DEMONIC DOMINATION
OR
DEMONIC DELIVERANCE?
BY: J.FARRELL FISHER
Satan Said: “Has God Really Said..?” Yes! “You surely shall not die…!” But we did!
OUTLINE
Introduction
Chapter One: The Devil And Deception!
Chapter Two: The Devil And Darkness!
Chapter Three: The Devil And Destiny!
Chapter Four: The Devil, Demons, And The Word Of God!
Chapter Five: Them, Him, And Us!
Chapter Six: Merciful Messages In The Midst Of Madness!
Chapter Seven: Devilish Opposition – The Necessity Of The School Of Perfecting Faith!
Chapter Eight: Demonized Daughters Or Delivering Faith?
Chapter Nine: BEWARE!
Chapter Ten: The Relevance of Christ In A Demonized World!
Chapter Eleven: Devilish Dividing Of Disciples’ Devotion Or The Savior’s Assaults On The Devil’s Attacks?
Chapter Twelve: The Devil And The Blood-Flow Of Jesus!
Chapter Thirteen: The Devil And Our Lord’s Liberating Ministry!
Chapter Fourteen: The Devil And The Great Physician!
Chapter Fifteen: The Devil And ‘Mountainous’ Temptations Or Choosing To Go Where Jesus Himself Chooses To Come!
Chapter Sixteen: Rabid Resistance Or Redemptive Reconciliation?
Chapter Seventeen: The Devil’s Distressing Disguises Or Jesus’ Dynamic Deliverance?
Chapter Eighteen: Wimpy Acceptance Of Demonic Intimidation Or Willful Acceptance Of God’s Warfare Armor?
Chapter Nineteen: The Devil – Your Prince Of Darkness? Or Jesus – Your King Of Light?
Chapter Twenty: Descending Devil Or Your Ascended Lord?
INTRODUCTION
Have you ever witnessed an evil act in someone, and a ‘friend’ witnesses it also and says, “That was certainly a devilish act,” and you’re alerted to the reality that some folks don’t even know they’ve become a vessel the Devil uses to impact your world with his evil ways?
Noah Webster’s 1828 English Dictionary defines ‘devilish’ as “partaking of the qualities of the devil; diabolical; very evil and mischievous; malicious; as a diabolical, devilish scheme or wickedness…”
In describing Satan, Webster’s 1828 Dictionary defined him as: “The grand adversary of man; the devil or prince of darkness; the chief of the fallen angels.” And certainly there are those who don’t even know or realize that their lives are dominated by the devil’s wicked, evil, and malicious spirit! Have you recognized a person overcome by that diabolical spirit and, yes, even the very disposition of Satan out to destroy whatever is holy, righteous, good, or eternal in its nature?
It was John Wesley who once said: “All the works of our evil nature are the work of the devil.” I’m sure that would shock some whose ‘bent in life’ is totally inward as they assess themselves as superior to all others when in reality they are the devil’s prime example of satanic superiority! They are filled with self-pride, immersed in fleshly falsehood, and captured by envy!
I found Shakespeare’s comment in “Merry Wives of Windsor” [Macbeth, Act 2, sc. 2, 1.54] when he wrote: “No man means evil but the devil, and we shall know him by his horns,” but I believe we’ll know both the devil and his people by their horns and their hearts and their heaviness!
We’ll examine together, later, more of what Peter wrote to us in I Peter 5:8-11 when he said, under the Spirit’s anointing: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world. But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
To Him? That’s God Almighty, our Lord and Savior – not demonic domination but the divine rule of the King of kings and Lord of lords.
But you are aware – just as the devil deceived Adam and Eve, so today he still operates as the ‘master deceiver’ to lead men and women, boys and girls, into “Demonic Domination” while Jesus comes to give us “Demonic Deliverance”!!
Question! When you came to Christ Jesus, repented of your sin, rested yourself in The Faith, after your conversion, did you order the demons to leave your “property”, your life, your body that now belongs to Jesus? It’s time you told them to leave because “Now you belong to Jesus”, and they are trespassers! In Jesus’ Name, command they be gone!
CHAPTER ONE
THE DEVIL AND DECEPTION!
The devil’s biased nature is not only one’s bent to sin but his defiance of God’s will in one’s walk selflessly as one desires to hear God, walk with God, honor God, and bless Him in submission and obedience as the Living God calls us to Himself.
Adam and Eve were birthed, shaped, molded, established by God to walk with Him, but the devil and his army of fallen angels were not only after God’s humanizing of Adam and Eve but even us today – they had a choice and were deceived by Satan – and we had a choice!
Caedmon, in “Creation. The Fall of the Rebel Angels,” wrote: “And them all the Lord transformed to devils, because they His deed and word would not revere.” Has that changed at all? And the devil’s army is still at work today as they were in the Garden of Eden as Adam and Eve fell ‘victims’ of the devil’s deception! No true reverence of the Holy and the Eternal!
Do you sense the ‘illness’ of the devil and the powers of darkness as they continue to rebel against Holy God and His Holy Word, bearing the banners of deception, darkness, and defiance, coming against every birthed human in the world to follow their “sicknesses” rather than turn to God’s Eternal Health and the Lord Jesus’ Healing Grace, Mercy, and Love?
It was Henry George Bohn, in his “Handbook of Proverbs”, who wrote: “The Devil entangles youth with beauty, the miser with gold, the ambitious with power, the learned with false doctrine.” So true!
Have you become aware of the devil’s intent of man’s earthly ruination, whether personally, family, locally, nationally, or, yes, even world-wide deception and destruction? The devil is not interested in holy lives, holy families, holy cities, holy schools, or holy nations. His desire is Godless relationships! And you can rest or be assured: the devil births, authors, promotes, designs, personalizes deception, confusion, division, separation from God and His people and, yes, His churches, with emphasis on “flesh” and not Spirit, “faithlessness” and not the Word of God, “likeness” to him and not “likeness” to God!
Have you ever watched on television as people flood the streets with their banners of opposition to everything God holds dear, and you realize, “These people are deceived by the devil himself and opposed to the Spirit and Truth of God Himself”?
The devil and deception? You do understand that, as the devil operates in deception around you, his desire is to see you down on the pathway to personal dejection! Devilish deception and personal dejection IS spiritual sickness – and only the Healer, Jesus, can bring spiritual health to us body, soul, and spirit!
But in John 2:24-25 there is a mind-shaking, heart-rending verse when Jesus “did not commit Himself unto them…because He knew all men, and needed not that any should testify of man; for He knew what was in man.” Also, you’ll remember that in Matthew 12:25 Jesus said to “the religious crowd, the Pharisees”, “Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand.”
And when it comes to the spiritual kingdom of one’s own heart, if it’s a divided kingdom, even ruled over by the devil and his crowd, that house or heart cannot, will not, refuses to be surrendered to Jesus’ Lordship – and it will fall, fail, feebly shaking its way along through life, Godless because of its deception, but content because “look what I’ve done!”
Genesis 3:21-24 is the foundation and the walls of the city I’ve chosen to call as the “City of Unbelief” which describes ‘citizens’ given over to the devil and the peril of fleshly deception. It says: “Also for Adam and his wife the Lord God made tunics of skin and clothed them. Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” – therefore the Lord God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken…
So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life.”
Have you become aware of “the way to the tree of life” or are you imprisoned to the absence of God’s peace, His pleasure, His purpose, His path, and with Adam and Eve, have “hid yourself from the presence of the Lord God,” even deafening your ears to His compassionate voice and calling? But with that choice you identify yourself as one more interested in the devil’s lies than God’s Truth!
In Jeremiah 5:1-4 the prophet identified those overtaken by deception rather than God’s Truth! He wrote: “Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem [Dallas, New York, London, Paris, Mumbai, Delhi, Cairo, etc.]; See now and know; and seek her in open places if you can find a man, if there is anyone who executes judgment, who seeks the truth, and I will pardon her….,
Though they say, ‘As the Lord lives,’ surely they swear falsely.’ O Lord, are not Your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, but they have not grieved;…
You have consumed them, but they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; they have refused to return! Therefore I said, ‘Surely these are poor. They are foolish; for they do not know the way of the Lord, the judgment of their God’”
If the devil is the author of ‘deception’, does he intend that it produce ‘disillusionment’ and ‘disappointment’ in as many human lives as possible, poisoning the total content of all humanity? He tries! Deception births disillusionment producing fruit that is bitter, sour, even deadly with despair, frustration, and futility, pouring itself out on the victims of the devil’s intent to smear, to mar, to rotten, and to disgrace God’s intent for them.
You understand that the devil “tricks” with his ‘superior philosophy’ (?) that he thinks is superior to God’s Revelation-Truth, authoring on fallen mankind’s limited mind and darkened heart, a sensual, sensational, fleshly, sinful excitement, that even he thinks is intellectual dominance over shallow religious minds!
Yes, Satan is the author of death, but Jesus gives Resurrection Eternal Life, and a Godly hope that never deceives; Satan spouts out lies while Jesus IS Eternal Truth; Satan promotes the sin nature, honoring it with his darkness, while Jesus births the divine nature in repentant, believing, trusting men who are through with their fleshly natures; Satan is thrilled when the darkness of the alienation of men from God prevails in their minds and hearts, while Jesus brings the Light of Atonement to perfect the fallen into sons and daughters of the heavenly glory through the very sacrifice of Holy God Himself!
Satan’s seed planted in men’s hearts appears so beautiful like a successful farmer’s field of green trees and lush fruit but the fruit is rotten and poisonous with fleshly fears, fleshly aims and goals, and fleshly degradation and deception, while Jesus plants the seeds of Holy Presence, Heavenly Power, and Godly privilege and Eternal Truth!
James 1:4, in the New King James version, says: “But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” How? Because as Jesus IS, so are men of redemptive faith!
But the devil talks ‘perfection’ by him, when all he brings forth is the ‘best’ of Hell itself with God’s work absent from one’s life, ending up forever separated from God, even the ‘best’ human flesh can produce but void of God’s likeness, His love and grace, and void of the Resurrection Presence of Jesus as the eternal reason of one’s existence! You do understand that the devil and his demons will even promote a respectable life as long as it is not re-born, regenerated, reconciled to Almighty God. It was Alexander Brome, in his writing “New Montebank”, who said, “The devil’s ever kind to his own.”
“The Devil and Deception”! Are you familiar with Luke 4:5-8, and verse 13? It says: And the devil, taking Him up into a high mountain, showed Jesus all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time… And the devil said unto Him, ‘All this power will I give You, and the glory of them; for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will give it…. If You therefore will worship me, all shall be Yours…And Jesus answered and said to the devil, “Get behind Me, Satan; for it is written, You shall worship the Lord God and Him only shall you serve… Verse 13, And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from Jesus for a season.”
If Jesus Himself, Emmanuel, “God in flesh”, was tempted by the devil, you’re unsure the devil will seek to dominate your life and lead you away from God and the Savior? Are you spiritually blind to the reality that the devil hates, opposes, and seeks to enslave every man, woman, youth, or child in his domination? So…his domination becomes a reality because of his promotion of deception!
Do you believe he seeks to rebuke biblical truth that men need their spiritual chains broken off, that they need freedom and forgiveness from their sin natures and sin practices, and that he MUST blind the minds of the unrepentant of their need of the Savior and Lord? Why is that? Because the devil has no desire to lose even one of his slaves to sin and their devilish bondage and control, because they are his, and he needs them to foster his devilish plan! I John 3:8 tells us, “He that commits sin is of the devil; for the devil sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.”Look at I John 3:9-10, [NLT], “Those who have been born into God’s family do not sin, [present tense continuous action!] because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they have been born of God. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not obey God’s commands and does not love other Christians does not belong to God.” There is demonic, satanic domination, BUT there is the eternal reality of one knowing demonic, satanic deliverance through Jesus, our Lord and Savior!
Do you remember the ‘religious crowd’ opposing Jesus? It’s found in John 8:43-45! “Why do you not understand My speech? It’s because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and did not abide in the truth, because there was no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, you believe Me not.”
Satanic domination? “You can sin and not die”! [Check out the Genesis “beginning”!] “Christians can’t do anything but sin until they get to heaven.” Really? “Don’t believe the Bible or look to the Bible – it’s filled with untruths”! You’re sure?
And do you understand why the mindless and heartless and those demonically controlled say that? Paul would tell you (Ephesians 2:2-3), because “you walk according to the course of this world [fallen!], according to the prince of the power of the air (that’s the devil), the spirit that works in the children of disobedience;…Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”
Satanic domination? Did you grasp walking “according to the course of this [fallen] world, walking according to the devil himself, and walking according to the spirit that works in children of disobedience, controlled by the lusts and desires of the flesh and mind, yes, being children of wrath?
Do you understand what the devil promotes in the ‘fallen ones’? It’s that attitude, frame of reference, of “my right to myself to do as I please” when in reality it’s not that dimension of ‘self-realization’ but the demonstration of dominance by the devil in his attitude of rebellion to God, in the devil’s attitude, not only of his disposition AND demonstration of willful self, but his desire to take over every human life in irresponsible, immoral, decadent behavior that reflects the devil’s spirit, not God’s Holy Spirit!
Satanic domination produces satanic deception that results in the birth and the curse of spiritual death, though alive physically, and portrays in “fallen mankind” the “star-status” of Hell itself! That’s men believing that “it’s every man for himself” when in reality the devil holds the title deed to his sinful life!
Can you even begin to imagine the “pay-out” eternally for the man who goes to the devil’s “pay-window” and learns in a ‘flash’ his pay was counterfeit? A biased sin nature expects a huge pay-out and comes up bankrupt! He’s a spiritual rapist that devil who leaves fallen men as hopeless and helpless victims and assures them there’s no one who can help the spoiled, the violated, the very men who now are stamped with the devil’s image – and, I think, I pray, I consider: “but what if they turned to God Himself and found forgiveness, cleansing, and birthing of a new life in heavenly hope through the shed blood of Christ Jesus?
The devil is a ‘master-detractor’ who assured men and women of the spiritual ‘dark ages’ that their devotion to him was the open door to man’s best when in reality they opened that door and walked into the eternal ages of man’s lost-ness and separation and denouncing of any hope in God for them any longer, but Jesus says that if one opens the door where He knocks, He [Jesus] will come in and they’ll begin a relationship of eternal life, eternal peace, eternal joy, and will become a part of an eternal hope that never fades away!
Can you even begin to believe that there are nations, peoples, governments, or, yes, religions that have given the devil an open door into their affairs? Does he disguise himself? Is he able to ‘trick’ or deceive people into what he’s really about?
It was Cotton Mather, in his “A Discourse on the Wonders of the Invisible World”, who wrote: “That there is a Devil is a thing doubted by none but such as are under the influences of the Devil. For any to deny the being of a devil must be from ignorance or profaneness worse than diabolical.”
If Jesus cast out demons and told us to do the same, tell me about your ‘deliverance’ from demonic activity in your own life! No wonder Voltaire would say: “You must have the devil in you to succeed in any of the arts”! I can’t say I fully agree with Voltaire but it’s real that some will never know “success” unless they’re fully surrendered to the devil’s bondage, slavery, and chains. And when they ‘succeed’ with the devil and leave God out of their lives, what have they gained? A ‘name’ fallen men appreciate but is a ‘shame’ to Holy God?
It was John Wesley who once said, “All the works of our evil nature are the work of the devil.” But, I have to add, “also, the work of the devil was welcomed by one with an evil nature and a defiled heart and mind who said ‘Yes’ to the demons and the devil of darkness!”
Don’t you sense ‘movie stars’ who are calamities of the dark spirit of the devil himself and have no shame? Aren’t you ashamed at times when some “star-athletes” are nothing more than broken vessels under the domination of the devil?
David asked a powerful question in Psalm 25:12 when he wrote: “Who is the man who fears the Lord?” Reckless men who have no shame for their sin or state of sinfulness are men totally bound by the devil himself! There is no abiding belief, trust, confidence, or assurance of God Himself because their loyalty is to the devil himself – whether they know it or not! Are you unaware of what or whop brings about in unbelievers’ lives an abiding unconsciousness of one’s desperate need of God Himself? That’s men who are utterly unbelieving because they are “hung up” over the devil’s Hell itself, and believe that to be an acceptable lifestyle because “everybody does it”! No! A thousand times, “NO!” But there are those in the midst of the darkest times of life who find out: “The Son still shines”!
Do you remember ‘ill-informed’, young, immature Peter who rebuked Jesus in Matthew 16:22 as Jesus had told of His impending suffering and death? In verse 23 Jesus turned to Peter and said: “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but of the things of men.” But I believe also many men are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. But I also believe many men are not mindful of the things of God or the things of other men because their minds are captured and in bondage to the devil himself. Have you ever heard the “rooster” crowing because you denied the Lord?
And do you personally have understanding about what Jesus was saying in John 8:36? “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” Yes, we, through His shed blood and His broken body and our repentance, are set free from the law of sin and death. And unbelief is disobedience but, when repentance toward God and faith in our Lord’s work at the Cross occurs, a new life is birthed, formed, transformed, and freed from demonic dominance to divine discipline. Chambers spoke about freedom from “the tyrant of your individuality”, finding yourself birthed into a new identity in Christ.
One of the great preachers of the past was J. Wilbur Chapman. In his day he wrote the following words:
“I know of a world that is sunk in shame, Where hearts oft faint and tire; But I know of a Name, a precious Name, that can set that world on fire; Its sound is sweet, its letters flame. I know of a Name, a precious Name; It’s JESUS.”
And I praise and thank the Living God for the Name above all names, the precious Name of King Jesus, conqueror of death, Hell, the grave, and the devil himself! But of “the devil” I wrote the following:
“The devil is your adversary, but now toothless like a captured lion, his roaring voice has lost its force as Jesus won the battle.
He may be loud, his call distinct. His one desire is to turn you from God and to lead you into his ‘roller-rink’.
He gets you ‘skating’ with a goal in mind, that you willingly in your life leave the Lord behind.
Mindless lives, empty hearts, men without purpose, bound by his deception, in Hell, they experience a horrendous reception.
Love and grace are bound from his place, peace and joy, are broken toys, with the noise of Hell demons roar and prisoners’ sad songs none employ.
The jaws of hell have sharpened teeth as every prisoner becomes menu meat; terrified consciences, deprived of morals, find no words to tell their stories.
It’s ‘good intentions’ that some began to claim while in their broken hearts they understand –“ here in Hell, there is no fame.”
Looking around I see this bottomless pit, and I also see where Satan chooses to sit, while all around the scorching flames burn in men’s veins: “You belong to the Devil – I am he, since in your fleshly, earthly, self-centered style, you simply decided upon me to rely.”
But earthly men refuse to examine – they’re too busy trying to overcome their spiritual famine. No eye can see, no tongue can tell, no songs can sing the tortures of eternal Hell.
Ambition is self-centered men’s greatest trait, and by it they share in fallen angels’ fate – no home in heaven, only a place in Hell, and there they dwell with eternal torture that never can say: “I am well.”
Wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and you’ll not be alone, because many determined their lives were their own.
No honoring of God, but a life full of shame, as selfishly men choose to promote their own fame. It seemed so smooth and the road so easy, but no one told them of the eternal diseases, and of the death that will not die because in their hearts, upon Jesus they would not rely!”
DEMONIC DOMINATION IN DECEPTION OR DEMONIC DELIVERANCE IN CHRIST JESUS? There’s verse in the old hymn, “It Is Well With My Soul,” written by P.P. Bliss and H.G. Spafford. It says: “Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, Let this blest assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and has shed His own blood for my soul.” Amen?
CHAPTER TWO
THE DEVIL AND DARKNESS
In Mark 16:16b Jesus said: “…he who does not believe [trust in, rely upon, adhere to] will be condemned.” The word ‘condemned’ is the Greek word ‘katakrino’ meaning, “to judge against, sentenced,” which means one who rejects Jesus, the True Light, is sentenced to eternal separation from God with darkness that never sees the glory of God’s eternal Light but only the devil’s darkness!
Isaiah the prophet saw a dark day coming even for rebellious Israel. In Isaiah 24:3-11 he wrote: “The land shall be entirely emptied and utterly plundered, for the Lord has spoken this word. The earth mourns and fades away, the world languishes and fades away; the haughty people of the earth languish….
The earth is also defiled under its inhabitants, because they have transgressed the laws [of God], changed the ordinance, broken the everlasting covenant…
Therefore the curse has devoured the earth, and those who dwell in it are desolate. Therefore the inhabitants of the earth are burned and few men are left…The new wine fails, the vine languishes, all the merry-hearted sigh…..
The mirth of the tambourine ceases, the noise of the jubilant ends, the joy of the harp ceases. They shall not drink wine with a song; strong drink is bitter to those who drink it….
The city of confusion is broken down; every house is shut up, so that none may go in. There is a cry for wine in the streets, ALL JOY IS DARKENED, the mirth of the land is gone.”
Haven’t you even witnessed it as nation after nation strives to live through desolation and darkness as their citizens choose not to honor God but by their very ‘bent’ in life and politics reject God’s ways, His will, the divine Word, and “live” for the devil without even realizing it?
In “The Presbyterian Outlook” published years ago, Kenneth J. Foreman wrote: “Jesus did not spend His time guarding the customs; He was sent to His death by the men who did.” And those men, even religious leaders of the time, substituted “the devil and darkness” for Christ and His Living Word and His Eternal, Everlasting Light!
In Matthew 23:37 Jesus said: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”
Do you see and sense men rejecting the Living Lord and His Light because they, yes, truly love the devil and his darkness without even sensing his vile and violent ways of victimizing their own lives and families on the altars of devotion to rebellion against Holy God, a Loving Savior, and the Holy Spirit?
“The devil and darkness?” Are you even aware of what Jesus said in Matthew 24:11? “Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many,” and He declared it because He knew then and knows now that “lawlessness abounds, the love of many [for God] will grow cold,” [Matthew 24:12]! And false prophets arise because of the deceiving activity and aimless darkness of the devil himself to oppose eternal Truth and the true prophets and true disciples of Christ Jesus!
Darkness covers the minds, hearts, spirits, and wills of fallen men, and they don’t even recognize it in themselves because their devotion in life is to the development of their own natural lives without a hint in them of a merger with and ownership of the devil and his dark disciples [that’s ‘demons’ and unbelievers!]. And, certainly, they know and assert: “We have no need of the Christian’s salvation experience because we’re our own saviors – the devil tells us so!”
But darkness of unbelief in the Savior and Lord of life is so commonplace today because of “the serpent” who hustled into the garden to tell Adam and Eve, “You will not surely die,” if they disobey and turn away from God’s revelation! Yet, in Genesis 3:7, we read: “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings,” which instituted what I call “Fig-Leaf Religions”! And one verse later, Genesis 3:8, Adam and Eve “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God…”, which delighted the devil, and still does!
Are you familiar with God’s covenant with Abram? You’ll find it in Genesis 15 – I encourage you to read it carefully. Verse 6 tells us that Abram “believed in the Lord and He [God] accounted it to him for righteousness.” And the covenant was by blood sacrifice!
You’ll notice Genesis 15:11 that “the vultures came down on the carcasses, [and] Abram drove them away.” Would you even expect at all that these “vultures” symbolize the demons who, yes, come against God’s people who offer themselves on God’s altar of service and sacrifice? Look at Genesis 15:12! “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and BEHOLD, horror and great darkness fell upon him.” I love Oswald Chambers description of this even in his book, “My Utmost For His Highest”! [p.13], Remember, as Genesis 16 began, Abram was 86 years of age. When we come to the start of Genesis 17 the Holy Word tells us he was 99 years old when he was given the new name, Abraham! Genesis 17:5. Chambers said: “Abraham went through thirteen years of silence, but in those years all self-sufficiency was destroyed; there was no possibility left on relying on common-sense ways.”
Do you even sense that God Himself will use the devil and the powers of darkness in our lives and circumstances to bring about in us divine principles, divine intent, and divine, eternal purpose? Genesis 17:5 says, God speaking, “No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.” Abraham? “Father of a Multitude”! Please tell me about your own spiritual numbers of children birthed through you by God to establish His earthly kingdom as He did through Abraham!
“The devil and darkness”? Yes, but did you receive through Abraham’s story and witness that God can, has, does, and will use the devil as a ‘tool’ in His hand to test us, shape us, mold us, finish us as one of His eternal pieces in Heaven’s Museum of historical living?
In Matthew 4:1-11 it tells us: “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty day and forty nights, afterward He was hungry….
NOW WHEN THE TEMPTER CAME TO HIM, he said: “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But Jesus answered and said, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’….
Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, ‘If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He shall give His angels charge over You,’ and, ‘In Their hands they shall bear You up, lest you dash Your foot against a stone.’….
Jesus said to him, ‘It is written again, You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’ Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory….
And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Away with you, Satan! For it is written: You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve….
Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.”
“The devil and darkness”? If the devil comes to Jesus, does the devil come to men all over the world? More than likely, those who are the greatest threat to his devilish kingdom, get his personal presence – most are visited by his demon representatives! But you need to see what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:27 when he said to the church and us now, “nor give place to the devil!”
Paul says, “Don’t give the devil even an inch on the ground of your life!” The devil or the demons will come to you to keep you in your place in darkness – he doesn’t want a single person ‘coming to the Light’! The devil’s opposition is to Christ, to His people, to His church, and he celebrates, as he comes, and witnesses those trapped in the snares of his deceit! This is why we read in Ephesians 5:1-7,…
“Therefore be imitators of God [not the worldly, devilish disciples], as dear children [of God]. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, and offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma….
But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints [those set apart by Him for His glory, honor, and praise!];….
Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks….
For this you know, that no fornication, unclean person, nor covetous person, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God….
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.”
An idolater? That’s one who bows before the ‘false god of Satan’, even if they don’t know that’s who owns their lives and has them in chains in the dungeons of darkness! It was Shakespeare who wrote of “defying the devil,” calling him “the enemy of mankind.” [“Twelfth Night,” Act 111,sc.4,L.108]. He hasn’t ‘taken his own’ as one has written about, but owns the property rights to every godless being, young or old!
In Isaiah 14:12 the devil is called ‘Lucifer’, fallen from heaven and son of the morning! I believe he should have been called ‘son of the mourning’, because his activity in one’s life of darkness produces only ‘mourning’, not rejoicing in Jesus!
Do you really understand one’s fleshly inability to overcome the power of the very darkness of the devil? Even if you’ve chosen to deny Jesus as your Savior and Lord, and you live an acceptable lifestyle by fallen men’s standard, even highly “successful” by that worldly standard, if you’re without Christ in your life, you’re determined by God to be an eternal failure while the world and the devil pours on you its hellish accolades and awards!
Didn’t Shakespeare say of the devil in “King Lear,” [Act 111, sc.4,L.148], “The prince of darkness is a gentleman.” Oh, really? Outward in appearance a ‘gentleman’ – inward in reality, the demon of darkness and destruction and deceit and devastation!!
Wasn’t it Shakespeare again, in “Hamlet,” [Act 11, sc 2, L.627], who wrote: “The spirit that I have seen May be the devil; and the devil has power to assume a pleasing shape. But pleasing to his hellish self and war with Holy, Almighty God that the devil has lost!
God’s Word speaks about “resisting the devil, and he will flee from you,” while the world of flesh and the devil, tells fallen men, “Welcome him! His lifestyle is of ‘a pleasing shape’ – and multitudes fall into that dark cloud of Satan’s ways, bringing disaster on their lives!
Do you realize how, yes, even nations can become so deceived by the devil? Are you even aware of social changes when nations establish foreign gods to His Word and ways, and ushers in a ‘storm’ of godless disobedience, fleshly aims, and the darkened spirits of Hell itself? And the extremely sad thing is to see men and women, boys and girls, created by Almighty God for His glory, honor, and praise, but they rebel; and before your very eyes you watch them changed from, potentially, God’s masterpiece into the devil’s mangled mess, changed from, practically, sons and daughters of God into the very residents of Hell itself! They are not invisible spirits but fleshly human beings totally given over to the devil’s control!
Can you not see before you the tragedy of those around you who willingly accept the devil’s ‘kiss of death’? Are you unaware of the devil’s luscious, luxurious, lying, lower-nature leanings that draw men away from God and into the arms of devilish attachments and enslavements and death, when he told you how ‘alive’ you’d be? ‘Alive in darkness and forever with the devil, but a closed door to Heaven’!
If “sin is death”, how does the devil get by so much and so easy telling men how pleasurable and rewarding it really is? God is merciful and ‘warns’ while the devil is mean and weans men off of biblical truth to hellish doctrines!
What’s the title of this book? “Demonic Domination or Demonic Deliverance”! And you’re either in the darkness of demonic domination or by grace through faith you are experiencing demonic deliverance by our Lord and Savior!
Sadly, David wrote in Psalm 82:5, “They do not know, nor do they understand; they walk about in darkness; all the foundations of the earth [their world of darkness] are unstable.” It’s why King David cried out to God in Psalm 12:1, “Help, Lord, for the godly man ceases! For the faithful disappear from the sons of men.” But you’re not concerned about your ‘world’ around you where men abound in unfaithfulness to God, even promoting devilish darkness!
Are you aware of what John said in John 3:18-21? “He who believes in Him [Jesus Christ] is not condemned; but he who does not believe[trust in, rely upon, adhere to] is condemned already because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God….
And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil….
For everyone practicing evil HATES THE LIGHT and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”
Do you fully grasp the words of Jesus about those who HATE THE LIGHT and those who willingly come to the light? Understand – men will not come to Jesus’ True Light when their lives are in love with and devoted to their darkness and rebellious ways!
In Matthew 6:22-23 Jesus also tells us, “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good [spiritually healthy with eyes fixed on the Lord and Savior], your whole body will be full of light….
But if your eye is bad [evil or unhealthy spiritually], your whole body will be full of darkness. IF THEREFORE THE LIGHT THAT IS IN YOU IS DARKNESS, HOW GREAT IS THAT DARKNESS?!?”
In one’s walk of faith in a world of darkness, there must be a mind, spirit, and heart that so values the wealth of the wisdom of God’s Holy Word! Follow carefully Proverbs 2 where a man is challenged to come humbly before God and His revealed Word and ways, to come continually, come purposefully, and, yes, come desperately because it is a matter of eternal death in Hell or eternal life in Heaven, come gainfully, come in a holy walk, guarding yourself and your family because eternity is before us all! Proverbs 2:1-22 says:
“My son, if you receive my words and treasure my commandments within you, So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding;….
Yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, If you seek her as silver, and search for her as for hidden treasures;….
Then you will understand the fear of the Lord, ands find the knowledge of God. For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth comes knowledge and understanding; He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; He is a shield to those who walk uprightly;….
He guards the paths of justice, and preserves the way of His saints. Then you will understand righteousness and justice, equity and every good path….
When wisdom enters your heart and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you; To deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things;….
From those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; Who rejoice in doing evil, and delight in the perversity of the wicked;….
Whose ways are crooked, and who are devious in their paths; to deliver you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters by her words….
Who forsakes the companion of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God. For her house leads down to death, and her paths to the dead;…
None who go to her return, nor do they regain the paths of life – So you may walk in the way of goodness, and keep to the paths of righteousness; For the upright will dwell in the land, and the blameless will remain in it; But the wicked will be cut off from the earth, and the unfaithful will be uprooted from it.”
Aren’t you aware that all around you are people who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness? Don’t you know, haven’t you witnessed, has your heart never been broken over those who rejoice in doing evil, and delight in the perversity of the wicked? Doesn’t it shock you to your core to witness wounded, wharped, ‘wasting away’ men and women whose ways are so crooked, so defiant of God and His Holy Word, and who become so devious in their paths, their businesses, their marriages?
Do you understand how easy it is to take the very life and existence and being God Himself as given to them, only to sense their desire was and is to build their own fleshly kingdoms under the domination of the devil, surrounded by the darkness of Hell they personally surrendered to, establishing their own kingdom-rule of Hell in their walks, their talks, their own earthly dreams and visions, without any awareness their kingdom allegiance is nothing more than the chains of the devil, the darkness of Hell, and forever alienation and separation from the God who loved them and sacrificed His own Son for their citizenship change from the devil’s kingdom of darkness to the Savior’s Kingdom of Light?
But, praise God, there is the gift of God through Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior! The beloved John wrote in I John 1:5-7 that, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, THAT GOD IS LIGHT AND IN HIM IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL. If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.”
What did Paul tell us in I Corinthians 6:9-11? “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither Fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. AND SUCH WERE SOME OF YOU. But you were WASHED, but you were SANCTIFIED, but you were JUSTIFIED in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.” GLORY! GLORY, HALLELUJAH! GLORY BE TO THE FATHER, TO HIS SON, AND TO THE HOLY SPIRIT!
In Christ, we’re not what or where we once were! Through His shed blood and resurrection life, we’re no longer in the darkness of the devil’s domination – we’re in our Lord’s gracious liberation and Eternal Light!
In Romans 13:11-14 Paul delivers us a powerful word of leaving the darkness and leaping into our Lord’s Eternal Light! “And do this, knowing the time, that now it is “high time” to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed….
The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly (decently), as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy….
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill its lusts.”
What will it be for you? Darkness of the devil or the Light of our Lord and Savior and the Light of His Holy Word?
There’s an old hymn written by Philip P. Bliss in the 1800’s. It says: “The whole world was lost in the darkness of sin; The Light of the world is Jesus; Like sunshine at noonday His glory shone in, The Light of the world is Jesus.
No darkness have we who in Jesus abide, The Light of the world is Jesus; We walk in the Light when we follow our Guide, The Light of the world is Jesus.
You dwellers in darkness with sin blinded eyes, The Light of the world is Jesus; Go, wash at His bidding, and light will arise, The Light of the world is Jesus.
No need of the sunlight in heaven we’re told, The Light of the world is Jesus; The Lamb is the light in the city of gold, The Light of the world is Jesus.
Come to the Light, it’s shining for thee; Sweetly the Light has dawned upon me; Once I was blind, but now I can see: The Light of the world is Jesus.”
CHAPTER THREE
THE DEVIL AND DESTINY
I’m sure that you have no qualms or questions about ‘divine destiny’, God-ordained purpose, or even man’s best efforts to fulfill his own dreams, but is there another set of tracks the devil himself desires you to be ‘side-tracked’ on?
Yes, the devil promotes a person’s destiny, ‘signed by Satan’! We saw in the previous chapter the devil’s promotion of the dark side of life, but in this chapter we’re going to see “destiny” designed by the devil himself for every life.
And the problem is that fallen man’s hearing is, as a result of sin and spiritual death, deaf to God but alert to the voice and temptations of the devil and his armed forces, well-trained to bring defeat on compromising people. It takes the miraculous power of the Holy Spirit to break through the devil’s ‘deaf to God’ leanings.
It’s fallen mankind who so easily says, “Speak, devil, and the demons of Hell. I’m listening to what you have to offer me.” But, yes, to God Himself they have a hard time hearing because sin and rebellion altered, hindered, closed their ears to hear God clearly. Only by Holy Spirit presence and power was fallen mankind’s capability of hearing God unstopped.
In Proverbs 22:15 the wise man wrote: “Foolishness is bound up in the heart of a child….”, and when I read that I had to say, “Yes, even ‘grown men’ experience foolishness because they still live with the heart of a wayward child, still going the devil’s way and not God’s way, satisfied with “cookies” out of the devil’s cookie jar rather than the “Bread of Life”! Earlier, in Proverbs 22:12, the writer tells us: “The eyes of the Lord preserve knowledge, but He overthrows the words of the faithless.” Faithlessness is foolishness and foolishness is the walk of the faithless because they’ve turned away from God’s ultimate intention for them that they might be a part of a world perverted by one’s spiritual blindness!
Do you sense in a lost world around you those large tracts of spiritual land that speaks loudly of barrenness toward God, stubbornness and ignorance and rebellion to the words of Jesus, and cold, dark, frozen wills to the Holy Spirit’s intent of honoring Christ through all men’s lives?
And are you aware and alert to the devil’s intent to oppose in you and all mankind divine purpose, Christ-realization, Spirit-transformation and empowerment, or – are you satisfied with the devil’s destiny, plan, and war-strategy of your “self-realization” apart from the divine initiative of ‘Christ-realization’?
I don’t believe that most of the world is even aware of this eternal battle of their lives concerning devotion to God or the captivity of their lives to Satan and his demonic army. The devil’s strategy, as lord over the powers of darkness, is still DECEPTION, DARKNESS, and an evil DESTINY! His intent is that fallen mankind stay in the habitat of demonic control, at ease in their captivity, constantly available to the promotion of Godless living, constantly and continually at war with those who have repented and rested in the finished work of Christ, and ‘pumping up’ the ‘flesh’-life of some who actively oppose the church’s divine purpose of openly declaring Christ to their lost estate, dishing out resentment, bitterness, ingratitude, devilish meanness, counterfeit proclamations of “no need of saving grace, mercy, and love” – and, yes, even martyring some who are not afraid of ‘dying for the Faith’!
