In the sermon 'The Satanic Conspiracy' by Peter Allison, the speaker delves into the biblical account of conspiracy against Jesus Christ, highlighting the roles of the chief priests, scribes, Judas Iscariot, and Satan. The sermon explains that a conspiracy involves an agreement to achieve an unlawful goal, voluntary participation, and an overt act. It draws parallels between modern conspiracy theories and biblical narratives, emphasizing that Satan's conspiracy to overthrow Jesus' reign is ancient and ongoing. Judas, one of Jesus' disciples, willingly participates in this conspiracy driven by his sinful desires and Satan's influence. The sermon references Psalms 2 and 41 to illustrate the historical context of conspiracy against God's anointed and the futility of opposing God's will. The sermon concludes by urging believers to recognize the spiritual warfare against evil forces and the importance of wearing the armor of God, relying on faith, prayer, and the gospel to stand firm.

Please turn to Luke chapter 21 or 22. Luke has just finished his account on the Mount of Olives, this discourse with the disciples, the extended discourse that we've been looking at. And he begins this narrative, his account of the crucifixion and the events leading up to it. Luke 22, beginning at verse 1. Now the feast of unleavened bread drew near, which is called Passover.

And the chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill him, for they feared the people. Then Satan entered Judas, surname Iscariot, who was numbered among the twelve. So he went his way and conferred with the chief priests and the captains how he might betray him to them. And they were glad and agreed to give him money. So he promised and sought opportunity to betray him to them in the absence of the multitude.

Blessed are those who keep his testimonies and seek them with their whole heart. Heavenly Father, I ask that you would sanctify my sinful lips to proclaim your holy word. I ask, Lord, that this word that we have heard might be mixed with faith, and that as we continue to worship, Lord, may You speak to us through it. In Jesus' name, amen. In our day, conspiracy is a highly charged word.

And most of the time in common speech, it's used pejoratively. It's used to put down an idea or the person holding that idea. It's used to make them embarrassed, to make them feel ignorant, even stupid. Most of the time, They're mocked with caricatures. People in tinfoil hats and so forth.

A few years ago, this century, but a few years ago, a Harvard Law School professor and his colleague at the University of Chicago Law School wrote a paper on conspiracy theories and they wrote that quote many millions of people hold conspiracy theories They believe that powerful people have worked together in order to withhold the truth about some important practice or some terrible event. And then they give some recent examples. They say that are widespread in some parts of the world, that the attacks of 9-11 were carried out not by Al-Qaeda, but by Israel or the United States. Those, they say, who subscribe to conspiracy theories may create serious risks, including risk of violence. And the existence of such theories raises significant challenges for policy and law.

And in their paper, they go on to explain or attempt to explain why these theories arise and how the government should respond to them in order to mitigate the danger that these theories pose and especially the people who hold them And they go on to define a conspiracy theory, in their words, is an effort to explain some event or practice by reference to the machinations of powerful people who have also managed to conceal their role. That's how they define it. And as we'll see, that's a wholly inadequate definition. But ironically, they go on to acknowledge that by their definition, some conspiracy theories have actually turned out to be true. I thought it was rather interesting that they acknowledged that, but I thought it was even more interesting the examples they picked to acknowledge were conspiracies that were true.

The two that they list, or two of the ones that they list, are the CIA's MK-Ultra Mind Control program that tried to harness satanic power for intelligence purposes. And that also involved satanic ritual abuse of children. And the other one was the Northwoods Project, which was an effort to devise ways to get the US into war with Cuba by the US committing various acts of terrorism and then blaming it on Cuba. Now they, while they had to acknowledge these were true because you can download these kinds of documents from the US National Archives site, in fact I have and when I've gone back I've found they're not there anymore, but I've done it. They had to acknowledge they're true, but they still wanted to belittle them.

But brothers and sisters, as those who believe the Bible, as those who are in Christ, we should reject the pejorative connotations of this word. It is really a very good word. It's a biblical word. The Bible says there is a conspiracy to overthrow the reign of King Jesus. The Bible says that.

