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a result, we fail to be fully equipped and anointed for the end-time battle. Satan loves to have it so. He is the instigator of
pride because it will keep us barren of true power and lacking
in blessings. Every believer needs to dip in the river Jordan,
like Naaman, for the cleansing of our leprous pride. Jordan is
symbolic of death to the self life. Remember, pride almost
cost Naaman his miracle.
(excerpt taken
from "A Step Into Deliverance")
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The
Two Voices of Self |
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Today,
we must be careful of two evil foes of the believer: the
self-righteous self and the unrighteous self. The self-righteous
self boasts on it's laurels: fasting, praying, scripture quoting,
religious achievements, soul winning. We become vainly puffed up
that somehow these things make us secure and special in God. We
thank God that we are not like others. It's our righteousness.
This is the nature of a Pharisee, for the truth of the matter is
that nothing we do gives us divine approval. It is all about what
He has done, and our righteousness is from Him because of Him.
The unrighteous self borders on false humility. It spews out its
weaknesses, failures, and confusions, and proclaims perpetual
unworthiness. This too, is a pathetic show of the flesh. Note that
in both cases, whether self-righteous or unrighteous, the emphasis
is on self. Self is the last frontier to be crucified with Christ.
Self must go to the cross, lest it proclaim itself king. Upon no
other ground will you recognize the voice of self than in the
crucible of suffering. Suffering will tell who we really are.
Listen to Job as self cried out in the intensity of heat: |
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hath stripped me of my glory, and taken the crown from my
head. He hath destroyed me on every side, and I am gone;
and mine hope hath he removed like a tree... Have pity
upon me, have pity upon me, O ye my friends; for the hand
of God hath touched me. (19:9-10;21) |
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The
book of Job raises the age old question of, "why do the
righteous suffer?" Though God gives us no definite answer to
this question, it is clear that through divine providence God
extracts the highest form of glory to His name. If our self nature
is delivered to a deeper death, if our vision of the Holy One is
clearer, if we are elevated into a higher realm in both the
spiritual and natural, if we are enlarged, then our suffering
becomes worth the weight of glory. Whatever our trial, God is dealing
with the self life which is rooted in pride. As Adam fell from innocence
into self-conscious bondage through sin, we may all be delivered
to a God consciousness through the power of the cross. |
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