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From the Great Litany:
From all evil and wickedness; from sin; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; and from everlasting damnation, Good Lord, deliver us.
Ephesians 6:10(b)-12 (The Message)…God is strong, and he wants you strong. So take everything the Master has set out for you, well-made weapons of the best materials. And put them to use so you will be able to stand up to everything the Devil throws your way. This is no weekend war that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels.
Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
From Phil:
After its prelude, The Great Litany begins with a series of prayers for deliverance. At the very beginning these prayers cut right to the heart of the matter. We have an enemy that longs to destroy us, now and eternally. Make no mistake, satan* hates you with all the venom of every poisonous plant, snake and creature ever created. Evil seeks to destroy lives, families, friendships, communities, cities, nations and ultimately humanity itself. Moreover, our relationship with Jesus only makes him redouble his efforts toward us. satan is behind every word of hate uttered, every act of cruelty, murder, unjust persecution and every lie that is spoken.
Now, this does not mean that our own meanness, sinful or evil acts are a result of “the Devil made me do it.” As we read on in the prayers for deliverance over the next few days, most of them are about asking for deliverance from our own acts of destruction, violence, deceit and rebellion against God. Remember the encounter with the serpent in Eden. Mankind was not made, forced or frightened into acting badly, satan’s* first and greatest temptation is convincing us to believe that we can be our own god, or to make ones that we can manipulate.
So how do we fight evil, how do we stand against satan ? Jesus delivers us first of all, so pray for His deliverance. Next, resist, say no, choose goodness, truth, and love. We face an enemy that has already lost, and is quick to flee when we stand with Christ. Jesus Christ has been victorious over satan* a zillion times in the lives of His people and the devil or his minions don’t often stick around for another beating.
Something else I have learned is this: we should never subsidize evil. That requires us to educate ourselves. For men, every time you engage with pornography, watch it, go to an “Adult” venue, you are participating and funding the abuse of women, human trafficking and even child abuse. Pay attention to where you buy from, who made your clothes, who harvested your coffee (and cocaine). Do not support the regimes of murderers, slavers and abusers. Deal with your addictions, for your indulgences destroy more lives than just your own. Pray that God reveals to you all partnerships you may have with evil.
Lastly, pay heed to this:
James 4:7-10 (The Message) So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him make himself scarce. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.”
When we pray these prayers for deliverance, we pray them in confidence for God will answer, Jesus will deliver us and the Holy Spirit will lead us on in. May we all seek deliverance and ask for the deliverance of others from evil.
Peace,
Phil Parsons
(*the lower case “s” for satan was intentional, sssssssssssssatan deserves no such recognition as a capital letter.)
* * * * *
From Rodger:
The old cliche’ that reminds us how “timing is everything?” I’m reading Phil’s thoughts here after having spent an entire morning working on my sermon for this coming Sunday, based on the lectionary text for the first Sunday in Lent:
Luke 4: 1 – 13:
The Testing of Jesus
4 Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness, 2 where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished. 3 The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become a loaf of bread.” 4 Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘One does not live by bread alone.’” 5 Then the devil led him up and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And the devil said to him, “To you I will give all this authority and their glory, for it has been given over to me, and I give it to anyone I please. 7 If you, then, will worship me, it will all be yours.” 8 Jesus answered him, “It is written,‘Worship the Lord your 
God, and serve only him.’” 9 Then the devil led him to Jerusalem and placed him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,‘He will command his angels concerning you, to protect you,’ 11 and‘On their hands they will bear you up, so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.’” 12 Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 When the devil had finished every test, he departed from him until an opportune time.
In my research for this week’s sermon, I stumbled across a piece that a colleague in Dallas wrote recently. It struck me as powerfully poignant:
“At first glance, none of the devil’s temptations seem that sinister. Turning stones into bread? That could feed the hungry. Authority over the kingdoms of the world? That sounds like a shortcut to justice. Even throwing himself from the temple could be seen as a dramatic act of faith. Yet in each case, the devil invites Jesus to center power on himself rather than on God. It makes me wonder: how often do we accept the invitation Jesus refused?”
And that leads to the clincher question: How often do we accept the invitation that Jesus refused? How often do we see evil and at first glance see only glamor and beauty? How often do we play word games that will allow us to dance with that from which we should be like Amos, screaming at the top of our lungs or like Joseph, running out of his garment to flee Potiphar’s wife? Not to put too fine a point on it (and accepting the risk of offending some folks), how often do we sniff a whiff of shit and try to convince ourselves it’s really Chanel No. 5?
It makes me wonder. Maybe that’s why Thomas Cranmer intentionally used the verb “deliver” in this part of the Great Litany? “Good Lord, DELIVER us…” Because left to our own devices, we’ll never be able to deliver ourselves? Maybe also that’s why Jesus reminds us to use the eyes and ears we have to see beyond the surface glitter of all that would destroy us.
Matthew 13: 15 – 17:
15 For this people’s heart has grown dull, and their ears are hard of hearing, and they have shut their eyes, so that they might not look with their eyes, and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn – a nd I would heal them.’ 16 “But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. 17 Truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
And a note on Phil’s “PS” above: I recall that M. Scott Peck, in his 2nd book, “People of the Lie,” refused throughout to use either a male or female pronoun in reference to satan. Peck always – without fail – used “it” when referring to the evil one, “adversary,” “devil,” (or pick any name from scripture OR culture you would prefer). His reasoning was the same concept that Phil outlined above. While the problem of evil in the world is real, definitive, and far more powerful than most reckless or ignorant people know or believe, Peck (who had accepted Jesus and become a Christian between writing his first book, “The Road Less Traveled,” and this second book), when speaking in person on the subject, always added the codicil by quoting 1st John 4:4b (noting that this is a promise to the believer, not just anyone and everyone): 4b The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
I let the last word on the subject go to C.S. Lewis:
There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight. The sort of script which is used in this book can be very easily obtained by anyone who has once learned the knack; but disposed or excitable people who might make a bad use of it shall not learn it from me. Readers are advised to remember that the devil is a liar. Not everything that Screwtape says should be assumed to be true even from his own angle. There is wishful thinking in Hell as well as on Earth.