I have seen the truth of the scripture passage and Moore's words carried out and repeated in countless lives over the course of 30 years of ministry. I have seen people confronted and presented with the miraculous and freeing work of Christ, turn Jesus and His offer of life and freedom away. Not just once, but countless times.
Luke 8 details Jesus' freeing of the demon possessed man. A man who was known throughout the area for his uncontrollable demonic rage and the destruction he caused because of it. They were unable in any way to control that rage, yet with just a few words, Christ subdued the hellish power and set the man free and made him whole. It should have been a cause for celebration, but it wasn't. The demoniac may have been the only one in the area that was so openly tormented by the enemy, but he couldn't have been the only one held in some type of captivity by that enemy. The presence of darkness in the country of the Gerasenes had to have been great, yet when offered His Light and Life, their response was to plead with Him to leave them....and He did.
From the distance of 2000 years, we read this and ask ourselves how could it be so? How could anyone turn away Jesus, especially after seeing His miraculous freeing power at work? Yet, in how many ways have we done the same? What crippling parts of darkness continue to hold sway in our lives? Maintaining a destructive presence despite the fact that we have heard His offer of freedom from numerous sources, and seen the proof of His power in many different lives? Yet when He comes and offers to do that same work in us, we plead with Him to leave. We know we shouldn't, and we likely don't understand why we do, but....we do. In hopelessness, we send away He who is our only hope.
Moore tells of her own captivity to such darkness. A captivity that was so powerful that she became resigned to it, even clung to it. She said she knew it was insanity to do so, but she did. In my last writing, I shared her words on the devil's lie to convince us that we have reached a place so dark that He can't deliver us. She had bought into that lie, but even in the lie, He broke through, and invaded her darkness with His Light and Life. After so long a time telling Him to go, she cried out for Him to come, and He did. He will. He always will.
John 14:27 contains Jesus' famous invitation and offer; "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you." Moore said that the devil has a counter offer. One that He cloaks in lies and we would be insane to accept, yet we so often do. Christ offers a peace that is the fruit of truly abiding in Him. We choose not only His Life, but to live in and out of that Life. Moore says that the devil's offer to us is "chaos, turmoil, torment, confusion, and hopelessness." This is what will always be found in the country of the Gerasenes. Are you, in part or the whole, living in that country today? Has Christ come, again and again to that place in your heart and spirit, and offered you His peace, His Life, and yet, one way or another, you have bid Him to leave? Would you leave that country now? Would you come into His country, the country of the King? It has been said that the Father has established through His people, "a colony of heaven in the country of death." Christ calls us to live in that colony. The devil seeks to keep us in the country of death, the country of the Gerasenes. Two offers are before you, before us all. Which do we accept? Someone must be turned away. Who will it be ?
Luke 8 details Jesus' freeing of the demon possessed man. A man who was known throughout the area for his uncontrollable demonic rage and the destruction he caused because of it. They were unable in any way to control that rage, yet with just a few words, Christ subdued the hellish power and set the man free and made him whole. It should have been a cause for celebration, but it wasn't. The demoniac may have been the only one in the area that was so openly tormented by the enemy, but he couldn't have been the only one held in some type of captivity by that enemy. The presence of darkness in the country of the Gerasenes had to have been great, yet when offered His Light and Life, their response was to plead with Him to leave them....and He did.
From the distance of 2000 years, we read this and ask ourselves how could it be so? How could anyone turn away Jesus, especially after seeing His miraculous freeing power at work? Yet, in how many ways have we done the same? What crippling parts of darkness continue to hold sway in our lives? Maintaining a destructive presence despite the fact that we have heard His offer of freedom from numerous sources, and seen the proof of His power in many different lives? Yet when He comes and offers to do that same work in us, we plead with Him to leave. We know we shouldn't, and we likely don't understand why we do, but....we do. In hopelessness, we send away He who is our only hope.
Moore tells of her own captivity to such darkness. A captivity that was so powerful that she became resigned to it, even clung to it. She said she knew it was insanity to do so, but she did. In my last writing, I shared her words on the devil's lie to convince us that we have reached a place so dark that He can't deliver us. She had bought into that lie, but even in the lie, He broke through, and invaded her darkness with His Light and Life. After so long a time telling Him to go, she cried out for Him to come, and He did. He will. He always will.
John 14:27 contains Jesus' famous invitation and offer; "Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you." Moore said that the devil has a counter offer. One that He cloaks in lies and we would be insane to accept, yet we so often do. Christ offers a peace that is the fruit of truly abiding in Him. We choose not only His Life, but to live in and out of that Life. Moore says that the devil's offer to us is "chaos, turmoil, torment, confusion, and hopelessness." This is what will always be found in the country of the Gerasenes. Are you, in part or the whole, living in that country today? Has Christ come, again and again to that place in your heart and spirit, and offered you His peace, His Life, and yet, one way or another, you have bid Him to leave? Would you leave that country now? Would you come into His country, the country of the King? It has been said that the Father has established through His people, "a colony of heaven in the country of death." Christ calls us to live in that colony. The devil seeks to keep us in the country of death, the country of the Gerasenes. Two offers are before you, before us all. Which do we accept? Someone must be turned away. Who will it be ?
Blessings,
Pastor O
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