THE ACCUSER

David Alsobrook

Contents

Chapter 1

Satan's Three Most Common Roles

Satan's Diverse Roles of Attack

The Tempter

The Deceiver

How the Accuser Operates

Chapter 2

Overcoming Satan When He Accuses Me to God

The Accuser Has Access to the Throne

The Accuser is Muzzled by the Advocate

Jesus, Our Intercessor

Satan Accused Simon and Demanded to Have Him

The Blood of Sprinkling

Chapter 3

Overcoming Satan When He Accuses Others to Me

Judge Righteous Judgment

Try the Spirits

Judge NOT According to Appearance

Am I My Brother's Keeper?

Judge Not.. But Judge

Chapter 4

Overcoming Satan When He Accuses Me to Myself

Conviction and Condemnation

Condemnation = Guilt—Conviction = Peace

Condemnation = Burden—Conviction = Cleansing

Ways in Which God Deals With Our Sin

Divorce and Remarriage

Forget the Past

About the Author

Chapter 1

Satan's Three Most Common Roles

Satan's Diverse Roles of Attack

Our opponent, shrewd and subtle as he is (Genesis 3:1), is not confined to

one role or method of attack. A survey of the Scriptures reveals many kinds
of operations against the people of God. If they successfully defeated the
adversary in one of his schemes, he would come against them at a later time
with another tactic. Jesus exhorted His followers to be "wise as serpents";
Matthew 10:16 shows that serpents do have a substantial level of
intelligence.

As I studied the Word to find out more about the enemy of whom Paul said
we are not to be ignorant (I Corinthians 2:11), I slowly became aware that
Satan has three primary roles of attack against the believer. If one method
does not succeed against a Christian, often another form of attack will
succeed. These three primary roles are: (1) The Tempter; (2) The Deceiver;
(3) The Accuser.

The Tempter

The first time we see Satan approaching mankind he comes to our first
parents in the role of the tempter. The serpent tempted Eve with, "Yea,
hath God said...?"

(Genesis 3:1). It was in this role that our Lord Jesus encountered him in
their first recorded confrontation.

"And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God
..." (Matthew 4:3). Evidently the early Christians were aware of this term,
tempter, and this tactic also, for Paul wrote: "For this cause, when I could
no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the
tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain" (I Thessalonians
3:5).

Although the tempter's attacks are very real and sometimes successful in
defeating a believer, temptation is the devil's first method of attack and
actually the weakest of the three primary roles he uses in assaulting the
Christian. Jesus easily overcame this role with single quotations of solitary
sentences from the book of Deuteronomy. He did not use a lot of Scripture
when the tempter came against Him. Single stabs with the Sword of the
Spirit defeated all three areas of temptation the devil brought against Jesus.

The Deceiver
Far more believers are harmed by the adversary when he comes as the
deceiver than they are when he comes as the tempter. This is a higher realm
of attack and much more subtle than the previous one. Paul was referring to
this second method in II Corinthians 11:14-15 when, after shocking them
with the fact that many of their apostles were actually false, he said, "And
no marvel [surprise]; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of
light.

Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the

ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their
works."

Paul taught that even as false ministers appeared as true ministers, so also
Satan can masquerade himself as a true angel of God. God is light and His
angels are angels of light. Satan, in his actual state, is an angel of darkness.

He is, however, able to disguise himself as an angel of light. The King

James is a little obscure and misleading in the phrase "... transformed into
an angel of light." The word "transformed" is better rendered "disguised,"
as more recent versions point out. I do not believe Satan can actually
change himself into an angel of light. I most definitely believe that Satan
can and does disguise himself as an angel of light.

The purpose of coming to a person in the role of the deceiver is to trick that
individual into accepting the false for the true. I personally know not a few
ministers who have been deceived into great errors. Some of these men
have seared their consciences with moral error after "a revelation from
God" convinced them that we should have concubines today. Others have
not brought as great shame as this upon the name of Christ, but have made
their ministries invalid through teaching twists of Scripture.

The deceiver delights in distorting the truth of the Word, and he showed this
in Matthew 4:6 when he twisted the clear meaning of Psalm 91:11-12. Our
Saviour was not fooled by this trick. Even Satan can haphazardly quote
(usually he misquotes) the Scripture.

What then is our safeguard against this form of attack?

After I sought the Lord earnestly along this line, He showed me: A believer
overcomes the tempter with simple confessions of God's Word. Jesus used
only one sentence of Scripture to rebuke the tempter. On the other hand, a
believer can overcome the deceiver only by studying the whole counsel of
God's Word and rightly dividing the Word by interpreting Scripture with
Scripture.

I have come to the conclusion that each Christian must work out his/her
own salvation and not rely entirely upon the experience of others. Every
person has his/her own set of problems and areas of weakness to overcome.
He that sat upon the throne said, "He that overcometh shall inherit all
things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son" (Revelation 21:7).
The deceiver delights in taking a part of the Word and emphasizing it to the
exclusion of other Scripture. Fortunately, many of us stay balanced in the
Word sufficiently enough that the deceiver's appearance as an angel of light
does not fool us.

Most of you reading these words have known the presence of the tempter
and the approach of the deceiver.

When the enemy came to you in that first role, you were well aware of the
temptation. When he came to you in the second role, as a deceiver you were
soon aware of that attack, although it probably was harder to discern than
the former approach.

We now come to the devil's third, and I think, strongest form of attack. "The
devil" is the Greek word diabolos and means, "One who prosecutes as in a
court room; a slanderer." "Satan" primarily means "adversary"

and secondarily means "accuser—one who resists." This role as the accuser
is probably the hardest to discern and overcome. Often we unknowingly
become tools through whom the accuser can work.

When Satan appears as the tempter, his presence is very obvious. When he
comes as a deceiver, his presence is usually not quite as obvious. However,
when he comes as the accuser, we sometimes not only fail to discern Satan's
voice, we may even mistake it for the voice of God! At that point we are
deceived and most likely will yield to the temptation to pass carnal
judgment on a fellow believer.

Thus, we are snared by all three roles of attack: tempter, deceiver, and
accuser.

How the Accuser Operates

We have found three ways that Satan operates as the accuser:

1) Satan accuses the believer to God, and accuses God to the believer.

After Satan accused Job to God, he accused God to Job (through Job's
wife). "Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God
for nought?" (Job 1:9). Twice the devil told God, "Job will curse You to
Your face" (see Job 1:11; 2:5). Then we see that the devil used Job's last
living family member to accuse God to Job: "Then said his wife unto him,
Dost thou still retain thine integrity?

curse God, and die" (Job 2:9).

2) Satan accuses other Christians to a believer.

Sadly, we often fail to discern this. We look upon a brother in the Lord and
immediately judge him by the eye.

This is what Jesus referred to as "an evil eye," which is grouped along with
adultery, fornication, murder, etc. (see Mark 7:19-24). This operation
accounts for the great amount of suspicion, distrust, faultfinding, and
criticism which exists within the body of Christ.

3) Satan accuses a believer to himself.

Even after a believer exercises true repentance over a sin and sincerely asks
the Lord to forgive him, the accuser will attack with condemnation and
guilt. Often I pray with Christians who have lived with guilt and burdens of
condemnation for years and years. How happy I am to show them it is Satan
who condemns them and not God.
Throughout the rest of this book we will refer to overcoming these three
attacks of the accuser in a more applicable way. They will be referred to as
follows:

1) Overcoming Satan when he accuses me to God and God to me.

2) Overcoming Satan when he accuses others to me, and me to others.

3) Overcoming Satan when he accuses me to myself.

Chapter 2

Overcoming Satan When He Accuses Me to God 2

I want to share on overcoming Satan, the accuser—who accuses me to God.

Turn to Revelation 12:7-11:

"And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against
the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not;
neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great
dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan,
which deceived the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his
angels were cast out with him.

And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and
strength and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for
the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before
our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the
Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their
lives unto the death."

The eleventh verse is well known since it is often repeated. We understand

that the "him" who is overcome by the blood and the word of testimony is
Satan or the devil, but we are likely to overlook the role in which he is
portrayed in this verse—that of the accuser.

We read in the book of Revelation what John sees as a great war taking
place in heaven. Some theologians teach that this Scripture has already been
fulfilled. Those who interpret the book of Revelation solely on a spiritual
plane believe that this was completed when Jesus sprinkled His blood in the
holy of holies after His resurrection.

Having studied the Revelation from many points of view, I believe that
chapter 12 is yet future. John sees a time coming when Satan will no longer
be allowed to accuse the brethren before God.

This book was given to John in the year A.D. 96. Jesus was crucified in the
year A.D. 33, and in Revelation 1:1, over sixty years later, the Bible says,

"The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew
unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass."

In other words, the book of Revelation concerns things that are to come to
pass, and that was more than sixty years after Jesus had completed His
work at Calvary.

Some persons say the war between Satan and Michael took place at
Calvary. If so, then why do the brethren overcome Satan by the blood of the
Lamb in Revelation 12? It is evident they overcame the accuser after he had
been cast down to earth. It is evident in verse 11 that "they loved not their
lives unto death," and no disciple was martyred until after the sufferings of
Christ had long been accomplished. So it couldn't have taken place just at
Calvary. True, Calvary provided the accuser's defeat for us, but it hasn't yet
come into effect. Michael and his angels have yet to war against Satan and
his angels and cast them down from the heavenlies. We need to understand
that Satan STILL has access to God.

"But, brother, isn't it true that Jesus in Luke 10:17-18, when the seventy
returned again with rejoicing, saying,

'Even the demons are subject unto us through thy name,' that Jesus replied,
'I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven'?"

Satan was cast out of heaven in the past. He was cast out of heaven long
before Calvary, when heaven was still his abode. From what I can
understand, though, he has not yet been cast out of his access to God. He
has been cast out of his abode with Him.

Luke 10:18 validates Satan's loss of abode: "I beheld Satan as lightning
fall from heaven," which occurred before man ever drew the breath of life.

The Accuser Has Access to the Throne

Job, chapter 1—this book was written AFTER man was created and
AFTER Satan had lost his abode there. Verse 6:

"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present
themselves before the Lord, and SATAN [when you see that word it
means "adversary"] came also among them. And the Lord said unto
Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the Lord, and said,
From going to and fro in the EARTH [proving that he was not on the
earth when he was saying these words], and from walking up and down
in it."

I Peter 5:8 tells us he still does this, "... your adversary the devil, as a
roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour."

This scene described in the book of Job was not on earth. This was in
heaven, a familiar place to the devil. He had lived there for eons and eons.
In all likelihood he was even made (created) there and later assigned to rule
over the earth before the creation of man.

Satan comes to God, who asks him, "Where do you come from?"

"From going to and fro in the earth," Satan replies.

Now this is after the fall of the anointed cherub, after the creation of man,
after the time Jesus referred to when He said, "I beheld Satan fall like
lightning from heaven." Yet, whom is Satan standing before in Job 1 and 2?
He is standing before Yahweh whose "throne is in the heavens" (Psalm
103:19). This perplexed me for some time.
Satan was not in the earth, he was before God. God didn't come down to
earth and say, "You sons of God, you created angels, present yourselves
before Me; and, Satan, come, also."

My problem was that Revelation 21:27 relates that no one may enter into
the holy city who works abomination, or makes a lie, but only those who
are written in the Lamb's book of life. How can he, then, enter into heaven
and stand before God? Then I recalled the words: "So then every one of us
shall give account of himself to God" (Romans 14:12). And I saw it!

Satan has to give account of himself to God. Evidently this is something he

does regularly, or periodically. In Job 1:6 we read, "Now there was a day
when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD,
and Satan came also among them." Now look in Job 2:1, "AGAIN there
was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the
Lord, and Satan came also among them to present HIMSELF before
the Lord." So we see from these verses that Satan is coming to present
himself before God and to give an account of his recent actions on earth.

God's purpose in allowing Satan's entrance into heaven is to permit his

rendering an account of his deeds, not to fellowship with the adversary. And
while Satan is reciting his activities, the slanderer takes advantage of the
occasion to throw stones at the saints. Another common name for Satan is
"the devil." Recall that the Greek word for "the devil" is diabolos, which
means "prosecutor, slanderer, and accuser." Standing before the Judge of all
the earth to render an account of recent activities, diabolos takes advantage
of the occasion to slander God's servants.

Observe Job 1:7: "And the Lord said unto Satan, Whence comest
thou?" After he answered the Lord Jehovah, "From going to and fro in
the earth, and from walking up and down in it" ; the Lord said to Satan,
"Hast thou considered [set your heart to] my servant Job?" (You get on
the enemy's target list when you serve the Lord!) Job was an upright man,
one who feared God and eschewed (avoided) evil, so it should come as no
surprise that Satan had a whole book about him!

Jesus Christ, the Sinless One, was inspected by the evil one. Jesus said,
"Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world
cometh, and hath nothing in me" (John 14:30). Perhaps we could
paraphrase it: "The ruler of this age is coming to inspect Me, but he has no
claim on Me."

I'm so glad that when Satan inspected Jesus, he could not find one legal
ground of evidence with which to accuse Him to the Father. Had Satan been
able to find such ground, there would not have been an advocate for Jesus,
and He would not have been a Lamb without spot or blemish. Thus we
would be hopeless and helpless.

When Satan accuses me to God he appeals to the legal holiness of God the
Father. If at all possible, he will relate an actual fault in my life; if not
possible, he will unjustly slander me before the Throne. Were it not for our
Advocate at the Father's right hand, our adversary would gain the upper
hand. God, because He demands holiness, would have to blot us out. Thank
God for an Advocate who is in the Father's favor!

In II Corinthians 2:10-11, Paul says he is not ignorant of Satan's devices.

"To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any
thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of
Christ; lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not
ignorant of his devices." The word "devices" means "war plans" or "war
strategies." In a warfare the adversaries seek to spy out the weaknesses in
each other. Satan, the adversary, examines us to discover our personal
weaknesses and to accuse us before God. Also, he seeks to discover our
weaknesses so that he may better attack us.

Concerning Job, Satan answered God with a tone of mean insinuation in his
voice. "Then Satan answered the LORD and said, Doth Job fear God
for nought?" His words implied that Job only served God because of the
material blessings the Lord showered upon him.

God told the adversary that he could smite everything Job had except his
life. In Job 2 we find that only Job's wife is left; his children are dead. Satan
spared Job's wife because they were one flesh, and Satan had to obey and
recognize that union.
So, Satan decides: if I can't get at Job directly, l can do it indirectly through
his wife. "Then said his wife unto him, Dost thou still retain thine
integrity? curse God, and die" (2:9). This is why in Matthew 16:23, when
Peter was speaking to Jesus, the Master identified the source of inspiration
through which Peter responded as being Satan.

Satan accused God to Job through his wife's "advice."

After Satan accuses me to God, he accuses God to me.

We see this in Genesis 3:12; after Adam had sinned, he accused God, that
is, he blamed his sinning on God. "...

The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree,
and I did eat." Directly he was blaming his wife, but indirectly he was
blaming God. "The reason I'm in all this trouble, Lord, is because of the
woman that YOU gave me. If YOU hadn't put me in this situation, I'd never
have had this happen in the first place " (paraphrased).