It's not to be mocked or made fun of or ignored. It's the Gospel truth. There is a conspiracy to overthrow the reign of King Jesus. And it's a very old conspiracy. It's been going on a long time.

David writes about it in Psalm 2. He asks, why do the nations rage and the kings of the earth conspire together against the Lord and against His Christ? He goes on to describe the futility of that rage, of that conspiracy. Futile means it's doomed to fail. In fact, he says God laughs at them and holds them in derision.

And he will terrify them in his wrath and destroy them as an iron rod smashes pottery. You see, it's the people who mock the very idea of a conspiracy theory that should be held in derision It should be the conspiracy theory deniers who are seen as foolish and ignorant and unlearned or just willfully blind. What is a conspiracy then? If we don't accept the definition of these lawyers? I think there are there would be three things that are the elements of a conspiracy and this morning we will see that these three elements are present in this text.

A conspiracy needs three things. The first thing it needs the presence of an agreement. There has to be an existence of an agreement to do something unlawful. It's not a conspiracy to get together to agree to do something that is good and beneficial and lawful. Conspiracy is an agreement to do something unlawful.

So you have a conspiracy if two or more people have entered into an agreement to achieve an unlawful goal. If there is an agreement among two or more people to achieve an unlawful goal, that's the first element. The second element is that there is a voluntary membership. The parties have to have voluntarily joined in agreement to achieve an unlawful goal. For a person to conspire, they must be aware of, they must know what one of these unlawful goals or objectives is.

And they must have an intent to accomplish it. At least one of them. They don't have to know all of it, just one piece of it. And they have to have an intent to do it. Forcing somebody at gunpoint to do something is not causing them to conspire together.

And thirdly, For there to be a conspiracy, there must be an overt act. At least one of these parties who have entered into an agreement to achieve some unlawful goal, they must commit an overt act that furthers the goal intended by their agreement or their conspiracy. They must do something. What they do doesn't have to be unlawful in itself. It just has to be a step, an actual overt action that's taken that in some way furthers their unlawful goal, even though that overt act itself may be perfectly lawful.

But if you do something that progresses the goal, toward the goal, that's an overt act. And if you have these three things, then you have a conspiracy. Conspiracies by definition then involve unlawful goals. They involve wickedness, evil things, nefarious actions. And since evil deeds love darkness, those who hate God's reign and they conspire to overthrow it, they also hate people then that talk about their conspiracies, their agreements to achieve unlawful goals, their agreements to commit nefarious and evil acts.

So we should expect that those who conspire together don't want their conspiracies being publicized. So who then are the parties in the conspiracy in this text? Well, the first party is the chief priests and the scribes. The chief priests and the scribes sought how they might kill Him. Jesus was not a murderer.

He had in fact done no sin and never did any sin, let alone any sin worthy of death. So the idea that their desire to put Jesus to death is a wicked and unlawful goal. These are the church leaders, these chief priests and scribes, these are the leaders of the church of Jesus' day. These are the church leaders on whom Jesus pronounced so many dreadful woes. Jesus said they liked to go around in long robes.

They loved greetings in the market places. They loved the honor that their office brought. They loved the best seats in the synagogues and the blessed places at feasts. These were the church leaders that Jesus said devoured widows' houses. And they made long prayers just for a pretense, Just for show.

Just to be seen by others as being somebody who could pray long. And Jesus said these would receive greater condemnation. These are the leaders, these chief priests and scribes, that Jesus said were not able to understand Him because they were not able to listen to His Word. Jesus said they were of their father, the devil. And that they shared the same desires as their father, the devil.

They wanted to do the things that Satan wanted to do. Satan was a murderer from the beginning. And he doesn't stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. And Jesus said they were the same. When Satan speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for He is a liar and the father of liars.

The father of lies. These people, Satan was their father. These were the people who did not believe Jesus when He spoke the truth. And so like their father, the devil, these people desired to kill Jesus. See, this was their own choice.

This is what they wanted to do. Satan didn't force them to do anything against their will. So that's one of the parties. The leaders of the church of Jesus Christ. The very people who were entrusted to minister in Christ's name were the ones who were seeking, who wanted to kill Him.

