Stories: Part 2

It's the great quest.

It's overcoming the monster.

! It's rags to riches.

! It's love lost and then found.

! It's tragedy turned to comedy.

And the happily ever after.

Perhaps these stories thrill our hearts

because they echo a true story.

Perhaps there really is an ultimate hero

who came on a mission to fight evil.

To give up his life to rise again

and to be one with his people forever.

What if the fairy tale is true?

What if Jesus is the hero of heroes?

That's Glenn Scrivener.

I'm preaching four slightly eccentric sermons

on the theme of story.

And we began this morning

with the beginning of every story

once upon a time.

In the beginning, if you missed it,

you can go on YouTube

and kill half an hour with that.

Tonight, we look at the second part

of a fairy story.

And what's the second part of a fairy story?

It all goes wrong.

Evil enters in.

And then next Sunday night,

we're going to look at a rescuer.

And then the following Sunday night,

we're going to look at happily ever after.

It all goes wrong.

Every story has a villain.

Every story has a villain.

The big bad wolf.

The troll under the bridge.

Darth Vader.

Darth Maul.

Darth Sidious.

The wicked witch of the west.

Sauron.

Voldemort.

Cruella de Vil.

Every story has a villain

because yours does.

But you don't live like that.

Most people

don't live as if

the story has a villain.

How have we missed that?

All the stories that we tell

have evil in them.

They tell us of

the presence of an evil power.

All the dark characters

that send chills down our spine

and give us sleepless nights.

Why are they given to us?

They are given to us as a warning.

There's an evil cast around us.

War.

Famine.

Betrayal.

Murder.

Violence.

We know, don't we,

that there's evil in this world.

But where did it come from?

What's its motive?

How are we to find refuge

from it?

So this morning

we began at the beginning

and I want us to go back there tonight.

In the beginning

something happened.

Something happened

before our moment

on the stage.

Before mankind

came angels.

We talked about it

last Sunday, didn't we?

But angels,

if we asked people

what are angels like,

they would think

of cherubs, wouldn't they?

They would think of

rosy-cheeked,

little chubby children

wearing white.

Often seen as soft

and cuddly.

But in nearly

every record

that we have

in the Bible

of angelic visitations,

their first words are

fear not.

Why?

Because angels are terrifying.

Let me give you some verses.

2 Chronicles 32

2 Chronicles 32:21

verse 21.

Let me read this to you.

2 Chronicles 32

21.

And the Lord sent an angel

who cut off

all the mighty warriors

and commanders

and officers

in the camp

of the king

of the Assyria.

So he returned

with shame of faith

to his own land.

2 Samuel 24

15 and 16.

So the Lord

sent a pestilence

on Israel

from the morning

until the appointed time

and there died

of the people

from Dan to Beersheba

70,000 men.

And when the angel

stretched out his hand

toward Jerusalem

to destroy it,

the Lord relented

from the calamity

and said to the angel

who was working destruction

among the people,

it's enough.

Now stay your hand.

Revelation 9

Revelation 9:14–15

verses 14 to 15

says to the sixth angel

with the trumpet

release the four angels

who are bound

to the great river

Euphrates.

So the four angels

who have been prepared

for the hour,

the day,

the month and the year

were released

to kill a third

of mankind.

And God says

there are

10,000 times

10,000 of them.

The Bible

is unashamed

about angels.

The Bible

is unashamedly

supernaturalistic.

Francis Schaeffer

who founded

our denomination

and founded

this congregation

and when he went

to a university mission

you know they'd have

a week of events

where they kind of

speak to people

who are not Christians

about the gospel

of the Lord Jesus Christ

and they kind of

put their best foot forward

and you put your

best speakers on

you try to be

as appealing as you can.

Francis Schaeffer

always began

on the first night

by speaking about angels.

Such a strange thing

isn't it?

Why did he begin

speaking about angels

and the reason he said

he did that

was because

he wanted the students

to know that he was

speaking about something

supernatural.

