Does the Church Have Sympathy for the Devil?
In the 1970’s the rock and roll group, The Rolling Stones, had a blockbuster song called, Sympathy for the Devil.
Writing this blog entry, I realize how much sympathy for the devil, most of the time, unknowingly, many have in the church of Jesus Christ.
Allow me to explain.
2 Timothy 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
The Greek says; That they may return to soberness or awake out of the snare of the devil, after having being hunted down, taken captive, and caught alive to do his will.
The devil actively hunts down people by trapping free will through deception.
In the world, the devil deceives people into thinking that he does not exist.
Once that people don’t think that he is real, he does no more and leaves them alone until they die and end up in hell.
We think that the devil is only at work with those who do not know Christ.
But he is alive and well in the church.
The kingdom of God works through great pro activity.
One of devil’s favorite tactics in the church is to tempt with passivity and complacency.
The devil tempts with distractions, which are so prevalent on the earth, and produces complacency, which is just the opposite to what is required to effectively bring God’s kingdom.
The devil is also successful in deceiving the church with the bystander model of church, where a few minister, while most of the body passively sits and spectates.
Refer to my recent teachings on the mistaken model of the bystander church.
The glory of God is like an apple pie.
Every Christian is responsible for bringing a slice of the glory pie through his giftings and ministry.
If only a few minister, and the rest idly sit, most of the glory pie is not brought forth, and the world is robbed of seeing God’s glory through the church.
1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Be temperate, dispassionate and sober in your walk with the Lord.
Be awake and watchful, because your opponent just like in a lawsuit, the devil, as a roaring lion, conducts himself strenuously and earnestly seeking, whom he may gulp down, swallow, consume, and destroy.
I have never seen as much, sickness, dysfunction, and pain in the church, as now.
We can’t blame the devil, he only attacks when given a place.
Spiritual laziness brought forth through a distracted life from the Lord will allow the devil to gulp us down, swallow, consume and destroy us.
Eph 4:27 Neither give place (Topon) to the devil.
Topon means to give opportunity, power, and an occasion for acting.
Another Bible version renders the world as “giving place to.”
It’s like the construction of an airport runway on our very person, for the devil to land upon!
Sin and disobedience does that.
Any time that we are in willful disobedience to the Lord, we automatically create an airport runway on backs, where the enemy can land and take away whatever we let him.
He is like a vulture who lands, steal and destroys and flies off.
The more complacent and passive that he can tempt you to become, the more active he becomes.
Conversely, the more active you are in your obedience to the Lord, the less ability he has to work in you.
The devil’s church toys are distractions, passivity, complacency and bystanderism.
Ephesians 2:2 Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:
We think that this verse talks about non-Christians.
I disagree.
It is very much talking to the church.
The Greek word for worketh is defined as giving energy to.
This particular verse is in the present participle that shows present and consistent action.
The sons of disobedience energize the schemes or plans of the devil on a present and consistent basis.
The word for disobedience is being non-compliant, obstinate and stubborn.
A Christian who’s is habitually disobedient, non-compliant and stubborn to do God’s will energizes the devil to work in his life.
The devil is an equal opportunity deceiver.
He deceives those in the church by releasing deceiving energy in the form of complacency, passivity, apathy, bystanderism and distractions.
He deceives those outside of the church by making them think that he does not exist.
Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;
Because they did not like to acknowledge God in their thinking as someone who is more precious and valuable than the finest of metals after having an opportunity to do so, God decreed their thinking as failing the test given to a fine metal, rendering their thinking unfit, and worthy only to be rejected and cast away to do those things which are inappropriate.
This verse speaks for itself. Just look at what is happening in America.
Mat 12:43 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none.
The demon travels continually throughout differing arid places “seeking an end to his now unpleasant circumstances” (because he has been cast out of the man), and in no way finds it (showing the necessity that demons have to possess a living being).
44 Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished.
I will return to my house whence I came out, and having come, finds it vacant and occupied, and in a perfected state of being swept, and cosmetically adorned, but not filled inside with the Holy Spirit.
This is why there is nothing as important as being filled with, and being mighty in the Holy Spirit.
The devil will give the person incredible riches if he knows that they will keep the person distracted from God.
John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
In His own words Jesus says, “The prince of the cosmos comes, and it is impossible for him to have even have the tiniest connection with me.”
The real binding of the enemy occurs when the Christian has no connection or open door with the devil where he can afflict.
Jesus claimed that the devil had nothing in Him.
This is an authentic situation where the devil has been cast out!
It is true meaning of binding, or of not permitting the enemy any legal ground because we live a life which is holy and separated from him.
There are no open doors for the devil to afflict.
There are no connections to the devil.
Let’s stop having sympathy for the devil in the church of Jesus Christ.
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