As a friend of mine put it, we're always
seeking to make "improvements" in this world. A little remodeling here and
there, maybe even a complete rennovation, and we will usher in a new world.
There are many who see the Kingdom in such a way, but I don't think scripture
backs that up. We are indeed called to live righteous lives, to do good works,
to minister to a lost and dying world, a world trapped in darkness. However, in
the end, the world, and its darkness will still be there, and it's not going to
change until He comes. In the meantime, our part is to occupy. Occupy and
overcome. Bud McCord says that "Jesus did not come to change the world. Jesus
came to overcome the world and destroy the works of the devil." McCord says
that this world and its power will be used of God to destroy all of our
"illusions of control", and "give us the opportunity to reveal God's life in our
souls." Our response to the darkness is to be light. Our response to the
power and malice of the world is to meet it with the power and love of the
Kingdom. By this, we destroy the works of darkness.
How we do this was well put by a friend the other day as we had this very conversation as to overcoming the world and its power. He said that it was his prayer that we, the people of God would live in such a way that when "All hell breaks loose around us, all of heaven would break out from within us." That, "When the world gives us hell, we would give it heaven." We would give it the Kingdom. What would happen if we who take His name would begin to live as Christ did, and still does. Not seeking to change a world we don't like into one that we do, and instead, seek to, by our Kingdom lives, destroy the works of darkness? What if we stopped trying to remodel this world according to our blueprint, and began to overcome it with the Kingdom life of Christ that flows out from within us? What if we truly became the church, built upon the Rock of Christ, discovering, as Jesus said in Matthew 16, that "All the powers of hell will not conquer it." I think, with the ever increasing loss of the spirit of discernment in the church, we are seeing all the obstacles and problems before us being human, fleshly, and changeable, and forgetting what Paul said in Ephesians 6, "We are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against the mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, against wicked spirits in the heavenly realm." These spirits will never cease to, as Maximus put it in the movie Gladiator, "unleash hell" against us. Our response is to overcome that hell, destroying its works and power, by the release of the Kingdom life within us. Unless of course, that Kingdom life is not really abounding within in the first place.
Sooner or later, for you, for me, for all of us, all hell will break loose against us. How will we respond? By seeking to change or escape the situation, or by meeting, head on, all that power, with the infinitely greater power of heaven and the Kingdom? Will we be overcome, or will we be overcomers?
Blessings,
Pastor O
How we do this was well put by a friend the other day as we had this very conversation as to overcoming the world and its power. He said that it was his prayer that we, the people of God would live in such a way that when "All hell breaks loose around us, all of heaven would break out from within us." That, "When the world gives us hell, we would give it heaven." We would give it the Kingdom. What would happen if we who take His name would begin to live as Christ did, and still does. Not seeking to change a world we don't like into one that we do, and instead, seek to, by our Kingdom lives, destroy the works of darkness? What if we stopped trying to remodel this world according to our blueprint, and began to overcome it with the Kingdom life of Christ that flows out from within us? What if we truly became the church, built upon the Rock of Christ, discovering, as Jesus said in Matthew 16, that "All the powers of hell will not conquer it." I think, with the ever increasing loss of the spirit of discernment in the church, we are seeing all the obstacles and problems before us being human, fleshly, and changeable, and forgetting what Paul said in Ephesians 6, "We are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against the mighty powers of darkness who rule this world, against wicked spirits in the heavenly realm." These spirits will never cease to, as Maximus put it in the movie Gladiator, "unleash hell" against us. Our response is to overcome that hell, destroying its works and power, by the release of the Kingdom life within us. Unless of course, that Kingdom life is not really abounding within in the first place.
Sooner or later, for you, for me, for all of us, all hell will break loose against us. How will we respond? By seeking to change or escape the situation, or by meeting, head on, all that power, with the infinitely greater power of heaven and the Kingdom? Will we be overcome, or will we be overcomers?
Blessings,
Pastor O
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