Jul 15 2018 - Rick Reynolds - Satan and the Two Ages

Satan and the Two Ages - Rick Reynolds

The idea for this message started a couple of months ago when the Adult Bible Study decided to study Galatians. For those of you that aren’t familiar, the Adult Bible Study meets at 9:30 downstairs during the school year when we have 2 services.

As I was preparing for the class, one a short phrase in one of the verses really hit home with me and has made an important impact on my life. When Mike asked me to fill in this morning, I immediately thought of sharing what I had learned in Galatians.

As I started preparing and getting more material, I also thought of this book, The Three Princes, by Dr. Tom Julien. Carol and I came across this book 4-5 years ago when we were visiting old college friends in Winona Lake, IN. Winona Lake is the home of Grace College, where we all went to school.

Grace College is a small, Christian school, similar to Malone, but they also have a seminary and Winona Lake is the headquarters of the Grace Brethren Church. When Carol and I were in college we heard about Dr Julien and his family since they were missionaries in France and a couple of our friends were going to France to join in the ministry there. We knew the name, but had never met him.

When we went to Sunday School class that morning a few years ago, Dr Julien was leading the class. Afterwards our friends introduced us and also told us about a book he had recently completed, which turned out to be The Three Princes. I would recommend it to anyone – you can get it on Amazon. While writing it, he often used the Sunday School class as a sounding board for some of the ideas in the book. Dr Julien was such a gracious man that he took us out to his car, opened the trunk, and gave us a copy of his book.

We were so impressed with it that we used is as the study guide for the Adult Bible Study a few months later. We spent about 3 months going through the chapters and digging in to what he had written.

I would highly recommend this book to you. I’ve been a Christian most of my life, got a college degree in Biblical Studies, was a missionary, served in the church, and taught Sunday School and Bible Studies. I considered myself a fairly knowledgeable Christian, but this book explained and spelled out things in a way that really helped flesh out things I already knew. It was kind of like looking at a large painting in black and white and then seeing the same thing in color. Certain things stand out more and make more sense. There are things that got lost in the ‘black and white’ that were opened up to me when I read the book.

A brief synopsis of the book will help you understand how it is used today. The Three Princes is about the different rulers of this earth. The first ruler, or prince was Adam. God gave it to him. Satan came along and tricked Adam into bowing down to him and usurped that authority and became the second prince. Can anyone guess who the third prince is? Jesus is the obvious and correct answer. This book vividly explains the story of those three princes in a way that will expand your knowledge of how and why it all happened, and especially what Satan’s plan was and how God has been a step ahead of him all the way.

Now that you know the background of this message, let’s pray and get started.

Lord Jesus, thank You for what You have done for us. Sometimes we take it for granted, but open our eyes to see this in a new way. Forgot to mention - Thank you, Choir! They do a lot. Be sure to thank them.

Gal 1:3-5

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Paul taps into the Jewish teaching of the division of time into two periods:

The present age, which is an era of evil

The age to come, which is an era of righteousness and regeneration

We know this is coming – Christ will return – and there will be a time of righteousness and regeneration after He returns.

To help us understand these 2 ages, we need some background

??Why is this present age evil?

Because of sin – and the head of sin is Satan.

A short history lesson

God created the heavens and the earth.

?? Who did he put in charge of the earth? ADAM

?? What was he given dominion over? EVERYTHING (Gen 1:26-29)

?? Who was appointed guardian over the earth? One possibility: SATAN

Ez 28:12-17: allegorical – on the surface it is a description of the King of Tyre, but many scholars believe the hidden meaning is a description of Satan

:13 – “you were in Eden, the garden of God”

:14 – “you were anointed as a guardian cherub”

Isa 14:12-15 – Fall of Satan (King of Babylon >> Satan)

2 How you have fallen from heaven, morning star, son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations!

13 You said in your heart, “I will ascend to the heavens;

I will raise my throne above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.[b]

14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.”

15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead, to the depths of the pit.

Dr J: “God appointed Lucifer, the highest of angelic beings, to be Adam’s protector. Filled with jealousy that a physically weak being should occupy the place he thought should be rightfully his, Satan developed in his warped mind a plot to secure dominion over the earth.”

??How did Adam give up is authority?

By listening to Satan instead of God. When he obeyed Satan instead of God he gave up all that God had given him.

?? Who has the authority and power now over the earth? SATAN

J: “Satan, by subjecting man to himself, became the legal prince of this world.”

?? How do we know Satan now has power over the earth?

