Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:29-30

When we think of unwholesome talk we typically think of vulgar expressions, sexual innuendo, coarse talk, and so on. The word in the original language is sapros. Greek scholars say that the word relates to anything causing decay or rot. It can be used to denote the ravaging and disgusting effects of disease on a human body. Leprosy comes to mind. It can also speak of an adverse fate or future. All in all, it connects unwholesome words to expressions that cause decay, weakness, illness or that lead to a negative future.

Instead of unwholesome words, we are to speak words that build up and benefit. The idea of building up is to strengthen or to draw out the potential in someone. The word translated as benefit carries with it the flavor of a gift given out of love or a grace given to someone as God gives to us out of his grace.

An amplified translation of Ephesians 4:29-30 might read, “Let no words come out of your mouth that impart weakness or decay that leads to death. Do not speak words that diminish another or that rob him or her of a full future. Rather speak words over others that build them up, that develop their potential, and that impart strength. Speak out of love. Let your words be life-giving gifts, given out of grace rather than because someone has earned the words or merits your encouragement.”

If you think about it, Paul’s words line up well with Proverbs 18:21, “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.” The implication of the Ephesians passage is that words spoken to injure or diminish someone do actually damage the recipient. That loveless action on our part grieves the Holy Spirit. Lovelessness on our part is always sin because it violates the very nature of God, who is love. We sin when we wound by our actions or our words.

We live in a world so saturated with words that we barely pay attention to what we say or even what others say. Yet, God pays attention. One of the most sobering passages in the New Testament comes from Matthew’s gospel. Jesus said, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned” (Mt.12:36-37).

Words have power. The words of God created a universe out of nothing. We are made in his image. At some level, our words have power to create as well – for good or for evil. We need to measure our words and govern them. I know people who say whatever comes to mind and take pride in their frankness and openness. But in many ways they are like someone firing a gun randomly into a crowd and then denying responsibility for those injured because they “didn’t mean any harm.”

As the people of God, we are to always be sources of life and blessing. The Holy Spirit should flow out of us like living waters into the world around us. We are to be constant sources of blessing – speaking wholesome worlds that build up, encourage, heal, and that draw out the potential for goodness and greatness in people. If our style is to criticize, find fault, or belittle others, we need to repent. God has placed the potential for good in every human being. Our words need to draw that out, reinforce the potential, and create in the other person an identity of goodness and greatness. Our words should always bless and never curse.

The world needs a good word. There is something in nearly every person that responds to encouragement, someone believing in us, and a call to greatness. Our words can either kindle that response or quench it. Choose to be a source of life to everyone you encounter today. See what a difference it makes for them and even for your own heart. Blessings in Him.

Many of us distrust God or hold an offense against God because we are victims of misinformation. We believe that God sovereignly determines all things and, therefore, when bad things happen he is the cause or, at least, is at fault because he didn’t prevent the tragedy. We often hold God responsible for things he never promised and for things he has made clear he will not do. This all falls into the conundrum of free will and is worth considering as we attempt to understand the goodness of God.

In the very beginning, God determined to grant man free will – the ability to make choices that God would neither prevent nor force on man. God placed two trees in the Garden and gave Adam and Eve a clear choice concerning those trees. They could eat of every tree in the Garden, including the tree of life and live forever or they could eat of the one tree of the knowledge of good and evil and become subject to death and expulsion from the Garden.

When Satan entered the Garden and began to dialogue with Eve, God let her choose and let Adam choose their course of action even though the consequences were catastrophic for them, their descendants, and the universe. Their actions released pain and suffering on a fallen world. So why did God simply not rush in and sweep Satan from the Garden or freeze Eve’s mouth in place so that she could not continue her discussion with the serpent? Why did he not intervene to prevent the sin and the far ranging consequences?

I think there are, perhaps, two reasons. First of all, our actions are the true measure of love. I have counseled with any number of abused wives whose husbands continually declare their love for them. Physical and verbal abuse year in and year out suggests something else. How had God expressed his love for Adam and Eve? He had created them with his own hands, given them life, placed them in a phenomenal garden that met every need, and had granted them authority over his creation and the significance that came with that position. He met with them daily to build a relationship and impart his word and his ways to them. He treated them as a son and a daughter. And…he gave them the ability to think and choose rather than simply being puppets on the stage of creation. Being made in the image of God suggests that since God is sovereign, man must have some measure of sovereignty over his own life to reflect that image.

