WEBVTT 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:11.119 Matthew 6, verse 9. 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:12.640 Pray then like this. 00:00:13.119 --> 00:00:16.719 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name. 00:00:17.280 --> 00:00:22.719 Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. 00:00:24.399 --> 00:00:26.320 Give us this day our daily bread. 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:30.399 Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. 00:00:30.559 --> 00:00:36.560 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:43.280 There's a famous painting in the Louvre Museum in France. 00:00:43.439 --> 00:00:45.280 It's not no longer there, it's in private. 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:49.280 It was auctioned off and privately owned now, but for the longest time it was there. 00:00:49.359 --> 00:00:51.280 It's a painting called Checkmate. 00:00:51.520 --> 00:01:00.000 And it pictures a person playing chess with the devil under the watchful eyes of what appears to be an angel. 00:01:00.560 --> 00:01:09.840 This painting is meant to communicate that the devil takes his prey one at a time, that people make a bargain with the devil. 00:01:10.079 --> 00:01:23.760 Apparently, as books on art communicate, this painting is meant to describe that people make a bargain with the devil for their soul, and then they lose to the devil because the devil is better at chess or better strategic thinking than you imagine. 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:26.799 He's a few steps ahead of you. 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:40.959 In 1861, General Beauregard, after the battle at Manassas, retreated down to Richmond, where he was shown an art magazine by a Richmond pastor, the Reverend Harrison. 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:44.480 And the two of them studied this painting together. 00:01:44.640 --> 00:01:50.000 And General Beauregard thought, you know what, I have my chief of staff actually is a chess master. 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:52.239 I bet he could beat the devil. 00:01:52.480 --> 00:01:55.040 And so the pastor said, you know, that's not possible. 00:01:55.120 --> 00:02:01.599 And so General Beauregard made a deal with the pastor, Reverend Harrison, that his chief of staff, Mr. 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:05.840 Morphe, would play the devil in chess. 00:02:06.159 --> 00:02:09.360 Reverend Harrison took the position of the devil. 00:02:09.599 --> 00:02:14.240 And I'm not sure what I think about a pastor standing in for the devil in a chess game. 00:02:14.400 --> 00:02:18.400 But it's a civil war, so all ethics are off, apparently, at this point. 00:02:18.879 --> 00:02:25.039 And so the chess match was between this chess master who's in the Confederate Army and the pastor who played in for the devil. 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:28.400 They agreed on how the pieces were set up and played. 00:02:28.479 --> 00:02:31.919 And lo and behold, the chess master won. 00:02:32.080 --> 00:02:37.520 He found a way of escape, at which point the painting was auctioned off. 00:02:38.240 --> 00:02:42.400 No, the painting stayed for another hundred years or so, but eventually was auctioned off. 00:02:42.560 --> 00:02:48.800 From that, it has often been told the lesson is that you can always escape the devil's clutches. 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:58.719 Our passage this morning concludes the Lord's Prayer with a plea to deliver us from evil, or some translations, deliver us from the evil one. 00:02:59.759 --> 00:03:03.280 For some people, coming down the mountain is harder than going up the mountain. 00:03:03.520 --> 00:03:05.120 And this is the case this morning. 00:03:05.280 --> 00:03:08.879 This is the descent from the top of the mountain of the Lord's Prayer. 00:03:09.039 --> 00:03:13.840 The Lord's Prayer is kind of the Mount Everest of prayers in the Bible, and we have come to the bottom of it now. 00:03:13.919 --> 00:03:15.759 This is our last Sunday looking at it. 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:20.800 It concludes with a prayer that the Lord would deliver us from evil. 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:25.039 I hope you've taken different lessons from the Lord's Prayer. 00:03:25.120 --> 00:03:28.800 I hope it's encouraged you, as we mentioned last week, to pray more simply. 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:30.639 This is a very simple prayer. 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:34.159 It is not complex language, it is very accessible. 00:03:34.479 --> 00:03:37.199 You don't have to go to seminary to have the Lord's ear. 00:03:37.360 --> 00:03:40.639 The most baby Christian has the attention of the Lord of the universe. 00:03:40.800 --> 00:03:44.400 That's communicated by the simplicity of this prayer. 