That Christianity

is unashamedly

supernaturalistic.

And as you come to

the Bible

particularly the gospels

I don't know whether

you realise

there are angels

everywhere.

At every crucial point

of the Lord Jesus'

career

there are angels.

angels.

In fact

the word angel

appears more often

in the New Testament

than the word sin

or the word love.

The word angel

occurs more frequently

than any

either of those words.

Arthur Sproul said

you can no more

cut the angels

out of the gospel record

than you can the miracles

without being guilty

of biblical vandalism.

They are everywhere

in the gospel accounts

not like some kind

of varnish

or gloss

that has been sprayed

on by some pious believers

but they are deeply

embedded in the story.

And so we need to

speak about angels

more than we do.

Number one

point number one

evil

enters the stage.

Evil

enters the stage.

It seems to me

that the Bible

indicates

the origin

of the devil

and the origin

of evil

more by hints

than by direct

statements.

and we see

that he was

one of the

sons of the

angels of God.

And apparently

he was the brightest

of them

or one of the

brightest of them

and the reason

that that angel

has fallen

is because he was

preoccupied with

his own beauty

and his own glory

and with his

ambition to

unseat God

the God of glory

from his throne.

So let's go to

a couple of passages

that we don't

often go to.

Let's go to

Isaiah chapter 14.

Isaiah 14 · chapter mention

All right?

Isaiah chapter 14.

Isaiah 14 · chapter mention

I'll shout out

the pages.

It's on page

577.

Isaiah chapter

Isaiah 14 · chapter mention

14.

It's on page

578.

And the prophet

Isaiah there

is describing

the king of

Babylon.

But he's

describing him

in highly

symbolic language.

There's a

double meaning

to these words.

Isaiah 14

Isaiah 14:12–15

verses 12

to 15.

How you are

fallen

from heaven.

O day star,

sun of dawn.

How you are

cut down to the

ground,

you who laid

the nations low.

You said in

your heart,

I will ascend

to heaven above

the stars of God.

I will set my

throne on high.

I will sit on

the mount of

assembly in the

far reaches of

the north.

I will ascend

above the heights

of the clouds.

I will make

myself

the most

high.

It's speaking

of the

king.

And yet,

it's also

symbolic.

Come with me

to Ezekiel

Ezekiel 28 · chapter mention

chapter 28.

And these

are the two

passages

which describe

to us in

veiled terms

the origin

of the devil.

And Ezekiel

28 is on

page 715.

There's a

description of

the king of

Tyre.

And again,

it's taunting

language.

It's prophetic

language.

It's highly

symbolic.

Ezekiel 28

and verse 12

on page 715.

Son of man,

raise a

lamentation

over the

king of

Tyre and

say to him,

thus says the

Lord God,

here it is,

you were the

signet of

perfection,

full of

wisdom,

perfect and

beauty.

You were in

Eden,

the garden of

God.

Every precious

stone was

your covering.

Sardius,

topaz,

diamond,

beryl,

onyx,

jasper,

sapphire,

emerald,

carbuncle.

And crafted in

gold,

gold were

your settings

and your

engravings.

On the day

that you were

created,

they were

prepared.

You were an

anointed guardian

cherub.

I placed you

there on the

holy mountain

of God,

in the midst

of the stones

of fire you

walked.

You were

blameless in

your ways

from the day

you were

created,

till unrighteousness

was found in

you.

Standing at

the head of

the vast

legion of

angels was a

captain,

the most

beautiful,

the most

powerful of

them all,

the commander

of the armies

of God,

the guardian

of the glory

of God,

the sun

of the

morning,

as glorious

as the sun

unequaled.

C.S. Lewis

writes this,

of all

bad men,

religious bad

men are the

worst.

Of all

created beings,

the wickedest

is the one

who originally

stood in the

immediate presence

of God.

And so pride

enters the

devil's heart.

