Message 17 - By
Leroy Surface
Faith,
Trust, and
Core Values
Beloved, think it not strange
concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing
happened unto you: But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s
sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with
exceeding joy. If ye be reproached for the name of Christ, happy are ye; for
the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you: on their part he is evil
spoken of, but on your part he is glorified. But let none of you suffer as a
murderer, or as a thief, or as an evildoer, or as a busybody in other men’s
matters. Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let
him glorify God on this behalf.
I Peter 4:12-16
…think it
not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you… God has never
promised that His people would be blessed by this present world. In fact, Jesus
made it clear that the world would hate the children of God. “If the world hate you, ye know that it
hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his
own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the
world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18-19). In II Timothy 3:12, Paul establishes an
immutable fact with Timothy; “All that
will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” He referred to
the persecutions and afflictions he had suffered, and concluded, “but out of them all the Lord delivered me”
(II Timothy 3:11). I remember the words David wrote a
thousand years before Christ, saying, “Many
are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all” (Psalms 34:19). There has
never been a generation since they nailed the Son of God to the cross that has
not persecuted those who “live
godly in Christ Jesus.” Our message is not a promise that we will never be “tried in the fire.” Instead, I
will speak of the wonderful faithfulness of our Lord to those who trust Him in
such a time.
Peter told those who “suffer
as a Christian,” to “rejoice,
inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings.” He continued, “Happy are ye; for the spirit of glory and
of God resteth upon you.” He concluded, “If
any man suffer as a Christian, let him
not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf.” Peter was not telling them something he knew
nothing about. Years before, in the very early days of their ministry, Peter
and John had been brought before the Sanhedrin court for preaching Jesus in the
streets of Jerusalem. They were condemned, beaten with whips, threatened, and
released. Acts 5:40-41 records it
this way: “And when they had called the
apostles, and beaten them, they commanded that they should not speak in the
name of Jesus, and let them go. And they departed from the presence of the
council, rejoicing that they were
counted worthy to suffer shame for his name.” Can you imagine?
They had been beaten with whips, but they left the place rejoicing, because
they had been “counted worthy to suffer
shame for His name.”
Blessed are ye, when men shall hate you, and when they shall
separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name
as evil, for the Son of man’s sake. Rejoice
ye in that day, and leap for joy: for, behold, your reward is great in
heaven: for in the like manner did their fathers unto the prophets.
Luke 6:22-23
Rejoice ye in that day, and leap
for joy: … Can anyone obey this command of Jesus in
the day they are hated, separated, reproached, and cast out as evil? The
answer is “Yes,” if it is for
Christ’s sake that they suffer. There is special grace given to those who
are willing to suffer for righteousness sake. Peter made it clear in our text
that there is neither glory nor grace to those who suffer as a sinner or as a “busybody in other men’s matters,” but
for those who are “reproached for the
name of Christ… the spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you.” In our
message this month, we will examine some men of God in the Old Testament, and
the fiery trial they faced. In their experience there is a pattern for all who
will trust God in the midst of the fiery trial.
Three Hebrew Children
Nebuchadnezzar was the great king of Babylon. Even though he was a
worshiper of heathen gods, God had used Nebuchadnezzar to punish the nations
for their sin. He had even sent him against the Jews in Judea and Jerusalem
because of their backsliding. Before Jerusalem was destroyed, God had
Nebuchadnezzar bring the righteous Jews captive into Babylon for their own good
and preservation (read the vision of the figs in the 24th chapter of Jeremiah). Out of those righteous people, several
were elevated to positions of honor and authority in the kingdom of Babylon,
people such as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, Mordecai, and Esther.
Nebuchadnezzar, though not a godly king, was a good king. He had one great
fault, which was his pride and huge ego. He had no comprehension that God had
raised him up to punish the wicked in that day. He thought his successes
were due to his own greatness. The scripture says he built a gigantic image of
gold and commanded the people to bow before it. Probably, the image represented
the king himself. His image stood about ninety feet tall and about fifteen feet
wide. The very magnitude and splendor of it made it one of the great
wonders of the kingdom. It was at the dedication of the image that
Nebuchadnezzar gave the following decree to all the captive residents of
Babylon:
…at what time ye hear the sound of the
cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye
fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set
up: And whoso falleth not down and worshippeth shall the same hour be cast into
the midst of a burning fiery furnace.
Daniel 3:4-6
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were among those called to the
dedication of Nebuchadnezzar’s image. It is probable that they did not attend
the dedication, because Daniel 3:7
says, “When all the people heard the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut,
psaltery, and all kinds of musick, all
the people, the nations, and the languages, fell down and worshipped the golden
image that Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up.” Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego simply disregarded the king’s commandment, and may not have been
discovered except for a few citizens of Babylon who sought occasion against
them, and brought charges against them to the king.
Then Nebuchadnezzar in his rage and
fury commanded to bring Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Then they brought
these men before the king. Nebuchadnezzar spake and said unto them, Is it
true, O Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, do not ye serve my gods, nor worship
the golden image which I have set up? Now if ye be ready that at what
time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, and
dulcimer, and all kinds of musick, ye fall down and worship the image which I
have made; well: but if ye worship not,
ye shall be cast the same hour into the midst of a burning fiery furnace; and
who is that God that shall deliver you out of my hands? Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are
not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace,
and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the
golden image which thou hast set up. Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury,
and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego:
therefore he spake, and commanded that they should heat the furnace one seven
times more than it was wont to be heated. And he commanded the most mighty
men that were in his army to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, and to cast
them into the burning fiery furnace. Then
these men were bound in their coats, their hosen, and their hats, and their
other garments, and were cast into the
midst of the burning fiery furnace.
