Running To Win

Dave McCallister: Let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. It's clear the devil is having a field day. Evil is running rampant, but a day is coming when a long-delayed sentence of doom is to be carried out. Today, we'll hear about Satan's present activity and then his ultimate end. And it's not pretty. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line.

Pastor Lutzer, since the devil knows he faces a lake of fire, why does he persist in making his doom worse?

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: You know, Dave, I've often thought about that and I've come to this conclusion: He can't help himself. Even though he knows that his doom is sure, to quote the words of Martin Luther in a song that we frequently sing, A Mighty Fortress Is Our God, the fact is that the devil wants to do evil. That's his desire, and even though he knows that he's going to pay for that rebellion forever, he continues to persist.

And you know, we as human beings can do the same thing. There may be people listening right now who know right well that they are on the wrong path and yet do not change. But thank God that God does give us the ability to change, and that's why I think this message is so important, both from the standpoint of making sure that we have the armor on as we fight against the devil, but also know that he is a defeated foe. Let's keep that in mind even as we go to the pulpit of Moody Church and listen.

There are as many strategies out there to deceive us as there are interests among Americans. Now he has obsession, and then in extreme cases, there is invasion where people are actually possessed by the devil. You have a remarkable story about this in Mark chapter five where a demonized man meets Jesus. I'll just tell you about it; you've already read it, I'm sure.

But the man is cutting himself and he's trying to kill himself, and he is so strong that no one can subdue him. He's torn off all of his clothes and he's in the tombs because he loves the idea of death. Satan loves the idea of death and he likes to be in foul places. And so this man is there, and immediately he sees Jesus and the demon within him says, "We know who you are, you Holy One of God." The demon has to admit the truth.

So you have temptation, you have obsession, and eventually, you have invasion. People are demonized; they have demons. Sometimes you can tell it by the way in which they look at you. But let me give you some of the characteristics of what Satan wants to produce within our hearts. He wants to produce self-hatred. "You're so awful you should cut yourself. You should commit suicide. You're so terrible."

Furthermore, shame. "Look at what you've done, and you call yourself a Christian? You believe that God can accept you after what you have done? You are such a great hypocrite that not even God wants to have a thing to do with you." What he's trying to do is to make a wedge between us and God. And then to have a victim mentality. People like this have all kinds of inter-relational problems; nobody can ever get along with them.

If they have friends, they push them away through the most absurd kinds of behavior. And their expectations are literally out of this world that no one can meet, and they think that it's always somebody else's fault. Demons leading us to those kinds of non-productive empty relationships, and nobody can get along with us, and we always think it's their fault.

Now let's think for a moment about the doorways—and I'm going to be elaborating on this in the evening service—the doorways that Satan uses to get a foothold in our lives. There's at least a dozen or more. I shall mention two or three in passing. Let us suppose for a moment that you are standing at the end of a street and Jesus is at the farthest end, and that's where the celestial city is. That's heaven, and you're a Christian.

And you have to walk from here to get to Jesus, but on both sides of the street, there are houses. So you're walking along and Satan cannot impede you; he cannot stand in your way of walking to Jesus. But what he wants to do is to distract you. He wants to put those ideas in your mind that he wants you to accept.

From one house, he's calling and saying, "You don't have to read your Bible. Really, it's true. Don't worry, it's boring anyway. Don't read it." People say, "Well, that's a possibility." Another house calls out to you, "Hey, you know, there's sex over here. Sure, it's not within marriage, but then God knows that you have needs. And what does the Bible have to say about this anyway? Just go ahead and do your own thing."

Go along a little more. "You know, here's some drugs. Why don't you get involved in drugs or alcoholism? It'll help you to escape." And on and on we go and we have these voices calling at us, these ideas in our minds, these distractions that keep us from Jesus and impede our way to the holy city. Now we can reject those. But he wants us to become so obsessed by all that he has told us.

He wants us to become obsessed with the occult. "Sure you can play with a Ouija board, you can see a witch, you can see a fortune teller. It's all just kind of make-believe." And so you've got all of these voices that are shouting at you all the time. Television, constantly the voices: get hooked on this, watch this. And on and on we go to the holy city and we're constantly bombarded by temptations.

Let me hurry to tell you about his defeat, however: the triumph of Jesus. Colossians chapter two says he disarmed all principalities and all powers and triumphed over them in it. The Bible says that Jesus did that on the cross. I want you to visualize the serpent, that loathsome beast as he grinds himself and as he in anger is trying to take advantage of the man who is victorious over him.

And this man called Jesus takes his heel and just stomps it into the asphalt on the serpent's head and just turns, turns his heel. All that the serpent can do is to nip his heel. That's all that he can do. And his head is crushed in the sand and the dirt and the grime, and Jesus comes and shows who's boss over the serpent. And so Jesus wins the victory.

