Post by Zac Loh on May 17, 2007 2:07:50 GMT -5
Light And Darkness: Faith And The Tradition Of Men
Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (Hebrews 6:1; underline mine)
There is no other way to God except through Jesus Christ.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)
It is our faith in God, in Christ, and in what Christ had done for us: that we have everlasting life and eternal salvation.
When we put our faith in anything or anyone else, we will have spiritual darkness as a result. This is the truth.
Men tend to put their faith in themselves, in their mind and intellect. Men put their faith in what they do, rather than putting their faith in God Himself. God is looking for a faith relationship with us.
We can be religious, making great sacrifices and doing many sorts of things. We want to please God in our own way; or in the way of the institutions, establishments and religion.
The devil can tweak the facts of what Christ had done for us. But the Bible is clear. It is faith in God, in Christ and in what Christ had done for us: that we are saved.
God is looking for faith. When you come to Him, putting your faith in Him alone, He will answer you. Put on faith as your relate to God, and you will overcome the darkness of the tradition of men.
Millions and millions have put their faith in the traditions passed down to them by their well respectable organizations and their own generation-to-generation religion. These will not save them. Nothing will save them except faith in God, in Christ and in what Christ had done. Putting their faith elsewhere nullifies what Christ had already done for them.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
There is nothing wrong with tradition. But when our faith is in rituals or human traditions, rather than being in God, we are climbing a phony spiritual ladder. Our faith, then, will hold no water.
The tradition may be old, firm and strong. Or the tradition may be an act which is one week old. The tradition may be a very natural thing for us to do. The tradition may just be a simple act. In any case, following the tradition by itself means nothing to God. It is our faith that pleases Him.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
The devil, our enemy, performs miracles to back-up traditional religious rituals. These are counterfeit miracles. They are not from God. The purpose is to draw us away from a real faith in God.
Light And Darkness: Faith And The Basic Principles Of The World
We use natural means based on natural laws. Of course, it probably worked. Proven science will work. All natural principles that work: spiritual, natural and scientific: is based on God’s creation. Nothing natural that works, that is not of God’s creation.
But the devil draws our utmost attention to them so that we would put our total trust in them. Hence, our faith is in science and nature, rather than in
God.
We think that as long as we humans can continue to discover and use our knowledge of our surroundings and environment, we don’t need God.
The devil had penetrated and permeated every level of society and every human institution. He involves himself, and is always lurking behind - political, economical, entertainment, sports and cultural. The devil is determined and resolute. His goal is to sever ties between man and God. He works very hard. He has been working behind the scene for thousands of years since even before the fall of Adam. The devil is not holding back. He is not folding his hands. There is no intermission with him.
And the devil has a dual tactic. The first tactic is tailor-made in particular to some of us who have a form, any degree, of materialistic thinking.
By highlighting and magnifying what man can do without God, the devil intends to draw our attention and take our focus away from God. He is doing everything to keep people in this position. God is allowing a full scale worldwide disaster to come, so that people will realize their faith, and will cry out to God.
Man is a tiny little being with a miniscule short-term thinking. We live ninety to a hundred years, and we think it is eternity. We think about our future, but we can think no further than our human lifespan. We study millions of years of earth history, yet we can’t see life beyond death. We have been caught by a spiritual stronghold over our minds.
The real good news is that God has an eternal, loving, plan for each one of us. He does not exclude anybody. He does not discount anybody. He will give us a new body that will last for eternity. And a new beautiful earth that will last into eternity. There will be no degradation. There will be no perversion. There will be no corruption. But it takes two hands to clap. It takes two parties to agree. You got to have faith in God.
The second aspect of the devil’s tactic is tailor-made to the people who have a tinge of religiosity, and yet they are far away from God. Nevertheless, they keep doing what they do. They are unconsciously lost in this escapism and delusion. They think they have gained God’s approval because their limited practices and small effort - have somehow generated self-consolation and self-satisfaction. It is quite an error; it is truly of spiritual darkness.
The devil is playing a spiritual game with God. Human lives are his prize. Some humans fell not as victims, but also pawns in the devil’s hand.
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Jesus have the victory. Now He calls us to be victors together with Him.
