Overcoming Evil With Good 5

well I pointed out two weeks ago that
when it comes to confronting
evil God's people have historically
chosen three different
approaches the first approach is they've
chosen a policy of
non-engagement that is to say See No
Evil
engage no evil that's as I pointed out a
very popular option particularly when
evil is far away and when it doesn't
touch my own life but as I pointed out
also the problem with disengagement or
non-engagement is that evil grows all
the more powerfully here is a quote
attributed to uh the famous scientist
Albert Einstein he said the world is a
dangerous place to live not because of
the people who do evil but because of
the people who don't do anything about
it there's a second
approach that a lot of God's people have
adopted and that is a policy of Waging
War it is the opposite of
non-engagement it is stepping into the
battle it was s Augustine many years ago
followed by Thomas aquinus in the Middle
Ages who postulated a theory of just
War conditions under which Christian
nations could justly wage war and
there's a lot of biblical truth to that
in the sense that uh God has established
authority figures he not only rules the
world directly he also rules it
indirectly and the government he says
does not bear The Sword in vain and
there is a place for Fighting Evil even
aggressively problem with it however is
that even if externally we can make
people
yield Force cannot win people's hearts
loyalty and so I'm reminded of the
little boy whose mother was trying to
get him to sit down in the high chair
and he finally sat down but then he
looked at her defiantly and he said well
on the outside I'm sitting down but
inside I'm still standing
up and I said to myself just wait till
he's 15 years old and see what happens
then but there's a third option and it's
not an option that we think about very
often but it runs throughout the pages
of scripture in addition to the other
options and that is this a policy of
living
obediently let me say it again a policy
of living obediently and that's what
Paul talks about in the words of our
text when he says everyone has heard
about your obedience so I'm full of joy
over you but I want you to be wise about
what is good and innocent about what is
evil notice the sequence obedience wise
as to what is good innocent about what
is evil and then what happens the God of
Peace will soon Crush Satan under your
feet as I said earlier it is God's
intention to crush Satan and all that he
represents under the feet of the saints
of God now let's think about that for
just a little bit because that phrase
Crush Satan under your feet remind you
of what Old Testament text anybody
know sure you
do we've quoted it many times Genesis
3:15 I will put enmity between you and
the woman and between your Offspring and
hers and he will say it with me he will
crush your head and you will
strike his
heel now that refers as I've pointed out
on a number of occasions to what the
Bible calls or what I like to call the
conflict of the ages the battle that
rages throughout the course of history a
battle that plays out on three levels
first of all satan the adversary over
against God Satan against the human race
and then the followers of Satan against
the children of God history is filled
with examples of that battle on every
level and the promise here in Genesis
3:15 is that in this battle between God
and Satan Satan and the human race and
the children of Satan and the children
of God guess who's going to
win God is going to win and the children
of God are going to win Satan is going
to be crushed under our feet now if you
know the Bible then you know that that
is ultimately fulfilled in the person of
Jesus whose heel was bruised if you will
on the
cross
Satan engineered his death and his
destruction but he rose from the
dead and
crushed
Satan's power and today Jesus Christ is
Lord of lords and the King of Kings he
has the name that is above every name he
is the Fulfillment of that First Gospel
promise that we have in Genesis 3:15 he
is the first member of the human race
fully
human fully exalted at the right hand of
God the Father fully in authority over
all evil now here's the question for you
this morning how did he get
there how did Jesus become Lord of lords
and King of
Kings did he become Lord of lords and
King of Kings by following a policy of
non- Engagement
no because he in fact left the glory of
Heaven to be born as a little baby in
this very sinful ugly world and he fully
identified with all our garbage didn't
he did he follow a policy of taking up
the sword and did he take on evil and
did he say well I'm going to get rid of
all evil and and everybody's going to
listen to me well there's only one
recorded instance in the gospels where
Jesus resorted to violence you will
recall that and that is when he is
cleansing the temple and he had the
authority to do that by the way because
as the Son of God the temple was his
father's house and so Jesus exercised
the father's Authority in that situation
but apart from
that Jesus did not engage in violence
and yet here he is the name above every
name at the right hand of God the Father
ruling over all creation how did he get
there
he got there by
being
obedient
unto death listen to these well-known
words Philippians chapter 2 one of the
earliest Christian hymns really let's
put it up being found in appearance as a
man he humbled himself and became say it
with me obedient to death even death on
a cross
read the whole verse with me therefore
God exalted him to the highest place and
gave him the name that is above every
name that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow in heaven and on Earth
and under the Earth and every tongue
confess you're lagging here come on
folks every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord to the glory of God the
father now what's Paul
saying Paul is saying that Jesus has the
name that is above every name you know
what that
means he is the boss he is like over
every Authority every Power in all of
