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HAZARDOUS TO YOUR
NATURAL MAN
Copyright© 1993 by Rev. Lionel Cabral
This book is protected under the copyright laws of the United States
of America. Printed in the U.S.A. for worldwide distribution. This book
may not be copied or reprinted for commercial gain or profit. Short quotations
or page copying for personal or group study is permitted and encouraged.
Permission will be granted upon request. Scripture quotes are with permission
from the King James Version of the Bible, copyright 1976 by Thomas Nelson,
Inc. Publishers, unless otherwise noted. Front and back cover artwork by
Caroline Dailey (mom).
DEDICATION
I thank our Lord God Almighty for saving me a sinner. Thank you Lord
Jesus Christ for planting your seed within me. Thank you Holy Spirit for
watering that seed and leading and guiding me. I thank the body of people
that co-produced this book with us, the Holy Spirit and myself. They know
who they are, God knows who they are, and I know who they are. They are
all the saved and the unsaved people, every person, of my past and present
who I have personally known. Plus the Bible, books, radio and television
that I have ingested as an unsaved and as a saved child of God. This book
is a product of all that. It is the fruit of this season of my life. I
pray for more fruit.
Of family, my mother Caroline and daughter Nicole have been a great
blessing as have Barbara and Carol, Kenneth, Lowell, and Forrest. A special
note of thanks also to Tom Mitchell, brother in the Lord. These and others
have supported me with love, kindness and understanding. Those unnamed
but not forgotten persons who have in any way contributed to or supported
this ministry will partake of its rewards, measure for measure. I sincerely
thank you. God bless you all.
In His Service,
Lionel Cabral
WARNING
This book is presented in a mode analogous to the Bible. The reader
is voluntarily about to embark upon a difficult trek through a progressively
perilous wilderness. This is a journey that can only be walked. There are
no shortcuts. This will be an extremely hazardous journey for the natural
man. Few will survive intact. None will complete the journey. The trail
is hidden, narrow and yet well-marked. The surrounding countryside is replete
with snares, pitfalls and deep valleys for the wandering and undiscerning
traveler. For the vigilant, the unfolding landscape holds a multitude of
running brooks and high mountains. This is the path upon which our Lord
God has led me through the wilderness. I am and have been both the undiscerning
and the vigilant traveler. The reality we live daily is a soldier's march.
This book is about that spiritual warfare. There is fear here. A notable
characteristic of this trek is that it will likely offend everyone at one
point or another. Fear is the basic catalyst of offensive reaction. Becoming
offended is a manifestation of inner fear. The natural man within perceives
himself threatened. He becomes offended. The Holy Spirit is never offended
but He is grieved. Please bear this in mind as you proceed through landscapes
of scenery that may appear strange and unfamiliar. Warning: do not to read
this book unless you are willing to be transformed by the wilderness trek.
THE PATH BEGINS
An interesting and pivotal phrase spoken by our Lord Jesus Christ in
the book of Matthew establishes the working principal of receiving all
Scripture. "And if ye will receive it, this is Elijah, which was for to
come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." (Matt 11:14,15)
To paraphrase the essential biblical principal: If you are willing
to receive it, it is yours. Our Lord's entire statement is balanced upon
the fulcrum: "if ye will." The "if" testifies of balance and counterbalance.
The "ye will" clearly indicates that we have a choice. We are empowered
to exercise our free will. We are asked to declare either yea or nay. The
item to which we are asked to respond is placed before us upon the dinner
table as a gift freely given from God. We decide to receive it or not to
receive it. To eat it or not to eat it.
I AM ALPHA AND OMEGA,
THE FIRST AND THE LAST
The very first command and prime directive that God The Father gave
to mankind while man and woman were still one in "them" was to "Be fruitful,
and multiply." (Gen 1:28). The very last command that Jesus Christ gave
to His disciples before He ascended up on High was the same exact command:
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark
16:15)
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