Allen Jackson - Can You See? - Part 1
We’re continuing our study on angels, demons, and you. And in this session, I wanna talk specifically about our vision. Can we see? And really below the titles, this is a discussion of a dimensional faith. The acknowledgement that there are spiritual forces that influenced your life today. Good and bad. If you’re not living with that awareness, you’re in a very deficit position. You know, COVID awakened us to the reality of some of the threats to our physical health in new ways. We paid a bit more attention, at least for a while to some fundamental health practices like washing our hands and not sneezing on people. Makes a difference. Why? If we’ll have those precautions around things that we can’t see that we can experience the impact, why are we so casual with spiritual forces of good and evil?
Why do you think that if you say, «I don’t believe that» it protects you? It doesn’t work with a virus or a bacteria and I assure you it won’t work with spiritual forces. We have to cooperate, we have to participate, we have to know how to lead our lives before the Lord so that we can stay spiritually clean, and we also have to know how to find freedom. It’s not as mystical as we want to believe. As much as God put order in the universe so that it can be understood, I assure you there’s an order into the spiritual world and it can be understood. There’s much about our physical world that we don’t know and there’s much about the spiritual world that we don’t know, but it doesn’t preclude us from being learners in either arena. I pray as a Christ follower you are purposefully daily growing in a dimensional faith.
I’m all for my intellect and learning and studying and memorizing and all of those things, but I want to grow in my spiritual awareness. It’s essential. «Well, Pastor, I’m saved». I don’t know why that matters. That’s an unbelievably naive statement. It’s embarrassing that the church would foment such ideas. Our assignment is to grow up in the Lord. If Jesus was tempted by Satan, if he was threatened by evil, if he was crucified by wicked people, what makes you and I think we will live lives beyond the reach of evil? It’s not a biblically informed perspective.
So can we see, you know, the temptation when I think about preparing a message, the real temptation is just to do a Bible study. I like those. I like studying my Bible. I like to accumulate the information. I like sorting out the different periods of time. You know, for me, that’s a sermon that’s focused towards the past or the alternative to that is an attempt to understand our world in light of the scripture. And they’re two very different things. And to be completely candid with you, one is a whole lot more comfortable and more easily achieved. It’s much harder to take the Word of God and try to understand our world and what’s unfolding around us and what our responses should be. It’s much simpler to have a discussion about the Sadducees and what they believed.
You know, they didn’t believe in the resurrection. That’s why they’re sad, you see. I know, I could do this ad nauseam. It’s very safe territory. Hardly anyone’s offended. If we disagree, they’re long dead, so they don’t care. It’s much more challenging. But the Bible tells us that there are spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. It’s in Ephesians 6 if you wanna check me. And it doesn’t suggest that they stopped at the end of the first century. Now I’m gonna submit to you that in this season, uniquely in a heightened way, in a far more dramatic way than even a decade ago, we’re experiencing a great conflict in the earth. I don’t believe it originates with nations or political parties. It isn’t fueled by economic tensions or territorial disputes or even religious opinions. I believe we’re in the midst of a great spiritual struggle.
If I borrow the language of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 6, it’s a wrestling match between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. If you watch with just modest interest, you can witness a clash of worldviews by just watching what’s happening in our current events every day. Again, it doesn’t take great discernment. Marriage, there’s a tussle over that, how it’ll be defined, how it should be valued. It’s not a given any longer. We have justices in the Supreme Court that are incapable or unwilling to define what a woman is. It’s not funny. That’s our reality. It’s conflict. Family, how it’s to be understood. Our roles within the family, the value of children, parental responsibilities toward their children. We’ve lost the notion of some very fundamental things, helping girls become women and boys become men.
You know, for century upon century there were recognized rites of passage that enabled boys to move from being children to being men. Hand off of responsibility. And they’re really for most of civilization and across most cultures, I did some reading on that this week. There really were those two categories. There were boys and men, girls and women. We’ve introduced a third category in relatively recent years, adolescence where you develop the physical maturity of an adult, but you’re not asked to take any of the responsibilities. It’s a very destructive introduction. And we’ve lost the notion of helping our boys become men. And we’ve extended adolescence way beyond any reasonable notion in time. It’s the church’s mistake. This is our assignment. Those values come from us and we’ve allowed the desire to be approved by the culture to cause us not to talk about those biblical roles for our homes and our families.
