Grace, Mercy, and
Peace be unto you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ
Amen
Now the
salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his
Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who
accuses them day and night before our God. And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the
word of their testimony, for they
loved not their lives even unto death.
In the Name of Jesus
It was a battle of epic proportions. It pitted not only man against man but even
family against family, brother against brother.
Even more so it was a clash of ideals and its outcome would determine
the path of a nation for centuries to come.
The Battle at Gettysburg was the tipping point of the American Civil
War. It was the northern most advance of
the Confederates and after three days of bloody warfare, they were
defeated. Cut down by enemy fire, only a
small fraction of Confederate men actually reached the Union line. It was the beginning of the end for the
Confederates as eventually the Union would declare victory.
It was an epic battle in our readings appointed for St.
Michael and all Angels day. Now war arose in heaven, Michael
and his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and
his angels fought back,
but he was defeated, and there was no
longer any place for them in heaven. And the
great dragon was thrown down, that
ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the
deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels
were thrown down with him.
This was a battle which changed the course of the world for
its entire existence. Bigger than the
rumble in the jungle or whatever fight you would like to compare it to, it
pitted the two strongest forces in the universe against each other, both vying
to be top dog. Both sides brought their
A game and they both brought backup.
It is a battle that continues even today, the forces of good
verses the forces of evil. You see it
play out in the world, you can see it play out in cartoons depicted with the
angel in white on one shoulder and the devil with a pitchfork on the
other. You see these forces at odds with
one another in your own life. You know that desire to do what is right and
yet the desire to sin, the desire to rebel is even stronger. Paul wrote, For
I do not understand my own actions. For I
do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now
if I do what I do not want, I agree with the
law, that it is good. So
now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me. For
I know that nothing good dwells in
me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not
the ability to carry it out. For
I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing. Now
if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells within me
That is the battle with the devil continuing on. What we face each day is just a continuation
of Genesis chapter 3 and the fall into sin.
It is the fight with the old man,
the old Adam in us who desires that we please ourselves rather than please
God. Who would rather us walk the well
beaten path that leads to destruction instead of the narrow path that leads to
everlasting life.
The Devil lost that day against Michael and the angels. Even though they were strong, he and his evil
army were no match for one who had God on their side. How great it would be if that were the end,
if they had been defeated and never hear from again. But guess who is knocking. Guess who is calling for your attention even
now as you are in God’s holy house.
Because, as it is recorded, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in
them! But woe to you, O earth and
sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!” The war, the epic battle between God and
Satan, goes on. But do not fear, for you
are prepared, the devil is still no match for one who has God on his side!
You know the game plan. You
know how to defeat the Prince of Darkness.
You hit him hard with the Word.
You use the same Word against him that he uses against you. Follow the example of our Lord in the
wilderness. Then
Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And after fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.” But he answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the
mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and set
him on the pinnacle of the temple 6 and
said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is
written, “‘He will command his angels concerning you,’ and “‘On their hands
they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot
against a stone.’” Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God
to the test.’” Again, the devil took
him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and
their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give
you, if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Be gone, Satan! For it is written, “‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’” Then
the devil left him, and behold, angels came and were ministering to him.
The dragon, the serpent, the Devil is defeated only with the
Word. The Word written for us to study
and learn from, the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us. The devil likes to twist the Word of God but
when we know that Word, when we have devoted ourselves to it, we can properly defend
that Word and defeat him. When he comes
to you as he did you even in the garden and asks you “did God really say….” you
answer with our Lord’s very words, “Get behind me Satan.”
You see, he cannot stand God. He can’t stand the Word. He can’t stand the sight of the cross because
all three of these things mean eternal death for him. Because of them we are no longer his
possession. All he can do now is hope
that we falter, that our foundation cracks and he can enter back in. But armed with God’s Word, equipped with
understanding by the Holy Spirit are wise to his tricks. We can attack him before he even gets to
us.
Are you prepared for the battle? We had two more enter into it this morning
being equipped with the washing with water and the forgiveness of sins, being
marked with the sign of the cross. Our baptism
that is the day we switched sides and joined in with the help of our Lord and
his angels to defeat the serpent. That
is the day we began our struggle against evil.
But it is also the day that we could be the grace and power of our God
declare victory.
There is a children’s song that goes, the devil is a sly little fox, if I could catch him I’d put him in a
box. I’d lock the door and throw away
the key, for all the tricks he’s played on me.
I am glad I’m a Christian trusting in the Lord.
Stand firm when Satan attacks. Stand firm and do not waver. Though Satan is strong yet stronger still is
our God. Though his attacks seem endless
they cannot last forever for he has been thrown out of heaven, by the blood
shed on the cross of Calvary his name was wiped out of the book of life. It is easy to identify his attacks as
Christians around the world are being persecuted because of their faith, some
verbally, some physically. But never,
understand never, can they touch your faith.
You belong to God. God has
dominion over all things, even the devil.
So be at peace even in the midst of turmoil. Be sober-minded; be
watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls
around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist
him, firm in your faith, knowing that the
same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout
the world. And after
you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who
has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm,
strengthen, and establish you.
Jesus, send your angel
legions When the foe would us enslave.
Hold us fast when sin assaults us; Come, then, Lord, Your people
save. Overthrow at last the dragon; Send
him to his fiery grave.
Amen
Soli Deo Gloria
