We have not been here before. Much change in the way we Christians do things will take place in the days to come—change that is absolutely necessary if we are to triumph over the outpouring of evil as Satan and his followers are forced from the heavens.

As we are changing what we are doing, as the choruses become more militant, as the people rise from their pews and march around the sanctuary with their tambourines, as worshipful dancing increases, as the young people carry the great banners with the cross or the ramping lion, as mime, drama, pageantry of all types change our choir anthems from a spectator sport to greatly increased activity and participation on the part of the worshipers—as all this fervency accelerates, many traps will be laid for the unlearned and unwary.

There must be diligent oversight by experienced elders who have no desire to lord it over God's flock but are watching for behavior that is not edifying. It is their responsibility to lead the believers away from the demonic interventions, back to that which is glorifying Christ.

The believers who will not submit to reasonable authority are useless as soldiers in Christ's army and should leave the assembly. They will destroy the work of God with their criticizing, slandering, backbiting, and other actions that serve only to create division and bitterness.

Perhaps in another assembly they may be able to grow and serve more successfully.

Willingness To Come Short of Final Victory.

Every Christian is well acquainted with the sad history of the Israelites, how they were willing to settle down in part of their inheritance and permit the original inhabitants of Canaan to live alongside them in their towns.

The Benjamites, however, failed to dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the Benjamites. (Judges 1:21—NIV)

God had warned the Israelites to make no peace whatever with the inhabitants of Canaan, saying if they did so they would soon find themselves worshiping the Canaanite gods. This, of course, is precisely what happened.

Perhaps the worst of the Canaanite customs was to offer their little children as burnt offerings to the god Molech. You would think with the background of the Jews they would never do such a thing. But they did!

And they built the high places of Baal, which are in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to cause their sons and their daughters to pass through the fire unto Molech; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my mind, that they should do this abomination, to cause Judah to sin. (Jeremiah 32:35—NIV)

So it is with us. Some of the enemies in our personality may be dealt with readily and quickly. There may be others that cling tenaciously to us.

Everything depends on our attitude toward these giants. If we have a breath of a desire to compromise with them they will hang on forever. We must become ferocious, desperate, making it known to the demons, to ourselves, to God, and to anyone else who will listen that we absolutely will never, never, never agree to this darkness in us.

To be continued.