Now Judas is the other party in this conspiracy, or one of the other parties. Judas is one of the twelve disciples. That means that he was specifically chosen by Christ to be one of the twelve men in his inner circle of disciples. He was one of the twelve to whom Jesus gave power and authority over demons. He gave them power to cure diseases, and He sent them out to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.

And He was one of those twelve that went out and did that. He was privileged as one of these twelve that Jesus had chosen to hear Christ's private instruction and His explanation of the parables. Remember the parables were spoken so that those hearing would not hear and would not understand. But Jesus would in private explain the parables to His disciples. And Judas was privileged to be in that number.

But Judas was also a thief. Remember when Jesus was anointed with that very fragrant oil, he was the one who asked, Why wasn't that oil sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor? And John says he said that not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief and he had the money box and he used to take what was put into it. Judas is also a liar. Remember when Jesus said woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed, it would have been better for that man if he had not been born.

Judas pipes up and says, Rabbi, is it I? Judas, the one who was betraying Him, said that. He said that so that he could deceive all the people around him. He knew what he was planning to do. And in betraying Jesus, he also became a traitor.

Luke 6 says that Judas Iscariot was the one who betrayed him, became a traitor. So those are the those are the two human entities, parties. There's also a third party, and that is Satan. He's in this picture as well. Satan is real.

This text speaks of him as a real person. He's not merely an idea, or just a force, or just a name for why people do wicked things. He's not an imaginary person like Santa Claus used by parents to scare their children into submission or compliance. Saint Innuo was created as a holy angel. Ezekiel says of him, you were the seal of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.

You were in Eden, the Garden of God, every precious stone was your covering. And all of these precious stones, sapphires and turquoise, gold, These were prepared for you on the day you were created. You were the anointed cherub. So he is part of the, he's one of the cherubim, the warrior angels. And he must have been a very powerful one, probably the most powerful one of all that God created, because even Michael the archangel dared not to rebuke Satan himself.

He recognized his power. Ezekiel says, you were on the holy mountain of God. You walked back and forth in the midst of fiery stones. You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created till iniquity was found in you." And what was the iniquity? Isaiah describes the sin into which he fell.

You have said in your heart, I will ascend into heaven, Isaiah said of Lucifer. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit on the mount of the congregation on the farthest side of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High." See, Satan's goal is to be God and to destroy what God does, to stop Christ from being born, to corrupt the seed, to make war on the church.

So these are the parties here that are in this conspiracy. What is their conspiracy? Well, the chief priests had a goal to kill Jesus. That's an unlawful goal. In Verse 4, they conferred together with Judas.

And in verse 5, they come to an agreement to work together with him to accomplish their unlawful goal. So we have Parties that are conferring together and reaching an agreement to accomplish an unlawful goal Judas in verse 4 went voluntarily to the Jews He knew what they're he learned He knowingly or voluntarily went to them. He knew what their goal was. He discussed it with them. He was in agreement with them, it says.

That's the second element. The third element, an overt act, verse 5, they gave him money. There was money that exchanged hands. Now it's not an unlawful act to give Judas money, But it was an overt act that furthered their unlawful goal of killing Jesus. And so this is a conspiracy.

It's a satanic conspiracy. Satan is a part of this conspiracy. It's part of his conspiracy that he's had since the day iniquity was found in him. He opposes the Word of God. He raises doubts about the truth of God's Word.

He came to Eve and said, for as God indeed said, you shall not eat of the tree of the garden." And when Eve told him what God had actually said, you shall not eat it, you shall not touch it, lest you die, Satan flatly said, you won't die. So He creates doubt about the truth of God's Word. He robs God of the worship that is due to Him, and seeks to gather that worship for Himself. He sought to get Jesus to bow down and worship Him. He hinders the preaching of the Gospel.

Remember, Elimus on Cyprus tried to hinder Paul when he was speaking to the procounsel, or the possessed girl, demon possessed girl, in Philippi who Followed Paul around until he rebuked the demon and drove it from her. He blinds the minds of unbelievers. Whose mind the God of this age has blinded, Paul told the Corinthians, who do not believe lest the light of the gospel of the glory of God, who is the image of God, should shine on them." He foments division in the church. See, because Satan's conspiracy from the beginning of the world has been to destroy Christ. He's the one that moved Pharaoh to destroy all of the seed of the Israelites, all the males.

