, and look to God less. This leads to trouble.

OUR OLD NATURE

Please realize, just because someone has been correct about something in the past, that is no guarantee they will always be right from that point forward. There are many examples of people who were right at one time but then became wrong. Even Paul the Apostle recognized this as a danger. In Ga 1:8 he says, “Even though I’m the one who first taught you the Truth, if the time should ever come when I begin teaching error, you are not to accept it.” This shows that he too was aware of the possibility of spiritually advanced people becoming deceived.

So far in our spiritual development we’ve had to relinquish bad habits, remold our characters and lifestyles, and overcome demons and diseases. But now at last we come to the hardest step of all; one that is far more difficult than any before — to conquer our “old nature”.

There comes a point after we’ve grown accustomed to our new relationship with the Holy Spirit that our old nature will once again try to reassert itself.

When we first received the Holy Spirit, He would clearly identify for us which desires were right and which were wrong; and He would use strong manifestations to get our attention and confirm for us His will. This was very important and much needed because there were many things we were doing which we didn’t realize were problems.

As the months went by, however, our bad habits were removed and our wrong impulses were corrected until there remained only two or three deeply entrenched problem areas; and even these we were working hard to overcome. So the manifestations of the Holy Spirit became a bit less intense. This was helpful because we learned that strong sensations maintained for long periods eventually grow unbearable. We still received a lot of guidance, but the sensations were more comfortable. We also recognized that our thinking patterns were changing so that we were choosing what was right and rejecting what was wrong on our own, without the need of a prompt from the Holy Spirit. This too was good; it was proof of a transforming mind and heart.

When we first received the Holy Spirit, our old nature fought to retain its position of control within us. But we were so desirous to be freed of its influence that we focused our every effort on subduing it, and being guided only by the Holy Spirit. Thus, since receiving the Holy Spirit, our old nature has grown quieter and weaker as time has passed. It would seem that it’s all but gone, except for the occasional outburst that turns our attention back to trying to oust it completely.

This brings us to our current problem. Our old nature recognizes that it’s down to the end; so it wants to make another all-out effort to regain control of us. However, it knows that a direct attempt will be recognized by us and rejected; so it now resorts to subtlety and deception. Don’t be unaware: your old nature is just as smart as you are! This shouldn’t be surprising, since our old nature IS actually us. But this is something we don’t usually consider too closely.

Your old nature, being a part of yourself, knows exactly what you believe and what it would take to convince you of something else. So your old nature, knowing you now try to listen only to the Holy Spirit, will do its best to mimic the voice, the instructions, and even the manifestations of the Holy Spirit in order to get you to listen. Let me repeat this, because it is a very alarming statement. Your old nature will try to duplicate the voice and manifestations of the Holy Spirit in an attempt to deceive you. There will be differences. Your old nature can’t do it perfectly and with the same intensity. But it will be close enough to trick you if you are not aware of this as a possibility. However, there will be enough difference that you can recognize something is wrong, if you’re alert. Pr 14:12, “There is a way which seemeth right unto a man; but the end thereof is the way of death.”

Therefore, it is now more critical than ever to stay closely connected to God and to know His voice. Your old nature knows that if it can get you to listen to it in addition to the Holy Spirit, or better yet instead of the Holy Spirit, then it will have the means to regain control of you again. Remember, it knows your weaknesses, and what things you responded to before. It knows what appeals to you; and it will present the things it knows you want most. This is a very subtle and insidious attack. Be on guard!

There is good news, though. Don’t be afraid; and don’t despair. Your defenses are, first to know the voice of God, and second to be aware that such an attempt may come. Also, be comforted to know that once you’ve overcome this temptation, it will no longer have power over you. That is, you will have finally defeated your old nature for good. After this, even if it should try to come back, you will readily recognize it for what it is and will easily reject it.

C. DON’T DENY CHRIST!

1. HOLDING ONTO “SELF”

DENYING CHRIST

If you ask the typical Christian if they are being faithful to God, you will get a strong “Yes!” If you ask them if they are rejecting Jesus and His will for them, they will strenuously deny it and may even act offended by the question. But the majority of Christians are refusing God without even being fully aware of what they’re doing.

Consider the question: “Why did you become a Christian?” What was your purpose in doing so? Were you unhappy with your life and looking for a major change? Or were you pretty much satisfied with how everything was going and not really interested in making too many changes, but felt it might be beneficial to have a membership in the local church? If being a Christian is just about church membership in order to guarantee a place in Heaven, then there’s nothing more you need to consider. But if you became a Christian in order to improve yourself — to get rid of your bad things, and to instill some good things, then I challenge you to carefully examine what you’re doing and the motivation behind it.

