SERIES: VILLIANS
Timothy Porter
Text: ISAIAH 14:12-15
INTRODUCTION:
What is a villain? A villain is someone that opposes the hero.
Villains are very popular these days. There are movies written and produced about villains.
We’re sort of attracted to villains.
Yet whenever we read anything, whether it be a children’s book, a novel. If we watch a movie, there’s always that villain. Usually, the villain versus the hero.
You get the conflict and then after the conflict they live happily ever after.
You know we want something to have a good ending. We’re made to live happily ever after. That’s why I like children’s books so much. They live happily ever after.
Today I want to talk to you a little bit about the villain.
The Bible is a fascinating book because there is a plot to it.
You’ll notice there’s one villain: the devil. One hero: Jesus. And one theme: Jesus saves.
?Let me say that again. What’s the Bible about? You’ve got one villain: the devil. One hero: Jesus. And one theme: Jesus saves. That’s it. That’s the Bible.
Many times people ask the question and so do I.
Why is there evil in the world? if God’s such a good God, why evil?
? I would argue, biblically speaking, theologically speaking, that we can’t understand the Goodness of Good unless we understand the Badness of Bad.
?The goodness of good is this: God is good. He is the true definition of good.
We can’t understand righteousness without understanding unrighteousness.
We have to have an opposite. How can we know what pleasure is without pain?
God made us as creatures in his image and we have a freedom of choice.
? I can choose to love God or not. I’m not robotic, I’m relational.
I’m so glad and you should be also. Because if we’re robotic we would just do what God says every time and it would not be a real love situation.
I’ve been married for over 2 decades. I choose to love Abby. She chooses to love me. I’m not forced to do so.
Love is a choice. We choose either God or evil.
Now, why is this important?
Because of the fact that God has a storyline for all of our lives. And the storyline is absolutely unbelievable.
ONE VILLAN - ONE HERO - ONE THEME
THE ENEMY IS LUCIFER. HE WAS AN ARCH ANGLE (CALLED THE MORNING STAR) HE WAS OVER ALL THE WORSHIP IN HEAVEN, WHICH MEANS HE WATCHED OVER AND WAS BESIDE JESUS AT ALL TIMES. THEREFORE HE THOUGHT HE WAS EQUAL TO KING JESUS. LONG STORY SHORT HE WAS CAST OUT OF HEAVEN B/C THERE IS NOTHING EQUAL TO OUR KING JESUS.
OUR TEXT IS THE FALL OF SATAN IN BABYLON. IT'S A PICTURE OF THE FALL AND DESTRUCTION OF THE ANTI CHRIST SETTING UP THE MILLENIAL KINGDOM OF KING JESUS.
READ TEXT: ISAIAH 14:12-15
NOW THE VILLIAN WHO LOST THE BATTLE IN HEAVEN AND WAS CAST OUT AND NOW FIGHTING MAN KIND
BECAUSE OF THE THIS WE HAVE VILLANS IN SOCIETY AND OUR LIVES, HOW DO WE DEFEAT AND DESTROY THEM?
1.) We Must Position Them For Destruction
Get their influence out of our life, cut them off, and distance ourselves from them. You have got to come to the position of Luke 11:23. Where you examine the people and the things in your life and you say, “23 “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.”
Once you determine that they are working against you dismiss them from your life!
There are some people and things in your life that must be removed if you are going to live!
You can’t tolerate them one day longer. Get their number out of your phone. Quit going to their house. Unfriend them!
Dismiss that thing or it will destroy you!
2.) We Have To Pass Them By
Keep growing, keep progressing, and keep maturing. While they are hollering, complaining, trying to distract you just keep pushing past them!
You will instantly know that they are a threat if they rail against your growth!
? You have to outgrow your Villans!
That villan will try to get you to stay the same because your forward progress is an indictment against their laziness and reveals which side they are on.
Your growth will diminish their control over you!
3.) Pray For Them
Matthew 5:44 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.
Matthew 5:45 (NKJV) 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.
You don’t have to or need to hang out with them, but you need to pray for them.
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SERIES VILIANS
WEEK 2 THE VILIAN OF UNBELIEF
PASTOR TIMOTHY PORTER
TEXT : MARK 6:1-6
INTRODUCTION:
Our text finds Jesus returning to Nazareth. He is going home again.
Jesus return to His hometown does not go the way you might expect it to. After all, Jesus is something of a celebrity by this time.
He has been going around the countryside preaching, teaching, healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead and controlling the forces of nature. He has proven that there is something very special and very different about Him.
Of course, the last time Jesus was in Nazareth things didn't go too well for Him.
He went to the synagogue and preached from Isa. 61. (Luke 4:16-20) In that service, Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Jewish Messiah. The people of Nazareth rejected His message and tried to kill Him by throwing Him over a cliff!
He left Nazareth and preached in other places in Galilee. Now, a year later He returns to the very place He was so cruelly rejected.
He wants to give His family, His friends and His neighbors another chance to receive Him and His message. That is grace!
? I am amazed that God would give you and me one chance, much less opportunity after opportunity to believe in Him and His Gospel! Thank God for His good grace!
