1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:12,440 Welcome to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. We are a Bible-Believing Church located 2 00:00:12,440 --> 00:00:16,680 in beautiful British Columbia, Canada. We are proudly part of the Christian Fellowship 3 00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:21,920 Ministries with 3,000 churches around the world. We are a church focused on world evangelism, 4 00:00:21,920 --> 00:00:27,300 discipleship and church planting. Here we will share recent sermons from P.H.S.A. Church 5 00:00:27,300 --> 00:00:31,880 and other sermons from throughout our fellowship. I am Pastor David Bigford and I will be your 6 00:00:31,880 --> 00:00:36,420 host for this podcast. I thank you for listening today and we hope these messages are a blessing 7 00:00:36,420 --> 00:00:42,320 to you and bring you closer to God. 8 00:00:42,320 --> 00:00:51,560 Hello and welcome back to the Potter's House Salmon Arm podcast. My name is David Bigford 9 00:00:51,560 --> 00:00:59,120 and I am the pastor here in Salmon Arm. Today I have a message called Warning Against Worldliness 10 00:00:59,120 --> 00:01:06,640 and a subheading if you want it is called Pride in What? We tend to gravitate towards 11 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:14,840 in society and what has kind of captured you that could be in a harmful way and that is 12 00:01:14,840 --> 00:01:20,600 kind of the picture of worldliness as well. What are you allowing yourself to be captivated 13 00:01:20,600 --> 00:01:25,280 by that might seem okay on the surface but if you were to like pick away at a little 14 00:01:25,280 --> 00:01:30,360 bit you would realize that you are giving up a lot of what the scripture tells us is 15 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:39,600 right in favor of stuff that is unholy. So to jump off here, sorry I am mumbling my words 16 00:01:39,600 --> 00:01:45,880 today but to jump off like our text will be James 4, 1-12. So if you have your Bible, 17 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:51,280 if you are following along for the purpose of that you can turn to James chapter 4 verses 18 00:01:51,280 --> 00:01:56,960 1-12. We will be jumping in there in just a second. So you might have heard of a book 19 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:03,300 called the 48 Laws of Power. It is by a guy named Robert Green and I am going to jump 20 00:02:03,300 --> 00:02:07,760 in with an excerpt about this book but I want you to pay attention because this is not a 21 00:02:07,760 --> 00:02:14,320 book that I recommend. In fact far to the opposite I would actually disagree with this 22 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:19,000 book vehemently in a lot of different ways but let's jump in with the preface to the 23 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:25,600 book just so you can get an idea of where I am coming from. 24 00:02:25,600 --> 00:02:32,640 The feeling of having no power over people and events is generally unbearable. To us 25 00:02:32,640 --> 00:02:38,000 it feels like when we feel helpless we feel miserable. No one wants less power, everyone 26 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:44,640 wants more. In the world today however it is dangerous to seem too power hungry or to 27 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:51,320 be overt with your power moves. We have to seem fair and decent so we need to be subtle, 28 00:02:51,320 --> 00:02:58,180 congenial yet cunning, democratic yet devious. This game of constant duplicity most resembles 29 00:02:58,180 --> 00:03:04,120 the power dynamic that existed in the scheming world of the old aristocratic court. Throughout 30 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:11,120 history a court has always formed itself around the person in power, the king, queen, emperor, 31 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:18,360 leader. The courtiers who filled their courts were in an especially delicate position. They 32 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:23,440 had to serve their masters but if they seemed to fawn, if they seemed they curried favor 33 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:29,440 too obviously, the other courtiers around them would notice and would act against them. 34 00:03:29,440 --> 00:03:35,520 Hence to win the masters favor then had to be subtle and even skilled courtiers capable 35 00:03:35,520 --> 00:03:41,680 of such subtlety still had to protect themselves from their fellow courtiers who at all moments 36 00:03:41,680 --> 00:03:50,340 were scheming to push them aside. So let's read our text in James 4, 1-12. What causes 37 00:03:50,340 --> 00:03:55,960 quarrels and what causes fights among you? It is not this that your passions are at war 38 00:03:55,960 --> 00:04:02,140 within you. You desire and do not have so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain so 39 00:04:02,140 --> 00:04:08,400 you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive 40 00:04:08,400 --> 00:04:14,120 because you ask wrongly to spend it on your own passions. Your adulterous people, do you 41 00:04:14,120 --> 00:04:19,680 not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes 42 00:04:19,680 --> 00:04:26,600 to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you suppose it is no 43 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:32,240 purpose that the scripture says he yearns jealously over the spirit that he has made 44 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:39,000 to dwell in us but he gives more grace therefore it says God opposes the proud but gives grace 45 00:04:39,000 --> 00:04:44,440 to the humble. Submit yourself therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from 46 00:04:44,440 --> 00:04:49,640 you. Draw near to God and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands you sinners and 47 00:04:49,640 --> 00:04:55,760 purify your hearts you double minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned 48 00:04:55,760 --> 00:05:02,040 to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord and he will exalt you. Do 49 00:05:02,040 --> 00:05:07,520 not speak evil against one another brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges 50 00:05:07,520 --> 00:05:13,840 his brother speaks evil against the law and the judge is the law. But if you judge the 51 00:05:13,840 --> 00:05:19,840 law you are not a doer of the law but a judge. There is only one law giver and judge. He 52 00:05:19,840 --> 00:05:25,640 who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge? Your neighbor. And that 53 00:05:25,640 --> 00:05:31,640 last part your neighbor is a question. We're getting a question from our brother James 54 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:39,960 in this scripture. Because the question of this is where is your heart going to lie? 55 00:05:39,960 --> 00:05:44,680 So as we jump into this let's pray. Dear Lord God I pray that your word will pierce the 56 00:05:44,680 --> 00:05:50,360 heart with spirit of conviction and that we will see that the word of God that we just 57 00:05:50,360 --> 00:05:57,160 read illuminates the wickedness of that first preamble of that book that we just read. The 58 00:05:57,160 --> 00:06:04,280 two things are at odds and I pray that through this message that we'll be able to show the 59 00:06:04,280 --> 00:06:10,520 desire of our Father that is summed up in the commands to love God first and to love 60 00:06:10,520 --> 00:06:16,400 your neighbor as the next primary command. So in Jesus name I pray amen. So our world 61 00:06:16,400 --> 00:06:21,840 today is made up of two groups. The first and largest group is the group that wants 62 00:06:21,840 --> 00:06:27,440 to be left alone. This is a group that's not interested in dominating the other group. 63 00:06:27,440 --> 00:06:31,840 There are you know they're primarily interested in being taken care of in life. If their basic 64 00:06:31,840 --> 00:06:36,640 needs are met they are most likely to not involve themselves in the comings and goings 65 00:06:36,640 --> 00:06:41,880 of the other group. The second group is made up of an ambitious and striving people. This 66 00:06:41,880 --> 00:06:47,440 group desires to influence change. They often want to exert control and dominate the first 67 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:52,200 group. But this idea is nothing new to the world and it's presented in the scriptures 68 00:06:52,200 --> 00:06:57,520 when Jesus calls the people sheep without a shepherd in Matthew 9 36 he was drawing 69 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:02,920 attention to the masses of people who are without godly direction in their lives. The 70 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:08,000 trouble is that is not that there are leaders and followers in life. No the problem is where 71 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:13,760 the desire to lead stems from in the heart of those called to lead and why some who choose 72 00:07:13,760 --> 00:07:20,120 to follow or refuse to serve because some who refuse to serve or refuse to lead who 73 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:25,280 are called they're doing just as much of a disservice as those who want to lead but want 74 00:07:25,280 --> 00:07:31,160 to lead from a wrong heart. So that's what I want to look at today. Why do some desire 75 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:37,000 more than anything to dominate and why do others only desire comfort and what links 76 00:07:37,000 --> 00:07:44,240 these two ideas together. So I want to contend it's the same route that drives some to power 77 00:07:44,240 --> 00:07:50,600 and others to comfort in first John 2 16 it says for all that is in the world the desires 78 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:56,000 of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life is not from the father but 79 00:07:56,000 --> 00:08:02,880 is from the world. The struggle is against worldliness as Christians we are called to 80 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:07,840 stand for Christ against the world. This is a tall order and it's easier said than done 81 00:08:07,840 --> 00:08:14,400 clearly but let's think of the root of the issue. The core issue is one of sovereignty. 82 00:08:14,400 --> 00:08:19,880 Are we giving God the rightful place of kingship in our lives and are we allowing or are we 83 00:08:19,880 --> 00:08:26,320 allowing something else to take the throne in our lives and in our hearts. This brings 84 00:08:26,320 --> 00:08:33,640 me to my first point which is the great deceiver. The power or this book that we read the preface 85 00:08:33,640 --> 00:08:42,200 to is lauded in many circles especially like business circles and it's amazing because 86 00:08:42,200 --> 00:08:48,920 what drives this message and when we look at that preface we get this picture of what's 87 00:08:48,920 --> 00:08:57,200 true you know what is the author what is in the author's heart and we get an idea of 88 00:08:57,200 --> 00:09:04,160 the condition behind it this desire for power but to be devious. So meanwhile the court 89 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:09,480 was supposed to represent this height of civilization refinement we read about this when he's talking 90 00:09:09,480 --> 00:09:14,360 about the courtiers and the kings and the emperors all the stuff we see this. We also 91 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:20,960 know that violent or overt power moves were frowned upon. Remember we read that they they 92 00:09:20,960 --> 00:09:28,200 you had to act silently and secretly you had to be mischievous you had to be you know operate 93 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:33,640 in the shadows. This was the dilemma that was presented in that preface with the courtiers 94 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:40,640 dilemma while appearing to be a paragon of excellence you had to outwit and thwart your 95 00:09:40,640 --> 00:09:45,240 opponents in the subtlest of ways and when he talks about opponents what are they talking 96 00:09:45,240 --> 00:09:50,800 about if you put this in context of your workspace this would be your colleagues at work if you 97 00:09:50,800 --> 00:09:54,840 put this in your friend circle this literally be your friends or in a family it'd be your 98 00:09:54,840 --> 00:10:02,240 brothers and sisters. This is such a dramatic idea that you're always having to be you know 99 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:10,720 trying to out move your friends and family and your co-workers like everything is chess. 