Visions of Disaster (3)

The situation on earth has changed since Old Testament times. The Holy Spirit was not released then, because Jesus had not come, so God had to work in less effective ways against evil. He drove out evil nations living close to his people. He destroyed evil empires that were becoming too powerful.

Since the cross, God has a much better weapon in his arsenal: The good news and the Holy Spirit. He prefers to use them to bring down evil nations and empires. The Western church does not understand that and still wants to use the redundant methods. If the US had paid 100,000 people, equipped to share the gospel of the kingdom in the power of the Spirit, to Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, they would have had far better results than their military achieved.

Although God does not want to destroy peoples and cultures, he will destroy alternative power centres. The institutional church was an alternative power centre distracting attention from the Holy Spirit. God is allowing it to collapse.

Human governments are the strongest alternative power centre in our age. God will eventually destroy government power, so the Holy Spirit power is welcomed and released

Sometime a culture will becomes so evil that God is shut out of it. When that happens, the power of evil will have a free hand, and the culture will destroy itself. God will warn of what is happening, but he can’t stop it. But New Zealand, and the US, is a long way from that.

Visions of Disaster (2)

Actually, the powers of evil are not strong enough to create a big earthquake or tsunami. The devil is a boaster, and often exaggerates what he is able to do. All his powers can do is trigger a situation where there is a build up of tension in the rocks. They can change the timing and the direction, but that is about all. (The ones who smashed up the fountains of the deep in Noah’s time are locked up, so they can no longer destroy the earth, as God promised Noah).

God’s prophecy is nearly always redemptive. He warns what will happen and tells his people how to prepare, so they can of restore the people the world when they are shaken. He does not prophesy mindless destruction for the sake of destruction (that is the devil’s game.

A tsunami would just destroy everything. It does not help the gospel. Just as the Christchurch earthquake didn’t advance the gospel, because the church was not prepared. (This is the point of the Commando army. God really needs it in place before he can fully shake the nation.)

I listened to Graeme Cooke’s message to New Zealand again at the weekend. Every time I listen, it feels like fire burning in my heart. He does not speak destruction for New Zealand. He speaks of a storm, but a storm that would sort through churches. Those built on the rock of Jesus will stand, but those that do not own Jesus and do not pursue his Spirit will be swept away. The storm is for the purification and transformation of the church, not for the destruction of society.

I have pondered what the storm could be. It could not be a Tsunami and earthquake, because that would just destroy everything: It would not sort churches. Persecution would do it, but that does not seek likely this year. It could happen, but it would take the church to oppose the world on a popular issue. That seems unlikely, so I assume that it is more like to be economic, because that would challenge churches that are not built on Jesus foundation. However, I do not have a word from God on that. What I do get is a picture of confusion in Wellington. Politicians and bureaucrats making mistake after mistake that makes troubles worse.

Years ago, a pastor in Invercargill shared a dream of vision of a massive wave, sweeping onto the South Island from the east. It struck Southland first and then moved north. He believed that God was showing him a massive move of the Spirit that will sweep the South Island. That is the sort of vision that stirs my heart.

Why Did Christians Die (4) - Sacrifice

During a disaster, some Christians will put their lives at risk to rescue others. Some may stand back or let other people escape first. If they lose their lives, they have taken up the cross and followed Jesus to their death.

Jesus commissioned his followers take the gospel into all nations, including those that area mess. If Christians covenant with a city they are called to live in, they will share in the poverty and problems that emerge in the city. God cannot protect them from the fate of their chosen home.

God wants his people to living in places with problems, so they can be salt and light to bring blessing and peace. This will often be tough and some will lose their lives for their faith. A Christian martyr may experience an awful death, but they have died at the right time and place.

The full series is at Why Did Christians Die?

Why Did Christians Die (3) - Spiritual Warfare

Since the fall, life on earth has been a spiritual battle between good and evil. Every war produces casualties. Our spiritual war is not different.

• The devil is prowling around like a lion looking for people to destroy.

  Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour (1 Peter 5:8).

• God promised protection, but it is not magical.

If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent (Psalm 91:9-13).