In the same vein, God is love and love is not satisfied unless love is willingly returned. Love that is forced or contrived can hardly be love. Love that is given must be a true choice and a true choice requires free will. Free will is risky but it is the price of love. Adam and Eve chose not to love God that day when they trusted the words of a stranger over the clear commands of the Father. Free will and the actions that flow out of our decisions are measures of our love for others, including God. Free will is the ultimate evidence of love.

Secondly, God was not interested in having eternal children. He wanted Adam and Eve to mature and become adults operating in love and wisdom. Free will is the context in which maturity occurs. Have you ever been around a child whose hovering parents make every decision for him or her in the name of protecting that child? You can easily project the disastrous “adulthood” that is coming for that boy or girl. We mature by making decisions and learning from the consequences. We learn and mature by sowing and reaping the consequences. There is also great risk in that because my free will choices can bring pain and destruction on others – even on innocents. Free will gives every person the potential to bless or harm others. If God controls every person’s heart and intervenes in every situation so that no tragedies occur, no divorces happen, no war breaks out – then free will is out the window.

Free will nailed Jesus to a cross, but the Father, Son and Spirit believed from the beginning that is was worth it. Revelation 13 speaks of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. That phrase assures us that in the mind of God, the cost of free will was clear even before man was created and the price for redemption needed by those who chose poorly was already agreed upon.

God does not prevent our pain but neither does he abandon us to it. He has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” When the hurt comes, God is there to begin to heal our broken hearts and set us free from the bondage we often choose (Isa.61: 1-4). God is there to direct, restore, renew and, when we allow it, to rescue.

Many things happen in this world that are not God’s will and that do not represent his heart. “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet.3:9). God wants all men to be saved, but not all men will be saved. Disease and suffering is not God’s heart for people. We know that because Jesus came to show us the Father and he constantly healed people out of compassion for their condition. We are also told that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1 Jn.3:8). Therefore, disease and disability are the work of Satan not God and the cost of free will.

When a little girl suffers at the hands of satanists, a marriage crumbles, a child is born with birth defects, or a teenager commits suicide, these are not events ordained or approved of by God. These are the expressions of free will and sin in this world, which God is in the process of eradicating through the cross, the preaching of the Gospel, and the ministries of his church for healing, reconciliation, and freedom from all kinds of bondage in this world. There is a place where God’s heart is perfectly reflected in every way. That place is heaven and we are taught to pray for that will be expressed on earth as it is in heaven. God’s will is for his goodness to be felt everywhere but it will first be expressed through our choices.

When we take offense at God, we misunderstand the source of our pain. Why do we never take offense at Satan, when he is the source of all that is bad? God is good and wants good things for his children. How often he must show restraint and reserve judgment so that more have an opportunity to repent and be saved? God has sovereignly chosen to let man have a measure of sovereignty over his own life. God has paid the ultimate price for that decision but believes it is worth it in the end. In the meantime, he directs, comforts, heals, and protects more than we know and has sent his son to heal broken hearts and set captives free. He can be trusted and, truly, only wants the best for you.

Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad, for a tree is recognized by its fruit. You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him. But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned. (Matt. 12:33-37)

The last verse in this section of scripture is very sobering. The thought that I might have to give an accounting on Judgment Day for every careless word I have ever spoken should get my attention. Even if I have not given much thought to my words, apparently heaven has. The context of these words is a rebuke by Jesus toward the Pharisees who have just attributed his authority to cast out demons to some alliance with Beelzebub. Jesus then equates their assertions to blasphemy of the Spirit which, I believe, is synonymous with unbelief in the face of a clear work of God.

Jesus goes on to the reveal the significance of these words spoken by the Pharisees which were obviously not well thought out. In this context, Jesus gives us one very significant reason that our words matter so much. Our words, especially our careless words, reveal what is truly in our hearts. We often deny that truth by blurting out something or making some sarcastic or cutting remark and then declaring that we didn’t really mean what we said. I hear that frequently from couples whose marriages are crumbling under the weight of anger and mistrust in the relationship. They often share with me the brutal remarks with which they wounded one another in the heat of their fighting and then say that they were just angry and didn’t really mean what they had said. The one who received the wound, however, is not so quick to dismiss the words that were spoken. The truth is that their words reveal something that is in their heart about their spouse and until that something is changed, the marriage will not truly heal.