the universe that not only includes all
the political powers in this world all
the economic powers in the world it also
includes all the spiritual powers in the
universe Jesus is higher than all of
them that's no small accomplishment I
want you to know because it means that
he is truly Lord of lords and King of
Kings now back to that question how did
he get there he didn't get there by
fighting for it he didn't get there by
non-engagement he got there by
being
obedient unto death
and so he
conquered by the
sacrifice of
himself now let's talk about that a
little bit because on the one hand
that's incredibly simple but on the
other hand it's incredibly profound
and and I'm really anxious for us this
morning to try to
capture why that is to understand why it
was The Obedience of
Jesus that enabled him to conquer Satan
and all forces of evil we have to go
back to the original question of how did
Evil come into the world how did Evil
come into the world you and I both know
that according to scripture God
created Adam and Eve in the opening
chapters of Genesis in relationship with
him himself in paradise and there was no
way that Satan and evil could come into
that life God was right there and his
protection was right there so the
question then is how in the world did
Satan get into the picture well think of
it in terms of a city under siege what
are what has to happen for a city with
walls to be conquered by the enemy
there's only two ways the enemy can get
in there one is by breaching the
walls and that's where you know in
history you learn about all these sieges
and Siege machineries and trying to
break through the
defenses but there's a second way and
what might that
be somebody on the
inside open
the
door and lets the enemy in a lot of you
know that some years ago weba and I had
a chance to go to China and of course
when you go to China one of the things
that you do is you visit the Great Wall
of China and the Great Wall of China as
you know runs for thousands and
thousands of miles over the most rugged
of Hills it was built in varying phases
over a period of about a thousand years
and the purpose of the wall was to stop
Invaders from the north coming into the
kingdom and if I remember my history
lesson correctly there's only two
occasions that wall was
breached would you like to know how it
was breached each
time a guard was bribed by the enemy and
he let them
through that's what Adam and Eve did in
the
garden the devil couldn't just come
barging in through their
defenses he couldn't just overtake them
he had to win their allegion and so he
deceived them and in deceiving them he
gained entry into the world and so the
result of that is that you and I live in
a world where Satan has been given
Authority and if you know anything at
all about Christian history then you
know that that the devil who starts out
as a serpent in the Book of Genesis
throughout the course of history grows
to become a big red
dragon and everywhere you look the devil
is busy winning people over alienating
people from God
breathing lies and deception into them
so that they they they prefer to serve
the devil as opposed to God and that is
the history of the world and for God
that's quite an issue as you can
understand because he wants to build his
own
kingdom and he wants people to be
yielded to
him and so he's trying to gain us back
so to speak and Satan is hard at work
through every institution organization
and method that he can to try to wean us
away from God and to fill us with
unbelief and un Godly Behavior I don't
need to elaborate I trust you understand
you experience it in your life so the
big question then from from God's
perspective and from our
perspective is having let the devil
in how do you get him
out if you've ever encountered the devil
in your own life or sin in your own life
you know that it's a lot easier to get
into trouble than to get out of trouble
isn't that that's a
no-brainer well what we needed of course
was
a savior a messiah and the promise of
scripture is that God would send a
deliverer who would Deliver Us from
Satan's
power not by waging a sword at him first
and foremost in the end of History he
will but not
initially but rather by being not such
subject to his deception and by
remaining faithful to God in obedience
even unto death and so while the rest of
us we live in here and we are by Nature
dominated by Satan following the spirit
of the power of the air uh craving and
Catering towards sin instead of
godliness Jesus conceived by the Holy
Spirit didn't share our sinful nature
lived in obedience to God the Father
even to the point of dying on the cross
he never sinned he was always faithful
to God he did the will of God every step
of the way Satan had no power over him
in fact in John's gospel Jesus says I'm
going to the Cross but I want you to
know Satan has no power over me there
was nothing in Jesus it was like Jesus
was dressed in spandex you couldn't grab
the devil couldn't grab hold of him to
to in any way have any authority over
his life and the ultimate demonstration
of that is that while Jesus
died death couldn't hold him Peter talks
about that in his Pentecost sermon death
could not hold him he rose from the dead
he ascended on high God owns the whole
universe he gives it to whoever he is in
relationship with and so Jesus received
the name that is above every name he is
the one whose heel was bruised but he is
the one who crushed Satan under his
feet and he did
it because he never compromised his
relationship with
God because he was in perfect
relationship with God Satan had no claim
on him and God had no reason not to give
him the fullness of his Blessing do you
understand I don't want to unduly
belabor it do you understand how
profoundly critical this is for you and
me because what's the gospel message the
gospel message is that when you and I
understand our sin and misery namely we
are sinners we under God's judgment the
devil owns Us by Nature we cannot Escape
his his clutches we're all going to
