King Of The Jews - Part 14The desire to "be like the most High", is the bait with which Satan lured Adam and Eve into sinning. If they would follow the serpent/Satan's invitation to eat the forbidden fruit, "...then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods...". Genesis 3:5. This same Satanic invitation is being offered through a variety of sources today. New Age, "name it and claim it", "think and be rich", T.M., and many other paths too numerous to count offer men and women the ability to "be as gods". Shirley McLaine gave New Ageism a quantum boost. She said she looked within herself and realized she "was God". What confuses me about everyone being "God" is why we wouldn't already know we were. Omniscience; knowing everything, is again, one of God's major quantifiable attributes. Another fly in the ointment is that if there are roughly five billion gods on planet earth today why is the world becoming more and more hellish? Godhood's appeal to one's pride is overwhelming, this belief that one can "be like the most High". It brought down Lucifer, the most intelligent, powerful and beautiful of God's created beings. "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground. Therefore I will bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee..." Ezekiel 17 & 18. If it could consign Lucifer to Hell, mere humans are certainly not immune. For, speaking of man, David said, "For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels". Psalm 8:5 "The Great Lie" is continuing to ensnare millions today; this seductive lie that we can "be as gods". But God said of man after the fall "...that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually". Genesis 6:5. That doesn't sound very God-like. No, we cannot "be as gods" except that we can be like the "god of this world", Satan, if we choose to go down the "garden path". In fact, those who reject the truth of Salvation through Faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross, these same will definitely embrace "The Great Lie". "And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:" Thessalonians 2:11. Why? "...because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved". 11 Thessalonians 2:10 Jesus said, "I am the truth" John 14:6. He offers His love, "the love of the truth". If one rejects Him, they reject His love, they reject the truth, they reject the way. "I am the way" John 14:6. Those who reject Him will be damned. God's word spells it out plainly, "That they all might be damned who believed not the truth..." 11 Thessalonians 2:12 For now, it's not even necessary that the lost believe "The Great Lie"; all that's necessary is to reject the truth. Like a magician who specializes in sleight of hand, by distracting the viewers' gaze, Satan only need keep you away from the path to God. It's not yet necessary for him to lead you into hell. I have watched in some awe, the New Age gurus in their televised sermons, and seen the look of abject confusion on the faces of the studio audience. They don't get it. How can they? The purveyors of New Age Spiritualism can only offer smoke and mirrors. Dr. Wayne Dyer, the tremendously successful New Age Guru, brags about how much money he makes, implying that everyone can do likewise. One of his most recent televised conferences on tax-payer supported PBS, featured multiple swirling backgrounds of constantly changing hypnotic patterns; certainly theatrical, but perhaps designed to mesmerize the audience into believing they were having a "spiritual" experience. The blank looks on the faces of the audience (and after many years in show business I can read an audience) suggested to me that virtually no-one could grasp the mumbo-jumbo that he was preaching. However, as various audience members looked at others in the crowd they seemed to be wondering if perhaps they were the only ones who weren't getting it. When Adam and Eve sinned, they died instantly. God said, "for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die". Genesis 2:17. You might ask, "but they went on living didn't they?". Physically, they survived for a time but SPIRITUALLY, they were dead. Their relationship with God was broken. "But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned". 1 Corinthians 2:14 Unless one becomes born again by the Spirit of God, it is impossible to receive the things of the Spirit. Therefore I submit to you that all these touchy-feely experiences, the warm and fuzzy, totally centered, feel-good, "I'm OK, You're OK" vibes are a deception perpetrated in the soulish part of the natural man. Even true Christianity is falling prey to the desire for "experiences"; the outward signs and wonders, the manipulating of reality, the shamanistic "spirit" that is seeking to make a nest in the tree that grew from the mustard seed. It's only "Natural" to want to have these "experiences", but we are called to be a people that walks by faith and not by sight. The "Natural" is always in opposition to God. "The just shall live by faith". Galatians 3:11 Of course there are other "spirits". The world is constantly under assault by them, believers included. "In the latter times some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils". 1 Timothy 4:1 "God is not the author of confusion" 1 Corinthians 14:33. The confusion I saw on the faces of the people I described before brought a deep sense of sadness to me. I truly feel sorry for them and for Dr. Wayne. The audience was obviously seeking something, perhaps seeking God. God says that, "...He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him". Hebrews 11:6. If you have friends or loved ones caught up in the New Age Movement or other forms of mysticism, keep them in your prayers, because if they are truly seeking God, they may realize the fruitlessness of the path they are on and find "The Way". Psalm 119:2 adds, "Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart". One final note on Dr. Wayne; he aggressively promotes his daughter, a singer, who actually sang "Amazing Grace" during one of his seminars. The sad irony of this beautiful song of a lost sinner finding Salvation through Grace, seemed a sinister but clever way of couching his program as "Godly". The Bible warns us that in the last days such men will come, "Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away". II Timothy 3:5 |
