A Call To The Remnant

The spirit of man, the spirit of the age. What is the spirit of man? In Mat 16:23 Jesus says to Peter “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. In the Good News translation it goes like this “Get away from me, Satan! You are an obstacle in my way, because these thoughts of yours don’t come from God, but from human nature.” Human nature, the things of men, the soul of a man, the spirit of man. It may be many things but it is not of God. We find ourselves in an age where men are led by their human nature, what comes naturally to them.

Their thoughts are from their own vain imaginations. Its their feelings that lead them, not the Spirit of God. If what they feel clashes with the truth then the truth is abandoned and attacked. They are driven, not by the Holy Spirit, but by their emotions, their soul, their own spirit. In the example above, we see Peter being repulsed by what Jesus was sharing with them. Jesus told them that He would suffer many things at the hands of men and then be killed. Peter’s spirit said no and he found himself in direct conflict with God Himself, the Truth, and is severely rebuked.

Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man(Joh 2:23-25) Jesus knew what was in man, He knew the spirit of man, He would not commit Himself to them. Who? The ones who believed in Him only because of the miracles that they saw. So we see that there are whole groups of people only following Jesus because they want to see a miracle. Or they want their own miracle. They are enamored by miracles. Speak to them and their obsession soon shows itself. This is the spirit of man. And the spirit of man loves power, especially miracle working power. No one who abides in the Word is distracted by miracles. For those who abide in the Word are the disciples indeed and they know the truth and they walk in the Spirit and not the flesh. Other men just desire power and are motivated by it. Simon Magnus was such a man.

Then laid they their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. And when Simon saw that through laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Ghost was given, he offered them money, Saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God.(Act 8:17-21)

See how Peter rebukes him so harshly. He had learned the hard way himself and now he is rebuking Simon in the most severe terms and exposes the heart of Simon,the spirit of the man. How many Simon’s do we see today in the pulpit and on the TV? The spirit of man desires not the things of God, his heart is not right in the sight of God. He chases after the things that will impress the world. And the followers of such men are driven by their own spirits and their hearts are not right before God. They do not mind the things of God. They are followers of men and not God and therefore since you cannot serve two masters, they will love the one and hate the other. You might wonder how men who claim the name of Jesus, supposed followers of Him could so viciously turn on others who actually follow Jesus. Consider John chapter 8.

Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.(Joh 8:31-32) What a wonderful truth Jesus delivered. So much so that to this day even the world will say “the truth will set you free.” Of course Jesus actually said ” you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Its the knowing of the truth that sets you free. If you know Jesus, then, and only then, shall you walk in the freedom that was wrought for you on Calvary. He whom the Son (The Truth) sets free is free indeed. Now, how did the “believers,” of John 8 react to this profound saying of Jesus? They railed on Him, falling back upon their tradition and claiming Abraham as their Father. Jesus reacts to this and says… Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do(Joh 8:44) They then in turn “took they up stones to cast at him.” (Joh 8:59)

So we see that in Christendom we have millions of men and women claiming to be believers. Yet when confronted by the truth, they lash out. They do this because they are men driven by their own spirits, it is the spirit of man. And if the spirit of man would pick up stones to kill the Holy Son of the Living God, what will they do to you saint? As religious men are confronted by saints driven by the Holy Spirit, then this sets up a clash of spirits in our age and in the end of ages. Truth is the target. Those who stand upon it, abide in it, have it flowing through their veins like molten lava, will find themselves confronted by the ice cold water of evil. The spirit of man is the spirit of the world and the world has invaded what passes for the church.

Can the spirit of man fellowship with the Spirit of God? A rhetorical question of course. One is enmity to the other. Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? (2Co 6:14) Some may argue that all men and woman who gather together in churches are believers. Yet in John 8 we see that Jesus tells those who identify as “believers,” that their father is the devil. These “believers,” took up stones to kill Jesus. Its not the name that you call yourself that counts, its the Spirit of God that is either in a man or it is not. The days are upon us brothers and sisters where it is unacceptable for any attempt for the righteous to fellowship with the unrighteous. Light can have no communion with darkness. It is God Himself through the power of the Holy Spirit who is exposing darkness and unrighteousness in our midst. Once that it exposed, it is your job as saints to follow His word.

Listen to what Tozer says………… The spiritual man has treasures this world discounts. He has a mystic wisdom of the Holy Spirit, but the world has no way to receive this. Jesus said the world cannot receive Him “because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him.” (John 14:17) Just as a deaf man has no sensory organ to receive music, and just as a blind man has no organ to receive light, so a worldly man has no organ to receive the treasure of God’s mystic knowledge by the Holy Spirit. And of course, if the Christian says that he has and is sure of himself, the world is angry with him, even the religious world. They say he is a bigot, he thinks too much of himself. The Christian man has the Holy Spirit, invisible and from God, whom the world cannot receive. The Christian has heard a voice, seen the light and been able to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, while the world is just religious (A.W.Tozer-A disruptive faith)

Tozer is right, isn’t he? The world and the religious men are always angry with the man who can say with a certainty “God said to me.” They say that he is arrogant and unbending. Yet what they do not realize is that the man who has heard from God, who has stood in His temple and been surrounded by His glory and transformed forever by His magnificent presence, minds the things of God and not the things of man. He understands the vastness of God and by comparison, how small man is. Who is he going to listen to? Who is he going to be moved by? God alone. And this infuriates man and brings the man or woman of God into direct conflict with the spirit of man, the spirit of the age. Be ready saints, for the spirit of the end of the ages is strong and vicious. Be prepared and count the cost and stand upon the truth. There is a glorious reward that awaits the saint who refuses to compromise, who overcomes, who endures till the end. Stand fast.