A. One of the favorite movies of all time is The Wizard of Oz.
1. I remember as a child of being very frightened by the movie.
a. First, there was the cranky, crotchety neighbor.
b. Then there was the tornado.
c. But worst of all was the Wicked Witch of the West, with her green face, long nails and crooked nose.
2. She made the trees of the forest turn mean.
a. She made Dorothy and her friends fall asleep in the field on their way to the emerald city.
b. She sent her bizarre, flying monkeys to capture them, and locked up Dorothy in her castle with the hour glass counting down the minutes left until her death.
3. Needless to say, I was tied up in anxious knots throughout the entire movie.
B. But that has not been the case for a long, long time.
1. Now I can watch the movie without fear or concern for Dorothy, because I know how the story ends.
2. Unfortunately, we can make the same mistake in life.
3. If we aren’t acquainted with the end of the script, we can grow fearful during the “movie” of this life.
4. That’s why it’s important to know the whole story.
C. The presence of Satan is one reason some people fear the return of Christ.
1. Terms such as “Armageddon,” “lake of fire,” and “Scarlet Beast” are enough to unnerve the strongest of hearts.
2. Certainly, those who do not know God have reason to be anxious.
3. But those of us who are dressed in Christ, we need not be afraid.
4. We need only to read the Bible’s final reference to the devil to know his fate, “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” (Rev. 20:10)
D. God hasn’t kept the ending a secret, aren’t you glad?!
1. He wants us to see the big picture.
2. He wants us to know that He wins and that if we are on His side, then we win.
3. He also wants us to know that the evil we witness on the stage of life is not as mighty as we might think.
E. Many passages teach these truths, but some of the best are a couple of verses recorded by Luke.
1. Look with me at Luke 22:31-32.
2. Jesus spoke these words on the night before His death.
3. He was in the upper room with His followers.
4. They were shocked to hear His prophesy that one of them would betray their Master.
5. Their defensiveness led to an argument, and the argument led Jesus to spur them on toward servanthood.
6. Then in an abrupt shift, Jesus turned to Peter and made this intriguing statement: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (Lk 22:31-32).
F. This passage gives us a glimpse into an unseen world.
1. It raises many questions, but it also affords many assurances.
2. The greatest of these assurances is that there is a chain of command.
3. God is clearly in control, and the devil is on a short leash.
4. Did you notice the verb that followed Satan’s name?
a. The verb is “ask.” Jesus said, “Satan has asked…”
b. The devil didn’t demand, resolve or decide, rather he asked.
c. Just as he requested permission to tempt Job, he requested permission to tempt Simon Peter.
5. This kind of changes our image of the old snake, doesn’t it?
a. Instead of Satan being in the image of the mighty Darth Vader, a better caricature is a skinny, back-alley punk who acts tough, but winces when God flexes His muscles.
6. So, Satan says to Jesus, “Excuse me, Jesus, but I’d like to do a number on Peter - that is, if you don’t mind.”
7. The chain of command is clear.
8. Satan does nothing outside of God’s permission, and God uses Satan to advance the cause of His kingdom.
G. Let me illustrate with a painful story of someone who knows all about this kind of thing.
1. Julie Lindsey was working the late shift at a hotel just south of Montgomery, Alabama.
a. Her part-time employment helped pay her college bills as she finished school.
2. She was a devout believer, but her belief was tested the night two men held a gun to her head and forced her into their truck.
a. Tragically, she was robbed, raped and left handcuffed to a tree.
3. The nightmare nearly destroyed her.
a. She couldn’t function, the hotel fired her, and she dropped out of school.
b. In her words, she was “shattered, lost, and bewildered.”
4. This is one of the pieces that doesn’t seem to fit into the puzzle.
a. How does such a tragedy have a place in God’s plan?
b. In time, Julie learned the answer to that question.
5. Listen to her words: “After this experience, I spent a great deal of time thinking about God…I searched and I prayed for understanding. I longed to be healed…My spirit and faith were sorely tested; my spiritual journey in the months that followed was painful, but also wonderful. God allowed me to profit from an awful and devastating event. So many good things are in my life now. I have wonderful friends - most of whom I would never have met or known were it not for this experience. I have a job that allows me to work with and serve crime victims. I have a deeper relationship with God. I am spiritually wiser and more mature. I have been blessed beyond what I can tell…and I am very grateful. Romans 8:28 came alive in my life: ‘All things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose…’ Now I ask you, who won?” (Joe Beam, Seeing the Unseen, pg. 230).
H. Julie now has a ministry speaking to groups about God’s mercy and healing.
1. Can’t you imagine the devil groaning with each message Julie delivers?
2. What Satan intended for evil, God used for good.
3. Isn’t that what Joseph said about his sufferings?
4. Satan unknowingly advances the cause of the kingdom.
5. Rather than destroy believers, Satan often unknowingly strengthens them.
6. Think about that next time evil flaunts its cape and races across your path.
7. Remember that the final scene has already been written.
8. The day Christ returns will be the end of evil and don’t we long for that day? Amen!
I. While we wait for the return of Christ, we can be encouraged by two things: first, that Jesus is praying for us, and second, that we will prevail.
1. What Jesus says to Peter is no “ho-hum” warning.
a. Jesus said that Satan has asked to sift you as wheat.
b. A loose translation of that is, “Satan is going to slap your faith like a farmer slaps wheat on the threshing floor.”
2. You’d expect Jesus’ next words to be, “So get out of town!” “Go into hiding!” “You better duck!” or “Put it into high gear before it’s too late.”
a. But Jesus shows no panic. He is surprisingly casual.
3. He continues, “But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers” (vs. 32).
a. Can you hear the calmness in his voice?
4. Forgive me, but I almost detect the accent of a leather-jacketed mobster from Brooklyn: “Yo, Peter, Satan wanted to put you out of commission, but you don’t need to worry. I told him to go easy on you.”
J. The conclusion of the matter is simple: Jesus had spoken and Satan had been given his limits.
1. The devil may land a punch or two.
a. He may even win a few rounds, but he never will win the fight.
2. That is, as long as you and I stay on the Lord’s side.
a. And why is that? Because Jesus takes up for us.
3. Look at the way that truth is conveyed in Hebrews 7: “But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (7:24-25).
4. Here’s how it reads in other translations:
a. “he always lives, asking God to help them” (New Century Version)
b. “he is always living to plead on their behalf” (New English Bible)
c. “he’s always on the job to speak up for them” (The Message)
5. Paul says the same thing in Romans 8, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express” (Ro 8:26).
a. And verse 34, “Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Ro 8:34).
K. Jesus, at this very moment, is protecting you and me through prayer.
1. We may feel like a Munchkin on stage with a wicked witch, but don’t worry.
2. Evil must pass through Christ before it can touch us.
3. And God promises, in 1 Corinthians 13:10, that, “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it.”
4. Peter reminds us that “The Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials” (2 Pe 2:9).
5. He will rescue us in due time.
6. But in the meantime, we can be encouraged because Jesus is praying for us.
L. Additionally, we can be encouraged because we know that we will prevail.
1. The words that Jesus used with Peter are, “When you have turned back…”
2. He didn’t say, “If you turn back…,” but said, “when you turn back.”
3. Jesus spoke with assurance, and we should be assured.
4. He is able to make us victorious with Him over the evil of our enemy.
M. What Jesus did with Peter is what we need to continually do with each other.
1. We need to remind each other about the end of the story.
2. When your child gets frightened watching the Wizard of Oz, you simply tell them the rest of the story.
3. You say, “Sure, the witch stirs up some trouble for Dorothy and her friends, but in the end, the witch melts like butter and everyone goes home safely.”
N. Isn’t that what God has told us about Satan?
1. Let me read Revelation 20:10 again, “And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
2. God has kept no secrets.
3. He has told us that while on this yellow brick road of life, we will experience temptation and trial.
a. Disease will afflict our bodies.
b. Divorce will break our hearts.
c. Death will make widows and widowers.
d. Disasters will destroy communities.
e. Danger will lurk around the next corner.
f. We should not expect any less.
g. But just because the devil shows up and acts big and powerful, we needn’t panic.
O. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world” (Jn 16:33).
1. Here Jesus speaks of an accomplished deed: “I have overcome the world.”
a. It is finished - the battle is not over, but it is won.
b. Satan is the looser and Christ is the victor.
c. The final word has been published.
d. We must be alert, but we don’t have to be alarmed.
2. Satan does not have the ultimate power.
a. He has greater power than our own power alone, but he is not greater than God.
3. Satan is loosed for a season, but the season is oh-so-brief and he knows it.
a. Revelation 12:12 says, “He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
b. Just a few more scenes, just a few more turns in the road, and his end will come.
P. John wrote, in his first letter, “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 Jn 4:4).
1. I hope these truths minister to your soul today.
2. When you are down, I trust they will pick you up.
3. When you want to give up, I trust they will help you hold on.
4. When fear begins to overwhelm you, Jesus’ power and peace will calm you down.
5. And even when you are strong, I trust that these promises will make you stronger still.
Q. But please understand, these promises are only for the redeemed.
1. They apply only to those who are in Christ - those who have obeyed the gospel.
2. Look at what Paul wrote the Thessalonians: God is just: He will pay back trouble to those who trouble you and give relief to you who are troubled, and to us as well. This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do no know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord… (2 Th 1:6-9).
3. The plight of those who are not Christians is the same as that of Satan himself.
4. Look at Revelation 20:12, “And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne and the books were opened…The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books…If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Re 20:12, 15).
5. The battle is won for those who are in Christ, but those who are not will lose along with Satan.
6. I hope you have chosen to place your life in the hands of Jesus and have joined His team, the church of Christ, the family of God.
R. the path of salvation and discipleship begins with hearing God’s Word about Jesus and the Gospel, and believing it.
1. Fath then prompts a person to repent and change direction – away from self and sin and toward God and righteousness.
2. Based on a person’s faith and repentance, a person then confesses their faith and is baptized into Christ – being immersed in water for the forgiveness of sins, receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit, and arising to walk in newness of life.
3. Then once in Christ, a disciple of Jesus takes their place in the family of God and continues to live by faith, growing in knowledge and service.
4. They are on Jesus’ team and stay on Jesus’ team, which is victorious in every sense of victory, eternally.
Resources:
When Christ Comes, Max Lucado, Thomas Nelson, 1999.
