Here there might be dragons
September 29 is the minor church festival of St. Michael and All Angels. Here is one of my favorite sermons that I've preached on the subject.
Grace and peace to you from him who is, who was and who is to come, and from Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Amen.
Revelation 12:7-12 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down-- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I 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 brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
There is a centuries’ old Scottish or Welsh prayer that goes: “From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties, And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!” Now the odds are the person who first wrote that prayer had never seen any ghoulies or ghosties. Nor is it likely that he or she had had any encounters with long-leggedy beasties. Yet, that prayer has survived. It comes down to us partly because of its quaint language. But also because it touches something deep down inside all of us – the fear of the unknown and things we can't control.
“From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties, And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!” When European explorers set out across the sea, that might well have been their prayer. With only the most rudimentary of navigational tools and maps based on guesswork rather than fact, the unknown was a constant terror. Would they sail to the end of the earth and fall off into a bottomless abyss? Would they encounter strange places inhabited by ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties? When these explorers returned, mapmakers pored over the ships’ logs and began to fill in the great unknowns across the sea. Eventually, major rivers, islands, and navigable ports were shown. But there were still the great expanses of ocean that was unseen and unknown. In such places the mapmakers wrote with trembling hands wrote: “Here there might be dragons.” They weren’t sure, so they imagined the worst.
Of course, we know they were being silly. With GPS and satellites, our technological age has informed us, in no uncertain terms, there are no ghoulies or ghosties or long-leggedy beasties. Is there no unknown, unexplored spot in your life where you could scrawl, “Here there might be dragons”? I’m sure there is. Listen again: “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down-- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”
There is a very real dragon that is ready to tear us apart and devour us. That dragon is Satan. He views this world as his personal killing fields. Not only does the great dragon, that ancient serpent, Satan, come at us. He also sends his demons, his little dragons to tempt and torment us.
Demons poke at you with fear. The current financial crisis has burst the balloon of your supposed financial security. You could write, “Here there might be dragons.”
Demons prod you with apprehension and worry. Has the person in the next cubicle or on the next machine on the line been let go? Is there talk of your company moving to Mexico? Are you worried about whether you will have a position at the end of this year? You can write, “Here there might be dragons.”
Have you heard the doctor say the words: “Cancer,” “terminal” or “it doesn’t look good?” Are you waiting for the results of a life-changing test? Are you making decisions about a major method of treatment? These unknowns in your life say, “Here are my dragons.” Has your home’s foundations been rocked by arguments, fights and cruel comments? Has the joy of marriage become a drudge? Are you unsure whether mom or dad can continue to live in their home? Whatever it may be, the unknown says, “Here are your dragons.”
Being out in nature is always a treat. It is fun to watch the birds, rabbits and deer frolic and look for food. As you are enjoying the animals, you notice the rabbits’ ears perking up and the deer straightening their necks, looking and listening. Then both take off in a dead run. The birds take flight, too. As you wonder what’s going on, a coyote comes into view. The predator. On the prowl. Looking for something to consume.
God has given animals a special sense of predator danger and that’s why the rabbits, deer and birds dispersed. Oh, that we could be as aware as our animal friends. Satan is a predator in our lives. Since the dragon was expelled from heaven, he has brought his war to us here on earth. He is the roaring lion looking for someone to devour. He is an ancient serpent looking for someone to sink his teeth into. He is the destroyer and nothing good ever comes from him. He is the author of death and diseases, misery and heartache, and every sinful thing in this world. He sneaks up on us and will grab and devour us unless we are protected.
St. John mentions Satan’s favorite way of devouring people. He says that the devil is the accuser who brings his accusations before God day and night. Satan tempts us to sin. We fall for his schemes and do sin. Then Satan goes in for the kill. Satan goes before God and says, “See, these so-called Christians really don’t follow you after all. They sin. They sin all the time. They keep going back to the same pet sins. They are like pigs returning to their filth and dogs returning to eat their vomit. So God, they belong to me and not with You. You already know this, God. So don’t waste your time with these people. They are never going to change. They will keep on sinning and sinning and sinning some more. Just hand them over to me because we both know that’s what they deserve.”
And do you know the worst part of Satan’s accusations? They are all true. We are rebellious sinners just like Satan was. There is a war going on inside of us every day between our Old Sinful Man and our New Man created in Christ Jesus. We deserve to be hurled out of heaven and spend an eternity with the great dragon and his demons in hell.