This promise is conditional on us taking refuge in him. We are kept safe by walking in the Spirit. If we follow the leading of the Spirit every day, he can keep us safe, but if we wander from his path, he cannot guarantee our protection. If we are in the wrong place at the wrong time, his angels may not be there to protect us. However, if a Christian did get it wrong, God will not tell us, and they cannot, so we should be careful about making accusations. We are called to be comforters, not accusers.

• A more important problem is that the western church’s lack of understanding about spiritual warfare. Many Christians belong to churches that do not understand spiritual warfare and spiritual protection. This can lead to casualties during a disaster.

• Spiritual protection is plural. It comes through strong relationships with other Christians, but we often wander around on our own, as if we were living in peacetime. When Christians are isolated, they are vulnerable to evil attack. Our casual approach to the spiritual battle makes casualties inevitable.

• Relationships with other are essential for our spiritual protection. The Holy Spirit will often prompt the friends of the person whose life was in danger to engage in spiritual warfare on their behalf. If they are not listening, it is not fare to blame God.

• God appoints prophets to warn his people of danger. In many churches, the prophets are asleep. In these situations, Christians may not get the warnings they need to survive through a disaster.

• Some churches have encouraged their member to fight in foolish human wars. If we take up arms without God’s permission, we cannot expect him to protect us from the consequence.

Our main response to disaster should be to check our own house and ensure that the spiritual protection around us is secure.

Why Did Christians Die (2) - Time to Die

Each of us has a time to die. For some Christians, that time might coincide with a disaster.

• God never promised that we would never die. He has not even promised us a specific number of years.

• Our lives end when God considers we have finished our work on earth. That time can arrive at any stage in our lives.

• We are not good judges of when a person’s life is complete. We often think a person has died too soon, but we do not have an eternal perspective. Life on earth is a blink compared with all eternity. If a blink is shortened to half a blink, very little is lost.

• God has not made any promises about how we will die. He did not guarantee that Christians would die in their sleep. Moses dropped dead on the day his work was complete, but that probably only happens with an extremely godly life (Deut 24:5). God has not promised that we will not die in a disaster.

• Death is not the end for Christians, because we are promised life after death.

  Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you (John 14:1-2)?

  This hope is more certain than death. Christians who died in a disater are just as safe with God, as if they had died in their sleep.

• Christians have a wonderful hope, so death is not the end, but a beginning of eternal life. That hope should change our perspective on every death, especially those that occur during in a disaster.

Why Did Christians Die (1) - Big Question

When disasters strike and Christians are killed, people ask why it happened. Some Christians will wonder why God did not protect his people and may begin thinking that promises like Psalm 121:5-8 might need to be modified.

The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Christians want to be able to trust God’s promises, but when a Christian dies during a disaster, their faith is shaken. Many ask the big question.

Why did it happen?

Several common responses should be avoided when asking this question.

1. We should not base a theology of personal suffering and evil on what happened to our friends. Our theology should be drawn from the Word of God. Forcing the scriptures to fit our experience is unwise.

2. When trying to deal with difficult questions we must be avoid solutions that impugn God’s character or suggest that he did evil. A tendency to blame God often emerges when things go wrong, but blaming him for things he has not done is foolish. It is better to err on blaming people or evil spirits than on blaming God. Job provides an example of a good attitude to God.

   In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing (Job 2:10).

   We are fallible fallen humans, so we should be very careful about passing responsibility to God, especially if we do not have our own house in order. We must be careful not to take offence at God, as it destroys faith.

3. Some Christians suggest that we should just trust God without asking questions. He knows why the disaster happened, so we do not need to know. This not very satisfactory, because it can make God seem inconsistent or irrational. It is hard to trust a God, who saves one and refuses to rescue another, without any apparent reason, so blind faith is never the answer.

4. An opposite view that is gaining transaction is not better. The tragic death was just bad luck. The Christians was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This does not help, because God is pushed out and replaced by the false god of randomness.

There are several good reasons why a Christian might die during a disaster. I will discuss these in the next few posts.

We probably will not know which reason applies in each situation, but understanding the possibilities will help us avoid using the Lord's name in vain.