Partying. To party is to abandon one's self to "fun." It is normal for children to have fun and play games. Children grow and learn about life and their surroundings while they are playing games.

The adamic believer, even though an adult in age, is still a child in that every once in a while he must have "fun." He must let his spiritual guard down, throw caution to the winds, and "enjoy himself." This is an excellent time for the enemy of his soul to cause him to say or do something harmful to the Kingdom of God.

Christians often do not understand the difference between fun and joy. Fun is a somewhat frantic exercise of the fleshly nature. Fun is possible only as long as the person's circumstances are pleasing. One does not have fun while sick or in prison.

Joy, on the other hand, is a fruit of the Spirit of God. Joy is a deeply settled peace and sense of well-being. The saint has deep joy that flourishes in good times and bad, when at liberty or in prison, when in good health or sick, when prospects are good or dreadful. The further we walk with the Lord the stronger and more consistent our joy becomes.

The Lord said that He gives us of His joy.

These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. (John 15:11)

Can you imagine the Lord saying, "that my fun might remain in you"? Do you believe the Lord Jesus had much fun while He was on the earth? Therefore we see there is an important difference between fun and joy. Fun is of the flesh. Joy is of the Lord.

The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit of God.

Christians who love to "party," who believe that unless they are having fun they are not experiencing life as they should, are still of the first man, Adam. God in His love will soon chasten them severely so that Adam will be crucified and the new creation, the joyful creation, will come forth.

When we think of Pastor Richard Wurmbrand in a straitjacket, in solitary confinement thirty feet below ground in a Communist prison in Bucharest, gagged to muffle his insane howlings, in a cell so cold his pet spider froze to death, we find it difficult to sympathize with Christian adults or young people who did not have fun during their Saturday-night party (Richard Wurmbrand, With God in Solitary Confinement, Living Sacrifice Book Company, P.O. Box 2273, Bartlesville, Oklahoma, 1993).

Another problem is that Christian people do not understand the difference between a party and Christian fellowship. It is a simple matter to tell the difference. If it is easy and compatible with what is going on to pray, to speak of the Lord, to prophesy, to build up one another in the faith, then one is having fellowship. These behaviors are out of place at a party. One is much more likely to hear jesting and gossip than words that build us up in the faith.

The demons are a merry group and love to dance and sing, as we can notice on the friezes on the temples in India. They love parties because they then can infiltrate the fleshly antics of unguarded believers.

To love parties is to love food sacrificed to idols.

To be continued.