If you truly wish to be a disciple of Jesus, then you must recognize what that means. Discipleship is a commitment to learn from your teacher all that he tells you, and to change everything about yourself until you are a faithful representation of who he is. The mentor is a model, and the disciple strives to become exactly like him. It is not the place for a disciple to tell the teacher he is wrong, or to refuse his instructions. Yet this is what many Christians today do.

The first main way people refuse Jesus is to reject anything new. At no point in mankind’s spiritual history has God ever said, “You’ve now been told everything. There’s nothing more for you to learn.” Instead we’ve always been told to continue striving for more. But what is the usual response from churches when a new idea is introduced? It’s often something like, “What you say is Biblical; and I can’t find any way to dispute it. But it goes against our traditions and our customary way of doing things. So we can’t accept it.” This was the reception Jesus received when He was here on Earth 2,000 years ago. And it’s the reaction He’s still receiving today. Once a religious group gets comfortable with it’s beliefs, it wants to stop there and settle in. But our spiritual development should instead be so dynamic that it’s constantly calling us to move out of our present state and strive to go higher. To reject new instructions from Jesus is to reject Him as your Teacher.

The second main way people refuse Jesus is to put other demands ahead of His. For example, most people will choose not to follow their convictions as fully as they should if they fear doing so might put their job at risk. You may argue that it’s illegal in this country for employers to infringe on their employees’ religious practices; and technically that is so. But very few people are willing to take a chance on being fired, and then face the prospect of a long and costly legal battle to prove themselves right. So most people comply when their boss gives an indirect suggestion that you should be available on particular days; or that you should belong to this group, not that one. As a matter of fact, this pressure becomes even more pronounced, not less, when employers have religious affiliations of their own. Thus there is frequently the lament, “I know that what you’re teaching is from God. But I’ll lose my job if I accept what you say.” So again, this is a rejection of Jesus as your Lord.

The third main way people refuse Jesus is when they begin to feel their present spiritual condition is good enough and there’s no need to try any harder. There are two common sayings you hear from these people.

One excuse is, “I know I should change this bad habit, … but I don’t want to. I like it!” 2Ti 3:2-4, “In the last days, men shall be … lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.”. They enjoy what they’re doing and the feeling it gives them. For some it’s a physical indulgence which gives some type of sensual pleasure. For others it’s an activity or practice which gives emotional gratification or a sense of superiority over others. But by refusing to give up what they know to be bad, they are choosing to place that thing above God. They’ve decided that their desire for that thing is greater than their desire for a closer relationship with God. Thus they reject Him.

A second excuse is, “Why should I have to change my personality? This is who I am! God should love me just as I am.” Yes, God does love you now. But He loves you despite of the way you are, not because of the way you are. His plan is for you to improve! In fact, He wants so much for you to get better that He does everything He can to make it easy for us to change. He uses His power and miracles to do it for us; our only part is to agree to be changed. Yet this is where many people balk. They don’t want to be changed. And in this circumstance, God respects their choice.

Even so, I ask you again: Why did you become a Christian? If your purpose in doing so was truly sincere; if your desire was to become a disciple; then you placed yourself before God and asked Him to change everything that was displeasing to Him. So having once been willing to obey Him, what made you revert to an attitude of stubbornness and resistance to His requests? Although you can say, this is who you are; you also have said you don’t like the way you are, and wish to be made better. Don’t stop halfway through the process. Otherwise you are no longer a disciple and have joined those who are rejecting Him.

Becoming a disciple means we must be willing to commit all, to surrender all; nothing can be withheld. But since this includes even our most basic sense of self, our identity, we come to where our resistance goes up instinctively. Our inner nature states, “I won’t sacrifice myself!” Yet this is what must be done. This is what Jesus, our model, did for us. And it is what He now asks us to do for Him. For only in this way can our transformation into His likeness be complete. What He did, we must do. To put it another way: If we would do what He did, then we must do what He did. That is, if we would do His miracles and have His power, then we must also make the same sacrifice of self.

2. HOLDING ONTO FALSE APPEARANCES

“FALSE APPEARANCES”

In Mt 21:19 we read of how Jesus came to a fig tree that was full of leaves but when He searched for fruit and found none He then cursed the tree. Many people wonder why He did this. They explain that it wasn’t even the season for figs, so they suggest His expectation was wrong. Then, why? Why did Jesus hate that tree? He hated it because the fig tree was giving the impression that it was something good when it was actually “fruitless”.

