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When Heaven and Hell Break Loose

Posted on July 22, 2008

Revelation 2:26

When all heaven breaks loose, hell is not far behind. When the apostles were having some of their greatest breakthroughs, hell wasn’t far behind trying to derail these men and women from the focus God had provided them with. In Acts 5:12-16 we see the apostles “performed many miraculous signs and wonders among the people…and all of them were healed.” Immediately following in vs. 17, “The Sadducees were filled with jealousy. They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.”

The enemy hates it when heaven breaks loose and we gain spiritual ground on him. How many times after a great spiritual victory in your life has all hell broken loose? This is not some earthly coincidence that we can dismiss. The devil never sleeps and is relentless to pursue us until we give up. His strategy is simple as he taunts us: “If you put your weapons down, I’ll put my weapons down.” How many of us have fallen for this ploy because we are just too tired and fed up to try any longer?

The enemy wants to put us “in the public jail.” That is, he wants to shut us up, keep us hidden, and immobilize any momentum we have gained in the battle for whatever circumstance we have been trying to win. Although Christ is the final victor, we still have a responsibility to pray and overcome (Rev.2:26). Are we sleeping in the light as we allow the enemy to pillage our marriages, our initiative, our faith, and our future rights as over comers in Christ? Are we too attached to this present world and pre-occupied with carnal living and weighed down with the cares of this life? We are in a war! Are we allowing fear to control our choices?

In Acts 6:7 we read that, “The word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large numbers of priests became obedient to the faith.” Then after Stephen’s speech to the Sanhedrin in chapter 8, he is brutally stoned to death and silenced. Again, whenever heaven breaks loose, hell is aroused and wakened to assign us the enemy’s death plans. In the end, Stephen’s voice was not silenced. As a matter of fact his blood still cries out today with the message of Christ’s salvation for all those who believe. However, it took the persecution of the church to scatter the disciples and force them to come to terms with the reality of what they had been given. This was no mere ‘just accept Jesus and everything will be alright’ message they had been entrusted with. They now understood they had been given the keys to unlock the prisons of fear, injustice, and spiritual blindness for many generations to come.

We cannot settle for a brand of Christianity where we just struggle and make it by everyday. We also cannot just use empty triumphalism and hope that things go away. Our marriages can be glorious! Our jobs can be exhilarating! Our finances can be abundant! However, the enemy knows this more than we seem to know this and so is hell- bent on keeping us from obtaining the sweet life Jesus provided for us when he said that He came that “we might have life and have it more abundantly!” Are you living the abundant life? I’m not asking if you have a bigger house or a bigger car. I’m asking you if your marriage can be more than what it has become. Can your outlook on life and love and faith and people be more than what it has become? The devil is a thief and I believe he is trying to steal our resolve to live the abundant Jesus life.

So, fight the good fight. Pray, fast, and be vigilant. Posture your heart towards your heavenly Daddy and stand in His shadow. Light always displaces darkness so keep singing, worshipping, dancing, and shout to the Lord!

 

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