Luke 4:5-7

5 The devil led him up to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. 6 And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. 7 If you worship me, it will all be yours.”

If it were not true, Jesus would have called him out of it.

That finishes the history lesson, so let’s go back to the question I asked a few minutes ago

??Why is this present age evil?

Because Satan is in charge and Satan is evil! He is the epitome of evil! He hates God and is the exact opposite of God in all he does.

Who has the power in the evil age? SATAN

Who has the authority in the evil age? SATAN

Here’s a definition of the evil age =

THE TOTALITY OF HUMAN LIFE DOMINATED BY SIN AND OPPOSED TO GOD

Sounds pretty bleak, doesn’t it?

Let’s go back to Galatians chapter 1 again:

Gal 1:3-5

3 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Let’s play news reporter for a minute and answer the basic questions:

Who did it? – Lord Jesus Christ

What did he do? – gave himself for our sins

Why did he do it? – to rescue us

From what did he rescue us? – this present evil age

How does it happen? – through faith (emphasized in other passages in Galatians)

There’s one question we haven’t answered: When did this rescue take place????

Colossians 1:13-14

13 For he HAS rescued us from the dominion of darkness and (HAS) brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

This HAS happened, it’s not in FUTURE!

?? How / When did it happen?

Let’s start by looking at Jesus and seeing when it happened for him:

?? When did Christ enter the age of righteousness?

Let’s look at Eph 1

Ephesians 1:19b-21

That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.

CHRIST HAS BEEN IN THE AGE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS FOR OVER 2000 YEARS!!

SO HERE’S THE BIG QUESTION:

??When do we enter the age of righteousness?

Let’s go back to Ephesians

Eph 2:4-6

4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus

This has already happened! As soon as you accepted Christ and all that he’s done for you, you became a citizen of heaven and you are seated with him.

?? When I say that, what’s the first question that pops into your mind?

THEN WHY AM I STILL HERE, PUTTING UP WITH THIS EVIL AGE?

To help us understand that, it’s time for another history lesson.

SIDEBAR: King David

?? Does anyone remember what the Scripture was about that Lisa read for us?

It was about King David – 1 about his anointing and 1 about his crowning

It was somewhere around 15 years from the time David was anointed to be the king of Israel until the time he actually took the throne presiding over the whole nation.

?? Why the long wait?

?? What was David when he was anointed?

David had been a shepherd; he therefore had to undergo a process of training to be a king in many things; such as character and how to relate with the Lord when in a kingly position.

I see this as a type of what we are going through today. Once we accept Christ, we are citizens of heaven. We are a new creation, a living temple of God; yet we have to keep struggling here in a world that is tormented by Satan and his demons. …to prepare us and get us ready…

Just as David had to work hard to do the right thing all those years waiting on the promise, we have to work hard here, building up our Christian maturity and building up the body of Christ while waiting on the return of Christ

David wasn’t ready to be a king as a teenager, but he needed to know what the future held for him so he could prepare.

The body of Christ is not done doing His work, bringing as many as possible to citizenship in heaven.

The church is God’s secret weapon against Satan and the evil age. Satan thought he had it made when Christ died on the cross, but he knew it was all over when Christ rose from the dead. Since then, his goal is to cause as much havoc and destruction in peoples’ lives as possible.

What about Satan? What is his position today?

READ p90 – Condition or attitude of Satan today

Satan’s evil influence is everywhere. His agents are spread throughout the earth – if we could see the spiritual world, we would be amazed at how many political leaders are influenced by Satan. Though Satan knows he is doomed, he has a scorched earth strategy, leaving nothing good. His fury continues to increase.

It is not getting better. Yes, we have an obligation to reach out and help others, but as a rule, Satan is in control of this world – but our job is to find ways to combat it.

?? Why does God allows Satan to continue -- READ p89

Although Satan has been stripped of all legitimacy, he still has power. God allows him to have power and deception. Why? Because those who enter God’s kingdom must come through a personal choice – forsaking what this world has to offer. I will make the choice to go with God. We have choice, we are not robots. God has a plan. We are to fight against Satan.

Remember what we asked before King David?

WHY AM I STILL HERE, PUTTING UP WITH THIS EVIL AGE?

Listen to what Dr Julien says about the church and this age: READ p103

The church is God’s masterpiece – the focal point of God’s great plan, the means by which He reveals His wisdom. She exists in her glory in the mind of Christ.

We are in the church age – drawing in as many as possible.

?? What is our position today?

You have a choice to make. Imagine you are in Ohio Stadium – and everyone is watching to see what decision you make – which side will cheer?