Many Christians are bitter toward God. Suppose God answers ninety-seven
prayers. Seemingly, three prayers don't obtain any answer. Satan says, "Ah,
look at God, He didn't fulfill His Word." Satan accuses God to His people
as well as accusing His people to God.

After Satan accused Job to God, he began to give God a list about Job. In
Job 1:10 are given five specific areas about which Satan knew much. We
have no reason to think that the tempter has altered his methods of "believer
inspection" over the millenniums.

Satan inspects five things about Job and YOU:

1) Satan had inspected Job's conduct. "Hast not thou made an hedge
about him?" He knew all about Job and his personal life. He had studied
his habits.

He'd heard what words he spoke. He'd seen what he was like around the
house. He knew how he conducted himself twenty-four hours a day. This
thought is amplified in Psalm 119:23. "Princes (principalities) also did sit
and speak against me: but thy servant did meditate in thy statutes."

2) Satan had learned all about Job's family. He knew Job's interpersonal
relationships and "all that he hath on every side" (Job 1:10).

3) Satan had made a detailed study of Job's possessions.

He knew how much silver and gold Job had, how many sheep, how many
oxen, how many servants, etc.

4) Satan had watched Job's labor. "Thou hast blessed the work of his
hands."

Satan knows what you are like on the job. He knows how you respond to
pressure at work. He is on the job when you are on the job!

In the body of Christ, the phrase, "the work of your hands" denotes your
ministry, and Satan knows all about the work of your hands. He is forever
trying to tie your hands and get you bound up so you can't swing the sword,
plow the field, sow the seed, and reap the harvest.

5) Satan had observed Job's social influence. "His substance is increased

in the land" (Job 1:10). The word "substance" is more like "social
influence."

His social influence is increased in the land. Many times when the tempter
overcomes Christians, it is relatively easy for them to get back into
fellowship with God—that's not the hard part—but their testimony has been
tarnished; the name of Christ has been marred. Restoring their influence
with man takes much longer.

These then are the five areas that Satan inspected in Job. He inspects us,
too, so that he can find something in our lives to throw in God's face.

The Accuser is Muzzled by the Advocate

In the book of Zechariah, chapter 3, we see a glimpse of what we are

talking about.
Zechariah prophesied during the post-exilic period after Israel had come out
of the land of Babylon, where the Israelites had been in captivity, in
confusion and in bondage for seventy years. Now that they were back in
Israel, God was blessing and prospering them.

Haggai, too, spoke to Israel near this time. His word to them was: "You
dwell in cieled houses, but the house of God lies waste." Decades
previously Nebuchadnezzar's armies had come and led them away as
captives. They had desecrated into a pile of rubble that beautiful temple
built by Solomon.

Now, over a hundred years later, they are back in the land and have cieled
houses to dwell in; but the temple is still a mound of ruin. God begins to
challenge them to consider their ways and to rebuild His house.

Zerubbabel is the chief architect and master craftsman.

God has a word for him: "... Not by might, nor by power, but by my
spirit, saith the LORD of hosts" (Zechariah 4:6). From the book of
Nehemiah we know they were trying to rebuild the wall with a sword in one
hand and a trowel in the other. Zerubbabel was to learn that the rebuilding
of the temple was "not by might, nor by power.. ." The words "might" and
"power" refer to weapons and armies in the Hebrew.

Before the temple could be rebuilt, the priestly order as well as the
craftsmen had to be right. The spiritual leadership in the priesthood had to
be functioning properly, and God corrected both the priestly order in
Zechariah 3 and the manual labor in Zechariah 4. He spoke to both realms
of authority (spiritual and natural) through the prophetic ministry of
Zechariah.

Joshua was a literal man who was living during that period. (This isn't the
same Joshua who trained under Moses and led Israel into the land of
promise.) It fell to his lot to be the high priest of Israel at this time. In
chapter 3 of the book of Zechariah, the prophet gives a specific word for
Joshua, the high priest.
"And he shewed me.. .." The prophet is speaking here of the angel who has
come and has been dealing with him up to this time. ". . Joshua the high
priest." This is a vision in which Zechariah saw a literal man.

With the high priest there were two supernatural personalities present: the
angel of the LORD, and Satan.

The angel of the LORD as his advocate and Satan at "...his right hand to
resist him. " Resist means "to accuse, condemn." The New American
Standard Version reads "accuse him."

Here was Joshua, who was high priest of Israel, and in Zechariah's vision
God showed him what was hindering the temple from being rebuilt. From
the spiritual standpoint, the high priest was under the influence of the
accuser. The chief reason was he had allowed his garments to spoil.
Zechariah sees the angel of Yahweh standing there and Satan standing at
Joshua's right hand to resist and accuse him.

" . . . Satan standing at his right hand." The right side is our Godward side.
Satan was standing at Joshua's right hand to resist his work for God. This is
why Satan accuses us, that he might resist our efforts in the Kingdom.

The two beings in Zechariah's vision were the angel of the LORD and
Satan. The angel of the LORD in the Old Testament was in all likelihood a
pre-incarnate appearance of Jesus Christ. I had prepared several pages of
reasons why, but have omitted that study until a future time.

Many authorities, as you probably know, agree.

"And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of
the LORD [this is Jesus], and Satan standing at his right hand to resist
[accuse] him. And the LORD said unto Satan, The LORD [Yahweh]
rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem
rebuke thee is not this [referring to Joshua the high priest] a brand
plucked out of the fire?"

In other words, "Isn't Joshua a burning branch that's been snatched out of
the fire before being totally consumed?"
Many times the enemy condemns and accuses you with, "You haven't done
this yet." "You haven't done that yet." "You haven't attained to this yet," etc.
Don't yield to the accuser and be unnecessarily hard on yourself. When
Jesus intercedes for you, He refers to you as a "brand plucked out of the
fire." In other words, a few years ago you were in the fire of judgment and
just a step from hell.

So what that you are still smoldering a little? You were only recently
plucked from the fire. Don't expect too much too soon.

"Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the
angel" (Zechariah 3:3). These filthy garments that Joshua was clothed with
provided the legal grounds for Satan's judicial argument against him. It is as
though Satan has been saying, "God, You shouldn't allow this man to be
your high priest. Look at his filthy garments. Look at this in his life. Look
at the other in his life."

Satan condemns and accuses us before God at this very hour, pointing out
various things in our lives. Although in our Christian life we have come out
of many, many things in which we used to be entangled, we should
remember still that our Father is so holy that He cannot behold or look upon
any evil. He cannot look upon iniquity (Habakkuk 1:13), and with even so
much as an evil thought, He couldn't accept you with favor in His presence.
None of us is able to stand before God. No matter how much God has done
in our lives or how great was the pit from which we came, there are still
things in our lives that demand God's judgment.

Joshua was clothed with filthy garments. Joshua wasn't an ungodly man. He
was like the rest of us, still falling short of the glory of God. And Satan was
finding this as his legal ground. Most of what he said about Job was false.
Most of what he said about Joshua was true.

Yet, God vindicated both of these servants. When "the angel of the LORD"
rebuked, that was the end of Satan in the vision. There wasn't a continual
battle.

One word from "the angel of the LORD," and Satan disappears from the
passage.
In verse 4 we read, "And he answered and spake unto those that stood
before him, saying [there may have been other angels standing there],
Take away the filthy garments from him." As Jesus, our Advocate,
intercedes for us asking the Father to have mercy upon us for our sins and
failures, the Father accepts His intercessory ministry in our behalf and gives
us undeserved kindness. However, our Advocate doesn't stop with legal
pardon. He goes on to change us.

The angel said, "Take away the filthy garments from him." He said later
during His incarnation to Mary and Martha after Lazarus had come out of
the tomb by His power, "Loose him from his grave clothes and let him go."

Now He is saying to these angels that are in the presence of Joshua, "Take
away the filthy garments from him." This is sanctification—being made
into the image of likeness of God.

A beautiful picture is painted in Zechariah 3 of something wonderful in the

believer's life. "I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will
clothe thee with change of raiment," or "I'll make your present life
different." That's what Jesus says to you today.

There is a difference between our STANDING and our STATE. Our

standing before God is holy in Christ. Our state may not be quite so good as
our standing (to put it mildly).

What God does in the act of justification is to make our STANDING

completely righteous. The perfect righteousness of Christ is reckoned to our
account.

Our STATE is less than perfect. God wants to root us out of this present evil
age. He wants to bring our STATE into perfection. He wants the disciple to
be as His Master.

The Father wants us to go on unto perfection. He wants us to lay aside

every evil weight and anything that hinders us in our earthly course of
perfection (maturity, completeness in Christ).
In verse 2 Jesus (the special "angel") is rebuking Satan on the basis of His
righteousness (not Joshua's), and now in verse 4 Jesus is actually effecting a
change in Joshua's life. "Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass
from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment."

Only the Son of God could say that!

In verse 5, Zechariah speaks out in this vision. "And I said, Let them set a
fair mitre upon his head." In Exodus 28:36-38, a mitre is described as a
turban with a gold plate in front of it that would very much resemble a
crown. In fact, sometimes a mitre is taken to mean crown. This gold plate
had engraved on it: HOLINESS TO THE LORD. That speaks of the crown.
Zechariah was saying, "Don't only clothe him with new garments. Also
place a crown on his head." The authority of priesthood is represented in the
mitre.

"So they set a fair mitre upon his head" (Zechariah 3:5), and he took on
the appearance of a king with this turban, this crown with its gold plate set
upon his head.

The priestly garments first; the priestly mitre second.

The mitre is set upon his head to picture kingly authority. The high priest's
ephod picture Joshua's serving capacity. In Revelation 1:5-6 we read:
"Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
and hath made us kings and priests unto God." Kings to exercise
authority, and priests to offer sacrifices.

"And the angel of the Lord stood by" (Zechariah 3:5).

He was approving the act by His very presence in front of Joshua as the
change of raiment and the fair mitre were placed on him. The angel of the
Lord was so much as saying, "I am approving this. I am condoning this."

"And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua," that is, after He
cleansed and anointed him, He admonished Joshua.
Now Joshua is clean; he has a fair crown on his head; his garments are
white. Now he is given a charge, a responsibility: "Thus saith the LORD
of hosts: If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge,
then thou shalt also judge my house" (Zechariah 3:7).

"Judge" means to deliver—the book of Judges means the Book of

Deliverers. Samson judged Israel for forty years; Samuel judged Israel for
forty years; Deborah judged Israel; that is, they DELIVERED Israel. Israel
would fall into bondage but later repent and then have to be DELIVERED
from their enemies.

"Judge my house"—so God's house needed to be delivered, the temple

needed to be cleansed. Jesus wants to cleanse the temple as much in our day
as when He entered the outer court of the temple while on earth. That is a
mere shadow of what He wants to do now. He wants to enter into the
temple, drive out the money changers and all the thieves and robbers. He
wants to deliver His house, but He is going to do it through people who
walk in His ways, and keep His charge.

"If thou wilt walk in my ways"—personal obedience to God.

"If thou wilt keep my charge"—fulfill your temple responsibility as priest—

then you will judge and deliver His house.

"And shalt also keep my courts"—entrusted with an expansion of authority

from the inner court to the outer court.

"And I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by"—this
heavenly vision—I'll give you a place here in the temple of God. So this
speaks of Joshua's eternal inheritance in the heavenly temple. Jesus
promised, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of
my God" (Revelation 3:12).

We have seen a bit of the work of our adversary by looking at this Scripture.

Jesus, Our Intercessor

When studying Jesus and His high priestly intercession for us as given in
Hebrews, chapter 7, I was amazed to find no Scripture that implied that
Jesus was now praying for the world. One Scripture said He did "make
intercession for the transgressors." Isaiah, chapter 53, speaks of this but was
referring to Christ on the cross where He said, "Father, forgive them; for
they know not what they do" (Luke 23:34).

All of the Scriptures show Jesus praying for "them," which refers to
believers, as portrayed in these Scriptures:

"Making intercession for them" (Hebrews 7:25).

"Who also maketh intercession for us" (Romans 8:34).

"I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me"
(John 17:9).

I wondered why Jesus was not praying for the world.

After all, the church is in better shape than the world. But the Lord
impressed upon me: I'm just going to pray for you.

When you are where you ought to be, you are going to take care of the
world. I pray for the church. When it gets where it should be, the reaching
of the world will be a simple thing.

The reaching of the world for Christ is simple. But it is the perfecting of the
church which is so hard. That is why Jesus said no man knew the hour of
His return, not even the angels, not even the Son, but only the Father. The
reason for this is the church will have a great part in bringing back the
King. "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the
world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come"
(Matthew 24:14).

We haven't done our job yet. That is why Jesus is praying for us: "Wake
them up, Father!"
The whole of Hebrews 7 is a study of Jesus, who after the order of
Melchizedek*, is our high priest and is continuing to pray for us. He has an
unchangeable priesthood in heaven at the Father's right hand. Jesus has
been busier since He rose from the dead than He was when He ministered
here on earth. While on earth He slept many nights, sometimes He prayed
all night; but in heaven, as far as we know, He has prayed continuously for
nearly 2,000 years. And we think we have done something when we pray an
hour or two!

* We have an entire book on Melchizedek and the things he represents.

"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come

unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them"
(Hebrews 7:25). He makes intercession for us and that is why we are saved
to the uttermost.

The word "intercede" means more than just to pray for someone. It means
"to stand in the place of another."

We sometimes pray in proxy for people. I've not seen the word "proxy" in
the Bible. However, as we understand that word, it means "to intercede." To
stand in for someone. Jesus, who has a perfect standing, who is at the
highest position God ever gave anyone, is standing in your place before the
Father for our failures, our weaknesses, and our sins. There is nothing I can
do, or cannot do, to affect this advocacy in my behalf.

I have two advocates, two intercessors. One of them I have nothing to do

with concerning His intercessory ministry, and the other everything.

First, Jesus is my paraclete. I John 2:1-2 tells us,

"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if
any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins.” The word "advocate"
is "paraclete" in the original.

Jesus said in John 14:16, "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give
you another COMFORTER" (paraclete, another intercessor, another
helper, another Strengthener, another to stand by, another advocate, another
counselor, another comforter).

"Another" [Greek: allos] means "another just like Jesus." Jesus is my

advocate. The same comforter, just like Jesus. I'l pray the Father to give
you another comforter just like Me, the Holy Spirit.

To fill the role of an intercessor, one must be possessed by the Spirit of

Christ.

At times I've asked people to remember me in prayer.

Later, I'd ask them if they prayed for me, and they'd answer, "Well, yes," or
"We whispered your name." Paul besought Rome to "strive together with
me in your prayers to God for me" (Romans 15:30). This speaks of
warfare and rarely do believers war in the Spirit for each other. We make
Jesus do all the work!

Some anointed preacher might help you, praying in your behalf, but there is
Someone greater who has you on His prayer list. And He calls to the Father
in your behalf night and day; and whenever Satan accuses you, He tells him
to be silent and He pleads your case. He prays for the needs in your life.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit is your ADVOCATE (paraclete) and ministers

those things to your life where there is a hindrance to their taking place.
This is the Holy Spirit's ministry. But He cannot intercede for me unless I
yield and let Him do it through me (Romans 8:26). The only exception
would be that He use another believer to intercede for me by the Spirit.

