Silver Street Mission

2004: January

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Peter R Green
2002

Winning
John 15: 20 - 27
Rev. Peter R Green, Sunday morning, 11 Jan, 2004

LAST WEEK, I talked about the trials facing Christianity in a world dominated by secularism, immorality and anti-Christ religion. Now I want to talk about our victory. We are the winners!
  We just read an important passage from Jesus, where he tells his disciples,

20 Remember the words I spoke to you: No servant is greater than his master. If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the One who sent me.

  We can expect trials, because Jesus experienced trials in his earthly life. We are no greater than he is.

  But we must also keep in mind the many great promises of the Bible, such as this one in I John:

1JN 4:4 You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 5 They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood.

  We might face the powers of this world, and we might face the spirit of falsehood as it rides abroad like some dark rider from Lord of the Rings. But we are from God. We have overcome them already, and the reason is that

...the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world

  There is no difference between what happened when Jesus sent his disciples out 2000 years ago, and what happens when disciples go out today:

LK 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.

LK 10:18 He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20 However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.

CONFRONTING SPIRITUAL POWERS

  I want to tell you about some of my successful confrontations with the spirit of evil which is abroad today.

  John Brown talks about the upsurge of rage today, such as road rage, and John's analysis is that it is often a manifestation of demonic activity. I think he is right. Rage and demonisation are often linked. Remember that St Paul wrote,

Be angry, but do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger; do not give the devil a foothold.

  Anger is often the foothold the Evil One uses to gain control in our lives, and that anger is given full reign to turn into rage. Anger itself is not wrong. We need anger at times. But rage is more about control and abuse than about a reasoned response to a situation.

  Here are three scenarios:

• A young woman was being very disruptive in church. She had come as a support to a relative of hers. I had obstructed the relative when he tried to gain control over the church, and I'm sure that was why she was angry. She was not just being disruptive in a general way like young people sometimes are. She was working very hard to stop me preaching and to hinder the congregation's responses.
• An older woman came, telling everyone who would listen, that Jesus was sick and that "those who sent her" were powerful and wise.
• A young man was raging at people as he walked down the street, and abused another young man, claiming he'd raped his sister. The accused man was saying, "I don't even know who your sister is!" The man was being so threatening to strangers that I began calling the police, and so the chap threatened me, too.

  In each case, prayer in Jesus' name, or confrontation in Jesus' name brought about an immediate response. The two women each left and never returned to participate in our activities. One came back months later, only to ask for a biscuit. She then went away again.

  The man stopped, acknowledged that I had spoken in Jesus name, apologised for his behaviour and went silently onto the platform and caught a train.

  I don't have all the answers. I don't know exactly why I can sometimes speak in Jesus name and receive an immediate response; yet other times it seems to have little or no effect. I suspect it has to do with my own spirituality or lack of it.

  But I do know that Jesus is powerful and he overcomes the world!

  I don't want to frighten anyone. I don't want you to feel defeated by the world's distress. Jesus said

Such things must happen...

  We might face all kinds of evil, but, as I said last week, it is only evidence that Satan is raging because his time is short.

  Martin Luther was upset about the Dominican preacher, Tetzel, who came to Wittenberg preaching that a donation to the church would free a soul from Purgatory.

Sobald die Müntz' ins Koffer ringt
Die Seele aus Fegefeuer springt!

(As soon as the coin rings in the coffer
The soul springs out of Purgatory!)

  Luther objected. He posted his 95 Theses on the Wittenberg Church door, calling for theologians to debate whether or not Tetzel was preaching the truth.

  But the thing got away from him. The people wanting change were ready for change, and the conservatives were vehemently opposed to anything which rocked the boat. Luther found the whole power of Rome bearing down on him.

  When it seemed that he would be murdered, when there was a plot underway to catch him as he travelled from a court hearing in Worms back home to WIttenberg, the Elector Friedrich came to his aid, kidnapped him to an isolated castle, and kept him there until it was safe for him to come out.

