Freedom follows those who live out the Lordship of Jesus!

 
 Finally some time to blog again. Today I continue with my sharing from 2 Corinthians 4: 3-6:

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. 

Spiritual warfare for anyone involved in gospel proclamation is apparent in this passage. Paul wrote "the god of this age (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ who is the image of God." This passage brings me back to an encounter I had with Laksmi, an Indian woman who I, along with my disciples, had a chance to minister to while I was a missionary in India. One day Laksmi came to the Bible study fearful. She relayed that the night before she could not sleep because "Pissasi" (Satan) came to her house. She said he came as a dark shadow hovering over her house. She also claimed hearing clanking sound as if a huge iron chain was being dragged all over the floor of her humble apartment.While Laksmi has been faithfully attending our Bible study and has professed to have left the Hindu faith in favor of faith in Jesus Christ alone, I've wondered if she has really abandoned all her Hindu gods and traditions completely. After listening to her story, I boldly asked Laksmi " Ma do you still have idols in your house?" "Ilai (No) madam" she quickly responded. Convinced that she has not told me the truth , I  decided to visit with her and to pray in her apartment. In her house I proceeded, with the help of my disciple interpreter, to explain to her that keeping idols in her house attracts demonic activity and demons themselves. Laksmi just looked, obviously not absorbing a word of what I said. I decided to stop explaining, looked over to my disciple and said "let's pray". As I was praying, the Lord reminded me of the story of the idol Dagon repeatedly falling before the ark of the covenant (I Samuel 5). As the story played in my mind I prayed....Dear God, as Dagon fell face down before the ark of the covenant, let every idol bow before your Lordship today!" As soon as I said "amen", Laksmi stood up and opened a 6-foot steel cabinet exposing idols of various sizes and made of various materials. Laksmi proceeded to take each one of them and toss them in a plastic bag she held in her other hand. "Here, take all of these and destroy them for me, I no longer need them". That day Laksmi was delivered not just from fear but from idol worship. That day was was the day she truly believed Jesus is Lord.

 Every servant of God must humbly live out the truth that Jesus is Lord. A life marked by utter obedience to the Lordship of Christ is the believer's act of service to Christ. Paul inscribed,"what we preach is not ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your (those we serve, in the above example, Laksmi) servants for Jesus's sake. A servant of God, fully submitted to the Lordship of Christ, has nothing to fear. He/She will effectively command the god of this world to release his captives free so those who do not believe may see the light of the gospel that will reveal the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. That Jesus is Lord  is at the heart of gospel message. Indeed blessed are those who joyfully follow Christ's Lordship for freedom is their lot!