Jesus said if we seek to save our life we will lose it. I believe this.

But we American Christians are soft. We are not ready at this time for severe suffering.

Trouble is coming. The provision God has made for us is that He will draw nearer to us than ever before—so near we will know what to do in every circumstance.

I keep telling the members of the congregation to look to the Lord for the tiniest detail of life. Every morning I ask the Lord how big a handful of raisins I should put on my oatmeal. You might think this is foolish. Well, you go ahead and ignore the Lord if you want to. But as for me, I intend to ask God about everything I do. If I learn to do this now, then, when the trouble comes, I will know what to do no matter how dark the spiritual atmosphere becomes.

The American Christians have been told there is no need to prepare themselves because they are going to be caught up to Heaven before they can be harmed. The purpose of this lie, from Satan's viewpoint, is to prevent their participation in this next move of God that would bring Jesus into their life to a much greater extent. Satan prefers to keep them alive in their adamic nature, hoping to go to Heaven at any moment.

By looking toward a flight to Heaven for deliverance, instead of to inward victory, the believers in America are missing the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is beginning now in our inward nature to prepare us for the manifestation of the outward Kingdom. If we do not receive the inward kingdom now we will not rule in the outward Kingdom when it arrives. If we do not enter the inward day of the Lord now we will not be ready for the worldwide Day of the Lord when it comes.

This is Satan's purpose in keeping the carnal Christians occupied with the thought of flying up to Paradise in their untransformed carnal nature. Can you see how wise Satan is to do this? A carnal Christian looking to be caught up to Heaven poses no threat to Satan's control of the earth. A cross-carrying Christian learning to live by the Life of Jesus now, is a forerunner of that which one day will tear down and remove from the earth every vestige of Satan's kingdom.

Notice how the Lord Jesus always lives. This is the eternal Sabbath, the rest of God.

Jesus gave them this answer: "I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these." (John 5:19,20—NIV)

We are to live in precisely the same manner.

Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. (John 14:19—NIV)

To be continued.