Ego In the Temple

Ego In the Temple

Ego: Satan's Gate

The whole process of sanctification is ongoing. You live in a corrupt body. Your flesh is corrupt.

In a way, you are imprisoned in your body of sin. However, God has provided you with a means of escape.

That way of escape is the Cross. Your salvation comes through Jesus Christ and His shed blood.

The Cross is foolishness to man, but it is the power of God for salvation. That is where you have to allow Christ to crucify your old ego. Your old ego is Satan's gate. You must allow the Lord to close that gate. You will allow God to close the doors you've opened to the enemy when you have the fear of God.

The fear of God is rooted in the love of God. It is your love for God that will allow Him to transform you by being renewed through your obedience to Him.

Matthew 16:21-24 From that time forth began Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Jesus was very aware of the flesh. He came to deal with the flesh. He came to deal with the sin nature of fallen man. That was why Jesus had to go to the Cross: to put the flesh to death.

In like manner, Jesus expects you to not physically take up your cross, but to spiritually take up your cross. You must crucify your whole life, come out of the world, and be separate.

While you're trying to hold on to your old carnal man, the selfish, self-centered side of your life, Satan will use that as a portal and will be able to attack you. You will be in constant torment. You will not have peace.

The Cross brings peace. It puts to death that side of man that is able to be tormented by the enemy.

In the born again man who is walking in the Spirit, Satan's gate through the ego is closed shut.

Ego Won't Learn Christ Because It Is An Antichrist

The nature of the flesh, the old man, the ego, and the uncrucified self is of the antichrist. It is cursed and will return to dust.

God is not interested in your flesh. He will keep it healthy and sanctify it if you are walking in Him. He has made provisions for the flesh, but it is to keep it under His dominion through the power of the Spirit.

Ephesians 4:2-24 20 But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

The key for you overcoming Satan, the world, and all of your enemies is being renewed in the spirit of your mind. Putting on your New Man is walking in the Spirit. When you are renewed in the spirit of your mind, it means that the Holy Spirit has come in to you and given you the mind of Christ.

The mind of Christ takes dominion over your flesh. However, if you submit to the flesh, then your flesh will war against and try to take dominion over your born-again mind. There is an ongoing battle between your carnal, fleshly mind and the mind of Christ.

The perfect cure for dealing with your ego is to puncture it like a balloon. The nails that pierced Jesus will crucify and puncture your ego, literally deflating it. The Cross deflates your ego!

Jesus said the first shall be last and the last shall be first. That is the attitude that Jesus modeled for you. He had no problem with ego because He surrendered to the Father. In everything that He did He said, "Not my will be done but yours." Jesus was tempted in every way, yet He refused to bow, come into agreement with, or submit to the flesh. He overcame the flesh and ego.

Again, the way to overcome ego is the Cross. No ego was found in Christ Jesus. He had no problem with ego. Rather, He bore ego for you. He took it. God placed the weight of it on Christ Jesus, and He overcame it.

The answer to your ego is Christ because He had no problem with it. There is reconciliation at the Cross. That reconciliation is an exchange: Jesus's life for your life.

In Jesus's life there was no bondage to ego. When you take on the mind of Christ, and take on His life through the power of the Spirit, then there is no problem with ego.

You will have no desire to lord it over others. Many people lord it over others because of their own insecurity. That's what ego does. Ego is insecurity.

Is it Ego or Is it Christ?

Luke 22:24-27 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. And he said unto them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and they that exercise authority upon them are called benefactors. But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that doth serve. For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.

Jesus humbled himself. He did not come to be served, but to serve. God gave up His place in Heaven, humbled Himself, and came down to be an example to you on how to live.

He demonstrated how to overcome the knowledge of the tree of good and evil.

Philippians 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

God has appointed elders, called overseers. These are positions of authority. The true Church is completely opposite to the world. It is God who appoints elders. It is a gift from God. You don't get to become an elder simply because you desire to be one.  It is God who appoints and anoints elders.

When you are given that position, Satan will try to corrupt and tempt you into thinking that you are something that you are not.

Lording it over others is not leadership. Godly leadership is being a servant, serving others, and esteeming others better than yourself as Jesus did. He was the example to follow.

Be careful of pursuing big ministry titles. That can puff you up. One of the biggest enemies of peace is pride. Pride will blind you and prevent you from receiving God's grace. God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humility is another key to overcoming your ego.

Is Ego Sitting on the Throne of the Temple?

The Bible tells us that we are the temple of the Holy Spirit now in Christ.

