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Here the Apostle Paul tells us that we are rescued by God from the power of Satan’s kingdom of darkness – and God has translated [or transferred] us into the Kingdom of His dear Son, Jesus, in whom we have redemption through His Blood, even the forgiveness of sins. Redemption from the kingdom of darkness comes through the Blood of Jesus. Dr. Ryrie said, “Redemption is always through His blood” (Ryrie Study Bible). Redemption means a release from Satan’s power of darkness. Through the Blood of God’s Son, Jesus, we are rescued from the power of Satan’s darkness and brought into Christ’s Kingdom. Dr. Thomas Hale said, “We are no longer servants of Satan; we are no longer prisoners in his kingdom. We have been set free” (The Applied New Testament Commentary).

Redeemed, redeemed,
   Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
   His child, and forever, I am.
(“Redeemed” by Fanny J. Crosby, 1820-1915).

But you can’t appreciate that song if you have not trusted Jesus. You are still under the power of Satan in his kingdom of darkness. You are still not saved, and you are living in demonic darkness. You must experience redemption through the Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

“Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

I. First, a description of those in the kingdom of darkness.

A. You are controlled by Satan,

“the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience” (Ephesians 2:2).

The “prince of the power of the air” is Satan. He is the leader of all the evil spirits. Jesus called Satan, “the prince of this world” (John 12:31). This means that “the whole world lieth in wickedness” (I John 5:19), or “the whole world is under the control of the evil one” (NIV). Dr. J. Vernon McGee said, “You and I are living in a world that is asleep in the arms of the wicked one – if you look around today, you must agree with that statement.” [Dr. McGee included] “many people in churches” (J. Vernon McGee, Th.D., Thru the Bible; note on I John 5:19). So, if you are not yet saved you are “under the control of the evil one” (NIV). As Dr. McGee said, you are, “asleep in the arms of the wicked one.”

B. You are also blinded by Satan.

The Bible says,

“But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them” (II Corinthians 4:3-4).

Dr. McGee said, “Satan is the god if this age. He is running it...He has ‘blinded the minds of them which believe not.’ Have you ever heard someone say, ‘I don’t understand the gospel. I have heard it...but it doesn’t mean anything to me’...The Devil has blinded them...The Devil has blinded their [minds]...That is the blindness that comes from Satan” (note on II Corinthians 4:3-4).

A young man in our church was finally saved when he heard me preach on II Corinthians 4:3, 4. He said,

Dr. Hymers preached on how Satan blinds [people]. He said that one of the ways Satan does that is by working inside the mind of a lost person and making him think that he must have a feeling of assurance so he will have something to say to the counsellor [in the inquiry room]. I thought to myself, ‘That’s me! That is exactly what I have been thinking.’...I had been going in circles and never once looked up to Christ...I was swirling in doubts and [self] analysis.

This confusion is the result of Satan blinding “the minds of them which believe not.” It is possible to sit in church and hear the Gospel of Christ for years, and still have your mind blinded by Satan, “lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ...should shine unto [you].” I have known seminary professors, who taught the Bible for many years, whose minds were still blinded to the simple Gospel of Christ. I have known church members in this condition for decades. When I try to awaken them, they fight me like I was an enemy. In a way they are right. I am an enemy of the Devil who blinds them! Satan does not want them to know the freedom Christ gives, so he puts the thought into their minds that I am their enemy. Thus Satan continues to blind their minds and enslave them.

C. You are also deceived.

Another way Satan uses to control his people is through deception. In Revelation 12:9 the Bible speaks of Satan,

“...that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world” (Revelation 12:9).

Dr. Merrill F. Unger, Th.D., Ph.D., was a long-time professor at Gordon Divinity School and Dallas Theological Seminary. Dr. Unger said, “Unregenerate men [are] lacking spiritual discernment and subject to demonic deception” (Biblical Demonology, p. 185).

The young man I quoted earlier said, “I remember thinking I would never be converted. I thought, what is the point of trying? I even started to doubt whether conversion was real at all. These thoughts invaded my [mind] again and again...I was still thinking in circles.”

That is the way Satan deceives a lost person. They invariably “think in circles.” That was me exactly. I got the idea from Satan that I could be a Christian by being good, by becoming a preacher and a missionary. My mind went “in circles” like that for several years before Jesus saved me by His Blood. But the harder I tried to be good, the farther away I was from salvation.

The Devil “deceiveth the whole world” (Revelation 12:9). The Greek word for “deceive” is “planaō.” It means “to go astray,” “to seduce,” “to roam away from truth” (Strong). Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, “The Devil concentrates his attack upon the minds of men...he does it by insinuating doubts...The Devil tries to alarm and to frighten us...He does it when we are under conviction of sin...he says, ‘Can you not see...it will cause you unhappiness...in your office, or in your profession, or in your college.’ So he frightens us. This is part of the work of the Devil” (Martyn Lloyd-Jones, M.D., “The Wiles of the Devil”). The young man I have been quoting said, “I refused to risk myself on Him [Christ].” What is the risk? There is no risk! It is the Devil making you think there is some “risk” – to frighten you so you will not trust Christ!

