Gtcotr/ss111812
Colossians 1
13 He, (God), has delivered
us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the
Son of His love,
14 in whom we have redemption
through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.
15 He is the image of the
invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
16 For by Him all things were
created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible,
whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were
created through Him and for Him.
God
is invisible. In other words, God cannot be seen or known by any natural means of
man. God told mankind in the Law of Moses to make no graven image of Him – but
God never limited Himself to this law. In fact God the book of Genesis describes
man as being originally created in the image of God. However, when Adam and Eve
sinned they lost their first estate and became mere mortal human beings, no
longer bearing that eternal light, life and love of God.
When
God wanted to redeem mankind from sin and restore relationship He sent His only
Son as the image of Himself. The invisible became visible, the unknown, known,
God became man, God incarnate, Messiah, Lord, and Redeemer. John 1 says that
Jesus came to show us the Father.
Once
Jesus accomplished man’s redemption through His sinless sacrifice as the
Passover Lamb of God, taking our place on Golgotha just as the Ram once took
Isaac’s place on the altar of Mount Moriah, (the same spot), Jesus was buried,
rose to life again on the third day and ultimately ascended to the Father where
He sits today making intercession for each one of us.
As
He once was before His incarnation, He now is again – invisible. The Holy
Spirit, resident in the earth, present among us, along with the angels of God
here this morning – all invisible. However, invisible does not mean
non-existent. Just because we cannot now see all of the various creatures and
creations of God continually present and moving around us does not mean they do
not exist.
Suffice
it to say that we are continually surrounded by both the visible and the
invisible, encountering both angels and demons, affected by principalities and
powers, both those who are friends and those who are enemies of God, the Church
and every soul.
This
past Wednesday evening we talked about the sound of the voice of this invisible
God. After Adam and Eve sinned against and separated themselves from God, they
heard the sound of His voice in the Garden in the cool of the day and hid
themselves.
Today
many people are still hiding themselves from the voice of this invisible God.
Some hear the sound of God and know it is Him, yet they claim stubbornly deny
His existence or that He has any claim on their life.
Hearing
the invisible voice of God is not difficult. God made it easy … just look at
the image of this invisible God, (I’m talking about Jesus), and listen to what
He said. I don’t think people have a difficult time hearing the voice of the
invisible God as much as they nonetheless discount that voice in favor of
listening to the voice of the invisible devil.
This
should not seem strange. If we believe in a God we cannot see, angels we cannot
naturally detect, a Savior who took upon flesh and bore the image of the
Father, it is no stretch to also accept that there is a devil who is also
invisible, demons who move throughout the earth and voices of evil which attempt
to control and shape the affairs of man.
We
often discuss the Word and how to hear the voice of God – however today I want
to help you discover, so you can discount,
The
3 voices of the all too often, invisible devil …
1. The voice of the Subtle Serpent
Genesis 3:1 Now the serpent
was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he
said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, ’You
shall not eat of every tree of the garden’ ?"
·
That
“Sneaky Snake” – cunning, crafty, tricky – the smooth tongue of one who
flatters, entices and draws away by subtle well placed words
·
Undetected
by the natural ear because of the spiritual nature of the voice … (Not everything spiritual is God!)
·
Prays
on the needy, the alone, those following at a distance … hoping to sow seeds of
deception which grow long after the voice has quieted.
·
A
craft to make complicated that which is simple
2 Corinthians 11:3 But I
fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so
your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
·
What
simplicity … Just obey the Word of God – what God said
·
We
must beware who speaks in our ear with subtle intentions
·
Especially
if it leads to perpetrating deception
·
Or
creates division
·
God’s
Word is spoken for all to hear, the serpent sows seeds in secret
·
Beware
of sneaky snakes who counsel you in private to deceive or divide … it’s always
a trick … and guess who loses???
2. The voice of the Roaring Lion
1 Peter 5
8 ¶ Be sober, be vigilant;
because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom
he may devour.
·
Direct
persecution is often and always present from this roaring lion. Often in many
places but always in some place.
·
Unafraid,
loud, boastful, and condemning – the voice of the roaring lion is accusatory,
inflammatory, indignant, self righteous, blasphemous, unholy, unthankful,
ungodly and full of pride.
·
The
voice of the roaring lion was heard by the Roman Empire under Nero, Hitler
during WWII and has once again raised its voice to fill the mouths of the
leaders of many countries of our day, sadly to say it’s finding some measure of
sympathy even in our own beloved America as some in power discuss how to quiet
the Church or relegate the Word of God to hate speech.
·
The
roaring lion may appear to be a direct assault by a formidable force but we are
told by the Apostle Peter:
1 Peter 5
9 Resist him, steadfast in
the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood
in the world.
·
And resist we shall –
·
Un-intimidated and Un-able to be silenced
·
The kind, loving, forgiving, merciful and
true Word of God will continue to be preached from Churches, on street corners,
in houses, factories, schools and online throughout the world until Jesus
comes.
·
Just like a tree planted by the waters, “We
shall not be moved!”
3. The voice of the Angel of Light
2 Corinthians 11
13 For such are false
apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
14 And no wonder! For Satan
himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
·
This
is most often the deception perpetrated under the name of religion or “God told
me … God is leading me … God wants me …”
·
From
one world religions, to cults, crusades to church splits – so much harm has
been done in the name of God which the True and Living God never had a hand in.
·
These
claims often evade and escape the scrutiny of the whole counsel of God’s Word
and usually serve some singular or selfish purpose.
·
It
is not that good cannot come from, for where sin abounds, grace does much more
abound, however this is due to God’s goodness and love for His people in every
circumstance and under all kinds of leadership … According to the Apostle Paul
we are not always to assume gain, even divine intervention, as the will of God.
·
Not
everyone is always what they appear to the naked eye …
2 Corinthians 11
15 Therefore it is no
great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of
righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
·
For
so did satan do to Jesus in acting as an agent even of the Word of God to aid
in some way the fulfillment of scripture
·
Even
those who in Paul’s time, as in every generation since, profess and proclaim
connection to and direction from God without once answering a challenge from
the Holy Word.
·
This
is one reason why the world looks upon the church throughout history and counts
those times men moved under the banner of the cross, whether in the crusades,
the inquisition or some other self righteous cause, and wonders how we can call
ourselves after Christ.
·
Where
is the standard?
This
morning it is my hope to raise our awareness of one aspect of our faith – that
aspect which concerns what some might call, The Invisible World of the Spirit.
Daniel
was visited by the angel Gabriel who revealed a spiritual struggle ongoing in
the heavens. An evil spiritual being was exerting territorial influence over
the leaders of the most powerful empire of that day.
If
we admit the reality of the influence of invisible beings, as the scriptures
prove, the solution becomes comparatively easy. We must realize that we are in
a spiritual battle against the invisible and evil forces of darkness.
Ephesians 6:12 For we do not
wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts
of wickedness in the heavenly places.
Luke 10:19 Behold, I give you
the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of
the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
I
am telling you that we have an invisible spiritual problem facing each one of
us as an individual, you and your families, our communities, the US, the
nations of the world and the Church locally and throughout the earth. We cannot
remedy these spiritual problems by natural means. We don’t need and can’t
depend on:
·
More
money
·
Greater
experience
·
Deeper
knowledge
·
Man’s
wisdom
·
Better
planning
·
Increased
physical responsibility
The
natural man receives not the things of the spirit for they are spiritually
discerned … our answer can only be found in the invisible God and in the
invisible things of God. We must learn to recognize and strengthen ourselves to
cling to the Word of God above the voices of evil without respect as to whether
they come:
·
Subtly;
Roaring; or as an Angel of Light
What
can we do? What must we do?
2 Corinthians 10
3 For though we walk in the
flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
4 For the weapons of our
warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
5 casting down arguments and
every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing
every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,
6 and being ready to punish
all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
Where
do we begin? Prayer and Discipleship – and it must begin with us.
It
can begin for you today, but it will definitely begin for us all on Wednesday
evening, January 2, 2013, at 7:14pm with Life Shape Prayer and Discipleship – A
Call to the Nations – “If My People Will …”
ifmypeoplewill.com