He moved Athaliah to seek to wipe out the line of David through which Christ was to be born. He moved Herod to kill off all of the children in Bethlehem in hopes of killing Christ. At every point throughout history, He has worked to destroy Christ, to keep Christ from coming, to corrupt His Word, to kill off that line through which Christ would come. And when He fails to keep Christ from being born, Revelation tells us that he then went off to make war with the church. And this event here, this account relates one more piece, one more example, one more time where St.

Tim seeks to conspire to destroy Christ. He thought that by killing Him, He could destroy Him. We see here that Satan puts thoughts into minds. Satan entered Judas. Satan put a thought in Judas' mind.

He can put thoughts into the minds of Christians as well. He moved David, King David, to number Israel. He moved Peter to protest Christ going to the cross. Remember, Jesus was teaching His disciples and telling them that He must go to Jerusalem and He must suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed and be raised the third day. And then Matthew says, verse chapter 16, that Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, far from it, you Lord, far be it from you, Lord, this shall not happen to you.

What did Jesus do? Jesus turned to Peter and said, get behind me, Satan. He recognized that this was simply Satan putting a thought in Peter's mind. He said, get behind me, Satan, you are an offense to me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men. He can put thoughts in our mind.

Does it mean every sinful thought that we have is from Him, but He can? We need to be aware of that. Not every thought that just pops into our head, the thoughts that may come when we're not thinking anything about a particular area, something unrelated, or even sometimes something related to what's happening, comes into our mind. We need to be aware that that could be a thought that Satan has put there, that it's not ours, and we shouldn't accept it as ours. We need to rebuke it, Satan, just as Jesus did.

Instead of dwelling on it. Where we sin is when we begin to dwell on that thought. We begin to harbor it as Judas did. He took that thought that Satan had put in His mind and He acted on it. We also need not to be ashamed of the thoughts that Satan puts on us as if they are ours.

One of Satan's devices is to throw at us even our own sins that Christ has forgiven, that we've confessed, or other thoughts. And if they're not ours, we need to reject those thoughts. As from the evil one, and rebuke him. And scripture promises that when we do that, he will flee. But we also see that Satan leverages sinners to accomplish his plan.

He leverages sinners to accomplish his goals. Satan didn't force Judas to do anything. He didn't make Judas do what he did. He entered into him. He put an idea in his mind and he tempted Judas.

John 13 says the supper being entered the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him. John says the saint put this idea in Judas' mind but he put it in the mind of a man who was a traitor, a liar, a thief, who had carnal desires, and who was readily susceptible to being tempted by this idea. But the Bible clearly says Satan put it there. But It was Judas' sinful desires that acted on that idea. That idea was a temptation.

It was a stumbling blocker. Jesus called it to Peter. It was an offense against him. But instead of rejecting that idea, instead of rebuking it, Judas thought about it. And the idea pleased him.

Because he was a thief, he liked money. He was stealing out of the money bag, and here he saw an opportunity to get a lot of money. And also win himself a place of favor with the chief priests and the scribes, the leaders of the church, the leaders of the day, who wouldn't want to be well thought of, to be honored by them. They were the leaders. And Judas was just the kind of person who that sinful idea appealed to.

But make no mistake about it, it was Judas' sin that acted on that thought that Satan put in his mind. So you have a synergy. Satan is using sinful people. He entered Peter the same way through his fear. Through Peter's fear of being associated with Jesus and possibly suffering the same fate as Jesus was suffering.

Remember, Peter denied Christ through that fear. We also see here how Satan, In leveraging sinners, he brings together two parties who didn't know that they could help each other. The chief priests and the scribes wanted to kill Jesus, But they didn't know how. It says they were afraid of the people. Jesus was there every day.

