“”It’s a test, David. Don’t you see? I bet those demons told God that you would run with your tail tucked between your legs at the first sign of difficulty.”
She shoved her finger downward. “But God said, ‘No! Not David Chance!'”
Yes – the image at the left is kind of cute.
And that’s how too many people view the devil / demons.
And angels as well.
They’re just a “story”. Maybe even just a way to make funny commercials where we choose between food that’s good for us versus something that we want to eat that maybe isn’t do good.
We’ve been taught to believe that’s all there is to angels and demons.
Or maybe a movie. Can’t forget about that.
Here’s more of the conversation that the opening excerpt comes from –
“”It’s a test, David. Don’t you see? I bet those demons told God that you would run with your tail tucked between your legs at the first sign of difficulty.”
She shoved her finger downward. “But God said, ‘No! Not David Chance!'”
Her voice trembled with emotion. “Not you, David. This isn’t you. You’re not a coward. You’re better than this.
Don’t prove them right.
Prove God right!”
“It would help if I knew what I’m supposed to be fighting for.” <David>
“Then ask him! Don’t walk around with your arms crossed, pouting like a child.”
Is that what you think I’m doing?” <David>
“You’re letting the demons win.”
“What am I supposed to do!” <David>
“Fight, David! Stand up and fight back!”
His beautiful wife stood before him, shaking like an autumn leaf. The sight of it broke his heart.
He thought he was doing what was best for her and the kids, but now he saw what she saw—a man in retreat.”
from “Lies (Mystery, Suspense, Thriller, Christian Fiction) (The David Chance Series Book 3)” by John Michael Hileman
But what if this is real?
What if this kind of thing really happens?
Why do I think it’s real?
Well, for one thing –
The Armor of God
Eph 6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
Eph 6:19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
Why is this important?
Here’s a bit about why Paul wrote Ephesians, from The Books of The Bible, by John H. Sailhamer –
Earlier generations of God’s people did not understand God’s plan for the Gentiles as Paul now does. They were unaware that Jews and Gentiles would some day be united into one people in Christ (Eph 3:6). Now, however, this mystery has been distinctly revealed. Paul himself was specifically called to make it clear. The riches stored up for believers is spiritual power for living a Christian life (3:16).
So this is a letter written to try to explain what had previously been unknown about God’s plan for people. Paul is is explaining God’s plan of salvation through Jesus. This is for “beginners”. It was for beginners when it was first written. And it is certainly available for beginners to read in the Bible today. There’s nothing that says – hey! warning! this text is not for newbies. don’t try this at home without an experienced warrior of God with you!
Not at all.
Further – it’s not exactly the kind of message that’s going to get a whole lot of people to be thinking – wow! we get to fight against the devil. can’t see him? awesome! can’t win without all of this armor – properly used? no problem! can’t take credit for any of it? no problem there either. i don’t need credit. i have no ego. i love to give credit for all my hard work to someone else.
How many people are going to read this and immediately think – where do i sign up? out of my way – i gotta get there now!
No.
This was scary stuff back then.
And it should be now too.
But we’ve dumbed down the devil so much that outside of commercials, video games, and movies – he doesn’t exist.
And then there’s this –
The Parable of the Weeds
Mt 13:24 Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field. 25 But while everyone was sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and went away. 26 When the wheat sprouted and formed heads, then the weeds also appeared.
Mt 13:27 “The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’
Mt 13:28 “ ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.
“The servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’
Mt 13:29 “ ‘No,’ he answered, ‘because while you are pulling the weeds, you may root up the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat and bring it into my barn.’ ”
…
The Parable of the Weeds Explained
Mt 13:36 Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”
Mt 13:37 He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. 38 The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, 39 and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.
Mt 13:40 “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 43 Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.
This wasn’t from Paul.
This was from Jesus.
Just like with Paul – in fact even more powerful – this isn’t a message that would normally get people all excited to follow the leader. More likely it would make people want to bury their heads in the sand and try to pretend that it’s not real. But it is real.
