Resisting the Spirit of the Age
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7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
As we continue to study prayer through scripture, I want to title my message, [Resisting the Spirit of the Age].
I opened an old book I have a few weeks ago and a letter fell to the ground.
It is dated February 1986 from the Division of Foreign Mission of the Assemblies of God. The content of the letter focuses on Communist China.
It explains that in 1949 the Communist took over China. Many assumed it was the end for the church in China. In fact in the 1970s, many critics believed, “the Church in China is dead, only vestiges remain, it has practically disappeared.”
Why? Because the Communist government persecuted the church. In the thirty years Mao Tse Tung was chairman of China, 67 million people were killed, many of them being Christians.
The idea from the government was, follow our ways and forget about your God. They thought their fear and intimidation could succeed. However, they underestimated what happens when Christians resist the devil.
From 1951 to 1986, there were more martyred Christians in China than in all of church history. Though the church could not meet publicly, it left the building and moved into homes.
The house churches exploded with growth. One strategists of the 1980s wrote, “The miraculous— including healings and speaking in tongues— is a characteristic of the House Churches. These are accepted experiences and there is no dispute in the house churches regarding these phenomena.”
At that time, nearly 90% of Christians in China were Pentecostal. Even the Communists in power knew what God was doing in the house churches. Instead of fighting against them, they chose to tolerate what happened.
Why? Because there was a group of people who learned to resist the Spirit of the Age.
Resist means to exert force in opposition, to withstand an action, to stand firm against or to oppose.
Oppose
Fight
Battle against
The idea of resisting was put on paper by James who tells us to RESIST. However, our resistance is not against someone who thinks different than us.
No, we are to resist the devil. We are to stand up to the devil and resist him. When we do, he will turn away and run from us.
Now when it comes to the devil, he is not a little being running around with a tail and horns. Instead, the enemy surfaces in spiritual ways.
We see his hand in our world. Today, I want to look at how we are to resist the spirit of the age.
What is the spirit of the age?
It is specifically the spiritual attacks that happen in our lifetime. As we look at our nation and our world, we might think it has never been this bad.
That is partly true. We can agree that it has never been this bad, IN OUR LIFETIME. But on the other hand, the enemy has reared his head in every generation since creation.
He has systematically worked to stop people of faith. He has sought to intimidate those who follow and dedicate their lives to Christ.
However, in every generation where Satan has tried to stop the church, a remnant rises up to RESIST the devil. As they resist him, his fear tactics, his divisive attacks, and his outright lies, he always ends up fleeing.
As we see what is happening all around us, we must remember, we have to RESIST the spirit of the age. For within each generation, we read of those who were told to silence their faith and their prayer life, but they resisted.
A few weeks back we looked at the call of the Prophet Isaiah. He asked the Lord to send him and God did. He used him to prophesy to and counsel kings.
One of these kings was Hezekiah. King Hezekiah was a righteous king who learned to resist the spirit of the age. The same enemy who tried to intimidate today is the same enemy who attempted to intimidate the people in ancient Jerusalem.
Let’s look at how to resist the enemy with three points, [A Royal Rejection], [A Resisting Remnant], and [A Righteous Request].
Let’s begin
1. A Royal Rejection
1. A Royal Rejection
28 Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out with a loud voice in Hebrew, and spoke, saying, “Hear the word of the great king, the king of Assyria!
29 Thus says the king: ‘Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he shall not be able to deliver you from his hand;
30 nor let Hezekiah make you trust in the Lord, saying, “The Lord will surely deliver us; this city shall not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.” ’
This passage of scripture takes place at a unique time in Judah’s history. Israel, which was to the north of Judah, had recently fallen into captivity to the Assyrians.
In pride the Assyrian king thought he could capture Judah, including Jerusalem. He sent a royal message through his chief of staff to the people of Judah.
In pride and arrogance, the Assyrian king told the people to not to listen to Hezekiah. He accused Hezekiah of deception. He told the people that Hezekiah would try to fool them into thinking they could defeat the Assyrians.
He went so far to tell them not to trust the Lord. He told them not to believe that Jerusalem would never fall to the Assyrians.
To prove his point that Judah was unable to defend themselves he attacked the God of Judah.
33 Has any of the gods of the nations at all delivered its land from the hand of the king of Assyria?
34 Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim and Hena and Ivah? Indeed, have they delivered Samaria from my hand?
35 Who among all the gods of the lands have delivered their countries from my hand, that the Lord should deliver Jerusalem from my hand?’ ”
He went down a list of the false gods of the region. In the arrogance of the Assyrian king, he assumed that the God of Judah was weak.