00:03:44.639 --> 00:03:48.479 I have heard people say they're frustrated almost by how simple the Lord's prayer is. 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:53.039 Certainly a mature prayer life should be more complex than what is offered to us here. 00:03:53.280 --> 00:04:05.199 But the truth is the opposite is communicated by this, that the most baby, brand new Christian has the same access to God as the most astute and devoted prayer warrior in church history. 00:04:05.439 --> 00:04:13.840 The ears of the Lord of heaven are tuned to the request of his saints, regardless of how complex their language is. 00:04:13.919 --> 00:04:15.919 And that's communicated by this prayer. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:19.839 Anyone can pray to the Lord through faith in Jesus Christ. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:23.040 And certainly that's one of the main takeaways from the Lord's Prayer. 00:04:23.279 --> 00:04:29.360 Beyond that, we've talked about how complex the theology is behind these simple statements. 00:04:29.519 --> 00:04:39.759 You know, you don't have to have the theological nuances between temptation and testing and trials all exegeted in your mind in order to pray, Lord, don't lead me into temptation. 00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:47.680 But there is a whole ocean of truth that's under that's underneath, that's behind all the theology of this that is really fleshed out through your life. 00:04:47.759 --> 00:04:58.399 So it's a simple prayer you can pray, but the more you grow in Christ, the more mature you grow theologically, the more nuance and depth you see to this prayer. 00:04:58.480 --> 00:05:02.399 And that really speaks to the masterful way our Lord wove this together. 00:05:02.560 --> 00:05:05.199 I mean, on the surface, it looks just like a kiddie pool. 00:05:05.439 --> 00:05:09.360 But you wave in and there's infinite depth underneath this prayer. 00:05:09.519 --> 00:05:19.120 It's simple enough for the most immature believer to pray, and it is complex enough to keep the most mature saints growing and learning in their prayers the rest of their life. 00:05:19.279 --> 00:05:20.800 This prayer is very God-centered. 00:05:20.879 --> 00:05:23.439 It is focused on the Lord, not on the self. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:29.839 It begins by remembering that God is in heaven and asking that he would be sanctified on the earth, that he'd be treated holy on the earth. 00:05:30.000 --> 00:05:34.720 It gets to personal prayers, like give me daily bread, keep me from temptation. 00:05:34.959 --> 00:05:40.399 It is personal in that sense, but even the me parts of this are God-centered. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:43.519 You're dependent upon God for your basics of food. 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:45.519 You're dependent upon God for forgiveness. 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:48.160 You're dependent upon God for avoiding temptation. 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:49.920 Moreover, it's also plural. 00:05:50.160 --> 00:05:53.439 I said me a second ago, but if you look carefully at this, it's we. 00:05:53.680 --> 00:05:54.800 This is a corporate prayer. 00:05:54.879 --> 00:05:59.920 You're not just praying for yourself, but for your church, for the brothers and sisters around you. 00:06:00.160 --> 00:06:02.480 This is a congregational prayer. 00:06:02.720 --> 00:06:08.319 People are praying not just for themselves, but in a God-centered way for others. 00:06:08.560 --> 00:06:10.240 There's spiritual prayer requests. 00:06:10.319 --> 00:06:12.879 It's less the hospital report here and more. 00:06:13.120 --> 00:06:15.040 How are people doing spiritually? 00:06:15.360 --> 00:06:24.000 Yes, we need our daily food, but that's just a transition to, Lord, forgive us our sins as we're forgiving people in the body that have sinned against us. 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:32.079 And ultimately, God, keep us all from temptation and deliver us from evil, from the sin that's in the world. 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:33.680 So this is a confessional prayer. 00:06:33.839 --> 00:06:35.040 It has adoration in it. 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:36.879 You're exalting God who's in heaven. 00:06:37.040 --> 00:06:38.079 It has confession in it. 00:06:38.240 --> 00:06:40.000 You're asking for your sins to be forgiven. 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:44.800 Even the end of us, end of the prayer, Lord, deliver me from evil, deliver us from evil. 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:47.680 You're confessing that you're not good enough on your own. 00:06:48.000 --> 00:06:49.439 There's confession in here. 00:06:49.519 --> 00:06:50.560 There's supplication. 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:51.279 You need food. 00:06:51.360 --> 00:06:56.240 There's thanksgiving in here that God has already forgiven you of your debts. 