Unbelief and Murmuring Exalt Satan

Christ Triumphant - A Devotional by E.G. White

Unbelief and Murmuring Exalt Satan

Today's Text: And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. Numbers 21:8

The Message:      The same lesson that Christ bade Moses give to the children of Israel in the wilderness is for all such souls suffering under the plague spot of sin. From the billowy cloud Christ spoke to Moses and told him to make a brazen serpent and place it upon a pole, and then bid all that were bitten with the fiery serpents to look and live. What if, in the place of looking as Christ commanded them, they had said, "I do not believe it will do me the least bit of good to look. I am too great a sufferer from the sting of the poisonous serpent." Obedience was the object to be gained, implicit and blind obedience, without stopping to inquire the reason or the science of the matter....      Looking at self will give you neither light nor hope nor peace. The longer you look and ponder over these things, the more dark and discouraged will you become. You please the enemy of God and of the human race by keeping in the cave of darkness where there is not a ray of the Light of life....      If men and women could only see and realize how their unbelief and mournful murmurings exalt Satan and give him honor, while they rob Jesus Christ of His glory in the work of saving them, wholly and entirely, from all sin! ... He broke the fetters of the tomb and came forth to take again His life that He laid down for us. He ascended on high, having led captivity captive and received gifts for us. All this suffering He endured for us.... He will be our helper, and He will be our refuge in every time of need. He should be revealed in our Christian experience as all-sufficient, a present Saviour.      Only look and live. We dishonor God when we do not go forth from the dark cellar of doubts into the upper chamber of hope and faith. When the Light shineth in all its brightness, let us take hold on Jesus Christ by the mighty hand of faith. No longer cultivate your doubts by expressing them and pouring them into other minds, and thus becoming an agent of Satan to sow the seeds of doubt. Talk faith, live faith, cultivate love to God; evidence to the world all that Jesus is to you. Magnify His holy name. Tell of His goodness; talk of His mercy; and tell of His power.-Manuscript 42, 1890.

Commentary: My friend, it is the decided aim of the enemy of souls to separate us from the one power that can give us victory over him, and that power is Jesus Christ living within our hearts.  One of the most effective ways that Satan uses is to get us to doubt God's love for us is by getting us to murmur and complain.  When we do this we are playing into his plan and the forces of evil are ready to suggest numerous doubts that we may murmur and complain.  By our murmuring we put voice to the doubts that Satan has planted in our hearts, and thus many are influenced to partake of this doubt and influence others to do the same. The spirit of murmuring and complaining is not the Spirit of God but the spirit of Satan.  Too many times we as professed followers of Christ do not gain the victory over sin in our lives is because we are not exercising faith in the promises of God.  By our murmuring and complaining we are demonstrating our lack of faith and empowering the enemy of souls in our lives. The promises of God are sure and we can rest our eternal salvation upon them, but if we do not lay hold of them by faith, they can be of no benefit to us.  Salvation is obtained not by proxy, but by faith.  We must look to Christ that we may live.  We must accept the righteousness of Christ by faith that we may stand before the judgment approved of God in His righteousness. Many in the church today have been overcome by the spirit of Satan because they are not looking unto the One true God through His Son Jesus Christ, but are looking unto the false god of the trinity, and as such they are imbued with its false spirit.  The only spirit that can give us victory over sin is the Spirit of Christ.  Christ is our Comforter and unless we have Him living in our hearts we cannot be saved. My friend, now is the time for us to be filled with the Spirit of Christ that we may do His works and glorify our Father in Heaven.  We must lay aside the spirit of discontent and lay hold of the promises of God, that we may be transformed into His image and be a positive influence for others. God bless,

Video of the Week Truth Personified - with Daniel Mesa We have been able to identify truth by a name. Do we have enough evidence to be able to personify something else as well?  This presentation was presented recently to a group of believers in Canada.