Therefore, he declared arrogantly and boldly, if those other gods did not help, I am not at all worried about the God of Israel.
Can we hear his arrogance? Who does he sound like?
44 You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it.
Jesus described Satan as the father of all lies. In the Assyrian’s ride and arrogance, he really believed that he could just decide that God was without power and God would back down.
He made a royal rejection and tried to intimidate and manipulate the people of Judah to assuming they were defeated.
We have just read an example of the spirit of the age. In every generation Satan has lied to people, convincing them that God will not hear or help them.
We see this in our nation right now. I have said this many times, but I will repeat it again. The world is okay with the church, as long as the church stays in its box and behaves itself.
But the moment the church declares Jesus is the ONLY way to heaven
The moment we begin to walk in the power of the Holy Spirit
The moment we take a biblical stand on marriage or the sanctity of life
Then the world depicts that section of the church as deceptive, holding onto an outdated version of God, one that has not evolved with the times.
Well it doesn’t matter what the spirit of the age says, God word has an opinion on the unchanging nature of God:
8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Hezekiah saw a royal rejection, but that led to...
2. A Resisting Remnant
2. A Resisting Remnant
1 And so it was, when King Hezekiah heard it, that he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth, and went into the house of the Lord.
2 Then he sent Eliakim, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.
3 And they said to him, “Thus says Hezekiah: ‘This day is a day of trouble, and rebuke, and blasphemy; for the children have come to birth, but there is no strength to bring them forth.
4 It may be that the Lord your God will hear all the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to reproach the living God, and will rebuke the words which the Lord your God has heard. Therefore lift up your prayer for the remnant that is left.’ ”
Word got back to Hezekiah that the chief of staff of the Assyrian king had rejected God and wanted Judah to follow suit. Hezekiah was not intimidated, but he was troubled.
He tore his clothes as a gesture of grief and went to the temple. He found the priests and told them, get to the prophet Isaiah as soon as possible.
Why did Hezekiah want the prophet Isaiah’s help?
He knew that as a prophet, Isaiah had a connection with God. He knew God spoke to Isaiah and Isaiah spoke to God.
The king identified that the royal rejection of Assyria was more spiritual than political. Judah’s enemy was not from Assyria, but from the pits of hell.
Therefore, he wanted Isaiah’s help. He passed along a message to Isaiah tell him, we’re in trouble. The enemy has beaten us down. We feel like a mother who has not strength to give birth to her child.
He wanted to Isaiah to intercede on behalf of Judah. He asked him to lift up prayer. Who needed the prayer? The remnant who was left!
A remnant is a small minority of people who will remain faithful to God and trust him to for salvation.
Israel had already fallen captive to Assyria. No doubt many of those in Judah assumed they would fall next. That is the spirit of the age.
The spirit of the age assumes that we are already defeated so we might as well go along to get along. But every time many have forsaken God for the spirit of the age, there is ALWAYS a remnant.
There is ALWAYS a minority of people who pray and seek God. There is ALWAYS a group of people who hold onto God’s word and promises.
What do we do when there is a massive rejection of God? How do we respond when we feel like we are in the minority of true Christians?
It is at that moment that the remnant resists. We call on God and ask Him to speak. We trust that He has heard the lies of the enemy. We stand on His promise that when we resist the devil, he has no choice but to flee from us.
That is where Hezekiah was. He knew the remnant needed God’s supernatural help. So he called on the prophet of God and believed the Lord would work on his behalf!
The spirit of the age is always filled with people who reject God. But then the remnant resists the devil, and they lift up...
3. A Righteous Request
3. A Righteous Request
6 And Isaiah said to them, “Thus you shall say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: “Do not be afraid of the words which you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.
7 Surely I will send a spirit upon him, and he shall hear a rumor and return to his own land; and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his own land.” ’ ”
Because Hezekiah resisted and called out to God, the Lord gave him a prophetic word. The gist was this, do not be afraid. I have heard what the Assyrian king said.
Notice that the Assyrian king did not rally against Hezekiah. Instead, he lifted his voice and his thoughts against God. Literally, he blasphemed the Lord.
So God made the decision, I will send a spirit on him, he will go home to Assyria where he will fall on his sword.
Imagine how this lifted the spirit of Hezekiah. Suddenly, he knew his remnant was not alone, for God was on his side.
This is what happens when we resist the devil. When we pray and seek God while everyone else rejects Him, the Lord will speak to us!
