Worship Wars- Are These People Serious?

If you have a few minutes, click here and read some of the comments people have left in response to this video of an old Brian Doerksen song (writer of "Come Now is the Time to Worship"). I stumbled upon this in a search for a contemporary version of "A Mighty Fortress is Our God" and it breaks my heart to see such things being said from people that apparently claim to be following Jesus.

Do these people not realize that at one point in history there was a group of Christians who banned or destroyed pipe organs because they said they were ungodly? Now these people think that pipe organs are holy and drum sets and electric guitars are evil and fleshly. God make us one please and stop our foolish arguments over musical styles. Michael Card is so right in saying that we need to de-sacramentalize music. Not that we shouldn't use it in worship, but music is not a uniquely Christian way to connect with God (as opposed to baptism and communion), but there certainly is not one music style that uniquely connects us to God.

Christus Victor and Martin Luther

I tend not to label myself or associate myself too closely with any one particular school of theological or denominational thought, political party, musical style, social class, etc. I don't usually have a problem admitting which of these I tend to lean towards, I just refuse to be categorized because I think it can cause us to live according to the constraints of those labels rather than in our identity in Christ alone. One particular label that I've never taken, though I'm sure many would claim I fit into, is being "reformed" in my theological views.

Martin Luther is known as the initiator of the Protestant Reformation. I won't get into it here, but in the past I had a very negative view of him. However, I'm starting to appreciate him more as a result of reading Christus Victor. Gustaf Aulen dedicates a whole chapter to how Martin Luther's writings were incredibly in line with "the classic idea" of the atonement, a rescue mission in which Jesus incarnation, life, death, and resurrection all played crucial parts in God's plan to set creation free from the curse of the fall and end the reign of the devil over mankind. Aulen made this point because many people who identify with being "reformed" think that Luther had a penal substitution view of Jesus' work.

Here's an excerpt from one of Luther's writings. Decide for yourself what kind of picture of the atonement he's painting, a rescue, or a legal transaction.

"What is it now to be a 'Lord'? It is this, that He has redeemed me from sin, from the devil, from death and all woe. For before, I had not yet had any Lord, nor King, but had been held captive by the devil's power, doomed to death, ensnared in sin and blindness...

...Now, therefore, those tyrants and gaolers are all crushed, and in their place is come Jesus Christ, a Lord of Life, righteousness, all good and holiness, and He snatched us poor lost men from the jaws of hell, won us, made us free, and brought us back to the Father's goodness and grace."

I found a couple more blog posts from people exploring the implications of a Christus Victor view, if you're interested. Click here. and here

Christus VIctor

I just finished reading the book Christus Victor. It was written by a Swedish theologian, Bishop Gustaf Aulen, and was originally published in 1931. So its not a new release, but a modern classic on the subject of the Atonement. The basic premise of the book is to show, through historical analysis, that the "Christus Victor" view of the atonement (also called the "classic idea") was the view held by the Apostalic Church and the early church fathers. Over time however, this view lost its place in the forefront of Christian theology, but has never been completely lost. I'd like to share a basic explanation of "the classic idea" of the atonement put forth by Bishop Aulen and then also give a brief description of the other two dominating theories he describes.

The Classic Idea

This is a very basic summary of the idea that Aulen calls the genuine, authentic Christian faith. I use a couple of quotes from the 2nd century church father Iraneus. God became man "That He might destroy sin, overcome death, and give life to man." "The work of Christ is first and foremost a victory over the powers which hold mankind in bondage: sin, death, and the devil." This perspective is entirely a work of God from beginning to end. In His love, God becomes man to do what was necessary to rescue us from the dominion of the devil, which we sold ourselves into through sin. Christ sets us free from the above mentioned powers, enabling us to be reconciled to Him, enabling us to be who He created us to be and usher in the restoration of the world He created. In this view, it is easy to see that His love exceeds His wrath. God is the reconciler (Jesus) and the reconciled (the Father who is in relationship with those who believe in His Son). The early church did not have a thorough doctrinal statement on this because it cannot be grasped fully in any way, let alone be worked out in a completely rational explanation. Thus it was communicated and grasped more through story, symbols, and imagery for centuries.

