Aug 12 – Daily Devotional

We are, you get past the noon hour today and you're going to be pretty soon past the middle of the week and downward, down slope until we come to the

Lord's Day. Looking forward to that, always look forward to gathering together on the Lord's Day, but here we are on this

Wednesday. Tonight, by the way, in our midweek service at the church, we'll be looking at the next video session in Tim Chalice's series called

Epic, and be visiting Australia and New Zealand. So I'm looking forward to that, those beautiful places, but more importantly, there are some key items there that Tim Chalice is going to dig up, if you will, that have to do with church history, and we can learn much from that.

So throughout the course of history, church has always faced challenges.

God's people have always faced challenges and opposition. What's the root of it?

We saw yesterday that the root of it all is not flesh and blood. It's not people, but it's our enemy, the devil.

We need to know who that enemy is. We need to identify him and get a sense of what he's like and what he's after, what his objectives are.

We concluded yesterday with the understanding that our adversary, our enemy, is a spiritual foe, not a physical foe.

It's not people, not flesh and blood as Ephesians 6 tells us, but our enemy is a spiritual foe who uses people as his instruments.

But there's one other aspect about his identity and who he is that we need to understand, and that is he's a defeated foe.

He's a defeated enemy. Now that doesn't mean he doesn't have any power and he doesn't do anything.

In fact, think of it like this. Remember in World War II, D -Day, the invasion of Normandy, D -Day, the success of the

Allied forces at landing at the beach in Normandy and then overcoming the

German Nazi forces there, that really marked the end of the war.

Now that was in June 6, 1944, and the end of the war never really came until May 5, 1945.

So it was almost a year later, but everyone understood, even the Germans understood, that they were operating from the standpoint of defeat.

They were a defeated foe, and you know that when you look at what they did over those next 11 months.

They had a scorched earth policy, basically. They destroyed things, and especially as the

Allied forces got closer to some of those Jewish prison concentration camps, they just slaughtered a number of Jewish people just to get rid of them before the

Allied forces came. So the Germans were, the Nazis, in that last 11 months of the war, they were operating from the standpoint of being a defeated foe, but the

Allies had to keep on fighting, keep on fighting. And we also see an example of that in the scriptures.

Remember back in Joshua chapter 1, Moses had died, and the

Lord came to Joshua, his successor, and he said this. He said, Moses my servant is dead.

He's telling Joshua, now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.

And then listen to what he said. The Lord said, every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon,

I have given to you just as I promised to Moses. But the thing of it is, that land of Canaan was full of Canaanite people who, you know, what we understand from scripture is their iniquity had finally come to fruition.

It was full. They were just a horribly iniquitous people. And so later on,

Joshua is speaking to the two and a half tribes who had been given territory on the east side of the

Jordan River, but were to nevertheless cross the Jordan and help their brothers fight against the

Canaanites. And Joshua says this, he says to those two and a half tribes, he says, your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the

Jordan. But all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them until the

Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you. And they also take possession of the land that the

Lord your God is giving them. So here's the thing. The Lord said, I have given you this land.

The Canaanites are a defeated foe, but you're going to have to fight. You're going to have to go in and fight.

And indeed they did, and they fought for a few years before they finally were able to secure the land.

Well, we see the same thing being true of our spiritual foe, the devil. He is a defeated enemy.

And how do we know that? Because of what Jesus said just before going to the cross.

In John chapter 12, Jesus said this in verse 31. He says, now is the judgment of this world.

Now will the ruler of this world be cast out. I remember yesterday when we were identifying, giving those different names or identifiers for the devil, one of them was the ruler of this world.

And Jesus says, now at the cross, the ruler of this world is cast out.

He is defeated. In fact, in Colossians chapter 2, Paul elaborates on that and explains further.

And he says this. He says, and you who were once dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of the flesh,

God made you alive together with Jesus, having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.

Then he goes on to explain how he did that. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

And then he says, he disarmed the rulers and the authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him, in Christ.

So the point is that at the cross, Satan is a defeated foe.

He is a defeated foe. And so when we think about the fact that we have ongoing struggles and battles against our enemy, the devil, the adversary, the wicked one, the evil one, the ruler of this age, the prince of the power of the air, and all of those other descriptions of him, the murderer, the liar, the father of lies, and he is still very active, and he's still trying to reach his objectives of taking over God's throne and destroying

Christ and destroying God's people and damning people to hell. He is nevertheless operating from the standpoint of a defeated foe.

No wonder he is so desperate in his efforts.

And we see that desperation being played out on the streets of our cities.

We see it being played out in homes and families and communities all across our land and around our world.

He's desperate, but he's desperate because he's defeated. It's good to keep that in mind when you're facing your enemy, the devil.

He is a defeated foe. So as we close today, let's give thanks that our

God in Christ has defeated our arch enemy. And though we still battle him, we're battling one who's ultimately defeated.

So our Father and our God, we thank you for the victory of the cross, that in the cross, our arch enemy and yours has been defeated.

Now may we go from this moment of thought and consideration from the standpoint of victory and realize that our enemy is a defeated foe.

Give us grace to from that perspective of victory, we pray in Jesus' name and for his sake.

Amen. All right, well, have a good rest of your midweek Wednesday.

And if you can make it tonight, it's seven o 'clock and meeting in the fellowship hall at the church. We'll gather together for that video as well as a time of prayer.