Let us stand together for the reading of God's word. We'll turn to Genesis 3, this account of the fall, the sad fall of our first parents, and then we'll turn over to 1 John 3. So Genesis 3, beginning with verse 1. Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made. And he said to the woman, has God indeed said you shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said to the serpent, we may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden, but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, you shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it lest you die. Then the serpent said to the woman, you will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil. So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were open and they knew that they were naked and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day. And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. Then the Lord God called to Adam and said to him, Where are you? So he said, I heard your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. And he said, Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat? Then the man said, the woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree and I ate. And the Lord God said to the woman, what is this that you have done? The woman said, the serpent deceived me and I ate. So the Lord God said to the serpent, because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle and more than every beast of the field on your belly. You shall go and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed. He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. And now the first John chapter three. Beginning with verse one, Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called the children of God. Therefore the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure. Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him there is no sin. Whoever abides in him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen him nor known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him, and he cannot sin because he has been born of God. In this, the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who is of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brothers righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love because he laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. This is the word of God. Let us now pray together and ask for the help of God's spirit as we approach the preaching and the hearing of God's word. Let's pray. Oh Lord, our God, we are thankful for your word. We give you thanks that you have spoken, that you have given us a more sure word of prophecy, that you have revealed yourself and your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of the Father, clothed in our flesh, the one who came to bring us life and light and salvation. the one who came to destroy the works of the devil. And we ask that through this means of grace of the preaching of your word, that you would continue that work of plundering the strong man, plundering the house of the wicked one who holds sinners in captivity, that in the preaching of the word, you would again assault the gates of hell and bring glory to your son, Jesus Christ, that you would build up the weak that you would bring back those who are wandering, that you would lift all of our eyes to our Lord Jesus Christ, the victor and our king. We ask for his glory and his glory alone to be evident this evening. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. Turning in the preaching of the word tonight to 1 John 3, this first epistle of John and the third chapter, particularly wanting to focus with you on a phrase in verse 8. This statement of our Savior's birth, of His life and His ministry, of His death, of His resurrection, of all that He came to suffer, to do, and to accomplish. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. You know that the scriptures present the birth of our Savior to us in many vivid ways. We heard preaching from Matthew's gospel chapter one this morning on the virgin birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior Jesus, the one born to take away the sins of his people, to save his people from their sins, the one who is Emmanuel, God with us. We have other vivid accounts of the birth of our Savior in Matthew chapter two or events shortly following that birth with the wise men coming to worship the King of Kings, the true King of the Jews. Luke chapter two as well comes to mind and that narrative of the glory of our Savior, a humble and lowly birth. The word of the father in our frail flesh born as a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in a manger. But the glory of the scriptures of God revealed to us in the scriptures is that the scriptures always tell us. the meaning and the significance of these events. We're not left merely with a story of the birth of our Savior. But we have the clear revelation, understanding the whole suite of God's revelation of Himself in the Scriptures. We have clear teaching and a clear announcement as to the purpose of this birth. And this frees you and me, doesn't it, from the idea that the birth of our Savior is just a sentimental story. just something that we remember once a year to, as it were, make us feel good in some vague sense. No, the Scriptures are clear in their presentation and their sound teaching of why this birth happened, why it was necessary that our Savior come into this sinful and cursed world to take on our flesh and to bring us to the Father. So we find many short purpose statements, as it were, of the mission of the Son of God in our flesh. Perhaps you might recall some of these short statements to mind. You might think of Mark 2, verse 17, the statement of our Savior. I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. You might think as well, a little bit later in the Gospel of Mark, Mark 10, 45, the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. You might think as well of. Paul in 1 Timothy 1.15, this is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. These short bursts, these short statements that teach us, really in a few words, the full significance of our Savior's birth, what he came to do, the significance of his mission. But perhaps one that you may not think of as often, but yet one that holds profound truth, profound relevance for us, and that we're turning our attention to tonight, is here in verse 8 of 1 John 3. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. That it was necessary for you, Christian, that your Savior take on your flesh, come born of the Virgin Mary, born under the law, to redeem you and to deliver you from the wicked one. To destroy your enemy, Satan, the ancient foe of the people of God. And we have here the great purpose, a purpose statement of our Savior's coming. To destroy the works of the devil, to grant us liberty from the tyranny of sin and of Satan. You have in just a few words here the grand sweep of redemption from Genesis to Revelation summed up in just a few words, this battle of the ages, the cosmic battle between the kingdom of light and the kingdom of darkness, the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and the powers of darkness and of Satan here in just a few words. And it is this statement, this glorious truth of our Savior's incarnation for the purpose of destroying death and Satan and sin that I want us to focus on tonight. I want us to consider this simple declaration of our Savior's birth and His coming into the world. I want us to study first something of the enemy to be destroyed. the devil and his works. Who is the enemy who opposes us that needs to be destroyed? Secondly, how would this redeeming work happen? How would this destroying work happen? How is it that the Son of God would destroy the works of the devil? And then third, I want us to meditate together, finally, how you and I might participate in the victory, in the fruits of the victory of the Son of God. So let's begin with understanding the enemy to be destroyed. The works of the devil. Someone put it well in commenting on this text, on this theme of the victory of our Savior over the wicked one. That here is the strong Son of God, armed with His Father's power, spearheading the attack against the devil and all his works, and calling men to decide on whose side of the battle they will be. What we have before us this evening again is the conflict between the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ and the works of the devil, the kingdom of Satan. But this is not. I want to emphasize this and press this into your mind and upon your conscience. This is not merely a story that you can hear and then turn away from with with no consequences on your life. You either belong to the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the victor who came to destroy the works of the devil, or you belong and you're yet under the tyranny of Satan, under the tyranny of the wicked one. So in the preaching of the word tonight, I want to call you to faith and repentance and the victorious Son of God who has conquered the wicked one. So first, what are the works of the devil? Who is the enemy to be destroyed? And this text brings to our minds again, the reality of, as I've commented already, brings to our minds the reality of spiritual warfare, that the scriptures unequivocally teach us that there's a battle of the ages, a warfare between the kingdom of our God and the wicked one, Satan. It's good for us to get our bearings with with this and in scripture that that from the very beginning, from the beginning of of the scriptures and the book of Genesis were presented with this serpent, this accuser of the brethren, this one who Peter later identifies as the roaring lion who walks around seeking whom he may devour. Again, the accuser of God's people. The one who seeks to sow discord and lies everywhere. One who indeed is a creature of God. Not equal with God at all. We reject the error that the story of the ages is of two equal forces. God on one side and Satan on the other. No, no, no. We reject that. Satan is a creature of God, but a rebel against Him. One who has turned away from God. Who has asserted his own pride, his own arrogance in seeking the place of God. And then in his rebellion, led our first parents astray in the garden and seeks to lead us astray ever since. The serpents, the serpent of that ancient promise that we read in Genesis 3, the seed of the woman coming to destroy, coming to crush the head of the serpent. Satan is The original creature, not satisfied with his place, but one proud and rebellious against all of God's God and God's truth and God's kingdom. This is the warfare that our text calls to mind. The son of God and his manifestation and his coming, coming into the world to do battle with the devil, the ancient serpent, the accuser of the brethren, the roaring lion, the one who seeks to ensnare us under his tyranny. But we can be more specific. We need to study the phrase, what our text means by the works of the devil. What are the works of the devil? What's in view here? Well, very plainly and simply, the works of the devil are sinful works. The text is clear. These are works of sin and rebellion. Verse 8, the very beginning phrase, he who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. And in this sense, that the devil is the the first sinner, as it were the first rebel, the one who has turned away from serving Jehovah, the one living and true God, and has spread that sin and that rebellion. All right. The text is even more specific, back up in verse four. Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. The particular nature of sin in view here is that rebellion that's against God and his law. Lawlessness, the word there used for lawlessness is the same that our word antinomianism comes from, or antinomians. In a sense, Satan is the first antinomian, the first denier of God. his law, his glory, and his ways. The work of The devil then is to sow that lawlessness, that insurrection, that rebellion against God in all of our hearts to lead us to question the glory of God, the goodness of his law, the goodness of his ways, to assert ourselves rather than giving all praise and worship to God as his creatures. The one who is the rebel the first rebel against God and His glory, the one who spreads that lawless nature, that lawless temptation in all of our hearts. The root sin here is rebellious pride, the first work of the devil, rebellious pride against the Lord. Well, there's more that we can say about these works of the devil as we take in the whole of Of scripture, I mean, we think of this lawless rebellion and insurrection against God and his ways, but what are some other works of the devil? Deception. The devil is the ancient liar, as our Savior told us in John 8, John chapter 8, that the wicked one, Satan, is the father of lies from the beginning. You might also bring to mind the parable of the sower in Matthew chapter 16. Satan is the wicked one who snatches away the Word, who in the place of the preaching of the Word and the proclamation of God's truth, sows deception, a questioning of God, a stealing away of the Word, and a spreading of lies in its place. The devil's work is to subvert the truth of God, to stand, as it were, in the way of the proclamation of God's word. And it works even now, and I want you to have a sense as we understand this text, something of the reality of spiritual warfare that happens even now as you are listening to the word. The wicked one who seeks to snatch away that word right out of your hearts and out of your minds and spread lies and deception in its place. The works of the devil. lawless rebellion, deception. We could also think of hatred and murder. And in our text, it's particularly hatred and murder that flows then from this rebellion and from these lies. Later on, verse 12, we read that Cain was of the wicked one. and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brothers were righteous. The reality that the wicked one is at work in all of our hearts to sow hatred, hatred against God, rebellion against him, and hatred toward one another. One of the tests that the Apostle John is laying before those who read his epistle is this. Do you love God? If you love God, you'll love your brother. You'll love your fellow Christians. Your life will be characterized by this love. If you are a rebel against God, if you belong to the wicked one, your life will be characterized by a harsh and critical spirit, by hatred, and hatred that would even lead to murder as it did in Cain's case. The work of the wicked one is to spread his deception and hatred and murder. There's more. John MacArthur says that the works of the devil encompass satanic activities such as instigating sin and rebellion, tempting believers, inspiring unbiblical ideas and false religions, persecuting and accusing believers and instigating the work of false teachers, accusing. Spreading lies and deception, seeking to do everything he can to bring down the glory of God. as it were, to dethrone, if he could, to dethrone the one living and true God, to spread hatred, darkness, and lies in the entire world. And one last work to consider. Where does it, where really does it all go? It all leads to death. This is what the writer of Hebrews teaches us in Hebrews chapter two. Remarkable text in as much then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood. Speaking of our Lord Jesus Christ, he himself likewise shared in the same that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death. That is the devil. That in a sense that the works of the devil terminate here. in death, the one who has the power of death, not in an absolute sense, not certainly death passed upon all of us because of our sin. God is absolutely sovereign over all matters of life and death. But yet the works of the devil is to ensnare all those under his reign and under his realm, all those yet in sin, belonging to our first father, Adam, in the realm of death. And recognize this and hear this, that there really, as you hear the proclamation of Jesus Christ, the one who is the way, the truth, and the life, that there's only two responses. One is to believe in him and receive everlasting life, or to reject him and to die. And in that sense, in the realm of death, all that is against God, all that is against his Christ and eternal life, the devil then ensnares all those under his realm with the power of death. The power of death that leads to the fear of death. Verse 15, those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. The works of the devil. Lawless rebellion against God. deception and lies, hatred and murder, and ultimately death. As an aside here, you you think of the of our cultures, really a fascination with death and a loving of death rather than loving life. You think of the sin of abortion, the great sadness of the killing of the unborn and the killing of Elderly and those who are disabled even in other countries already legalized. And the sexual mutilation of young children. And at the end of the day, we recognize that those who hate God love death. And this is the work of the devil, to sow sin, deception, rebellion, and death in his wake. How might you and I be