Part 6 - Wise as Serpents and Harmless as Doves

“There are three kinds of people:
those who have sought God and found him,
and these are reasonable and happy;
those who seek God and have not yet found him,
and these are reasonable and unhappy;
and those who neither seek God nor find him,
and these are unreasonable and unhappy.”
Blaise Pascal

Wise as Serpents and Harmless as Doves – Part 6

“Behold, I am sending you out like sheep in the midst of wolves;
be wary and wise as serpents,
and be innocent
(harmless, guileless, and without falsity) as doves.”
Matthew 10:16 Amplified bible

The Mouths of Wolves:

Both wolves and snakes can inflict serious damage with their teeth.
David often reflected on the painful encounters

he had with the biting words of his persecutors.

“Be merciful and gracious to me, O God,
be merciful and gracious to me,
for my soul takes refuge
and finds shelter and confidence in You;
yes, in the shadow of Your wings will I take refuge
and be confident until calamities
and destructive storms are passed.
My life is among lions;
I must lie among those who are aflame—
the sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongues sharp swords.”
Psalm 57:1,4 Amplified Bible

David experienced the pain of sharp words

not only with strangers,

but also with those who were very close to him.

“I behaved as if grieving for my friend or my brother;
I bowed down in sorrow, as one who bewails his mother.
But in my stumbling and limping
they rejoiced and gathered together [against me];
the smiters (slanderers and revilers) gathered against me, and I knew them not;
they ceased not to slander and revile me.
Like profane mockers at feasts
[making sport for the price of a cake]
they gnashed at me with their teeth.”
Psalm35:14-16 Amplified Bible

We are to be ready to respond like Jesus did,

with words of wisdom for every situation in which we are verbally attacked.

“The mind of the wise instructs his mouth,
and adds learning and persuasiveness to his lips.”
Proverbs 16:23 Amplified Bible

We should anticipate the questions of “wolves”

or “wolves disguised in sheep’s clothing.”

We are as likely to be challenged from within the body as from without;

most especially when we embrace moves of God

that are a little (or a lot) “outside the box.”

In recent weeks I have been following the outpouring of the Spirit

in Lakeland, Florida (Spring-Summer 2008).

There is no doubt that God is moving –

there have been a continuous stream of confirmed miracles

related to this revival… salvations, deliverances,

and miracles of healing and even twelve verified accounts (at last count)

of the raising of the dead!

The move of God has even gotten the attention of the national press and T.V.

Services have been streamed world-wide over God T.V. and the internet.
Yet, it hasn’t been the press or T.V. anchors who have raised the voice of doubt,

or the cry of skepticism – it’s the church,

“men of God” who have openly criticized these outpourings of the Spirit

as “emotionalism,” and “not of God.”

They have pointed to Todd Bentley and proclaimed his a phony,

because he doesn’t fit their profile of one who can be used of God.

‘After all’, they surmise, ‘the man has been in prison,

he is covered in tattoos (which are forbidden in Leviticus),

and he actually has body piercings!’

This kind of criticism is nothing new in the kingdom.

When John the Baptist showed up on the scene,

to announce the coming of Christ’s kingdom,

and to identify the Lamb of God Himself,

the religious rulers of the time mocked him –

‘after all look at how he dresses, and his breath stinks from eating locusts!’

‘He doesn’t adhere to our view, or bow down to our presuppositions

of what a leader in the synagogue should look like, or how he should behave!’

‘He doesn’t fit the mould, so out he goes with the bathwater!’

At every occasion they sought how they might kill this

“out-of-the-box” unorthodox “religious fanatic!”

Just recently a pastor from the Lakeland area,

decided to go and see for himself what “all the commotion was about.”

He entered the service with a heart of pure skepticism,

himself not believing that miracles were for today.

To make matters worse, when he arrived

he had forgotten his pastoral identification,

so they would not allow him early entry and to be seated in a place of honor.

He was extremely upset by this,

because they refused to take his word that he was a pastor.

He had to enter when the doors were opened with all the masses!

As it turned out he wound up well in the rear of the arena

by the time the worship started.

The music and worship team was also not to his liking –

it was way out of his “box.”
During the worship service he noticed a blind man standing near him.

He had been lead into the arena by family, and he carried a white cane.

When he looked into the man’s eyes he saw that they were totally white.

There was absolutely no color, no pupils, this man was totally blind from birth.

Cynically, this pastor thought:

“Well, if this is real, let’s see this man healed!”

Within moments of his thought he heard the man cry out – “My eyes, my eyes!”

The pastor was close by so he looked over and witnessed the hand of the Lord,

as He formed an iris in each white eye, and then black pupils appeared…

within seconds the man was jumping up and down and screaming…

"I can see!... I can see!”

The pastor was not only amazed at having witnessed such a miracle,

but he was instantly convicted of all the years of doubt

that had filled his heart, and all his teachings from his own pulpit

that denied modern day miracles.

He received his own miracle in that instant… a miracle of belief!

This man was healed during the worship,

no one had prayed for him (not that night anyway),

God just showed up in His grace and mercy and made two blind men see…

one physically and one spiritually!

O.K., O.K., I know… I’m on a rabbit trail… (but a good one, don’t you think?)

End Rabbit Trail

The Scriptures tell us that we should always be ready to respond…
“But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy
[and acknowledge Him] as Lord.
Always be ready to give a logical defense
to anyone who asks you to account for the hope
that is in you,
but do it courteously and respectfully.
1 Peter 3:15 Amplified Bible

Following His direction to be wise as serpents,

Jesus gave further instruction on what to anticipate from our oppressors.
“Be on guard against men
[whose way or nature is to act in opposition to God];
for they will deliver you up to councils
and flog you in their synagogues,
And you will be brought before governors and kings
for My sake, as a witness to bear testimony before them
and to the Gentiles (the nations).”
Matthew 10:17-18 Amplified Bible

In such situations the Lord made it clear

that we will not have to plan how to respond,

because

“when they deliver you up,

do not be anxious about how or what you are to speak;

for what you are to say will be given you in that very hour and moment,

for it is not you who are speaking,

but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.”

To be continued…

Performance is the way of religion…
remember, it is Love that conquers all fear, never performance…
intimacy with God, is the pathway to courage, fulfillment and destiny..

30 - 6/7

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