An old axiom says, “All it
takes is ignorance to start serving evil. Ignorance is the first step towards
becoming an employee of dark forces.”
As “the god of this world,”
Satan has a religion he seeks to propagate and the core of it surrounds the issue of a person’s relationship with his
Creator or lack thereof. Religion, at its most basic, is designed to substitute
confidence in the flesh for trust in Jesus Christ.
“If mammon-worship were a
dominant religion, just as political leaders in ancient Rome sought the gods'
blessings for their endeavours, those of today might turn to the financial
sector, (and) even rivals for public office might be expected to share this
faith,” suggests financial writer Savitri Hensman in London’s The Guardian newspaper.
“Sometimes sacred mysteries are open only to the initiated –
rather like the inner workings of the City of London,” he writes. “In the case
of a world religion, there may be linked spaces with names that also resonate
among believers, not dissimilar to Wall Street . . .
“Likewise top bankers, because of their supposed access to
esoteric knowledge, might be put in charge of areas of policy, such as welfare
reform, of which they know nothing.
“Sometimes religions compete openly for converts and influence,
but other faiths may expand by assimilating potential rivals. If this were the
main strategy of mammon's priests, they might tolerate and even embrace other
belief systems but seek subtly (maybe even unconsciously) to steer them towards
the true path. Christian, New Age, humanist or whatever, all would be welcomed,
provided they played down aspects of their faith that might pose a challenge to
mammon's dominance.”
*****
“When I Corinthians 2 says
the ‘natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him,’ Paul’s talking about trusting, valuing, treasuring
who you are in yourself and your ability to perform. He’s talking about
pride and self-satisfaction,” explains Jordan.
“Proverbs says, ‘Every man does that which is right in his own
eyes.’ Can you relate to that? We do what WE think is right. It says, ‘There’s
a way that seemeth right to a man; the end thereof is death.’
“Man says, ‘I’m doing what’s right in my mind . . .’ and there’s a pride
in that. There’s a self-satisfaction in that and that’s what religion is all
about.
*****
“When Paul says in
Philippians 3:7, ‘But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for
Christ,’
“Notice he says, ‘I wasted
it and profited in the Jews’ religion above many mine equals in my own nation,
being more exceedingly zealous of traditions of my fathers.’
“You see he says he profited? He’s saying, ‘Those things
that brought profit to me; those things I treasured and adored and thought were
the most wonderful, solid, enriching things in my life.’
“What were they? He’s going
to list some ethnic and racial things—some pride of race and pride of place
kinds of things. And then he’s going to list some religious things;
distinctions, performance.
“Can
I tell you, those are the two things most people—those are the two things your
flesh wants to glory in. It wants to glory in your race, which is another way
of saying the 'place' that you have,
and then it wants to glory in religion—the achievements it can make.
*****
“Your flesh has a tendency
toward the lascivious, the earthy; the lust and the pull to be run by the
desires that drag you downward into the earth.
“It’s to do good and feel
good about doing it. Your flesh is such a deceiver. ‘The heart is deceitful
above all things and desperately wicked.’
“And the moment you think
you’ve done something good, the moment you sit in relaxation with your
satisfaction about what you’ve performed, ‘Let him who thinketh he stand take
heed lest he fall.’
“Saved or lost, that’s where your flesh is. That’s religion and
that’s why I say this is the MOST dangerous battle you’ll ever face. This is
where the real big game is. People like to argue about prophecy and politics
and all the rest of the stuff, but this is the BIG stuff.”
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