Christ intercedes for His church without our cooperation. The Holy Spirit
intercedes for us only as we do cooperate.

Satan Accused Simon and Demanded to Have Him

Jesus is interceding for us right now, but He gave us an example of what He

was going to do before He left the earth. Luke 22:31-32 tells us: "And the
Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that
he might sift you as wheat: but I have prayed for thee."
Satan has desired to have me. When? When he goes to God and says, "Look
at this, look at that. You shouldn't have anything to do with David
Alsobrook. Look at how he sometimes becomes angry at his wife. Look at
his wavering; look at how he doubts You and doesn't stand on Your Word.
Hear how he judges that brother. See how he worries." These are all terrible
things in the sight of God.

But Jesus has prayed for me.

No matter what you are going through, know that Luke 22:31-32 is
operating in your behalf. "I have prayed for thee." He prayed for Peter
before the battle! Do you know that Jesus always gets His prayers
answered!

When Satan came and inspected Jesus, he could not find one thing but
purity. "For the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me"
(John 14:30).

Jesus wasn't the only one inspected that night. All the disciples were. Judas
certainly was. In Peter especially, Satan had his target. Peter, more than any
other of the disciples, was a target, for the keys of the Kingdom had been
given to him (Matthew 16:19). He used those keys to open the door for the
salvation of the Jews on the day of Pentecost. Ten years later he used those
keys to open the door of salvation for the Gentiles through the house of
Cornelius. Satan had his gun on Peter. That's why you see Peter stumble so
badly—he was in a place of high favor.

He was the only disciple who ever walked on water, the only disciple who
had the keys to the Kingdom given to him. And he was always a third part
of that special circle: Peter, James and John. He had a special place in the
Kingdom of God. Likewise, Satan had a special aim for him.

It was unusual for Jesus to call Peter, "Simon, Simon"

(Luke 22:31), because since renaming him, Jesus often called this Galilean
fisherman PETER. Peter means ROCK.

Jesus named him ROCK. What does Simon mean? A reed.

Jesus found this reed who was so easily bent by the blowing winds of
temptation, overcome by so many fleshly habits, given to a sailor's tongue,
and He said, "I'm going to make you a ROCK."

True enough, this man, Simon, had been a reed sometimes, but a rock many
times, too. Because he has this special place, he is an example for
Christians. When you read his epistles, he sometimes refers to himself as
"Simon Peter." The reason is, he learned a great lesson. He learned he was
reed (Simon) AND that he was rock (Peter).

We have much teaching on "the rock." That is, what are in our reborn spirit.
All of us are reed and rock. Before Jesus came along, we were all reed. In
our flesh dwells no good thing. We are just all flesh. When Jesus came into
our life, II Corinthians 5:17 went into effect, and old things passed away.
Jesus comes into our spirits and we become an heir of God and joint heir
with Christ (Romans 8:17).

We now have all power over the enemy (Luke 10:19), and we are a new
creation.

Peter forgot that he was still Simon. When talking to Jesus he sounded like
the ROCK: "I'm ready to go with you both into prison and to death." Other
"rock" speeches may sound like: "Lord, I'm just going to stand for my
healing, even if I can't see well without glasses." "Lord, I'm not going to eat
another bite of food for forty days." "Lord, I'll never rebel against You again
in any way." The rock nature really means these promises, but the reed
nature pulls us down if we don't properly deal with it.

We have viewed Peter's speech, "Lord, I'm ready to go with you both into
prison and to death" as being solely the boast of pride. Actually, there was a
great element of love.

This was his realization of God's ability, why he walked on the water with
Jesus; he knew the ability of Jesus. He'd seen the glory of Jesus with Moses
and Elijah on the mountain. He knew the power of Jesus to deliver the
demonized son in the valley.
In John 13:37-38, Jesus is talking to Peter. He tells him, "You are going to
deny Me three times...." "I will lay down my life for Your sake," is
Peter's reply. "You are going to deny Me," Jesus tells him. In the English
versions the chapter ends here. It is highly possible that the division here is
in the wrong place and that the rest of the passage through John 14:4 is
spoken to Peter specifically.

In that case, Jesus goes on to say to Peter: "Let not your heart be
troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.... I go and prepare a
place for you." You see, it was Peter's heart that was troubled. "What do
you mean I'm going to deny You!"

"That's all right, son, I'm going to take care of it. You'll make a mess out of
it, but I've already prayed for you and soon I'm going to receive you unto
Myself." Jesus comforted Peter. Still, it is interesting that in all references to
Peter's denial, Jesus forewarned him with the name "Simon."

"Simon, Simon—reed, reed." "Hey, Reed. . " And Peter remembers three
years before.

"Oh, what are You calling me? Call me Peter. Don't You remember what
You named me? I am more than a conqueror. My name is Peter (Rock)."

Paul was a rock, too, but he still realized he had that reed nature to contend
with, for in Romans 7:18 he said, "I know that in me (that is, in my
flesh,) dwelleth no good thing." The secret lies in bringing the flesh into
the subjection of the Spirit. That is the secret of Jesus' victory over the
enemy!

Peter needed to bring that flesh into subjection; he was sleeping when he
should have been praying. Often I hear "rocks" say, "Who needs to pray?
I've got faith!"

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan [the adversary] hath desired [Greek:

demanded] to have you." Evidently, Jesus meant that Satan had gone to
God and accused Peter before Him. Evidently the Father alerted Jesus about
this through the Holy Spirit, and Jesus then interceded in Simon's behalf
before the event ever occurred. "But I have prayed for thee." Not, "I will,"
but "I HAVE."

"... That he may sift you as wheat" (Luke 22:31).

Simon, he found chaff in you. That reed nature is still there, and he desired
to have you. "BUT I HAVE PRAYED FOR THEE, that thy faith fail
not: and when thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren."

Jesus knows all about those times when you are going to stumble, just as He
knew ahead of time that Peter would fall.

When the Lord saved you, He knew of every time when you'd deny Him.
He knew of every time when you would yield to the tempter. He knew, and
He prayed for you before those things occurred. He saw other things that
would sting and bruise you, but because He continues to uphold you before
the Father, interceding in your behalf, you are changed into His image.

The Lord knows of every time that you are going to fail Him. You may say,
"That's it. It is over. Period." But with the Lord, it is only a comma. Jesus
knew that Peter would deny Him, but it was only going to be a
"comma" and not a "period" in Peter's relationship with the Lord.

Hallelujah! That is why Jesus is continually interceding for us.

The Blood of Sprinkling

"But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God,
the heavenly Jerusalem... and to Jesus the mediator of the new
covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things
than that of Abel"

(Hebrews 12:22-24). The New International Version reads,

"the blood of sprinkling that speaks a better word than Abel's blood
spoke."

The "blood of sprinkling" is important. The blood of the atonement lamb

which was offered once a year (Yom Kippur) in the nation of Israel
(Leviticus 16), was sprinkled on the mercy seat in the holy of holies where
the high priest went on the Day of Atonement. Jesus, as our high priest in
heaven, shed His blood once at Calvary.

"The blood of sprinkling" refers to the blood on the mercy seat. That means
you have come to the blood on the mercy seat.

Chapters 9 and 10 of Hebrews clearly describe how the high priest under
the law went into the tabernacle made with hands, but Jesus entered into the
heavenly temple, not with blood of bulls and goats, but with His own blood
to appear in the presence of God FOR US.

Jesus is now appearing in the presence of God FOR US, in our behalf, as
our advocate, a real representative and attorney.

"The blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of

Abel." Shed blood speaks! In Genesis 4:10, when God called to Cain, He
said, "The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the
ground." He wasn't speaking figuratively. God can hear the sound of shed
blood. It cries to God. Abel's blood cried out: Vengeance! Vengeance!
Judgment! And so God placed judgment on Cain, a mark of banishment and
exile. He was sent away to the land of Nod for the murder of his brother.*

Now the "blood of sprinkling," which is the blood of Jesus on the mercy
seat in heaven, speaks "better things than that of Abel." It speaks a better
word than the blood of Abel spoke. It doesn't cry out for vengeance; it cries
out for mercy. We overcome the devil by the blood of the Lamb and the
word of our vocal agreement here on earth; and when the devil accuses us
to God in heaven, Jesus overcomes the devil by His blood on the mercy
seat. It is His testimony concerning the blood and our acceptance of it that
overcomes the devil.

Satan may say, "Look at Your servant—this, that and the other." If some of
it is true, God cannot say, "That's absolutely wrong." Satan appeals to the
legal holiness of God that demands judgment for sin. Then, in the heavenly
courtroom, the Judge (God) turns to the Attorney (Jesus) after the
Prosecutor (the devil) has made his case and asks,
"What do You have to say?"

"I shed My blood for David, and David accepts My blood," answers the
Attorney.

"Is that all You have to say?"

"Yes, that is all I have to say."

"Case dismissed," declares the Judge.

In the Old Testament, in the holy of holies, the ark of the covenant had the
mercy seat on top of it, and in between were the cherubim. God said that He
dwelt or abode "over the mercy seat."

* For a more detailed study of Cain and Abel, see chapter 2 of The Precious
Blood, entitled "Why God Accepted Abel and Rejected Cain."

So in front of God the Father is the blood of Jesus. I Peter 1:18-19 tells us,
"Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible
things ... but with the precious blood of Christ...." Now if I was not
redeemed with corruptible things, and I was redeemed by the blood, then
what is that blood? Incorruptible! Not capable of death! That blood on the
mercy seat is just as living as that which flowed in Jesus' veins. It talks. It
says, "Mercy.

Mercy." It speaks a better word.

Satan is muzzled before the Father. He is left without a word to say.

The Father of Mercy and God of all Comfort is His legal role of justice. I'm
reminded of a great hymn written by Charles Wesley:

The Father hears Him pray, His dear Anointed One; He cannot turn away
the presence of His Son.

His Spirit answers to the Blood, His Spirit answers to the Blood.

And tells me I am born of God.

Five bleeding wounds He bears, Received on Calvary.

They pour effectual prayers; They strongly plead for me.

"Forgive him, oh, forgive," they cry. "Forgive him, Oh, forgive," they cry.

"Let not that ransomed sinner die."

"Who is he that condemneth?" (Romans 8:34). It is Christ who intercedes

for us at the Father's right hand. He makes intercession for us. He stands in
our place. The Father looks at us in Him, and Jesus says, "I shed My blood
and He accepts My blood." As long as we are under that blood covering,
then we have this continual, perfect, and wonderful salvation. Jesus
intercedes for us on the basis of the blood.

Jesus overcomes the accuser in Heaven by the blood of the Lamb and the
word of His (Jesus') testimony. For us Jesus overcomes the accuser in
Heaven. Every time Satan accuses us before the Father, Jesus is our legal
advocate and technical representative before the Father's right hand.

He pleads the merits of His blood. The Father continues His acceptance of
us even with all our faults and failures, our sins and shortcomings, because
of the perfect righteousness of Jesus and because we truly do desire to be
pleasing to Him. Every hour that Satan accuses the saints before God, he is
cast down by Jesus at the Father's right hand.

In summary of this chapter, I'd like to remind you that the enemy's three
primary roles of attack against you are: 1) Tempter; 2) the Deceiver; 3) the
Accuser.

Announce the following liberation decree to your soul:

"Through the blood of the Lamb and the word of my testimony I can
overcome the tempter, the deceiver, and the accuser."

Say with determination in your heart:

"I'm not going to let the tempter overcome me. I'm not going to let the
deceiver overcome me. I'm not going to let the accuser overcome me."
Chapter 3

Overcoming Satan When He Accuses Others to Me

Now let's study how to overcome the accuser when he accuses the brethren
to you and to me. Note the wording of the Scripture in Revelation 12:10-11:

"And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and
strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for
the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before
our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the
Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their
lives unto the death."

Many Christians become ineffective when Satan comes against them in the
role of the accuser of the brethren. In this function he accuses the brethren
to the brethren.

When he accuses us before God, Jesus overcomes that for us every time,
perfectly. God would that we overcome Satan in that same degree when he
accuses others to us.

We must learn to recognize Satan's activities when he accuses the brethren

to us, and we must learn how to overcome him when he uses our mouth as a
tool to accuse others.

Much of the schism and discord in the church today is due to the work of
the accuser of the brethren. At times we unwittingly become a tool of the
accuser and voice his very words. The greatest hindrance to unity in the
church today is not diversity of doctrine and affiliation or differences of
creed, but the discord among the brethren.

Satan fights the unity of the church. When the church becomes unified and
in full stature as a mature man, then all men will know that we are Jesus'
disciples by the LOVE we have one for another.
How subtly the accuser works to fill our minds with accusations about
others. Often we think these are our own thoughts, not realizing that the
accuser is whispering in our ear. Sometimes we have thought the accuser's
suggestions about our brothers were insights from God and have called this
process the "gift of discernment." (Know this: there is no such gift as
"discernment."

However, there is a gift of "discernings of spirits.") The word diabolos from

which we get the word "devil," means one who prosecutes as in a
courtroom. Another meaning is "slanderer." Satan primarily
means "adversary," but secondarily means "accuser." This is his very nature.
To accuse is Satan's highest role of attack against the church. He is so subtle
we often don't even realize his attacks.

"Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; ... variance,
emulations, wrath, strife, seditions ..." (Galatians 5:19-20). "Seditions"
means division or factions.

The "works of the flesh" can only come about in the church through the
believer. Many times in ignorance we yield to the accuser of the brethren,
permitting him to use us as a tool to accomplish "seditions."

The spirit of condemnation has such an inroad into the body of Christ. One
reason for this is that the voice of the accuser often comes from the pulpit.
God's people have been served heavy yokes and bondages.

The Apostle Paul said in Galatians 5:15, "But if ye bite and devour one
another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another." All of the
biting and devouring going on in the body of Christ is consuming it from
within. The preachers are the most guilty. In some ministerial fellowships
there is little fellowship but much backbiting and devouring. One brother
comes against the other or slanders the name of a more popular preacher.

Mark 7:20-23 tells us in the words of Jesus, "That which cometh out of
the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of
men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts,
covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an EVIL EYE,
blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within,
and defile the man."

What is an EVIL EYE? To look at a person and immediately think evil. We

look at them to discover what is wrong with them. We desire to see what
wrong they reflect.

An EVIL EYE is in operation when a person who has no merit for his
judgment looks upon someone and instantly judges from the outward
appearance. In II Corinthians 5:12 Paul talked about "them which glory in
appearance, and not in heart." This is what the Bible calls an "evil eye."
It is looking upon someone with evil suspicion. The accused have done
nothing and said nothing. Nothing firsthand is known about the person.

This is an evil eye. This defiles not only the individual who has the evil eye,
but often the whole body. Suspicion is very contagious.

In one church a person said to me, "I have the gift of discernment. I discern
a very bad spirit about you." After a while I realized she didn't have a
revelation from the Lord, just a plain old suspicion, which is an evil eye. An
evil eye is a spiritual operation, but one that does not come from the Holy
Spirit. Its source is the accuser of the brethren.