Have you ever heard it in your ministry outreach as a disciple of Christ? “You fear God? Man, you really must be mentally sick!” And that attitude usually comes from a hardened heart to the grace of God but also by people who’ve been utterly unbelieving because their parents, their professors, their bitter friends, who had no fear of God at all were living reckless, faithless, or ‘best-effort devotion to themselves’ – and those false witnesses wanted to enlarge their numbers of co-conspirators so they were not alone sailing in their sea of faithlessness!
“The devil and destiny”? And you do understand that multitudes of unbelievers are at ease, yes, even comfortable in the abiding consciousness of no relationship with Holy God, no fear of God, no love of God, and no desire to be reconciled to Him through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus, the True and Only Savior and Lord over mankind! Spiritual blindness to the reality of one’s need of God is acceptable to them.
James, the brother of Jesus, gives us understanding about the spiritual blindness some walk in, even though they ‘see’ it as the world’s acceptable wisdom with no need of God. He wrote in James 3:13-18,…
“Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct [that’s conduct that is of God’s very presence and power in him!] that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom….
But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking [that’s ‘selfish-ambition’!] in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth….
This wisdom does not descend from above, but is EARTHLY, SENSUAL, and DEMONIC. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil are there….
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”
“The devil’s destiny?” Domination! Spiritual delusion! One’s personal destruction by leading that man away from God and TO THE DEVIL, HIS ARMY, and to HIS DECEIVED CAPTIVES! That’s one’s personal acceptance and appreciation of his “away from God lifestyle” as he discovers he won’t be alone in Hell!
And this is why James ended his letter in James 5:19-20, “Brethren, if anyone among you wanders from the truth, and someone turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save a soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.”
One thing is for sure concerning the devil and your destiny with him, and that is, without Christ as Lord and Savior of your life, the devil is committed to deafen your ears, blind your eyes, capture your will, so you don’t know or can’t appreciate God’s extreme love for you personally! I Peter 1:18-19 tells us, “KNOWING that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” And you really believe the devil wants YOU to know that?
But we see in Revelation 12:9, “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast out to the earth, and his angels [demons] were cast out with him.”
Are you aware that satanic, devilish, demonic ‘ministry’ through deception IS “spiritual death”? In Hebrews 2:14-15 the anointed writer tells us, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself [Jesus] likewise shared in the same, that through death [His Cross] He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.” Yet, you have to ask, “The devil has the power of death over me?” YES!!
“The devil’s destiny”? That’s every man, woman, youth, and child, under the enslavement as Hell’s prisoner, destined for hell’s chains unless we repent of our sin and willingly receive, accept, crown Jesus alone as Savior and Lord of our lives!
In Acts 2:36-39 Peter declared: “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”….
Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” Then Peter said to them,, “Repent, [and because you have repented], let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
“The devil’s destiny”? I recently read I Timothy 6:10 and was stopped in my tracks, being warned by the Spirit o0f God, that even in the ‘professing church’ there are those more committed to gaining what they believe is their “fortunes”, even foregoing devotion to the church Jesus loves and gave Himself for. How do you know? Doesn’t the Holy Word declare, “and forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is,” [Hebrews 10:25]? Would we, should we, must we, even dare to consider that to abandon the church Jesus loved and gave Himself for is to open the door of possibility of forfeiting Christ in one’s life? [WARNING GIVEN!}
The devil does have a designed destiny for your life, but God Himself also has a judgment seat that every individual, past, present, and future, must stand before and give an account of his/her walk or witness, or the lack of it. And, what will you say when Almighty God asks YOU, “Tell Me about your devotion to the church My Son loved and gave Himself for.” What will YOU say?
A part of the devil’s destiny IS deception. And it certainly has a powerful influence even today! Do you see, sense, understand, and fight the same battle as Moses did? Didn’t Egyptian leadership, under the devil’s control, attempt to compromise Moses’ faith, allegiance, and devotion to the Lord God? Look with me at Hebrews 11:23-29!
“By faith, Moses, when he was born, was hidden three months by his parents, because they saw he was a beautiful child; and they were not afraid of the king’s command….
By faith, Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharoah’s daughter, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward. [God rewards – the devil poisons, pulverizes, passes over to his followers bondage, death, and pointless pleasures!!]…
By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the sprinkling of blood, lest he who destroyed the firstborn should touch them….
By faith they passed through the Red Sea as by dry land, whereas the Egyptians, attempting to do so, were drowned.”
The devil’s destiny always brings on ‘drowning’ to his devotees. How do you define ‘drowning’? In Isaiah 17:10-11 we read: “Because you have forgotten the God of your salvation; and have not been mindful of the Rock of your stronghold, therefore you will plant pleasant plants and set out foreign seedlings;….
In the day you will make your plant to grow, and in the morning you will make your seed to flourish; but the harvest will be a heap of ruins IN THE DAY OF GRIEF AND SORROW.”
Do you truly believe it’s God or godly people who set out pleasant plants and set out foreign seedlings? That which man plants in the field of his life without God’s Seed may be ‘pleasant’ but it produces foreign seedlings that produce no ‘divine fruit’, and will even ‘flourish’ but fleshly seeds, though even flourishing, will be a harvest that will be a heap of ruins, yes, days of grief and sorrowing, because they yielded to the devil’s destiny and not to God’s Way of Truth and Life!
Did the prophet Isaiah say that ‘fleshly harvests’ will be a heap of ruins IN THE DAY OF GRIEF AND DESPERATE SORROW? Examine for yourself what Isaiah said in Isaiah 5:24!
“Therefore, as the fire devours the stubble, and the flame consumes the chaff, So their root will be as rottenness, and their blossom will ascend like dust; [WHY?] Because they have the law of the Lord of hosts, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.” Why do men ‘despise’ God’s Holy Word? Because the root of their lives, their devotion, their commitment, comes from devilish, demonic deception, and, yes, even being ‘religious’, Hell awaits because they rejected the law of the Lord, and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel!! AND THE DEVIL LAUGHS AND MOCKS THEM as he leads them to eternal bondage and that eternal death that will not die in his prison called Hell! The Pit! The dwelling place of the unbelieving!
Are you familiar at all with Job 18? I know that it is Bildad who really felt that Job needed to hear what Bildad knew about an after-life. Job had already told Bildad and his friends in Job 16:11-12, “God has delivered me to the ungodly, and turned me over to the hands of the wicked. I WAS AT EASE, but He has shattered me; He has also taken me by my neck and shaken me to pieces; He has set me up for His target.” [Read Job 18 before continuing!].
And I hope you know that out of God’s love and mercy for us, if He views us leaning over and even giving in to the devil’s temptations, Holy God will ‘shock’ us into an attitude of true repentance and faith, so that we will be an overcomer of Satan and the demons, and not overcome by them!
But understand – it was and is the devil himself that accused, abused Jesus, and pushed for His crucifixion – but you’re not the devil’s ‘enemy’ although he wants you to be his friend in distress, deception, deathly activity, denial of one’s need of God, never revealing to unbelievers that he offers them a deadly future that never ends?
Who is it that promotes dejection, disappointment, disease of the heart and mind and soul? Or who is it that spreads the spiritual disease of disillusionment that turns people away from being a servant in, to, and through the body of Christ called “His Church”? And you forget the devil telling Eve in Genesis 3:4, “You will not surely die,” when God has declared, “the wages of sin is death”? Doesn’t the Word of God declare in Ephesians 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, JUST AS CHRIST ALSO LOVED THE CHURCH AND GAVE HIMSELF FOR HER”? But sense on the marriage front divorce has become so rampant, it’s OK today to divorce one’s self from His calling of laying one’s life down in ministry and service and the blessing of other believers? I really don’t think so – one’s separation is from the world, the flesh, and the devil – not from the redeemed servants of the Lord.
Hebrews 2:12 is a quote from the Old Testament [Psalm 22:22], saying to us as disciples of Christ, “I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.”
To the Thessalonians Paul the Apostle wrote a letter to them, and in I Thessalonians 2:14-16 he said, “For you, brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the Judeans….
Who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they do not please God and are contrary to all men….
Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath has come upon them to the uttermost.”
Dare I tell all believers in the Body of Christ? Love those for whom Christ died, both believers and unbelievers, both supporters and forsakers of that precious people called the “church,” loving the massive church of mixed calling, loving the small church that struggles, and loving the small gatherings of hungry believers who’ve never seen a believing, blessed pastor available to lead them, but like the small gatherings I saw in India off and on over 25 years, the true believers will gather and they’ll learn from one another, and the Spirit – not from the devil!
2 Thessalonians 2:1 says, “Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering to Him, we ask you…” Oh, I know there are those who say that Paul was speaking of the ‘last days’ church before His ‘Second Coming’ to earth, but shouldn’t we absolutely look at our ‘gathering together’ unto Him NOW as a body of believers? And without hesitation I say with the Word, “Forsake not the assembling together as the manner of some is.”
The devil promotes, instiotigates, favors people who promote divorce, division, devisiveness in every form and fashion – he opposes self-surrender and self-sacrifice concerning those who declarew themselves “friends of God”. That’s his ‘destiny’ for every individual or family or nation! But our Lord and Savior? He says, “I delight to do Your will, O God,” yes, even if it is the Cross! That is no ‘natural affinity’ but the spiritual love and eternal destiny of every true disciple who walks in utter and absolute devotion and submission to the spirit and life of the Lord Jesus Christ who still says: “Take up YOUR cross and follow Me,” while the devil says, “Save yourself for your OWN fleshly desires, wants, and ambitions!”
Is your life and walk on earth ‘the devil’s destiny’ or have you surrendered to the ‘dream’ of God’s eternal purpose and destiny for your life and walk, and you see it fulfilled in Christ alone?
A few words I wrote recently says the following: “I love Your church, O Lord, and those who for You stand tall. Their love of Your people is not small, but grips their hearts through the Savior’s love and sacrifice for all….
That’s the “church” who gathers in His Name because they clearly and convictingly understand the awesomeness of His fame….
His love is for the whole world, the world even that nailed Him to the Cross, the world that sensed no loss because to them, they were and are their own boss….
The Savior’s aim was to leave no man lame, but to give him by His blood, new life, new hope, new beginning, that flourishes with no sad ending of an unbelieving name….
But there is a devil who only promotes lies, and comes to all men to blind their eyes; his goal is death with one desire – to end all godly breath with flaming fire….
Jesus came to end the devil’s game and give to all believers the ending of the devil’s control, and by His shed blood made repentant men whole….
Satan, as he did with Jesus, will leave you for a season, thinking a later time would give him a better reason, finding even ‘followers’ who’ll be a part of the treason….
Oh, but then there was Jesus’ shed blood that poured out on the Cross, as the devil experienced eternal loss; like a toothless, clawless, defeated bear, the devil only occasionally comes out of his lair –
And when he does come out, it’s not like earlier bouts, because now, when he comes, it’s Jesus who has him on the run, yes, eternally defeated, exposed as a fraud, and God’s people arise and loudly applaud;….
They give blessing to the Lord, never being bored, as the devil still irritates, doing his devious-best to steal our heavenly estate….
But the devil is a loser, even those with some he has those deceived, because, “No need of His blood, no need of repentance, no concern of His sentence: ‘Sin is death’, because I give you a present of full fleshly breath. ‘You shall not die,’ I still am saying, like a stubborn mule, who goes on braying, ‘a stubborn mule’ living by his own rule!
Then Jesus comes with His eternal Word, “My forgiveness is true – accept My revelation. Understand My unveiling of Heaven’s declaration.”….
And to all He comes to say from His heart, “Deny yourself in all your sin and shame. Find the blessing of living in and through My dear Name….
Find life, not death; find hope, not hopelessness; find blessing, not the curse – Heaven’s acceptance, not the devil’s worst!”
Hell or Heaven? To every man God gives an eternal choice, and you have the will of hearing the devil or God’s merciful choice – consider, not the devil’s future, his hate,, but God’s loving voice, before it’s too late!!”
Have you heard someone say, even family or friend, “I’m not planning on dying,” when he doesn’t know he’s already spiritually dead in his trespasses and sins, dead in his love and devotion to the God who made him, lost him, and bought him with a Price, dead to eternal ambition and THE spiritual hope, dead to the need of Christ as one’s Savior and Lord, dead to any concern that Hell awaits him soon?
Sometime ago I wrote these words comparing the devil’s design and destiny with “GOD’S ETERNAL BLESSING”!
“Glory to our bleeding Lord crowned with a crown of thorns, Beaten, bruised, and stricken brutally, struck with a rod of cruel misery…..
Face and back torn, mercilessly shattered, spat upon filthily scattered; Glory to the Lamb so tender and comely, sacrificed by God so royally;
Raised to the Brightness of Eternal Heaven, giving new life in divine leaven;
Translated to the throne to represent His own, full-blown in glory, with Light and Life His Eternal Story.”
What is it for you? The devil’s fables and fabrications? Or will it be the Lamb’s Eternal Light and Life that never fades?
CHAPTER FOUR
THE DEVIL, DEMONS, AND THE WORD OF GOD
In Mark 1:23-28 there is an amazing, powerful, eye-opening revelation. I want you to see for yourself the authority of Jesus over the devil and demons! But I’m also afraid that even too many ‘professing disciples’ think it’s an unimportant topic for today’s ‘enlightened churches’! It says:
“Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit, and he cried out saying, ‘Let us alone! What have we to do with You, Jesus of Nazareth? Did You come to destroy us? I know who You are – the Holy One of God!’ [Don’t you find it alarming that ‘intellectuals’ deny Jesus’ true identity but demons clearly know WHO JESUS IS?]….
But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be quiet, and come out of him!’ And when the unclean spirit had convulsed him and cried out with a loud voice, he came out of him…..
Then they were all amazed, so that they questioned among themselves, saying, ‘What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him?’….
And immediately His fame spread throughout all the region of Galilee.”
Are YOU aware that without Jesus and the authority of the Word of God that men, through self-effort, fully aware of demonic activity, can go through a ‘temporary’ cleansing and end up worse than their first estate because there is no faith, trust, or surrender in or to the Lordship of Christ? Ponder Matthew 12:43-45 for yourself!! “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none…..
Then he says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order….
Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
In “War on the Saints,” [p.19], Jessie-Penn Lewis, author and former missionary to China wrote: “A perspective view of the ages, covered by the history in Bible records, shows that the rise and fall in spiritual power of the people of God was marked by the recognition of the existence of the demoniacal hosts of evil. When the church of God in the old and new dispensations was at the highest point of spiritual power, the leaders recognized, and drastically dealt with, the invisible forces of Satan; and when at the lowest they were ignored, or allowed to have free course among the people.”
I believe that’s a fair statement of both the spiritual health of the church in the world today and its knowledge of scriptures and the reality of spiritual warfare between Heaven’s army and the devil and his demons.
I want us to examine carefully in Mark’s gospel of specific incidents of demon activity in the lives of people and our Lord’s action toward them. In the 16 chapters of Mark there are at least 14-15 confrontations with demons and the devil.
In “War on the Saints,” by Jessie-Penn Lewis and Evans Roberts, they mention several other writings you’ll find vitally important to this area of biblical studies – and it is Necessary! Look to “What Demons Can Do To Saints”, by Merrill Unger. But also “The Adversary – The Christian Versus Demonic Activity” by Mark I Bubeck, [especially reading the Introduction by John Wesley White!!!].
FIRST, LET’S EXAMINE THE REALITY OF SATAN! In Mark 1:13 we read: “And He [Jesus] was there in the wilderness forty days, TEMPTED BY SATAN, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.”
If you didn’t know, Satan means “adversary”! In I Peter 5:8 we read, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.”
Is an unawareness of the devil’s activity in one’s life because they are fully his already and have no desire or awareness of spiritual warfare? But he surely is the accuser of those who’ve fully come to Christ and surrendered to the Lordship of Christ! In Revelation 12:10 we read, Then I heard from heaven a loud voice saying, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of Christ have come, for the “accuser of our brethren”, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.”
It speaks about “Lucifer”, the ‘demonic-light-bearer,’ that Isaiah 14:12 tells us [or ‘Day Star’, or light-bearer], coming as ‘an angel of light’ to deceive the very elect of God and ‘weakens the nations’!
Revelation 12:7 tells us of the ‘dragon’ who promoted ‘war’ in Heaven itself – and if he promotes ‘war’ in Heaven, what does he do on earth? He’s the ‘devil’! He’s the ‘slanderer’! I Peter 5:8 says he walks about as a roaring lion, “seeking whom he may devour.” He does so by demonic intimidation of your baseness!
Do you even care about what Jesus had to say about the devil? Look at6 John 8:44! This is when Jesus nailed the ‘religious’ scribes and Pharisees! He said: “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources [his own nature-language of Hell!!], for he is a liar and the father of it.”
The devil is a ‘deceiver’! Revelation 20:10 says, “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” And, of course, you see why John 12:31 calls him ‘the ruler of this world [who] will be cast out”!
Paul talked in Ephesians 2:1-2 about, not only those made alive by Jesus who had been dead in their trespasses and sins, [but] how they once walked according to the course of the world, [and] according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.”
Do you sense, know, and are made aware that according to Revelation 9:11, the devil or Satan is described as, “they had as king over them the angel of the bottomless pit,” which represents the devil as destroyer over Hell itself?
He’s the “tempter”! Matthew 4:3 tells us that the tempter came to Jesus, and said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” Matthew 13:38 describes him as the ‘wicked or evil one’ – and it hasn’t changed since he was cast out of heaven even before Adam and Eve were birthed by God!
Do you know the devil of this age who “has blinded the minds of the unbelieving,” seeking to divert any single seeker who begins to look toward Christ? [2 Corinthians 4:4]?? Oh, and we don’t have to be concerned about a “hinderer,” do we? In I Thessalonians 2:18 Paul says WE DO!
Are you aware of men who meet and become containers for evil spirits the devil sends to Them? That’s Mark 5:1-20!! We’ve just seen together from God’s Holy Word “the reality of Satan.”
But now I want you to grasp with full understanding “THE REALM OF SATAN’S POWER!” Paul gives us all a word of instruction in Ephesians 6:10-13! “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles [or schemings] of the devil….
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places….
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
But you do understand that in a secular world that truly believes it is smarter than God, you do know and understand and pray for, interceding in behalf of fleshly intellectuals and unwise philosophers and godless minds who come against ALL who rest themselves in the faith of saving grace, mercy, and love!
You’ve heard them! “Satanic deception and occupation is a religious sham!” “That an educated person, modern-day citizen, can be demon possessed is spiritual fraud by uneducated, unwise, narrow-minded religious freaks.” “Duped dunces who proclaim possession of educated persons with demons is about as true as an elephant troubled by one small ant!”
And then you see and read an anonymous writer about the devil’s reality, and he says: “Talk of devils being confined to hell, or hidden by invisibility! – we have them by shoals [or great multitudes assembled] in the crowded towns and cities of the world. – Talk of raising the devil! – What need for that, when he is constantly walking to and fro in our streets, seeking whom he may devour.”
It was John Dryden in his “Absalom and Achitophel,” [Pt.1,L.79], who wrote: “When to sin our biased nature leans, the careful devil is still at hand with means.”
If Jesus had to say, believing it, Mark 8:33, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men,” but YOU are smarter than Christ Jesus and YOU deny the existence of the devil?
I dare you to approach Luke 11:14-23 with a mind and heart open to this encounter with Jesus about the devil and demons! It says:
And He [Jesus] was casting out a demon, and it was mute. So it was, when the demon had gone out, that the mute spoke; and the multitudes marveled….But some of them said, He casts out demons by Beelzebub, the ruler of the demons.” Others, testing Him, sought from Him a sign from heaven..
But He, knowing their thoughts, said to them: ‘Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation, and a house divided against a house falls….
If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? Because you say I cast out demons to Beelzebub. And if I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out? Therefore they will be your judge….
But if I cast out demons with the finger of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace….
But when a stronger than he comes upon him and overcomes him, he takes from him all his armor in which he trusted, and divides his spoils. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”
I pray that YOU are a “gatherer” with Christ, available to Him as a vessel through which He claims victorious power over the devil and his demon slaves! Jude 9 tells us, “Yet Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’”
Are you fully aware that the devil holds full sway over every lost, unbelieving man in the world? I John 5:19 tells us, “We know we [repentant, trusting sons of God] are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.”
In Luke 4:5-6 we read, Then the devil, taking Him [Jesus] up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, “All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish.” And Jesus’ divine response? Luke 4:8, “Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Have you surrendered to the ‘sway of the wicked one’ or are you fighting the good fight of redemptive faith?
Also, understand, at least for true, repentant, surrendered believers to the Lordship of Christ, Satan’s power is limited by Holy, Sovereign, Merciful God! In Job 1:8-12 we read,….
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”….
So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him, around his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land….
But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
We’ve just seen in God’s Word “the realm of Satan’s power”, but does the devil have a support system? BE ASSURED – THERE IS A NUMEROUS SUPPORT SYSTEM OF SATANIC, DEMONIC ACTIVITY! In our Lord’s Holy Word we see various identities: “Unclean spirit,” “foul spirits,” “lying spirits,” “evil spirits,” “demons,” “deceiving spirits,” – and I’m sure, many more identities!
But the Lord and Savior has no reluctance to approach, confront, challenge, and, yes, command!
Mark 1:25, “Be quiet, and come out of him!” Mark 5:8, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” [The problem with some people is, they’ve become ‘friends’ with unclean spirits, and have no desire to command they leave!]
Mark 9:25 tells us, When Jesus saw that the people came running together, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, “Deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and enter him no more!”
Are you even aware that the devil and demons have the power of speech and even replied to Jesus in Mark 3:11 as they saw Him, and falling down before Jesus, they cried out saying, “You are the Son of God.”
They even are possessed by a sense of fear! In Luke 8:31 we read, “And they begged Jesus that He would not command them to go out into the abyss.” Question! Are demons fearful of you and your authority in Christ?
Demons are even dominated themselves by unholy desires! Matthew 8:31 tells us that the demons begged Jesus, “If You cast us out [and He will!], permit us to go away into the herd of swine.” Piggishness is the limit of their demonic desires!
Demons need a place to rest or dwell. Matthew 12:43-45 tells us, “When an unclean spirit goes out of a man, he goes through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none…..
Then he says, ‘I will return to my place from which I came.’ And when he comes, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes and takes with him seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first. So shall it also be with this wicked generation.”
Did you notice that the demon and seven other spirits had, have, the power of decision? “I will return to my house from which I came,” and the seven other spirits decided to follow him! They agreed as unholy spirits! [That should tell you, be careful about your decision-making process if YOU are not fully surrendered to Christ’s Lordship!]
The devil and demons are possessed, controlled by, and strongly influenced by a spirit and power of rage. In Matthew 8:28 we read, When He [Jesus] had come to the other side, to the country of the Gergesenes, there met Him two demon-possessed men, coming out of the tombs, EXCEEDINGLY FIERCE, so that no one could pass by,” verse 4 telling us he’d been often bound with chains and shackles, “and the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him.”
Be assured – the devil and demons are formidable foes! A demon can come in as one (Mark 1:26) or as seven (Mark 16:9) or as “Legion,” (Mark 5:9)! He’ll use a single girl as a ‘diviner’ or a man also practicing ‘sorcery’ or ‘magic’ or ‘deception’ on others.
But Satan’s activities with his army of demons is to see WAR as a constant reality against God, against the Savior and Lord of life, against the Spirit, and certainly against God’s precious people! There may be a ‘season’ when he’s not around you, but be assured, you are his target!
In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Paul tells us, “But though we walk in the flesh, we do not was according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”….
You do understand the necessity as a soldier of the Cross of putting on your armor for your daily warfare! That’s Ephesians 6:11, Paul saying, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” He does come against you with “fiery darts”! Paul also told Timothy about “waging the good warfare.” [I Timothy 1:18].
And we have an eternal promise in Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him [the Devil, Satan, his army] by the BLOOD OF THE LAMD and by the word of their own testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
ALSO, YOU MUST BE AWARE OF THE DEVIL’S OPPRESSION OF TRUE BELIEVERS! Examine 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 where Paul instructs us, “Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, lest Satan should take advantage of us; for we are not ignorant of his devices.”
But not only is unforgiveness a strong oppression of Satan on all unforgiving people; consider his deception that surely oppresses, weighs down, and destroys! In 2 Corinthians 11:3 we read, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
Deception? You need to be aware that our salvation walk in Christ is not instant, full, complete knowledge of everything, including spiritual warfare with and by the devil!
Deception? Your mind, my mind, by nature was darkened, blinded, with a veil – but in Christ that veil was destroyed, but the mind is renewed only to the extent that the light of Truth has been received!
Deception? It’s real – yes, believers can be ignorant of the soulish, satanic devices the devil will use to confuse, blind, or hinder one’s spiritual growth and maturity.
Deception? Jesus warned us: “Take heed….be not deceived.” There can even be oppression in disciples brought on by demonic sickness! Examine Luke 13:16! Jesus says, “So ought not this woman, being a daughter of Abraham, WHOM SATAN HAS BOUND – think of it – for 18 years, be loosed from this bond on the Sabbath?” Glory!
Deception? You were unaware that followers of Christ can allow themselves to be ignorant of Satan’s devices? Yes, in sickness at times? [That doesn’t mean ALL SICKNESS IS FROM SATAN!].
But then we read Paul’s words to Timothy in I Timothy 4:1-2! “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron….”
The devil resists the righteous! To declare allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ is to open the door wide to the devil’s resistance: Zechariah 3:1 says, “And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.”
The devil will seek to snatch from you “the word of the kingdom”! Matthew 13:19 tells us, “When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside.” I also believe that’s our Lord telling us to “stay” IN THE PLACE He’s plowed, planted, and protected – wayside living is dangerous ground to be walking on, trying to serve the Lord in places He doesn’t want you to be!
The devil encourages, entices, and tempts to sin. In John 13:2 we read, “And supper being ended, the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Ischariot, Simon’s son, to betray Jesus.” Tell me about YOUR “heart protection” against the deadly design to ‘betray Jesus’!!
The devil will seek to blind you to Jesus’ truth! In Matthew 16:23 Jesus turned to Peter, and said, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” Are you ‘mindful of the things of God,’ or consumed by the things of men? 2 Corinthians 4:4 tells us of thoser4 “whose minds the god of this age has blinded!”
The devil produces “fruit of the unholy spirit.” In Galatians 5:16-21 we read, Paul speaking, I say then, “Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh….
For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish….
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies….
Envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you tin time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
The devil captivates and ensnares! 2 Timothy 2:26 tells us, “and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.”
And we, as true believers, don’t have to be equipped to fight against the devil and the powers of darkness? Most wimpy believers are no threat to the devil, and therefore, are “so at peace within themselves,” when they are blind to their spiritual bondage in the powers of darkness, believing they’re the choicest children of Jesus!
The devil hinders the true believer! In I Thessalonians 2:18 the Word tells us, “Therefore we wanted to come to you – even I, Paul, time and again – but Satan hindered us.” Do you know about “hindrances” that keep you, yes, from honoring Christ in your walk?
Oh, but then, I pray, you see and know by your own faith walk THE AUTHORITY TRUE BELIEVERS HAVE OVER THE UNCLEAN SPIRITS, YES, OVER THE DEVIL HIMSELF! In Luke 10:1, 17-20, are equipping verses for true soldiers of the Cross, as they’re trained to win the spiritual battles. It says:
Luke 10:1 “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.” But look carefully with me at verses 17-20! “Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, ‘Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.’ And He said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven…..
Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you….
Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
If you haven’t sensed it as yet, I want you to clearly see it right now! CHRIST’s VICTORY IS OUR VICTORY NOW OVER THE POWERS OF DARKNESS [DEMONS] AND THE DEVIL HIMSELF!! In I John 3:8-9 we read, “He who sins [and keeps on sinning] is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin [and keep on sinning], for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin [and keep on sinning] because he has been born of God.”
I want to close this chapter out as I began it with comments from Jessie-Penn Lewis, famous author of “War On Saints.” “In brief, the Church of Christ will reach its high water mark when it is able to recognize and deal with demon-possession: when it knows how to ‘bind the strong man’ by prayer: when it knows, ‘command’ the spirits of evil in the name of Christ, and deliver men and women from their power…are… to resists by faith and power this ever-flowing flood of Satanic power pouring in among men…These supernatural forces of Satan are the true hindrance to revival….
The power of God which broke forth in Wales, with all the marks of the days of Pentecost, was checked and hindered from going on to its fullest purpose by the same influx of evil spirits as met the Lord Christ on earth, and the apostles of the early church: with the difference that the inroad of the powers of darkness found the Christians of the 20th Century, with few exceptions, unable to recognize and deal with them. Evil spirit possession has followed, and checked every similar revival throughout the centuries since Pentecost, and those things must now be understood and dealt with, if the Church is to advance to maturity.” Amen?
CHAPTER FIVE
THEM, HIM, AND US
This important chapter comes out of the revelation of Mark 5:1-20. I must stress its vital importance to your ministry-walk as a disciple of Christ in the midst of a full-blown world of demonic, devilish activity, and the blessing of Christ Jesus, our Lord and Savior, and, yes, our Deliverer!! The Word says:
“Then they came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gadarenes. And when He [Jesus] had come out of the boat, immediately there met Him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,….
Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no one could bind him, not even with chains, because he had often been bound with shackles and chains. And the chains had been pulled apart by him, and the shackles broken in pieces; neither could anyone tame him….
And always, night and day, he was in the mountains and in the tombs, crying out and cutting himself with stones. When he saw Jesus from afar he ran and worshipped Him….
And he cried out with a loud voice and said, ‘What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.’
For Jesus said to him, ‘Come out of the man, unclean spirit!’ Then He asked him, ‘What is your name?’ And he answered saying, ‘My name is Legion; for we are many.’….
Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. So all the demons begged Him, saying, ‘Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.’
And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea…..
So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that had happened. Then they came to Jesus, and saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting and clothed and in his right mind. And they were afraid.
And those who saw it told them how it had happened to him who had been demon-possessed, and about the swine. Then they began to plead with Him to depart from their region….
And when He got into the boat, he who had been demon-possessed begged Him that he might be with Him. However, Jesus did not permit him, but said to him, ‘Go home to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done to you, and how he has had compassion on you….’
And he departed and began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him; and all marveled.”
Alexander Maclaren was one of the world’s greatest expositors. In his commentary he entitled this section on the Gadarene demoniac, “The Lord of the Demons.” And I like that. The very heart of this incident IS Jesus! In studying Mark 4, Jesus left the multitude, traveled to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, met the need of this enslaved man, and then returned. I can only say to you right now: God help us all never to get our eyes off our Savior, Lord, and Deliverer!
In 2 Corinthians 11:3 Paul said, “But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” Never forget it – Jesus is VICTOR – over life, death, sin, Hell, Satan, over all demonic forces. And when you know the Truth that is Christ Jesus, Truth will set you free.
But Dr. Maclaren did comment, and I quote: “The demoniac is not a man at war with himself, but a man at war with other beings who have forced themselves into his house of life.”
It would be easy to say “Poor man” and not see that the city folks that came out were just as deceived, oppressed, bound, blinded because they wanted to chase Jesus out of their coastal area!
I remember speaking with Dr. Bill Anderson, classmate at Baylor University, teammate on the football team of the Baylor Bears 1955-1958, co-seminary traveler from the Waco, Texas, area to Ft. Worth for seminary studies 4 days a week, back and forth those four days for three years! I said to him about the demons crying out to Jesus, “Let us alone,”….
And Bill said, “Fish, whenever, wherever, whomever is turning from Jesus and His Truth, you can know the demoniac spirit of “Let us alone” is prevailing.” That’s so true – and it doesn’t have to be the sad picture of the Gadarene demoniac. It can be the well-dressed, well-heeled socialite that sits in any church on a Sunday morning and laughs inside at the Truth of the Word of God, demonically infested and doesn’t even know it!
2 Corinthians 4:3-4 says, “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:…In whom the god of this world has 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.”
I want you to examine FIRST, THE DESTRUCTIVE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE ‘LEGION’ ARMY OF DEMONS! If you didn’t know, a Roman “Legion” of soldiers consisted of 6000 soldiers. The ungodly Roman Empire was in the country of Israel at this time, and no doubt with ungodly rule, and demons would feel at home!
Jesus asked the demon his name after He’d said, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” The demon answered, “My name IS Legion; for we are many.” And 6000 demons can, will, and do a great amount of hellish destruction!
Again the Mark passage, Mark 5:2-9, God gives us a picture of a destroying, destructive demon under the domination of the devil, [until the Lord and Savior confronts him!]. He lived in caves, dark, damp, chilly, along the beach where tombs of the dead had been placed.
The Word tells us the demon [6000 strong] had super-human strength – no fleshly man could even begin to tame him – no group of men could keep him enslaved with fetters and chains. He was a day demon – he was a night demon – always sleepless and restless, dominated by hatred, yes, toward himself, but also toward ‘faith people.’
In the night air citizens of any city where he was would hear wild cries, shrieks of tormenting agony, would fill the night air and send cold, bone-chilling fear, like a strong, destructive wind sweeping over people!
Maclaren wrote: “Insensible to pain and deriving some dreadful satisfaction from his own wounds, he has gashed himself with splinters of rocks and howled in a delirium of pain and pleasure at the sight of his own blood…It paints for us, not merely a maniac but a demoniac.”
What are their destructive characteristics? For one, consider Mark5:2, where God’s inspired Word speaks of the man “out of the tombs…with an unclean spirit.” Ask any doctor about one living in dirt, filth, or stench, and see what he tells you about the lifespan of a physical body submerged in that dirt or filth, day after day, even year after year!
But the same is true of the soul and spirit of a man! An evident uncleanness produces that demonic spirit of deathliness. And the one thing our Savior and Lord wants us to see is that the sickness of society isn’t a freak accident but a satanic design drawn up by the devil to lead men to the halls of death, yes, to Hell itself!
And the moral pollution of our nation is not constitutional liberty – it is contracted bondage, bought and paid for by the devil himself with the coins of rebellion and disobedience to the Word of God, signed, sealed, and delivered by the “spirit of uncleanness” in inhabited, influenced, oppressed lives of men, women, boys and girls, who don’t even know to whom they belong.
But also look at Verse 3 of Mark 5 and see for yourself that spirit of “withdrawal”! “who had his dwelling among the tombs,” that’s the tombs of dead bodies!
Whenever someone wants to isolate one’s self from mankind, you can be assured that at least in 99% of the cases, the spirit of withdrawal is functioning and leading that man down the path of pain, loneliness, bitterness, doubt, and self-hatred.
When a man would rather be with his dog than his daughter – that’s demonic. When that one would rather be with his pigs than his family or friends – that’s demonic. When a person had rather be in dead places than with the “living”, that’s demonic.
Then look in verse 3 also at what some would call “unexplainable Strength”, when in reality “it’s weak people demonstrating supernatural, demonic strength”!
What does Mark 5:4-5 reveal to us? That’s the torturous, tormented state of mind. The California former pastor, Ray Stedman, once said: “At first demonic influence can seem to be very alluring and seductive, until finally this torment sets in, the deep sense of restlessness which this man exhibited, wandering up and down the mountains, crying out in pain at the torment he felt within, bruising himself with stones – evidently in an attempt to drive out his inner torment. This is a sign of demonic influence.”
And I want you to know that in the asphalt jungles of America today there are those who live with inner torment who need to know and hear Jesus say, “I’ve come to give you rest, peace, healing, purpose, and deliverance from the powers of darkness!”
What does Mark 5:7 tell us? How about recognition but not a receiving of the authority of Jesus as Savior and Lord and Deliverer? It says: And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”
Demonic, devilish activity? What about the evidence, the sign, the masks of dual personalities? Remember, the ‘man’ identified as an ‘unclean spirit’ in verse 9, and then affirmed in verse 10 as “Legion” or multiple personalities! Verses 12 and 13 both tell us “all the demons” asked Jesus, and giving “them permission”, they ran to their drowning in the sea. That’s a choice of personal suicide! How tragic when Jesus offers deliverance And salvation!
SECOND, EXAMINE CAREFULLY THE DIVINE, SOVEREIGN-GIVEN AUTHORITY OF JESUS, OUR LORD AND SAVIOR! In Matthew 28:18 we read, Jesus speaking, “All authority is given unto Me in heaven and in earth.”
Then verses 26-27 of John 5 says, “For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself, and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.”
