Greetings in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ

Would you consider Elijah Ministries in your giving this year?

How easy it would be to ask the question above from a selfish heart. I don't doubt that the beast of self could motivate my request. However, I trust my motivation is from the Lord when I ask you to consider joining hands with me in this ministry of preaching the gospel to men and their families all over the world. I believe that every life changed by the power of the gospel through Elijah Ministries may be attributed to one thing: the grace of God to men through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

God blessed 2010 in many ways and through many changed lives thanks to support from people like you; we were able to go out and speak at 55 speaking engagements throughout the year via 3 small groups, 3 marriage conferences, 10 men's retreats, 4 father/son conferences, 7 family life conferences, 13 homeschool events, and 15 church services. Thank you to all those that made this happen; without your prayer and support and God's grace, it would be impossible.

2011 is shaping up to be another incredibly exciting year. I will be speaking at conferences in Australia and New Zealand to start the year off in January. I invite you to participate with us in 2011 either through support or prayer. You may join us by donating online at www.spiritofelijah.com/donate or joining our prayer team at www.spiritofelijah.com/prayer.

Battling the Beast of Self - Part 8

A husband was watching his favorite NFL team play, and his wife asked him to help her with a task. As the task became more involved and chewed up more time, he found himself struggling with being angry and frustrated with his wife. The attitude oozed its way into his facial expressions and voice tones as he interacted with her. What was his problem? On the surface, it may appear to him his problem is a demanding wife. Someone looking a little deeper might suggest he has an anger problem. However, the root of the problem lies with the beast–the beast of self. Self was being inconvenienced and thwarted in his agenda.

We've been studying the characteristics of sin that indwells all of us since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden. I've suggested that the "first beast" that John described in Revelation 13 is the beast of self, also known as man's depravity, original sin, pride, or the flesh. The following characteristics have been discussed.

1. The beast of self rose up before the devil.

2. The beast of self rose up out of the sea of man.

3. The beast of self is deluded about its power and authority.

4. The beast of self is deluded about its knowledge and perfection.

5. The beast of self blasphemes God (proclaims himself as God).

6. The beast of self acts like wild beasts which pursue their prey.

7. The beast of self has its power and authority from Satan.

8. The beast of self suffered a fatal head wound at the cross.

9. The beast of self continues to live.

10. The beast of self is worshipped and followed by the whole earth.

11. To worship the beast of self is to worship Satan.

12. The beast of self will reign in man until Jesus returns.

13. The beast of self blasphemes the work of God in Christ.

14. The beast of self blasphemes the church of Jesus Christ.

15. The beast of self battles against the saints and overcomes them.

16. The beast of self has been given universal authority over all of mankind throughout all of history.

17. The beast of self is worshiped by all who dwell on the earth except believers in Christ.

18. Understanding these things requires the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

Our battle with selfishness never ceases. It's not like we can take R & R from the fighting and relax on a beach at a resort. There is no break from the warfare. Self doesn't take vacations from his destructive agenda, so neither can we. There is encouragement in the fact that this fight is a good fight and one worth winning for the name sake of Jesus Christ. Let's continue to consider more from Revelation 13.

19. The Beast of Self fights spiritual battles with physical rather than spiritual means.

If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints (Rev. 13:10).

At first glance the beginning of verse ten seems to have nothing to do with John's treatment of the first beast. In fact, it seems to fit well with the idea of a one world ruler, doesn't it? We expect believers to be put into prison for their faith in the end times. However, the threat of being killed by the sword for killing with the sword doesn't fit Christians at all because Christians should know better than to try to fight spiritual battles with physical means. This leads me then to consider perhaps another explanation of this verse which ties all of these thoughts together.

Let me remind you that when we talk about the beast of self, we're talking about man in the flesh or the natural man. What is the natural selfish man's response to physical threat? Without thinking, the natural man meets force with force. He only thinks in physical terms, so everything is reacted to in a physical manner. The natural man cannot comprehend that God might have a purpose for believers to be taken captive and placed in the midst of a hurting, needy, community of people such as are found in prisons.

