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Originally Posted by Matt
P.S.S. For those who've gotten on my case for being hard-headed. Trust me, you haven't seen even 20% of it. Ask TJ, she took a 110% and survived, but just bearly. I'm no one's enemy here and no one is mine. I am holding an extreme position on an important issue. You can call me anything and accuse me of anything as a result. I'll live.
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Originally Posted by Roger
Not good; not good at all. Witness Lee was like that.
But thanks for sharing with us about the elder brother who is willing to be wrong. Now that's Christ.
Roger
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Maybe you didn't catch the underlying fact that my statement was not of pride, but of repentance in that example. Maybe I didn't say that clearly. So let me state it plainly. I have repented of being hard-headed in many cases. It has been my downfall in various situations. It has also been used of the Lord (for He gave me a strong-will as it pleased Him to do) in others, so I was not speaking pridefully. It's okay with me if you attack on that point. I'm easily attacked on that issue, so feel free. Fire away.
It's a good thing that I don't have control over many people's lives with this particular characteristic. I don't deny it. I recognize it and acknowledge it. In fact, I've done it in the past in smaller ways and when His light shone on me all I could do was repent to Him and those affected. Hopefully, I have repented to the point that He bestows His mercy upon me. It is much needed. Thank God and praise God that He has protected me from my own characteristics by measuring out discipline to me and breaking me by His hand (not at the hands of other men). I do not submit to men, but to God because through His Son He has set me free to serve Him alone. I encourage everyone to do the same, so that in that day each may stand before the Lord according to their own service to the Lord. I may not always serve well, but I am willing to be judged in that day just as all others will be. My ability to serve has come from His service to me in my life. He once showed me that I could not know how to serve Him if He did not first serve me. I must confess how good and faithful He is and how incredible His service to me has been. We have a good God who is worthy to be praised and we should fear Him alone, not men or what they say if it does not come from the Spirit of the Lord.
Your greatest strength and/or weakness depending upon how they are used and whether they are used
in or
out of the Lord's will can be very tricky. In like manner, the strong desire to follow the Lord can become the trap that the Enemy uses to ensnare you and cause you to fall into something other than truly worshipping the Lord alone. If you have this strong desire and are set in an environment that is highly conducive to or steeped in an idolatrous condition it will be even easier to fall prey to this built-in desire. If I were placed at the head of an organization of men with my natural tendency to be self-assured and strong-willed, surely I would fall prey much more easily. This is a sad truth. (
Lord lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the Evil one.)
Matt
P.S. I think it was you who encouraged me to just say what I have to say. That's why I've been quieter... I've been working on that.