THE ART OF WAR (PART 3): THE DRAGON-SLAYER
Rev. 12:1-17
Sermon Objective: We are not ignorant of Satan’s devices (2 Corinthians 2:11) and knowing his character, strategy, and tactics equips us for victory.
Supporting Scripture: Genesis 3:13-15; Psalm 41:11, Psalm 103:9-12; John 10:10; John 8:44; Romans 8:31-39; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 6:10-18; Colossians 2:15; James 4:7; 1 Peter 5:8; I John 3:7-8; 1 John 5:4; Rev. 2:10-11
SERMON INTRO
>>Show the video “Deep Thoughts on Spiritual Warfare from a Shallow Christian”<<
Ah, sometimes nothing drives home a point like humor. But seriously, don’t you think there are some Christians who consider spiritual warfare (and a spiritual enemy) to be hypothetical possibilities? Don’t you think there are some who live like it is a worldview from “another day and age?
Our enemy certainly does not mind such a mindset that’s for sure.
Our enemy would love for us to be naïve and uninformed.
He would love for us to think there is no war and there is no real threat. Sun Tzu said, “Supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.”
Do you remember the book I introduced you to in the first sermon on our enemy titled “The Screwtape Letters”? It is a book written by C.S. Lewis of an imaginary account of a senior demon giving the benefit of his experience to his young nephew, Wormwood, who is also an apprentice.
One of those letters addresses this issue:
I wonder you should ask me whether it is essential to keep the patient in ignorance of your own existence. That question, at least for the present phase of the struggle, has been answered for us by the High Command. Our policy, for the moment, is to conceal ourselves. (Chapter VII)
Sun Tzu’s book, “The Art of War” also warns us about the danger of not taking the enemy seriously, “If ignorant both of your enemy and yourself, you are certain to be in peril.”
But God has made sure this is not the case. For the last two weeks we have been looking at God’s exposé of our enemy from Revelation 12.
And that is one of the reasons God has exposed the enemy’s schemes for us … so that Satan might not outwit us. As 2 Cor. 2:11 tells us we are not ignorant of Satan’s devices.
Let’s take some time to identify some specific character traits, motivations, and tactics of our enemy, the Devil. By doing so, we will be armed (equipped) to engage in the spiritual battle that we must inevitably fight. So far, we have looked at three. If you have missed these you can find these sermons on the website so I will not review them, I will only list them for you.
1. Our enemy is real
2. Our enemy seeks to neutralize us
3. Our enemy is determined to lead the world astray (v. 9)
I closed last week’s sermon with an admonition to “discipline and training.” Without spiritual growth and alertness we become vulnerable.
Again “The Screwtape Letters” are illustrative for us:
“I note with grave displeasure that your patient has become a Christian. Do not indulge the hope that you will escape the usual penalties; indeed, in your better moments, I trust you would hardly even wish to do so. In the meantime we must make the best of the situation. There is no need to despair; hundreds of these adult converts have been reclaimed after a I brief sojourn in the Enemy’s camp and are now with us. All the habits of the patient, both mental and bodily, are still in our favour.” (Chapter II)
Discipline and training must not be overlooked. Part of that is developing a keen sense of alertness to the enemy’s tools and traps. As Peter tells us (1 Peter 5:8-9): “Be alert and of sober mind. 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 the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
This week we will look at one final trait: OUR ENEMY IS DEFEATED YET STILL FIGHTING.
REV. 12:1-17
1A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.
10Then 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.
11They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
12Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
13When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
SERMON
OUR ENEMY IS DEFEATED YET STILL FIGHTING
Our enemy is defeated, yet still fighting. This final point crystallizes the other three. It takes the fear out of the battle while not removing the sense of sobriety and urgency that is required.
John clearly shows us that our enemy is already defeated. He may win a few battles, cause a few injuries, and even generate a few fatalities; but he has lost the war!
Rev. 2:10-11 reminds the church “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.”
Sun Tzu instructs us, “Thus it is that in war the victorious strategist only seeks battle after the victory has been won, whereas he who is destined to defeat first fights and afterwards looks for victory.”
A PBS Special covering the events that led up to the "Battle of the Bulge" in WWII revealed some interesting insights. It was the autumn of 1944 and Germany had been beaten back behind its borders. The Nazi war machine was in tatters and repeated bombing raids by the Allies all but assured that Hitler’s forces would never rise again. Around the perimeter of Germany’s borders, the Allies spread a thin line of forces that one person observed was so scattered that a man could slip between its lines without being observed. All across Europe, there was celebration. Parties, dances, speeches all rejoicing in Germany’s defeat. The war was effectively over.
The only problem was that somebody forgot to tell Germany.
Even as his forces were being shattered and driven back, Hitler was devising a plan for one last onslaught. Underground factories churned out more weapons, armament and ammunition, more of Germany’s young and old men were conscripted and trained for war.
As Europe rejoiced, Hitler planned.
