What Some Movie Theaters and Some Flight Attendants Have in Common with Satan

July 29, 2015 | ziononth | 2 Comments | Pastor's Blog

1 John 5 says: ¹⁹ We know that we are from God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. ²⁰ And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.

There’s one thing you need to know if you go to see a matinee movie: according to a former theater employee who wrote at foodbeast.com, the concession popcorn for the first movie showing could be last night’s leftovers, stored in a bag and reheated in the morning. Doesn’t happen everywhere, but a lot people who used to work at a theater confirmed it in the comments section that it does happen. Not everyone does it, but it does happen. Be warned.

It’s nice to know some things. It’s nice to be made aware of or reminded of things that we may have previously forgotten or did not know. It was a pleasant surprise when I recently found out that Elvis Presley was a black belt in Karate. There are lots of things I hear or read on a daily basis, so things go in and out of the brain quickly, and when I am reacquainted with a tidbit of information that I had previously learned, it is a nice refresher which I try to be thankful for.

We are from God. The whole world lies in the power of the evil one. John says that we know we are from God. That piece of knowledge is a good thing. It’s nice to be warned about what we need to know. It’s nice to be pleasantly surprised by a story we did not know. The same goes when it comes to the grace of God. We know, through the power of the Holy Spirit, that we are forgiven of our sins. Yet, there is power in hearing it from another human being. The pastor reminds the congregation that they are forgiven. The person hears audibly that they have been forgiven by a friend when they have harmed them. Hearing it translates into feeling it. That is why we must continually remind one another of God’s mercy.

And we must also remind one another that we are from God when we have the message of Christ in us. That serves multiple purposes: (1) If Christ is in us, we have God within us, and (2) If we are from God, we are sent. And because we are sent into a world that lies in the hands of Satan, there will be the intent to turn us away from remembering that with Christ, God is in us.

Jesus Christ was sent from God for a distinct purpose. If we are from God, we are sent with a distinct purpose. We know where we have been sent: into a world that won’t want to hear about Jesus if Jesus says something contrary to what they already believe. The world is allowed to deceive us but we aren’t allowed to deceive the world. We must speak truth and live like the truth is in us. The question is: are we actively deceiving the world by who we are, or are we living purposefully like Christ has given us the understanding of who the Father is and the truth that He proclaims?

There are a lot of things the world keeps undercover, such as, a lot of flight attendants won’t drink the coffee they serve on the plane. What do they know that we don’t? Satan is The Deceiver for a reason. The more we know that Satan keeps hidden from us, the more we know that we must ask Jesus to reveal the heart of God so that we know truth. What God has revealed to you, don’t keep secret. It is the way that we can combat the deception that goes on around us. And it may just save someone from the stale popcorn of eternal destruction. Amen.