We have an invincible armor. This armor is the spiritual light of Christ: the illumination of the truth of Christ. As we see the light of the truth of Christ in each aspect of life, as we adopt it, it will be armor to us.
Putting On Love
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. (1 John 2:15-16; underline mine)
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life: the three strategies of darkness, to draw us away from the love of God. From the beginning of mankind, the devil had been using these strategies.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. (Genesis 3:1-7)
The devil came within a serpent which was more cunning than any beast in the field. Even today, darkness will come through extreme cunningness, subtlety and deception. The devil is called the accuser (Revelation 12:10). He got Adam and Eve – to accuse God.
Adam and Eve accused God of selfishness. They did it without realizing it. And, as a result, they themselves adopted such selfishness. They look at themselves and began to look-out for themselves. Consequently, they lost the light of God.
The devil said, `for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ The devil told the fact, but not the truth. Hidden within the fact, was the accusation.
The pride of life: `you will be like God, knowing good and evil’. The devil knows that this works, because he himself had fallen because of it. He was once Lucifer who wanted to be God. He didn’t want to worship God. He wanted to be worshipped. He started by worshipping himself. He was focused on his own beauty, and he exalted himself (Isaiah 14:12-15).
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise. (Genesis 3:6)
Good for food (gratification): the lust of the flesh.
Pleasant to the eyes (greed): the lust of the eyes.
Desirable to make one wise (exaltation): the pride of life.
Leap through time to Jesus at Judea, we will see the same thing: a mirror-image of what happened at Eden.
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘ In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. (Matthew 4:1-11)
Hunger for bread (gratification): the lust of the flesh (verses 2 – 4).
Proof of self (exaltation): the pride of life (verses 5 – 7)
The devil challenged Jesus to prove His self-worth by testing God.
Wealth and possessions (greed): the lust of the eyes (verses 8 – 10)
Jesus taught that you cannot serve both God and money: you have to choose either one (Matthew 6:24).
In the garden of Eden; the first Adam had succumbed to the devil’s deception. In the wilderness of Judea; Jesus, the second Adam, overcame the devil (1 Corinthians 15:45).
Light And Darkness: Love And The Lust Of The Flesh
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:13-16)
The word `holy’ in the original Bible Greek is hag’-ee-os referring to sacredness, purity, blameless and consecrated.
The devil’s objective is to separate man from God Who is holy. Holiness means we cling close to God and separate ourselves from the spiritual system of this world. The medium which the devil uses to separate us from God - is the spiritual system of this world.
The spiritual realm of this world is the devil’s playground. It is the devil’s spiritual funfair, carnival, theme park and x-games. The devil induces us - by giving us the free ticket of compromise.
To compromise is to lose holiness. It is to lose God. Staying in God’s love, will counter compromise, because we know that God will bless us. We are not giving-in to the lustful immediate gratification at-hand, because we know that the blessing of God will overtake whatever the devil is offering.
When we know how much the Father loves us, and we know that He wants the best for us, we will not compromise. The strength of the Father’s love will negate every compromise that comes our way. We love God, therefore, we will not compromise. We know God’s love.
Samson (Judges 13 – 16)
There were a number of elements which contributed to Samson’s sinful ways.
But let us confine ourselves to the line of thought which we are exploring.
We find that Samson had no, or very little, appreciation of God’s blessing. Only after he repented; did Samson fully, and truly, understood the Father’s blessing - in choosing Samson to fulfill a divine purpose.
We see a puzzling contradiction in God’s dealing with Samson. On one side, God is holy. On the other side, God continually anointed him whose life was a series of breaking God’s set commandments. Samson disregarded the rules, slept with a prostitute and had an affair with Delilah.
Samson was constantly winning the battles with the Philistines who were then symbolic of the spiritual demonic enemy of the church now. But then Samson fell from God’s favor. Yet God loved him so much. God used him to defeat the enemy, more at the time of his final demise than his prior total lifetime.
Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life. (Judges 16:30)
What about ‘holiness’? We may get the picture, from the life of Samson, that God suspended His thought on holiness. It does seem to imply that God had forgotten. But the truth is that Samson had repented.
This is the message of hope: if we repent, turn 180 degrees, and walk away from our life of sin - God will come to us and be with us.
