If you read the mid week edition last week, you know we survived the storm very well. What a difference a week makes. It has been hot and dry for the last several days! I’d like to see it stay this way for a while, but God knows what’s best.
Do you like to cook? Occasionally I like to venture into the kitchen and try new recipes. I get most of mine from Mr. Food because his are not too difficult. Two weeks ago I made Alfredo sauce. It was every bit as good as Olive Garden’s. Yesterday, I made it again. Did you ever have one of those experiences in the kitchen when you did everything as you had before and it miserably failed? Today you would have thought I was trying to invent Alfredo flavored wall paper paste. Did you ever have one of those experiences in the kitchen where you were hungry for something, but once it was made you didn’t want it? My answer to both questions is a resounding yes. When I finished cooking my Alfredo glue, and put it on my angel hair spaghetti, it literally nauseated me. How about some of you cooks letting me know if you have ever experienced this. I take a daily injection called Victoza, which totally zaps my appetite, but usually I can still eat. Maybe that was the culprit, but I doubt it. Let me hear from some of you.
Yesterday we started a new sermon series at Friendship Harmony called “Victorious People.” The four messages are victorious over Satan, sin, self, and sorrow. I had planned a single sermon with four main points, but it seemed to expand to the point where doing that would not adequately do justice to the topic, or Scriptures, so it turned into a four part series rather than a four point message. This week we looked at “Victorious Over Satan.” The notes are below --- I hope they are of benefit to you.
Victorious Over Satan ©
2 Cor. 2:14; Various
Victorious People Series 1 of 4 By Victor Cooper
8/27-31/12
Intro: In the next four weeks we are going to see how believers are victorious over Satan, sin, self, and sorrow. No believer needs to live a defeated life. We are a victorious people so lets start believing it and living it.
I. Our victory over Satan was prophesied long ago.
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
A. This world became Satan’s domain at man’s fall.
1. Three times John calls him the prince of this world.
John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11
2. The Ephesians were told he is the prince of darkness.
Eph. 6:12
3. Paul told the Corinthians that Satan is the god of this world. 2 Cor. 4:4
II. Satan’s defeat was prophesied in Genesis (3:15) and confirmed in the New Testament. Romans 16:20a And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.
A. The one to bruise his head is Christ.
1. A head wound is fatal; a heel wound is only crippling.
(a) A snake’s venom is in its head. A crushing head wound would release venom into the snake.
2. A bruised heel is believed by some theologians to mean that Christ‘s greatest creation, humanity, would be crippled by sin.
3. Others believe that Christ’s death would be temporary (like a heel injury), while Satan’s would be permanently terminal.
4. While both positions are theologically true, Pastor Vic believes the better of the two explanations is the second. The explanation follows.
B. Paul’s use of the word “bruise” indicates a complete crushing.
1. Note: Nothing is said here concerning a wound, even superficial, to God’s people.
2. JFB Commentary …as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, they are "shortly" to receive their discharge, and have the satisfaction of "putting their feet upon the neck" of that formidable enemy—symbol familiar, probably, in all languages to express not only the completeness of the defeat, but the abject humiliation of the conquered foe.
3. This is why Pastor Vic believes Satan has dealt a wound to Christ ( the cross) while Christ has dealt him a mortal blow, (the resurrection).
III. We can be victorious over Satan’s temptations.
Luke 4:13 And when the devil had ended all the temptation, he departed from him for a season.
A. I can hear it now: “Of course he was defeated, he tangled with Christ.”
But --
B. Jesus said, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. “
John 14:12
C. If Jesus defeated him, we can defeat him because, “ Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. “ 1 John 4:4
Conclusion: As believers we are victorious over Satan because he is a defeated foe.
11098. Devil’s Viewpoint
A modernistic preacher announced in defending his liberal theological position, “I’m not afraid of the Devil.”
“That is not what matters so much,” one of his acquaintances replied. “Let me ask you a more important question: Is the Devil afraid of you?”
Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations
My dear friend, as you make your way along life’s highways, do stop and realize that Satan travels those roads too. If you’re stuck in a rut or bogged down in the mud, the devil will be only to happy to assist you. Resist him! Reject him! Rebuff him! Remove him! (I see a future four point sermon here.) Believe me when I tell you, its better to drown in life’s seas than to ride in Satan’s boat.
Have a good and a safe week. I’m going to try a new recipe tomorrow. Its called onion casserole. With the exception of my daughter Amanda who lives in Arizona, all of us Coopers love onions, so this could be the find of the century for us. I’ll let you know when I see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!!!
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