Furthermore, let's also consider the historical context of the seven churches. The members of the churches were facing hostility from the Roman emperor, Nero. Christians were being taken captive primarily for their refusal to worship the emperor and other gods as well. The animosity toward Christians in the Roman capitol permeated the entire kingdom. So there was a very real threat facing the first readers of The Revelation: they were in danger of being imprisoned or killed for their faith. What were they to do to avoid such suffering? Were they to fight?

What did Jesus teach on this subject? He taught John that there was a kingdom purpose in being taken captive. "But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be flogged in the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them" (Mark 13:9). The Apostle John recorded Jesus' words during His trial, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm" (John 18:36). It seems certain that John would have heard and remembered Jesus' remarks to Peter after he took off the servant's ear with his sword in the garden of Gethsemene, "Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword" (Matt. 26:52).

Wasn't Peter's reaction exactly how the beast of self responds when threatened? Resist suffering and do to others what they do to you or before they do it to you. What do you do when you are threatened with resistance or hostility? If you're in the flesh, you do whatever you can to eliminate the threat and protect yourself–right?

Jesus' own example when facing the threat of captivity illustrated that He lived what He preached. He knew the battle being waged was a spiritual battle. If he responded with self-protection when God had destined Him to captivity, then He disqualified Himself as our Redeemer and Savior. He would have sinned against His Father! That was the dragon's plan with Jesus, and it's His plan also for you. Jesus fought the battle spiritually by emptying Himself and trusting His Father rather than protecting Himself and holding onto His physical life.

The Apostle Paul's teaching and example concur with Jesus' teaching as well as John's here in Revelation 13. In Acts 14:22 we see that Paul encouraged the disciples in Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe by saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God." When Paul's friends tried to prevent him from going to Jerusalem, he replied, "And now, behold, bound in spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions await me. But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:22-24). Paul clearly had the same thoughts as John. He didn't fight to preserve himself, but believed God had a purpose for him to go to Jerusalem and suffer for His namesake. Remember, Paul and John worked together in Ephesus for a year and a half, so we should expect them to think the same way about responding to physical threat.

The Apostle Peter also taught the same thing about not returning evil for evil when faced with persecution for the faith. Using Jesus' example he wrote, "But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong. For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit" (1 Pet. 3:14-18). Obviously Peter learned his lesson from his selfish responses to threats when Jesus was taken captive and killed.

I suggest that John was describing how the beast of self responds to the threat of captivity. Self fights a spiritual battle with physical means instead of looking up and seeing God's purposes for suffering. John's point was that God has a purpose for captivity, and if God has destined someone to suffer for Christ's sake, then to captivity he or she will go. To fight suffering for Jesus' sake by killing your captor will get you killed! This interpretation is strengthened by the last part of verse ten. "Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints." Only the saints face suffering from a spiritual perspective. Perseverance and faith are necessary in fighting the spiritual battle against Satan and the flesh. This leads us then to consider another characteristic of the beast of self.

20. The beast of self is conquered by perseverance and faith in believers.

Whatever John had in mind, the answer to the threat was perseverance and faith. This encouragement surely would be necessary for Christians facing threats from a ruler of the world. However, even more applicable is the encouragement if the battle is against the beast of self. How often did the members of the seven churches face that beast? On a daily basis, many times, and in every circumstance. Times haven't changed have they? If you are to overcome selfishness and walk by the Spirit, you must be determined to do so. There can be no vacation. Perseverance is called for against self.

The Apostle Paul admonished the Philippians (and us through them) to "do nothing from selfishness" (Phil. 2:3). To fulfill this command, we must be intent on one purpose: living in a manner worthy of the Lord Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:27). Such intentionality demands perseverance so that it becomes a habit, a lifestyle.

Furthermore, it requires faith to overcome self and fight the spiritual battles you face. Faith is the ability to see through the veil of flesh and the physical realm and look into the spiritual realm. This isn't something we can will or conjure up. It's a gift from God through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Unbelief focuses on things that are on the earth and faith focuses "on the things above where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God" (Col. 3:2). Faith is the ability to see what was revealed to John in Revelation 4-5 where Jesus, the Lamb, sits on the throne and works out all the purposes of God in history. Such faith overcomes the flesh and gives us wisdom from above so we can respond to threats not out of self-ambition, fear, and self-protection, but out of love with peace (see James 3:12-18).