Don’t you find for yourself a degree of awe as you read about Jesus our Lord in Mark 1:27? Jesus, very early in His public ministry, had baptized His servants with the Holy Spirit in verse 8 , John telling us what Jesus was going to do, and how the angels ministered to Him. But in verse 27 is clear indication of what our Lord and Savior was all about! “What is this? What new doctrine is this? For with authority He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey Him.”
Jesus knew what He was dealing with – an unclean spirit of the devil! Jesus knew what He had to do to release a troubled man from his demonic bondage as He exercised on earth His God-given authority! Jesus commanded and they left the possessed man!
There’s a great old hymn that tells us: “I hear about His healing, of His cleansing power revealing, How He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see;….
And then I cried, “Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit.” And somehow Jesus came and brought to me the Victory!”
Jesus has given you heavenly authority! That’s every born-again believer! We are not to fear the devil or any demon of Hell! What did Luke 10:17-20 eternally tell us for practical, caring ministry to those enslaved by demons or the devil?
Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”….
And Jesus said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions [demons], and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you…..
Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
THIRD, BE AWARE OF THE DISTINCTIVE CHANGES OF LIBERATION. In Mark 5:15 the city crowds came out to Jesus, and “saw the one who had been demon-possessed and had the legion, sitting AND CLOTHED and in his right mind. And they were afraid.”
This is that man who had been in a roaring state of restlessness, but through Christ he rested his life in the Lord’s calm sea of life dramatically delivered, changed, seated, and rested in the “FINISHED WORK OF BLOOD REDEMPTION” called salvation, deliverance, and healing!
No longer was he a shameless, naked, strange, weird creation – he became a new creation in Christ, clothed in righteousness, dressed comfortably in the garment of praise.
He was no longer a ‘wild man’ who couldn’t sit still, [“out of sight is out of mind” for one who denies God and His grace and mercy!]. Now this man is “in his redeemed, right mind,” meaning spiritually he received the healthy, healing, holy work of God in himself, able to curb his formerly warped passions through Christ!
He was no longer an isolated, weird, strange, unknown, with an ‘unexplainable quantity of craziness’ but a man integrated into oneness with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. No longer is he a ‘split-personality’, a divided soul, a chained individual to the powers of darkness – he’s been indwelt by the very Spirit and Life of Christ!
He’s no longer a ‘tormentor’ – he’s a Truth-teller! He’s no longer a debased, enslaved game-player who tries to play both sides of the field, with God on one side of him, and the world, the flesh, and the devil on the other side! Now? Notice – he’s seated! Where? At the feet of Jesus!
I want you to know that where you walk or where you sit in the pattern of your life tells whether you’ve been liberated or not. You should know if you don’t: Jesus says, “By their fruit you shall know them!”
FOURTH, ARE YOU AWARE IN YOUR WALK OF FAITH THE DISCIPLINED CHARACTER OF DIVINE LOVE AS THE POWERS OF DARKNESS TELL YOU “DEVOTION TO GOD IS UNIMPORTANT; YOU COULDN”T OBEY ALL HE ASKS OF YOU!” REALLY? In John 8:31-32 Jesus said to those Jews which believed on Him, “If you continue in My Word, then you are disciples indeed; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
I John 5:13 says, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments: and His commandments are not grievous.”
What is it that Jesus has done for you? The Word tells us that through His shed blood there is freedom from the law of sin and death! And that SHOULD MEAN FOR YOU freedom from demonic slavery, unless you try to walk both sides of the spiritual avenue, Jesus on the Right and the devil and his demons on the left!
For “Legion” Jesus gave him a new name. For Legion Jesus set him free. For Legion Jesus gave him the eternal sense and presence of purpose. For Legion He gave him his family and friends. For Legion Jesus gave him heaven’s prescription for aliveness and wholeness, yes, mental and spiritual health. For Legion the King of kings and Lord of lords gave him a command, a calling, a ministry: “Go tell them what great things the Lord has done for you and how the Lord Jesus had compassion on you.”
And if Jesus has had compassion ON YOU, are you that disciple who tells all of your Lord’s amazing grace and mercy? John 17:18 tells us, “As You sent Me [Jesus] into the world, even so I have sent them into the world.”
He’s given us “the ministry of reconciliation”! He’s called us as ambassadors to go exercise the winning battle over Satan and his demon army! The old hymn, “Rescue the Perishing,” is a hymn too many modern-day Christians never sing or even follow its calling. It says:
“Rescue the perishing, Care for the dying; Snatch them in pity from sin and the grave. Weep o’er the erring one, Lift up the fallen, tell them of Jesus the mighty to save….
Though they are slighting them, Still He is waiting, Waiting the penitent child to receive. Plead with them earnestly, plead with them gently. He will forgive if the only believe….
Down in the human heart, Crushed by the tempter, Feelings like buried that grace can restore. Touched by a loving heart, Wakened by kindness, chords that are broken will vibrate once more….
Rescue the perishing, Duty demands it; Strength for your labor the Lord will provide. Back to the narrow way Patiently win them; Tell the poor wanderer a Savior has died….
Rescue the perishing, care for the dying; Jesus is merciful, Jesus will save.”
I close this chapter with one last painful, sad, sick thought! That is: THE DENING NATURE OF PEOPLE ENSLAVED BY DEMONS WITH THE FALLEN NATURE OF WORLD VALUES RATHER THAN HEAVENLY VALUES!
Examine carefully, thoughtfully, Mark5:13-14, “….The unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea, and drowned in the sea. So those who fed the swine fled, and they told it in the city and in the country. And they went out to see what had happened.” Oh, get ready!!
Verse 17 says, “Then they began to plead with Him [Jesus] to depart from their region.” Do you see it? The city-folk preferred 2000 pigs to the Lord Jesus Christ! “Leave! We want nothing to do with you! We are not interested in Your salvation, healing, or deliverance – just give us the pigs and the troughs they eat from.”
Enough said about pigs and troughs!! In Lloyd Ogilvie’s writings on Mark, I wrote down one of his powerful statements that so applies to this chapter and its closing. He said:
“In Legion’s healing we see what our healing can mean. Jesus Christ has promised to meet us in our need. He comes and asks, “Who are you?” yet He knows us as we are! He sees the Legion of compulsion, concerns, desires, dreams, and sins. And we are free to tell Him all about ourselves. We need no hiding place among the tombs. The variant forces within can come trembling out and be banished. There is no need to live on with guilt and remorse. We can turn all of that over to Jesus, and He will give us a new name.” Amen?
CHAPTER SIX
MERCIFUL MESSAGE IN THE MIDST OF MADNESS!
I have no idea how YOU have personally reacted to what you’ve read in the first five chapters. But I do pray earnestly that you persevere to this book’s end because there is hope, there if freedom, there is relief from life’s spiritual battles – and it all relates to God’s mercy, His grace, and everlasting love revealed to us and for us “in Christ”!
In Mark 6:14-29 we read, “Now King Herod heard of Him, for His name had become well known. And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.’ Others said, ‘It is Elijah,’ and others said, ‘It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.’….
But when Herod heard, he said, ‘This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead!’ For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife; for he had married her….
Because John had said to Herod, ‘It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.’ Therefore Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him, but she could not;….
For Herod feared John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he protected him. And when he heard him, he did many things, and heard him gladly…..
Then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officials, and the chief men of Galilee. And when Herodias’ daughter herself came in and danced, and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, ‘Ask me whatever you want, and I will give it to you.’…..’He also swore to her, ‘Whatever you ask me, I will give to you, up to half my kingdom.’ So she went out and said to her mother, ‘What shall I ask?’ And she said, ‘The head of John the Baptist.’ Immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked, saying, ‘I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.’…..
And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her. Immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought. And he went and beheaded him in prison,….
Brought his head on a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl gave it to her mother. When his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb.”
But you are unsure if that’s “madness”? And you’re certainly not sure, even now, that the devil, demons, and evil spirits are real, even out of the Pit of Hell itself? I’d say it’s a need of a ‘heart-examination’ for you even if you let your ‘mind’ call what we just read abominable!
It’s madness when a ruler of a nation will have a man beheaded at the whim of a teen-age strip-tease artist! It’s madness when a man will go to such extremes to cover his own sin. It’s madness when the message of hope for a nation is drowned in careless oaths, easy compromises, or unholy alliances. It’s madness when men of God are assassinated in body or maligned in character by crude, Christ-less, cheapened men and women!
It’s madness when people will forfeit Eternal Life in Christ and the Kingdom of God because of pathetic promises made to pathetic people in pathetic circumstances! Look at Mark 6:26! “And the king was exceedingly sorry; yet, because of the oaths and because of those who sat with him, he did not want to refuse her.”
It’s madness when the message of repentance is called for, but rather than repent, men revel and rebel in sordid, sensual, senseless living for the devil and his demon-kind rather than for, of, and by the love of God!
It’s madness to know, to hear, to listen to just and holy men, and then make our eternal decisions from pressures of Christ-less crowds and worldly Herodiases and Jezebels! Didn’t Herod listen to John?
It’s madness when men will be swept up by pressure, devilish pressure, to please and impress men, even ‘peer pressure’ that pulverizes decency, holiness, and godlikeness rather than simply desiring to please and honor God!
It’s madness when men will sell their souls for sensual pleasures, temporal gain, earthly desires, forfeiting divine will, or divine blessing, or the preciousness of abiding peace in the inward man!
One thing is for sure: Herod was not at peace but a haunted man, living in fear, overcome by guilt, driven by a placating behavior that was unwilling to believe the price of peace had been paid for in the Lamb’s blood shed at the Cross! [Remember, the Lamb’s blood was shed in the heart of God before the world ever came into being!]
It’s no different in this very hour as you’re reading this book! It IS a ‘mad, mad, mad, mad world’ demonized by the devil! And that ‘mad, mad world’ has come to pass because of human instruments in, under, deceived by Satan! In Isaiah 1:2-7 God spoke:
“Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken: ‘I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against Me; the ox knows its owner and the donkey its master’s crib; but Israel does not know, My people do not consider….
Also, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who are corrupters! They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked to anger the Holy One of Israel, they have turned away backward…..
Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faints. From the sole of the foot even to the head, there is no soundness in it, but bruises and putrefying sores; they have not been closed up or bound up, or soothed with ointment….
Your country is desolate, your cities are burned with fire; strangers devour your land in your presence; and it is desolate, as overthrown by strangers.” [Strangers? How about demons?]
I’m sure you know what the prophet Jeremiah recorded from the Lord in Jeremiah 17:9! “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.” [Without Christ deceived hearts under the domination of Satan and his demon forces, men are hopeless as well as deceived and desperately wicked!]
John Bunyan, in “A Book For Boys and Girls,” wrote about man: “From God he’s a backslider; Of ways, he loves the wider; with wickedness a sider; more venom than a spider; In sin he’s a confider; A make-bate and divider.”
Robert Burns also had an understanding about man. In “Inscribed to the Honorable C.J. Fox” he wrote: “Good Lord, what is man? For as simple as he looks, Do but try to develop his looks and his crooks!…..
With his depths and his shallows, his good and his evil: All in all he’s a problem must puzzle the devil.”
You know the devil is a rebel – and so are all men from birth! I’m sure this is why Samuel Taylor Coleridge stated in his “Table Talk”: “If a man is not rising upwards to be an angel, depend upon it, he is sinking downward to be a devil. He cannot stop at the beast. The most savage of men are not beasts; they are worse, a great deal worse.”
How does that stack up or measure up to Mark 6:14-29 as you look at a man in the midst of madness? I want you to notice that there are messages for each of us in the midst of diabolical madness!
THERE IS THE MESSAGE OF ONE BEING CAREFUL IN HOW HE HEARS! That’s Mark 6:14! Herod heard of ‘who’? That was Jesus “…for His name had become well known.”
But Herod heard as he wanted to hear! Herod heard as his ears, physical ears, had been programmed to hear. Herod heard guided by a guilty conscience rather than guided by a liberated spirit. Herod heard impulsively, carelessly, with a colored message. Mark 6:14b-16, And he said, “John the Baptist is risen from the dead, and therefore these powers are at work in him.”….
Others said, ‘It is Elijah.’ And others said, ‘It is the Prophet, or like one of the prophets.’ But when Herod heard, he said: ‘This is John, whom I beheaded; he has been raised from the dead.’”
There are those who ‘hear’ and then there are those who really hear: 1) There are those who hear with physical ears but they NEVER really hear: Psalm 135:17 says, “They have ears, but hear not…” In Matthew 13:13 Jesus spoke of those who, “and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.”
2) There are those who hear but they willfully reject what they hear: In Jeremiah 6:10 God spoke: “To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, their ear in uncircumcised and they cannot hearken, behold the word of the Lord is unto them a reproach; they have no delight in it.” [Do you sense demonic interference in one’s hearing process?]
In Jeremiah 8:9 the prophet said, “The wise men are ashamed, they are dismayed and taken; lo, they have rejected the word of the Lord: and what wisdom is in them?” [Yes, it goes beyond demonic interference to, “I don’t care what God asks of me, I’ll do it “my way”!”]
I want you to know that God cannot help the man who hears but doesn’t really want to hear. God cannot help the man who willfully, selfishly rejects hearing of Him and His Word and colors what he hears to fit his own prejudices and opinions. God cannot help the man who hardens his heart by willfully rejecting divine revelation.
Zechariah 7:12 says, “Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the Lord of hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets. Thus great wrath came from the Lord of hosts.”
Oh, then Psalm 95:6-11 challenges us all, “O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand….
Today, if you will hear His voice: Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested Me, though they saw My work….
For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, ‘It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know My ways.’ So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest.’” But you’re not sure going astray in your heart is even remotely possible that the devil himself lied to You and led you astray by his deceiving ways, like: “You surely shall not die!”
3) Also there are those who willfully hear with seeing ears, “I see, I see,” and they take heed to what they hear, receiving and acting upon what they see and hear!
Mark 4:23-24 tells us, Jesus speaking, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed WHAT you hear. With the same measure you use it, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.” Maturing grace!
It is certainly a matter of the will. Psalm 85:8 says, I will hear what God the Lord will speak: for He will speak peace unto His people and to His saints.”
In ‘hearing’ there are some scriptural steps in the hearing process that Herod refused, and in the midst of madness in a modern, demon-influenced society, don’t choose Herod’s folly!
1)HEAR AND BELIEVE! Believe is not only hearing, but believing, which is relying upon, trusting, adhering to, obeying what you hear from God, even if the devil seeks to refute it!
2) Hear and follow: John 10:3-4 says, “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear His voice and he calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out…and when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.”
3) Hear to become: Matthew 7:24, “Therefore whoever hears these saying of Mine, and does them….”
4) Hearing to do: John 15:14, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” Satan has a disrespect of Godly control and a desire for ruling control over himself and the world as he saw it under his evil domination. And he still disrespects God’s control over himself, the world at large, and you in particular! He wants domination over you!
5) Hearing to learn: Luke 10:38-42 tells us, Now it happened as they went that Jesus entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house….
And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.’….
Jesus answered and said to her, ‘Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needful, and Mary has chosen the good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
6) Hearing and persevering: Jesus said in John 8:31, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed.”
7) Hearing and loving: Psalm 39:3 tells us, “My heart was hot within me; while I was meditating, the fire burned.” When one has tasted the fruit of God’s Word, been in the blessing of His Holy Place, even if one is tempted to walk away by the devil and the powers of darkness, the true disciple never could!
In Jeremiah 20:9 the prophet said, “Then I said, ‘I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in His name,’ but His word was in my heart like a burning fire shut up in my bones; I was weary of holding it back, and I could not.’” [Check Jeremiah 9:23-24!]
I THINK IT’S VITAL THAT YOU SEE THE MESSAGE OF DEALING WITH AND SEVERING OURSELVES FROM THE SINS OF UNFAITHFUL ANCESTORS! Have you ever heard it said: “He’s just a chip off the old block.” That could be good and godly, but it also could be a carry-over of demonic, devilish influences of ancestors who “bought the Lie”!
I want you to examine thoroughly Nehemiah. He was a great man who saw failures in the past of his forefathers and was determined to “wipe his and his family’s slate clean”! He even challenged his fellow country-men to go back to Jerusalem and re-build the torn-down city. The name ‘Nehemiah’ is from a Hebrew name meaning, ‘The Comfort of Yahweh”!
Though the devil promotes deadened consciences, Nehemiah knew, believed in, stood on, and sought to revive, renew, and restore the people of God to their holy calling. He prayed to God Almighty!
Nehemiah 1:6-11 says, “please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned….
We have acted every corruptly against You, and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, nor the ordinances which You commanded Your servant Moses….
Remember, I pray, the word that You commanded Your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations;….
But if you return to Me, and kerep My commandments and do them, though some of you were cast out to the farthest p[art of the heavens, yet I will gather them from there, and bring them to the place which I have chosen as a dwelling for My name….
Now these are Your servants and Your people, whom You have redeemed by Your great power, and by Your strong hand. O Lord, I pray, please let Your ear be attentive to the prayer of Your servant, and to the prayers of Your servants who desire to fear Your name; and let Your servant prosper this day, I pray, and grant mercy in the sight of this man, the king that I served as his cupbearer.”
THERE’S ANOTHER MESSAGE OF VITAL IMPORTANCE AND THAT IS THE MESSAGE OF WHO WE CHOOSE TO LIVE WITH IN OUR EARTHLY LIVES! Should I dare mention, first, the absolute necessity of being joined as one with Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord of your life? I pray you search out Colossians 1:13-14 and make those your refrigerator verses for the next several months! It says:
“He [God] has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of God, the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
And in that blessing of union with Christ, though fully aware that the devil might leave us for a season, we need to be so aware of what our earthly, fleshly unions can mean to us, e3ither as a blessing or as a curse!
Consider marriage! What does 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 tell us? “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?….
And what accord has Christ with Belial []the devil or one of his devotes to the devil’s ways!]? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:
‘I will dwell in them, and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be My people.’ [But you carelessly choose to marry an unbeliever? GIVE ME A BREAK!]….
Therefore “Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you.” I w2ill be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
[But you decide it’s OK to marry the devil’s son or daughter?] Also, who do you share life with in your daily occurences outside home and family? Witnessing to the lost is one thing, but being “wooed” by the citizens of the devil’s army is another! Didn’t Paul tell us to “come out from among the Hell-bent and Jesus will receive you?”
And in the “Christian community” how vital is it that you seek strong pastoral Christ-like leadership, seeking a community of believers that truly longs to honor Christ, and folks that need your encouragement and discipling?
ALSO, WHAT ABOUT WHAT WE PERSONALLY DO WITH THE TRUTH THAT CONFRONTS US? Herod ignored Truth and murdered a devotee of Truth! What about David though, in his spiritual immaturity, who failed to go out to the battle and failed at the war of sexual fantasy and sexual reality?
There are doors one is tempted to walk through by the powers of darkness – they love immorality and every sexual deviance, but Jesus’ disciples “fight the good fight of faith” and honor the Lord and Savior! [Please, please stop and read Psalm 51 over and over!!]
THEN< THERE IS THE NECESSARY MESSAGE AND RESPONSE TO IT CONCERNING THE LIFE CHOICE OF WHO WE WILL FOLLOW! Will we respond to the devil or obey Jesus? Will we respond to Holy God or the unholy spirit of the devil himself? Will we choose fallen flesh or the Eternal Spirit? Will we follow the fallen world or turn and follow Jesus Only?
For Herod it was Herodias or John the Baptist. We will always have choice of who we will follow. It’s more than likely an everyday path of some choice comes that pumps flesh or honors the Spirit of God.
But there must be a once-for-all, fleshly, here and now choice of pleasure OR a spiritual, eternal, settled decision for or against Christ Jesus, King of kings and Lord of lords.
You must know you cannot serve God and mammon. You must know you cannot serve Christ and an unbelieving compromising world. You must know you cannot serve the devil and the Holy Spirit. You cannot serve to walk in darkness and at the same time have the Light of light shining in you.
But, you can settle it right now! “I choose Jesus and the Holy Spirit, and daily take the sentence of death AGAINST THE DEVIL! In closing, let’s look at Herod and John the Baptist:
Herod, ungodly. John the Baptist, Godly! Herod, fear. John the Baptist, Faith. Herod, a compromiser. Jesus, courageous. Herod, guilty. Jesus, grace-filled. Herod, a people-pleaser. Jesus, God-pleaser. Herod, murderer of God’s men. Jesus, Messenger of God’s message. Herod, lust. Jesus, Light and pure love. Herod, a divided, split conscience. Jesus, a pure heart.
And God gives you a choice!
CHAPTER SEVEN
DEVILISH OPPOSITION – THE NECESSITY OF THE SCHOOL OF
PERFECTING FAITH!
Having been a high school and collegiate football player, one of the key ingredients of preparation for your next opponent was studying their plays, patterns, strong or weak points, to gain the upper hand. And when it comes to spiritual warfare by disciples of Jesus with the devil and his “players”, it’s necessary to recognize, understand, participate, and learn from our Lord and Savior about being alert, well-trained, disciplined, through the School of Perfecting Faith.
In Mark 6:30-56 [please read before continuing] we see the reality of a learning experience in the Twelve chosen disciples. We need to see the lessons learned from failing grades, but also we need to see the perseverance in disciples’ pilgrimages that leads to a prospering, completing, ‘finishing strong’ journey of faith.
Even Paul the Apostle said: “I haven’t arrived fully yet, but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark of the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
But sadly it’s tragically true that there are some who never bother with examining a win or a loss, never consider the past failures or victories or how they came to be, and are not even pushing forward today into the spiritual adventures of new frontiers of faith, new mountains to climb, new testings and personal exams, because “back there I failed miserably when the devil and his demon forces kicked me down for a period of time.” They will not let failure, loss, defeat, to be for them a lesson they needed to learn from.
Sometimes it’s not even failures of the past that hinder us and lessen our learning ability, because sometimes it’s the victories of the past! I believe with all my heart that this is the context of the passage in Mark 6:30-56! In the corresponding story of Luke’s Gospel, the disciples have come back riding high with a sweet taste of victory upon their lips, minds, and probably their hearts. They didn’t know ‘the agony of defeat’, as if defeat, mistake, failure has no value for a disciple.
Look at them! “Why, Lord, even the demons are subject unto us in Your name,” they said. And Jesus knew the danger they were in because He knows there are some who could relish ‘subject unto us’, rather than knowing the victory came ‘in Jesus’ Name’.
Previous victories will not meet the need of crisis moments today against ourselves, our fleshly enemies, and, yes, the devil and his demons, unless we are constantly updating and programming ourselves, and even ‘testing’ ourselves in His school exams of perfecting faith.
It was a school, and, yes, an absolutely vital, important school. The training of the Twelve was so important because the things learned from Christ among witnesses, the same lessons were to be taught to faithful men, who would teach others also – even us, 2000 years or so later! Lloyd Ogilvie said: “…this is a vivid account of Jesus’ effort6s to liberate His disciples from the limitation of the impossible.” I like that!
Let’s “sit” now in the spiritual schoolhouse of learning, and see what valuable lessons we find together “IN The School Of Perfecting Faith.” And I pray that Paul’s testimony to Timothy about some he’d encountered in the school of life will not be true of us: 2 Timothy 3:7, “Ever learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”:
FIRST, WE “NEED” COMMUNION AND FELLOWSHIP WITH OUR LORD AND MASTER, JESUS CHRIST. In Mark 6:30 doesn’t the Word tell us, “Then the apostles gathered to Jesus and told Him all things…”? And I don’t know of a more valuable, important lesson to be learned than that – we “need” to gather ourselves unto Jesus telling Him all the things happening in us and around us.
We “need” to gather ourselves unto Jesus to be with Him. In Mark 3:13 the Word says, “And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those He Himself wanted. And they came to Him.” He wants our fellowship, our communion, our companionship, and our love.”
{He] called to Him those He Himself wanted.” “They came to Him,” and I believe today decisions need to be made ABOUT TIME ALONE WITH JESUS! Do you remember Martha? ‘Martha, you’re just too busy. Mary has chosen the good part. She sits at My feet learning.”
Do you remember Paul’s testimony in Philippians 3:7-10? “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ….
And be found in Him, not having my own righteousness which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;….
That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death.”
We “need” to gather ourselves unto Jesus to hear from Him! In Mark 9:7, on the Mount of Transfiguration, God spoke of our Lord and Savior: “…This is My Beloved Son. Hear Him!” There are no more important words from God than “Hear My Beloved Son!” Are you listening and responding to the words of God in your pilgrimage or more attuned to the devil and his demons?
You’ll remember that Jesus was called, not only Wonderful, but was called “Counselor” – Isaiah 11:2 says, “And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”
Get into the presence daily! In Acts 4:13 we read, “Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled: and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”
[Taking ‘no knowledge from Jesus’ is to choose to remain under the domination of the ‘knowledge’ of the world, the flesh, and the devil!]
SECOND, WE “NEED” TO BE AWARE OF OUR NEED OF REST. Verse 31 of Mark 6 tells us, “And Jesus said to them, ‘Come aside by yourselves to a deserted place and rest awhile.”
You either “come aside by yourselves…to rest awhile,” or you yourselves just come apart! In William Barclay’s book on the Gospel of Mark, [p.156], he wrote: “It may well be that the whole trouble in our lives is that we give God no opportunity to speak to us, because we do not know how to be still and to listen; we give God no time to recharge us with spiritual energy and strength, because there is no time when we wait upon Him.”
What did Isaiah tell us in Isaiah 40:31? “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.”
Your body needs “rest” before the Lord and, yes, in His Presence! In I Corinthians 6:19 the Word is clear – your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit! Your soul needs “rest”! Psalm 116:7 says, “Return unto your rest, O my soul; for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.” Your spirit needs “rest”! Psalm 51:10 tells us, “…renew a right spirit within me.”
And do you understand, your body, soul, and spirit, yielded to God or not, are ‘treasures’ the devil covets – and if you’re not willing to yield to the devil, he’ll call his deceiving, destructive, dark forces to come against you!
THIRD, WE “NEED” TO SEE PEOPLE AS JESUS SEES THEM. In Mark 6:34 we read: “And Jesus when He came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep not having a shepherd. So He began to teach them many things.”
It’s really interesting that this morning, before I came to my office to write, my wife showed me on her cell-phone a picture of a sheep, lost, wandered away from its shepherd, that for six years somehow survived in the wilderness with its coat never sheared – and you wondered, “How did it even survive? How did it even get food to its mouth, and how did it walk so heavy-laden?”
“Sheep having no shepherd?” What does God’s Word tell us? And do you sense, even by sight, ‘sheep who’ve gone astray’?
- Lost sheep are devoid of the Way! Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray…” Proverbs 14:12 tells us, “There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.”
But Jesus tells us in John 14: 6, I AM THE WAY, the Truth, and the life! No man comes to the Father, but by [or through] Me.”
- Lost sheep are defenseless against their worst enemy. Are you familiar with 2 Corinthians 4:4? “In whom the god of this world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image [exact likeness, same DNA, just as much Man as if he were not God – and just as much God as if He were not man!], yes, the image of God, should shine on them.”
- Lost sheep are deprived of the Shepherd’s provision. In Psalm 23:1, we read, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want,” yet how easy is it for you to sense before you the starving people who know nothing of “the Shepherd’s provision”?
Psalm 23:5 says of our Shepherd, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.”
- Lost sheep are denied the significance of their worth and value under the Shepherd’s ownership and care. Do you see ‘worth and value in a sheep’s “wool and meat”? Do you see “worth and value” of your own life under the Master’s ownership, watchcare, protection, and usefulness to touch your world around you, even standing strong against the devil and demon powers, yes, “casting them out”?
God says of His Own people in Isaiah 43:21, “This people I have formed for Myself; they shall declare My praise.” It’s why John wrote in Revelation 4:11, “You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and by Your will they exist and were created.”
FOURTH, WE “NEED” TO BE AWARE OF HIS POWER AND OUR PRIVILEGE. Mark 6:35-44 informs us: “When the day was far spent, His disciples came to Him and said, ‘This is a deserted place, and already the hour is late. Send them away, that they may go into the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves bread; for they have nothing to eat.’…
But Jesus answered and said to them, ‘You give them something to eat.’ And they said to Him, ‘Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii [Roman coin] worth of bread and give them something to eat?’…
But He said to them, ‘How many loaves do you have? Go and see.’ And when they found out they said, “Fives loaves and two fish.” Then Jesus commanded them to make them all sit down in groups on the green grass…
So they sat down i9n ranks, in hundreds and in fifties. And when He had taken the five loaves and the two fish, He looked up to heaven, blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to His disciples to set beforew them; and the two fish He divided among them all. So they all ate and were filled…
And they took up twelve baskets full of fragments and of the fish. Now those who had eaten the loaves were about five thousand men.” This wasn’t a happen-chance. These people hadn’t been with Him for three days, like when He fed the 4000….
Our Savior and Lord saw the opportunity to paint a live portrait that would help His own disciples see some valuable, important, eternal things: “This, My friends, disciples, servants, warriors, is in My permissive will to help you plan your ministries, not on one’s best calculations of one’s own physical resources, but ministry and service and blessing based on My power.” Jesus was saying to His disciples then and us now: “I AM YOUR PROVIDER!”
The context of Mark 6 is: rest for disciples, truth for thronging multitudes, food for about 5000 men who’ve missed a meal, even peace in the midst of the troubled seas of life!!! BUT BETTER THAN THAT?
Do you remember I John 3:5? “And you know that Jesus was manifested to take away our sins, and in Him there is no sin.” The eighth verse says, “…For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might DESTROY THE WORKS OF THE DEVIL.”
Oh, and then, I John 4:9 says, “…that we might live through Him!” But besides His power, what about our privilege? Without a doubt, I’m convinced that ‘in Christ’ we live to pass out “the Bread of Life” to a hungry world. John 6:33 says, “For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
There’s a question for us in Psalm 78:19. “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?” He did, He can, He still does, He will – and it will be a heavenly BANQUET FEAST of eternal celebration!
Again, Alexander Maclaren, in His Mark Commentary, [pps.266-267] said, “…the loaves were not diminished by His givings. That is true about all divine gifts. He bestows, and is none poorer. The streams flow from the golden vase and after all outpouring, it is brim-full!”
FIFTH, WE ALSO NEED TO BE SENSITIVE TO REPEAT PERFORMANCES IN THE LESSONS OF LIFE WE ALL NEED TO LEARN.
Look, first, at Mark 6:45-50. Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while He sent the multitudes away….
And when He had sent them away, He departed to the mountain to pray. Now when evening came, the boat was in the middle of the sea; and He was alone on the land….
Then He saw them straining at rowing, for the wind was against them. Now about the fourth watch of the night Jesus came to them, walking on the sea, and would have passed them by….
And when they saw Him walking on the sea, they supposed it was a ghost, and cried out; for they all saw Him and were troubled. But immediately He talked with them and said to them, “Be of good cheer! It is I, do not be afraid.” Then He went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.”
Our Lord loves us so much that He’ll carry us over and over the same ground until its familiarity is commonplace and we know how to respond in uncommon, supernatural, divine trust and dependence.
When the storm came, why didn’t they cry out in faith, “Jesus, You’re able. Jesus, You’re the storm-stopper. Jesus, we wait in faith and trust because of Your divine ability. Jesus, calm the troubled seas of our lives.”
They didn’t do that. But understand: though they didn’t call, Jesus came anyway. And because they were still so untrained in the school of perfecting faith, they thought Jesus was a “ghost”! He wasn’t! “Be of good cheer. It is I. Be not afraid.”
SIXTH, WE “NEED” TO BE AWARE THAT FAILURE ALONG YOUR JOURNEY DOESN’T MEAN AN END OF MINISTRY OT THE END OF YOUR WALK WITH THE LORD.
Mark 6:51-52 tells us: Then Jesus went up into the boat to them, and the wind ceased. And they were greatly amazed in themselves beyond measure, and marveled. For they had not understood about the loaves, because their heart was hardened.”
Again, it was Ray Stedman who said: “Who is this? Who sends storms into our lives? Who tests us? Who makes provision for our needs and then tests us on it? Who gives us a promise and then sends us out to see if we believe what we teach or what we say? It is the Lord Himself. This is what He is doing with us, as He did with the disciples. He is training us, teaching us, preparing us, building into our lives, as He built into their lives, so that we might be men and women of faith – confident, calm, able to cope with life.”
SEVENTH, WE “NEED” TO UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH JESUS WANTS TO BE IN THE P{RESENCE OF THOSE WHO KNOW THEY HAVE NEED.
In Mark 6:53-56 we read, “When they had crossed over, they came to the land of Gennesaret and anchored there. And when they came out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Jesus….,
ran through that whole surrounding region, and began to carry about on beds those who were sick to wherever they heard Jesus was….
Wherever He entered, into villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplaces, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.”
I can only ask you: Is there a pressing desire on your life to be in the presence of people with eternal needs? Are you fully available for Jesus to touch needy lives through His presence in you?
I came across in my notes an article that a blessed brother gave to me back in the early 1980’s. The article was entitled “A Personal Matter.” It was addressed to “Jesus, Son of Joseph,” Woodcrafters Carpenter Shop, Nazareth 25922, sent from: Jordan Management Consultants, Jerusalem, 26544:
Dear Sir: Thank you for submitting the resumes of the twelve men you have picked for management positions in your new organization. All of them have now taken our battery of tests; and we have not only run the result through our computer, but also arranged personal interviews for each of them with our psychologist and vocational aptitude consultant….
The profiles of all tests are included, and you will want to study each of them carefully. As part of our service, and for your guidance, we make some general comments. This is given as a result of staff consultation and comes without any additional fee….
It is the staff opinion that most of your nominees are lacking in background, education and vocational aptitude for the type of enterprise you are undertaking. They do not have the team concept. We would recommend that you continue your search for persons of experience in managerial ability and proven capability….
Simon Peter is emotionally unstable and given to fits of temper. Andrew has absolutely no qualities of leadership. The two brothers, James and John, the sons of Zebedee, place personal interest above company loyalty. Thomas demonstrates a questioning attitude that would tend to undermine morale. We feel that it is our duty to tell you that Matthew has been blacklisted by the Greater Jerusalem Better Business Bureau. James, the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus definitely have radical leanings, and they both registered a high score on the maniac-depressive scale….
One of the candidates, however, shows great potential. He is a man of ability and resourcefulness, meets people well, has a keen business mind and has contacts in high places. He is highly motivated, ambitious and responsible. We recommend Judas Iscariot as your controller and righthand man. All of the other profiles are self-explanatory.
We wish you every success in your new venture. Sincerely yours, Jordan Management Consultants
Enough said in this chapter!
CHAPTER EIGHT
DEMONIZED DAUGHTERS OR DELIVERING FAITH?
In Mark 7:24-30 we read, From there Jesus arose and went to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And He entered a house and wanted no one to know it, but He could not be hidden. For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Jesus, and she came and fell at His feet….
The woman was a Greek, a Syro-Phoenician by birth, and she kept asking Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter. But Jesus said to her: “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to little dogs.”….
And she answered Him, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.” Then Jesus said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.” And when she had come to her house, she found the demon gone out, and her daughter lying on the bed.”
There is no doubt this lady was truly a woman of “Delivering Faith” who trusted God’s power to deliver her daughter from “Demon Possession.”
Lewis Carroll, in his “Through the Looking Glass,” told of an interesting dialogue between Alice and the White Queen. The Queen had said, “I’ll give you something to believe, I’m a hundred and one, five months, and a day.” [My father’s mother lived to be one hundred and two!]
Alice responded: “I can’t believe that.” And the Queen said, “Can’t you? Try again, draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.” Alice tried, and then she laughed and said, “There’s no use trying…one can’t believe impossible things.”
The Queen reacted to Alice’s response: “I dare say you haven’t had much practice. When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.”
The Queen’s response to Alice was not, is not, never will be what biblical faith, true faith, redemptive faith is all about. Her idea of ‘faith’ that gets you what you want? “Take long deep breaths, close your eyes to fact or reality, and deep down in a fleshly mind just believe what “you” think is impossible, incredible, and impractical – don’t really “trust” God! Use your own mental powers to change your circumstances.”
Dare I tell you? “I believe that’s about as ‘demonic’ as it gets because mental, mind manipulation can make the difference in human lives, as they deny God’s saving grace, mercy, and love, and believe it’s “self”, with a good mental attitude that releases their “best”, that is nothing more than opposition to one’s real need of Him!”
Listen to what Howard Hendricks had to say about un-genuine, counterfeit faith. It was an article in Moody Monthly, May, 1973! He wrote: “Even to many a Christian, faith is passivity, resignation, a copout from personal and active involvement under the guise of ‘trust God’. To others, it’s like a spider’s web, mercurial, and illusive. You try to grasp it, but you can’t get a grip on it. An increasing number are convinced that faith really doesn’t work in the realities and pressures of contemporary life.” True, saving, redemptive faith is not a ‘mind’ game but a matter of one’s heart! And even if one says, “I believe in God, I believe in Jesus,” does that mean ‘heart-change’ has occurred?
