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Christ The Power Of God

I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (2 Corinthians 11:3)

Deception is not something out there that is put upon us willy-nilly, or in spite of ourselves. All deception has its own ground in man. What is that ground? It is the fact that man is now a psychical being. Now if you can get to the bottom of that, if you can apprehend that, you will understand the whole thing. The ground of all this is in thefact that man is a psychical being, and when Satan interferedwith man at the beginning and man consented along the line of hisown soul-life, Satan made man suitable to his own government. Itwas not that he came and set himself up as man ruler andsubjected man by sheer force to his own government. How did he doit? By breaking into that realm in man being where man waslinked with God, and that was in the realm of man spirit.e that is joined to the Lord is one spirit,and manwas in fellowship and communion with God by means of his spirit,not his soul, not his body. These two were under the governmentof his spirit. The enemy, the Deceiver came to man soul,and instead of man reacting by his spirit-fellowship with, andknowledge of, God, he dropped down on to his soul, came out ofhis spirit and reacted in his soul.

What is soul? It is reason, emotion, feeling, desire, and then, of course, choice, or will. And the enemy reasoned through the desires and captured the will by deception. You see what happened when man violated the very organ of his union with God, his spirit.... So the enemy governs man, and the whole of therace now through the nature of the soul-life. What is the basisof deception? It is just that! How do you get a counterfeit HolyGhost operating? By reason of your psychical nature. You canbecome mediumistic in your very psychical nature and open all theavenues of your being to supernatural guidance and come under thepower, the sway, dominion, of deceiving spirits operating in amultitude of ways. You can so suspend your soul and come into astate of utter passivity that you are open to everything to playupon you. You can have your quiet hour in your soul, which is themost perilous hour of your life. That happens by suspending allspiritual activity and becoming utterly passive and opening yourpsychical being, which is a most dangerous thing. God never asks you to become spiritually passive. Waiting upon God is not being spiritually passive. God wants us active in spirit even when waiting on Him in silence.

The path of the just is like the shining sun, that shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.

Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. § Let us know, let us pursue the knowledge of the Lord.

Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father. § We all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. § When that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. § For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. § Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Prov. 4:18;  Phil. 3:12;  Hos. 6:3;  Matt. 13:43;  2 Cor. 3:18;  1 Cor. 13:10;  1 Cor. 13:12;  1 John 3:2,3

Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. § “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.” § “What do you want Me to do for you?” They said to Him, “Lord, that our eyes may be opened.” So Jesus had compassion and touched their eyes. And immediately their eyes received sight, and they followed Him.

If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! § I will put My Spirit within you … Thus says the Lord God: “I will also let the house of Israel inquire of Me to do this.”

This is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.

Rom. 10:13;  John 6:37;  Luke 23:42,43;  Matt. 20:32;  Matt. 20:33;  Matt. 20:34;  Luke 11:13;  Ezek. 36:27,37;  1 John 5:14,15

Prayer Preparation

He shall be a vessel unto honor, sanctified, and fit for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work" (2 Tim. 2:21).

"Prepared unto every good work" - especially prayer.

"It does not follow that because a thing is the will of God, He will necessarily lead you to pray for it. He may have other burdens for you. We must get our prayers from God, and pray to know His will. God was dealing with Hudson Taylor for fifteen years before He laid upon him the burden of definite prayer for the foundation of the China Inland Mission (now the Overseas Missionary Fellowship).

"Our Father is not in a hurry. He cannot do things with us until we are trained and ready for them. We may be certain He has further service, further burdens of faith and prayer to give us when we are ready for them." -J.O.F.

"In the true prayer of faith' the intercessor must spend time with the Father to appropriate the promises of His Word, and must permit himself to be taught by the Holy Spirit, whether the promises can be applied to this particular case. He remains in the presence of God, till He, by His Spirit, awakens the faith that in this particular matter the prayer has been heard." -A.M.

"In praying there are two alternatives set before us. The one, prayer as a means by which we get from heaven what we need. The other, prayer as infinite grace of God, lifting us up into His fellowship and love, and then when He has thus brought us to Himself, bestowing upon us the blessing we need. In the former case, the gifts that I can receive through prayer are the chief things. In the latter, God and His love, and fellowship with Him, and the surrender of the suppliant to His glory and His will is the supreme objective." -A.M.

"Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving" (Col. 4:2).

Pray Without Ceasing - Study in Prayer (13)

Behold The Lamb of God