00:06:56.879 --> 00:06:58.639 And so all of this is wrapped together. 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:00.480 You see providing grace in here, Lord. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:01.839 I need the grace for food. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:02.879 Pardoning grace. 00:07:03.040 --> 00:07:05.519 Lord, I need the grace for my sins to be forgiven. 00:07:05.839 --> 00:07:06.879 Protecting grace. 00:07:07.040 --> 00:07:09.120 Lord, don't lead me to temptation. 00:07:09.439 --> 00:07:10.480 Persevering grace. 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:11.839 God, deliver me from evil. 00:07:11.920 --> 00:07:15.680 And I say persevering grace because this is about the perseverance of the saints here. 00:07:15.839 --> 00:07:17.360 This is a Christian praying this prayer. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:19.600 Of course, they're learning from the Lord how to pray. 00:07:19.759 --> 00:07:23.839 And the end of the prayer is, God, keep me throughout the rest of my life. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:25.759 Keep me in the faith. 00:07:26.000 --> 00:07:27.839 Keep me away from evil. 00:07:28.079 --> 00:07:29.199 Evil is a trap. 00:07:29.360 --> 00:07:30.399 Evil is a mud pit. 00:07:30.959 --> 00:07:32.480 Evil is the baited trap. 00:07:32.560 --> 00:07:37.199 And you step in it and it snaps you, and evil can detain you, and people get lost. 00:07:37.279 --> 00:07:39.120 They get submerged into the pit of evil. 00:07:39.279 --> 00:07:43.600 And so this is a prayer that God, you would keep me in the faith the rest of my life. 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:45.120 I don't want to lose my faith. 00:07:45.279 --> 00:07:46.639 I don't want to lose my salvation. 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:48.800 I don't want to get entangled by the evil one. 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:51.120 If the devil attacks me, I don't want him to win. 00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:52.720 That's what this prayer is. 00:07:53.680 --> 00:07:56.160 And again, you might say, you can't lose your salvation. 00:07:56.240 --> 00:07:57.600 Why would you bother praying this? 00:07:58.319 --> 00:08:00.000 That's the point of all of this prayer. 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:01.600 Yes, the Lord has already delivered you. 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:03.600 Yes, the Lord will not tempt you to sin. 00:08:03.680 --> 00:08:05.920 Yes, the Lord will provide you your food. 00:08:06.079 --> 00:08:07.279 That will happen. 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:09.920 He will forgive you your sins through faith in Christ. 00:08:10.160 --> 00:08:11.199 All that will happen. 00:08:11.360 --> 00:08:13.600 Prayer is the means by which it's acquired. 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:15.839 It's the means by which it happens. 00:08:16.319 --> 00:08:21.439 So, yes, pray according to God's will, which means you're praying for things that God is going to bring about. 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:30.319 And one of the means of staying in the faith here is you praying that God would continue to deliver you from evil. 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:34.000 This is wartime language here. 00:08:34.159 --> 00:08:36.399 You are leading a spiritual war. 00:08:36.639 --> 00:08:40.159 The rest of your life will be fought in a spiritual battle. 00:08:40.480 --> 00:08:43.600 This main spiritual battle in your life was not over your conversion. 00:08:43.679 --> 00:08:44.639 That's where it started. 00:08:45.120 --> 00:08:49.759 There's a war, a global war going on between God and the devil, between sin and righteousness. 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:53.279 And you, before becoming a Christian, were a slave of sin. 00:08:53.759 --> 00:09:03.440 You were comfortable on the side of sin, but now you've been ransomed through your faith in Jesus Christ, rescued, redeemed, delivered from the clutches of the devil. 00:09:03.519 --> 00:09:05.120 You've switched sides in the war. 00:09:05.279 --> 00:09:07.039 Now you're on the other side. 00:09:07.360 --> 00:09:10.559 So now the devil's angst towards you is increased. 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:15.919 His hostility towards you is doubled because he doesn't just view you as one of his captives. 00:09:16.080 --> 00:09:20.960 He views you as a traitor, as a double agent, as somebody who betrayed him. 00:09:21.840 --> 00:09:26.000 And so this language, deliver us from evil, deliver is a wartime word. 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:30.320 The New Testament makes it clear the life of the believer is a life of spiritual warfare. 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:32.080 2 Corinthians 10, verse 3. 