In Mark 7, how more pressurized would it be for you than having ‘a demonized daughter’? I traveled all over the world for over 30 years ministering to pastors, churches, youth conferences, evangelism crusades, yes, sensing a need of preaching and teaching the power of God to save, redeem, release those in bondage to the devil and demons.
Demonic activity flourishes all over the world – and even today there are mothers, and fathers, who know something is bad wrong with children when they are bound, bruised, bleeding within, and belittled by the powers of darkness! And what never changes is the eternal victory that comes as the servants of Jesus share “Genuine Faith”!
Notice from the Word, Jesus went to the borders of Tyre and Sidon, possibly His first time in this geographical area. And a Greek lady, a Syro-Phoenician, sought Jesus out. How did she know about Jesus? She could have been a part of that “great multitude” initially that we see coming to Him in Mark 3:7-8. [Let’s give her a name – maybe “Sara”?]
“Sara, we saw a man you need to know. We heard Him teaching about the forgiveness of sins. We saw Him healing the sick. And, Sara, we saw Him casting out demons. You have a demonized daughter. Go to Jesus.” And she did!
There’s no doubt “Sara” was a woman of genuine, amazing faith. She could have heard or seen little of what Jesus said and did, but you must remember, Jesus said that even little faith in the right object can move mountains!
I can’t say whether “Sara’s” faith was little or great, but it was genuine. Faith is not some illusive dynamic that one tries to gather up in a test tube, though all faith is tested. Faith is not some blind charge into the dark that you sincerely hope lights up your path.
Genuine faith is intelligent, reasonable, factual, and applicable to all areas of life one walks in. It’s based on revelation!
I want to tell you about another lady. Her name was DIONYSIA. It was thousands of years ago that this woman lost a ‘claim’ in a local court over a piece of land. She had appealed to a higher court in Alexandria, writing (in Greek) to the judge: “In order that you may know my appeal is just, I enclose my HUPOSTASIS.”
To her letter she had attached her title deed to the piece of property, put them in a stone box, and sent them to Alexandria by a slave. The slave never arrived: the inn where he spent the night had burned to the ground.
A few years ago archaeologists found the slave’s charred bones, the stone box, and the documents which they translated. The word ‘huposatasis’ that referred to the lady’s title deed, get this, is the same word used in Hebrews 11:1 which the King James version of the Bible translates “substance”.
“Genuine faith” – faith is a claim, a deed of trust, our original right to all God intended, all that is, and all that God Himself claimed in your behalf as a repentant sinner, now made a saint by repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of Christ at the Cross!
It is our ‘title deed’ to our Lord’s abundant grace and mercy and love that enriches the poverty of our lives without Him! Genuine faith? It is a legal life brand, a testament between God and Jesus, Jesus and man, a work that was finished at Calvary’s Cross and made fully available to men and women of a true repentant heart and life.
One verse I want to add from the Word: I John 5:11 says, “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” Not “best effort,” not religious activity, not spiritual endeavors separate from “crucified with Christ”!
The Syro-Phoenician, Sara, had the witness, had the record. “There’s forgiveness, release, and life in Jesus Only!” For her, that included deliverance for her demonized daughter. Genuine Faith? Four things I want you to see:
FIRST, NO VOICE, NO OPPOSITION, NO DEMON-POWER CAN SILENCE GENUINE FAITH! I would suppose that you understand that faith can be tried, it can be tested, and it is certainly opposed by some. Psalm 66”10 tells us, “For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined…”
It was Simon Peter, in I Peter 1:7 who said, “…that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the resurrection of Jesus Christ…”
The Syro-Phoenicians by birth, the Greek “Sara”, in Mark 7:26, “kept asking Jesus to cast the demon out of her daughter, but Jesus didn’t immediately answer her and say ‘Yes’ to her request! But “Sara” asked, and kept on asking, she asked and kept on asking – Jesus didn’t immediately answer her.
But what you need to see, silence, and settle on is – your faith in Jesus’ able-ness to set YOU free; He will hear! Even if you don’t hear the immediate voice, word, or will of Jesus, YOU WILL NOT BE DETERRED, LIKE SARA. You have the record, you have the witness, and you have that permanent passion: “Jesus is ABLE, [and He will], TO HEAR ME, ANSWER ME, AND TO CAST OUT ANY DEMON!! Sara knew: “There’s LIFE in Jesus…Healing in Jesus…Deliverance in Jesus!”
Sara believed, she trusted, she reached out even when there were no words coming from the lips of Jesus. She even met opposition from the followers of Jesus! In Matthew 15:23 we read, “…His disciples came and urged Him, saying, Send her away, for she cries out after us.”
The disciples of Jesus didn’t treat this needy lady as any lady ought to be treated. They didn’t respond to her as followers of Christ ought to respond. They resented her, they became impatient with her, they wanted Jesus to pass on by her and get on with building up their egos as the world around saw them walking with Jesus.
And that’s even if His teaching “appeared” to exclude or be beyond her need! Matthew 15:24 says, “But Jesus answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” We could say, ‘well,’ (or she could have said), ‘well. I’m not physical Israel, so what Jesus preaches can’t be for me.’ No!
There is a house of Israel, not after the flesh but after the Spirit. Abraham’s “TRUE” children? That’s a repentant child of faith, an obedient child of faith, a child of true trust and full surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ!
Didn’t Jesus say, “Abraham rejoiced to see My day and he was glad”? Romans 9:6-7 tells us, “But it is not that the Word of God has taken no effect. For they are not all Israel who are of Israel, nor are they all children [of true faith] because they are the seed of Abraham; but ‘In Isaac your seed shall be called.’”
Galatians 3:26 says, “For you are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus”…verse 29, “And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs, according to the promise.” Sara knew she had a right because she had, possessed, owned, fully surrendered to saving faith in Christ!
And one cannot be silenced even if overcome by the awareness of our own inadequacy and unworthiness. In Mark 7:27-28 we read, But Jesus said to her, “Let the children be filled first, for it is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the little dogs.” Sara answered and said to Jesus, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”
I believe without a doubt or even a momentary hesitation, Sara knew herself and her need, and she knew Jesus’ able-ness! “Lord, the truth is, You know it, my daughter and I don’t need to be saved by ourselves but from ourselves!”
And it’s the truth from Christ, in you, that changes things when you settle it, that you’re the needy one, yes, demon-controlled without Christ, empty, unfulfilled – but Jesus makes the eternal difference!
It is the Truth that changes, frees, heals, delivers, when YOU KNOW: “My heart without Christ is deceitful and desperately wicked,” but Jesus, the Great Physician, operates in miraculous heart transformations! Philippians 3:21 speaks of Christ “who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body!”
It is the Truth that changes a person who knows his life is filthy, black, dirty, alienated from God because of our sin natures, but Jesus is the One, through His blood, that washes us white as snow. It is Truth that changes a person when we know we’re nothing, but in Christ Jesus, He becomes our everything!
SECOND, GENUINE FAITH IS NO LONGER IN OPPOSITION TO GOD, LIKE THE DEVIL IS, OR DISAGREEABLE TO HIS WORD, WAY, OR WILL, BUT LIVES IN A CONTINUAL LIFESTYLE OF SUBMISSION AND OBEDIENCE.
Jesus had said in Mark 7:27 that “deliverance is the children’s bread,” but Sara said: “Verse 28, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”
Do you remember when David had been approached by Nathan, and Nathan pointed the divine finger of calling upon David to repent and get his heart right before Holy God? David didn’t balk, he bowed. David didn’t fight, he fell. David didn’t resent or resists, he received. Didn’t he say in Psalm 51:6, “Behold, You [God] desire truth in the inward parts” – and he faithed God’s cleansing of His heart!
The woman in Mark 7? “Yes, Lord; Truth, Lord; forgiveness, Lord; I am as a dog, Lord, a little dog, but so desirous of even the crumbs from Your table!”
Jesus said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread, and throw it to the dogs.” But she wisely responded, “Yes, Lord, I would not want a child of Yours to be deprived of bread to feed me and my child. I agree. The children must first be fed and then the dogs after dinner…This is Israel’s time and the Gentiles will come later. I agree.”
Agreement always opens the door of blessing. Agreement always releases Heaven’s power. Agreement always channels the will of God into human need. Amos 3:3 says, “Can two walk together except they be agreed?”
THIRD, GENUINE FAITH IS PERSISTENT. Does Verse 26 in Mark 7 tell us, “and she kept asking Him to cast the demon out of her daughter”? And in verse 27, Jesus said to her – and kept on saying to her! Then in verse 28 the mother said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the little dogs under the table eat from the children’s crumbs.”
A “Yes, Lord” over and over is seen in this passionate mother, sold out on the Truth that only Jesus could free her demonized daughter from her demonic possession. She asked and she kept on asking, she cried out and kept on crying out!
You do understand that there are many who live with the counterfeit of outward allegiance apart from the desire for Jesus to be Himself in them – but not this mother! Yes, she knew Jesus was able not only to forgive sin but able to deliver her daughter from the demon powers – and she wasn’t going to quiet down and walk away – she wanted Jesus to be Himself in her daughter’s need of deliverance. “Jesus You are able. My daughter needs Your deliverance mercy and grace – and I’m here before You until You do!”
FOURTH, GENUINE FAITH IS VICTORIOUS. In Matthew 15:28 we read, “O woman, great is your faith! Let it be to you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.”
In Mark 7:29 Jesus said to her, “For this saying go your way; the demon has gone out of your daughter.”
In “Spurgeon’s Sermons,” [Memorial Library, Vol.10, p.377] the great preacher of England said: “This woman is a lesson to all who consider themselves outsiders, who think themselves beyond the pale of hope, who were brought up without any religious guidance or relevance, who’ve been neglected for so long. This poor woman is a Sidonian: she comes of a race that had been condemned to die many centuries before, one of the accused of Canaan, and yet for all that she became great in the Kingdom of heaven because she believed and there is no reason why those who feel outside the church of God can’t be in the center of it.”
I John 5:4 says, “For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.”
Hebrews 11:33 says, “Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions.”
Oh, and then, Daniel 3:17 says, “If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king.”
George Mueller wrote it: “What Is Faith?” “Faith is the eye, by which we look to Jesus. A dim-sighted eye is still an eye; a weeping eye is still and eye….
Faith is the hand with which we lay hold of Jesus. A trembling hand is still a hand. And he is a believer whose heart within him trembles when he touches the hem of the Savior’s garment, that he may be healed….
Faith is the tongue by which we taste how good the Lord is. A feverish tongue is, nevertheless, a tongue, and, even then, we may believe when we are without the smallest portion of comfort; for our faith is founded, not upon feeling, but upon the promises of God….
Faith is the foot by which we go to Jesus. A lame foot is still a foot. He who comes slowly, nevertheless comes.”
Mark 7:25! “For a woman whose young daughter had an unclean spirit heard about Jesus, and she came and fell at Jesus’ feet.” Tell me about YOUR “position” before Jesus!
Do you remember Jesus saying to Martha, “Did I not say to you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?” John 11:40. I say to you with all my heart: “Rest your faith in Jesus who is victorious over any demon you face, even over the devil himself!
CHAPTER NINE
BEWARE!
I’m sure that you are at least familiar with the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:15 when He said, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”
That, dear friend, is a worthy, vital, life-saving word from our Lord and Savior, necessary to awaken us concerning “false prophets” who have been deceived, equipped, and trained by the devil himself or the slaves under his domination! You have “Sodoms” because of Satan. You have “Gomorrahs” because of s godless devil.
In Jude 6-7 the Word tells us: “And the angels [fallen angels, demons] who did not keep their proper [or own] domain, but left their own abode, He has reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day; as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities around them in a similar manner to these, HAVING GIVEN THEMSELVES OVER TO SEXUAL IMMORALITY and gone after STRANGE FLESH, are set forth as an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire.”
Can you even begin to fathom the fullness and ferocious and fatal significance of “suffering the vengeance of eternal fire” which is a fire that never ceases and the death that will not die? “BEWARE”!
I really don’t know all that birthed some of John Milton’s words in “Paradise Lost”, [Bk.IV,l.73], but at least for a period of time in his life he didn’t know about ‘BEWARE’! He wrote: “Which way shall I fly Infinite wrath and Infinite despair?…
Which way I fly is hell; myself am hell; and in the lowest deep a lower deep, Still threatening to devour me, opens wide, To which the hell I suffer seems a heaven.”
Are you aware or have you been alerted recently to the disease of fleshly pride, or the gaudiness of vain-self-glory, or the deathliness of hypocrisy in the midst of ‘play-acting’? It’s Proverbs 16:18 that tells us, “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall!”
I was so amazed when I came across a statement made by Sir Charles Villiers Stanford in “Encyclopedia of Religious Quotations” edited and compiled by Frank S. Mead, [Fleming H. Revell Com., Westwood, NJ, pps. 328-329]. Stanford wrote:
“Human excellence, apart from God, is like the fabled flower which, according to the Rabbis, Eve plucked when passing out of Paradise. Severed from its native root, it is only the touching memorial of a lost Eden – sad while charming and beautiful, but dead.” “BEWARE”!
Haven’t you sensed around you the deathly dilemma of self-willed disobedience in many people who don’t know, have no desire to know, the miracle attitude of heart that guided Samuel? It’s found in I Samuel 4:10 as God had called his name, and Samuel responded: “Speak, Lord, for Your servant hears.” But, sadly, many have chosen the disease of spiritual deafness to both God’s voice and His Holy Word! “BEWARE”!
“BEWAREW”! You’ve seen it as you went by a house, fenced and gated, with that sign. You’ve probably seen the sign as it says: “Beware of the dog.” And I don’t know of any person who sees it and refuses to “beware” when he comes upon it!
There are times that it’s a word of warning for more than dogs. Jesus was concerned about His chosen 12 disciples initially in his earthly circle. They were so vulnerable, so young in the faith, so easily influenced by sincere but sincerely wrong teachers.
But the message was not only for His 12 disciples but for all believers. WE ARE TO “TAKE HEED,” “BEWARE,” “BE ALERT,” “BE ON GUARD.”
We had a drill, both in high school and college football, to keep you alert. Twelve teammates would surround you in a circle – you never knew where the “charge” would come from, but one of your teammates would charge! You had to learn to be sensitive to that charge with “eyes in the back of your head and wide-open ears” to hear even their first step!
I remember Jerry Sapp coming home from Viet Nam. His family was a part of the church I pastored in Ocala, Florida. Jerry was a ‘green beret’ – he lived with the Montenards – and he told me he stayed alive by identifying ‘smells’. “BEWARE”!
In you, as a soldier of the Cross, you better major on your spiritual senses development to protect you from your enemies! Have you learned to “smell the devil and his demons”? Great victory comes when we know what we’re guarding against!
FIRST, BEWARE OF FALSE TEACHINGS. In Mark 8:15 we read, Then Jesus charged them, saying, “Take heed, beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod.” And then in Mark 8:21 He said, “How is it you do not understand?”
Our Lord and Savior, our Counselor, our Master-Teacher alerts every true disciple of the Pharisaical ‘deception’. In Matthew 3:7 He called them a generation of vipers and condemned them for their impertinence. In Matthew 5:20 He condemned their ‘work-righteousness’ void of True Faith.
In Matthew 9:12 Jesus upbraided them for their pride against others. Are you aware of a “loveless spirit” toward others? What about Luke 7:30? The Pharisees and lawyers “rejected the will of God for themselves, not having been baptized by John.” In Luke 16:14 the Pharisees were so in love “with money”, they had no room to love Jesus or His Truth because covetousness had captured them!
Are you familiar at all with the “deceived” who teach that Jesus was in a league with the devil? So, our Lord and Savior challenged them in Matthew 23:27, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly but inside are full of dead men’s bones and uncleanness.”
But, how do YOU know? Jesus said in Matthew 23:28, “Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.”
Look at Matthew 22:29 where Jesus told the “SAD-YOU-SEES,” “You are mistaken (deceived, err), not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.”
Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:13-17 the following for us in this modern day of, yes, major deception! “Evil men and imposters will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them….
And that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus….
All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
My New King James version of the Bible introduces the Book of Hebrews in this way: “Many Jewish believers, having stepped out of Judaism into Christianity, want to reverse their course in order to escape persecution by their countrymen. The writer of Hebrews exhorts them to “go on to perfection.” (Hebrews 6:1).
Examine Hebrews 5:12-14! “For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food….
For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use (practice) have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.”
“Beware of false teachings”? Years ago my wife, Sue, and I were attending an Evangelism Conference, I believe, in Atlanta, Georgia, where we ran into a dear, dear brother pastor that I had been a classmate of at Baylor University and also Southwestern Seminary in Ft. Worth, Texas, whose name is Lewis Abbott.
Lewis introduced us to a friend of his named Harry Dent Sr. Harry was led to the Lord by his daughter. He was an attorney but worked for years in Washington, DC, during the Nixon administration. After coming to the Lord, and, yes, his disapproval of what he saw in Washington, he decided to move back home.
Chuck Colson, after Harry’s conversion, encouraged him not to get on the “speaker-circuit” but to go to Southeastern Seminary and get himself grounded in the Word of God. His daughter encouraged the same thing. Upon his conversion event, he was in God’s Word faithfully, but was still not well-grounded as yet.
In seminary he had a lady PhD professor teaching a class. In the early beginning of the class, this seminary teacher said: “Jesus was not divine – and never said He was!” Harry, young in faith, stood up to say to her, “You’re wrong. He did tell us!” The professor responded, “Where?” Harry didn’t know for sure, but said, “I think it was in John’s Gospel.” False teaching? In a seminary? By an unbelieving PhD?
James said, in James 3:13-17, “Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show by good conduct that his works are done in the meekness of wisdom. But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth….
This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there….
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield [that’s yielding to God and His Word!], full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy [or play-acting].”
SECOND, BEWARE OF DOGS. That’s Paul in Philippians 3:2 where he said, “Beware of dogs, [or unbelievers!] beware of evil workers, beware of the mutilation!”
He had encountered true believers earlier in Philippians 1:28, “and not in any way terrified by your adversaries, which is to them a proof of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that from God.”
The word ‘perdition’ Paul used is a Greek word, apolia, meaning a ruin or loss – damnable, destructive, dying – a waste! That’s what “dogs” do, and their unbelieving attitude and walk is evident – it’s even destructive, harmful, and damaging! Look at 2 Corinthians 6:14-16!
“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness or lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?….
And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God….”
Do you remember Paul’s words to Timothy about Alexander the coppersmith? In 2 Timothy 4:14-15 we hear Paul’s concern for an enemy of Christ and His Cross and Jesus’ servants! “Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him for his works. You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words.”
William Cullen Bryant, in his writing “The Battle-Field,” said: “Truth, crushed to earth, shall rise again; The eternal years of God are hers; But Error, wounded, writhes in pain, and dies among his worshippers.”
That, my friends, is the end result of a “dog’s deceit” and their destructive bites at Truth and Truth-tellers!
THIRD, BEWARE OF COVETOUSNESS. In Luke 12:15 Jesus said, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
And yet, how many do you know who brazenly say, “Oh, Yes it is!” In I Timothy 6:6-10 Paul taught Timothy, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out….
And having food and clothing, with these we shall be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which DROWN MEN IN DESTRUCTION AND PERDITION….
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pressed themselves through with many sorrows.”
How awakening is that “shock-wave” to a greedy world? And what did Jesus tell us in Matthew 6:19-21? Read it intently, prayerfully, examining your own heart as to what has truly captured you!
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal….
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
You do understand and are fully aware that covetous people have no confidence in God but only in the size of their back accounts! Oh, some have “fleshly ideals” but “heavenly visions” are absent from their planned program of earthly pleasures. And it’s a sad reality that covetous people are sooner or later overcome by the bankruptcy of moral incentives!
It was Orin Philip Gifford who said: “Ahab sold himself for a vineyard, Judas, a bag of silver, Achan a wedge and a garment, Gehazi, silver and raiment. Are you for sale?”
FOURTH, BEWARE OF FALLING FROM YOUR STEADFASTNESS. Peter challenged us in 2 Peter 3:17 when he said, “You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked.”
To the church at Ephesus and even the church worldwide today, Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:”14, “that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting….”
Does that shock you? Are you aware of demonic plotting and devilish pushing in you to toss you about with winds of ‘doctrine’, rather than cemented in God’s Word of Truth? Have you ever witnessed the ‘trickery of men’ who profess allegiance when their only desire is to lead untrained women in fleshly adultery? Sadly, I’ve witnessed that ‘move’ in a few compromising pastors!
This is why Paul wrote in Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”
Our Savior and Lord said in John 15:9, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide, remain, continue in My love.”
How did the writer of Hebrews describe the steadfastness which ought to envelop every believer’s walk? Hebrews 12:1-2 tells us, “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the Cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand throne of God.” AMEN?
FIFTH, BEWARE LEST YOU FORGET THE LORD. In Deuteronomy 6:12 Moses challenged Israel and us, “then BEWARE lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.”
Have you grasped understanding of your old sin nature when the chains rattled so freely and scarred you so deeply? Have you forgotten or never realized that “the wages of sin is death,” and that “all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God”?
This is why the prophet Jeremiah wrote in Jeremiah 3:21, “A voice was heard on the desolate heights, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have PERVERTED their way; they have forgotten the Lord their God.”
And then he challenged our sinful world as he heard God speak, in the next verse, “Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.”
If you ever studied human history at all, you understand, you know that EVEN A NATION CAN FORGET GOD! In Psalm 9:17 the inspired Word tells us, “The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” God intended human nature and nations to be the very habitation of His divine presence, purpose, and power, but governments guided by godless men forgot, fought against, and failed in implementing through their leadership eternal presence and purpose.
And, yes, A HOME CAN FORGET GOD and close the door to His plan for Godly families. In Psalm 132:10, at some point in my spiritual journey, I initiated that verse. Later, I wrote “for my family’s sake.” It says, “For Your servant David’s sake [and me and my family], do not turn away the face of Your Anointed [Messiah}.”
It is God’s holy desire to be the Sovereign Leader over every family! Wouldn’t you believe or understand that, if Holy God had been Sovereign Leader over every home, divorce would become a strange term in every nation?
A CHURCH CAN, SADLY, EVEN PUT GOD ASIDE! And, I wonder, with names of churches boldly advertised for public awareness, if some of them should be titled “ICHABOD” because of departure from Truth, from the Holy Spirit, and from the calling “to make disciples”!
In I Samuel 4:19-22 there is the story of Phinehas’ wife who was with child. When the child was born, verse 21 tells us, she named the child Ichabod, saying, “The glory has departed from Israel.”
Read carefully Psalm 78 :56-61 and reflect upon some of the churches needing your intercession! It says: “Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God, and did not keep His testimonies, but turned their back and acted unfaithfully like their fathers; they were turned aside like a deceitful bow….
For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, and moved Him to jealousy with their carved images. When God heard this, He was furious, and greatly abhorred Israel,….
So that He forsook the tabernacle of Shiloh, the tent He had places among men, and delivered His strength into captivity, and His glory into the enemy’s hand.” TELL, Me, IS YOUR CHURCH FREE OR IN BONDAGE?
A LIFE CAN FORGET GOD! In Hebrews 12:7-11 we read awakening words of divine inspiration: “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?….
But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid themrespect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father os spirits and live?….
For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”
A believer’s life without God the Father in full control is what Oswald Chambers called on who lives with “the strut of the spiritual prig.”
SIXTH, BEWARE OF YOUR NUMBER ONE ENEMY. And if you’re not sure who that is, let me share with you I Peter 5:6-11!
“Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you….
Be sober, be vigilant; because YOUR ADVERSARY THE DEVIL walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing THAT THE SAME SUFFERINGS ARE EXPERIENCED BY YOUR BROTHERHOOD IN THE WORLD….
But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. To Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.”
Can you say AMEN to GOD the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit? Will you “fight the fight of redemptive faith,” yes, even against the devil and his demons?
CHAPTER TEN
THE RELEVANCE OF CHRIST IN A DEMONIZED WORLD
In Philippians 3:7-8 Paul challenges every true disciple about his personal witness and warfare in his spiritual journey. He said: “But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.”
Would you personally choose Christ for yourself in the midst of a demonized world or just surrender to the fallen flesh of your old sin nature to be dominated by the devil?
It’s so very clear through the revelation of God’s Holy Word that Jesus won His battle over Satan in behalf of thye people God made, lost, and the bought out of bondage by the blood of the Lamb of God shed on Mount Calvary!
Again, I want you to examine carefully Matthew 4:1-11! Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wildrenenn to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry….
NOW WHEN THE TEMPTER CAM TO HGIM, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” But Jesus answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’….
Then the devil took Him up into the holy city, set Him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down. For it is written: ‘He [God] shall give His angels charge over You,’ and ‘In their hands they shall bear you up, lest you dash your foot against a stone.’”….
Jesus said to him, “It is written again, ‘You shall not tempt the Lord your God.’” Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.”….
Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
I’m sure that YOU are aware of Christ and that YOU know about the devil and demon forces! At least if you’ve read the book this far, it’s for certain, at least, that YOU want to know about “the relevance of Christ in a demonized world”!
It’s been years ago, I believe the mid to late 1960’s when I pastored a church in the east Phoenix area on the very border with Scottsdale, Arizona. Evangelist James Robison did an area-wide Phoenix crusade. In one of the services James said: “The more we think of Jesus, the less we think of ourselves. We don’t think much of Jesus, do we?”
It’s also been years ago, while on vacation, on a Sunday afternoon, that Sue and I watched a religious program that dealt with the relevance of the church in our world today. It was a Protestant minister and four or five young people. Some were for the church, but some felt the church had failed. But the thing that so amazed me was the fact that in the entire program the name of Jesus Christ was mentioned only once as they talked about the relevance of the church today.
I want to major in this chapter on “The Relevance of Christ In A Demonized World.” The word ‘relevance’ relates to, according to the Dictionary, “bearing upon the matters at hand – pertinent – applicable.” In other words, “meaningful to your life, your witness, your ministry as a true believer in Christ in your world today.”
When I speak of the relevance of Christ, I’m not talking about ‘Churchianity’, but about “CHRIST-I-ANITY.” I’m not talking about nominal Christianity, though I’m sure it would be contemporary. I’m not speaking about ‘fair weather friends,’ although I’m sure we’d describe a percentage of the church today.
I’m not speaking about what Dietrich Bonhoeffer, martyr in Hitler’s reign of terror of World War II, when he spoke of “cheap grace.” That would today probably be seen as superficial religion, watered-down religion of baptism and church membership with no emphasis of true commitment of one’s life to the Savior and Lord as “disciples, witnesses, true grace followers.”
I will not be speaking about what one writer described as shoddy, substitute, second-hand faith. And I’m not talking about a disengaged gospel where one claims to be a ‘team member’ but never walks out or participates in the very Oneness of Life in Christ.
I’m not talking about a once-a-week retreat behind stained glass windows as one’s understanding of the fulfillment of their religious duty. I’ll be sharing about “soldiers of the Cross,” “ambassadors of Christ,” “witnesses to our world,” “testifiers of Redemptive Truth,” yes, the very army of God with Christ Jesus as our commanding officer! WHAT ABOUT OUR WORLD TODAY?
Unless somehow you’ve been (still) spiritually blinded, we all are a part of a sin-sick society, with a troubled majority, a war-torn world, dissatisfied, discontented, searching, maybe, because of their own broken lives, homes, and hearts.
We’re part of a people searching for peace through pills, pot, pleasure, prosperity, and the perilous channels of alcoholic drinks. We move among the “masses” who’ve made money their “god”, part of a materialistic-minded men who think life does consist in the abundance of what a man possesses.
We live in the ‘language’ of “Now”, determined to ignore a never-ending life. They live in the language of ‘me’ – not Him. They live in the language of sex – not marriage. They live in the language of anything goes, circumventing the Law of God with no guilt, no shame, and no sorrow!
It, sadly, is too often a racially torn world where personal prejudices have violated the longings of God: “God has made of one blood all the nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth,’ in peace not peril, in trust of one another not mistrust, in love not hate, in friendship, not enmity! Yet many today, all over the world, walk the streets of fear, failure, frustration, faithlessness, and fighting!
We are a part of generations that have gloriously conquered outer space, yet the majority are miserably missing out on the victory of a conquered inner self! The following are old statistics given by Paul Harvey before his death. He was a gifted, talented, well-informed radio and TV commentator. He said:
“There are 116 million churches in the U.S., more thanh ever before, an increase of 30 per cent in 10 years, yet at the same time,;;;;
Illegitimacy has increased 300%, pornography in the nation is now billions a year, venereal disease 72% in one year,….
Crime bills in the U.S. increased over 20 billion a year, increasing 4 times faster than the population explosion, juvenile crime increases 5 times faster….
For every dollar spent on churches that’s $12,000 on crime. The divorce rate is about 1 out of 3 marriages….
There are an estimated 10 million alcoholics with millions of problem-drinkers unknown….
Combine all monies spent on religion, education, medicine, automobiles, we still give to gamblers more money than all those put together….
Then Paul Harvey said, “Ours is the most civilized, Christianized nation on earth, yet 37 million of our children receive absolutely no religious instruction.”
We, in 2015, have increased dramatically and sadly every statistic Paul Harvey lamented about! What a sad, sad world – yet for the True and only Redemptive Faith our “saving faith” is an eternal world of divine opportunity and hope: “the whole earth groans and travails in pain,” but, “there is a Balm in Gilead”!
From ‘world sadness’ let’s examine YOU, US, WE, one by one as we examine whether or not we’re FREE, FULFILLED, and FIGHTING THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH!
Some have to go by the name of “John Q. Public” because our eyes are centered on what the world around us have to offer. Some of us have to be called “Mr. Satisfied” because, out for ourselves, without God, they’ve done pretty well.
Some have inserted, been enslaved, have a middle name that is entitled, “do-as-I-please”! You do remember our earlier study where Jesus met the ‘wild man’ and asked his name. He said: “My name is Legion, for we are many”! Legion means what ? 6000 demons destructively working as One!
Please remember, reflect, and re-evaluate what you want your identity to be for eternity! We know: God created us in His own image, SIN invaded the human heart, the devil deceived fallen mankind and dictates to a defiled, diseased, defiant lifestyle against Holy God! Yes, fallen man is Legion – many fallen identities! “Dr. Jekyl and Mr. Hyde,” at times called “Mr. Lustful,” and it rings a bell.
Some respond to the name envy, jealous, fearful, falsehood, faithless, indifferent to God, with others familiar with the name of proud, greedy, hateful, angry, hypocrite, covetous, resentful, embittered.
Does the name unbeliever ring a bell? How about disobedient, rebel, missed-the-mark, Mr. fall-short, superficial, secondary who majors on minors! Our names? What about: “for-all-have-sinned-and-fall-short- of-the-glory-of-God?”
And, yes, we know about where we choose to live, don’t we? For some, it was the wilderness of want, a walk through a garden of guilt, a drive on the avenue of anxiety, a climb up the mountain of meaninglessness, or anchoring our ship in the harbor of hopelessness, or sailing on the sea of shame, or our ‘missile’ launched into the space of a misspent life – and can you believe it? Some are satisfied in the prison house of sin, shame, with self in total bondage to the devil, in spiritual chains locked into a life that they don’t even know they can be free from because they ignore Jesus and give the devil the ground of control in them he so desires!
Yes, some are sleeping in the bed of personal satisfaction, or choosing to walk on their own on the street of self-indulgence. But I want you to know if you’re really satisfied, blessed, or fulfilled by the lifestyle you’ve chosen – do you know, without Christ, that life will never reach higher than the limits of your sinful self – without saving faith in Jesus, you’ll never know God’s forgiveness and you’ll never know freedom from the chains and powers of the devil and his demons! Oh, but then….
WHAT ABOUT JESUS?
It was Maltbie D. Babcock who once wrote: “God be thanked for that good and perfect gift, the gift unspeakable: His life, His love, His very self in Christ Jesus.”
Didn’t Jesus Himself say, clearly, in John 10:30, “I and My Father are one”? He prayed to Father-God in John 17:11, “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one AS WE ARE ONE…”
Didn’t the prophet Isaiah call Jesus, “Emmanuel,” which means “God with us”? What did the beloved John tell us in John 1:1-5?
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” “Darkness” did not comprehend Jesus then – darkness does not comprehend Jesus now!
In John 1:9-13 we read, “That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him…
He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name; who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
If Christ Jesus is the One who says, “Come to Me and I will give you rest,” then what or who is involved when we determine, “it’s the best effort of our reach after God that makes the difference.’! No! A thousand times, No! Jesus not only willingly went to the Cross in our behalf, He took your best and worst self with Him, and YOU were crucified with Him!
Oswald Chambers said in his “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.140], “We utilize God for the sake of getting peace and joy, that is, we do not want to realize Jesus Christ, but only our enjoyment of Him.” Chambers was so right – most will believe in Jesus apart from their awareness of “crucified with Christ”! Jesus?
- JESUS IS LORD OF CREATION. As God said in Genesis, “Let Us create the world…”, and Jesus was there! As God said, “Let Us make man in Our image…”, Jesus was there.
As God shaped the universes, Jesus was there! As God molded the mountains, Jesus was there. As God flung out the stars by the word of His power, Jesus was there.
As God carved out the oceans, seas, rivers, and streams, Jesus was there. As God breathed sweet breath into the animal kingdom, Jesus was there. As God dotted the valleys with His glorious beauty in the flower world, Jesus was there. As God breathed life into man, the breath of life, Jesus was there!
- JESUS IS LORD OF THE CROSS. John 3:16-17 tells us, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
What did Paul tell us in Romans 5:8? “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Jesus burst the boundaries of Heaven itself and came to walk with mankind! Yes, He was born of the Virgin Mary because He was born of God, not of fleshly mankind.
Jesus was raised in Nazareth, baptized in the Jordan, tempted in the wilderness, healed the multitudes, ministered to the masses, fed the hungry, preached the kingdom of God.
Oh, and then they took Him, but willingly He laid His life down, was crucified on Golgatha, place d in a borrowed tomb, arose from the dead, as Lord of both death and eternal life.
I remember Dr. Lockridge, the great black preacher from California, a man I loved to hear over and over again. On one occasion I heard him preaching: “Jesus is….
The Pearly from Paradise, the Gem from Gloryland, Truth’s fairest Jewel, Time’s choicest Theme, Life’s strongest Cord, Light’s clearest Day, Purity’s whitest Peak, Joy’s deepest Tide, Glory’s stateliest Summit. His name is like honey to the taste, harmony to the ear, health to the soul, and hope to the heart – In His birth is our significance, our life, our example our death, and our resurrection to eternal hope!”
- Jesus is Lord of the Crown – Philippians 3:10-11 tells us, “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
Oh, please hear me! There is no power of His resurrection apart from your identity in His death on the Cross! And because of that eternal truth, I’m not waiting – I’m bowing down and crying out, yes, ‘Holy is my Lord and Savior’; I confess and keep on confessing Him, right now, as Lord of my life and my eternal future; I acknowledger and surrender to His Lordship. I will testify of His Name. I will fear Him for His power, I will trust Him for His wisdom, His guidance, His goodness, His greatness, and I will adore and praise Him because of His blessed Holiness and Righteousness.
Plus, AS TO HIS RELEVANCE, FOR US ALL IN OUR WORLD OF TODAY, I CHOOSE TO CONTINUALLY REPENT AND TO REST IN HIS FINISHED WORK AT THE CROSS IN MY BEHALF.
Do you understand ‘punitive relevance’? – that’s “Christ forgiving the guilty by His shed blood on the Cross”! Romans 5:6 declares, “Christ died for the ungodly…” Romans 5:8 says, “Christ died for us…” In I Corinthians 15:3 Paul says, “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.”
And then in 2 Corinthians 5:15 Paul so illumines divine purpose in and through Christ for us all. He wrote: “And that He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died and rose again for them.” What’s the Message?
Christ forgives the guilty, removes our sins as far as the east is from the west, then casts them into the sea of God’s forgetfulness! We repent, we receive Christ as Lord and Savior, the Father accepts us, and justifies us [justified, or accepted “Just-as-if-I’d-never-sinned!], and we praise and honor Holy God with our walk of faith, trust, and obedience!
“Could my tears forever flow, could my zeal no languor know, these for sin cannot atone, Christ must save, and Christ alone.”
What about ‘practical relevance’? In Galatians 2:20-21a Paul tells us all: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved us and gave Himself for us…I do not set aside the grace of God…”
Are you aware and have you appreciated ‘powerful relevance’? In Acts 1:8, before Jesus’ Ascension after His Resurrection, He said to His disciples and us, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Do you remember Simon Peter? In I Peter 1:5 he wrote, “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.”