He wins it in at least two different ways. First of all, Jesus redeems a company of people. When Satan fell, he thought to himself, "I know God is just. He can't let bygones be bygones and therefore there's no way that humanity is going to be redeemed because they fell along with me ever since the Garden of Eden and therefore they are all headed to my eventual fate: to share hell with me."

So he's thinking that, and here Jesus comes along and buys people from every tongue and race and every color and every ethnic group. Jesus buys these when he dies on the cross, and then Satan knows that these miserable sinners are going to be exalted above where he was in the heavenly realm, as we learned last week. And Satan is absolutely angry with us because we represent a redeemed company purchased by Jesus.

He hates Jesus and he hates God and he hates you, and he's out to do as much damage as he possibly can. But Jesus won the victory and there was nothing that Satan could do. He was helpless in the presence of Jesus; he could not stop Jesus from doing what Jesus wanted to do. Praise God. And then he knows that he's headed for the pit. He knows that every single day is a day closer to the lake of fire that he so richly deserves.

We have many things that have been written about hell. Milton said that the devil rebelled because he would rather be a king in hell than a servant in heaven. Milton was wrong for this reason: Believe me, there are no kings in hell. Satan will not be a king in hell. And then you have the words of Dante in the Inferno. Dante says the demons are going to be walking along with pitchforks and they're going to be tormenting people.

Listen to me very closely. The Bible says this: Revelation chapter 20, verse 10. Satan is thrown into the lake of fire, and the lake where there is sulfur and fire, and he will be tormented day and night forever and ever. Believe me, in hell, Satan is not going to be the tormentor; he's going to be the tormented. In all humiliation, in all shame, that proud being will be brought down.

And today, he knows that his doom is sure because Jesus Christ's victory is uncontested. You say, "Well, Pastor Lutzer, why is he still allowed then to do so much damage in the world?" When you see lightning, you see it immediately, almost when it happens, but the thunder takes a little while to get here because sound doesn't travel as fast as light.

When Jesus died on the cross, that was the lightning. The thunder is on its way. Satan has already been defeated. His sentence has been commuted. And God says for a little while I'm going to allow him to be out on bail. And that's all. But it's all done; it's a done deal. He can't repent; he doesn't want to repent. The lake of fire is where he is headed, and he can't change it.

It's a bad idea to rebel against God. God was going to show for all of eternity that the idea of taking him on and saying, "I am going to be like the most high and I'm going to be my own god," is always fraught with consequences that are out of your hands—the law of unintended consequences. So Satan today is a defeated being. He's a hapless player in a game, in a drama that's God's from beginning to end, and all that he can do is to wait for his doom.

In fact, during the tribulation period, he's going to be thrown out of heaven there by Michael. And remember, he and Michael were colleagues back in the days when Lucifer was a choir director. They were colleagues. The Bible says that after he is thrown out of heaven, he is so angry because he knows that his time is short. And it says that the people overcame him by the word of their testimony and by the blood of the Lamb. Praise God.

What I want us to do today as we conclude is to look at the book of James. What does the book of James tell us as to how we have to war against this evil being who seeks our destruction? The Bible says that he takes ideas, God's ideas, and actually can snatch the word of God out of our minds. Because remember, your mind is not just a physical substance; it's also a spiritual substance, and therefore our minds actually exist in the metaphysical realm.

That's why he can put ideas into our minds, and that's why he can take ideas out of our minds if we let him. Jesus told a parable in which he said that Satan came and snatched the word of God out of people's minds. There are some of you who find it almost impossible to memorize scripture. You can memorize Cub averages very easily. You say, "Well, that's because they're so low." Sorry about that, Cub fans.

But some of you can't memorize scripture because the battle for your mind is so intense. Some of you have been involved in the occult. Some of you know what spirit guides are. So what do we do very quickly? First, James says this in chapter four, verse seven. By the way, I should begin with verse six. Therefore, it says, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. That's where it begins.

Verse seven: Submit yourselves to God. You repent of all of the sins, you repent of the doorways in which you have allowed Satan in. You repent of those early stages in which he was able to gain a foothold and to make you oppressed and obsessed. And you spend as much time repenting as you need to list all of the things that you have done that have given entry to an evil spirit to harass you, to control you, to direct you.

And you submit it to God. You come without any agenda, without any idea that you are able in some way to hold back some part of your life from the sovereignty of Jesus. The Bible says that we should submit to God and then it says resist the evil one and he will depart from you. And if he doesn't depart, keep resisting, resisting, resisting, resisting.

When Jesus was confronted with the enemy in the desert—remember that story?—Jesus said, "Be gone, Satan, for it is written," and then, "Be gone, Satan, for it is written." And the Bible says in the book of Luke that Jesus said that three times, quoting scripture, and then it says, "And the devil departed, waiting for a more opportune time." He'll be back and he'll be back and he'll be back.

But the more you resist him and the more scripture you quote and the more you bring yourself under the authority of Jesus, the more he must back off and his power becomes weaker. You say, "Well, Pastor Lutzer, why does God even allow us to be in such fights?" I love what the Puritans said. They said that Satan is given to us that we might fight against him and be victorious in order to increase the joy and the happiness of the saints.

