“We know...that whoever is born of God...does not sin...and the ‘wicked one’ does not touch him. We also know...that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the power of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:18-19)

If I was to 'question' anything there in those two statements, it would be the fact that there seems to be many people today who don’t....’know’ those things John writes about. I also suspect far too many people automatically assume they are in that group described as ‘we’.

The first statement seems to be a bigger point of contention for many professing believers today, about ‘no longer sinning’; but it’s the second point of ‘assumed knowledge’ that I want to focus on today; and it’s a piece of important ‘information’ that I find myself circling back to often to address and remind us all - this world is under the sway or influence of a demonic force whom we know as ‘Satan’ or ‘the devil’ (Rev. 12:9).

I know Flip Wilson made light of this truth back in the late 60’s with his famous line: “The devil made me do it!”. And in today’s modern age of ‘educated enlightenment’...we tend to scoff at such an idea of devils and demons and evil spirits existing and actually ‘being a thing’. It is what it is, and I can do little to change people’s mindsets. But my job is not to change people’s minds; I’m simply here to point out many verses in our Bibles that have been buried, or given little consideration...and to allow the Holy Spirit to bear witness to whether these things I share have any merit, provided you take the time to examine them for yourself (Acts 17:11).

Whether you are a ‘believer’ or not, but find yourself reading here today, can I just tell you that taking into consideration John’s simple statement of ‘fact’ as to what this world is under the influence of, you have to admit that if true, it might explain a whole lot of craziness and evil that is taking place in our world today. We read  in Revelation 12:9 that this ‘Satan’s primary purpose or function is to ‘deceive the whole world’. Jesus described him as a ‘thief’...who comes to ‘steal, kill, and destroy’ (John10:10), so there is that to consider as well.

Are you familiar with one of the statements uttered by Jesus as He hung on that cross for three long hours...when hearing the mocking of those who crucified Him? ...He prayed: “Father, forgive them, they know not what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34). Want to guess why they did not ‘know’ what they were doing? Take a quick look at 2 Cor. 4:3-4 and see if that does not offer up a clue.

But there is another passage I always feel a need to connect with when sharing 1 John 5:19 with people, and it’s found in Acts 26:18. Paul is relaying the commission he received from the Lord to take this gospel to the Gentiles...”to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God so they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.”

Do you realize the magnitude of what is being revealed there in that one passage? Go read that verse again, slowly and aloud, and let that ‘settle in your spirit’ for a moment.

What was the condition of the people in this world to whom Jesus was sent to? Take a look at Matt. 4:16; Luke 1:78-79; and John 3:36. Were we not all...a people sitting in (spiritual) darkness? And what else are told there in John 3:18-21, regarding the response of many when ‘light’ is brought to them?

I have grown quite fond of a quote by C.S. Lewis that I came across not long ago, and have shared it here a time or two; and he writes: "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our (human) race can fall into when it comes to devils/demons. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.”

To disbelieve in the existence of these influential ‘spirits’ that are described as ‘unclean’ or ‘wicked and evil’...is to set one’s self up for a life of futility as you try to navigate through this world while being totally deceived as to what is really ‘at work behind the scenes’. How many of us in the human race have spent our entire lives contending with ‘flesh and blood’, be it with one another, ethnic groups, political groups, people who don’t look and think like us.... the list goes on and on. And yet Paul spells it out for us so nicely...”our struggle of contention is NOT...with flesh and blood...rather it is with evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12)

Those who have ‘come to the light’ and have found true freedom in Christ...are also warned repeatedly in scripture to be on guard against this evil, spiritual foe who ‘goes about like a roaring lion seeking to devour’ us (1 Pet. 5:8). No where are we told to ‘ignore’ him, rather we are to ‘resist’ him (1 Pet. 5:9; James 4:7), and even more importantly, we are advised to ‘give him no place’ in our lives (Eph. 4:27). We do that when we ‘sin’. Maybe that’s why Jesus advises us to ‘go and sin no more lest something worse happen to us’ (John 5:14). Now go back and read 1 John 5:18 again. Amazing, is it not...how all these verses start ‘coming together’ like a giant jigsaw puzzle?

For all those who do believe in this ‘spiritual entity’ (Satan/devil), but also are convinced that once they have ‘given their lives to Jesus’...that they are no longer in danger of being ‘snatched out of the Father’s hand’ (John 10:28,10) by this ‘thief’, may I remind you that this promise is to those ‘sheep’ who belong to Jesus, and what do they actually do, according to John 10:27? And what did Jesus warn His disciples to do in John 12:35-36, lest they be ‘overtaken by darkness’?

When I sat down to type out this lesson this morning, I thought I was going to continue on from the previous day’s message dealing with ‘verb tenses’ and how we have been deceived to think we will always continue to be ‘sinners’. I actually was prepared to dive off into a very significant passage found in Ephesians, but the Holy Spirit had other plans and wanted to lay some more ground work for that, so I guess we’ll move in that direction tomorrow. I hope you will join me.