And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” (Judges 16:16-17)
That’s what the devil does every so often. He pesters us, tapping into our heads and calling-out to our hearts. The game is to wear us down. It’s a long haul. We got to hold-out. The strength of God will arrive to take us up.
What is `holiness’? Is it about adherence? Of is it about commitment to God signified by Samson’s uncut hair? Yes, then, holiness is about commitment to God. It is about being belonged to God. It means we are exclusively His.
God is holy. The opposite of holiness is compromise. The absence of holiness; is the absence of God. The ‘Holy’ Spirit is ‘Holy’. Compromise is invisible and extremely subtle. You compromise without realizing that you are excusing it. You are in a compromising situation without realizing you have compromised. The self-justification begins hesitantly, but in an instant, it turns oblivious to you. The process seems slow and gradual. You may think that you still have the control. But deep within, you want to lose control. Suddenly, you are in a rushing. You are speeding headlong into sin. It all happens in a blur. Yet, it all began much slowly, way back.
Once the devil gets you to compromise, you are entering the pathway which is getting you further and further away from God.
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10)
Of course, we will spiritually grow, we spiritually mature. It is a process.
Holiness is not about a 10-point performance. It is about living a life wholly devoted to God. This is when love comes in. God loves us unreservedly and lavishly. And we love Him wholeheartedly from the depths of our being. This is holiness. And He Himself will make us pure. John Wesley once said that worldliness was when he lost the affection of God.
Light And Darkness: Love And The Lust Of The Eyes
Balaam (Numbers 22 -24)
They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; (2 Peter 2:15)
Balak never gave up persuading Balaam. If Balaam was sure and firm in his footing, he would’ve been able to resist Balak to the very end. Balaam was undecided, therefore, he became indecisive.
The devil is perpetually persuasive. We got to stand our ground. And continually stand our ground until the last day.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)
King David relaxed and stopped fighting the Philistines. He took a break. And you see what happened – he took Bathsheba. He abused his power as the king. He stole someone’s wife - when he saw how beautifully attractive Bathsheba was. Greed is not confined to money (2 Samuel 11:1 – 12:8).
If we have not been living a consecrated life, then the devil has a chance. Have you given everything to God? God set an example for us. He loves us. He gave up His only begotten Son for us.
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)
Light And Darkness: Love And The Pride Of Life
Saul (1 Samuel 9 – 15)
Low self-esteem, low self-confidence, inferiority complex and fear – when they are not given to God – can turn into ungodly pride. Let’s look at the life of King Saul.
He was described as a choice and handsome son, most handsome among his fellow Israelites, and taller than all of them at the length of shoulders upwards (1 Samuel 9:2). Needless to say, he stood out.
The prophet Samuel offered him a place of honor of eating together, on the occasion of the sacrifice on the high place. It was a very privilege position. He replied to Samuel that he was of the smallest tribe (Benjamin), and that his family was the least of the tribe. He chose to be drawn to his disadvantages. It was not the case of humility, but of an inferiority complex.
Samuel revealed in detail God’s marvelous plan for Saul to be king (1 Samuel 10:1-8). And things began to happen to Saul as revealed earlier. Later on, when his uncle asked about his missing days, Saul did not mention any of the significant things that had happened. Saul was fearful of ridicule, maybe. Low self-esteemed, probably.
When the time finally came for Samuel to reveal to the world that Saul had been chosen by God to be king; Saul hid himself. Was it a case of fear of the awesome responsibility?
The people found him. And they realized that he was much taller than all of them. Samuel publicly accentuated the fact. All could recognize Saul’s advantages, except Saul himself (1 Samuel 10:20-24).
I don’t know if taller means anything in leadership. But in those days, physical height might be symbolic. A king who leads them into battle, everyone can see him in front.
So Saul became king. But his downfall came because of his fear. Leading his people into war, it was God’s commandment to wait for Samuel before engaging the Philistines in battle.
Samuel was late. The Philistines were poised to attack. Saul’s people became fearful and dispersing.
At a time like this, a leader is supposed to use his charisma to persuade his people to regroup, and to instill the courage in them – to wait for God’s timing for action. But fear overtook Saul.
