2003-01-30
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Anyone who has faith in God’s word cannot miss the authority that was given by the Father to the Son discussed in JN 5: 19-29. Essentially, it boils down to what is said in (19-23), [Christ’s words] “I tell you the truth: the Son can do nothing on His own; He does only what He sees His Father doing. What the Father does, the Son also does. For the Father loves the Son and shows Him all that He Himself is doing. He will show Him even greater things to do than this, and you will all be amazed. Just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, in the same way the Son gives life to those He wants to. Nor does the Father Himself judge anyone. He has given His Son the full right to judge, so that all will honor the Son in the same way as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father Who sent Him.” Certainly Daniel revealed this giving of authority to the Son by the Father in DN 7: 13-14 in the vision he had. We take some time this morning to examine the authority given to the Son in the context of Christ’s example of how to approach spiritual warfare given during His earthly ministry. This matters to us, because Christ has transferred authority to us to wage battle with the devil to victory in His name.
Prayer is one of the most powerful weapons we have against the forces of evil. The same can be said for God’s word, the sword of the Spirit [EPH 6:17]. As I write these messages, it becomes increasingly clear to me that one works hand in hand with the other to place in our hands weapons that simply outclass anything the adversary can send our way. The story of how Christ healed a boy plagued with seizures caused by a demon in MK 9: 17-29 is a good illustration of this principle. The boy was having seizures that today would probably be characterized as grand mal epilepsy. Christ came up to a crowd where teachers of the Law were arguing with His disciples. He was greeted by the father of this boy who told Christ his son was possessed by an evil spirit He said, “I asked Your disciples to drive the spirit out, but they could not.” The lack of faith this group demonstrated produced frustration in Christ. Christ told the man to bring the boy to Him. This was done. As soon as the spirit saw Christ, it threw the boy into a seizure, causing him to foam at the mouth and roll around on the ground. Christ asked the father how long this had been happening to his son. “Since he was a child,” the man replied, “have pity on us and help us.” In (23) Christ gives us the key to obtaining help, “Yes, if you yourself can! Everything is possible for the person who has faith.” The father cried out that he had faith, but not enough, and he pleaded with Christ to help him have more. The crowd was closing in on them. So Christ commanded the evil spirit to come out of the boy and never go into him again (25). We see the power of Christ exhibited in the spirit’s response in (26-27). “The spirit screamed, thew the boy into a bad fit, and came out. The boy looked like a corpse, and everyone said, ‘He is dead!’ But Jesus took the boy by the hand and helped him rise, and he stood up.” Later in private, the disciples asked Christ why they had been unable to exorcise the demon. Christ’s reply gives us a key lesson, “Only prayer can drive this kind out; nothing else can” (29).
There are some unsaid things about this story that we shouldn’t miss. The first is the attitude of open-mindedness and humility shown by the boy’s father. Unlike the Pharisees, he was willing to entertain the idea that Jesus Christ could get rid of the evil spirit from his son, even though the disciples had failed. Secondly, he knew that his faith was imperfect and pleaded for Christ’s help to improve it. He wasn’t afraid to admit the state of his faith. His plea for Christ’s help was a prayer. This was something that Christ wanted His disciples, not to mention the Pharisees present, to see. The spirit’s scream was its recognition that it was powerless to keep troubling the boy over Christ’s power to permanently exorcise it. This is a mini-view of the reason the devil is so angry with us because he knows he is defeated and only has a short time left to do evil [REV 12: 12]. We shouldn’t miss Christ’s courage and willingness to use His authority to do the Father’s work. We should ask ourselves how our own courage and willingness to use the authority we’ve been given to do battle with evil measures up to Christ’s.
Earlier, I made the statement that prayer and God’s word work hand in hand to be a most powerful weapon against evil. I stick to that, which is why I use so many citations both in my writing and in my prayers. God’s words are often so much better than our own to express the content of our hearts, our acknowledgement of God’s superiority, our faith in the Son, our willingness to listen for and obey the Holy Spirit, and also our own supplications and confessions. Just as the evil spirit screamed in terror, knowing that it would be permanently cast out, we can produce the same reaction in the forces of evil when we use the unbeatable combination of God’s word with prayer in the warfare we must wage.
PRAYER: O Lord, in JN 5: 19 mentioned above, Your Son reveals to us that He never does anything on His own, only what He sees You do. His example to us is vital, so that we too can stay on track with Your will and what pleases You. Christ demonstrated this obedience to You and the channel of prayer He keeps open with You in JN 11: 41-42, just as He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. “They took the stone away. Jesus looked up and said, ‘I thank You, Father, that You listen to me. I know that You always listen to Me, but I say this for the sake of the people here, so that they will believe that You sent Me.’” Right after that, Christ commanded Lazarus to come out of his tomb, and he did. We can take the words we read in Your writing and use them to better say what is in our hearts than our own words at times. That is why You inspired the Psalmist to say in PS 119: 105, “Your word is a lamp unto my feet, a light for my path.” Dearest Abba, You have allowed the account of Christ’s earthly ministry found in the Gospels to be a treasure trove of lessons for His disciples and for us. Each time we revisit some citation or passage we’ve studied before, You give us new, rich insight to apply in our daily lives. Many of us understand that we have been saved, but do not realize we possess from Christ the power to successfully battle the evil forces we experience through our own circumstances. Because we do not realize this, we are less than bold in applying this power when it should be done. We bow before Your throne today to seek Your help as the man whose son was possessed by an evil spirit in the story from Mark did. We ask You to help us find strengthened faith and greater obedience to You. We beseech You to give us the courage we need to stand up against unethical practices we encounter and other works of the devil. We are caused to remember, “we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us” [PHIL 4: 13]. From our hearts we say what is in PS 18:1, “I love You, Lord; You are my strength.” We humbly confess our sins and offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, diligence, glory, honor, trust, obedience, thanks, and utmost praise. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
In tomorrow’s message, I’m led to continue writing about Christ’s authority and how it applies to us in our battles with the devil. This is too important a topic to pass by lightly. God has put it on my heart to find ways acceptable to Him to show how Christ’s experiences in His public ministry can build greater faith in us this way. Each of us is called upon to examine his own life to see how we can achieve greater conformity to the ideal Christ gives us by His example. This is one way that God helps us to become more sanctified, that is, more perfected and ready to accept the final call when it comes to return to Him for eternal life. At first, I was bothered by MT 24: 36 which tells us that even the Son doesn’t know the exact time this call with come. But, on further reflection, I see this information (or lack thereof) as a real blessing. It’s the Father’s way of reminding us that the time is now for us to get our spiritual houses in order. We are not to procrastinate in this matter, for Christ will come “like a thief in the night” [1 THESS 5: 2] to scoop up the believers and take us to where we can experience that indescribable glory that we are to share with Him forever. How can we miss the love the Father has for us in this?!! Peter and I send you each our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn