We’ve all heard the expression, “It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.”  That is not a quote from the Bible but it reflects biblical truth. James, the brother of Jesus, spent a good bit of his five-chapter epistle warning us about the words we speak.  One small part says the following.

With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. (James 3:9-11)

We have talked about blessing and cursing before along with our authority as believers. To pronounce a blessing is a form of prayer that asks God to direct good toward the individual we have blessed.  A curse, on the other hand, is a form of prayer that asks for someone to direct evil toward an individual. Since God is not in the business of sending evil in response to hateful prayers, someone else in the spiritual realm will be glad to act on that prayer – especially a prayer uttered by one of God’s own children since that prayer gives the enemy authority to go after someone – even a fellow believer.

As a culture, we tend to dismiss words as meaningless but scripture doesn’t dismiss them so easily.  James clearly commands us to bless and not to curse. Proverbs tells us “the tongue has the power of life and death” (Prov.18:21). Jesus warns us that men will have to give account on judgment day for every careless word spoken (Matt. 12:36). And Paul admonishes us to let no unwholesome talk come out of our mouth but only what is good for building up other people (Eph.4:29).

Since our words carry authority as children of God and representatives of the King, they also carry the weight of prophetic messages calling things out that have not yet come to pass.  A prophetic word over a person does not just tell about future events but often activates a seed that God planted in that individual years earlier. A prophetic word about events moves things in the heavenly realms to bring that word to pass in the affairs of men and nations.

The point is that our words are more than random sounds or sentiments. They carry power or spiritual energy to influence things for good or bad. So God calls on us to speak well of those who would curse us, to pray for authorities, to give honor to whom honor is due, and to bless and not curse.

How many times have we spoken negatively about leaders, celebrities, cities, nations, or even preachers we don’t’ agree with?  How many times have we declared their depravity, their upcoming fall from grace, their darkness and their failure? How many times have we called judgment down with our words declaring that God should wash some city away, destroy it with an earthquake, or declare that some nation should be “nuked,” etc.?  But God was concerned even about the people of Nineveh who were Israel’s sworn enemies.

What if we spoke life, blessing, wisdom, revival, righteousness and hope over the people we usually curse? Would our words impart life rather than death, righteousness rather than depravity, peace rather than war, and love rather than hate?

Would politicians begin to serve the nation rather than themselves? Would presidents begin to make wise decisions instead of foolish ones? Would Muslim terrorists begin to see the world through different eyes?  Would failing husbands and fathers begin to succeed and marriages flourish rather than inch closer to divorce?

God wants us to bless and not curse because he desires that none should perish.  Blessing then becomes a powerful, divine weapon that God can use to transform men and nations. Blessing takes fuel and authority away from the enemy and begins to strangle demonic supply lines of hate and bitterness and cursing.

So today, ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware of every word so that none are spoken carelessly. Ask him to make you a spring of fresh water rather than salt water and a fountain of life rather than death.  I will ask him to do the same for me.

One of my favorite authors through the years has been Philip Yancey.  Two of his books, What’s So Amazing About Grace and The Jesus I Never Knew, are books that I return to and reread from time to time. I was teaching a class this morning when the essential subject of forgiveness came up.  It is an essential subject because if we fail to forgive those who have wronged us, we open the door to the enemy and give him a perfect right to camp out in our living room (metaphorically speaking).  I like what Yancey has to say about the act of forgiving or our refusal to forgive.

As the Jewish philosopher Hannah Arendt said, the only remedy for the inevitability of history is forgiveness; otherwise we remain trapped in the “predicament of irreversibility.” … Not to forgive imprisons me in the past and locks out all potential for change.  I, thus, yield control to another, my enemy, and doom myself to suffer the consequences of the wrong.  I once heard an immigrant rabbi make an astonishing statement,  “Before coming to America, I had to forgive Adolph Hitler,” he said. “I did not want to bring Hitler inside of me to my new country.” (Yancey, Philip. What’s So Amazing About Grace? Zondervan, 1997, p.99)

Those who have been wounded bristle at the thought of forgiving the one who has hurt them – especially when that person has hurt them over and over again. We bristle because we think they are getting a free pass for their “crimes” against us.  It’s like Jesus has commanded us to hand over a “Get Out of Jail Free” card to our worst enemy so they can go on hurting us as well as others. Our sense of justice cries out. Our anxiety level spikes because we think that these people must be stopped and it is the force of our unforgiveness that will stop them.