succumb to his power sooner or later
when we recognize that when we
understand that when we see who Jesus is
that Jesus had never sold out to the
devil that he is the Son of God who is
the recipient of everything that God has
to offer and we put our faith in him
than what God has given to
Jesus oh I wish I could preach it what
God has given to to
Jesus he will give to you and he will
give to me listen to how John puts it in
4 everyone born of God overcomes the
world this is the victory that has
overcome the world even our faith let me
read it again every one born of God
overcomes the world remember the world
is this whole system all around us that
is under the devil's
domination everyone born of God
overcomes the world this is the victory
that has overcome the world even our
faith that means again when by faith we
are joined to
Jesus whatever God has given to Jesus he
has given to you and to me so back to
the
question how is Satan going to be
crushed under our feet how do we gain
Victory not only over the spiritual
powers of the universe that seek to lead
the whole world including us astray how
do we gain victory over all the devil's
children who are filling the world with
their nonsense and with their lies far
fast F than you and I can even begin to
try to stop it but
non-engagement
no because by
non-engagement evil continues to
flourish by drawing our Swords by
launching campaigns and by fighting
every force of evil through petition and
and
organization and all kinds of other
battles and yes there is a time and a
place for that and God can use
it but you and I both
know that the more dirt we throw the
more dirt gets thrown back at us and in
the long run you end up losing the war
look at the culture war in North America
God's people are virtually retreated
from us and where are the voices that
are are being raised
up to put to North the LIE of the enemy
how do we win the victory well this is
very counterintuitive
folks we win the victory
ultimately by living
obediently through faith in Jesus in the
midst of our culture by being
innocent as to what is
evil and being filled with what is
righteous and learning to stand for
truth wherever
truth we
encounter so how do we work that out in
Practical reality well two very quick
thoughts on that number one we need to
know who it is that we are in Christ we
need to know who in Christ we really
are 2 Corinthians 5:17 you know it well
if anyone is in Christ he is a new
creation the old has G on the new has
come the phrase in Christ occurs 89
times in the New Testament and if we can
just put that chart back up in Christ
stands in contrast to being in Adam to
be in Adam means that we share all that
Adam is it is our natural inheritance
it's what you look like it's the gifts
that you're born with it's the
temperament that you have it is what you
can accomplish in the world by virtue of
your natural birth it is a place under
Satan's power it is a place sold out to
sin it is a place that does not want to
serve God and is incapable of serving
God that's where we are by Nature that's
in
Adam in Christ on the other hand refers
to what Christ has won for us in Christ
by faith in him we are the children of
God we are
righteous in Christ Satan has no power
over us in Christ we have the gifts of
the holy spirit we have the calling of
God's holy spirit on our lives God has
determined for us an inheritance that
nobody and nothing can ever take away
from us remember the apostle Paul was
profoundly impressed with his own
credentials as a Jew before he came to
Christ he said I'm a Jew I'm of A Tribe
of Benjamin I'm I'm more righteous than
anybody else that you I'm a good person
in so many different ways but then he
said I met Jesus and then I discovered
that everything I brought to the
table it was nothing more than
manure and he said I counted all things
as loss for the surpassing worth of
knowing Jesus Christ my
Lord to know
Jesus is to know who it is that we are
in him and it is to stand in him and it
is to Proclaim him Revelation 1211 puts
it this way a powerful verse this is
about the Saints who were being martyred
in the Book of Revelation the Dragon is
is breathing fire all over the early
church and the Bible says they overcame
him by the blood of the Lamb by the word
of their
testimony and they did not love their
lives so much as to shrink from Death
how did they overcome
Satan by the blood of the Lamb by the
word of their testimony because they
didn't love their lives unto death
you want to be a
Victor you want to impact the world for
good you are exercised about all the
stuff that you see happening and you cry
out oh God how long what can I do the
place to
begin is to say Lord show me who I am in
Christ show me that I'm righteous in
Christ show me that regardless of where
I come from regardless of what I've done
I am as good as it gets to be because of
Jesus the devil has no claim over me get
lost I'm a Child of God God is my father
every Power of hell can go to hell right
because I belong to Jesus that's where
it starts that's where it
starts the devil cannot touch you there
because he's got to come through Jesus
to get to you and he's not going to be
able to do that so that's where it
starts then understanding that knowing
that living out of that we have to live
it out in real
life Ephesians 4:22 to 24 you've heard
these verses before put off your old
nature which belongs to your former
manner of life it's corrupt through
deceitful lusts be renewed in the spirit
of your minds put on the new nature
created after the like of God in true
righteousness and Holiness this is
sanctification hold that chart up for
just a moment you know just as well as I
do that just because positionally we are
over here in Christ that doesn't mean
all the rest of our lives line up with
what we are in Christ isn't that true
would you admit this morning there's
probably a place or two in your life
where you're falling short of being like
Jesus
a place where maybe the world tempts you
a place where you fall into patterns of
