Jesu Juva
“Fighting For Us”
Text: Revelation 12:7-12; Matthew 18:1-11; Daniel 10:10–14; 12:1–3
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father, and from our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.
Thank God for the angels!
The angels like Michael who fight for us. The angelic army of the Lord God. Who cast satan and his angels out of heaven and down to the earth. Who filled the mountains around the people of Israel with horses and chariots of fire (2 Kings 6:17). Who slew 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night (2 Kings 19:35). Who are not cute cherubs or feminine in appearance, but mighty warriors. Thank God for them.
Thank God for angels like Gabriel, who brought the Word of God to us. Who spoke to Zechariah in the Temple and told him of the birth of his son John (Luke 1:19). Who spoke to a young virgin in Nazareth, named Mary, and told her she was to be the mother of the Saviour (Luke 1:26ff). And the angelic host who filled the Bethlehem sky with their praises when Jesus was born (Luke 2:13-14). Thank God for them.
Thank God for the angels who surround His throne and sing a never-ending chorus of praise. Holy! Holy! Holy! (Isaiah 6:3) A chorus we join together with when we sing the Sanctus every week, to the Lord God of power and might. Angels and archangels. Cherubim and Seraphim. Thank God for them.
And thank God for their service to us still today. What are they doing? How much are they doing? We cannot say. The Bible tells us a bit, but I tend to think what we are told there is just the tip of the iceberg; that there is so much more. And in our world today, and for Christians today, how do you speak about what doesn’t happen, what was prevented, because of the angels and their service? Surely there is much evil in our world today, but how much worse would it be were it not for the service of God’s angels for us? Thank God for them.
But angels aren’t enough. Because as we heard today, while the war in heaven is over, the war on earth rages on. Rejoice, O heavens! yes - But woe to you, O earth and sea! For the devil has come down to [us] in great wrath. And the truth is, we don’t just need protection, we need saving. We really do.
And I say that because I don’t think many people today think our world, our lives, our situation is as dire as it was in Jesus’ day, when we hear of people being possessed by demons and oppressed by unclean spirits. We heard a story like that just a couple of weeks ago, in fact. Of a boy with an unclean spirit which often threw him onto the ground, convulsed him, made him foam at the mouth, and cast him into fire and water, trying to destroy him (Mark 9). That doesn’t happen today! At least, we don’t see it. Not in America. Not in our society where we are advanced and intelligent, sophisticated, and know better. Leading some people (maybe many people) to think these stories are just that - stories, that didn’t really happen. Or if they did happen, there are other causes for these kinds of things. Because, you know, we’ve got it all figured out. We’re so much smarter than they were back then; than all that supernatural hocus pocus.
Now, I will grant you this: that maybe we don’t see the same evidences of demon possession as were seen in Jesus’ day. But just because the evidences aren’t there, or are different, does that mean the demon possession isn’t there? You can have cancer and not know you have cancer. So do you think there might be people whose hearts satan has wormed his way into and captured? Whose minds satan has possessed? Whose lives he is controlling? How are people being convulsed today? How is satan trying to destroy people today? Why is evil on the rise? Destruction, killing, fighting and division? How has satan so possessed people’s minds that what is evil is now called good and defended, and what is good is called evil and vilified? I could name some specific examples of that here, but I bet you already have some in your minds. It’s not hard to see.
But I also want you to think not only about how satan has done this to others, but to you as well. How has he seduced you? What sinful desires has he planted in your hearts? What evil thoughts has he whispered into your ear and put into your mind? Truth is, the devil cannot make you do anything, but he can sure lure and tempt that old, sinful man in you to rise up and act in old, sinful ways. And he’s quite good at it. He knows what buttons to push in your life. One day poking at your fears, the next at your pride, the next at your self-confidence, or your desires and dreams. Making your mouth foam with gossip or hurtful words. Convulsing your heart with anger and bitterness. Casting you into the waters of pleasures or into the fire of sinful actions, seeking to destroy you and your faith and the church. Woe to us, indeed! Rather than that, Jesus said, it would be better for us to cut off our body parts, than to follow the devil into the fires of hell. But even cutting off body parts won’t help if satan has wormed his way into your heart.