100 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:14,840 In the book it talks about how the successful courtier learns over time to make these moves 101 00:10:14,840 --> 00:10:21,560 indirectly so that if he stabs one person in the back he can do it with a velvet glove 102 00:10:21,560 --> 00:10:26,660 you know so that he comes across as you know sweet with and he has a smile on his face 103 00:10:26,660 --> 00:10:32,000 so that it's like almost like yeah I might be stabbing you in the back but it's okay 104 00:10:32,000 --> 00:10:37,480 because I did it in such an elegant way. Instead of using coercion or outright treachery the 105 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:44,080 perfect courtier got his way through seduction or charm or deception or these subtle strategies 106 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:49,560 always planning several moves ahead. What kind of weird travesty is this if you were 107 00:10:49,560 --> 00:10:56,400 to have to like worry about your friends your family or co-workers always trying to manipulate 108 00:10:56,400 --> 00:11:02,600 the situation to their benefit and to your detriment. So life in the court was there 109 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:07,200 was this never-ending game that required constant vigilance and tactical thinking and that's 110 00:11:07,200 --> 00:11:13,400 what the book says. So when the book was recommended to me to read I first thought okay let's give 111 00:11:13,400 --> 00:11:19,000 it a chance but I couldn't even make it past the preface. I immediately was confronted 112 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:27,400 by the spirit of this book. It right away is telling you that in order to obtain power 113 00:11:27,400 --> 00:11:34,400 you have to be scheming duplicitous and willing to betray all of those around you. Right away 114 00:11:34,400 --> 00:11:38,680 this does you know like alarm bells are going off and this doesn't sound like a you know 115 00:11:38,680 --> 00:11:43,120 something that that I could follow because it doesn't sound anything like the teachings 116 00:11:43,120 --> 00:11:50,800 of our Lord Jesus. In fact it sounds a lot more like our enemy or Satan or the devil. 117 00:11:50,800 --> 00:11:55,720 The message isn't even veiled it's right out in front of the reader. It doesn't require 118 00:11:55,720 --> 00:12:02,100 much discernment to see that this is not a good book for Christians to read or worse 119 00:12:02,100 --> 00:12:08,080 yet to implement. The root of this kind of book and its larger message is one of power 120 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:15,000 at any costs. It is the open call to take what is not yours by any means necessary. 121 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:19,000 There's nothing new or innovative in this message. Satan has been spinning this old 122 00:12:19,000 --> 00:12:26,520 tale for a very long time. It's important to remember that God did not create Satan 123 00:12:26,520 --> 00:12:33,140 or create the devil as we know him today because everything God made was good. Right we have 124 00:12:33,140 --> 00:12:40,440 to we have to recognize that he was an angel and at one point he was good. In Genesis 1 125 00:12:40,440 --> 00:12:45,400 31 it says and God saw everything that he made and behold it was very good and there 126 00:12:45,400 --> 00:12:51,200 was evening and there was morning the sixth day. So why do I bring that up? I bring that 127 00:12:51,200 --> 00:12:57,880 into this discussion because at this book I'm not purposely writing this just to rail 128 00:12:57,880 --> 00:13:06,760 on this book but rather the larger picture that you're not starting out being a wicked 129 00:13:06,760 --> 00:13:13,140 manipulator and betrayer in the court of the king but it all starts with little steps over 130 00:13:13,140 --> 00:13:19,800 time so what we know is that when creation was finished everything was good. In Ezekiel 131 00:13:19,800 --> 00:13:27,040 28 12 through 19 we get a more detailed picture of Satan's original beauty and his wisdom. 132 00:13:27,040 --> 00:13:32,360 It says you were the signet of perfection full of wisdom and perfect and beauty. You 133 00:13:32,360 --> 00:13:39,200 were an Eden the garden of God every precious stone was your covering. Sardius, Topaz, diamond, 134 00:13:39,200 --> 00:13:45,960 barrel, onyx, jasper, sapphire, emerald, carbuncle and crafted in gold were your settings in your 135 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:50,880 engravings and on the day that you were created they were prepared. You were an anointed guardian 136 00:13:50,880 --> 00:13:57,600 cherub. I placed you you were on the holy mountain of God in the midst of the stones of fire you 137 00:13:57,600 --> 00:14:03,220 walked. You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created till unrighteousness was 138 00:14:03,220 --> 00:14:09,240 found in you. In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst and you 139 00:14:09,240 --> 00:14:16,220 sinned so I cast you as a profane thing from the mount of a god and I destroyed you oh guardian 140 00:14:16,220 --> 00:14:21,440 cherub from the midst of the stones of fire your heart was proud because of your beauty. You 141 00:14:21,440 --> 00:14:26,760 corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor I cast you to the ground I exposed you 142 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:32,080 before kings to feast your eyes on feast their eyes on you by the multitude of your iniquities 143 00:14:32,080 --> 00:14:37,400 and the unrighteousness of your trade you profaned your sanctuaries so I brought the brought fire 144 00:14:37,400 --> 00:14:43,040 out from your midst and it consumed you and turned you to ash on the earth in the sight of all who 145 00:14:43,040 --> 00:14:49,220 saw you all who know you or know you among the peoples are appalled at you and you have come to 146 00:14:49,220 --> 00:14:57,080 a dreadful end and shall