In our hearts reside out deepest beliefs. We have a set of beliefs that rest neatly in our mind and in our intellect but those are often our “acceptable” or our “aspirational” beliefs. Those are the beliefs or attitudes we would like to have or believe we should have. Those are the beliefs or attitudes that we show to others and acknowledge as our own. Our actual beliefs are hidden in our hearts. Those show up when we are tempted, angry, afraid, or offended. They show up in our actions that have not been calculated and our careless words that pop out of our mouths in stressful moments or in moments of temptation.

Sometimes, even we wonder where those words or thoughts came from and are surprised by what we just said. David was aware that deep within our hearts we sometimes harbor thoughts or beliefs that are contrary to the mind and heart of God and reflect a part of us that we don’t want to recognize. He prayed, “Search me O God and know my heart. Try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps.139:23-24, ESV).

Our words matter because they can reveal the truest thoughts and attitudes of our hearts – even the ones we carefully hide from others who would disapprove or that we deny when confronted about them. My words will acquit us or condemn me because they reveal my heart which then reveals the “true me”. The good news for every believer is that even our hearts are covered by the grace of God and the blood of Christ. That grace reaches even the hidden sin in our hearts and we can take comfort in that.

However, the wisest path is to pay attention to our careless words, our impetuous words, and our angry words because they do reveal the unattractive reality of our fallen nature. We should pay attention and take responsibility for those words and the part of us that is not yet fully submitted to Jesus. We can then acknowledge that part of us, repent of the attitudes or beliefs our words reflect, and submit them to the cross so that the Holy Spirit can then begin to change our heart at the deepest level.

Our careless words, then, can be our allies in discovering what still needs to be aligned with the heart and mind of Christ. They can be our allies in discovering footholds or even strongholds of the enemy. Denying that spontaneous words or actions reflect who we “really are” leaves an unlocked door through which the enemy can enter when we least expect it. The wise man and the spiritual man will acknowledge that some parts of his heart are not yet submitted to Jesus and as he discovers each part, he will gladly lay them at the foot of the cross. That is a key to real transformation in the kingdom of God.

In one sense, God judges his people every day. He judges us not in the sense of condemnation but in the sense of evaluation and then goes to work changing those things that are not aligned with the mind and heart of Jesus. The transforming work of God is much easier and effective when we cooperate. It is easier when we willingly bend to his will rather than resisting. When we resist or deny that we need to change, more pressure must be applied even to the point of breaking. From personal experience I would say it is better to bend that to be broken. Carless words can alert us t the need to bend or can alert God to the need for more pressure. Our choice!  More about “words” on Wednesday.

Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Rev.3:4-6)

In some ways, Sardis came off as the least pleasing church in the list of churches in Asia. Jesus charged them with living on a reputation that pertained only to the past. He pronounced them spiritually dead and charged them with not completing the work he had given them. He called them to repentance and obedience and warned them that if they did not “wake up” he would come when they least expected it to discipline them.

And yet, he was very aware of the few in their midst who had been faithful and had continued to serve while the rest had abandoned their calling. He described them as those who had not “soiled” their clothes. The Greek word translated as soiled means “to defile by sexual immorality and/or involvement in pagan idolatry.” Those who had coasted to a halt in their passion for Jesus and their service to God had drifted back into a mixture of Christianity and pagan immorality. They kept an appearance of faithfulness and maintained ties with the church but partied with the pagans on weekends.

God knows our hearts, our lives, our works, our secrets, and our sins. We cannot hide our unfaithfulness from him in the midst of the congregation on Sunday nor will our faithfulness go unnoticed even in the midst of the unfaithful. The writer of Hebrews told the faithful Jews, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” Notice that God notices.

As difficult as it is to stay on track with the Father in the face of persecution, it is often more difficult to stay on track in a fellowship of lukewarm and dispassionate believers. In that environment, over time it is easy to begin to believe that “lukewarmness” is the standard and is somehow acceptable to the Lord. In his letter to Sardis, Jesus is clear that a casual attitude toward the cross and a double-minded man who tries to dance with the Lord on Sundays while dancing with the world the rest of the week is unacceptable. It’s like a man who sleeps with prostitutes six days and week but comes home declaring faithfulness to his wife on Sundays.

