The Lone Wolf

Each of the disciples were very masculine. They were fishers, hard laborers, tough Jewish

men opposed to the grueling Roman rule. They were strong, and when asked who among them was the greatest in the kingdom of Heaven, the Lord said a child in front of them.

Matthew 18:1-2 NLT

About that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?" [2] Jesus called a little child to him and put the child among them.

Imagine the shock of the disciples with all their intelligence and their strength, that the Lord would put a child in front of them, and declare him to be the greatest.

Matthew 18:3-4 NLT

Then he said, "I tell you the truth, unless you turn from your sins and become like little children, you will never get into the Kingdom of Heaven. [4] So anyone who becomes as humble as this little child is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven.

God is God on his own. He does not need our intelligence or our ideas or our strength to be added to his word, or to try to further or advance the kingdom of Heaven with our abilities.

He doesn’t need us to do good or evil, he just needs us to die out and allow him to live his life in us. He doesn’t need us putting our twist on his word or sugarcoating it, he needs a willing vessel that he can command. Someone that has a child knows that that child will not only believe him, but also obey him without question.

1 Samuel 15:17-19 KJV

And Samuel said, When thou wast little in thine own sight, wast thou not made the head of the tribes of Israel, and the Lord anointed thee king over Israel? [18] And the Lord sent thee on a journey, and said, Go and utterly destroy the sinners the Amalekites, and fight against them until they be consumed. [19] Wherefore then didst thou not obey the voice of the Lord, but didst fly upon the spoil, and didst evil in the sight of the Lord ?

King Saul was told to obey the Lord, given a specific task to measure his obedience. He should’ve obeyed the Lord as a child, but instead he used his own demonic intelligence, and the kingdom was torn away from him.

Humility obeys the Lord in all things. Humility is in obedience to God and submission to God. The Lord will exalt you if you humbly obey him.

1 Peter 5:6 KJV

Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

The humble person isn’t the shamefaced pansy, but the preacher of righteousness lead completely by the Holy Spirit.

The same goes for the people who obey and listen to the humble Holy Spirit lead Christian.

Matthew 18:5 KJV

And whoso shall receive one such little child in my name receiveth me.

Humility also obeys the church leaders because God has sanctioned them to lead you. God is a god of order, and you don’t get to be the boss just because you start feeling holy or like you have it figured out. The Lord likes decency and in order. And when you receive and obey that order it shows great humility. Then perhaps he will make you a leader.

Hebrews 13:17 KJV

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you.

1 Peter 5:5 KJV

Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.

Ephesians 5:21 KJV

Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

1 Corinthians 16:15-16 KJV

I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,) [16] That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with us, and laboureth.

When leadership is telling you to obey the Lord, if you listen to them, your closeness with God will increase. You will be filled with the Holy Spirit and strengthened with all might in the inner man. The Lord’s glorious power will strengthen you from the inside out, and you will know that you are walking with God.

This is because it takes humility to obey another person. It also takes humility to respect God’s order. And if you respect God‘s order, the Lord will receive you. But if you arrogantly march on in your own direction because you want to be the boss then your way will be hard, you’ll be unreasonable or even useless to the Lord’s agenda.

Proverbs 3:7-8 KJV

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil. [8] It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones.

Proverbs 12:15 KJV

The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.

Isaiah 5:21 KJV

Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight!

You have to remember that pride goes before a fall. The devil is rebellious and arrogant and doesn’t want to listen to authority. He wants you to be puffed up in your mind and feel like you don’t need to listen to the people that God has placed in your life in order to guide you. You don’t understand how powerful God is. There is no power except of him. If there is a king, it’s because God made that person a king. If there is a pastor, it’s because God made that person a pastor.

Romans 13:1-2 KJV

Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. [2] Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation.

This includes the evil pastors. When a group of people decide not to obey the Lord and keep on sinning, the Lord will raise up to them a sinful leader. This is a form of judgment that will cause all who walk in that way to be damned. This is what happens when you offend the Lord.

Romans 13:3-4 KJV

For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: [4] For he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil.

2 Peter 2:9-10 KJV

The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished: [10] But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.

2 Timothy 4:3-4 KJV

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; [4] And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

Jeremiah 10:21 KJV

For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord : therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.

Even if you have an evil pastor, you should still respect their authority just like David respected King Saul. You should do this until God delivers you from their hand. Of course, this doesn’t mean you obey someone if they tell you to commit a sin, you should get away from them immediately. Or if they tell you that sin is OK. But if their preaching holiness and love, then you should rejoice because the Lord is also going to put good pastors in this world that are going to walk according to the Lord’s heart.

Jeremiah 3:15 KJV

And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

Jeremiah 23:4 KJV

And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.

I’m not writing this because I want you to obey me. I’m writing this so that you can see that God is a god of order. You don’t get to just do whatever you like or start calling yourself approved on to God and you are not. The Lord has to place you in whatever position he wants you in, and you need to stay there until he moves you.

The Lord wants us all to be functioning members of his body, meat for his use.

2 Timothy 2:21 KJV

If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto every good work.

Do not puff yourself up and try to think you’re like Moses, or King David or think that you’re some special thing where you don’t have to be subject onto the Lord’s order. There is a way you reach edification and growth within the body of Christ. He already spelled it out so if you don’t obey that way, then you are out of order.

Ephesians 4:11-13 KJV

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; [12] For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: [13] Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Ephesians 4:16 KJV

From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 KJV

Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.

There is no such thing as a singular Christian off on their own, not walking within the body. That is a rebuke. You cannot be a lone wolf. Because the Lord wants you to be a sheep.