Jesus hated false appearances. He spoke many times against the religious leaders of His day who tried to look like they were righteous, while in reality they were making it hard for people to serve God (Lk 11:39-52). He called them “painted graves” (Mt 23:27-28); that is, they look pretty on the outside, but inside they contain death.

Another example Jesus gave is found in Mt 15:3-9. The people were being strongly encouraged by their religious leaders to make large donations to the Temple. So in order to please their leaders and to gain favors and good positions, they would give the most they could. After sacrificing as much as possible, yet still being asked for more, the donors looked for new ways to free up funds.

Cultural practices of the day were such that it was expected of everyone to support their parents as the parents grew older and became unable to take care of themselves. So those who had elderly parents would give them money, food, and perhaps a place to live. But one day, someone came up with a bright idea — he calculated how much it was costing him to support his parents; then he stopped giving that amount of money to his parents, and told them he was now giving their support funds to the Temple instead. By his reckoning that money wasn’t being spent on himself anyway; but under the new plan, he would at least get praise at the Temple and gain benefit that way. As far as his parents were concerned, they were put out in the street and would just have to beg for charity from strangers. At first the religious leaders were a bit uncomfortable with this concept which treated the elderly so badly. But as they saw the potential for a lot more money to come in, they began to promote this idea more widely.

It was at this point that Jesus came along and showed them the true meaning of what they were doing. The religious people had grown to where they now viewed it as a good thing. They saw it as supporting their Temple, and thus indirectly serving God. Jesus told them that they were not doing God’s will; to the contrary, they were breaking the Commandment to “honor your parents”.

There are many who put the instructions of the church above all else. Even when their conscience tells them they are doing something wrong, they choose to doubt themselves rather than question the church. If they would instead turn to prayer and the Word of God to find what is truly God’s way, they might find the church is in error and that God is trying to correct them. But by viewing the church as “never wrong”, they risk finding themselves giving precedence to what the church says over what God says. This brings us back to having the appearance of doing what is right, when in reality the work is “fruitless”; or worse, is actually going against God.

It is written in Jn 15:5-6, “I am the Vine, and you are the branches. Any branch that does not bear fruit will be pruned off.” Here again Jesus emphasized that those who are fruitless will be removed. Fruit has a purpose. Fruit is to nourish and strengthen those who are hungry. We as Christians bear “fruit” when we spiritually strengthen and physically help those in need. Those who don’t do this are fruitless. Fruitless ones should beware because the pruning time has come!

All are making their choice now! Many think the time to stand for God will be during some great trial coming up in the near future. They even name it “the Time of Trouble”; and believe that when they see it start, they will then take their stand for God. That time of trial is indeed coming. But it will not be the time for making choices; it will be the time for revealing that everybody’s choices have already been made. Those who look for a chance to stand up then will find it too late. Now is the time for choosing; the Second Coming only brings the rewards of the choices made today.

Right now all are choosing what is most important to them. For some it’s pursuing worldly gains; for some it’s supporting their religious institution at all costs; and for some it’s stilling their conscience which is telling them to do something now, by saying there will be time later. Your choice is revealed by what’s important to you. Where do you spend the most time? How strongly do you desire to be with God? Is seeking Him something you do only once a week, if that? Or when you have some spare time? Or perhaps once the Time of Trouble comes? Or is He in your thoughts every free moment? Every day, here and now?

The Judgment has begun and is going on today. But it is not as most expect it to be — standing before a “Great White Throne” being judged by God. Each one is judging himself or herself by their present decisions. To repeat: Right now each one is passing judgment on himself by his response to the call of the Holy Spirit. Once you have decided, will it be said of you, “Salvation came to you;” … “but you judged yourselves ‘unworthy’?” (Jn 1:11; Ac 13:46)

The Holy Spirit is already abroad in the world; and is appealing to everyone today. But His call is subtle; so subtle that most do not recognize it. They are dismissing His appeals, thinking they will respond later. There will be no later! Accept the call of the Holy Spirit now.

CLOSE:

God is calling us back to a direct relationship with Him. He wishes to restore an open communication with us, just as much as we wish to restore it with Him. We see His great desire for this in His “great sacrifice”. It is the re-establishment of a covenant association and the restoration of our pre-Fall position that will return mankind to the face-to-face relationship that God has created us to have with Him. And it will be our conquering of “self” and our experience with knowing what happens when desires get out of control that will prevent us from ever again succumbing to the temptation to reject the nurturing will of our Father.