Rev. Matthew Versemann Trinity Lutheran Church Decatur, Illinois Ascension Day May 16th, 2021

“Waiting For Round Ten”

God’s PEACE is ALWAYS YOURS in Jesus.

Hear the Word of God from Revelation 12,

“The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment He was born….and she gave birth to a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God, and to His throne, and there was war in heaven.”

DEAR FRIENDS IN CHRIST,

The battle between Christ and satan for the souls of every person who has ever lived has been compared to a ten round boxing match, of which the Ascension of Christ is round 8. Let’s take a look at that ten round boxing match this morning.

In Round 1, the devil threw his first sucker punch. Although God had created all of the angels very good, and wanted them, as well as humanity, to live with Him, forever, in paradise; nevertheless, Satan was not content to live under God in His kingdom! A sin we’re often guilty of too. The devil declared war on the God of love, a war, that he could not win. Isaiah 14 describes the beginning of the battle with these words, “How you have fallen from heaven, O Lucifer…for you said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven. I will raise my throne above the stars of God. I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly; and I will make myself like the most high God.” Page 1 The devil’s sin was the sin of pride and wanting to be God himself, “I will make myself like the most high God.” He demanded what belonged to the Father, and to His Son, Jesus, to ascend to the highest place in heaven and sit enthroned. But Round 1 ended with the devil receiving his first crushing blow. Isaiah 14, “You have fallen from heaven…you have been cast down.” The devil and his demons lost their place in God’s Royal Court and were cast down. 2 Peter 2 says, “For God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them down, putting them into gloomy dungeons, to be held for judgment.” As the Lord casts Satan out of His royal court, the Lord wins Round 1.

Round 2 took place in the Garden of Eden. Since satan could not defeat God by direct attack, He tried to conquer Adam and Eve, and all humanity, with the same crime he tried. The serpent said to the woman in Genesis 3, “Did God really say you must not eat from any tree in the garden?...Don’t believe it…. You will not die, but you will be like God yourself (he was tempting them with his own desire)….the woman took some and ate it, and she gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.” No matter how much you and I may think that we can be our own little gods, we ultimately can’t! We will either live happily ever after under the God Who loves and saves us, or we’ll try to play God to our own damnation.

As God warned, Adam and Eve died that day. You may say, ‘But they didn’t die physically that day’, that’s true. But they died spiritually that day, as they were cast away from God’s presence, out of the Garden of Eden. Now on the surface it appears that satan won Round 2, for he accomplished the destruction of God’s very good creation. But upon closer inspection we see that satan lost Round 2 also. For immediately Jesus says to the serpent, “Because you have done this, cursed are you.” And then in Genesis 3:15, we hear the first promise of our Savior, Jesus, who will come to conquer satan. There it says, “The seed of the woman (which is a reference to Jesus) will crush your head (satan), and you will bruise his heel.” Satan’s defeat is now in God’s hands, and it’s only a matter of time. Jesus crushed the devil when He had His heels nailed to Calvary’s cross; which is the only way to kill a serpent, you crush its head. Page 2 Round 3 refers to the rest of the Old Testament. Although satan and the demons had lost their original place in heaven, and although God had promised that the devil would be crushed by Christ; nevertheless, the devil was still permitted to enter God’s heavenly court, and accuse God’s people of their sin. We hear of this several places in Scripture, including Job 1, which says, “The angels came and presented themselves before the Lord, and satan came with them. The Lord said to satan, ‘Where have you come from?’ Satan answered, ‘from roaming to and fro on the earth’! Then satan said, ‘Does Job fear God for nothing? Have you not put a hedge around him…but strike down everything he has, and he will surely cure You to Your face.” Now let’s be very clear on this. Apart from Christ’s forgiveness and righteousness, the devil’s accusations are entirely correct. In our sin, we are just as guilty as the devil. Apart from Christ, we no more deserve heaven, then the devil does. So who won Round 3. Again, it’s our Lord. How can we say this? For even during the Old Testament, when the devil was still able to accuse us before God in heaven, God was totally in control. Satan couldn’t even lay a finger on Job unless God gave him permission. In Job 1 God says, “Everything (Job) has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger.” Again, God won round 3, for even in the midst of the devil’s accusations, this is a battle with a certain outcome. The devil’s rantings and ravings are all within the context that he’s under God’s control, waiting to be crushed, by the seed of the woman, who is Jesus Christ.

Round 4 refers to the Incarnation and birth of Jesus. The devil heard loud and clear, “The seed of the woman will crush your head.” He knew exactly why Christ was coming, so the devil tried to kill the Christ child at birth. Revelation 12, “The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment He was born!” We see the devil trying again to kill Jesus when He was two years old in Matthew 2, which says, “An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, ‘Get up! Take the child, and His mother, and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill Him.” Round 4 also goes to our Lord. For from the beginning neither the devil, nor Herod’s baby killers, can touch baby Jesus until it’s time for Christ to actually go to the Cross, and even in that cross is our victory, and their defeat. He will only be killed when and where He permits Himself to be killed for our sins. Page 3 Round 4 goes to God, for our Savior Jesus safely arrived, and the devil couldn’t prevent our Savior’s coming. I John 3:8 says,‘The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.’ And Hebrews 2 declares, “Since the children have flesh and blood, He (Jesus) also shared in their humanity, so that by His death, He might destroy him who held the power of death, that is the devil.”

