_____________________________________________________________________________________________

ACTS 29 TODAY

coming to the knowledge of the TRUTH

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________________

Mr. Self, the King Cockroach —The Last One To Go

___________________________________________________________________________________________

 

We’ve seen that it’s not always easy to endure through

this sanctification process. As the Holy Spirit searches

the inmost reaches of your heart, He’ll pull some things

out of the darkness for purging that you won’t want to

deal with. Those are the times when your emotions can

go wild, causing you to hit an impasse in prayer.

It reminds me of an experience I once had while staying

in a cheap motel. (When I first entered the full-time

ministry, you should have seen some of the motels that

churches put me in. The bathroom was down the hall,

and the telephone was down the street!)

When I first came into the dark motel room, I felt for a

light switch on the wall. But there wasn’t one — only

dirt streaks on the wall where everyone else had also

looked for it.

So I walked across the floor, looking for the ceiling

light’s pull cord. As I walked, I heard this strange

“crunch, crunch” sound. I reached the light cord and

pulled. All of a sudden, all these little creatures of the

night started to run in every direction. It was a bunch

of cock-roaches, all scurrying for the cover of darkness

(except for the trail of dead ones I had stepped on!).

I’ve thought about that horde of cockroaches and their

frantic desire for darkness. It reminds me of the deeds

of the flesh in our lives that shrink from being exposed

by the light of the Word and the Spirit. And for the sake

of teaching, I’m going to extend that true story now into

a parable.

After watching the cockroaches hurry to find cover, I

looked around the room. There on the counter, where

week-old food still gathered mold, sat a rat. This rat was

big! He had an entire kitty-cat tail hanging out of his

mouth!

But what caught my interest was the little collar and

chain leash that was around the rat’s neck. My eyes

followed the little chain to its other end, and there

stood a cockroach holding the chain with one of his six

legs. You should have seen this cockroach! He was

huge! Not only that, but he was wearing a “Super bug”

outfit with a big “S” on his chest!

I looked at this cockroach, and he looked at me. Then he

said, “Watch this.” He jerked on the chain and said to

the rat, “Roll over.” That rat just meekly obeyed and

rolled over!

“I’m bad, I’m real bad!” the cockroach boasted.

I said, “Yeah, well, I’ve heard about you, Mr. Cockroach,

and I’m ready for you. I have a can of spiritual Raid!”

“Oh, yeah?” the cockroach said, “Well, I’ve lived in the

penthouse of your life for a long time,and if you think

I’m afraid of your praying in tongues, I’m going to show

you right now how bad I can whip you! I’m King

Cockroach, and I’ve kept the ceiling on your life all

these years.It has gone no further in God, and it isn’t

going any further now!”

“Oh, yeah?” I challenged.

“I’m the love of money,” King Cockroach continued.

“I’m the lust of other things. I’m the flesh that keeps

you from getting out of bed to pray. I am the one that

trades programs for prayer so that your ministry will

never be anything. And you think you can whip me,

boy?”“Yes, I do!

I’ve heard about you, but I have my Raid bug spray!” So

King Cockroach put on his boxing gloves, and we went

at it. Spray — “You missed me!”Spray, spray — “Missed

again!”

Then I sprayed him right in the face. The force of the

spray blasted his hair back. But he just licked his lips

and said, “Boy, that’s good stuff! I’m a high bred

cockroach, and I have a date tonight, so give me

another shot!”

What is this parable talking about? Well, when you

start edifying yourself through praying in tongues, the

Holy Spirit causes the lit candle of your reborn human

spirit to burn brighter and brighter. The more you pray,

the more the Holy Spirit is going to illuminate those

things hidden in darkness.

Every time you move from one realm to a higher realm

in God, the “cockroaches” — the deeds of the flesh that

have hindered you in your walk with God — are going

to scream and run for the cover of darkness. Then one

by one they will die as your reborn human spirit purges

them by the power it has received through edification

from the Holy Spirit.

Finally, you’ll make it to the penthouse of your life.

That’s where ole King Cockroach, Mr.Self himself, sets

up his residence. He’s the last one to go, and, boy, can

he put up a fight!

After long seasons of praying in tongues, I finally

reached the penthouse of my life. Mr.Self, the King

Cockroach, put on his boxing gloves and started to fight

my emotions. It was tough!

Why is Mr. Self the last one to go? Because you’re either

going to fall out of prayer, or you’re going to give up the

thing you love more than God — and “self” is the thing

your flesh loves most!

So one of two things will happen: You’ll stop praying, or

you’ll kill the King Cockroach,because you can’t coexist

with both of them. Your emotions will tell you, “Don’t

turn loose of Self,” but as you keep praying in tongues,

your edified spirit will tell you that you must.

Your emotions can become so strong in this internal

battle that you feel as if you’d like to do anything else

but pray. That’s the impasse you have to push through.

When you make it to that point, just stay in prayer;

you’re about to put King Cockroach to death. And when

you do,your life and your ministry will rise to a new

level of anointing!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________

UNTIL NEXT TIME

LARRY