"We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places"(Eph. 6:12). "But the evil spirit answered them, 'Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?'" (Acts 19:15). Would you like to be known in hell? I would. And I will tell you why. It would mean that I am a threat to the satanic world. I would love to be a threat to the satanic world.
What is the possibility that you could be a Pharisee? What are the signs—or warning signals? I list 10 below, though there are many more. But these are a good start. Chances are You are a Pharisee if°You love to point the finger. The devil is a master at this; that's why he is called "the accuser" (Rev. 12:10, ESV). You must choose whether you want to play the devil and point the finger, or be Jesus, who lets us save face. Jesus actually gives us a selfish motivation for not pointing the finger. "Do not judge, and you will not be judged" (Luke 6:37, NIV). You are good at sending people on a guilt trip. The Pharisees tried to do a "Gotcha!" again and again because of the fact that Jesus performed miracles on the Sabbath and allowed other things to be done on the Sabbath that seemed to go against the Law. For example, when His disciples were hungry on the Sabbath and plucked heads of grain and began to eat, the Pharisees seized the moment to condemn both Jesus and His disciples.
Do you know what it is like to be unvindicated? This means that your reputation is under a cloud. You would love to have your name cleared, to have both your friends and your enemies see you as having been falsely accused or misunderstood. This was the position in which the Israelites found themselves after they crossed the Jordan on dry land. So God ordered Joshua to circumcise all the men who had been born since they left Egypt 40 years before (Josh. 5:5). It was a sign of the covenant, going back to Abraham (Gen. 17:9-11). Circumcision showed that they were unashamedly the people of God. When the circumcising was finished, the Lord told Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you" (Josh. 5:9b, ESV). The word "reproach" means "shame." It means to bear a stigma; to be discredited, dishonored or disgraced. It refers to the way you are perceived or how you think you are perceived. It is embarrassing because it punctures your pride.
I never will forget a story I heard years ago. A young prodigy—a pianist—gave his first concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London. His reputation preceded him; the concert was sold out on the day tickets were first available. His brilliance at the piano exceeded all expectancy. When he finished his last piece, the audience went wild. They stood to their feet spontaneously and shouted and cheered. The young pianist bowed quickly and hurried off stage. But the audience was begging for him to come back. The stage manager whispered to him, "Go quickly—they are yelling for you."
Does God always answer our prayers? Jesus said, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks, it will be opened"(Matt. 7:7-8).He even promised,"If you ask anything in My name, I will do it" (John 14:14).Jesus also gave a parable that had as its purpose that we should keep on praying and never give up (Luke 18:1-8). The reason we should keep praying and never give up is because God doesn't always answer our prayers immediately. What is more, we get to know God and His ways by spending more time with Him.
What is integrity? Integrity is the willingness to get to the bottom of the truth no matter where it leads or what it takes to get them. The pursuit of integrity is about the quest for truth. Or facts. It is only truth that sets one freedom that demonstrates the true presence of the Holy Spirit (2 Cor. 3:17). The question is, do we really want the truth? How far are we willing to go to get to the truth? One thing that should surely bring about acute honesty is the consciousness that we are in God's presence. The appeal to the presence of God is like swearing an oath. If you swear an oath, you had better be sure you have authority to do so. The prophet Samuel invoked the presence of God in the declaration of his integrity.
Did you know there is a much deeper level of worship than what we can do? Admittedly, in response to the Holy Spirit our actions of praying, praising, listening, loving and obeying are part of worship. And there is nothing wrong with that. But there is a much deeper level of worship, one in which we are unable to express ourselves verbally or non-verbally—where we are utterly passive. The highest and most intensive worship takes place when we can do nothing but be amazed, when we are rendered helpless and speechless with wonder and gratitude, when we just sit back and watch God work. This is what Isaiah is talking about when he says, "For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel: 'In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength'" (Isaiah 30:15).
What is "Holy Spirit religion?" How would an authentic anointing be recognized? How would we know that the Dove and not the pigeon has come down on the preacher? It is not always so clear — at least at first. What then would true religion look like? How would one recognize pigeon religion versus Dove religion? Here are the six cardinal issues for which we must be prepared to go to the stake:
Follow Up