Human sexuality, the Bible expresses a context in which is pleasing to God in which it will keep us excluded from the kingdom of God. Within the context of marriage, God said it’s holy, it’s pure, it’s a good thing. Beyond that, in any construction, it’s destructive, it’s evil. You will never convince God to agree with your immorality. The church has lost our courage. Human beings, we are told in scripture are image bearers made in the image of Almighty God. It distinguishes us from all the rest of creation. We’re not just the highest rung on the evolutionary ladder. That’s important because it bestows the dignity for every person. It’s not based upon race or IQ or language skills.
Very prevalent amongst us these days is DEI: diversity, equity, inclusion. It’s the antithesis of a biblical worldview. It is deeply rooted in academia. It’s being pumped into our children at the earliest levels and right through the upper echelons of educational systems. For the record, God is not inclusive. Take a breath. What the scripture tells us is that God is holy and we must meet, we must all meet his standards of holiness and purity or we will be excluded. Again, it’s not about our appearance or how we look because we’re talking about a dimensional life. We have abused the scripture to be approved by our culture. God has very clearly stated who will and will not be included in his kingdom.
Spoiler alert, if you’re not familiar, it has little, if anything, it has nothing to do with our bank balance or our race 'cause there are some questions that begin to emerge. What is our responsibility to our family, to our church, to our community, to our extended culture? For far too long, the church’s answer has been there really is none, get saved. The rest of it will take care of itself. That’s a very dysfunctional theology. It’s not scriptural. There’s a struggle underway. I hope you’re watching. In my opinion and on this I guess we could disagree, but in my opinion it’s a conflict analogous to two unique points in American history. The American Revolution and the Civil War. Two seasons that defined the existence of this nation.
I believe the season we’re walking through will prove to be as definitive in our future as those two critical periods. There’s a great divide that has emerged in our nation and it’s initiated not by political party or social or economic status or education or race, it’s a division that has been initiated by worldview and it’s so polarizing in its current expressions that negotiations aren’t reasonable. In the language of Jesus, what does light have to do with darkness? So I have some questions. Are you engaged or are you just complaining? Do you know with whom you’re aligned? How do you understand what is happening? Do you imagine it to be a political struggle, a debate about economic resources? Is it primarily a racial conflict? Is it about national sovereignty?
Matthew chapter 16, Jesus was talking to his disciples. They’re well into their training season. Years in at this point and Jesus says to them, they’re climbing into a boat to cross the lake in Galilee. And he said, «Be careful, be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees. And they discussed among themselves and they said, 'It’s because we didn’t bring any bread.'»
Their dimensional perspective was pretty limited. By this point in their journey, they had fed thousands and thousands of people with a handful of bread. And when Jesus says to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, their default position is he’s mad because you don’t have enough bread. Jesus calls them on it. He said, can you not remember? When we fed 5000, and we fed 3000, do you really think we’re gonna go hungry? They weren’t aware. So you can be in proximity to Jesus. You can be aware of who he is. You can have experienced his transformational power. He can know you and you can be almost totally unaware of what’s happening. I would submit to you, we don’t wanna do that.
I wanna ask you a more, an even more pointed question if you’ll allow me, do you even care? I know we’re in church and the answer is, «Well, of course we do». But truthfully. Or is your response, does it tend more to the side of the spectrum where you just like the tension to dissipate so that eggs and gas are abundant and inexpensive? We could just make that happen. You just wanna stay focused on your personal agenda. Confident that you’re born again and the things happening beyond that arena, but they’re not really your problem. That’s a very prevalent viewpoint amongst those of us who file into churches. Well in Luke 17, Jesus again is speaking. And he says, «Just as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be in the days of the Son of Man».