Daniel 3:13-21
Is this a fiery trial?; Is this for righteousness
sake?; or, is this for Christ’s sake? Yes is the answer to all
three. Though Christ had not yet come in the flesh, these men were suffering
for Christ’s sake. They were actually cast into the fire because of their
faithfulness to the true God of Israel. God did not save them “from the fire,” but kept them “through the fire.” It is not my purpose
to simply tell the wonderful story of their deliverance again, but to examine
three things that brought these young men to and through this fiery trial. They
are “faith,” “trust,” and “core values.”
Faith
Faith is simply “believing
God.” It is a “belief” that must
be accompanied by action; therefore, faith is an “action word.” I remember that James said, “Faith without works is dead.” Faith is a proper response to what
God has said. It is the hand that reaches out to lay hold of the promises of
God. Faith is never passive. I can’t just sit and do nothing, and have faith.
Faith must be based upon what God has said. If God has never spoken, it is
impossible to have faith, because faith is simply “believing God.” If you read in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews
about those mighty men and women of faith, you will notice that every one of
them had heard from God. Every testimony began with the words “By faith…” Every one of them had heard
from God. They knew what to do, because God had spoken to them. God told Noah
to build an ark. Noah did not say to himself one day, “It looks like rain. I think I will build an ark…” No!
God told him to build an ark. He told him to build it four hundred and fifty
feet long, seventy-five feet wide, and forty-five feet high. “Build it with gopher wood, and daub it with
pitch. It will take you most of a hundred and twenty years to build it, but you
must build an ark to save your household.” Noah could have reasoned, “It sounds like a lot of work to build an ark; I will build a raft
instead, and I’ll have faith that God is able to keep me on my raft.” If
Noah had taken that course, both he and his house would have perished with the
wicked. His faith would have been in vain.
Personal Testimony
When God has spoken, faith is to believe and to act upon what God
has said. God speaks to us by His word in the scriptures, and He also speaks
to us by His Spirit. I have told of the time God spoke to me in a vision of the
night to take my wife and children with me on a Saturday morning and head
towards Corpus Christi. He showed me a church building in the vision that I was
to preach in on Sunday. He didn’t tell me what city it was in, or the name of
the church, He only said to go towards Corpus Christi. He didn’t tell me how to
find the church; He didn’t tell me the pastor’s name, or what kind of church it
was; I just saw a church in the vision and knew I would recognize it if I saw
it again. The church I saw in the vision reminded me of an old western store
building with the large false front on it. That next Saturday morning I took my
family and did exactly what God told me to do. All I knew to do was to take my
wife and children and head towards Corpus Christi. As I obeyed what God
said, everything began to fall in place. I turned the radio on to a gospel
station and heard a young preacher I had never heard of telling about his parents
who lived in Portland Texas. The Spirit of God spoke to me and said, “That is where you are going.” At the time I had never heard of Portland
Texas, so I got a Texas map and found that Portland was a suburb of Corpus
Christi. When I arrived in Portland, I stopped at a phone booth and looked up
the last name of the preacher I had heard on the radio. There were fourteen
families in the book by that name. I asked God to guide me, and put my finger
on one of the names. I called the number and asked the lady who answered if she
knew a preacher by that name. She answered, “I guess I should, he is my son.” I introduced myself as a minister
from Houston who was led by God to come to Portland. She asked me where I
would preach, and I told her I didn’t know, but I would know the place when I
saw it. She said, “Oh, come to our
church. We’ve been praying for God to send someone to our church.” I asked
her for the address, and she gave me the address of the First Assembly of God
church where, at that time (1965), a Brother Nutt was the pastor. I drove by
the church and was amazed to see the large false front on the building. I knew
that God had led me to the place He wanted me to preach. We went to that church
the next morning and sat on the back pew just as any visitor might, knowing
that if God had really sent me, He would give me the pulpit. It took several
steps, each one by invitation, before I was asked to preach that day. First the
Sunday school superintendent asked me to introduce myself, so I stood and gave
our names, and that we were visiting from Houston. Several minutes later the
song leader asked me if we could sing a special, which we did and sat back
down. I saw the pastor searching nervously through his Bible as though he was
looking for some scripture at the last minute. When the service was given to
the pastor, he asked me if I was a preacher, and did I have a message for his
church. It was God that sent me, and it was God that put me in the pulpit to
preach. That morning and again that night I saw one of the greatest
manifestations of wonderful healings, and visible miracles and gift
manifestations of our ministry. The pastor told me after the night service that
they had been praying for several months for God to send a man of God to them
to confirm that gifts of healings and miracles were real, and for us
today. That’s why God spoke to a twenty five year old preacher to simply
head toward Corpus Christi on a Saturday morning. That was faith, to
believe what God said, and do it. God did all the rest.
That testimony
was the first one of many miraculous things I saw God do when He sent me to
cities in many places with messages to deliver to pastors, to churches, and to
individuals in those early years of ministry. Invariably, the mission was
always confirmed by visible miracles. I must confess that as I grew older there
have been times I have had dreams and visions with similar instructions from
God, only to consider them and say, “I
wonder if that was God or not?” That certainly is not faith. Faith believes
God and obeys what He says. We will never know whether God has spoken or not if
we do not obey Him when He speaks. If it is decent, moral, honest, and clean,
then do it! If it’s contradictory to the nature of Christ, or to the
words of the scripture, then ignore it; it wasn’t of God. If God has spoken to
you in a dream, vision, or by His still small voice, obey Him, because you will
never know what God will do until you obey His voice when He speaks to you.
