Satan is the archetypal accuser and divider. The original and most devastating ‘church split’ occurred not on earth but in Heaven. Satan (the accuser) told such a pernicious lie that he persuaded a third of the angels to rebel with him. What a diabolical lie it must have been to deceive angels who worshipped in the very presence of God. He is most adept at twisting truth and has been doing it for millennia.

In judgement Satan was thrown down to earth (Rev 12 vs 7–17) where he continued to sow more division and destruction. We all know about his tragic deception of Eve and then Adam. We are still tasting the bitter fruit produced by their sinful rebellion. Soon after this the first murder occurs as Satan exploits hatred between their sons (Gen 4 v. 8).

All through the Bible Satan deploys this same tactic of divide and conquer with depressing success. It’s much rarer that we see brothers working together in unity. Think of the church today, largely weak and divided in the West. Surely 30,000 protestant denominations and growing was never quite Jesus’ idea? We see everywhere the fingerprints of the enemy and the human sin that gives him entrance. Christians do not want to overly focus on our adversary, but we need to uncover his activity to discern our role in overcoming him.

We do not need fresh prophecy to understand that the devil wants to divide humanity on every possible level, brother from brother, neighbour from neighbour, sister from sister, father from sons and mothers from daughters. He will use any traction he can, be it racial, tribal, political, spiritual or economic. In any one local church or on any mission team there are enough opposing political views alone to create a riot, let alone in the wider community. How do we walk with integrity through all our differences, with such strong feelings aroused by the challenges of the day?

Christians inhabit the tension of living in this world while functioning as citizens of the Kingdom of God. We recognise that ultimately politics will not finally solve the world’s problems, but neither are we told to vacate the political arena. Some politicians, so it seems to me, have been hurling buckets of petrol down on the fires from the top of their ivory towers. We desperately need Christians in the corridors of power to bring in the Kingdom of God. We should not stop praying for our leaders (1 Tim 2 v. 1), especially the ones we disagree with; whether they will accept the help God sends is another matter.

WHAT IS OUR RESPONSE?

There is only one ruler wise enough, perfect enough and objective enough to outwit the devil and the chaos he is spewing out through people who agree with him: Jesus. Only by looking intently at Him can we see the world as it actually is. The danger is that if we look elsewhere, we start to see our own projected reflection staring back at us. What we need is to see Jesus, much more of Jesus, and my goodness, doesn’t the world need to see him too.

I’m reminded of Moses lifting up the pole bearing the bronze serpent in the wilderness (John 3 vs 14–21). The Israelites in turmoil and panic were dying from the poison of serpent bites, but as they looked at the pole (a prophetic picture of Christ absorbing the sin of the world on the cross), they were healed. Our society, while not literally bitten by snakes, is perishing through rebellion and deceit.

So now is our time to boldly, unapologetically, hold up Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross for all to see. If we lift Him high enough (John 12 v. 32) many will run to Him in their distress. In His sacrifice is the only place where lasting healing can be found, and the toxins of poisonous lies are cleansed.

Only Jesus can hold us together. In any church or mission team there will be as many political opinions as there are people . We need to be wise in how we proceed (Matt 10 v. 16) and keep the main thing the main thing (1 Cor 9 v. 12). Only He can heal the wounds of our society. If we try in our own flesh we will only contribute to the problem. Last Sunday at our church I had a prophecy about laying down our civilian affairs to pick up the spiritual weapons that Jesus holds out to us: words of knowledge, leadership, healing, hospitality and of course the empowerment to preach the gospel. Now is our time to shine with the fruits and gifts of the Spirit, through words, works and wonders. Lord, give us the wisdom and grace to engage with society without getting entangled, and rescue those that are.

No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer. (2 Tim 2v 4)
Peace to you,
Dan – Lead Evangelist