“Answering God’s call to fight evil” – January 31, 2021
(speaker – Gary Broadston – Union Park United Methodist Church)
Scriptures: Psalms 111
- Hallelujah! I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart in the company of decent people and in the congregation. 2. The LORD’s deeds are spectacular. They should be studied by all who enjoy them. 3. His work is glorious and majestic. His righteousness continues forever. 4. He has made his miracles unforgettable. The LORD is merciful and compassionate. 5. He provides food for those who fear him. He always remembers his promise. 6. He has revealed the power of his works to his people by giving them the lands of other nations as an inheritance. 7. His works are done with truth and justice. All his guiding principles are trustworthy. 8. They last forever and ever. They are carried out with truth and decency. 9. He has sent salvation to his people. He has ordered that his promise should continue forever. His name is holy and terrifying. 10. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Good sense is shown by everyone who follows God’s guiding principles. His praise continues forever.
; Mark 1:21-28
- Then they went to Capernaum. On the next day of worship, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach. 22. The people were amazed at his teachings. Unlike their scribes, he taught them with authority. 23. At that time there was a man in the synagogue who was controlled by an evil spirit. He shouted, 24. “What do you want with us, Jesus from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are–the Holy One of God!” 25. Jesus ordered the spirit, “Keep quiet, and come out of him!” 26. The evil spirit threw the man into convulsions and came out of him with a loud shriek. 27. Everyone was stunned. They said to each other, “What is this? This is a new teaching that has authority behind it! He gives orders to evil spirits, and they obey him.” 28. The news about him spread quickly throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.”
- On Sunday January 17th we heard that God may speak to us in several different ways but we may not be able to hear God calling our name. The question before us is when God speaks do we listen to God calling out our name and then heed that voice. How many times does God speak to us but we don’t know it was the Lord? How many times have we recognized that God was speaking, but we didn’t hear his message because we were too busy with other things in our daily lives? Remember that to hear the word of the Lord to us, it is essential that we pray from the heart and if we don’t hear the voice it may be because of distractions in our lives.
- We learned on Sunday January 24th that we might seem hard to reach and convince to follow the call from God when he says “follow me”. Last week we heard that God may be speaking thru Scripture, in our prayers, thru our friends and family, thru events in our lives like failures and accomplishments, thru our dreams or visions or by that still small inner voice. God will not give up on us and may keep trying to get us to answer his call to share our life and our belief with others so we can lead them to know God on a personal level as we do.
Worship transforms our minds and hearts and souls. Christ may challenge us to be willing to surrender and allow the Spirit to work within us that we might be vessels of grace and invitation in the world around us. We are reminded that this isn’t easy and that it requires a readjustment of our whole lives that we might follow where Christ leads. We need to follow the example of Christ in the face of evil in our world.
As we live our lives as followers of Christ, we may see others or perhaps even ourselves experience unclean spirits of worry, fear, destruction, or pride.
Sometimes we call these things demons and blame them for any unexplainable bad thing that happens. When it says in our scripture passage from Mark that Jesus cast out demons, or unclean spirits to be accurate, do we simply reinterpret that to be, “He healed them of their mental illness?” Mark 1:23-26 reads: Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.
We ascribe the title demonic to an incomprehensible evil. Sometimes it is used as a way to avoid responsibility, which is why many of us are reluctant to use a word like demon when speaking of human actions. But it also reminds us that there are “powers and principalities” or as stated in Ephesians 6:12 “For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” that are beyond our understanding. It reminds us that there is evil in the world greater than the total of the evil that resides in human hearts. Our response to such a realization is either to live in fear and suspicion of everyone and everything or to stand against such evil with the power of our Savior. Do we respond to God’s call to fight evil or are we frightened by the very thought of that.
One of the questions in the baptism ritual asks parents and sponsors, as well as the candidates for baptism when they are able to answer for themselves, “Do you accept the freedom and power God gives you to resist evil, injustice, and oppression in whatever forms they present themselves?” It is a part of the nature of our faith that we stand against the evil or demonic both in our society and in ourselves. We can take a stand against the demonic evil we experience and claim that we will no longer stay silent in the face of injustice and oppression perpetrated against a group of people. We do not all stand at the same place and understanding on many issues. We all have the freedom to believe differently in our country but we should not let that separate us and divide us. It may seem that in difficult financial times we need to focus our energies on finances to rescue our local economy and put off other issues that we face. It is in desperate times that we need to be even more vigilant against evil and injustice in our world. When we give in to despair, all kinds of choices seem less unthinkable. That is when the demonic can begin to seem sensible. When the nonsense becomes sensible then you have given in to evil.
The demon’s question in our scripture from Mark might be on our lips as well. “What have you to do with us, Jesus?” Christ comes to change everything, every broken thing about us. By the grace of God any day can be an opportunity to make a stand and cast out the evil or demons in our life or the lives of others. We must pray for the ability to see the evil that exists and look for guidance as we face the evil demons in our lives and those of other people we meet and interact with. We need to be strong in faith and know that God gives us the strength and power to fight the evil forces in the world.
God is at work in our world and in each of us as we fight evil in the world. As is stated in Psalm 111:2-4 “Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them. Full of honor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever. He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds; the LORD is gracious and merciful.” Yes, God delights in us when we are fighting the forces of evil as we answer the call. The Lord is truly gracious and merciful and delights in our efforts to rid this world of evil forces.
Let us Pray
Father, we call on you to give us more of the compassion and authority of Jesus. Embolden us to heal those that are afflicted and drive out the demons that afflict our world. Jesus comes to us, offering healing and hope, speaking and acting with authority. Help us listen to Christ and be encouraged that we may go into the world to do your work fighting evil, confident in God’s love and healing power that can be available thru us.
AMEN
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