Now,

admittedly,

these passages,

they raise as

many questions

as they answer.

but they

are telling

us something

of immense

importance

and significance.

But pride

and self

was at the

heart of the

devil's fall.

Ezekiel

is telling

us that

the devil

was unwilling

to take

his place

as created.

He grasped

at glory

which was

not his

but belonged

to God

alone.

He sought

to exalt

himself over

God.

the devil

wanted

God's

authority.

It was

flagrant

ambition

but fundamentally

pride.

This

excellent

being

believed

that somehow

he was

being cheated.

He was

missing out.

He didn't

just want

to play

a role

in the

noble story.

He wanted

the story

to be about

him.

He coveted

the throne.

He wanted

to be the

star.

He was

desperate

to be the

main character.

He wanted

the worship

and the

adoration

which was

due to

God

to be

for

himself.

And so

in Ezekiel

Ezekiel 28:17

28

verse 17

your heart

was proud

because of

your beauty.

You

corrupted

your wisdom

for the

sake of

your

splendor.

I

cast

you

to

the

ground.

I

exposed

you

before

kings

to

feast

their

eyes

on you.

Think of

the stories

that we

tell.

Think of

the echoes

that we

tell.

The witch

in

Snow White

who

cannot

cope

with

not

being

the

most

beautiful.

Anakin

Skywalker

turning

to the

dark

side

becomes

Darth

Vader.

Saruman

the wizard

in

Lord of

the

Rings

lust

for

power

and

glory

brings

himself

to

ruin.

Think of

the Joker

in Batman

turned

in on

himself.

Every

story

has

a

villain.

And

there in

the palaces

of

heaven

in

the

courtyards

of

happiness

and

glory

unstained

the

devil

turns

on

his

maker.

Through

treachery

and deceit

one third

of the

angels

rise up

against

their

sovereign

law

and

war

is

declared.

And

so

evil

enters

the

story.

And

it is

staggering

the

naivety

people

live with

regarding

evil.

They

don't

take it

seriously.

And

they

live

all

their

life

as if

there

is

no

villain.

And

so

when

people

think

of

the

devil

they

think

of

him

what?

Prancing

around

in

red

tights

carrying

a

pitchfork

at

the

Tour de

France.

But

he

is

the

incarnation

of

the

worst

enemy

you've

ever

met

in

every

story.

The

scripture

says

he

has

blinded

the

minds

of

unbelievers

so

they

do

not

take

evil

seriously.

What

will

it

take

for

evil

to be

taken

seriously?

The

Holocaust?

Child

prostitution?

Gang

rape?

People

trafficking?

Life

is very

very

confusing

isn't

it?

If

you

will

not

take

into

account

that

there

is

a

villain

that

you

have

an

enemy?

It's

not a

nice

thing

to

think

about

is it?

It's

one of

the

reasons

why

preachers

don't

preach

on

the

devil.

C.S.

Lewis

writes

this

one of

the

things

that

surprised

me

when I

first

read

the

New

Testament

seriously

was

that

it

talked

so

much

about

the

dark

power

in

the

universe.

A

mighty

evil

spirit

who

was

held

to be

the

power

behind

death

disease

and

sin.

Christianity

thinks this

dark

power

was

created

by

God

and

was

good

when

he

was

created

and

went

wrong.

Christianity

agrees

this

is a

universe

at

war.

Evil

enters

the

stage.

Point

number

two

evil

enters

the

world.

Evil

enters

the

world

in

time.

Genesis

1 and

2

you know

the

story

don't

you?

It's

a

beautiful

world.

It

was

good.

It

good.

It

was

good.

It

was

good.

It's

a

world

without

shame.

A

world

without

sin.

A

world

without

arguments.

A

world

without

sorrow.

A

world

of

joy

and

harmony.

That's

Genesis

1 and

2.

You're

in

Genesis

4

and

it's

a

world

of

murder

and

death

of

division

and

exile.

