Author: jstchurchofchrist

“A gulf has opened up in our culture between the visibility of evil and the intellectual resources available for coping with it” –Andrew Deblanco, Columbia University.

Since secular society rejects the notion of Good or Evil–everything has to be explained in terms of social or psychological forces. However, “As the twentieth century has gone on, it has gotten harder and harder to say holocausts and ethnic cleansing and serial killing are just bad psychological and sociological adjustment… [the argument] that all evil has natural causes, scientific causes, psychological, social causes, is wearing thin.” – Andrew Delbanco: ‘The Death of Satan.’

The Bible is very blunt about the fact that we have a spiritual enemy. But our response to this usually falls into two extremes: 1) We either place too much emphasis on the enemy and his powers with an unhealthy interest. 2) Or we completely ignore the fact that we have an enemy and ignore the spiritual battle. Both Extremes Are Harmful. The Bible commands us to, ‘Put on the whole Armor of God that you may withstand the schemes of the devil.’ | AUDIO | TEXT PDF

Be Strong in the Lord and in the Power of His Might

Think about some of the great men of faith. Solomon was the wisest of all men, he had great wealth and great power. Samson was the strongest of all men, able to kill 1,000 men with a jawbone. David was the most devoted, a man after God’s own heart, who wrote most of the Psalms. Moses was the most humble, able to lead the people of God to the promised land.

But each one fell to temptation and suffered for it. You might think, “I’m a strong Christian, I have a strong faith…” But ask yourself, are You wiser than Solomon? Are you stronger than Samson? Are you more devoted than David? Are you more humble than Moses? Because each of these men fell, and their fall was recorded for us so we may learn from their mistakes.

We all face our own battles, but where will we find the strength to fight? Paul tells us our strength is not in ourselves, but in the Lord and in the power of His might. AUDIO | TEXT PDF

Satan’s Primary Strategy Today is Not Demonic Possession–but Demonic Deception.

We’re About to see a Battle in the Invisible War. Three realms meet on this battlefield: 1) the visible realm of human experience, 2) the evil realm of demonic spirits, 3) the divine realm of God’s control. We also see three reactions to Jesus miracle: 1) The demons who ask not to be thrown into the abyss, but into a herd of swine, 2) The townspeople who ask Jesus to leave for upsetting their normal life and belief system, 3) The man healed by Jesus who tells others what God had done for him. AUDIO | TEXT PDF

“And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him” –John 13:2

To be in the inner circle of the most famous Rabbi in history carries tremendous notoriety, risks, and even temptation. People are trying to get to Jesus to hear Him, and be healed by Him. They want to see a miracle, they want to be a part of a movement. Some want to take Jesus by force and make Him a King. Others are threatened by Jesus and want Him arrested because of their envy. They already have a plan in place and a price on His head… AUDIO | TEXT PDF

“Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.” –Proverbs 4:23 NIV

And the Lord said, “Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail; and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” (Lk 22:31–32)

What does it mean, ‘to sift as wheat’? To sift is to shake violently in order to separate what is desirable from undesirable. This is how wheat is separated from the chaff. Sifting wheat is a metaphor for Judgement. Satan wants to prove that at least some of the disciples will fail under sever testing through a crisis of fear.

Although Jesus knew the disciples would stumble, He also knew they would recover. This is why Jesus told Peter, “and when you have returned to Me, strengthen your brethren.” During our current crisis of fear, we are also called to return to Jesus and strengthen one another. TEXT PDF | AUDIO