But Jesus declares that the faithful walk with him and they dress in white – the color of righteousness and priesthood. He promises all of us that when we live a life of overcoming the enemy and faithfully remain in the ranks of heaven, we also will be dressed in white. Not only that but those who continue in faithfulness will have their names eternally written in the book of life. Jesus declares that he will personally acknowledge the names of those who do not compromise, who do not become casual or careless, and who do not lose their passion for the kingdom before the Father and his angels.

Too many believers had a heavenly fire in their hearts for a season and served God with energy and passion for a time. But after a few years the kingdom of heaven lost its fascination for them. The riches and pleasures of the world began to glow brighter than the treasures of heaven. Little by little they began to mix the “not so bad” things of the world with the good things of heaven and eventually they simply slipped back in the world while maintaining their “membership” at the local church. Many believers know that their faith is not what is used to be but are banking on God remembering what they used to do when they stand before him. This letter indicates that these “believers” are in a very dangerous place.

We can easily look down on those who have slipped away but we can all be tempted to do the same thing when, after years of going to church, our faith can seem ordinary, humdrum, less rewarding than what the world is offering, and has even become unpopular and criticized in the culture. We must all guard against this “natural erosion” of faith and passion. How can we guard our hearts and keep the fire alive? Be sure you stay around people who still have a fire in their bones for the kingdom. The heat from their fires will keep your embers burning. If your group of believers has settled down and made peace with the world, find a new group. Intentionally risk. Develop a habit of doing “crazy things” for Jesus. Go on mission trips to 3^rd world countries. Pray for the sick at the local HEB. Share your faith with a stranger. Pursue the gift of tongues or prophecy. Consistently do things that are a “little scary.”

Risking things for the kingdom and being around others who risk makes your life in Christ an adventure. It does not get boring or irrelevant. It keeps stoking the fires and the excitement of seeing God do miracles through you makes the promises of the world seem lackluster. I believe that Jesus will not only acknowledge your name before the Father and his angels on the Day of Judgment, but even now as we passionately serve him. Those who serve faithfully now are already known in heaven and your name is already spoken there. Remember when God asked Satan if he had considered Job? Remember the angel who told Daniel that he was already highly esteemed in heaven. If you are living four Jesus, your name is already spoken in the courts of the King. Live in a way to insure that your name never fades in the halls of heaven but is mentioned there often until you arrive in person.  Be blessed.

To the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of him who is the First and the Last, who died and came to life again … Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death. (Rev. 2:8-11)

Smyrna was the afflicted and impoverished church that was about to undergo even more persecution. Some, Jesus confided, would even be put in prison for their faith. In the midst of that Jesus gave a promise for those who remained aligned with the Father and whose faith endured. The promise was the crown of life. The crown here is the victor’s crown. Paul often compared the Christian life to a race and called on the followers of Jesus to not only finish the race but to run to win. For those who won by being faithful, a great reward awaited them at the end of the race.

For those who remain faithful, the King of Kings will grant a victor’s crown. A reward comes with the crown and that reward is eternal life. For those who receive such a crown, the second death or eternal punishment offers no threat. For those who know the Lord, judgment day will be a day when honors are bestowed and rewards given. There will be no threat of hell. The crown signifies favor, status, honor, and a hero’s welcome.

The promises of God for those who stay in step with the Father’s heart are amazing and eternal. What confounds me is how quickly and easily we dismiss those promises and rewards for earthly rewards and pleasures that can’t compare. How many of us are willing to trade an incomparable birthright for a bowl of stew like Esau? How many believers trade the promises of heaven for an affair than can never lead anywhere, for an addiction that only takes us deeper into darkness, or for material gain and fame that, like cotton candy, only satisfies for a moment and then disappears. Salvation comes by grace but reward is based on our fruit and our faithfulness and much of heaven’s reward is available now.

Even in this life we can experience honor, friendship with the Kings, power and authority in the Spirit, revelation, fellowship with the Father, joy, peace, significance, purpose, angelic encounters, spiritual family, provision, miracles, supernatural gifts, the Father’s approval, influence, love, forgiveness, and life to the full. All these things are available now to those who desire them, seek them and stay aligned with the purposes of God. Even now we can receive those form the hand of our Father in Heaven.