You're

in

Genesis

5

it's

death

and

more

death

and

more

death.

chapter 6

you have

rebellion

on a

scale

unparalleled

that every

inclination of

man's heart

was only

evil all

the time.

Genesis 7

and 8

there is a

cataclysmic

flood and

Genesis 9

you have

drunkenness

and incest.

Chapter 10

is ever

spreading evil

and in

chapter 11

is outright

rebellion

a hostile

bid to take

over the

world.

But where does

it start?

it starts

in Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

so can you

come there

with me?

Genesis

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

we're on

familiar

ground

aren't

we?

It

starts

by saying

that the

serpent

was more

crafty

than any

other

beast

of the

field

that the

Lord God

had made.

The

serpent

is a

created

being.

Genesis

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12

and verse 9

sorry

Revelation 12

and verse 9

and 20

verse 2

John describes

the devil

as that

old serpent

the devil.

And so

how does

evil enter

in?

Verse 1

did

God

really say

did God

really say

you shall

not eat

of any

tree

in the

garden?

First of all

he overstates

doesn't he?

You shall

not eat

of any

tree.

What God

had said

to Adam

and Eve

is you

can eat

of all

the trees

except one.

Eve

responds

and she

quotes

God

back to

the devil

but she

misquotes

him.

She says

we may

eat

of the

fruit of

the trees

in the

garden

but God

said you

shall not

eat of

the fruit

of the

tree

that is

in the

midst

of the

garden.

That's

right.

Neither

shall you

touch it.

That's

not right.

lest you

die.

God

had not

said

anything

about

touching

it.

She

kind

of

draws

God's

commands

more

restrictive

than God

had made

them.

Verse

four is

the

outright

lie.

You

will

not

surely

die.

First

he creates

doubt

and then

he lies.

God

and then

in

verse

five

the

serpent

appeals

to

Adam

and

Eve

in

exactly

the

same

way

that

he

fell.

Then

verse

five

God

knows

that

when

you

eat

of

it

your

eyes

will

be

opened

and

you

will

be

like

God

knowing

good

and

evil.

What's

behind

that?

God

is

keeping

you

back.

God

is

holding

out

on

you.

You

can

be

like

God.

You

can

be

wiser

than

God.

You

can

be

God.

And

you

cannot

minimise

the

enormity

of

Adam

and

Eve's

sin.

You

cannot

minimise

the

sheer

ingratitude.

How

had

God

treated

them

in

chapter

one

and

two?

He

had

given

them

everything

they

could

need,

everything

they

could

want.

He

held

nothing

back

from

them.

One

of the

things I

find about

Genesis 3

is the

madness

of sin.

When you

go back

to it,

you can

look at

ideology

and that's

the right

thing to

do,

but there's

a madness

to Eve

and Adam's

sin in

Genesis 3.

William

Still

says this,

this parent

sin is the

sin of

all sins,

equaled

only by

that

primal

sin

of

Lucifer

which

stands

out like

a blot

against

the

light

of

what

God

has

made

him.

It's

important

that we

hold two

things

together

here.

These

two things

together,

one is

this

essential

deceiving

nature

of the

devil

who's

always

scheming,

always

plotting,

his

wiles

always

must be

taken

into

account.

So we

sinners,

we never

bear the

blame alone

for our

sin.

The other

is the

full

responsibility

of human

beings

for

listening to

voices which

are completely

contrary to

knowledge and

experience of

God.

Satan's

responsibility

and man's

responsibility

go hand

in hand.

And this

first sin

of Adam

and Eve

is engineered

by the

devil with

great

ingenuity.

Evil

enters the

stage,

evil

enters the

world,

and then

lastly evil

enters you.

And the

truth is

this,

that the

problem of

evil is

not just

out there

on a

macro

level.

We can

see it

really

clearly

there,

can't

we?

That evil

is not

only a

problem

in the

world

around us,

but it's

a problem

in us.

And the

reason I

want to say

that is

because the

essence of

the sin

that the

devil fell

for and

the essence

of the

sin that

Adam and

Eve fell

for in

the garden

is exactly

what you

and I

fall for

every day.