00:09:32.320 --> 00:09:36.000 We walk in the flesh, but we don't wage war according to the flesh. 00:09:36.240 --> 00:09:39.679 The weapons of our warfare are not flesh and blood. 00:09:40.480 --> 00:09:45.440 Rather, the weapons of our warfare are divine power to destroy strongholds. 00:09:45.679 --> 00:09:48.720 We destroy lofty opinions raised against knowledge of God. 00:09:48.879 --> 00:09:53.519 We take every thought captive to obey Christ, ready to punish every disobedience. 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:56.399 Do you notice all the wartime language in there? 00:09:56.799 --> 00:09:58.559 We attack strongholds. 00:09:58.799 --> 00:10:00.639 We take thoughts captive. 00:10:00.879 --> 00:10:02.639 We punish the rebels. 00:10:02.879 --> 00:10:07.120 We are at war against divine powers in the world. 00:10:07.279 --> 00:10:13.440 The devil who's attacked God and rebelled against the Lord, we're at war at that level. 00:10:15.840 --> 00:10:35.519 It's fitting the Lord's prayer ends with a petition to deliver us from evil because if after all of the prayer, you're leading out in your life and the devil is lurking, sin is there, sin wants to master you, it wants to own you, and your prayer ultimately is about the spiritual health of you and your congregation. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:39.759 And so you're praying that God would keep you from the evil one. 00:10:41.519 --> 00:10:42.799 This is your life. 00:10:43.039 --> 00:10:45.039 There's a constant threat. 00:10:45.600 --> 00:10:46.799 Sin is real. 00:10:47.120 --> 00:10:48.320 Evil is real. 00:10:48.639 --> 00:10:54.879 Our culture downplays sin and uses languages like bad choices or hard times or difficulties. 00:10:55.120 --> 00:10:57.679 Our culture minimalizes sin. 00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:00.000 If you attack God, you're of course attacking sin. 00:11:00.080 --> 00:11:04.720 If you say there's no God, you eventually run into a place where you can't define unrighteousness. 00:11:04.879 --> 00:11:06.000 You can't define evil. 00:11:06.159 --> 00:11:10.480 If you get rid of God and righteousness, you're no longer left with the ability to define evil. 00:11:10.879 --> 00:11:17.120 If you can't define evil, you're in moral ambiguity, where whatever the cultural tides are, that is good. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:20.799 Whatever is, you know, not politically correct, that is evil. 00:11:20.960 --> 00:11:23.919 And it becomes evil as defined by the masses. 00:11:25.200 --> 00:11:28.000 If you reject God, you end up rejecting a concept of evil. 00:11:28.080 --> 00:11:38.320 And so we want to reverse engineer this and I want to remind you that God is real and righteousness is true, and there is real evil in the world, which is at war with God. 00:11:38.799 --> 00:11:49.200 And that's the battlefield for world history, between God and the devil, between righteousness and sin, between holiness and evil. 00:11:49.360 --> 00:11:51.360 Sin is real and evil is real. 00:11:51.519 --> 00:11:56.240 I still remember going to the uh Genocide Museum in Kigali, Rwanda. 00:11:56.559 --> 00:11:59.600 There's an arch there that you see when you leave the museum. 00:11:59.679 --> 00:12:02.559 You don't see the writing when you enter it, but you see it when you leave it. 00:12:02.799 --> 00:12:11.039 It's a quote from Romeo Dallier, a Canadian diplomat, who was there and helped people get out, people escape during the genocide there. 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:12.000 It's a long quote. 00:12:12.080 --> 00:12:12.960 I'll read it to you. 00:12:13.200 --> 00:12:18.480 He writes, I know there is a God because in Rwanda I shook hands with the devil. 00:12:18.960 --> 00:12:26.720 I have seen him, I've smelled him, I've touched him, I know the devil exists, and therefore I know there is a God. 00:12:26.879 --> 00:12:29.919 Now there's one way to read that quote and think it's like a yin-yang kind of thing. 00:12:30.000 --> 00:12:34.639 Like if there's evil, there's got to be good, and I know there's good because I know there's evil kind of thing. 00:12:35.039 --> 00:12:38.240 I don't think that's even what he means, but that's not what I mean by this. 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:40.879 I'm not saying yin yang, if there is evil, there is good. 00:12:40.960 --> 00:12:45.759 I am saying that the devil as a person is the adversary of God. 00:12:45.919 --> 00:12:46.960 That's who the devil is. 00:12:47.120 --> 00:12:48.960 He is the opponent of God. 00:12:49.919 --> 00:12:56.399 And so to believe in the devil is to believe in God, because the devil's identity is that he is the adversary to God. 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:57.600 He is attacking God. 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:03.679 Jesus, as the Word of God, the eternal Son of God, who created the universe, the universe was made through Jesus. 