They could have easily sent their soldiers, their officers, as they did later with the disciples, to arrest Jesus and haul him in for a trial or for whatever they wanted to do. But they didn't because they were afraid of the people. So they were stymied. They've been wanting to kill Jesus for a long time now, for a while. But they fear the people, and so they're at a bit of a loss as to how they can do this.

They're planning, they're trying, but they haven't been able to do it yet. Judas can solve their problem. He can find a time when Jesus is alone because he's member one of Jesus inner circle, one of the twelve, But the chief priests don't really know that Judas is somebody that would be willing to help them. And so you see this plot doesn't go anywhere yet. Until Satan comes and puts it in the mind of Judas.

And then through Satan's work, these two parties get together. And the chief priests find out that Judas is willing to help them. And that Judas can help them find a time when Jesus is not surrounded by crowds. Because he's one of that inner circle. And so it says they were glad.

They were glad to find out that here's somebody they didn't really know about who's willing to help them and they agreed to give him money and so he promised Judas promised and saw opportunity to betray Jesus to the chief priests and the scribes in the absence of the multitude. Now we have the full conspiracy. You see how Satan played this key role in bringing these parties together and moving this conspiracy forward. A conspiracy that was not moving forward. But of course, this conspiracy, this working of Satan is according to the plan of God.

All of these conspiracies, Satan's, all of these satanic conspiracies, even the ones today, are according to the sovereign plan of God. Jesus chose Judas to be one of the twelve. In John 6, Jesus said, Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you as a devil? He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, for it was he who would betray him, being one of the twelve. Jesus chose Judas, knowing he would betray Him.

Jesus told Judas to do what he had planned to do quickly in John 13. Now after the piece of bread, it says Satan entered him, and then Jesus said, What you do, do quickly. Jesus also said, in that same occasion, he says, I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen, but that the Scripture may be fulfilled. He who eats bread with me has lifted up His heel against me.

Jesus is quoting from Psalm 41, a Psalm of David, where David said, Even my own familiar friend in whom I have trusted who ate my bread has lifted up his heel against me. David is probably referring to Ahithophel, who was one of his chief counselors, a very close associate of David, one of David's own inner circle, as it were. And when Absalom, you remember, conspired together against David to take the throne from him, Ahithophel went with Absalom. He stayed with Absalom. And he offered his counsel and his advice.

And Hushai, another one of David's counselors, his inner circle, stayed with David. And you remember the story how David sent Hushai back and said, look, you can do more help if you go back and pretend to be for Absalom, but you can be for me in his council. And that's what Hushai did. And so they met in a council and Hushai gave wise advice. He said, go after David right away before he has a chance to escape.

And Hushai said, no, no, David's really clever, he's smart, you better don't go after him right away. You need to gather all Israel and go after Him. Knowing that time to do that would give time for David to escape. And it says that God thwarted the wise counsel of Ahithophel. And Absalom pursued the plan that was put forward by Hushai David's agent on on on on Absalom's counsel and when and when hithophel Realized that they weren't following his plan and realized That David would succeed in this What did he do?

He went home and hung himself exactly What Judas does? So this is Foreshadowed and Jesus even quotes from this song, this is foreshadowed in the life of David and a hystophel, as many other things of Christ are foreshadowed in David as a type of Christ. David had his beloved bosom friend lift up his heel against the one whom he had eaten bread with. And this very same thing that Judas does. Peter said that this act of crucifixion, of Christ's crucifixion, happened by the determinant plan and forecounsel of God.

That what they did in crucifying Christ, God had ordained. Him, Christ, was delivered by the determinate purpose and foreknowledge of God. So Satan's conspiracy here was according to the plan of God, it was ordained by God. And yet, Judas is also completely responsible for what he has done. You see, Peter goes on to say, Christ, You delivered Christ by the determinate purpose and foreknowledge of God.

You have taken by lawless hands. You have taken by lawless hands. Your hands are lawless. You have crucified and put to death. What Satan did was wicked, and he is 100% responsible for his own sin.

When God, God is just. God does not send people to hell who wanted to go to heaven. He sent, he condemns to hell those who have conspired to break His commandments, who have no desire to know Him. In other words, it is sinners, wicked people, that God ordains to hell. And all that are ordained to damnation are guilty.