That you

can be

the centre

of your

world.

You can

grasp at

it.

You can

reach out

and take

it.

And that

God is

holding out

on you.

He's keeping

you back.

you need

to be the

main

character.

You need

to be the

main

story.

And to

follow God

means that

you'll

actually

miss out.

And so

we become

preoccupied

with

ourselves.

And our

story,

and our

glory,

and our

beauty.

And sin

is to be

caught up

in oneself.

when you

look at

group

photographs,

who is

the first

person you

look for?

Alice

Roosevelt

Longworth

describes

her father,

the US

president,

Theodore

Roosevelt.

She

described him

as someone

who needed

to be the

centre of

attention in

any situation,

whether joyous

or sombre.

She wrote,

my father

wanted to be

the corpse

at every

funeral,

the bride

at every

wedding,

and the

baby at

every

christening.

That was

actually used

to describe

a minister

to me this

week.

But there's

an element

of all of

us in

that,

isn't

there?

The corpse

at every

funeral,

the bride

at every

wedding,

the baby

at every

baptism.

And so

in this

story,

this great

story,

we are

caught up

into

something

bigger

than our

own

rebellion.

And that

is what

Genesis 4

to 11

teaches us,

isn't it?

It is a

death spiral

where sin

is not

under

control,

but

wonderfully,

that is

not the

end of

the story.

I think

in preparing

this and

trying to

think about

the origin

of the

devil,

we are

at the

very limit

of our

understanding.

There is

a reason

why the

Bible isn't

crystal clear

on it,

and that is

because we are

not meant

to know.

We are

trying to

grasp the

ungraspable,

we are

trying to

know the

unknowable,

and there

are many

questions,

aren't there,

in your

heart and

in my

heart,

about why

does God

allow the

devil to

exist?

Why did

God create

a world

knowing that

it would

fall into

sin?

What we

do know

is this,

with the

advent of

sin and

the devil,

you are

able to

grasp and

understand

something more

of the

love and

the grace

and the

mercy and

the holiness

of God

in a way

that you

would not

have been

had you

stayed in

that state

of perfection.

Adam knew

that God

was loving,

but he

didn't know

how loving.

Adam knew

that God

was holy,

but he

didn't know

how holy

God is.

Adam knew

that God

was gracious,

but he

didn't know

how gracious.

We don't

fully know

the reasons

for those

questions.

We are

creatures that

cannot fathom

the ways of

our creator,

but we

must humbly

accept that

this isn't

the end of

the story.

in Genesis

3,

there's a

lovely game

of hide

and seek.

Answer me

this,

who is

hiding

and who

is seeking?

Is it

God who's

hiding?

It's not,

is it?

Adam and

Eve,

in their

shame and

in their

rebellion and

in their

embarrassment,

they are

the ones

that so

fig leaves

on themselves,

they hide.

And God

is the

one who

comes

seeking.

And he

says,

where are

you?

It's one

of the

great

questions in

the Bible

that God

asks you,

where are

you?

Wonderfully,

the story of

the Bible

tells us,

as we'll

see in a

couple of

weeks,

that there

was one

who came

into this

world who

was not

like Adam,

was not

like the

devil,

who was

not proud,

who did

not consider

equality with

God something

to be grasped,

but made

himself nothing,

taking the

very nature

of a servant,

who did

not grasp,

but willingly

gave up.

And we're

told gloriously,

aren't we,

in 1 John

1 John 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

and verse 8,

that the

Son of

God

appeared to

destroy

the works

of the

devil.

And so

tonight,

as the

people of

God

living in

this story,

we know

that because

of the

cross of

Jesus

Christ,

the devil

is

defeated,

he is

chained,

the authority

that he does

have is

very limited

and his

time is

nearly up.

And

ultimately,

evil will

be defeated

and sin

will be no

more.

Let's pray.

Let's pray.