Class 1: Meeting the Enemy
Original URL Sunday, May 29, 2022
Transcript
okay well good morning everyone this is x a really a different way uh x to do things on a sunday morning i hope x you'll be patient with me x i want to start off first of all by x saying thank you to everybody that has x given me calls and send me cards and x offer prayers and all that kind of stuff x it's very much x appreciated um x i'm feeling a lot better i'm just x dealing with some headaches other than x that i'm doing pretty darn well so x hopefully um x i'll be back soon x these classes are scheduled to be done x this week and then the week after next x next week i'm slated to be down in x meredith so i'm not sure who's taking my x space in between but x i won't be around next weekend x but x i think this is going to be two classes x it might actually end up being three x we'll have to see how it x unfolds x uh the subject of overcoming evil x the first class is entitled meeting the x enemy x uh let me give you sort of the x background um to how these classes came x to be they actually came to be due to x two uh simultaneous x uh situations that popped up x one was um if you remember last late x last year i don't know if it was x november or december i was teaching a x sunday school class x uh entitled worshipping the king x uh it was about the birth of christ in x the early years of of jesus x and x one of the last classes i did was on the x temptations in the wilderness x and of course when you do the x temptations in the wilderness x satan is going to be there that satan's x going to pop up x now we don't i didn't spend a lot of x time talking about satan uh the x adversary x um x because that gets into a whole other x subject but um and also because we don't x ourselves struggle with the idea of x another supernatural devil x uh we understand that the devil is our x our own human nature x um x and we're gonna talk quite a bit about x about that um in the next couple of x weeks x um but i was asked after the class was x over if i would do a study x on satan and the devil for those who x have family and friends that don't x understand x um the devil um and we all have them um x the vast vast majority of people x um believe x in uh an otherworldly devil in this uh x fallen angel x um x we don't believe it and by the way there x are some other people that don't believe x it too we'll talk a little bit about x about that x as well as we go along x um so i was i was willing to do it but i x have to confess i was a bit hesitant x to do it and the reason why i was a bit x hesitant to do it is because when you x talk to people about x the devil x who don't understand truth x then you start to get into people's x personal um struggles x uh the fact is for people that don't x understand human nature and don't x understand where this evil comes from x in many cases they need x the devil x they need him to explain away the x terrible things that either they've done x or that had been done to them or been x done x to people that they love we all know x that there is a tremendous amount x of evil x and hate and pain in this world x and when you try to you know take the x devil away x as an understanding when people don't x understand where the devil really comes x from x then you're really asking that um uh x something that's very very hard to do to x accept um x that god allows these things to happen x and that there isn't this x this other evil power x um x that they're that they're dealing with x um x and impossible it's very possible that x you could do more harm than good unless x you ex are able to explain to them x uh who the devil really is x you know people just turn you off x they'll just say you know you don't know x what you're talking about x you're ignorant uh to how evil the world x is into the to the to the powers x of this um devil x on the the simultaneous thing that took x place i've mentioned before that i've x been having conversations for a while x with this young man who's a minister of x another church x and the conversations were really x productive he was really willing to x listen to x the truth about x scripture x i told him a lot of different things x that you know we know and believe and he x really didn't have a lot of problem with x most of them for instance i talked about x the fact that jesus wasn't god he had no x problem with that x um x he wasn't sure he believed in the in the x trinity x anyway um you know when we talked about x um x all kinds of different things um that we x know are true x in almost every case he had no issues in x fact he had no issue with the idea that x um that we have a sinful flesh that we x have that we commit our own sins that x we're responsible for our sins x that there is this you know this x propensity to do the wrong thing x until we came to the devil x and then when we came to the devil he x completely shut down x and he basically said you don't know x what you're talking about if you don't x believe that there is an otherworldly x power some supernatural power x um i don't know why that screen popped x up so quickly but that's okay x um a supernatural power uh creating evil x in this world he says yes he would say x yes man sins x but true evil comes from x the devil x and and he really wouldn't x continue