"Laid Back"

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It has been said, "Other lands will never be discovered as long as men fear leaving the shore". As I was reading my Bible yesterday morning, the Lord kept leading me to certain scriptures and after studying them, He has put this little article on my heart. The scripture I am speaking of is found in the book of Acts, chapter seventeen. It was at a time when the Apostle Paul was preaching the Gospel of Christ in the synagogue of the Jews in Thesalonica. Actually, he had been reasoning with them three sabbath days. Verse four says, "And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few." Now many were believing the Word of God and this upset the devil. Verses five and six go on to say,"But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come also hither;".

These men were very upset because Paul's preaching of the Gospel had made many to believe. They said that they had turned the world upside down. It is such a sad truth that today, there are many Christians and even churches that are not getting out this Good News that Jesus Saves and that just makes the devil so happy. The only way to get the devil upset is to turn the world upside down for Jesus.

Not many churches today are turning the world upside down for Jesus. That's why so many are just going along without any opposition from the devil. I heard a story once of a preacher who was standing in front of his church that was burning and watching as the fire department was trying to put the fire out. Suddenly he noticed a man standing beside him, watching with him. The preacher turned to the man and said, "This is the first time I've seen you come to the church." To which the man replied, "Yeah, well, this is the first time I ever saw it on fire." This is really a joke, but if you will think about it, it is really very sad. If we really want to set the church on fire or turn the world upside down, we must be telling the wonderful Gospel of Jesus Christ. After all, It, is the power of God unto salvation.

I also heard a story once of a little monkey that got out of his cage one night and after realizing how cold it was outside, decided to seek shelter somewhere. After numerous attempts to get inside, he noticed a church with lights in the window. As he gazed into the window, he saw a fire inside. He couldn't get in, so he just put his little hands up to the window to try and warm them. The fire the monkey saw in the window was a picture painted on the window, so the little monkey just sat there with his little hands pressed against that window and froze to death. Just as sad is the fact that many churches and many professing Christians are painted up to look like they have a fire within them and yet they are really stone cold on the inside. For this reason also, the world is not getting turned upside down, so there is no opposition from the devil.

I used the little saying at the beginning of this article because it sort of fit how many Christians, and as I said, even churches, view service to God. There are very many who really would rather just not upset the devil, so they are afraid to go beyond the shore. Although it is so true that the devil will do all he can to stop those who truly do the work the Lord has left them here to do, there is absolutely no reason to fear him or what he can do to us.

I heard a story once of a little boy who had moved to a new town and the first day that he was going to school, he came across the town bully. Well, the bully decided that he would introduce himself to the little boy. The way that he did that was to beat the little boy up. The next day when it was time to go to school, the little boy came up with every excuse he could think of to get out of going to school. The little boy's Daddy told him that he could see that he was just trying to make excuses and asked him to tell him the truth about why he didn't want to go to school. The little boy finally broke over and told him about his experience with the bully. The Daddy told him to just go on and to stand up to the bully. Reluctantly, the little boy went on his way and at about the same spot he had seen the bully before, he jumped out of the bushes and started picking a fight with him again. The little boy tried to stand up to him, but he was just too much for him, so he got beat up again. The next morning the little boy told his Daddy that he really didn't want to go to school anymore. He told him that he wasn't big enough or strong enough to stand up to that bully. Well, his Daddy told him that he would see to it that the bully didn't beat him up anymore. On the way, at the same spot as the other two times, the bully jumped out of the bushes to see the little boy walking toward him. Only this time, in his hand was the hand of his Daddy. The bully just stepped aside and let them pass. Friends, the devil is a bully and a real mean one, but a child of God has a Daddy Who is greater than he is. Don't ever let that old bully scare you off. Take your Daddy's hand and walk on.

Now, I'd like to tell you a story of a church that really and truly was pleasing to the Lord. There was a man named Solomon who built a temple. When he had finished building the temple and furnishing it according to the Lord, they brought the ark of the covenant in and they sung praises to the Lord. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 says, "It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For He is good; for His mercy endureth for ever that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord; So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God." Friends, God's children going together as one, praising and thanking Him is what it takes to set the church on fire. Preaching the glorious Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ is the way to turn the world upside down. Never mind how upset the devil gets. The Word of God only needs to be defended in the same way you would defend a lion. Just turn it loose.