They are receiving justice. And they have no basis whatsoever to complain against the action and work of God. Paul asks this question. This is a, Can the thing that is formed say to Him, informed it, why have you done this? He asks the question, why does God find fault For who can resist His will?

Why can Judas be responsible if God has ordained this to come to pass? And Paul's answer is simply, who are we? Who are we to reply against God? Who are we to say, God, why have you made me like this? And then he gives a hypothetical, what if God, wanting to show his wrath and to make his power known endured with much long-suffering vessels of wrath prepared for destruction That he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had prepared beforehand for glory, even on us whom he called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles.

Paul's answer to this question is how can we find fault? How can God find fault with people if he has ordained their wicked actions? And Paul's answer is, first, who are we to even ask that question of God? But secondly, he points out that this is for God's glory. This is all done, this is all part of God's plan for his own glory.

If all of the earth is as high as Mount Everest, then there are no mountains, are there? We can only have a Mount Everest if there is some other place that is not as high as Mount Everest. We can only have mountains, in other words, if there are valleys. And this is exactly Paul's point. What if God, wanting to show His wrath, endures with much long-suffering, much patience, these vessels of wrath that are prepared for destruction?

That's what reprobation is, those ordained for destruction. But the purpose for that is that he might show the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy. Now the unbeliever wants to say, who does God dare to think that He is? That He would create a race of people and ordain some for destruction so that He could show mercy on others. Who does He dare to think He is that He can treat people like that?

Like pawns, like pottery? But that is who God is. If that's how you think, then you haven't met the God of the Bible. The God who created the heaven and earth, who created all things for His own glory. Everything.

Even the wicked. He's glorified in the death of the wicked. That's His right. That's His honor. That belongs to Him as Creator.

That's what it means for Him to be the Creator. That our lives are in His hand. And He does whatever He wishes in Him for His own glory. That's why He created everything He created so that He might be glorified. It is the response of wisdom to fall on our knees before Him and to acknowledge Him as the Creator and to praise Him for His mercy and His grace toward those who kiss the Son.

Judas. Regretted what he did, but he never repented. The promise of the scripture is that all who turn to Christ, that all who repent, that all who seek Him will find Him and none will be cast away. Let us pray. Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, we are silenced before the truth of Your Word, before Your Holy Majesty, Your righteousness, and Your justice. For you are just in all that you do. You are also loving in all that you do. And we this morning as your people acknowledge your love toward us in Christ. We acknowledge your love toward all this world.

We acknowledge that you are just in all that you do, even in our lives, and that you are good. Lord, help us to remember that all that you do, even the difficult things, the hard things, even in the times of calamity, that you are working out your purpose, that you might be glorified first and foremost but also we praise you Lord that in glorifying yourself you've also promised good to those who love you and are called according to your purpose. It is in this goodness that we rest this morning and that we place our hope and that we praise you and thank you through Jesus Christ. Amen. Through Jesus Christ.

Amen. Psalm 26b. O in infinity I am walk'd in thy integrity, in thy integrity. Have your hands and muscles in heaven upon thy inner name and name. Let them in thee and in thee thou test our end, thy died claim.

We're terribly embarrassed in the past, or in mind I'd play. Since I have understood the song, you children led my way. Let my brothers and my children let my way. I will not be in worthless debt when I live or wait. O come, ye who are not afraid, O come, ye who are not afraid.

All hail this watchman, and come before your altar, Lord. O God, you've saved our lives, you've won us all before. Oh, Lord, I know your dwelling place, your house is right below. The sky. For a city to maintain my soul with ever bright as blue.

There, better for the world can see, there, better than light on hill. That was found in one in thy integrity. Oh, dear living and graciousness, we did it set free. Set me free. My world, the cells of hell, O God, the place of the brightness, where your combination is the light of And where the congregation meets their Lord, I will bless.

The Lord, I there will bless. The church. Please look at, as we prepare to come to the Lord's table, look at Ephesians chapter 6. Verse 10, Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Therefore, stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all taking the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for the saints. And as for me that utterance may be given me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak boldly as I ought to speak." Paul's praying for boldness. He's praying that he might be able to speak as he ought to speak.