Core Values
It is easy to see the faith of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
when we see how they “trusted God.” The
“action” required by their faith was
manifest when they refused to worship Nebuchadnezzar’s image. Hebrews 11:24 says, “By faith Moses… refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter; choosing rather
to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin
for a season.” Perhaps this is the greatest faith of all, which is found
only in those who have Godly “core
values” they cannot compromise. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had
such “core values” they had received
from God from their youth. It was their core values that dictated the bounds of
their behavior even when they had not heard from God. In the day
that Nebuchadnezzar commanded them to bow before his image, they
did not have the option of praying to know what God would have them do. They
had spent a lifetime praying to God daily, but they had no need to pray about
this matter. They knew God, and they knew the will of God in this matter. Their
“core values” made it impossible to
bow to another God. That issue had been settled long before it came up. Of
course they would not bow. In fact, they “could
not” bow, because their core value was of God.
When the apostle Paul left Asia to go to Jerusalem for the last time,
he knew by the Holy Ghost that “bonds and
afflictions” were waiting for him. He said, “Behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the
things that shall befall me there: Save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every
city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course
with joy…” (Acts 20:22-24). When Martin Luther was called to
Rome to answer before the Pope for the gospel he preached, he went, knowing
that he could well be burned at the stake as a heretic. He told those who
pleaded with him not to go, “If the Pope
calls, Christ calls.” Martin clearly delivered his testimony of the gospel
before the Pope and Cardinals, and concluded with the now famous words, “Here I stand; I can do no other.” Neither Paul nor Martin had any
choice. They were prisoners, not of Rome, but of Christ.
Life is so
much simpler when we possess Godly core values. Someone told my son one day
that they had to decide whether to go to church that night. He told them he did
not have that decision to make, because it had been made many years before. He
spoke of the day he surrendered to the Lord, and God saved him. From that day
he knew he would be in the house of God as long as he lived on earth. That is a
simple “core value” which makes life
so much simpler. We don’t have to “wonder
what to do” in most issues if we possess Godly core values. Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego did not know whether they would be cast in the furnace or
not, but Nebuchadnezzar decreed they would be if they did not bow before his
image. They told the king, “Our God is
able to deliver us from the fiery furnace,” but they did not know if He
would. God had not spoken to them about the furnace. They had no guarantee they
would not be burned to ashes. These young men were facing a fiery trial, and
they did not know what the outcome would be. The course they took was not based
on faith, but upon their core values. Godly core values made it impossible
to bow to another god. Their course was to trust in God. It is a wonderful
thing when people can hear from God, and believe and obey him. It is more
wonderful to be able to trust God when you have not heard from Him. This is
what Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did; they trusted God!
Trust
Just as the foundation of faith is hearing the word of God, the
foundation of trust is to “know God.” Through
faith, we know what to do, because we have heard from God. It is when we have
not heard from God that we “trust.” While
faith is active, trust is passive. When the children of Israel were
trapped at the Red Sea with the armies of Pharaoh bearing down upon them,
Moses’ answer was “Stand still, and see
the salvation of the LORD” (Exodus
14:13). “Stand still” is
passive! Trust the LORD! Moses could give this answer before he
heard from God because he “knew God.” These
young men knew God! “They that do
know their God,” we read in the book of Daniel concerning this last day
just before the return of Jesus, “...shall
be strong, and do exploits.” It was the angel Gabriel that told Daniel
these things about the last days. He spoke of a time that the enemy would come
among God’s people with flatteries. He said many with understanding would
fall. Many would cleave with flatteries. Many terrible things would be
happening in that day, but right in the midst of that great trouble, we are
told, “They that do know their God shall
be strong and do exploits.” I tell you, it pays to “know” the Lord; to know His ways; and to know His voice when He
speaks. Seek the Lord; spend time in His presence until you know His voice, and
become sensitive to the Spirit of God. Obey his voice, see his wonderful works,
and you will come to “know his ways.” If
you know His ways, you know that you can trust Him. You will stand in the evil
day, even when it appears that you stand alone, for you are not alone. He will
keep you.
Situational Ethics
Whether or not Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego bowed to
Nebuchadnezzar’s image was not based upon whether or not God would deliver
them. God had been silent; they had not heard His voice concerning this fiery
trial. Their decision not to bow was not based on faith that they would not
burn in the flames. That would be a conditional response, and would not be
faith at all. They did not say, “We
refuse to bow because God will never let us be thrown in the furnace.” Their
basis of action was not a positive confession, or that they believed strong
enough that deliverance would come. They answered the king out of those core
values that were established in them while they were yet in the land of Israel.
They told the king, “we are not careful
to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able
to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of
thine hand, O king. But if not, be
it known unto thee, O king, that we will
not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.” Theirs
was an unconditional response. They knew their God, and they knew He was able
to deliver them, but if it meant that they would burn to ashes, they still
would not bow before Nebuchadnezzar’s image.
This matter of whether or not to bow before the image was not what
we call a "flash in the pan"
incident. They didn’t just decide that day not to bow. This matter had been
settled in their hearts before they left the land of Israel. Their "ethics" were not "situational.” They knew God, and
they knew His ways. God did not have to tell them whether or not to bow. They
knew there was absolutely no circumstance in which God would approve them to
bow before another god. They did not maneuver, and they did not manipulate.
There was no reason to play the music a second time; just heat the furnace,
because "We will not bow to your
god.” They had core values from God; convictions they could not compromise
even if it cost them their life.
We are in a political season right now, and I do not want to bring
politics into this message, but I note that the lack of “core values” seems to be order of the day for most politicians.