What can the world offer that surpasses these heavenly treasures? And yet, believers so easily lay these promises aside to chase after the things of the world and the deceptions of Satan. The devil promises to provide all the things our hearts desire and promises that we can have them without cost and without consequence. Just as he told Eve that she wouldn’t actually die he tells us that our decisions to leave the path of God will truly take us where we want to go. But scripture is clear. “God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Gal.6:7-8).

As we please the flesh, destruction is planted. Eventually we must reap a harvest regardless of what Satan tells us. However, the promise of life that Jesus offers is much greater. A crown of victory and the honor that goes with it is assured because God cannot be mocked. I fully believe that we may experience that crown even in this life as we experience victory after victory over the enemy. But I also believe that Jesus will personally place one on your head as you enter into his presence if you stay faithful to the end. No athlete becomes great without suffering. I’m pretty sure that is true for those who follow Jesus as well. But when we suffer and endure, the crown waiting just on the other side of the finish line will make it all worthwhile. Do not give up or give in. Jesus who ran the race before us is waiting to welcome you

“We have two types of relationship with the Lord.  First we learn to live before him as a much- loved child. We practice a childlike faith and innocence.  We learn to simply relax and trust his greatness.  When under utmost pressure, we know we can lift up our arms and expect his greatness to overwhelm us and lift us up into a higher place. Children are uncomplicated, simple and trusting. Second, we learn to say “Father” as an adult in the Spirit, to speak out of a place of growing maturity in who the Lord is making us to be.  “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God are sons of God”(Rom.8:14).

A significant difference exists between being a child of God and being a son of God.  We are all children of God, but not all of us, yet, are sons or daughters of God.  The difference between the two is “learned” experience. As we grow in Christ we experience the other side of the relational paradox.  We learn how to move from a different place of relational anointing. We do not outgrow the childlike stage so as to discard it. Rather we move across the range of relational power from Abba to Father. We need both.”  (Graham Cooke, Approaching the Heart of Prophecy, p. 220-221).

I ran across this section in Cooke’s book and thought it was an interesting point.  He goes on to say that in one sense we never lose the wonder and innocence of a childlike faith and relationship with the Father but on the other hand we must grow up into a spiritual adult who walks in the authority and power of a “royal” ruling over parts of the kingdom for the King who is also our Father.  Paul himself spoke about putting away childish things and growing up into spiritual maturity.  (See 1 Cor. 13:11ff).  There is an infant stage in our spiritual life but then we are called to grow up and become adults in the spiritual realm.

In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. (Heb. 5:12-14).

I think many of us fail to grow up in our spiritual lives because we fail to take on roles in the Kingdom that require more maturity.  We tend to sit and watch others take on those roles as if that kind of maturity is for a few but not for all. That is like believing that adulthood is for a few but not for all.  God has given all of his children areas of the kingdom over which they are to exercise authority and stewardship.  Most of us will be given the role before we have fully grown into it. The demands of the position cause us to grow. If we wait until we are fully qualified to step into our role as a “son” or “daughter” we will always wait for another class, more training, or a more convenient time and life will pass us by.

Our goal then must not be just to get to heaven but to also serve God as mature sons and daughters on the earth who understand the kingdom, understand the mission, understand who we are, understand our authority, understand how to govern and understand how to fight.  Anything less leaves the church as an institution of children rather than a kingdom of mighty men and women who are royals in the household of God.

Paul underlines this principle with a kind of rebuke to the church at Corinth. He discovered that members of the church at Corinth were having disputes and going to secular courts of law to resolve their issues.  His response is interesting.  “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, appoint as judges even men of little account in the church! I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers” (1 Cor.6:2-5).

God has called his saints (that is you and me) to great things that must be managed by mature adults rather than children. You will judge the world.  You will judge angels. The expectation to mature and become strong is not for a few but for all. Perhaps, we haven’t thought about our own maturity and our God-given roles in the earth and have felt satisfied with just keeping the sin out of our lives.  That is a great start but it is only a start. God has much more for you in this world and the world to come.  He has given you great standing and wants you to step into that standing. Let’s get busy taking on the responsibilities of being God’s powerful, wise, holy, and authoritative representatives on the earth and grow into those roles as fast as we can. Let’s get busy moving from being a child of the King to honored sons and daughters of the King. Food for thought today.

