Dying in the Lord~ 22
Christians who live and work in the soul are envious of those whom God is using.
The Pharisees murdered their own Christ because they were serving God in their soul, in their personal ambition. They were not like Samuel or David who were directed by the Lord continually. Had the Pharisees been hearing from God they would not have murdered Christ.
Perhaps we do not realize how interested Satan is in the Christian churches. We think of Satan being in the houses of prostitution or with the drunken man vomiting in the gutter. Do we suppose that the most highly placed of the cherubim spends his time in such filth and despair? He leaves that to minor demons.
Satan is interested in the inheritance of the Lord Jesus. He will be found among the twelve disciples. He will attend the most fervent assembly he can find. He wants to talk of love. Satan in his "love" sought to keep the Lord from going to Jerusalem to be crucified.
But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. (Matthew 16:23)
Satan desires to have great gifts of healing and miracles so he can be the center of attention and glory. Satan looks for the zealous believer who also desires religious glory but who is saving his life rather than losing it in the Lord. Satan enters that individual and attempts to steer the assembly away from patient waiting on the Lord. Satan does not fear any amount of religious activity no matter how "Christ-centered." Satan trembles in terror at the thought of the believers waiting on God until the Lord Jesus appears.
How many Christian assemblies of our day are being divided by self-willed believers who conceive of some plan of action and then use every form of persuasion to turn the leaders of the church away from the patient waiting on Christ. "Get busy and save souls," they cry. "Fast and pray until God does what we desire." "Establish apostles and prophets in the congregation."
The things they suggest may have merit and may be the Lord's desire for the assembly at some point. But the spirit of "selling" and pushing is not of God. It is the self-will and self-aggrandizement of the soulish person that is at work. Such succeed only in dividing the assembly into warring factions. They are immature. If they do not outgrow their gossiping, slandering, factionalism, attempting to divide the Christians into special loyalties, they will not inherit the Kingdom of God.
The issue is whether we are willing to lose our life for Christ or whether we are going to attempt to save it in religious work. If we choose to save our life, Satan has an open door. He is willing to participate in Christian work if by doing so he can turn aside the believers from waiting on the Lord for His will. Here is Babylon. Here is the False Prophet.
We now are entering the darkest hour known to mankind. Satan and his legions will be forced from the heavens and will fill the earth with wickedness, with moral horrors. The tares will come to maturity.
God's answer to wickedness is the cross. As we enter the death of the cross, the power of Christ's resurrection enters us. Then we are stronger and wiser than the most powerful of the angels.
We must become dead-living people: dead with Christ on the cross; alive with Christ at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. Then we are invincible.
Continued. Dying in the Lord~ 23