In Proverbs 6:16-18 Solomon said, "These six things doth the Lord hate:
yea, seven are an abomination unto him." He is saying that God hates six
specific sins but the seventh is in a class all by itself. Mind you, the Lord
hates all seven things, but the seventh in the list is a special abomination
before God. In that list He talks about pride, murder, lying, wickedness ..
but the seventh thing, the greatest abomination to God, is "HE THAT
SOWETH DISCORD AMONG THE BRETHREN." It is hard to believe
that God hates discord sowing in the church more than He despises murder
in the world. Yet a man full of wisdom said such is the case.

Judge Righteous Judgment

The Apostle Paul reproved those who gloried in appearance and not in
heart. "That ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in
appearance, and not in heart.... Wherefore henceforth know we no man
AFTER THE FLESH ..." (II Corinthians 5:12, 16). We are not to know a
man, a minister or a brother in the Lord, after the flesh, after the natural or
the outward order of things. Often we evaluate a ministry and its
effectiveness by outward growth, or by its numerical size, or by monetary
growth, or by some other facet of outward natural things, the car the
minister drives, the kind of clothes he wears, etc. We tend to judge
ministerial success from the natural standpoint. Just because the ministry
has flourished does not mean it is necessarily of God.

Bigness does not necessarily denote godliness, although commercial

success is one of the end-time signs in the church. Paul said to Timothy that
financial accruement during the latter times would become very popular
and that godliness would be a means to gain (I Timothy 6:5). The more
financial accretion a brother amasses in the ministry today, the more godly
he is considered to be. By the same token, we should not judge the
effectiveness of someone's ministry by the natural appearance. We should
learn how to judge righteous judgment.

Recently I heard a brother say, "Satan isn't fighting unity." "What do you
mean?" I asked. He replied, "Satan has the Christians doing it for him."

True, it is Satan behind the Christians who are devouring one another. We
need to look to the Word and let the Word show us where we have allowed
the accuser of the brethren to use us to aid his work.

John 7:24 states, "Judge not according to the appearance, but judge
righteous judgment." If you judge by appearance it is the outward, the god
of this world, who could be influencing your judgment.
JUDGE RIGHTEOUS JUDGMENT. Know no man after the flesh.

Don't judge a minister or brother by the flesh.

A lady I know was telling me about an extremely obese preacher and what
a great blessing she received from his ministry. I said to her, "Sister, you
know there is bound to be something wrong because of his outward
appearance." I'll never forget what she said.
"Yes, but I've learned not to evaluate that man's spirit after the outward
appearance. I know that in his personal life there must be something that is
not as it should be, but I've learned not to judge after a man's flesh. I've
learned to receive in the Spirit what God has for me in his ministry."

She was judging righteous judgment. How slow we are to perceive spiritual
things, but not so with Jesus.

Usually when someone asks me to discern something, in the Spirit it takes

me awhile to get the understanding.

I told a prophet that I was having sinus problems.

Immediately he replied, "This came on you when you were twelve," and
proceeded to tell me other things. He had no way of knowing that when I
was in the sixth grade I had an attack with sinus, was hospitalized and
missed twenty-nine days of one semester of school. This brother had such
"quick understanding in the fear of the Lord," it didn't take him long to
receive revelation about my condition.

My flow of revelation is not that quick, and I need to learn to judge not after
the sight of my eyes. The Lord is having to teach me along this line.

A few years ago we were in a grocery store, and we noticed a man with a
huge cigar sticking out of his mouth.

It was so big it made his mouth look out of shape, and it slurred his speech.
He was talking to my wife's father, who is a beautiful Christian and who has
known this man for some time. You could hear him through his mumbling
talking about Jesus, about healings, and about people receiving the baptism
of the Holy Spirit. And I thought, "Yeah, uh huh...." Very quickly this
pharisaical attitude welled up in me. Dianne and her father were able to
rejoice and praise the Lord with him. And I was there with "You know how
these Methodists are. If people have a smoking habit, they better get set
free. That's just a terrible ungodly thing!" And the Lord put His finger on
me right in the store. If I judge someone in my heart, I need to repent of that
criticism. He that sows discord among the brethren is of the seventh
abomination. It is the thing God hates most: destroying the body of Christ,
being used of the accuser of the brethren to accuse others. How many times
we do this.

It is nothing more than Satan talking through us.

Today this man has laid aside his huge cigars, and his words are
understandably clearer when he talks about Jesus to almost everyone who
comes in his store. He has been instrumental in leading many Methodists in
the western Kentucky area to a deeper knowledge of the Lord.

I know a lot of other Christians who never had an outward habit to conquer
but who have also told very few people about the Lord.

We say, "Yes, this brother is given to this, or that. He needs this or he needs
that. He sure is shallow." And all the time we think we are dealing in a
spiritual realm, when actually we are looking to the natural. If we are going
to become perfect and mature, we are going to have to be blind to the
natural appearance. We are not to judge by outward appearance but judge
righteous judgment.

"What about this man's ministry?" I'm frequently asked. If I reply, "Well, I
heard one thing about him," I might put a derogatory light upon the man.
Even though I don't realize it, I may have put him in a negative category.

One thing I've learned is that every preacher has an off night. I used to say,
"I'll go hear any brother once." Now I say, "I'll go hear any brother two or
three times before I form an opinion."

Several years ago I went to hear a well-known evangelist. To me, at the

time, pride and arrogance were pouring forth. I went away praying, "Oh,
God, how can You be in that? I can't see God at all in this. I can't see why
others see so much in this preacher." My peace was gone; and between the
Lord and me, my prayer life wasn't flowing. For several days afterward
every time I praised the Lord, it was empty and hollow-sounding. The Lord
said, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God."

I repented and got my heart right toward the brother and went to another
meeting.
God was able to allow me to properly evaluate the man's ministry. I got my
heart pure toward God and was able to overlook the outward things, leaving
them for God to deal with; and did I see God! I was thrilled and saw God do
some great works. I learned something important about preachers: there is
none who is all wheat. We are all a mixture. There is nothing in our
ministries today that is all good or all evil. (There are false prophets, of
course, but I am speaking of those who are serving the Lord.) We are to
prove all things, to hold fast that part which is good, and to abstain from all
appearance of evil—all the chaff.

A brother came to me, "I just love your tapes. I've heard thirty or forty. But
on this one I disagreed so much I've not been able to listen to any more of
your tapes." It was such a minor thing he disagreed with, I was surprised at
his strong reaction.

I replied, "Brother, you need to realize I'm just a man like yourself. My
teaching has some parts of God and some parts of me; and you'll just have
to learn how to weigh, to evaluate, and to judge with righteous judgment.

But don't let the accuser of the brethren throw me out just because of one
little thing."

Ephesians 4:32 tells us: "Be ye kind one to another."

The word "kind" is the same word used in Matthew 11:30 when Jesus said,
"My yoke is easy." It should be easy to be yoked one to another.

I have heard some say, "That particular minister has nothing." And I go to
hear him with a preconceived notion and judgment that I have not evaluated
from sitting under his ministry. I've learned that sometimes that very same
brother I've heard so much bad about will minister to me in such a beautiful
way. I'm learning slowly, but surely, to judge with righteous judgment.

Let's check in John's Gospel where Jesus did judge with righteous
judgment.

"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" (John 2:23-25).

Every time you say, "What about so and so? What about that sister? What
did you feel about her?" think of this verse. Jesus was not this way. He
"needed not that any should testify of man." He didn't need anyone to
tell Him what another person was like. You would never hear Jesus ask any
questions such as: "Peter, have you noticed anything strange about John
lately? There is something about John; he doesn't have the victory lately. I
was just wondering." Jesus needed no one to testify of man, for He knew
what was in man. He did not need any person to give evidence about
another person.

"For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to
shew himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward
him" (II Chronicles 16:9). We know that His eyes are always upon the
righteous, according to Psalm 34:15, and yet He still has to look over all the
earth to find those whose heart is perfect toward Him. God judges heart
attitudes, and we need to judge with a righteous judgment.

We need to judge with a righteous judgment a brother or a sister who

stumbles in sin. When a minister stumbles, immediately you hear all the
other ministers talking about him. Be careful what kind of judgment you
render, for God is going to let you be judged by the same measure
of judgment. When we hear something bad about a brother, how quick we
are to evaluate, to surmise, and to formulate our opinion about him, even
before we take it to God in prayer. We are so quick to judge after the sight
of the eye.

God wants us to use righteous judgment and not to be used by the accuser
of the brethren.

I've heard some dreadful things about ministers. I'd think that they truly
were bad and that those brothers had better repent. After some years of
travel, I heard that I had a Cadillac back home, that I owned two homes,
and that I did all kinds of terrible things. I'd never even owned a car, let
alone a Cadillac. I didn't even have a home, let alone two homes. I said,
"God, those are dreadful things people are saying. They are lies." The Lord
let me ride along for a while as I was praying about this. Then, suddenly I
remembered, "Oh, did you hear about brother so and so?

Why he does this, and he does that and the other."

Somebody saw him somewhere do something or other.

The Lord reminded me that I had been quick to believe that report. I
repented.

We grow up learning how to assess and judge in the natural, and it's hard
for us to learn how to judge in the spiritual. One example of this truth is
found in Acts 9, but let me preface my remarks about the treatment of Saul.

We often think of the New Testament church as being perfect. IT WAS FAR
FROM PERFECTION. In Acts 9 is an example of Satan's accusing a
brother to the brethren and causing suspicion—an evil eye—and rejection
of the brother. If it hadn't been for one man (Barnabas) who knew how to
judge with a righteous judgment, Saul might have been permanently
bruised.

Acts 9 is all about Saul, a hotheaded zealot. Jesus apprehended him on the
road to Damascus with a dazzling light.

Jesus appeared to Ananias and told him to "go into the street which is
called Straight, and enquire in the house of Judas for the one called
Saul of Tarsus: for behold, he prayeth." Was he willing to go? No, he
immediately began to give God a news report: "Lord, haven't You heard
what terrible things this man has done to Your saints in Jerusalem?"
Ananias argued with the Lord. But the Lord said to him, "Go thy way." He
wasn't given much explanation, just "GO THY WAY," and then the Lord
told him of the things that Saul must suffer. That day Saul became a vibrant
believer.

"And when Saul was come to Jerusalem [headquarters, for the Gospel
was first preached where the outpouring at Pentecost had occurred], he
assayed to join himself to the disciples: but they were all afraid of him,
and believed not that he was a disciple" (Acts 9:26).

The Scripture doesn't say, "When PAUL was come. .." It says, "When
SAUL was come. . " He was still unrecognized. It is hard for me to picture
Christians who never quoted Paul, but such was the case.

Let us use our imaginations concerning the young convert's attempt to join
the disciples:

"Oh, but I've repented! I had a dazzling light out on the road."

"Were any of the brothers with you when that happened?"

"No, I wasn't a Christian then, so I certainly wouldn't be with Christians

when that happened."

"The Scripture says out of the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every
word be established."

"Oh, but come on. I've repented. I'm sorry for all the havoc I wrought, and I
have been forgiven for having thrown your relatives in jail."

Imagine all he had to overcome!

There was no forgiveness or trust toward this new brother. They had
relatives and friends who were in jail because of Saul's work against them.
We see in them the accusation of Satan. If there was anything Satan did not
want, it was for Saul to become a functioning part of the church. He wanted
to do everything he could to keep Saul away. Satan went around whispering
in their ears: "He's not a believer!" "Don't listen to him." "Don't believe
him."

"This is the man who is spying out the church." "He's the ringleader." "Be
careful, don't get too friendly with him."

Whisper. Whisper. The whisperings of Satan caused the brethren to be

afraid of Saul.
Saul didn't get many hugs when he went to Jerusalem.

I know how he felt. I imagine he got some hugs like ones I've received! I go
to a new place and feel conspicuous.

Then here come the elders. Oh, yes, they want to hug you.

(I'd rather just stick with the old fashioned handshake.) Praise God for the
elders! In five seconds they expect me to give a rundown of all my
background. They give me a scrutinizing gaze from the top of my head to
the soles of my feet and ask, "Are you married?" "Do you have your bills
paid back home?" They question me like interrogating detectives instead of
praying for me before the meeting. I feel like an ox going to the slaughter,
or like a lamb before the shearers. Their line of thinking seems to be that no
one can or should cast out devils in Jesus' name and not follow them.

Can you picture yourself in Saul's place? "They were all afraid of him and
believed not that he was a disciple."

And don't you know he would have finished it all if he had said, "I'm going
to preach before kings. Thousands of Gentiles will be saved through my
preaching."

"But Barnabas...." Thank God for Barnabas who overcame the accuser's lies
to his ears, by the merit of Jesus' blood for that new disciple. "But
Barnabas took him, and brought him to the apostles, and declared unto
them how he had seen the Lord in the way, and how he had spoken to
him, and how he had preached boldly at Damascus in the name of
Jesus. And he was with them coming in and going out at Jerusalem"
(Acts 9:27-28).

This dear brother knew to judge not by outward appearance. He did not
judge according to Saul's past. He knew to judge with righteous judgment.

I was asked to teach in this certain city and a brother said about me: "Well, I
don't know about him. I don't agree with him on everything. I had a check
about him in a certain area at one time." Another Christian looked at him
and commented, "Brother, I've had several checks about you all along."
It is so easy to look for something negative. We go to meetings to see what
we can find wrong with that brother or sister. "He's good in some ways,
but...." Romans 14:4

asks, "Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own
master he standeth or falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is
able to make him stand."

Concerning Christian brothers and sisters—all of them are another man's

servant. They are servants of the Lord Jesus. And who am I to sit in
judgment on them? They will stand before the judgment seat of Christ, so
who am I to judge another man's servant?

In Romans 14:10 the question is asked, " But why dost thou judge thy
brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother?" How frequently
we are guilty of asking others, "Did you hear that preacher? Is he all right?"
Often the answer is, "Well .. I guess he's all right." This answer sets him at
nought immediately.

A certain popular minister is very silly—acting in the pulpit.

I've wondered about him and once asked a very well-known teacher,
"Brother so and so, what do you think about him?" The man looked at me
and commented, "He is God's problem!"

This is correct, for the man does not have to stand and give an account to
you or to me. The pastor, of course, must use wisdom and spiritual
discernment in asking guest speakers to fill his pulpit.

"Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this
rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his
brother's way" (Romans 14:13).

There are some people we would rather not sit by in church. We wouldn't
say it, but it is true. There are some people we prefer to avoid.

Jesus was free with everyone. He could sit down with the publican or with
the magistrate. He could freely socialize with the greatest to the least.
We have to repent of judging the wrong way, because we have been
yielding to the accuser. The only way we are going to overcome is by the
blood and by the word of our testimony. We need to ask for the blood to
cleanse us and then to confess the merits of Jesus' blood for our brother and
sister. When Satan comes with: "Look at that brother; look at that sister,"
we should say, "they accept the blood of Jesus, and they are righteous
because of the blood."

There are some who are weaker in the faith than others, who have obvious
spots in their garments; and we turn from them when we could minister to
them and restore them. The Christian army is the only army that kicks its
wounded.

In earthly wars when a soldier's fellow comrade is shot down, he will risk
life and limb right out on the battlefield to pick up his friend and carry him
to safety. But let the brother on the front line of spiritual battle drop his
shield one way or the other, allowing a fiery dart to hit him, and often his
brethren will run out to him and say, "Why did you let the devil do that to
you?" and give him a sharp kick in his already-hurting side.

