Defeating My Greatest Enemies! How Christ’s Humanity Provides Dominion Over the Devil, Death, and Temptation.
Part 2 of 5 in the series, Finding Calm in the Chaos, How Christmas Brings Peace
We’re in our Christmas series but we’re not reading from the traditional Christmas story. Our scripture this month is the First Century letter to the Hebrew Christ followers. Because of persecution, the recipients of this letter were entertaining thoughts of turning back and the composer of the letter reminds them of why they need to keep the faith. Amazingly the Bible remains relevant twenty centuries later!
In order to encourage his readers to persevere, the central focus of the letter is Jesus! “Keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish.” Hebrews 12:2a (NLT) The key to finding calm in the chaos when life is confusing and seems disorganized is to stay focused on Christ. That’s what the letter to the Hebrew Christ followers is about and it’s what we’re about this month. We’re focusing on Jesus.
Today we’re going to look at THREE BIG ENEMIES WE CAN OVERCOME BY LOOKING TO JESUS: (1) the devil, (2) fear of death, and (3) temptation. These three things can be scary. They can be intimidating. And if you take your eyes off Christ and look at them these things will get you down. If you stay focused on Christ there is no enemy that can keep you from finding calm in your chaos!
Here’s the entire second chapter of the Hebrew letter. As I read it to you I will pause here and there and make a few explanatory comments and then we’ll make practical applications.
1 So we must listen very carefully to the truth we have heard, or we may drift away from it. (If you were here last week you remember how chapter one of Hebrews emphasizes that God loves to communicate to human beings. For thousands of years He sent messages to mankind through prophets and angels. But His greatest message was when He came in person in His Son Jesus Christ! Christmas is about God becoming human so that He could speak to us in person!)
2 For the message God delivered through angels has always stood firm, and every violation of the law and every act of disobedience was punished.
3 So what makes us think we can escape if we ignore this great salvation that was first announced by the Lord Jesus himself and then delivered to us by those who heard him speak? (What makes us think we can ignore Jesus and the miraculous way He came into this world? What makes us think we can ignore the “IN PERSON” appearance of God? The Jewish Christians wouldn’t have thought of ignoring a message from an angel – neither would most folks today - why ignore an even better message in Jesus Himself?)
4 And God confirmed the message by giving signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit whenever he chose.
5 And furthermore, it is not angels who will control the future world we are talking about.
6 For in one place the Scriptures say, “What are mere mortals that you should think about them, or the son of man that you should care for him?
7 Yet you made them only a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.
8 You gave them authority over all things.” (Psalm 8:4-6) Now when it says “all things,” it means nothing is left out. But we have not yet seen all things put under their authority. (God didn’t put the angels in charge of salvation. The angels don’t have the authority that Jesus has – which, by the way, includes the fallen angels like Lucifer!)
9 What we do see is Jesus, who was given a position “a little lower than the angels;” (Jesus, by becoming human in order to communicate directly with us, became a little lower than the angels in His humanity.) and because he suffered death for us, he is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Yes, by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone. (Circle the phrase, “by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone.”)
10 God, for whom and through whom everything was made, chose to bring many children into glory. And it was only right that he should make Jesus, through his suffering, a perfect leader, fit to bring them into their salvation.
11 So now Jesus and the ones He makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.
12 For he said to God, “I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters. I will praise you among your assembled people.” (Psalm 22:22)
13 He also said, “I will put my trust in him,” that is, “I and the children God has given me.” (Isaiah 8:17-18)
14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. (That’s Christmas. That’s the baby Jesus in the manger. God became man! But why?) For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.
15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
16 We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. (Don’t forget that the Scripture teach that all who make a faith commitment to Jesus become the spiritual descendants of Abraham. See Romans 4:1,11-12)
17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.
18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. (Circle verses 13-18! Highlight it! This is how Christ made it possible for us to defeat our greatest enemies!)
I want you to see THREE BIG WEAPONS that will OVERCOME THREE BIG ENEMIES in life!
1. WEAPON #1: DYING DAILY TO SELF ENABLES ME TO OVERCOME THE DEVIL.
The last part of verse 14 tells us how Jesus broke the power of the devil: “…only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death.” Hebrews 2:14b (NLT)
How did Jesus break the power of the devil? He died. The last part of verse 9 says, “by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone”
Jesus set the pattern for defeating the devil. It takes death to defeat the devil. But don’t misunderstand. There’s a difference between Christ’s death and my death.
