Whose Side Are We On?

Good Morning Friends,

Today’s Friday the 13^th, lectionary selection from Joel reads a lot like Revelation 9. Part of it is about the time when Joel lived and the occasion of an unprecedented locust plague and part of it is about a future catastrophic event that is related a great spiritual battle. And in all honesty it is a bit confusing. And so this morning as I contemplate what the Monks in Northern California might be thinking as the world burns around them and what Arnold Schwarzenegger is doing at October Fests around the world to address climate change legislation, I have to wonder why we still are fighting evil if Jesus defeated the Devil and Death. Friends, the scorching of the earth in California begins to seem a lot like an end times event designed to get our attention. Perhaps it is a sign of a spiritual battle still to be fought. You see Joel writes about the idea that judgement and blessings that come through nature. But he also writes about the necessity of repentance and the importance of formal worship and the idea of salvation by grace through faith. So the battle is both spiritual and physical. And when this idea is combined with today’s passage from Luke, and the events of the last month, with the fires, murders, earthquakes, hurricanes and floods, the concept of The Judgement Day of the Lord and the outpouring of the Spirit, it seems all too close to home. So take a look in the mirror, take a look at each other and ask God and those closest to you in the hope of revival…. Whose Side Are We On?

Scripture: Put on sackcloth and lament, you priests; wail, you ministers of the altar. Come, pass the night in sackcloth, you ministers of my God! Grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. Sanctify a fast, call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the Lord your God, and cry out to the Lord. Alas for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes. Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the Lord is coming, it is near— a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and thick darkness! Like blackness spread upon the mountains a great and powerful army comes; their like has never been from of old, nor will be again after them in ages to come.

Joel 1:13-15; 2:1-2 (NRSV)

But some of them said, “He casts out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler of the demons.” Others, to test him, kept demanding from him a sign from heaven. But he knew what they were thinking and said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself becomes a desert, and house falls on house. If Satan also is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand? —for you say that I cast out the demons by Beelzebul. Now if I cast out the demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your exorcists cast them out? Therefore they will be your judges. But if it is by the finger of God that I cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come to you. When a strong man, fully armed, guards his castle, his property is safe. But when one stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his plunder. Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but not finding any, it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ When it comes, it finds it swept and put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first.”

Luke 11:15-26 (NRSV)

Message: This morning I am wondering why, if Jesus disarmed principalities and powers, and caste out demons we are we still wrestling with evil. And I have come to the conclusion that we still wrestle, in part, because we are arming the enemy with the words of our mouth, handing the Devil our God-given authority to use against us. Friends, we too often are double minded. Sure we believe that Satan has no authority over us unless we give it to him, just like the serpent had no authority in the garden until Adam gave it to him. But words are weapons. See how they are used in today’s scripture. Then know that when we speak God’s Word out of our mouth, it casts out death and opens the door to life in our situations. And when we make the mistake of speaking the enemy’s fearful lies out of our mouth we are allowing the enemy to use our own words as weapons against us. This brings us to a point that we must address. Friends, we are facing a great battle. Some do not realize it. Others do not understand the dynamics of this battle. We all could learn more for too many are unprepared to face the battle before us. It is the battle between Satan’s kingdom and the kingdom of God. And our lives hang in the balance. As Christians, we can reign victoriously over the assault of the enemy. We have within us the ability to live above and contrary to the dung Lord of this world. But to reign victorious in the kingdom of God is to understand the dynamics of this spiritual warfare that is before us for every kingdom divided against itself will fall. America could learn from the history of Israel, if she would…We can learn from it as individuals too, for we not only must face human enemies, but also natural ones. There is no justification for allowing our imaginations to run wild but know this.. Jesus prayed we would be in unity for a reason. Prophecy cannot mean just anything we want it to mean. There is a truth to be discovered. A literal actual truth. The problem is that people do not really know which side they are on and they go back and forth not realizing they are compromising victory in their life and the lives of others. If the world sets our agenda maybe we are in more serious trouble than we realize.

Pray we go to God in prayer and seek a divine purpose. Pray we learn from the suffering and need for trusting God in of our life’s experiences. Pray the demons of the chronology of terror that has befallen the people of our nation the last month be exorcised from our memory. Pray still that we would heed the warnings and take notice of the prophecies of God. Pray we act like we are redeemed by God. Pray we choose the right side. Pray we play to win. Pray we are victorious in the battle. Pray we give life to God’s plan through the words we share.

Blessings,

John Lawson