After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree. Then I saw another angel coming up from the east having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea. “Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” (Revelation 7: 1-3, NIV, Emphasis provided).
Gracious God, we thank You for always being so willing to welcome us into Your presence. May we learn lessons of eternal value as we sit at Your feet this day. In the name of Jesus we pray. Amen!
Today, our message carries the same burden, the protection of our minds. What changes drastically, is where the incident that we will be studying, takes place! We continue in the Gospel according to Mark, chapter 1. “Now there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit …” (1)
This passage of Scripture reminds me of a poem I heard as a child, “The Devil Goes To Church!” The last place we expect to meet a person who is demon-possessed, is at church! In fact, I believe that we have a very unrealistic opinion of what kind of people make up the church. Many of us believe that the church is made up of people who have already gotten the victory over sin and the devil! No one would be happier than I, if that were true; especially in my own life! But only too often, God allows me to receive a “gentle” reminder that I am “not there,” yet!
I believe it is very important for us to acknowledge certain facts. 1) Even though the Adversary does not wait for us to extend him an invitation before he will enter our lives, he cannot enter, if we consciously, keep the doors to our hearts and lives locked! This is accomplished by recognizing the existence of evil, and shunning it! Job declared, ” ‘I have made a covenant with my eyes; why then should I look upon a young woman?’ ” Nobody falls into sin. There is usually something happening in our lives that facilitates sin to be planted, take root, and finally, to reach maturity. David should have been on the battlefield, when he saw Bathsheba on the roof! Joseph had decided that he would not sin against his God when he was accosted by Potiphar’s wife! The results speak for themselves!
2) Remember we mentioned at the beginning, that the nature (godly, or, of the flesh) that we feed, will be strengthened; and one day will take over, and reveal whose servants we are, for good or for evil! “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves to whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness” (Romans 6: 16)? That is the way it is! We have to yield ourselves. We have to give in, to surrender our will; in order for the enemy of our souls to take control of our minds. As long as there is the least resistance to evil, God will respond to our S.O.S. No matter how low-keyed that plea for help is, Jesus will hear it! We saw yesterday, that all the demoniac of Gadara was capable of doing, was to kneel! Jesus saw his desire; He heard the plea that He was incapable of expressing; and Jesus rescued him! Praise God!
We will continue tomorrow