the conversation that much x actually most of our conversations kind x of ended after that i don't want to say x he was insincere or any of that kind of x stuff but he was really stuck on this x idea that there has to be a devil in x fact it's interesting uh we did talk x about one passage um that he picked when x we would have conversations he would x pick x uh the passage it's bothering me that x that x screen is up x anyway x um x the passage that he picked was the story x in acts 16 of the girl x uh who was prophesying you know the girl x that that um paul and silas come upon x she just keeps calling them uh servants x of god and finally paul drives x the demon out of her x and it was interesting that he picked x that passage to show that the devil x existed x because i said to him x okay so this girl was possessed by the x devil and he said yes x and i said what about the ephesian men x that were using her were they possessed x by the devil x and he said no they were just acting on x their own x uh evil instincts x and i said okay so first off x did the girl say anything that was wrong x and he said no i said okay i said and x then paul drives out the devil and and x she's better and he said yes i said and x those guys were acting out of their own x instincts he said yes i said but they x got paul and silas arrested and beaten x and possibly even killed x i said so which devil is worse the devil x that drove them their own evil instincts x or the devil that possessed the girl x which paul was able to drive away not to x be seen from again x and he said well in that case it's x actually x uh the men's evil intent x and so i said well then what do we need x the devil for x i said in fact we don't need the devil x and that's pretty much where most of our x conversations end x unfortunately x but he's still willing to talk he's just x not willing to address the devil he x wants to show me x uh how evil the devil is he wants to x show me people who are possessed by uh x terrible evil x i told him i x wasn't really interested in seeing x people possessed by evil i x live it every day in my own heart x i want to tell you a little bit x about my own experience as sort of like x the way most people feel x um about the devil x yeah let me go let me go back a screen x because some reason for some reason my x screen's popped ahead x so so this is this is x uh my experience x of course most of you know i wasn't you x know raised for self and didn't know x anything about x you know x sinful nature and all that kind of stuff x i didn't know anything really about the x bible as i've said before or jesus or x redemption x uh but i knew sin x and i believed in the devil x and this is the reason why i believed in x the devil because i saw myself as a x reasonably x decent x individual who x sometimes did reasonably indecent things x um so i had these x two conflicting voices in my head at x least this is the way i understood it uh x one that told me what i ought to do and x the other reminding of me of what i x wanted to do i mean we all recognize the x picture x of you know the angel on one side and x the devil on the other and this is x really how most people and and myself x included saw how things were because we x do have these conflicts we understand x what right and wrong is x and yet at the same time we have these x inclinations to x you know to protect ourselves or to x defend ourselves or to just lash out x uh at somebody for for hurting us and so x this is really how i x um x this is really how i believed x in things so that's the problem i'm x having okay x um x so it's really easy to believe when x you're told that there are these cosmic x forces uh going on x you know x inside me you know the the the god on x one side and x the devil um x on the other x but at the same time i understood x you know that that i was a sinner you x know i pointed out before that i would x know x you know paul's expression the good that x i would do i do not but the evil that i x i don't want to do that i do x you know as a sinner i would have x understood that passage but i would have x blamed it on the devil i would have said x oh the devil you know this this external x force uh this this fallen angel x uh is the one that's creating this this x problem going on inside my head x and yet paul specifically says x uh attributes it to himself by saying oh x wretched man that i am now of course i x wouldn't have known that verse i x wouldn't have known x the book of romans i wouldn't have even x known paul x but i certainly would have known what it x is x to sin and that's really part of the x struggle x of this um x this otherworldly devil because x most people can still recognize that x with or without the devil they still sin x they still x you know they're still supposedly decent x pers people that sometimes do indecent x things x um x so x so there's this there's this conflict uh x that goes on in the head of somebody x that believes that they're a good person x uh doing doing bad things x and so people will tell you you know x this is just you the way that job's x friends did and you would hear it the x way the way job heard it x and the reason for that is because x we x those who don't understand scripture x those who were raised the way i was x thinks that the