delivered? from these works of the devil, from the tyranny of sin and of Satan. Well, this is the glorious proclamation of our text. For this very purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil, that he might put an end to the work of the wicked one and the sin that he sows in all of our hearts. to it, to search and destroy all the works of the devil. This is the great purpose, the great reality of our of our savior's coming to destroy the one who has the power of death, to work victory and life for all of his people. Matthew Henry says that the devil has designed and endeavored to ruin the work of God in this world. The Son of God has undertaken the holy war against him. And how is it that the Son of God has undertaken this holy war? How should we understand our text and the holy war of the Son of God against the works of the devil? He appeared. He was manifested. He came. This word in our text, for this purpose, the Son of God was manifested. And John's writings always has to do with either the first coming or the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. And very clearly here, refers to the first coming, the incarnation, the virgin birth, the conception, virgin birth, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Think of the opening verses of the epistle back in v. 1 and v. 2 of John's letter. That which was from the beginning which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled concerning the word of life. The life was manifested and we have seen and bear witness and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us. John is setting forth the great truth of the Incarnation. That the Son of God came not as an apparition, not as an angel, not in some sort of superhuman appearance, but He came in our flesh. Born as a man. Born in our flesh. Born of the Virgin Mary. Not one who merely appeared. as human, but yet truly and fully human, a true human body, a reasonable human soul, as our catechism would say, yet without sin. The Son of God was manifested. He took, again, going back to Hebrews chapter two that I read a few moments ago, inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, he himself shared in the same that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death. that is the devil, in his incarnation, taking on our flesh and our human nature, susceptible to death as it is. And it's through this work, through taking to himself our nature, that he would destroy the works of the devil. But we can think of more, even beyond his incarnation, related to the destruction of Satan and all of his works. We turn from the birth of our Savior and the incarnation of our Savior also to his entire life in ministry. Some of you may enjoy military history, and if you've read much military history, you know that often there's a series of battles known as a campaign in various wars, a whole series of engagements between one army and another. known as a campaign. Really, that's what we have here in the life and the ministry of our Savior. Throughout his public ministry, there's a series of decisive battles against the wicked one culminating in the cross by which the works of the devil would be destroyed. The Son of God manifested in our flesh and throughout his life and ministry. As it were, you could conceive of the life and ministry of our Savior as an all-out campaign to destroy the works of the devil, starting in his baptism and temptation. That as our Savior was baptized, publicly inaugurated in His ministry and anointed with the Spirit, you remember what happens next. You read of this in Matthew chapter four and Luke chapter four, that he was, and I love the language of Matthew 4.1, that our Savior was led up into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. Sinclair Ferguson says that this is a declaration of war on the works of darkness and on the wicked one. Don't make the mistake of thinking of our Savior's temptation Completely the same way you think of your temptation. We so often don't we fall into temptation. We are not worried. We're not on our guard against the wicked one in our own sinful flesh. We fall into temptation and and so often sadly succumb to the same as we seek to please the Lord and fight the good fight of faith. This is not the the nature of this, of the temptation of our savior. This was a declaration of war against the wicked one. Temptation does not merely come to him. He goes to it. He attacks it. He appears as the divine champion entering into enemy occupied territory under the guidance of the spirit. It is an attack on the one who claimed to be the ruler of the world. And in his temptation, Our Savior demonstrates to us a heart of perfect and flawless obedience to the Father. Here is the true man, the truly obedient one, the one whose every desire was to bring glory to the Father, the one who submitted to the Father in every way, the one who as He endured the fiery darts of temptation said no to them, Said no to Satan and all of the darts of the devil and his accusations and his temptations. The one who resisted them with the word. It is written, man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds from the mouth of God. Our Lord Jesus is the spirit-enabled template of a godly and a holy resistance against sin and temptation. Here, engaging in the first conflict, the first engagement with the wicked one, with Satan. And at the end of that account, as our Lord Jesus, time and time again, over the course of those three temptations, goes back to the Word. At the end of those successive temptations, you read that the devil went away from him. The devil left him, in Luke's account, seeking an opportune time. The devil's defeated. He has nothing in our Savior. Here is a heart of flawless obedience to the Father, a heart of delight in the work and the ways and the will of God, perfect submission. And the devil goes away in this first engagement, a defeated foe. Perhaps you've wondered, like I have, as you read the accounts of our Savior's life and ministry, why all of the encounters with the powers of darkness and the casting out of demons and the encountering with the dark kingdom, Well, here is really the battle of the ages, this campaign against the wicked one, against the powers of darkness. As Satan and all of his minions do their worst, our Savior attacks, resists, and establishes his kingdom. He casts out a legion of demons out of the demon-possessed man in Mark 5. He casts seven demons out of Mary Magdalene, and he demonstrates again and again. his heart for God, his single-minded focus on the glory of the Father, his mission to come and to save his people and to destroy the works of the devil. But all of it comes into sharp focus, doesn't it, brothers and sisters, in the cross, the final battle, as it were, the final victory of our Lord Jesus Christ over the works of the devil. Begun in his temptation and continued through his ministry, he goes to the cross. And listen to the words of John's gospel, chapter 12, as our savior anticipates the eve of his crucifixion, anticipates this battle with the wicked one. John 12, 31, now is the judgment of this world. Now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to myself. This he said, signifying by what death he would die. As we read in Hebrews chapter two a moment ago, it is through death that he would destroy the one who has the power of death, that is the devil. And as our Savior was lifted up on the cross of Calvary, the sacrifice of the one perfect life lived in obedience to the Father, our Savior tramples the dark kingdom of Satan, destroys the serpents, crushes his head, brings all glory to the Father. Here is the all of the realities of the Gospel set before us. Propitiation and the turning away of God's just wrath against our sin. The removal of our guilt, the removal of our sin, and the crushing of the wicked one. You see back in our text in 1 John 3, there's a parallel statement in verse 5. along with the statement that for this purpose the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil. We also read, verse 5, that He was manifested to take away our sins. And in Him there is no sin. There's no contradiction here. Understand Satan's claim on you. Why it is that Satan can accuse you. Why it is that he has ensnared you. And why you so often fall prey to his temptations. It's because of the sin that yet resides in your hearts. It's because of the guilt of sin under which by nature you're ensnared and under which you bear the weight of that shame and that guilt. But understand the work of our Savior. Again, going back to His temptation in His life and ministry. His heart is for God, all for the Father. Not one drop, not one shred of disobedience. Not one desire out of accord with the perfect law and will of Jehovah. So the cross then is the presentation of the one perfect life lived to God, a death, his blood poured out for our sins, the just for the unjust. He was made sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And with the blood of Calvary washing away all of our sin, all of Satan's claim on you falls away as well. This is the son of God manifested to take away our sins. And this is the son of God who is manifested to destroy the works of the devil. All of it, the Father's wrath turned aside, our sins removed and cleansed, and the dark kingdom of Satan put down forever, the works of the devil crushed. This is the gospel, and this is why our Savior came, the Son of God manifested to take away our sins and to destroy the works of the devil. There's no contradiction here between the reality that our Savior died for our sins and in our place, bearing the wrath of God that we ought to have borne and his endless victory. over the powers of hell and temptation. The works of the devil. Colossians 2 declares to us that here our Savior disarmed the principalities and powers. He put them to an open shame. Again, Hebrews 2. He, through death, through his own death, he rested, he took away the devil's power of death and brought us life and salvation and even delivers us from the fear of death and condemnation. all the works of the devil put away. This is the glory of our salvation, the destruction of the dark kingdom of Satan. How might you participate? How might you receive the fruits of our Savior's victory? Well, first, I want to emphasize to you the necessity of the new birth, the necessity of that the new birth, how is it that you might receive the victory of our Savior? The one who died to turn away the wrath of God and destroy the works of the devil. How is it that you share in his victory, that you receive that victory? Verse nine emphasizes in our text, emphasizes the necessity of the new birth, that whoever has been born of God does not sin for his seed remains in him and he cannot sin because he has been born of God. Understand this. that as surely as our Savior objectively destroyed the works of the devil in his incarnation, in his life and ministry, and in the cross, the cross by which he destroyed death, destroyed the works of the devil, understand that in the new birth, he is at work to destroy something in you. That the works of the devil are not something just outside. But remember what I said a few moments, something external to you. Remember what I said earlier, that sin is lawlessness, lawless rebellion against God and his ways. The deception of sin, hatred and murder, all of the sins that rise up in our hearts against God and his ways. understand the connection between our Savior's work to destroy the work of