Let no man take your crown.

Do not let any person take your crown. Who would want to take our crown? The tares! They are covetous. They deceive the naive and unsuspecting. They promise them liberty. They poison their minds against the leaders God has chosen.

The Apostle Paul commanded us to avoid those who cause division. Those who cause division may be our friends. Then we are torn between the desire to follow the Lord and the desire to keep the good will of our friends.

A little leaven leavens a whole ball of dough. Remember, the spirit of the wicked one is in the tare. Perhaps you feel that your feet are on solid ground and you can be a friend to those who bring division.

You were commanded to avoid them. God looks down. He sees your disobedience. You have refused to do what He advised. Soon the spirit of Satan begins to corrupt your mind bringing doubt and confusion. After that you may be persuaded to follow your friend, not realizing you have been seduced. This is how another person can rob you of your crown.

If you want to be kept from seduction, pray! pray! pray! Take up your cross and follow the Lord. Part of that cross, part of the sufferings of Christ, may be the need to turn away from someone who is not hearing from the Lord but who is seducing you with good words and fair speeches.

If you do not have the strength to turn away from your rebellious friends, ask God for help. God will always help you do His will. But if, as is true of so many believers of our day, you are leading a careless Christian life, you will soon be led away from the truth. You will take the easy way and fall into the lap of the wicked one.

The Lord Jesus is very strict—far, far stricter than is realized in our day. He will not permit tares in His Kingdom. Divine grace forgives our sins and gets us started into the Kingdom of God. But if we do not obey the commandments of the Apostles of the Lamb, after having been warned so clearly by Paul, Peter, John, and Jude, then we are as a dog returned to its vomit. We will be spit out of the Lord's mouth. We will be one of the foolish virgins who are left behind to face a closed door.

The shaking is here now. The spiritual fulfillment of the Day of Atonement, the period of reconciliation to God, is here now. Make certain that you remain as the wheat of the Lord. It is your salvation that is at stake. (from The Sons of the Kingdom)