The Latin Doctrine

This theory is finds its first complete articulation in the work of Anselm of Canterbury during the middle ages (around 1000 A.D.). It is an attempt to wholly rationalize Christ's work and base it primarily on legal terms, because during those times, the concepts of love, passion, sacrifice were thought of as weak compared to rational and judicial terms. Terms you may have heard that are associated with this atonement doctrine are "Penal substitution" and "Satisfaction Theory." On a basic level this theory says, no man has performed perfectly according to God's law, so God demands a payment for it or else we go to hell. God sent His Son, as a man, to make the appeasement to God needed to keep us from hell. This then allowed Him to forgive us because Jesus had paid the price for our sins, as a man, to God. Since Jesus was the God=man who lived a sinless life, He produced an infinite amount of merit that could be applied to those who believed in Him. Many people who have heard this description of the gospel see God as a distant, bloodthirsty judge and Jesus as some sort of separate victim/mediator. In this doctrine, God's love is overshadowed by His need for "justice" (as defined in Middle Ages terms). Biblically however, we see that when God speaks of justice, it usually involves acts of mercy and making things right rather than making sure that people are punished to the fullest measure in accordance with their sins.

The Subjective View

Those who took issue with the "Latin Doctrine" developed a theory that more or less minimized God's hatred of sin and focused more on man's ability to be right with God if they would choose to live morally. Jesus was the perfect human example of obedience. By his example people can choose to turn their life around and go from being repelled from God's presence (because of their moral corruption) to being in good standing because their character and actions have changed and are now morally good.

Again, this is my feeble attempt to summarize the basic ideas of atonement that have remained since the resurrection of Jesus. If you're really interested in learning more about this, read Christus Victor. I also found a blog that has an extensive paper discussing this topic here, though I do not claim to agree with all the details, since I only speed-read through it.

So, which of these three views do you see being expressed in your church's worship content?

Which one do you see most clearly in the bible? Keep in mind all these ideas claim to have root in the scriptures.

Which one do you see prevailing in your own personal understanding/beliefs?

Declaring God's Victory in Worship - Part 2

In part 1 of this post I shared about a new perspective I had gained from the book God at War and Greg Boyd's insight into Ephesians 3:10-11.  Boyd says that the church is to be like a case full of trophies that show off God's grace before the whole angelic realm, and more particularly, we are to manifest the truth that Satan's kingdom is defeated because of what Jesus has done. I'll share some practical ideas of how I think we can manifest this truth, focusing mostly on the worship service.  Just about any element of the worship service can help us proclaim God's victory of Satan. Songs, prayers, sermons and testimonies all have the potential.  

Song - Here are a few sample lyrics that enable us to tell man and the heavenly realms about Jesus' victory over evil. 

And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.

("A Mighty fortress is Our God" by Martin Luther)

For His returning we watch and we pray

We will be ready the dawn of the day

We'll join in singing with all the redeemed

Cause Satan is vanquished and my Jesus is King!

("Sing to the King" by Billy Foote and Charles Sylvester Horne)

Prayer - An excerpt from St. Patrick's Breastplate which is also used as a hymn.  Makes me think of Ephesians 6.

"I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, His might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need.
The wisdom of my God to teach,
His hand to guide, His shield to ward;
The word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

Against the demon snares of sin,
The vice that gives temptation force,
The natural lusts that war within,
The hostile men that mar my course;
Or few or many, far or nigh,
In every place and in all hours,
Against their fierce hostility
I bind to me these holy powers.

Against all Satan’s spells and wiles,
Against false words of heresy,
Against the knowledge that defiles,
Against the heart’s idolatry..."   

Testimony - Personal testimonies can often reveal God's reign in a person's life, which implies that the person is no longer a child of darkness, but is able to be victorious against the powers of evil because of Christ (1 Peter 2:9-11).  Click here to see a really cool testimony idea that shows many examples of God's will being done in people's lives and in many cases a specific victory over sin or affliction.

I think the issue here is particularly about intention and awareness.  A lot of churches probably do sing songs, pray prayers, preach sermons and share testimonies that mention the defeat of the kingdom of darkness. However, I doubt that this is done consistently and intentionally.  In other words, I'm guessing that most worship leaders and pastors don't sit down to plan their weekly worship service and ask, "Did I make sure to have something in the service that announces Satan's defeat to whatever people and angelic beings are present?"  My suggestion is that leaders ought to be intentionally consistent about doing this.

Additionally, even when victory over the darkness and the cosmic implications of Jesus' redeeming work is proclaimed in some way during the service, the church as a whole probably isn't actively engaging in that moment as their time to make God's wisdom and victory known to the "rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms."  So leaders, make time for teaching moments so the congregation can be more aware of this Ephesians 3:10-11 concept and engage accordingly.

Beyond the worship service,  it occurs to me that growing in Christ's likeness (via spiritual formation) is another way the church should be manifesting the truth of Satan's defeat.  In fact, we can seem to be fully engaged in this manifesting of God's victory while we're in a worship service, but it doesn't mean a whole lot if we leave the service and go out living a life that's still enslaved to sin, and thus the devil.  1 John 2:3-6 makes it quite clear that the evidence of whether we are living in the kingdom of God, the life of Jesus, is whether we are walking like he did and obeying His commands.  

If the church remains as it is, with many professing some kind of faith, but very few actually seeking and allowing for complete transformation into the likeness of Christ, the kingdom of darkness and all the unbelieving humans in the world still don't see what difference Jesus makes since nothing has really changed from their point of view. However, if our bodies and thoughts are no longer enslaved to sinful behavior, and instead are moving in the will of God, that speaks very loudly to the kingdom of darkness (and unbelievers) that the kingdom of God is here on the earth and that it can overcome the evil that is (for a limited time) still overwhelmingly present in our world. 

Declaring God's Cosmic VIctory Through Worship - Part 1

Probably the most important concept God has expanded my mind and heart with over the last year has been seeing Jesus Christ's incarnation, earthly ministry, death and resurrection as being primarily about restoring God's creation as a whole, not just about making individual humans debt-free in regards to their sin.  Embracing this perspective has forced me to acknowledge that contemporary Christian worship does not usually emphasize this "cosmic" view of Christ's redemptive work, and in many cases, contradicts it.  In this post I will explore one way in which the purpose of our redemption goes beyond the personal benefits we receive from it. 

In Ephesians 2, we learn that we are saved from sin and death by God' grace, not by anything we have done, it is a gift from God.  Why did God do this?  I think the most common answer you'll get is something like "because God chose us and loves us."  And that is a true answer.  Just look at Ephesians 1:4-5 and see how it was part of God's plan from the beginning to adopt us as sons through Jesus Christ, because of His choice and love.  However, the plan and reasoning behind why God did what He did through Christ encompasses more than just His love for us and His desire to make us holy and blameless.  Ephesians 3:10-11 offers some insight into one of those other purposes.

"His (God's) intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, according to his eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord."  

Commenting on this passage, Greg Boyd says the church is like a trophy case for displaying God's grace to the whole angelic society, especially those who oppose Him.  He asserts that "The church is to manifest the truth that Satan's kingdom is defeated.  Thus, in its own way, under the victorious authority of Christ, the church is to engage and overthrow evil powers, just as Jesus himself has done.  Indeed, when the church does this through the Spirit, it is Jesus himself who is still doing it."

I love the irony of this purpose God has for us.  The ones who were once enslaved to the kingdom of Satan have been set free to show its former captors that the true king, Jesus, is on the throne, and that He has vanquished them!  The question is, how many of us truly realize that this is part of why Jesus redeemed us?  Are we actively living out this purpose?  

Next time we'll explore how we can fulfill this role of manifesting the truth of Satan's defeat in worship, and thus help to bring the bigger cosmic picture of God's redemption plan back into the church and recognize that it is not just about us.

God at War

I started a new book last week called God at War: The Bible & Spiritual Conflict by Gregory Boyd.  I've had a hard time putting it down ever since because it has shed some light on some big questions that believers in Christ and unbelievers alike ask, like "Where does evil come from?" and "How do do terrible atrocities fit into the idea of everything being a part of the plan of a perfect and loving God?"  If you're reading this post you've probably seen some of my other posts on spiritual warfare and know that I take the bible at it's word when it talks about satan being the "god of this world" and that I think that many in the church in "the West" are not seeing with spiritual eyes and recognizing demonic activity in regards to the evils in this world, whether they be habitual sin, sickness, mental illness, violence, political powers, etc.  We don't recognize or do much about the work of the demonic in the world around us, even though we have been charged by our Lord to battle against the forces of darkness in this world.  We explain it all away with natural reasoning or blame it solely on man's sin.  Even worse though, the common teaching given for centuries now is that all bad things that happen are to be seen as coming from our Father's hand. Greg Boyd calls this overall perspective "the blueprint theory."  

There are a lot of things we are led to believe to be "biblical" just because it's the dominating idea in the theological circles we run in.  This blueprint view of explaining evil in light of a good God is one of those things many of us have accepted as true because of it's dominance. Basically, as far as I can summarize, this theory says that everything good and evil that happens in the world is all part of the sovereign will of God and was all planned out/foreknown from the beginning of creation.  All evil that happens to us happens as He allows- and allows for a good specific reasons.  This idea is largely attributed to the thinking of Saint Augustine and the classical-philosophical line of reasoning.  However, this concept, as Boyd tries to argue throughout the book, is not founded in the bible, but rather in the "Hellenistic view of divine omnipotence and providence (viz. as meticulous control)."  I'm not going to get into the specifics that Greg lays out in several chapters, but basically he contrasts this view of God's meticulous control with the view that God put angels in control of many elements of this world, and Satan and many others rebelled because they are like man in regards to free will (unlike some views which say angels are all puppet agents of God's will and have no free will).  Those forces that are in rebellion against God are where we ought to be directing our blame for evil. One of the major points that this book drives home is that neither Jesus nor the early church asked why God let all sorts of evils happen, and certainly didn't say it was from Him.  They had this warfare worldview that saw everything bad that happened in light of the "prince of the power of the air" and his legions of demons that are trying to thwart God's will and cause man to suffer, or worse, to continue rebelling against God.

The "yeah but what about that scripture that says..." example that kept coming to my mind in conflict with Greg's argument was in John 9:1-3 where Jesus heals the blind man.  Prior to healing him the disciples ask who sinned that caused this man to be blind, and Jesus responds (in the NIV translation), "Neither this man nor his parents sinned...but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life."  Greg notes that a lot of "blueprint" thinkers hinge on this New testament verse as justifying the idea that God's will lies behind even apparently evil events in this world to either punish, build character or glorify Himself.  He first points out that even if this man's blindness was from God's hand to glorify himself, that it would be an exception, not an absolute principle based on the fact that most of Jesus' other miracles were explicitly rebuking works of the devil (not God).  How often we try to lock God's workings in a box and limit Him to a formula for how He operates based on a few examples from scripture.  A further point is that the greek more accurately translated simply says "But let the works of God be manifested" which gives us a picture of Jesus telling us that this is yet another opportunity for Him to release this man from suffering "under the power of the devil" as Peter says in Acts 10:37-38.

This change to a warfare perspective can help a lot of people that have a bad view of God (understandably) because of the idea that evil things come from God's will.  Two, singing songs that paint the warfare perspective will help us to see it in the world around us (and thus help us have the right view of what's going on instead of thinking God is doing evil things) and also help to engage us in the battle that we've been called to as the children of light.  Some song suggestions are "In Christ Alone," "A Mighty Fortress is Our God," "Sing to the King," "This is My Father's World," I don't like the music but the words to "For This Purpose" by Graham Kendrick are very fitting for this theme, at Christmas time "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," and I've loved "Shout Unto God" by Hillsong for a while as more of a battle cry, repetitive song.  

If you'd like to hear a little bit more about why Gregory Boyd decided to write this book, click here,  it is a pretty crazy story.  I also found a link that has a debate between him and John Piper on some theological issues that is very interesting, especially since I just finished a Piper book and really appreciate his work.

Surely some of you have some thoughts on this, please share...  

Jesus Sees the Devil's Attacks on Churches - Do We?

This may sound like a strange question to ponder, but if you were the devil and had all the forces of darkness at your disposal, where would you assign your demons to do their works of evil?  Governments, entertainment, media, warlords and other organized criminals, education systems, the list goes on with so many people and places that you could influence with wickedness and have a major impact on the world.  

