Satanology

Sovereign Grace Family Church iconSovereign Grace Family Church

2 views

0 comments

00:00
I want to invite you to take out your Bibles and turn to Hebrews, chapter 13.
00:10
As most of you are aware, we have been engaging the book of Hebrews now for a few years, and we are at the last chapter.
00:22
And a few weeks ago, we got to chapter 13 and verse 2, and I said I was going to use this as an opportunity to speak on the subjects of angels.
00:36
And the subject of angels really is a very, it's sort of a broad umbrella, because under the subject of angels, there are two subsets of theology.
00:49
You have the umbrella of what's called angelology, and there's an entire theology that goes with that.
00:58
It is derived from Scripture.
01:00
But two of the subsets of that particular doctrine are what are known as Satanology.
01:08
Yes, that is a proper use of the term.
01:10
It sounds kind of funny.
01:11
It sounds like you're just sticking ology at the end of something, but it really is a study.
01:17
And demonology.
01:19
And so my purpose in all of this is that we would not pass this verse without really dealing with the subject of angels, at least for having a better understanding of it as Christians, because I think it's one of those subjects that a lot of people mention in passing, but few actually spend the time to dive into the study.
01:44
Last week, we looked at angels as spirit beings.
01:48
We looked at angels and their purpose in the ministry of God, in the ministry of Christ, and in the ministry of believers today.
01:56
And we talked about specifically how they are interacting in our lives and the things that angels do according to the Scripture.
02:06
But today, we are going to begin looking at Satan himself.
02:11
I've decided to go in this order, angels, Satan, and then demons.
02:17
And you'll understand somewhat as I go through why I went in that order rather than going to demons first and then to Satan.
02:24
I think it's better if we understand the one as Satan first, and then we'll understand demons a bit better next week when we get to that part of the lesson.
02:35
But the reality is, when we begin talking about the devil, when we begin talking about Satan, there are a lot of myths, there's a lot of misunderstanding, there's a lot of things that people derive their theology straight out of television, movies, books, even ancient books that people still today use as a way to derive their theology rather than simply getting their theology of Satan from the Bible.
03:11
And I will tell you, we do not have time in one sermon to do an entire expressed Satanology.
03:19
This is a class I took in seminary, and it was an entire semester course.
03:23
So there's no way we could condense that down to one sermon, nor would I even try.
03:28
But what we're going to do today is we're going to highlight some of the most important things about Satan that we need to know, and we are going to apply them to our everyday Christian life.
03:41
That's the goal, is to make application.
03:43
Every expository sermon has, again, three important parts.
03:47
We read the text, we explain the text, and then we apply it.
03:50
And today is going to try to apply what we learn about Satan himself.
03:54
So let's begin by reading the text together.
03:56
We'll stand.
03:58
This is the starting text, which we've been using each week, Hebrews 13, verse 2.
04:09
And it says this, Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.
04:22
Father, I thank You for the opportunity to preach Your Word.
04:27
I thank You for the command of the Gospel to go and preach.
04:30
And I thank You for giving us texts like these, which offer up an abundance that we can study and focus on.
04:38
And, Father, I pray that today we would truly engage Your Word to seek what it is You would have us to know.
04:46
I pray, Lord, that as the mouthpiece that You would keep me from error, keep me only in the truth, I pray, Lord, that You would open the hearts of the people to the truth and put a hedge of protection around their hearts, Lord God.
05:01
And keep our minds focused on what You have to teach us today from Your Word.
05:06
Help us to always keep in mind, Lord, that You and the devil are not on equal playing fields.
05:11
You're not on equal terms.
05:12
This is not some type of good versus evil doctrine.
05:16
But, Lord God, that Satan is and always will be a created being subject to You.
05:22
We thank You.
05:23
We praise You.
05:24
We give You all glory and honor in Jesus' name.
05:28
Amen.
05:37
Dr.
05:38
Billy Graham was with his family having dinner one night.
05:47
And his children were singing a song.
05:51
And most of you probably know this song.
05:52
I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart.
05:56
We all know this song, right? And the kids were singing that song.
05:59
And they got to the portion of the song where they said, And if the devil doesn't like it, he can sit on a tack, right? That's the little children's ditty, the little song.
06:10
I've got the joy down in my heart.
06:11
If the devil doesn't like it, he can sit on a tack.
06:13
And Dr.
06:14
Graham stopped them.
06:18
And he stopped them cold.
06:20
And they didn't understand why he was taking it so seriously.
06:23
But he said, I don't want you to sing that anymore.
06:28
And the children were just surprised.
06:33
Why? What's so wrong with singing that? And he went on to say, he said, listen.
06:40
He said, the devil is a good devil.
06:46
And you're probably confused by what he meant too.
06:50
And he went on to say, he said, the devil is really good at being the devil.
06:55
He's really good at being evil.
06:57
He's really good at being our enemy.
07:02
And he's not a joke.
07:08
And that's the reality.
07:09
He said, when you sing, you know, if the devil doesn't like it, he can just sit on a tack.
07:14
Wow, that's cute.
07:16
And that may bring humor.
07:18
He said, it's not a laughing matter.
07:22
The devil is a good devil.
07:24
He's really good at being evil.
07:26
He's really good at being bad.
07:27
He's really good at hating you and wanting you to die.
07:32
He is no joke.
07:36
I always thought that was a pretty real way to get involved with his children's life and explain to them the reality of Satan.
07:44
Satan is not a joke.
07:45
Satan is not a caricature.
07:48
I was talking to the kids in Sunday school this morning.
07:51
I love that I get to go over my sermon with them before I preach it to you all.
07:54
It gets me ready to go.
07:55
They get to double dip, too, so they learn twice as much.
08:00
Or the same thing twice as many times.
08:04
But one of the things we talked about this morning was caricatures.
08:07
You all know what a caricature is.
08:08
You go to Disney World, you go to the fair, and you see these people that are drawing pictures.
08:13
And it looks like you, but not really like you, because it's got a big head, a little body.
08:17
And they take whatever feature you have, usually, that makes you most embarrassed, and they blow it up ten times the size it should be.
08:22
If you've got a bigger nose, they make your nose bigger.
08:25
Your ears, they make your ears bigger.
08:26
Well, the picture that people have of Satan in their minds is typically a caricature.
08:34
They think of Satan like this.
08:37
Horns.
08:39
A red tight suit.
08:42
A tail and goat legs.
08:45
That was real popular for a time.
08:48
And a pitchfork.
08:51
And all of those pictures are not derived from Scripture at all.
08:58
They're all derived from this movie-style Satanology that we've all sort of become accustomed to.
09:07
We've all sort of allowed Hollywood to become the great theologian when it comes to the doctrine of Satan.
09:17
And there's various movies that have depicted Satan in different ways.
09:20
Sometimes as a beast.
09:22
Sometimes as a human-like person.
09:24
All different ways.
09:25
But in the reality of it, Hollywood has made Satan into more of a cartoon character than the real being that he is.
09:39
And the whole idea of today is the concept of knowing our enemy.
09:44
One of the things that any military-minded person will tell you, any strategist will tell you, that the only way to really win in battle, the only way to really succeed in combat, is to understand your enemy.
10:00
To know his methods.
10:03
To know his strategies.
10:05
Because understanding his strategies, understanding his approach, will help you to be better equipped to deal with them when you are faced with them.
10:16
And the reality is, we don't know a lot about Satan.
10:21
Because the Bible, like angels, the Bible doesn't really tell us a lot about him.
10:27
Except those things which are somewhat obvious about his hatred towards us and his hatred towards God.
10:35
But there are some things that we do need to know, that I think are missed by a lot of folks today.
10:42
I want to read to you a quote from C.S.
10:44
Lewis.
10:45
This is from the Screwtape Letters, which is a very interesting writing by C.S.
10:52
Lewis.
10:52
And he wrote this.
10:54
He said, There are two equal and opposite errors in which people fall into about the devil.
11:02
Two equal and opposite errors that people fall into in regard to the devil.
11:08
Number one.
11:10
He said, one is that people disbelieve that the devil exists.
11:14
He said, that's a huge error, and that's one that many people fall into, is they disbelieve in his existence.
11:20
He said, but the second one is to believe in the devil and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in him.
11:30
See, there are some people who don't believe he exists.
11:33
And there are some people who believe that he's actually like God.
11:37
They have an unhealthy and really excessive interest in him.
11:42
And I don't know if you've ever been to a church like this.
11:45
But I have been to churches where it seems like every other word out of the pastor's mouth is something to do with the devil.
11:53
It's something to do with Satan or the devil.
11:56
And it just seems like all the time, well, the devil's this, the devil's that, the devil's this, the devil's that.
12:00
And it's devil, devil, devil, devil.
12:01
And that's all that's ever talked about is devil and demons.
12:06
Oh, he's got a demon.
12:07
This person's got a devil, da, da, da, da, da.
12:09
And it's bantered about, and there's too much focus on it.
12:14
So really, we have to be able to find that balance.
12:17
We have to realize the existence of Satan, but yet at the same time put him in the proper perspective.
12:25
Because the reality is, the most dangerous thing that people can do is begin equating Satan with God.
12:35
I mentioned this last week, but this is a real crux in the subject of Satanology.
12:40
People will talk about Satan as if he has the same powers and the same abilities as God.
12:50
And by the way, if you need any scriptural evidence that that is absolutely not true, I'll take you right to Job chapter 1.
13:05
In fact, let's go to Job chapter 1.
13:07
This to me, because this deals with a lot of Satanology, I think is bound in Job chapter 1.
13:16
Job chapter 1 in the Old Testament.
13:23
Job chapter 1, Job is back in the poetic section.
13:30
And in your Pew Bibles, those of you who are looking in Pew Bibles, Job is on 528.
13:37
That helps you.
13:46
In Job chapter 1 verses 1 through 5, we are given an explanation of who Job is.
13:53
We are told about his great wealth and his great blessings that he has received from God.
13:59
He's got all these animals, all this land, all these family members, all this blessing that God has given to Job.
14:06
And then in verse 6, it begins to talk about an event, a drama which is unfolding in heaven.
14:15
Now, before we even begin the text, there is nothing in the text that would indicate to us at all that this is allegory or myth.
14:24
This is written in what is called the historical narrative.
14:30
You can often tell when you're reading something if it's being written as a parable or if it's being written as a poem or something like that simply by the type of language which is used.
14:40
One of the things that we see right away, there was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job.
14:46
Typically, in parables and in myths, there's not stated where and they're not given geographical location.
14:54
And such specifics as verse 3, he possessed 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen.
15:01
It's too specific.
15:04
I mean, remember the parable of the prodigal son? There was a man who had a son.
15:07
He did these things.
15:08
And this guy went off to a foreign land.
15:10
He didn't name where he was and he didn't say how many camels he had.
15:13
It's too specific for parables.
15:15
It's not the way parables are told.
15:17
This story is not told as a parable.
15:19
It's given to us in the historical narrative.
15:21
In verse 6, it tells us of a drama that unfolds in heaven.
15:25
It says, Now there was a day when the sons of God...
15:28
And in Job, the reference to the sons of God is a euphemism for angels.
15:35
Those beings which are directly created by God, specifically.
15:39
That is how the term sons of God is their use.
15:43
And it says, Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord.
15:51
Alright? Sensible enough.
15:53
The sons of God are coming to present themselves before God.
15:57
For what reason? It does not tell us.
15:59
This is likely just a part of the angelic responsibilities.
16:03
Presenting before God for worship.
16:04
Presenting before God for whatever reason they are there.
16:08
And the text says, And Satan also came along with them.
16:14
Number one, this tells us something very quickly.
16:16
It tells us Satan actually exists.
16:18
So for all those people who would argue, Well, I do not really believe that Satan exists.
16:24
You are at odds with the scripture at that point.
16:27
In fact, every one of the seven or eight, depending on who wrote Hebrews, But there are at least seven New Testament writers.
16:35
There may be eight if somebody else other than Paul or one of the other writers wrote Hebrews.
16:40
Which likely did.
16:42
All of them mention Satan specifically.
16:46
So all of the New Testament writers mention Satan specifically.
16:50
And many of the Old Testament books mention Satan specifically.
16:53
If you say Satan does not exist, You are at odds with the scripture.
16:59
It is as simple as that.
17:01
And here it says, And Satan also came along with them.
17:05
The Lord said to Satan, From where have you come? Satan answered the Lord and said, From going to and fro on the earth, And from walking up and down on it.
17:17
Alright.
17:18
And the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job, That there is none like him on the earth, A blameless and upright man, Who fears God and turns away from evil.
17:30
Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house, And all that he has on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, And his possessions have increased in the land.
17:45
But stretch out your hand and touch all that he has, And he will curse you to your face.
17:52
And the Lord said to Satan, Behold, all that he has is in your hand.
17:56
Only against him do not stretch out your hand.
18:00
So Satan went out from the presence of the Lord.
18:04
Very interesting in regard to Satanology, When we begin looking at this particular passage.
18:09
Because it tells us a lot.
18:12
The first thing that it tells us, Is that Satan is there presenting himself before the Lord, Which tells us that God is still in charge of Satan.
18:22
Satan has not been let off the leash.
18:27
And it tells us this, Before God gave Satan the permission to touch Job, Satan had no power in and among himself to touch Job.
18:43
Is that not vastly important to us? Because so many people put God and Satan, As if there is this great war between the two.
18:52
As if there is this battle from Satan, And there is this battle from God.
18:56
And they are both firing their darts across this great impasse.
18:59
And one day God will overcome the devil and win.
19:05
No, God has already won.
19:07
At any moment.
19:09
Right, the devil is gone.
19:13
Maybe that is a bad example.
19:14
But you know what I am saying.
19:15
At any moment, God, it is done.
19:17
It is not as if God is up there wringing his hands, And says, Boy, I don't know what I am going to do with that devil.
19:23
I don't know.
19:24
If he keeps trying, he might take my seat.
19:27
Really? Now, the reality is Satan wants God's seat.
19:36
The reality is that is why Satan is in the position he is in now.
19:41
If we turn over to Ezekiel and Isaiah, We will see passages, Which many scholars have believed throughout the centuries, That speak directly of Satan.
19:51
And we are going to look at some of those passages in a minute.
19:56
But the reality is, Satan's fall, And Satan's situation that he is in, He has not gone out from under being under the authority of God.
20:07
Well, why then does God allow Satan to be evil? Does that mess with your theology, That God would allow Satan to be evil? God allows you to be evil? I mean, really? Does it mess with your theology, That God would allow Satan to be evil? You know, one thing I believe was John Calvin, Who said, One of the things people forget is, Satan is God's devil.
20:29
Oh, wait a minute now.
20:30
You are getting, No, God is omnibenevolent.
20:32
God doesn't have a purpose for evil.
20:34
Really? For God has caused all things to work together for the good of those who love Him, And are called according to His purpose.
20:40
God doesn't have a purpose for evil? See, people get their theology from Hallmark Television.
20:44
They don't get their theology from the Bible.
20:47
That's a problem.
20:49
God has a purpose for what He is allowing Satan to do in this world.
20:53
God has a purpose for what He is allowing Satan to do to you.
20:56
And if God didn't have a purpose for it, God wouldn't allow it to happen.
21:04
You might say, Well, I don't like His purpose with Job.
21:06
This is just simply to prove the devil wrong.
21:08
Who are you to speak back to God? Will the thing form? Say to Him who formed it, Why did you make it like this? Oh, by the way, that's Romans chapter 9.
21:20
The reality is, Satan is not in control of anything.
21:25
He has intellect, emotion, and will.
21:28
Thus, he is a personal being.
21:32
But he's not in control.
21:35
He has influence in this world, because people allow him to influence them.
21:39
Yes, but he's not in control.
21:43
He is not God.
21:46
Neither is He a God.
21:49
And if you understand nothing else about Satanology, understand that.
21:55
Because He is treated like a God by so many people.
21:59
He's wanted to be a God by so many people.
22:02
People want to have this yin-yang theory.
22:05
You all know what the yin-yang is, right? That Chinese symbol where it looks like an S, and there's black on one side and there's white on the other.
22:12
And the whole idea behind it is the idea of balance between good and evil.
22:16
That's the yin-yang.
22:18
And people want that balance in Christianity.
22:20
They want God to be the white and the devil to be the black, and there to be this balance.
22:25
There is no balance.
22:26
God is the circle.
22:31
You understand? We are not Taoists.
22:34
We are not dueling.
22:39
The system of Taoism has this idea of dueling good and evil.
22:48
That good and evil is always in flux.
22:51
And that's the whole idea of the yin and yang.
22:52
It's always in flux.
22:56
We are not that.
22:58
You know what there is in the world? There's righteousness and there is unrighteousness.
23:04
God is righteous.
23:06
God is holy.
23:08
And everything that is in opposition to Him is unholy and unrighteous.
23:14
And there is no balance.
23:20
God is holy and everything that is opposed to Him and His law and His goodness and His righteousness and His holiness is unholy.
23:27
And there's no balance.
23:28
It's simply that which is and that which is not.
23:34
Please tell me you get what I'm saying with that.
23:35
It's not about balance.
23:36
It's not about striking a balance between good and evil.
23:39
It's about righteousness and unrighteousness.
23:41
And everything that does not fit into accord with God's will in the sense of His perfect righteousness is unholiness.
23:51
And Satan is the king of unholiness.
23:56
He is the one who is responsible for much of the unholiness in this world.
24:00
One of the things that often gets me.
24:02
Anybody here know a conspiracy theory? A conspiracy theorist? I'm not going to ask if I have any among us.
24:12
Because that might embarrass you.
24:14
Anybody know a conspiracy theorist? What is always on the mind of the conspiracy theorist? That there is some person or group of persons who is behind every bad thing that goes on in the world, right? That's the conspiracy theorist model.
24:32
And it doesn't matter whether it's the Illuminati or if it's the Knights Templar or whatever it is.
24:39
There's the Bankers Association or whatever, the Rockefellers, or whoever you want to say it is.
24:46
Somebody has been behind the scenes of every bad thing that has happened in this world.
24:51
And really, if we just knew who it was, if they would just stop, then all the badness would stop.
24:56
And you know, it gets really ridiculous because conspiracy theories go all the way to things even into the church.
25:03
Because there's been conspiracy theories that have argued that even the very church itself and the Bible was brought about by these bad groups.
25:11
Da Vinci Code, remember a few years ago, I preached a whole week series on the Da Vinci Code argument because the Da Vinci Code made the argument that the Bible itself is not true because it was written by a group of men in a dark room to make Jesus a deity so that people would actually worship him.
25:27
Here's the reality, folks.
25:29
And this is something that maybe this will help you if you're teetering on the brink of being a conspiracy theorist.
25:34
You're right.
25:38
There is a conspirator out there.
25:41
There is one person whose ultimate job and goal in this world, his ultimate goal is to be the antithesis of everything God is.
25:53
His ultimate goal is to be the epitome of unrighteousness.
26:01
But it ain't the Illuminati.
26:04
Now, they may be out there.
26:05
I don't even know what that is.
26:05
I just heard the word.
26:07
And it ain't the Knights Templar, even though they may be out there.
26:13
The reality is Satan is the great conspirator.
26:17
That's what he does.
26:19
He is seeking to be the antithesis to what God wants.
26:27
And God allows him to do certain things to be that antithesis.
26:36
And don't ask me why, necessarily.
26:37
Why does God allow Satan to do some of the things he does? I do not know.
26:44
Other than to say that in the end, God will be glorified in judging Satan.
26:49
Because remember, folks, hell was prepared for Satan and his angels.
26:55
The Bible tells us very clearly.
26:56
That's what hell was prepared for.
26:59
And those who will be with him in hell are people who have had the same attitude as Satan.
27:06
And that is that they have refused to bow the knee to the Lord.
27:11
Because the reality is, think about what caused the fall of man to begin with.
27:16
It wasn't that fruit tasted so sweet.
27:19
It wasn't that Eve just couldn't find anything else to eat that day.
27:23
What was the one thing that turned Eve's heart towards Satan's wiles? Remember, he said, If you eat of this, you will be like God.
27:38
And you see, that is what turned Satan's heart according to Scripture.
27:45
That he wanted to be like God.
27:48
And so too do we.
27:53
You might say, well, I don't want to be like God.
27:55
Your pride says otherwise.
27:58
Your pride says otherwise.
28:01
Our desires, our desire ultimately is to be our own Master and not to bow the knee to the Lord.
28:08
The only reason we bow the knee to the Lord is God breaks our heart under the weight of our own sin and changes our heart to respond positively to the Gospel.
28:18
Outside of that positive response to the Gospel, we would be in the same condition as Satan.
28:23
We would be a created being who has rebelled against our Creator and has sought to be our own Master.
28:31
Do you understand that? If we refuse the Gospel, we are in the same condition as Satan.
28:36
A created being who has rejected our Creator because we want to be our own Master.
28:43
That was Satan's fall and the reason for his fall.
28:45
And it is the same issue we all face.
28:51
And the reality is that's the condition that we need to focus on.
28:56
We need to remember that Satan is a created being who is trying his dead level best to be the antithesis of everything God wants for us.
29:09
He is doing his dead level best to encourage sin, to encourage unrighteousness, to encourage behavior which is the antithesis of God's command for us.
29:22
When you turn on your television screen and you see images which cause thoughts to come into your mind which are unholy thoughts, yeah, there was a person who put those images on the television.
29:35
You might call him the great conspirator.
29:37
Yes, but Satan is using that to influence you towards things that are not of God.
29:44
When you have people in your life that are encouraging you to do things that are unrighteous and unholy, these people are being used as tools of Satan because that is his desire.
29:57
His desire is to search, as the Bible says, a roaring lion going about, searching for what? Whom he may devour.
30:08
And it would satisfy him greatly to take a person who has claimed the name of Christ and to see him fall into unrighteousness.
30:23
How do you know that, Pastor Foskey? Because that's what he said about Job.
30:30
All you've got to do, God, is take away some of this blessing and he will curse you to your face.
30:34
See, that's Satan's desire.
30:36
He wants to see you curse God.
30:41
He wants to see you in the same condition he's in.
30:46
A created being rejecting his Creator because he wants to be his own master.
30:54
That's a condition Satan's in.
30:56
That's a condition he wants you in.
30:59
You ever heard the phrase misery loves company? That's the reality.
31:05
It may be a simple, simple thing, but it is the reality.
31:08
Satan wants you in the same condition he is in.
31:11
And the only difference really is Satan has been given no opportunity for redemption.
31:17
The fallen angels and Satan were given no cross and no Christ.
31:25
So Satan not only hates you and wants you to be in the same condition he's in, but he also, I'm sure, is at the same time angry that you are redeemed and he is not.
31:46
Something to consider.
31:48
There are three battles which every Christian must face.
31:52
And I want to thank Allison and Aaron this morning.
31:56
They went through a lot of trouble making a graphic for me.
32:00
I'm very close to bringing something up here I can write on.
32:03
Because I'm big on writing when I speak.
32:05
I love to use visual aids.
32:09
There are three things that every Christian battles.
32:15
By the way, does anybody here think that they're sinless? Because the Bible says he who thinks he has no sin is a liar and the truth is not within him.
32:23
So I was just going to tell that to you in case you did.
32:26
But the reality is we are not sinless.
32:29
Even as believers, we live in a body of flesh and we live in a world of sin and we live in a world that is ultimately being manipulated by the devil.
32:39
So we live in this situation where we are constantly at battle with the flesh, the world, and the devil.
32:46
That's the three things that the Christian always faces.
32:48
But the problem is a lot of people think of those things as three separate entities.
32:54
The flesh, that's what we live in.
32:56
The world around us.
32:58
And the devil is this sort of conspirator behind the scenes that's doing all these things.
33:02
But the thing is, don't think of it, here's the graphic, don't think of it like that, the one on the left.
33:08
Don't think of it as the world over here, the flesh over here, and the devil over here because that's not how the devil works.
33:18
As a believer, the flesh is the medium.
33:26
The world is the tempter.
33:30
And the devil is the conspirator.
33:35
The flesh is the medium because guess what? The world can't get me to do anything my flesh don't want to do.
33:45
And the world's not going to do anything that the devil isn't inspiring towards it to do.
33:49
So you see, it's not that we have these three enemies.
33:53
It's we have this enemy that goes out from us in three phases.
33:58
The flesh is first.
33:59
You fight a battle with the flesh.
34:01
Every one of us does and it's different.
34:03
Everybody's different.
34:05
Guys have different fleshly battles than women, right? And with every guy, the fleshly battles are different among the men.
34:13
And it changes as we age.
34:15
Different things become different battles as we age.
34:19
As a very young man, a man might have a difficult time with certain aspects of his manhood, but as he gets older, those things may change and it may become other issues.
34:31
How many of you have heard of a midlife crisis? What's a midlife crisis? A man gets to the point where his hair gets a little gray or it turns loose.
34:40
It turns gray or it turns loose.
34:42
He starts looking at his body.
34:43
It's not as fit as it once was.
34:44
Thank heaven.
34:45
I don't have to worry about that.
34:47
But you get in a situation where you look around and nothing as it was when you were 20.
34:52
You're 60, 50, whatever, and nothing is as it was when you were 20 and you want to reclaim that youth.
34:58
And you do things to reclaim that.
35:01
They call that a midlife crisis where it's going to get a sports car.
35:04
Some men divorce their wives because they want to marry a younger woman to make themselves feel younger.
35:09
It's all the flesh.
35:12
But you see, the flesh is influenced by the world.
35:15
Remember that television I said earlier that when we turn on that screen, it projects a picture.
35:20
That picture is designed to influence your flesh.
35:24
It's to get you going.
35:25
It's to get you thinking.
35:27
Whether it's alcohol or drugs or sex or whatever.
35:31
Whatever is on the screen, it's to get your flesh motivated.
35:38
And again, the great conspirator is Satan.
35:41
So we ought not think of our war as being against three different things, but know that Satan is using the world to influence our flesh and our flesh is our greatest battle.
35:55
The battle with the flesh is the greatest battle we fight.
36:00
As I said, men and women fight different battles and all men and women fight different battles among themselves.
36:06
But the reality is every battle we face for sin is a battle with the flesh to say no.
36:13
And Satan's desire is to tempt you in every aspect to say yes.
36:18
His desire for you is to make you curse God to His face.
36:24
The same desire he had for Job, he has for you.
36:28
The same thing he has had to deal with, he wants you to deal with.
36:36
He wants you to curse God to His face.
36:42
The reality is Satan is very real.
36:48
Satan's influence in the world is very powerful.
36:53
But you as a believer have been given something greater than the devil.
36:59
Greater is he who is within you than he who is within the world.
37:07
You see, even though we're wrapped in a body of flesh, we are not bound by this body of flesh if we are believers.
37:18
You might say, now wait a minute, you said we fight a battle.
37:20
I did say we fight a battle.
37:22
But beloved, it is not a losing battle.
37:26
We can overcome.
37:28
We can see victory.
37:30
Now, if you're an unbeliever, there is no victory because there's no desire for victory.
37:38
But when we come to Christ and God changes our desires and our heart is renewed and we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit, we do have new desires and an ability to overcome.
37:55
And you might say, but I'm not perfect.
37:57
Amen and amen.
37:59
You're not.
38:01
Because you still do live in the flesh.
38:03
And until this corruption is taken off and we put on incorruptibility, until this mortality is taken off of us and we are given our mortal bodies, you will fight a battle.
38:13
But don't ever think your battles are lost.
38:19
You have the Holy Spirit to give you strength to fight, to give you strength to overcome.
38:30
And even if you fail, don't think the battle is lost.
38:38
Satan is already lost.
38:39
And all he wants to do is see you suffer with him.
38:44
Every temptation you face is Satan wanting you to suffer with him.
38:52
Beloved, stand with God.
38:56
Stand.
38:58
Knowing the Spirit within you is greater than he who is in the world.
39:10
Father, we thank You for all that You have given us, all that You have taught us in Your Word and the reality that Satan is not like You.
39:18
Satan is not Your equal.
39:22
He is not Your balance.
39:24
But Satan is just the antithesis of everything that You are.
39:28
You are God and he is not God.
39:30
You are holy and he is not holy.
39:32
You love us.
39:33
He hates us.
39:37
You have provided for us salvation.
39:39
He provides nothing but additional condemnation to what we already have.
39:47
Father, You are perfect and You deserve our praise.
39:54
Help us to understand the antithesis of what the devil would want for us.
39:59
How he prowls around looking for whom he may devour.
40:03
And how You, Lord, stand as our defense.
40:08
Christ as our mediator.
40:09
Though Satan would accuse the brethren, Christ stands as our mediator, Lord.
40:14
And for Him, we give You all thanks, all glory, and all honor.
40:21
In Jesus' precious name we pray, Amen.