If you read the messages of Jesus to the seven churches, He ended each message with "He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches", just as we find in Revelation 13:9. Then he gave them the blessing if they overcome. In every case, the key to overcoming was perseverance and faith and that's what John wrote in Revelation 13:10. This makes me think that the Holy Spirit is still speaking to the seven churches about their spiritual warfare with Satan and indwelling sin, which is the context of chapter 13.

How do you fight your spiritual battles?

The above lessons about battling the beast of self are so vital for Christians to learn. If we are often overcome with selfishness as Revelation 13:7 states, but we don't worship self or bow to its authority, then the importance of recognizing where the battle lies is huge if we are to overcome selfishness. We must persevere in faith, looking up to Christ, the Lamb of God, who defeated indwelling sin at the cross.

Have you recognized that every conflict you have in life is spiritual? Although the battle swirls about you in the affairs of life, your primary battle is how you react to it. This means that your most important victory must occur on the inside as you battle reacting in the flesh. If you win the battle within, you will win the battle on the outside.

When your child or teenager is overcome by the beast of self, do you try to meet his or her flesh force with a greater flesh force? Even if you do subdue them and bring them into submission or compliance, you lose the battle on both relational fronts. Your relationship with God suffers because you did not draw near to Him and seek His wisdom and power to be applied to the situation. You also damage your relationship with your child because they are not loved and faced with their spiritual need, but overpowered and manipulated.

It is natural, fleshly, and satanic to respond before looking up to Christ when your wife or husband threatens your comfort or convenience. The beast of self has an insatiable appetite for comfort, convenience, and happiness. Self has a plan and is dedicated to seeing it accomplished! So when people or events threaten those plans, self starts looking for a way to escape or to eliminate the threat.

When we walk by the Spirit and look up to Christ in heaven and see Him on the throne as in Revelation 4-5, we gain wisdom and perspective. The Spirit's role in our lives is to reveal the power of having a relationship with Jesus Christ in that situation. We must persevere and engage the Lord Jesus as our Shepherd seeking His guidance, His protection, and His wisdom so we can love as He loves us.

I hope you see how encouraging this view of Revelation 13 was to the saints in the seven churches. It was practical and applicable to their current situation. But it is also encouraging to the rest of the church throughout history because the gospel's application to life is relevant to our everyday struggle. This week, ask the Holy Spirit to show you when you are reacting to threats to your selfish ambition or self-significance with fleshly means. When you do see these qualities of the beast, repent, and look up to Christ for wisdom, perseverance, and faith to love and think of others as more important than yourself. May God grant us ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Would you like to be on the Elijah Ministries Prayer Team?

The backbone of Elijah Ministries is the prayer team who pray diligently for God to turn the hearts of men to Himself, their wives, and their children. Before I leave to speak, I send out a prayer team invitation to those who will intercede for God to work for His glory in us as a team for the Kingdom. Not only is it a blessing to those whom I speak and myself; but it is also a reminder to the team about the direction of their own hearts. If you would like to enter into the labor together with me, you may go to my website and click on "Prayer Team".

Has Norm's Chariot or other resources been an encouragement to you? As a nonprofit organization, Elijah Ministries needs support from people like you in order to function. If God has ministered to you through Elijah Ministries and Norm Wakefield, would you consider supporting the work? You can do so here. (Elijah Ministries is a tax-deductible 501c3 and is financially accountable to an overseeing board of 8 non-paid members from around the country.)

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I invite you to be a part of the moving of the Spirit of Elijah in your church, community, and the world. How?

1. Send this article to other men or families that you know would benefit from it. You might inform them of the previous articles available on-line at our website.

2. Share resources from the Spirit of Elijah Ministries with others. If Equipping Men or Rising to the Call have been a blessing to you, then you know it will be beneficial to others. Either share your resources, tell them about the resources, or purchase a set or two as an investment in their lives.

3. Share with others what you have learned and put into practice in turning your heart to God, your wife, and your children. If God has done this in you, then He wants to affect others through you.

4. Join the Elijah Ministries email prayer team and make intercession for others that their hearts would be turned in revival to the Lord, their wives, and their children. This can be done on-line at www.spiritofelijah.com.

            Norm Wakefield
            Elijah Ministries
            P.O. Box 377
            Bulverde, Texas 78163
            830.980.5606
            info@spiritofelijah.com
            http://www.spiritofelijah.com

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