3. Your Greatest Obstacle Is Unseen
Notes
Transcript
Me:
Me:
Welcome to part three of The Bottom Line. This series is a part of a bigger spiritual growth campaign called Core52. Each week we are zeroing in on one of the core verses that makes up the Bible and points us to Jesus. The good news is that we are almost half way home on our journey! This week marks core verse 25.
Just a reminder, if you ever miss out on any of what we cover on Sunday, you can always catch up by going to our church website, or on YouTube, search for Iowa City Church and subscribe. If you are a podcast listener, make sure and look for The Iowa City Church Podcast and all of the content will be available at the touch of a button.
I’ll never forget the day I experienced the unseen presence of evil. I was twenty three years old and serving in my first full time ministry. I was the youth pastor and one of the high school students in my group wanted me to stop by with him to see his dad. Chris’s parents had divorced and his relationship with his dad was not good and he wanted me to help try and reconcile things. I agreed to help. I remember us both going up into the home, sitting down and having a pleasant conversation. Then things suddenly turned…and Chris did nothing to provoke it. It’s like someone had flipped a switch in his dad’s head. He started to get sarcastic. Then he began to threaten violence. But not only did his demeanor change, but I could feel it in the room. The room itself felt like it got dark…and I could just feel something sinister in the room…something I’ve never really experienced ever since. I began to look for how quickly I could get Chris and get out the door…and I began to pray. I prayed for God’s protection and prayed that he would get us out of that room safely. Then I grabbed Chris and said, “It’s time for us to go.” Then we both hustled out the door, got in my car and drove away. I remember us both looking at each other and I said, “Did you feel that?” He nodded and asked, “What was that?” I told him, “I don’t know, but it’s not good!” I talked with Chris’s dad a few years later and he was a completely different person. But I will never forget what I experienced in that particular day.
Whenever the topic evil spirits, spiritual world, or Satan comes up, most people think of a horror movie or book they might have read. In our just the facts, technology and science driven world there isn’t a lot of time that is spent talking about an unseen world. Yet, interestingly enough almost 50% of Americans believe in spirits, demons or ghosts. It’s typically hard for us to believe or trust in things that we can’t see. Which is interesting considering how much faith and trust we put in things that we can’t see. For example, has anyone seen an actually Covid-19 virus out in the wild? For all us right now, we are almost completely dependent upon the unseen. A number of you are watching this video through unseen transmissions. Some of you are sending or receiving messages that you can’t even see. Have you been enjoying all the sights and sounds from Mars? Can you explain to me how the Perseverance rover on Mars is transmitting those to us on earth? There isn’t a long cable traveling from Mars to Earth. They are unseen frequencies traveling through space. It’s amazing isn’t it?
So if we can acknowledge our dependence and trust on the unseen for our everyday lives, why is it so difficult for us to acknowledge that there is an unseen spiritual world that impacts our lives each and every day? I personally asked myself that question as I was putting this sermon together! Why do I struggle to go through my day reminded that there is a spiritual battle of good and evil going on behind the scenes of my of my life? I can only speak for myself when I say this, but I’m sure that I’m not alone: I find that my focus is simply on things that I can see and control, I don’t view the unseen as a serious threat on my life.
What about you? Do you stop and consider the daily impact of the unseen spiritual forces that surround us everyday? Or, do you not take them seriously because they don’t seem to pose a serious threat on your life?
Here’s why we should all probably change our thinking regarding the unseen spiritual forces: Jesus said they were real and a very real threat.
God:
God:
If you have a Bible or device, I want you to find Matthew 25:41. If you are using the YouVersion Bible App, go to the bottom right hand corner where it says “More”. In the next menu look for “Events”. Then look for Iowa City Church. All of the Scriptures, notes and even a Bible reading plan will be available to you.
In this series, we are looking at these bottom line statements that Jesus made. This statement is a bit different. We aren’t going to look at the whole parable or the context of what Jesus is teaching on. We are going to acknowledge the simple truth of this bottom line statement from Jesus. Here it is:
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
What’s the bottom line? Jesus believed in the reality of The Devil, his angels, angels in general and an eternal fire. A description connected with hell.
So in the most practical of terms one can simply say, “I believe in the unseen spiritual beings because Jesus did.”
Here’s what we are going to do with the time we have left. We are going to break down briefly what the Bible says about the devil, demons, and angels. For those wanting to talk about Heaven and Hell, well you will need to stick around for week 52 and we will cover those on the last day of our journey.
The Devil. There are other titles and references that he goes by. Satan, the accuser, the adversary, the enemy, the evil one, Beelzebul, or the dragon or serpent. The devil is described as a fallen angel who rebelled against God, and according to 1 Timothy 3:6, it was because of his pride. Satan is a direct opponent to God, humanity and in direct conflict with Jesus. In Jesus’ teachings one sees multiple references to the existence of the devil and as being an active enemy. In the gospels the devil is the evil one who snatches away the seed that falls along the path. Part of the devil’s work is to cause a person to neglect the message of the Kingdom of God. Wicked people are called followers or children of the devil.