To increase the joy and happiness of the saints. You say, "But the devil is winning so many victories today." Listen, the devil is always defeated. Even when he wins victories, his torment in hell will only be that much greater. That's why every single move that the devil makes against God, eventually he will pay for. He is never the winner. It only appears that way for a while.

And so he says, submit yourselves to God, resist the devil. Chapter five, James says that what you need to do is to confess your faults one to another. There's a sense of accountability there. If people who are involved in various addictions and sins were to confess their sin to a small group who would pray for them, you'd see mighty deliverances that take place because the devil hates exposure. He always wants secrecy and darkness because he wants to work undercover.

And then you live a whole life of praise. Satan cannot take praise. That's why I told the people last Sunday evening, have the Hallelujah Chorus on in your apartment or in your house. Play it loudly. The spirits don't like it, I can assure you. The angels do, but the devil doesn't. That's why in the Old Testament, when Saul was tormented by an evil spirit, David would play on his harp and sanity would return to Saul for a little while.

But because Saul didn't deal with his sin, it would always come back. We are in a cosmic battle that is unbelievable. If our eyes were opened, we would be surprised at what is going on in the spirit world. But God sends his angels and God sends his presence and God sends his Spirit to us so that we can be victorious against the devil, whom we abhor. And don't you like the fact that he's headed to the pit forever and ever and ever?

We all know those wonderful words written by Martin Luther: "And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed his truth to triumph through us. The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him; his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure; one little word shall fell him." And I commend to you today a little six-letter word: C-H-R-I-S-T. The little word that fells him. Praise God. Let's pray.

Father, we want to thank you today for the triumph of Jesus. We want to thank you today that there is no question but that the loathsome serpent has indeed been crushed. We thank you that for every victory Satan has in this world, he is defeated many times over in the world to come. We thank you today that we can stand with Jesus against him and to do so victoriously.

Deliver, Father, those who are struggling with evil spirits. Deliver those, Father, who are going through times of great pain and may they be able to identify the doorway and to identify the means that was used and the lie that was told them. Grant that, O God, we pray. In Jesus' name we ask, Amen.

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, my friend, this is Pastor Lutzer and I certainly hope you do not forget that when we fight against our enemy, we do so from the standpoint of victory. Because Jesus Christ won the battle against Satan, as a matter of fact, the Bible says that he disarmed Satan. And so as we stand with Christ and as we take our position knowing that Satan has been defeated, we can win. We don't have to give in to his devices.

I'm holding in my hands a book that I think is going to be a great blessing to you. It's entitled The New Birth and it's written by a pastor by the name of Peter Mead. Why is it that we need this book? There are many of you who perhaps have experienced the new birth. I trust that that is true of most of you. But at the same time, we need to renew our faith. We have to understand the new birth much better and realize that it is a radical change.

When we come to Jesus Christ, it's not simply a matter of saying words; it's a matter of recognizing that we have to be transformed by him from the inside out. Very quickly, I hope that you have a pen or pencil handy because here's how this copy can be yours. You go to rtwoffer.com—that's rtwoffer.com—or you can pick up the phone and call us at 1-888-218-9337. Let me give you that website again: go to rtwoffer.com.

Dave McCallister: It's time again for you to Ask Pastor Lutzer a question you may have about the Bible or the Christian life. Pastor Lutzer, today's question is short. It comes from Bruce who lives in Michigan. He asks, "Is the prince and power of the air television?"

Dr. Erwin W. Lutzer: Well, yes, sometimes we think it is. You know, the Bible refers to Satan as the prince of the power of the air, and when radio was invented, there were some Christians who thought, well, that's exactly proof that radio is of the devil because he is the prince of the power of the air. Well, that's not true, of course. There are those who actually know how to explain radio waves. They are not demonic.

But having said all that, it is important for us to realize that when it comes to television, it can be the means by which the prince of the power of the air enters our homes. All of those programs that we watch: the impurity, the violence, the occultism. That is the way in which Satan gains an entry into our homes. He is the prince of the power of the air.

He doesn't come through radio or television waves or whatever means of communication there is in the atmosphere, but he does come to us through modern technology. That's why we have to keep our hand on the mouse or our hand on that button.

Dave McCallister: Thank you, Dr. Lutzer. If you too would like to have a question answered, you can go to rtwoffer.com and click on Ask Pastor Lutzer. Or you can call us at 1-888-218-9337. That's 1-888-218-9337. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60614.

Ever feel like you're going it alone? There's no need to. The local church is God's place for every believer: a place to forge links of fellowship and support. That's why God says don't forsake assembling together. Next time on Running to Win, another chapter in the basic doctrines of the Christian faith. Don't miss Pastor Lutzer's next message on The Church We Love. Running to Win is all about helping you understand God's roadmap for your race of life. Thanks for listening. For Pastor Erwin Lutzer, this is Dave McCallister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.