‘Permanent relevance’? Oh, I tell you that that Truth is so uplifting and comforting! When Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you always,” or “I’ll never leave you or forsake you,” we erupt in praise and thanksgiving!
“There’s not a day that passes, there’s not an hour goes by, but that we have sweet fellowship, my blessed Lord and I!” [I don’t know who wrote that, but it blesses me!].
There is also ‘purposeful relevance’. Jesus said, “I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly!”
There is also a ‘peaceful relevance.’ In John 14:27 our Lord said to all disciples, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you; not as the world gives, I give to you ‘peace that passes all understanding.’”
These last few pages in this chapter are REAL, RELEVANT, RIGHT, RICH, ROYAL, AND REWARDING! Why? Because Christ Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords!
We’ve seen, “What About Our World Today?” We’ve seen, “You, Us, We”! We’ve seen, What About Jesus?”
But, last of all, in this chapter, let’s briefly look at “WHAT ABOUT THE DEVIL?” You do remember earlier in this book study we saw in Matthew 4:1 that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” [If you’re thorough enough in your studies, you’ll find Jesus facing every testing or temptation that all fallen and redeemed humanity face!]
Ephesians 4:27 is as clear as ever, “do not give place [or opportunity] [or “toe-hold”] to the devil” in your life and walk!
Then, get “dressed up”!! Ephesians 6:11 says, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day against the wiles of the devil.” As a disciple of Christ, as a soldier of the Cross, warfare with the powers of darkness is Satan’s strategy against you before you were ever born! But here’s your revelation of overcoming Satan!
Revelation 12:11 says, “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their own testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” AMEN? Yes! Amen!
Have you become aware though that the devil and his armies of defiant slaves of darkness even use the world’s ‘music’ and the world’s ‘television’ to capture minds, wills, and bodies with his possessing powers? I wrote the devil’s ‘take’ on a famous hymn, “All Hail The Power of Jesus’ Name.”
It says: “All hail the power of a worldling’s name, Let demons prostrate fall, let sinners prostrate fall; Bring forth a false diadem, and crown ourselves lord of our own lives…
You chosen seed of the devil’s clan, You prisoners of the fall, Hail him who captured by his lies, crown him lord of our fallen world…
Let every family, every tribe, On this disastrous fall, yes, on this disastrous fall, To hail the devil all misery release, crown him lord of the fall…
O that with young devilish clans, who at the devil’s feet will bow, we’ll join that off-key chorus, and celebrate godlessness as our call.”
Don’t you sense in our modern world a massive sinking into the sea of the devil’s deceptions? But there is one eternal truth I’m absolutely sure of: OUR LORD AND SAVIOR, JESUS CHRIST, ETERNALLY MASTERS DEEP WATER RESCUES!
Psalm 107:23 speaks of, “These [who] see the works of the Lord, and His wonders in the deep.”
I know that, when there are inward elemental eruptions on the sea of life, we can, musty, will, discover the works and wonders of God in those deep waters. Have you experienced the depths of bewilderment when you strayed into the ‘troubling depths’ of demonic activity?
When those winds and waves and troubling seas of adversity, pain, doubts, fears, sufferings, even deathly, demonic bondage sweep over you, do you know the One who speaks to you say to those waves, “Peace be still”? Hear me!
“When peace like a river attends your way Or sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever your lot, He has taught you to say, ‘It is well, It is well with your soul’!”
That’s when you eternally rest in Jesus’ victory over demon powers through His shed blood, His death, His Resurrection-never-ending Power of God!
Lewis E. Jones wrote this old hymn before I was even born! It’s entitled “There Is Power In The Blood”! It says:
Would you be free from the burden of sin? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Would you o’er evil a victory win? There’s wonderful power in the blood….
Would you be free from your passion and pride? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Would you o’er evil a victory win? There’s wonderful power in the blood…
Would you be whiter, much whiter than snow? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Sin stains are lost in its life-giving flow; There’s wonderful power in the blood…
Would you do service for Jesus your King? There’s power in the blood, power in the blood; Would you live daily His praises to sing? There’s wonderful power in the blood.”
Yes, your eternal life of faith was “blood-bought, blood wrought, blood purchase” through Christ Jesus alone on Mount Calvary. There’s no other way than the Way, the Truth, and the Life whose name is Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, “God with us”!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
DEVILISH DIVIDING OF DISCIPLES’ DEVOTION OR THE SAVIOR’S ASSAULTS ON THE DEVIL’S ATTACKS?
At times I have often wondered if fallen mankind or even “walk-both-sides- of-the street-disciples” look at Jesus and become convinced they really ‘know Him’, but then, because of their false assumptions, convince themselves, by their surface familiarity, they really ‘know Him’, when in reality, especially the devil, what he knows about Him convinces him He’s an irritant to devilish, fleshly faith, and should just be put to death.
You can rest assured that the devil really knows who Jesus is because Jesus was the vote that cast him out of heaven, along with his rebellious demons! And certainly the devil has no desire to see born-again believers spiritually prospering in a world he wanted to own, control, deceive, and disease with his mind and heart of rebellion to the Holy God he despises!
It is for certain that the devil has no desire for any man in any age group on any continent believing that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was and is Emmanuel, “God in flesh”, that he must continue to convince the fallen world he claims is his own, that Jesus was not divine, and if it happened, the continents of Christ would be darkened and void of heavenly light, holy love, and eternal hope and purpose, declining to a ‘living hell on earth’ -but, praise God, it isn’t going to happen because God’s Word, Will, Wisdom, and Ways, will never decline, or divide true disciples’ devotion!
Just recently I wrote these words: “It was the Cross where I saw His Light, and the Cross where I saw His might. The devil was stricken and his strategy smitten, because Jesus our Lord bound the devil’s hordes… The devil was stricken and his strategy smitten, because Jesus our Lord bound his hordes. The devil was smiling as Jesus was dying; but ‘futile’ is the Word of the devil’s trying….
The devil’s assault was to put Christ to death but through His Resurrection we find our rest….
Placed in the grave by the disciples of Christ, but three days later we see God’s better! Jesus was raised from death to New Life, the devil ended with only eternal strife….
Life and peace is Jesus’ Word to those who’d been so devilishly gored, as sin and death turned unto God who is forever adored!”
And why is our Lord so adored? Because God, Emmanuel, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, is not willing that any should perish but that ALL should come to repentance and faith!
If there are those who yield to the devil, yield to their old sin natures, yield to a diabolical love of the world – they’ll miss Jesus as Savior, and especially miss His assaults on the devil’s attacks!
But what we’re going to examine in this chapter initially is “the devil’s dividing of a seeker or a disciple’s devotion.” [Please remember, “Satan had a disrespect of Godly control with a desire for ruling control over himself and the world as he saw it under his evil domination.”
THE DEVIL’S DIVIDING STRATEGY? FIRST: THERE IS NO DOUBT OF HIS CHALLENGE FOR ALL TO IGNORE GOD’S INSPIRATIONAL, INSTRUCTIVE, INDESCRIBABLE BLESSING OF THE ETERNAL WORD!
I know that you are already familiar with what took place after the Godhead of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit “made Adam and Eve in their OWN IMAGE, ACCORDING TO OUR LIKENESS” with God giving them instruction to “be fruitful and multiply.”
[You do know and understand that the devil and his devotees of rebellious angels were removed from Heaven by the Godhead ‘assuming’ they’d build their ‘kingdom of darkness’ on the earth!]
When Jesus began His public ministry, we saw in Matthew 4:1 that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” We’re ALL tested by the Spirit related to whether or not WE STAND ON THE AUTHORITY OF GOD’S HOLY WORD!
Tragically, we know, fallen mankind fell into the “net” of demonic deception, deciding “God said” was not as important to them as the “love” of the world, the flesh, and the devil! When Jesus then, on the high pinnacle of the temple in the holy city, was challenged by the devil, Matthew 4:10 tells us: Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” And the devil left Him for a more opportune time.
I’m challenging you, right now, to examine and tell me about YOUR devotion to the Word of God or the lack of devotion to His Holy Word. What did Jesus Himself say to the “tempter” in Matthew 4:4? Jesus answered the devil saying, “It is written, ‘man shall not live by [physical] bread alone, but by eve4ry word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
But what does the devil seek to do to turn YOU away from, yes, a pure devotion to the Word of God, and turning you away from following Jesus in full surrender to God’s revealed will and eternal destiny for all through His precious, perfecting, pure, and powerful Word?
- Satan casts doubt continually on the Word of God! “Has God indeed said…?” Paul warns us in 2 Corinthians 11:3, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.”
And our Lord’s “simplicity”? Physical bread alone does not sustain life – but the Word of God births, blesses, and builds Godly faith that is eternal Tell me about your daily devotion to God’s Holy Word as your sustaining spiritual food!!
I tell you without a moment’s hesitation that Christ and His Holy Word are the greatest treasures a man in this dark world can ever have! [Examine Psalm 119!].
- Satan twists and distorts the Truth of God’s revealed Word. Did the devil ask Eve, in Genesis 3:2, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the devil did ask that without completing God’s word in Genesis 2:17, “but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die.”
God had commanded in Genesis 2:16, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat;…v.17, “…BUT…!”…”of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it, you shall surely die…”
If God says, and He does, “the wages of sin is death,” you don’t see yourself in a spiritual state of death separated from God? I don’t know who said it but I had recorded the following statement: “To hear truth and not accept it does not nullify truth.” The devil sought to twist, to distort, and, yes, to crucify Truth, but Truth stands Eternally!
It was Horace Mann who once said: “Keep forever in view the truth; and if you do this, though it may seem to lead you away from the opinion of men, it will assuredly conduct you to the throne of God.” How awesome is that!?! And where have you “conducted” yourself to? God’s throne or the devil’s trash-bin?
- Satan authors confusion. Genesis 3:3 says as the devil spoke to Eve she told him, “but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’”
Really? God didn’t say “nor shall you touch it, lest you die” – the Lord said, Genesis 2:16, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat of it: you shall surely die.”
How confusing is the devil even today when people hear ‘portions’ of truth but they never ‘put on truth’, adapting themselves to, say, ‘Church-i-anity’ without dying to self and truly putting on the Lord Jesus Christ? “I believe in Jesus Christ” one says, without ever letting the word of Christ dwell in them richly!
In Colossians 3:3-10 Paul wrote: “For you died, [Did YOU?], and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory…
Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry….
Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience, in which you yourselves once walked when you lived in them….
But now YOU YOURSELVES are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have PUT ON THE NEW MAN who is [being] renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him…” WOW!
What a holy calling when the devil only authors ‘confusion’!
- Satan inserts and intensifies “the Lie”! And you are not sure what ‘The Lie” really is? Look at Genesis 3:4, Then the serpent said to Eve, “You will not surely die.”
Paul was always straight-forward after his conversion! He met Christ on the Damascus Road and experienced eternal heart and life change. He later wrote in Romans 8:6, “To be carnally minded is death,” and he learned that after his confrontation by Christ with Paul because the Lord, yes, chose Paul, because the Lord Jesus knew his devotion as a Jewish rabbi had not, could not, would not bring new birth, new life, new hope, but “best-effort” only with the absence of divine breath, divine life, or divine forgiveness and eternal purpose.
“You will not surely die” because you sin, the devil says, when the Truth is, “the wages of sin is DEATH!” Death without Christ as Lord and Savior IS eternal human tragedy celebrated by the enemy of all mankind – the devil. But for the repentant man of faith and trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus, death is only the door to eternal Rest in Christ!
Isaac Watts, in “The Presence of God,” wrote: “His maker kissed his soul away, and laid his flesh to rest.” Yes, absent from the body means present with the Lord for those who reject the devil’s “Lie” and live only in Eternal Truth!
- Satan promotes unbelief and enticement to rebellion and disobedience to God’s revelation! In Genesis 3:6 His Holy Word tells us, “So when Eve saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant [a desirable thing], to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate.”
Wise and wounded, denying truth and deadly, rebellious and in need of regeneration, lame, limping, and live-less, ignoring that disobedience authors spiritual death and separation from God – that’s unbelieving, fallen, alienated, and separated men and women away from the Lover of their souls!
Desirable does not mean life-giving or life-sustaining. Even a PhD can mean ‘perilously-helpless’ (without the) Divine Lord and Savior!
- Satan’s ‘creative disability’ is the master-less design of “FIG-LEAF RELIGION”! Genesis 3:7 says, “Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked, and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings.”
Nothing like that going on today – Right? As a result of “fig-leaf religion” men hide themselves from His presence, even in man’s ‘creation’ of ‘religion’, and close their ears from the voice of the Lord!
THE DEVIL’S DIVIDING STRATEGY? WHAT ABOUT THE COMPROMISING OF ONE’S CONVICTIONS?
Do you see “compromising” as the dividing or splitting of Truth? That’s like the Old Testament in I Kings 3 when “splitting a living child in two” was deemed by some as reasonable!
And some never see that compromising one’s convictions of Holy Truth is disuniting one from relationship to that Truth! “Redemptive Reality” becomes a warped mind’s ‘gracious loss’ in order to gain ‘fleshly independence’ from ‘strange individuals’ who believe God’s Word is Truth!
And, certainly, the compromising of truth one has once held is nothing more than substituting one’s friendship with God for a degree of acceptance among fallen, unredeemed mankind around a person, who says, by action, “I’d rather be accepted by sinners than His saints or the Trinity!”
Though the Holy Word tells us in 2 Corinthians 5:21 that “God made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God,” it is not some surface-truth that doesn’t get to the heart, because the true interpretation of that verse is that Christ Jesus, by His sacrificial death, is not proving He is “for” me unless I want Him fully “in me.” [That’s Oswald Chambers’ statement in “My Utmost For His Highest,” p.224!].
If we are “partakers of His divine nature,” then how, why, do some ‘believers’ compromise with no desire to truly “escape the corruption of the world through lust”? [2 Peter 1:4].
Oh, I know our salvation walk is a “process”. This is why Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
But the “process” is not an excuse for compromise! The “process” does not mean that we don’t NOW stand in Christ “complete”! But the devil does not want YOU to know, right now, in this stage of your walk with Christ, that YOU are more than conqueror!
THE DEVIL’S DIVIDING STRATEGY? WHAT ABOUT THE DIMMING OF YOUR DAILY DISCIPLINE? You do understand that it infuriates the devil when he sees a true believer praying, feeding on the Word, yielding to the Spirit, taking the sentence of death unto himself daily that the Resurrection Life of Jesus will be manifested in his mortal flesh, and, like Paul, choosing the Cross so the Christ will be unveiled in us and through us!
I assure you that “daily discipline” is not a piece of cake and a dish of enjoyable ice cream! In 2 Corinthians 5:2-9 Paul wisely wrote: “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven,….
If indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked. For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life….
Now He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who also has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. So we are always confident knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith, not by sight….
For we are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Therefore we make it our aim, whether present or absent, to be well pleasing to Him.”
“The dimming of your daily discipline?” Do you think it may be because one has personally chosen or deceived by the devil that it isn’t necessary to continuously “walk in the light as He is in the light”? Didn’t Paul say in 2 Corinthians 5:9 that his spiritual ambition was “to be well pleasing to Him”?
What did Paul say in I Corinthians 9:27? “But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” But you do understand the danger of one who desires “excessive ambition in the flesh: over “approval of Holy God”!
CONSIDER ALSO THE DENYING OF THE DYNAMIC OF GOD’S PROVISION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. Thank God for the Apostle Paul! And I say that because I see such divine transformation and life-change of one who was a Rabbi! As a former pastor and missionary, I was and still am awed by his reception of and ministry through the Holy Spirit!
In 2 Corinthians 2:1-5 Paul wrote, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellency of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony opf God. For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified….
I was with you in weakness and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”
Think with me for a moment: Are you aware of what it truly means to BE “broken bread and poured out wine”? Hear me! Your life will never be God-honoring and a God-blessing to your woprld around you apart from Holy Spirit-Anointing! Here’s what Oswald Chambers said: “If you are rightly devoted to the Lord Jesus, you have reached the sublime height where no one ever thinks of noticing you, all that is noticed is that the power of God comes through you all the time.” [“My Utmost…p238].
Didn’t Paul ask: “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?” And what about Romans 8:26? Paul tells us, “Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
[Why don’t you do a thorough word study on the Holy Spirit in your biblical Concordance? You’ll be awed!].
THE DEVIL’S DIVIDING OF A DISCIPLE’S DEVOTION? Please understand that THE DEVIL WANTS YOU EXEMPTED FROM THE MINISTRY OF EVANGELISM AS ONE’S TRUE EXPRESSION OF REDEMPTIVE FAITH.
You are already aware of Jesus’ promise of the Holy Spirit’s watch-care over your journey of faith, but in that promise Jesus also said the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon you and in you was to be through you, equipping you to be a faithful witness of His saving grace! That’s Acts 1:8!
Without a doubt, true spiritual nobility is a disciple, saved by grace through faith, who understands the calling of Christ upon his life to be a redemptive witness to a lost and broken world around him.
You are to be, yes, a fountain of living water, poured out to a needy and desperate and thirsty world around you. But the devil is a master-deceiver who tells you, “You can’t witness and win others. Don’t you know how mentally deficient you are; don’t you know your density compared to those around you; your crowd is more superior than you – you’ll disgrace Jesus!” And that’s all lies out of the midget mind of the devil, defeated by Jesus through His death, burial, and resurrection! “You shall be My witnesses!”
I can only ask you: “Are you gripped by a deep love for the world around you because you know it is for those that Christ died?” You need to know that upon your salvation experience of forgiveness, re-birth, reconciliation with God, that He commissions you “to reveal His Son” in me and through me, in you and through you, in the church and through the church! LIVING WITNESSES OF SAVING GRACE THROUGH CHRIST!
“God so loved the world,” knowing the world would crucify His Son! “God so loved the world,” but the devil diffuses doubt and unbelief and seeks to block at every opportunity any sharing of the “good news”. “God so loved the world,” and in hate the devil profanes and opposes the witnesses of saving grace and loving mercy extended to a lost and dying world.
When it comes to disciples of Jesus sharing their faith with others, the devil himself, because of his hellish pride, because of his despising of holy truth and sacrifice, and because of his demonic envy, will let true witnesses to know that “they are going to have Hell to pay,” but Jesus says His witnesses don’t owe him even a counterfeit coin at all!
THE DEVIL’S DIVIDING OF A DISCIPLE’S DEVOTION? THE DEVIL RATIONALIZES THE ROYAL, KINGLY, ETERNAL WORSHIP OF GOD AS WARPED WILLFULNESS WITH NO WORTH OR VALUE.
Dare I tell you that private or corporate worship is the holy ground of a man’s redeemed heart, alone on the backside of a desert, or amassed with men in a small or large church, but fully committed to honoring, praising, adoring, lifting up from mind and heart and voice God’s worthiness of man’s worship!
But worshipping God doesn’t please the devil even if it comes from an unredeemed soul! True worship though that raises the devil to an explosive state is when men KNOW “God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in Truth!”
The devil loves ‘worship’ as long as it is worship of him! Remember that Matthew 4:8-10 tells us, “Again, the devil took Jesus up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to Jesus, “All these things I will give You if you fall down and worship me.”….
Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’” Oh, the devil could “give” Jesus the kingdoms of the world and their glory? What does Revelation 20:10 tell us? “The devil who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”
In Philippians 3:3 Paul writes, “For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh [or old man or old sin nature!].”
In John 4:23-24 Jesus said, “…the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshippers will worship the Farther in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.” Amen?
Do you know and understand brokenness, humility, or an attitude of true liberty for what Jesus has graciously given to you? What about undefiled loyalty and love? What about true sacrifice on an altar where faithfully and regularly you lay it all down to the glory of God? What about re-born, renewed, refreshing of the inner man by God’s Spirit that revives your spirit-man? Have you been worshipping Him?
CHAPTER TWELVE
THE DEVIL AND THE BLOOD –FLOW OF JESUS!
The disciple, Peter, made a powerful statement in I Peter 4:17 when he said, “For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God?”
Does Peter’s words ring a bell of remembrance in you as to the words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21-23? Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven….
Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’….
And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness’!”
Do you know the intent of Satan related to you personally? He’ll accept your ‘religious activity’, or your ‘church involvement,’ or even your ‘ministerial care of others’ as long as you stay away from “BLOOD REDEMPTION”!
Oh, the devil was more than pleased as the religious leaders gave consent for the beating of Jesus, and he thought, yes, the end of His life and His existence – and, “I’ll be free as the devil should to build my orn kingdom of darkness!” “Crucify Him” was the devil’s battle-cry against God Almighty in the flesh!
Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper in Mark 14, and in verse 24, Jesus said: “This is My blood of the new covenant which is shed for many.” Jesus’ blood – shed for many! But then in John 19:32-35 we read, “Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who was crucified with Him….
But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.”
You are aware that there are those who oppose the truth of what many liberals call ‘slaughterhouse’ religion. But I want you to know, if you haven’t nailed it down for yourself, it was Sovereign God who decided: [Hebrews 9:22b, “Without shedding of blood there is no remission [forgiveness] of sin.” In fact, in verse 20, God had said, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded,” yes, pointing to His impending sacrifice of His Son for our sin, Jesus being our substitute for the penalty of our SIN and the consequences of sin’s diabolical nature!
It was Dwight L. Moody, in his “Best of Moody,” [p.57], who wrote, and preached: “I tell you the moment a man breaks away from this doctrine of blood [sacrifice], religion becomes a sham, because the whole teaching of this book is of one story, and this is that Christ came into the world and died for our sins.”
The following is only three verses of the older hymn entitled “There Is A Fountain,” written by William Cowper and Lowell Mason. It says:
“There is a fountain filled with blood Drawn from Immanuel’s veins; and sinners plunged beneath that flood, Lose all their guilty stains.
The dying thief rejoiced to see That fountain in his day; and there may I, though vile as he, Wash all my sins away.
Dear dying Lamb, Your precious blood Shall never lose its power, Till all the ransomed church of God Be saved to sin no more.”
I am very impressed with what Phillips Brooks wrote years ago. He said: “Never does human nature seem so courageous and so wicked all at once, as when we stand before the Cross of Jesus! The most enthusiastic hopes, the most profound humiliation, have found their inspiration there.”
And what about Charles Lamb’s statement? “If Shakespeare should come into this room, we would all rise; but if Jesus Christ should come in, we would all kneel.” Tell me about your “bowing” before the King of kings and the Lord of lords!
Do you see “faithful bowing” and “full surrender” and “free abandonment” of self to His control as, yes, eternal recognition that that is what Holy God did at the Cross as He gave His Son for our penalty and the privilege of restoration to God’s purpose and plan for our earthly walk as His disciples?
Oswald Chambers, in “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.53], so challenges us in recognizing our eternal hope in Christ alone. He wrote: “Yield in childhood to selfishness, and you will find it the most enchaining tyranny on earth. There is no power in the human soul of itself to break the bondage of a disposition formed by yielding. Yield for one second to anything in the nature of lust (remember what lust is: ‘I must have it at once,’ whether it be the lust of the flesh or the lust of the mind) – once yield and though you may hate yourself for having yielded, you are a bondslave to that thing. There is no release in human power at all but only in the Redemption. You must yield yourself in utter humiliation to the only One Who can break the dominating power viz., the Lord Jesus Christ – “He has anointed me….to preach deliverance to all captives.” So true! Let’s examine “THE DEVIL AND THE BLOOD-FLOW OF JESUS”!
FIRST, THE NECESSITY OF ‘REDEEMED BY THE BLOOD’! Come to I Peter 1:7, and verses 18-21! The Word declares: Verse 7, “that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation [or ‘unveiling’] of Jesus Christ….
Verses 18-21, “knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your AIMLESS CONDUCT received by tradition from your fathers,….but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot….
He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times FOR YOU, who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God.”
You do understand that those who nailed Jesus to the Cross were your representatives and mine, “lawless hands” that crucified Jesus and put Him to death! In Acts 5:30-31 Peter and the other apostles said: “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus whom you murdered by hanging on a tree. Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”
Have you acknowledged in yourself that even repentance is the gift of God as well as forgiveness? There’s no blood redemption apart from heart-surrendered repentance!
In Acts 20:28 Paul said, “Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” But somehow, more than likely the deceitfulness of the devil himself, you were convinced a blood sacrifice for your sin was unnecessary because you are a good, decent, respectable, best-effort gentleman?
The question I would ask you is: “Are YOU a partaker of the divine nature?”, and apart from “new birth” we live with the old sin nature, alienated and separated from Holy God! There’s no satisfaction or blessing God with the nature of rebellion through the deceit of the devil, “You’ll not die for your sin,” but, no, you were birthed through Adam and Eve with the very nature of “I do it my way”! SIN IS DEATH!
JESUS AUTHORS ETERNAL LIFE THROUGH HIS BLOOD SACRIFICE ON THE CROSS IN OUR PLACE!! If you didn’t know, Romans 6:23 tells us, “The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” What does Colossians 1:14 tell us? “In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
Oh, but here is the dividing allegiance to compromising in sin or full surrender to “Victory In Jesus” over sin: Romans 6:1-2 and verses 10-14 tell us thankfully and gloriously – “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?….
Verses 10-14, “For the death that Jesus died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord….
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God….
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.”
In Revelation 5:9 the beloved John wrote: And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, and to open its seals; for You were slain, and have redeemed us to God BY YOUR BLOOD out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation….
Verse 10, and have made us priests and kings to our God; and we shall reign on the earth.” Are you reigning through Christ on your earth?
SECOND, THERE IS THE NECESSITY OF “BEING WASHED IN THE BLOOD.” Washing is cleansing, washing is purification, washing is the “birthing of new life,” washing is far more than our forgiveness – washing is away with the old and in with the new and eternal!
In Isaiah 1:18 God’s Holy Word declares, “Come now, and l;et us reason together,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be washed as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
Are you familiar with Revelation 1:5? “and from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler over the kings of the earth. To Him who loved us AND WASHED US FROM OUR SINS IN HIS OWN BLOOD….”
I pray you fully grasp[ for a vibrant, victorious walk with Christ as He unveils it in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS, who do not walk according to the flesh [the old sin nature], but according to the Spirit,” yes, the Spirit of His Resurrected, Indwelling, Empowering Holy Spirit!
In Hebrews 9:11-14 we read: “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation….
Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption….
For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”
THIRD, THERE IS OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT IN CHRIST’S SHED BLOOD AND THROUGH IT WE ARE DECLARED RIGHTEOUS BY THE BLOOD – NOT DEC EIVED BY THE DEVIL THAT OUR SIN DOESN’T PRODUCE DEATH.
“You surely shall not die!” Remember that deception? But Romans 5:9 declares, “Much more then, HAVING BEEN JUSTIFIED [“just as if I’d never sinned”!] by His blood, we shall be [being] saved from wrath through Him.”
Examine carefully until you fully understand Romans 3:21-26, “But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference;….
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus….
Whom God set forth as a PROPITIATION BY HIS BLOOD, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed,….
To demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” Do you “See” PROPITIATION BY JESUS’ BLOOD? Did you see God “justifying the one who has faith in Jesus”? Did you understand “the righteousness of God [yours} through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”?
Doesn’t 2 Corinthians 5:21 tell us also, “For He [God] made Him [Jesus] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him [Christ]?” Reconciled to God by religion? NO! By the blood of the Lamb of God! Reconciled to God by our “best efforts”? NO! By the sacrifice of the innocent, pure, sinless Christ who became sin on the Cross for us! Reconciled to God by the recitation of all of our good deeds? NO! It’s only by God’s divineness of His eternal grace, mercy, and love, received through the Sacrificial Lamb of God!
FOURTH, THERE IS THE NECESSITY OF OUR UNDERSTANDING AND COMMITMENT TO THE BLOOD THAT COVERS. I want you to carefully read Exodus 12:5-13! [How vital the blood is, yes, for home and family protection!]. It says: “Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year. You may take it from the sheewp or the goats….
Now you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight….
And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it….
Do not eat it raw, nor boiled at all with water, but roasted in fire – its head with its legs and its entrails. You shall let none of it remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning you shall burn with fire….
And thus you shall eat it with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So shall you eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover….
For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night, and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord….
Now the blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you; and the plague shall not be on you to destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.”
In “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.255], Oswald Chambers illumines our hearts and minds so superbly. He said: “We trample the blood of the Son of God under foot if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only explanation of the forgiveness of God and of the unfathomable depth of His forgetting is the Death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the outcome of our personal realization of the Atonement which He has worked out for us. “Christ Jesus….is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” When we realize that Christ is made all this to us, the boundless joy of God begins; wherever the joy of God is not present, the death sentence is at work.”
FIFTH, THERE IS THE NECESSITY OF UNDERSTANDING THAT OUR ACCESS TO GOD IS BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS! What does Ephesians 2:13 tell us? “But now, in Christ Jesus, you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Do you really, really understand about being “brought near by the blood of Christ”? In Colossians 1:19-20 we read, “For it pleased the Father that in Christ all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Christ Jesus, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His Cross.” GLORY!
Access to God by the blood of Christ, peace with God made through the blood of Christ, pleasure to the Father that in Christ all fullness should dwell…! In Hebrews 10:19-23 we read, “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the house of God,….
Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water….
Let us hold fast the confession of our hope, without wavering, for HE WHO PROMISED IS FAITHFUL.”
SIXTH, THERE IS THE NECESSITY OF APPROPRIATING OUR DESIGNATED AUTHORITY BY AND THROUGH OUR SAVIOR AND LORD’S SHED BLOOD. In Luke 10:1 the Word illumines us as to Jesus’ plan for every disciple! “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.”
Then in Luke 10:16-20 our Lord enlarges our understanding of His authority through ALL DISCIPLES! “He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.”….
Then the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And Jesus said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, AND OVER ALL THE POWER OF THE ENEMY, and nothing shall by any means hurt you….
Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
Disciple of Jesus!! Are YOU a student of His Word? Knowing your calling as a “soldier of the Cross” have you been disciple as a true warrior against the powers of darkness? Revelation 12:11 tells you and me, “And they overcame him [the devil, Satan, his demons] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
SEVENTH, THERE IS THE NECESSITY OF OUR UNDERSTANDING THAT THROUGH THE BLOOD OF CHRIST WE ARE BIRTHED INTO THE DIVINE FAMILY OF GOD, BECOMING TOGETHER HIS NATION CHANGERS.
In Acts 17:26-28 we read, “And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings….
So that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;….
For in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’”
You’ll remember that just before His Ascension Jesus told His disciples in Acts 1:8, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and YOU SHALL BE WITNESSES TO ME in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Awesome birthing, awesome blessing, and, yes, even an awesome burden of responsibility every disciple has to touch his/her world with grace, mercy, and God’s love! Aren’t we called in the Word “ambassadors of Christ”? Your salvation experience was God opening the door through you to touch the lost, lonely, needy, empty men and women who’ve had enough of trying to live without God’s presence, purpose, and power.
As “the called of God”, every disciple has been commissioned by Holy God, challenged by the Resurrected Christ, collared and corralled by Jesus’ shed blood! In Hebrews 13:12-13 we read, “Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach….”
Then Hebrews 13:20-21 reads, “Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
EIGHTH, UNDERSTAND – WE ARE CONSTANTLY AND CONTINUALLY BEING SAVED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST.
What does Romans 5:9-10 reveal to us? “Much more then, having now been justified [accepted ‘just-as-if-I’d-never –sinned’!] by His blood, we shall be [being] saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, MUCH MORE, having been reconciled, WE SHALL BE BEING SAVED BY HIS [INDWELLING] LIFE!”
This is why Paul wrote Philippians 1:6 to the church-at-large! “being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you WILL COMPLETE IT UNTIL THE DAY OF CHRIST.” I John 1:7 clearly states, “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, AND THE BLOOD OF JESUS CHRIST, GOD’S SON, CLEANSES US FROM ALL SIN.” GLORY!
LAST, WE MUST UNDERSTAND, AND SHARE, THE ETERNAL TRUTH THAT THERE IS ALSO JUDGMENT AND CONDEMNATION BY THE BLOOD OF JESUS. I’m closing this chapter with a sobering Word from Holy God. It’s Hebrews 10:29-31!
“Of how much worse [or sorer] punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the Covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?….
For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.”
YES! IT IS A FEARFUL THING TO FALL, IN JUDGMENT, INTO THE HANDS OF THE LIVING GOD!”
Is there in you a holy fear of God?
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
THE DEVIL AND OUR LORD’S LIBERATING MINISTRY
In Luke 4:18-19 Jesus opened Isaiah’s prophetic word to identify His ministry to us today: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, TO PROCLAIM LIBERTY TO THE CAPTIVES and recovery of sight to the blind, TO SET AT LIBERTY THOSE WHO ARE OPPRESSED; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”
My Lord and Savior said in John 8:36, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
And then in Mark 3:20-27 we find instructive words for those who doubted His authority to heal, His anointing in preaching, or His amazing grace of deliverance to those in bondage to the devil’s control and demonic activity.
If I were to say to you, “I have been saved,” most of you of faith who know the Word of God would say that you agree that I am on good, safe, solid, scriptural ground. If I were to also say to you, “I am being saved,” your mind would immediately turn to the Ephesians statement: “for the perfecting of the saints” – and you’d say that’s also true. Then, if I went a step further and stated, “I will be saved,” you’d be reminded of Paul’s statement in Romans 13:11, “Our salvation is nearer than when we first believed.”
God IS at work in true believers both to will and to do of His good pleasure. And what is His pleasure toward us? I Thessalonians 5:23 informs us, “And the very God of peace sanctify you WHOLLY….and I pray your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
God’s desire is to save us, and in Christ Jesus He reconciles us to Himself. That’s “ATONEMENT”, or AT-ONE-MENT with God! But salvation is more than reconciliation – salvation is LIBERATION. Salvation is more than the work of grace whereby we’re declared righteous – salvation is freedom, setting us free from the grave-clothes of Adam’s nature and death. Salvation is more than the merciful act of our ACCEPTANCE IN THE BELOVED; salvation is healing grace, the touch of the Great Physician’s hands upon the wounds of the sinner’s mind, soul, and spirit.
In Mark 8 there is an inspiring passage that just leaps out and gives hope to a man about “seeing” but he has doubts over his spiritual eyes because there is such a wide chasm between what he knows he ought to be and what he knows he is. Read it as yourself without Christ – blind, darkness only, no spiritual sight at all.
Mark 8:22-25 tells us: Then Jesus came to Bet5hsaida; and they brought a blind man to Him, and begged Jesus to touch him. So Jesus took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the town. And when He had spit on his eyes and put His hands on him, He asked him if he saw anything….
And he looked up and said, “I see men like trees, walking.” Then He put His hands on his eyes again and made him look up. And he was restored and saw everyone clearly.”
Jesus will touch you one time. Jesus will touch you a second time, a third time, a fourth time – He’ll touch you as often as you will allow Him to touch YOUR BLIND SPOTS, or deep wounds, or the hurting scars, or the painful areas of your life – even where the devil and demons get a foothold!
Jesus meant it! “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me: “to proclaim liberty to the captives – to set at liberty those who are oppressed.” [Luke 4:18]. But He also said in John 8:36, “Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
FIRST, I want us to examine SOME DEFINITE AREAS OF CHRIST’S LIBERATING POWER: What about the area of governmental bondage? There’s no greater word than the word “free”, and thank God, you and I, at least in the past and to a degree the present, have a heritage of being a free people.
And, certainly, there’s no greater man on earth than the man who spends his life for the freedom of others. Eternal honor is given to those who expend their lives to free others from the chains and tyranny of civil bondage and sees that possesses and enjoys their God-given rights. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness was not intended by God to be a United States of America “rights” only.
There is governmental liberty whether one lives in a democracy or not. True liberty if found only in Christ Jesus, and some of the freest people of our world are those in Christ, in chains, maybe even in a Siberian, Russian, Chinese, or terrorist political prisoner camp!
What about the chains of ‘religious superstition’ or the chains of demonic philosophies? The man who forfeits spiritual reason, divine revelation, or the Word of Christ alone to bow or to fall before the throne of superstition or the throne of demonic religions, and who willingly crucify Christ again and again and deny His Holy Word for their lives is a man who will be a slave to the devil forever unless he repents and trusts the finished work of Christ at the Cross for his salvation!
What about the bondage of carnal desires and that fallen sin-nature of instinctual inclinations and willful defiance of God’s Law? That’s that man grinding away in the mill of promiscuity – in bondage and chains of darkened lustful pleasures, tight chains around, not his hands and feet, but his heart!
