No Room For the Enemy
TCF Sermon
November 16, 2008
Play Keith Green song: “No one believes in me anymore”
lyrics:
Oh, my job keeps getting easier
As time keeps slipping away
I can imitate your brightest light
And make your night look just like day
I put some truth in every lie
To tickle itching ears
You know I’m drawing people just like flies
’Cause they like what they hear
I’m gaining power by the hour
they’re falling by the score
You know, it’s getting very simple now
’Cause no one believes in me anymore
Oh, heaven’s just a state of mind
My books read on your shelf
And have you heard that God is dead
I made that one up myself
They dabble in magic spells
They get their fortunes read
You know they heard the truth
But turned away and followed me instead
I used to have to sneak around
But now they just open their doors
You know, no ones watching for my tricks
Because no one believes in me anymore
Everyone likes a winner
With my help, you’re guaranteed to win
And hey man, you ain’t no sinner
You’ve got the truth within
And as your life slips by
You believe the lie that you did it on your own
But don’t worry
I’ll be there to help you share our dark eternal home
Oh, my job keeps getting easier
As day slips into day
The magazines, the newspapers
Print every word I say
This world is just my spinning top
It’s all like childs-play
You know, I dream that it will never stop
But I know it’s not that way
Still my work goes on and on
Always stronger than before
I’m gonna make it dark before the dawn
Since no one believes in me anymore
Well now I used to have to sneak around
But now they just open their doors
You know, no one watches for my tricks
Since no one believes in me anymore
Well I’m gaining power by the hour
They’re falling by the score
You know, it’s getting very easy now
Since no one believes in me anymore
No one believes in me anymore
No one believe in me anymore
Keith Green No One Believes In Me Anymore lyrics
We hear in the song we just listened to the idea that no one seems to believe in the devil anymore. Sung in the first person, as if the devil himself were singing it, this song illustrates one strategy of the enemy of our souls in his ongoing battle with God and with us – to get us to minimize, or even deny his existence.
We minimize his existence in some ways in popular culture by our common caricatures of the devil. He’s the two-horned red guy. He or his minions are some other figures of popular literature, or movies or television. If you doubt how our culture has minimized the devil, consider this poll from a few years ago, from that fount of sound doctrine, the Associated Press.
El Diablo has sued for a recount after he tied Rosie O’Donnell at seventh place for the worst villains of the year. In the AP/AOL poll, the Prince of Darkness also tied Oprah, Tom Cruise, George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Colin Farrell. Also, Oprah tied Jesus for biggest hero of the year.
Once you’ve finished chuckling, or shaking your head, consider this. If you were Satan, would you be elated or offended by our culture’s apparently weak understanding of the reality of evil? Have we demoted him because we don’t take him seriously, or because we sympathize with him? I think that Satan’s just fine with us not taking him seriously, and tying for 7th on a list of villains.
We minimize Satan’s existence by denying his personality. Oh, of course, we might believe in evil, but not a personification of evil like the devil. Many are happy with the idea of taking the “d” off the word devil, but once our culture begins to accept the devil as Satan, a real being, the personification of evil, we tend mostly to slip into caricature.
Unfortunately, even for some Christians, our most common conceptions of the enemy of our souls are what we get from our culture, and not what we get from scripture.
The other end of the spectrum of the enemy’s strategy is to cause us to fear him. To make us think we’re nothing but helpless victims. We’ve seen that in old movies like The Omen or Rosemary’s Baby. We see that in many newer movies, which not only make us think we’re helpless against the power of the enemy, but they lead us to believe that maybe he’s not the enemy we thought he was.
Maybe the devil’s not such a bad guy after all. There are several movies and TV shows that put forth this idea in some ways. There’s also a movie series called Hellboy, based on a comic book character, in which the demon is the good guy, fighting against the forces of evil on earth. There have already been three movies, a TV series and video games based on this character.
