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When the light of the gospel goes out

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in a town, a vacuum is created, and

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that vacuum is filled with darkness.

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Evil will begin to permeate a community as

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Satan stakes out his ground, as gross wickedness

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becomes the norm instead of godliness in that

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community.

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I've experienced this several times in my life.

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Once when driving up to Chicago, I pulled

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into a small community to buy some gas.

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The very atmosphere of that town was heavy

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with spiritual darkness.

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It was a Sunday, and the first thing

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I encountered was a van driving ahead of

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me, advertising a local strip club.

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But what was so shocking was that the

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van was covered with photos of completely naked

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women as it drove around town on a

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Sunday.

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I was so shocked I looked for a

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police officer to see if I could complain

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about obscenity laws, but none were to be

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found.

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As I pulled into a gas station and

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got out, I noticed two men arguing in

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loud voices like they were going to get

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into a fight, and they were swearing at

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each other.

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A man at the gas pump closest to

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me fell into a rage, began pounding on

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the gas pump, and started taking God's name

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in vain.

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It was as if the whole area was

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seen disturbed from hell.

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As I pulled out of the gas station,

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a woman gave me the finger and yelled

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obscenities at me.

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I couldn't wait to get out of that

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hell-filled town.

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I believe this is particularly true of a

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town where once God moved in powerful revivals

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and blessings of giving a town godly ministers

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and pastimes, and once they die and no

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one rises up to carry the spiritual baton,

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so to speak, that Satan will move in

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there and spread his malignity throughout that town.

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I get this sense every time I visit

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the town of Northampton, Massachusetts, where Solomon Stoddard,

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Jonathan Edwards, George Whitefield, David Brainerd so blessed

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that town with their presence.

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Even Praying Hyde from India stayed in that

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town for a time.

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But now you see lesbians walking hand in

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hand in broad daylight without any shame, and

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a pride parade takes over that town every

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year and floods it with homosexuals.

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Even in Bridge Street Cemetery, where David Brainerd's

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grave is, I have heard on more than

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one occasion a demon laughing who lives among

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the tombs there.

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I've walked to where the mocking laughter rises

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and have found no one each time I've

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heard it.

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I had a fellow evangelist with me one

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year when this demon manifested himself to us

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with this mocking laughter, and my friend heard

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him as well and was so disquieted by

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it he wanted to leave immediately.

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Like I said, when the light of the

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gospel goes out in a community, then great

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darkness will fill that void and prevail.

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In Luke's Gospel in chapter 19 and in

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verses 12 through 14 we read, He said,

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Therefore a certain nobleman went into a far

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country to receive for himself a kingdom and

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to return.

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And he called his ten servants and delivered

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them ten pounds and said unto them, Occupy

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till I come.

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But his citizens hated him and sent a

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message after him, saying, We will not have

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this man to reign over us.

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I believe this passage, friends, is telling us

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to proactively occupy until his return.

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Not to be passive, not to be inactive

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in prayer, but to occupy with the full

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force of our capacity and capability that God

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has given us.

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But I fear some of us have thrown

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in the towel.

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It got too tough for us in ministry,

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and we got discouraged, or we got our

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feelings hurt by a deacon or somebody at

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church, or it got too hot for us

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as we could no longer endure the fiery

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darts of the evil one thrown at us

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continually.

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So we quit occupying.

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We just maintain instead.

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And the devils just run all over our

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town.

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Sin is rampant.

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Vice is king.

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Immorality holds sway.

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But I believe we can do something about

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it, friends, if we band together, pray together,

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make a vow to push back the darkness

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in our community and clean house and occupy

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till he comes.

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I'll never forget a conversation with a Scottish

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pastor from Glasgow whom I was having lunch

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with.

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He told me the most incredible story.

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He said that his town of Glasgow, Scotland,

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for years had a local banner spread all

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throughout the town with the town motto.

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The town motto was, Let Glasgow Flourish in

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the Name of the Lord.

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And that had been the town motto for

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centuries.

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That is until some godless liberal elected officials

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changed the town motto to read, Let Glasgow

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Flourish.

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That's all it said.

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They got rid of the words, In the

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Name of the Lord.

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And this Scottish pastor told me that when

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they did that, the town became more evil.

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Drug use increased.

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Teenage pregnancies increased.

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Vice and drunkenness increased, as well as gross

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immorality to such a degree that it disturbed

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the of the local pastors.

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Finally, this pastor shared with me that several

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of the pastors made a vow together to

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push back the darkness in their community by

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meeting for prayer once a week and crying

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out to God to come and push back

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the darkness by his spirit to clean up

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the community for his honor.

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This man told me that God honored their

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prayers for soon drug use declined, teenage pregnancies

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declined, vice and immorality and drunkenness declined, as

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the spirit of God occupied that territory once

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again for his glory.

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When I was in Glasgow, I visited with

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a godly pastor who didn't know these other

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men, but who was a man of prayer

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as well.

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And I believe that God was moving among

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many of his saints there to pray for

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the same thing, to take that town back

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for him.

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I believe, friends, that we too can experience

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the same results if we only banded together

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and made a commitment to pray regularly and

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fervently until the darkness was pushed back in

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our own community as well.

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Are we sick of sin?

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Are we grieved over the spread of evil

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in our town?

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Are we upset by how the devil has

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taken spoils of our young people today and

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drugging them and perverting them?

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The admonition is to occupy till I come.

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Christ will come again.

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What we are doing in the meantime will

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make all the difference in the world.

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Let us pray.