They will believe anything you want them to believe if it will bring enough
votes. A personal friend of president Clinton’s told me the president “hated” abortion, but it was necessary
for him to support it in order to be elected in 1992. The very nature of a
politician seems to change with the tides of public opinion. Those are
“situational ethics” and not “core values.” The reason the candidacy of Sarah
Palin is so attractive to many is not her political experience or whether she
has a detailed knowledge of foreign affairs. If those were her only
credentials, she would certainly be found lacking. It is the fact that she
seems to have really good “core values.” Having
been “saved” at an early age, and
raised in a full gospel church, she naturally adopted a “pro-life” position. Her “fiery
furnace” came when she was found to be pregnant with a “downs syndrome” child. Her doctors encouraged her to abort the
baby, explaining that it would be a “special
needs” child that would never be able to function normally in this world.
Sarah “refused to bow” to the secular
god of abortion, and gave birth to her child which she obviously loves and will
give a good life to. She was “proven”
in the fire, and came forth like gold, yet many also hate her because she
refused to bow. Many politicians, on the other hand, profess to believe
everything you believe, regardless of which side of the aisle you are on, while
they actually believe in nothing except political expediency.
Everyone loves the story of an underdog who wins in the end. The
account of David and the Giant is classic, and has inspired young men and women
for three millenniums. The young man that was left behind to tend the sheep
becomes the hero that saves the nation. Everyone likes to think of themselves
in those terms, that someday they will “stand
up” and receive the glory. Many movies have been made with the “underdog” theme; the ragtag sports team
that finally wins the trophy; the “ne’er
do well” who finally rises up to defeat the villain; or the coward who at
last musters the courage to face the bully, and wins the fight. These movie
plots never fail to touch the strings of the heart, but in reality such things
almost never happen. The young man David trusted God and killed the giant
because the boy David had already trusted God and killed both a lion and a bear
that came to devour his father’s sheep. David refused to bow to the giant because
he knew God and trusted Him. His core value required that he rather die in the
battle than to bow before the enemy.
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had those special “core values.” The king had said, “Either you bow, or you burn!” That’s
pretty plain. Nebuchadnezzar did not “beat
around the bush” in giving his decree. Any person of any nation, or of any
race that did not fall down and worship his image when the music began to play
would be cast into the fiery furnace. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did not
have to hear from God concerning this. They did not consider for even a second
what God’s will was in this matter. It never entered their mind that, “Maybe it’s God’s will that we bow, so we
can reach these people.” They would “become
all things to all people, that by every means they might win some.” After
all, the apostle Paul said the same thing. Paul said, “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some
(I Corinthians 9:22). He said, “unto the Jews I became as a Jew…to them that
are under the law, as under the law… to them that are without law, as without
law,” but, “not without law to God,
but under the law to Christ” (I
Corinthians 9:20-21). Paul never became a sinner to reach sinners. What he
did, however, was when he was with the Jews, he ate what they ate, but he never
believed what they believed. When he was with the gentiles, he ate what they
ate, but he never did what the unbelieving gentile did. He refused to offend
the Jew by eating pork, even though he knew that “every creature of God is good, and nothing to be refused, if it be
received with thanksgiving: For it is sanctified by the word of God and prayer”
(I Timothy 4:4-5). At the
same time, Paul held core beliefs and values that were unshakable and
unmovable, and could not be compromised. He told us, “Be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (I Corinthians 15:58). While Paul was “all things to all people,” he did not
compromise. He never compromised what he was or what he believed. He never
compromised the word of God, or the gospel of Christ. He was steadfast and
unmovable in those core beliefs and values. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, Paul knew the will of God because he “knew God.” In Paul’s case,
the will of God took him from Jerusalem to a Roman prison, where he wrote the
letters that gave to the entire world in every age, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
False Christs and False Prophets
Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or
there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets,
and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible,
they shall deceive the very elect. Behold, I have told you before.
Matthew 24:23-25
We are living in a time in which there have been several “revivals”
of signs and wonders that have reached multitudes worldwide. We are also living
in the time of which Jesus said, “There
shall arise false christs, and false prophets, shewing great signs and wonders,
insomuch as if possible they shall deceive the very elect.” I know there
are unclean spirits that will possess human bodies and show great signs and
wonders. God says “present your body a
living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
It is those bodies that are presented unholy and unacceptable to God that
unclean spirits seek out. Unclean spirits thrive in unholy bodies. It is there
that Satan can work his greatest deception and pretend to be God. We know, as
Peter told us, to “Humble yourselves
therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time”
(I Peter 5:6). We know that God requires His ministers to humble themselves
before Him. If God is to work through you, your body must be a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. Unholy won’t do, because it is
unacceptable to God. There is no way around that sacrifice if God is to work in
you, but, unclean spirits rejoice to dwell in unclean temples and work through
them in great power, signs and wonders.
We wonder sometimes about the great contradictions that are seen in
many powerful ministries of today. In recent years there was a “prophet” in America that was considered
by millions to be the “number one
prophet” in the world. This man could tell your life story like reading it
out of a book. There were no gimmicks connected with this man. He received
knowledge about the people even as they stood before him. Multitudes believed
he was a great prophet of God, but I was reminded of the young girl that Paul
cast a “spirit of divination” out of
in Acts 16:16-18. She could do
the same thing this man did, but it was by a demon spirit. Three years ago,
this man was forced to confess to homosexualism and alcoholism, and his
ministry was held out to shame. How can these things be? First, you must
know; and you can absolutely know, that the spirit that was working through him
was not the Holy Ghost.