In Setting Your Church Free, author Charles Mylander, thinking about the strategies of Satan, says, "you better believe I would especially assign some (demons) to churches, missions and Christian organizations!  If I could slow down, immobilize distract or derail the churches of Jesus Christ, everything else would be a piece of cake.  If people remain blind to the gospel, they remain in the kingdom of darkness.  The only human institutions that pray for God's light to dispel the darkness and then proclaim the gospel are churches and Christian organizations."  

One side note here.  did you notice that line where he says churches pray for God's light to dispel the darkness.  Do we?  I'm convinced that whether it is a written prayer, or impromptu by a leader or someone else in the congregation, we should be praying prayers for God's light to penetrate the darkness in our communities and the world whenever we gather to worship.  I'm taking that as a challenge to try to include that whenever I lead worship.

Back to the topic.  Churches are prime targets for attacks from the enemy, Jesus knew that, and pointed it out in the first chapters of the book of Revelation.  The words of Jesus and the Apostles warn us that the attacks can come through the effects of personal or corporate sins of the congregation (Rev. 2:14-16), a strong demonic presence in a physical location (Rev. 2:13), or even through people who pretend to be followers of Christ that are trying to create division or spread heresies(2 Cor. 11:13-14).  Too often we see circumstances and don't look beyond them like Jesus did.  Gossip, sins, unresolved disagreements, false teachings, financial problems, worship that is not in spirit and truth and sometimes even a building can be used to derail us or distract us from who the church is supposed to be and what we are supposed to be doing.  Jesus saw that there were well strategized plans from the kingdom of darkness to try and ruin His churches and keep them from being effectively bringing the Kingdom God to this world.  We've all seen or heard examples of churches that have fallen under the attack of satan and given him the victory by not being a good representative of Jesus before the eyes of the world.  

We know that God will bring His plans to pass, that Jesus had the victory over death and all powers of evil, but that doesn't mean that we can just pretend that we're not under spiritual attack and just try to deal with problems by earthly means, or even worse, simply stand by and let Satan have his way till Jesus returns because we're not willing to fight the fight we've been called to (Eph. 6:11-13).  Sometimes I even wonder if it is that a church or leadership is too proud to admit that they are under attack and that is why they don't deal with things on the spiritual warfare level.  Prayer according to the authority of Christ is the greatest defense, and its something that we can all can be intentional about on behalf of our local church body as well as others that you know of that are under attack.  Jesus doesn't want His church to be victims, so let's ask Him to help us see things the way He does and use the methods and tools He's given us to live as victorious churches according to His purposes.

Worship and the Forces of Evil Part 5

Is it possible for Christian to come under the influence of the demonic?  I believe it is.  How could this be possible?  How could Christians come under the influence of satan?  I think the first reason is because many Christians take victory in Christ for granted without actually exercising the authority we have or using the tools we've been given that are necessary to live in victory over the devil.  This seems especially likely in America where we tend to think in terms of things being automatic without having to do anything, a set it and forget it kind of mentality.  The book of Hebrews, chapter 12 teaches quite the opposite of that though.  There we find our faith described as a race that we must run with perseverance.  Verse 4 specifically talks about our struggle against sin and our need to resist it.  Jesus did the work to set us free from the power of satan and sin, but the bible makes it pretty clear that there is responsibility on our part to continue living in that freedom.   

In The Bondage Breaker, Neil Anderson devotes a chapter to how Christians can lose control to demons.  He draws from James 4:7 which says, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." God's protection has been guaranteed in Christ.  The armor of God described in Ephesians 6 elaborates on the tools we've been given to defeat the devil's attacks.  But what if you don't resist him?  I think it's fair to conclude that if we don't resist, he doesn't have to flee.  If he doesn't flee, then he probably starts to reside.  Why else would James have given that exhortation to resist him if there was no danger of powers of darkness influencing your life?  