be no more forever. So as we read that it tells us a little bit more about 147 00:14:57,080 --> 00:15:04,920 Satan's fall but then we can read also in Isaiah 14 12 through 14 to get a little bit more of a 148 00:15:04,920 --> 00:15:12,240 picture. How are you a fall how are you or how you are fallen from heaven oh day star son of dawn 149 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:19,800 how you are cut down to the ground you who laid the nations low you said in your heart I will ascend 150 00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:24,600 to heaven above the stars of God I will set my throne on high and I will sit on the mount of 151 00:15:24,600 --> 00:15:29,640 assembly in the far reaches of the north I will ascend above the heights of the clouds and I will 152 00:15:29,640 --> 00:15:36,180 make myself like the most high. So to discern the world we live in it's critical to know that the 153 00:15:36,180 --> 00:15:42,240 devil is real and that he does influence our culture our governments and if we let him he will 154 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:53,880 also he will also affect what you allow to be your desires. He does influence your desires if you 155 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:59,680 allow him to. Satan is the great deceiver in the garden he was there that's why Paul tells Timothy 156 00:15:59,680 --> 00:16:06,000 and first Timothy 3 6 that the early church leaders must not be novices. He says lest being 157 00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:12,600 puffed up with pride they fall into the same condemnation as the devil. The sin of the devil 158 00:16:12,600 --> 00:16:19,400 was pride the sin of the devil was his aspirations for power power above the most high and so when 159 00:16:19,400 --> 00:16:24,040 Paul's telling Timothy this he's telling him that you need to have discernment so that when you place 160 00:16:24,040 --> 00:16:30,560 people in positions of authority within the church they can't be new believers because if you allow 161 00:16:30,560 --> 00:16:35,920 people who are new or novices they'll be puffed up and they'll think they're they're bigger than 162 00:16:35,920 --> 00:16:42,800 themselves and they could fall victim to pride. Satan's greatest device in opposing the work of 163 00:16:42,800 --> 00:16:48,480 the Lord is his deceptiveness and so F.C. Jennings wrote about how false notions of Satan have led 164 00:16:48,480 --> 00:16:54,880 people to reject any belief in Satan. He says in considering the person of Satan it may be well 165 00:16:54,880 --> 00:17:02,640 first to look at the common vulgar popular idea such it is still held by masses of Christendom 166 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:08,520 and such it has made the basis or at least one of the basis for rejection of his very existence by 167 00:17:08,520 --> 00:17:15,480 many of the learning of the day. The lowest possible and yet most widespread conception we 168 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:21,640 have is that in what one may term the stage idea as we constantly see it on posters in our streets 169 00:17:21,640 --> 00:17:30,240 a human form with a leering face characterized by a grim by a grin of low cunning horns hoofs in a 170 00:17:30,240 --> 00:17:36,880 forked tail utterly obscene and provoking nothing but contempt ridicule and disgust but when we read 171 00:17:36,880 --> 00:17:47,520 the Bible we certainly don't get this kind of picture of Satan. If he came looking like that 172 00:17:48,640 --> 00:17:55,520 no one would follow him. Quite contrary to this popular notion Satan's dominant purpose is not to 173 00:17:55,520 --> 00:18:03,360 be unlike God or to be the opposite of God. His transcendent objective is to be like God to be like 174 00:18:03,360 --> 00:18:08,960 the most high as it says in Isaiah 14 14. So scripture gives us a great number of different 175 00:18:08,960 --> 00:18:14,800 names and descriptive titles for Satan so we'll examine Satan's name and titles to recognize his 176 00:18:14,800 --> 00:18:20,880 various approaches and to reveal his true character. So what are some of the names that are given to 177 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:26,160 Satan? Well first we have a very common one or one that we're pretty aware of is called Lucifer. 178 00:18:26,720 --> 00:18:33,760 This is you know from the King James the new King James version and it it's basically a translation 179 00:18:33,760 --> 00:18:39,520 out of the Latin Vulgate today in which was used to translate the Hebrew word which is 180 00:18:39,520 --> 00:18:48,720 Hylal in Isaiah 14 12. Hylal literally means a shining one and the Latin word that we pull Lucifer 181 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:56,160 from means light bearer or morning star. So the name Lucifer seems to refer to Satan's position 182 00:18:56,160 --> 00:19:02,400 in heaven before his rebellion and fall. How are you falling from heaven oh Lucifer son of the 183 00:19:02,400 --> 00:19:10,560 morning? The Bible tells us that. We also get the name Satan which means adversary or one who 184 00:19:10,560 --> 00:19:16,800 opposes because that's what the devil does is he is the opposition to the righteousness of God. 185 00:19:16,800 --> 00:19:24,080 The name devil means slanderer or accuser because he is a slanderer of the saints. He is a slanderer 186 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:31,520 of the of God's message of Christ's message and he is a slanderer of us. Beelzebub is Lord of the 187 00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:39,200 Flies and Belial means worthless. So other names that are attributed to Satan are tempter, wicked 188 00:19:39,200 --> 00:19:44,720 one, ruler of the world, prince of power of the air. So many of these names given to him in the 189 00:19:44,720 --> 00:19:50,080 Bible with the purpose of bringing our attention to his nature and tactics. He is an enemy of God 190 00:19:50,080 --> 00:19:55,600 but he is not the victor. But before we move on to my next point I just want to emphasize the fact 191 00:19:55,600 --> 00:20:03,360 that he doesn't come looking like some terrible creature from the cartoons. He comes as an angel 192 