Truth That Changes Lives

Guest (Male): For any one of us who wants to move forward in our relationship with God. For any one of us who wants to do something spiritually significant in our lives, we are going to encounter opposition.

Not to us, but to your name be the glory. Yeah!

Guest (Male): Thank you for joining us on Truth That Changes Lives. Pastor JP Jones is the senior pastor of Crossline Community Church in Laguna Hills, California and a professor in biblical studies at Biola University. Today on Truth That Changes Lives, Pastor JP will be giving us a message from a series entitled devotion. Let's listen as JP gives us part one of How to Deal with Satanic Opposition.

JP Jones: If you have your Bibles, would you open to the book of First Thessalonians? First Thessalonians chapter two, we're going to be looking at passage verses 14 to 20 as we work our way through this book.

Several years ago, I was in Newport Beach, uh, in the summertime. I was swimming, body surfing and, uh, all of a sudden, just a, a set of these just, what looked to me like perfect waves came in. So I, I swam out to catch him, got the first one. I mean, just, it was perfect. It could have been on the cover of body surfing magazine.

Came back up, got the next one and, uh, felt like I was kind of getting pulled closer to the jetty. Then the next one came and it was just like a shore break. And it was like, okay, I, I'm, I'm getting pulled. Now I could really feel the current. I'm just getting crunched. So, it's time to swim in. But it seemed like the harder I swam, the more I was getting pulled out, and the more I was getting pulled over to the jetty. So I swam harder, and it seemed like matching how I was swimming, the current was pulling me out and closer and closer to the jetty. In fact, I was getting so close to the jetty, the lifeguard jumped off his stand, came out to the edge and on his bullhorn said, "Swimmer, swimmer, you're getting dangerously close to the jetty."

And I thought, uh, thank you for that keen piece of information. I wasn't aware of that fact as I was getting pulled and I saw the rocks, you know, closer and closer. Well, obviously I was in a rip tide. Have you ever been caught in a rip tide when you've been at the beach? It's a, it's amazing what happens. The force of the water is, is so strong. In fact, the more you swim against it, it seems like the more it pulls you out further and further.

You know, opposition is just part of life. Have you discovered that? How many here have experienced in your life some type of spiritual, emotional, relational, circumstantial, financial opposition? How many of you experienced that? Yeah, every one of us. It's part of life.

Opposition is part of life and you know, it's no different in the Christian life. It's not like we, uh, we come into a relationship with God and now God says, "Oh, by the way, I'm just going to make everything easy for you now. And I'm going to remove all obstacles, and I'm going to take away all conflict, and I'm going to make your life a joy ride down Easy Street."

In fact, some of us have discovered, there's even more opposition in our Christian experience than there was outside of a relationship with God. That's especially true in this spiritual realm for any one of us who wants to move forward in our relationship with God. For any one of us who wants to do something spiritually significant in our lives, we are going to encounter opposition.

In fact, the Apostle Paul talks about that in his letter to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 2:14-20. It's just one line, but I want to camp a little bit in it. In 1 Thessalonians 2:14-20 it says this, "For you, brothers, became imitators of God's churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus. You suffered from your own countrymen the same things those churches suffered from the Jews, who killed the Lord Jesus and prophets, and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to all men. In their effort to keep us from speaking to the Gentiles so that they may be saved, in this way they always heap up their sins to the limit. The wrath of God has come upon them at the last."

"But brothers, when we were torn away from you for a short time in person, but not in thought, out of our intense longing, we made every effort to see you. For we wanted to come to you, certainly I, Paul, did again and again, but Satan stopped us." Let me read that again. "For we wanted to come to you, certainly I, Paul, did again and again, but Satan stopped us. For what is our hope, our joy, our crown in which we all glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? Indeed, you are our glory and joy."

Here in this passage where Paul's talking about this intense personal relationship he had with these folks, and his love for them, and the fact that they brought joy to his heart, and his affirmation to their faith, and the fact that they responded to the message of the Gospel. Even in the midst of persecution, they continued to hold fast to truth.

Paul says in one throwaway line, "I wanted to come visit you. I wanted to continue my ministry with you, but Satan stopped us." It's interesting. He doesn't say God closed the door. He doesn't say men stood in the way. He says, "Satan stopped us."

Here's a reality. There is Satanic opposition in the Christian life. This is the first observation from this text. Satanic opposition is a reality in the Christian life. We don't live in a neutral playing field. In fact, there is opposition stacked up against any person who would want to be a devoted follower of Jesus Christ.

