(versus the dominion of satan)
“Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” Luke 17:20-21 ESV
As we bring together much of what we have been discussing these previous months it all makes for one stunning picture of our Lord.
Our security in Christ is clearly pictured. While Adam and Eve came into agreement with the accusations of Satan against God, this did not change the heart of God for us. Of course, sin, lies, curses, judgments, shame, bondage, darkness, rebellion, death, destruction, chaos, religion, and condemnation, and more, have been actively at work in our lives and in our experience of life on earth.
We still do not always like the light. Our efforts are compounded by sin and death. The impact of broken relationship with God, self, others, and this world, was seen immediately as we read in Genesis.
“Then he said to the woman, “I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy, and in pain you will give birth. And you will desire to control your husband, but he will rule over you.” Genesis 3:16 NLT
“And to the man he said, “Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree whose fruit I commanded you not to eat, the ground is cursed because of you. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it. It will grow thorns and thistles for you, though you will eat of it’s grains. By the sweat of your bore will you have food to eat until you return to the ground from which you were made. For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return.” Genesis 3:17-19 NLT
These are the results as we live in the opinion of Satan. But these are the realities that Christ came to undo from our lives. These are the curses of those living without awareness that God is for them. While those resting in relationship with God live different kinds of lives.
In Kingdom of God reality women are no longer desiring to control their husbands, and husbands are no longer ruling over women. This struggle is an effect of sin and the fall of mankind, it is not the reality as we come into the freedom and healing and Kingdom reality of our living Lord.
Similarly, men’s toil to bring about a meagre living is also a result of the fall; It is possible to shift from our own hustle to a deep trusting of God as our provider. Even our work takes on new ability and ease as we become aware once more of God in us and us in God.
“For this is how God loved the world: he gave his one and only son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.”
John 3:16-17 NLT
Let’s look at the following diagram (next page) once more. Where I live we get about eight months of rain a year and so I have always pictured Christ as an umbrella of sorts. Now, relationship with God is not so much about covering as it is about intimacy, in that intimacy with God is our covering. But this gives us a useful way to understand and to note our movement toward or away from Christ.
While many in the world continue to carry on the lies, accusations, deceptions, rebellions and such of Satan, Christ has established us in Father God. As we are in Christ, who is in the Father, and as the Spirit of God is in us, our lives become different. We become different. Rather than experiencing the things of the enemy we begin to experience the things of God.
Coming into agreement with the work done by Christ on the cross on our behalf, we are restored back as sons and daughters of the King and brought into His kingdom of light and life. Christ becomes our covering and our lives are brought into the saving knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We no longer live lives given over to sin, lies, curses, and more, but we live lives of joy, liberty, God’s favour, peace, mercy, hope, grace, love influence, generosity, blessings and salvation. Where before we experienced the curses brought about by death and sin we now experience God’s heart of love and peace, joy and hope.
The thing is, in our agreements with Satan’s lies and accusations against God and life, our lives are crippled. We are blind to the love and mercy of the Lord. We have big knots in our hearts and minds.
Religion would have us think we can make this right. Religion would have us believe that church and tithing and service and confession will save us from our sin. This is false. Very false. Religion is man’s own efforts to come clean before God. This is it’s own kind of sin. And both sin and religion (man’s effort to deal with sin on his own) are the wide road that Jesus mentioned, in Hebrews 7:13-14.
In religion we must make our appeasement to the gods. In religion we must make penance, we must bring sacrifice. In religion we must try harder and we must follow all the rules. In religion we remain in condemnation and shame, and in religion we pass these same things on to others. Matthew 23
Jesus came to save us from our sins AND he came to save us from religion (this place where we try to self-manage our sins). To move from religion unto life, from death unto grace, we change our agreements with whom we identify. By the revelation of the Holy Spirit, God begins to show us where we have been living in agreement with the god of this world, Satan.
“You can enter God’s kingdom only through the narrow gate. The (road that leads to destruction)ESV* is broad, and it’s gate is wide for the many who choose that way. But the gateway to life is very narrow and the road is difficult, and only a few ever find it.”