But that’s why we celebrate our victorious God and his victorious angels on this day. The angels did their part in God’s plan to conquer, defeat and destroy Satan once and for all. Although the devil may win some skirmishes, the outcome of the war between good and evil has been decided. The great dragon has already been hurled down by Michael and the angels. “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 brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
On Calvary’s crest, upon the cruel cross, Jesus Christ conquered. The message God sent to His churches in St. John’s day and still today is, “Appearances can be deceiving. Yes, there are still dragons out there. But, whether you can see it now or not, Christ has conquered the dragon. The devil has gone down in defeat. Satan has been stopped.”
It was to defeat the devil and all of our personal dragons that brought Jesus into this world. From that moment when the Christ Child first cried in the Bethlehem stable, the battle was engaged. At the beginning of his ministry, Satan, who managed over the millenniums to lead the world astray, tried those same tactics in the tempting Jesus. In the wilderness, he made appeals to Jesus’ senses. They were rebuffed with words of Scripture. Earthly power that would entice any normal individual was offered, and defiantly declined. A shortcut to the Savior’s years of suffering was suggested, and summarily rejected. There was no quick way for Jesus to save the sinful souls of this sorry planet. There was no smooth path to victory over the devil, or the many minor dragons he had spawned in this world.
While Jesus saw “Satan fall like lightening from the sky,” (Luke 10:18) it was here on earth where Jesus looked Satan in the eye and defeated him once and for all. It was not in heaven, but here on earth, where the greater victory took place, through the bloody cross and the open grave. For by the cross, the sins which Satan uses to accuse us were taken away and atoned for by Jesus. Jesus entered death in order to defeat death. Jesus rose from the dead and descended into hell to crash through its gates and stripped Satan of all his power.
So take courage. Rejoice. The Innocent Lamb defeated the Great Dragon! The Word conquered the Accuser! The Way, the Truth and the Life overcame the Father of Lies. Christ on the cross crushed the ancient serpent’s head. The Hand of God has silenced the roaring lion. The Gift of God is greater than the schemes of the Evil One. There is nothing left to fear.
The war is over, but Satan isn’t going away without a fight. He and his legions are still battling. They are going to tempt and tease and torment you. They will try to lead you to despair, doubt, and depression.
Jesus has given you mighty allies for these battles – His angels, His army host. God designed the powerful and wise angels to serve His Christians on the spiritual killing fields versus the Enemy who is rugged and relentless.
These are not friendly feminine angels or little chubby-cheeked cherubs who are cuddly and harmless. These are fearsome warriors. They are armies of combat veterans, protectors sent by our loving Father, to interfere with the plans of the Evil One and interrupt the assaults of the Enemy. These angels carried important messages of special births to Samson’s parents, to shepherds in the night sky, to Mary and to Zechariah. They protected God’s people by shutting the mouths of lions, walking in a fiery furnace, slaying 185,000 of God’s enemies and busting God’s apostles out of prison. They minister to God’s people as they did to Jesus in the wilderness and Gethsemane.
These angels may appear with a flaming sword of justice like the angel guarding the entrance to Eden or appear with a message like Gabriel. They may appear as cherubim – two-winged angels or seraphim – six-winged angels. It might be Michael, the archangel, the great prince who protects God’s people. (Daniel 12:1) Ten thousand times ten thousand angels will protect God’s people, fight the last great battle against the forces of Satan, and gather God’s saints and take them to heaven.
John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave. A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, “Who were all those men with you there?” Paton knew no men were present – but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station.
We cannot always see the danger or the Dragon or the demons lurking around us. We cannot always see the protection the angels provide us. Thankfully our heavenly Father sees and knows, as He sends His angels as ministering spirits to serve and protect us.
The maker of an early map of America wrote across unknown and unexplored regions such frightful comments as, “Here there are fiery scorpions,” “Here there are dangerous giants,” and “Here there are dragons.” A brave explorer, who was also a Christian, crossed out all these warnings and wrote in large letters, “Here is God!”
We can do the same. Over our cancer, hospital stays, and empty bank accounts, we can write, “Here is God!” Over our worries, doubts, and death, we can write, “Here is God!” We can also add, “Here are God’s angels!” With full thanks and confidence in the presence of God and His angels, we can join our hearts in the ancient prayer: “From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night, I give thanks to You, good Lord. For You, in Jesus, along with your angels, have delivered me! Here there might be dragons. But here is God!” Amen.
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ.” Amen. (Revelation 12:10)
Festival of St. Michael and All Angels at Epiphany on September 27, 2009
Grace and peace to you from him who is, who was and who is to come, and from Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. Amen.
Revelation 12:7-12 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 The great dragon was hurled down-- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. 10 Then I 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 brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. 12 Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."