Several years ago a woman called me on the phone. She said, “I’m demon possessed, and someone told me
you could help me.” I asked her how the demon manifested itself, and she
said, “When it comes upon me it curses
God and uses profanity against the Holy Ghost.” She continued, “It takes control of my body and twists me
into vulgar positions; it takes my hands and gives filthy hand signs against
the Holy Ghost, with horrible four letter words coming out of my mouth against
the Holy Ghost.” I asked her if she had ever been saved or filled with the
Spirit. She said, “I am saved and filled
with the Spirit.” I knew better! I didn’t have to know her, see
her, or watch her life to know she was not saved and filled with the Holy
Ghost, because I know God. She continued, “I
have a wonderful gift of prophecy.” She said, “The spirit is with me all the time. Prophetic words are continually
rolling over inside me. It doesn’t matter who I am around, even if it’s a
stranger, if I open my mouth and speak what is speaking inside me, I will be
prophesying to them.” She said, “It’s
the most wonderful gift of prophecy I have ever seen.” I told her, “I can help you!” She was excited to
hear that I could help her. I told her again, “I can help you, but you will have to believe what I am about to tell
you.” She answered, “What’s that?” I
said, “You’ve got to believe that the
spirit that is cursing God and using profanity against the Holy Ghost is the
same spirit that is prophesying through you. The Spirit of God is not in you,
but you have accepted a religious demon that is pretending to be the Holy
Ghost. It has established a ‘stronghold’ in you, and no one has been able to
cast it out because you believe it is from God.” I continued, “If you will believe what I tell you, that
it is an unclean, filthy religious demon that is prophesying through you, I
have the authority to cast it out.” That’s true! It was a “stronghold” because she believed it
came from God, but the awful thing she received which she thought was from God
was the same thing that was cursing God. I didn’t have to meet this woman, and
watch her life for several days to know that I had told her the truth, because
I know God, and I know the ways of God. I know that the Holy Ghost and a demon
do not share the same temple. “Know ye
not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost (I Corinthians 6:19)?” The
body of every person was created for the indwelling of God, but God is not in
every person. There are demon spirits that may dwell in the temple of God, but
the Holy Ghost is not there. I could rightly tell the worst sinner in
town, “Your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost,” but we would certainly know that the Holy Ghost was not in
that person. It would not mean that he was saved, nor anything else other than
the fact that he was abusing a body which God had made to dwell in and reveal
Himself through.
The lady wanted to prophesy to me over the phone so I could judge
if it was of God or not. I told her, “I
don’t need to hear you prophesy; I know it’s not of God.” At first I
thought she would accept what I told her, but when she began to consider all
the wonderful things she had prophesied, she decided that I was wrong. She told
me of numerous famous preachers she had counseled with, and they all agreed
that she had a wonderful gift of prophecy, but none of them could cast the
demon out. We must have talked for over an hour on the phone as I desperately
tried to reach her. Finally I was talking to her of the impossibility of
sweet water and bitter water coming out of the same fountain. James spoke
of those who “blessed God and cursed men”
(James 3:8-11), but in her case, her tongue was blessing men and cursing God. She
protested, “but it’s not me, it’s the
demon.” I said to her, “but it’s
coming out of your fountain.” It was at this point that the phone went
dead, and I suppose that she hung up. I never learned what became of her.
I knew the truth about this ladies problem, even though I had never
heard of her or met her in person. I was unshakable in my knowledge of her
problem, not because I knew her, but because I know God. Certainly not everyone
I have prayed for has been delivered, but in every case that a stronghold of
Satan has been discovered, and the one possessed has acknowledged the truth,
and called on Jesus for deliverance, the demons have come out either roaring or
crying (audibly), no… no… no! They could not stay, because their
stronghold had been discovered. If you know God, and if you know His ways,
there are those areas in which you will be unmovable. You know there will be no
exceptions. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego knew without exception that God
would never say, “I want you to bow to
Nebuchadnezzar’s image just for today. If you will bow today I will give
you a large crowd to preach to tomorrow.” That can happen, but it will not
be of God.
King Saul’s Experience
And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not
made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed thee king over
Israel? And the LORD sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly
destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be
consumed. Wherefore then didst thou not
obey the voice of the LORD?
I Samuel 15:17-19
King Saul of the Old Testament is a classic example of what has
happened to many. When God chose Saul to be king of Israel, he was “little” in his own sight even though he
was “head and shoulders” taller than
other men (I Samuel 9:2). Shortly
after Samuel anointed Saul to be king, the Spirit of God came upon Saul, and he
was “turned into another man” and “prophesied” among the prophets (I Samuel 10:6-10). The anointing to
prophesy was so powerful upon Saul that it became a “proverb” in Israel to say, “Is
Saul also among the prophets (I
Samuel 10:12)?” Only three chapters later, though it spans a
number of years, God rejected Saul as king of Israel because of his continued
disobedience. Saul had become “big”
in his own sight, and disregarded the word of the Lord in order to do things in
his own way. God said of Saul, “It
repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king: for he is turned back from
following me, and hath not performed my commandments” (I Samuel 15:11). In the
sixteenth chapter, God sent Samuel to anoint David to be king over Israel. It
would be years before David would actually take the throne, but from the day
Samuel anointed this teenaged shepherd boy, everything would change for Saul.
What follows in Saul’s experience is a most important key to understanding what
has happened to many in these last days before Jesus’ return.
Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and
anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel
rose up, and went to Ramah. But the Spirit
of the LORD departed from Saul, and an
evil spirit from the LORD troubled him. And Saul’s servants said unto him,
Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee.