A critic of Neil Anderson says that his books try to blame sin on demons instead of people, but Neil says that he doesn't tolerate Christians blaming their sin on a demon.  That is important when we talk about losing control to the demonic, because a lot of people would love to use that excuse.  It is not the devil who made us do something, but he certainly encouraged it.  We bear the responsibility because somewhere along the way we gave him a foothold or opened a door somewhere in our lives to give him access. We didn't resist him, but instead made provision for the flesh.  It might seem strange to think of it like this, but its a choice to give an area of your life to the devil, even though it might not feel like a choice in the moment.  As we've said before, he's the deceiver. But once you open that door, the deception can start to run your life, hence the need for bondage breaking.  

In talking about confronting the enemy in our lives, Neil makes a great analogy in Setting Your Church Free.  Lets say that sin is like garbage and the demons are a swarm of flies.  Submitting to God means getting rid of the garbage, not just wishing the flies away.  Get rid of the garbage (sin) and the flies (demons) will have no reason or right to stay. 

Thanks be to God that even if a believer is in a situation where they have given the devil access, there is always freedom available and their salvation has not been compromised.  Worship that remembers and declares Christ's authority in heaven and earth can help keep us clear on who is in control.  I love the line in the song In Christ Alone that says, "No power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from his hand."  What a great declaration!  But then we also need things like prayers for sanctification (like Psalm 51) to give us the opportunity to confess, begin the repentance process, and ask the Holy Sprit to help us resist sin and walk in righteousness.   Otherwise we recognize Christ's authority and life-transforming power with our lips, but basically continue living under the power of darkness instead of running the race and engaging in the process of being made into a new creation that is a child of light.

Worship and the Forces of Evil - Part 4

I happened across an article a while back that speaks to the spiritual warfare worship topic in regards to worship. It gave me some worthwhile considerations that I haven't really touched upon in my posts. Here's an excerpt...




"But worshipers, who by faith see what God has done, declare Him the present king over their lives and their spheres of influence. And in those spheres, He rules. Even as you who read this article speak His name and declare His praise, His domain expands. It expands as the church’s praise moves out of halfheartedness into wholeheartedness. When the woman at the well became a worshiper and declared God’s greatness to her town, the boundaries of the kingdom grew.


The implication is that when Christ is enthroned in our praises, someone else is dethroned, someone who is called “the ruler of the kingdom of the air” (Ephesians 2:2) and who thinks it all belongs to him. And now you know why there’s a battle. The relationship between worship and warfare is twofold: first, worship is the issue behind the fight, and second, worship empowers warfare."



(from The Adventure of Worship by Gerrit Gustafson - Chosen Books, 2006)



Click here to read the rest.

Worship and the Forces of Evil - Part 3

At the end of the book of Ephesians, we are encouraged to "be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes (6:10-11)."  Paul reinforces what I discussed in my last post, that the devil and his demons are actively involved in the world around us.  "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.  Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand (6:12-13)."

I believe that the things we choose to do, what we sing, what we pray, how we interact during our worship gatherings can be a significant part of putting on that armor of God.  The "belt of truth" is the first piece of armor listed.  Matthew Henry notes that truth in the analogy of a belt, holds all other pieces of armor on the warrior.  Like the belt analogy, one would think that truth would be central to any element of a worship service, but sadly, truth is often compromised, whether it be in a sermon, song, prayer or in the conversations that people have with one another during fellowship.  When truth is not proclaimed and upheld, Satan's deceptive tactics can abound.  When that happens the flock can go astray or people that come seeking never actually find the truth.

Here's an example of how the battle can take place when truth is boldly proclaimed in a worship service.

Consider the hymn "This is My Father's World."  This hymn declares that this world belongs to God, that He made it all, and that His creation was made to praise Him, to give Him glory.  To someone battling with or even believing Darwinian evolution theory, hearing this hymn confronts the lies that there is no God, that everything happened by random chance over an unmeasurable/undeterminable amount of time, and that man is his own god, etc.  Or how about someone that has been watching the news and hearing the latest awful thing that has happened in the world, their own life has been going really badly, and they are doubting that God is in control or are starting to think He has forsaken us.  The last lines of the song affirm that "though the wrong seems oft so strong God is the ruler yet."  When we declare the promise of God that the tribulations will occur, but that Jesus is coming back and making all things new, restoring the creation that He made, we can refute the whispers of the enemy that all hope is lost.  It doesn't mean that the wrongs go away, but it puts everything into the perspective of truth, and if we continue to remember the hope of Christ's return in our worship, we can grow in unity with God's promises and be strong against attacks, whether in our minds or in the circumstances of life.  