Saul conducted the burnt offering and peace offering – to God – without Samuel the priest. The king broke God’s order.
And God responded with severity. Samuel, as God’s spokesman, terminated Saul’s tenure as king in compliance to God’s directive (1 Samuel 13:5-14).
And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13:13-14)
Notice in the above verses that God has sought for Himself a man after His own heart. Saul was chosen by God according to the type of king the people wanted. Saul was a nice person. He was outwardly qualified. But he did not concern himself with God. Saul was a king after the people’s heart.
Eventually, David became king as God’s own choice. He wasn’t impressive outwardly. The people around David wouldn’t have chosen him to be king. But, inwardly, in his secret life, away from the public’s view, David was a man after God’s own heart.
Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD your God.” (1 Samuel 15:30)
Loving God is to put God first. Saul put himself first as he was more concern about how others look at him than how God feel about the matter.
Loving God is to give ourselves to God, so that God is exalted in our lives.
The devil, Lucifer, exalted himself so much so that he wanted to draw worship to himself. He was the worship leader in heaven, who was anointed for the purpose of drawing worship to God. We read that God threw him out (Ezekiel 28:1-19; Luke 10:17-20).
THE FATHER LOVE OF GOD
God is God. He changes not (Malachi 3:6). If He changes, then He is not God. Everything and everyone will have to match up to Him. All will be compared to Him. We all change because we are not unlimited, we are not infinite.
Even though our Father God is in heaven, He can be close to us. The Holy Spirit is called `the Spirit of your Father’ (Mathew 10:20). The Holy Spirit can manifest our heavenly Father to us in a very intimate way.
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:5)
The Father’s love fills us. Let’s surrender our heart, our soul, our mind and our strength to His love. The Father’s love satisfies us more than this world can.
Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, (Hebrews 6:1; underline mine)
There is no other way to God except through Jesus Christ.
Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. (John 14:6)
It is our faith in God, in Christ, and in what Christ had done for us: that we have everlasting life and eternal salvation.
When we put our faith in anything or anyone else, we will have spiritual darkness as a result. This is the truth.
Men tend to put their faith in themselves, in their mind and intellect. Men put their faith in what they do, rather than putting their faith in God Himself. God is looking for a faith relationship with us.
We can be religious, making great sacrifices and doing many sorts of things. We want to please God in our own way; or in the way of the institutions, establishments and religion.
The devil can tweak the facts of what Christ had done for us. But the Bible is clear. It is faith in God, in Christ and in what Christ had done for us: that we are saved.
God is looking for faith. When you come to Him, putting your faith in Him alone, He will answer you. Put on faith as your relate to God, and you will overcome the darkness of the tradition of men.
Millions and millions have put their faith in the traditions passed down to them by their well respectable organizations and their own generation-to-generation religion. These will not save them. Nothing will save them except faith in God, in Christ and in what Christ had done. Putting their faith elsewhere nullifies what Christ had already done for them.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)
There is nothing wrong with tradition. But when our faith is in rituals or human traditions, rather than being in God, we are climbing a phony spiritual ladder. Our faith, then, will hold no water.
The tradition may be old, firm and strong. Or the tradition may be an act which is one week old. The tradition may be a very natural thing for us to do. The tradition may just be a simple act. In any case, following the tradition by itself means nothing to God. It is our faith that pleases Him.
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
The devil, our enemy, performs miracles to back-up traditional religious rituals. These are counterfeit miracles. They are not from God. The purpose is to draw us away from a real faith in God.
Light And Darkness: Faith And The Basic Principles Of The World
We use natural means based on natural laws. Of course, it probably worked. Proven science will work. All natural principles that work: spiritual, natural and scientific: is based on God’s creation. Nothing natural that works, that is not of God’s creation.
But the devil draws our utmost attention to them so that we would put our total trust in them. Hence, our faith is in science and nature, rather than in
God.
We think that as long as we humans can continue to discover and use our knowledge of our surroundings and environment, we don’t need God.
The devil had penetrated and permeated every level of society and every human institution. He involves himself, and is always lurking behind - political, economical, entertainment, sports and cultural. The devil is determined and resolute. His goal is to sever ties between man and God. He works very hard. He has been working behind the scene for thousands of years since even before the fall of Adam. The devil is not holding back. He is not folding his hands. There is no intermission with him.
