Dr. MacArthur’s sermon was 70 minutes long; I did my best to keep highlight points to a minimum. I listened through it several times today and believe it is a great sermon for understanding our situation at this time in history.
He used many examples to show how Satan operates through governments: from Exodus, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Proverbs, Acts and others. He also emphasized that it is a believer’s responsibility to stand against ungodliness when it seeks to oppress the church.
SERMON HIGHLIGHT POINTS [bracketed statements, underscoring and emboldening are mine]:
- The response of Grace church to officials during the pandemic was criticized by evangelical leaders, bloggers, friends, foes… yet we stayed open and opposed their attempts to close us
- It became clear that we had been lied to by authorities; the church is the hope of the world
- The resolve to be the church when govt. wants to shut us down will be tested again, likely more aggressively; many churches failed this past test, what will they do next time?
- The true church follows Christ, not govt.
- In reality, the greatest threat to the church is government [the following scriptures indicate that Satan works through governments to persecute the people of God, in the days of Babylon as well as in the 2020 pandemic]
- Romans 13:1 Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God. 2 Therefore he who resists authority has opposed the ordinance of God; and they who have opposed will receive condemnation upon themselves.
- 3 For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil. Do you want to have no fear of authority? Do what is good, and you will have praise from the same; 4 for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil.
- The role of government is to restrain evil, when it does so, it is fulfilling its God-ordained purpose
- In a world of sinners, God ordained government to be a restraint upon evil
- Per God, govt. is to praise those who do good and punish evil-doers
- WHEN GOVT. CEASES TO FUNCTION BY GOD’S DESIGN, IT YIELDS UP ITS AUTHORITY
- The apostle Paul was often jailed for opposing govt. for preaching the gospel, ultimately, he was decapitated for his opposition, when he carried out God’s purposes he was in opposition to govt
- Today, rulers are designing a culture that protects the immoral, criminals, and evil doers; while it threatens law-abiding citizens – criminals are unrestrained by laws and unpunished for crimes while police are afraid to arrest criminals because they may lose their jobs…
- Via the aforementioned, God’s design for govt. has been corrupted; it has become the enemy of divine design – jailing pastors and letting rioters go unpunished
- There are supernatural forces operating behind human govt.
- The world is the enemy of God, scripture, gospel and the church
- 1 John 2:15 Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.
- Government consists of sinful humans; as part of the world system, they are to restrain the evil of the world, there is much potential for breakdown
- 1 John 5: 19 We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. 20 And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding,
- Who is this evil one ruling the world?
- John 12: 31 “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world shall be cast out. 32 “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.”
- John 14:30 “I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming, and he has nothing in Me; 31 but that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave Me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go from here.
- John 16: 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
- Ephesians 2: 1 And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, 2 in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.
- Satan is the world ruler who operates in the system and in the people, in that he can attach his evil deceptions to the lust of the eyes, flesh, pride…and exercise influence over them
- 2 Corinthians 4: 3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- Ephesians 6: 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
- Satan’s evil system is driving human evil upon the earth, his kingdom, to accomplish his ends
- There is evil in the heart of every human [the unbelieving are not fighting it via the Spirit of God]
- What is Satan’s objective?
- 1 Peter 5: 8 Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls about like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
- John 8: 43 “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. 44 “You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks 14 a lie, he speaks from his own nature; for he is a liar, and the father of 15 lies. 45 “But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 46 “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?
- Per scripture, Satan tempts, lies, seduces, slanders, distracts, divides, destroys, sifts, silences, strategizes, steals, oppresses, possesses, blinds, kills
- How does he get the power to do these things?
- Revelation 12: 9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole 4 world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
- So, the evil in this world derives not only from evil humans but from Satan and his evil angels; to prevent any from coming to Christ for salvation
- Satan also desires to rule in God’s place. He is moving human history towards his ends
- 13: 1 And he stood on the sand of the 2 seashore. And I saw a beast coming up out of the sea [the nations], having ten horns and seven heads, and on his horns were ten diadems, and on his heads were blasphemous names.