God’s angels know how dangerous satan and his minions are. Thank God they are still fighting for us. That their faces always stand ready before the Father, ready to go and serve His children at a moment’s notice.
But angels aren’t enough. Angels can only do so much. For we don’t just need saving without, from satan and his evil angels, we need saving in our hearts, from our sins. And so the commander of the angel armies has come to do what the angels could not: the Son of Man has come to save the lost, Jesus told us. He has come to save us.
And the words we heard from Revelation said this, too. That while yes, God’s angel army cast satan and his angels out of heaven and down to earth with their might, for us on earth, we are saved not with our might, but by Jesus, by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. For only the blood of the Lamb can de-worm our hearts and minds. Only His Word can counteract the lies and deceptions of satan. So that, John tells us, of those in heaven, they had a change of heart; they loved not their lives even unto death.
That’s an important verse, I think. One we shouldn’t let pass over unnoticed. For how much of what we do is to save our lives? To save face. To save my reputation. To save my position. To save my power. To get what I want. And to do these things, we use our power, our might. Or we try to. The power of words, the power of getting others on our side, the power of undermining another to get my way, to save my life, or to give me more life. And we become possessed by this desire. We become divided from others, and maybe wander from the flock . . . and get lost.
But there is a greater life than just this life that Jesus is concerned about and wants for you. Satan knows his time is short, but life is eternal for the children of God. And that is the life the blood of the Lamb and the Word of God give. The blood that washes us clean, the Word that absolves, and the food and drink from the altar. That not an unclean spirit but the Holy Spirit possess us and our hearts and minds. And with hearts and minds thus changed, that we repent of ourselves and what we have done and how we have fought in the past, and we fight, now, instead, with these different weapons. The weapons of God.
And what does that look like? To fight with the weapons of God - the blood of the Lamb and the Word of God? Well, frankly, it looks like defeat! It looks like a dying Jesus on the cross, where our sins crushed Him to death. But then we see the victory of His resurrection! That sin and death did not win - Jesus did! Life did. That love is greater than hate. That the truth is greater than lies. That forgiveness is more powerful than might. That serving is greater than being served. That a word of mercy is better than a word of threat. And when you do that - love and forgive and serve - you might get the Jesus treatment! You might get crucified! You might get trampled. But this life isn’t the life we love or are most concerned with. Or at least, shouldn’t be.
For you are, rather, one of those who loved not their lives even unto death. Because you are a baptized child of God. Because Jesus and His Spirit live in you. Because the very Body and Blood of Jesus are given you. Because the blood of the Lamb and the Word of God have saved you. Because you have been changed. Yes, the angels fight for you at Jesus’ command. But even more, Jesus fought for you, and won. And one day just as satan was cast out of heaven and down to the earth, so he will be cast down from the earth and into the pit of hell. But the children of God shall be delivered - raised and exalted - everyone whose name [is] found written in the book - written in Jesus’ blood. Written when you were baptized. To shine like brightness of the sky above; and [for] those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
We have lots of stars here on earth: movie stars, athletic stars, political stars, and now internet stars. You may or may not be or ever be one of those. I don’t know. But you are a star as a child of God. Loved and cherished. Someone Jesus laid down His life for, and sends His angels to guard and defend. Thank God for the angels! But even more, thank God for His Son, for His salvation and life, for His Spirit and His forgiveness.
And I thank God for you, whom God now sends, too. To others. To love and forgive and serve and help. And when you do those things, the world may laugh and take advantage of you. That’s okay. To do those things are your might. Those things are your greatness. Those things are your life. And while we may not see that all now, that’s alright. It’s true nonetheless. Which satan and his angels could tell you . . . they know how powerful Jesus and His angels and His forgiveness and His Word are. But while they could tell you that, they won’t! They don’t want you to know it. They want you to fear them and use your own strength. But Jesus has told us and showed us that power with His empty tomb! So better to repent. Better to forgive and be forgiven. Better to hear the Word of God and keep it. Better to come to the altar and receive the Word of God and eat and drink Him. And the Lord God Sabaoth, the Lord God of power and might, Himself, will not cast you down but lift you up and raise you up to life! A life that never ends.
In the Name of the Father, and of the (+) Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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