When a man sins, it hurts him. If he goes out and commits a sin, it hurts him badly; it pains him, he is grieved over it; he weeps and prays over it. But when he sins again, when he sins the second time, he does not have that pain, that grief any more. The third time he feels comfortable in it; he actually feels good about it. And, the fourth time he believes and says that it is righteousness. It is good for you that I give you examples of my experiences so that you might learn from them. Therefore, let me give you one even now.
I knew a man who was a preacher in the church organization where I, too, used to be a pastor. This man fell into sin, but nobody found out. He continued in his sin and after a while he got so smart with it that nobody could touch him. He built a wall of secrecy around himself and absolutely nobody could touch him. It went on for many years. Then, he was about to become a bishop of the church. Yet, all this long string of women held his secret for him. He would take the money from the church and send them abroad. Finally, they caught him. He wept and fasted for ten days. He ate nothing, but cried to God. When he came out of the fast, he had a new doctrine. He said, “The Mormons are right, you know, because they have more than just one wife.” Nobody could talk to him. If you only mentioned the subject to him, he would never talk to you again for the rest of your life. He would cut you off! He went on and on and on until…
One day God showed me a vision about him. In the vision I came into a hall like some of those halls we have meetings in. The floor had variegated tiles, tiles with different colors. As I walked in, I almost stepped on a serpent that had taken on the color of the tiles. I looked and when I did, the head of the serpent was standing up; I realized it was a man. Surprisingly, his wife was standing right under the head. So I went up to him and asked him, “How did you do this?” I mean it was absolutely marvelous to see how the serpent took on the little squares on the tiles as well as the color of those squares so that you could not discern it unless you were very keen. He smiled and said, “I feed among the roses.” I knew what he meant. He meant that he took the truth, he ate the truth, and he used the truth. He could go into any congregation and get them falling on the floor and screaming. He could do anything, because he knew the truth about the gospel. He could preach in a Baptist church and get them shouting. He could preach in a Catholic church and get them shouting. They would all eat out of his hand! He could go any place and preach because of the spirit that was on him.
Brethren, I say all of this so that you might understand that there is darkness in this world everywhere. The darkness is in the business, the darkness is in the politics, the darkness is in the church. If you submit to the spirit of darkness, you get it. However, God has given us a better way. Let us be the children of the light!
Sonlight Devotional 