Let a man of God fall one way or the other, and, oh, you'll hear righteous
indignation all over America pounding on that man. All the many years he
may have served God, all the many trials and secret burdens he may have
carried for the cause of Christ are forgotten. That one tragedy is
remembered. Long after God's forgiven and forgotten it, people remember.
We bite each other like cannibals.

"But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not
consumed one of another" (Galatians 5:15).

Don't judge, lest you be judged. Judge with the wrong kind of judgment,
and it will come right back to you. In fact, that may be the only reason most
of us want to stop judging the wrong way; we don't like being judged the
wrong way!

Try the Spirits

What are you to judge when a prophet comes your way? Most people try
his doctrine.

"Therefore knowing no man after the flesh." People knew Jesus of Nazareth
by His appearance, by His mannerisms, and by His physical traits for a few
brief years. We know Him thus no more; we know Him in the Spirit. We
don't know Him in the natural; we know Jesus by the revelation of the Holy
Spirit. That is also how we are to know a brother or sister.

I was in an area and a pastor came to the meeting.

After the meeting we went to eat and fellowship. Soon I found it was going
to be a question-and-answer time. It wasn't a time for fellowship at all. It
was a time for finding out what kind of doctrine I believed. I John 4:1-4
makes it very clear that we are not to try a person's doctrine.

"Beloved, believe not every spirit, but TRY THE SPIRITS whether
they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the
world" (verse 1). TRY THE SPIRIT. Don't judge after the natural, for no
guest preacher is stupid enough to say, "I don't believe Jesus was born of a
virgin."

A false teacher will have all the right answers at first, slowly introducing
heresy as he gains the people's confidence. Jesus taught that outwardly a
wolf appears to be a sheep. No, TRY THE SPIRITS, whether they be of
God. You cannot very well do that unless you are in the right spirit yourself.
"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous
judgment" (John 7:24).

If we are to be able to overcome the accuser when he accuses others to us,

we must remember some good questions Paul gave us in Romans 14:10:
"But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought
thy brother?" If we say about a brother, "Well, he doesn't have much," we
are setting him at nought.

A good principle to follow: "Let us not therefore judge one another any
more" (verse 13). "Judge" means in this sense "to condemn." We are to
judge in the sense of evaluation, weighing those who labor among us. Paul
said, "He that is spiritual judgeth all things" (I Corinthians 2:15). In a
spiritual sense we are to weigh, but we are not to condemn with an evil eye.

If you have been guilty of judging, of letting the accuser of the brethren use
you by whispering in your ear, overcome him by the blood of Jesus. Don't
look for the bad in your brother or sister; look for the good.

When people come to me with a negative attitude, if I'm not walking in the
Spirit; I will react negatively. But when people come with a positive
attitude, "Brother, I believe Jesus Christ is in you" (II Corinthians 13:5), or
"I came to see Jesus," they draw something good right out of me. It is so
beautiful when people can get a word from the Lord.

I've been in meetings when whole crowds have been swayed by the accuser
of the brethren because of the negative binding attitudes. Some have come
looking only for the bad.

Sometimes we say, "I feel a check about him." We can feel that about any
brother. There will always be something with which we don't agree, or with
which we are not in harmony. So, instead of looking at that with which we
don't agree, we must start looking for Jesus Christ in that person. We need
to bring a good report about the brethren and say, "Brother, Jesus Christ is
in you, the hope of glory; and I know that you have areas in your soul the
Lord is working on and ironing out, but I'm believing to see Jesus Christ in
you."

We are too quick to judge, saying, "Shape up or ship out." Let us not
therefore judge one another any more.

Judge a righteous judgment.

Believers are not to be in wrangling arguments. "Him that is weak in the

faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations" (Romans 14:1). "... If
in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this to you"

(Philippians 3:15). Let us walk by the same rule; let's all walk in harmony,
Paul is saying. Learn to yield not to the accuser of the brethren when he
accuses the brothers to us.
Subtle voices also come to us; we have to learn how to deal with the
accuser of the brethren who is a whisperer of lies. Let me give you an
example:

I'm driving down the highway. Suddenly the thought comes to me: "You
know, Brother so and so wasn't very responsive to you the last time you
were there." (Maybe he didn't go out of his way to show kindness.) "You
really ought to be careful about that man." Satan whispered that in my ear.

If I don't discern that that voice is coming from Satan and cast it down,
what is going to happen? Satan is going to go to that brother miles away
with: "You know, Brother Alsobrook really didn't have quite enough love
toward you, did he?" When we come together the next time, a wall will
exist between us. There will be a reserve. My brother-in-law, Jim Maloney,
refers to these inward reservations as "heart measles."

No preacher has not had the accuser of the brethren work overtime on his
behalf around other ministers, around other Christians, around other
fellowships, and has not known what it is to go with every eye on him.

"Let us not therefore judge one another any more."

This doesn't mean that we are not to evaluate others properly in the Spirit.
The word "judge" in Romans 14:30 means in a sense of condemning our
brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to "judge" each other in the sense that
we ascertain a need and minister to it (see Galatians 6:1-2).

Judge NOT According to Appearance

Two passages in Isaiah speak of how Jesus would judge and how He would
not judge. To follow the example Jesus set forth is a wise principle.

Isaiah 42:19 records some strange words about the Servant Yahweh was
going to send: "Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger
that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the Lord's
servant?" Is it not strange that the Lord's servant is to be blind? The Lord's
messenger is to be deaf? Think of it: the messenger that God would send
would be blind and deaf!
"Who is blind as he that is perfect." In verse 18 we read: "Hear, ye deaf;
and look, ye blind, that ye may see."

That is exactly what Jesus did. The deaf heard and the blind saw. Yet the
Word says of Him that although He opened the ears of the deaf and opened
the eyes of the blind, He is both blind and deaf. We know that this cannot be
a blindness and a deafness concerning His physical eyes and ears for verse
20 reads: "Seeing many things, but thou observest not [seeing many
things but paying little regard to them]; opening the ears, but he
heareth not."

"He who is perfect is blind."

The prophecy stated of Jesus, "He who is sent by God is deaf." He opened
the ears of the deaf and caused the blind to see, but He is blind and deaf. He
sees many things but doesn't observe them. He opens the ears, but He hears
not. This paradox is one of those holy riddles we sometimes find in the
Word of God.

Let us see how He is blind.

Turn to Isaiah, chapter 11. The first few verses in this chapter deal with the
first coming of Jesus, and the last several verses deal with the Second
Coming. Verse one is one of the messianic promises of Jesus, the Branch
that would grow out of Jesse's root. Verse two reads, "And the spirit of the
Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the
spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of
the Lord." Here are seven spirits of God. John 3:36 states that Jesus had
the Spirit without measure; this means not only in quantity but also in all
operations.

1) The Spirit of the LORD (Yahweh—the Father) shall rest upon him.

2) The spirit of wisdom.

3) The spirit of understanding.

4) The spirit of counsel.

5) The spirit of might.

6) The spirit of knowledge.

7) The spirit of the fear of the Lord.

We read in the Book of Revelation (1:4; 3:1; 4:5; 5:6) of the seven spirits of
God, or the sevenfold Holy Spirit.

Jesus had the Spirit of the Lord; the Dove rested upon Him so that He could
heal the bruised and deliver the oppressed (Luke 4:18).

He had the spirit of wisdom and understanding so that He would know how
to answer the questions of the scribes and the Pharisees.

He used the spirit of counsel and might in His prophetic ministry.

Later we'll see how He used the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the
Lord.

Isaiah 11:3, "And shall make him of quick understanding (to perceive
or to smell) in the fear of the Lord: and he shall not judge after the sight
of his eyes. "

(WHO IS BLIND BUT MY SERVANT? WHO IS BLIND AS HE THAT IS

PERFECT?) How would Jesus be blind? "He shall not judge after the
sight of his eyes." (Oh, yes, His physical eyes will be quite able to see, but
He won't make decisions by what He sees.) How is He deaf?
"Neither reprove after the hearing of his ears," that is, He won't render a
decision by what His ears hear. "But with righteousness shall he judge...."

We have already mentioned that John's Gospel told how Jesus judged:
"Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous
judgment."

"Appearance" means don't judge after the sight of your eyes, but judge
righteous judgment. Isaiah 11:3 and 4 fit in so beautifully with John 7:24.

"But with righteousness shall he judge (deliver) the poor."

The problem is that the accuser gets us to sit in judgment. We are guilty of
this because we walk according to the appearance.

Let us take one more example from the Gospel of John which shows how
Jesus practiced the fulfillment of the prophecies given in Isaiah.

Jesus' methods of judging are portrayed in John, chapter 2 and chapter 8.

Isaiah clearly taught that the Messiah would not judge after the sight of His
eyes nor reprove after the hearing of His ears, but with righteousness would
He judge. A quick perception (scent), a quick knowing in the fear of the
Lord.

John 2:23-24: "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." This is strange indeed. He is at Jerusalem at the passover on a
feast day and has an outstanding meeting.

Many people believe in Him when they see the miracles He does. (If He
had had a magazine, it would have been the meeting of the month!) From
the natural eye it appears to be an outstanding success. He is so wonderfully
received. Many are believing—many seeing tremendous miracles—a great
time, yet Jesus shows no elation over the meeting. "But Jesus did not
commit himself unto them." It must have seemed strange to His disciples.
Jesus was not carried away with all of this because “he knew all men and
needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. "
Jesus did not need anyone to tell Him what another person was like.

The narrative in John 2:25 ends the chapter, but no chapter division should
occur there. The words following are actually an example of Jesus' knowing
what was in man. "There was a man of the Pharisees, named
Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews...." This man is really somebody. This is a
teacher's teacher, a preacher's preacher. This is the elite of the spiritual
hobnob of Jerusalem. And yet Jesus said, "Nicodemus, you need to be
born again." Jesus knew what was in him. How did He know what was in
man? Because the knowledge of the Lord was upon Him, the quick
understanding in the fear of the Lord. He didn't judge by the sight of His
eyes.
Jesus did not judge "after the hearing of his ears."

Possibly some said of Nicodemus, "He's one of our most spiritual persons
in all of Israel." But Jesus judged with righteousness. He saw the inward
spirit of the man, and it was quite dead.

Another example is found in John, chapter 8, fulfilling the prophecy, "He

shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, nor reprove after the hearing
of his ears."

"Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he
came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he
sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto
him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the
midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in
the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be
stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they
might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger
wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. " He doesn't make a
decision by what His ears hear. He sees many things and pays no attention
to them.

"As though he heard them not." He opens deaf ears and yet doesn't hear
with His own ears.

Some theologians, who are not as smart as they assume they are, purport the
idea that this incident was a setup. According to this view the woman wasn't
actually an adulteress, but an actress. The Pharisees were hoping to
embarrass Christ by putting Him into a position where He would pass
judgment for adultery on an innocent individual. The people would then
know He was not a true prophet and His ministry would be permanently
discredited. However, if one accepts the Word of God as his standard this
woman surely was the adulteress the Pharisees said she was because Jesus
exhorted her to "sin no more" (verse 11), after all her judges had left the
scene.

The truth is the Pharisees showed their bigotry, hypocrisy, and partiality in
that they only brought the woman, and not the man also. "Master, she was
taken in adultery, in the very act." Well, what did they do with the man?
They didn't bring him. Moses taught that both parties were to be stoned.
Yet, these scribes and Pharisees brought only the woman.

Notice that Jesus was at the temple (verse 2), and many people were around
Him. The people at the temple knew the law of Moses. These people were
conditioned only by the Law. Jesus couldn't explain the soon-to-come new
covenant and the grace of God. In fact, Jesus couldn't even explain grace
and the new covenant to His closest disciples. He said in John 16:12, “I
have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all
truth." Since all men were so firmly entrenched in the belief that one must
be circumcised to saved, it took the Holy Spirit ten years after Pentecost to
teach them that a Gentile could be saved without that rite. Jesus, therefore,
could not explain to these people the purpose for which He was sent. These
people walked by the Word, and the Word then was only the Old Testament;
and it said irrevocably that an adulterer and adulteress are to be stoned to
death without mercy.

Jesus was sent by the Father not to condemn the world, but that the world
through Him might be saved (John 3:17). He was sent not to reveal the law
of God, but the grace of God (John 1:17). He was between a rock and a
hard place. If He had said, "Don't stone her," then those present would have
said, "This man is a false prophet, for it is written...." He would have been
opposing the law of Moses and would have been in disrepute by the people.
If Jesus had said, "Stone her," then He would have been compromising His
conviction and thwarting the purpose of His mission; for the Father sent
Him not into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through
Him might be saved. He didn't come to destroy, He came to save those
which were lost (Luke 19:10). At one time when the disciples said to Him,
"They won't receive You here, do You want us to command fire to come
down?" He 62

Overcoming Satan When He Accuses Others to Me answered, "You don't

even know what spirit you are of."

"Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but
what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to
accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the
ground, AS THOUGH HE HEARD THEM NOT." I believe He was
writing various Scriptures on the ground, about the Lord's mercy and love.

In verse 7 Jesus gave the perfect answer. "So when they continued asking
him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin
among you, let him first cast a stone at her." That is to say, "the sinner
shall be stoned. But the sinner must be stoned by sinless stone-throwers.

That even sounded good according to the law of Moses. Now doesn't that
make sense? If you are going to stone a sinner, you, as stone-throwers,
should be sinless.

In saying this, He doesn't refute the law of Moses, nor does He compromise
His mission. The "spirit of wisdom and understanding" was upon Him.

The Pharisees were men who were not ready to admit their own sins.
Usually they said in effect to Jesus, "We see, we are not blind. We are of
God, You are of the devil," etc. But here Jesus did something. In verse 7 He
said,

"Sinless stone-throwers, stone the sinner," and " again he stooped down,
and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by
their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even
unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the
midst" (verse 9).

"They went out one by one." Why didn't they all go out together?
"Beginning at the eldest, even unto the last"—beginning with the oldest
Pharisee and ending with the youngest Pharisee.

He must have gotten the attention of the oldest Pharisee. Quite possibly
when He stooped down and wrote in the sand in classical Hebrew, so that
no one standing around could read it but the educated Pharisee, He wrote
His chief, most grievous sin. And being convicted by what he had heard
—"he that is without sin let him cast the first stone"—and being convicted
by what he saw—his own pet sin, his greatest failure before God—he was
convicted by his own conscience and went out first.
Then Jesus looked at the next in line. He's the next super righteous. He's the
one who, if asked, "Are you righteous?" would reply, "Oh, am I righteous! I
fast twice a week, I give tithes of everything I own." Jesus caught his
attention and wrote his sin on the ground. Being convicted by what he had
heard and by what he had read, he went out also. Perhaps Jesus wrote the
name of someone that Pharisee had sinned against. Only that Pharisee
understood what the name "Micah" meant as the strange prophet wrote it in
the earth.

Those now leaving were the same men who were dragging the woman
through the street a short time before, they who would not relax their grip
on her wrists as they hauled her before Jesus. Jesus kept on writing on the
ground until they all left. They went out one by one, beginning with the
oldest to the youngest. What He wrote—every man knew He had no way of
knowing—was revealed to Him by God. He couldn't condone sin, but the
sin within their hearts was as great as the sin within her acts, and if one
should be stoned, all should be stoned.

