Page 56 - The Mark of the Beast

spiritual treasures. Those who embrace the working of the cross the most will gain the most.
Those who avoid the suffering of the cross will suffer the greatest loss. Within the church
there are many enemies of the cross, and this fact should bring us great grief and lead us to
weep. The spiritual life of the church is at ebb tide because so few have embraced the
disciple’s cross. May God grant that many might have their eyes opened to discern the
incalculable loss that lies before them.
There is a true story that recounts how some of the early settlers and traders of
America purchased Manhattan Island from the Indians for some trinkets and beads.
Manhattan now is one of the most highly valued pieces of real estate in the world and a
news article a while back said that some Indians are suing to receive compensation for this
disastrous trade.
There will be no opportunity to renegotiate with God when this life is over. The trade
we made will stand. If we choose a few trinkets and baubles of this world over eternal
spiritual treasures we will weep and wail and gnash our teeth in grief over our folly. As I
look at the church of this hour I see a great heavenly poverty. The majority of Christians
have chosen to pursue that which perishes, and like Esau whose natural appetite led him
to trade his birthright for a pot of stew, so too are many saints trading away an immense
and unfading inheritance in order to satisfy their appetite for earthly things. There is a
warning in the words written of Esau:

Hebrews 12:17
For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was
rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.

Esau did not find within himself the motivation to rule over his natural appetites and
the desires of the flesh. His failure to embrace the cross and to put his flesh to death
resulted in much loss that he later wept bitterly over. An appetite for things of this world
is something that we are born with, and we can choose to either rule over and subdue these
appetites in order to seek things above, or we can live to satisfy these earthly desires and
trade away our birthright.
There is at this hour still room for repentance, but the hour is late and soon will be
over. Seek God while He may be found and turn away from the allure of things of this world.
Hold all things loosely and have the attitude that you do not possess anything here. Do not
spend your strength seeking things which are destined to perish, but seek the true riches
which are in Christ. The pleasures of this life are fleeting, but those who seek pleasure in the
presence of God will enjoy it forever.
If you have viewed the disciple’s cross as an enemy to be avoided, then reconsider. The
cross is the instrument upon which we slay the beast nature and release that which is
divine. Satan despises the cross, but Christ embraced it. We will follow in the footsteps of
one of them.