scripture is x incomprehensible x you know it's a locked book you need to x have x you know a special calling and special x training and you know multiple years in x the seminary even to be able to you x should need to know latin x uh even to be able to to start to x comprehend you know the the x incredible difficulties there is to x understand x uh x the word of god i x i think i've told the story before of my x friend joe i used to work with this guy x joe he's a wonderful guy x um x but he was talking to me about the bible x one day because he knew i was a bible x student and he said oh i x i tried to read the bible it wasn't it x was x completely incomprehensible didn't make x any sense and i said to him well what x did you read and he said the book of x revelation and i said well joe you don't x start a book from the back i said you x have to start a book x from the beginning but he was already x convinced i you know x i don't i don't know that stuff i don't x understand that stuff it's impossible to x understand and that's that's basically x what we're told you know when we're told x things like mystery and all that and all x that kind of stuff x and so i had always believed and had x always been taught x that the devil was this fallen angel x this x defiant x supernatural x being x that had defied god and had been cast x from heaven x down to earth and i can still to this x day remember the conversations i had x with cindy about it way back before we x were married x um x and i said of course there's x um a devil x um i've seen the picture x there was a picture probably in a x catechism book of uh the devil you know x crawling down the mountain x being cast down from heaven while on the x other side of the mountain jesus was i x was walking up the mountain towards x heaven and unfortunately i couldn't find x the picture because i wanted to show it x but i couldn't find it it must be a x special catholic picture i don't know x um x but but then on top of it you know x you're told that this is what the devil x is and then the way um x the bible is used x uh incorrectly of course is what what x they'll do is they'll give you a verse x if if you need it x they'll give you a verse to show that x that's what it is and so this is one of x the verses uh thou art fallen from x heaven o lucifer son of the morning star x thou cut down to the ground which kids x beacon x um the nations x um so you're shown you know if you need x the verse um x versus to to verify x uh what you believe you know the idea x that the verse is taken out of context x um x is is you know you wouldn't have any x idea x of that x and so really there's two strong reasons x why i would have believed in most people x believe in this idea of a fallen devil x the first is that this idea of good x versus evil is such a prevalent x um x thing taught x both both in churches but also in the x world etc you see it all the time in x movies in books and all that sort of all x that sort of stuff so it's a very x prevalent theme this idea that you know x the world is made up of good and evil x and the good is battling evil and x eventually the good will win but x meanwhile we're so the pawns x in betraying x the second reason why i would have x believed in the idea of a fallen angel x and this idea of good versus evil is x because x why wouldn't it be true x why would those who supposedly knew x these things x tell us what wasn't true x you know x i had had a lot of struggles uh with the x the priests that i grew up knowing x because of their behavior but i didn't x necessarily think their doctrine was x wrong or their beliefs were wrong or x what they were telling us was wrong i x just thought their their x actions were wrong x so why would they tell us something that x that wasn't true well i think really x there's two reasons for that as well the x first is x because they don't know x and the second is because x they don't want to know and this is one x of the lessons that scripture teaches us x consider what x the writer john says at the beginning of x his gospel x he says in the beginning was the word x and the word was with god and the word x was god the same was in the beginning x with god x all things were made by him and without x him was not anything made that was made x in him was life and the life was the x light of men x and the light shineth in the darkness x and the darkness comprehended it no x now the religious learned in john's day x were the pharisees and they they didn't x know any more than the religious leaders x of today x no they don't x understand x uh the word of god x um x my minister friend um when i was talking x to him about different aspects of the x bible especially about how how christ is x so prevalent x uh in the old testament different places x where he shows up x he says to me you know you don't hear x any of this stuff on google x and i was like nah you're not gonna x you're not gonna get x any of this on google x uh because because the world doesn't x know uh what the bible teaches the uh x the light shines in the darkness and the x darkness x comprehends it x not the world doesn't know that what it x doesn't know because it's got this other x belief system x that it does know x that can conveniently explain away x what it refuses to know x and you