00:13:03.840 --> 00:13:06.960 He says in Luke's gospel that he saw Satan fall like lightning. 00:13:07.200 --> 00:13:09.600 Satan was a created angelic being. 00:13:09.759 --> 00:13:10.720 Satan was exalted. 00:13:10.879 --> 00:13:15.039 Satan was made like one of the sons of God, one of the more exalted angels. 00:13:15.279 --> 00:13:19.039 Satan was filled with beauty and power and authority. 00:13:19.600 --> 00:13:21.759 And Satan coveted the earth. 00:13:22.080 --> 00:13:25.759 Satan was made, of course, on the first day of creation with the rest of the angels. 00:13:25.919 --> 00:13:30.000 He saw the earth and the beauty of the earth, and Satan wanted to rule the earth for himself. 00:13:30.159 --> 00:13:33.519 He looked at his own beauty and thought he should be treated like God. 00:13:34.879 --> 00:13:40.799 And Satan rebelled against God to attack the earth and take control of the earth. 00:13:41.039 --> 00:13:52.720 A third of the demons, a third of the angels joined Satan, a third of the angels also revolted against God and joined the devil in his revolt and plunged to the earth and have been attacking the earth ever since. 00:13:53.120 --> 00:14:02.159 And so, to say that you believe in the devil is to say that you believe in the one who is attacking the Lord of creation, the one who made Adam, the one who made the universe. 00:14:02.320 --> 00:14:09.600 So, yes, to say you've seen the devil is to say you believe in God, because the devil's identity is in rebellion against God. 00:14:11.600 --> 00:14:25.679 Foundational to the Christian worldview is the idea that light and darkness are distinct, that light and darkness are opposites, that holiness and sin are at war, are enemies, that sin is real. 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:29.279 Now, evil is not a sentient thing. 00:14:29.440 --> 00:14:30.960 Evil is, you know, it's not made by God. 00:14:31.039 --> 00:14:32.559 Evil in that sense doesn't exist. 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:34.320 So how can evil be at war? 00:14:34.559 --> 00:14:36.799 Well, evil is personified in three ways. 00:14:36.960 --> 00:14:43.200 Evil becomes sentient, evil takes on force, it has the power to act and do things in three ways. 00:14:43.360 --> 00:14:44.559 So you really have three enemies. 00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:46.559 If you think about it this way, who are you at war with? 00:14:46.720 --> 00:14:47.679 You're on God's side. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:48.639 Who are you fighting? 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:49.919 You're fighting three things. 00:14:50.000 --> 00:14:53.200 You're at war with three things: the world, the flesh, and the devil. 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:55.039 That's who your enemy is. 00:14:56.399 --> 00:15:02.960 First, the flesh, you're at war with your flesh, your own body, the passions that are in your body. 00:15:03.279 --> 00:15:11.600 Jesus in Matthew 12, verse 35, says, the evil person does evil, brings forth evil from the evil treasure in his heart. 00:15:11.919 --> 00:15:19.440 Alright, so the evil person has a storehouse of evil in his heart, and he acts on evil based upon that. 00:15:19.600 --> 00:15:22.399 So you have the capacity to create evil. 00:15:22.559 --> 00:15:23.519 You can do evil. 00:15:23.600 --> 00:15:25.279 You're not creating it ex nihilo. 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:26.960 You're not creating it out of nothing. 00:15:27.200 --> 00:15:32.639 You have the capacity to create evil based upon the evil that is already stored up in your heart. 00:15:32.879 --> 00:15:37.679 Your heart is working overtime at making up evil and storing it in the passions of your body. 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:42.720 So when you want to do something evil, you don't have to invent a new evil, you just get what's already on the shelf. 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:48.000 You do evil because the evil that's squirreled away inside of you. 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:49.519 That's what you're warring against. 00:15:49.679 --> 00:15:51.039 1 Peter 2, verse 11. 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:59.840 Brothers, I urge you, abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul. 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:03.200 Your soul has been redeemed by the Lord. 00:16:03.440 --> 00:16:13.519 You have passions in your body, desires in your body, things you want in your body, lusts in your body, and they are warring against your soul. 00:16:13.679 --> 00:16:19.039 The war between the devil and God is played out in the battlefield of your soul. 00:16:19.279 --> 00:16:27.200 God has ransomed and redeemed your soul, transformed your soul, regenerated your soul from death to life, brought you to faith in Christ. 