His goal was not to drive back the Allies, as much as it was to divide the British to the North and Americans to the South and so demoralize them that they would sue for peace on his terms.
On Dec. 16, 1944 Hitler’s army began The Ardennes Offensive, also known as The Battle of the Bulge. It was fought along an 85 mile front; when the fighting ended Jan. 25, 1945 thousands of men had died because somebody forgot that the enemy still lived and that the war was NOT over. (Citation: The Battle of the Bulge, Volume #53, Produced by Thomas Lennon, 1994.)
In 1 John 3 we read these words: “Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray … The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” (v. 7 & 8, portions).
Friends, Satan has been utterly defeated. Christ disarmed Satan and his demonic forces; the enemy was totally humiliated as Jesus triumphed over them at the cross. Colossians 2:15 says, And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Dan Boone’s book, “Answers for Chicken Little: A No Nonsense Look at the Book of the Revelation” talks about the defeat of the dragon (whom he calls “Old Red”) like this:
Old Red hits the earth snorting mad. He goes after the woman but can’t catch her. … Old Red can’t even get God’s creation to help him out. Frustrated and angry, Old Red vows war against the children of the woman, those who obey God and witness for Jesus. … right from the beginning of our battle with Old Red we learn that he is winless in heaven and is banned from further competition there. He can’t bite a child. He can’t beat angels. He can’t catch a woman. He can’t make dirt cooperate with his evil plans. This gives me confidence in my … fight. I am called to endure his anger, withstand his attempts to destroy me. I can overcome Old Red by the blood of the Lamb.
That’s encouraging isn’t it? The scriptures emphatically teach us that, like those who have fought in God power before us, through Christ we can win.
WRAP-UP
1. Our enemy is real
2. Our enemy seeks to neutralize us
3. Our enemy is determined to lead the world astray (v. 9)
4. Our enemy is defeated yet still fighting
I want to close by offering you two related truths that will help keep the reality of our enemy in balance. These are sometimes assumed and at others times explicitly addressed within John’s Apocalypse and the New Testament.
COGNATE#1
EVIL DOES NOT GO UNCHECKED AND CANNOT RUN AMOK
Last March I presented you a sermon on “The Sovereignty of God in the Book of The Revelation.” I am sure you remember it well.
It is very important to remember that Satan is not sovereign, omnipresent (everywhere), or omniscience (all knowing). It is very important to remember that such characteristics belong to the Living and the Loving God alone. As Dan Boone says in the book I mentioned earlier; “Evil is on a leash.”
In that sermon I mentioned to you that “God’s sovereignty does not mean He is not opposed. But it does mean He is not in danger of being defeated by His foes.” (F. Leroy Forlines, “The Quest for Truth”).
I also told you that at least 15 times in “The Revelation” the term “edothe” (“it was given” [by God]) is used. In each case, God is granted power or authority for His will to be carried out.
In Revelation 9:4, for example, the torment executed by the forces of the underworld is given, restricted, and limited by God. Those who reject him are tormented but killed. The torment is limited in time span too. All-the-while those forces cannot harm the people of God … simply because God forbids it. In fact, the entirety of chapter 9 reveals that God’s acts are not wanton cruelty but a stark indication that wickedness cannot continue indefinitely. (Robert Mounce, “The Book of the Revelation”)
Evil is not without its limits. It is on a leash, so to speak. The conviction expressed by Paul in Rom. 8:28 is true “We know that in everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose.”
Be at peace my friends … you have a divine protector!
COGNATE #1: EVIL DOES NOT GO UNCHECKED AND CANNOT RUN AMOK
COGNATE #2
WE, AS THE BODY OF CHRIST, CAN LIVE OUR LIVES FROM A POSTURE OF HOPE AND VICTORY
Ironically, some saints live a life of paralysis and fear precisely because they know all too well that the enemy is real. Again this works to His advantage (you are neutralized) and is caused by a lack of faith in the victory of God. Our awareness of the enemy must be coupled with our awareness of His defeat.
The devil is referred to in Scripture as a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8-9). Someone once said that a roaring lion is not all that threatening. A roaring lion is announcing his presence and maybe even boasting of a kill. The lion to be feared is the silent lion that is stalking its prey from the shadows; its presence has not been detected.
Well, personally, I fear all lions. But I see the point and I think it has some merit. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
God has given us a victory over the roaring lion. We know he is present. We know his character, motives, strategy, and tactics. And we know he is no match for the one who has defeated sin and the grave … the slaughtered yet resurrected lamb.
Knowing the enemy is important, as Paul said, we do not want Satan to gain an advantage or outwit us (2 Cor. 2:11). In fact, God has given us all the tools we need … he has moved the odds in our favor. To Him be the glory!
Again from Colossians 2:15 says, And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Maybe in closing you’d like to stand and quote the declaration found in verses 10 & 11 with me: "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. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”
Thank you Father for the work of your son … “The Dragon-Slayer.”
He who has ears to hear
Let him hear
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This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene, Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
