The original sin of the angels was rebellion against God's will. The Lord Jesus had to come and reverse this disobedience by demonstrating total obedience in the face of the destruction of everything desirable—perhaps the permanent destruction of everything desirable to Him, that is, His fellowship with the Father.

The Lord Jesus accomplished this reversal gloriously.

Now every son of God, every future ruler of the works of God's hands, must demonstrate that same unquestioned obedience. Either we practice stern obedience to the Father in every aspect of our personality and behavior or we will not rule with Jesus. It is as straightforward as this.

And so we in Pentecost have to take another step. We have to place our gifts and ministries, and everything else, at Jesus' feet, and take our place on the cross. We may be despised by the majority of Christians, who suppose their fleshly self-seeking is being accepted by the Lord. But Christ Himself was despised by the leaders of Israel, so why should we be different? Let us stay in prison until the Lord is ready to give us the crown of life. Let us drink the cup to the last drop, crying not my will but Your will be done. This is only our reasonable service as the sons of the Highest.

The devil led him to Jerusalem and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down from here. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered, "It says: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'" (Luke 4:9-12—NIV)

What is the test of the pinnacle? It is to set our will against the will of God, thus putting God to the test.

We hear today, "Go out and do great things for God." The idea is to put God to the test. "Challenge Him to support your endeavors. Buy a huge building you cannot afford and challenge God to send in the money. Announce a great healing and miracle campaign and challenge God to come and work miracles.

"Dare to be a Daniel!" Jump into the lions' den and challenge God to rescue you. Pick up a rattlesnake. Challenge God to keep you from being bitten.

"If it is in the Bible, God said it. Go out and prove God. Put God to the test and see if He won't come through for you."

All of this is presumption. It will kill the witness of the Spirit just as lust and worldliness do. People will see you instead of Jesus. The bread you deal to the hungry will be sour and smell of your fleshly personality.

When we read the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews, which is a protracted definition of "the righteous shall live by faith," we do not see one single instance of someone trying to prove God. Rather we behold unambitious people obeying what God instructed them to do. There is not a trace of the contemporary presumptuous faith, the challenging of the Lord to "do great things."

To be continued.