Jezebel's music

I don't believe in coincidences, so I know God is behind some of the things I've seen even among those I follow on Twitter. The latest is Rick Warren, tweeting Paul's exhortation, "Watch out for anyone who causes trouble and divides the church. Stay away from them!" (Rom. 16:17) Before that, David Pitman re-tweeted this quote: "judgmentalism is 1 of most subtle sins; often practiced under guise of zeal 4 right".

Now, read on.

Jezebel is a very sneaky spirit.

We read about Jezebel throughout 1 & 2 Kings: her murderous manipulation and control and determination to destroy the followers of the God of Israel. She is the only human capable of causing Elijah, the great man of God, to run and hide.

J herself was crushed to a pulp by a chariot and what was left of her was licked up by dogs in the street, but her name lives on in a spirit that is sent to try to destroy the church. Elijah had prophesied that, in fact ... and it came to pass.
Jezebel can be counted on to show up when a church is showing signs of "success", trying to sow seeds of discord. She generally arrives cloaked in a very righteous-appearing person, who then attempts to use the Word of God to undermine the works of the church.

(By "church", I mean any group dedicated to sharing, experiencing and spreading the Gospel -- it doesn't necessarily have to be an institution, but it could be a home group, ministry outreach or prayer circle.)

Let's just say I have some pretty extensive, first-hand experience with Jezebel, going back many years. When she was first exposed in someone I'd regarded as holy and righteous -- and who had spent a great deal of time trying to "put me in my place" or "call me on my s**t" -- it was a very rude and very welcome awakening. The awakening included a loud, clear message from the Holy Spirit: "you are not the Problem!"

Hold that particular theme. Anyway, Jezebel has been showing up at The Lord's Rain lately, in the form of a woman I've known since Rainbow Mission. Immediately, she took issue with the radio we were playing and lately, she has stepped up her "cautions" about allowing "that kind of music" into a house of the Lord. "How can you call it 'The Lord's Rain' if you're playing that music that comes straight from hell?"

Jezebel's definition of "straight from hell": secular.

"We have to separate ourselves from the world," she goes on, "and not scatter the sheep. I can't stand to go in."

"Well," I replied, "as Jesus says, the healthy have no need of a doctor; we're trying to reach out to the sick ones."

Then she went on about purity and holiness.

For the record, the radio we play isn't exactly death metal. It's JACK FM, with Larry and Willy -- a couple of the nicest guys on-air and off you'd ever want to meet. (I worked with Willy's dad, the legendary Don Percy, back in my radio days: he had moved to Vancouver from Edmonton and one day we were chatting in the parking lot and I pointed to the electric plugs sticking out of his car's grille -- connecting to the block heater, which is standard equipment for any car owned east and north of Chilliwack. I said, "you won't need those anymore." He said, "Drew ... you never know." Less than a year later, he had moved back to Winnipeg, his original stomping grounds.) -- or occasionally CHQM-FM with "soft rock favorites". (I like Bro Jake on Classic Rock 101 as a person, but his rather edgy on-air persona is not to my taste.)

The reality, of course, is that The Lord's Rain is what we refer to as "soft evangelism" -- reaching out to people who need to be reached but who still aren't comfortable in a "church environment". As we've seen over the years, many of the people who've come into The Lord's Rain have since started coming to the services upstairs at Gospel Mission; and for others, it's just a matter of time. Allowing a secular radio station to be played -- which we wouldn't do in the Mission -- helps contribute to that comfort level.

But to return to my Jezebel-walking friend, she doesn't know it, of course, but Jezebel's whole tactic here is to keep a church and its people off-balance, questioning their fitness to serve God. In dealing with that spirit, the best tactic is not to try to fight it on a worldly level -- trying to use words to counter -- but to stand on what you know: the fruits, the evidence of God's blessing, the innate knowledge that you are being led by the Spirit of God, regardless of what someone else says.

And walk away. Don't bother quarreling with the Jezebel spirit.

Interestingly, one of the people I follow on Twitter sent this quote today: "Freedom keeps us soaring, but quarreling destroys our ability to fly." (Victor Manuel Rivera). And in one of those coincidences that really isn't, my friend Bruce MacPherson blogged today on the difference between appearances and reality.

Mainly, I count it all joy, as Paul would say. The devil doesn't bother with those who don't threaten him, so a visit from Jezebel should be taken as affirmation. You prepare for it the way Patton prepared for Rommel and get on with the job at hand.

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