Among the great frustrations of modern life are the figures in the shadows
the 'god fathers', the manipulators, the string pullers
the people that set up gangland murders, contract killings.
Even if the person who pulls the trigger is caught and punished
you sense that there was someone else in a bar back room who gave the nod.
Evil has probably always worked like that, with controlling shadowy figures.
It struck me recently that there is such a 'master mind' in the Bible
and particularly in the story of Holy Week
aptly described as shadowy and of the night
with just a few significant references.
I speak of the devil.
If there is a close connexion between 'good' and God
only the difference of one letter in English
there is also a close link between 'evil' and the devil
and again there is a difference of only one letter.
Behind the power of good lies Goodness himself, God
Directly or indirectly behind our own evil desires and the temptations of the world
lies evil personified - the devil.
Just as the contract killer is still guilty and should be punished:
he pulled the trigger or provided the gun
but we still cry out for the master mind to be flushed out and convicted
so it is with human evil.
We cannot say: 'The devil made me do it.' as if that lets us off
but it is no evasion to admit:
The devil tempted me and I gave in. I was wrong. I let him lead me.
I want this Holy Week to look at the role of the person behind evil
the shadowy manipulator and power broker.
If we can understand something of what Satan was up to
in provoking the suffering of Jesus
we may learn something for ourselves about resisting evil
A couple of basic points to start with
(1) The Lord Jesus Christ is stronger than Satan.
'Greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world' (1 John 4.4)
and
(2) Scripture is properly reticent about Satan and his work.
We have glimpses of him, enough to put us on alert to his schemes
but not so that we should get engrossed in great detail about him.
The two great mistakes about Satan are either to deny that he exists at all
which suits him fine
or to believe in him too much,
which also suits him as people get depressed and oppressed by his power
Jesus obviously believed that Satan existed
but he did not believe that Satan had ultimate power.
Let's look carefully at Luke 22.31-32
31 "Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you (the Greek is plural). as wheat.
32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail.
And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers."
Satan has asked to sift you.
This is like what Satan does in Job cc 1-2
He appears in Job as a prosecutor but with limited power.
In the story of Job Satan is allowed to test this righteous man
to see if when he suffers a lot he will reject God
but the Lord places limits on what he can do.
In Luke 22 Jesus has insight into what is going on in the spiritual realms;
he is aware of Satan's desire to test and to tempt and to sift like wheat
and rather than telling Satan to clear off
he allows him this role of remorseless probing and accusing.
But Jesus does not just stand back to let Simon and the others flounder
Jesus has prayed that Simon's faith may not fail
and tells him when he turns back to strengthen his brothers.
Jesus can see Peter's denial coming up despite Peter's proud boasts
but he is praying that despite that the grievous blunder soon to happen
his faith may not fail;
like Job, perhaps, although he is in darkness that he will not reject God totally.
Peter's courage certainly failed, his faith flickered,
but it did not fail totally - he came back to Jesus
Can we see some comfort here for our moments of spiritual attack?
When Satan presses
we may well fail, giving way to fear, to depression,
to condemnation of ourselves or condemnation of others
but the story of Peter shows it need not be the end.
That is the paradox of temptation:
it is not good, it is never to be desired or toyed with
but the end result can make us stronger, wiser and more humble
because the prayer and the power of Jesus Christ is so much more powerful
than the worst thing Satan may do to us or say about us.
E mails are a wonderful thing:
you get information so much more quickly,
you can communicate with people all across the world
but e mails can be means of temptation.
Just recently I have been getting enticing offers from overseas
to help people get hold of money locked away in third party bank accounts.
All you have to do is put some money up front
and let them have your own bank account details.
I am no financial genius but I think I see a scam;
the interesting thing is, apparently enough people fall for it.
But then sometimes I get more sinister e mails,
inviting me to log on to X rated web sites
where no-one will know and I can sample all sorts of pornography.
I destroy all those e mails and try to block the senders.
but they drive me to prayer:
prayer for the people who traffic in such stuff,
prayer for the people in those videos degraded and abused,
prayer for the people who get hooked,
and prayer for myself because I see the attraction to my sinful nature.
I hear a voice saying to me: Why not? No-one will know, it can't do any harm.
Do you see the power of temptation?
I am not to be blamed because someone sends me an enticing e mail
but there is an important question of how I handle what I receive.
Even if you never want to go on-line, let alone switch on a computer
the same principle applies to all our temptations:
you are not to be blamed because of the urge and the pull
but the question is how you handle it.