The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your countrymen and say to them: ‘When I bring the sword against a land, and the people of the land choose one of their men and make him their watchman, and he sees the sword coming against the land and blows the trumpet to warn the people, then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not take warning and the sword comes and takes his life, his blood will be on his own head.  Since he heard the sound of the trumpet but did not take warning, his blood will be on his own head. If he had taken warning, he would have saved himself. But if the watchman sees the sword coming and does not blow the trumpet to warn the people and the sword comes and takes the life of one of them, that man will be taken away because of his sin, but I will hold the watchman accountable for his blood.’ “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the house of Israel; so hear the word I speak and give them warning from me. (Ezek.33:2-7)

In the days of the Bible, cities and farmers needed watchmen.  A watchman was simply the “lookout” or sentry who was posted to give warning if danger approached. On walled cities, towers were built and those towers were manned by watchmen who would sound an alarm if the enemy approached or who would alert the gatekeepers that a messenger was approaching or that a company of men were returning from a mission.  In essence, the watchman was to discern whether the approaching figure(s) were friends or foes and he was to alert the city to that arrival.

In several places, God compares Ezekiel to a watchman who has been placed over Israel to sound the alarm if he sees judgment on the horizon. Judgment would often come in the form of invading armies, natural disasters, plagues, etc.  It was the prophet’s job to alert the people of impending disasters so that they might repent and avoid the judgment of God.

There were also towers built in fields, orchards or vineyards for watchmen who would survey the borders of the property to see if any thieves were coming to steal the crops or if any animals were coming into the fields who might damage the crops. If so, they sounded the alert so that the Master’s men could arise and protect the crops.

Dutch Sheets has some great insights about these watchmen.  “In seasons of harvest, there is a more urgent need for the “watchman,” as “the thief” is going to do all he can to steal it, keeping the greater portion.  It is little wonder that God has preceded the greatest harvest of souls the world has ever known – which is now happening – with the greatest prayer awakening in history.

The Lord of the Harvest is wise. I can assure you He has 24-hour sentries watching over the harvest.” (Dutch Sheets, Intercessory Prayer, p. 255).

This is a day when the enemy is extremely active.  I believe that our nation’s leaders have released the demonic into our nation as never before by their attempts to drive God out of our schools, out of our military, out of courthouses, and out of our history.  They have passed laws against prayer and all kinds of expressions of Christianity in our culture while bowing to Islam, promoting abortion, and supporting the gay rights agenda.  In our conservative area of the country we have seen a spike in demonic activity of every kind and I have no doubt that there is more in other parts of our nation. This is a day when we need watchman who will protect the harvest and sound the alarm when an enemy approaches – not just for the nation but also for the church and for  individuals all around us.

There will be attacks from the inside and the outside that we must recognize and to which we must respond.  There will be individuals who work to destroy the nation, our families, and the church.  There will be those who wage a war on Christianity from the outside and those who wage a war from the inside by causing divisions and by teaching doctrines that do not line up with God’s truth. “The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” (1 Tim.4:1-2).

Our American tradition has been to mind our own business and not to involve ourselves in the lives of others when we have not been invited.  We have carried that cultural mindset of individualism and self-sufficiency into the church we have labeled those who speak to others about their sin or who speak to others about questionable teachings as judgmental and intolerant.

However, God clearly tells us in Ezekiel that if we see a nation, a family or an individual rejecting God’s truth and God’s Son, then we must warn them or their blood will be on our hands. The church has set relatively quiet while millions of children have been aborted, while laws have been passed legalizing evil and restricting good, while God and prayer have been banned form our schools and then the nations wonders why children and teachers are being gunned down in those schools on a regular basis. If anyone suggests that natural disasters, a failing economy, flu epidemics, and terrorism are preliminary judgments from God on a nation once blessed by Him, they are labeled as religious quacks and extremists – even by other believers.  The truth is that if the church (and we as individuals who are the church) does not begin to sound the warning for the nation and for the people around us, God will hold us responsible in part for the destruction of both the nation and people.

Freedom, healing, and power come to those who align themselves with God and who are obedient even when it brings threats and criticisms.  In the book of Acts, every time the apostles were censured for preaching Jesus, they would go out and begin to preach him again and God wound do move supernaturally in awesome ways through those who were not only warning people but announcing the unconditional love of God.  I believe our warnings should be voiced out of love and concern but also tempered with truth. America was never in as much danger from Germany, Japan, or nuclear Russia as we are right now from a culture that is working hard to reject God and his righteousness at every turn. We really do need to steel ourselves and begin to speak out with wisdom, concern, love for our enemies, and with articulation.  We have been appointed to be watchmen for the church first but also for a nation God has blessed in generations past.