There is a centuries’ old Scottish or Welsh prayer that goes: “From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties, And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!” Now the odds are the person who first wrote that prayer had never seen any ghoulies or ghosties. Nor is it likely that he or she had had any encounters with long-leggedy beasties. Yet, that prayer has survived. It comes down to us partly because of its quaint language. But also because it touches something deep down inside all of us – the fear of the unknown and things we can't control.
“From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties, And things that go bump in the night, Good Lord, deliver us!” When European explorers set out across the sea, that might well have been their prayer. With only the most rudimentary of navigational tools and maps based on guesswork rather than fact, the unknown was a constant terror. Would they sail to the end of the earth and fall off into a bottomless abyss? Would they encounter strange places inhabited by ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties? When these explorers returned, mapmakers pored over the ships’ logs and began to fill in the great unknowns across the sea. Eventually, major rivers, islands, and navigable ports were shown. But there were still the great expanses of ocean that was unseen and unknown. In such places the mapmakers wrote with trembling hands wrote: “Here there might be dragons.” They weren’t sure, so they imagined the worst.
Of course, we know they were being silly. With GPS and satellites, our technological age has informed us, in no uncertain terms, there are no ghoulies or ghosties or long-leggedy beasties. Is there no unknown, unexplored spot in your life where you could scrawl, “Here there might be dragons”? I’m sure there is. Listen again: “And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down-- that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.”
There is a very real dragon that is ready to tear us apart and devour us. That dragon is Satan. He views this world as his personal killing fields. Not only does the great dragon, that ancient serpent, Satan, come at us. He also sends his demons, his little dragons to tempt and torment us.
Demons poke at you with fear. The current financial crisis has burst the balloon of your supposed financial security. You could write, “Here there might be dragons.”
Demons prod you with apprehension and worry. Has the person in the next cubicle or on the next machine on the line been let go? Is there talk of your company moving to Mexico? Are you worried about whether you will have a position at the end of this year? You can write, “Here there might be dragons.”
Have you heard the doctor say the words: “Cancer,” “terminal” or “it doesn’t look good?” Are you waiting for the results of a life-changing test? Are you making decisions about a major method of treatment? These unknowns in your life say, “Here are my dragons.” Has your home’s foundations been rocked by arguments, fights and cruel comments? Has the joy of marriage become a drudge? Are you unsure whether mom or dad can continue to live in their home? Whatever it may be, the unknown says, “Here are your dragons.”
Being out in nature is always a treat. It is fun to watch the birds, rabbits and deer frolic and look for food. As you are enjoying the animals, you notice the rabbits’ ears perking up and the deer straightening their necks, looking and listening. Then both take off in a dead run. The birds take flight, too. As you wonder what’s going on, a coyote comes into view. The predator. On the prowl. Looking for something to consume.
God has given animals a special sense of predator danger and that’s why the rabbits, deer and birds dispersed. Oh, that we could be as aware as our animal friends. Satan is a predator in our lives. Since the dragon was expelled from heaven, he has brought his war to us here on earth. He is the roaring lion looking for someone to devour. He is an ancient serpent looking for someone to sink his teeth into. He is the destroyer and nothing good ever comes from him. He is the author of death and diseases, misery and heartache, and every sinful thing in this world. He sneaks up on us and will grab and devour us unless we are protected.
St. John mentions Satan’s favorite way of devouring people. He says that the devil is the accuser who brings his accusations before God day and night. Satan tempts us to sin. We fall for his schemes and do sin. Then Satan goes in for the kill. Satan goes before God and says, “See, these so-called Christians really don’t follow you after all. They sin. They sin all the time. They keep going back to the same pet sins. They are like pigs returning to their filth and dogs returning to eat their vomit. So God, they belong to me and not with You. You already know this, God. So don’t waste your time with these people. They are never going to change. They will keep on sinning and sinning and sinning some more. Just hand them over to me because we both know that’s what they deserve.”
And do you know the worst part of Satan’s accusations? They are all true. We are rebellious sinners just like Satan was. There is a war going on inside of us every day between our Old Sinful Man and our New Man created in Christ Jesus. We deserve to be hurled out of heaven and spend an eternity with the great dragon and his demons in hell.
But that’s why we celebrate our victorious God and his victorious angels on this day. The angels did their part in God’s plan to conquer, defeat and destroy Satan once and for all. Although the devil may win some skirmishes, the outcome of the war between good and evil has been decided. The great dragon has already been hurled down by Michael and the angels. “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 brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.”
On Calvary’s crest, upon the cruel cross, Jesus Christ conquered. The message God sent to His churches in St. John’s day and still today is, “Appearances can be deceiving. Yes, there are still dragons out there. But, whether you can see it now or not, Christ has conquered the dragon. The devil has gone down in defeat. Satan has been stopped.”