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:11,040 of light because he was an angel of light and his desire is to present himself as a replacement for 193 00:20:11,040 --> 00:20:20,160 God because he, you know, in his bride desired to be above God. So why would he try to come and look 194 00:20:20,160 --> 00:20:28,160 like something that's opposite to God when he was trying to take God's place? So as we move on I 195 00:20:28,160 --> 00:20:34,480 want to make sure I emphasize this point you know with with a lot of intensity is the idea that he's 196 00:20:34,480 --> 00:20:42,640 a defeated foe. In Isaiah 14-15 it says, but you are brought low to shoal to the far reaches of the 197 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:52,080 pit. We know that Satan was cast out. He lost his position in heaven and he was cast out of the 198 00:20:52,080 --> 00:21:01,520 Garden of Eden. He failed to turn Christ aside from his mission and Satan was judged finally at 199 00:21:01,520 --> 00:21:09,200 the cross of Calvary. So when we think about that and we look at Isaiah and we think about, you know, 200 00:21:09,200 --> 00:21:16,720 the fact that, you know, we know that he's brought down, that he's been judged. We know he lost his 201 00:21:16,720 --> 00:21:20,400 position in heaven from the very beginning of the Bible where it talks about that. 202 00:21:22,560 --> 00:21:27,920 We know he was cast out of the Garden of Eden so he's already been tried and convicted and he is 203 00:21:27,920 --> 00:21:37,600 waiting for his sentence to be fulfilled. He attempted to turn Christ aside from his mission 204 00:21:37,600 --> 00:21:44,400 of salvation for us through the sacrifice of Christ on Calvary but he failed. He failed to tempt 205 00:21:45,040 --> 00:21:56,480 Jesus because Jesus is God and he needed to be a pure sacrifice for us and he was. So he was 206 00:21:56,480 --> 00:22:04,480 so he failed in his mission to stop us from receiving grace through Jesus' name 207 00:22:05,920 --> 00:22:10,320 but he had already been himself convicted. He was still awaiting his punishment 208 00:22:12,240 --> 00:22:21,280 and his final judgment came with his mission when Jesus died upon the cross and rose from the grave 209 00:22:21,280 --> 00:22:27,440 because Satan had failed at his goal of keeping humanity from being able to obtain grace through 210 00:22:27,440 --> 00:22:34,160 the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. So we know that he's a defeated foe. We know he's a failure. We 211 00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:42,000 know all these things. So why do we give Satan so much time in our lives? When we think of this 212 00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:50,960 book and this grasping for power, why is it that we are just so willing to dive in and 213 00:22:50,960 --> 00:22:59,360 do people wrong in order to gain a step up in a company or to gain more accolades from a group 214 00:22:59,360 --> 00:23:05,840 of friends or a group of colleagues at work? Why is it that we're so willing to do harmful 215 00:23:05,840 --> 00:23:16,320 things to ourselves and others for this trivial attempt to power? When we read in our text earlier, 216 00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:26,000 it talked about the route that we're supposed to go in our life. So when we look at James and we 217 00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:32,320 go down to verse 7, it says, submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will 218 00:23:32,320 --> 00:23:39,120 flee from you. We need to be strong enough to stand against the devil and these kind of 219 00:23:39,120 --> 00:23:46,080 pulls from society that go constantly contrary to the word of God. He tells us to draw near to God 220 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:54,560 in verse 8, and if we do, he'll draw near to us. He tells us to cleanse our hands, purify our hearts. 221 00:23:56,400 --> 00:24:03,200 He tells us to humble ourselves before the Lord in verse 10, and if you humble yourself, 222 00:24:03,200 --> 00:24:09,680 you will be exalted of God. So the reality is, we know from other messages I preach 223 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:15,360 that Jesus brings this upside down kingdom. He is the King of Kings. He's the Lord of Lords, 224 00:24:15,920 --> 00:24:22,160 but he was humble and he came as a servant, and he calls us to be humble and to be servants as well, 225 00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:30,080 and in doing so will be elevated. It tells us in verse 11, do not speak evil against one another. 226 00:24:30,080 --> 00:24:36,640 Brothers, and again this is from James chapter 4 verses 1 through 12. So we're not meant to speak 227 00:24:36,640 --> 00:24:43,200 evil against one another. We're not meant to judge each other wickedly, 228 00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:53,600 because there's only one lawgiver and there's only one judge, and it's that judge, the judge Jesus, 229 00:24:53,600 --> 00:25:02,000 who is able to save, but is also able to destroy. And who's he going to destroy? We know because 230 00:25:02,720 --> 00:25:09,680 he is the victor. The devil is convicted, he's sentenced, and he is awaiting 231 00:25:11,280 --> 00:25:18,240 his punishment. This brings me to that final point, which is victory in Jesus. 232 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:25,040 The believer's course of action regarding Satan should be, one, to recognize Satan's limitations. 233 00:25:26,640 --> 00:25:30,160 Two, we have to understand with clarity that Satan has been conquered, 234 00:25:32,640 --> 00:25:37,600 and three, that Jesus intercedes on behalf of us believers. 235 00:25:40,160 --> 00:25:46,240 So when we're recognizing Satan's limitations, we're recognizing that Satan is the one who 236 00:25:46,240 --> 00:25:50,560 is the most powerful. When we're recognizing Satan's limitations, what does that look like? 237 00:25:50,560 --> 00:25:55,760 Well, we need to understand that Satan is not God. He is not omnipotent. He is not all powerful. 