October 29, 2018

The Holy Spirit                        SEARCH FOR THE SPECTACULAR
 
        And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had the power to do.  Rev. 13:13, 14.
 
        The devil is known as a roaring lion.  He has been saving some of his most effective tricks for last.  He is determined to get not just the drunk in the gutter but the saint on the pew, as well.  One method he is going to use is the spectacular.
 
    Most of us are impressed by the sensational.  We don't need to deny that.  We can try to be as social as possible, but deep down inside we are impressed by out-of-the-ordinary, unusual things.  If someone were to go floating up from their pew to the ceiling during church, we'd be impressed.  It would be sensational.  We might be impressed for different reasons, but we'd still be impressed!
 
    We're impressed with fabulous offers, giveaways, and shortcuts.  When I was an academy student, I heard, from what I thought were authentic sources, that Henry Ford was going to give away a free Ford for a certain penny.  Supposedly there were only a few of them made.  Well, my father was holding evangelistic meetings downtown.  Guess who was in the back room going through the offering!  I found one of those pennies!  I replaced it with one of my own, one that wasn't worth a new Ford, and hurriedly sent it in.  Finally I got a letter back from Henry Ford's office.  That's all I got back from Henry Ford's office!  It conveyed his regrets.
 
    The disciples in the days of Jesus were impressed by the spectacular.  You can read about it in Luke 10:17.  Seventy disciples came back.  They had been empowered for service by the Lord Himself.  And as they returned, they expressed the item of highest interest to them: "Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name."  They had seen some sensational things take place.  But if you'll pardon my paraphrase, Jesus, in effect, said, "Big deal!"  He told them that the devil had fallen like lightening from heaven a long time ago.  And He tried to draw their minds back to the real issues of salvation.  In the face of the spectacular today, we, too, need to be reminded that the greatest news is still the news of salvation in Jesus.