Jesus didn't need any man to tell Him what a person was like, for He knows
what is in man. He doesn't judge according to the appearance, He judges
righteous judgment.

Then "when Jesus lifted himself up, and saw none but the woman, he
said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man
condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her,
Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" (verses 10-11).

"Where are those thine accusers?" We become accusers, instruments of the

accuser of the brethren, whenever we judge after the flesh. We know man
after the flesh instead of knowing him by the Spirit. Jesus did not know a
person after the flesh; He knew a person by the Spirit.

In II Corinthians 5:16 Paul spoke to the Corinthian church, who were guilty
of glorying in appearance and not in heart. They were guilty of thinking
they were the super church with super apostles that would come through.
They were super-duper wonder workers. They gloried in man. Paul said,
"Your glorying is not good."
They might have said, "Have you been in so and so's meeting?" "Have you
heard this man?" Then to other ministers who were truly ministers of God,
they might have paid little regard. Even of Paul himself they said, "He
writes pretty good letters, but his personal presence is weak. He is
unimpressive. He's not even a good speaker."

In response Paul said, "Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the

flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now
henceforth know we him no more." That's why there are no original
paintings of Christ today. God knew we would copy after the flesh; whereas
He wants to form Christ within our souls. All the things we know about
Jesus today are what we've learned about Him by the Spirit and the Word.
Paul taught us that in the very same way that we know Jesus, by the Spirit,
we are to know every man among us.

Am I My Brother's Keeper?

The attitude many Christians seem to have is: "Am I my brother's keeper?"
This is the Cain spirit and a wrong attitude. It robs. We are not to look only
after ourselves, but we are to look after our brother also. We are to bear one
another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. If a brother is not an
overcomer, are we to kick him? That is what the accuser wants us to do. If
the brother stumbles in some outward sin, we find many Saints who will
kick him.

There is a way to identify a fault in a brother or sister which is not in a

sense of condemnation. In Zechariah 3, the angel of the Lord said to Joshua
that if he would keep God's ways, he would deliver His house. "If thou
wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt
also judge [deliver] my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will
give thee places to walk among these that stand by" (3:7). The Lord
wants us to DELIVER His house. He wants us to be able to judge with
righteous judgment. He that is spiritual judges all things (I Corinthians
2:15). We are to judge without a sense of condemnation or retaliation. We
are to judge on a one-to-one basis. If our brother trespasses against us, are
we first to call our best Christian friend and tell all about it? No.
We are first to go to the trespasser and tell the fault to the trespasser
ALONE (Matthew 18). This is the correct way.

This keeps the slanderer from accusing the body of Christ.

God grant that when a brother or sister resists you in a particular truth, you
won't let the accuser of the brethren build within you a wall of
defensiveness against him or her.

Three things greatly hinder the power of God in the church. They grieve
Christ and quench the moving of His healing power. These hindrances are
given in Isaiah 58:6-9.

Israel asked, "Why have we fasted and Thou seest not?"

God then gives three reasons why they were not receiving the healing
power: 1) the yoke of not letting the oppressed go free (legalism); 2) putting
forth of the finger (criticism, faultfinding); and 3) speaking vanities
(insincerity in speech). All of these hindrances are the influence of the
accuser.

The third hindrance mentioned is "speaking vanities,"

or insincere speech, or speaking words that we don't mean. Put these away
and then "shall your healing break forth speedily, and your light shall come
quickly."

Sadly, we are quick to judge the wrong way, and slow to judge the right
way. A right way to judge does exist.

Matthew 7:1 tells us in these very familiar words: "Judge not, that ye be
not judged." Sometimes the Word says, "don't judge," and sometimes it
says "judge." This is not a contradiction, but a contradistinction. Note Paul's
admonition in I Corinthians 2:15: "But he that is spiritual judgeth
[discerns] ALL THINGS, yet he himself is judged of no man." That is,
he weighs all things, he judges all things. Note also the wording: "HE
THAT IS SPIRITUAL judges all things."
There are shades of meaning in the word "judge." One of the most common
meanings is "to deliver." All the judges that God raised up in the Old
Testament were literally "the deliverers."

Believers are to "judge" or "deliver" a brother or sister.

In Matthew 7:1 the meaning here is that we are not to sit in judgment, but
we are to deliver. The wrong way to judge would be to sit in judgment.
There will come a time when we will sit in judgment, we will even judge
the angels, but until that time we judge no one. We are not to sit in
judgment before the time (see I Corinthians 4:5).

The Matthew 7 Scripture is usually read only through verse 4: "Judge not,
that ye be not judged ... and with what measure ye mete, it shall be
measured to you again.

And why beholdest thou the mote [a sliver] that is in thy brother's eye,
but considerest not the beam [the pole] that is in thine own eye? Or
how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine
eye; and behold, a beam is in thine own eye?" The sad thing is that we
often stop here when we read this Scripture. We need to read verse 5. If we
don't, we will think God does not want us to behold a fault in a brother. In
fact, if we even mention in the right spirit that a particular brother may need
prayer about something, someone may be quick to say, "Judge not!"

If we don't read the total context of these verses, we are left with the
misconception that it is wrong to ever evaluate another person, that it is out
of order to ever weigh them; because as surely as we find a mote in his eye,
we will have a beam in our eye. Therefore, we could conclude that we are
not ever to be concerned about our brother's splinter in his eye. We may
think we are doing our brother a service by ignoring the sliver in his eye.

Jesus teaches us the proper way to judge. "Thou hypocrite [play actor],
FIRST cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and THEN shalt thou
see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye" (verse 5). This
passage was opened to me in the following event.
I had been preaching in a small church in Texas. Some carpentry had been
going on in the back of the building, and a brother got something in his eye.
It was so painful to him. It was only a small splinter, but it felt like a huge
rock. People tried to help and he'd say, "Oh, no, don't bother me. Just leave
me alone." It was a natural reaction because of the pain.

I ran to him and pulled out my hankie and said, "Brother, let me help you."

"No, no!"

"Yes, let me help you," I spoke with authority because that splinter needed
to be removed. I opened his eye, and there it was. The splinter wasn't large,
but it was dangerous to be in his eye. I couldn't see it too clearly. I was
concerned about what might happen if I accidentally pushed it in deeper.
We brought him under the light, and I then could see the splinter clearly. It
stuck to the hankie, and I pulled it away. He was so relieved. He grabbed
and hugged me, saying, "Thanks!" While the splinter was in his eye, he
didn't want me to bother with it, but when it was out he was very grateful.

Now you are doing your brother a disservice if he is overtaken in a fault,

and you do not restore him. His spiritual eyesight will be impaired if the
sliver in his eye is not removed. But if you don't deal with the "timber of
self"

in your own life, you won't be able to see clearly to remove the speck. In
fact, you may even impair his eyesight and cause spiritual damage because
you will push that splinter further into the eye.

In order to see clearly we must be able to judge with righteous judgment,

which we can do after we've first judged ourselves. This is what Paul said in
Galatians 6:1:

"Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual,

restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself (as
Jesus said, "first cast the beam out of your own eye"), lest thou also be
tempted. Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of
Christ."
JESUS WANTS US TO TAKE THE MOTE OUT OF OUR BROTHER'S
EYE. But He doesn't want us to sit in judgment, or we'll only grind the
splinter into the eye.

Judge Not... But Judge

There is a way we are NEVER to judge, and there is a way we are

ALWAYS to judge. He that is spiritual judges ALL THINGS (I Corinthians
2:15). We are always to judge that way. That is why Paul said, "You which
are spiritual restore such an one." For only those who are spiritual are
able to judge the right way. John 7:24 tells us, "JUDGE NOT according to
the appearance, BUT JUDGE righteous judgment." This is out of the
Master's mouth.

There is no discrepancy or contradiction here.

In II Corinthians 5:12, Paul was rebuking those who gloried in appearance

and not in heart. We often think, carnal Christians like the Corinthians
would glory in appearance, but no spiritual man of God could fall into such
a mistake.

Let us look in I Samuel. Now here is a spiritual man, Samuel. This man had
heard God's voice since childhood.

He had received the revelation of God since his childhood.

He had judged Israel for forty years, and no record of disobedience or

rebellion against God exists in all of Samuel's life. He was a very godly
man.

King Saul had been deposed in God's eyes (I Samuel 16). He was still king
but God had refused him. The Lord sent Samuel to the house of Jesse to
choose Saul's successor from Jesse's sons. Samuel went; they offered
sacrifice; and then Samuel said, "Jesse, get all of your boys together" (verse
5). Seven of his sons were present. He had eight sons, but he didn't bother
to get the youngest. One of the older sons perhaps would be a successor to
King Saul but surely not the youngest.
They had been worshipping God, offering sacrifices.

The prophet Samuel should be "in the Spirit." "And it came to pass, when
they were come, that he [Samuel] looked on Eliab [the oldest son], and
said, Surely the LORD'S anointed is before him." This was Samuel's
decision. This is the successor for King Saul. This is the next king of Israel.
The Lord's anointed.

"But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on
the height of his stature; because I have refused him." Even godly
people can still judge after the appearance—the way we are NEVER to
judge. Even godly Samuel, when he looked at Eliab, who was so handsome
and strong to look upon, said, "Surely this is the successor for King Saul.
This is the Lord's anointed before Him."

God had to rebuke experienced Samuel. "Don't look on his countenance,

nor his stature, I refused him. For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man
looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the
heart" (paraphrased).

This, too, is how the accuser comes in. I'm not referring only to the physical
appearance of a man, but also to the way a situation can appear. You may
hear a story about some minister; the way it appears, you should just jump
all over him, but you don't know the full story. You need to pray for God to
give you the ability to discern and see what the motives and intents were.
Because, while God sees our outward actions, He weighs our actions by our
attitude. He judges our methods by our motives. God begins His inspection
in the heart. "... For the LORD is a God of knowledge, and by him
actions are weighed" (I Samuel 2:3).

None of the seven sons of Jesse was chosen by the Lord. "And Samuel
said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children?" None of these was Saul's
successor.

Jesse replied, " There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he
keepeth the sheep." So the youngster was called for.
Along came David. He was ruddy in complexion, and somewhat good to
look upon. This was the Lord's anointed. God had to point out to Samuel
not to judge by outward appearance. Even a very mature man of God can
miss it by judging according to his eyes or his ears. Pray with me:

"Lord, teach us to overcome fault-finding, grudging, repeating hearsay; and

even if we are repeating what is true, teach us not to repeat it unless it will
do good for the Kingdom.

"Lord, teach us to practice Philippians 4:8: 'Finally, brethren, whatsoever

things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just,
whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things
are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think
on these things.'

"I repent of repeating hearsay.

"I repent of gossiping.

"I repent of judgmentalism, faultfinding, and criticism.

"I repent of every way that I have yielded to Satan to use me to sow discord
among the brethren. I will no longer tear down my brother or my sister with
my tongue. I purpose that the adder's poison will not be in my lips.

"I ask forgiveness where I have judged with carnal judgment.

"I ask forgiveness for judging men after the flesh, for glorying after the
outward appearance.

"I ask for the ability to judge a righteous judgment, that I will not need any
man to testify about a man; that I will have true discernment and know
what is in man; that I will judge the 72

Overcoming Satan When He Accuses Others to Me heart attitude and only

in the sense to deliver Your house, for You alone are their judge; that I shall
not judge by the sight of my eyes, nor reprove after the hearing of my ears;
that my eyes be blind and my ears deaf concerning outward judgment; that
I will judge after the Spirit, and walk in love to the upbuilding of the body of
Christ; that I will never again be a tool of the accuser of the brethren.

"Thank You, Lord."

Chapter 4

Overcoming Satan When He Accuses Me to Myself

Conviction and Condemnation

Matthew 18:18 is a well-known verse. "Verily I say unto you,

Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and
whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." The Greek
verb tenses are the reverse of the English tenses in the King James Version.
A more accurate reading is: Whatsoever you bind on earth has been bound
in heaven, and whatsoever you loose on earth has already been loosed in
heaven, or by heaven. Let us look at this verse in the light of overcoming
the accuser.

The accuser is overcome in heaven whenever he assaults God's people. We

can overcome him here on earth because he has already been overcome in
heaven. We can bind the accuser when he comes to us with condemnation,
with inferiority, or with anything else. We can overcome him on earth
because he has been overcome in heaven. We can loose ourselves from the
accuser's influence here on earth because we have already been loosed by
heaven.

We are to overcome the accuser when he accuses us to ourselves. We need

to know the difference between conviction and condemnation. Romans 8:1
reminds us,

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ

Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

As long as you abide in Christ Jesus there is no condemnation. There is

CONVICTION, but there is no CONDEMNATION. An illustration follows.
When Joshua the high priest was clothed with filthy garments, Satan
resisted and accused him (as discussed in chapter 2). The angel of the Lord
overcame the devil's condemnation in Joshua's behalf; but after He cleansed
him and put a new change of garments upon him and a fair crown on his
head, then the angel of the Lord protested to Joshua concerning his
responsibilities. That is the picture of CONVICTION.

There are very definite CONVICTIONS for those who are in Christ Jesus.
There is no CONDEMNATION to those who abide in Christ.

I am not under CONDEMNATION. I have passed from death to life. I shall

not see condemnatory judgment so long as I abide in Christ.

Conviction can make you quite miserable; the chastening of the Lord can be
a truly sobering thing.

Condemnation hinders you from approaching God, whereas conviction will

cause you to flee to Him.

Condemnation can hinder your fellowship with God, whereas conviction

will actually aid you in walking with Him.

Condemnation looks at your failures as grounds for your having no rights to

the fellowship of God, whereas conviction looks at your failures and sins as
hindrances to your fellowship with God. Conviction teaches removal of
those sins and will greatly aid you in your fellowship with the Father.

Many of God's people are experiencing the condemnation of the accuser of

the brethren. They are 76

Overcoming Satan When He Accuses Me to Myself being accused by the

tormentor and are mistaking it for the conviction of the Comforter. There
are vast differences between condemnation and conviction.

How can I ascertain whether or not I am being convicted by the Lord or

condemned by the devil? One great difference is: CONDEMNATION is a
general, all-around putting-down of the child of God. It comes to you in a
general sense. "You are just generally a poor Christian.
You don't pray enough, read the Word enough, fast enough, or witness
enough. You don't have enough love.

You don't have enough joy. You don't have enough peace.

Look at you, see how those around you do so much better in their walk with
God!"

I've prayed for people and asked them, "What's the problem?"

"I don't know, I'm just bad all over."

This is what condemnation does: it is an accusation implying that you are

just an all-around good-for-nothing; you are the sorriest Christian that ever
took the name of Jesus. "Who are you to raise your hands, and who are you
to prophesy when there are other people more spiritual and closer to God
than you?" "Who do you think you are to be used of God?" That is the
voice of the accuser.

CONVICTION is very specific.

To follow this line of thought, go to the Old Testament to Psalm 139:23-24:

"Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my
thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me and lead me in the
way everlasting." I appreciate my background and what I was taught, but I
was under such condemnation, as were most of the people around me. One
of our first steps in seeking revival was to gather around the altar. The
evangelist would exhort us to "search our hearts." When we desperately
want to serve the Lord, we tend to look inward; but the inward look is not
always the right one.