I Samuel 16:13-15
There are three things to notice in this text. First, “The Spirit of the
LORD came upon David.” Second “The Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul,”
and third, “An evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.” The Spirit of God left
Saul and came upon David, but at the same time, an evil spirit came upon Saul.
In an amazing turn of events, it wasn’t long before David was exalted from
following the sheep to leading the armies of Israel as a national
hero. After the evil spirit came upon Saul, he heard of David’s beautiful
talent to play the harp, and sent for him to live in the palace and comfort the
king with his beautiful music. Whenever the evil spirit troubled Saul, David
would play his harp to soothe the king. Soon David became Saul’s armour bearer.
Later, when the men of war were called to battle, David returned home to keep
the sheep (I Samuel 17:15). It was
at this time that David visited the battlefront and killed Goliath with his
sling. No one in Israel knew it, but this young man David was the anointed
king of Israel all this time, even though another decade would pass before He
received his throne. After David killed the giant, the people of Israel turned
to him as their hero. As King Saul returned in victory over the Philistines, he
heard the women playing and singing, “Saul
has killed his thousands, and David his ten thousands.” From that day
Saul became jealous of young David (I
Samuel 18:6-9).
And it came to pass on the morrow,
that the evil spirit from God came upon
Saul, and he prophesied in the midst of the house: and David played with
his hand, as at other times: and there was a javelin in Saul’s hand. And
Saul cast the javelin; for he said, I
will smite David even to the wall with it. And David avoided out of his
presence twice. And Saul was afraid of David, because the LORD was with him,
and was departed from Saul.
I Samuel 18:10-12
When Samuel had anointed Saul to be king, the Spirit of God came
upon him, and he prophesied. In this text, it was when the evil spirit came
upon Saul that he prophesied. God was not with him; it was an evil spirit upon
him, and he could still prophesy. Jealousy, wrath, and even murder were in
his heart, but he could still prophesy. In fact, it was while he was
prophesying by the evil spirit that he tried two times to kill David. This
pattern has been repeated thousands of times, even in our generation. Men and
women that once knew God, walked humbly in His Spirit, obeyed His voice, and
were wonderfully anointed and used by God, became lifted up in their own sight,
ceased from following the Lord to walk in their own way, and never knew when
the Holy Ghost departed from them, or that an unclean spirit had filled them.
The fact that they could still preach; they could still reach crowds, they
could still prophesy, or do whatever it was the Holy Ghost once did through
them, has deceived them into thinking they still have the Holy
Spirit. They have received a strong delusion that God has sent to them (II Thessalonians 2:11) just as surely
as God sent an evil spirit to King Saul (I
Samuel 16:14, 18:10). By this we can understand why it seems that the most
corrupt among men may often seem to be the most powerfully anointed.
Lucifer’s Ambition
How art thou fallen from heaven, O
Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst
weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into
heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the
north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Isaiah 14:12-14
Lucifer never wanted to be a “devil;”
his ambition was to sit where God sits, in the place of God. I have italicized
in the text two phrases, the first of which indicates one detail of his plan to
take the place of God. “I will sit also
upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north.” Psalms 48:1-2 reveals that the “mount of the congregation, in the sides of
the north” is the location of Jerusalem and the Old Testament temple of
God. Isaiah recognized in his day that Lucifer (Satan) had successfully
established his throne in that temple. You can read the record of all the demon
gods that were worshiped in that temple in the twenty third chapter of II Kings and in the eighth chapter of Ezekiel. Lucifer’s ambition was realized in the
Old Testament temple of God. In the names of Baal, Moloch, Milcom, Ashtoreth,
Orion, and many other demon gods, Lucifer had succeeded in sitting, as God, in
the temple of God.
In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, a “New Creation” was born. There is now a
new covenant, a new man, and a New Jerusalem. In Galatians 4:21-31, Paul gave an “allegory”
in which he spoke of Abraham’s two sons, which were born of two women, one in
bondage, and the other free. These women, Hagar and Sarah, represented two
covenants, the Old and the New, which also represented two cities, “Jerusalem which now is,” and “Jerusalem which is above.” The two sons
of Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, represented the children of the two covenants,
those born after the flesh, and those who are born after the Spirit (born
again). Paul concludes his allegory with these words in Galatians 4:31, “So then,
brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.” We are
born from above. We are “new creations,” citizens of the New Jerusalem, and “members in particular” of Christ. We
are the church of Jesus Christ. We are the New Testament temple of the living
God. Satan’s ambition is not to build and inhabit another “temple of stone” in Old Jerusalem. Instead, he seeks to flatter
his way into the New Testament temple, and there pretend that he is God.
Antichrist in the Temple of
God
Let no man deceive you by any means:
for that day shall not come, except
there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of
perdition; Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or
that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing
himself that he is God.
