War of the Worlds

Thoughts have origins. They come from a spiritual realm, either the
human spirit, or the Holy Spirit (or God’s angels), or from unholy
spirits (demons) who hate God and want to destroy mankind which is made
in God’s image. Thoughts may come as arrows fired from a distance. If
we are not fortified with God’s Word and faith in Jesus our Savior,
poisoned thoughts may become lodged in our mind and make us thing
wrongly about ourselves, about God, or about our purpose.

Unsaved people have no shield of faith or bedrock of true knowledge to
protect their minds. Church-going people have the Bible, unless they
have weakened the Scriptures with man’s traditions.

Wrong thinking produces chronic doubt, which is ingrained unbelief.
Evil spirits especially like to pervert holy truth and gut the gospel
of its sacred anointing. We are in a war for how we are to think or to
live. That’s why Jesus came: to destroy the devil’s works, starting
with saving us from our sins; to deliver people from the devil’s grip
on their minds or their emotions or their families, and to invoke the
power of his kingdom to transform nations.

What manner of enemy would thwart such a holy cause? What methods might
he use?

Like birds of a feather flocking together, demons congregate. They are
attracted toward authority; they gather for greed; they linger around
lust; they covet control. Wherever the carcass is, there the vultures
are. Whenever civil or spiritual authority becomes corrupted by
carnally-minded men, flesh-eaters find a feast. Flying in to feed, they
unpack their bags, invite their friends, and set up house for a very
long stay.

Arriving at church, Jesus found foul spirits infesting the flock. “And
Jesus entered the temple area and drove out those who were buying and
selling in the temple…” (Mt. 21:12). He turned the tables on the
merchants of mercy. He knocked over the seats of those who had
enthroned themselves as arbiters of Moses’ wisdom (vs. 12). He scolded
them all saying, “My house shall be called a house of prayer!” (vs. 13)

In anger, Jesus displayed genuine emotion against usurpers whose
presence defiled worship and kept his kingdom from coming in power.
Their behavior mocked the holy nature of a generous Father. Like a
surgeon removing a tumor, Jesus delivered the temple by removing the
diseased parts. The cure wasn’t just to drive them out (Greek, ekballo,
as in “expel unclean spirits”), but to replace the stale air that
smelled of death with a fresh breeze of spontaneous praise. Even the
children danced for joy!

After canceling their franchise to merchandise salvation, Jesus
reasserted the rights of grace over law, sonship over structure, holy
presence over empty performance, by doing something that had never
before been done in the temple: he healed people. “And the blind and
the lame came to him in the temple, and he healed them.” (vs.14) God’s
kingdom had come in power to the temple.

Of course, never to be outdone, the senior pastors and theology
professors were properly indignant about this departure from orthodoxy,
this deviation from tradition. By claiming offense at the children’s
boisterous praise, they cleverly disguised their jealousy that this
unknown outsider, this non-ordained, non-clergy, non-minister, (a
carpenter, of all things) this itinerant street preacher, had done
something they couldn’t do: he healed people. Moreover, he did it on
their church property. Who authorized this outburst?

What was he thinking? They didn’t know him. He didn’t get their
permission. Nor did he allow them to bask in the glory. I mean, surely
he knew that religion wasn’t about results, didn’t he? It was about the
effort, not the effect. It was about form, not substance. It was about
the temple’s dignity, the crowds of people, the appearance of religious
decorum, the sacred traditions, not about seeing the reality of God’s
power displayed, wasn’t it?

It was like their religious world was invaded by someone raised in the
marketplace where real results counted, not someone trained in seminary
where eloquent sermons counted. The scribes and Pharisees thought good
intentions were enough; not quantifiable, measurable, demonstrable
testimonies of grace that could stand up under scrutiny.

This was upsetting to their status quo. Their place of honor was being
threatened! Their share in the temple offerings was being threatened!
Their lifestyle was being threatened! This was not good! Surely, God
would justify their anger at such disorderly conduct.

Since the time of Augustine, the orthodox church of modern history
right up until today has turned away from thinking that prayer has a
purpose, that is, to affect change and deliver people. Now, we assume
prayer is merely a pious discipline. It sounds right to say, “Prayer
doesn’t change God, it changes us.” That’s true, but it isn’t all the
truth. “The primary purpose of prayer as illustrated throughout
Scripture is precisely to change the way things are. Crucial matters,
including much of God’s own activity, are contingent upon our prayer.”
(God at War, Gregory Boyd, Intervarsity Press, 1997, page 204)

When Jesus entered the temple, a war between worlds erupted. Jesus
displayed spiritual assertiveness. He went in to take back what the
enemy had stolen. He didn’t fit the religious mold of his day but
rubbed religious fur the wrong way. Prophets do that. It is a dynamic
of the tension that always exists between what is and what should be,
between order and liberty, between Word and Spirit.

This was the clash of spiritual realities where invisible agents of an
evil domain were exposed and expelled. These spirits had become quite
comfortable in a religious setting where men’s extra-biblical rules had
become common substitutes for faith in God and obedience to the Lord’s
revealed word. People had quit obeying Father’s voice and had started
obeying the dictates of men. These evil entities had insinuated their
thoughts, their motives into good people, putting blinders on the
leaders and leading the flock into confusion. That is, until Jesus
walked in the door.

To this day, lying spirits are deceiving misguided people into thinking
that bad things come from the providential hand of a distant God, while
if anything good happens— like something beyond human explanation, a
miracle or an answer to prayer— it must be occult or more likely, a
coincidence. The devil has made us afraid of God or caused us to doubt
his mercy, all the while robbing us of our birthright; the power of his
holy kingdom displayed on earth to praying people who love his name.

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“War of the Worlds” ©2005 by Ron Wood, Pres., Touched by Grace Inc.
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