Through Jesus’ death and resurrection, the devil has been defeated, and is described often as a defeated enemy. Yet at the same time, the NT asserts that he is still an aggressive force that people must be on guard against.
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Simply put, The Devil is an unseen, fallen angel who works in opposition to God, Jesus and people…and he continues to be a threat if we don’t guard ourselves against him.
Demons. Demons are real, and they’re not joke. Demons are fallen angels who have rebelled against God and continue to propagate evil in the world. They know who Jesus is and believe in God, yet they choose to follow The Devil. Though demons are evil spirits who are invisible to humans, they sometimes appear in Scripture as possessing humans and speaking through them. Their primary activities in the world are to engage in cosmic warfare with angels, tempt people to sin, and deceive the world with lies that blind people to spiritual truth. Scripture also speaks of demons physically assaulting people and even possessing people to do their will. What we know from what Jesus teaches is that there is a final defeat of The Devil and demons, in the eternal fire. Which can be understood as Hell or as Revelation describes is, the lake of fire.
Angels. Angels pop up all over the Bible. The NT has more than 170 mentions of angels. Angels have three primary functions. First and foremost, they are messengers. That is actually what the word angel means.
Second, angels minister to Jesus and to his people. All throughout the Bible you will find instances of angels showing up to minister to people.
Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?
Third, angels validate God’s people by mere association. This is why angels rejoice in heaven whenever a sinner repents.
These are the main players when we talk about the unseen spiritual beings. Now, listen we could go into even greater detail about each of these. The Bible has much more to say, but here is the one truth I want you to get: We must remember that there’s an unseen reality raging all around us and how we respond to it matters.
So what are we to do? The apostle Paul gives us a clear description and response in the close of his letter to the church in Ephesus. Keep in mind that the church in Ephesus was surrounded with worship of the goddess Artemis, which was essentially a fertility cult that focused on sexual immorality, temple prostitution and other gross immoral behavior, not to mention a wide practice of occult, witch craft, and demon worship. This was their culture. Here is what Paul writes.
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.
The Devil Is A Brilliant Strategist - One the devil’s most effective schemes against all of us is simply this: The devil isn’t real. There are no spiritual attacks. Our enemy is crafty and an creative liar. Most of us would be well prepared for a physical attack from Satan, especially if he was wearing a red jump suit and was carrying a pitch fork…but you see, that’s too obvious! That’s not an effective scheme. Instead he’s going to get us focused on things like making more money, or gaining more impressive titles, or pornography, or feeling good through drugs…or just feeling the power of tearing other people down. Our enemy wants us to ignore him…that’s his plan.
People Are Not The Enemy - Have you consider that the reason why our country is so divided isn’t because that other group of people? Our enemy isn’t the guy with an R after his name. Our enemy isn’t the woman with a D after her name. Our enemy isn’t the actor or actress. Our enemy isn’t your neighbor. According to Paul, the are these spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. The heavenly realms is the unseen space that surrounds all of us. So when we see evil in the world understand that there are evil forces at play…more than we even understand.
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.
Here’s the good news, to the Christian, we are not without a defense. The devil has been defeated through the death and resurrection of Jesus. The defense system God supplies us with are really the basic components of our faith: Trusting in the truth of Jesus, pursuing a righteous life, engaging in the work of the gospel and praying.
We must remember that there’s an unseen reality raging all around us and how we respond to it matters.
You:
You:
No, you may think that this doesn’t really apply to you and you aren’t really experiencing any demonic or Satanic attacks…but I would argue that the enemy has you exactly where he wants you. Just move along, nothing to see here. Instead we probably need to begin to open our eyes to the unseen around us. During the last year of this Covid-19 pandemic our lives have been put under a lot of stress and we’ve been at home in isolation a lot. While the negative impact of the virus itself is obvious, the fallout in other areas of our lives may end up being even more damaging.
Massive increase in alcohol sales.
Increase in all types of drug usage.
Pornography viewing at unthinkable levels. Upwards of 70 minutes a week for men.
Increase in sex slavery and sex crimes.
Rapid rise of abuse reports within families, often the victims are children.
I could go on and on. So tell me there isn’t an unseen, sinister evil at work in our world.
Here are some steps for you to consider:
If you are struggling spiritually or feel you are under attack, we want to help.
Honestly evaluate the content you are putting into your life. There are lies, evil, and messages we take in everyday that are meant to harm us. Be honest, what is the entertainment you need to leave behind. The music you need to stop listening to. The social media you need to delete. The books you need to stop reading. Guard your spirit against spiritual attacks.
It’s time to start up some spiritual disciplines. Making space for prayer specifically targeting spiritual attacks. Strategic Bible reading plans. Connecting with other people for community. Worship.
Jesus. Satan has been defeated by Jesus. Demons cower at the name of Jesus. For some of you, it’s putting your faith in Jesus for the first time. For others of you, it’s renewing that commitment to Jesus and pursuing you and all the defense tools he offers.
We must remember that there’s an unseen reality raging all around us and how we respond to it matters.