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Providence over the Ruler of This World (Part 4) · Pastor John Piper's answers

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: In our last session, the issue of God's providence in
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  Speaker 1: relation to Satan's power was dealt with partly like from
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  Speaker 1: the Book of Job. Let's stay with this a minute,
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  Speaker 1: because it's huge. I mean, why, since God has the
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  Speaker 1: power to destroy Satan, doesn't he just put him out
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  Speaker 1: of existence? Make our life a lot easier, wouldn't it.
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  Speaker 1: So that's where we're going. He's called the God of
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  Speaker 1: this world. John fourteen thirty, Jesus says, I will no
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this
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  Speaker 1: world is coming. He has no claim on me, so
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  Speaker 1: in some sense, in some sense, Satan's the ruler of
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  Speaker 1: the world. Tewod Crindin's four to four. The God of
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  Speaker 1: this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers the world
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  Speaker 1: first on five nineteen. We know that we are from God,
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  Speaker 1: and the whole world lies in the power of the
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  Speaker 1: evil One. She got these massive statements about the power
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  Speaker 1: of Satan's rule in this over this world. But he's
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  Speaker 1: not absolute. We saw that back in Job. He has
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  Speaker 1: to get permission to make Job's life miserable. Let me
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  Speaker 1: give you another illustration of that. In Luke twenty two,
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  Speaker 1: Jesus says to Peter Simon. Simon behold, Satan has demanded
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  Speaker 1: permission to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed
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  Speaker 1: for you that your faith may not fail, and you,
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  Speaker 1: when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. So
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  Speaker 1: Satan is going to counts on Peter and tempt him,
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  Speaker 1: and Jesus says, I got this covered. I'm not going
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  Speaker 1: to prevent his causing you to deny me. I am
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  Speaker 1: going to prevent him from causing your faith to fail utterly.
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  Speaker 1: And then he says, when you turn, not if you turn,
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  Speaker 1: don't you love the sovereignty of Jesus over Satan when
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  Speaker 1: you turn, which you will, because I prayed for you,
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  Speaker 1: and Satan has no ultimate power over me and my prayers.
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  Speaker 1: When you turn, strengthen your brothers. In other words, I've
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  Speaker 1: got a plan for you to be a rock of
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  Speaker 1: strength for your brothers through denials, and I'm using Satan
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  Speaker 1: to take you so far and no farther in your denial.
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  Speaker 1: So Satan is the god of this world, but he's
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  Speaker 1: not the ultimate god of this world. Roman's thirteen to one.
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  Speaker 1: There is no authority except from God, and those which
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  Speaker 1: exist are established by God. Daniel two I mean God
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  Speaker 1: changes the times and the epics. He removes kings and
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  Speaker 1: establishes kings. So you're the God of this world and
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  Speaker 1: it's rulers and principalities and powers, but not not ultimately
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  Speaker 1: Matthew twenty eight eighteen. Jesus says, all authority in heaven
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  Speaker 1: on earth belongs to me, So go make disciples and
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  Speaker 1: Mark Chapter one, verse twenty seven. Oh, I love this
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  Speaker 1: this statement. I was writing a person recently, trying to
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  Speaker 1: give them some counsel about an exorcism, a casting out
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  Speaker 1: of a demon they wanted help with, and I went
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  Speaker 1: to this verse. He goes like this, Mark one, twenty seven.
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  Speaker 1: They were all amazed, What is this? A new teaching
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  Speaker 1: with authority? He commands even the unclean spirits, and they
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  Speaker 1: obey him. Linger long over the obedience of the devil
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  Speaker 1: to Jesus Christ. He is not free to do as
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  Speaker 1: he pleases. He can do so much, but nothing beyond
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  Speaker 1: what God allows him to do one Peter three, twenty two.
