Matthew 12:30 He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me and for My side scatters.

In both of the above verses Jesus was conveying a message in parable form. One can interpret the meaning of the parables Jesus spoke according to our reasoning mind, what makes sense to us; or we can ask the Holy Spirit to give us understanding. This parable of the adversary took on an entirely new meaning when the Lord spoke to us directly concerning an individual situation. It would not be proper to relate the situation referred to, but it is very pertinent to share what the Lord showed us regarding our adversary.

What came as such a surprise to me was the Lord told us "I am your adversary." We are all conditioned to think of the devil as being our spiritual adversary. We are just as conditioned to think of the Lord as our good shepherd, our keeper, the one who looks out for us. It gave me quite a jolt to realize that this same Lord can also be our adversary. There are specific conditions that must be met for the Lord to become our adversary. Namely, we must walk in disobedience to directives we have received, or we must willfully choose a path other than the one the Lord has set before us.

We can do that. In fact, it is very easy to do that, and not even be aware we are doing so. Any time we think our way is better than God's way; we are treading on dangerous ground. It is a very easy thing to convince ourselves that what we are doing, or believing is right, especially when we have the support of others who are like-minded concerning whatever the issue may be. When we take a stand on matters concerning the Gospel of Christ we had better know for sure what the Gospel of Christ is. We all need to be led by the Holy Spirit when making judgments concerning what God would or wouldn't do. As well as what we should or shouldn't do. The Bible clearly tells us that God's ways are not our ways and God's thoughts are not our thoughts. There is no set pattern of action dictating how God will move in any given situation we may find ourselves in. Throughout the entire Bible God dealt with similar situations by very different ways and means. Jesus clearly said in the above verse, "If you are not with me, you are against me." I want to stress here that the key to staying in right relationship with God, is by walking in obedience. We will all encounter those who will try and use the Word of God to convince us that they have found some new revelation. It will sound good to our ears, and pleasing to our flesh; but we need to check it out with the Word. People have always used [misused] the Word of God for their own ends.

There are many today that are drawn into embracing false doctrines. Any gospel that is different from or contrary to the doctrine that Jesus preached is a False Doctrine. It is interesting to note that among all the religions of the world today, they share common themes of how man should live. Every religion from Islam to the modern New Age have parallels to the Doctrine of Christ. These concepts and beliefs have subtly infiltrated the Christian church, and are widely accepted by today's believers.

This is not something new. There were false doctrines being taught when Paul was alive, which he rebuked believers for on several occasions. Today the number of these erroneous teachings has multiplied, while at the same time they have become socially acceptable. They are taught in many forms and under many names, yet they all share a common thread, that there is another way for man to know God, that we can somehow avoid retribution and judgment.

We need to be aware that when we accept any of these false beliefs and doctrines we are rejecting Jesus. Even though these teachings use the name of Jesus, they deny Him Lordship in the lives of the hearers. There is no other way to know God. There is no other way to be made conformable to the cross of Christ than by embracing the Words of Jesus. If we are unwilling to die to our flesh, we will never walk in the fullness of the spirit.

Many will be dumbfounded when they learn that the religion they have accepted is a sham. Many will be amazed when they learn that the way they have chosen has landed them in a prison house. Jesus said, "I Am the Way, I Am the Truth, I Am the Life, no man cometh unto the Father except by Me." We are either with Him, and on His side, or we are against Him. There is no fence to sit on. There is no middle of the road where we can remain neutral. We cannot accept Jesus, and then accept doctrines that are contrary to Jesus' Words.

Jesus said many times that there is a day of reckoning, where everyone will have to give an account of the choices they made in this life. Jesus said there is a lake of fire. If we choose not to believe that there is a hell, then we successfully nullify that there is a heaven. If we choose to believe that eternal is not really eternal, then we are choosing not to believe Jesus. Much of the teaching today sounds good to the natural mind, but will strip us of all of our righteousness. By accepting it we will find ourselves on the outside looking in. We will be outside of the fellowship and guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. We will not be prepared for judgment when it knocks on our door. We have chosen to believe a lie, and by doing so we have aligned ourselves in opposition to the Doctrine of Christ.

At all times we should bear in mind that our understanding is limited. Even in our wildest imaginations we cannot conceive of what the Father's intent is, or what He has prepared for those who will believe and follow His Son. Our judgments are shortsighted.

Why do we find it so easy to believe that we will never experience the judgments of God against unrighteousness and disobedience recorded in the Bible for our benefit? How are we any different than those individuals whose stories are recorded?

In 1 Samuel 15, we find the account of Saul's disobedience. He returned to the camp and Samuel bringing with him the best of the flocks and herds, and the king of the people he was ordered to exterminate. Rather than be obedient to what God had told him to do, (God was very specific) Saul paid heed to those who went with him and returned with the best of the flocks and herds, as well as spared the life of the king, when he had been instructed to kill them all, and bring nothing back. Saul 'reasoned' that he was doing the profitable thing, trying to justify his disobedience. When confronted by Samuel, his response was "I did as God instructed me." He had convinced himself that by doing what he thought best it would be all right with God. It wasn't.

It cost Saul his appointed place as king, and the Lord did not come to him again. Our disobedience will not be overlooked any more than Saul's was. Read the 13th Chapter of 1 Kings, about the man of God and the old prophet. We find another graphic example of one called by God and sent to do a job for which he was given specific instructions. Here the man of God allowed himself to listen to the old prophet, disregarding the instructions the Lord had given him to follow. For this disobedience he was killed by a lion.

In the 16th Chapter of Numbers we can read about the rebellion of Korah and his company. These were people who resented the fact that God had appointed Moses as leader of the children of Israel. They came against Moses, saying "are not all the people holy?" They were discontent and rebelled, and for their rebellion God opened the ground under their feet and swallowed up the entire company and all their possessions. Rebellion is as witchcraft.

