Change the World

March 05, 2012 Monday Message:

In Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, his instructions for Christian living include the following:
•Always be joyful.
•Never stop praying.
•Be thankful in all circumstances (for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.)
•Do not stifle the Holy Spirit.
•Do not scoff at prophecies.
•Test everything that is said.
•Hold on to what is good.
•Stay away from every kind of evil. (1 Thess. 5:16-20 NLT)

We conclude our study with his final point, “Stay away from every kind of evil.”

Evil is a part of our fallen world. People routinely lie, cheat and steal. They lust after their neighbor’s spouse and covet their neighbor’s Lexus. God has no part in their lives, and they see nothing wrong with trash-talking God, making insulting jokes about God and taking His name in vain. This is secular evil, the world outside the church. While we must step into the secular world to “go make disciples of all nations,” we must be careful to not fall into its evil.

Things should be better inside the church, but unfortunately, evil sometimes creeps in there too. The Bible says our Christian lives should be sanctified, set-apart and distinctive. We should be radically transformed, born anew, adopted into the Holy family. Our behavior and our lives should be different from when we first found the Lord. Therefore sin within the church is a much bigger problem for the church than sin outside the church.

There’s one more kind of evil – the kind coming directly from Satan. The evil one and his demons torment us at every turn. They love confusing a new believer, derailing a ministry, and replacing recovery with relapse. Jesus knew what to do. Mark 1:34 tells us, “Jesus healed many people … and he cast out many demons.”

Jesus sent his apostles with the instructions, “Heal the sick, raise the dead, cure those with leprosy, and cast out demons.” Matthew 10:8a Jesus encountered demons all the time, and they recognized him as the Son of God. If Jesus knew that demons needed to be removed, we should follow in His footsteps and cast them out in His name.

Change the world without becoming part of it - that’s what Jesus did!

Norton Lawellin