II Thessalonians 2:3-4
“That day” speaks of the “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” and “our gathering together unto Him” (II Thessalonians 2:1). That is the day that
would not come unless there was a “falling
away first.” The Greek word is “apostasia,”
meaning “defection from truth,” or “apostasy.” It is here; the “apostasia” has arrived. The second
thing that must happen before the return of Christ is the revealing of the man
of sin, “so that he as God sitteth in the
temple of God, shewing himself that he is God.” Forget the manmade
scenarios of a temple being rebuilt in Jerusalem; animal sacrifices being
restored, and the antichrist reigning from that temple; and remember these
three declarations of the apostle Paul to the Corinthians:
Know ye not that ye are the temple of
God…
I Corinthians 3:16
What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the
Holy Ghost…
I Corinthians 6:19
…for ye are the temple of the living God…
I Corinthians 6:16
A building made by the hands of man is never referred to as the
temple of God on this side of Calvary. It is the bodies of His people that God
has chosen to dwell in. God spoke of this through Isaiah in his day. God had
rejected Solomon’s temple, and asked the question, “Where is the house that ye build unto me?” (Isaiah 66:1). In the next verse God gives the answer, “To this man will I look, even to him that
is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” It is not a
man to “build” a temple of stone that
God seeks; but a man that will “be”
His temple. It is a man that is “…poor,
and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” That man is the “new man… created in Christ Jesus” that God will dwell in. Our body is the
New Testament temple of God, and that is what Satan seeks to possess as his
own. When Paul said the man of sin would sit in the temple of God, as God,
showing himself that he is God, Paul knew that he was speaking about evil
spirits possessing the bodies of men and women, and dwelling in them as God, in
the temple of God. He calls these the “mystery
of iniquity,” and said it was already at work in his day. I Timothy 3:16 speaks of the “mystery of godliness,” and defines it
as “God… manifest in the flesh.” The
“mystery of iniquity” is “Satan manifest in the flesh.” The
physical body of man is the object. God made it for His temple, and Satan seeks
to possess it as God, pretending to be God.
Unclean Spirits in the Temple
Unclean spirits will possess unclean temples that God has
rejected. This is most prevalent in the arena of religion. This is where
unclean spirits seek to take the place of God in the ones they
possess. Before the unclean spirits will manifest themselves in great
signs and wonders, they require absolute obedience from the ones they possess
in order to bring them into complete subjection. We who are the redeemed by the
blood of Jesus obey God, but they obey an unclean spirit and think it is God.
They think that God is not serious about sin. They believe it doesn’t matter
what the body does, because they believe it is God that is in them. Every
unclean spirit will require a secret submission to an unclean act. It seems the
demon feeds on the filth. There are unclean spirits that have possessed the
bodies of disobedient ministers, and require of them certain immoral or
perverted acts before the spirit will work through them. Numerous “gifted” ministers have come straight
from the bed of immorality or perversion to the pulpit and shown great signs
and wonders before the people. Some are bound to drugs, some to
pornography, adultery, and some are simply bound to money. Their god is “mammon,” but they call it “prosperity.” In the case of the “prophet” I spoke of earlier, the spirit
that possessed him brought him to perversion and alcoholism. It was not
the Holy Ghost. He could be free if he would acknowledge the truth, but he
would lose the power the “demon spirit of
divination” gave to him. He is trapped in a stronghold of Satan. I spoke in
a past message about the “signs and
wonders preacher” that said he asked God, “Why aren’t you doing miracles in this service.” He said God told
him, “Because you haven’t kicked that
women in the face yet.” Another time he said God answered him, “Because you haven’t tackled that man
walking up the aisle yet.” He said he tackled the man and he hit the floor
so hard that he knocked some teeth out. Through numerous such testimonies
out of the preacher’s own mouth a “stronghold”
is discovered. The unclean spirit that worked through this man required acts of
violence from him. After he blatantly committed violence against certain people
in his congregation, the unclean spirit would begin to do miracles, signs and
lying wonders through him. This is not something I have invented, neither
is it something that is new. I have known of those “powerful” ministers for many years that were bound to certain acts
of uncleanness and perversion. Often the ministers did not want to do the
things they did, but once they yielded themselves to the filth, the most
powerful supernatural manifestations would be seen in their services.
If you know God, you know that regardless of what the preacher
says, God doesn’t want you to kick that woman in the face. If you know God, you
know He doesn’t want those acts of violence in His service. If you know
God, you know that His Holy Spirit is not living in or working through an
unclean vessel. I wrote a message in July that was published in the August
issue of “Behold the Lamb.” In it I wrote
these words concerning the “miracle
revival” that was drawing thousands of people in Florida: “This present ‘fad revival’ will also come
to an end, and it will be in shame.” Less than thirty days later that
particular “revival” ended in a
scandal involving adultery and alcoholism. It isn’t my purpose in this message
to deal with these shameful things in the churches, but there are some things
that must be said, even though they may be offensive to some people. It is as
the prophet Amos said in his day, “The
lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but
prophesy (Amos 3:8)?” The watchmen must lift up their
voices whenever the enemy comes into the camp.
Kept by Core Values
I’m still speaking about core values. If I can be made to believe
that these recent fad revivals are of God, then everything I have ever known
about God goes out the window. Everything I have ever believed about holiness;
everything Paul told us about presenting our bodies pure, clean, and holy to
God goes out the window. Everything! When that happens, the church fills
up with every manner of unclean spirit, bringing with them supernatural
manifestations that were of old found in heathen religions, demon worship and
witchcraft. Everything that appears to be supernatural becomes acceptable, and
nothing is sin. The demon gods of four thousand years ago rise again, and
the sinless Lamb of God suffered and died in vain. Thank God, Jesus died
to save us out of those things. Consider for a moment the fact that Jesus died
for all. Consider a “prostitute” that
comes to Jesus for forgiveness and salvation. His blood washes her as clean and
pure as new blown snow. Maybe she has sold her body to hundreds of men, but
spiritually she becomes a virgin. Surely we can understand that it is the
justifying power of the cross and the sanctifying power of the blood of Jesus,
along with the “quickening power” of
His resurrection that makes this beautiful new creation. She has been delivered
from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son (Colossians 1:12-14). She will never
again prostitute her body, and she will never be proud of the fact that she was
once a prostitute. The day will never come that she will boast of what she was
before she came to Jesus. If the subject of her past ever comes up, she will
rejoice, “but oh, He saved me. He
washed me and made me clean and free.” There is never a reason to ever
again speak of those things that were done in a life of sin. A person’s body
may be marked so many ways by a life of sin, but those marks of sin will never
be a thing of pride to a truly born again child of God. You may have pierced
your body and put a stud everywhere you could wear one, but when you come to
Jesus, “Take them out!” Receive
Jesus, and let those who were tattooed be as though they were not tattooed. Let
those who were pierced be as though they were not pierced, just as the
prostitute who has come to Jesus is as though she was never a
prostitute. This is where it is necessary for the child of God to have
core values that cannot be compromised. Tattoos and studs have come into the
churches because there are no core values in the leadership. There is nothing,
it seems, that cannot be compromised. Most would rather “bow” than “burn,” but
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego would rather “burn” than “bow.” Someone
said, “Preacher, what’s it going to hurt
if we receive these things?” I tell you, it’s going to cost you your soul
if you are one that “bows” whenever
the devil plays his music.
