Heart Tracks - Who Are You?

"And the evil spirit answered and said, 'Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?' " Acts 19:15..."I am certain...that Christians sometimes, maybe ofttimes, bore evil spirits. Too seldom do we pose any threat...."When Jesus arrives, all hell breaks loose, since it's the only tactic the devil has when heaven breaks in." Mark Buchanan

I think there is one question that few of us are comfortable with answering; what kind of threat do we pose to the kingdom of hell? Someone said that their deep desire was "to be on the devil's most wanted list." The church doesn't lack for those who seek notoriety in the flesh. How many of us want to have such as concerns the kingdom of darkness? Here's the thing; I think that those who do draw the attention of the enemy almost always go about unnoticed by most everyone else.

There are lots of studies out there that seek to measure "church health." I don't seek to denigrate any of them, but something I have never seen on any of them is a question that asks "To what degree does your fellowship attack the gates of hell? To what degree have you drawn the 'notice,' and assaults of the enemy?" Our churches may have the best of ministries as far as working with children, youth, young adults, marriages, and so on. We may do a lot of "good work," and "improve" a lot of lives. Yet Jesus Christ didn't come to improve our lives. He came to save and completely transform them. The devil doesn't mind our gaining some improvements and upgrades to our lives. They pose no threat to his kingdom. However, he will rise up with all his power to fight against the fellowship and individual who, in Christ, brings the promise of spiritual transformation. Such will cause the gates of his kingdom to crumble and fall.

As pastors and people, in our humanity, we want our church fellowships, and our lives, to go as smoothly as possible. We do not want trouble, and we can go out of our way to avoid it, particularly in the spiritual realm. It can get easy to avoid very sensitive areas in the church and in lives. The devil has no problem with our coming together, studying the word, singing hymns and choruses, and tithing to the church. However, when we begin to pray His Word, live His Word, and in that, lay siege to his kingdom, he will mount a counterattack. There will be "casualties." Hell will break loose when heaven breaks in. In the end, the true casualty will be the exposing of the enemy and his strongholds, and the tearing down of each them. That is what biblical transformation is all about. We can do things to improve our fallen flesh. Only Jesus Christ can transform it.

We live in a day when "spiritual warfare" is seen as something "those people" engage in. Granted, there are some who have seen it as something from the movie "The Exorcist." The devil is most often far more subtle and dangerous than that. He disguises himself as someone and something good. He's an infiltrator and sedater of churches and lives. Such pose no threat to him. Does he see us, and our fellowships in that way? Does he ask, "Who are you?" Or, has he targeted us for his assault? The fellowships and lives that work and long for the total spiritual transformation of those lost in sin will be assaulted. Hell will break loose, but take heart, heaven will break in. When we stand fast, as well as step out, his gates will come off their hinges. At the cross and at the tomb, his kingdom fell. Let's live, worship, and pray in that knowledge and truth. Our God reigns, and in Christ, so do we.

Blessings,
Pastor O