know jesus picks up on this in x his conversation with nicodemus and he x takes it sort of x to the next level and remember the way x the way light works the way god works is x not x that he picks and chooses whose he x shines upon the light of the sun like x the light of god's word it shines forth x it's whether or not you choose uh to be x in the shed to be in the shadows and so x jesus x said this x he said and this is the condemnation x that light come into came into the world x and men loved darkness rather than light x because their deeds were evil x for everyone that doeth evil hateth the x light now that cometh to the light left x lest his deeds be x reproved and we've shown that even in x the story uh before even in the story of x nicodemus x but the fact is that people don't know x what they don't know because they don't x want to know x right because x the darkness you know it it shines forth x and it exposes you x and if you don't want to be exposed then x you stay in the shadows x um x and this otherworldly devil x that people believe in x allows people to never face the light x because we can always just blame the x darkness that's really what we're doing x when we believe in the devil is we're x blaming the darkness for sin and for x evil and for all the terrible things x um x so our deeds stay evil because they're x never reproved x because we've got the devil to blame x we've got the darkness to plant x but for those who who face the light x something something greater is possible x transformation x is possible look what jesus says in the x very next verse x he says but he that doeth truth x cometh into the light that his deeds may x be made manifest that they are wrought x in god x those that do with truth cometh to the x light x that's just what paul was doing in x romans romans 7 x you know as he says x oh wretched man that i am x who shall save me from this body of x death i thank god through jesus christ x our lord x the body of this death that's mortal x flesh sinful flesh x that's x the true devil which we'll look at at x more x uh x you know and the light is there for x anybody to see you just have to be x willing to believe x and accept what the word of god x says x again the light shines forth x in the darkness that's what it does the x light by the grace of god shines in the x darkness x even the darkness of the devil and it x illuminates everything it touches x touches it doesn't x discriminate the bible that we read is x no different than the bible that anybody x can read we don't have a special x christadelphian bible with a special x language x i'm glad that we don't um you just have x to be willing to come out of the shadows x now in in the case you know with cindy x what she did is she x she said to me well x you say that the angel is a fall x endeavor let this lucifer fell from x heaven and you know you've seen the x picture and there's a bible quote to x prove it but look at the quote look at x the context of the quote x and of course the quote comes from x isaiah 12 verse 4 uh x i'm sorry isaiah 14 verse 12 x and of course the fact that it was from x isaiah 14 12 would have been totally x meaningless to me i wouldn't have x understood what that even was x um but when we talked about it i was x absolutely sure x that lusa was a falling angel x um and cindy said well just read the x chapter x and so we looked at the chapter x and of course it says in chapter 4 x thou shalt take up this proverb x against the king of babylon x how i thought fallen from heaven oh x lucifer x and i was x excuse me x i was really surprised i mean it really x was i was really surprised to find out x that everything i had been told x could be proved almost instantaneously x as a lie x just by looking at the word just by just x by looking at the light and it was x really the first time i ever really did x now this goes way way back x uh long before i really had any interest x at all but i was surprised to find out x that everything that i had been told x wasn't true and it wasn't even difficult x to prove x that it wasn't true it was actually x fairly easy to prove it x and i don't know if that started the x process of me thinking about these x things or not but it definitely caught x me x um by surprise i remember thinking how x could it be x how could be so so clear and obvious and x yet and yet it's what i'd always been x told and what most people um believe x so x then of course what happened is is by x the grace of god i eventually came to x uh understand x um the word of god x and since i've come to know you know the x nature of evil i haven't given a lot of x thought about the idea of a supernatural x devil or x you know this idea of a supernatural x underworld with good reason because it x it doesn't exist x but the devil is x very very real x and it's extremely powerful it just x isn't an external devil or a x supernatural uh being or or even x spiritual there isn't there isn't an x evil x spiritual underworld x the devil is our own x sinful nature that mortal corruptible x nature passed down to us since the time x of adam's transgression x the nature that christ bore as the son x of man x and crucified in his death as the lamb x of god who takes away the sin x of the world x and that we in symbol x crucify by putting on christ in the x waters of baptism like this young man is x doing here x and we do battle with this devil every x day as we try to make god bigger in our x hearts and the devil smaller x and we can change our behavior through x faith in our character through trial x we can't change our nature x our nature won't change until that day x when we are we when we this corruptible x puts on incorruption when this mortal x puts on immortality when we are changed x in the twinkling of an eye x until then our nature will not change x but that doesn't mean we can't change x doesn't mean our behavior can't change x and and if our behavior changes then by x the lord willing our character will x change we will become like christ x who had the same nature yet did no sin x so what we're going to do is we want to x take a look at this supernatural devil x and also the real devil x and and the the key for me in x considering this x uh series of classes was x okay i know there's not a supernatural x devil i understand the devil is my own x sinful nature but x why is it personified x why in scripture is the devil always x giving given passages where it looks x like this is a real x individual consider these uh verses here x just to show us as an example x uh john 1 verse 3 x first john 3 verse 8 x he that committeth sin x is of the devil for the devil sinneth x from the beginning x for this purpose the son of god was x manifested that he might destroy x the works of the devil x now that sounds an awful lot like the x devil is some sort of separate x individual why is it x why is it put that way x in john 8 verse 44 it says ye are of x your father the devil x and the lust of your father ye will do x he was a murderer from the beginning and x bowed not in the truth because there is x no true excuse me there is no truth x in him x it sounds like he's talking about x someone in particular now i know we x understand the devil x but think of people who who believe in x this supernatural devil x and they see these passages not knowing x you know the full truth of scripture x they're going to say to you of course x the devil is real look at how he's put x submit x yourself therefore to god says james x resist the devil and he x will flee from you x and you tell me there is no devil x it says right there he flees he runs x away just like just like satan did after x jesus answered the questions in the in x the wilderness he left for a time x of course there's a devil x ephesians 6 11 says put on the whole x armor of god that ye may be able to x stand x against the wiles x of the devil x the wiles of the devil it sounds like x the actions of an individual x and even in romans 20 it says in the x devil x that deceived them that was cast into x the lake of fire and brimstone where the x beast and the false prophet are x shall be tormented day and night forever x and ever it sounds like somebody x is going to suffer for a long long time x so these you know these quotes x um you know give the you know which is x you know we understand is x personification but why x why isn't why doesn't it say you know x you sit yourself there for god and x resist your own sinful nature x and your own sinful nature will will go x away or why doesn't it say put on the x armor of god that you can stand before x the wiles of your own sinful nature x why is it given this this x personification x um x this devil and i think that's you know a x legitimate question that needs to be x answered so i started you know and i x don't i don't normally uh do this x um you know x i was criticized recently for not x looking at the 120 years of a x chrysadelphian uh doctrine on certain x subjects and i x i don't usually do that i just usually x dive in x and try to figure it out for myself x guilty as charge x um but in this case i i couldn't for x myself answer the question why is the x devil uh personified x and so i went to you know x chrisadelphianvideo.org and i don't know x how many of you use x chrisadelphianvideo.org with x um x the rugby crystal fans in england but x it's a great resource x uh of videos uh that they put together x it's a massive x uh resource of videos and sometimes it's x kind of hard to find your way around x and so i just started looking up you x know videos on the devil and i watched x you know four or five of them x turns out i had a little time on my x hands x um but the one i found that was really x really good that really helped me x understand why the devil was personified x was this one by a brother by the name of x james larson x it's called evolution the devil and the x atonement x um and it's really good it goes quite a x bit into you know theistic evolution and x showing how the theistic evolution x uh doesn't match up with our doctrines x of faith our belief systems about x the devil and about nate about our human x nature and all that kind of stuff x um so it spends a lot of time on x autistic evolution but it's really good x as far as explaining x the personification of the devil x and x the devil's existence in this idea of x the atonement now what he's again what x he's talking about when he says the x devil and he talks quite a bit about the x devil is he's talking about our own x nature x uh that sinful nature that we're all x born into x um not not transgression x not not