00:16:27.360 --> 00:16:32.080 You still have your passions in your body that are fighting your soul at this very moment. 00:16:32.960 --> 00:16:34.159 That's the war. 00:16:36.480 --> 00:16:38.159 James 4, verse 1. 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:40.720 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? 00:16:40.879 --> 00:16:41.519 Isn't it this? 00:16:41.759 --> 00:16:44.480 Your passions are at war inside of you. 00:16:45.919 --> 00:16:47.840 You know, nobody makes you sin. 00:16:48.639 --> 00:16:54.720 You might think, oh, my spouse made me sin, they said this to me, my neighbor made me sin, my boss made me sin. 00:16:54.879 --> 00:16:56.000 My kids made me sin. 00:16:56.080 --> 00:16:57.120 My dog made me sin. 00:16:57.200 --> 00:16:58.240 You have an excuse. 00:16:58.480 --> 00:17:01.200 Something outside of you made you sin. 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:06.160 But the reality is that sin comes from inside of you. 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:15.759 Yes, your spouse might have insulted you, your kids might have been rude to you, your boss might have demoted you or not rewarded you or not given you a raise or fired you or whatever. 00:17:15.839 --> 00:17:24.160 The dog might have bit you, there might have been an action outside of you that is what instigated your sinful response, but that's just the means. 00:17:24.319 --> 00:17:28.480 The source of the sin is not what's outside of you, but what's inside of you. 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:31.440 You just have to ask like a question or two. 00:17:31.759 --> 00:17:35.440 You know, your spouse treats you rudely and you get you sin in anger. 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:36.480 Well, why? 00:17:36.720 --> 00:17:41.119 I mean, underneath this is this idea that I deserve to be treated better than that. 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:43.599 I deserve to be treated like this by my family. 00:17:43.759 --> 00:17:45.839 I deserve to be treated like this by my spouse. 00:17:45.920 --> 00:17:48.640 I deserve to be treated like like this by my dog. 00:17:49.519 --> 00:17:51.519 I deserve more than I get at work. 00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:58.799 It becomes this I deserve more than I have, therefore that justifies my sin. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:00.000 Who does that sound like? 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:02.480 I mean, that is straight devil talk, isn't it? 00:18:02.880 --> 00:18:07.119 I deserve more than I have, so I can sin in this way. 00:18:07.279 --> 00:18:10.000 That is the words of the devil himself. 00:18:10.400 --> 00:18:13.440 That's at play in your own flesh. 00:18:13.680 --> 00:18:17.680 You have desires that you don't get, and so you lash out to get them. 00:18:17.839 --> 00:18:21.519 James says, that's a war of passions in your soul. 00:18:22.640 --> 00:18:24.160 Romans 7, verse 23. 00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:32.079 I see in my members another law, waging war against the law of my mind, making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 00:18:32.240 --> 00:18:34.319 So again, you were a slave to sin. 00:18:34.880 --> 00:18:38.559 Jesus saves you, rescues you, regenerates your soul. 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:42.720 You become a Christian, you're now walking the light, you've been freed from the penalty of sin. 00:18:42.880 --> 00:18:45.440 The deeds of your sin were nailed to the cross of Christ. 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:46.880 Jesus died on the cross. 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:49.039 Your sins are forgiven through faith in Christ. 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:52.400 There is no penalty of sin anymore for those who are in Christ. 00:18:52.559 --> 00:18:54.880 The power of sin has been broken over you. 00:18:55.039 --> 00:18:56.559 You don't have to keep sinning. 00:18:56.640 --> 00:18:58.079 The chain was cut. 00:18:58.240 --> 00:19:00.640 It no longer has mastery over you. 00:19:00.799 --> 00:19:06.319 And yet the presence of sin is still there and it's still hounding you, and you sometimes put the chains back on. 00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:12.400 Yes, God broke the chain, but you see the chain lying there and you grab it and you tie yourself back up with it again. 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:14.960 That's what Romans 7 is describing. 00:19:15.200 --> 00:19:17.440 And this is the battle that goes on your whole life. 00:19:17.519 --> 00:19:24.960 In Romans 7, Paul describes it as a war that takes you captive to the law of sin that's still dwelling in your members. 00:19:25.920 --> 00:19:27.680 So, yeah, you're fighting the flesh. 00:19:27.839 --> 00:19:29.519 Your body wants things. 00:19:29.839 --> 00:19:34.160 You want to be treated a certain way, you think certain comforts in life, whatever. 