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.

When you are operating out of your ego, you are actually a slave to sin. But, when you are in Christ and walking in the Spirit, then you are a slave to righteousness. Then, as you grow in the knowledge of Christ and overcome sin, you actually become a son of God and an heir with Christ Jesus.

It is critically important that you understand that self is your enemy. It is an antichrist and satan's gate. If you are being tormented, then you must learn how to overcome your flesh. Self is flesh.

It is the carnal nature and the carnal mind.

Ego is the result of the fall in the garden of Eden. Mankind died spiritually and allowed satan to take God's place in his heart. Man became his own god. Sin separated mankind from God. Satan became man's god through this rebellion against God. This led to man creating his own identity, which is the ego.

This corruption is all rooted in the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil is having your eyes opened to forbidden knowledge. As a result, you have knowledge of things that God never intended for you to know about. There was no need for you to know about these things.

When Adam and Eve's eyes were opened, then they had the choice to choose good and evil in a way that ultimately controlled them. They lost control because they became separated from God. They had a right to choose not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good evil.

Unfortunately, they were tempted by the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life and fell from God's grace.

Satan manifests himself through mankind. He is the god of this world. He became the god of this world through controlling the mind of man. Satan through man has created the whole world system that exists today. It is a product of demons, Satan, and mind-control. Human beings without Christ Jesus are basically puppets enslaved to the kingdom that satan has created.

Ego is idolatry.

1 Corinthians 10:21-22 Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the cup of devils: ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's table, and of the table of devils.vDo we provoke the Lord to jealousy? are we stronger than he?

Through sin, man has removed himself from the table of the Lord. He began drinking and eating from the table of demons. Ego is seated at the table of demons!

• Where are you seated? At your own table (demons) or at Christ's table?

• Who is sitting in the throne of your heart, ego or Christ?

If you are walking in the flesh and in self, then you are actually bowing to the desire of your flesh, which is demonic. To walk in self is to walk in darkness. The end of that is death.

It is separation from God.

There is a way which seems right to man, but its end is death.

Man is deceived by lust, idols, the deceitfulness of sin, and the iniquity that lies within his heart. The key to understanding ego is to understand that it is rooted in the iniquity in your heart.

You must learn to recognize iniquity in your own heart. It is totally demonic.

Are you beginning to see how dangerous self is?

That is why it is so important for you to understand the true gospel of Christ, which is the message of the Cross.

This message of self-denial is not preached a lot in Chruches today. Unfortunately, you'll hear more about self-exaltation than you'll hear about self-denial in many ministries. This attitude is not clearly being identified as what it really is: totally demonic.

Ego's Glory or Christ's Glory

John 7:14-18 Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.

Whose kingdom are you building?

You will know others by their fruits. You must also look at your own fruit.

You must remove the plank out of your own eye before you can take the splinter out of your brother's eye.

Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less. Walking in humility is crucifying the self. It is totally killing the self.

Removing the masks of self-focus is a process. It is a journey.

The more you walk with Christ, the more you'll come to know the Holy Spirit. The more you learn to walk in His ways, the more your masks will come off.

Unfortunately, satan places many masks on believers. The masks are there to hide fear and pain.

Everyone has fears, rejection, and hurt. The enemy puts masks on you and deceives you.

Many who haven't been brought up in a good Christian home and taught the truth from a very early age, have been mind-controlled, had masks put on, and taught how to behave according to the will of the self, the world, and satan.

Strife Comes Out Of Promoting Self and Ego

Proverbs 30:32-33 If thou hast done foolishly in lifting up thyself, or if thou hast thought evil, lay thine hand upon thy mouth. Surely the churning of milk bringeth forth butter, and the wringing of the nose bringeth forth blood: so the forcing of wrath bringeth forth strife.

Strife is what exalting self produces. Like churning milk produces butter, self-focus will produce strife and wrath.

Proverbs 14:14 The backslider in heart shall be filled with his own ways: and a good man shall be satisfied from himself. The simple believeth every word: but the prudent man looketh well to his going.

The world does not revolve around you. You are meant to serve the people in the world and to bring them out of darkness. 

To live as if the world revolves around you is a form of self-worship.

Ego Blocks the Holy Spirit's Fruit: Love

1 Corinthians 8:1 Now as touching things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth.

To build up and encourage others to grow into their full stature is to have the mind of Christ.

It is impossible for one operating out of ego to commune with God.

God had no answer to self. It is impossible for the flesh to be justified even through the works of the Law.