And the devil has a dual tactic. The first tactic is tailor-made in particular to some of us who have a form, any degree, of materialistic thinking.
By highlighting and magnifying what man can do without God, the devil intends to draw our attention and take our focus away from God. He is doing everything to keep people in this position. God is allowing a full scale worldwide disaster to come, so that people will realize their faith, and will cry out to God.
Man is a tiny little being with a miniscule short-term thinking. We live ninety to a hundred years, and we think it is eternity. We think about our future, but we can think no further than our human lifespan. We study millions of years of earth history, yet we can’t see life beyond death. We have been caught by a spiritual stronghold over our minds.
The real good news is that God has an eternal, loving, plan for each one of us. He does not exclude anybody. He does not discount anybody. He will give us a new body that will last for eternity. And a new beautiful earth that will last into eternity. There will be no degradation. There will be no perversion. There will be no corruption. But it takes two hands to clap. It takes two parties to agree. You got to have faith in God.
The second aspect of the devil’s tactic is tailor-made to the people who have a tinge of religiosity, and yet they are far away from God. Nevertheless, they keep doing what they do. They are unconsciously lost in this escapism and delusion. They think they have gained God’s approval because their limited practices and small effort - have somehow generated self-consolation and self-satisfaction. It is quite an error; it is truly of spiritual darkness.
The devil is playing a spiritual game with God. Human lives are his prize. Some humans fell not as victims, but also pawns in the devil’s hand.
These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Jesus have the victory. Now He calls us to be victors together with Him.
We have an invincible armor. This armor is the spiritual light of Christ: the illumination of the truth of Christ. As we see the light of the truth of Christ in each aspect of life, as we adopt it, it will be armor to us.
Putting On Love
Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. (1 John 2:15-16; underline mine)
The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life: the three strategies of darkness, to draw us away from the love of God. From the beginning of mankind, the devil had been using these strategies.
Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’” Then the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. (Genesis 3:1-7)
The devil came within a serpent which was more cunning than any beast in the field. Even today, darkness will come through extreme cunningness, subtlety and deception. The devil is called the accuser (Revelation 12:10). He got Adam and Eve – to accuse God.
Adam and Eve accused God of selfishness. They did it without realizing it. And, as a result, they themselves adopted such selfishness. They look at themselves and began to look-out for themselves. Consequently, they lost the light of God.
The devil said, `for God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.’ The devil told the fact, but not the truth. Hidden within the fact, was the accusation.
The pride of life: `you will be like God, knowing good and evil’. The devil knows that this works, because he himself had fallen because of it. He was once Lucifer who wanted to be God. He didn’t want to worship God. He wanted to be worshipped. He started by worshipping himself. He was focused on his own beauty, and he exalted himself (Isaiah 14:12-15).
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise. (Genesis 3:6)
Good for food (gratification): the lust of the flesh.
Pleasant to the eyes (greed): the lust of the eyes.
Desirable to make one wise (exaltation): the pride of life.
Leap through time to Jesus at Judea, we will see the same thing: a mirror-image of what happened at Eden.
1 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry. 3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘ He shall give His angels charge over you,’ and, ‘ In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the LORD your God.’” 8 Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. 9 And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” 11 Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him. (Matthew 4:1-11)
Hunger for bread (gratification): the lust of the flesh (verses 2 – 4).
Proof of self (exaltation): the pride of life (verses 5 – 7)
The devil challenged Jesus to prove His self-worth by testing God.
Wealth and possessions (greed): the lust of the eyes (verses 8 – 10)
Jesus taught that you cannot serve both God and money: you have to choose either one (Matthew 6:24).
In the garden of Eden; the first Adam had succumbed to the devil’s deception. In the wilderness of Judea; Jesus, the second Adam, overcame the devil (1 Corinthians 15:45).
Light And Darkness: Love And The Lust Of The Flesh
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; as obedient children, not conforming yourselves to the former lusts, as in your ignorance; but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:13-16)
The word `holy’ in the original Bible Greek is hag’-ee-os referring to sacredness, purity, blameless and consecrated.