He's asking the church to pray for him in this matter. And if Paul needed this prayer, how much more do we? See, we're no match for Satan on our own. We're just no match for it. We are, as Paul says here, we're not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in high places.

When we see all the things that are happening around us, We see the unmistakable thumbprint of Satan's conspiracy to kill, to destroy, to deceive, to corrupt, to bring death. We're not wrestling against flesh and blood here. And flesh and blood armor is wholly insufficient. We have to put on the armor of God. We have to be strong in the Lord and abide in His might.

And He does, one of His means of grace to us is this table as He equips us. Because all of these are mediated through Jesus Christ, His grace. So therefore, Paul says, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, then stand." And he lists all the aspects of that armor, which is beyond our scope this morning to talk about all this. But the other aspect of this is prayer. Praying with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end.

Not being ignorant of Satan's devices. When we see these conspiracies, we ought to be reminded to pray. To pray. We ought to be reminded to put on the armor of God. His truth.

His righteousness. His salvation. Faith that believes in His promises, faith that believes His Word over against all of the people that are disputing it. For example, 150 years ago, evolution became very popular. Because science, and it seemed to suggest that the earth was much older than what the Bible said it was.

And there was a crisis of faith in the church, even among many men, Bible believing men, as they sought to change the Word of God, to bring it into conformity with what they thought science said. Now I grant they didn't have some of the benefits that we have today, But they had the Word of God. And with the armor of God, that of faith, the shield of faith, they could have resisted. And some did. Not saying this is true of everybody, but of the church in general.

Even some of the best leaders of it in that day. They faltered on this point. They didn't believe the Word of God when it said how old the earth was in the face of unbelieving science. But we've faced the same battles today as well with the Word of God. And what people are telling us about it.

These are just many, many examples of the satanic conspiracy against the Word of God and against Christ. The promise of Scripture is, Here is the armor that will enable you to stand against all of these attacks. The shield of faith that we believe the Word of God. His righteousness, not our own righteousness. Satan is easily able to throw our sins against us and to make us ashamed, to make us weak.

But when we stand in Christ's righteousness, then His righteousness is perfect. There is nothing that can assail it. And it is in Christ that we are accepted by God. And when we stand in that strength and that armor of God, then we can stand. Having shot our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, This has to be our goal.

This is our this is the purpose of what we're doing. The cultural mandate to subdue the earth to be fruitful and multiply and subdue the earth is fulfilled through the Great Commission. To preach the Gospel, to disciple all nations, to teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you to the end of the age. This has to be a part of our armor, the Gospel, and the sword of the Spirit.

When Satan puts a lying thought into our mind, we need the Word of God to be able to counter that lie. To be able to say, no, that's not true. This is what the Word of God says. It's no coincidence that every temptation that Satan gave against Christ, Christ answered from the book of Deuteronomy with Scripture. Christ answered the lies of Satan with the sword of the Spirit.

And pray. I've mentioned it before, but prayer. Prayer, the effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. This is the tool that we've been given against the satanic conspiracy. And this table is given to us as a means of grace to strengthen us in this battle.

Christ feeds us at this table. Not because we put some bread in our mouth, but by faith, he feeds us. So let us pray and ask the Lord to do just that. Heavenly Father, thank You for this bread and this cup. Please feed us with them this morning.

Lord, we do not understand or claim to understand the mystery that is before us or how you do, but we by faith believe your words. And in obedience to you, we take this bread and this cup, and we eat and drink. We ask that through this table, and through this sacrament, wherein your death is shown forth, that you would strengthen us in the inner man against the wiles of the devil, against the lies of the evil one that come to us through our culture in so many different ways, that catch us off guard, that cause us to doubt the truth of Your Word. Lord, we thank You that You are with us and that You never leave us and You never forsake us. Be our help.

That you answer us, Lord, in the day of our trouble. And that you send help from your sanctuary. And that you defend all those who put their trust in your name. Thank you, Lord. We love you.

And we bless your name this morning with all that is within us. Thank you for watching. See you next time.