Today, think about your role as protector, defender, and lookout for those you love, for the family of God and also for a world of people Jesus died for.  Ask Jesus who you need to speak to or where you need to speak out.  To whom much has been given, much is required.  God has saved us and blessed us so richly, but with that comes great responsibility to be salt and light, fresh water, and watchmen on the wall.  Be blessed.

I am very concerned about our nation. I’m sure you are as well.  I’m not just concerned about the teetering economy, the decline in morality, or the continuing holocaust of abortions in America. I’m not just concerned about God being pushed out of our schools or a culture that is calling evil good and good evil. I’m not just concerned about the blatant corruption in government and lack of truth telling at all levels. If we had to live in the midst of that it would be difficult enough.  What I am most concerned about are the curses that these behaviors and attitudes are about to unleash on America.

A strong thread runs through scripture that is summarized in Paul’s letter to the church in Galatia.  “Do not be deceived.  God cannot be mocked.  A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction. The one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Gal.6:7-8).  In the Old Testament there are huge sections on “blessing and cursing.”  In Deuteronomy 28, God gives an extensive list of blessings that will come upon Israel if they faithfully serve God and an extensive list of curses that will be released if they reject God.  Nations reap what they sow as well as individuals.

Those curses listed in Deuteronomy include economic disaster, sickly children and blighted crops. They include failure in everything they attempt, diseases that ravage the nation, drought or destructive weather patterns, defeat from enemies, confusion, a man’s hard work being harvested by strangers, oppression of all kinds, and aliens in the land rising up and ruling over native born citizens. These curses sound like the six o’clock news.

In the book of Job, Satan complained to God that he had put a hedge around Job so that Satan could not get at him (Job 1:9). What we see in that chapter is Satan wanting to destroy Job and his family.  God, however, in his goodness and mercy had been restraining the devil because Job was faithful.  When men or nations sow to the flesh long enough, God is compelled by his holiness and our free will (which also chooses our consequences) to turn these men or nations over to their own choices.  When that point is reached, God lifts the restraints and Satan has access to individuals or nations because they have aligned themselves with the enemy.

When curses flood into a person’s life or over a nation, these curses are not something God has conjured up but they are simply what Satan has been wanting to release on that nation, family, or person all along.  Because of God’s love for all men, he restrains the enemy and these disasters until man has sown so much destruction that it must be harvested.  The law of sowing and reaping then kicks in. Here is the sobering part.  The harvest is always greater than the planting.  An acorn produces much more than itself.  A kernel of corn produces dozens of ears of corn.  A man gets back even more than he put in.

That’s good news if you are sowing to the Spirit for God will give you more good things than you sowed.  But if you have been sowing to the flesh, the destruction will far outweigh the evil you have planted.  Many times the destructive results will affect generations.  Children will reap what their fathers sowed. The biblical principle is that the consequences of the sins of the fathers will be passed down to the third and fourth generations of children (Ex. 20:5).

Our nation is mocking God and sowing to the flesh in abundance.  Jesus said, “To whom much is given much is required” (Luke 12:48).  God has given much to America over the last 300 years.  America has not been ignorant of God, his Word, and his ways.  He has blessed us abundantly in our faithfulness but will discipline us abundantly in our rejection of him, his Word, and his ways.

Our hope is in the grace of God and his willingness to forgive and restore when godly sorrow and sincere repentance come from the heart of a man or a nation. But rather than righteousness and repentance flowing out of the church in America I am seeing compromise, going along to get along, a desire to be more acceptable to man in a perverse culture than to God in his holiness.  A few are declaring God’s truth and absorbing the ridicule and accusations of culture but more are being silent.

God’s judgment, which is the release of the enemy to have his way with men who have partnered with Satan, usually comes first in a slow stream giving men the opportunity to recognize what is happening and turn again to God.  Then the stream widens – disasters are greater and more frequent, and then if no repentance comes, God is forced by our own decisions to open the floodgate and let the enemy come in without restraint.  History is full of such lessons.  Curses are not vicious acts by a vengeful God, but rather the harvest of what we have insisted on planting year after year. God takes no pleasure in judging nations or men. His heart for us is to repent so that he can bless us again.  But it is still our choice.

