Page 65 - The Gate and the Way

religious duties through the power of the natural man, for the Spirit had not yet been given.
Sadly, even after the Spirit has been given, a majority of Christians continue to operate
on the basis of a soulish power. Much service to God is performed in the power of the
natural man. The soul of man is guiding and directing, and the natural powers of man that
are looked to in order to accomplish every task. The results are predictable.
Men who operate out of their natural strength will fall short of the mind and will of
the Father. Man’s ways are not God’s ways. Look at the focus the church has placed upon
prosperity, wealth, and worldly success today and it is evident that the soul of man is
guiding. The church is seeking to manifest an image of power, success and strength to the
world. The church seeks to meet the world head on from a position of strength, yet the Son
of God came in much weakness.
When men are strong in natural things, they are weak in spiritual things. This is why
we find so few great people on this earth embracing the meek and lowly walk of a disciple
of Christ.

I Corinthians 1:26-29
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the
flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the
world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame
the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God
has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that
no man may boast before God.

I have observed in my own life that natural strength does not promote spiritual
growth. In those seasons of my life when I was earning a good salary and had much money
to spend, my tendency was to make decisions for myself. I felt empowered by my success,
and the result was a spiritual malaise. Rather than drawing closer to God, I found that I was
pressing in less to His presence.
Yahweh knows our tendency to forget Him when we are full and experiencing
abundance. Therefore, He will lead His willing people through wilderness places where the
abundance is gone.

Hosea 13:5-6
I cared for you in the wilderness, in the land of drought. As they had their pasture,
they became satisfied, and being satisfied, their heart became proud; Therefore they
forgot Me.

If I had been a physically strong man, I am confident that this too would have been
a great hindrance to my spiritual growth. Physical strength would have engendered in me
a carelessness about spiritual things. Yahweh in His wisdom and mercy permitted me to be
born with brittle bones. From the time of my childhood I was more easily injured than other
children. I was not athletic, and this natural weakness caused me to adopt a more humble
attitude toward those around me than I would have had otherwise.
One of the greatest areas of natural strength men must overcome is the power of their
mind. Men are naturally prone to rely heavily upon their own ability to reason as they
pursue a course through this world. As Christians, such reliance upon natural reason will
stymy spiritual growth. Christians, even after they have been born of the Spirit of Christ,