2003-01-14
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Yesterday, I was led to write about MT 12: 43-45, [also in LK 11: 24-26], which was Christ’s parable about the return of the unclean spirit, and a capsule history of unbelieving Israel. What this showed is that an entire nation can be held under Satan’s stranglehold if it is willing to allow this. Israel was, and that is why it suffered the Assyrian and Babylonia capitivities, the temporary scattering and loss of nationhood, known as a dyaspora. Sadly, Israel has had two such dyasporas, the first from 586 BC (in the south called Judea and 722 BC in the north called Israel) before it was once again unified around 445 BC (called Israel). The second dyaspora is even longer, beginning with the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD and lasting until May 14, 1949 when Israel was once again granted nationhood. God allowed this punishment to happen because of idolatry, the sin He hates the most, practiced there. This unbelief had gotten so intense by Christ’s time that the Messiah Who had come to bring salvation and peace to God’s chosen people wasn’t even recognized and was rejected. All of this was prophesied before it happened. The prophesy in this passage also extends to the final separation of sheep and goats [MT 25: 32] that takes place in the Tribulation, revealing the destruction of those Satan leads in unbelief.
The book of Luke is a chronological yardstick for the other Gospels. So, because understanding the historical and cultural context of the Scriptures we study is so important, we look into that book often. We should take the time necessary to look at what our Lord and Savior has to teach us about spiritual warfare in the context of the chronological events and the culture in which He lived during His earthly ministry. The book of Luke helps us to do this. The other day, I wrote about MT 12: 22-32, [also in LK 11: 14-23], the story of Christ exorcising a demon from a blind mute man in front of the Pharisees and healing him. The Pharisees accused Christ of being empowered to do this by the demon ruler, Beelzebul, but Christ shows them through logic that this is a lie. Then, He makes a very important truth known in MT 12: 28, “No, it is not Beelzebul, but God’s Spirit, Who gives me the power to drive out demons, which proves that the Kingdom of God has already come upon you.” This is huge, and their unbelief keeps the Pharisees from recognizing both Christ’s true identity or that He is empowered by God’s Spirit.
Just prior to the events already mentioned here are other events that deal with the spreading of faith, and they are recorded in both Matthew and Luke. We need to look at these to see the natural layout of events and the spiritual lessons on doing battle with Satan that are contained in them. Previously, Christ had sent out seventy-two men, two by two, to go out to every town where He Himself was about to go [LK 10: 1]. Christ knew there were people who would come to faith and others that would reject them. That is why He said in LK 10: 2-12 that there was a large harvest and few people to gather it. Where they were welcomed, stay the night and share a meal telling the host, “Peace be with this house.” They were not to take money with them, greet people on the road, or move from house to house. From Christ’s next direction, it is clear that these men were empowered by the Holy Spirit to heal, because where they were welcomed, they were told to heal the people in that town. This is a clear application of MT 12: 28. They were also instructed to tell the people, “The Kingdom of God has come near you.” Christ said, “Go! I am sending you like lambs among wolves” in LK 10: 3, so He knew there would be dangers. On the other hand, where they were not welcomed, they were told by Christ to take back there greeting of peace (6) and go out in the streets and say, “Even the dust from your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you. But remember that the Kingdom of God has come near you! (10-11).” To help the seventy-two to better understand the consequences rejecters of Christ’s message will suffer, He comments in (12), “I assure you that on the Judgment Day, God will show more mercy to Sodom than to that town!”
This latter comment also helps us to understand that the negative consequences of rejecting God’s offer of salvation and peace are greater for the people to whom more of God’s plan has been revealed. That should give us all a “heads-up”, since we are told so much more than the ancient Jews were and are living at a time in history when we have been told the end times will soon be upon us. The courage of faith demonstrated by the seventy-two is a good example of what each of us is called to have by our Lord. We can see from Luke’s chronology here how the stage is set for the Christ’s next teaching, the rebuking of unbelieving towns, which I’m led to discuss in tomorrow’s message. An underlying truth Christ models here is to show courage when faced with unbelief and remember that we too have been empowered by the Holy Spirit to battle Satan’s evil to victory in Christ’s name.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have shown us that ordinary people can be empowered by the Holy Spirit to battle victoriously against Satan and his followers by Your Son’s example. Our true faith in Him means that we have been given this power. It is power that You have told us must be used accurately, an accuracy that we can only get from daily study of Your word and keeping an open two-way channel of prayer to You. Christ’s teaching on prayer in LK 11: 1-13 contains precious truths for us to remember. The Lord’s Prayer, contained in LK 11:2-4, is only the beginning of what You want us to understand. You want us to know that we should be not be ashamed to persevere in prayer, because that is how we will receive what we need. Christ’s words in LK 11: 9-10, “Ask, and you will receive; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks will receive, and he who seeks will find, and the door will be opened to anyone who knocks,” are words You want us to remember. When we put those words together with JN 15: 7, “If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, then you will ask for anything you wish, and you shall have it,” how can we question that we are on the winning team? We are sinners, Dear Father, and yet You extend Your grace to us. For this and all Your blessings, we are very grateful. LK 11: 13 states, “As bad as you are, you know how to give good things to your children. How much more, then, will the Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Please fill our spiritual vessels with the Holy Spirit, so He can lead in our lives. Today and always, we acknowledge that through Your grace, You have given us the Holy Spirit to dwell within us. We pledge to listen carefully for Your direction through Him, to be hungry for Your word, to study it well enough to be able to use it in doing battle with the devil, and to seek You out in prayer with our adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication. You and You alone are the God we worship, praise, and love with all our hearts. In Christ, we pray. Amen.
As promised above, I’m led to go on with the chronological layout of events in Luke and will hopefully uncover the wonderful lessons that God has for us in using His word to do successful spiritual warfare. We could never measure the profound love God has for us, which is demonstrated by not only giving His word to us as a sword of the Spirit, but in giving us the Holy Spirit to impart to us a deep enough understanding of it to be effective in using it. When I read 1 COR 2: 14 which explains why some people don’t understand what you are saying from the Scriptures, I realized that the missing link in them is the Holy Spirit. This verse shows us just how important the Spirit is to us. When we realize that we were God’s enemies before we came to faith, we get some idea of how much love He has for each of us who is faithful by the fact that He gave His Spirit to us as a gift-one we never deserved. I, for one, wake up every morning acutely aware of how blessed every believer is. After all, we sinners have been saved and given the gift of God’s word and His Spirit to help us understand it. The next logical steps for us in my mind are trust and obedience to the Lord Who loves each of us so much. We are a blessed people! Peter and I send each of you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn