OPINION:
Far too often, we live as if the spiritual world isn’t significant. Our lives suggest we’re not convinced of its power, or if it even exists.
We look to politicians to fix our problems — or a political party, an economic change, a better job, a different kind of a relationship, a nicer car, our kids in a different school, or a different label in our clothes — and we keep rinsing and repeating, and we stay in the same broken condition.
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We think, “Well, I’ll succeed a little more the next time,” so we climb a little faster, and we get a little higher up the hill, and we still feel empty. We live our lives ignoring the reality of spiritual things and the Holy Spirit’s ability to help us navigate our lives.
Jesus describes the Holy Spirit and His role in the book of John: “‘But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you’” (John 14:26).
If we’re going to say we’re Christ-followers, we need to take Jesus’ counsel and follow His Spirit.
Unfortunately, there are forces of evil at work in the spiritual realm as well, and they are relentless. Satan made his first sales pitch in Genesis 3 and has been trying to gain control over people ever since. Sometimes he wins, and sometimes he loses. He was not successful when he pursued God’s servant, Job, or when he tempted Jesus during his 40 days in the wilderness. But he was successful when he enticed Judas to betray Jesus. He is also successful when he brings temptations, distractions, and deception into our lives and thoughts today.
I fear we have become so accustomed to seeing Satan at work in our world that we are no longer aware of how sinister and destructive he is. Television, movies, and music are filled with examples of his evil being justified, glorified, and celebrated. We must remember that the character and intentions of Satan are in direct opposition to the character and intentions of God.
We can see this reflected in our culture with statements like these:
- “My body, my choice.”
- “Gender is confusing.”
- “Work is bad.”
- “There is no God.”
These beliefs directly contradict what the Bible tells us to be true.
When Peter wrote, “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8), I think he chose his words very carefully. I believe he used such vivid and violent imagery to remind us that Satan and his demons are at work in the spiritual realm that surrounds us, not passively waiting for us to fall into a trap, but aggressively looking for every opportunity to exploit our weaknesses and destroy us.
We have a choice regarding which part of this unseen world we will align ourselves with. Without Christ, we are lost in Satan’s kingdom of darkness and doomed to destruction. When we choose to follow Jesus, however, and align ourselves with the Kingdom of God, we are delivered out of that dark kingdom.
“For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins,” Paul wrote (Colossians 1:13-14 NASB®).
Whenever God delivers a person or a group of people out of something, it’s for the purpose of bringing them into something. He didn’t deliver His people out of slavery and set them adrift; He sent them into a land He had promised to them, a land flowing with milk and honey. In our case, He rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and brought us into His Kingdom of Light in order to accomplish the plans and purposes He has for us.
God’s plan for us is always for our good. Followers of Jesus still live in a fallen physical world, and we will feel the effects of evil all the days of our earthly lives. In fact, when we follow Jesus, we will become a bigger target for Satan and his forces of evil because they do not want us to be productive for God. The good news of the gospel is, through the redemptive work of Jesus, Satan has been defeated and evil does not own us as it did before. That doesn’t mean he can’t challenge us, but God’s power at work on our behalf strengthens us to resist him and any temptation he sends our way.
Remember, “We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
It is in God that we have placed our confidence for a fruitful life during our days on the earth. It is Him we trust for a glorious eternity in His Kingdom of Light. And it is the Holy Spirit who will empower us and lead us as we journey through this life and on toward eternity.
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This is an excerpt from Pastor Allen Jackson’s latest book, “Jesus, His Followers & Politics.”
Pastor Allen Jackson applies God’s timeless Truth to our generation, making it understandable and applicable to our lives today. He serves as senior pastor of World Outreach Church, a congregation of 15,000 in Middle Tennessee, and founder of Allen Jackson Ministries, which broadcasts his biblical messages across the world on TV, radio, and the internet. His new primetime show, Allen Jackson NOW, airs weekdays on TBN, and his podcast, Culture & Christianity: The Allen Jackson Podcast, releases new episodes every Friday. A graduate of Oral Roberts University and Vanderbilt University, he also studied at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Hebrew University in Jerusalem. In all he does, his mission is to make more fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ, continually inviting people to take another step forward in their faith.
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