Our sincere and constant intercession for our nation, its leaders, its people, and the church is still our hope and can be a powerful weapon to push back the enemy.  The authority of believers needs to be exercised on behalf of a nation and our nation evangelized by the love and power of God once again.   Even this struggle is not against flesh and blood but spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. We are in a state of war and we have been promised the victory – but only if we stand, only if we fight. My prayer is that more than ever before believers in America will rise and fight against the enemy and drive him out of this nation so that the goodness and blessing of God can flourish here again. I hope you will make a decision to go to war today against the dominion of darkness and not stop until the victory is secure. Be blessed today knowing that God goes before those who go in his name.

Since demons are recognized as a spiritual reality throughout biblical history and since followers of Christ are commanded to deliver men from these spirits as an expression of the advancing kingdom of God, most of us want to know the nature and origin of these spirits.  There are several theories about their origins – none of which are completely satisfying.  But, because “inquiring minds want to know,” I will mention the most prevalent theories and point out a few strengths and weaknesses in each.

Fallen Angel Theory

Probably the most prevalent theory is that demons are the fallen angels who were cast out of heaven with Satan.  In Revelation 12 we are told that there was war in heaven between Michael and his angels and the dragon (Satan) and his angels. Satan and the angels that had allied with him were cast down to the earth never to have a place in heaven again. Many believe the reference to the dragon sweeping a third of the stars of heaven out of the sky (Rev. 12:4) reveals that a third of the angels in heaven joined Satan in his rebellion and were cast to the earth. Many believe that demons are those angels who were cast out of heaven and who do the bidding of Satan on earth.

There are several problems with this view.  Scripture tells us that the angels who were cast down are not roaming the earth tormenting men but are locked in dungeons until the final judgment.

For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until the judgment… (2 Pet.2:4)

And the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day. (Jude 6)

In addition, angels have the power to manifest in physical bodies so what need would they have to enter into human bodies? Of course, you could argue that the angels who were cast out may have lost their ability to manifest as a physical presence but there is no direct reference to any angel wanting or needing to enter a physical body and the clear scriptures that state these angels are bound in dungeons until judgment seems to seal the argument.

Spirits of Wicked Men Theory

A second prevalent theory is that demons are the spirits of wicked men still wandering the earth who not only serve Satan but who continue to have appetites for sin that cannot be satisfied except through a physical body – especially sexual sin.

The argument comes mostly from the etymology of the word demon. The ancient Greeks had a word daimon which referred to the departed spirit or soul of a man or woman who had died. Sometimes these spirits were considered to be lesser deities who, after death, knew all things and who influenced men for good or evil.  In its early usage it was applied to all souls but later seemed to be primarily applied to the departed spirits of wicked men.  In the New Testament the word (daimon transliterated demon) was used of unclean spirits. Because of the Greek usage of the word many believe that demons, then are the departed spirits of wicked men roaming the earth, satisfying their sinful lusts through the flesh of others, and serving Satan.

The greatest challenge to this view is that the New Testament seems to be clear that when men die they no longer roam the earth but go to a waiting place of peace or suffering depending on their final destination. Judgment day is not a day of determining guilt or innocence but simply the day of sentencing for the lost or receiving reward for those who are in Christ.

In Luke 16, Jesus tells the story of the rich man and Lazarus.  At the death of both, they were transported to places of comfort for Lazarus and of torment for the rich man.   There seemed to be no alternative location for mankind in general – the righteous awaited the Day of Judgment in peace and comfort while the wicked were remanded to torment while they awaited their final sentencing.

Peter refers to souls who did not believe being imprisoned. “He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit, through whom also he went and preached to the spirits in prison who disobeyed long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built” (1 Pet. 3:18-20).  The wicked of Noah’s day, then, were forcibly confined in a specific place rather than wandering the earth.

For the righteous in Christ, Jesus told the thief on the cross that he would be with Jesus in Paradise on the day of his death and Paul declares that to be absent from the body is to be with Jesus (2 Cor.5:8).  So, it is clear that the spirits of righteous men do not wander the earth and the biblical evidence we have regarding the wicked is that they do not wander the earth either.

There is a third very interesting theory that demons are the spirits of the Nephilim of Genesis 6:1-4.  It is fairly involved so I will present that theory tomorrow. But just to keep a biblical perspective remember….

The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” (Lk.10:17-20)