The devil’s objective is to separate man from God Who is holy. Holiness means we cling close to God and separate ourselves from the spiritual system of this world. The medium which the devil uses to separate us from God - is the spiritual system of this world.
The spiritual realm of this world is the devil’s playground. It is the devil’s spiritual funfair, carnival, theme park and x-games. The devil induces us - by giving us the free ticket of compromise.
To compromise is to lose holiness. It is to lose God. Staying in God’s love, will counter compromise, because we know that God will bless us. We are not giving-in to the lustful immediate gratification at-hand, because we know that the blessing of God will overtake whatever the devil is offering.
When we know how much the Father loves us, and we know that He wants the best for us, we will not compromise. The strength of the Father’s love will negate every compromise that comes our way. We love God, therefore, we will not compromise. We know God’s love.
Samson (Judges 13 – 16)
There were a number of elements which contributed to Samson’s sinful ways.
But let us confine ourselves to the line of thought which we are exploring.
We find that Samson had no, or very little, appreciation of God’s blessing. Only after he repented; did Samson fully, and truly, understood the Father’s blessing - in choosing Samson to fulfill a divine purpose.
We see a puzzling contradiction in God’s dealing with Samson. On one side, God is holy. On the other side, God continually anointed him whose life was a series of breaking God’s set commandments. Samson disregarded the rules, slept with a prostitute and had an affair with Delilah.
Samson was constantly winning the battles with the Philistines who were then symbolic of the spiritual demonic enemy of the church now. But then Samson fell from God’s favor. Yet God loved him so much. God used him to defeat the enemy, more at the time of his final demise than his prior total lifetime.
Then Samson said, “Let me die with the Philistines!” And he pushed with all his might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life. (Judges 16:30)
What about ‘holiness’? We may get the picture, from the life of Samson, that God suspended His thought on holiness. It does seem to imply that God had forgotten. But the truth is that Samson had repented.
This is the message of hope: if we repent, turn 180 degrees, and walk away from our life of sin - God will come to us and be with us.
And it came to pass, when she pestered him daily with her words and pressed him, so that his soul was vexed to death, that he told her all his heart, and said to her, “No razor has ever come upon my head, for I have been a Nazirite to God from my mother’s womb. If I am shaven, then my strength will leave me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man.” (Judges 16:16-17)
That’s what the devil does every so often. He pesters us, tapping into our heads and calling-out to our hearts. The game is to wear us down. It’s a long haul. We got to hold-out. The strength of God will arrive to take us up.
What is `holiness’? Is it about adherence? Of is it about commitment to God signified by Samson’s uncut hair? Yes, then, holiness is about commitment to God. It is about being belonged to God. It means we are exclusively His.
God is holy. The opposite of holiness is compromise. The absence of holiness; is the absence of God. The ‘Holy’ Spirit is ‘Holy’. Compromise is invisible and extremely subtle. You compromise without realizing that you are excusing it. You are in a compromising situation without realizing you have compromised. The self-justification begins hesitantly, but in an instant, it turns oblivious to you. The process seems slow and gradual. You may think that you still have the control. But deep within, you want to lose control. Suddenly, you are in a rushing. You are speeding headlong into sin. It all happens in a blur. Yet, it all began much slowly, way back.
Once the devil gets you to compromise, you are entering the pathway which is getting you further and further away from God.
This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. (1 John 1:5-10)
Of course, we will spiritually grow, we spiritually mature. It is a process.
Holiness is not about a 10-point performance. It is about living a life wholly devoted to God. This is when love comes in. God loves us unreservedly and lavishly. And we love Him wholeheartedly from the depths of our being. This is holiness. And He Himself will make us pure. John Wesley once said that worldliness was when he lost the affection of God.
Light And Darkness: Love And The Lust Of The Eyes
Balaam (Numbers 22 -24)
They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; (2 Peter 2:15)
Balak never gave up persuading Balaam. If Balaam was sure and firm in his footing, he would’ve been able to resist Balak to the very end. Balaam was undecided, therefore, he became indecisive.