Whether we don’t believe in the devil at all, or we believe in him to the point of fearing him, even as believers, we’re playing right into his strategy. And yes, he does have a scheme, a plan, a strategy.
As we noted, so much of our concept of the devil is not shaped by scripture, but by popular culture. Even “Christian” popular culture, which includes literature, movies, etc. Some of this is more thoughtful speculation, like the classic C.S. Lewis book The Screwtape Letters, which is really very insightful about human nature. Satan also has great insight into human nature – he and his fellow fallen angels have observed us for thousands of years, and have learned a few things along the way.
There are other classics like Pilgrim’s Progress, or Paradise Lost, or Dante’s Inferno. There’s much speculation in stories like these, and because of the insight into human nature that stories like these give, they’re interesting, and some of them can even be helpful.
Then, too, there are some of the more recent popular novels based on spiritual warfare, in which the enemy is a central theme, like Frank Peretti’s books, including Piercing the Darkness and the others about end-times speculation, like the Left Behind series.
Some of these serve the useful purpose of reminding us there’s more going on around us than meets the eye – that this material world is not all there is – that there’s a spiritual war going on around us. This is all true, and is clearly confirmed in scripture.
But the problem is, especially with many of our more recent popular Christian fiction series, like Left Behind, is that people take these stories as being entirely faithful to scripture, and forget that they are fiction. What they really are, in fact, is faithful to one particular view of eschatology, that is, the study of the end times, and it’s important to remember that they are not scripture themselves.
So, perhaps there’s a legitimate place for a sanctified imagination and speculation about the devil and his evil forces. But the point is, when these are the things that shape our view of our enemy, or become an obsession of sorts, to the exclusion of other vital truths in the Word of God, it can become one more way in which we are giving the devil an opportunity – playing into his schemes, giving him room to work in our lives.
We must exercise discernment in reading even Christian fiction. Scripture is clear that the devil looks for and utilizes many different kinds of opportunities to deceive and destroy us and our faith – to keep people from coming to Christ at all, and to draw those who are Christ-followers away from him.
Ephesians 4:27 (NASB77) do not give the devil an opportunity.
The King James of this verse says Ephesians 4:27 (KJV) Neither give place to the devil.
Here’s a story to illustrate this:
A certain man wanted to sell his house for $2,000. Another man wanted very badly to buy it, but because he was poor, he couldn’t afford the full price. After much bargaining, the owner agreed to sell the house for half the original price with just one stipulation: He would retain ownership of one small nail protruding from just over the door.
After several years, the original owner wanted the house back, but the new owner was unwilling to sell. So the first owner went out, found the carcass of a dead dog, and hung it from the single nail he still owned. Soon the house became unlivable, and the family was forced to sell the house to the owner of the nail.
The conclusion: "If we leave the Devil with even one small peg in our life, he will return to hang his rotting garbage on it, making it unfit for Christ’s habitation." Dale A. Hays, Leadership, Vol X, 3 (Summer, 1989), p. 35.
Now, the context of the passage we just read from Ephesians is letting the sun go down on our anger - the idea that we’re letting anger fester without dealing with it. Let me read another two verses with this one to give it some context:
Ephesians 4:25-27 (NASB77) Therefore, laying aside falsehood, SPEAK TRUTH, EACH ONE OF YOU, WITH HIS NEIGHBOR, for we are members of one another. BE ANGRY, AND YET DO NOT SIN; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity.
So, verse 27 – do not give the devil an opportunity, is spoken of in the context of relationships. We are members of one another. Our anger, even if it’s appropriate, or righteous, anger, can lead to sin, can give the enemy an opportunity.
While believers may at times be legitimately angry (with righteous anger against sin; cf. John 2:13-16), they are not to sin. The way to prevent such sin is to “keep short accounts,” dealing with the anger before the sun goes down. The reason is that the devil would like to intensify a Christian’s righteous anger against sin, causing it to become sin itself. This then gives the devil a foothold (lit., “a place”), an opportunity for leading that Christian into further sin. Then anger begins to control the believer rather than the believer controlling his anger. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty.