not the forgiveness of sins but x the eradication of the devil the x eradication of our sinful nature uh on x that day when it is when it is x completely uh removed x so i highly recommend especially if x you're struggling as far as x fully understanding the atonement x it's a two series set of classes and x really the first class x explains everything the second class is x almost just a rehash of of the first x class and i have no idea who x brother james larson is i've never x actually heard of him i think he might x be an unamended brother i'm not sure but x the classes are are exceptional so i x would highly recommend them and they x really x uh x help me understand x why the devil x um is personified and we're going to x talk more about this x um next week but the key reason to x understand why the devil is personified x is twofold first of all because the x devil is powerful x that sinful nature in us x is exceedingly powerful as we know it is x a corrupter of the mind it is the x corrupter of individuals x and though it is a part of who we are x the day is coming when it will be x removed and we will still be there lord x willing x so so one of the reasons that one of the x key reasons that it's personified x is because it's not a permanent part x of the believer x the day will come when when the devil of x that nature x is taken away x and so it's personified remember paul x says now when in romans 7 again x now when i sin it's no longer me sinning x it's sin living in me x so x there's a separateness to the devil x that's why x it's personified and there's a there's a x distinct power to the devil it's ability x to corrupt this corruption of the mind x that's so easy for us uh to fall into x um so that's why it's personified and x we're going to talk about more about his x personification x um x moving forward we'll be stealing x uh liberally from brother james larson x in his take on x the basf but he's x he stole from the basf if you will he x does a lot explaining how the whole the x whole purpose of the basf of our x statement of faith x is to expose x and then show the process of the x elimination of the devil now in the x beasf it doesn't say the word the devil x it says you know sin in the flesh x but it is the devil x it is that evil force within us it's not x a force over here on my right shoulder x it's a force in here in my head x excuse me x um x the world x uh that predominantly believes that x there's a supernatural x and malicious x uh devil x um x it's it's almost the entire entire world x believes in the devil and especially x those x uh that identify themselves as christian x it is the x the dominant uh belief like the trinity x maybe the two most dominant beliefs x in christianity actually i think the x devil is more dominant because there are x religions like the jehovah's witnesses x that uh don't believe in the trinity but x still believe in the supernatural depth x um it's it's it's believed throughout x the world x um but it's not interesting enough it's x not necessarily believed by everybody x and i'll give you an example um i've x told the story of my younger brother x john when i first became chris adelphian x and i was talking to him about religion x and he he x calls himself an agnostic at least he x used to i don't know if he still does x but he used to x um we started talking about x beliefs and he said you know he was like x me he was raised catholic x and he said well first of all i don't x believe that jesus is god i never x believed it uh i don't think i think x that's baloney i said okay x and then he says and i don't believe x that there is this supernatural power x controlling my thoughts x and controlling my actions i think x that's that baloney x and i said you know you're more x christian healthier than you realize i x said it is balloon x but but he wasn't willing to uh to go x the next step x um so so there are people that don't x believe in the devil because they don't x believe that they're being they're being x possessed by by something foreign but x they don't generally associate x themselves with christianity because x christianity teaches that that that's x what's going on even though we know x uh that it's not true and i think in x many respects we are unique x uh in our perspective towards the devil x that's why the basf the the x our statement of faith is so important x uh both for us to to recognize and to x believe in it and to not forget x because the other problem is x sometimes even though we don't believe x in the supernatural devil x what it means to recognize your own x sinful nature x can sometimes be forgotten x and we tend to obsess or we can obsess x on other people's sinful natures x when the most important sinful nature x for us to key upon is our own x like paul says and i know i've said it a x million times jesus christ came into the x world to save sinners of whom i am the x chief because it's my sinful nature x it's my adherence to that sinful nature x my trust in that sinful nature x that will keep me out of the kingdom and x sometimes what we like to do is we we x like to say we have the truth and now we x don't have that nature anymore now we x would never say that x but our actions would say that because x we spend so much time trying to expose x other people's