
SITTING ON THE FENCE
Luke 11:14-26
A kingdom that is divided cannot stand. A nation that is divided cannot remain strong. And a congregation not standing together with Christ will fall.
It has been said that a man is either on the way or he is in the way. Jesus says, in Luke 11:23: “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather scatters."
Many people today are trying to live in the best of both worlds – the world of Satan, and the Kingdom of God. But Jesus says in His Kingdom there is no fence to straddle. Either we are with Him or we are against Him. Either we are gathering the lost for Him or we are one of the Lost – without Him, and gathering souls for Satan.
Look at verse 21 – when an armed man watches over his own house with his weapons, the house is safe. But once he lays his weapons down, his house is weakened. His house is open, inviting an attack by the enemy.
In our lives, if we arm ourselves with God’s Word, we use it, we grow in it, then we are prepared for Satan’s attacks. But when we begin to lay God’s Word aside, begin living as we please, the stronger one – Satan – comes into our lives and takes over our behavior. He overpowers us; he takes away from us every piece of the armor we once defended the faith with. It is then that Satan reaps the spoils of our lives.
Jesus reminds us here that neutrality is not an option in the Christian life.
A heart that is neutral toward Jesus Christ is the one that ignores Jesus Christ. It is one which is against Him. Once an evil force has been removed, a positive force must replace it. Likewise, when a positive force is removed, an evil force will replace and take over.
If the cure from the evil life has not been replaced by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit – God’s power – the condition of the soul may be seven times worse than it was in the beginning (vs. 26).
If our life does not reflect that we are in Christ, and He is in us, we are against Him, and Satan will once again claim us has his. A lack of commitment leads to swaying back and forth and creates a condition of ineffectiveness.
There exists only two Kingdoms, These are Light and Dark.
There are only two Ways upon which we may travel. These are The Broad Way and the Narrow Way.
There only two foundations upon which we can build our lives. These are The Rock and the Sand.
There are just two kinds of people. These are Sheep (wise) and Goats. (foolish).
Any attempt to live as a half-way or half-hearted, lukewarm Christian is a sure way to become doomed to failure. Remember Jesus’ warning in Revelation 3:16 when He says to the church in Laodicea: “So because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.”
We need to examine ourselves in light of what Jesus is saying. Are we on His Way? Or, are we in His Way and, thereby, hindering His work? Are we with Him, or against Him? Are we gathering with Him or are we scattering against Him? James says in his letter to the church: “ …..do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.”
Those who sit on the fence are really secret enemies of both sides. An allegiance must be made for Christ or for Satan. It cannot be made for both powers at the same time. It is good for us to constantly examine how we are sitting. If we are straddling the fence it is time to get off the fence and into the field, gathering the crops for Jesus Christ.
Gary’s Wednesday Word Princeton Christian Church 30 June 2021
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