Just a simple reading of the gospels makes that clear. From day one, Mark chapter 1, Mark begins his ministry with the, kind of the begins his story of the gospel with the beginning of Jesus's ministry. And from the beginning, from the outset, there is opposition to Jesus. Human opposition, yes, but what's the source of that human opposition? It's clearly stated in Mark chapter 1 that it has a Satanic source. And in virtually every page of the gospels, you see spiritual conflict in the life of Jesus.

When you read the book of Acts, which is the story of the unfolding Christian movement, again, in almost every chapter, there is the reality of spiritual opposition to the growing Christian movement. And then when you read the epistles that give us the the doctrinal understanding and the teaching of what it means to experience our life in Christ, in victory in Christ, in joy in Christ, there is woven in almost every letter of the New Testament this truth, this reality of spiritual conflict.

We live our lives as followers of Jesus Christ in an environment where there is spiritual opposition. In fact, Peter says this in 1 Peter chapter 5, "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of suffering."

Here's what Peter says, "We have an enemy." Peter says that he is looking for someone to devour. He goes on to say that we're not alone in our struggle, but this is the same kind of struggle that all of our brothers in the world experience. And therefore, he warns us to be prepared so that we can resist the enemy's attack. Peter here compares the devil to a roaring lion.

I've told you this story before, but it's so vivid to me because of our experience. When we were first married, we lived up in Santa Barbara for several years and our son Taylor was born there, and, uh, when he was about two years old, we had a little routine. If you've been to Santa Barbara, there's a little zoo that you can walk through, you know, and see everything in about an hour and a half.

When Taylor was about two years old, on my day off, every, uh, week, I had a pass. I would take him down to the Santa Barbara Zoo. He'd be in his little stroller and I'd push him around, and we had a routine down. We, we'd see every animal in their display in a certain order. And the last one we would see would be the lion. They had a lion there in the Santa Barbara Zoo. You'd come down to the very end, you'd stand out in front of this, this kind of cage enclosure and there's the lion walking back and forth. And you could actually get up pretty close. In fact, if the lion came into the cage, you could be closer than this to this, this male lion.

Well, we would stand there and I'd take Taylor out of his stroller and I'd put him on my shoulders and we'd stand and we tried to get the lion's attention. So I'd go, "Roar!" And Taylor would go, "Roar!" I'd go, "Roar!" And Taylor would go, "Roar!" Now, sometimes the lion would pay attention to us and he'd look at us. Sometimes he'd roar back. Sometimes he would actually walk all the way up to us and just be a few feet away.

You know, never in any of those encounters with my son at the Santa Barbara Zoo, did I have any fear about trying to get that lion's attention. You know why? We were outside the cage. Do you think I'd be foolish enough to take my two-year-old son, step into the cage with the lion, walk up to him and go, "Roar!" I'd have to be an idiot to do that, because if I was inside the cage, the lion would devour me.

Now listen, Peter says this in 1 Peter 5, "Be on the alert. Be prepared. Your enemy, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour." You know what his strategy is? You know what our enemy's game plan is? It's to get us in the cage. That's what he tries to do. He uses opposition to get us in the cage where he can attack us, and tempt us, and deceive us, and devour us.

You see, spiritual opposition is a reality in the Christian life. And the opposition comes in various forms. That's the second observation I want to make. Satanic opposition comes in various forms. Paul says in, um, Ephesians chapter 6, verse 11, "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."

This word schemes in Ephesians 6:11 is the Greek word methodias. We get our word methods. It's in the plural form. There are various schemes and methods and strategies that the enemy has to defeat us spiritually. And remember, Jesus said this in John chapter 10, "The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy. But I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly." Many of us have heard that second part of that verse, and maybe it's one of the passages that we hold on to as we look for God's life within us, that Jesus said that he's come to give us an abundant life.

But don't take the passage and the promise away from its context, because Jesus said, "The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy." "I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly." The abundant life is lived out in the midst of opposition, where there is a thief seeking to kill, steal, and destroy.

And there's various ways that that opposition comes at us. In Luke chapter 4, Matthew chapter 4, the gospel writers record where Jesus had personal confrontation with the devil. I mean, Jesus is tempted personally by the devil. And he passes the test and he rebukes the accusations and and the temptations and he wins the spiritual battle.

Sometimes our spiritual conflicts might be intensely personal to us. They're within our own thinking and frame of reference and thoughts and emotions and desires. It's very personal to us. Other people may not even be aware that we're in conflict. But inside we're, we're torn. Sometimes the conflict that we might be having, the opposition that we might be experiencing is interpersonal.