That’s the young collegiate or young high school student rotting away in the reeking dungeon of sensuality, a salve to sexual immorality. That’s that young lady in whom the stench of death is upon her mind, heart, spirit, and fleshly will, going the way of the fallen world.
There’s a lady – she knows, she’s tired – tired of being controlled by the spirit of anger, fear, resentment, bitterness – a slave to her sin-patterns. Oh yes, and there’s that group – not one – but a community no0f like-minded, darkened hearts, and they’re beginning to say to one another: “There must be something more, something else; we’ve been borne along through these many years of rebellion we believed to be ‘life at its best,’ so societally, fashionably customized to our sin natures – and all it has offered and given to us is emptiness, guilt, and shame!” And I guarantee you, it’s happening all around you!
What about the ‘time-bomb’ of explosive self-reformation? Can I say it in a way that I pray you’ll understand? There are a lot of “good people” in the world. They are not immoral people, but certainly give God not an inch of ground in their lives. How did it happen?
If they’re part of Adam’s race [and they are!], and gotten to a place where people call them ‘good,’ they did a superb job of self-reformation. They possessed, possess, “I’ll do it if it kills me” attitude. They were self-determined to bring those wild stallions of fallen flesh within them under control – and not outwardly is there any evidence of a sad, spiritual state of heart and mind – their lives are now moral, their conduct is acceptable in their ‘man-made’ society, and thewir reputation with fellow-fallen sinners faultless.
But what have they really done? They’ve buried their old sin nature that hasn’t died, they are going, not under an assumed name but an assumed state of heart! And some, many, even go to their graves like that!
Reader, who are you? What is YOUR life all about? And especially as it relates to the Holy God who made you, lost you, and bought you with a price? Up until now you’ve lived that good, self-reformed style of life, but the Holy Spirit struck quick and powerful and your sin has been exposed, your conscience has been Spirit-pricked, your heart has been haunted by unresolved alienation from God’s Way of salvation, blessing, fulfillment through His eternal purpose for YOU!
But there are others: What about those chained to the hurts and pains of the past? Are you aware of women who were sexually abused by their fathers, or uncles, or neighbors, when they were children, and now live under “dark clouds” mentally, emotionally, and spiritually? Are you aware and do you deal with the hurts and pains of broken marriages and broken homes and families?
Do you see around you rebellious sons and daughters who live on guilt trips because of parental failures, until all of a sudden the capability of fallen humanity hits you, and you begin to see how sinful sin can be even rampant in your own child, or your own mom or dad, or both?
Oh, and then there are those unfulfilled dreams or ambitions – failures multiply, and one wonders why he/she was even born! Are you aware of the hurts or pains or scars through the loss of loved ones, a mate, or a child? “They’re dead, gone, and I don’t know if I can go on without them.” The hurts are so real.
I remember years and years ago, I think in the mid to late 1960’s pastoring a church in Tucson, Arizona. Carnie and Dawn Marks were precious parts of that fellowship. While there my wife, Sue, and I learned that they had had two girls, one maybe three years of age and the other girl maybe six? Both little girls had died before I became their pastor. After several years of ministry there, we were called to serve another church in Phoenix, Arizona. I believe it was Sue who had written Carnie and Dawn about parental hurt and the pain of two daughters dying.
Dawn responded with the following words: “How good it was to get your letter – strange that it should be centered around the subject of parental hurts. For some time I have wanted to share our experience – and only in the last several months have I had an overwhelming urge to share the fact that God not only took the ‘hurt’ away – He removed the ‘scar’ -! So, I’ve even thought of writing a book! Your letter just may be the handiwork of God – give me a little time to assemble the joys, the pains, the restoration.”
Have you sensed in some or even dealt with in Christy-like compassion the bondage that some try to live with through the heaviness of guilt because of ‘hidden sin’, an activity some believe only themselves and God are aware of? But they come to you, now vocal, now convicted, now fully aware of sin’s consequences? “I have violated God’s Word and God’s will and God’s Law. I need no convincing. I have been in rebellion, offending God in all that is holy, good, decent, and right. I deserve judgment.”
Oh, but then that person asks, “But is there hope for someone like me? I don’t like myself, I can’t sleep well at night, and each new day is a nightmare. Is there really available the divine power of God to change one such as I am?” AND THERE IS! “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses one from all sin!”
Also, examine those heavy chains of the debilitating fear of death. Have you heard it, or even, have you ever been gripped by it? “I am afraid to die…!” And I want you to know: THERE IS THE SHEPHERD whose name is Jesus! And YOU can say right now, “The Lord is MY Shepherd, I shall not want – and though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”
[If I haven’t mentioned in this book, at 77 years of age, April 28, 2013, I had a major heart attack. When I went to the hospital on a Saturday night, in the emergency room I heard the emergency room doctor, after reading my EKG, say: “Get him to surgery fast, he’s got less than an hour to live!” My heart surgeon was in the hospital on a Saturday night at about 8pm, and within 22 minutes from emergency room to surgical wing, I was being operated on! Major artery 100% blocked! When the surgery was over, the doctor told my wife of the 100% blockage and a major blood clot behind the blockage that would have killed me if it broke through! I never had one fear! I was at perfect peace!]
In Christ, one is “more than conqueror”! And when in death you are “in Christ,” yes, “precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of all His saints,” and you’ll hear Him say, “Welcome! For to you to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
SECOND, DIG WITH ME INTO THE RICH SOIL OF GOD’S WORD AS TO THE DECLARED AVAILABILITY OF THE LIBERATING LORD TO SET YOU FREE. In John 8:31-36 Jesus said to those Jews who believed in Him, trusted Him, relied upon Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?”….
Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin….
And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.”
“IF” is a mighty, big, gigantic word, with “IF” as a condition, and conditioned by our response to Jesus’ question, “Will YOU be made whole?”
I hope you know already that it can be for you the possibility through Jesus’ promise of liberation from bondage, freedom from the devil’s control, and healing of a wounded spirit! I also hope you know that what you’ve just read was Sovereignly planned by God before the world was ever created! Revelation 13:8 speaks of: “the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world”!
Peter illumined our minds in Acts 2:23 when He spoke of Jesus Christ of Nazareth: “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know.”
Paul continued building that strong foundation to saving faith when in 2 Timothy 1:9 he wrote, “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.”
Your freedom from Satanic chains, from self-domination, from sin and death, was sacrificially purchased! “Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb!” “Overcoming by the blood of the Lamb!” Turn your eyes upon Jesus – look full into His wonderful face!
Charles Spurgeon, in his Memorial Library, [Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol.8, p.201] wrote: “dragged to Pilate’s Hall bound, whipped like a common felon, scourged like a murderer, and dragged away by hell-bounds through the streets, fastened by those cruel fetters which went through His flesh to accursed wood! See Jesus yielding up His liberty to the dungeon of death!” And it was just FOR YOU AND ME, AS WELL AS THE REST OF FALLEN MANKIND!
Jesus was rich, yet for our sakes, He became poor that we through His poverty might be made rich! And it was so sweetly and freely offered to us! Acts 10:43 says, “To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes [trusts in, relies upon, adheres to] in Him will receive remission of sins.” Remission? FORGIVENESS! Jesus Himself said in Matthew 10:28, “Come unto Me…all you that labor and are heavy-laden… and I will give you rest.”
Hear me! His Word is a solemn promise of a perfect and perfecting liberty: I Corinthians 15:57 says, “But thanks be to God who gives us the VICTORY through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Oh, how I love John’s word in I John 3:2-3! He says: “Beloved, NOW we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is….And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.” Tell me of your purifying process as you “lean not to your own understanding,” but you acknowledge, bow to, confess, rest in the Truth that He is your Savior and Lord and the Master of your life both now and forever!
Then in this chapter of :The Devil and Our Lord’s Liberating Ministry,” do you see, do you sense, and have you settled it in your mind and heart that Jesus’ death, burial, and Resurrection IS your “Get out of jail” through repentance toward God and faith in our Lord’s FINISHED WORK? But do you also see that our Lord’s Word does instruct us about fighting the goof fight of faith?
In I Peter 5:8-9 we’re told, “Be sober [watchful], be vigilant [alert and prepared and reinforced]; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. RESIST HIM, STEADFAST IN THE FAITH, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world [of redemptive, saving, freeing, delivering faith!].”
But when there is no ‘watchfulness’, when there is no vigilance,’ when men, women, youth, even children, ignore God’s grace and decide to live by ‘grit’, they have ignored the battle line and stepped over into the devil’s domain, and rejecting God’s warning, God’s mercy, God’s entreaties, multitudes enter that spiritual state of darkness and learn the devil’s deceitful lies, spiritually imprisoned, cuffed with cruel chains and bondages, and get a taste day aqfter day of the devil’s fiery domain!
In Isaiah 42:23-25 the prophet warns rebellious men who reject God’s love! “Who among you will give ear to this? Who will listen and hear for the time to come?….
Who gave Jacob for plunder, and Israel to the robbers? Was it not the Lord, He against whom WE HAVE SINNED?….
For THEY WOULD NOT WALK IN HIS WAYS, NOR WERE THEY OBEDIENT TO HIS LAW [HIS REVEALED WORD]….
Therefore He has poured on him the fury of His anger and the strength of battle; it has set him on fire all around, yet he did not know; and it burned him, yet he did not take it to heart.”
Romans 5:12 tells us, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned.” SIN AND THE SIN NATURE IS THE OPEN DOOR TO DEMONIC ACTIVITY!
Follow Oswald Chambers in “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.206], “The disposition of sin is not immorality and wrong-doing, but the disposition of self-realization.” And I say to you as one decides he is his own deity, the door is opened wide and the devil gladly enters! But Jesus? “Get behind Me, Satan!”
Show the devil the door, and celebrate with the saints!
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE DEVIL AND THE GREAT PHYSICIAN
How do you describe what the devil is all about? And if you have a doubt as to his existence, you’ve come to major deception in your own life! Our world is like a great hospital full of people smitten by the deadly spiritual diseases of unbelief, rebellion, even open defiance of the Word, Will, and Ways of Holy God.
But Christ Jesus is right in the middle of demonic activity, devilish rebellion to God, bondage, chains and imprisonments, deadly diseases called ‘sin and death,’ offering fallen humanity THE WAY OF HEALING GRACE!
There is a dark cloud over fallen humanity that does not grasp that the devil is out for their sickness while Jesus is out for their healing grace and mercy to be received, accepted, and relied upon!
Do you remember Jesus Himself saying in Luke 18:8, “…when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?” I want you to know I am absolutely thrilled by those who walk in concerning the finished work of Christ at the Cross, but heart-broken over multitudes who refuse His open arms of true salvation and eternal purpose fulfilled through them. And heart-broken over those who are blind to His saving grace, even spiritually shaken by those who deny His Word, and, yes, dumb-founded by the millions and millions who feel so comfortable in a demonized, Hell-bent society, and broken over the rejection of our Loving Savior.
AQnd, of course, we know that we have one called the devil or Satan who is out for our demise of a personal relationship with Holy God, and we understand he’s out to see us diseased, eternally sick, and facing death in Hell with him forever, but facing a death in Hell that will not die!
The devil so promotes the “natural” over the spiritual. He is a master of deceit of the unimportance of forgiveness, new birth, and reconciliation with God. “Why worry about God-consciousness when self-esteem is the strong motivating factor of successful mankind?” “God’s will for your life when you’re so capable of self-determination?” “Fearing God? What a deprived, disturbed, distraught individual who doesn’t know they’re number one without Him?”
“Why consciousness of God when one is secure in his/her own self-consciousness?” “A soul at ease? How about free from this religious ‘faith’ stuff?” “If you’re religious, you are wise because you base your life upon ‘common sense,’ not ‘common sickness’, because some religious freak tells you, you need to be born again?” “The grave of my awareness that in me dwells no good thing? What a monstrous lie that people say God told them!?!”
“God knows your disease – and He’s the remedy for your healing? I don’t think so!”, so the devil says to you! “Pagans in an eternal crisis?” “As the devil, my world, my authority, my wisdom, says: nothing pagan about you – be at peace in who you are, not what some ‘false God’ says He wants you to be!”
“Without Jesus, the Bible calls you ‘heathen who are dying without God,’ but I say you’re number one in your world because you rest in the ‘wisdom’ of the devil! Look at my numbers!”
“Oh, they talk about ‘life eternal’ but in the here and now when I tell you, ‘only in being your real self does one begin to truly live,’ and under my administration, as the devil, I give you and keep on giving you so ‘self’ is magnified and a Savior denied! Who needs to “be saved”?”
“Oh, I know some say Jesus exposed ‘common-sense carefulness’ in a life as fraud, fake, infidelity, but, as the devil, I tell you: ‘Follow me, and do as you please!’”
“Even as sick as you may sense your self to be, opposite to New Testament evangelism, ‘take thought to your life,’ because devotion to your true soul is more important than devotion to what God wants you to be.”
Sin sickness is an illness spread by the devil himself because it’s his declaration of independence from Holy God, and the massive disease is taking its toll among godless men. In the word ‘sin’, if one removes the ‘s’ and the ‘n’, you find ‘I’, which is the very foundation, faulty as it is, called “carnal self”! And, of course, the devil lets you know awareness of sin is ‘religious deception’ and you shouldn’t fall for it. He doesn’t tell you that one of the fiercest and deadly diseases overcoming mankind is ‘no consciousness of sin.’
And though sin is the notable identifying characteristic of every alienated life from God, for a man to refuse grace, mercy, and the love of God for sin’s forgiveness and to go on and on and on in a lifestyle of habitual sinfulness is more than a description of fallen humanity but an awareness of a life under satanic bondage and devilish control!
I encourage you to face the reality of the Cross of Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, “God With Us,” because it was for sin and for our unhealthy life imposed upon us by devilish deception that Jesus shed His blood on the Cross! Examine Matthew 8:16-17 where we read: When evening had come, they brought to Jesus many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ‘He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”
The Cross of Christ was sin-deliverance AND satanic deliverance! On the Cross the shed blood of Christ was God’s eternal prescription for what every earthling must have for healing grace to abound toward them! In Acts 10:38 Peter said, “how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him.”
God’s heart for fallen mankind is deliverance from the bondage of sin and death and deliverance from satanic domination! Though the man born blind in John 9 was healed by Jesus, in verse 25 he said, “One thing I know: that though I was blind, now I see,” not yet knowing who Jesus was. In verses 35-38 Jesus heard that they had cast him out; and when He found him, He said to him, ‘Do you believe in the Son of God?’….He answered and said, “Who is He, Lord, that I may believe in Him?’”….
And Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him and it is He who is talking with you.” Then he said, “Lord, I believe!” And he worshipped Him.
Born blind – receives sight! Born alienated – receives reconciliation! Born spiritually ignorant – receives personal faith! Born with compromising parents – encounters Father-God! Born in poverty – made rich by Christ! Born with limitations – receives unlimited, eternal possibilities! Sight gained – service given! Sight gained – true worship birthed!
Apart from the redeeming blood of Christ for sin, deliverance, and satanic deliverance, fallen men and women face “sickness” that most have no understanding about, whether physical sickness or spiritual sickness.
In John 8 Jesus had gone to the Mount of Olives and the scribes and Pharisees brought to Jesus a woman caught in adultery. Oh, they were so ashamed and wanted immediate judgment exercised on her. They talked about “stoning” according to Moses’ law. They were there for immediate judgment on her, but John 8:6 says, “Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear.”
Verses 7-12 then tells us: So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.”….
And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst….
When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?”….
She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.”
The prophet Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 60:2-3, “For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and deep darkness the people; but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen upon you. The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.” John and Isaiah agree! I John 1:5b says, “God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.”
Dare I say, “darkness is the devil’s dwelling”? And you do remember that Jesus spoke of “the sons of the kingdom” – [that’s the devil’s kingdom!] – will be cast out into outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” [Matthew 8:12].
Are you aware of the ‘warfare’ from before earth’s creation that Satan was planning deceit, defilement, and, yes, darkness, especially in men’s minds and hearts? God told Abram of “blessing” but that “curses” would come against him! And the curses of darkness are just as abusive as they were when the devil lied, leaned on, and led away to bondage any who fell into his “falsehoods”! Living a ‘lie’ IS sickness!
I do not say, never will say, that “all sickness” is from the devil – it’s just not so; but there is ‘sickness’ that comes directly from his desire to destroy as many as he can. Are you familiar with Job’s story in the Old Testament?
In Job 1:6-12 we read, Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came among them. And the Lord said to Satan, “From where do you come?” So Satan answered the Lord and said, “From going to and fro on the earth, and from walking back and forth on it.”….
Then the Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?”…..
So Satan answered the Lord and said, “Does Job fear God for nothing? Have You not made a hedge around him and his household, and around all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land….
But now, stretch out Your hand and touch all that he has, and he will surely curse You to Your face!” And the Lord said to Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
What happened in Job’s immediate future? Job 1:13-22 tells us that Job lost everything – his property, his family, with Job arising, tearing his robe, shaving his head, and then fell down to the ground and worshipped God!
Oh, and then in chapter 2 is the unveiling of Satan attacking Job’s physical health with God instructing the devil in verse 6, And the Lord said to Satan “Behold, Job is in your hand, but sp[are his life,” with Job’s wife then telling Job, “Curse God and die!”
Jobe 2:10 then tells us that Job said to his wife, “You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.”
It sounds to me like Job had already experienced a divine heart transplant, and as a “new man” he could fight the good fight of faith even as he “suffered” from demonic domination for a time with his spiritual eyes riveted on “the great Physician,” Holy God, the able-ness of Jesus, and the power of the Holy Spirit!
Please let me turn your full attention to Jesus, our “Great Physician”! Don’t ever forget, overlook, or deny our Lord’s healing graces and mercies and expression of eternal love! In Mark 1:34 we read, “Then He healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons; and He did not allow the demons to speak, because they knew Him.”
AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN” JESUS WAS ETERNALLY QUALIFIED AND DIVINELY CHOSEN.
In Isaiah 61:1 we read, “The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me [Jesus] to preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;….”
The verse you just read was written at least 700 years before the Lord’s birth, and He came at God’s appointed time to fulfill God’s eternal purpose and plan.
Isaiah 7:14 informs us, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel,” which means “God With Us”!!
You’ll find God’s promise coming to fruition as His angel came to Mary to share the eternal news. In Luke 1:26-35 we read, Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary….
And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying and considered what manner of greeting this was….
Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS….
He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”….
Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.”
Miraculous promise from God, miraculous Person in presence, miraculous power needed to overcome the devil and his demons, and a miraculous intercessor who took our place on the Cross to remove the devil’s ‘sting of death’! It was and still is Jesus of Nazareth!
Hebrews 9:11-15 says, “But Christ came as High Priest of the good things to come, with the greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is, not of this creation….
Not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Plkace once for allo, having obtained eternal redemption….
For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?….
And for this reason HE IS THE MEDIATOR OF THE NEW COVENANT, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” GLORY!! Eternally qualified and divinely chosen!
It was Peter who opened our heart6s to God’s “CHOSEN ONE” for His eternal plan of redemption and release from the demonic “strongholds” in every fallen man’s life. In I Peter 2:6 Peter wrote, “Wherefore also it is contained in the scriptures, “Behold, I lay in Zion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious. And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” Next:
AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN” JESUS THOROUGHLY UNDERSTOOD AND UNDERSTANDS TODAY EVERY CASE OF MEN’S SICKNESSES. In Matthew 9:1-2 God’s Word says, So He [Jesus] got into a boat, and came to His own city….
Then behold, they brought to Him a paralytic lying on a bed. When Jesus saw their faith [IN HIM!!], He said to the paralytic, “Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you.” That was a shocker to all those who brought the paralytic because the important thing to them was physical healing while Jesus’ eternal concern is a new heart fully forgiven of all sin!
Examine Matthew 9:3-8! And at once some of the scribes said within themselves, “This Man blasphemes!” But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, “Why do you think evil in your hearts?….
For which is easier to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Arise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins” – then He said to the paralytic, ‘Arise, take up your bed, and go to your house.’….
And he arose and departed to his house. Now when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such power to men.”
A paralytic healed AND forgiven, an unclean spirit cast out, Peter’s mother-in-law sick with a fever healed, Jesus cleansed a leper, He healed the paralytic carried by four men on a bed to the presence of Christ, a man with a withered hand healed by Jesus; Mark 3:10-11 says, “For He healed many, so that as many as had afflictions pressed about to touch Him….
And the unclean spirit whenever they saw Him, fell down before Him and cried out saying, ‘You are the Son of God’ – and I assure you that today the demons know who Jesus is whether or not you acknowledge Him and bow before Him!
Jesus calmed the winds and the waves, whether physical lakes, or stormy demonized lives! Jesus healed the woman with issue of blood for twelve years: The young girl, Tabitha, He said, “Little one, little girl, I say to you, arise.”
Jesus fed five thousand with five loaves and two fish. Mark 6:56 says, “Wherever He entered in ti villages, cities, or the country, they laid the sick in the marketplace, and begged Him that they might just touch the hem of His garment. And as many as touched Him were made well.”
AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN” JESUS, OUR LORD AND SAVIOR AND MASTER OVER LIFE, SICKNESS, DEATH, HAS ALREADY HEALED MILLIONS. In Revelation 7:9 we read, After these things I looked, and, behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands,….
Verse 10, And crying out with a loud voice, saying, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” Exclamation point – Jesus saves, heals, and delivers – did then, does now!
I personally traveled all over the world for over thirty years after being a pastor of churches in the U.S.A for my first twenty-two years. In most places where I visited and ministered there were no hospitals, doctors, or nurses, and often many sick people. We prayed for healing mercy and grace to abound ‘in the Name of Jesus,’ and often witnessed dramatic, God-honoring healings!
I remember on one occasion in a government housing project in Madras, India, (now called Chennai), my translator, Pastor Anand, and I were ministering in the streets. Someone brought a lady to us who’d left her husband and three children and gone to the streets – a druggie, a street prostitute, and when we saw her, a totally demonized woman. We ministered Jesus delivering authority over demons, led her to repentance and faith and saw divine transformation!
I gave her the name, “Esther,” because, in India, among the Christian fellowships I worked with, when one came to Christ they received a new name. She became a significant part of my translator’s church, and one year later when I returned there to preach in a Sunday morning service, I asked Anand, “Is Esther here?” He said yes, and I asked him to have her come up to the front altar so I could pray for her, and have her bring her children! He did, she did, but as she came from the back of the church to the altar, she was calling out her children to come with her – I was astounded! “Anand, I asked for her children to come with her – who are these people?” And Pastor Anand said that in the past year she had personally led to faith in Christ over 200 people, her “babes in Christ”!
AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN” JESUS DEEPLY LOVES EVERY PATIENT. Has Jesus Christ not proved this by dying on the Cross for each of us, shedding His own blood that we might be freed from the guilt, from the gravitational pull downward to demonic bondage, from aimless lives caught up in the world, the flesh, and the devil himself?
Galatians 1:4 tells us, “who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father”!
The Cross was, and still is, the will of God in proving His love for fallen mankind: God so loved the world” – He gave Jesus as our Lord and Savior! Romans 5:8 clearly says, “But God demonstrates [proves] His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Do you understand “greater love”?
AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN” JESUS HEALS COMPLETELY AND FINALLY – NO NEED OF A ‘FOLLOW-UP SURGERY. In Acts 9:32-35 the disciple, Peter, understands the calling on every disciple to be an extension of Jesus’ life, an expression of His amazing love, and the proof of His power. He came down to Lydda and there found a man named Aeneas, who had been bed-ridden for eight years and was paralyzed.
Pet said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately. So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
“God, help us all as Your disciples to know and understand that Jesus is able to do exceedingly, abundantly, above all we ask or think – heal through us today as Jesus did then and does now!”
AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN” JESUS DELIGHTS TO MINISTER TO HOPELESS CASES. Matthew 9:18-26 is one passage or sections of New Testament scripture that causes one to say: “Am I to really believe what I’ve just read; is it actual Gospel-Truth of the divine ministry and order of Christ our Lord?” And, of course, we say “Yes” ten thousand times! Jesus never changes! He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever!
The scriptures tell us: While He spoke these things to them, behold, a ruler came and worshipped Him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay Your hands on her and she will live.”….
So Jesus arose and followed him, and so did His disciples. And suddenly, a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years came from behind and touched the hem of His garment. For she said to herself, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well.”….
But Jesus turned around, and when He saw her He said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well.” And the woman was made well from that hour….
When Jesus came into the ruler’s house, and saw the frlute players and the noisy crowd wailing, He said to them, “Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping.” And they ridiculed Him….
But when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose. And the report of this went out into all that land.
Can I share my heart? Thank God, that Jesus heals physical sickness, and, yes, “raises the physically dead,” but don’t you stand in awe of Him who takes spiritually dead lives and raises them up to “new life,” “new hope,” and “new eternal purposes”?
But the last point in this chapter? AS THE “GREAT PHYSICIAN”, JESUS IS ACCESSIBLE TO ALL. In Matthew 11:28-30 Jesus calls us, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest….
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls…… For My yoke is easy and my burden is light.”
2 Peter 3:9 is so illumining of the heart of God. Peter wrote: “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, b ut is longsuffering toward us, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH BUT THAT ALL SHOULD COME TO REPENTANCE.”
Through the prophet Ezekial in the Old Testament, Ezekial 33:11, God spoke so clearly: “Say to them: ‘As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die….?”
Again, Peter, in Acts 3:19, preaching publicly, said: “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
Repentance, regeneration; repentance, refreshing from the Lord; repentance, renewal of His eternal purpose for your life! The “Great Physician” IS YOUR SAVIOR AND YOUR DELIVERER AND YOUR HEALER! Rejoice in the Lord!
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE DEVIL AND ‘MOUNTAINOUS’ TEMPTATIONS OR CHOOSING TO GO WHERE JESUS HIMSELF CHOOSES TO COME!
You do understand that in the spiritual of life that you have an enemy whose desire is to lead you astray, to lead you into dismay while promising ‘gold’ in the hay! And it doesn’t take long to learn his prize was ‘fool’s gold’!
And certainly there are ‘tools’ the devil uses to lead you away from the awareness of your desperate need of God’s saving grace, like “lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life”!
The devil and his ‘mountainous’ temptations are fully revealed in Matthew 4:8-11! We read, Again, the devil took Jesus up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory….
And the devil said to Jesus, “All these things I will give You if You fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Away with you, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.’….
Then the devil left Him, and behold, angels came and ministered to Him.
In another gospel it speaks of the devil leaving Jesus for “a more opportune time,” because he hates to lose and comes back and comes back and comes back – because he wants to lead YOU astray!
And there’s no doubt the devil’s oppressive temptations can be warded off for a period of time, but be assured his “fleeing” your resistance will only fortify his determination to return! In James 4:7 we read, “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
I’m convinced that much of the devil’s ‘mountainous’ temptations find fertile grounds, especially among young believers and even more among non-believers, because, short of spiritual maturity in and through biblical knowledge and training, too many do not know that “Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light” when he’s nothing more than a deceiver of darkness!
It’s so interesting and challenging to me that Paul was so straightforward about the danger of deception from the devil. He wrote in Galatians 5:1, “Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and DO NOT BE ENTANGLED AGAIN WITH A YOKE OF BONDAGE.”
And it’s not my intent to major here on ‘yokes of bondage’ but upon the fact that there IS a yoke of bondage because of the devil and his ‘mountainous temptations’ – he comes and comes and comes, seeking to turn you away from devotion to Jesus!
Just how bold was Paul when he wrote in I Corinthians 9:27, “But I discipline me body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” I cannot see anywhere that ‘disqualification’ is a blessing.
When you saw Jesus on the mountain with the devil, do you think one of the devil’s special ‘;tools’ was that of distraction, a turning away from the goal, a substitution of divine intent?
Of course, you saw earlier that in Genesis 3 the ‘serpent’ cast doubt on the Word of God: “Did God indeed say…?”, even instituting “the lie” – “YOU CAN SIN AND NOT DIE”! One of his major strategies is de-fusing any fire of devotion on God’s Holy Word! It even impacted Israel, and Jeremiah warned in Jeremiah 6:10, “To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it,” and the devil has a celebration!
If the Word of God “is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart,” [Hebrews 4:12], don’t you know and understand why and how the devil denies, degrades, and seeks to defuse any interest in God’s Word, whether one is saved or lost, redeemed or unredeemed, family of faith or family of unbelievers?
To the church at Thessalonica and us today, Paul wrote in I Thessalonians 5:14, “Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly [insubordinate or idle], comfort the fainthearted, uphold the weak, be patient with all;” how vital is it to comfort those gripped by fainting spells spiritually, yes, opening the door to demonic interference, to recognize that there are infant, young believers and unbelievers with a target colored on their minds and hearts, because of spiritual weakness, and especially those who have a carry-over spirit of stubbornness, rebellion, and love of indifference to devotion, with demons at the door?
You’ll remember that John 17 was Jesus’ personal and powerful prayer to His Father before His arrest and His appearance in Pilate’s court. In verses 11-15 the Lord and Savior prayed: “Now I am no longer in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to You. Holy Father, keep through Your name those whom You have given Me, that they may be one as We are….
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled….
But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your world; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world….
I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, BUT THAT YOU, GOD, SHOULD KEEP THEM FROM THE EVIL ONE.”
Oh, how amazing it is that Jesus “prays” to Father-God to keep Jesus’ children of faith from the evil one – that is the devil! But Jesus mentioned to God in His prayer about “the son of perdition” who was “lost”! That’s Judas who betrayed Jesus!
In Colossians 1:13 Paul challenged believers in Colossae that God the Father “has delivered us from the power of darkness…” You KNOW there is a “kingdom of darkness”, and the devil, as its ruler, has no desire to see even one leave to enter our Lord’s eternal “Kingdom of Light”!
Here’s how the psalmist, in Psalm 107:10-20, described those enslaved in the devil’s dark kingdom: “Those who sat in darkness and in the shadow of death, bound in affliction and irons – Because they rebelled against the words of God, and despised the counsel of the Most High,….
Therefore He brought down their heart with labor; they fell down, and there was none to help. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses,….
He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and broke their chains in pieces. Oh, that men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness and for His wonderful works to the children opf men!….
For He has broken the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron in two. Fools, because of their transgression, and because of their iniquities, were afflicted….
Their soul abhorred all manner of food, and they drew near to the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble, and He saved them out of their distresses. He sent His word and healed them, and delivered them from their destructions.”
Darkness, death, despisers of God’s Word, distresses, drawn away from God, destructions, dominating rule of self-will, self-pleasure, denial of even the need of saving grace, mercy, and love? And it all begins with the devil’s lies?
You do understand that the devil is a ‘seed-planter’, and fallen mankind is the field where he plants the seed. Matthew 13:22, Jesus speaking, tells us: “Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.”
I have no hesitation in saying to you that money itself is not an evil thing, but the devil is so devious that he perverts it with a passionate desire of the evilness of the love of money! And I know this is why Paul wrote to Timothy in I Timothy 6:9-10,
“But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition….
For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
And if one’s heart was “tuned” by Christ rather than the devil himself, one would not be subject to “off-key” mentality that one’s babk account was more important than his ‘life-ledger’ under God’s oversight and God’s control!
To Timothy, in I Timothy 6:11-17, Paul also said: “But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness….
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses….
I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate,….
That you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate [Sovereign}, the King of kings and Lord of lords,….
Who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.”
THE DEVIL AND ‘MOUNTAINOUS’ TEMPTATIONS OR CHOOSING TO GO WHERE JESUS HIMSELF IS ABOUT TO COME. Luke 10:1 says, “After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also, and sent them two by two before His face into every city and place where He Himself was about to go.” [Should I challenge you to get out your ‘check-list’ or your ‘punch-list’?]
FIRST, HOW ABOUT CHOOSING TO GO TO THE PLACE OF PLENTIFUL HARVEST? In Luke 10:2 Jesus said, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
I think it would be vital for you to settle in your minds, in your hearts, and on your schedule daily activities of an eventful harvest.
Didn’t Jesus say in Luke 19:10, “for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost”? Jesus said in Luke 9:56, “For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives but to save them.”
The devil is out to destroy – Jesus is out to save. The devil is out to shackle and imprison – Jesus is out to release and break the chains of bondage. The devil is out to sicken – Jesus is out to heal. The devil is out to starve – Jesus is out to feed the bread of life.
In John 5:34-38 Jesus told His disciples, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish God’s work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest? Behold, I say to you, LIFT UP YOUR EYES AND LOOK AT THE FIELDS, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together…,.
For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”
SECOND, HOW ABOUT CHOOSING TO GO WHERE JESUS GOES – EVEN TO THE PLACE OF THE WILY WOLVES? Luke 10:3 clearly tells us that our Lord even commissions us: “Go your way; behold, I send you out as lambs among wolves.”
The early church in Acts had begun its journey of faith and obedience. In Acts 20:17-32 we find a major unveiling of New Testament ministry and example:
From Miletus he [Paul] sent to Ephesus and called for the elders of the church. And when they had come to him, he said to them: “You know from the first day that I came to Asia, in what manner I always lived among you,….
Serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears and trials which happened to me by the plotting of the Jews; how I kept back nothing that was helpful, but proclaimed it to you, and taught you publicly from house to house,….
Testifying to Jews and also to Greeks [Gentiles], repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And see, now I go bound in the spirit in Jerusalem, not knowing the things that will happen to me there,….
Except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that chains and tribulations await me [there]. But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God….
And indeed, now I know that among you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more. Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men….
For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore take heed to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood….
For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves….
Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and days with tears. So now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified.”
Savage wolves, ravenous animals, destructive enemies, deceptive ‘disciples’, who were out to destroy, or short-change men who were promised one thing but receive another – yes, death instead of life, guilt instead of innocence, the curse rather than the blessing, emptiness rather than Divine-Infilling of Holy Presence!
THIRD, WOULD YOU CONSIDER GOING TO THE PLACE OF ABIDING PEACE, BLESSING, AND FRUITFULNESS, RATHER THAN GOD-ABSENT PROBLEMS, THE CURSE, AND FRUITLESSNESS? In John 15:16 Jesus said, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go forth and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you should ask the Father in My name He may give you.”
Are you acquainted with the “fruit of Christ”? Have you even considered without Christ or with Christ? In Colossians 3:15 Paul wrote, “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…” I Corinthians 7:15b tells us: “But God has called us to peace.” Jesus promised: “My peace – a peace that passes all understanding – I give to you, disciple of Mine!”
Storms may blow – but in Christ peace reigns. Troubles may arise – but in Christ peace is our comfort. Wars may erupt – but in Jesus peace overrules violence. Hurricanes may explode – but help in Christ is ever present!
FOURTH, IS AVAILABILITY TO THE LIFE IN NEED A MAJOR PRIORITY AS IT WAS WITH JESUS, YES, EVEN A SACRIFICIAL DEATH ON THE CROSS? That’s laying down YOUR life in ministry and service to others!
In Luke 4:18 the prophetic word about Jesus, our example, says: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed.”
Then, in Luke 10:30-37, is one strong, convicting passage that calls us all into account as to our priorities as Christ’s royal ambassadors. It says: Jesus speaking, “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead….
Now by chance a certain priest came down that road. And when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite, when he arrived at that place, came and looked, and passed by on the other side….
But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion. So he went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and he set him on his own animal, brought him to an inn, and took care of him….
On the next day, when he departed, he took out two denarii, gave them to the innkeeper, and said to him, ‘Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I come again, I will repay you.’….
So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among thieves?’ And he said, “He who showed mercy on him.” Then Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.”
We’ve seen demonic sickness, bodily sickness, mental illness, emotional stress, open sin, secret sin, marital madness, spiritual betrayal, defiance of God’s Word – and as followers of Christ we remain silent or aloof or oblivious to another’s need?
FIFTH, DO YOU CHOOSE TO GO WHERE JESUS HIMSELF CHOOSES TO COME – THE PLACE OF REJECTION? John 1:11 says of Jesus, “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.” In Mark 14:46 the Word tells us, “Then they laid their hands on Him and took Him.” Chief priests, scribes, elders, Pharisees, general public of devotees to Judaism, ordinary servants, with verse 50 saying, “Then they all forsook Him and fled.”
A lonely path called “the way of the Cross,” a lonely journey called “death to self,” a lonely calling described, “forsake all and follow Me!” In I John 3:13 we read, “Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you.”
Can you imagine a whole city coming out to meet you, and then deciding to walk away? That’s Matthew 8:34, “And behold, the whole city came out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to depart from their region.” Is that a cold, callous, cruel response to the King of kings and Lord of lords?