As I’ve said before – if you call yourself a Christian and don’t believe this – you need to do some serious souls searching.
How can one really be a Christian but not believe Christ?
No. This message was quite the opposite of being a crowd please, guaranteed to increase membership in the club.
When Jesus had the largest crowds, he would give the most difficult messages.
And many “followers” would leave Him – as this point outs.
Many Disciples Desert Jesus
Jn 6:60 On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
Jn 6:61 Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before! 63 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. 64 Yet there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray him. 65 He went on to say, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father has enabled him.”
Jn 6:66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.
This is one of the times when those who were following Jesus had to decide – could they really deal with what He was saying?
Could they really do the things that He wanted them to do?
In essence – even though they had believed in Him – did they still want to believe Him?
Would they give in to the fear put in their hearts by the devil?
The scenario continues –
Jn 6:67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
Jn 6:68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”
Jn 6:70 Then Jesus replied, “Have I not chosen you, the Twelve? Yet one of you is a devil!” 71 (He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, who, though one of the Twelve, was later to betray him.)
So we see some people decided yes. Others decided no.
It’s like the scene from the book at the top of this article.
David Chance – who had been following God through the previous two books, all of a sudden – then things get really tough – he’s ready to pack it in and give up. As his wife tells him – that means the devil wins. And she’s going to make sure he knows that.
We don’t really have a choice between three things –
- Follow God
- Follow Satan
- Do nothing
That third one really isn’t an option.
That third choice is like being at a gathering, where those willing to fight are to step forward – and those not willing to fight are to step backward. And you choose to not move at all. It doesn’t matter that you didn’t step back. By not stepping forward – you chose to not fight. It’s that simple.
Should we fail to follow God – as far as our own lives and our own contribution to the very real spiritual war – we gave up the fight and Satan has won our part of the battle. Yes – God wins in the end. And yes – we very possibly will be saved “as one escaping the fire”, as Paul so aptly put it. But what of those people that we could have reached – and now we won’t reach and will have no impact on their lives. And should any of those people not become followers of Jesus, because of our surrender to the devil, then they will have no impact on anyone else that they could have reached. And that story continues – on and on and on.
I get it. I understand the problems.
I’ve often wondered if it’s worth it.
I’ve often wondered if it would be easier if I didn’t keep doing what I feel God wants me to do. Would my life be easier? Would my job have been easier? Would I still be working and making more money? Would my marriage be easier? Even to the point of wondering if one of our dogs have cancer – or would he still be healthy, because the devil didn’t see a need to inflict more difficulty into my life?
I certainly had the example of my father. He had no use for God. He had no issues with stepping all over people to make his way up the corporate ladder. But at the end of his life – I also saw a lonely, broken man. Still insisting that he was the only thing he needed. (How’s that for arrogance?) It would be nice if he somehow really was a believer and would be saved as though escaping the fire. But I have no reason at all to things that’s a possibility.
Hos is a path I don’t want to go down.
And then I have that conversation – the one David and his wife had.
But mine’s in my own head and heart. A conversation with the Holy Spirit.
A reminder of the simple truth that even with all the issues – life would be totally different, in a bad way, had I not followed the leading of the Spirit. And it would be different if I stopped. This past week, leading a Bible study was pretty much the only good thing all week. But you know what? It was enough. It was more than enough.
Life is short.
Too short to spend it doing things that really don’t matter.
Eternity is long. Very, very long. Like forever.
Too long to miss out on the opportunity to affect it because I got lazy or soft in the short life on earth.
Affect it for me – yes.
But more so to affect it for others.
And to affect the battles – not the war – by allowing God to work through me.
(He doesn’t need me to affect the war. He’s already won that.)
He promises no more tears. That’s worth a lot.
He promises peace. That’s worth a lot.
He promises a Father who loves me. That’s worth a lot.
He promises eternity with Him. That’s everything.
So I can’t give in. Or give up.
How about you?
The Great Commission
Mt 28:16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”