TOS064 Lenten Logos IV – Light vs Dark For audio TOS064: Lenten Logos IV – Light vs. Dark – Truth of the Spirit (podcast) | Listen Notes
There is a force in this land that hates God. If you love sin, the evil spirits are attracted to you like moths to a light bulb on a summer night. Satan preys on our longings and tempts us with imitations; he lies to us and uses things of the flesh and false spiritual things. Evil will try to penetrate, but when you are filled with the Most Holy Spirit, the evil cannot deceive you. One moment of truth destroys the darkness accumulated in a life time!
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Welcome to Truth of the Spirit. I’m Patti Brunner. There is a force in this land that is against God. It hates God and wants you to hate God too. If you do not hate sin but come to love sin, the evil one and the evil spirits are attracted to you like moths to a light bulb on a summer night. The evil spirit wants you to hate God. If you are not sorry for your sins then other spirits will join you in your hatred for God. There can be several with you. Most people do not let them into their hearts. As long as you love God you are safe from evil spirits. God’s angels guard you day and night.
Satan, demons and other evil spirits are fallen angels who revolted against God. They are our enemies who use their limited power to influence our decisions and to cause us great injuries-of a spiritual nature and, indirectly, even of a physical nature. They use familiar knowledge of our weaknesses to harass us, encourage our sinfulness and seek infestation. Satan preys on our longings and tempts us with imitations; he lies to us and uses things of the flesh and false spiritual things. The enemy’s spiritual world is full of sorcery and the occult. It seeks “mother nature” rather than Father God. It imitates the true gifts of the Spirit with psychic hotlines, incantations and crystals. Sin opens the door to welcome evil spirits. Relying on occult power such as Ouija boards, horoscopes, psychics, Wicca, witchcraft, New Age, spells and charms “rolls out the red carpet” for evil spirits and are an abomination to the Lord because they rely on spiritual power that does not come from God. Participation in such things must be swept away, repented and confessed. If we do not fill that emptied spot with forgiveness and the presence of the Lord and his grace, the enemy will return to feed on the same issues that allowed him access the first time.
Most people want only Jesus to live in their hearts. Evil spirits cannot live in the same place as Jesus. They are too ashamed of their darkness. But when they live with someone who hates God, they are proud of themselves. It takes a very special prayer to get rid of evil spirits that dwell in your heart. In Holy Orders, bishops are given the power, which can be delegated, to exorcise demon possessed people. During the rite of Baptism there is an exorcism that cleanses our soul of all evil and allows the Holy Spirit to dwell with us. You can keep them away by staying close to Jesus and the Eucharist. The Lord God will never forget you. You are His people. You are in the palm of His hand. He loves and cherishes you, forever.
Jesus taught us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil”. We do not have to be fully possessed to be “oppressed” by evil spirits and need deliverance. We should be watchers in the night; not the night when the sun disappears beyond the horizon, but the time when God seems distant from us because of various struggles. By the power of the name of Jesus we can bind the evil that lurks in the darkness, the evil that is ever ready to attack every weakness. The strong must help protect the weak. The strong have been made so in faith, using the tools God has provided.
The Holy Spirit dwells with you and in you and protects you from all evil. Evil will try to penetrate, but when you are filled with the Most Holy Spirit, the evil cannot deceive you, but must manifest himself to you so that you might know his face and dispel him to the foot of the cross. I don’t think our generation has a comprehension of the power of receiving the fullness of the Holy Spirit. We know in our head that Baptism does something to overcome the original sin, the original darkness we have inherited from Adam and Eve. The everlasting power of the Holy Spirit is more – it can be likened to the change of going from a candle burning on a lamp stand to a stadium full of lights.
The power of the light of Jesus to erase the darkness is similar to saving a drowning man by keeping his head above water or by giving a starving man a loaf of bread—it is life itself! Jesus comes to touch the hearts of the faithful to reach out to all those in need. There are so many in need. The Father’s love calls out to them, but they do not respond. Brokenness, pain, sorrow have kept their hearts closed. The chaos in the world is a pattern well known. Despair, pain, uncertainty, confusion – these traits are sown and ‘fertilized’ by the Lord’s enemy. Without understanding we sit in the dark with our candle hidden under the bushel basket, not even attempting to place it on the lampstand. And we certainly refuse to hear the Lord calling us to climb the light pole.
Know this: the darkness is dispelled when each one first accepts Jesus into their own hearts then reaches out to one who lives in darkness—waiting for the compassionate heart to rescue them. The children of the world will one day look upon their Master and Creator and be blessed in the fullness of understanding of His Love for them. One day. It could be tomorrow. Or it might be the last day of time. In these days it is difficult for many to lift the veil that separates truth and light from darkness and sin. One moment of truth destroys the darkness accumulated in a life time!