When you "search your heart" you will find all kinds of things that will
burden you, weigh you down, and bring you low. In fact, you will just want
to quit praying.

You will get to the point of saying, "It's impossible. I'll never be what God
wants me to be if that is the way it is."
You will throw in the towel.

This was brought to me so forcefully one day when I was reading this
Psalm. I realized I had been doing the Holy Spirit's job. In my early
Christian life one of the things I would do at the close of the day was
endeavor to check where I might have failed God. I would go over the
conversations of the day and question,"Did I really operate in love towards
those people?" And the devil would say,

"No, you really didn't. You didn't have nearly the love you should have had
toward that brother. You didn't say what you should have said to that sister,"
etc.

Then the Lord reproved me with, "How dare you take My place? You are
doing My job. It is My job to keep you in line."

When the shepherd is tending a flock of sheep, whose job is it to keep the
sheep in line? The Lord is my shepherd and His rod and His staff comfort
me. When I go a bit crooked, He puts His rod over and gently nudges me
back in line. He puts it around my neck, but He doesn't jerk my neck out of
place. The psalmist David didn't say, "Thy rod and Thy staff they torment
me." My Shepherd gently takes me and by His Word and by His Holy Spirit
instructs me in the way that I should go.

David said, "Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know
my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in
the way everlasting."

That is to say, "God, YOU do the searching. YOU do the looking. YOU see
if there is any wicked way in me."

Now when I come to the close of the day, I'm learning to just open myself
up to the Spirit of the Lord, "Lord, You search me, You know me. I'm going
to leave all the searching up to You." This then opens my soul for divine
correction, for the Holy Spirit is faithful. When I have stepped out of
bounds, it is clear; and when I confess that, no sense of guilt comes, just
peace and cleansing. And I'm growing closer to the Lord rather than
hanging my head.
I've turned the searching over to Him.

Jeremiah 17:10 tells us, "I the Lord search the heart, I try the reins." We
tend to become too inward in our Christian experience. We are like the land
of Canaan, which is a land of many giants, many walls, many cities.

Thirteen years ago when I was saved, I thought that all the old things had
passed away and that all things had become new. I thought that was meant
for my spirit, soul, and body and didn't realize that it was just in the
spiritual realm (II Corinthians 5:17). Then when something bad came up in
my soulish realm, I thought that I needed to be born again all over again.
What I needed was deliverance and sanctification. I praise God that He did
not answer my request to reveal to me, immediately and entirely, everything
in my soulish nature that was needing cleansing and correction.

One evening I got before the Lord and said, "Lord, I have two or three
hours that I'm going to give to You. Will You please tell me anything that is
wrong with my life, and let's get rid of it right now." It must be because of
our American way of life that we want "instant everything."

A lady came to me for prayer. "I want everything the Lord has for me, right
now!" "Sister," I said, "I can't pray for you."

"Why not? I want it all. If there is anything wrong, I want to get rid of it
right now." I knew where she was coming from. Instant coffee, instant
potatoes. Instant ...instant. We want instant perfection.

It takes many years to grow a tree. It took many years to conquer and
possess the land of Canaan. God said, "I didn't give you all the land of
Canaan at one time, 'Thy God will put out those nations before thee by
little and little: thou mayest not consume them at once, lest the beasts
of the field increase upon thee' " (Deuteronomy 7:22). We have to learn
how to go in and conquer and then reign, and then to go in and conquer
something else and reign. You don't just go in and conquer, for you have to
learn how to reign over each area that you conquer; otherwise the wild
beasts will come again. The Lord said to CONQUER and then REIGN.
Don't permit the enemy to point out other walled cities in your life and
sidetrack you from REIGNING over one area where God has given you
deliverance and victory.

The Holy Spirit convicts in specific areas in which He wants to deal. The
time that I asked the Lord to show me everything that was wrong in my life
and to take care of that night, He did show me one particular area of fault in
my life. I stayed with Him several hours dealing with it, and when the time
was over, the area still wasn't completely gone. The Lord said, "Don't be
impatient. I never get in a hurry. I take just as long as I need to do a work in
you. Just rest in Me. Let Me do My work in you."

Many times I see Spirit-baptized Christians who open themselves to the

accuser because they are just rushing right in with: "I want everything God
has for me right now; I want to overcome everything." If they have one 80

Overcoming Satan When He Accuses Me to Myself little area in their life

that doesn't match up, they run for deliverance. We tend to look at
deliverance as a means to instant, total perfection. It is not. It is just getting
rid of a few giants.

There will be more giants later.

"I want to get rid of anything else that I have so I won't have any more
demonic problems," a lady said to me. I understood her plight. I said,
"Sister, praise the Lord, there are things in your life that would make you
feel just like giving up if God were to reveal their enormity." God is
gracious.

At one point, I thought I was entirely clean; then God showed me terrible
pollution. "Oh God, I didn't know that was there!" But He knew it all along,
and in His merciful kindness He showed me just enough for the two of us to
learn how to conquer and reign over one city at a time.

City by city, stronghold by stronghold, here a little, and there a little, line
upon line, precept upon precept. Stone upon stone.

Condemnation = Guilt—Conviction = Peace

A second difference between condemnation and conviction is this. When
Satan condemns you and you yield to that voice and you confess it to God
(for you think it is the Holy Spirit, and you think the Lord is convicting you
of something), rather than experiencing relief and peace over what you have
confessed, you experience guilt.

And more voices begin to speak to you: "You really shouldn't have done
that." "You really did that," and you reply, "I know, I know." A vicious
cycle begins of confessing that sin over and over, over and over. With each
confession of it, you get deeper and deeper into condemnation. Rather than
coming out of guilt into peace, you get laden with more and more guilt.

When the enemy is condemning you and you are tricked into confessing
something over and over to God, you are actually sinning. That is the
reason you become more and more laden with guilt. You are calling God a
liar. You may be sincere and very well-meaning, but Satan has taken
introspection and twisted it, and he has you operating in unbelief. Romans
14:23 tells us, "Whatsoever is not of faith is sin." By repeatedly
confessing a sin, you are telling God something He doesn't know. He
forgets when He forgives. Since you are not operating out of faith, the
confession is a sin, and hence the guilt keeps coming back.

During conviction by the Holy Spirit that true voice doesn't go away. David
said, "When I kept silence [about my sin], my bones waxed old through
my roaring all the day long" (Psalm 32:3). God's voice didn't go away. It
was persistent, very specific. When sin is confessed, God changes the
drought into the moisture of the rain. In other words, great peace and great
relief and release come when the yielding is to the true conviction of the
Holy Spirit.

That "still small voice" will be known for it does not come with
condemning undertones. It comes in a yearning, beseeching tone with,
"Turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways" (Ezekiel 33:11). That is the
gracious voice of conviction.

We should praise God for this convicting power in our lives. It is this power
that corrects us. God is correcting us when we're beginning to go to the
right or to the left. We need to stay on the straight and narrow. If we begin
to veer, this gentle voice is heard. The Scripture says, "And thine ears
shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it"
(Isaiah 30:21).

Condemnation = Burden—Conviction = Cleansing

A third difference: when Satan condemns the child of God, he does so to

rob him of his effectiveness; he does so to kill, to destroy, to burden. When
the Holy Spirit convicts, He does so to cleanse, to release, to deliver and to
set free.

There is a vast difference in the purpose of conviction and of condemnation.

I was praying because Satan was continually bringing up my past failures.

They would fill me with such regret, with such a sense of shame and
remorsefulness. I thought it was good to feel that way, a sign of my
repentance. But it was filling me with condemnation, and I was losing faith
for God to meet my needs. I did not realize it was the voice of the accuser.

"You remember the time you failed God?" Satan would taunt.

"Remember the time you did that to that brother?"

"What about the time you lost your temper?"

"Do you remember the time you yielded to that spirit?"

When these accusations came, I would say, "Yes," and he'd lay it on me.
Talk about a burden! A burden of condemnation was upon me.

As I continued praying, the Lord said, "You have yet to realize that when
you confess the sin to Me, I not only cleanse and change you, but also I deal
with that sin and change it. I so change that sin that Satan can never point to
it again because it has been dealt with and destroyed." In the Old Testament
the sin offering was burned and reduced to ashes. God said, "That's all that
is left of your sin." When as a Christian we accept the atoning blood,
confess a sin and repent of it, then in the sight of God that sin is no longer;
it is reduced to ashes.
When Satan says, "Look at that sin," we can answer,

"All I see is a heap of ashes."

"Don't you remember when you did this or that?"

"No, all I can see is a heap of ashes!" My sin is reduced to ashes!

Ways in Which God Deals With Our Sin

It was easy to say, "Before I got saved, I did this and that." I'd be talking
about the most horrible sin and feel no condemnation whatever because all
that happened before I got saved. Then some little things that were sins,
would bother me continually after I got saved. It was easy to forgive myself
for the things I did BEFORE I was saved, but it was so much harder for me
to learn to accept God's forgiveness for the things I did AFTER I received
Christ.

Many Christians today are looking for an easy way, looking for an excuse
to continue to entertain the fleshly life. The message of holiness, which a
lukewarm church needs to hear, ought to be preached often. But I am
addressing these remarks to people who are sincerely wanting to serve the
Lord. They are aware that there are areas in their lives that they have not
overcome.

Perhaps you are one of the individuals reading this book whose greatest
need is comfort. "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people.... Speak ye
comfortably to Jerusalem" (Isaiah 40:1-2). If you are endeavoring to
serve the Lord, and Satan brings to you little and big things, pointing them
out to you after you have repented, haranguing you, I want to comfort you
with these words.

"I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for MINE OWN
SAKE, and WILL NOT remember thy sins" (Isaiah 43:25). That is to
say, it is none of your goodness that will effect your forgiveness, but it is I,
even I, just because I am who I am. In showing us His reason for forgiving
us, God bases His forgiveness on the merit of His goodness alone. Just
because He is who He is, God said, "I blot out thy transgression." For
whose sake? Not for our sake, but for HIS SAKE. Remember David's
famous line: "He restoreth my soul for HIS NAME'S SAKE" ?

God does it for His honor. He blots out our transgressions for HIS OWN
SAKE. I have called you by My name, you are Mine, and I'm blotting out
your transgression for My honor.

It was this very concept that helped me overcome condemnation. His Holy
Spirit continued to tell me, I came to you by My free grace. I cleansed you
and robed you in My righteousness. I did that for you when you were lost
and undone, how much more will I do it for you now that I've called you by
My name!

That is why David, when he was blessing the Lord, said, "Bless the Lord,
O my soul... who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy
diseases" (Psalm 103:2-3). The Lord heals all the diseases of the soul. He
forgives all the iniquities of the soul. The transgression itself is blotted out,
and the blotting out substance, praise God, is the precious blood.

We overcome the accuser by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our
testimony. We confess the merits of Jesus' blood right back in the face of
Satan when he comes to condemn us. We say, "Praise God, it is written; my
transgressions are blotted out." God has blotted out that sin. Not only has
He cleansed and purged me, but that sin isn't what it used to be—it has been
blotted out.

In Isaiah 44:22 we read some examples in nature to help us see what God
does to our sins. The first to consider is that of a FOG.

"I have blotted out, AS A THICK CLOUD, thy transgressions, and, as

a cloud, thy sins: return unto me."

That's conviction. That is the beauty of the Lord—no matter how we

transgress or how we fail God, inwardly or outwardly, iniquity or outward
transgression. God's call to us is always: RETURN TO ME. RETURN TO
ME.
Condemnation: the voice of the accuser says, "You are not worthy to go to
God. Look what you've done," but, God said, "Forget about those
transgressions. I have blotted them out. Keep coming to Me. Just keep
returning to Me."

When we were first married, my wife and I would have a little spat during
the adjustment period. When we first had problems, I'd go to someone and
ask, "How long does this adjustment period last?"

"Oh," they would say, "the FIRST year is the hardest."

After we got through the first year, we were still having some of these
difficulties, inadequacies, etc.

"Well," people would tell us, "It's the first THREE YEARS."

I went to someone the other day and they said, "The first FIVE years of
marriage are really the adjusting time, the molding time."

If it is the first year—it is the first year; if it is the third year—it is the first
three years, and if it is the fifth year—it is always the first five years. Then I
look at people who have been married many years, and they, too, are still
adjusting!

People have a tendency to look at Dianne and me and see how we are
loving and worshipping the Lord and say, "Oh, you are so beautiful."

I had a young brother come to me saying, "When I see you and your wife, I
just pray God will give me a helpmate, such a wonderful wife."

I said, "Brother, He will, and it is glorious, glorious, glorious!"

It was hard for me whenever we'd have a little argument, to go to a service

and lift my hands in the worship of God. Yet, here was Dianne so freely
getting into the worship. I'd look at her and think: "Well, who are you to be
worshipping the Lord like that?"

We must learn to overcome things because that is why the Lord said:
RETURN TO ME. When you do have a transgression or failure, RETURN
TO ME! That is what Dianne was doing: she was always returning to the
Lord. I was always standing afar off, hanging my head. "Who am I to come
to you, Lord? Your Word says live at peace one with another and I haven't
done it." I was in condemnation.

The Lord said, "View your transgression after you give it to Me as you
would something that was on the other side of a thick fog, a thick cloud."
Well, I've started doing that and it is quite hard to see through a fog!

Yet Satan will tap us on the shoulder and say, "Hey, can you see way back
there through that fog?" "Well ..yes." And we gaze right back, trying to lift
that fog that God said to forget.

In Isaiah 43:25 God shows us another aspect of forgiveness. He chooses to

forgive our sins, then tells us, "Thou shalt not be forgotten" (Isaiah
44:21). God deals with us as with children. He willingly forgives our sins.

When He forgives He forgets our sins, but still remembers us. That is the
grace of God. It is not so much that God cannot recall our sins, but that He
has willingly chosen to forget them forever (Hebrews 10:15-17).

Many of us have been taught that according to the new covenant, God will
forgive you; but He is still going to reward you after your iniquities. Psalm
103:10 specifically tells us, "He hath not dealt with us after our sins; nor
rewarded us according to our iniquities." God does not reward us
according to our iniquities. (Iniquities are the sins within us—the inward
sins.)

God gives us another example in nature that will help us to realize how
great His forgiveness is toward His children. This Scripture is found in
Psalm 103:12. "AS FAR AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST, so far
hath he removed our transgressions from us."

The Holy Spirit said something here that undoubtedly David did not know
when he wrote these words, that is, east and west are an immeasurable
distance one from another, whereas north and south are a measurable
distance. The Holy Spirit said "east and west." Picture your hand as the
globe of the earth. There is a North and a South Pole, and an equator. If I
say I am going to go south, after I cross the South Pole and come up on the
other side of my hand, then what direction am I going? North. When I cross
the North Pole the same thing happens, from there on I'm going south. The
poles determine that. Had David been speaking from his own mind, it
would have been easy for him to say, "As far as the north is from the south,
so far hath He removed our transgressions from us." But the Holy Spirit
knew that north and south do meet at the poles, but east and west do not.
You can go north only halfway around the world. You can go south only
halfway around the world. But you can go east all the way around the world
and when you get back to where you began, you are still going east. You
can go west all the way around the world; so long as you don't change your
course, you are still going west. So, "as far as the east is from the west"
—an immeasurable distance—"so far hath he removed our
transgressions from us." Not our transgressions from God, but our
transgressions from us. My sins are an immeasurable distance from me!