Again, as we noted, the KJV says in verse 27: “neither give place to the devil.” That means don’t give him room. Don’t give him that place, even a small place, in which he can gain a foothold (as the NIV says in this verse). Because that’s part of his strategy. A foothold is all he needs.
Neither give place -- that is, occasion, or scope, to the devil, by continuing in "wrath." The keeping of anger through the darkness of night, is giving place to the devil, the prince of darkness (Eph 6:12).A Commentary: Critical, Experimental, and Practical on the Old and New Testaments.
So, there are things we have some measure of control over in our lives (in the case of this verse, it’s the sin of anger, but it could be other sins, or other things).
These things can give place to, give an opportunity to, the devil. They can allow him into our lives. It’s as if we invite him in and say, hey, sit down and make yourself at home. There’s a place here for you.
Our intention may not be to ask him to stay long-term. But he’s like Bob in the movie What About Bob. If we allow it, he never leaves.
As we noted, paying no attention, or very little attention, to the practical reality of the beings of Satan and his demons, or paying too much attention, are both strategies of the enemy.
In some churches, all you hear is the devil this and the devil that. Everything bad is attributed to the agency of the devil or demons. In other churches, the devil is not a real being – just a metaphor for evil.
There’s a solid middle ground I want to explore some this morning, because there are literally hundreds of references to this subject in scripture. The middle ground we examine today will be solid, because it’ll be based not on speculation, which as we’ve seen might sometimes be helpful to highlight certain truths, but can also be harmful if not grounded in sound doctrine. What we are examining today is God’s Word, and what it has to say about the enemy of our souls. And make no mistake. He is our enemy.
1 Peter 5:8-9 (NIV) Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
Talking to Jim Garrett this week about this message, he made an interesting observation. We have dual roles in this great cosmic battle between God’s forces of good, and the enemy’s forces of evil. We have dual roles in the spiritual battles that are going on around us. We are, in a sense, the battlefield itself, the reason for the battle, because the forces of light and forces of darkness are battling for our eternal souls.
We are also, as believers, the combatants. We participate in this spiritual warfare that takes place in our lives and in the lives of others. The choices we make in this battle have consequences, sometimes eternal consequences.
Let’s consider what the devil is, what Satan is, and what he isn’t. One of the best ways to learn who Satan is to see his names in the Word. Satan is a Hebrew word which means adversary – one who resists. He’s referred to that way 36 times in the New Testament, half of those references in the gospels.
That means he’s an adversary of each of us. He’s opposed to our devotion to Jesus. He’s an adversary of us before God. And he’s the adversary of God Himself.
Another name we see used is devil (diabolos). This word is not found in the Old Testament, but is used 34 times in the New Testament. Devil (diabolos) means a slanderer or accuser. The New Testament uses both devil and Satan almost interchangeably.
He is also called "the dragon," "the old serpent" (Rev 12:9; Rev 20:2); "the prince of this world" (John 12:31; John 14:30); "the god of this world" (2Co 4:4); note the little “g;” “the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.” (Eph 2:2).
These names tell us something about the things he does – the things he uses – to deceive us, to tempt us, to draw us away from God. He’s referred to as the tempter, and the accuser of the brethren. He is a liar and a deceiver, and a very clever and smart one at that:
In John 8:44, Jesus says of the devil, “He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
We must learn to discern. We must learn to distinguish the enemy’s voice from the Holy Spirit. Because Jesus said “I am the truth.” God is a God of truth. But the enemy of our souls is a liar. It’s his native language – lying. He is, in fact, as this passage attests, the father of lies. That means lies began with him. He even lied to Jesus.
Luke 4:5-8 (NIV) The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, "I will give you all their authority and splendor, for it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. So if you worship me, it will all be yours." Jesus answered, "It is written: ’Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.’"
