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My 30 mighty men message this morning was about control, and so far it's been elevated to level 2 at least once. A few weeks back my pastor was preaching about control, (and this cartoon reminds me about many of the things he said) This afternoon, I just wanted to share some thoughts here to give anyone who reads it a chance to take this to the next level.
The question I asked the 30MM was, “Do we underestimate what the enemy controls out of fear of giving him too much credit?" I asked, “Who controls the tornado that rips through a city killing dozens?" – a few months ago, I flew over such a city and witnessed the devastation. I also talked to my co-pilot this morning at breakfast about my post several weeks ago in which I make the case for God being the good giver, and Satan being the destroying thief. The question I got in reply was “Are you saying the devil controls the tornado?" To which I responded with this scripture, and said I don't know for sure but I'm reminded of Jesus rebuking the wind and the waves. I then sent two pictures from my flight that I posted 3 days ago and said that I had prayed specifically for good weather that day.
My position is simple: we are in a spiritual war, and we should never underestimate our enemy. The Bible is clear that we live in a fallen and broken world, in which the enemy has been given control over a lot. Remember, it was in his power to give it all to Jesus if He bowed and worshiped Satan. I also know that ultimately God is in control, and to use a flying analogy, the aircraft commander can give his copilot the controls for a little while, but the pilot is still in command. Thus the levels of control concept: though someone might be in control of something, there will always be someone in higher authority who controls their control. Easy driving analogy here: Although I control my car when I'm driving, it's controls were controlled by the manufacturer, and the rules for my driving are controlled by the state I'm driving in, which also is controlled by the federal government, ultimately controlled by the laws of gravity, and God is the creator and thus controller of those laws… See the levels? Ok, maybe it wasn't so “easy" to follow, but hopefully the levels will eventually become apparent. Much like this diagram which is anything but…
So what? How does this affect our lives? I think an awareness of this reality will drive us to take action such as praying specifically against attacks of the enemy. I tell people who focus on self-esteem that the only “self" I'm interested in is self-control. Since that's a fruit of the Holy Spirit, I see a strong need which turns into a desire for me to be under His control. How I do that is by “practicing daily spiritual disciplines which unleash the Holy Spirit's power." I have no idea where I heard that, but I wrote it on a card and put it in my wallet a long time ago. I can't go into all of those disciplines, this post is already running long, but I've written about some of them in the past, and I'm sure I'll write about more of them in the future… and you can always elevate this to hear more!
peace,
Adam
Linked Verses:
James 1:17
John 10:10
Ephesians 2:2 (ESV)
Matt 8:27
Luke 4:5-8
Galatians 5:22-23
PS: For further study check out this article in one of my new favorite Bible websites. Bible.org