He’s talking about a comparison set between the days of Noah leading up to the flood and the days in the year leading up to Jesus’s return. He said there’s similarities and he gives us some. «People were eating, and drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day that Noah entered the ark. And the flood came and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building». Remember where Lot lived? Sodom. And now Jesus said there was a parallel in Lot’s life in the days leading up to its destruction and in the world leading up to his return.
«As it was in the days of Lot, people were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and sulfur rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day that the Son of Man is revealed». Remember the question, do we even care? Days of Noah, days of Lot, the earth prior to the return of Jesus. There’s nothing listed in that passage in Jesus' words that was particularly identified as sinful. Eating or drinking, marrying, being given in marriage, buying and selling, planting and building, they’re all very much a normal part of human activity.
There’s nothing there that’s immoral or ungodly or wicked. But the persons Jesus is describing are very unaware of the kingdom of God. They have little situational awareness. We were in DC for a day this week. And I had some meetings, not with high profile people that you would know. But one of the men we met with, we met in the hotel, and he’s a retired captain in the US Navy. And as we walked him out, he said, «Do you know where the emergency exits are»? He said don’t ever go in a building without knowing where the emergency exits are. I thought, «Sir, yes sir». We’ll get caught on that a second time, Captain. I think we live with very minimal situational awareness regarding spiritual things. We’ve been so convinced that our business with God is complete, that it’s intact, it’s entire that doesn’t require our attention.
In the same way your physical health will diminish if you don’t pay attention, your spiritual health is diminishing if you’re not paying attention. Jesus pointed out they were uninterested in things beyond themselves. They were focused on marrying and being given in marriage while the animals are loading the ark. I’m pretty sure that water event would be difficult on the reception. We can be captivated by the activities of this present age to the point that we failed to participate in the opportunities that God puts before us. I don’t wanna do that. Angels and demons and you, they’re real and they’re affecting your life. Do you have a plan? Are you intentional in the same way you are with your physical health, your emotional health? How you answer these questions is really very important. Honoring God and cooperating with him provides the best possible outcome for human beings in our world.
I wanna say it again, honoring God and cooperating with him provides the best possible outcomes for human beings in this present age and the one to come. It’s more important than any academic achievement, any financial accomplishment, any award, any recognition. We have to believe that or we won’t give it to other generations who follow us. We have to believe it or we’ll file into church and we’ll think it’s kind of a necessary commitment, it’s an obligation, but there’ll be very little enthusiasm around it. In Matthew 19, Peter asked a question that all of us have thought. He said, «Lord, we’ve left everything to follow you! What then will there be for us? And Jesus said to them, 'I tell you the truth, '» you know he’s about to drop a bomb, right?
«I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel». And everyone, not just the apostles, not just the first century audience, «Everyone who’s left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life». Please note he didn’t say, «Go to church and do a Bible study».
There’s a leaving behind in following the Lord. And he said, whatever you leave behind, whatever you separate yourself because of your intentionality and cooperating with the Lord. Peter the question originated from Peter and the rest. They said, «We left everything. We left our friends, our routines, our habits, we left our support groups, we’ve identified with you and you are much troubled and hated frequently». And Jesus said, «And you’ll be rewarded». Are you leading a life for the Lord that is worthy of those rewards? Well, I’m boarding it, I’m grateful for that. I’m not challenging that. I’m asking you how you’re leading your life. It’s a different question. I’m not suggesting you’re gonna earn your way into heaven. I am suggesting you’ll be rewarded for how you lead your life. It’s a very clear premise in scripture beyond the scope of this session.
I think we have to acknowledge biblically that in the earth, there’s a powerful adversary to the purposes of God. He’s well organized, focused, and he’s relentless in his opposition. He was in the life of Jesus, he was in the life of those that were leading the church in the New Testament, and he is in the 21st century. So on a daily basis, I have another question. Do your choices align you with the kingdom of God? If they don’t, understand this. They align you with the kingdom of darkness. There’s no third option. Every day we’re making choices, how we’ll behave, what we’ll think about, what we’ll engage with, what we’ll give our attention to, our time to, our effort to.