He will help us see that we are not alone and that God is for us and with us! It is from this posture of victory, not defeat, we can go to God and He will hear us.
In the meantime, the chief of staff returned to Assyria only to find that the king had sent the army out to battle with another nation. He then sent a letter to Hezekiah.
This time they did not attack King Hezekiah, they attacked God. They told Hezekiah that God would not deliver them and they should not let God deceive them into thinking that Jerusalem can stand against Assyria.
But Hezekiah knew better. He had a prophetic word of the Lord so he went to God and prayed.
14 And Hezekiah received the letter from the hand of the messengers, and read it; and Hezekiah went up to the house of the Lord, and spread it before the Lord.
15 Then Hezekiah prayed before the Lord, and said: “O Lord God of Israel, the One who dwells between the cherubim, You are God, You alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth. You have made heaven and earth.
16 Incline Your ear, O Lord, and hear; open Your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to reproach the living God.
17 Truly, Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands,
18 and have cast their gods into the fire; for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands—wood and stone. Therefore they destroyed them.
19 Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You are the Lord God, You alone.”
Notice how Hezekiah prayed. He takes the kings letter and lays it before God. But instead of focusing on the kings arrogant words, he focused on the greatness and power of God.
He emphasized the Lord’s supernatural ability. He declared hims as the one who made heaven and earth. He then asked God to listen to the words of the king of Assyria.
He believed that the Lord would listen and help. But his hope was not in what Judah could do and to protect his leadership as king. No, he wanted the world to know that God is God alone and there is no other god like him.
The Lord heard Hezekiah’s request. It was not selfish, it was righteous. It was honorable. And God came through for Judah.
God spoke to Isaiah who gave a prophetic word to Isaiah about Assyria. The Lord promised that He would defend the city.
One night later, the angel of the Lord came to the Assyrian camp and killed 185,000 people. The Assyrian king left, went home and went to a temple.
As he worshipped the false gods, his sons came and struck him down with a sword, with one of his sons displacing him as king.
Close:
Resisting the spirit of the age.
Notice that the same devil who comes against God’s church today is the same devil that came against Judah through the king of Assyria.
Something we must know about Satan, he is cunning and deceitful. The spirit of the age generally surfaces through people. It comes through people:
who deny God’s power
who limit what God can do
who focus on themselves instead of God
Every generation has faced the spirit of the age, but within every generation a remnant has risen that knows their place in God and believes in the eventual defeat of Satan.
Let’s take a moment and talk about the culprit behind the spirit of the age.
2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
3 You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this,” Says the Lord of hosts.
400 years before Jesus came, God promised that He would send His Son. When He did, the righteous will trample the wicked under our feet.
Since we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, we do not want to trample people under our foot. But we do remember that SATAN IS UNDER OUR FEET!
20 And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
We can have peace in this age knowing that God will CRUST SATAN under OUR feet. Notice, it is WE who crush him.
How do we crush Satan?
Every time we ignore his lies, we’re resisting him, crushing him under our feet.
And when he comes in, trying to strong arm us and bully us into his demonic submission, let’s remind him of his ultimate demise:
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
His time is short. He attacks like he does because he knows God is about defeat him. He lies the way he does because he thinks he can deceive us into turning against God.
But we have his number. We know he has been defeated on the cross. We know that God is on our side. We know that all we have to do is RESIST him and he has no choice but to flee from us.
How then do we resist the devil?
Every time we pray we’re resisting him.
Every time we seek God we’re resisting him.
Every time we worship we’re resisting him.
Every time we speak in tongues we’re resisting him.
Every time we pay our tithe or give to missions we’re resisting him.
Every time he lies and tells us we are to busy to come to Sunday School, Morning Worship, and Wednesday service and we come anyway we’re resisting him.’
Every time we lift our hands, every time we clap our hands, every time we shout, every time we sing, and ever time we glorify God, we’re resisting him.
Every time we stand for what is right even when it is easy to do what is wrong we’re resisting him.
And the beauty of resisting the spirit of the age is this:
7 Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Once we submit to God, resistance is easier for we know that God is on our side!
So let there be a royal rejection in the kingdoms of this word.
We are a part of the resisting remnant who will make our righteous request— O GOD MAKE YOUR NAME KNOWN TO YOUR ADVERSARIES!
Now is the not the time to retreat, for when the spirit of the age is worse than ever in our lifetime, we position ourselves for a revival and an awakening in our land!
RESISTING THE DEVIL— WE WILL AND WE WILL RESIST THE SPIRIT OF THE AGE!