I have a hunch that many of us can recall a time, or two…when we were younger and our parents took us to some large-scale, crowded event, a circus perhaps, or a state fair or even a major league ball game of sorts. You were too big for them to carry so they gave you strict instructions to follow them closely, as in ‘stay on their heels’. You might have seen yourself as being too old to hold their hand yet still too young to navigate the throng of bodies on your own. The obvious concern here was not being separated from one another.

And yet…you were. It did not take long when you realized you had no idea where they were, or where you were for that matter. There were just bodies pressing up against one another and noise and confusion and you, being shorter than most everyone else in that crowd, could not see where you were going. Most likely a twinge of panic set in as you realized you were ‘lost’ for the moment. I can assure you, the panic is even greater for the parent who realizes they have ‘lost a child’. I can still remember the words of instruction my parents gave us boys in such a situation that if we were separated and seemingly ‘lost’, that we were to stay put, and not try to find them; they would find us.

There’s a reason why I feel compelled to begin with such a familiar experience that many of us can relate to here this morning. Oh, and by the way- welcome back :- ). I just returned from a road trip where a friend and I drove my truckload of earthly belongings out west to where we are going to settle in in San Bruno, CA to be closer to family. I knew ahead of time that being able to post here daily would not be likely. But that does not mean my heart has not been full to continue sharing and so here we are again.

I would like to begin this morning looking at a verse out of Revelation 12. I have shared it here before and it continues to have some relevant truth for us to consider if we are so inclined to hear it. This chapter is quite insightful in explaining just how Satan and his hordes of demonic angels ended up here on earth and what all they seem to stay busy doing. We know from John’s epistle that this whole world is under the influence or control of the ‘wicked one’. (1 Jn. 5:19). And here in Rev. 12 we read where this ‘serpent of old…deceives the whole world’. (9) along with ‘having great wrath knowing his time is short’. (12)

If you find yourself smiling, rolling your eyes and even chuckling over the idea of anyone truly believing in such an entity (devil/demons)…then I would pray that God would humble you and open your eyes because clearly, the deception you have fallen into is severe; and I don’t suggest that in a condescending or judgmental way either.

Now the verse in particular I want to point out reads: “So the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood.” (Rev. 12:15)

There is no mistaking who the ‘serpent’ represents here and I am quite comfortable telling you that the ‘woman’ here is a type of the ‘church’, the ‘bride of Christ’ who we see ongoing conflict with as the enemy was ‘enraged with the woman and went to make war with the rest of her offspring, those…those keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (17)

No doubt you have read Paul’s insights as to who we Christians war against as well. (Eph. 6:12; 2 Cor. 10:3-6)

It is an interesting word picture given here for sure, how ‘out of the mouth’ of the serpent came this ‘spewing of water like a flood’…that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood’.

That is what floods have the tendency to do….sweep or carry things away and leave utter destruction behind. I think we’ve all seen the pictures and videos of the aftermath of a flood that sweeps through an area and it is not pretty.

Friends…can I just tell you that we are living in that day that Jesus spoke of in Matt. 7:24-27 and Luke 17:26-27 where ‘floods’ came and destroyed all in its path, testing the foundations of people’s lives as to whether they were true ‘doers of the word’ and not hearers only. (James 1:22). Why, even Isaiah chimes in with a graphic analogy as to how the ‘enemy can come in like a flood’. (Isa. 59:19)

So what exactly does this ‘flood’ represent? I’m sure that is open for debate and discussion but I will offer up this possibility for you to prayerfully consider. We can all agree that it is not a good thing given that those who are carried away by it are ‘destroyed’. And Jesus draws a direct connection to the days of Noah where men’s hearts were ‘continually evil’. (Gen. 6:3-6)

Back in the book of Deuteronomy, we hear the repeated warnings given to the people as they were about to enter in to the promised land of Canaan that they should be always mindful of God’s leading, His word and His law and to be careful and ‘not forget the Lord thy God’ and end up following other ‘gods’. If they did, it would be snare to them and lead them to destruction.

Do you realize why God gives such warnings all the time? It’s because He knows how prone we are to falling and drifting and doing the very thing He warns us not to do or succumb to. And even the writers of the NT warn us repeatedly to ‘be not deceived’. It was a constant theme given by Jesus Himself, along with Paul and James and John in their writings.

So just how…does one ‘forget God’ and end up separated from God? Well, pretty much the same way a child gets lost in that crowd at the State Fair - there is no shortage of distractions to divert our attention from following the one we are supposed to be following.

Satan will use whatever he has at his disposal…to get your mind off God and His plan and purpose for you. Why, it doesn’t even have to be ‘evil things’ to do that either. And I’m just gonna give you a moment with that one.

“Therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away.” (Heb. 2:1)

That word ‘drift’ should really resonate with us given we can relate to multiple examples of that, be it driving down a highway and we carelessly glance out our phones or something out the window that catches our attention and we ‘drift’ out of our lane, ever so briefly, before catching ourselves and making the correction. Sometimes the outcome of such a fleeting moment can be fatal as you well know. If you have ever spent time floating on the water on an air mattress or even a small boat that was not anchored…and you became engrossed with something else and looked up moments later, you might have been shocked to see how you had ‘drifted’ from the place you ‘thought you were’. It can be so subtle, can it not?

And the writer of Hebrews warns us to be careful this does not happen to us.

Now I know this might disturb some of you who read this next statement, but if you are one of those who have been led to believe that because you “prayed a prayer” at some point in your life early on and repeated some words that led you to “accept Christ as your Savior” and ‘all is well with your soul…no matter what happens after that moment’…well, I fear you have been led into a false sense of security. This is, by the way, one of the great points of contention God has with His ‘prophets’ who mislead His people, and we will discuss this later on.

There is a flood of distractions that are sweeping the earth today that are capturing men’s hearts and affections. And when I say ‘flood’, I mean there is no shortage of an abundance of distractions, be it simple things like ‘businesses and possessions and even family’ (Matt. 22:1-5; Luke 14:18-20) or the ‘wars and rumors of wars’ and all the other drama unfolding on the earth today, including matters that surround political or economic concerns. And I don’t even have time to wade in to the topic of technology and entertainment that ensnares so many. By the way, did anyone else notice in recent weeks similar ‘themes’ in their ‘feeds’ online where all the talk was about the war that broke out in Israel and how Jesus was coming any moment as the end was near…and then…oddly enough…the next week…the only thing we were hearing about was “How about those Texas Rangers going to the World Series!?”

Two verses of instruction that Paul left us is what I want to leave you with today that bear worth sharing and meditating on. I would even go as far to say that your life/soul…depend on it: “Set…your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.” (Col. 3:2) and “bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”. (2 Cor. 10:5). Can I ask you this: Do you suppose those words were given to us to analyze, or to do?

If by chance, you were one of those ‘lukewarm Christians’ (Rev. 3:16) who happened to see some clip in the news of floods occurring somewhere in the world, and you just shook your head and said to yourself: “Yep, these floods are more ‘signs of the times’ and then resumed your channel surfing…chances are….you are already being swept away by that very flood we were warned about…and you are like those in the days of Noah who ‘didn’t even know it until after it carried you away’. (Matt. 24:39)