Have we ever been guilty of walking in rebellion against God's directives to us? Have we ever allowed another to talk us out of walking in absolute obedience to what the Lord has shown us personally? Just because the ground didn't swallow us up or a lion didn't come out of nowhere and devour us does not mean that what we did was o.k.??? or that we have gotten away with anything???

We never start out consciously thinking that we want to walk in rebellion. We do not say to ourselves, "what Jesus said isn't good enough for me, I want something more." There are areas of our hearts that we do not want to even acknowledge. Jeremiah 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? Hebrews 4:12 For the Word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. God knows all of our thoughts. God knows that which is in our hearts, even more than we do. When He gives us instruction and we refuse to accept it, we are pitting ourselves against God.

It is possible for us to place our eye so fixedly on one point, that we miss what that point was intended to lead us into. All that we experience in this life has one purpose, to train us and raise us up into full-grown Sons of God. All of the bad, unpleasant and painful things we encounter in this life God allows that we might be perfected by the very things which we suffer. 2 Thessalonians 2:11 and for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie. Who is it that God will send a strong delusion to? Those who refuse to receive a love for the truth. The truth here is God's truth, not man's interpretation of God's truth, but TRUTH as revealed by the Holy Spirit of God to your inner man.

We have a big responsibility. It is our responsibility to press into our own personal relationship with God. We must daily make the choice to believe God's Word as it is revealed to our inner man, or to believe the truths presented by those around us. How will we know what is truth and what isn't? By the change it works within our hearts and minds. Are we experiencing an increased awareness of God's abiding presence? Are the Words Jesus spoke alive and real to us, or are we faking it?

Not everyone who starts out walking with the Lord will finish the course. Read the 10th chapter of Matthew. Jesus sent out his twelve disciples, and He gave them power over unclean spirits to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and disease. Judas Iscariot, who also was to betray Christ, was given the same power as the other eleven disciples. Judas was present for all the messages and miracles that Jesus performed. He tasted firsthand that Jesus was the Christ, yet he did not commit himself to the Lord as Peter and John and the others did. He held back. And in the end he sold the Lord for 30 pieces of silver. There are people today that profess to know the Lord; they may have built big ministries using the name of Jesus and have a large following. But they are not all that they appear to be. We have many Judas' today, who are deceiving the masses for their own glory.

This is to impress upon the reader that we cannot trust in anyone or anything but our own relationship with God, and the Gospel of Christ. Any alterations to Jesus' Words, adding to or taking away, beware of.

Many of the things that Jesus said are hard to understand. The mysteries of the Kingdom of God are not revealed to the masses, but only to those who are walking in close fellowship with the Lord himself. If our heart is set on knowing God, we have but to seek and ask. But know this, we cannot have it both ways, our way and God's way. Self has to be placed on the cross. We cannot live in both worlds, by the spirit and by the flesh. Christ will reign supreme in our lives, or he will not reign at all. That is why the Lord said "man cannot serve God and mammon," we cannot serve God and satisfy the appetites of our flesh; our own desires. We cannot seek after spiritual things and be in love with the material things of this world. Be not deceived. Matthew 24:11 And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

Now is the time to decide. Will we believe, obey and submit to the Holy Spirit within our hearts, or will we walk in our own understanding? If we are not in complete agreement with and acceptance of the Gospel of Christ, then we are placing ourselves in the position of being His adversary. As such, we should not be surprised to find ourselves in prison. We can be in spiritual prison-houses and be completely oblivious to our situation. Feeding on the stale leftovers from years gone by, and calling it manna from heaven. All the while we have ceased to grow, we have ceased to mature, we have slipped and fallen from that to which we were called. We will not progress one step further in our relationship with God, until we come to the place of repentance for our rebellion. Whatever means God deems necessary to work the change in our hearts thinking and attitude toward His Word will be accomplished before we will be released. Hebrews 10:31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

1. Press into your relationship with Christ.

2. Seek for understanding from the Holy Spirit, Who will lead you into all truth.

3. Keep your focus on God, and not the doctrines of men.

4. Read and re-read Jesus' Words in the Gospels, seek to gain a full understanding of the Gospel of Christ.

5. With God, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE, to them that BELIEVE.

Know what you believe and why you believe it: stand ready to give an account before God. Be grounded in the Word. Be very careful of the words you use....because "For by thy words thy shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned" Matthew 12:37.

Ephesians 2:18-23 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in the world to come: and hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him that filleth all in all.

God will give us the revelation of Jesus Christ, within our own hearts, if we will seek for it. This same power that is available for our good, is also available for our correction should we think we have discovered a better way. May we all get serious about our relationship with God. May we realize that He is the potter, and we are the clay. Know that Jesus is very serious about our growth and development. May we learn to agree with our adversary while we are in the way with him. When we come to a point in our spiritual growth that reveals a conflict with our personal desires, may we learn to submit our will to God's. When we take a position that is in opposition to God's position, there is no hope that we can win.

If you have never considered the possibility that Jesus could be our adversary, I pray that this has opened your eyes in some degree. Because these are the last days of fallen man's reign upon this earth, the deceptions and false teachings are more prominent and widespread throughout Christian circles than ever before. The only way to avoid facing our Lord as our Adversary, is by learning and accepting what Jesus said above and beyond all the traditions and teachings of men, and then walking in obedience to Jesus' Words. We can allow the Holy Spirit to purge us now, willingly, or we will be purged by fire. This is what is coming. The Lord is going to get His House in order. We are that House. We are not ready. Now is the time to get ready. Let him who hath ears to hear, hear.