God At War Part 1

Star Wars films are good and evil as two sides of the coin force with the good side and the dark side. We don't take theology, Hollywood. We all know there's a great struggle going on between good and evil stay with the church in Chicago this morning with Dr. Sir clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line elixir they call it the conflict of the ages. It's between God and Satan and the consequences are everywhere tell us where we were heading.

As you teach today about God at war will Dave, I can assure you that where we are headed is very clear in the and God wins now when I read the book of Revelation and I see the conflict that is still to come upon this earth. I'm absolutely overwhelmed.

On the one hand it appears as if evil is going to win, but of course it will not, God will triumph. Thank God for Jesus Christ.

Thank God that he came at Bethlehem and that he was willing to die on the cross and he exposes the errors of the devil and won a victory. I'm holding in my hands a book entitled the Bible code.

Great book to give to your friends. The subtitle is finding Jesus in every book of the Bible. Each of these readings is two or three pages long. Very readable, very accessible. It helps us to understand that the Bible is a unified whole, and it's all about Jesus for a gift of any amount.

This book can be yours. Go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Now let us listen carefully as once again we understand the conflict. Thank God we know who the winner is now my topic today is God at war got it more. It was Toynbee who said the Blessed is the nation that has no history for history is a record I'm not going to be talking about military battles, physical battles, because those kinds of battles take place on earth between countries I'm talking about battles that go on in the human heart. I'm talking about the conflict that is been going on for centuries between God and the devil. And it's a conflict in which you and I are directly involved whether we want to or not, or whether we know about or not we are part of what is happening in order to set the context I want you to turn to Genesis chapter 3 where we find most things got their start Genesis chapter 3, we find that the Lord of course is cursing Satan, giving him a curse.

Now remember that the first message of this series was God was on the topic of God when he was alone. The next message I spoke about the fall of Satan.

Last week was man of the casualty, and this time were speaking about the conflict between God and Satan.

Genesis 315 has sometimes been considered as the John 316 of the Old Testament. Let me read it to you and I will put enmity between you and the woman Lord here, by the way, you know, is speaking to the servant. I will put enmity between you and the woman between your seed and her seed, he shall bruise you on the head and you shall bruise him on the heel itself is the text saying here doesn't seem to be very clear. First of all let me explain that Satan's seed refers to demons, and all people of the world who side with Satan against God and the text says that there will also be the seed of the woman that is the righteous seed, culminating in Jesus Christ in the birth of Christ the Redeemer so that background let's try to understand the text. This way, first of all, the Lord says that a Redeemer is going to come but there is going to be conflict. I will put enmity. I will put hostility between the work of Satan and the work of God, there's gonna be war and that's were talking about.

Furthermore, the Lord not only says there's going to be war, but he predicts how it's going to come out.

What is Satan going to be able to do, he will the heel of the Redeemer, the best he will nip the heel of the Redeemer. But what will the Redeemer do the Redeemer will bruise trash his head until the serpents have their poison in their head and so what Jesus is going to do is to stomp on the devil and twist him into the dirt and and his authority and reverse his work, but there's going to be enmity. There's going to be war is Satan going to give up know is he going to lose it.

Yes.

Are you and I involved in the conflict. You bet. If pastors bet you bet like to do today is to give you an example of three conflicts that Satan has been involved in, in which God has allowed him to win some from men. This awesome victories, but in the end of the victories are illusionary because it only hastens Satan's judgment to do that were going to be looking at a number of passages of Scripture. Some we will be reading others, I will simply recall to your mind.

The first conflict is when Satan tries to destroy the race tries to destroy the race. If we had time to read chapter 4 we find out that Cain kills Abel, who was Cain's inspiration.

Bible says in first John, that Cain killed Abel because he was all that evil one. Why was that important to Satan, it's because you see, Satan can't see the future. He doesn't know to take thousands of years for the Redeemer to be born, and he probably is thinking that able who is a righteous child likely is going to be the one who's going to crush him on the head because he can't foresee the future he can know what people are thinking he can know what is being planned, especially those who belong to him but he cannot predict the future Pres. Kennedy was shot in Dallas many years ago all kinds of soothsayers came forward and said I predicted it. Ever notice that it's much easier to predict an event after it happens than before.

Ever notice that you know if you buy those newspapers at the beginning of the year with all those predictions keep one of those sometime keep it for a few years and see how many of them came true very, very few as many as you and I might be able to predict.

So you see what Satan tries to do though is he has two tactics. The first is kill the righteous seed.

That's number one number two if you can't kill them. Corrupt them right. He tries to kill Abel.

And Abel is killed and what does God do God gives Adam and Eve another son whose name is Seth and the word Seth means substitute and so Satan begins to understand that no matter how many he kills God will only give another one and therefore changes his tactics and he says I'm going into corruption now turn to Genesis 6 it says in verse two that the sons of God saw that the daughters of men were beautiful and they took wives for themselves whatever they chose and then it says in verse three the Lord said my spiritual not always strive with man purse for the Napoleon were on the earth in those days also afterword when the sons of God came into the daughters of men and they bore children to them, and those were the mighty men who were old men. What in the world is going on here in every other place where the expression sons of God occurs in the Hebrew Bible. It's a reference to angels, so I take this text to be a reference to fallen Angels involved in illicit sexual moral activity either directly. You say that's absurd. That's 18th-century that's medieval way. I've spoken to people who have been so given over to immorality that they had sexual experiences that were demonic or perhaps these demonic spirits were simply energizing the people in their sexual activity. But at any rate, the evil is so profound that it says in verse five the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great upon the earth and that every in 10 of his heart was all only evil society. I can imagine Satan saying to himself I will raise is corrupt that there is no good seed that's going to bruise me verse eight but Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord. One man family needs you see how close God is willing to allow Satan to come to a point of victory and then suddenly cuts him off and doesn't allow him to have what he thinks he might have and so he has to snatch defeat out of the very jaws of victory is so close box. There's no let me give you another example of a battle that Satan appears to win, and that eventually loses first of all, he tries to destroy the race. Now if you look at Genesis chapter 12 member God called Abraham and the Lord said that Abraham is going to be the one who will be the righteous seed in it says in verse three. I'm assuming you know the text here 12 verse three I will bless those who bless you and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed. Obviously I'm not so veiled reference to the coming Redeemer.

So it's going to be through the seed of Abraham that all the families of the earth are going to receive blessing Satan. Understanding this begins a persecution process. Remember his two methods are kill and if killing doesn't work corrupt. So afterwards Abraham has a number of sons.

You know the story of how they going to Egypt and once they're in Egypt under the leadership of Pharaoh what is Satan trying to do to exterminate the seed of Abraham, and so Pharaoh says I go to try to kill people by hard labor and then he says to the midwives when a child is being born. If he is a male child kill him. Extermination of what we now call the Jewish race. That's what he was after dinner work well not quite, because God allowed the people to get out of Egypt after inflict judgment on the gods of Egypt. You know that all of those plagues in the book of Exodus free single one was directed to a different Egyptian God. For example, used to worship the Nile River. What does the Lord do the Nile turns to blood and it's unusable. They used to worship the sun. What does God do the darkness is upon the face of the land and the sun doesn't shine. God is mocking the gods of Egypt.

It says in Exodus chapter 12 verse 12 against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment.

I am the Lord.

Some people escape they go through the Red Sea, they end up in the desert. Eventually they get into the land extermination didn't work, so Satan's changes his strategy moves to corruption, and so once the people are in the land. What do you read in the book of Samuel and in the book of Kings nothing but idolatry.

The people worshiping the pagan gods and no matter how much righteousness there was in the land.

Generation after generation. It always collapsed again and there was idolatry all over the place and eventually God says I've had enough money allowed the Assyrians to come in and carry off 27,000 people to the area where they live. There is refugees and then he allowed the Babylonians to come in and to carry off thousands of people into Babylon and Satan again is waiving the will, not quite. Some people who came back they came back 70 years later they start to rebuild the temple, and all and the reason that you have all those genealogies in Ezra Nehemiah is God is making sure that we understand that his prediction to Abraham is being fulfilled in the genealogy is being preserved because things are being set up for the coming of Jesus Christ on the planet Earth. Satan seems to be so close.

God always wins me to be 1/3 example he tries to corrupt the whole race. He tries to corrupt the whole nation. Now he tries to destroy a baby tries to destroy a baby turn to Matthew chapter 2 for just a moment.

Matthew chapter 2 what's going on here in the text while we find out that Herod wants to worship Jesus.

Ha ha ha. The Magi come to Jerusalem and they say were looking for the Christ child. Incidentally, the star did not lead them to Bethlehem and led them to Jerusalem so that the scribes could tell them what the Scripture says people think that just because they were led by the stars. People are into astrology, which the Bible forbids it is rebellion against God for people to go by the horoscopes I want you to notice and Herod of course is so kind, isn't he. Verse eight of chapter 2, he sent them to Bethlehem and said no and make careful search for the child and when you have found him report to me that I may come and worship him also the liar.

They, of course, worship Christ and then they are warned and they go into Egypt and Jesus and his parents going to Egypt and Herod finds out about it in verse 16 it says when Herod saw that he had been tricked by the Magi, he became very enraged and sent an slew all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in its environs from two years old and under, according to the time which he had ascertained from the Magi something to kill and he didn't know which baby to kill sizes and want to kill the whole works. Satan says to himself, Shirley, I'm going to win this victory did he win the victory know what happened was Jesus and his parents had slipped away into Egypt in this day the hand of this dictator who was more interested in killing people that he was in any kind of righteousness. I have already told you. Satan is two methods number one. He always tries to kill Lexus preference you say will how strong easy. It says in the book of Hebrews.

That's Satan has the power of death, awesome. That's what he likes to do is the destroyer he'd like to kill us and to kill the people of God, does he pull it off know he doesn't pull it off.