The devil is perpetually persuasive. We got to stand our ground. And continually stand our ground until the last day.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. (Ephesians 6:13)
King David relaxed and stopped fighting the Philistines. He took a break. And you see what happened – he took Bathsheba. He abused his power as the king. He stole someone’s wife - when he saw how beautifully attractive Bathsheba was. Greed is not confined to money (2 Samuel 11:1 – 12:8).
If we have not been living a consecrated life, then the devil has a chance. Have you given everything to God? God set an example for us. He loves us. He gave up His only begotten Son for us.
For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6-8)
Light And Darkness: Love And The Pride Of Life
Saul (1 Samuel 9 – 15)
Low self-esteem, low self-confidence, inferiority complex and fear – when they are not given to God – can turn into ungodly pride. Let’s look at the life of King Saul.
He was described as a choice and handsome son, most handsome among his fellow Israelites, and taller than all of them at the length of shoulders upwards (1 Samuel 9:2). Needless to say, he stood out.
The prophet Samuel offered him a place of honor of eating together, on the occasion of the sacrifice on the high place. It was a very privilege position. He replied to Samuel that he was of the smallest tribe (Benjamin), and that his family was the least of the tribe. He chose to be drawn to his disadvantages. It was not the case of humility, but of an inferiority complex.
Samuel revealed in detail God’s marvelous plan for Saul to be king (1 Samuel 10:1-8). And things began to happen to Saul as revealed earlier. Later on, when his uncle asked about his missing days, Saul did not mention any of the significant things that had happened. Saul was fearful of ridicule, maybe. Low self-esteemed, probably.
When the time finally came for Samuel to reveal to the world that Saul had been chosen by God to be king; Saul hid himself. Was it a case of fear of the awesome responsibility?
The people found him. And they realized that he was much taller than all of them. Samuel publicly accentuated the fact. All could recognize Saul’s advantages, except Saul himself (1 Samuel 10:20-24).
I don’t know if taller means anything in leadership. But in those days, physical height might be symbolic. A king who leads them into battle, everyone can see him in front.
So Saul became king. But his downfall came because of his fear. Leading his people into war, it was God’s commandment to wait for Samuel before engaging the Philistines in battle.
Samuel was late. The Philistines were poised to attack. Saul’s people became fearful and dispersing.
At a time like this, a leader is supposed to use his charisma to persuade his people to regroup, and to instill the courage in them – to wait for God’s timing for action. But fear overtook Saul.
Saul conducted the burnt offering and peace offering – to God – without Samuel the priest. The king broke God’s order.
And God responded with severity. Samuel, as God’s spokesman, terminated Saul’s tenure as king in compliance to God’s directive (1 Samuel 13:5-14).
And Samuel said to Saul, “You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.” (1 Samuel 13:13-14)
Notice in the above verses that God has sought for Himself a man after His own heart. Saul was chosen by God according to the type of king the people wanted. Saul was a nice person. He was outwardly qualified. But he did not concern himself with God. Saul was a king after the people’s heart.
Eventually, David became king as God’s own choice. He wasn’t impressive outwardly. The people around David wouldn’t have chosen him to be king. But, inwardly, in his secret life, away from the public’s view, David was a man after God’s own heart.
Then he said, “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the LORD your God.” (1 Samuel 15:30)
Loving God is to put God first. Saul put himself first as he was more concern about how others look at him than how God feel about the matter.
Loving God is to give ourselves to God, so that God is exalted in our lives.
The devil, Lucifer, exalted himself so much so that he wanted to draw worship to himself. He was the worship leader in heaven, who was anointed for the purpose of drawing worship to God. We read that God threw him out (Ezekiel 28:1-19; Luke 10:17-20).
THE FATHER LOVE OF GOD
God is God. He changes not (Malachi 3:6). If He changes, then He is not God. Everything and everyone will have to match up to Him. All will be compared to Him. We all change because we are not unlimited, we are not infinite.
Even though our Father God is in heaven, He can be close to us. The Holy Spirit is called `the Spirit of your Father’ (Mathew 10:20). The Holy Spirit can manifest our heavenly Father to us in a very intimate way.
Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:5)
The Father’s love fills us. Let’s surrender our heart, our soul, our mind and our strength to His love. The Father’s love satisfies us more than this world can.