sinful natures without x without dealing with our own you know x getting the splinter out of somebody x else's eye without getting the spike out x of our own eye x that that is a real uh challenge to us x even though we understand x the truth about the devil we almost x recreate x the external devil in our actions x if not in our our belief systems x so it's vital that we x understand x and remember and keep in our hearts what x the devil is x i'll give brother james larson credit x like i said i couldn't x quite figure out why the devil was being x personified x until brother larson reminded me who the x devil was x excuse me i had to some extent forgotten x it or forgotten the importance of x of that doctrine x our faith true faith offers so much more x freedom x from the false religion of the external x devil because x the external devil um x can't change us x right when when the world is made of two x external forces sort of battling each x other with you as the pawn in between x all we can hope for is comfort all we x can hope for is relief x from the idea of the battle between good x and evil there's no transformation right x that's why in these marvel comics in x these dc comics when good defeats evil x just the next episode just brings a x different evil x right because it never goes away x because that's not really what the x battle is you and i x by the grace of god and all those who x who hopefully we can teach who the true x devil is x we have the opportunity for change x personal character change x because we understand who the devil is x and because we understand what god is x doing through his son through the x atonement that we are offered in his son x it's a tremendous tremendous opportunity x for transformation x we're not just you know pawns in a x galactic battle x uh x all the ultimately good triumphs of evil x in that but but that's not x but that's not x the transformation that we're looking x for x we're looking for the transformation x that paul talked about when he said x be not conformed to this world but be x transformed x by the renewing of your mind that's what x happens when you come into the light x that what happens when you face the real x truth about your nature like i say my x friend the minister recognizes that he's x a sinner x but he thinks evil is something greater x than what he has within himself even x though scripture teaches us x that every thoughts of the imagination x of the heart is evil x continually it can be hard to see that x when we look at the evil around us to x say oh that's being driven by the same x nature by the same sinful nature that x drives me x but that's the truth that's the x transformation or the renewal of the x mind x and what we find is that we prove what x is the good and acceptable and perfect x will of god just like it says in john 3 x that your works are rot x of god x in in x um x brother ritual like this in the war of x 1812 there was an american naval x commander x the commander's name was oliver perry x and he was fighting a x naval battle on lake erie which seems x bizarre to consider today but he was x he's fighting the british x and he won the battle x and he sent a message back to x the commanders of the american army x uh that they had won x and the expression that he uses became a x very very famous quote he said we have x met the enemy x and they are ours x and that became a famous quote well x about x 120 years later x there was a x american cartoonist by the name of walt x kelly x he used to write a comic strip by the x name of pogo x some of you might remember x pogo x some of you have never heard of pogo x most of you probably have never heard of x walter kelly x and some of you don't know what a comic x strip is anymore i don't even know if x they have comic strips x uh anymore but pogo was a pretty uh x well-known comic strip uh back in the x 40s and 50s and it was even around when x i was a kid probably in x uh in uh remake because i think he was x gone by that x but what this guy walter kelly is did is x he picked up on that famous quote from x oliver perry x uh and what he said was this and he was x talking about pollution x he said we have met the enemy x and he is us x and what kelly was talking about was the x pollution in the world that we are the x creators x of the disaster that was happening in x the world as far as pollution that still x happens uh today x but it's it's a quote that is very very x befitting of the true devil that we have x met the enemy and he is us x because the true devil is a polluter of x the mind x and so x our theme is going to be recognized what x does it mean x that we have met the enemy x and he is us x and that will be for the next class and x the next class what we'll talk about x is x uh what what the world was like at the x beginning x and then x both how the true devil came to be uh x with adam's fall x and how the false devil came to be x uh this belief in this supernatural x devil and the idea that we are good x people that sometimes do x bad things i think we can directly x uh x we can directly show an incident x that that happened that created that x whole process of this supernatural devil x and this battle in the world between x good and evilClass 2: The Origin of the Enemy
Original URL Sunday, June 12, 2022