Round 5 refers to the earthly life and ministry of Jesus. Throughout His life Jesus literally man-handled satan, and delivers one blow after another. Satan tempted Jesus three times in the wilderness, knowing that if he could get Christ to sin, He wouldn’t be qualified to be our Savior. Nevertheless, Jesus conquers the devil with the Word of God every time, so the devil left him. Throughout His ministry He tells the demons to shut up and they do. He orders demons out of the demon-possessed, and they leave. They have no choice. This is an all-out route. The demons even ask Jesus in Mark 1, “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth, have you come at this time to destroy us?” When we look at the world we often think Christ is losing and the devil is winning, how interesting it is to hear the demons tell us the truth, “Have you come to destroy us?” Yet, Jesus casts out those demons and then He tells us in Matthew 12, “If I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then you will know that the kingdom of God has arrived.” Round 5 goes to Jesus Christ.

Round 6 refers to Jesus’ suffering and death. On the surface it appears as if satan has not only landed a fatal blow, but has won! The death blow has been issued. “O sorrow dread, God’s Son is dead.” In fact, Paul tells us in I Corinthians 15, that if Jesus stays dead, then here’s what it would mean, “Our preaching is useless, your faith is futile, you’re still in your sins, and the dead are lost.” It’s only because we live on this side of the resurrection, that we know that Christ indeed won Round 6. Yes, it is true that the Lord laid on Him the iniquities of us all. Yes, it is true that the cross became a lightning rod, and Christ was good and dead on Good Friday for our sins. Yes, it’s true that the Father abandoned His Son, Jesus, to death and hell. But this was all part of the plan. The battle was never about Christ saving Himself, it was always about Christ losing His life to save us; and to nullify the devil’s claim on us. Revelation 12 announces, “We overcome the devil by the blood of the lamb.’ And Hebrews 2 declares, “By His death, He destroyed him who held the power of death, that is the devil.” So Round 6 also goes to Christ. Page 4 Round 7 refers to Christ’s victorious resurrection. I Peter 3 says, “Jesus was made alive again by the Spirit, through Whom He went and preached to the spirits in prison.” Sometime on Easter morning, after Christ rose, He descended to hell to proclaim His victory over those in hell. Having done so, He then appeared alive for 40 days, the Bible says, “giving many convincing proofs that He was risen from the dead.” Not only could death not hold him, but the devil couldn’t keep a good man down. Yes, He got crucified, and yes, His heels were bruised, but on Easter morning what rang out loud and clear was that it was in fact the devil that got nailed

Which leads us to Round 8 – the Ascension of Jesus, and His being seated at the right hand of God. Revelation 12 says, “He (Jesus) was snatched up to God and to His throne.” Round 8 is all about Jesus’ victorious ascension. Psalm 47 says, “God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets. Sing praises to God, sing praises. Sing praises to our King, sing praises. For God is the king of all the earth…..God is seated on His holy throne.” The significance of Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension are recorded for us in Revelation 12 which says, “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back; but they were not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled to the earth – that ancient serpent who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth and his angels with him.” At Christ’s ascension God said to the devil, “Get out of here. I’ve heard enough of you, and I’ve had enough of you.” Hebrews 9 says that Jesus “entered the most holy place, not with the blood of bulls and goats, but with His own most precious blood, and there to appear before God on our behalf.” Although the devil will still lie to you and try to get you to believe that you’re still guilty, you’re not! Already 2000 years ago, upon Christ’s ascension, John heard a loud voice in heaven say, “Now have come the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ, for the accuser of our brethren, who accuses them day and night before our God, has been hurled down, and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb.” Round 8 has been won by God, and by His Christ. His ascension calls for rejoicing. The accuser has been forever silenced by the perfect righteousness of Christ that he cannot impeach and that covers us, and by a blood so pure and forgiving, that “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Page 5 You and I now find ourselves living during Round 9, which refers to the last days, or the church age – between Christ’s death, resurrection, and ascension; and His final return on the last day. Although satan is defeated, and can no longer accuse us before God; nevertheless, he still has one more weapon. Luther says, ‘The devil can no longer truly harm us, so long as we cling to Christ. He’s defeated. He’s like a mad dog on a chain. The only way that the devil can still harm you is by leading you to believe that he’s a friendly puppy, lying to you. He won’t appear as a vicious dog, but as a playful, harmless, attractive and friendly puppy. For now that He is chained he can only harm you if you listen to his lies, and turn from Christ to go and play with him. Don’t do it. Underneath his façade Revelation 12 says, “He is filled with fury because He knows that his time is short, and he has gone off to make war against those who hold to the testimony of Jesus.” The fact that he’s gone off to make war against God’s children is bad news, but the fact that he knows that his time is short is good news. He only has a limited time before our Savior arrives again to toss him into hell. And even in the mean time he can harm us none so long as we’re clothed in the armor of Christ, and we use Christ and Christ’s blood against him. So Round 9 has also been won by Christ, and it is a time in which, by the grace of God, satan has already begun his retreat into hell.

Which leads us to Round 10. Round 10 refers to Christ’s second coming or judgment day. It’s a day in which we already know who wins and who loses. Revelation 20 describes the devil’s future when it says, “And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, to be tormented day and night, forever and forever.”

In closing, while it’s true that we are still living in Round 9, the last days, in which the Bible speaks of the devil as “a roaring lion, who prowls around seeking whom he may devour”; nevertheless, there’s another LION in Scripture. This one is indeed the Lion King. The Bible calls Him the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. Over 2000 years ago, this Lion, Jesus Christ, ascended victoriously into heaven, and was crowned King for us. And 2000 years ago all of heaven resounded at the words of Revelation 5, “Do not weep, for the Lion of the tribe of Judah has triumphed. And they (all of heaven) sang a new song to Him, saying, ‘You are worthy because you were slain and with your blood you purchased people for God.” Amen and Amen.