When I confess sin and repent of it, how dare I let Satan even bring to me
the remembrance of that sin, for that sin is as far from me as the east is from
the west!

In Micah 7:18-19 we are given another comparison of God's forgiveness to

help us realize we can be overcomers.

"Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by
the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his
anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he
will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou
wilt cast all their sins INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA."

In Micah's day they did not have submarines; they could only go a few feet
under the surface of the ocean.

Even in our day, the measurement of ocean depths has been changed a
number of times.

Not too far under the ocean surface, light disappears, and it is very dark.
Mile after mile it is dark, dark, dark.
The next time the devil says, "Look at your past," you can tell him, "I can't
see; it is eight miles deep. It is too far down for me." Don't endeavor to gaze
into your regrettable past. Don't try to gaze at your former sins.

They are in the depths of the sea. So we overcome Satan with the Word of
God.

In Isaiah 38 we find another picture of what God does with our sins. When
King Hezekiah was approached by Isaiah with the words, "Set thine house
in order: for thou shalt die, and not live," the king turned his face toward
the wall and began to pray to the Lord. The Lord speaks to the prophet
Isaiah and again sends him to King Hezekiah with another message: "Go
back and tell him that he will have fifteen years added to his life."

Hezekiah praised God for the answer of extended life and wrote a short
psalm of praise for his deliverance.

Notice what he said about his sins:

"Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my
soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins
behind thy back."

The picture here is God taking a sin and slinging it behind His back with the
same mighty arm that flung the planets and stars across the sky. With that
same outstretched hand, that mighty hand of deliverance, God has taken all
our sins and flung them behind His back.

"Well," you ask, "what is so significant about His flinging my sins behind
His back?"

Numbers 23:19: "God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of
man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath
he spoken, and shall he not make it good?" To repent means to look in
the other direction. God takes my sins and flings them, or casts them behind
His back never to look upon them ever again! He is never going to turn
around and look at them.
They are behind His back, not before His face.

I don't have to argue with Satan, and I don't have to please him. When he
comes with "You are a dirty, most rotten Christian," I don't have to say, "But
. . but .. but...."

Let him think what he wishes. I'll never have to give an account to him. I do
not have to please him. I do not have to answer to him. I can be completely
silent to his accusations. I confess the merits of Jesus' blood because it is
Christ who died, and I'll appear before His judgment seat. It is God who
gave Jesus for me, and I'll give an account of myself to God and to Him
alone.

When I realize what God does to sin, how He blots it out, removes it from
me as far as the east is from the west, plunges it into the depths of the sea,
and flings it behind His back, then I should never ever again let the
adversary whisper condemnation in my ear over some regrettable thing that
I have repented of. Instead, I should look to the merit of Jesus and
overcome the accuser by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of my
testimony.

Divorce and Remarriage

Sometimes situations occur in people's lives that they cannot change,

situations like divorce and remarriage. I meet many Christians who are
under condemnation over a mistake they made in the past which is now
impossible to correct.

The Bible does not give us many grounds for divorce. I find only two
legitimate reasons in the New Testament: adultery and desertion. The
adultery has to be a repeated event and not a single act. God requires of you
to forgive from your heart that unfaithful partner if he or she sincerely
confesses, and then to forget the adultery. (If the adulterers continued on in
adultery, according to the law, they were to be stoned to death.) Desertion is
named in I Corinthians 7:15: "If the unbelieving depart, let him depart"
(if he deserts the Christian partner). "...A brother or a sister is not under
bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace."
As we travel we meet many who have not had sufficient grounds for
divorce, and yet they are now divorced and remarried. Some segments of
the church absolutely close any area of responsibility to those in second
marriages, even such responsibilities as serving as janitor or cutting the
grass. These same governmental structures, however, will accept the tithes
and offerings of such "second-class Christians." They can come sit in the
pew, but they cannot serve God within that framework.

And these groups feel justified in what they are doing!

Some people come to me asking, "What about this?"

Satan uses this tactic continually. In some cases unfaithfulness (a Scriptural

ground for divorce) took place on the part of the Christian! The
unfaithfulness is sometimes a cause of the divorce, or sometimes because of
pressures that are not apparent. In some instances the whole prior failure
occurred before Jesus came into the picture, and sometimes the parties, or
one of them is a Christian at the time of the dissolution. Some people point
to the book of Ezra, chapter 9, and say that the only solution is for the
husband and wife to separate, even though this would cause great pain.
Some teach that all unsaved people are in marriages unrecognized by God. I
have sought the Lord for answers on this subject, and I believe He has given
me a word.

I cannot accept the ever-popular view that heathen marriages are not joined
by God. King Herod, who was by no means a righteous person, heard from
John the Baptist,

"It is not lawful for thee to have thy brother's wife"

(Mark 6:18), so God does recognize the marriages of those who are
unsaved. God recognized the adultery that Herod was in with the wife of his
brother Philip.

We are far too lenient on the subject of divorce and remarriage. When you
see preachers leave their wives for their secretaries, it needs to be severely
and publicly denounced. I presently know several ministers who have
sought divorce in recent months and very quickly have remarried. In my
opinion, they have, in several cases, sinned greatly against God. I am not
condoning such action. If I were a pastor I would not have such a man in
my pulpit.

I am not addressing the problem of those who, as Christians, divorce each

other and marry other partners on the flimsy grounds of "incompatibility."
That is unscriptural nonsense.

I am primarily speaking to those who, before they were enlightened,

entangled themselves in marital difficulties and now find themselves
willing and eager to serve God, but bound by feelings of hopeless despair
over their past.

For example, one divorced man and divorced woman met and later married
and had a child. They later were baptized in the Spirit and subsequently
came under the teaching that God wanted them to separate. They were
greatly bothered by the condemnation that was upon them.

Let us look to the Word to see what God says about it.

In II Kings, chapter 5, is the story of Naaman. It has nothing to do with

divorce or remarriage. It has to do with idolatry. Naaman, captain of the
Syrian army, was a leper who had gone to all the physicians in the land of
Syria. He said, "I need help." His maid said, "A prophet lives in Israel.
Go, let him pray for you, and you'll get healed of that leprosy."
(Leprosy was a fatal disease.) He went to the land of Israel, but Elisha, the
prophet, didn't even go out to meet him.

Naaman had heard of this prophet and had it all worked out in his mind. "I
thought he would surely come to meet me, strike over the place and decree
saying, 'Your leprosy is gone.' I thought it was going to be like the snap of a
finger. Instead he didn't even come out to meet me.

He sent a messenger with the instructions: 'Go dip in the River Jordan seven
times.' " He did, and his flesh came back again like unto the flesh of a little
child, and he was clean (II Kings 5:14). AND THE HEART OF
NAAMAN was changed.
Naaman had been an idolater. None of his Syrian gods had been able to
remove the leprosy. But Yahweh, the God of Israel, was able to cleanse his
flesh. Naaman was filled with tremendous praise unto God. So much so that
he converted to Hebraism in his heart. "And he turned to the man of God,
he and all his company, and came, and stood before him: and he said,
Behold, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, but in Israel: now
therefore, I pray thee, take a blessing of thy servant."

Elisha answered, "As the LORD liveth, before whom I stand, I will receive
none." Naaman urged him to take it; but Elisha refused. Elisha wanted
Naaman to realize that he could not pay for the blessing of God, that it was
a grace provision of God, and that he had not earned it in any way.

"And Naaman said, shall there not then, I pray thee, be given to thy servant
two mules' burden of earth? for thy servant will henceforth offer neither
burnt offering nor sacrifice unto other gods, but unto the LORD" (verse 17).

Naaman was converted to the true God. He changed his religion. He would
no longer go back to his king in the land of Syria and offer a sacrifice to any
idol. He was saying, in essence, "I am never again going to offer any
sacrifice to any idol. I am through with idolatry. I want to serve the Lord
GOD. Would it be all right with Him if I take two mules' burden of earth
from the land of Israel? I want the dirt of Israel. I'm going to take these
loads of dirt back to my country and build an altar there to Yahweh."

Because of his healing Naaman was convinced that there was no other god
but the God of Israel. He had tried all the other gods. Now he said, "I'm
going to serve the Lord."

Then he remembered. Oh, no, this is an impossible situation.

Naaman is now going to ask Elisha to give him permission to do something

for which, under the law, he could be put to death. For him this is an
impossible situation. In the natural there is no way out. "In this thing the
LORD pardon thy servant, that when my master goeth into the house of
Rimmon to worship there, and he leaneth on my hand, and I bow myself in
the house of Rimmon: when I bow down myself in the house of Rimmon,
the Lord pardon thy servant in this thing" (verse 18).
Naaman is troubled. He is saying, "I really believe in the God of Israel and I
love the Lord. He is the one who healed me. Rimmon never did a thing for
me. But my master requires me to go with him when he worships.

When I go with him to the house of Rimmon and he leans on my hand, I

have to bow down before the idol—forgive me" (paraphrased).
Deuteronomy 18 says these persons should be put to death if they do such a
thing.

Now what is Elisha going to do?

"No, Naaman, you can't do that! It says in the Word so and so." But God
knows that sometimes there are impossible situations.

Listen to this inspired answer of Elisha in verse 19:

"And he said unto him, GO IN PEACE." Elisha's true advice to Naaman

would have been condemned according to the letter of the law.

Some people find themselves in second marriages when they begin their
walk with God. Because of their desire to serve the Lord, they are willing to
do anything.

They think of leaving each other and the heartache. Little children now
have come along the way.

An impossible situation? Something happened that from your heart you did
not want, but something which, according to the natural and according to
the legal limits of life, you must do. How much better is it to rest in Elisha's
decree: "Go in peace."

"Elisha, are you a true prophet? You've told Naaman to go in peace. Moses
taught to bow down before an idol was an abomination. Are you sure your
advice to Naaman is correct?" one may well have asked.

"Yes, that's right. Go in peace," Elisha may have responded.

For couples who find themselves under condemnation and can't go back and
unscramble the egg: "Go in peace."
Forget the Past

When Satan condemns you and accuses you before God, ask these
questions:

"What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be
against us? He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us
all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who
is he that condemneth?" (Romans 8:31-34).

When you are under condemnation you need to ask yourself: WHERE IS
THAT CONDEMNATION COMING FROM?

Who is he that condemneth? It is not Christ. "It is Christ that died, yea
rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us" (Romans 8:34).

"Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifieth." So if it's not God and not Christ, then who is he that
condemneth? It is Satan, our adversary.

In my earlier Christian life, I'd say, "There are several things that I need to
do to get to the place I really want to be spiritually. I need to pray more. I
need to study more. I need to learn the Word better. I need to become a
better witness."

I've met Christians who say, "I have six or seven things to take care of; then
I feel I'll be in the place God wants me to be."

The Apostle Paul said he only had to do ONE THING.

"Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but
I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am
apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended: BUT THIS ONE THING I DO, forgetting those things
which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are
before" (Philippians 3:12-13).
The things which are behind are the only things you can forget. Actually
Paul does more than one thing—"I follow after, I count not, forgetting those
things, reaching forth, pressing toward the mark"—but he doesn't even
count those as things he has to do. Those things just naturally happen. But
one thing he has to consciously practice: forgetting.

We need to learn to forget the regrettable past. Forget and let the past be put
behind you.

Jesus said, "Remember Lot's wife" (Luke 17:32). What Lot's wife did was
to look back at Sodom. Sodom is a picture of the regrettable past. She
couldn't forget Sodom.

She had to look back and crystalized into a pillar of salt.

Jesus tells us to remember her; He used her as an example.

You will not progress in your Christian life if you continue to look at your
past.

Jesus gives us another admonition: "No man, having put his hand to the
plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62).
We are not fit for the Kingdom or for the work of the ministry if we keep
looking back. Let the past be the past.

One sister was being prayed for and the Lord said to me: "She's condemned
over the things of her past." I spoke to her and she began to weep. We
rebuked that thing; it came out and she began to rejoice and to praise God.
It is so rewarding to see God's people set free from the accuser of the
brethren. To be set free from those condemning, accusing spirits that point a
finger at us.

All of us are overcome at some time by condemnation, or at least

condemnation comes against us. Our only merit to overcoming is the
righteousness of Jesus Christ. You'll never measure up enough to please
Satan. He will always be saying, "You could have done this. You could have
done that. You should have done the other." You can rely on the merit of the
righteousness of Jesus' blood and overcome by your confession of faith.
Join with me in prayer.

"Father, I come to You in the mighty name of Jesus.

"I realize that Satan has come to me in the role of the accuser of the
brethren. He accuses me to myself. At times I have been deceived into
thinking that it is the voice of Your Spirit, whereas I now understand that
the former things are forgotten, and it is Satan who brings my past back to
me.

"In the mighty name of Jesus, I reject condemnation. I resist the accuser of
the brethren. I will no longer allow him to accuse me to myself. I bind his
condemning tactics in Jesus' name and will confess the merits of Jesus'
blood against his lies. I surrender my will to You, Lord, and believe Your
Word of promise.

"I purpose in my heart to put a watch over my mouth to keep my tongue

from speaking evil accusations against my brethren. I will not bite and
devour, but will bless and deliver through words seasoned with grace.

"Thank You, Jesus, for Your advocacy at the Father's right hand in my
behalf."

—Amen and Amen

About the Author

Sharing his testimony with host Roger Holloway David Alsobrook is a

living testimony to God's great grace. Although he was raised in a minister's
home he rebelled against the church's teachings in his early teens.

He became involved in all forms of sin embracing the hippy tradition of the
late 60's.

Through active involvement in Transcendental Meditation a strong spirit of

suicide obsessed his mind in the Summer and Fall of '69 until in his despair
he called on the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was born again on
November 30, 1969, and read the Bible from cover to cover four times the
first six months.

As a result of intensive study of the Word of God he was led into a

conviction of the reality of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit for today. At the
age of 17 he began traveling the country sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ
and teaching the Word of God without partiality to man's traditions.

God has confirmed His Word through supernatural signs and wonders on
many occasions. David teaches the Kingdom of God on a wide variety of
subjects. Dianne, his wife, assists him in ministering to people's needs.
They are the happy parents of two lovely children and make their home in
Paducah, Kentucky.
 Table of Contents
Satan's Three Most Common Roles.
The Deceiver.
How the Accuser Operates.
Overcoming Satan When He Accuses Me to God.
The Accuser Has Access to the Throne.
The Accuser is Muzzled by the Advocate.
Jesus, Our Intercessor.
Satan Accused Simon and Demanded to Have Him.
The Blood of Sprinkling.
Overcoming Satan When He Accuses Others to Me.
Judge Righteous Judgment.
Try the Spirits.
Judge NOT According to Appearance.
Am I My Brother's Keeper?.
Judge Not.. But Judge.
Overcoming Satan When He Accuses Me to Myself.
Condemnation = Guilt—Conviction = Peace.
Condemnation = Burden—Conviction = Cleansing.
Ways in Which God Deals With Our Sin.
Divorce and Remarriage.
Forget the Past.
About the Author.
*,
.*
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