Sadly, the leaders in this particular ministry fell into that mindset. Over time, they became involved in immoral behavior and the ministry was destroyed. When it all came to light, people were appalled. “How could such a well-known minister ever slip into such shocking sin?” they asked. “How does that kind of thing happen?”
It happens a little at a time. A little sin here, not repented of, leads to a little more sin there, not repented of. As the sins pile up, the heart gets hardened to them. It stops sounding the alarm, and the sinning believer keeps moving further and further away from the light and into the darkness.
No matter how far out into the darkness that believer gets, if he’ll repent, God will receive him with open arms and help him get back on track again. And in the case of these dear Christian leaders, that’s how the story ended. But the sobering truth is, it’s not always that way.
Sometimes believers who willfully and persistently choose to sin get to the place where their hearts are so hardened, they no longer have any desire to repent. They could repent if they only would, but they don’t want to.
Kenneth E. Hagin used to tell a story about a woman like that. She was a pastor’s wife with a beautiful voice who’d spent years singing in church. One day the devil started whispering in her ear, telling her she was missing out on something better. “You’re a beautiful woman,” he said. “You could have anything you want. You could be a movie star. Your life is being totally wasted here.”
For a while she resisted the devil’s lies, but he kept coming back and talking to her—and eventually she started listening. She started thinking about what he was saying, and it took root in her mind. Eventually, she embraced it so completely that she left her husband and turned her back on the Lord. She rejected the pleas of the Holy Spirit and the other believers who tried to help her, committed herself to a life of sin, and never repented.
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Understanding Holiness
1) The devil is the author of sin, and when you yield to it, you open the door for him to bring destruction into your life. Rom. 6:23
2) God wants you to enjoy THE BLESSING of His abundant life so He has called you to separate yourself from sin and walk with Him.
2 Cor. 6:17-18
3) In your spirit, God has already made you as holy as He is.
1 Cor. 1:30
4) All you have to do to be holy is to cooperate with Him and give outward expression to who you really are on the inside.
Heb. 12:1-2
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BVOV : 29
