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Introduction
In the first message we went over the similarities and subtle
differences of perspective in the phrases “Life is a Struggle”
and “Life is a Battle”. The main difference being
that life seems like a Struggle when we lose sight of the fact
that everything happens for a purpose... or at least that God
can use everything for good. When we maintain that thought, we
are more apt to engage in the Battle with a sense of purpose and
be less shaken by the hardships we experience.
I mentioned that the Battle is fought on 3 fronts ... the Evil
One, the World, and the Flesh.
Last week we zeroed in on the first part of the Battle... that
is our battle with the Evil One. We discussed how this part of
the Battle was really the weakest component of the Battle. The
premise for this statement is derived from the fact that the Evil
One really only has one weapon to wield, and once we understand
that fact, we understand exactly how it is that we can easily
defeat his influence in our lives.
The only weapon the Evil One has to use against us is the weapon
of “Lies”. It is only through his ability to get us
to believe his lies that he can affect any influence in our Battle.
We also discussed that the potency of his tactics is entirely
wrapped up in the idea that his lies appeal to our own fleshly
desires. In other words, his lies would not sway us if they did
not appeal to us. And so, his tactic is to get us to believe lies
that appeal to our naturally sinful appetite to live independently
of God.
It is in this way that the Evil One engages us in Battle; not
by appearing as our oppositional enemy, but rather by appearing
as our friend. Paul wrote about his scheming impersonation this
way...
2
Cor 11:14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades
as an angel of light.
The simple
remedy to winning this part of the Battle is, as Christ said,
knowing the truth.
John 8:31-32 “If you hold to my teaching, you
are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and
the truth will set you free."
Let’s
look again at our cornerstone Scripture for this series and move
to the second part of the Battle.
Matt
13:18-23 "Listen then to what the parable of the
sower means: When anyone hears the message about the kingdom
and does not understand it (does not know or understand the
truth of the message), the evil one comes and snatches away
what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the
path. The one who received the seed that fell on rocky places
is the man who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.
But since he has no root, he lasts only a short time. When trouble
or persecution comes because of the word (the response of the
world to the word), he quickly falls away. The one who received
the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the
word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of
wealth choke it, making it unfruitful. But the one who received
the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word
and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred,
sixty or thirty times what was sown."
The second
component of the Battle is more complex than the first. It is
what the Scripture commonly refers to as “the world”.
The
World
Let’s deal with this topic in a rapid fire fashion to start
with and then we’ll kind of summarize it all up at the end
into what is, hopefully, a concise and understandable little package.
First, we’ll briefly define what “the world”
means, then we’ll look at some Scripture regarding this
concept of “the world”, then we’ll look at how
it came to be this way.
Definitions
Let’s first define the word “flesh” as used
in Scripture (also translated “sinful nature”).
“Flesh” is that ungodly component
of each man’s soul which desires to live independently of
God and to decide what is true for ourselves.
“World” is an amalgamation of all
the souls on earth and their ungodly desires. A global system
of living this earthly life which allows us to act independently
of God and to decide what is true for ourselves.
(It is the incorporation of billions of individuals organizing
systems and priorities and preferences into our own concept of
truth which agrees with our most basic ungodly desire for self-determined
independence from God. This is the very desire that the Evil One
originally appealed to in the Garden with his lies; and you’ll
remember that the only reason his lies have any affect is because
they tell us what we want to hear.)
The word “flesh”
is singular ... it’s the ungodly desire resident in each
individual.
The word “world” is also singular ... but it represents
the entire population of the earth as one unit which operates
according to the fleshly desires of the individuals in the group.
So, “the world” is nothing less than the entire force
of every living human being’s flesh.
With that understanding as the backdrop, let’s look at the
Scriptural use of the word “world” and discover more
about it.
Scripture
The world is not from above, but from below.
John
8:23-24 But he continued, "You are from below;
I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world.
Jesus’
kingdom is not of this world.
John 18:36 Jesus said, "My kingdom
is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to
prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another
place."
God’s
wisdom and the world’s wisdom are opposites.