the devil in his life and his cross work and his resurrection and what he's at work now by his spirit to do in your life. To, in your life, destroy the works of the devil. This is why if you belong to our Savior Christ and you have the presence of his Holy Spirit in you, you should expect the the painful work of sanctification. You should expect, through the preaching of the Word, and the work of elders, and the work of Christ's kingdom, you should expect the Son of God to destroy the works of the devil in you. To destroy, to enable you by the Spirit to put to death your sins and your wicked lust that war against the soul to destroy your sexual lust, your temptation to bitterness, your anger and all the host of sins that rise up within that Christ has purchased. freedom from the work of the devil objectively, and is at work by His Spirit to destroy the remaining corruption in your heart and in your life. He's given you the Spirit by which you've been born of God so that His seed remains in you, and you cannot remain in a constant frame or habitual sin, giving your members to sin and unrighteousness, but increasingly conformed to Christ and to His Word. So how might you participate in this victory, the victory of Christ? You cry out to God for mercy. You run to our savior, Jesus Christ. You plead for his pardoning mercy and the gift of his spirit to bring you from death to life and to enable you to walk in newness of life that the works of the devil might be destroyed yet within. Also, Think much of the glory of our Christ as the victor. That as he is at work to destroy the remaining works of the devil within you, think of our Savior as the victorious one. Never think of the birth, the manger, the coming of our Savior apart from his cross work and apart from his victory, his crown. Think of Him who is now at the right hand of the Father. Think of the empty tomb. Think of His ascension to the right hand of the Father. And think of our Savior now, to whom the gates of heaven, Psalm 24, have flung open, the King of glory has ascended, the Lord strong and mighty in battle, the One who has returned triumphant in His victory over the powers of darkness, who has destroyed death and the works of the devil. Think of Christ, your Savior, yes, and your Lord, the One who is victorious, the One who is disarmed, the principalities and powers, the one who has led captivity captive, the one who has lifted up and cast out the ruler of this world, the one who, Matthew 12, 29, who has bound the strong man and plundered his house. Think of him, meditate on his victory, and give him your worship. Give him great glory. Stand in the power of his victory. Revelation 12. Verse 9 tells us of the great victory of our Savior. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was cast to the earth and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ have come. For the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our God day and night has been cast down, and they overcame him by the blood of the lamp and by the word of their testimony. Rejoice in the victory of our Savior Christ, the conquering king, the one who is overcome, and for all those who are united to him by faith, for you. In your daily battle against sin and temptation, as you seek to resist the works of the devil, you overcome by the blood of the lamb and by the word of his testimony, by the work that he has done objectively on the cross to remove your sin, guilt, and shame, to destroy the works of the devil and the power of his word. The word of his testimony proclaimed to you even now. That even now, in a sense, as our Savior has achieved His mission to destroy the works of the devil, that now, through the Word and its proclamation, and your battle against sin and temptation by the grace of the Spirit, there's a mop-up operation, if you will, ongoing, by which you're increasingly conformed to Christ. Increasingly, you die to sin, live to righteousness. not in your own strength, but by the word of Christ, by the blood of the lamb slain in your place, by the grace of his Holy Spirit given to you. And we anticipate that final day, the new heavens and new earth, when all the works of the devil, all of his lawless rebellion, all sin, all lawlessness and rebellion, All of his deceptions and lies, and even death itself, are wiped away. When Christ receives us to himself, as surely as he is at the right hand of the Father now, all sin and temptation and the works of the devil ended, death, the last enemy, destroyed, and we stand with Christ in glory. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil. Let's pray. Our Lord, our God, we give you thanks for your word. We remember the great victory of our Savior. Lord Jesus, we thank you for your triumph, particularly at the cross of Calvary. That you were born to die. And born to destroy the works of the devil. Born to crush the serpent's head. And you've risen, you've ascended to the right hand of the Father. And you've given us your spirit by which we might die to the works of the flesh, the work of the wicked one within us. And we ask for the increase of these things in our lives, the increase of your kingdom and power and grace and the ongoing destruction of sin, the work of the devil in our own bodies and in our lives. Lift our hearts and our affections to you. Grandest grace to stand fast in the victory of our Savior. And Lord, we pray that you would hasten that day when all the remnants of sin and the work of the devil are finally done away. And we stand in that new heavens and new earth with you to sing your praise and to give you all glory. We pray these things in Jesus name. Amen. Lift up your heads and receive the blessing of our triune God. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.