Will I obey God when he asks me to sacrifice my life in order to serve Him, or should I hold on to the right to make my own decisions concerning what I do on the earth?

This last test is particularly difficult because the Christian ministry of today is encouraging people to be self-centered. The pastors and evangelists are emphasizing to people that they are central, that God loves them and is carefully attending to their every need so no harm or discomfort can come to them.

"God suffered lashes so you will not be sick. God became poor that you might be rich. God left Heaven and exposed Himself to the filth of demons so that you might be happy and secure with your family."

This is the teaching of the Gospel in the United States of America.

We are at a loss to understand how the Gospel of the Kingdom became so twisted Perhaps such error and hypocrisy have proceeded from the humanism and self-love that fill our society.

The Scriptures are not a description of God's solution to our problems but God's solution to God's problems. God is central in everything and He is making the Lord Jesus Christ central in everything. Our lives mean little or nothing except as they glorify Christ.

When we come in from the field, so to speak, bone-weary, exhausted from our arduous labors, the Lord commands: "Put on your apron and serve Me and expect no thanks for it."

It is the privilege of the Mightiest of emperors to address us in this fashion and we are to obey diligently. We are His slaves.

How foolish we Americans are in our pride and self-will! We are attempting to make Christ our servant. What a day of awakening is coming for the blind who are guiding the blind!

Is God seeking our happiness? What of the Christian martyrs who have been tortured and burned at the stake? We need to think more about entering through the Gates of Splendor and less about our efforts to use Christ to insure a merry, prosperous life in the world.

These three tests become progressively more difficult and pursue us throughout our lifetime just as they pursued Christ throughout His lifetime. He was tested in all the areas in which we are tested.

As soon as the Holy Spirit came upon Jesus He returned from the place of anointing and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. As soon as we are called by the Spirit to be a Christian we are led by the Spirit into the wilderness of testing and instruction. We are not brought immediately into the place of permanent abiding in the land of promise.

Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness of temptation. Then Christ was tempted by the devil, not by the Holy Spirit. Although the Spirit leads us into the arena of testing, the trials often are administered by the devil (under the Lord's careful supervision).

The wilderness is a struggle for our inheritance in the Lord (Israel means "he struggles with God"). The wilderness is not a place in which to be foolish or careless. We are sifted by the devil and much comes out of our nature for examination. Our eternal destiny hinges on our responses in the wilderness of testing.

To be continued.