Pray that Satan's attacks, of whatever type, drive you closer to Jesus
who can cleanse, who can give you a better way to live.
Satan is less powerful than Jesus
but nonetheless and perhaps because of that, Satan loves power
and when we get into power then we are especially vulnerable to him.
Possibly the temptation to exploit power is even worse
than the temptations to greed and lust.
Maybe we think we are handling financial and sexual temptation
but how do we cope in areas that threaten our power and control?
When we are criticised?
when someone else seems to get better treatment than we have?
When we don't get a promotion?
When we feel we are not being recognised for what we do
especially for what we do in the church?
When we find someone to be completely unreasonable and we bawl them out?
When we think we could do something far better than someone else?
When we always have to have the last word in an argument?
If you have ever struggled in such areas and I think we all do
we are not far from those silly disciples
who had just received the bread and wine at the Last Supper
but spent the time not in thanksgiving
but in squabbling as to who should be greatest.
Were they not therefore prime targets for the Prince of Pride, Satan himself?
Look at what Jesus says to them about an opposite attitude:
'24 ...a dispute arose among them
as to which of them was considered to be greatest.
25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them;
and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.
26 But you are not to be like that.
Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest,
and the one who rules like the one who serves.
27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves?
Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.'
This is the idea of the 'upside down kingdom'
Jesus reverses the power value system of the world:
for him greatness comes in serving, not in being served
But when we follow the world's pecking order
then we are in Satan's value system not Christ's
and we are so vulnerable, as were Peter and the other disciples
to Satan's sifting and tempting and testing.
So far as we can tell the back history of the evil one
he was a bright angelic spirit who fell through pride.
His attitude is well described in the poem Paradise Lost
'Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven'
It is significant that both James and Peter writing about how to resist the devil
say basically the same thing, quoting for the same passage in Proverbs
"God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Prov. 3:34
Both James and Peter tells us to be humble (James 4.6 1 Peter 5.6)
to submit ourselves to God and to each other
because this is the opposite attitude to that practised by the Prince of Pride
and he has no answer to it.
Satan loves a power struggle in the church.
he loves criticism and blaming
he loves our self righteous defences
He loves all our 'I' problems
but Satan cannot get a handle on humility
he cannot understand people who are content to serve
who follow Jesus as servant of all.
Some questions to ask ourselves about our attitude to power:
When things go wrong and it is my fault am I willing to say so
or must I find someone else to blame?
Who is really in charge of my life? Me or the Lord Jesus?
For whom do we do what we do in church?
Is it really for God and his glory
or is it for ourselves, to be thought well of and applauded?
Are we happy not to be thanked for what we do in church and in community?
Of course it's nice to be noticed and appreciated
and it's good to do that for others
but if noone notices, should it make a difference?
Can we not be content with God's fatherly smile of approval?
Should it not be enough that he notices?
In the early 1900s a missionary couple were returning home to the USA by ship.
They had served God faithfully for 40 years in a difficult situation
they were weary and poor. When the ship docked in New York
the dockside was crowded with bands and banners, people waving and cheering
not for the missionaries but for President Teddy Roosevelt
who was also on the same ship returning home .
This just got under the skin of one of the missionaries.
He thought it so unfair: they had struggled, they had scrimped
but there was noone on the dockside to greet them and appreciate them;
it was all for the President's homecoming not theirs.
When they landed and booked into their lodgings
he went into the bedroom and prayed, a bitter man.
Some time later he came out smiling, relieved.
'You know what God told me honey? God said 'You ain't home yet.'
When we come to the Lord's Supper (today, next week)
let's take some time to think how we are handling Satan's probings
particularly in the area of power, prestige, willingness to serve.
It's not that it's always wrong to want to be noticed, to be a leader -
Jesus himself promises
that the disciples will have positions of authority in his kingdom.
The Lord's Supper can be a reminder to us of our welcome in heaven
and of God's 'Well done!' to his good and faithful servants
But we are not home yet.
We live as Christ's servants in a dark world
with a devious enemy just waiting to exploit our weaknesses
to divide, dismay, deceive, denounce.
Our best defence is in humble trust of him who died for us
and in lives that are lived in open service of others.
So may the bread and wine encourage us
to lives always dependent on the Lord Jesus Christ
who is greater than our greatest enemy.
All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another,
because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble."
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand,
that he may lift you up in due time.
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8 Be self-controlled and alert.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion
looking for someone to devour.
9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith,
because you know that your brothers throughout the world
are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
The God of all grace
who has called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus,
after you have suffered a little while,
will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.
To him be the power for ever and ever
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