When Jesus arrives in Nazareth, He is not greeted by anxious crowds. It seems that they ignored Him until the Sabbath Day came and they all went to the synagogue.
I want to talk about Jesus visit to Nazareth today. What happened there has something to say to those who are saved and to those who do not know the Lord. What interest me most is the people's reaction our Jesus preaching and who He is.
Their reaction cost them His power.
Unbelief is a state of not believing.
When Jesus went to Nazareth, people there could not believe Him because they thought they knew Him as one who was from their own town. [THE CARPENTERS KID]
Because of their unbelief, we are told that He could not do any mighty miracles there. Imagine that nothing could stop Jesus from performing mighty miracles in Nazareth, not even the devil and his demons could stop Him but the unbelief of the people there stopped Him.
He saw that they had needs that required His intervention and attention but His hands were tied by the unbelief of the people. Because of His mercy, He just healed a few.
Unbelief is the enemy of faith. Unbelief hinders God from working mighty things among His people.
Unbelief is a more deadly enemy than even Satan Himself.
Heb 3:12 warns us of the danger of unbelief: “My friends, be careful that none of you should have a heart so evil and unbelieving that you will turn away from the living God”
If you need a move of God in your life today, and it hasn’t come to pass, one thing could be stopping it. Maybe you’ve been needing healing in your body for a long time, or you’re facing a financial challenge so big, you don’t know how you’ll overcome it. You’ve likely prayed about your situation again and again, but the passage of time may have left you wondering—Why hasn’t it come to pass?
? Whenever we ask why we aren’t seeing God's miracle-working power, Jesus answers back, “Because of your unbelief”
(Matthew 17:20 , KJV).
It can be tough to hear, but it is unbelief, not the will of God, that is the cause of so much defeat in the lives of believers.
It’s not that we don’t want to believe,
for the most part;
it’s that we haven’t learned how to overcome the tiniest bit of unbelief that resides in our hearts. Often, we don’t even know it’s there until we take a closer look.
That was likely the case in Jesus’ own hometown where “he did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief”
If you desire to be a man or woman who believes in the promises of God without wavering, you can keep the weeds of doubt out of your garden by putting into action these ways to overcome unbelief.
1.) Overcome Unbelief by Knowing God’s Will
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” Romans 10:17 (NKJV)
? Ignorance is the devil’s playground. He knows if he can keep you from knowing all that belongs to you, he has you.
A lack of knowledge results in unbelief—and the devil is right there to take advantage—telling you you’re sick, broke, depressed and a failure.
But Satan is overruled by the Word of God. If you know this, you can object to his claims. If you don’t, you’ll buy what the devil is selling and stay right where you are.
Maybe you’re praying for healing today. You say all the right words, “Thank God, I believe I receive…” but inside you’re thinking, I wonder why God isn’t healing me?
Even if you confess you believe you are healed, you can still stagger at the promise of God—believing what your body is telling you instead of the Word of God.
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been a believer or how long you’ve been practicing the principles of faith—you can easily slip into unbelief about the promises of God. And, when you do, it will cost you dearly.
“But if slipping into unbelief is so easy,” you may say, “how can we avoid it?”
Hebrews 4:11 tells us: “Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief” (AKJV).
We must labor! How? By hanging on to the promises of God by faith day after day.
Don’t get casual about the Word. Don’t make the mistake of thinking, Oh I know all that faith stuff. I know how to receive my healing. If you do, you’ll slack off, and one of these days, the devil will catch you unprepared and steal you blind.
That’s what happened when the disciples could not cast the demon out of the child. They felt defeated, asking, “‘Why could we not cast it out?’ So Jesus said to them, ‘Because of your unbelief’” (Matthew 17:19-20, NKJV). Then He added, “However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting” (verse 21, NKJV). Many people believe He was talking about the demon, but He wasn’t. You can’t fast a demon. He was referring to the kind of unbelief—He was telling them how to overcome it.
What is it they did not believe? They did not believe what He had already said to them in Luke 9:1 when He “gave them power and authority over all devils” (KJV). They were walking the fine line between belief and unbelief. And that’s what we have to beware of, too.
The difference is between you receiving all God has for you or not receiving at all.
I learned this truth when I encountered a man at a healing meeting who could not bend over. From the neck down, he was stiff as a board. God told the Preacher to lay hands on him and cast out the devil. He laid hands on him and told him to see if he could bend over. He couldn’t. So, he laid hands on him again. He still couldn’t. So, the man went and sat down.
The Preacher turned around and Jesus was standing right in front of him. Jesus said, “I told you there’s a devil there, and I told you, ‘In My Name, cast him out.’” And the Preacher said, “Yes, Sir, but he didn’t go.” Jesus replied, “I said he would!” So the next time the Preacher laid hands on him, he didn’t say, “See if you can bend over.” He said, “Bend over and touch your toes.” And right down he went.
Can you see that little difference? It was a small difference in the belief—but a big difference in the result. That’s what was wrong the day the disciples tried to cast out the demon. They had forgotten what Jesus said. He gave them power, but they still had unbelief.