1
Cor 3:19 For the wisdom of this world is foolishness
in God's sight.
We are commanded
not to conform to the world, but to be transformed by the renewing
of our mind... learning the truth
Rom
12:1-2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of
this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his
good, pleasing and perfect will.
Eph 2:1-3 As for you, you were dead in your
transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you
followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom
of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient.
The world
is governed by rules and regulations which seem noble and good
but they are powerless to restrain the flesh because the world
and the flesh have the same priorities.
Col 2:20-23 Since you died with Christ
to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still
belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: "Do not handle!
Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to
perish with use, because they are based on human commands and
teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom,
with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their
harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining
sensual indulgence.
(this is an important dictate to the church ... we are not governed
by rules but by the Spirit)
The world
hates those who do not belong to it or conform to it’s ways.
John 15:18-19 "If the world hates you,
keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world,
it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the
world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the
world hates you.
Even though
the world is opposed to God, God still loves the world.
John 3:16-21 "For God so loved the world
that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him
shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his
Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world
through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever
does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed
in the name of God's one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light
has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light
because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the
light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds
will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the
light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has
been done through God."
It is easy
from these Scriptures to get a feel for the opposing polarity
of the world’s ways and God’s ways.
God loves those in the world, but he loves them enough not to
let the people of the world stay there. He made a way to escape
the world and it’s harmful affects.
How it came to be this way
If we tie together what we know so far about the world, and what
we learned about the Evil One’s weapon of deceptive lies,
we almost have a complete understanding of how the world came
to be so polarized from God’s original plan. And so many
other
Scriptures begin to make sense.
Let’s start at the beginning.
When God created man he gave man dominion over the earthly creation.
Gen 1:26 And God said, Let us make man
in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion
over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and
over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping
thing that creepeth upon the earth.
God told them
not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good & evil.
Gen 2:15-17 The LORD God took the man and
put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.
And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat
from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree
of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you
will surely die.
The lying
Evil One came and appealed to our desire for self-determinant
independence from God.
Gen 3:1-5 Now the serpent was more crafty
than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said
to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from
any tree in the garden'?"
The woman said to the serpent, "We may eat fruit from the
trees in the garden, but God did say, 'You must not eat fruit
from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must
not touch it, or you will die.'"
"You will not surely die," the serpent said to the
woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes
will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."
Adam &
Eve sinned ... went against God’s wishes.
Gen 3:6 When the woman saw that the fruit
of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also
desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also
gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.
Even though
man retained dominion, his capacity to exercise that dominion
in a godly manner was lost because of sin.
Rom 3:10-12 As it is written: There is no
one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands,
no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together
become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one."
At this point,
sinful man has God-given dominion over the earth but no power
to exercise that authority because he has succumbed to the “Father
of lies” and continually does so.
Because of the unabated influence that he exerts upon the world
through his deceptive lies, the Evil One is also described as
the
”Prince of this world” . His princely role is not
a rank of authority, only of influence. He has no rightful authority
in the earth therefore he can only reign through the influential
lies he persuades mankind to believe. So he governs the earth
by getting mankind to exert their authority according to his lies.
This is a key point, because it is this powerful influence of
lies which hold the world captive that Jesus came to snap. He
came to deliver people from the influence of the Evil One’s
lies by delivering the truth to them... drawing them out of the
“world” and into his “kingdom”. He has
the authority to do this because he came as a man... a sinless
man... to restore man’s God-given right to have dominion
over the earth and to rule it in a godly way. And he was successful
at gaining that dominion back for himself and all who live in
the kingdom.
It is in the
context of this understanding that these passages, spoken just
before his crucifixion, make so much sense.
John
16:33 "I have told you these things, so that in
me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart! I have overcome the world."
John
12:30-33 Jesus said, ... Now is the time for judgment
on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men
to myself." He said this to show the kind of death he was
going to die.
John
16:6-11 “ Unless I go away, the Counselor will
not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he
comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and
righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do
not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am
going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in
regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands
condemned.
And these verses spoken after his came alive from the dead.