In 1 Corinthians 8:1, Paul was addressing the sin of arrogance as an introduction to the subject of idolatry in the following two verses (1 Cor. 8:2-3). His comments reveal that behind the behavior of the Corinthians (or at least an important group among them) lay a serious problem of attitude.

The Corinthian Church's conduct was not guided by love (as defined by 1 Corinthians 13), but by pride, ego, and self.

They were focused on competing with one another.

The world has duped many people into competing with others and into performance-based love.

In order to be loved, many people strive to be seen as important. They seek obtaining importance by what they can achieve in their own strength.

The sad reality is that when all this self-effort fails it leads to profound suffering.

Ego is the first thing to suffer. Their own ego, their worst enemy, will ultimately be their downfall because satan controls the ego.

Satan will use your ego to destroy you. Ego is satan's gate. It is a portal. As long as you keep that portal open, you will be tormented in every possible area imaginable.

Ego (Idolatry) Causes the Lord to Send a Lying Spirit

Ezekiel 14:1-5 Then came certain of the elders of Israel unto me, and sat before me. And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their heart, and put the stumblingblock of their iniquity before their face: should I be enquired of at all by them? Therefore speak unto them, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God; Every man of the house of Israel that setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to the prophet; I the Lord will answer him that cometh according to the multitude of his idols; That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart, because they are all estranged from me through their idols.

Satan knows this is what God does to those who serve idols. This is why pride, deception, and ego are some of the key strategies he uses against God's people. When people have idols in their heart, God will answer them to the multitude of their idols.

Ezekiel 14:6-11 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord God; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations. For every one of the house of Israel, or of the stranger that sojourneth in Israel, which separateth himself from me, and setteth up his idols in his heart, and putteth the stumblingblock of his iniquity before his face, and cometh to a prophet to enquire of him concerning me; I the Lord will answer him by myself: And I will set my face against that man, and will make him a sign and a proverb, and I will cut him off from the midst of my people; and ye shall know that I am the Lord. And if the prophet be deceived when he hath spoken a thing, I the Lord have deceived that prophet, and I will stretch out my hand upon him, and will destroy him from the midst of my people Israel. And they shall bear the punishment of their iniquity: the punishment of the prophet shall be even as the punishment of him that seeketh unto him; That the house of Israel may go no more astray from me, neither be polluted any more with all their transgressions; but that they may be my people, and I may be their God, saith the Lord God.

When you have idols in your heart, you will not get an answer from God when you seek Him out. If you seek out prophets for "a word" and are full of iniquity, beware!

Do you see how dangerous it is to have the iniquity of self, pride, and ego in your heart?

When you are walking in iniquity and in the multitude of your idols, there is only one way out.

You must crucify yourself. Otherwise, you're not going to hear from God.

What God will do is teach you a lesson. Hopefully, through God's grace He will lead you out of that place of deception.

The curse that God will place on you in such a case can lead to repentance.

The more you go under that curse, the more opportunity you will have to come to your senses, understand how you have sinned against God, and repent.

Idolatry is all rooted in self and ego and is profoundly dangerous.

1 Kings 22:8 And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the Lord: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so.

1 Kings 22:19-23 And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the Lord: I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. And the Lord said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramothgilead? And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the Lord, and said, I will persuade him. And the Lord said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. Now therefore, behold, the Lord hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all these thy prophets, and the Lord hath spoken evil concerning thee.

King Ahab had surrendered the whole kingdom of Israel to Jezebel, Baal worship and satan.

He brought the entire kingdom into abomination. As a result, God sent a lying spirit against him.

This is what happens when you commit idolatry and turn to self-worship and ego.

Ego and self are full of idols. That is why God's answer to self and ego is the Cross.

Self has to die.

Jesus said that any man that wanted to come after Him had to take up his cross and follow Him. He went on to say that whoever desired to keep his life would lose it, but whoever chooses to lose his life for Christ's sake would keep it.

Ego: The Biggest Idol and Root of Apostasy

2 Thessalonians 2:9-11 Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie:  That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.

This passage speaks of pleasure in unrighteousness, pleasure in self, pleasure in ego, pleasure in idols, and pleasure in all the abominations of the desires of men's own heart. To be independent of God and eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil rather than the tree of like, who is Jesus Christ, is to be damned to hell for all eternity.

1 Timothy 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;

Ego and self opens the door to deception. If you are attending a Church that does not preach the Cross, true repentance, and deliverance then you could very well have another gospel.

Another gospel will bring in strong delusion and ultimately eternal death.

