Two Commanders

Welcome to week three of our series entitled “The War.”  Tim asked us last week whether or not we felt like we were in a war.  I have to confess that I kind of half raised my arm.  I only half raised my arm because I would say that I feel like I face spiritual battles, but if I am honest with myself, I don’t often think of myself being in a war. 

Carl talked a couple of weeks back about what war is like, and it’s not good.  War is terrible.  And so, I think I am predisposed to not think about being in a war just because it is unpleasant to think in those terms.  If you’re in a war, even if you’re not part of the active front line, war affects you.

When describing some of the longest wars within human history, Carl noted that those were more a seemingly unending series of conflicts, with each conflict having its own name.  That is what this war is like.  It works itself out as a series of conflicts some appearing larger than others, some lasting moments and others lasting years or decades.

I think it is important for us to realize that we are in a war.  Because if we don’t realize we’re in a war, we are easily confused and even discouraged when conflicts arise.  This war is not against flesh and blood (Ephesians 6:12).  But it is so easy to either put up our defenses or even to retaliate when we face conflicts especially in relationships with others.

Earlier this year in a different message, I mentioned wearing the armor of God.  Talking about myself, I wondered if I had ever put on the full armor of God and whether I had put it on properly.  Well, if you don’t see yourself in a war, you’re a whole lot less likely to see the need in putting on armor.

I took a quick look yesterday at some pictures from the Battle of Britain.  I selected one which highlights the kind of preparedness that is needed in wartime.  This is the description which accompanied the picture there.  “Mrs. Mary Couchman, a 24-year-old warden of a small Kentish Village, shields three little children, among them her son, as bombs fall during an air attack on October 18, 1940. The three children were playing in the street when the siren suddenly sounded. Bombs began to fall as she ran to them and gathered the three in her arms, protecting them with her body. Complimented on her bravery, she said, ‘Oh, it was nothing. Someone had to look after the children.’ ”

As the siren began to sound and bombs began to fall, Mrs. Couchman could have ignored them.  Or, she could have sought to protect only herself.  Thankfully, she sought instead to protect the children first and then herself.  She had her helmet on.  She was prepared.

And so, we too need to realize that there is a battle raging still today.  It does not consist of physical warfare only.  It is also comprised of interpersonal conflict.  This past week, we were noticing how in family relationships when one person is in conflict with the other that there is usually someone who is pridefully hanging on to a position which is in the wrong.  The other person who up until that point was in the right will then try to take the other person down a peg or two.  I call it an “attack of humility.”  Effectively, one person is trying to humble the person who is being proud.  However, when tempers are high and feelings are raw, it’s easy for this to go sour.  And so, one side can be in the right, but sometimes and maybe often times both are in some way in the wrong.  These situations can in turn mar God’s image among us.

We are in a war, whether we realize it or not. Although our battle is not against flesh and blood, the war is real, and we need to be prepared to fight the good fight of the faith (I Timothy 6:12).  Today, we are going to continue to explore what Scripture says about the two sides and particularly about the two commanders.  Before we go on, let’s pray.

Lord God, help us to see our place in the conflict which has been going on now for millennia.  Help us to see that there is a war.  Help us to see how we should be prepared to carry on in the face of many challenges.  Help us to know and believe Your victory is “The Victory”.  Teach us we pray in Jesus’ Name.  Amen.

We watched a Disney movie on Friday night.  You know how some movies will have deleted scenes included on the DVD.  This particular movie is unusual because it had several alternative beginnings.  The directors tried several different approaches before settling in on their final choice.  In today’s message, I feel like I have two introductions.  There is one which I just finished, but now I want to look at the War from a slightly different angle before getting to our main subject.

This second introduction seeks to answer the question “why do we believe what we believe.”  I cannot answer for each of you.  You may or may not see this War as real.  If you already see the war as real, then you’re probably thinking let’s dive in.  If you’re skeptical about the existence of a so-called war, I would like to try and illustrate why we believe there is a war going on for ages.

Many times we think of war in terms of international laws like the Geneva convention where combatants must wear uniforms and prisoners are treated with some measure of protection.  In this spiritual warfare, there are no such formalities.

In the Pixar movie The Incredibles, the mom warns her kids, “Remember the bad guys on those shows you used to watch on Saturday morning?  Well, these guys are not like those guys.  They won’t exercise restraint because you’re children. They will kill you if they get the chance.  Do not give them that chance.”

In fact, this war more resembles the guerrilla type fighting which goes on today in numerous places.  It also has some similarities to terrorist type activity where civilians are attacked simply to create fear.  The war that we are talking about here is going on in every venue and under every appearance.  And so, it can be possible to think that a war does not exist because conflicts often get attributed to what appear to us as unrelated causes.

In my engineering work, we do a fair amount of technical investigations where we try to understand why a problem came about.  One of the tools we use is called a 5 Why.  It doesn’t have to be five why’s.  Sometimes it is more and sometimes less.  The idea though is to keep asking why until you get to the real root cause.

When you start talking about what you believe, it is important that what you believe will agree with the reality that you see.  I’m not saying that we can understand everything that we see, but at a minimum our beliefs shouldn’t be self-contradictory.  They need to answer questions at a deeper level.

I’ve heard Ravi Zacharias multiple times explain that a worldview must successfully answer four questions:  Origin, Meaning, Morality, Destiny.  The answers to these questions must be true themselves, and they must be coherent when taken together.  They must make sense individually and fit together.  Then, the worldview must also be logically consistent, empirically adequate and experientially relevant.  In other words, it must work all the time, it must be capable of being verified, and it must be relevant in our own lives.

We’ve all heard the question, “If God is real, why is there so much pain and suffering in the world?”  We all see pain and suffering, and it disturbs us.  When we saw the picture of the young mother huddling over the children as bombs were falling, our hearts were stirred.  We felt like something was horribly wrong.  And so, this question about pain can be answered with another question, “If God is not real, why does pain and suffering bother us?  Why do we care about these things?”  A Christian Biblical worldview would explain that we are made in the image of God and that all people have intrinsic worth.  Each one of you is uniquely created by God to believe in Him and follow Him.  We care because we are made in God’s image.

Apart from the Bible, the world particularly the secular-thinking world is stymied by the mystery and problem of evil, where it comes from and how to solve it.  However, a Christian Biblical worldview explains “love is the supreme ethic.” Love is the highest value or principle, above all else.  Most people would agree with that statement.  Once you make love preeminent, first above all other virtues or traits, there must be free will.  Without free will, then there cannot be real love.  If there is free will, then there must be the possibility for sin.  “Where there is sin, there is the need for a Savior. Where there is a Savior, there is the hope for redemption.”  It is only in a Christian Biblical worldview that this sequence finds its total expression and answer. “The story from sin to redemption is only in the gospel with the ultimate provision of a loving God.”

And so, we come to this point of free will.  There is a choice.  Each of us is allowed a choice.  In fact, we are allowed many choices.  We get to choose each day and each moment what we will do.  Do we choose the loving path, or do we choose a selfish path?  Others have made such choices all the way back to the time of Adam and Eve.  But there were others before that and one in particular who made a choice to stop loving.

That brings us to the two commanders within this war which continues down through the ages.  On the one side is the Savior.  On the other side is the Devil.  That word devil has its origins in the Greek, diabolos, which means slanderer.

Even the simple comparison of Savior and Slanderer tells us much about the character of these two commanders.  What sorts of things do you think about when you think of a Savior?  Protector, provider, redeemer … What sort of things do you think about when you think of a Slanderer?  A liar, someone who wants to hurt others …

I’ve got a list of names or titles for the two commanders, our Savior Jesus Christ, and Satan the Slanderer.

Christ

Wonderful Counselor (Isaiah 9:6)

Redeemer (Isaiah 59:20)

Lamb of God (John 1:29)

Mighty God (Isaiah 9:6)

Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6)

Alpha and Omega (Revelation 22:13)

The Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5)

Cornerstone (I Peter 2:6-7)

Immanuel “God with Us” (Matthew 1:23)

The Truth (John 14:6)

Satan

The Accuser (Revelation 12:10)

The Devil (Revelation 12:9)

The Evil One (John 17:15)

Beelzebub (Matthew 12:24)

Prince of Demons (Matthew 12:24)

Prince of This World (John 14:30)

Roaring Lion (I Peter 5:8)

Tempter (Matthew 4:3)

“god” of This Age (II Corinthians 4:4)

Father of Lies (John 8:44)

Each of these names has a foundation in Scripture.  I’m not going to go through them all, but there are a few I’d like to mention specifically.

Revelation 12:10 says that Satan is the accuser of the body of Christ.  Those of us who believe in Jesus are accused by Him day and night, it says.  Compare that to Jesus who is a wonderful counselor.  Jesus is an advocate for us before God.  Satan is saying look at all the bad we’ve done.  Jesus says, “No, they’re with me.  They’re good.”

Jesus is crazy about us.  He loves us so much.  We should feel like we’re the one to be rescued in Saving Private Ryan except it’s the commander in chief who has come to save us.  In order to be our Savior, Jesus became the sacrificial Lamb of God.  John the Baptist first called Jesus the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world in John 1:29.

According to one commentary I read, the name Beelzebub is a play on words which means “Lord of the Flies” rather than exalted Lord.  The Pharisees in their hatred of Jesus said that Jesus was working under the power of Beelzebub in Matthew 12:24.  In response to this, Jesus linked their attitude to the unforgiveable sin.  The Pharisees attributed the miracles that authenticated Jesus as the Christ to Satan.

In the names “prince of this world” and “god of this age,” we see how Satan is limited and finite.  Jesus rather is the Alpha and Omega above and beyond this world and age.  Jesus is God.  He has no beginning or end.  Satan is a created being, and his destruction is described in Revelation.

I did some reading about lions and listened to some lions roaring on YouTube.  Lions use their roars for different reasons.  Sometimes they’re sounding out to other lions in their pride to let them know where they are.  Sometimes they’re sounding out to lions in other prides to let them know where their territory ends.  Sometimes they roar at other predators to scare them into not fighting.  I watched one clip where a crocodile was trying to attack a pride of lions.  The main male lion got rid of more than one crocodile simply by roaring at them.  He went down in the water after them, and the crocodiles are all hissing and baring their teeth, snapping their enormous jaws.  They are like a foot apart, and then the crocodiles simply leave.

The male lion in the pride is the protector of the pride.  The reference of Jesus as the Lion of Judah comes from Revelation 5:5.  It says there that He has triumphed.  Jesus is our protector and He is victorious.  Satan on the other hand appears to be a lone lion who uses his “roar” to scare people who are disconnected from the body of Christ and alone.  It is a good idea for us to stay connected as part of a church body with other believers so that we can encourage and support one another.

There are many names up there about Satan as an accuser, slanderer, liar, and tempter.  Satan has already been defeated at the cross.  We’ll look at that again in a minute.  In these last days before his ultimate defeat, his power remains primarily in his words.  He has no authority or power over you.  Instead, he is reduced to trickery and deceit.  Compare that to Jesus who it says in I Peter 2:6-7 and elsewhere that He is the Cornerstone.  Satan can never be believed.  He’s always trying to get us into some sort of conflict with one another, with God, anything.  Jesus on the other hand is a solid rock.  He can be trusted because He is the truth.  We can be confident of what He says because He does not lie.

When I started thinking about this message, the first word that came to mind was incomparable.  There is no created thing that we can compare Jesus to.  Putting Jesus and Satan side by side makes it clear.  Carl shared from Ephesians chapter 1 a couple of weeks ago.  In that passage, verse 18, it talks about Jesus’ “incomparably great power for us who believe.”  Jesus is not only incomparably great compared to Satan.  Jesus resurrection power is at work in and through us.  Wow!

There are tremendous differences between Satan and Christ.  These differences extend even into what they are.  Jesus is the Son of God.  The words of John 3:16 are familiar to many.

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  –John 3:16

I decided to use the old King James version here because it describes Jesus as the only begotten.  The more modern translations say one and only, but there is a concept in the Greek word that gets dropped in the modern translation.  It’s just that we don’t really have a good way of saying it, so I went back to the older translation.  Jesus is the only existent, only be-ing Son.  He is of the same kind as God.  He is not created.  He is God, too.  Colossians 1 goes into even more detail.

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.  –Colossians 1:15-20

Jesus has supremacy in everything.  He has all the fullness of God.  He is God’s firstborn.  He is over all creation.  Everything that has been created was created in Him and through Him and for Him.  Do you get that?  Satan is a fallen angel.  Before Satan fell, he was created.  Since he was created, he was created by Jesus.

No, Jesus did not create evil.  That’s not what I said.  Jesus created everything including the angels.  Since these created beings can express love as seen in loving and worshiping God (Revelation 7:11), then it must follow that they have free will.  Satan, using the free will which Jesus had given to him, made the choice to stop loving God and Jesus.

Why would Satan do such a thing?  Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly why.  Though it appears that we get some very good hints in two passages which begin with a reference to earthly kings.  First, let’s look at Isaiah 14:12-15

How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth … You said in your heart, "I will ascend to the heavens; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly … I will make myself like the Most High."  But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit. –Isaiah 14:12-15

That phrase morning star is where the Latin name of the devil, Lucifer, comes from.  The second passage is Ezekiel 28:12-18

This is what the Sovereign LORD says: “You were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone adorned you … Your settings and mountings were made of gold; on the day you were created they were prepared. You were anointed as a guardian cherub, for so I ordained you. You were on the holy mount of God; you walked among the fiery stones. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till wickedness was found in you. … So I drove you in disgrace from the mount of God, and I expelled you, guardian cherub, from among the fiery stones. Your heart became proud on account of your beauty, and you corrupted your wisdom because of your splendor. So I threw you to the earth; I made a spectacle of you … By your many sins … you have desecrated your sanctuaries. So I made a fire come out from you, and it consumed you, and I reduced you to ashes on the ground in the sight of all who were watching.  –Ezekiel 28:12-18

From both passages, we have this sense that Satan wanted to be equal with God or set Himself above God.  He let the blessings God gave him go to his head.  His heart became proud because of his beauty.  His wisdom or understanding was corrupted because of his splendor.  Do you catch the meaning?  Pride made Satan lose his mind.  I’ve heard different explanations for why pride is bad, but I don’t think I’ve noticed that one before.  Pride pollutes your understanding.  It shouldn’t be that surprising.  We see people exhibit pride in all sorts of things and that pride can easily lead people to say things that are just silly.

I think it can be a powerful warning for us, too.  We must be careful not to allow pride to have a foothold.  I think that’s easier said than done.  What is the antidote for pride?  Well, it’s not the antidote, but the opposite of pride is humility.  Jesus can be a model for us in humility.  Remember how we talked about Jesus as the only begotten of the Father?  And yet, when Jesus was on the earth as a man, it says in Philippians 2:6 that Jesus

Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage…—Philippians 2:6

I Peter 5:5 encourages us to clothe ourselves in humility toward one another.  James 4:4-7 warns that we should not be friends with the world because being friends with the world makes us enemies of God.  It also says that we can know that the Holy Spirit within us is jealously guarding us.  Ultimately, the solution against pride is to submit ourselves to God.  We need to seek God and listen to what He tells us in prayer, in His Word, and through one another.

Satan should not be taken lightly.  He does still carry some power.  He was allowed to physically afflict Paul (II Corinthians 12:7).  He also sows spiritual weeds according to Matthew 13:39 and steals away gospel seeds according to Mark 4:15.  II Corinthians 4:4 explains that he has blinded the minds of unbelievers.  He prevented some of Paul’s journeys (I Thessalonians 2:18) and thereby hindered missions.

At the same time, we have some wonderful promises in our fight against Satan’s influence.  James 4:7 tells us that if we resist the devil, he will flee.  II Thessalonians 3:3 tells us “the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one,” which is a great comfort and confidence for all of us.

One additional point we should be faithful to remember, in the Lord’s Prayer, (Matthew 6:13) it is written, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”  Many may have learned deliver us from evil, but it can be translated both ways.  When you take the second phrase together with the first, since Satan is the tempter, I think it is logical to pray that we would not fall into temptation and that we would be delivered from the evil one.

Finally, we can be confident that the battle has been won at the cross, and Satan’s final overthrow is certain as described in Revelation 20:10.  And, we can look forward to the promise which is there on your programs, Romans 16:20,

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.  –Romans 16:20

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.  –Colossians 2:13-15

As we wrap up for today, I really want you to think of what you are believing about yourself in the war.  I’ve got a little self-test for you.  I’ve unashamedly taken this directly from a believer named Dave Kahle who does ministry in and through his business.  He really has a heart for seeing all believers diligently working and serving God.

Imagine yourself in two totally different mental states.  In one, you believe that church is only a building or an institution, and your talents, experience, education and the gifts that you use every day in your job and your personal relationships are of little interest to God.  They are just the way to fill your week.  The really important things to God occur only on Sunday mornings. You understand that “church work” is real ministry and that our lives are something that God really doesn’t care that much about. He’s more interested in evangelism and edification under the direct supervision of this institutional church than He is in anything we might do in our daily lives.   “Church work” is special. And what you and I do most of our lives is ordinary.  “Church work” is significant, and what you and I do is insignificant.  And, while you desire to be active and pleasing to God, you know you cannot be because you aren’t ordained, you are not a full-time minister, and you do not have enough time to devote to “church work.”

Now that you are temporarily immersed in that mindset, ask yourself some questions. How energized are you to see your life as meaningful to God?  To what degree do you feel filled with the Holy Spirit every minute of the day? How close to God do you feel?  How great is your Christian influence on those around you?   Record your thoughts and feelings.

Now, consider the opposite paradigm.  Imagine yourself fully accepting and believing this:

God has selected you for a special ministry that you alone can fulfill.  As it says in Ephesians 2:10, “We are God’s workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.”  You believe that God has personally and specifically equipped you with experience, talents, gifts, and education to use in your education, your business and your personal relationships.  He has personally given you a ministry that is incredibly important to the growth of his kingdom and is directly in the center of His will.  This ministry is your work and your relationships. Every moment of it is empowered by the Holy Spirit, ordained by God, and overseen by Jesus Christ.  He has appointed you to be his unique ambassador to take His influence into every corner of His creation touched by you.  What you do on Sunday morning or in regards to the church view in our first paradigm is only a part of the special ministry of your life.

Now ask yourself the same questions.  How energized are you to see your life as meaningful to God?  To what degree are you inspired to and feel filled with the Holy Spirit every minute of the day?  How close to God do you feel?  How great is your Christian influence on those around you?  Record your thoughts and feelings.

The first paradigm serves to depress the power of the Holy Spirit and to isolate you under the burden of an inadequate and incorrect self-image.  The second paradigm does just the opposite, energizing you with spiritual power and purpose. The second mindset fosters an attitude of joy, peace commitment, and empowerment.

The other big difference between the two paradigms is that the first one is not Biblical.  The second one is.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them.  –II Corinthians 5:18-19

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ... Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.  –II Corinthians 9:6, 10

I love this thought that not only will God supply us with seed, He will also multiply it.  What a mighty God we serve!  We can have every confidence in Christ our Savior.  He came for you and for me.  Praise God!

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. –I John 3:8

… and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.  –Hebrews 2:15

Let’s pray …

Dear God, thank You for sending Your Son as our Savior.  May we place our hope and trust firmly in Him and be true disciples.  Help us to see our calling rightly.  May we all be ones who “rescue others by snatching them from the flames of judgment.” (Jude 1:23) Thank You for victory in Christ.  Thank You for Your resurrection power transforming our lives.  We praise You in Jesus’ Name.  Amen.