Jesus eludes his grasp. So he moves on to Plan B corruption as I can't chill the corrupt takes them into the desert says look command the stones that they be made bread.

In other words, do a miracle independently of God. And if you don't want to do that bow down and worship me fall into the sin of idolatry and if you do that I'm gonna give you all the kingdoms of the earth, and their glory and they had the right to do that. By the way, because Jesus didn't rebuke him trying to corrupt the son of God. All things left what audacity the devil has, but it's his best shot is desperate Jesus of course is no to all of the temptations and once again, now Satan has a real dilemma on his hands because he knows that Jesus is the Redeemer. He doesn't quite understand all that is going to happen but he doesn't know now whether to support the crucifixion of Jesus Christ are to be against it. Is he supposed to do in the middle of this. If he allows the Jews to accept Christ by not offering any resistance and they embrace Jesus as Messiah, Jesus would be embraced by the nation, possibly establishing the kingdom and of course we knew that he had to die but he can't stand the nation accepting Christ as Messiah, so he is a last ditch effort inspires the nation to nail Jesus Christ to the cross and for a few brief moments. She is gleeful. It is ambivalent madness because he thinks to himself. I have put the son of God on the cross, which incidentally is the topic of my sermon next week. He says I've put Jesus on the cross and he gets that momentary delight of seeing Christ appear in all weakness hanging there dying like a common criminal moments of delight, right listen to God have anything to do with that turn to exchequer for just a moment.

How well did Satan do to thwart the purpose of God. I did he really derail God's program right gods in heaven, saying, I don't want to do the devil's just so strong. He's just doing awful things down there, how to handle it.

No chapter 4 verse 27 of ask for truly, in this city there were gathered together against thy holy servant Jesus, whom thou didst anoint both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the Gentiles and the people of Israel to do whatever thy hand and thy purpose.

Yes to occur at the will, my friend, this is Pastor Luther.

I hope that you love it to. The reason that I love it is because it shows the sovereignty of God, the devil, as Luther said even the devil is God's devil, by the way. Christmas is just around the corner. Are you looking for a gift that you love to give to your neighbors. Perhaps they are believers, perhaps not.

You'd like to give them a gift that would be very readable.

That would remind them that the Bible is a unified book. It's entitled the Bible code has nothing to do with the da Vinci code that we heard about so many years ago the Bible code finding Jesus in every book of the Bible and every one of these readings is two or three pages. The book is very welcoming. It's one that you can give to your friends and if you contact us right now. We believe that we can have it to you for Christmas for gift of any amount. It can be yours. Here's what you do go to RTW offer.com that's RTW offer.com.

Of course, RTW offers all one word RTW offer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337 contact us right away and will put this book in the mail that you can keep one for yourself or you may be able to order multiple copies. Ask for the Bible code finding Jesus in every book of the Bible.

Call us at 1-888-218-9337 times out for another chance for you to ask faster certain question about the Bible or the Christian life Amy in Carrollton Texas listens to running to win on Kd KR. She's been deeply hurt and wants to know this. How do we respond to those who've wronged us, but don't acknowledge any wrongdoing on their part or say that no wrongdoing ever recurred everyone involved in this situation is a Christian or claims to be.

What's your advice. My advice is simply this. There are so many issues in life that you and I cannot sort out. For example, you say everyone involved is a Christian.

Are they Christians, we don't really know Jesus said that in this life that we did and the tears they grow together. So sometimes we look at a person's life and we may say that they are Christians. They may claim to be Christians but there's no fruit. There's really no evidence in the answer is you and I don't really know because we can't see the heart, so that would be the first thing you have to accept the fact that there are many issues that we cannot sort out. Second, it is very customary for evil people who have done evil to deny it, and so the important thing is to not be surprised at the fact that there are some people who pretend everything is okay. Even though they have done you an awful lot of harm. That's just the way it is. We have to be able to accept the fact that that will happen. For example, those who harbor abusers parents of abuse their children almost uniformly, they will let them in the end deny that they did it. So here's my pastoral advice to you. What is important is that you personally laid down your bitterness that you may have to work these people commit them to God. Vengeance is mine, I will recompense, says the Lord. And don't try to get them to agree with you that it happened.

If they're going to deny third going to deny it.

Those kinds of discussions ultimately go nowhere, so be sure that your own heart has forgiven them in this sense that you're laying down the bitterness you're giving it to God to resolve. That's the way it often is in life as we think about the centers among whom we live.

And of course you and I are also in that category, even as saints, we still sin. And so what we need to do is to simply make sure that her own heart is right with God.

Good words for Amy and for all of us from Dr. Erwin looks or thank you Dr. lutes are if you'd like to hear your question answered. Go to our website@rtwoffer.com and click on ask Pastor Luther or call us at 1-888-218-9337 that's 1-888-218-9337 you can write to us running to win 1635 N. LaSalle Boulevard Chicago 60614 next time more about Satan's attempts to thwart God's redemptive plan will hear about the devil's most ambitious Lord, this is Dave Callister running to win is sponsored by the Moody Church