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:37.119 You're after things in this world, you'll sin to get them. 00:19:37.279 --> 00:19:39.599 That's the war that's in your flesh. 00:19:39.839 --> 00:19:41.039 So you're fighting the flesh. 00:19:41.119 --> 00:19:42.480 You're fighting the world. 00:19:42.960 --> 00:19:44.319 James 4, verse 4. 00:19:44.480 --> 00:19:46.960 Don't you know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:48.799 You are at war against the world. 00:19:49.039 --> 00:19:55.680 You can't be friends of the world and God because the world is held under the captivity of the evil one, Ephesians 2, verse 2 says. 00:19:55.839 --> 00:19:58.160 The world's under the authority of the devil. 00:19:59.359 --> 00:20:00.960 Oh, what does that mean? 00:20:01.599 --> 00:20:03.839 That means the cultures of the world? 00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:12.960 The world views, to use the language of 2 Corinthians 10, the world views of the nations, the cultures of the world are at enmity with God. 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:15.039 They're hostile towards God. 00:20:16.000 --> 00:20:18.640 Do you know why cultures are at war against God? 00:20:18.960 --> 00:20:21.839 Because cultures and societies are made up of people like you. 00:20:21.920 --> 00:20:23.039 That's why. 00:20:25.839 --> 00:20:27.680 And it's hostile to God. 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:31.920 And as the nations conspire against God, this is Psalm 2. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:34.799 The nations rage, the people plot a vain thing. 00:20:34.960 --> 00:20:36.880 They raise their hand against the Holy One. 00:20:37.039 --> 00:20:44.799 God says, I'm going to install my Messiah, I'm going to install my son on Mount Zion, and the nations will do his bidding, and the nations seek to throw off his chains. 00:20:45.680 --> 00:20:48.000 Yes, the nations are at war against God. 00:20:48.319 --> 00:20:50.960 Yes, the cultures of the world are at war against God. 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:56.400 And if you make yourself a friend with the world, you make yourself an enemy with God. 00:20:58.160 --> 00:20:59.359 That's because it's a war. 00:20:59.440 --> 00:21:00.960 This is not a preference issue. 00:21:02.799 --> 00:21:06.400 You can be, you can root for both the Cowboys and the Redskins. 00:21:06.480 --> 00:21:07.039 You know this? 00:21:07.519 --> 00:21:08.640 You can root for both teams. 00:21:08.720 --> 00:21:10.000 You can have friends that root for both teams. 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:11.200 It's okay. 00:21:12.400 --> 00:21:15.599 You cannot root for both the world and God. 00:21:16.240 --> 00:21:18.079 You can't root for both the devil and God. 00:21:18.240 --> 00:21:20.160 You can't serve both God and money. 00:21:20.319 --> 00:21:22.319 You will end up serving one and hating the other. 00:21:22.480 --> 00:21:24.720 This is the underscored point in the Bible. 00:21:25.039 --> 00:21:26.880 At some point, you're gonna choose sides. 00:21:27.039 --> 00:21:32.319 The Lord and the devil are enemies and are at war. 00:21:33.440 --> 00:21:36.799 So there's the flesh, the world, and thirdly, of course, the devil. 00:21:36.960 --> 00:21:42.079 He's the prince of this world, meaning all the cultures, all the world systems fall underneath his authority. 00:21:42.240 --> 00:21:43.759 He's the instigator of evil. 00:21:43.920 --> 00:21:47.359 He's the one that brought his attack onto mankind. 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:51.519 He came to war against human beings. 00:21:51.680 --> 00:21:58.640 Remember, he rebelled against God and brought his battle to the earth, and he tricked Adam and Eve and brought them into sin, and he brought the whole world into sin with them. 00:21:58.799 --> 00:21:59.759 The devil hates Christians. 00:22:00.400 --> 00:22:02.319 Of course, but the devil hates every human being. 00:22:02.480 --> 00:22:04.640 The devil hates anybody in the image of Adam. 00:22:04.720 --> 00:22:07.839 The devil hates everybody who is a human being. 00:22:09.519 --> 00:22:16.000 This is why you see demonic activity and oppression, not just in Christian societies, but in societies around the world. 00:22:16.559 --> 00:22:19.680 But he has a double hatred of Christians. 00:22:20.319 --> 00:22:23.359 Because you used to be on his side. 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:26.319 This is Ephesians 2, verse 1 through 5. 00:22:26.400 --> 00:22:34.000 You were dead in your sins and trespasses, in which you used to walk according to this world, again, following the prince of the power of the air. 00:22:34.640 --> 00:22:37.039 We all lived in the passions of our flesh, Paul says. 00:22:37.200 --> 00:22:43.440 Notice again, that's the world of flesh and the devil, carrying out the desires of our body, destined for wrath. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:46.880 But God, being rich in his mercy, saved us. 00:22:47.759 --> 00:22:48.880 That's the war. 00:22:49.039 --> 00:22:52.880 You're at war against the world, you're at war against the flesh, you're at war against the devil. 00:22:53.119 --> 00:23:00.799 The devil is real, he is God's enemy, he is your enemy, even he's the enemy of every human being, but he's particularly your enemy. 00:23:00.960 --> 00:23:03.839 1 Peter 5, verse 8 calls Satan the adversary. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:08.160 He's the adversary of the elect, he's the adversary of Christians, and he's God's adversary. 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:14.240 He's the accuser of the children of God, he's the attacker of the Son of God, the attempter of the Son of God. 00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:16.960 He is your enemy. 00:23:17.519 --> 00:23:19.039 And he is at war. 00:23:19.920 --> 00:23:22.880 Now Satan can't indwell you, he can't take over your body. 00:23:22.960 --> 00:23:24.559 Satan can't make you sin. 00:23:24.960 --> 00:23:27.920 You're never going to be able to say the devil made me do it. 00:23:28.160 --> 00:23:32.079 As a Christian, he who is in you is stronger than he who is in the world. 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:33.519 You have your new nature. 00:23:33.599 --> 00:23:41.680 You have the Holy Spirit who regenerated your heart through faith in Christ, and dwells in you, and brings the word of God to bear against the attacks of the devil. 00:23:41.839 --> 00:23:45.519 The devil is not going to win in that sense, but the devil can entice you. 00:23:45.839 --> 00:23:47.680 The devil can tempt you. 00:23:47.920 --> 00:23:49.680 The devil can sift you. 00:23:49.920 --> 00:23:52.000 The devil can provoke you. 00:23:54.079 --> 00:23:56.720 So don't be confused about what side you're on. 00:23:57.039 --> 00:24:00.240 God is the holy one and the devil is the evil one. 00:24:00.720 --> 00:24:03.279 All righteousness is holy and all sin is evil. 00:24:03.440 --> 00:24:06.480 And God disciplines his children to keep them from sin. 00:24:06.720 --> 00:24:09.599 The devil tempts God's children to get them to sin. 00:24:09.680 --> 00:24:12.240 I mean, these are categorically opposites. 00:24:13.279 --> 00:24:18.160 Satan wants you to keep sinning, and God wants to teach you that sin hurts. 00:24:18.400 --> 00:24:20.400 So he disciplines his children. 00:24:22.400 --> 00:24:25.039 Well, I don't want you to overestimate the devil. 00:24:25.279 --> 00:24:29.440 He's not all-powerful, he's not omniscient, he doesn't know all things. 00:24:29.759 --> 00:24:31.440 He can't, he's not omnipresent. 00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:33.599 The devil can't be in more than one place at one time. 00:24:33.759 --> 00:24:35.599 He's he's he's a creature. 00:24:35.920 --> 00:24:37.759 He can't be all over the world. 00:24:38.079 --> 00:24:42.799 But he does have a whole army, a third of the angels that rebelled with him at his disposal. 00:24:43.039 --> 00:24:47.039 So he can be tempting and attacking and sifting more than one person at a time. 00:24:47.119 --> 00:24:50.799 He can be active all over the world, even though he's only in one place. 00:24:51.920 --> 00:24:54.000 But again, he's not all powerful. 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:58.240 He can only do that which God allows him to do. 00:24:59.440 --> 00:25:06.160 It should be an encouragement to know that your greatest enemy is under the authority of your greatest friend. 00:25:06.880 --> 00:25:09.680 That God is sovereign over the devil. 00:25:10.960 --> 00:25:14.079 Yet I don't want you to underestimate the devil either. 00:25:14.319 --> 00:25:16.079 Well, he's not omnipresent. 00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:18.079 He can attack people everywhere. 00:25:18.240 --> 00:25:20.720 His army is aggressive, cruel, and powerful. 00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:29.680 That's why Peter says, be watchful and sober-minded, because your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a lion looking for someone to devour. 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:31.359 He's on the prowl now. 00:25:31.440 --> 00:25:33.920 And you might say, ah, but the devil wouldn't attack me. 00:25:34.079 --> 00:25:35.920 He wouldn't attack a little old me. 00:25:36.559 --> 00:25:38.240 I'm not that significant. 00:25:39.519 --> 00:25:47.359 I had somebody say once, you know, the devil, if he's going to attack people, would only attack like famous Christian leaders, like pastors or something. 00:25:47.680 --> 00:25:50.000 To which I say, mind your own business. 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:53.519 No, he wouldn't attack just a typical Christian. 00:25:53.599 --> 00:25:55.599 He would attack an exalted Christian. 00:25:55.920 --> 00:25:58.319 But you don't understand his strategy very well then. 00:25:58.480 --> 00:26:03.039