The difference between Christ’s death and mine is that He died physically and I have to die to figuratively.
It is amazing the number of times Jesus and the New Testament writers tell us that we need to die in order to live! There are scores and scores of Scriptural verses that address this truth. Here are just a few.
“If you cling to your life, you will lose it; but if you give up your life for me, you will find it.” Jesus, Matthew 10:39 (NLT)
“If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me.” Jesus, Luke 9:23 (NLT)
Taking up my cross daily is a picture of crucifying my selfish ways daily. Each and every day I have to make a choice to kill my selfish will and follow God’s will by doing the things that Christ taught me to do.
When I do this the Bible says that sin loses its powerful grip on me. By total submission to God I find strength. My ego rebels against that thought and that’s precisely why Jesus made it clear. I’ll find my life when I lose it. When I turn from my selfish ways I’ll find the satisfaction I’m looking for. I won’t find it through selfishness. I won’t find satisfaction in life by having my own way all the time. I have to figuratively crucify myself. That’s how I obtain power over the devil.
We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. Romans 6:6 (NLT)
My death with Christ sets me free from the influence of the spiritual powers of this world. Satan and his messengers, the fallen angels that work for him in the spirit world, have no power over me when I crucify my sinful desires.
You have died with Christ, and he has set you free from the spiritual powers of this world. Colossians 2:20 (NLT)
CHRIST’S DEATH ON THE CROSS ACCOMPLISHED THE POSSIBILITY OF BEING FREE FROM SATAN’S POWER. THE PRACTICAL IMPLEMENTATION TAKES PLACE WHEN I CRUCIFY MY SELFISH SINFUL NATURE EVERY DAY.
When I made a faith commitment to Christ I received a new, spiritual nature. But I also kept the old sinful nature. So there’s a constant struggle to see which nature is going to prevail. How do I keep the sinful nature from prevailing? I have to kill it! We must crucify it – figuratively speaking.
Satan constantly makes his appeal to our selfish sinful nature. Everything is about me. So I must daily crucify the part of me that wants to elevate self. Satan can’t attack someone already dead. He can’t say, “Why don’t you feel sorry for yourself because of how so and so slighted you. Why, they neglected to take your advice.” When you see yourself as dead you don’t worry about someone slighting you. You’re not offended, you’re not envious, bitter, unforgiving. You’re dead! Can you see a body in a coffin sitting up and complaining when someone is talking bad about him in the funeral home? That’s not going to happen. He’s dead.
So in order to experience domination over the devil I must die daily. Yesterday’s death isn’t good enough. I have to take up my cross daily.
And then, I have more archenemies other than just Satan. I have the subtle enemy of the fear of death. So I need a weapon for that.
2. WEAPON #2: RECEIVING GOD’S GIFT ENABLES ME TO OVERCOME FEAR OF DEATH.
Christmas is a time of gift giving because we imitate what God did that first Christmas. God gave the great gift of His Son.
In order to overcome the fear of death I must receive the gift. Let me explain how this works.
14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. Hebrews 2:14-15
Death is a certainty for every human being. The question is not “if” but “when.” We all wish we could go to heaven without facing death but it doesn’t work that way. It can be fearful if you focus on death without focusing on Jesus.
How did Jesus wrestle this fear of death into submission for us?
Jesus died Himself…for us…but HE DIDN’T STAY DEAD!
…because he suffered death for us, he is now “crowned with glory and honor.” Hebrews 2:9 (NLT)
Right now He is alive at the right hand of the Father in heaven, “crowned with glory and honor,” because He didn’t stay in the tomb!
Max Lucado, in his book, “Six Hours One Friday,” tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily.
A hospital was not too terribly far away — across the river, but the Indians would not cross it because they believed the river was inhabited by evil spirits. And to enter its water would mean certain death.
The missionary explained how he had crossed the river & was unharmed. But they were not impressed. He then took them to the bank & placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist & splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river.
Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He raised a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water & escaped. It was then that the Indians broke into a cheer & followed him across.
That’s what Jesus did. He entered the river of death & came out on the other side so that we might no longer fear death, but find eternal life in Him.
The Bible says that death is a consequence of sin. Death started in the Garden of Eden when Adam failed to keep God’s instructions. Now the entire human race has to deal with death.
For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Romans 5:17 (NLT)
Who will “live in triumph over sin and death?” All who receive the gift. What’s the gift? “God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness.”