Another example, there are great creeds that we can declare to together like the Apostles Creed. In this creed we affirm that God is one, existing as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.  We share that Jesus actually came in the flesh to earth, was crucified, and rose again and that He is coming again.  I know someone that believes in God, but not eternal life.  Hearing this creed would strike at that.  If a mormon were present, they would hear that Jesus is one with the Father, not separate, and that He is the only Son (as opposed to their belief that Jesus and Satan were brothers).

Those were just a few examples, but as you can see, especially if you keep imagining the possible scenarios, being intentional about declaring the truth in our worship can serve to guard against and/or replace the lies that the enemy has put into people's minds or is trying to discourage them with.  The truth declared might just be a much needed reminder, or it might be something totally new that a person had never been told before.  Either way, it contributes to putting on the armor of God so that we can be left standing when the spiritual forces of evil try to battle against the way, the truth and the life that we know is found in Jesus Christ alone.    

   

 

Worship and the Forces of Evil - Part 2

Continuing on with the spiritual warfare topic, we're going to move forward speaking from the reality that demons do exist and that they can and do have an effect on the world around us. I think a large part of the church's ignorance of this reality and their lack of instruction on exercising God given authority over the powers of darkness in the spiritual realm is why we're not particularly strong, and why we're falling more into the patterns of the world, and why we're feeling more defeated than victorious.  So if you're still skeptical, read your bibles and ask God to open your eyes to the truth and the need for you to be able to exercise the authority we have in Christ over the work of Satan.

One key element about Satan is that he is the father of lies, Jesus tells us that in John 8:44. Knowing this helps us to recognize the business that the demonic forces are in, spreading lies, keeping people blinded to the truth, and keeping people in the bondage to their flesh (where sin resides).  So to do battle against that work, we must be able to identify lies, replace those lies with truth, and keep affirming that truth as needed, whether this attack of the enemy is in our own lives or in someone else.  My friend Tim touched upon this in his comments on the previous posts, so check that out if you get a chance.  

So we need to know the truth, we need to believe it and live in it, but please recognize the problem we have in Christianity.  We think that "believing" is enough, so to speak, and even what we "believe" half the time is incorrect or incomplete.  James told us that the demons believe that God is one, and tremble, but they are on the opposing side.  So what does it take to exercise authority over the work of the enemy?  Here's an outline of what Neil Anderson thinks it takes. 

Belief - This is a belief or faith in the authority that Christ has given you.  The analogy made is of a rookie cop who's nervous and weak in his perspective on his authority going out to direct traffic for the first time.  At the academy they told his that all he had to do was blow his whistle, step into the street and put his hands out.  Because he's not confident in this authority that he has as a police officer now, he blows his whistle a little, and lightly puts his hand out to a car that rushes right by him without noticing.  He can't even get into the road to start directing traffic.  Compare this to a seasoned officer, who takes a look around and assesses the situation, carefully but confidently steps out into the street and then puts his hands out in such a way that the cars stop at his command.  That's the difference in someone that has some head knowledge, and someone that has faith in the authority they have and exercise it.

Humility- this isn't humility that lays down and gets walked over by everyone.  Neil defines this as confidence that is properly placed.  Humility places that confidence (or belief) in our authority in Christ, the source of our authority.  Pride says, "I resisted or defeated the devil." True humility says, "I resisted the devil by the grace of God."  There's that balance of recognizing that we can do nothing apart from God (John 15:5), but that we can do and are called to do something because God has enabled us and called us to do something.  I'm sure you've met some healing type people or seen them on tv and got the sense that they were not operating out of this kind of humility. 

Boldness-  In Acts 4:31, as the apostles were going to share the gospel in Jerusalem, it says, "the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were filled with the Holy spirit, and began to speak the word of God with boldness."  The opposite of boldness as Neil puts it "is cowardice, fear and unbelief."  He shares that a lot of students who took his class come away with a new perspective, saying they used to be afraid of the demonic and dealing with it, but now that they know who they are in Christ, they're not afraid anymore and can operate boldly.  I find Neil's boldness idea and belief to be very similar.