But here is the secret about forgiveness.  Forgiveness is a gift of God for the one who has been wronged, not for the one who has committed the wrong.  If we can understand that, we can summon the heart to forgive.  The rabbi quoted by Yancey had it right.  Unforgiveness keeps the hurt and the hurter alive in our hearts. God has actually made us to forgive so that time and distance will do a work of healing – unless we keep the hurt alive by constantly ripping the scab off our wound as we rehearse the wrongs and keep them fresh so that our “enemy” will not escape our wrath.

But we are the ones who will not escape without forgiving. Without forgiving we carry our “enemy” with us wherever we go.  We don’t allow God’s grace to do its work. Forgiveness is not the act of minimizing your pain or excusing what has been done to you.  It is the act of releasing judgment of the matter to God who judges perfectly.

What could you do with all the energy you have burned up thinking about the one who wounded you and wondering how justice will be served? Think of the sleepless nights and the pain you have endured reliving the memories of things done and said to you. God offers that back as a gift to you if you will simply release the matter to him.  You no longer have to forfeit your time, energy, and sleep to the matter. Release it to him.  You don’t have to spend one more second considering how you will make the other person pay for what they did to you. Release it to him. Forgiveness is like selling a mortgage to another company.  It will be their job to collect the debt, keep up with the legal work, and keep the records.  You won’t have to give it another thought.

“But what do I get,” you ask?  You get peace.  You get a heart drained of poison and bitterness. You get some relationships healed and restored and others just set aside.  You get a future untethered to your past.  You get the full forgiveness of God. You get space back in your heart so that love can fill the space that resentment once occupied.

Again, forgiveness is God’s gift for the wounded.  It is the pristine environment where healing can occur.  Will God forgive those terrible people who wronged and wounded you?  Will he forgive those who took your life away by their brutal acts?  If they repent; if they change; if they truly come to Christ he will.  But if they do, the individuals that hurt you will no longer exist. That will be a blessing as well.  If they don’t repent God won’t forgive.  But if you want to be fully healed pray that they will repent and be saved. Ask God to bless them. Forgive as you were forgiven.  Choose to overcome evil with good and you give your violators no more power over you. Then you will be free indeed.

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)

One of the great hindrances to healing and freedom in the body of Christ is a view of God that defines his sovereignty as “his will being done in every situation of life”. He is certainly sovereign but in that sovereignty he has chosen to exercise limited control of his creation.  That limit is called free will and it opens both God and man up to the possibility of tragedy.  It was that limit that sent Jesus to the cross and it is that limit that allows drug dealers to prosper and drunk drivers to take out the innocent.

Our ability to choose love and righteousness also grants us the ability to choose sin and a destructive lifestyle – both for ourselves and others.  Unfortunately, many believers who have experienced the destructive side of free will have taken offense at God and have blamed him for their hurt or pain.  Their anger at God keeps them at arms length and prevents them from trusting him enough to discover the love, the healing and the freedom that are ours in Jesus.

There seem to be two basic categories of offense.  One is found in experiences where people feel as if justice has not been served. The offense is expressed in the statement that if God were just, bad things would not happen to good people and good things would not happen to bad people.  That struggle is not new to the hearts of righteous men.  Note a few excerpts from Ps. 73 below.

Surely God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. But as for me, my feet had almost slipped; I had nearly lost my foothold. For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.  They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills.

This is what the wicked are like — always carefree, they increase in wealth. Surely in vain have I kept my heart pure; in vain have I washed my hands in innocence. All day long I have been plagued; I have been punished every morning. If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny. (Psm.73:1-17).

This was a cry for justice from a man who served the Lord and struggled in life while those who gave God no thought seemed to prosper. In the end, the man realized that justice would be served when these men stood before the judgment seat of God. There are times when God’s kindness calls the wicked to repentance and times when the prince of this world grants success to those who serve him. Ultimately, however, every cry for justice by the people of God will be met for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of God.

The second category of offense seems to lie in the arena of those who were victimized by hurtful or evil people.  Their cry is “If God is good, where was God when all that was being done to me?” Scripture also speaks to that question,

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. (Ps.34:18)

He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. (Ps.147:3)

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. (Isa. 61:1)

You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry. (Ps.10:17)

God is not indifferent to the pain and victimization of his children. When hearts are broken and people are afflicted he is close and his purpose is to heal the hurts of those who have felt the sting of free will.  God did not introduce pain to this world. Man introduced pain when he said “yes” to Satan’s lies. Because of free will, God must stand aside in many cases while hurt and wrongs are inflicted.  But immediately, his heart is to bring healing and eventually justice.