The Message of the Cross: Ego's Enemy

2 Peter 1:2-4 Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord, According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

The escape Peter speaks of includes the escape of ego, self, and the deceitfulness of sin.

You escape corruption through the Cross of Christ.

This passage is showing you that you need to have your eyes on the finished work of the Cross.

Anyone who is under the Old Testament Law will always struggle with ego.

Ego demons, like pride, self-exaltaion, self-centeredness, etc. need to be cast out.

You must be crucified with Christ, buried with Christ, and raised with Christ. It is no longer you who live. It is no longer your ego that lives. It is no longer your self that lives. It is Christ that lives in you.

Keys to Escape From Being Yoked to the Best: Your Ego

The world is the beast. Satan's kingdom is the beast. It is the kingdom of the dragon.

2 Peter 1:5-8 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

This is a process, a total transformation of your heart. The quickest way to be transformed is total surrender to God through crucifixion. Take up your cross and be crucified with Christ daily.

Every day, first thing in the morning, declare and speak the truth: It is no loner you that live, but Christ that lives in you.

2 Peter 9-11 But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

When you surrender to Christ and die to self, you receive grace and peace from God. The Holy Spirit will then be able to mold you as clay.

When you have not surrendered your whole life to Christ, it is like having a lump of clay that is not pliable.

God cannot use that type of "clay". The potter cannot use hard clay. He can't get his fingers into that clay to mold and shape it as He desires.

When you are unpliable you have a stony heart. It's hard-heartedness, ego, pride, and self.

The answer to the stony heart is the Cross. God takes away the stony heart when you die to self. In its place He gives you a heart of flesh. That heart of flesh is not self, but rather Christ in you.

It's the New Man. God's righteousness.

You become a new creation. All things are new. It is a spiritual process, and causes you to be born again, which is to say born from above. When that occurs, you are no longer under the curse.

The Cross Cuts Off Ego

2 Corinthians 4:4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

If you are walking in self and ego, then you have actually been spiritually blinded.

Ego and pride blinds you.

In the same way, the Jews were blinded to Jesus. Their eyes and ears could not receive the truth.  

The only way the disciples could receive the truth was by Jesus opening up their eyes and spiritual understanding.

The only way you can receive the truth is by Jesus opening up your eyes and spiritual understanding.

The only way to receive the truth is by crucifying self and ego and by allowing the Holy Spirit to open up your spiritual eyes and ears.

As long as you have self and ego, your spiritual eyes and ears will be sealed shut.

2 Corinthians 4:5-6 For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

The early Church had become total servants of Christ Jesus. They had no fear of death because they had already died in Christ. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.  

If you have self and ego, then you will have fear in your heart when you face difficulties and danger.

You overcome by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of your testimony, and by not loving your life unto death.

Ego will block your ability to do these things.

2 Corinthians 4:7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

When you walk in self and ego, you are not walking in the power of God, but rather in the power of the Antichrist.

The treasure you have is that new substance, the new born again man, who is Christ in you, the hope of glory. It is not pride, ego, or self.

The power of the Spirit comes through your faith in Christ and not by your ego.

Casting Off Ego and Putting On Christ

Philippians 3:7-11 But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Paul counted everything that he could possibly have or gain in the flesh as a loss.

When you come to Christ, you have to be prepared to come out of the world and lose everything that would separate you from the truth.

Paul counted everything that he once considered to be precious as rubbish when compared to what he gained in Christ Jesus.

Your own righteousness is self and ego, It is the old man.

It is far better for you to die now.

If you don't die now then you are going to have to face the judgment of God. The only way to be able to stand in the judgment of God is by dying now. Only then can you gain life and not be judged according to your Old Man.

If you are in Christ, God will look at you and He'll see His blood and His righteousness and you will escape eternal death and destruction through Christ. The only way out is through Christ Jesus and the Cross.

The only way out of this world and the power of death is dying to self.

Crucify your ego. Nail it to the Cross.

The one who overcomes will be clothed in white garments.

Your old self does not have those white garments. Your old self is naked.

The white garments from Christ hide the shame of your nakedness. In self and ego you are naked.

Adam and Eve sewed fig leaves together in order to hide the shame of their nakedness from God.

God killed an animal and shed its blood so that He could temporarily cover them.

He did this until He was able to offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice.

Jesus was the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world. He knew that He had to go to the Cross, but He made temporary coverings until He could become their covering.

The white garments that God offers you are Christ Jesus.

If you are in Christ, then you are clothed in Christ's righteousness.