Dependance-  the believer who has learned about their identity in Christ and the authority that comes with it is not called to be a sort of demonic ghost buster, trying to hunt down the enemy as their job.  We are to pursue the ministries that God has gifted us in and called us to such as loving, preaching, praying, worship, teaching, etc.  But, typically if you're doing kingdom work and living a life of faith, the enemy will challenge us or we will find demonic work in someone we're ministering to.  At that point we we need to deal with the enemy according to the authority we have in Christ and our dependence on Him, replace the lies with truth and remind the enemy that they are subject to Christ, and we are in Christ, so they have to back down.  Once the enemy is dealt with, we focus on the primary work again. 

You've probably met or seen people on tv that get so caught up in spiritual warfare, that they are distracted from any other more primary ministry focus.  It was Christ who disarmed the powers of darkness, so we have to be careful not think that we're called to eradicate demons from the face of the earth.  God will take care of that, He said He will.  But at the same time we need to be aware and put on that spiritual armor as we go about the work God has called us to so that we can exercise the victory of Christ in our own lives and help others who have been bound by the lies of the enemy, whenever that situation presents itself.

I know I said I'd get into how this ties in with worship, but I think this groundwork needed to be laid a little more.  I promise I'll get more into ideas about worship and the demonic in the next post.  Keep the comments coming, your different perspectives and questions are needed as we explore this issue.

Worship and the Forces of Evil - Part 1

Let go of the world view that you get from science, doctors, tv, internet, newspaper, people around you, yourself, etc.  Based on God's word and His story as it has been passed down to us through the centuries, what do you know about the spiritual reality we live in?  Do angels and demons exist?  Do they interact with the world around us?  Can demonic powers be at work in governments, money, disease, depression, fear, false teachings, sin?  I know for some of you, you don't think this stuff matters, or you don't believe that there is any kind of battle to be fighting and that's exactly where the enemy wants you. 

As the demon uncle in C.S. Lewis's book The Screwtape Letters says, "Our policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves...When the humans disbelieve in our existence we lose all the pleasing results of direct terrorism and we make no magicians.  On the other hand, when they believe in us, we cannot make them materialists and sceptics."  

I'm reading a book right now called "Bondage Breaker" by Neil T. Anderson.  I'm not saying that the book is 100% right, or even recommending it yet, just letting you know that its stirring my thoughts where this matter of the spiritual realm is concerned.  In the first chapter, You Don't Have to Live in the Shadows, Neil gives a list of misconceptions that he believes kept him from successfully ministering in the lives of people under demonic influence.  

1.Demons were active when Christ was on earth, but their activity has subsided today.

2.  What the early church called demonic activity we now understand to be mental illness.

3.Some problems are psychological and some are spiritual.

4. Christians aren't subject to demon activity.

5. Demonic influence is only evident in extreme or violent behavior and gross sin. 

6. Freedom from spiritual bondage is the result of a power encounter with demonic forces. 

Do you find yourself believing some of the misconceptions on this list?  What do you think?

I believe that the enemy can wage war on the church even as they gather to worship, and as children of God, we ought to be sending demons running by the authority of Christ (not our own power).  I think that the effectiveness of the church as God's workers of redemption and hope has a lot to do with how we're doing in this battle against the forces of darkness, which Christ already won by the way, in case you didn't know. That's what the enemy doesn't want you to understand, the victory is already won.  More on that later.

I leave you with this to meditate on.  If demonic forces are not at work in this world, and are not trying to attack Christians, and if we don't have to worry about being equipped and actually doing intentional battle against the forces of darkness,  why did the apostle Paul write this?

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:10-12)

I hope to continue this train of thought by pondering what role worship can play in our struggle against spiritual forces of evil in the "heavenly realms".  Until next time, don't even take my suggestion at the importance of this topic, but ask God to lead you in your thinking and action where this issue is concerned.  Let's be more than conquerors in Christ against the darkness in this world, that the Light of the world might shine thru us and cause men to see the glory of God and be saved.