Matt
28:17-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore
go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the
name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and
teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely
I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
Mark
16:15-16 He said to them, "Go into all the world
and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and
is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will
be condemned.
The ungodly
world system came into place because Adam believed the Evil One’s
lie and exercised independent disobedience to God. That sin resulted
in death to all men.
But Jesus came to restore our right standing with God (our righteousness),
and that through his righteousness we, who believe in him, can
be made righteous and pass from death to life.
Rom
5:17-19 For if, by the trespass of the one man, death
reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive
God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness
reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
Consequently,
just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men,
so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification
that brings life for all men. For just as through the disobedience
of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the
obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
Conclusion
Maybe you’re here this morning and you’ve never seen
things this way before. Maybe you can see now that the way this
world operates really is in selfish independent disobedience to
God. Maybe you can see that you’ve been believing a lie
and living that lie.
We’re celebrating communion this morning which is a ceremony
reminding us that Jesus left his home in heaven and came to earth
as a man. He lived a sinless life, yet died the death of a sinner.
He did not die for his own sin, he died for your sin. He paid
the penalty that your sin deserved. If you will believe his message
and accept his payment for your sin the Bible tells us that you
pass from death to life.
John
5:24-26 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my
word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will
not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I
tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the
dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear
will live.6 For as the Father has life in himself, so he has
granted the Son to have life in himself.
Prayer
of Salvation –
lies - sinner – world – death,
believe your message - accept your payment for my sin –
forgive my sin – pass from death to life,
live in the kingdom not the world – teach me your truth
Listen to
this prayer Jesus prayed just before his betrayal in the garden.
Listen to how he speaks about his authority and how he draws people
out of the world. Though his disciples were going to be still
living in the world they were not of the world. Jesus prays that
the evil one would not be able to harm them while they are in
the world, and that they would be strengthened by the truth.
Jesus came into the world to draw some out of the world into life.
Now he prays for his followers, that they would be able to do
the same.
John 17
17:1 After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed:
"Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son
may glorify you. 2 For you granted him authority over all people
that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him.
3 Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you
glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 5 And
now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had
with you before the world began.
6 "I have revealed you to those whom you gave me out of the
world. They were yours; you gave them to me and they have obeyed
your word. 7 Now they know that everything you have given me comes
from you. 8 For I gave them the words you gave me and they accepted
them. They knew with certainty that I came from you, and they
believed that you sent me. 9 I pray for them. I am not praying
for the world, but for those you have given me, for they are yours.
10 All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has
come to me through them. 11 I will remain in the world no longer,
but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy
Father, protect them by the power of your name-the name you gave
me-so that they may be one as we are one. 12 While I was with
them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave
me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so
that Scripture would be fulfilled.
13 "I am coming to you now, but I say these things while
I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure
of my joy within them. 14 I have given them your word and the
world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than
I am of the world. 15 My prayer is not that you take them out
of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. 16 They
are not of the world, even as I am not of it. 17 Sanctify them
by the truth; your word is truth. 18 As you sent me into the world,
I have sent them into the world. 19 For them I sanctify myself,
that they too may be truly sanctified.
20 "My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those
who will believe in me through their message, 21 that all of them
may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May
they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have
sent me. 22 I have given them the glory that you gave me, that
they may be one as we are one: 23 I in them and you in me. May
they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you
sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
24 "Father, I want those you have given me to be with me
where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because
you loved me before the creation of the world.
25 "Righteous Father, though the world does not know you,
I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made
you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order
that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself
may be in them."
Jesus makes
it plain that we are not being taken out of the world, but we
are not to consider ourselves part of the world. He mentioned
that we would face opposition from man and from the evil one himself,
but God’s grace is sufficient for us to overcome the world.
Earlier in
his ministry he told the disciples that we are to consider ourselves
the light of the world
Matt
5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city
on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and
put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it
gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your
light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and
praise your Father in heaven.
"YOU ARE THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD"
Flesh – that component of man that desires
independence from God and wants to fit in with the World more
than with God. Strongest component because it is internal and
it is the component that the other two are appealing to in order
to dissuade you from obedience to God.
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