tsn turning point

Matthew 9:32-34

This happens immediately on the heels of Jesus restoring the sight of the two blind men. There is an interesting parallel between Jesus casting out a demon and the Pharisees accusing him of submitting to demons. This is really the turning point in Jesus' conflict with the Pharisees. They have gone to the next level in their opposition of him and his work. He is no longer just a misguided person but he is now under the influence of Satan and his demons and is on the side of evil. Rather than recognizing the work of the Spirit of God in what Jesus was doing, they attribute it to the work of demons. If this is their conclusion, they have no choice now but to get rid of him. This is why, I believe, Jesus wanted to keep his early miracles as quiet as possible.
I'm not doubting the truth of what Matthew writes but I do wonder if there was a purpose in putting this miracle and this accusation together. Keeping in mind that Matthew's purpose is to prove to his Jewish audience that Jesus was the Messiah, I wonder if he is attempting to show how ridiculous the opposition of the Pharisees was. Jesus points out the absurdity in another passage: Satan is not stupid. He would never start a war against himself. Demons being in opposition to each other does not make sense. Using the idea of C.S. Lewis then, if Jesus was not under the influence of a demon, and therefore a liar, then he was either who he said he was (the Messiah King) or he was insane. I don't know for sure that this is what Matthew had in mind by including this encounter and this accusation so closely together but it definitely supports his thesis.
This encounter raises some questions for me: if this man was living today with all its medical technology, would we have attributed his disability to a demon or to a medical problem? Would medicine have been able to allow him to talk? Are there medical mysteries today that are actually caused by demon oppression? How do we know which ones we should be seeking medical treatment for and which ones we should be exorcising? Have western Christians become so calloused to the spiritual realm that we no longer can discern what is purely physical and what has a spiritual element? Is there anything that is actually purely physical?
The other questions I have are prompted by the Pharisees accusation. In my conservative evangelical comfort zone, I am often suspicious of the spectacular and claims of the supernatural. While I may not directly say that such things are of Satan, by jumping to the conclusion that they are not of God... logically there is only one other conclusion. I recognize that things are not so black and white in this world; everything that humans are involved in is tainted by sin (and conversely, the grace of God). So what I am actually saying is that there is more of sin and evil in these things than there is God. The question, then, is: have I attributed a genuine work of God's Spirit to the work of Satan and his demons? I must be very careful in my judgements! I don't want to be in the same boat as the Pharisees.

Fearless

This was done April 12 but I couldn't post until today.

Ephesians 6:18-20

Pray for me! Pray will all kinds of requests and prayers! Just pray! It seems like Paul’s strategy for an offensive against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms is to pray. He doesn’t differentiate between any kinds of prayers but just urges his reader to pray. There’s a sense of urgency to his imperative.
Paul also realizes that he is in the middle of a spiritual battle whenever he witnesses for Jesus and speaks on his behalf and so he asks for prayer: first that he would be given words to make known the mystery of the gospel and secondly that he would declare those words fearlessly.
Pray for me that I would be given words to make known the mystery of the gospel. Pray that I would not make the gospel to simple so that it loses its mystery. Pray that I would not reduce the mystery of the gospel to a formula. Pray for me that I would also speak fearlessly. I desperately want people to like me so pray that I would not be held back by that desire but would speak fearlessly the truth in the context of loving relationships. Pray for me that I would be aware of the spiritual battle that is being waged for the souls of our students. Pray that not one more student in Lethbridge would be lost (I’m tired of losing them!) to the kingdom of darkness. Pray that I would be protected as I begin to engage this battle. This is war. Pray for me.

Hold!!!

Ephesians 6:10-17

This reminds me of every war movie I've ever seen: Dig in. Hold fast. Stand firm. Over and over, Paul entreats the reader to stand: "take your stand against the devil's schemes" "stand your ground" "after you have done everything, to stand" "stand firm"
Paul reminds us that our struggle is not against people but against the spiritual forces in the heavenly realms. I think I need to remember that people as individuals and people as groups are not the enemy. They have been affected by the curse of sin just like I was and while they may be fighting against everything that I love and think is important (seeing me and Christianity as the enemy at times), my job is not to fight against them but fight against the spiritual forces that are blinding them to the reality of the gospel of Christ. I think it is ok to debate ideas and philosophies because sometimes ideas and philosophies are what Satan uses to blind people to the truth but I always need to keep in mind that the person I am debating is not the real enemy. It is not my job to crush them or defeat them but to show them the way to the kingdom of heaven.
What I do need to remember is that my work as a youth leader (and yours as youth leaders) is a spiritual battle. Satan is trying to keep their eyes blinded to the fullness of God in Christ. This means that I need to pray like crazy... but I'm getting ahead of myself. That's tomorrows verse.