MAN FLEES

“…the greatest sin is rebellion against God, refusal to love and seek Him. This is not something man has to work up to. He naturally wants to escape from God and hide. This is the law of man’s natural tendency: man’s nature is to run away from God, not toward Him. Man does have a religious side, but it does not overrule this basic law: “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way” (Is.53:6).

...It is sometimes preached that all people are seeking God. That’s ridiculous. While everyone has a need for God, and therefore what you might call a religious bent, they also wish that God had nothing in mind for them. They simply want to go their own way, just as Isaiah said.

When Jesus came to the Golan heights, he found two wild men in a cemetery. The hideous demons inside one of the men cried out, “What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?” (Matt.8:29). In the presence of God these devils were panic-stricken, basically saying to Jesus, “Leave us alone; our time has not yet come.” Leave us alone. That too is exactly the primary request unregenerate man makes of God….

This universal tendency to run from God can be overcome by strong biblical teaching and the power of the Holy Spirit. Young people need a strong foundation in their prayer lives. They must be trained to fellowship with God so they can learn to revere Him, to know what He desires for them.