238 00:25:55,760 --> 00:26:02,720 He is limited. He is not omniscient. He can't know your thoughts. He is not all knowing, 239 00:26:03,600 --> 00:26:09,760 which means you guard your tongue, because if you're struggling, if you're having a hard time, 240 00:26:09,760 --> 00:26:16,720 he's not going to rule you, because he doesn't know what you're thinking. That's why we lay our 241 00:26:16,720 --> 00:26:23,040 burdens down in prayer, and we cry out to God for help, because he knows what we're going through. 242 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:31,920 And also, Satan is not omnipresent. He is not there all the time. And obviously, there are demons, 243 00:26:31,920 --> 00:26:41,440 who work behind the scenes. But my point is that our God is all powerful, omniscient, or actually 244 00:26:42,320 --> 00:26:51,360 omnipotent. Sorry. He's all powerful, omnipotent. He is all knowing, omniscient, and he is everywhere 245 00:26:51,360 --> 00:26:56,720 omnipresent. And he resides even in us, and he is all around us all the time. 246 00:26:56,720 --> 00:27:03,280 The devil cannot bestow life and raise anybody from the dead. We know that from John 10, 10. 247 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:09,840 But our Lord can. Not only did he rise and was able to raise from the dead himself, 248 00:27:09,840 --> 00:27:18,640 but he has the power over life and death. Satan has been conquered. Number two, right? 249 00:27:18,640 --> 00:27:24,960 He has been convicted. He stands condemned, and he has been sentenced, but the sentence has yet to be 250 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:32,240 carried out. We live in a society that disregards this fact. In fact, we see the wickedness that 251 00:27:32,240 --> 00:27:37,280 wages war against the church all the time in every country, some countries more than others. 252 00:27:38,320 --> 00:27:42,480 But the reality is, is that they're all on borrowed time. 253 00:27:42,480 --> 00:27:48,880 Our part is to claim by faith and to stand in Christ's victory over the deceiver, over Satan. 254 00:27:50,320 --> 00:27:55,120 The scripture states that Satan has been conquered for his purpose the Son of God was manifest that 255 00:27:55,120 --> 00:28:02,720 he might destroy the works of the devil. In 1 John 3, 8, Satan is a conquered foe overcome 256 00:28:02,720 --> 00:28:10,160 by our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the son of God, and he is the son of the devil. He is the son of 257 00:28:10,160 --> 00:28:18,080 Lord Jesus Christ. Nowhere are Christians told to fight the devil. Jesus fought Satan once and for 258 00:28:18,080 --> 00:28:25,920 all on the cross. Our part is to claim by faith and stand in his victory and resist the devil. 259 00:28:27,360 --> 00:28:33,360 1 John 3, 8 says, whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been 260 00:28:33,360 --> 00:28:38,640 sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the 261 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:43,920 devil. So believers are not commanded to fight the devil but to resist the devil and he will flee 262 00:28:43,920 --> 00:28:51,280 from you. James 4, 7, we read that. First, Peter 5, 9 explains how believers are to resist Satan, 263 00:28:51,280 --> 00:28:57,200 resist him steadfast in the faith. Faith in the account of Christ's victory over the devil and 264 00:28:57,200 --> 00:29:04,080 in God's promise is the secret of victory for believers. Jesus made Satan's tactics quite clear 265 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:08,960 in the parable of the sower and the seed. Jesus said that some of the seed fell by the wayside, 266 00:29:08,960 --> 00:29:14,480 the birds of the air devoured it. Jesus explained those by the wayside are the ones who hear, 267 00:29:15,120 --> 00:29:20,160 then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be 268 00:29:20,160 --> 00:29:25,680 saved. The devil knew that if the word were allowed to remain in the hearts of the hearers, 269 00:29:25,680 --> 00:29:30,880 it would bring forth faith. So then faith comes by hearing and hearing of the word of God. 270 00:29:30,880 --> 00:29:39,760 Romans 10, 17. Faith in God's word is the secret to believers' daily triumphs. FC Jennings summed up 271 00:29:39,760 --> 00:29:46,640 this truth in this comment here. He says, this then suggests very clearly the root aim of his attacks. 272 00:29:47,440 --> 00:29:53,840 It is always to destroy faith in God and on our side of the conflict is to maintain that faith 273 00:29:53,840 --> 00:30:00,240 in spite of everything he can bring against it. So the apostle Peter says, whom resists steadfast 274 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:07,840 in the faith and our apostles calls, joyful song is I have fought a good fight and I have finished 275 00:30:07,840 --> 00:30:14,480 my course. I have kept the faith in second Timothy four seven. And he passes back the words to us, 276 00:30:14,480 --> 00:30:21,120 fight the good fight of faith. First Timothy six 12. So we don't fight the devil. We fight the good 277 00:30:21,120 --> 00:30:28,640 fight of faith because in resisting the devil because of our faith, he will flee from us. 278 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:37,840 He is already defeated. And finally, Jesus intercedes on behalf of the believer. 279 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:44,640 Luke 22, 31 to 33 says, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you that he might sift 280 00:30:44,640 --> 00:30:49,760 you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned 281 00:30:49,760 --> 00:30:55,440 again, strengthen your brothers. Hebrews seven 25 says, consequently, he was able to save to the 282 00:30:55,440 --> 00:31:03,040 uttermost those who draw near to God through him since he always lives to make intercession for them. 283 00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:09,360 And I want to make sure I point this out to it was something that came to mind, you know, 284 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:13,040 just a little bit ago when I was, you know, in a different section here. 285 00:31:14,320 --> 00:31:17,360 See if I can remember what I was going to say. 286 00:31:19,200 --> 00:31:23,760 When we're talking about the seed, we were talking about how the devil tries to swoop in and steal it 287 00:31:23,760 --> 00:31:29,440 for someone so that it can't take root. What is a good takeaway from that as believers, 288 00:31:29,440 --> 00:31:37,360 as Christians, part of part of the body of Christ? To me, that speaks to the reason of always 289 00:31:38,080 --> 00:31:45,680 preaching the gospel unceasingly. Right. The fact that we would tell someone about Jesus 290 00:31:45,680 --> 00:31:50,800 and we might see that it they catch a little bit of a glimpse of what salvation is, 291 00:31:50,800 --> 00:31:55,360 but they don't fully accept it because the devil comes and steals it. Are we supposed to just stop 292 00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:59,520 and say, well, they had their chance? I think that's pretty ridiculous thought, right? 