Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Satan has a counterfeit for every
genuine spiritual activity. Those who promote a religion
which appeals to the flesh of men generally deal in these counterfeits. Where this fool's gold appears
in all of its glory is where the emissaries of darkness will
be found peddling their wares to those who seek a religion
which panders to their free will, design, and tradition. These
purveyors of error generally appear in many ways to be genuine.
Yet the fact that they glory in something other than Jesus
Christ and Him crucified, rejoicing in and promoting signs and wonders,
while busily gathering a following, shows them to be those whom the
Apostle Paul describes as false apostles, deceitful workers,
transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no
marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of
light. When Paul said, But God forbid
that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world,
he is not simply expressing his own personal preference, but
is defining the very nature of gospel truth and the preaching
of it. When the Spirit of God is present,
he will always glorify Christ and not himself. When the eyes
of men are turned away from the centrality of the work of Christ
in redemption, then they have departed from the gospel and
fallen into vain jangling and the indulgence of the religiosity
of the flesh. This is why the Apostle Paul
said, For I determine not to know anything among you, save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. One of the most prolific parlor
tricks of these angels of light is that of staging a theatrical
and emotional display in which they showcase their talent to
slay men in the spirit, as they would have us believe. We find
no scriptural example of anything remotely like the performances
of these charlatans and religious hucksters. There are indeed genuine
cases in the scriptures where men were slain by the spirit.
but it is never associated with the theatrics of men. In fact,
there was no one even present most of the time, other than
the Lord and the person slain. Daniel said, Therefore I was
left alone, and when I heard the voice of his words, then
I was in a deep sleep on my face and my face toward the ground.
John tells of a similar experience in the book of the Revelation,
as he saw the glory of the ascended Christ. And when I saw him, I
fell at his feet as dead. We also read of the experiences
of Manoah, Ezekiel, Joshua, the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration,
and of course the Apostle Paul. It is interesting that the direction
of the fall of those who were slain in the Spirit in the Scriptures
is face down. Yet the babbling slayer's victims
always fall backwards for more theatrical effect. Over and over
again we read of the true worshippers of God falling upon their faces
in obedience to the Lord of Lords and King of Kings. The only record
in the scriptures that we have of those who fell backwards at
the manifestation of His glory is those who came to arrest Him
in the garden along with Judas, His betrayer. Jesus saith unto
them, I am He. and they went backward and fell
to the ground. When a man is truly slain in
the Spirit, he will fall upon his face and worship at the overwhelming
glory of the true and living God. Christ alone will be the
object of his desire and praise, and he will be brought to a place
of self-loathing and repentance, even as Job expressed, I have
heard of thee by the hearing of the ear. But now mine eye
seeth thee, wherefore I abhor myself and repent in dust and
ashes. True repentance always acknowledges
the holiness of God, the justice of God, and one's own abject
wickedness and unworthiness to stand in his presence. How dreadful
now my guilt appears! If you'd like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream dot
net. That's forthepoor at w-i-n-d-s-t-r-e-a-n
dot net.