Here we are on the seventh Sunday of Easter, and as the seven-week long festival of the resurrection draws to a close, we are given a stern warning.

Since Easter day, we have been learning about the joyful power of the resurrection. In Christ's being raised from the dead, it is now possible for you and me to be forgiven of our sins, and reunited with God from whom we have been estranged. Through faith in Christ, a new spirit can now be born within, and we can become new creatures as we follow Christ and trust him with our lives every day. Where God once seemed so far away - and aloof from the reality of our lives - we can now grow into an intimate relationship with him. We can talk to God. And listen to God! And sense God's presence. And tell God our needs. And get to know God as a personal and living Friend! We can have new power to help us face the challenges of life. And we are enfolded with the highest promise of all - that even death will not be able to separate us from the living love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. That makes me want to shout, "Alleluia!"

And not only does this joyful power of the resurrection open up new life for us personally, but for the whole worldwide community as well. In the death and resurrection of Christ, you see, the seeds of justice and mercy and righteousness have been irrevocably sown in the soil of our world. The Kingdom of God is growing among us. It may seem imperceptible at times. But it is growing - like yeast silently causing dough to rise, or like a tiny mustard seed growing into a large tree. When Jesus conquered the grave, it meant not only that the power of death was broken, but that poverty is on its last legs too, along with injustice, and racism, and hunger and all the other worldly manifestations of spiritual death. And the walls that divide humanity - causing us to make war against each other, and to ethnically cleanse some, and to discriminate against others - are being undermined and are crumbling apart like the walls of Jericho in the days of old, or the Berlin Wall in more recent times.

And one day soon - if we are patient and steadfast - we'll see it! One day soon, we'll open our eyes to a new world. A world in which God is present among his children, and where the families of the earth dwell together in peace, where no one ever goes hungry, and where the lion lays down with the lamb.

This is the joyful Good News of what Easter promises for you and me - and for the world! And I just want to shout, "Alleluia!"

But now, here on the last day of the Easter festival, comes a warning.

In the little letter of First Peter, we are cautioned to remain committed to the cause…stay focused on WHO you are and WHAT you're trying to accomplish with God…be alert. For your enemy…the devil…is prowling about like a lion, looking for people to devour.

Now, modern-minded, sophisticated people - like us - aren't really all that comfortable talking about the devil. I think this is due, in large part, to the fact that our attitudes have, for a long time, been mainly shaped by two powerful cultural influences - one philosophical, the other theological.

The philosophy that has shaped us is scientific rationalism, the brain-child of the Enlightenment. With its focus on the visible, quantifiable dimensions of life, scientific rationalism provided no room for spiritual things. Can you scientifically support the miracles of the Bible? Well, no, because miracles defy explanation. Can you prove the existence of God? Of course not. And if you can't handle either miracles or God in a scientifically rational way then how in the world are you going to get your hands around something like the devil? Such ideas, radical scientific rationalists like to tell us, are simply quaint expressions of superstitious, primitive minds.

And to reinforce the humor that rationalism finds in non-rational phenomena - like the devil - a powerful theological influence swept over the land in the early 1970's. And most of us have been influenced by it - more than we might think.

This theology was advanced through the preaching of a very popular pulpit located at a religious establishment called The Church of What's Happenin' Now. Every Thursday night, from September 17^th, 1970 until June 27^th, 1974, the hour-long message was broadcast at 8 PM over NBC television. You probably remember some of the famous parishioners of The Church of What's Happenin' Now. There was Mr. Freddy Johnson, a regular guy like every regular guy - there was Sonny, the White House janitor - there was the sassy, sultry, and very sexy Miss Geraldine Jones - and there was Geraldine's never-seen boyfriend whose name was….Killer. And, of course, the worship service was led by the flamboyant Reverend LeRoy who - at least in my estimation - was the world's first televangelist.

And there, on the set of The Flip Wilson Show, scientific rationalism's teaching that the scientific disciplines now make spiritual things look silly, was reinforced in American households week after week as the sassy, sultry and very sexy Miss Geraldine Jones explained away her outrageous behavior with the famous words - you can say 'em if you know 'em - "The devil made me do it!"

And all across America, people laughed. And took up the phrase, "The devil made me do it."

And now, almost thirty years later, you and I come to this moment - the end of the Easter festival 1999 - and we hear this warning in the little letter of First Peter: Watch out…for the devil.

But the cultural philosophies and theologies that have baptized us and our friends - without our even knowing it - into this new religion that we might well call sitcom science prompt us to call up memories of the words of Miss Geraldine Jones. And as we hear the warning, "Watch out…for the devil," we respond by inwardly laughing at the silly idea.

But the people of Littleton, Colorado are not laughing.

Neither are those who survived the holocaust.

Or American blacks.

Or children who are abused by their parents.

Or parents who've lost their children to the dark underworld of drugs.

Or people who know they'd better not go out at night in any of America's cities because gangs roam about who have no regard for the sanctity of human life.

These people - and others like them who have looked directly into the eyes of evil - are not laughing at all.

They have had to grow up spiritually, and extricate themselves from the shackles of the vain philosophies and theologies that presume to be able to understand and ultimately control the forces of life. Oh, I dare say, people who have been dragged into the real dark shadowy places of life have no trouble at all understanding what Peter was trying to say to the young Christians of the early church when he wrote, "Watch out…for the devil."

Dr. Bill Jones - the great African-American preacher who grew up in Kentucky but now serves a large church in New York City - asserts that Christians need to come to grips with the reality of evil. And, Jones says, one of the greatest illustrations of the persistent problem of evil in the world is in the life of the disciple Judas Iscariot, the son of perdition.

Do you think Jesus didn't know about Judas when he called him to be a disciple? Do you think Jesus was unaware that Judas was possessed by demonic forces? The Bible makes it clear that Jesus knew all about the darkness that dwelled in the heart of Judas Iscariot.

So why did Jesus call Judas to become one of the Twelve?

Let's consider three possible reasons.

First, Jesus called Judas into the fellowship of the Twelve to inform his people - you and me and all who love the Lord - of the omnipresence of evil. There is no place where evil is not. Evil is found even in that faithful company formed by Jesus and the disciples.

Now, if I were the devil, I wouldn't pay too much attention to the places I already control. I'd devote myself entirely to worming my way into the good places of life where I might be able to take away what belongs to God. Peter tells us the devil is active in the world. Not content with only darkness. But prowling about in the light.

In fact, Bill Jones says one of the devil's favorite places to go is to church! In a very humorous way that left many of us at Stetson University laughing on the one hand, but knowing that truth was spoken on the other, Jones said if you go to church on Sunday, you'll probably find the devil there. Usually sitting in a really good seat, smile on his face, respected and looked up to by all. And he'll sit there real quietly until that moment in the membership meeting when something of God's work is about to be advanced. And then he'll get up - the devil will - and saunter over to the microphone - and very carefully outline all the "practical" reasons we shouldn't do what Jesus has called us to do. And if not in the membership meeting, the devil will find some other way to stand in the way of advancing the Kingdom of God, Dr. Jones says. He loves to get nominated for committee work. Especially if it involves money. Why you remember that Judas rose to the position of church treasurer, don't you? Oh, the devil loves church finances. Because from there, he can stop almost any idea that smacks of Jesus' way of giving things away without thought of getting something in return. And if not there, the devil will tune up his voice and join the choir! Oh, the devil LOVES to sing in the choir, Dr. Jones says. Why from the choir loft, that ol' devil can turn an otherwise sane congregation into a roiling madhouse! And - not to leave anyone out - the devil loves to go to seminary, and get himself ordained. You see, then he can climb into a pulpit somewhere and turn what was once a group of sincere Christians with loving hearts into the most judgmental, soul-slaying bunch of fundamentalists you've ever seen

Oh, there is no place evil is not. Its in the church. Its in the home. Its in the suburban high school. Jesus called Judas to be among the Twelve to demonstrate to us the omnipresence of evil. Why, don't you remember where the devil was on the night of the last supper? Right there at Jesus' elbow, eating the bread and drinking the wine of Communion.

You and I need to learn that evil is everywhere, and some of its most dangerous elements are in things we consider to be good. And to be effective disciples of Christ, you and I need to learn to identify evil, to discern its presence, and have the courage to stand up against it.

Now, a second reason Jesus may have called Judas to be a disciple was to demonstrate that not everyone will follow good leadership. We may receive divine guidance for our church, or for our personal lives, but somebody will probably object. For three years, Judas walked with Jesus, and none of it rubbed off. And you and I will find, as we follow Christ, a number of discouraging voices that call us to back down from our faith. Sometimes the voice will even come from within our own families. And we have to choose whose voice we'll follow. Not everybody is speaking for God.

And a third reason Jesus may have called Judas, is that the Lord wanted the church to know that good is more potent than evil. When Mt. St Helens blew up back on May 18^th, 1980, whole forests were leveled to the ground and a thick blanket of dark ash covered the land. It was described as a scene straight out of hell. And yet, within a matter of weeks, small flowers began to poke up through the still smoldering soot. You see, life is stronger than death! Good is more potent than evil! And one of the most important things you can believe about God is that the final chapter of the story of the evil episodes of life has not been written yet! The final chapter of the holocaust, or of Columbine High, or of your personal struggle with some tragedy that evil has thrust upon you, will be written by the hand of the One who conquered death and who loves you with all his heart. God will have the last word on ethnic cleansing…and homelessness…and violence…and cancer… And good will win! So plant your feet firmly on God's side of the story, and become a partner with him! Help God overcome evil with good!

Here's what Peter says. "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith..."

And here as the Easter season ends, and we take our resurrection faith with us to our homes and our schools and our relationships, let us not take our faith lightly.

For there are people all around us who know the tears and heartaches and despair the devil creates. And they desperately need the presence of people like you - who understand the reality of evil…

…but who have the courage to stand up and testify to the goodness of the God of Easter!