BP104
This post is going to be concise and pointed. The single theme is that if Jesus is pumped out of our culture, some type of vacuum will be created. When a vacuum exists, something will undoubtedly attempt to rush in. In physics, to create a vacuum, you need a chamber in which to maintain the lower pressure as well as some type of pump to reduce the pressure in the chamber.
How does the concept of a vacuum describe our current culture? I believe that a country like America which was largely built on the Christian faith is not the norm in our fallen universe. A country largely founded on faith in Jesus goes against the grain of humanity which, as we know, is in a state of rebellion against God. Such a God-obeying country will be under constant pressure from each individual human soul to revert back to the baseline position of pushing out God.
It was Tim Keller who said that in the human heart there is an inherent positive presence of unbelief. It is our ‘natural’ state. We push against God. We strive against authority. We want to be in charge of our own lives instead of surrendering to a divine Captain who will direct our paths.
A country like America will, after beginning as a nation rooted in Christianity, slowly erode back to the norm of unbelief and defiance against God. The supernatural will be opposed by the pump of materialism. Obedience to the divine authority will be attacked by the pump of self-authority that naturally reigns in a universe corrupted by rebellion.
This slow erosion from the light to darkness, and belief to unbelief, will continue unless faith is passed down to subsequent generations and/or revivals occur that prompt many individuals to turn to God instead of their own desires. Remember, we are not living in peace time. A spiritual battle is always waging.
If Christians fall asleep in the light, the pump of rebellion will surreptitiously and steadily pump out the light and darkness will slowly replace what was evacuated. What do you think has been going on in this country for the last fifty years?
Remember the words of Ephesians 6:10ff about darkness? Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
So, what exactly is it that evil will do in this world that is so dark and dangerous? Romans 1 says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
2 Corinthians 10:5 says, We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ . . .
Both passages indicate that unrighteous (opposed to God’s truth) men and woman and the powers of Satan and hell suppress truth and even rise up against it with strongholds, false arguments, and dark towers of defiance. Truth is always opposed. Darkness strives to pump out the light and replace it with ungodliness and rebellious opinions that seek to drive the Presence of God out of an entire culture.
So, don’t think you’re crazy if you feel like the culture around you is shifting toward the dark side. You are not incorrect. It is those who do not see the darkness slithering more and more insidiously into our nation who are asleep in the light—or worse, suppressing the truth about God. I have felt a dark shroud slowly descending over our culture for years–even decades—and now it is upon us, smothering us. It blinds us to the truth so we don’t even see that we are being swallowed up by unbelief.
Yes, the pumps of unrighteousness and darkness are rumbling away day and night to suck out the truth of God in our world. Know that a vacuum is being created in America so that something else can and will and already is rushing into the emptiness. How would DTFL describe this process?
As you know, DTFL is built on the bedrock of God’s truth that there is a battle going on in this world toward one of two ends: separation or Presence. Darkness strives to isolate, accuse, and destroy men and women, while Jesus came to invite us into His Presence and that of His Father through His reconciling death on the cross.
What are Christians to do about the rapidly growing vacuum in our culture? Hate and judge those around us who have been called by darkness to operate the vacuums? No. Jesus tells us to love our enemies and patiently endure our opponents. Are we to find our hope in politics? No. The God of hosts Himself says, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit ~ Zechariah 4:6. We are not to abandon the world of politics, but in the end, Jesus is the only hope for the world because we do not trust in chariots or horses or men, but in God alone.
After all, it is a spiritual battle, not primarily a physical one.
In the end, DTFL is all about seeking the Presence of God by removing all obstacles that interfere with intimacy with God and pump out the divine from His creation. Jesus Himself came on a mission to restore the bridge of Presence between humans and the Heavenly Father. Romans 5:1-2 says, Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Jesus is all about creating access to and peace with God. Satan and fallen human nature are all about erecting obstacles against the knowledge of God both in the mind and in the spirit. In the soul, many obstacles tower up against experiencing God, e.g., denial of the existence of God, rationalizing or projection of our sin, repression of our separation from God, and the pursuit of counterfeits (addictions, idols) that we hope will fill the emptiness (the vacuum) created by the absence of God.
So, never forget. The pumps are grinding away without ceasing to rob this world of the Presence of the Creator God. Our culture here in America has risen to a critical vacuum level that is being filled by ‘natural’ things from the Fall. If you want to read a list of these things, you don’t have to go far from some of the verses mentioned above.
Romans 1:28-31 says, And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
God sent His Son so that we might see Him in Jesus. Yes, Jesus came to bring Light into a world that naturally loves darkness. What was God’s motivation in this rescue operation? Hate? Wrath? Judgment? John 3:16 tells us that God’s motivation was love for the world.
Jesus also tells us in that the two greatest commandments are to love God and to love your neighbor as you love yourself. Because of these commandments, DTFL is all about focusing on building bridges of Presence in the three relationships mentioned above by Jesus: with God, with others, and with your own self.
Presence, relationships, love, intimacy, reconciliation, and access to God were at the core of the universe before the Terrible Rebellion. Now the pumps of darkness are working to suck out these most beautiful things from the world and replace them with something far less, something counterfeit, something that sparkles on the outside but is hollow inside.
Jesus came to call men and women out of the domain of darkness and back into the reason for the existence of the universe, namely, loving relationships with God, others, and one’s own self.
So, feel the shroud crushing down on your shoulders. Hear the groaning and shrieking of the terrible pumps. See the dark counterfeits that are gushing into the growing vacuum in this nation and into your own heart. You may often feel alone because few are those who have eyes and ears to see beyond this physical world. Most do not even feel the shroud or hear the ugly sucking sound.
By the power of the Almighty God whose plans will never be thwarted, put on the full armor of God, and take a stand against darkness. Seek out and destroy the vacuum pumps. Continue to intentionally bring the truth and grace of Jesus into this fallen world. Love the Lord your God and your neighbor as you love yourself.
That, my friend, is the reason you are here. It is all about Presence. Nothing else matters if Presence is lost.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus ~ Ephesians 2:6