293 00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:05,520 Of course not. We're going to continue to preach the gospel to our friends, our families. 294 00:32:07,200 --> 00:32:12,080 And when when available, our co-workers or those we come in contact with the grocery store on the 295 00:32:12,080 --> 00:32:18,560 street and align somewhere, even if we've told them before, we're going to continue to share the 296 00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:25,200 gospel with them. They're going to continue to see our example of our Christianity so that 297 00:32:25,200 --> 00:32:32,160 there's always the possibility that they will turn to Christ in time. We're going to keep 298 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:35,680 spreading that seed. Maybe the devil came in and took it once, but maybe the devil came in and took 299 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:39,440 it twice or three times. But maybe that's fifth or sixth time it'll take root. 300 00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:46,720 And we might say, you know, bring someone to Christ so that they can be saved by grace in Jesus. 301 00:32:46,720 --> 00:32:51,840 We need to practice unceasing vigilance as Christians as well. In 1 Peter 5, 8, it says, 302 00:32:51,840 --> 00:32:56,640 be sober minded, be watchful. Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, 303 00:32:56,640 --> 00:33:03,680 seeking someone to devour. So for me, as a pastor, as someone who's striving to see people save, 304 00:33:05,200 --> 00:33:10,480 what this tells me is that we all know from the scripture that we, you know, pastors and leaders 305 00:33:10,480 --> 00:33:15,360 are going to be held to a higher standard. We're going to be held to a higher standard. 306 00:33:15,360 --> 00:33:19,280 So what that means to me is I need to be a better example and I need to be a better father. I need 307 00:33:19,280 --> 00:33:23,840 to be a better husband and I might not be perfect and I might fail more than I, you know, you know, 308 00:33:23,840 --> 00:33:29,520 more than I win sometimes. But the reality is that you're always trying to do better. You're 309 00:33:29,520 --> 00:33:35,040 always trying to grow. And that portion of the 1 Peter 5, 8, where it talks about being sober 310 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:40,400 minded, be watchful. It tells me, you know, someone who used to be like a binge drinker, 311 00:33:40,400 --> 00:33:46,000 and now people go, well, why don't you drink? The Bible has drinking in it. Well, that's fine. 312 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:53,360 But the reality is it tells us to be sober and to be sober, to be watchful. So that means you can 313 00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:58,960 never imbib of anything to the point where you are not sober. And if you have the control 314 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:05,200 to do that, well, then you're better than I am because I tend to live a life of excess 315 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:11,600 if I'm not under the blood of the lamb. And so I would be sober so that my testimony can't be 316 00:34:11,600 --> 00:34:18,880 tarnished and so that I would be a better example for somebody else. So we have to deny Satan a 317 00:34:18,880 --> 00:34:24,480 foothold in Ephesians 4, 27 says, and you give no opportunity for the devil. So this goes back to 318 00:34:24,480 --> 00:34:31,040 that earlier point. Don't give the devil a beachhead to work from. If you struggle, 319 00:34:31,040 --> 00:34:35,680 like let's say you like dance and rave music, but you struggle because there's always bad things 320 00:34:35,680 --> 00:34:42,240 at those events. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to give no opportunity for the devil. 321 00:34:43,200 --> 00:34:50,160 You need to allow the Lord to work in your heart. You need to allow him to have kingship 322 00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:57,600 over you. In John 14, 30, it says, I will no longer talk much with you for the ruler of this world. 323 00:34:57,600 --> 00:35:01,360 This is from Jesus, right? He's talking about what's coming. 324 00:35:04,560 --> 00:35:09,360 The devil has no claim over you, so don't give him the beachhead into your heart. You're into 325 00:35:09,360 --> 00:35:16,160 your life. And finally, put on the whole armor of God. You can read this on your own Ephesians 6, 326 00:35:16,160 --> 00:35:19,360 13 through 18, where it talks about the whole armor of God. 327 00:35:19,360 --> 00:35:24,000 But the Lord has provided this complete set of armor to protect Christians from every fiery dart 328 00:35:24,000 --> 00:35:30,080 of the wicked one. But believers have to put on the armor. You have to do it daily. You have to do 329 00:35:30,080 --> 00:35:35,520 it constantly. The admission of any part may be fatal to you or your Christian life and testimony. 330 00:35:38,160 --> 00:35:39,580 This is something we all do as Christians. The devil is a 331 00:35:39,580 --> 00:35:44,560 devil. He's a devil. He's a devil. He's a devil. He's a devil. He's a devil. He's a devil. 