As a mama to 3 young, energetic boys, (and 1 girl!), the word “destroy” is not a foreign concept in our home. I get variations on a theme when I hear:“Mom! He destroyed my tower!” or “You broke it!’. Two brothers left their Stratego game unfinished on the living room floor, and the other one accidentally kicked over the pieces, “Mom, he messed up our game!”
Not only do the kids speak of destruction at times, I find myself speaking against destruction. “Don’t destroy!” I urge. “Don’t break, fight, rip, throw, tear, or damage anything!” On my worst days, I have even lifted up myself on the podium of “non-destroyer” saying: “I work hard to solve problems, fix things, keep order. Don’t mess it up!” (Translated: I don’t destroy, so neither should you! Hm!”). Yikes, life can get messy.
Sometimes, I find myself playing, “Finish the Verse” game with the kids: “The thief has come to steal and kill and....WHAT?” They reply: “DESTROY!” I continue: “Jesus has come to give us....WHAT?” They chime in: “LIFE!” (John 10.10). Brush my hands, and the answer is clear! Of course we won’t destroy anything! That is the Enemy’s mission. Jesus doesn’t destroy.
Then the Gospel shook me up.
“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” 1 John 3.8
Woah! Say what?! The Son appeared to DESTROY? I am sure I’ve read that before, but the word meant more to me as a mama of boys. Suddenly, I had to figure this out.
I’ve long known that Jesus is my Savior. Jesus is Lord. Jesus is the Good Shepherd. Jesus is my Friend. Jesus is Love. Jesus is the Son of God.
But only in recent months have I really begun to investigate what it really means that Jesus is a Warrior King. There is not space to share all the amazing things I have been learning about the rider of the white horse, but today I will tell you: he makes war.
“I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice he judges and makes war.”Revelation 19.11
With Christmas just a week away, I am celebrating in a way I never have in years past; I am celebrating the Victory of the “Landed Invasion” of Jesus, who came to destroy the devil’s work!
We love to sing of Emmanuel at Christmas=God With Us, but here is where the name came from...Isaiah 8:
“...O, Immanuel!
Raise the war cry, you nations, and be shattered!
Listen, all you distant lands.
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!
Prepare for battle, and be shattered!....
for God is with us.” Isaiah 8.9-10
I heard an amazingly helpful sermon, entitled “Landed Invasion”, in which the pastor quotes 1 John 3.8 and says, “That is Christmas in one Word=Destruction!” My attention was riveted.
He goes on to say:
“The reason for the season is destruction. The reason we celebrate Christmas is because God wanted something destroyed. LIBERATION REQUIRED DESTRUCTION” he preached.
We talk about Jesus coming to “save”, but that assumes something is being held captive.
We say Jesus came to bring “peace on earth”, but that entails that there was prior chaos.
We say Jesus came to heal, but that implies there is sickness and disease.
What is the work of the devil? SIN.
1 John 3.8 “He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning.”
Way back in the beginning, in Genesis 3 the devil slithers into human history masked as a serpent, and deceives Eve into disobeying God and sinning with Adam. But what does God do? He declares war, not on the humans but on the serpent:
“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed (singular male pronoun) and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3.15Yes, sin was Adam and Eve’s responsibility and the human race was cursed to pain and death, but God was already giving promises of hope that a Messiah would come and crush the serpent’s head....destruction.
Many millennia later, that same ancient serpent slithered into the desert to tempt Jesus into disobeying God and surrendering his rescue mission in exchange for one little thing:
“If you worship me, it will all be yours.” Luke 4.6
Jesus remains unmoved in his obedience to worship God and to serve Him only. In the Spirit’s power, he reads and fulfills the scroll of Isaiah:
“He has sent me to proclaim release for the captives...” Luke 4.18
How did he do it? "Jesus destroyed the works of the devil by his appearing and by his presence on the cross....when he who knew no sin became sin for us, not by violence, but by taking violence on himself." (See Landed Invasion).
“You were DEAD in your sins...God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away nailing it to the cross. And having DISARMED the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” Col. 2.13-15
“...but it has now been revealed through the APPEARING of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has DESTROYED death and has brought LIFE and immortality to light through the gospel.”
Ti. 1.10
Jesus DESTROYED DEATH by his own death and resurrection.
Jesus has DESTROYED SIN by his perfect obedience and sacrifice of himself in our place on the cross.
Jesus has DESTROYED the works of the devil, by DISARMING their power and making them a public spectacle.
Jesus DESTROYS the DEVIL by becoming God in the flesh: Emmanuel:
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his DEATH he might DESTROY him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil, and FREE those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.” Hebrews 2.14
If you are still a captive, being held prisoner, you need to know, this is war. This life is a war for your soul. Do not let the enemy, that ancient serpent, deceive you into worshiping him, or anything else that would temporarily satisfy or please you. Worship the Lord as God and serve him only!
What must I do to be freed? How can I be released? How can I have life and escape final destruction? Answer=HOPE IN HIM.
“Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.” 1 John 3.3
For those who are looking to Jesus as our Hope, let us celebrate Jesus this Christmas as the Strong Victorious Hero:
“The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” 1 John 4.4
Let us rejoice that we are freed captives, marching in joyful procession in the train of the King:
“But thanks be to God who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him.” 2 Cor. 2.14
“When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train...”
Eph. 4.8
Christmas is a “Landed Invasion” when Jesus, by his appearing, came to destroy the works of the devil. One of my favorite lines from the sermon is: "Jesus came to kick some tail and take some treasure." We are the treasure. Christmas is destruction. This is a good kind of destruction, the kind that is like a big strong dude (Jesus) coming to beat up on an oppressor (Satan). (See the Parable of the Strong Man, Luke 11.21-22).
But I must report that in my study on destruction, I found another kind of destruction, one that has not yet come, and this is something to dread, for those who have not trusted Jesus as King.
“For you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘Peace and safety,’ destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.” 1 Thes. 5.3
“He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power on the day he comes to be glorified in his holy people and to be marveled at among all those who have believed.” 2 Thes. 1.8-10
If this destroying God-King does not sound gracious to you, then please heed my words: This message is God’s grace to you now, inviting you to cling to Jesus as the perfect obedient sacrifice in your place...before it is too late. Do not be found this Christmas singing about “Peace and Safety” unless you have trusted Jesus as the One who brings Everlasting Peace and Eternal Safety.
Don’t worry. My house isn’t too messed up, and we have been learning to pursue peace and not destroy anything. But the next time my child destroys his brother’s Stratego game, I am going to remember that Jesus came to mess up Satan’s game plan. But this life is not a game, this is real war.