Satan no longer has any authority over us

Col 2:15

15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

We are in Christ

That means we are clothed with “divine authority”

We have all the authority of Christ behind us.

Christ is in us

That means we are filled with “divine power”

Dr J: READ p85

We have been given authority over the devil. We no longer need to see ourselves as victims condemned to failure.

When I studied Gal 1 and the meaning really sunk in, I found it life changing. This world is under the influence of the most evil being there is, but I no longer have to worry about how he will try to influence me.

• I have been rescued from the dominion of darkness

• I have been made alive in Christ

• I have been raised up with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly realms

• I am an heir, etc, etc, etc

• AND through Christ, I have divine authority and divine power over Satan

God used my understanding of this verse to free me the bondage that I kept putting myself in.

Gal 5:1 tells us:

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

In retrospect, I found that my attitude towards sin could be a little too cavalier. I would tell myself, “I know it’s wrong, but it’s not that bad and God will forgive me. The problem is, every time we sin, we do just what Adam did, we yield ourselves to Satan and put on the yoke of slavery.

I ignore all the things I just listed about who I am:

• I have been rescued

• I have been made alive in Christ

• I have been raised up with Christ and seated with him in the heavenly realms

• I am an heir, etc, etc, etc

• AND through Christ, I have divine authority and divine power over Satan

I AM FREE!

Sure I still fall – I’m not perfect – but it’s an ATTITUDE change. I have a different attitude about my freedom in Christ and I’ve found I spend more time on Christ, which leaves less time for Satan and makes me tools and attitude to resist him more.

Last night as I was reviewing this – it is more of a testimony than a message – a testimony of how God has worked in my life and challenged me in the last few months.

What about you? Are you still playing tag with Satan?

DON’T SETTLE!

As Paul asks in Galatians: You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?

Are you still flirting with the evil age, or are you taking your place in the righteous age and keeping your eyes fixed on Jesus and our future with him?

Let’s do a short review of what we looked at today:

• 2 ages – 1 evil and 1 righteous

• Jesus HAS already rescued us from the evil age

• The church is God’s tool to bring people to him

• Satan’s position? He still has power, but no more authority. Only in place for a short time.

• Our position

One last thing before we close. There might be someone here who hasn’t been “rescued” yet. Don’t be left behind. You can only be rescued if you have accepted Jesus into your heart and have a personal relationship with him. If you haven’t taken that step, talk to myself or Pastor Mike or one of the elders. Satan doesn’t want you to make that decision and he will throw all kinds of obstacles in your way to keep it from happening. Don’t delay! The longer you delay, the easier it is to listen to his tricks and arguments.

Let’s pray.

Lord, Jesus, thank You for loving us – dying for us – being raised from the dead, opening the door to become your children. Help us to focus on You and to bring others to You

Other notes:

Spiritual goal of being in the kingdom of the Son:

2 Corinthians 5:17-21

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

We have a job to do while on this earth: bringing people to God

Rom 12:2

2 Do not conform 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.

Did you ever think about Adam? What was he thinking?? He had everything perfect and what did he do? He blew it and gave it all away. I would think, What an idiot! How could he do that?

But then I realized that I have all the knowledge Adam had before AND after the fall, and I still fall for Satan’s wiles all the time

Gal 5:1

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

1 Samuel 16:6-7, 11-13

6 When they arrived, Samuel saw Eliab and thought, “Surely the LORD’s anointed stands here before the LORD.”

7 But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.”

11 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?”

“There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.”

Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.”

12 So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features.

Then the LORD said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.”

13 So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the LORD came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

1 Chron 11:1-3

All Israel came together to David at Hebron and said, “We are your own flesh and blood. 2 In the past, even while Saul was king, you were the one who led Israel on their military campaigns. And the LORD your God said to you, ‘You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler.’”

When all the elders of Israel had come to King David at Hebron, he made a covenant with them at Hebron before the LORD, and they anointed David king over Israel, as the LORD had promised through Samuel.

Isaiah 14

12 How you have fallen from heaven,

morning star, son of the dawn!

You have been cast down to the earth,

you who once laid low the nations!

13 You said in your heart,

“I will ascend to the heavens;

I will raise my throne

above the stars of God;

I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly,

on the utmost heights of Mount Zaphon.[b]

14 I will ascend above the tops of the clouds;

I will make myself like the Most High.”

15 But you are brought down to the realm of the dead,

to the depths of the pit.

Eph 6:12

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.