- That is a reference to a monster that consolidates powers, national leaders (globalism), establishing them under his authority
- 13: 7 And it was given to him to make war with the saints and to overcome them; and authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation was given to him. 8 And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain. 9 If anyone has an ear, let him hear. 10 If anyone is destined for captivity, to captivity he goes; if anyone kills with the sword, with the sword he must be killed. Here is the perseverance and the faith of the saints.
- 13: 11 And I saw another beast coming up out of the earth; and he 12 had two horns like a lamb, and he 13 spoke as a dragon.
- The above is a reference to the false prophet who will make those on earth worship the resurrected monster
- 13: 15 And there was given to him to give breath to the image of the beast, that the image of the beast might even speak and cause as many as do not worship the image of the beast to be killed. 16 And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand, or on their forehead, 17 and he provides that no one should be able to buy or to sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name.
- The above is a reference to the global satanic kingdom, a consolidation of all the kingdoms of the world, the entire world follows him; the false prophet causes the entire world to give Satan worship
- The final world religion is the target of judgment in Rev. 17: 1 And one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and spoke with me, saying, “Come here, I shall show you the judgment of the great harlot who sits on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth committed acts of immorality, and those who dwell on the earth were made drunk with the wine of her immorality.”
- Great harlot = prostitution of religion; many waters = nations;
- This false religion is depicted as a prostitute of the final global one-world apostate religion, it will be drunk with the blood of the saints, having killed many
- 17: 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.
- 17: 14 “These will wage war against the Lamb, and the Lamb will overcome them, because He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those who are with Him are the called and chosen and faithful.” 15 And he *said to me, “The waters which you saw where the harlot sits, are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues.
- Satan is unifying the world in a way that could not be done before our time of technological advancement
- Don’t be surprised at globalist’s efforts; governments turning from divine truth, and Satan’s plan unfolding
- A look at the final world culture: Rev. 18: 1 After these things I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was illumined with his glory. 2 And he cried out with a mighty voice, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! And she has become a dwelling place of demons and a prison of every unclean spirit, and a prison of every unclean and hateful bird. 3 “For all the nations have drunk of the wine of the passion of her immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed acts of immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have become rich by the wealth of her sensuality.” 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, “Come out of her, my people, that you may not participate in her sins and that you may not receive of her plagues; 5 for her sins have piled up as high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities
- [Examples from Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Exodus, Proverbs, and Acts about government officials being driven by Satan and his demons, his kingdom from the 35 minute mark through the end of this sermon. I believe MacArthur’s examples are worth hearing, as they support his thesis, that our current government and its global agenda are of Satan; and that he is working through these government officials to accomplish his ends; in the process, the saints are going to experience persecution, far more than we have thus far experienced.]
- [Also, when the church stands in opposition to the ungodliness driven by Satan, God will bless it as he has Grace church]
- Some ways the church is being persecuted presently: Covid-19 lockdowns, rules; LGBTQ; transgenderism; social justice – if one does not accept these ideologies, he is an enemy of government and will be punished
- The truth, the Bible is going to be cancelled; govt. desires to control everything; truth is a threat to the lies of the state
- Examples of how the church complied with the state just prior to Hitler’s takeover; pastors used Romans 13 as a call to obedience; churches had Nazi banners flying
- [Pastors did not discern or explain to parishioners that they should not comply with evil rulers that actually opposed God’s design for government]
- During the French Revolution, 40,000 innocent people were slaughtered via guillotine
- Who was operating the guillotine? The committee for Public Safety, a government body
- The church operates by the Lord’s command, not by the states permission
- The early church stood against tyranny by civil disobedience, even if it cost them their lives
- People will worship the strongest thing in their world; if they don’t believe in God, they will worship the state
- Does Satan win? No. In Rev. 19, Jesus returns and destroys all the kings that oppose Him
- Psalm 2 read as a warning for governments
- Romans 8: 31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
- Prayer: that we don’t be discouraged by worldly events, but view them through the lens of scripture, believing that God’s plan will be fulfilled and Satan crushed
The US is very close to becoming a socialist nation, does that mean we are very close to Satan’s goal being realized?
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