Remember in Matthew chapter 16, Jesus makes this announcement that, "Upon this rock," as Peter just said, "Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God." And and Jesus says, "Upon this rock, I'm going to build my church and the gates of hell are not going to be able to prevail against it." Jesus just announces this kingdom vision where he's going to build the church and it's going to go to the very ends of the earth and no satanic opposition, not even the gates of hell, are going to be able to stop it. It's going to move, the church of Jesus Christ.

And then Jesus says, "But you know what's going to happen first? I'm going to have to go to Jerusalem. I'm going to be delivered up. I'm going to be crucified. But you know, three days later, I'm going to rise from the dead." This is the first time where Jesus lays it out clearly to his followers, the plan that he was going to go and die and be resurrected. Matthew chapter 16.

Immediately after Jesus says that, Peter, who says, "Thou art the Christ, the son of the living God," Peter says, "No, no, Jesus, I don't think that's going to happen. That doesn't sound like a good strategy to me. Forbid it. I don't, I don't think that's, that's the best thing that God has for you." And immediately Jesus looks at Peter and says, "Get behind me, Satan." Wow. Peter, he's an apostle. Peter just made this great confession. Peter was not some wacko, but Peter was deceived and he represented opposition to God's plan for Jesus's life.

Sometimes the opposition is from other people and even other Christians. Wow. In fact, uh, Paul writes in 2 Timothy chapter 2, he's writing to Timothy, who's leading a church. He's talking about how to spiritually shepherd God's people within the church. And he says, "Hey, you know what? Shun foolish controversies and arguments. They just, they just, you know, lead into the weeds." That's the JP translation. "Don't get involved in a bunch of arguing that it doesn't matter, because the Lord's bondservant should not be quarrelsome. Instead, he should be patient, able to teach, and even when wronged, he should be able to gently correct those who are in opposition."

Now get this. "Even when wronged, he should be able to gently correct those who are in opposition so that they might come to their senses and repent and escape the snare of the devil who has held them captive." Well, who are the "them"? They are the people in the church who are opposing the spiritual leadership of the church.

You mean that there can be conflict among believers that has a Satanic origin? You bet. Because we're all vulnerable to be deceived. We're all vulnerable to to be attacked. That's why, by the way, the writer of the Hebrews says in Hebrews chapter 3, "Encourage one another day after day, as long as it's still called today, lest any of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." So we need to encourage one another. We need accountability in our lives. I need accountability. I need people who speak the truth to me. And so do you, you see.

Because sometimes the opposition is from other people, and sometimes they happen to actually be believers. Sometimes the opposition is circumstantial. Sometimes the opposition you might encounter in your life are circumstances. I mean, they just all go to pot. That's what happened to Job in Job chapter 1 and chapter 2. In fact, Job was a great guy. Job was a guy who loved and feared God. Job was a guy who walked uprightly and was righteous. And he became a a spiritual object lesson. And God gave Satan permission to attack Job. And all circumstances in his life just went down the drain.

So, here's the deal. Opposition's a reality in the Christian life, and that opposition can come in various ways. It may come through just personal struggle. It may come through circumstantial struggle. It may come through interpersonal struggle. But its design is to what? Defeat and devour your relationship with God. Its design is to kill, steal, and destroy your relationship with Jesus Christ. Its design is to prevent you from doing what God's calling you to do, advance his kingdom.

There is opposition, and opposition comes in various forms. Here's a third observation. And it's something that we need to keep in mind. Satanic opposition is ultimately a tool God uses for his kingdom purposes. Ultimately.

Have you ever had anything in your life, I mean, this is a rhetorical question because I know the answer is yes, because I have and you're just like me. Where something happened in your life, and you get, you're in the midst of it, and then even after you get some space from it, you look back and you go, "I don't know whether that was God, Satan, people, I I don't I just don't even know why that even happened." How many have had something like that in their life? Yeah. Things happen sometimes and but you know what? We don't even, we don't need to know.

God doesn't answer all of our questions, by the way, this side of heaven. We got all kinds of questions. I got a list of them that I want to, you know, find out some answers to when I, when I meet the Lord. Maybe when I do that, they won't even have, it won't even matter to me anymore, but ultimately Satanic opposition is a tool that God uses for his kingdom purposes.

Listen to this conversation. This comes out of the book of Job. This is a conversation that God has with Satan. Job chapter 1, verses 6 to 12. "One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan also came with them. And the Lord said to Satan, 'Where have you come from?' And Satan answered the Lord, 'From roaming through the earth, going back and forth in it.' And the Lord said to Satan, 'Have you considered my servant Job? There's no one on earth like him. He is a blameless and upright man who fears God and shuns evil.' 'Well, does Job fear God for nothing?' Satan replied. 'Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything that he has? You've blessed the work of his hands so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has and he'll surely curse you to your face.' Well, the Lord said to Satan, 'Very well then. Everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself, do not lay a finger.' Then Satan went out from the presence of the Lord."