The person who knows God will have those core values that cannot be
compromised. They have no need to continually ask “Is this the will of God?” or, “Is
this sin?” They will know without asking because they know God and His
ways. Consider Daniel when he was cast into the lion’s den because he prayed to
the living God of Israel. A decree had been given that if anyone petitioned or
prayed to any god or man other than the king, they would be cast into the
lion’s den. When Daniel heard of the decree, he went to his house and opened
the windows and began to pray three times a day, just as he had in the past.
Daniel acted on a core value that could not be compromised, even if it cost him
his life. Daniel did not worry about what the king or anyone else would
think of him, he prayed to God, and God kept him through those dark hours he
spent in the lion’s den. The next morning Daniel shouted to the king from out
of the lion’s den, “My God hath sent His
angel and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as
before Him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, of king, have I
done no hurt.” The next verse says, “So
Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.”
Daniel trusted God. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego trusted
God. When the enemy rages, and you don’t know what the outcome will be, that is
the time to trust God. When you hear God speak and you act upon what He says,
that is faith. You can know that the outcome is going to be right because you
have heard from God. There is no such thing as “blind faith.” The person with faith sees clearer and further than
those who walk by sight. They have heard from God; they have seen the end
of the matter from the beginning, and they exhibit their faith by obeying God
unto that end. Faith never “invents”
something in the mind out of the desires of the heart. Faith never comes
to satisfy the lusts of the flesh. Many people use their own selfish desires as
a basis for faith. They say to themselves, “I
want this thing so much I’m just going to have faith for it. I confess
it! I see it! It is mine because I believe it is mine.” That is
not the way God works. If God has said, “I’ve
given you this thing,” then reach out and take it; but never try to invent
it in your mind. Faith is the hand that takes the promise of God. It never
says, “I will just wait and see if it is
so.” Faith acts upon what God has said, and receives what God has promised.
Trust differs from faith in that trust is passive. Because it is
passive, it requires greater grace than faith. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego
trusted God. If God had told them they would not be harmed in the fiery
furnace, they would have acted in faith. Instead, their testimony to
Nebuchadnezzar was, “Our God is able to
deliver us from the fiery furnace, but
if not, we will not bow to your image, nor worship your god.” They had
not heard from God. They hoped to be delivered “from” the fire, but it never entered their thinking that God would
keep them “through” the fire, yet
they trusted God. They knew of no guaranteed outcome when they refused to bow,
so they simply “trusted in God.”
Now unto him that is able to do
exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power
that worketh in us,
Ephesians 3:20
Oh what a testimony came out of the fiery furnace that day. God did
not deliver Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from the fiery furnace. Instead, He
did far more than they dared to ask; He kept them through it. They were bound
hand and foot, and cast into the furnace. The furnace was so hot that the
soldiers who cast them into it fell dead from the heat. Nebuchadnezzar stepped
over to see them as they burned to ashes, but what a surprise he received. “Did not we cast three men bound into the
midst of the fire,” he demanded? “True,
oh king!” his servants answered. “Lo,
I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt;
and the form of the fourth is like the son of God” (Daniel 3:25). Nebuchadnezzar
called to them, “Shadrach, Meshach, and
Abednego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth.” They came out of
the midst of the fire, and the scripture says the princes, governors, captains,
and the king’s counselors, “saw these
men, upon whose bodies the fire had no power…” Oh, it’s shouting time.
Those who would rather burn than bow did not burn. The fire had no power over
their bodies, “nor was an hair of their
head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire had passed
on them” (Daniel 3:27). It was the old Babylonian king
Nebuchadnezzar that started the praise service. “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who hath sent
His angel, and delivered His servants who trusted in Him…” (Daniel 3:28). Oh, do you see it. They “trusted
in Him;” it is no wonder the fourth man showed up. The king continued, “…and have changed the kings word…” Nebuchadnezzar’s
mind had been changed and he is about to give a new decree. He continues, “…and have yielded their bodies that they might not serve nor worship any god,
except their own God” (Daniel 3:28). Again, do you see it? They “yielded their bodies.” Now we
understand why the “fire had no power”
on their bodies which they had yielded to serve God, but never to
Nebuchadnezzar’s image. Consider again Romans
12:1, “…present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God.” Oh what a blessing it is for God to
have our bodies which He purchased with His own blood at Calvary. He will keep
us through the fire. He will keep us through the storm, if we will trust Him.
Nebuchadnezzar continued with his new decree: “Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language,
which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego,
shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can
deliver after this sort” (Daniel
3:29). We will end the message with these words. For those who will trust
the Lord, “there is no other God that
can deliver after this sort.”
Message 17 - By Leroy Surface - Faith, Trust, and Core
Values
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