sin a place where you're not the perfect
husband you're not the perfect wife and
kid there's a
gap between what we are by faith in
Christ and what we are by
nature and a lot of Christians really
get discouraged because they say to
themselves well I must not be a
Christian because old sins keep coming
back and old patterns keep reoccurring
and I've lost my cool and and I don't
really love God the way that I ought to
be loving God and we get all down and
ourselves because because we're not
where we know we want to be let's have
that chart back up again for just a
moment the reality
is that just because I am positionally
in Christ I'm still living in this world
and my flesh or sin nature is still with
me but here is the difference I am now
in in Christ what happens when I am in
Christ God gives me the Holy Spirit
what's the job of the Holy Spirit the
job of the holy spirit is to make real
in my experience what in Christ I
already am and so in Christ I'm a Child
of God my flesh says well God doesn't
care doesn't love you doesn't understand
you doesn't hear no no in Christ I'm a
child of
God and the Holy Spirit is in
me now it's his job to show me when I
get out of line when I act out of the
character that I am in Christ and it's
his job to encourage me to become more
and more like Jesus that's what Paul is
talking about he says be renewed in the
spirit of your mind when Christ is in
you you're going to be convicted of
things that you were never convicted of
before your desire Ires are going to
change you want to become more like
Jesus and when you get out of line
there's an alarm Bell that goes off on
the inside that says smart up what are
you going to listen to your old human
desire or the presence and the power of
God's holy spirit biblically that's
called walking after the spirit and
scripture puts it this way in the Book
of Romans if you love according to your
sinful nature you will
die but if by the spirit you put to
death the Deeds of the body you will
live because those who are led by the
spirit of God are the sons of God in the
Bible this is called walking after the
spirit or Walking In step with the
spirit and if you're in Christ this
morning then you have the
ability to walk after the spirit and
there will be those times times when you
are tempted to fall back into Old
patterns and inside there will be
something that says don't do it or
you'll be called to do something and
your flesh will say I don't want to do
it but inside the holy spirit is at work
in you bringing you to the place where
you can really bow before the authority
of Jesus that's what makes a Christian a
Christian we're not a Christian because
we're perfect we're not a Christian
because we don't fall back into sin
we're Christians because we have new
life in us the life of Jesus quick
illustration heard this in focus of the
family the other day as I was driving
back and forth uh to church this
mom was talking about her 5-year-old
son who was a Helen of a child the most
difficult of all her children a child
that not even a mother could love half
the time you know that's bad that's bad
and uh she and the kid were having this
huge hassle about something or
another and she was trying to explain to
him you know how much she and her
husband had done for this kid and and
this kid looks at her defiantly and he
says you know and he said this in all
sincerity I wish I had been born into
another
family and you can imagine what was on
the tip of her
tongue on the tip of her tongue was the
acostic remark to say you know that
could be arranged real easily I'd
happily give you away right about now
and that had been her pattern in the
past which is what had contributed to
this kid's attitude instead this time
she caught
herself because the Holy Spirit
convicted her and she bit her tongue and
instead
of chewing him out she said you
know of all my children
you were the most difficult
delivery you caused me an immense amount
of
pain and true to form you have been the
most difficult of my
children and there are many there have
been many many a time when I haven't
known what to do with you but you know
what I would do it again in a heartbeat
because I loved you
you see that's returning good for evil
and that's what breaks the power of evil
when we live out the righteousness of
Christ all right very quickly what
happens when we do that two things
happen number one and we won't have time
to talk about this this morning but
you'll experience persecution Jesus put
it this way all men will hate you
because of me you would think you would
think that when people are more and more
like Jesus people would love them more
and more not true maybe some other time
we'll talk about that in more detail but
there's something else that happens when
you and I can stand firm in the
righteousness of Christ and when we
learn to walk obediently in biblical
values like Daniel and his friends of
old refuse to compromise refuse to be
bowled over just love the Lord Our God
with all of our heart soul strength and
mind and love our neighbor as we love
ourselves here's what happens and this
is very ironic Satan's power gets broken
everyone has heard about your obedience
I'm full of joy over you but I want you
to be wise about what is good and
innocent about what is evil and the God
of Peace will soon Crush Satan under
your
feet how does Satan get
defeated by God's people who refuse to
compromise who refuse to be bowled over
by the values of the world who refuse to
let evil overcome them but who instead
overcome evil with good and I leave you
this morning with this
question where in your life In your
experience
are you exercised about evil evil in the
relationships what does it look
like not to be overcome by
evil but to overcome evil with good what
promptings do you receive from the Holy
Spirit to return turn good for
evil because it is those actions little
as they
are that ultimately bring down the power
of
evil and that will establish one day the
kingdom of God when Jesus comes again
and says enough is enough I reclaim the