We need to engage our culture with this message as never before because people want to know the truth about death and the life after. So many want to know that seances are no longer held in dimly lit rooms with a handful of people gathering around a small table trying to contact their dead loved ones. Today channels and mediums have achieved celebrity status and talk to hundreds at one sitting. They have TV shows and write best selling books.
It’s very sad that people believe in the plot of the devil to misinform them about death and the life after. The spirits of the dead are not floating aimlessly in the atmosphere around us where we can connect with them through a “gifted” individual.
Who then are these people who claim to be able to make contact with the dead?
An event in the life of the Apostle Paul throws light upon their identity. Paul was with his companions Luke and Silas in the pagan city of Philippi. In Acts 16:16-18 (NLT) Luke writes: 16 One day as we were going down to the place of prayer, we met a demon-possessed slave girl. She was a fortune-teller who earned a lot of money for her masters. 17 She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, and they have come to tell you how to be saved.” 18 This went on day after day until Paul got so exasperated that he turned and said to the demon within her, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.” And instantly it left her.
The demon inside the girl may have been trying to deceive people into thinking that Christ followers and mediums worked on the same team. Or perhaps it was a plot to create a distraction. We’re not told. But we do see from this Scripture that the power enabling the woman to deceive people came from an indwelling demonic spirit. The devil and the angels that rebelled with him have tremendous power to deceive people. Satan doesn’t want you and me to know the truth about death. His goal is to have us live in fear of death.
The truth is – death is real and certain – but so is Christ’s power over it! When you make a faith commitment to Christ you no longer need to be afraid of death. Death is only a transformation process.
Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever. Our bodies are buried in brokenness, but they will be raised in glory. They are buried in weakness, but they will be raised in strength. 44 They are buried as natural human bodies, but they will be raised as spiritual bodies. For just as there are natural bodies, there are also spiritual bodies. 1 Corinthians 42b-44 (NLT)
The Bible goes on to explain why there has to be a transformation of our bodies. …our physical bodies cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. These dying bodies cannot inherit what will last forever. 1 Corinthians 15:50b (NLT)
My body has to die and be transformed from a physical body to a spiritual body because my physical body was never meant to last forever. It’s made from dirt. It decays. My spiritual body will be made of eternal materials.
That’s why the Bible gives us this encouragement.
But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (NLT)
John Piper, in his book, Future Grace, reprinted a letter by Carl Lundquist, former president of Bethel College and Seminary. In 1988, the doctors told him he had a rare form of cancer called mycosis fungoides, which invaded the skin over his entire body and ended his life three years later. He wrote this letter the day after he heard the news of his terminal cancer:
“That day in the hospital room, I picked up my Bible when the doctor had left. I turned to the joy verses of Philippians, thinking one might stand out. But what leaped from the pages was Paul’s testimony in chapter one, ‘I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed but will have sufficient courage so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or death. For to me to live is Christ and to die is gain.’ And I discovered that a verse I had lived by in good health also was a verse that I could live by in ill health. To live equals Christ, to die equals gain. But by life or by death, it’s all right either way ... So I simply trust that [God] in His own way will carry out for me His will which I know alone is good and acceptable and perfect. By life or by death. Hallelujah!”
1. My death to self allows me to overcome the devil.
2. Receiving God’s gift of life allows me to conquer the fear of death.
3. WEAPON #3: USING CHRIST’S STRENGTH ENABLES ME TO OVERCOME TEMPTATION.
17 Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18 Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested. Hebrews 2:17-18 (NLT)
No one is more sympathetic to our temptations than Jesus. He understands them because He faced them Himself. The angels can’t identify with us in our weaknesses but Jesus can.
Verse 18 says, “he is able to help us when we are being tested.”
If you are trying to overcome an addiction to alcohol or food or if you are going through grief or loss, who do you often find the most empathetic, the most understanding to your problem? Often it’s someone who’s been there. Jesus has been there. He hasn’t been there in the sin but He’s been there in the testing, the temptation. You can find strength to resist temptation by staying close to Him and leaning on Him for support.
But the key to leaning on Christ for strength is to stay close to Him. You can’t lean on someone that you’re not close to!
You stay close to Christ through a consistent and disciplined daily devotional life. Some folks call it a daily quiet time. Whatever you call it you must get alone with God daily and even several times a day where you draw close to Him.
Then, when you’re tested and tempted His strength will be readily available.
