2003-02-14
Good Morning Faithful Readers,
Yesterday, we began looking at the strategies God has given us in the Scriptures to approach our battles with the forces of evil. Remember that we learned the nature of these forces led by Satan in EPH 6:12, “For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age.” Yesterday, we examined the first two strategies: 1) Speaking aloud REV 12: 10b-11, a citation Satan hates to hear. “…For the one who stood before our God and accused our brothers day and night has been thrown out of heaven. Our brothers won the victory over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the truth which they proclaimed and they were willing to give up their lives and die.” 2) By recognizing the power God has given us to beat Satan, which is shown in 1 JN 4: 4, “But you belong to God, my children and have defeated the false prophets, because the Spirit who is in you is more powerful than the spirit in those who belong to the world.” Today, we go on to see more strategies found in God’s word.
The next strategy is seemingly simple. 3) Pray for the Spirit to fill us. To do that, we must first confess our sins and empty our spiritual vessel of human agendas. That makes room for the Holy Spirit to come in and for God’s agenda to be our first priority. In a way, it goes back to LK 9: 23-the part where we are to “deny or forget” ourselves. Let me recite this verse, as it is crucial. “And He [Christ] said to them all, ‘If anyone wants to come with Me, he must forget himself, take up his cross every day, and follow Me.’” Christ goes on to tell the story of the return of the evil spirit in LK 11: 24-26 which helps to illuminate this point. “When an evil spirit goes out of a person, it travels over dry country looking for a place to rest. If it can’t find one, it says to itself, ‘I will go back to my house.’ So it goes back and finds the house clean and all fixed up. Then it goes out and brings seven other spirits even worse than itself, and they come and live there. So when it is all over, that person is in worse shape than he was at the beginning.” This story is Christ’s way of turning the tables on His Pharisee critics. They had accused Him of being demon-possessed. Now, He likens the Jewish nation to being like a man temporarily cured of demon possession.
In that case, the demon is idolatry of the kind that was being practiced in Israel before the Babylonian Captivity. Those seventy years of exile cleaned out Israel’s house, but sadly, it’s only temporary. During the Tribulation, Israel’s idolatry, that of acknowledging the Antichrist (referred to in JN 5: 43), and the punishment for that sin will be greater than Israel has ever before endured. While the intent of this story is to point out what will happen in Israel’s national history, it also applies to how insufficient it is for only an individual to repent and reform his own life. The Lord Jesus must be welcomed into the person’s heart to really make a difference. Otherwise his life is open to more vile forms of sin than indulged in before-perhaps seven times more vile. Imagine what the impact on the church might be if individuals only repented and reformed their own lives without allowing Christ to fill their spiritual vessels with the Holy Spirit, so that He can lead.
The example of a person who repents for his sin without remorse popped up in my mind. That person is Judas Iscariot once he confessed that he was Christ’s betrayer in MT 27: 4. MT 27: 5 tells the story of what happened to this man who never allowed Christ into his heart. “Judas threw the coins down in the temple and left: then he went off and hanged himself.” Even if that is too extreme an example, it points to the fact stated in JN 14: 6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by Me.”
Because I have had Henry Blackby’s course, “Experiencing God,” I cannot finish writing about this issue of filling one’s vessel with the Holy Spirit without looking at the impact on congregations being filled with individuals who aren’t truly living “in Christ.” All of us have seen fallen pastors and the damage they do to congregations, but we must also look beyond the pastor to the congregation itself. Recently, my mother approached the rabbi of her temple with a request that she be allowed to take a class there. The rabbi told her that she wasn’t paying the full financial dues (which both of them knew she couldn’t afford) and thus, would not be eligible to take the class. I’ve seen the same kind of approach taken in some Christian churches too, so this kind of unrighteousness is not only found in traditional Jewish temples. Where is Jesus Christ in this kind of putting-money-first behavior? He’s absent! We must remember that the leadership of a congregation comes out of the congregation itself. If it is living “in Christ” putting God’s word at the center of all it does, then the congregation will be lead by people with this faithful approach. If not, then disaster awaits its membership. Our job is to examine who really is in leadership in our congregations. If it isn’t Jesus Christ, then something needs to be done now to change that.
PRAYER: O Lord, in our present state of imperfection, we find ourselves in great need of seeking You out in study of Your word daily and frequent prayer. Only in emptying our spiritual vessels of worldly, human agendas can Your Spirit fill them. Without You our spirits are impoverished and sinful. With You, we can climb out of the morass that slavery to sin causes, join You in Your work, face the challenges to our faith fully informed and equipped for victory in Christ’s name, and find true happiness and peace. David expressed our desire for You in PS 73: 25, “Who have I in heaven but You? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than You.” The Psalmist fills out our supplication in PS 143: 8, “Let me hear of Your steadfast love in the morning, for in You I put my trust. Teach me the way I should go, for to You I lift up my soul.” Dearest Abba, we praise You and acknowledge the words of PS 84:10, “For a day in Thy courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God, than dwell in the tents of wickedness.” Only in You are we victorious over sin and evil. PS 34: 1-2 reveals the content of our hearts. “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; the humble shall hear it and rejoice.” At first, when we hear the words, “I will bless the Lord,” we must stop and think about it. We are used to hearing that the Lord will bless us. So, we ask the question: How can we bless the Lord? Yet, the answer is right before us. You are blessed when we worship and adore You. You are pleased when we trust and obey Your commands. You are delighted when we make You the center of our lives. It makes You happy when we are loyal and diligent toward You and the work we do for You. It makes You glad when we are aware of Your constant presence, love, compassion, and care in our lives. You are lifted up when we acknowledge Christ’s Atonement and the gift of the Holy Spirit. And so, Dearest Abba, we do all those things today. In addition, we humbly confess our sins and offer You the glory and honor which You so richly deserve. To You belongs thanks and praise. In Christ’s name, we pray. Amen.
We just can’t leave the subject of God-given strategies in spiritual warfare in the Scriptures without saying more. So, I’m led to do that in tomorrow’s message. I have often said that the more I study God’s word, the more I see His love in my life. He has made me feel that I am in His temple doing His will when I write these messages to you for Him. So, I’m compelled to recite PS 18:1, “I love You, Lord; You are my strength.” PS 48: 9 also comes to mind, “Our God, here in Your temple we think about your love.” It is He that makes us want to make a sanctuary for His Spirit in us. For that and so much more, our God is to be praised and magnified. Just look how He lifts us out of the depths of our worst sorrows when we turn to Him! That’s our awesome God Who wants nothing more badly that to love us and shower us with His blessings. Peter and I send each of you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn