Getting Spiritual Warfare Right Part 2

Morris Jesus.

Jesus taught using parables or stories told of a strong man and stronger man whose help is useful in defeating the merely strong today more lessons on how we can't go it alone. We can only defeat Satan in the name and power of Jesus from the Moody Church in this with Dr. Sir teaching sauce make it across the finish line. You believe spiritual warfare is on the increase in our day, Dave. I think that the answer is absolutely yes. The fact is that there are plenty of spiritual battles going on that we are unaware of. I'm reminded of the story of Elisha when he was there adult and you remember he prayed that God would open the eyes of his servant, and that the servant's eyes were opened, and he noticed that they were in the midst of a spiritual battle and we are also but we hear it running to winter totally committed to the sovereignty of Jesus Christ were constantly pointing people to him. You know we're in the midst of a challenge that is to say a matching gift challenge some of our friends have said that they are willing to match everything given to $90,000 now. That means that your gift will be doubled. Would you consider joining us. Here's what you can do good RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or if you prefer, call us at 1-888-218-9337 were looking forward to many more members joining what I like to call the running to win family. Now let us listen carefully. Jesus said that there's a strong man and you and I know how strong he is very strong.

He is Satan. But now, thankfully, in this parable there's another man and you'll notice it says that Jesus said that there is another man when ovens strongman fully armed guards his own palace's goods are safe. Thank God for verse 22 but when one is stronger than he attacks and overcomes them.

He takes away his armor, in which he trusted and divide to spoil the only way you can have freedom from this strongman is to have a stronger man, and overtake them and overtake his armor, and we can him so that you can walk away free. You need outside help them. You can't get from darkness to light on your own. You need somebody stronger than the kingdom of dark and I'm here to announce to you something that I hope you already know in Colossians chapter 2 verse 15 it says this that when Jesus died, he disarmed all principalities and powers and made a show of them openly tramping over them and Jesus did that he spoil the devil, he took away his arm, and how did Jesus do that. He did it by invading that kingdom of darkness and saying I'm invading the kingdom in a rescue mission and then I'm going to turn these captives who are in condemnation and I am going to turn them from condemnation to something much more blessed, namely restoration so that instead of being condemned, they will be restored reconciled to God.

And then instead of being accused.

I am going to vindicate them and who shall lay any charge to God's elect. It is God justifies. Who is he that condemned it is Christ that died, a writer, that is risen again and is even now on the throne of God, who also makes intercession for us and I will vindicate them and I will no longer charge them with their sin no longer condemnation but restoration no longer vindication no longer slavery, but service and no longer held, but heaven and so Jesus emerges victorious. I like to visualize it this way.

Where in the hands of the strongman but a stronger man by the name of Jesus says to that strongman let go of them and he has to drop them immediately because he's been confronted by a man stronger than he somebody who can bring deliverance by the finger of God and Satan has to submit to that authority to that power, and to that purity and glory and you and I walk free. Now Jesus talked about the strongman. Then he speaks about a stronger man, namely himself who is able to bind him and take away his armor. The armor of condemnation. The armor of accusation and and Jesus disarms them.

But then Jesus tells a story which perhaps is another parable. I think it's connected with this one.

Jesus says in verse 24, when the unclean spirit is gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places, seeking rest and finding none, it says I will return to my house from which I came. And when it comes it will find the house, swept put in order. Then it goes and brings seven other spirits more evil than itself and they enter and dwell there and the last state of that person is worse than the first. What an awful terrible story whether Jesus is actually referring to a person who had this experience or not, we aren't sure.

I think that in context he probably is referring to the nation Israel. Worst of all offers that interpretation because you see the nation Israel had all the truth and initially during the preaching of John the Baptist. They responded but for many of them.

Their response was halfhearted and so after that, it seemed as if the demons were cast out, figuratively speaking.

The demon wanders in waterless places why waterless desert you know demons prefer bodies to dwell in and that's why they were even sent into the pace and the pigs ran into the river and drown into the water and drowned. And of course after the pigs drowned the spirits again were seeking a place to go. So Jesus says that Dan the spirit wonders about looking for a place to go and then it notices that this person's life is empty and infected, swept, and it's garnished.

I mean it's it's it's all ready for someone else to enter and he finds the house.

Swept and in order and more spirits, get seven more wicked spirits and then they comment letter and of that man is far worse than his beginning what Jesus is saying in the strongest possible language is this that an empty life is a life in peril if you think for example that your life is simply staying away from certain sin in your life is not being filled with the things of God.

It could well be that your ending will be far worse than your beginning even in your walk with God and we have examples of that don't way as we think back over people we have known who at one time walk with God, their lives were emptied, and then something happened and there ending was terrible. Now this is so that leads me to a principle that sometimes I like to emphasize.

The Bible speaks about the renewing of the mind and it talks about the need for us to fill our minds with Scripture if your mind is not being renewed and filled with Scripture. It is empty and very much a place where evil can originate and were those thoughts of the evil can again control you.

And so there's the principle of replacement. If I were to have a picture of water here. There is one way that you could take air out of it, you could build a machine that would suck the air out the other possibility is to simply fill it with water and then the air will take care of itself. And when it comes to the renewing of the mind. So many of our struggles happen because we are empty and an empty life is a very vulnerable life when it comes to satanic activity and doing evil, very vulnerable to give you an example number of years ago a friend of mine by the name of Tom, his wife Billy was later remarried his first wife died of cancer and she was just at home and she went through a terrible amount of suffering. You know those awful stories and yet Tom wasn't bitter at God and nor was his wife better. They accepted it is from God's hand.

So I said to them, Tom. I said them. How did you do this because I've seen so many people become bitter and angry, even with God and unable to accept this. He said what we did is he said we bought the New Testament on records and he said we played it so the word of God was in our home every day we read the Bible a lot and then he said this and God's Word and God's promises squeeze all of the anger and the resentment and fear out of our hearts. What a beautiful example of someone who discovered the principle of replacement.

If you simply say to yourself, I'm going to accept this or not accepted, and your life is empty all kinds of evil grows in an empty life and Jesus is warning about, and negative life that just says I won't do ABCD and then does not fill itself with God and its promises. So beware of an empty life. It is the devils workshop now where does all this leave us. Why should these passages of Scripture and these two parables. Why should they transform us want to make a couple of observation. The first is this that you notice how it's impossible to be neutral about Jesus because you see, there are only two kingdoms there's the kingdom of darkness and there is the kingdom of his dear son.

As we find out in the book of Colossians. The kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light and today everyone was listening to this message is in one kingdom or the other.

Those of you who are neutral about Jesus, you, Sally and I admire them is a great teacher is a great this and that those of you who are neutral about him that you're actually I'm sorry to say I want to say this lovingly, but your siding with the kingdom of darkness.

Jesus said there very clearly in verse 23 whoever is not with me is against me as I have to ask you at least are you with. Are you with Jesus and then he says, and whoever does not gather with scanners.

What a wonderful example of what the devil does.

He wants to scatter. He wants to divide families.

He wants to divide people he wants to divide churches.

He wants to divide you, even to be at war within yourself so that you can stand to live with yourself anymore. He is he is a being of division so you can't be neutral. That's why invite you to believe on Jesus today and be saved and to say no longer am I going to be neutral.

We sang a few moments ago I decided to follow Jesus, but the first step in doing that is to admit in humble repentance that you need a Savior to translate you from darkness into light but you can't be neutral. Secondly how do we apply this in our lives.

It is by recognizing that we needed to stay close to the stronger man because here's here's what happens.

Even though Jesus disarmed the Satan that all of his authority.

Satan is out on bond today.

I his sentences been commuted.

He knows that it's hellfire deservedly so. He knows that his judgment is absolutely secure.

But for reasons that we can't go into this morning got a still allowed him to have a measure of authority is still spoken of in the New Testament is the God of this world, even though he is defeated legally and in other ways and if you and I do not stand against him. He will come after our families after our own lives after our churches, and he will want to bring darkness and division.

Instead of unity and hope parents talking to you now. Do not let Satan steal your children from you all right and you can only do that by filling your own life with the word of God, and it isn't enough to simply fill your children with the word of God getting them to memorize lots of verses, though that's good enough. There ultimately it's going to be your relationship with your children and not what has been put into their minds, in terms of truth and that is important to do, but it's going to be your relationship with your children, your humility, your willingness to admit that you are wrong. Your willingness to be in favor and to rejoice in the success of other family members rather than tearing them down and bringing the kind of division and the scattering that Satan does, and that only comes the victory only comes by vigilance.

It comes by what we call warfare praying putting on the armor of God, as it says in the book of Ephesians, because after all we don't wrestle against flesh and but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness you noticed all of the categories there because of the way in which Satan is so well organized. I've no doubt that he has some of his minions assigned to you. Hoping that there will be opportunities for you to destroy your life even in a moment of time opportunities for you is what he would want is to convince yourself that darkness actually is preferable to light or that darkness is light and those deceptions are the ones that he wants to bring into our lives.

Bible says in the book of James raises this.

The devil is not easy. It's not something you can just do in a moment of time, though you do it in a moment of time, but it is a lifestyle. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. And there are times I believe when we have to go into the kingdom of darkness to rescue those children through our prayers for intercession in her own connection with them and we need to say Satan you can have what you want in this home. Jesus, the stronger man has triumphed and we depend upon him to crush the temperature because he took his heel and he took the head of the serpent and he grounded, grounded into the gravel like this, and won a victory.

Aren't you glad today that we have a stronger man than Satan. I love to tell the story evidently true in one of our museums here in America there is a painting and the painting was made and it is entitled playing chess with the devil and in the painting and if you know anything about chess you will understand this much better that actually I have to throw this in.

I have an 11-year-old grandson who beat me at chess the other day just totally wiped me out but if you if you know how chess is played what it said is playing chess with the devil and the devil is announcing checkmate in three moves because you know how you can think through what all the moves on all the options are. Paul Morphy some of you perhaps have heard of him. I thinking go online and learn about a great chess player looked at that painting and stared at it and began to think about moving this piece are moving that piece and then he said young man.

There's a movie you can make the painter had overlooked the possibility and it wasn't checkmate in the three moves today. The devil says checkmate and we say, I say to you today. There's a stronger man in the room and there is a move we can all make and we can say get behind me Satan, for it is written will not have me will not have my spouse will not have my children because the kingdom of light is stronger than the kingdom of God. So no matter where you are today on the continuum. Some of you in the kingdom of darkness.

I urge you to receive Christ as Savior will translate you the kingdom of light.

Some of you are in the kingdom of light, but your walking as if you're in the kingdom of darkness submitting to the devil in so many subtle unrecognized way.

When in our hearts and in heaven. Today there is a stronger man who spoiled the works of the evil one. Would you join me as we pray father were just being honest here, as we confess that so often we have given in and sometimes even deliberately to that evil ruler called Satan. We listen to his demons. We listen to his temptation and we said to ourselves that this way seems best for now. Father deliver us from the deceptions that we so gladly accept and shows ourselves show us Jesus and may we be absolutely convinced that his triumph is secure. It is eternal and it is finished. Before I close this prayer what you have to say to God today, no matter who you are matter where your listening, whether on the Internet or the radio you talk to God at this moment father the work that you be gone completed to your glory to Your Honor as we worship today.

The stronger man.

We thank you that Satan met his match and it's no contest by the finger of God, he must let go, lead us.

We ask in Jesus name, amen.

My friend, this is Pastor Lynn certainly has speak to your heart. Just a moment, you know, we hear it running to win and you already know this. We exist to help make its successfully across the finish line messages like the one that you have just heard are being listened to by thousands upon thousands of people I have in my hand a letter from a woman is as I listen every morning on my drive to work.

Pastor Luther's messages are just as beneficial as my breakfast for starting the day she goes on to say that she was not brought up in a church, but these messages are transforming in her own life.

We can't do this alone and right now we're in the midst of a matching gift challenge. What that means is we have some friends who have said that they are willing to match everything that is given dollar for dollar up to $90,000. That means that your gift of $20 becomes 40 well you know what a matching gift is all about.

Would you consider helping us here is what you do go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 I'm convinced that there are many of you who are listening right now who have been blessed and you're saying to yourself I want to bless others where in the midst of this matching gift challenge go to RTW offer.com. Of course RTW offer is all one word RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 become a part of what God is doing through the ministry that he has raised up. You can write to us have run into when 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago, IL 60614 running to win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life. How we handle today's small tasks affects whether we are given a larger task to perform an reward go with it.

In the parable Jesus taught how faithfulness works also what the parables are for our lack of it. Next time I'm running to win. We look into Luke chapter 19 for lesson on getting faithfulness right thanks for listening for Dr. Erwin Luzerne this is Dave McAllister running to win is sponsored by the Moody church