Good Morning, Meetpastordan Readers…This coming weekend I have the opportunity to return to the Saint Louis Wind Symphony to conduct the second half of their concert. What a privilege and thrill it is to stand in front of such esteemed musicians again. In my new role as Conductor Emeritus, I will return once or twice a season to conduct on a concert…and I’m already looking forward to the next visit. While it was a hard decision to step away from “my baby”, it has proven to be the right decision because Meetpastordan has taken on a life of its own, and I get the same sense of fulfillment here as I did when I was conducting. I definitely consider myself twice blessed.
One of my favorite Christian authors, Neil Anderson, made this statement in his book, The Bondage Breaker: “I feel one of the short-comings of the modern-day church is shying away from presenting the reality of the Dark Domain.” He goes on to say that many pastors avoid this subject because people are frightened by the message, and because there are those who just don’t believe it. In other words, it doesn’t get high marks from the listener… sorta like the messages on giving. But the fact is…this is a not only a real topic, it is a serious topic. So let’s begin by examining who the devil (satan) is and why he is here. (I have made a choice –a personal one – not to capitalize the name of the enemy because I don’t want to exalt him by doing so – grammatically correct or not. My choice.)
When God created the world, we are told that He examined it and declared that it was good (Genesis 1:31). This means that even the angelic world did not have evil angels or demons in it at that time. But by the time of Genesis chapter three, we find that satan, in the form of a serpent, was tempting Eve to sin. Therefore, sometime between the events of Genesis chapter one and Genesis chapter three, there must have been a rebellion in the angelic world with many angels turning against God and becoming evil. That rebellion did happen, and it was led by satan himself.
The Bible gives this information about satan prior to his fall. He was created by God and his name was Lucifer, meaning “star of the morning”; he held the highest ranking position in the angelic host; he was exquisitely beautiful and possessed great wisdom; he was given a position of great power and influence; and he was called “the guardian cherub.” Isaiah14:12-15 describes satan’s fall.”How you are fallen from Heaven, O Lucifer, star of the morning! You have been thrown down to earth, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ‘I will ascend into Heaven; I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the north ; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High.’ But instead, you will be brought down to the place of the dead, to the lowest depths of the Pit”
Lucifer, the most exalted cherub, became satan- the tempter, the father of lies, the accuser of the brethren and the great deceiver – when he coveted what he didn’t have, and he challenged God’s authority. That’s why Jesus tells us in Luke 10:18, “I saw satan falling from heaven (to earth) as a flash of lightening.” But when satan fell, he did not fall alone. He took1/3 of the heavenly host with him who participated in his failed attempt to gain control of the heavenly realm. They account for the fallen angels, or demons, that now do his bidding. As a result, satan is a fallen, but powerful, spirit-being with a well-organized network of demon powers to help him accomplish his purposes. Those purposes, according to Jesus, are to “steal, kill, and destroy” (John 10:10).
When we are born into this world, we are born into an eternal morality play that began at Creation and will continue until the second coming of Christ. We are participants in this play whether we want to be involved or not, and its title is “Good vs. Evil”. We participate in this play by the choices we make, and those choices categorize us and ultimately determine our eternal destiny. We can choose to follow the Truth (God’s Word) which leads to eternal life, or we can choose to follow the “father of lies” which leads to death. It’s all about exercising our free-will.
At the outset, satan has some advantages. We are born into a fallen world, and we live in these “fleshly” bodies. When we come into this world, we are born with a “human nature” (or sin nature, as the Bible refers to it.) If you doubt that, let me give this example. The first thing a new- born baby becomes aware of is “self”. When the baby cries, it gets held, making it feel safe and warm; or it gets nursed, satisfying its hunger. It soon learns that crying results in “self” satisfaction. The unfortunate truth is, we can go from the cradle to the grave with the focus on “self”, and miss the whole panorama God has available to us unless we make a conscious effort along the way to change from our plan to His plan.
Let me define these three words right now: Sin, Sin Nature or Human Nature. They all mean the same thing, and that is…that we live with the focus on “self” rather than on God. Remember… at Creation God’s “proudest creation” was Man, and we were spiritually connected to Him. Man was born into Paradise, and everything was provided by God. Adam and Eve wanted for nothing. But that all changed when sin entered the world. The serpent (satan) deceived Eve by convincing her that God was holding something good from them. “You won’t die’, the serpent hissed. ‘God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything both good and evil.’ The woman was convinced. The fruit looked so good and delicious, and it would make her so wise! (Genesis 3: 4-6) So Eve took the fruit and shared it with Adam. Pretty crafty, right? Well, that’s how he works, and he is the master of deception.
For those who are still unbelievers, this whole story about satan makes no sense. I know that first hand because I was a non-believer for half a century, and I was totally convinced this story was a fabrication by the church to keep it’s flock in line. After all…I wasn’t bothered by the devil. But what I have come to realize now is that satan didn’t bother me then – or other unbelievers – because he already had me where he wanted me – separated from God. But when we make a choice to move from the Dark Domain into the Domain of Light (Jesus), we find out very quickly about the reality of satan. He isn’t going to give us up without a battle, and we believers have a target on our back.
1Peter gives us this warning. “Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. Take a firm stand against him and be strong in your faith.” And again, in Ephesians 6: 11-13 we’re told to “put on all of God’s armor (the truth of the Bible) so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies and tricks of the devil. For we are not fighting against people made of flesh and blood, but against the evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against those might powers of darkness who rule this world, and against wicked spirits in the heavenly realms. Use every piece of God’s armor to resist the enemy in the time of evil, so that after the battle you will still be standing firm!
This week I wanted to introduce you to your enemy. The first rule in winning a battle is to know who you’re fighting. So I ask you to take heed. He is a formidable foe! If you short-change him, you are vulnerable to his wiles, and that can have catastrophic consequences. Unfortunately many Christ-followers fall prey to him due to lack of knowledge. But the good news is…we’re already victorious!! Next week I want to expand this topic and talk about how to defeat our enemy. So check back in next week for the good news in part 2.
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May God Bless Ya…
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
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