The Fallen Among Us

(Reposted from Sunday, November 5, 2006)

Isaiah 53:6 

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Psalm 119:176
 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

Rev Ted Haggard confessed to his followers Sunday that he was guilty of sexual immorality.

In a letter that was read to the congregation of the New Life Church by another clergyman, Haggard apologized for his acts and requested forgiveness.

"I am so sorry for the circumstances that have caused shame and embarrassment for all of you," he said, adding that he had confused the situation by giving inconsistent remarks to reporters denying the scandal.

"The fact is I am guilty of sexual immorality.

And I take responsibility for the entire problem.

I am a deceiver and a liar.

There’s a part of my life that is so repulsive and dark that I have been warring against it for all of my adult life," he said.

Haggard had resigned two days earlier as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, where he held sway in Washington and condemned homosexuality, after a Denver man named Mike Jones claimed to have had drug-fueled trysts with him.

Jones said in a telephone interview Sunday:

"I am sad for him and his family. I know this is a tough day for him also. I wish him well. I wish his family well. My intent was never to destroy his family. My intent was to expose a hypocrite.

Haggard, who had been president of the evangelical association since 2003, has participated in conference calls with White House staffers and lobbied Congress last year on Supreme Court nominees.

There are target assignments against Christian ministries by demonic forces.

 They do everything in their power to promote division and factions in the ministry.

In waging war the demons bring down the leadership first and the troops will scatter.

This is a basic principle in the art of war.

Zechariah 13:7
 ...smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered...

Matthew 26:31
 ... smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.

The name Satan means the adversary, the enemy.

 He has many fallen angels in his army on this earth.

This is a mysterious world of rebellious fallen angels and demons that are invisible to us.

God's Word tells us:

Ephesians 6:12
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Spirit beings, thousands of years old with a highly organized military hierarchy authority are constantly waging war against all of us.

Even if we chose to ignore this fact it is still the truth.

Nevertheless, despite the clarity of this passage, many theologians and preachers profess a profound skepticism as to whether we should take accounts of people being tormented by Satan and other evil spirits in a literal way.

Here is a man of God who was in a position of leadership over the 14,000-member New Life Church in Colorado.

A man who had been president of the evangelical association.

A prime target for demonic assignment.

 If the kingdom of Satan could take this shepherd out a lot of sheep would scatter.

 And a lot of people would get wounded as a result.

A demonic military victory seemingly.

How are we as Christians supposed to react to this event?

Just as a sidebar...

I know of one man of God, an acknowledged prophet, who got found out in a sin by some high ranking church leaders on the East Coast Of America.

 They took advantage of the situation.

Telling him that they would publicly expose him if he did not give into their demands.

 They would publish his sin in a well known Christian magazine, they would put his sin out on the Internet etc.

 He foolishly gave into their demands, giving up a valuable ministry he had built and a lot of property along with it.

Are we to be extortionist?

Not according to the word of God.

Brant Baker, Lonnie Frisbee, Ted Haggard and all of us are targets of demons.

 We are in a spiritual war for the souls of humankind.

There will be casualty's.

If our eyes are upon Jesus we won't get wounded.

Hebrews 12:2
 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith...

If we look to any other we will fall if they fall.

Acts 4:12
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

Jesus.

John 3:14,15
And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up:
15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

Men will fail us, Jesus will not.

Revelation 19:11
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

Jesus will strike down the enemy of our souls.

I am expecting a manifestation of God in America. 

I am expecting God to raise up men of God with hearts after God.

I am expecting an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our land.

I am expecting true, honest, restoration for our fallen leaders.

***

We must lift them up to God in our prayers and intercessions.

We must not seek their destruction.

But we must also not be naive or blind to reality.

We must not allow them back into our pulpits without proper assessment of their status in the restoration and recovery process deemed necessary by the deacons and elders of the Church.

We must not look the other way, sweeping under the carpet the issues and moving forward as if nothing has happened at all as some have done and are doing.

 The shepherds of my people have lost their senses. They no longer seek wisdom from the LORD. Therefore, they fail completely, and their flocks are scattered.
Jeremiah 10:21

Damage control is a first priority when a shepherd falls.

The elders and deacons must step up to the plate and tend to the sheep.

A fallen shepherd is a serious matter before the Lord.

Jeremiah 23:1
"Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!" declares the LORD.

 Jeremiah 23:2
Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: "Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done," declares the LORD.

We humbly do everything in our power to not destroy our fallen ones, they receive punishment enough from the Lord Himself.

Our job is to seek to help in their restoration and recovery.