Why Do We Resist What Would Help Us?

Jealousy, pride, fear of losing influence (what the Bible calls selfish ambition), and self seeking all prevent believers from being able to receive the very minimum amount of information needed from God to actually be saved.

James 3:13-18 Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. 14 But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there. 17 But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. 18 Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.

These common expressions of doubt about God's willingness to lead us into something better than we would carve out ourselves shut the kingdom, they don't open it to us. They are the door to a closed-loop prison of disappointment.

The problem is, when we fall into these, we think we ARE the kingdom... because we are the little kingdom we are serving. This is the main way Satan wars against the church. Not with other religions, differing sexual orientations or politics... the kingdom is coming from INSIDE... therefore, Satan wars INSIDE believers. Satan is no dummy. We are ignorant to his ways until we are wise to see the state of our own hearts:

1 Peter 5:6-8 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. 8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.

Satan's main trick is to get believers to show up at the wrong war. Shame and pride are the main motivators. We can't see these when we war against "other people." But, if we are honest about our feelings, THEN we can see we are losing the war in the Spirit against Satan. God is always calling us to truth, not out there in the world, but in our INNER MAN:

Psalms 51:5-7 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. 6 Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts, And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom. 7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

The religious leaders THOUGHT they were protecting the holiness of Israel by warring against Yeshua. This was a trick satan was playing on their minds. The real war was in their hearts, and it was mostly against one-another. That is why Jesus was so offensive to them. He was entirely safe from their internal politics, striving, and competition.

THEY were their own kingdom and were EASILY toppled by Satan. The worst part was that they literally had no idea, since they were so busy fighting God and Man, and not the real war for their own holiness.

Matthew 23:12-15 And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. 13 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men; for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in. 14 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. 15 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

You know you are making the same mistake when you are unteachable. It happens when you hear, or know, something that is so much different than your own thoughts is available and the fruit is good, but you cannot eat it because of pride, offense, fear of being outshined/shame. You have time to be great, but you have no time to be humble! Time to be heard, but no time to listen...

Listen: the whole world is trying to be good. That won't save you at all. Very few are growing in a leadability by Jesus, through the Body of Messiah. Incredibly few. You really want to open your heart, let God show you your pride and shame, and become one of them. Many people will do many things, and Jesus will say, "I never knew you."

Very few will just be themselves and let others be themselves and learn to hear Jesus wherever He is speaking. The truth is, there are few that hear Him and few that share what He is saying with good fruit being produced. The road is narrow, FEW find it! If you find one, listen. But, that is mostly not the case. Fruit-bearing and fruit-producing witnesses are mostly ignored, rejected, and even persecuted, but not by the world. The world literally doesn't care. No, rejected by those closest to them. Familiarity breeds contempt. We will all be held accountable to the truth that was available to us.

Matthew 13:54-58 He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, “Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?” 55 Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. 56 All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” 57 And they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.” 58 And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief.

Do you see the pattern: amazed, then familiar, then offended, then indifferent... eventually murderous.

Matthew 23:28-32 Outwardly you look like righteous people, but inwardly your hearts are filled with hypocrisy and lawlessness. 29 “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed, and you decorate the monuments of the godly people your ancestors destroyed. 30 Then you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our ancestors, we would never have joined them in killing the prophets.’ 31 “But in saying that, you testify against yourselves that you are indeed the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Go ahead and finish what your ancestors started.

Believing in some ridiculous war between the church and the world is a ruse invented by Satan. God so loved the world that He sent His only Son. No, the real war is in you, and in me. That's where salvation happens, if it happens at all.

Trying to be great is the OPPOSITE of greatness in God's value system and power structure. Striving to be leadable unto being a humble, open, real, soft servant that is unafraid of someone else increasing... that is the gold Jesus is searching the earth for right now.