  In that castle, Luther wrote his great hymn, A Mighty Fortress is our God. He had experienced first hand how God intervenes for anyone who seeks to do his will. In the hymn stand these words:

And though this world, with devils filled
Should seek to overthrow us
We will not fear, for God has willed
His truth to triumph through us.
The Prince of Darkness grim
We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
For, see, his doom is sure!
One little word shall slay him.

  Luther knew that Christ, the one who indwelt him, was greater than the spirit of this world.

A BATTLE AGAINST DARK POWERS
  Do you remember what Paul said?

Eph 6:12 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. 13 Therefore put on the full armour of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

  We might face all kinds of difficulties, but our ultimate battle is not against individuals, but against the worldly powers and the spiritual entities which range themselves against Jesus Christ our Lord.

  It's exactly what we find in Psalm 2:

PS 2:1 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?

PS 2:2 The kings of the earth take their stand
and the rulers gather together
against the LORD
and against his Anointed One.

PS 2:3 "Let us break their chains," they say,
"and throw off their fetters."
PS 2:4 The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.

PS 2:5 Then he rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,

PS 2:6 "I have installed my King
on Zion, my holy hill."

  Worldwide, people feel that God and Jesus have them in bondage, that righteousness robs them of their freedom. Worldwide, people are declaring that they have two gods, their earthly rulers and their personal desires.

  And God laughs at them, he scoffs at them, he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath. Evil will not win, not finally; not unless we capitulate to it.

  You find the same truth taught again in the book of Revelation. John exiled on Patmos, saw a vision of a beast with seven heads and ten horns, and here is the angel’s explanation of the vision:

REV 17:12 "The ten horns you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings,and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers."

THE VICTORIOUS LAMB

  Ruler after ruler opposes Jesus, the Lamb of God; but, in the end, it is the Lamb who wins, not the monster, not the beast. Victory never goes to the powerful, but to the righteous.

  In the paper this week, there was an article about Princess Diana, and this charge that Prince Charles wanted to have her murdered.

  The article suggests that Diana was a very clever person when it came to gaining support. Unlike other Royal family members, she did not seek the support of the Queen or Prince Philip or other high-ups. She went to the little people, the servants, the chambermaids, the butlers, and made friends of them. Her power was based on weakness, not on strength. And it worked, because her enemies knew that anything they did was noticed and would be published if necessary.

  God's strength is perfected in our weakness.

THE DUTY OF TESTIMONY

  But there are responsibilities if we want to overcome.

  St John, in the Revelation, had a vision of war in heaven. Satan is not strong enough to prevail, and is cast down from heaven like a dragon cast to the earth. And John hears a loud angelic voice:

"Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.

12:11 They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.

12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens
and you who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
because the devil has gone down to you!
He is filled with fury,
because he knows that his time is short."

  Our brothers suffer already at the hands of the accuser, but they are victorious together with Christ. Their victory is not based on military might or weapons of mass destruction. They overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. They did not shrink from death. They have won the fight whether they lived or died. In Christ, we have victory!

  Yet we must return to our first passage. We know that

...everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

  We know that Jesus promised,

I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.

  We even know that Jesus said,

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

  But our role is defined by the Lord:

JN 15:26 When the Counsellor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.

  Our calling is to hear from the Counsellor, from the Spirit of truth. He will testify to us about Jesus, and we are to testify about him to our world.

  It’s through the saving and cleansing blood of Jesus and through the word of our testimony that we overcome.

  In the 17th Century, it was the Quakers, above all, who confronted the powers.

• When rulers and authorities demanded silence, Quakers spoke out.
• When magistrates charged them with refusing to swear loyalty to the crown, they handed around tracts against any kind of oath.
• When judges told them to show respect and remove their hats in court, they kept them firmly on.
• When those in power demanded that they respect the Established Church, the Quakers called on the people to leave their steeple houses and come to the living Christ.

  And the authorities finally gave in. They threw them into prison, they let them die of starvation and cold and exposure, but they could not kill their will or their testimony. So they finally allowed the Quakers to do things the Quaker way. There were never many of these people, but they conquered — by the blood of the Lamb, and the word of their testimony.

  Next week, we look at the Biblical preaching of Christ. Be ready to learn about testifying to Jesus!

  Meanwhile, share your faith with someone this week, and tell us next week how it went.

AMEN