Matthew 7:13-14 NLT *(highway to hell) NLT
We need the saving of our lives from both sin and from religion. The kingdom of God is a different reality from either of these two things. Religion, or living unto law, will not bring us life. Galatians 3:3
In the next chapter we are going to be looking at our agreements with either the kingdom of God or the dominion of Satan in greater detail. For today, let’s finish off our time with recommitting ourselves to the Lord and to His Kingdom and his way. Let us take on humility that realizes that in a lot of ways we may be living according to the old law of sin and death and not the new WAY of grace and life.
APPLICATION
Each one of us will have habits of sin or habits of religion or a mix of both. Both of these must be brought to the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and put down. Some of you are still trying to get away with as much wrong-doing as you can. Some of you are lying on a regular basis. Others of you are lusting after women who are not yours to have. Many of you are making compromises of integrity in business dealings each and every day. If you recognize yourself here then you have habits of sin.
Most of you have habits of religion. You have learned well to cover over your sin through hard work and fancy words. Some of you regularly condemn others so that you can feel better about yourself. Others of you strive every day to become someone for God as a way of paying him back and of covering over your sin yourself. Many of you put upon others the same condemnations you yourself feel, defiling them in addition to yourself. If you recognize yourself in any of these things then you have habits of religion.
Sin, we know, will destroy us. Habits of lying, of pride, of dishonesty, of stealing, of adultery, of lust, of complaining and grumbling, of taking advantage of others, and more, will have a markedly destructive impact on our lives. We will experience loss on every level, from integrity to business to relationships to family — all will be tainted and slowly destroyed by habits of sin.
Religion, will also destroy us. Habits of self-righteousness, of shame and condemnation, of legalism and law, of unending self effort, of trying to come clean before God, of covering over sin, and more, will also bring destruction to our lives. We will be undone by bitterness, constraints, disillusionment, fear, condemnation, and shame. Our hearts will hate, our consciences will torment us, our joy will disappear — all will be tainted and slowly destroyed by habits of religion.
Both sin and religion, each a mark of the wide road, must be brought to our Lord Jesus Christ and put down. We bring him our sin, we bring him our religion (our self effort and self goodness). Let’s pray:
“God we come before you today in the name and the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. God I see anew today that both sin and religion are of the enemy. Today I say ‘No!’ to both sin and religion. I’m sorry Lord for trying to manage my sin with religion, when you clearly teach that you are the one, the only one, who is strong enough, holy enough, pure enough, to take on my sin without being destroyed.
And so, with the strong arm of my Lord Jesus Christ I reach back into my life and to where habits of sin and habits of religion took hold. God I confess to you my sin habits. These things (list them out loud as the Holy Spirit leads you), these sin habits I put down at the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ and I ask God for your help and faithfulness and grace through my life so that I might be free from sin. I accept you Jesus as my sacrifice for sin, I give you my sin and I take on your life.
I also put down at the cross of my Lord Jesus Christ my habits of religion. These ways (name them out loud as the Holy Spirit leads) that I have tried to be good in your sight, to come clean before you, to make things right that I cannot make right, all these things I give to you. I say ‘No more’ to habits of religion this day in the name of my Lord Jesus Christ.
And so God, I give you both the evil of my life and I give you the (self) goodness of my life. I choose to turn my face to you, to give my life over to you and I simply become a channel, a conduit of your life, your goodness, your hope and more, through my life. Thank you God that you made a way so that I might be free from sin and so that I might be free from trying to manage my sin. I give you all the praise and the trust of my life, in the name and the blood of my Lord Jesus Christ. Amen”
SUMMARY – THE KINGDOM OF GOD
There are two ‘ways’ present in our world Ephesians 6:12; Romans 6:16; 1 John 5:19
Satan’s dominion is marked by death, chaos, destruction and more 1 John 3:8
The Kingdom of God is marked by life, peace, hope, joy and more Galatians 5: 22-26
We enter God’s Kingdom through the work of Jesus Christ Colossians 1:13; Colossians 2:15
We put down habits of sin Hebrews 12:1
We put down habits of religion Galatians 5:1
We take on life and joy and peace in Christ Hebrews 12:28
=> Let’s move on to God is For People
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