It was to defeat the devil and all of our personal dragons that brought Jesus into this world. From that moment when the Christ Child first cried in the Bethlehem stable, the battle was engaged. At the beginning of his ministry, Satan, who managed over the millenniums to lead the world astray, tried those same tactics in the tempting Jesus. In the wilderness, he made appeals to Jesus’ senses. They were rebuffed with words of Scripture. Earthly power that would entice any normal individual was offered, and defiantly declined. A shortcut to the Savior’s years of suffering was suggested, and summarily rejected. There was no quick way for Jesus to save the sinful souls of this sorry planet. There was no smooth path to victory over the devil, or the many minor dragons he had spawned in this world.
While Jesus saw “Satan fall like lightening from the sky,” (Luke 10:18) it was here on earth where Jesus looked Satan in the eye and defeated him once and for all. It was not in heaven, but here on earth, where the greater victory took place, through the bloody cross and the open grave. For by the cross, the sins which Satan uses to accuse us were taken away and atoned for by Jesus. Jesus entered death in order to defeat death. Jesus rose from the dead and descended into hell to crash through its gates and stripped Satan of all his power.
So take courage. Rejoice. The Innocent Lamb defeated the Great Dragon! The Word conquered the Accuser! The Way, the Truth and the Life overcame the Father of Lies. Christ on the cross crushed the ancient serpent’s head. The Hand of God has silenced the roaring lion. The Gift of God is greater than the schemes of the Evil One. There is nothing left to fear.
The war is over, but Satan isn’t going away without a fight. He and his legions are still battling. They are going to tempt and tease and torment you. They will try to lead you to despair, doubt, and depression.
Jesus has given you mighty allies for these battles – His angels, His army host. God designed the powerful and wise angels to serve His Christians on the spiritual killing fields versus the Enemy who is rugged and relentless.
These are not friendly feminine angels or little chubby-cheeked cherubs who are cuddly and harmless. These are fearsome warriors. They are armies of combat veterans, protectors sent by our loving Father, to interfere with the plans of the Evil One and interrupt the assaults of the Enemy. These angels carried important messages of special births to Samson’s parents, to shepherds in the night sky, to Mary and to Zechariah. They protected God’s people by shutting the mouths of lions, walking in a fiery furnace, slaying 185,000 of God’s enemies and busting God’s apostles out of prison. They minister to God’s people as they did to Jesus in the wilderness and Gethsemane.
These angels may appear with a flaming sword of justice like the angel guarding the entrance to Eden or appear with a message like Gabriel. They may appear as cherubim – two-winged angels or seraphim – six-winged angels. It might be Michael, the archangel, the great prince who protects God’s people. (Daniel 12:1) Ten thousand times ten thousand angels will protect God’s people, fight the last great battle against the forces of Satan, and gather God’s saints and take them to heaven.
John Paton was a missionary in the New Hebrides Islands. One night hostile natives surrounded the mission station, intent on burning out the Patons and killing them. Paton and his wife prayed during that terror-filled night that God would deliver them. When daylight came they were amazed to see their attackers leave. A year later, the chief of the tribe was converted to Christ. Remembering what had happened, Paton asked the chief what had kept him from burning down the house and killing them. The chief replied in surprise, “Who were all those men with you there?” Paton knew no men were present – but the chief said he was afraid to attack because he had seen hundreds of big men in shining garments with drawn swords circling the mission station.
We cannot always see the danger or the Dragon or the demons lurking around us. We cannot always see the protection the angels provide us. Thankfully our heavenly Father sees and knows, as He sends His angels as ministering spirits to serve and protect us.
The maker of an early map of America wrote across unknown and unexplored regions such frightful comments as, “Here there are fiery scorpions,” “Here there are dangerous giants,” and “Here there are dragons.” A brave explorer, who was also a Christian, crossed out all these warnings and wrote in large letters, “Here is God!”
We can do the same. Over our cancer, hospital stays, and empty bank accounts, we can write, “Here is God!” Over our worries, doubts, and death, we can write, “Here is God!” We can also add, “Here are God’s angels!” With full thanks and confidence in the presence of God and His angels, we can join our hearts in the ancient prayer: “From ghoulies and ghosties and long-leggedy beasties, and things that go bump in the night, I give thanks to You, good Lord. For You, in Jesus, along with your angels, have delivered me! Here there might be dragons. But here is God!” Amen.
“Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ.” Amen. (Revelation 12:10)
Festival of St. Michael and All Angels at Epiphany on September 27, 2009
Powerful sermon.
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