That’s what you need to remember when you’re standing for something.
When your mind is arguing with you, get it over on the Cross, get it over on the Resurrection, get it over on the Word of God. Get rid of that unbelief. Get rid of “what if,” “yeah but,” and “if it be Thy will.” Get in the Word of God until your hope gets crisp, your expectancy gets strong, and you begin to expect the glory to happen.
2.) Overcome Unbelief by Rejecting Fear
“Do not fret or have anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything… continue to make your wants known to God.” –Philippians 4:6 (AMPC)
? The basis of all unbelief is fear. [UNBELIEF IS A BYPRODUCT OF FEAR]
If you don’t deal with it, it will begin to work on your mind and you will begin to question the Word of God.
?Did you know that it is impossible to worry and trust God at the same time?
Worry is a form of unbelief; it causes us to doubt God’s love and His ability to come through for us when we need Him.
Satan can put pressure on you over your finances that goes beyond anything you’ve ever seen. He can squeeze you over money, particularly if you’re in the ministry because it threatens to stop the very thing that God told you to do. All doubt, all unbelief and all the pressure from it is fear based.
? Fear will keep you from the promises of God—even if you know what they are.
Jesus was grieved by the Israelites when He had delivered them out of Egypt. But it wasn’t the sins of adultery or stealing that grieved Him.
No. It was the sin of unbelief. They could not enter into the Promised Land because of unbelief. Not because God didn’t want them there, not because they were so unworthy, not because He was trying to teach them something. It was because of their unbelief.
God said rise up and take the land. All they had to do was believe God and just head in that direction—He had already done the rest. But they said, we can’t go in there, there are giants in the land, we are like grasshoppers in their eyes (Numbers 13:31-33).
Now, we have promises, too—a promise of entering God’s rest, a promise of being healed, a promise of being prosperous in all things. But unbelief in the form of fear will block it every time.
? The only antidote to fear is to believe. Faith cancels fear.
When Jairus came to Jesus asking that He come and heal his daughter, others told him to forget about receiving because his daughter was dead. That was the world talking, but Jesus said, “Do not be afraid. Only believe” (Mark 5:36 , NKJV).
Jesus was helping him receive healing for his daughter. He knew fear would cancel out faith, while believing would release miracle-working power.
When a situation comes your way that could invite fear, make the decision that no matter what happens you will refuse to fear. When a bad report comes, say out loud, “I refuse to fear.” You will overcome unbelief by rejecting the spirit of fear in your life.
If you mess up and speak doubt—repent. Don’t let unbelief be the last word about the situation. Simply say, “I negate those words, in Jesus’ Name. I believe I’m out of debt. I believe I’ve received every bill paid. I believe I’m healed and made whole.”
Fear—be gone in Jesus’ Name!
3.) Overcome Unbelief by Believing in God’s Love
“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us.” –1 John 4:16 (NKJV)
Notice the phrase “believed the love.” “We have known and believed the love.” We’re not talking about just any love, but THE LOVE. Why? Because God IS LOVE. He doesn’t have love. HE IS LOVE!
The love of God is a powerful force that has provided you with abundant life.
But most Christians don’t have faith in His LOVE. If you were to ask them if God loves them, most would say yes, but they don’t really believe it. They just mentally agree with John 3:16 .
We see a picture of this when the disciples were on a ship that was threatened by a great storm. Jesus was asleep on a pillow, and they woke Him up shouting, “Teacher, don’t You care that we’re going to drown?” (Mark 4:38).
? That’s unbelief! In what? THE LOVE—WHO IS GOD—WHO IS LOVE.
Maybe today, you’re saying the same thing, “Jesus, don’t You care that I’m sick? Don’t You care that I’m in this desperate financial situation? Don’t You care that I’ve been wronged?”
That’s where we get it wrong.
The children of Israel had all just been miraculously delivered by LOVE Himself from a horrible, nightmarish existence, and they believed Moses (sent by God) was trying to kill them (Exodus 14:11, 17:3 ).
People today often say and think the same kinds of things: “Well, I guess God called me into this ministry, so I could die in this miserable place,” or “You know, I believe you have to be poor to truly serve God,” or “Maybe God put this sickness on my baby to bring me down a notch or two.”
God who IS LOVE has NEVER put sickness on anyone but Jesus. He has NEVER put poverty on anyone but Jesus. LOVE, who is God, hates sin and its horrible offspring, which are sickness, disease, weakness, pain and poverty. But He has great compassion for the sick and the poor!
That’s why Mark 11:22 says: “Have faith in God.” We know God is LOVE, so what this is also saying is: Have faith in LOVE.
Receive the LOVE of God, who is LOVE. Believe the LOVE. Believe the goodness. Believe the mercy that endures forever.
Pray this prayer to help you overcome unbelief.
You can overcome unbelief! When you know God’s will and believe it without a doubt, refuse to fear, and receive the unending love of God, you will overcome unbelief and receive what you desire!
Jesus of Nazareth doesn’t want you to have to depend on the government, your job or your family. He wants you depending only on Him. There’s nothing you can’t have when you believe!