Know this: Jesus came to bring freedom to the captives of darkness. Jesus came to bring Light and Life into the world so that once again the Father’s love will be held deeply within the hearts of those He has created. America has such a heritage of freedom, yet in the last 20 years we have aborted over 20 million children seeking the false freedom from caring for children when it was inconvenient. As we have allowed prayer to be removed from school in the name of freedom of religion we have lost the freedom to publicly proclaim the Lord. In the name of sexual freedom we have allowed depravity to seem normal. In the name of marital freedom we have allowed divorce to become a plague that is destroying the family. In the name of media freedom we have allowed filth to penetrate every TV, radio, and computer to destroy moral fiber. We are confused about true freedom. Freedom comes as we bring to light the things that the enemy wants to keep hidden, such as child abuse. The sinner hates the light because his deeds are done in darkness. The enemy also wants us to keep quiet about the Good News. Often we are embarrassed about how little we know about our faith and so we keep silent. Miracles are easy, it is the believing in them that is difficult and so we have kept quiet. True freedom comes as we share the awareness of God’s presence.
Armor of God SeriesAs we in greater measure participate in God’s Divine Mercy, we carry the needs of others in our hearts. God strengthens us to do this. The best way to strengthen a muscle is to use it. By building up others we ourselves are made strong. We are transformed a bit more clearly to the image of God. God places his Light within us that we might be light to the world. Don’t cower in fear of the darkness. The Lord will protect you. Jesus has delivered you from evil but prepare yourself for the meeting with the tempter. Do not fear. Do not run away. Put on the armor of God and know that God is the great I Am.
We may be quick to notice the “half-empty glass. Recall the saying, “I complained that I had no shoes until I met a man with no feet.” We can contradict the normal reaction of anger or depression to stressful situations by diffusing them with a grateful heart; if someone cuts you off in rush hour traffic, thank God that you have a car that runs and does not have a flat, has a battery that starts, gas that propels and that you are not walking to work in rush hour traffic. When a teen is struggling and falling into the traps of the world: thank God that they are building a witness of “once I was lost but now I’m found” and surrender them to His care. An attitude of gratitude will go a long way to dispel the darkness in your life. [Know this: The Lord does great things for you.]
As the desert blooms after a rain so too shall the hearts and minds of those who have suffered the dryness of no grace in their lives be revived as the Living Water touches them and ‘soaks in’. If you only “sprinkle” your life with God’s presence, the roots stay shallow. ‘Sprinkling’ has no effect but to rinse the dust from the leaves. It takes a ‘downpour’ to truly nourish and set free the life process. If you “water” deeply, the roots go deep and you can weather storms and occasional droughts. But, God’s desire is not just ‘survival’ but abundant lifeSin and weakness begets sin and destruction. As you tear out the weeds in your life, God’s presence in your life will grow. Watch the changes as life-giving water reaches the ‘roots’. And then the nation shall bloom.
The concern for self is built on the concern for others. As God created man, He gave each an instinct for survival. In the kingdom you begin to realize that your own survival depends on others. As others are built up you also are made strong. The Church is the visible Body of Christ. It is our support system to protect us from the darkness and to pull others into the light of Christ, to share the Good News with one another. Like coals on a fire, we burn more brightly in the Light of Christ when we are gathered together. If we separate, our single coal can be covered with ash and go out. Church tradition is meant to be a comfort and a path to follow. It is like arriving at a huge stadium and we don’t know where to go, but we follow the crowd because those who do know the way lead us on. Anyone who has a ticket can come in. If we don’t have a ticket, Christ sends someone out in the darkness to share their tickets with us. They come at a personal price and the game goes on whether we are there or not. If we sit in darkness in the midst of tradition, we can be lost like being lost in a crowded stadium. All around us are people who know where they are and where they are going, but we have lost our connection. As we observe the crowd and thus begin to focus on the “main event”–Jesus–we realize that we are no longer lost and all our fear fades away and our way is made clear. Jesus will use the Church and guide us with His Holy Spirit to where we truly belong: in the Light of Christ.
As your mind is renewed and opened to the Lord, more and more will Truth be made clear. We thirst for knowledge of God but until our minds are renewed and darkness is cast out we cannot know him. Our lack will change in time. God’s love conquers all. Those that cooperate with the Holy Spirit will come to understand the meaning of life and death and will come to know the Father’s Glory.
If you would like to read the blog of this episode you can find it on my website: PatriarchMinistries.com You’ve been listening to Truth of the Spirit with Patti Brunner. I invite you to subscribe—it’s free! And come back for more. With the Holy Spirit there is always more! Amen.