In this conversation, it is God who says, "Have you considered my servant Job?" And it is God who allows the testing to take place. Because God had a purpose for this event in Job's life. God had a purpose for this in his kingdom plan. So here's the point. Satan is only God's tool to accomplish God's purposes.

Have you have you ever heard the, uh, equal opposite comparison? Like everything has an equal opposite. So, the opposite of up is down. The opposite of fat is skinny. The opposite of tall is short. The equal opposite of light is darkness. The opposite of God is? No. No. Satan's not God's equal opposite. Satan is a created, finite being. He's a powerful angel, but he's finite and God is infinite. Satan is not God's equal opposite.

In fact, there was a pagan religion that was very influential in the ancient world known as Zoroastrianism, and it taught that there were equal opposites. A good God and an evil God. But that's false. That's paganism. That's not biblical Christianity. Satan is a finite being created by God for God's purposes. Now, do I understand all those purposes? No. Do I understand why God put it together like that? No.

But here's a truth that is tremendously important for me and for you and for everyone who wants to live out our Christian life faithfully following Christ. It's this, that Satan and Satanic opposition is ultimately a tool that God uses for his kingdom purposes. You might be facing right now the most intense opposition you've ever dealt with in your life. You maybe have come out of a season of unbelievable opposition. You may be going into a season of opposition, and what you need to know, what I need to know, to give us strength and hope and to ground us in the truth is that ultimately God is in charge. This opposition is a tool that God is using to accomplish his purposes in our lives and to accomplish his purposes through us.

Guest (Male): JP, do you have any closing comments for us today?

JP Jones: Thanks, Greg. You know, long ago, I heard a message from a pastor, and he said this, "Adversity means advance in the Christian life." For a long time, I didn't understand what he meant, but as I've walked with the Lord over the years, I think I have an understanding more keenly concerning the spiritual warfare that all of us deal with as Christians. You know, the Bible says that there's a real opposition in the Christian life. Ever since the fall, sin is in the world, and sin is a struggle that we deal with as followers of Jesus Christ. We not only deal with it in terms of our own personal battles, but we deal with it in the fact that we have an enemy of our soul that seeks to defeat us. Jesus said in John chapter 10, "The thief comes to kill, steal, and destroy, but I have come that you might have life and have it abundantly."

And the Apostle Peter said in 1 Peter chapter 5, "Be on your guard, be on your alert. Your enemy, the adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." There is a spiritual struggle that we all deal with as followers of Jesus Christ. And that's especially true when we want to move forward in the Christian life, when we want to grow spiritually, when we want to advance God's kingdom. The Apostle Paul encountered that, and in fact, wrote about it in 1 Thessalonians chapter 2. He says in verse 18 that, "I, Paul, wanted to come to you again and again, but Satan stopped us." Can you imagine that? Here the Apostle Paul wanted to do a good work for God, but he was stopped because of his enemy, Satan.

You may feel that right now Satan is stopping you from moving forward in your Christian life. You may feel that Satan is stopping you from advancing God's kingdom. But the good news is this: there is victory in Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ has come to destroy the works of the devil. That's what the writer of the Hebrews said in chapter 2. And Jesus Christ has triumphed over all spiritual powers and principalities, and rulers and authorities. Colossians 2 reminds us. He's triumphed because of his resurrection. You see, we are on the winning side when we follow Jesus Christ. He is our victor, and God even uses opposition to accomplish his kingdom purposes.

Right now, you may feel that you're facing real opposition. And what God wants you to do is put your eyes on him, not on the enemy. If that's the struggle that you're facing right now, let me encourage you to pray with me, to surrender your life to God, to surrender your opposition to God, and reaffirm your commitment to Jesus Christ. Would you pray with me? Lord Jesus, I trust in you. I believe that you've conquered sin, you've conquered death, and you've conquered the enemy. And I put my hope in you. Help me keep my eyes fixed on you, Jesus. Help me trust in you and in your spiritual victory. And even now, use the circumstances of my life to accomplish your kingdom purposes. Thank you, Jesus, for dying for my sins, rising from the dead. Thank you that you are the Lord of all. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Guest (Male): We want to help you in your relationship with Christ. Please get in touch with us at truthtatchangeslives23331 Moulton Parkway, Laguna Hills, California 92653, or call us at 949-916-0250. On the internet, you will find us at crosslinechurch.com. We hope to see you at one of our services every Sunday at our new campus in Laguna Hills. For more information and directions, please go to crosslinechurch.com. Please join us next time on Truth That Changes Lives.