If you want to learn about the devil’s lies and schemes and tactics, you should read in the gospels about his temptation of Jesus. We won’t take time to do that this morning. But in these accounts, we see things he used to tempt Jesus that he uses today, which included the lie that all authority has been given to Satan. And we also see the way Jesus responded to those temptations. Satan is also, as we’ve noted from the meaning of one of his names, an accuser:
Revelation 12:10 (NIV) Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: "Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
The one who accuses our brothers, of course, is the devil. He accuses us, too. He accuses us of things he knows to be true, such as the fact that we’re sinners. But because he’s also a liar, and the father of lies, he accuses us of things that aren’t true.
One of the interesting things about his schemes is that he’s not above using the truth, or half-truths, to accomplish his purposes. Here’s a rather lengthy quote – so bear with me, but it illustrates well what we’re looking at:
This attack from all sides is exactly the sort of strategy Satan uses against believers when he tempts and accuses us. One of the basic differences between God and Satan is that Satan has no qualms about contradicting himself. One minute he will inflate you with pride; the next he will debase you with shame. It doesn’t matter to him which attack gets through, as long as you take your eyes off God.
Sometimes it is difficult to recognize the attacks of Satan precisely because he so often contradicts himself with his own lies. He may start out reminding you of all your failures, making you doubt whether you are truly a Christian. If this doesn’t work, he’ll try to puff you up, drawing your attention to all your successes, goading you to compare your track record to others and give yourself a self-righteous round of applause. Or he may start out trying to entice you to love the world and live like it is your home. If you resist this temptation, he’ll encourage you to notice all those who haven’t been so steadfast and subtly shift your hope from resting in God’s mercy to relying on your own faithfulness.
The good news is that our strategy for resisting Satan’s advances is far less complex. No matter what lie he may aim at you, the gospel is broad enough to deflect it. If he makes you feel unworthy, the gospel tells you that you are not worthy, but Christ is. If he makes you feel invincible, the gospel humbles you and reminds you that apart from God, you can do nothing. Our (example) in this method of battle is Christ himself. When Satan tempted him with half-truths, he not only rejected them, but sent back arrows in the form of God’s own Word (see Luke 4). Betsy Childs – A Slice Of Infinity
Another truth about Satan is that he is a tempter.
Matthew 4:1 (NIV) Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil.
John 13:2 (NIV) The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus.
1 Chronicles 21:1 (NIV) Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel.
1 Thessalonians 3:5 (NIV) For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless.
The devil, as we’ve noted, is a keen observer of human nature. He knows how to, as we might say it, push our buttons. So he uses those things in his temptations of us to sin. Yet, we must also recognize this truth. All the devil is doing here is taking advantage of what his keen powers of observation have shown him is already in us.
James 1:13-15 (NASB77) Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God"; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
We cannot take refuge in the fact that the devil tempts us. The sin is in us. The devil just takes it and runs with it.
Another thing the devil is, is a schemer. He has a plan. He is looking for opportunities to draw us away from God:
Ephesians 6:11 (NIV) Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.
2 Timothy 2:24-26 (NASB77) God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.
2 Corinthians 2:10-11 (NIV) If you forgive anyone, I also forgive him. And what I have forgiven--if there was anything to forgive--I have forgiven in the sight of Christ for your sake, in order that Satan might not outwit us. For we are not unaware of his schemes.
The devil works against the salvation of men:
Luke 8:11-12 (NIV) "This is the meaning of the parable: The seed is the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear, and then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved.
2 Corinthians 4:4 (NIV) The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Another important thing to note about the devil is that He’s not almighty or all-powerful. He’s not omniscient. He’s a created being – a fallen angel.