Remember, Satan accused God in the Garden of Eden of withholding good from Adam and Eve when God was actually restraining sin and the inevitable consequences of rebellion.  Now Satan still accuses God of being the source of all pain and evil in the world even though Satan is that true source.  John tells us that Jesus came to “destroy the works of the devil.”  Jesus came to forgive and deliver us from eternal suffering.  He came to heal broken hearts and set captives free.  He came to heal the sick, raise the dead, cast our demons, grant peace to the tormented, and call for social justice.  The things he came to remedy are the works of the devil not the Father.

The key to finding healing and freedom in this life is a resolute commitment to the truth that God is good, he is good all the time, and his heart is to always bring about good for his children even when they have been afflicted and wounded by the enemy and those who serve him.

To believe that God is indifferent or that he visits disease and torment on the children he loves for some “sanctifying” motive takes the heart and faith out of our prayers. How can we pray for healing, deliverance from suffering, or release from a Chinese Re-education Camp if we think God may have willed that for our lives?

For those who have been angry with God and have kept their distance for a hurt or a loss they once experienced in this fallen world, I hope you will reconsider the source of that pain. Your Father in heaven is not that source and so wants to hold you close and heal your broken heart.  My hope is that you will soon lay down the anger and the offense you have felt and surrender to the love of God.

Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil (1Jn. 3:8). Whatever Jesus healed, cast out, or overcame were works that the enemy had constructed on the earth.  In the opening salvo of Christ’s war on the devil, he announced that he had come to preach good news to the poor, to heal the brokenhearted, and to set captives free (Luke 4).  He then proceeded to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God, heal every kind of sickness and physical condition, cast our demons, raise the dead and break the power of sin over countless lives.

However, sometime in the last 2000 years, a few prominent theologians decided that the very things Jesus opposed on the earth did not come from Satan but from God himself.   Somewhere along the line, theologians decided that since God is sovereign, everything that happens on this planet is his will and has been ordained by heaven.  That kind of theology makes God the author of rape, abortion, famine, war, cancer, birth defects, and crib death. That kind of theology makes God a heartless manipulator of people and circumstances.  However, John definitively says that God is love.

The truth is that there are countless things that happen on this planet that do not reflect the heart or the will of God for his people.  For instance, in his first letter to Timothy, Paul says, “This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Tim.2: 4) Paul clearly states that God’s desire is for every soul to be saved.  Scripture also clearly says that not all will be saved. In the matter of the world’s salvation, God’s desire will not be completely fulfilled.

Even, when the persistent acts and sins of men demand God’s righteous judgment, that is not what God rejoices to do.  In the book of Ezekiel, God says, “Do I take any pleasure in the death of the wicked?” declares the sovereign Lord.  “Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live” (Ezek. 18:23)?  He also says, “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” (Ezek.22: 30). Sometimes, disaster comes because man leaves God no choice.  Like parents exercising tough love toward a rebellious child, God sometimes brings discipline or judgment.  But it is not his pleasure to do so.

The world is clearly full of tragedy.  In his sovereignty, God gave man free will and in doing so set limitations on himself in terms of how he would intercede in the affairs of men.  When mankind chooses violence over peace, adultery over faithfulness, abortion over parenthood, bitterness over forgiveness, deception over truth and rebellion over obedience, bad things happen and people are wounded in ways that were never in the heart of God for his people. When men act in such ways they open themselves and their families up to the work of Satan who comes to kill, steal, and destroy.

However we understand God and his heart for us, the clearest demonstration of his heart is found in Jesus. Jesus declared in John 14 that whoever has seen him (Jesus) has seen the Father.  Whatever Jesus did on the earth is an accurate reflection of the heart of God.  The heart of God, like the heart of God’s Son, is to heal, bless, set free, and eventually abolish death altogether.

When we blame God for the tragedies, the pain, the sorrows of life we misjudge his character and his heart for us.  That misconception is a great tool of the enemy to alienate people from a God who loves them and to limit our faith when we pray.  If we ever believe that God’s heart for his children is that they be raped, abused, murdered, ravaged by cancer, and stuck in crippling poverty, or die tragically then how will we pray against those things?  How will be believe that God is sitting on the edge of his throne waiting to arise and set his children free from the hate-filled works of the devil?  And yet, that is where he is.

The good news is that disease, disabilities, shattered emotions, broken families and all the rest of Satan’s work is not the heart of God for his people.  Jesus came to begin dismantling those works in individual lives and then in society as a whole.  The church has been commissioned to do what Jesus did and to continue to destroy those works with the love of God and the power of heaven.  God longs for us to call on him in faith to push back the borders of darkness through us.  He longs to display his power to heal, mend, and set free through us, just as he did through Jesus. Whenever we have it in our hearts to do the works that Jesus did then we can rest assured that heaven is ready to join us in the battle.  Be bold today.  Know that God is on your side when you push back in faith against the kingdom of darkness.