June 26, 2010 Rated R for Spiritual Warfare

I wouldn't want to see today's passages from Kings on the big screen!  Rated R for violence!!  Even with just a mental picture, it's hard to forget the gruesome end of Jezebel.  If you think God hates evil any less than He did back then, you're wrong.  We're still in a war against wickedness-- it just looks different right now, unless you're seeing with spiritual eyes.  I'm reminded of one of Jesus' parables, and a line quoted from it: "But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them-- bring them here and kill them in front of me." Luke 19:27  By the time you get to the end of the Bible, your understanding of Jesus will have expanded.

Make no mistake: we still are to be grieved over evil!  "Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols." Acts 17:16  And remember how he felt about the girl with the spirit of divination who was following them around?  He was irritated.  Did he kill the girl?  Of course not!  He cast the evil spirit out instead.  He knew the demon's time was coming.  God's purposes at present are to deliver all (who are willing to be delivered) from the grips of evil.  We are in the Age of Grace, and we have a different approach: mercy.  

Paul taught in one of his letters: "Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching." 2 Timothy 4:2  He demonstrated this in his address to the Athenians.  He talked with them, even though they had darkened minds and called him a babbler!  "Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there." Acts 17:17 NKJV  People were won to Christ through his discussions, but also he was persecuted.  It really does take longsuffering (patience).

Sometimes we forget how merciful God's ways are with us.  We get tired of hearing correction.  I'm happy to take my Father's chastening over having His fire break out against me!  I am thankful beyond words to Christ for taking my punishment-- my deserved gruesome death-- and extending God's heart of grace and mercy.  That IS God's heart, you know!  Why else did Christ die?  God's still killing off evil in me though, and in all of His Church.  The more we "reckon ourselves dead to sin" through the cross, the easier it is on us.  (see Romans 6-- this is deep and important doctrine here, and if you need help with it, please go to your pastor.)

A lot of "hellfire and brimstone" preaching has turned us off, perhaps because it was done without love.  We are to speak the truth in LOVE.  Is it truly love not to warn people that evil will finally be destroyed?  How can we truly preach the cross of salvation if we don't let people know that God hates evil!  The "world" is trying to make tolerant wimps out of all of us, trying to make us afraid of telling the truth (politically correct "tolerance" is not the same thing as God's grace and mercy!).

We are becoming, as a culture, much too concerned with our safety!  This alarms me!  If we are not willing to share the true Gospel of the Kingdom-- of the coming Righteous King and of salvation from evil, sin and death through Jesus Christ alone--because we're afraid of the "consequences," (we should be much more afraid of what God thinks) then we have already come under the influence of a Jezebel spirit (which is an anti-christ spirit).  And the future of that demonic spirit is parallel to the doom of said queen.

Today, the spiritual war is just as gruesome and bloody as it was in the Old Testament days.  I've personally witnessed what happens when a human being, given over to a Jezebel spirit, gets into a Christian assembly (church) and tries to take over.  It's ugly.  You want to get the person free if you can, but you have to get rid of the demonic infiltration.  You have to protect the sheep.  The warfare is difficult, painful and dangerous.  But Jesus Christ has already won!  Victory is assured (if we'll actually fight)! 

"The Kingdom of Christ" is the greatest epic ever!  [speaking figuratively here] I dare you to watch the Special Features and see what's happening "behind the scenes"!  I guarantee you'll take "wearing your armor" a lot more seriously.  But you will begin to realize how great it is to serve the King-- and you will never be a wimpy Christian again.

I pray that the spiritual eyes of the whole Body of Christ will be opened, and that we will seek Him for His strength and courage to do His will.  The eternal destiny of this generation is at stake.  Are we willing to lay down our lives for them?

June 18, 2010 Persecution and Ministering Angels

There are two parallels with the Old and New Testament readings today that stood out to me: 1) the activity of a major demonic spirit, and 2) the activity of ministering angels from God.  We call this particular evil spirit "Jezebel", after the queen who allowed it to control her.  I see the same evil spirit working in Herod as well, as the evil spirit can work through men as well as women.  It seems here that it tries especially to control the person in charge.  Keep your eyes open for the workings of this devious spirit, as it is very active at this time in history. 

One of the marked traits of the Jezebelian spirit is persecuting and killing the prophets of God (and anything to do with prophetic ministry).  It's always good to see the end of a road so as to decide whether we want to be on it or not.  Personally, I wouldn't want to be following the same path as a Jezebel spirit, even in a small way.  Since we're in the last days, and we've been told that God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh and that there would be a lot of prophesying going on (Joel 2: 28-32), I think we should be careful not to be party to an evil spirit who would wish to stop this.  It's also good to beware of counterfeits: but if you know the Spirit of Truth, it's pretty easy to spot something that's not Him.

Even though I'm not excited about going through more persecution (although Jesus did say it was coming), I am very much looking forward to seeing more angelic activity (God's ministering angels).  As we see in today's passages, when the persecution level goes up, so does the level of angelic ministry.  I've personally experienced some angelic ministrations, although I have not "seen" the angels (with my natural eyes).  I would certainly like to be aware of more. 

If you're not used to (or don't like to be) thinking about supernatural things, you might want to ask the Lord to change your viewpoint.  You might find this kind of help to be very much needful in the future.  Probably none of us would be alive today if it weren't for the help and protection of God's angels.  I'm grateful indeed for a God Who loves us so much that He created a multitude of powerful and holy beings who are willing to serve Him and us!  And in God's mercy, He didn't allow Satan, and the other rebellious angels, to run around on Earth without making sure that God's loyal and powerful angels were right there to help us always have the victory.

P.S. I'm reminded of Rick Joyner's little book, When God Walked The Earth-- and I'm wondering how an angel might feel if they were not allowed to save someone, such as James, who was called to be martyred and was killed for the sake of the Gospel.  They would then minister a different kind of grace.