SIXTH, HOW NEAR ARE YOU TO GOING TO THE PLACE OF BROKENNESS? In John 10:31 we see Jesus as the Jews “Took up stones to stone Him” Where did that come from? Bodily “stoning” is cruel, evil, demonic, alien to everything and everyone God stands for, but the devil and unbelievers have no shame concerning Jesus, whether stoning, spitting, slandering, or seeking to pour shame on Him, even by denial, ignoring, or nailing to the Cross!
In Revelation 12:9-13 we read, “So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him….
Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down….
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death….
Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows he has a short time.” AMEN!
SEVENTH, WILL YOU CHOOSE TO GO TO THE PLACE OF FRIENDSHIP AND BLESSING? And someone asks, “Where is that?” In Luke 10:38-42 we see the dramatic difference between busyness and blessing! Now it happened as they went that Jesus entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house….
And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was disturb with much serving, and she approached Jesus and said, ‘Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.’….
And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things; But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”
“Mary has chosen that good part?” “Mary has chosen that part with the significance of eternal consequences”? “Mary chose to sit at My feet and hear My word?”!
Tell me about your daily devotion at the feet of Jesus to hear His Word, since He tells us, “Man does not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds out of God’s mouth!”
EIGHTH AND LAST, FOR THIS CHAPTER, DO YOU GO TO THE PLACE OF PRAYER? In Luke 11:1 the Word tells us, Now it came to pass, as He was praying in a certain place, when He ceased, that one of His diusciples said to Him, “Lord, TEACH US TO PRAY, as John also taught His disciples.”
I remember often as a child visiting my grandparents several times a year. This was my Dad’s parents – my dad and mother had divorced when I was three years of age and my mother moved her and me to her parents 30 miles away.
Mammaw and Papa Fisher had a two-story home with a wrap-around porch. Below them was a smaller house but with an attic with windows on each side.
Every time I was there, at least several times a day, the lady in the house below went to the attic windows, opened them for a breeze, and faithfully lifted her hands to pray to Holy God in Jesus’ Name, blessing, praising, exalting, entreating, rejoicing every time!
I was deeply moved as a child and thanked God often for a pure example of one who prayed. In Luke 18:1 Jesus spoke a parable, that “men always ought to pray, and not lose heart.” Do you realize how often men and women of faith lose the heart of faithful praying?
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
RABID RESISTANCE OR REDEMPTIVE RECONCILIATION?
In I Peter 5:8-11 Peter challenges every man on the face of the earth concerning warfare with their number one enemy. He wrote: “Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world….
But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you….even after fifteen chapters related to “Demonic Domination Or Demonic Deliverance,” I’m not sure all understand the seriousness of “Rabid Resistance Or Redemptive Reconciliation.”
When Peter said that YOU have an “adversary the devil [who] walks about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour,” does that include you?
“Rabid Resistance”? The word ‘rabid’ according to Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary is defined as: “furious, raging, mad; as a rabid dog or wolf.” That’s ‘furiousness’ or ‘madness’ – and that’s the attitude of the devil and his army of demons that concerns every man, woman, boy, or girl, on the face of the whole earth!
Even if you seriously surveyed the life of Jesus Christ alone, you’d discover the very ‘agony’ of the Son of God as time after time Satan cam to lead Him away from His eternal destiny. And, of course, the devil felt victorious when Jesus was hung on the Cross, suffered, bled, and died – but the devil was so short-sighted because he didn’t know about Resurrection Life, Resurrection Power, and Resurrection Hope!
Do you understand that you have an enemy of God’s love, God’s grace, and God’s mercy? If you know nothing of “Rabid Resistance” against any word of repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of Christ, then you have been covered over by the dark cloud of “rabid resistance” and are missing out on the eternal truth of “redemptive reconciliation”!
Rabid resistance comes in many different forms, styles, or strategies, because your ‘adversary’ the devil is a master of deceit! He “pumps” the ‘natural life’ even at its best man-made level, with “self-realization” his “academy award winning honor”! It was Oswald Chambers, in his “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.256], who said, “To discern that natural virtues antagonize surrender to God, is to bring our soul into the center of its greatest battle.”
This is why Jesus said in Matthew 16:24, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. Verse 25, For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find iot.”
But we just read in I Peter 5:8 that we have an adversary called the devil – and Peter also said that the devil walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour! You are his “prime-rib” ready for the fire – and he will devour you if you let him!
An individual who so loves his ‘flesh’ is the devil’s foremost candidate for ‘demonic domination’ because thye devil sees ‘flesh’ as majoring on its own independence with no need of God, and before they know it, they’re victims of demonic bondage!
Are you genuinely aware of how much the devil loves a ‘natural man’ who considers the very things of the Spirit of God as nothing more than foolishness? [I Corinthians 2:14]. In Paul’s letter, also to the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 4:3-4, he wrote:
“But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age [the devil] has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image [exact likeness, nature, and character] of God, should shine on them.”
Spend some time one day, limited at best, browsing the television scenes, and you’ll fast come to the conclusion that our world loves the praise of men more than the praise of God, that most are enslaved to the bondage of ‘flesh promotion’, and that holiness has become for most a “curse word”!
In Ephesians 4:27, Paul was very emphatic when he said: “nor give place to the devil,” or “don’t even give him a toe-hold’! In Ephesians 6:11-13 the apostle really gets down to business with those he deeply cared about [and us today] when he wrote, understanding clearly, the devil’s rabid resistance to any man who has even a ‘silly-mille-meter’ of belief, faith, or even just an idea about God:
“Put on the whole armor of God, THAT YOU MAY BE ABLE TO STAND AGAINST THE WILES OF THE DEVIL. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places….
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all you stand.”
That’s standing against the devil – not seated with him, resisting the powers of darkness – not entertaining them, fighting the good fight of faith against demon forces – not surrendering to his dark temptations.
But let me clearly say to you that just as Jesus was sent out into the wilderness by the Spirit [Mark 1:12], so the Holy Spirit will allow, yes, a person today to also be led into a ‘wilderness of testing,’ and, Mark 1:13 tells us, “And He [Jesus] was there in the wilderness forty days, TEMPTED BY SATAN, and was with the wild beasts; and the angels ministered to Him.”
Jesus’ desire, His will, and His equipping of His disciples is not to yield to the enemy of God, but to overcome by the victory He won for us as He overcame Satan through His own shed blood. If a man falls, falters, and fails in his battle against Satan, it is because he fights in and through himself as best he can, ignoring the blood shed by the Lamb of God at Calvary!
But, be assured, as you go through the New Testament and major on the life of Jesus, you will recognize that Jesuis for His entire earthly existence faced constant warfare against Satan and the powers of darkness! And, be assured, it’s not God Almighty saddling us with demonic activity, but there is that rerality of the devil ‘on you’ just as He stayed on Jesus with Jesus constantly saying, “Get behind Me, Satan,” and so must we who are His followers.
To be indwelt by our Lord’s Resurrection Life is to find one’s self facing spiritual warfare just as Jesus did! In fact, in Psalm 110:1-3a, David unveiled our Messiah’s reign when he said, “The Lord said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right hand, till I make Your enemies Your footstool.’ The Lord shall send the rod of Your strength out of Zion. RULE IN THE MIDST OF YOUR ENEMIES! Your people shall be volunteers in the day of Your power…”
Have you volunteered to be a soldier of the Cross and do battle faithfully against the devil and his forces of evil? Though our Lord and Savior suffered, bled, and died on the Cross, yet by God’s Resurrection power, our Savior is seated on the throne as mighty conqueror over sin, over death, over the devil, over Hell itself! Yes, He knew about “thorns”, but He also did then and does now wear the Crown of Victory over your enemy! Your enemies, yes, are now His footstool!
You are familiar with the Book of Job I’m sure! But I would encourage you to read Job’s encounter with Satan, yes, allowed by God. It was a tough, tough contest! In Job 6:11-13 Job came to a place of asking: “What strength do I have, that I should hope? And what is my end, that I should prolong my life?….
Is my strength the strength of stones? Or is my flesh bronze? Is my help not within me? And is success driven from me?”
The day came when Job fully humbled himself before God Almighty. In Job 42:2-6, this man of faith, though suffering greatly, came through as a victorious warrior! He said:
“I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, ‘Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge? Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, THINGS TOO WONDERFUL FOR ME, WHICH I DID NOT KNOW….
Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, ‘I will question you, and you shall answer Me.’….
“I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.”
Don’t you find it so amazing, so enriching, so encouraging? In Job 42:16-17 it tells us, “After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died, old and full of days.” The devil did not win!
Remember Adam and Eve in Genesis 3 as “the serpent” came to deceive God’s first man and woman? It became so bad for them that they even “hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God,” but loving, merciful, caring God sought them out as He seeks us in this very moment thousands of years later!
Paul HAD TO WRITE 2 Corinthians 11:3 for us! He said, “But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” What a merciful word of warning from Holy God!
If it’s “Rabid Resistance [against you by the devil], have you ever considered God’s Plan of “Redemptive Reconciliation”? Does Romans 5:8 not grip you with joy, admiration, and thanksgiving for His love of you so personally? Paul said: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us.”
This is why Oswald Chambers wrote: [“My Utmost For His Highest,” p.252], “Rely on the certainty Of God’s redemptive power, and He will create His own life in souls.” He went on to state in the next paragraph, “When once you are rooted in Reality, nothing can shake you. If your faith is in experiences, anything that happens is likely to upset that faith; but nothing can ever upset God or the almighty Reality of Redemption; base your faith on that, and you are as eternally secure as God.” GLORY! Are you secure in your faith?
“Redemptive Reconciliation”? Jesus IS Lord – and you become His son and servant and sent-one. Jesus IS your Lord AND your Savior AND your Master of all of life – and because He is, you never get enough of the comprehension of “so great a salvation” through Him alone!
“Redemptive Reconciliation”? That’s the “blood-bought” open door to God’s Holy Presence! This is why John 3:21 tells us: “But he who DOES THE TRUTH comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” Amazing truth, amazing privilege, amazing blessing, amazing provision, amazing calling and anointing – one with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit!
No wonder Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:10, “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.”
Grace abounded to Paul, and still can and does abound toward and in every repentant servant of the Most High God and their Master, King Jesus! And, I say to you, because of God’s grace appropriated in your life, the Lord Jesus Christ keeps you away from sin’s wide-open door, and challenges you daily to honor your Savior, walk God’s path of holiness and righteousness, and to void all temptations to bless the flesh but curse His holy name, never offering Him broken promises and empty professions but daily, on the altar, surrendering a cleansed heart by the blood, a renewed mind by the Word, and a pure sacrifice at His holy throne daily – dead to self but eternally alive in Christ!
“Redemptive Reconciliation”? In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 Paul gives us a true picture of a victorious servant of King Jesus! He wrote: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ…”
Examine your heart and mind in this very moment – are you fully surrendered to the Lordship of Christ over your life; are you bringing, “yes,” every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, or, has Satan said: “It’s okay! You won’t die!”?
“Redemptive Reconciliation”? Have you ever witnessed the lives of people, without God, who by human effort do their best to overcome, yes, a deathly existence within them because we know, “sin is death;” but even beyond that ‘fleshly’ life given over to the sin nature that produces a deathly state, what about “human sicknesses” and they don’t know the “Great Physician” whose name is Jesus?
In Acts 9:32-35 there is the story of Aeneas: Now it came to pass, as Peter went through all parts of the country, that he also came down to the saints who dwelt in Lydda….
There he found a certain man named Aeneas, who had been bed-ridden eight years and was paralyzed….
And Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus the Christ heals you. Arise and make your bed.” Then he arose immediately….
So all who dwelt at Lydda and Sharon saw him and turned to the Lord.
Oh, how thrilling! And even more so when we realize that a lot of “sickness” is attributed to the devil and his demon forces! I’ve seen it, I’ve witnessed it, I’ve been an insignificant tool in God’s Hand through which HE “set captives free”! I’ll never forget being in the mountain province of Ooty, up the mountain from Coimbatore, India. Our team was staying in a hotel there, and when we came in one night after our teaching, the lady at the front desk, English lady, asked if we would minister to one of her India employees. We encouraged her to have the young lady come with her husband about 8 a.m. next morning to our room.
She came, and so did her husband. To our amazement, as we started to minister to the young lady, she passed out and fell to the floor. We realized immediately that she was demon-possessed! As we began to take authority over the demons, the first response was: “WE DON’T HAVE TO COME OUT – AND WE’RE NOT COMING OUT,” in perfect English male voice from the woman who spoke only her native India tongue. It was about thirty to forty minutes before the victory was won – but they came out and she experienced the “new Birth” into a daughter of God through Christ!
Now, in the U.S.A, there are demonstrations, even in Washington, DC, promoting Islam as an acceptable religion – compared to what? If Jesus is LORD to the glory of God the Father, then what are other religions other than demonic activity to steal men, women, and nations away from “redemptive reconciliation” for acceptable ways to be “religious”! It was religion that crucified Jesus – and still does!
“Redemptive Reconciliation”? Of course, you understand that the liberal, brain-dead in America promote more than one way to be reconciled to God, although Jesus IS “the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through Christ!” He is the ONLY DOOR into the Holy Presence of God!
Remember, Aeneas was “sick” – and so is every man, woman, boy or girl, separated from Holy God by their Adamic sin-natures. But Peter said to Aeneas, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you whole!” To whom have YOU said that to recently?
Not all, but some who are “sick” are in that state of life because they live in rebellion to the Word, the will, and the way of God. Great sin that produces, yes, “spiritual sickness”, has no cure but by the blood of the Lamb of God. Do you see around you a godless society who clearly reveal a ‘high fever’ for self-fulfillment, a dark disease called ‘sin and death’, and have had no counselor but the devil himself?
I don’t know how old you are now, but you know, and you also know whether you’ve been sustained by Satan or grace-fully saved and redeemed by Jesus, by His shed blood at the Cross which is the only way to be redeemed and reconciled to Holy God, having been regenerated by the Holy Spirit! Jesus Christ is YOUR only “physician” for your sin-sickness, and only by the balm in Gilead, the blood of the Lamb, is one freed from Satanic-bondage!
Would you dare to believe, right now, that as Jesus healed, saved, and delivered Aeneas, that He can do the same for you? Can you even begin to comprehend that the God who made all of the world and their galaxies and planets and stars came willfully to redeem YOU and restore YOU to an eternal relationship with Holy God?
“Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you whole!” It is still true today – man’s ‘salvation, healing, deliverance’ is only through Jesus Christ and by no other! But some are so ‘sin-sick’ and ‘demon-bound’ that they cannot believe that through Jesus only they can be eternally redeemed, reconciled to God, and all devilish chains broken – but it’s true!
There’s no ‘army’ of demons that can withstand the blood of the Lamb of God. There’s no ‘chains’ of ‘fleshly enslavements’ that can hold off and defeat the blood of the Lamb of God. There’s no adulterous man, woman, or teen-ager, guilty of immoral fleshly sion, that is stronger than our Lord’s shed blood! Are you aware of the multitudes of men and women who’ve been set free from the ‘Niagara Falls’ of lust and sexual immorality by Christ Jesus?
Are you familiar with the “Lord’s Prayer” as we find it in Matthew 6:9-13? Verse 13 clearly says, “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from ‘the evil one.’ For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” But you’re unsure if He can deliver you from the devil’s clutches? Remember, He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think!
It is no idle ‘tale’ that the man the furtherest away from God, held in chains by Satan, darkened in the inner man by the disease of sin and death, can be miraculous delivered, set free, made new into a son or daughter of God.
In Matthew 9”10-13 read carefully what Jesus is saying to us! “Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came out and sat down with Him and His disciples….
And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” When Jesus heard that, He said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick….
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice.’ For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.”
Self-righteous, religious parties have no need of “Amazing Grace” because they are addicted to ‘fleshly, religious grit.’! Religion has never birthed one soul into God’s Kingdom, but repentance toward God and faith alone in the finished work of Christ at the Cross opens Heaven’s Door and God’s heart forever and ever.
I want to close this chapter with words from Spurgeon out of his “Spurgeon’s Sermons,” [Memorial Library, Vol.19, p.373], “Where self is conspicuous, I see an omen of mischief, I see no good in this fine opinion of yourself; but if I heard you cry, [and I say crying desperately!JFF], ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God’ – if I heard you say, ‘Lord, quicken me out of my death in sin,’ – if I saw you lying down before the Most High, and praying, ‘Turn me, and I shall be turned’ – I should have a far brighter hope for you. In your weakness you would become strong; but in your present strength, I am sure I see a great weakness, which is likely to be your ruin. O dear hearts, your best friend does not lie within your own doors. Your hope for better things shines yonder at the right hand of God, where the living Savior has all power given to Him in heaven and in earth. Sinner, if you grow no sweeter flowers than the dunghill of your own nature can nourish, you will die amid poisonous weeds. If you never drink of better water than the filthy well of your heart will yield, you will perish of thirst, or of a deadly draught.”
But then there’s Jesus Christ, Lord, Savior, Redeemer, Master, who shed His blood that you might be forever free from Satan’s bondage and control. “Free at last! Praise God! Free at last! Through Jesus only!”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
THE DEVIL’S DISTRESSING DISGUISES OF JESUS’ DYNAMIC DELIVERANCE
In Luke 9:37-42 we find one of the most glorious victories of Jesus in all the Word of God. Of course, it’s a battle between the devil and his distressing disguises as he had a demon spirit to seize the young boy convulsing him often, but Jesus’ disciples hadn’t learned yet about ‘deliverance’.
But Jesus “rebuked the unclean spirit,” and gave the boy, free of demonic control, to his father. The child was healed! If you wouldn’t, I will – you’ve just read of a little boy overcome by a vile spirit, which really gives us a picture, yes, adult men, adult women, boys and girls, and children around you, who are a modern picture of unbelieving, unrepentant, ungodly, and unregenerate people under the control of demon spirits who are out to ‘sicken’ their bodies and minds, distressing their daily journeys, with the intent of destroying any inkling of a redeemed life!
A man without Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of his life is in as desperate a state of existence as this boy so troubled, vexed, distressed, and being without any hope in themselves if Jesus had not come down from the mountain to the community where the boy was suffering. And Jesus still comes to expose the devil’s distressing disguises, releasing our Lord and Savior’s dynamic deliverance.
Are you even aware of the pains, the heartaches, the stressful state of one’s demonic-suffering lifestyles? Our passage of Scripture in Luke 9:37-42 tells us of a son who was only a child but the ‘spirit’ had seized him often, there’s cries of extreme pain, convulsive attacks, foaming of the mouth, bruises, plus, no doubt, a father’s tears and calls for help.
I can only ask you to examine your own spiritual care, your spiritual nurturing, and even sacred protection for every gift of God He gives you in the lives of your children, youth, collegians, and even young business people or soldiers. There must be an awareness through Holy Scripture exposure that the powers of darkness are out to seduce, enslave, and capture your kids for the devil’s army.
This father in Luke 9 was not an absentee, unconcerned, indifferent father to the needs of his child. To Jesus he cried out for help concerning the healing deliverance of his son.
What is the devil up to concerning his strategy? I’ll guarantee you one thing early and easily in this chapter: The devil is a stickler for “legalism” apart from God’s grace, mercy, and love! In the New Testament era of Pharisees and scribes, I have no doubt that legalism was their testimony and a major reason for seeing that Jesus was put to death! What does the devil major on?
How about CASTING DOUBT ON THE VERACITY OF DIVINE TRUTH AND REVELATION.
If the Word of God observed produces liberation from bondage and produces life-changing activity of Holy God in the hearts of repentant, trusting believers, why would you even have a single doubt about the devil denying the truth of what God says?
If the Word of God exposes man’s sinful nature, exposes his rebellion to the will of God for his life, or that its truthfulness cannot be denied, what is the devil to do?
Notice what Charles Spurgeon had to say: [Memorial Library, Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol.2, p.297], “Other people may disbelieve the doctrines of revelation, but the devil cannot, for he knows the truth, and though he will belittle it often, he is so crafty that he understands that with the soul convinced of sin his best method is not to contradict the truth, but to pervert it.”
To the church at Galatia, Paul shared his troubled heart and mind because of those who were “misled” in falling away from revealed truth. He said in Galatians 1:6-7, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.”
And, of course, we’re fully aware of “the gospel of grit” crowd who want ‘self-effort’ being their motivating factor of faithfulness because of Jesus’ finished work at the Cross was misleading to them and denied their qualities of goodness, even though Jesus crucified both our worst and our best traits!
In Acts 13:8-10 Paul confronted Elymas the sorcerer who denied biblical truth! “But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith….
Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, “O Full of all deceit and fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord?”
There’s a convicting verse in 2 Corinthians 7:10 where Paul said, “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted, but the sorrow of the world produces death.”
And you do understand that one of the devil’s strategies is denying the conviction of sin and the necessity of repentance! Follow again Oswald Chambers’ words in his famous book, “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p.254]:
“Conviction of sin is one of the rarest things that ever strikes a man. It IS the threshold of an understanding of God. Jesus Christ said that when the Holy Spirit rouses a man’s conscience and brings him into the presence of God, it is not his relationship with men that bothers him, but his relationship with God – ‘Against You, God, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight.’ The marvels of conviction of sin, forgiveness, and holiness are so interwoven that it is only the forgiven man who is the holy man, he proves he is forgiven by being the opposite to what he was, by God’s grace. Repentance always brings a man to this point: I have sinned. The surest sign that God is at work is when a man says that and means it. Anything less than this is remorse for having made blunders, the reflex action of disgust at himself.”
Do you see and sense how wily, how cunning, how crafty, and how sly the devil is in perverting one’s true identity before Holy God? It was Thomas Adams who long ago said: “The devil is no idle spirit, but a vagrant, runagate walker, that never rests in one place. – The motive, cause, and main intention of his walking is to ruin man.” Hasn’t God’s Word told us that the devil “walks about seeking whom he may devour?” And certainly he “deceives” by perversion of Holy, Godly, Eternal Truth! Which leads us to:
SATAN CONFESSES TO “LIES” – NOT TO ETERNAL TRUTH! Do you remember Satan saying to Eve in Genesis 3, “Has God indeed said…?” And then he told Eve, “You will not surely die,” if you sin!
When a man even has a leaning toward “Eternal Truth,” that’s when the devil moves in; if a man displays a ‘turning’ to eternal truth, if the devil sees one with a heart even slightly moving in God’s direction, if Satan sees symptoms of true belief, he’ll direct a whole division of armed-demons to frustrate even a thought about God’s saving grace!
If Satan sees even a child turning toward Truth, you’re not aware of his ‘child-abuse’ with demonic infiltration, like a nation having “spies” to go underground to undermine and destroy anyone turning to the true faith?
SATAN FIGHTS FOR WHAT HE “THINKS” BELONGS TO HIM! He has his own ‘kingdom-domination-of-darkness’ for every life, every state, and even every nation. He wants to be ruler over the kingdom of deceit, deafness to God, and the desecration of anything ‘holy’.
If he sees a turning to the kingdom of God, he knows he’s losing a kingdom-subject that declines his support. His empire of darkness is being defeated, lessened, and weakened!
In 2 Timothy 2:26 Paul talked to Timothy about those who needed to come “to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.” He told Timothy earlier about faithful bishops, but I believe all born-again believers also, in I Timothy 3:7, “Moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside, lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil.”
The devil set ‘traps’ or ‘snares’ or ‘nets’ to hold you until you’re totally “brain-washed” and “heart-captured” to be loyal to him and his godless designs of his world living patterns!
Do you understand how dangerous it is living in a world where the devil is out to imprison you in unholy living? In 2 Corinthians 2:10-11 Paul wrote, “Now whom you forgive anything, I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence of Christ, LEST SATAN SHOULD TAKE ADVANTAGE OF US; FOR WE ARE NOT IGNORANT OF HIS DEVICES.”
Take advantage of you? How about enslavement, branded as belonging to the devil, identified as a citizen of the kingdom of darkness! That’s what the devil has in mind for you.
SATAN INDUCES BITTER SOULS TO END SADNESS BEFORE THEY FIND JOY! Does he use ‘failure’ as a reason to end sadness before one finds the true joy that only God can give? “I might as well end it all now because all I’ve known is failure, loss, disappointments, continual frustration with my inability to succeed!”
Do you understand ‘impulse’ being a factor of whether one chooses to live or die without ever examining the inspiration of Holy Living under God’s control?
Bitter souls, induced by Satan, to end sadness before they find joy, are individuals who have been blinded by Satan to see the Cross of Christ, or deafened to hear the voice of Jesus saying, “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.”
Do you not even understand at all the warfare against or for the eternal purposes of God in Christ for one’s life? Is it just easier to “end it all” rather than come into “God’s All” by His grace, mercy, and love? Is this why Paul wrote Romans 8:7? “Because the carnal [fleshly] mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.” So, one settles for ‘self-carnality’ rather than the fruit of Jesus’ resurrected life!
SATAN IS THE MASTER OF ANXIETY, WORRY, FEAR, DISCOURAGEMENT, INTIMIDATION, CONFIDENCE IN ‘FLESH’ LIVING! Would you dare to begin your own study between the life, blessing, and hope in Christ, compared to what the devil stands for and has instituted in earthly, bodily forms?
Can you even begin to imagine the conflicts, the struggles, the doubts and fears, of that little child invaded by that “unclean spirit,” yet many never consider the ‘fleshly’ debilitating “fruits of the devil” that only encourage disease, death, discouragement, and doubts if life really has any meaning for them!
And if they begin to look for hope, the devil spews hopelessness; if they turn even a degree toward faith, the devil sparks the dying flames of faithlessness, if they turn and look upward toward love and mercy, the devil fuels hate and mean-ness and even madness!
Whatever God promotes out of a heart of compassion, the devil will mimac the opposite out of heartlessness; if God inspires heavenly joy, the devil will counterfeit ‘happiness’ which is so temporary or seasonal.
SATAN ALSO MAJORS ON THE SHIFTS OF ONE’S EYE-CONTACT FROM THE ETERNAL TO THE TEMPORARY, FROM VIEWING CHRIST JESUS TO CENTERING ONE ON HIMSELF/HERSELF! You do comprehend! There is a ‘self-worship’ instituted by the devil himself that turns a potential man/woman of faith in Christ to an inward devotion on ‘flesh’ and not on and in the Spirit of God!
The devil hates, resents, misrepresents, dilutes, and seeks to poison any idea of one turning to Christ as the true author and true finisher of one’s faith. He’ll tell you, “It’s not mercy that saves you – it’s merit! You have to earn a place on Christ’s team!”
And when it gets down to the “nitty-gritty” level, the devil majors on thorns, briars, unplowed, unseeded fields, void of the Word and void of the Holy Spirit!
You do understand! The devil wants you in “Egypt” – not in the Promised Land of Faith, Hope, and Love. This is why Moses tells us in this modern day: Deuteronomy 6:12-13, “then BEWARE, lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage. You shall fear the Lord your God and serve Him, and shall take oaths in His name.”
There’s a verse that I pray you receive for yourself. IT’s found in Mark 9:7-8, “And a cloud came and overshadowed them; and a voice came out of the cloud, saying, ‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!’ Suddenly, when they had looked around, they saw no one anymore, but only Jesus with themselves.’”
Jesus Only! Did God say, ‘This is My beloved Son. Hear Him!’?” Yes! God always has pointed to Jesus as the Coming Messiah, the only Lord and Savior who redeems lives by His shed blood on the Cross!
“The Devil’s Distressing Disguises Or Jesus’ Dynamic Deliverance?” But, of course, you understand – the devil introduced, promoted, fought for “more than one way to God” – so “Fig-Leaf Religions” were birthed or fallen men determined their own ‘way’ to God!
But then listen to Paul as he wrote to Timothy in I Timothy 2:1-7, Therefore I exhort first of all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence….
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth….
For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,….
For which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle – I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying – a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth.”
Didn’t the beloved John warn us about “false prophets” that I’m convinced were under marching orders from the devil, not God -? In I John 4:1-6 John wrote: “Beloved, [children of redemptive, repentant faith in Christ alone!], do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world….
By this you know the Spirit of God; EVERY SPIRIT THAT CONFESSES JESUS CHRIST HAS COME IN THE FLESH IS OF GOD, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this IS the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world….
They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
Dare I tell you that God is grieved deeply in His heart for a rebellious, unbelieving religious world that rejects His love and an unbelieving religious world that has no problems with the Crucifixion of Christ? Jesus is not their concern – they’ve determined for themselves how God should accept them!
But there is a Word from Holy God! Let the Spirit write it on your mind and heart! It’s 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12! It says: “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you abounds toward each other,….
So that we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that you endure….
Which is manifest evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you also suffer;….
Since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those who trouble you, and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels,….
In flaming fire taking vengeance ON THOSE WHO DO NOT KNOW GOD, AND ON THOSE WHO DO NOT OBEY THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST….
These shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,….
When He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be admired among all those who believe, because our testimony among you was believed….
Therefore we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,….
That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Are you even aware of ‘religious yokes of bondage’ or ‘fleshly yokes of bondage’ promoted by Satan himself? This is why in Galatians 5:1 Paul wrote: “Stand fast therefore in the LIBERTY by which Christ has made you free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage.”
That’s FREE from the devil’s bondage! That’s free from the law of sin and death! That’s free from the failures of your ‘worst and your best’ in place of God’s presence in you! That’s free from your own expectations of yourself but filled with God’s eternal purpose, power, and pleasure! That’s free from ‘yokes’ and willfully chosen the attitude of yieldedness to God’s good, acceptable, and perfect will!
Yes, liberty in Christ! That’s what Oswald Chambers called “the liberty of realizing the dominance of Jesus Christ.” I assure you, that’s better than the dominance of the devil!
John 1:12 tells, “…as many as received Him [Jesus Christ], to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe [trust in, rely upon, adhere to] in His name.”
And having believed in, trusted in, relied upon, and adhered myself to Jesus Only, things in me have not simply been ‘altered’, but crucified with Christ, now dead to my old self, and raised by Him to walk in the newness of life, which is His eternal, abiding presence in us – we become His holy temple!
Oswald Chambers, in “My Utmost For His Highest,” [p235], wrote: “If you still hanker after the old things, it is absurd to talk about being born again, the Spirit of God makes the alteration manifest in your actual life and reasoning, and when the crisis comes you are the most amazed person on earth at the wonderful difference in you. There is no possibility of imagining that ‘you’ did it. It is this complete and amazing alteration that is the evidence you are a saved soul.”
In John 5:24 Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.”
If “the wages of sin is death”, and you’re that ‘active’ sinner, be assured ‘spiritual death’ reigns in you, and only Jesus can save you from sin, from death, from your old self, from the devil and his demons – only Jesus can set you free from your ‘old man’ and birth eternal life in you!
In John 11:25 Jesus said to Martha, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live.” And I have no hesitation in saying to you, If Jesus gives you ‘new life,’ you’ll always be consciously aware of what your old man was all about!
You’ll become so aware of the change from death to eternal life, from spiritual blindness to eternal sight, from fleshly meaninglessness to divine purpose, from fleshly and demonic weakness to God’s eternal strength, from fleshly attractions to spiritual fruit of the Holy Spirit, from un-holiness to an awareness you’ve taken on the very holiness of God Himself, from demonic intimidation to Spirit-inspiration, from the chains of the devil’s bondage to the liberty and freedom of Christ the Conqueror!
“Free at last, free at last! Praise God Almighty – I’m free at last!”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
WIMPY ACCEPTANCE OF DEMONIC INTIMIDATION OR WILLFUL ACCEPTANCE OF GOD’S WARFARE-ARMOR?
You, no doubt, have at least heard John 10:10 at least at some point in your life-journey. Jesus said: ‘The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I [Jesus] have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
Life journeys have always been exposed to experiences, alternatives, choices, decisions of ‘who’ or ‘what’ or ‘whom’ will have determining factors or influences upon one’s life for the ‘curse’ or for the “Blessing”, for temporary satisfaction or eternal significance, for the devil’s reputation or for God’s Holy Honor!
Some in our world today have, for a long period of time, been so fully intertwined, twisted, so intimate with the powers of darkness and demonic activities, that their sentence of ‘death’ within themselves is so common it’s just like another grain of salt on what they’ve determined as their daily diet.
Wimpy acceptance of demonic intimidation? How about ineffectual as concerning God’s eternal intent for their earthly lives? How about picked on by the devil and demon powers with no will to fight back? Wimpy? How about willfully consenting to Satanic control with no will to give Holy God even a thought?
Wimpy acceptance? How about giving in to every demonic temptation that satisfies one’s darkened, imprisoned, bound up sin nature, surrendering to a temporary, God-dishonoring lesser cause or purpose – a feeble fight, indecisive, ineffectual, pumping sinful flesh for all it’s worth and denying God even an inch of ground in the mind and heart?
Do you understand and recognize that the friends of darkness, the devil, and the demons are interested only in your surrender to the deadly activities of the world, the flesh, and the devil? And you must learn early in life that there is a universal confederacy of darkness that wants to blind you and keep you blind to God’s love, grace, and mercy, your vision obliterated concerning Christ and His Cross, and your head and heart knowledge of God’s Calvary-Love left out of his life-dictionary! That’s the devil’s death-dictionary really!
Are you aware of the “wimpy acceptance of demonic intimidation” by men who are overcome by no resistance to tempting devils, overcome by, yes, fleshly allegiance to their old sin natures, to their infidel principles, to their own personal demons assigned by Satan himself because he’s read their faithless mind, examined their diseased heart, and observed their worldly traits since childhood?
Are you not aware that every man on the face of the earth IS engaged in a constant crusade for either the devil’s army or for the cause of Christ? You are either masquerading your loyalty to the devil’s forces or you’re openly living out your calling as the ambassador of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Sadly, most of our world fight their fleshly battles against Christ and His Church with, far too often, an allegiance to the devil that they know nothing about! Check their footprints! What are they imitating and becoming like? Who are their friends and fellow-comrades?
Do you ever sense, or maybe I should ask, are you a part of our modern world’s skepticism, our modern world’s rending of Gospel truths, our modern world’s attempt at defaming, denying, and declaiming any loyalty to God’s Eternal Word, both written and Living?
I find it so ‘comical’, and at the same time, so troubling when I read a verse like Revelation 22:15 as Jesus had testified concerning the ‘blessed’ earlier, then says: “But outside [His Kingdom!] are dogs and sorcerers…,” and I realize Jesus compares unbelievers as barking dogs, yelping animals, toothless with no bite, but vocal with only a howl – they don’t know Jesus, yes, takes ‘dogs’ and transforms them by His miracles of grace into sons and daughters of the Most High God!
Though the devil and his demon-army are also like toothless dogs, they still bark, and certainly can stop a faithless man in his tracks! I came across these words of an old English hymn in one of Spurgeon’s books. The song says:
“Can you cleave to your Lord, can you cleave to your Lord When the many turn aside? Can you witness that He has the living Word, And none upon earth beside?….
Do you answer we can, do you answer we can, Through His love’s constraining power? But do you remember the flesh is weak, And will shrink in the trial hour?….
Yet yield to His love, Who around you now The bands of a man would cast; The cords of His love, who was given for you, To His altar binding you fast.”
And you are either branded with the devil’s marks or Jesus has bound you fast on His altar called the Cross! Tell me, who are you identified with?
Just because a “crowd” can condemn one man , Jesus, a crowd was, has been, and is the “testimony” of a “wimpy acceptance of demonic intimidation”!
I want you to come to Matthew 27:39-54. Follow the Word and decide: “Am I one of the wimpy ones or a true disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ?” It says: “And those who passed by blasphemed Jesus, wagging their heads and saying, ‘You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the Cross.”….
Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if he will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”….
Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’, that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’….
Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, ‘This Man is calling for Elijah!’ Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink….
The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.” And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His Spirit….
Then, behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from the top to the bottom; and the earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;….
And coming out of the graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to many. So when the centurion, and those with Him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had happened, they feared greatly, saying, “Truly this was the Son of God.”
Dare you even read Psalm 22? And especially in verses 16-18, what do you see? Is it a prophetic word about Jesus? It says: “For dogs have surrounded Me, the congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet; I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me. They divide My garments among them, and for My clothing they cast lots.”
Psalm 22:8 then declares, “For the Kingdom is the Lord’s and He rules over the nations.” And what did and what does the devil do in defiance of King Jesus?
Psalm 2:1-9 declares, “Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against His anointed, saying,….
Let us break their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision….
Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure, “Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion.” I will declare the decree; the Lord has said to Me, ‘You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession….
You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.”
Any life, any nation, any demon who rejects Jesus will be broken with a rod of iron, and Jesus will dash them to pieces like a potter’s pot – broken and spread abroad so some will see and turn from the devil to the Lord of All Life!
