More than Meets the Eye
What if I told you that what you see on the surface is not always the way things really are? What if I said that there is a meta-physical world behind the physical world that we see and hear and touch and smell that dictates and influences things on the surface? And that in that behind-the-scenes world, there is a spiritual enemy who hates us, and is doing what he can, in his limited capacity, to neutralize us spiritually, paralyze us emotionally, and undermine our relationships with God and with one another?
If you think that's just some kind of crazy conspiracy theory, or some unenlightened, backwoods superstition, I hope you will reconsider. Because according to Scripture, all of that is true. Just because you don't acknowledge the enemy behind the scenes doesn't mean he isn't mounting attacks against you daily. And in this world that seems to be getting crazier by the day, it is sure helpful when you understand what's really going on.
This Sunday, we will be kicking off a new sermon series for the new year on Spiritual Warfare. I am sure when you hear that two-word phrase, different things come to mind, depending on your exposure to the Bible, and perhaps your church experience. Some people see the devil under every rock, and live every second trying to take him on, or cast him out. Others ignore him, or are petrified at the whole idea, and just try to keep him out of sight, and out of mind. Or maybe your whole way of thinking has been defined by Hollywood, and so you think it’s all just made up superstition, or just a Church Lady joke from Saturday Night Live. But our question is: what does the Bible say...about the devil, and demons, and angels, and the behind-the-scenes world of spiritual warfare?
One thing is certain, there is more going on than meets the eye. Have you ever heard the term wysiwyg (pronounced wiz-e-wig)? It’s really an acronym, from the tech world, and particularly in editing, like in word processing, slide presentations, printed documents, and notably, web pages on the internet. The acronym stands for What You See Is What You Get. And the idea is, often there are things on the surface—things you read on a website—that most of us novices, that’s all we know is there. But if you get the right programmer, or someone who does HTML (hypertext markup language) for instance, for webpages, they know the design codes that are operating behind the scenes that make the page work.
So sometimes when you get an email or read a website, you get some kind of funky code, and that’s because someone has put the HTML code in the wrong format, so that what is supposed to be behind the scenes, giving instructions to the internet, is now out front so we can read it. And as more and more amateurs have gotten into creating webpages and blogs and the like, they have had to simplify the process so that for some of us, when we create something or even post something, we want it to be able to edit it the way it’s going to look when it hits the internet or is printed. What you see is what you get.
But the reality of the internet is, we are talking about two different, parallel universes….where what we see on the surface is really being dictated by what’s going on behind the scenes. And that is the point, I think, that the Bible makes, in our spiritual world. We live in the world, in the flesh, but behind the scenes, in the unseen world, there are forces at play—angels, and demons, and powers and principalities, and spiritual forces in high places--that if we ignore them, we do so to our own peril. There’s more going on here than meets the eye.
None of this is intended to scare us, as much as to make sure we are aware, and that we recognize the enemy and his deceitful schemes. And that we will be ready to stand firm on the truth of God's word so that we are not easy prey to the devil who seeks to "steal, kill and destroy," (John 10:10) and who, "walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8) The good news is, we have already read the end of the book, and we know who wins! Even though there are still plenty of battles to fight until we finally experience the fullness of that victory in Christ.
I hope you can join us this Sunday, and every week over the next couple of months, as we hear what God has to say about the spiritual warfare we are engaged in, and discover some practical strategies for winning those spiritual battles along the way. It's going to be a great way to kick off a great new year!
I am praying for you, as I hope you are for me, and I look forward to seeing you on Sunday.
--Pastor Ken