332 00:35:44,560 --> 00:35:55,600 He's a devil. He's as many as picators are known. This is something we all do as Christians. The 333 00:35:55,600 --> 00:36:01,520 devil is defeated, but really it is on us to be that testimony so that we can see others saved, 334 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:08,240 because that's what it's always about is the lost sheep. The people that pick up this book and think 335 00:36:08,240 --> 00:36:15,600 And they say, oh, the word of God, the Bible is nothing but fairy tales, but the Bible 336 00:36:15,600 --> 00:36:20,620 is far more moral and perfect than anything else on this planet. 337 00:36:20,620 --> 00:36:21,620 It is the word of God. 338 00:36:21,620 --> 00:36:22,620 It is the logos. 339 00:36:22,620 --> 00:36:27,000 So we need to put our faith in God and what he is going to, you know, what he has done 340 00:36:27,000 --> 00:36:29,020 for us in Jesus name. 341 00:36:29,020 --> 00:36:31,860 And with that, if I could have every head bowed, every eye closed, wherever you are, 342 00:36:31,860 --> 00:36:35,600 unless you're driving, I haven't said that in a while. 343 00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:40,680 I want to take this quick opportunity to give you an invitation. 344 00:36:40,680 --> 00:36:43,520 Maybe you've read this book, maybe you've read other books like that. 345 00:36:43,520 --> 00:36:46,600 I come into these books a lot from a business standpoint. 346 00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:53,200 People get really excited about the idea of taking power from the world, but it's wicked 347 00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:57,520 because God calls us to be humble so that he can exalt us. 348 00:36:57,520 --> 00:37:01,800 He calls us to humble ourselves so that he can be the one that bestows blessing upon 349 00:37:01,800 --> 00:37:06,480 us because when we try to rip blessing away from someone, we live in pride. 350 00:37:06,480 --> 00:37:11,400 We try to tear people down or stab people in the back or, you know, manipulate the system 351 00:37:11,400 --> 00:37:15,700 situation and be very Machiavellian in the way that we act. 352 00:37:15,700 --> 00:37:19,760 It's darkness, it's wickedness, it's from the devil. 353 00:37:19,760 --> 00:37:21,320 And I don't mean that to be hyperbolic. 354 00:37:21,320 --> 00:37:26,240 I mean that to say quite literally that you are allowing a beach had to be created your 355 00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:31,520 heart that will fester and create hate and strife and bitterness. 356 00:37:31,520 --> 00:37:33,320 You don't need that. 357 00:37:33,320 --> 00:37:35,160 Give it to Jesus. 358 00:37:35,160 --> 00:37:36,160 Give it to Jesus. 359 00:37:36,160 --> 00:37:37,160 He's right here. 360 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:45,480 He wants to save you from a life of miserable, miserable pain and suffering. 361 00:37:45,480 --> 00:37:49,320 So that's you and you know that you're not living for God and you want to get your heart 362 00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:50,320 right. 363 00:37:50,320 --> 00:37:53,400 You can signify that with upliftoed hand wherever you are because even though I can't see it, 364 00:37:53,400 --> 00:37:54,400 God sees it. 365 00:37:54,400 --> 00:37:56,160 He knows your heart. 366 00:37:56,160 --> 00:37:59,120 And if you do that, if you're doing that right now and God spoke to you and you raised your 367 00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:01,920 hand, I want to pray a quick prayer or lead you in a quick prayer. 368 00:38:01,920 --> 00:38:02,920 Just repeat after me. 369 00:38:02,920 --> 00:38:07,640 Dear Lord, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you sent your son Jesus Christ that 370 00:38:07,640 --> 00:38:10,560 he died for my sins. 371 00:38:10,560 --> 00:38:14,280 I accept Jesus as my Lord and Savior and I repent of my sin. 372 00:38:14,280 --> 00:38:16,040 In Jesus name I pray. 373 00:38:16,040 --> 00:38:17,040 Amen. 374 00:38:17,040 --> 00:38:19,440 So that's a quick sinner's prayer. 375 00:38:19,440 --> 00:38:24,640 So if you said that you meant it, then you need to get to a church. 376 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:26,540 You need to read and pray. 377 00:38:26,540 --> 00:38:27,920 Read the Bible and pray. 378 00:38:27,920 --> 00:38:36,680 Because the Bible tells us to preach to everyone, baptize them in the name of the Father, the 379 00:38:36,680 --> 00:38:42,400 Son, the Holy Ghost and get the baptism of the Holy Spirit and disciple people. 380 00:38:42,400 --> 00:38:50,840 We preach to disciple so that we can create more beachheads for Jesus in the church body. 381 00:38:50,840 --> 00:38:54,680 So if you're in Salmon Arm and you want to come to our little church, we're a tiny little 382 00:38:54,680 --> 00:39:03,680 church, but we have a huge vision and we are striving on fire for God Christians. 383 00:39:03,680 --> 00:39:05,480 And we'd love for you to come. 384 00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:10,080 And so all the details for that are in the show notes that you could reach out to me 385 00:39:10,080 --> 00:39:12,600 and I'd love to have you come for service. 386 00:39:12,600 --> 00:39:14,040 I just want to thank you for listening. 387 00:39:14,040 --> 00:39:19,100 Again, if this message has impacted you, I'd love it if you liked, shared this message 388 00:39:19,100 --> 00:39:20,440 and subscribed to the podcast. 389 00:39:20,440 --> 00:39:24,320 It really helps us to get the message out to more and more people. 390 00:39:24,320 --> 00:39:29,200 And I just want to give God all the praise and glory for everything He's doing in our 391 00:39:29,200 --> 00:39:32,160 town and in the hearts of our people. 392 00:39:32,160 --> 00:39:35,360 And to everybody who listens to this message, I want to thank you for listening and I can't 393 00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:36,360 wait for you to come back next time. 394 00:39:36,360 --> 00:39:37,360 God bless. 395 00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:38,360 Thank you for listening to the P.H.S.A. 396 00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:39,360 Potter's House Salmon Arm Podcast. 397 00:39:39,360 --> 00:39:44,360 Be sure to follow us on Instagram at pottershouse underscore salmon arm to keep up to date on 398 00:39:44,360 --> 00:39:45,360 what we're doing. 399 00:39:45,360 --> 00:40:02,040 Join the conversation and discover how Jesus Christ can revolutionize your life.