Have you grasped the full significance of the past, present, and future of the devil and his wimpy disciples? I’m telling you: sin is so diabolical, so evil, so initially pleasurable, and then the sting of death occurs. Sin is so blanketed with shame, with distress, with a depraved state of life, yet the devil, his army, and unbelievers will cast insult after insult on our bleeding, suffering, dying Savior and Lord, and make fun of God’s ‘brainless attempt’ at man’s forgiveness, resurrection, new life, and eternal hope.
Those themes the devil denies and mocks and scorns and laughs at and ridicules, but God the Father, God the Spirit God the Son, the angels of Heaven, and the saints of all ages sing and keep on singing the “Hallelujah Chorus” for the victory of Jesus over the devil and his hordes of slaves and unbelievers.
Do you understand and comprehend what the family of faith faced, faces now, and will continue to face, because God’s Word is so clear? In I John 5:11-13 we read, “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son does not have life….
These things I have written to you who believe in [trust in, rely upon, adhere to] the name of the Son of God, that you may KNOW that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”
Will YOU receive Biblical Truth as it relates to your identity in Christ? I John 4:17c says, “we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as Jesus Is, SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.” Glory! When Jesus said on the Cross: “It is finished!”, you should recognize and willfully accept “God’s Warfare-Armor”!
God the Father raised Jesus from the dead by His power! That’s Resurrection Life, Resurrection Power, and Resurrection Hope. And though we were dead in our trespasses and sins, our faith in our Lord and Savior’s finished work at Mt. Calvary and God’s able-ness in His tomb, we discover God’s Amazing Grace, His awesome power, and His eternal hope, given to repentant, redeemed, regenerated followers of Saving Faith! Yes, Jesus trusted the Father – and so must you! Do you make much about trusted Father-God for your salvation through Jesus’ willful obedience to His Father as He went to the Cross?
Self-reliance is the devil’s way – and he was cast out of heaven, assigned a hellish dwelling, and does his utmost to take as many as possible to his dark abode! Yet, how many people do you know who surround your life but have no interest in your “saving faith”?
Jesus trusted Father-God before the world was! Jesus trusted Father-God as He and the Holy Spirit helped Him shape our world, our universes, our stars and planets, our sun and moon, our beautiful oceans, rivers, streams, and lakes – even all the new worlds being discovered in our very century! And iof Jesus trusted God, so will I trust Him! Will you?
And when your ‘world’ around you has no appreciation of your faith, will you stand ‘faithful’? When your enemies scorn your surrender to Christ, can you withstand their flaming darts and furious, phony accusations? Spiritual storms will emerge – will you say, “Peace! Be Still!”? Isaiah even wrote in Isaiah 57:1, “The righteous perishes, and no man takes it to heart; merciful men are taken away, while no one considers that the righteous is taken away from ‘face of evil’.”
It’s absolutely awe-inspiring to me what I just read from Spurgeon today! [Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol.19, Memorial Library, p.232], “The gospel lives by being killed and conquers by defeat. Cast it where you will, it always falls upon its feet.” Consider Christ’s witness, His life, His death, His Resurrection, His Ascension, His soon-coming – but you don’t see where you fit in to His calendar, His time-table, His purpose and plan for your life?
Then, here comes demonic activity, devilish influences – and one is either tricked by evil influences or trusts in Holy God’s unveiling of divine truth! And when a man ignores God’s Truth and yields to Satan, the world, and the flesh, he realizes, I pray, before it is too late: “Father-God in my life does matter!”
Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 2:10-11, “Whatever my eyes desired I did not keep from them. I did not withhold my heart from any pleasure. For my heart rejoiced in all my labor; and this was my reward from all my labor….
Then I looked on all the works that my hands had done and on the labor in which I had toiled; and indeed ALL WAS VANITY AND GRASPING FOR WIND. There was NO PROFIT UNDER THE SUN.”
Do you see Solomon’s dilemma for a long, long time? He set his life on what was ‘crooked’ and on that which had no eternal meaning or profit!
Oh, but then God had His breakthrough with Solomon, and Solomon saw that his lifestyle was temporary and destructive, and, yes, even devilish, but God’s purpose is “eternity in their hearts” and “what God does [IN ME] is forever”!
God warns – the devil woos! God alerts – the devil puts men to sleep! God says, ‘sin and you die’ – but Satan says, ‘You surely shall not die.’ God says, “My Word is redemptive” – Satan says, “God’s Word is restrictive.” God says, “Follow Me, divine living” – Satan says, “Follow me, ‘flesh’ appreciation.” God says, “My Kingdom is royal reconciliation” – Satan says, “That kingdom is rebellious to a man’s doing things his way.”
What did Paul tell us in 2 Corinthians 10:5? “…casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought captive to the obedience of Christ…” Jesus dealt with your old sin nature at the Cross – but in the journey of warfare with demonic activity, Peter tells us in I Peter 5:8-9,
“Be sober [serious minded], be vigilant, [alert to the devil’s traps and snares], because your ADVERSARY [enemy] the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. RESIST HIM, STEADFAST IN THE FAITH, knowing that the same sufferings were experienced by your brotherhood in the world.”
Examine Oswald Chambers’ statement in “My Utmost For His Highest,” [pps. 185-186], “The warfare is not against sin; we can never fight against sin: Jesus Christ deals with sin in Redemption. The conflict is along the lines of turning our natural life into a spiritual life, and this is never done easily, nor does God intend it to be done easily. It is done only by a series of moral choices. God does not make us holy in the sense of character; He makes us holy in the sense of innocence, and we have to turn that innocence into holy character by a series of moral choices. These choices are continually in antagonism to the entrenchments of our natural life, the things which erect themselves as ramparts against the knowledge of God. We can either go back and make ourselves of no account in the Kingdom of God, or we can determinedly demolish those things and let Jesus bring another son to glory.” AMEN?
It’s not our ‘impulse’ against the devil, but our yielding to Christ and His victory “At The Cross” thousands of years ago!! AMEN, again!
CHAPTER NINETEEN
THE DEVIL –YOUR PRINCE IN DARKNESS? OR JESUS – YOUR KING OF LIGHT?
Just how serious is it for one, or a group, or a church, or a nation to not know that the “prince of darkness” thrives on biblical ignorance in the minds of individuals who aren’t even aware of spiritual blindness related to their own condition of ‘darkness’ or void of their understanding of one’s eternal need of God?
You know the “Light of the world” came – and His name is JESUS! And the ‘prince of darkness’? That’s Satan – the abuser, the accuser, the author of life stories in ungodly darkness! Yes, your enemy is one shadowy character – his destiny for all mankind was and is total darkness oblivious of God’s Presence and God’s purpose for your life now and through all eternity.
You’ll find it interesting that in Genesis 15:12 the Word tells us: “Now when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and, behold, horror and great darkness fell upon him.” Are you aware that for thirteen years Abram experienced that many years of silence from God – no word from God at All? Thirteen years of silence. God’s silence for you can be and often is His ministry of blotting out any self-dependency, any self-interest, or any self- sufficiency. Have you experienced those times, those years, of God being silent to you but in those hours, days, weeks, months, years of His silence, you break through to Heaven’s Glory and His eternal purpose for your life, and you report for duty, yes, fighting the good fight of faith, overcoming every demonic testing?
Consider this possibility: the devil’s darkness and his desire for you to stay there with him; the devil’s darkness the destiny of any man who chooses to live without Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord of his life; and the devil’s darkness becoming a state of damnation because of fleshly unwillingness to be saved by God’s grace! That’s darkness – forever – with Satan!
Yet there was a survey years ago, back in the early 2000 years, that 90% of those surveyed felt sure they’d be in Heaven because they saw themselves as so good, while only 30 per cent surveyed saw hell as a legitimate place! So Jesus Himself, to them, 70%, must be a real liar! [Give me a break!}.
In Matthew 10:27-28 Jesus spoke: “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather, fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” And the word ‘hell’ is the Greek word ‘GEHENNA” which the Jews used as hell or place of fire and punishment and torment!
But you’d rather entertain the ‘prince of darkness’ than be captured, converted, and consecrated to the honor of Christ and the one True and Living God? I absolutely love, adore, and celebrate Acts 5:19-20, which tells me, “But at night an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors and brought them out, and said, ‘Go stand in the temple and speak to all the people all the words of this life.”
The devil offers you the word of darkness, death, denial of redemptive truth – while Jesus gives you forgiveness, life eternal, blessing, and the peace that passes all understanding!
Antagonist agents come from the devil – angels of Heaven come from God Himself. Spiritually – blinded representatives of the slaves of darkness come – from Heaven glorious angels appear. Doubters, arguers, opposition slaves to the devil, eternal liars, insane sad-u-cees, come from Hell – from the very presence of the throne-room of God and the King of kings and the Lord of lords, come ‘ministering spirits’, angels of Heavenly honor! Spurgeon said: [don’t miss this!] [Spurgeon’s Sermons, Vol. 19, p.238], “The omnipotence of God will be glorified in the insignificance of the agents by whom He will achieve the everlasting triumph.” GLORY!
I have an old, old hymnal from long ago. And thinking about our warfare against the devil and his demon forces, I was reminded of a hymn I sang even as a little boy and teen-ager. It says:
“I’ve seen the lightning flashing, and heard the thunder roll; I’ve felt sin’s breakers dashing, Trying to conquer my soul; I’ve heard the voice of my Savior, Telling me still to fight on; He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone….
The world’s fierce winds are blowing, Temptations sharp and keen; I feel a peace in knowing My Savior stands between; He stands to shield me from danger When earthly friends are gone; He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone….
When in affliction’s valley, I’m treading the road of care; My SAavior helps me to carry My cross when heavy to bear; My feet, entangled with briars Ready to cast me down; My Savior whispers His promise: ‘I will never leave you alone.’….
He died for me on the mountain, For me they pierced His side; For me He opened the fountain, The crimson, cleansing tide; For me He’s waiting in glory, Seated upon His throne; He promised never to leave me, Never to leave me alone.” Are you alone and lonely?
One of the powerful purposes of God through Christ was not only the reality of God’s saving grace, bringing us forgiveness of sins, but the coming of Christ to the perilous places of demonic, devilish activity, to demonstrate our ability in Him of authoritatively exercising our own: “Get behind me, Satan! I’m a servant of the Resurrected Christ!”
And, oh, one of the greatest blessings of the family of faith is reporting daily on the battlefields of life to not only defeat Satan but to deliver his captives to our Lord’s Throne-room of redemptive ministry! Are you aware of the great joy and celebration of Jesus when He sees you “rescuing the perishing”?
Hear me! You’re not an ‘invalid’ in Christ Jesus, lame from your spiritual birth! You’re an invader of demonic kingdoms, even his vast strongholds of disease, disobedience, and distrust of God’s faithful Word!
To Timothy (and us), Paul wrote 2 Timothy 4:1-5, “I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom….
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching….
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;….
And they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
“Endure afflictions”? That’s more than man-made, unbelieving, rebellious sons of darkness – it’s the devil who also “afflicts”, “wounds”, and seeks to destroy!
Unholy spirits are operative in a maddening world encouraging the sins of the flesh, loosening demons to attack, injure, so harm comes to careless “sinners” that their lives are transformed into spiritual invalids. There are ‘angels’ of devilish occupations who are out to disengage any man who looks toward God Almighty! He’s brutal, betraying eternal truth, and belittling anyone who turns toward God. If you know nothing about demonic activity, demonic warfare, and demonic bondage, more than likely you are fully the devil’s, so why waste time on you when you are already his!
Do you understand how fruitless the devil sees endless debate about his existence, his strategy, and his supposed victory, when he already has millions chained and enslaved to his debased way of existence?
But to true believers, ambassadors of Christ Jesus, witnesses of His grace, mercy, and love, Paul said again to Timothy, I Timothy 6:20-21, “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge – by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you. Amen.”
“Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people ALL THE WORDS OF THIS LIFE.” Does that mean the only place you speak words of life is in the temple? I don’t think so. How many demonized unbelievers do you see in your church every Sunday? If the church is not a ‘going’ people, why would you think it would be a growing church?
Isn’t it amazing to you God’s heart? In 2 Peter 3:9 Peter tells us, “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, NOT WILLING THAT ANY SHOULD PERISH, but THAT ALL should come to repentance.”
The word of the Lord came to Ezekial! In Ezekial 33:11 God spoke, “As I live,’ says the Lord God, ‘I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked should turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die, O house of Israel?”
If God’s angel has told you already, and He has, is your “speaking to the people all the words of this life,” [Acts 5:20], an option you hold or a heavenly commissioning?
Are you aware of multitudes around you, in your city, in your place of occupation, in your neighborhood, in schools and universities and hospitals, people who’ve never heard the Gospel Truth? And are you aware that Acts 5:42 tells us the early disciples “daily in the temple, and IN EVERY HOUSE,…did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ”?
And IF YOU are a citizen of this disordered world order, with the lost surrounding you, those darkened by the devil, but you enlightened by the Lord Jesus, isn’t it our calling, our commissioning, our mandate, to carry the light to where they are? If there are spiritually hungry men starving around you, will you carry the “Bread of Life” to them? If the spiritually sick and sin-diseased are around you, will you escort the Miracle Healer to their door? If you’ve sensed demonic activity in the lives of those you know and care about, will you dare to take Christ’s authority over those demon destroyers?
Don’t you find it thrilling that we read in Acts 5:28, as the high priest accused the faithful disciples, “Did we not strictly command you not to teach in this name? And look, you have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this Man’s blood on us!”
And Peter and the other apostles told them, “We ought to obey God rather than men.”
It’s so amazing and shocking to me that a God-birthed nation in the U.S.A. is being attacked and a devilish movement of silencing the Word, the praying, the witnessing, and the caring – godless men, godless leaders, are poisoning or binding or silencing or claiming governmental violations, yes, truly accusing and blaming God for being God!
Thank God, those early disciples “did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ.” Thank God, “blood atonement” was faithfully taught. Thank God, they exposed Jesus ‘murdered by hanging on a tree.” Thank God, they clearly understood about obeying God rather than men.
And though the devil and the powers of darkness hated it, and though governmental and religious leaders opposed it, those early sold-out disciples proclaimed God’s forgiveness of sin through the shed blood of the Lamb of God, and preached and witnessed and taught that only in and through Christ Jesus is there union with divine, eternal, spiritual life that is far more than religious exceptionalism. In Jesus is Resurrection Life, Resurrection Power, and Resurrection Hope!
When God’s Word declares: Verse 20 of Acts 5, “…speak to the people ALL THE WORDS OF THIS LIFE,” you’re comfortable with selective words that fit your mind, your life, your life-style, and “all the words of this life” can be altered, demonically twisted, even denied?
Paul understood the devil’s intent to disgrace Jesus, dishonor God’s Truth about His Son, defame anyone standing up to honor God’s Son and our Savior and Lord, deny the Lamb of God as the only way of reconciliation to Holy God, distort biblical truth, and certainly he saw the deception that can grip even professing believers. In Galatians 1:6 he wrote, “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, Verse 7, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert [distort] the gospel of Christ.”
In the New Living Translation 2 Corinthians 11:4 challenges us: “You seem to believe whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach about a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.”
And that, my friends, is a dastardly, defiant, deceitful work of Satan, yes, even through ill-informed or false prophets, promoted by Satan as the preachy liar, adaptable proclaimers of error, untruths, and false hopes.
Devilish preachers who mess up divine truth are not masters of the Word but misfits who know nothing of protecting Holy Truth. Carnal teachers are lecherous teachers addicted to their stripped minds and hearts, continually manipulated by the powers of darkness, and certainly like a ‘strip-tease’ artist lusted for by mental, maligned, miserable midgets! Carnal unbelief seems to be an attraction for phony preachers.
But, sadly, it’s not just devilish preachers or the mental midgets of God’s Holy Word – how concerned are you today with, yes, children, youth, young adults, being trained by far too many worldly, fleshly, demonically motivated teachers?
I was reading Elizabeth Barrettt Browning recently in her book, “The Poetical Works of E.B.B,” poems written by her from 1826 to 1844. One is called, “The Cry of the Children.” No doubt what she wrote came about because of her observance o0f children and youth who had to work like ‘slaves’ in the factories across England: [pps. 289-291], This is only a portion!
“Ay! Be silent! Let them hear each other breathing For a moment mouth to mouth – Let them touch each other’s hands, in a fresh wreathing of their tender human youth!
Let them feel that this cold metallic motion Is not all the life God fashions or reveals – Let them prove their inward souls against the notion That they live in you, or under you, O wheels! –
Still, all day, the iron wheels go onward, As if fate in each other were stark; and the children’s souls, which God is calling sunward, Spin on blindly in the dark.
Now tell the poor young children, O my brothers, That they look to Him and pray – So the blessed One, who blesses all the others, Will bless them another day.
They answer, “Who is God that He should hear us, While the rushing of the iron wheel is stirred? When we sob aloud, the human creatures near us pass by, hearing not, or answer not a word!
And ‘we’ hear not (for the wheels in their resounding) Strangers speaking at the door; Is it likely God, with angels singing round Him, Hears our weeping any more?
“Two words, indeed, of praying we remember; And at midnight’s hour of harm, – ‘Our Father,’ looking upward in the chamber, we say softly for a charm, We know no other words, except ‘Our Father,’ And we think that, in some pause of angels’ song, God may pluck them with the silence sweet to gather, And hold both within His right hand which is strong
‘Our Father!’ If He heard us, He would surely (For they call Him good and mild) Answer, smiling down the steep world very purely, ‘Come and rest with Me, my child,’”
“But no!” say the children, weeping faster, “He is speechless as a stone? And they tell us, of His image is the master Who commands us to work on. Go to!” say the children, – “Up in Heaven, Dark, wheel-like, turning clouds are all we find!
Do not mock us; grief has made us unbelieving – We look up for God, but tears have made us blind.” Do you hear the children weeping and disproving, O my brothers, what you preach? For God’s possible is taught by His world’s loving – and the children doubt of each.
And well may the children weep before you; They are weary ere they run; They have never seen the sunshine, nor the glory Which is brighter than the sun: They know the grief of men, but not the wisdom; They sink in despair, without the calm – Are slaves, without the liberty ion Christdom, – Are martyrs, by the pang without the palm, – Are worn, as if with age, yet unretrievingly no dear remembrance keep, – Are orphans of the earthly and heavenly:
Let them weep! Let them weep!
They look up, with their pale and sunken faces, And their look is dread to see, For you think you see their angels in their places, With eyes meant for deity; – “How long,” they say, “how long, O cruel nation, Will you stand, to move the world, on a child’s heart,
Stifle down with a mailed heel its palpitation, And tread onward to your throne amid the smart?
Our blood splashes upward, O our tyrants, And your purple shows your path; But the child’s sob curses deeper in the silence Than the strong man in his wrath.”
Hear me, man, woman, boy or girl, yes, little child! God Almighty loves you with an everlasting love, proving His love for you by the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus, on the Cross of Calvary! And He proved His power by raising Jesus from the dead!
No devil, no demon, no army of unbelievers, no world full of rebellious sinners can keep you from receiving forgiveness of sins, freedom from bondage, fullness of His eternal purpose for your life, and Hell itself with all its evil forces cannot keep you from our Lord’s overcoming, victorious, God-honoring Life and purpose!
The devil would have you blind to your total depravity, blind to the eternal effects of your Fall without Christ as Savior and Lord, blind to the reality of spiritual death now, blind to the awful doom of self and eternal separation from Holy God, blind to the necessity of regeneration producing “new birth”, yes, blind to the Resurrected Christ, knocking at your heart’s door in this very moment!
Jesus IS your “King of Light”! Why live under the cloud of darkness of demonic domination? Jesus, the “King of Light,” is also, the “King of Love My Shepherd IS”! H.W. Baker and J.B. Dykes wrote the following hymn:
“The King of love my Shepherd is, Whose goodness fails never; I nothing lack if I am His, And He is mine forever….
Where streams of living water flow My ransom soul He leadeth; And, where the verdant pastures grow, With food celestial feedeth….
In death’s dark vale I fear no ill, with You, dear Lord, beside me; Your rod and staff my comfort still, Your cross before to guide me….
And so through all the coming days, Your love shall fail me never; Good Shepherd, may I sing Your praises, Within Your house forever.”
And I know without hesitation that this is why Henry F. Lyte wrote the hymn, “Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken”! It says: “Jesus, I my cross have taken, All to leave, and follow Thee; Destitute, despised, forsaken, You, from hence, may all shall be:
Perish every fond ambition, All I’ve sought, and hoped, and known; Yet how rich is my condition, God and Heaven are still my own!
Let the world despise and leave me, They have left my Savior, too; Human hearts and looks deceive me; You are not, like man, untrue;
And, while You shall smile upon me, God of wisdom, love, and might, Foes may hate and friends may shun me; Show Your face, and all is bright.
Man [even demons] may trouble and distress me, It will but drive me to Your breast; Life with trials hard may press me, Heaven will bring me sweeter rest.
O it’s not in grief to harm me, While Your love is left to me; O it was not in joy to charm me, Were that joy unmixed with Thee.
Haste me on from grace to glory, Armed by faith, and winged by prayer; Heaven’s eternal day is before thee, God’s own hand shall guide you there.
Soon shall close your earthly mission, Swift shall pass your pilgrim days, Hope shall change to glad fruition, Faith to sight, and prayer to praise.” AMEN?
Why? BECAUSE JESUS IS YOUR “KING OF LIGHT” FOREVER AND EVER!
CHAPTER TWENTY
DESCENDING DEVIL OR ASCENDED LORD?
I find it so amazing that Jesus says in John 15:16, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain….”
But when it comes to the “descending devil,” we were all birthed with a sin nature, totally enslaved, branded with the devil’s markings, traits, identity, as a bond-slave to him.
In Zechariah 2:13 the prophet spoke: “Be silent, all flesh, before the Lord, for He is aroused from His holy habitation.” And then, in Zechariah 3:1-4 the prophet tells us:
The he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and SATAN standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”….
Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel. Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.” [Are you robed by God?].
I certainly do not know how it is with you, but I rejoice and celebrate the truth that Jesus rebuked Satan and snatched the branding iron from the fire!
And though God’s servant had been wearing filthy garments, don’t you rejoice that his filthy garments [robes of iniquity] had been removed from him, and he was then clothed with rich robes? How about you? Robes of iniquity or robes of righteousness?
In Proverbs 15:11 the wise man tells us, “Hell and Destruction are before the Lord; So how much more the hearts of the sons of men.” And as ‘the hearts of the sons of men’ are before the Lord, what does God see, what does God read about your present-conditioned heart? Acts 1:24 says, “You, O Lord, who knows the hearts of all…”, and knowing your heart, how does it read before Holy God? Devotion to the descending devil or allegiance to our Ascended Lord?
And if you didn’t know the ‘descending devil’ authors “woes” while the God of the Cross authors births, and blesses “the worshipping of the King of kings and Lord of lords”! The ‘descending devil’ birthed eternal death while Jesus authors “eternal life”!
In I Corinthians 15:46-58 we read: “However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. The first man was of the earth made of dust [earthy]; the second Man is the Lord from heaven….
As was the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust, []also ‘earthy’]; and as is the heavenly Man, so also are those who are heavenly….
And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man….
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed -….
In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed….
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’….’O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?’ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory though our Lord Jesus Christ…..
Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”
Death does have the ‘devil’s sting’ because his lifestyle was rebellion against Truth and surrender to sin and its eternal destructive nature! When did “the wages of sin” no longer become “death”? That, my friends is only the mind of the devil and his followers! Sin IS falling short of God’s glory and embracing the devil’s maligning pleasures that are so cancerous and deadly producing eternal separation from God, except for the blood shed by Jesus as the Lamb of God to reconcile us to Him!
There is a ‘law of sin and death’, but the “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me [us] free from the law of sin and death.” [Romans 8:2].
You understand that the devil’s mind of carnality results in the reality of spiritual death, but the mind of Christ is life and peace! This is why in Romans 8:12-14 Paul tells us:
“Therefore, brethren, we are debtors – not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the flesh, you will lived. For as many as are led by the Spirit, these are sons of God.” Led by the flesh, led by your old sin nature, led and motivated by the devil and his demon forces, one dies without ever dying – but in and through Christ one receives eternal life and “Lives” supremely!
Since it is a ‘descending devil,’ where is he headed, and where are his followers headed? Do you remember Jesus’ condemnation of the scribes and Pharisees? In Matthew 23:33 Jesus said, “Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell?”
Oh, in Luke 12:4-5, Jesus unveils powerfully the fear of God! “And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: FEAR HIM [God] who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!”
Do you remember Jesus’ challenge to enter “by the narrow way”? That’s Matthew 7:13-14; our Lord and Savior said: “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Is that alarming to you as it is to me? Many go the “broad way” with the devil’s destructive style following, but “few” go the “narrow way” because it’s tough, demanding, costly – yes, die to self that you may live in and through Christ!
Dare I tell you that to be one with the devil is impure Hell? Do you comprehend that “Hell” IS the absence of God and the very presence of the devil and his demon forces and the suffering men of unbelief yet now living with eternal sorrow and pain? Do you understand ‘eternal darkness’? Do you sense Hell to be unceasing, everlasting pain, coupled with constant torture by ‘demons’?
Do you understand ‘incurable sin-diseases,’ or a constant decaying that never rots out? Have you even comprehended the costliness of ‘self-love’ while you rejected willfully God’s free gift?
It was Shakespeare who wrote: “Divines and dying men talk of hell, but in my heart her several torments dwell.”
Do you just excuse ‘resounding woes’ as a justifiable way of life, accepting not only the devil’s ‘testings’ but his torments, accepting his lies while you set aside God’s truths, accepting his costly offers while you reject God’s costly Cross, accepting the devil’s guilt while God has before you eternal forgiveness?
And do you realize that the “descending devil” will hide your reward in Hell, while God opens His “pearly gates” wide for you to see your eternal blessing in Heaven? What is the reward for criminal activity of the Spirit-realm when unbelievers, deceived by the devil, are waiting and looking and expecting a rich pay-out for their godless life?
Alighieri Dante, in “Inferno,” wrote: Here sighs, pliants, and voices of the deepest woe resounded through the starless sky. Strange languages, horrid cries, accents of grief and wrath, voices deep and hoarse, with hands clinched in despair, made a commotion which whirled forever through that air of everlasting gloom, even as sand when whirlwinds sweep the ground.”
Whirlwinds of eternal punishment for demonic yieldedness! Storms of ceaseless winds of destruction because one loves the ‘flesh’ rather than the Cross of Christ! Terrible cyclones of horrendous penalty because one loves “fleshly activity” rather than “Spirit-Atonement”! Skullish living that brings death and bones rather than Spirit-anointing that opens doors to everlasting life!
Do you not know that godless men step, they think upward, but in reality, they’ve stepped downward into an abyss of the devil’s making that is torture, godlessness, pain, because of the great furnace of never-ceasing flames, visible darkness the devil thought would hide the truth of everlasting punishment, but easily lighted up the torture and pain and godlessness guilt, and, without ever ceasing, eternal judgment!
Wouldn’t YOU say that the devil, Satan, is like that godless, adulterous woman that Proverbs 9:13-18 tells us about? The Word declares: “A foolish woman is clamorous [boisterous]; she is simple, and knows nothing. For she sits at the door of her house, on a seat by the highest places of the city, To call to those who pass by, who go straight on their way….
Whoever is simple, let him turn in here.” And as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, “Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.”….
But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell.” Did you see it? Do YOU receive it? Spiritually dead are IN the depths of hell! Adulterous waters are not sweet but bitter! Hidden sins are not pleasant ‘in secret’ but exposed before God’s throne for all to see!
What does the eternal truth of God’s Holy Word tell us in I Corinthians 6:9-11? “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? DO NOT BE DECEIVED. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites,….
Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God….
AND SUCH WERE some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.”
The devil and fallen flesh, men without God, are co-conspirators against the holiness, righteousness, oneness, with the true Lover of men’s souls, Holy God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit! There is no blossoming spring garden of the soul for the man under the demonic domination and devilish intimidation of Satan himself – his seeds are ‘weeds’, his treats are ‘twisted roots of conscious-less behavior,’ his prizes are ‘complete emptiness’ of eternal purpose, divine blessings, or royal relationships, and his winner’s crown turns out to be only ‘deceitful hopes.’
Do you even fathom one degree of the devil’s reward for your allegiance to his view of life that is godless, totally selfish, demonically dominated, bankrupt of holy truth, deathly in his ‘rewards’ or ‘benefits’, and when you stand before him for your ‘honors,’ he blankets you with the darkness of guilt, deadliness that will not die, and, not a crown, but ‘dumb-donkey’ defined and designated!
In Proverbs 2:14 we read, “The wise man’s eyes are in his head, but the fool walks in darkness.” The Fool? Proverbs 18:2 tells us, “A fool has no delight in understanding, but in expressing his own heart.” Self-centered, strongly self-willed, inwardly self-determining, because the devil assures them they’re wise enough not to look beyond themselves, and definitely not ‘up’ to God, “understand – it’s your life, your way, your desires – you don’t need God!” That’s the devil and his devotees who warp men’s minds!
The devil is after nation after nation, family after family, school after school, yes, even church after church, with the purpose of ungodly and wicked generations.
Tell me about the “field of your life”! What is being produced there? In Hebrews 6:7-8 we read, “For the earth which drinks in the raion that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but if it bears thorns and briers, IT IS REJECTED and near to being cursed, whose end is to be burned.” From where or from whom does the seed come that you’re saving in the field of your life and home and family? And, is it God’s “blessing” or Satan’s “curse”?
In the Dallas –Ft. Worth region of Texas, in the last few months, there have been over thirty earthquakes, but tell me, in the region of your very life, are you experiencing spiritual “quakes”? Is it time to consider if it’s God or Satan shaking you, quaking you, to awaken you to the reality that devastation and judgment is on the horizon for you!
In Revelation 6:13-17 John saw, yes, a ‘cosmic disturbance.’ He said, “And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind….
Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place….
And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains….
And said to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”
“Descending Devil or Your Ascended Lord?” From the beginning of earthly living, who wooed mankind away from allegiance, faithfulness, and devotion to God? If there is a drawing away from loving and serving God, who is the magnetic attraction? That’s your ‘descending devil’ because he has in Hell already a permanent residence! Read carefully Deuteronomy 30:11-20!!
“For this commandment which I command you today is not too mysterious for you, nor is it far off. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will ascend into heaven for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’….
Nor is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will go over the sea for us and bring it to us, that we may hear it and do it?’….
See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply; and the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess….
But if your heart turns away so that you do not hear, and are drawn away, and worship other gods and serve them, I announce to you today that you shall surely perish; you shall not prolong your days in the land which you cross over the Jordan to go in and possess….
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;….
That you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life, and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.”
Do you understand how easy it is to find hiding places from Holy God? Do you ever consider the length people go to, to ignore even a Word about God’s redemptive love affair with wayward, rebellious, unbelieving sons and daughters whom God created, but who alienated Him from their presence, and who rejected even a word about the “Blood Sacrifice”?
The ‘fallen,’ the ‘fallen away from God’ people, the ‘slaves’ of demon powers, choose blackened hearts to blood-washed lives, choose lust over God’s love, choose blaspheming God’s Holy Name over living in the blessing of His Precious Name, who choose adultery over a blood-washed and pure heart, who, yes, willingly accept God’s wrath over the Wonderful Savior and Lord, and who side with blackened hearts and vile minds and dirty ‘flesh’ over the Indwelling Presence of the Prince of Peace!
In I Peter 3:22 the disciple speaks of the resurrected Christ “who has gone into heaven and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.” But then Peter goes on to tell us in I Peter 4:1-2,
“Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose or mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh, has ceased from sin, that he NO LONGER should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”
And Peter brings us all to eternal decision time: my way or God’s way, sin or the gift of the Savior’s righteousness, rebellion or submission to His Word and will, earthly pleasures that are deadly or Heavenly Pleasures that are eternally blessing the surrendered soul, focused on ‘NOW’ or eyes fixed on the eternal glory, fallen flesh or Reigning Spirit, fruit of the flesh or the fruit of God’s Spirit, the devil’s temptations fully embraced or one’s full surrender to God’s eternal Truth?
I would ask you to answer right now: “HAVE YOU MADE YOURSELF SUBJECT TO CHRIST OR ARE YOU, BY FLESHLY CHOICE, STILL A SLAVE TO THE DEVIL’S CONTROL, POWER, AND AUTHORITY OVER YOUR LIFE?”
You do understand that one can ‘choose’ his willful deliberation of a spiritual catatonic disengagement with God. He becomes immobile, unresponsive, purposeless, inflexible, surrendering to intense mind and heart inactivity related to the voice, will, and heart of God!
Jesus didn’t act on ‘impulse’ when He was sent by God to the Cross, but “willful obedience,” wondrous inspiration, and full surrender to God’s eternal plan. [This is why Paul instructs all believers to bring, even every thought captive to the obedience of Christ! And, of course, if believers today act on ‘impulse,’ they miss the Way of Christ! Far too many ‘believers’ live their life of faith acting on fleshly impulse rather than Jesus’ “Father, not My will, but Your will be done through Me.”
Oh, please hear me! Again, what does I Peter 3:22 tell us about Jesus? “who has gone into heaven, and is at the right hand of God, angels and authorities and powers having been made subject to Him.” To whom, because of your life-style choices have YOU been made subject to? I CHOOSE TO BE SUBJECT TO THE KING OF kings and the LORD OF lords! And you do understand: rejecting Jesus’ Lordship puts you under for eternity, slavery, chains, and hellish prison-bars that the devil supervises!
But Jesus Christ, Resurrected King? Why did He stay in the grave for three days? Recorded history lives concerning His death and burial and Resurrection! Why did He stay around for 40 days before His Ascension? Do we find in the four gospels and Acts that Jesus comforted the heart-broken, strengthened the fearful, assured the lonely of His abiding presence, and to prepare them for the fierce battles coming their way, embracing and enlightening and encouraging His disciples: “Earth-life may be short – but I, the Lord Jesus, am yours forever!”
Has Jesus gone into Heaven? Yes! Will we go there? “Absent from the body but present with the Lord!”
It was H.G. Spafford and P.P. Bliss who wrote the hymn: “It Is Well With My Soul.” Only the second verse here, but it tells the Old, Old Story! “Though Satan should buffet, tho’ trials should come, Let this blessed assurance control, That Christ has regarded my helpless estate, And has shed His own blood for my soul…It is well, now, with my soul!”
CONCLUSION
To say the least, these twenty chapters have been a true challenge to us all! When you consider that Satan challenged not only God the Father – he has challenged every citizen of God’s green earth! He wants us in his army of enemies to Holy God – and there are multitudes who have been blinded, chained, trained for ungodly living, and ‘pushed’ to oppose God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, with a desire to turn every believer away from the sacrifice of Christ at the Cross and the Christ of the “empty tomb.”
I genuinely pray that God’s Holy Word, His Resurrected Son, and His army of true repentant, reconciled, regenerated disciples, step up to honor the Godhead who loves us far above even our thinking or our desire to please Him in all things!
Resurrection Life, Resurrection Hope, and Resurrection Power, is the gift of God’s grace, mercy, and love. And I challenge you, right now, to consider the eternal fact that if YOU were the only person to have ever lived, what God did 2000 years ago at Calvary He did it just for YOU!
Now? It’s time to stand in the “Victory In Jesus”, it’s time to oppose the devil’s intent to capture lives for himself. It’s time to offer your life as a living sacrifice to the glory and honor of our Lord and Savior, and to touch our needy world with His love, His grace, and His mercy.
Now? Equip yourself in the Word, in the Spirit, and in the eternal desire of God to make His Son known through YOUR available, redeemed, and Spirit-filled life!
Now? Put on the whole armor of God that you may truly “fight the good fight of faith,” claiming the world around you through the shed blood of a loving Savior and Lord and through His provision of the very power of the Holy Spirit.
Now? Through His Holy Word, through your prayerful heart, through your daily surrender, begin to claim those Jesus died for, taking them away from the devil’s bondage and enslavement and fleshly, demonic chains!
Now? Offer YOUR life as a ‘living sacrifice’ to the glory, honor, and praise of the Lord Jesus Christ! Don’t let a day pass in which you cease to ‘war’ but offer your life, your family, your business, your church, your witness, to the honor of Christ Jesus! Jesus defeated the devil at the Cross and the empty tomb – and through faith in Christ, you, yourself are “MORE THAN CONQUEROR THROUGH HIM”! Step to the plate and hit a home-run, a grand-slam, to win the souls of those enslaved by Satan!
Now? Through repentance toward God and faith in the finished work of Christ, pour out your testimony as a “living spring of divine presence” that touches others to the glory of God. Amen? Set your family, friends, and acquaintances, free through Christ’s victorious life!