The Bible tells us that God is searching the earth looking for persons with a heart focused on pleasing him. Arrange your priorities to be identified easily. Make every effort to please the king. Refuse to be derailed by expressions of evil. Don’t harbor feelings which will diminish your life with the Lord. Don’t make allowances for carnal worldly desires. Just don’t. It’s so tempting. Duly noted, don’t do it. A lot of other people do. Okay, don’t do it. Persevere, overcome, endure, keep your hearts set on the prize for which we’ve been called heavenward.
Look at Romans 13. «Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies or in drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy». You really have to write that to the church? Yep. I mean, not to us. Yes. «Not in dissension and jealousy, rather clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and don’t think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature». He didn’t say, «Don’t gratify the desires of the sinful nature». He said, «Don’t even think about it. Don’t put your mind to it. Don’t fantasize about it. Don’t plan it, don’t consider it. Don’t entertain it. Put it off, have nothing to do with it». It’s lifestyle coaching. Why? Because there’s something to be gained.
There’s an assignment to be completed 'cause there’s a conflict in the world and if the church doesn’t present front and center in this season, our freedoms and liberties will be forfeited. Well, one of the most foolish things we could imagine is that because of an election, the politicians are gonna fix the problems that have us teetering on the brink of bankruptcy and in immorality so dark that it will bring the judgment of God. It requires a response from the church. I’d already prepared a lesson and then I did the Bible reading this week. Keeps messing with my sermon prep. It’s awkward when the Bible gets in the way of yours. We’re reading John’s Gospel. And I really, I just couldn’t escape it.
The more I thought about it, the more I felt like we had to walk, we needed to walk through a bit of it. But it has to do with the presentation of Jesus and how different it is from most of the messaging that we hear about our faith and how we should live our lives. I’m gonna start in John 7 in your notes, but there’s a phrase that’ll be used and it’s gonna be repeated over and over through John’s Gospel and throughout the larger New Testament, but it has to do with the fear that’s inspired by the political class amongst the Jewish people. They’re terrified of them. We live with a lot of that fear. We’re working on building planning these days and I can tell you there are groups that have authority in the state that terrify people who do that professionally. They terrify the engineers, whatever you do, don’t make this group mad.
Whatever you do, don’t cause this group of people to look at you, just do whatever they tell you no matter what it costs, no matter what they demand, just cooperate. We’re terrified. We shouldn’t be afraid of our government. We shouldn’t. We’ve accepted some things we shouldn’t be accepting of. We’ve made peace with some things we shouldn’t be at peace with. Again, the church is light and if we fail to be light, the darkness grows more intense. Well, as we read this, there’s a great divide. Jesus is introducing very significant tension into the city of Jerusalem, into his generation. In John 7 and verse 12, it says, «Among the crowds, there was widespread whispering about Jesus. Some said, 'He’s a good man, ' and others said, 'No, he deceives the people.' But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews».
Now everybody that’s discussed in that, those sentences is Jewish. It’s not like they’re talking about the non-Jews and the Jews. The phrase that’s being referenced there is the political class, the power brokers in the Jewish community. They’re gonna be connected in this case to the temple because that was the national bank, it was the national power center. It was the most elaborate building in the nation and the people who controlled that and controlled the synagogues held influence over the nation. And it says there was whispering in public about Jesus.
And there were some who believed in him and said he’s a good man, and there were others who said no, he’s a deceiver. Jesus did not bring great unity. You have to kind of let that marinate for a moment. In the midst of Jesus' ministry with all the miracles and all the remarkable things and the truth that he was displaying, there were people who were interested and intrigued, and there were people who said he’s a deceiver. Gee, that doesn’t sound like the world we live in. You better understand what orients your life and if it’s a political party, you’re in deep weeds. If we’re not defining our understanding of our culture based on a biblical worldview in the authority of scripture, we’re idolaters and the church has avoided this for far too long.
I wanna pray with you before we go.
Heavenly Father, I thank you for every person that I’ve had this time with today, and I pray that in the name of Jesus you would give us the will to persevere, the determination to overcome that we may be reminded that greater is the spirit within us than any challenge we face in this world, in Jesus name, amen.