2 Peter 2:4 (NASB77) For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment;
Satan cannot read our minds. He’s smart and cunning, and as we’ve noted, a good observer. If you live with someone for years, you get to know their tendencies, their likes, their dislikes, pretty well. You can even have a good sense what they’re thinking. Not because you can read their minds, but because you’ve seen how they react in different situations. You’ve learned over time. That’s how the devil knows our weaknesses. It’s not because he can read our minds. Also, scripture is full of insight about us as human beings – and the devil knows scripture, too.
Satan is also not omnipresent – that is, he cannot be everywhere at once. When we attribute things to the devil, in reality we’re attributing those things to his demons, the other angels who rebelled against God. The devil may be in charge of the fallen angels, and I think we can also see in scripture a hierarchy of fallen angels, a command structure, if you will, but those beings are just the soldiers in the devil’s army.
So when we say the devil made me do it (which as we just noted, is also a misunderstanding of sin and temptation, because he can’t make us do anything that’s not already in us), what we really mean is that one of his soldiers did it.
It’s as if we said Hitler attacked Britain during World War II. Hitler himself never went to England – never flew bombers over London. His air force did.
Another thing that’s important to note here is that Satan is not God’s counterpart. That’s where the idea of “the force” in Star Wars mythology gets it wrong. In the world of Star Wars, you can use “the force” for good or for evil. There’s a dark side and a light side, and it just depends on how you choose to use it.
God and Satan are not in any way equal. As we’ve noted, the devil’s a created being. In that respect he’s like you and I, though he is a different class of creation. But he is in fact a creature, not a creator. As such, he is absolutely subject to God’s plans and purposes.
John 14:30 (NIV) I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me
John 16:8-11 (NIV) When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
When we say that God’s in charge, that includes the reality that the devil cannot do one thing on his own without God’s permission. Demons being cast out of a man even had to ask Jesus for permission to enter pigs – they couldn’t just inhabit even pigs when Jesus cast them out of a person.
So, it’s important we remember that there is, in fact, if you choose to believe what the Bible tells us, an invisible world. This invisible world is every bit as real as what we can see and hear and touch and taste here in our earthly existence.
Ephesians 6:12 (NIV) For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
We are both the combatants and the battle field in this war.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (NIV) For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Certainly, our enemy is strong and powerful, and we need to have a healthy respect for him, take him seriously. I remember when I was coaching high school basketball, we had a small team. Our biggest starter one year was probably 6’1”.
Our last game one season was against a team much larger than us. I remember during pregame warmups watching this team look down at our end, clearly taking note of our size. The look on their faces revealed their thoughts – they didn’t take us too seriously. They believed they’d rout us.
Long story short – they were big, and we were small, but we were quick. We pressed them full court from the start, and we were up 15-0 before they knew what hit them. In fact, we routed them. They didn’t take us seriously. We risk a similar rout when we underestimate the enemy of our souls. We make a huge mistake if we think Satan and his demonic army have no power at all.
Yet, the opposite is true, too. We must respect the power of the enemy, but not fear him. We should, as scripture says, be aware of his schemes, but not to the point of becoming preoccupied with them.
The truth is that in Christ, we cannot lose. As followers of Jesus, we do not fight for victory. We fight from victory. The battle’s been won – the war has been decided.
Colossians 2:13-15 (NIV) When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Do you ever like to go the end of an exciting story, and find out how it ends? Generally, I don’t. It ruins the story for me. But in this case, I have. I’ve read the end of the book. And you know what. We win!
The outcome of the battle between God and his forces for good, versus Satan, and his forces of evil, has already been decided. In fact, we needn’t even read to the end of the book to discover this. What did Jesus say on the cross? It is finished.
1 John 4:4 (NIV) You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
1 John 5:3-5 (NIV) This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
In closing, just let me read this passage of scripture, one we’re all familiar with. Let’s remember these truths we’ve learned about our enemy this morning, and prayerfully consider Paul’s admonition to the Ephesians in chapter 6, as being clearly meant for you and me today – our strategy for dealing with the schemes of the enemy.
Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV) Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