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  Speaker 1: Jesus has gone into heaven and is at the right
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  Speaker 1: hand of God, with angels and authorities and powers subjected
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  Speaker 1: to him. Wow, Jesus is authoritative. He is the ultimate
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  Speaker 1: God of this world, not Satan, even though Satan has
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  Speaker 1: a role under this massive authority to play. Now the
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  Speaker 1: question is why does God allow him? Why does God
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  Speaker 1: allow Satan to stay here? I mean, that's a really
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  Speaker 1: tough question. He's going to throw him into the lake
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  Speaker 1: of fire someday. Do it now? We might be tempted
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  Speaker 1: to say, with our great wisdom, I think we can
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  Speaker 1: see the reason, at least part of it, if we
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  Speaker 1: notice God defeats Satan through Christ in three stages, not
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  Speaker 1: just one. Stage number one on the Cross Colossians two
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  Speaker 1: thirteen to fifteen. God has forgiven us all our trespasses
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  Speaker 1: by canceling the record of debt that stood against us,
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  Speaker 1: with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it
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  Speaker 1: to the cross. So all the record of debt that
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  Speaker 1: God had against me nailed to the cross, I bear
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  Speaker 1: it no more. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and
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  Speaker 1: put them to an open shame by triumphing over them
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  Speaker 1: in him. How does God triumph over Satan and his
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  Speaker 1: minions at the cross? Answer? He strips from Satan's hand
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  Speaker 1: the one ultimately leaves full weapon that he has against us,
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  Speaker 1: namely unforgiven Sin. Satan can't condemn us anymore. He can
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  Speaker 1: beat us up, he can throw us in jail, he
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  Speaker 1: can kill us, he cannot damn us. So there's triumph
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  Speaker 1: over Satan at the cross because there is no combination
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  Speaker 1: for those who are in Christ. So Satan can stand
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  Speaker 1: in the courtroom and blubber all he wants, but he
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  Speaker 1: has no case to make against God's elect That's stage one.
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  Speaker 1: Stage two is conversion. How are we converted? We are
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  Speaker 1: converted by Jesus Christ coming into our view as more
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  Speaker 1: beautiful than Satan, and all Satan offers us. Listen to
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  Speaker 1: this tewod Corinthians four to four. The God of this
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  Speaker 1: world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so he's getting.
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  Speaker 2: Lots of kudos here, lots of glory. Oh look, how
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  Speaker 2: I can blind the people. They can't worship God because
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  Speaker 2: they can't see his glory. The God of this world
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  Speaker 2: has blinded the minds of unbelievers to keep them from
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  Speaker 2: seeing the light of the Gospel, of the glory of Christ,
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  Speaker 2: who is the image of God.
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  Speaker 1: So how is anybody saved? Then? And verse six says
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  Speaker 1: God says, let there be light, And what do they see?
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  Speaker 1: They see the light of the knowledge of the glory
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  Speaker 1: of God in the face of Christ, which means that
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  Speaker 1: the triumph over Satan in conversion is precisely by people
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  Speaker 1: moving out of christ belittling blindness into Christ's exalting sight
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  Speaker 1: of glory.
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  Speaker 3: You see how that gets Christ more glory than if
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  Speaker 3: he just threw Satan into the lake of fire. Today,
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  Speaker 3: millions of people all over the world are moving out
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  Speaker 3: of darkness into light and praising Jesus because lights have
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  Speaker 3: gone off in their hearts and they are seeing Jesus
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  Speaker 3: as supremely to be preferred to Satan and all he offers.
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  Speaker 1: And what a shame that brings upon Satan. And that's
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  Speaker 1: what Jesus is about in conversion. So he sends us
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  Speaker 1: how to do what only only God can do. He
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  Speaker 1: says to Paul in Acts twenty six eighteen, I am
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  Speaker 1: sending you to open their eyes so that they may
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  Speaker 1: turn from darkness to light and from the power of
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  Speaker 1: Satan to God. Every time evangelism happens and the Holy
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  Speaker 1: Spirit opens the eyes of the blind and people see
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  Speaker 1: the glory of Christ, Satan's shamed. Satan is nullified, and
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  Speaker 1: the work of the Cross comes to its completion or
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  Speaker 1: effect in their lives. And then finally stage three in
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  Speaker 1: the Defeat Revelation twenty verse ten, the devil who had
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  Speaker 1: deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and
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  Speaker 1: sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and
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  Speaker 1: they are tormented day and night forever it's over. Satan
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  Speaker 1: is out of the picture. So my answer to the
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  Speaker 1: sovereignty of God over Satan giving Satan this temporary power
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  Speaker 1: to do much damage but not ultimate damage, is because
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  Speaker 1: in those three steps, the cross, conversion and final lake
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  Speaker 1: of fire brings God and his beauty, his glory, his grace,
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  Speaker 1: more honor than if he had just used raw power
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  Speaker 1: to throw Satan into the lake of fire