Then, too, the Devil deceives many by telling them to look at themselves. They are forever looking within themselves. Dr. Lloyd-Jones said, “He [the Devil] keeps us looking at ourselves and examining ourselves...you have no right to be perpetually looking within” (ibid., p. 90). The young man I have quoted remembered that I preached, “how Satan blinds those who are without Christ...Satan does that by working inside the mind of a lost person and making him think that he must have a feeling of assurance.” What a deception! You have never, ever heard me say that you “must have a feeling of assurance,” and you never will hear me say that. Then where did that idea come from? Think, now. Where did that thought come from? Isn’t it obvious that it came to you from Satan? I always tell you to look away from yourself – to Jesus. But you listen to Satan. Instead of looking up to Jesus, you keep looking down at yourself – looking within, examining yourself! I have known people who do this endlessly. Nothing I say can persuade them to stop looking within themselves. Nothing I say can persuade them to look away to Jesus and leave it there, in the hands of Jesus! The young man said, “I never once thought... ‘the reason is because I never did trust Jesus Christ Himself.’ No, I never thought that. Instead, I was thinking in circles...I was swirling in doubts and [self] analysis.” Many Asian people (and others) are deceived by such thoughts. They are looking for an inner experience, like Nirvana, which they think they can obtain by learning more. This is really a form of magic. It keeps a person in perpetual deception. It keeps a person enslaved to “the power of darkness.” Simon the magician said, “Give me this power” (Acts 8:19). Like this magician, they think of God as a “power” that they need, rather than realizing they need to have their sins forgiven by the Blood of Jesus. One such woman thought she could be saved by “submitting” to Jesus – as if He were only an oriental “god” to be “submitted” to. No! Away with it! I didn’t tell her to “submit.” I didn’t use that word! Where did it come from? From Satan! I told her to believe in Jesus – to trust Jesus! “Believe [believe, believe] on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31). “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14). “Redeemed.” Sing it with me!

Redeemed, redeemed,
   Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
   His child, and forever, I am.

And that takes us to the second point of this sermon.

II. Second, how we are translated, or transferred, from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God’s Son.

A. The Holy Spirit convicts you of your sin.

The Holy Spirit is not an “influence” or a “spiritual power.” The Holy Spirit is God! He is the Spirit of God.

What does the Spirit of God do in the work of salvation? Dr. Lloyd-Jones said, “[Christ] tells us that the Holy Spirit...speaks to us...how He can convict the world of sin and righteousness and of judgment” (Revival, p. 50). Christ said, “When he is come, he will reprove [convict, NIV] the world of sin” (John 16:8). The first work of the Spirit of God is to convict you of sin. You are not a Christian, yet. But it doesn’t bother you very much – not until the Holy Spirit shows you your evil heart of unbelief, your wicked and selfish heart – filled with lust and rebellion and sin! The Spirit of God makes you “disgusted” with yourself – until you feel that you are utterly lost in sin – until you think, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24). Until you feel convicted of the sin of your heart you will not make any progress at all. None at all! Many people think conviction is feeling sorry for yourself. But that is not conviction at all. Conviction is the awareness that you are a sinner and that you deserve to be punished for your sinful heart and mind. Dr. Lloyd-Jones called it a “crisis” – “a great upheaval” (Evangelistic Sermons, p. 166). “I am a sinner! I am doomed! I am wretched! I deserve the wrath of God!” Until you feel some of that there is no hope at all that you will ever be converted, no hope at all that you will ever become a real Christian!

The young man said, “He convicted me of many sins I had committed...the blackness of my heart was so obvious, yet I resisted looking at it. It was too terrible to witness or to acknowledge. All the while the Holy Spirit came down...and made me realize that I was unworthy...All my words and actions had absolutely no value in the sight of a holy God. I had nothing to offer God. Nothing to clear my record. The Holy Spirit convinced me thoroughly of my desperate need for Jesus, my need for His Blood and righteousness to cover all my sin.”

B. The Holy Spirit then reveals Jesus to you.

Jesus said of the Holy Spirit, “He shall glorify me, for he shall receive what is mine, and shall make it known unto you” (John 16:14 KJV, NIV).

The young man said, “Dr. Hymers, in the inquiry room, said that I must only trust Jesus and Him alone. No one else and nothing else...Now the Gospel seemed clear to me...Now Jesus was in front of me! Now the Saviour was willing to take me in His arms!...How could I hold on to my sin and not look to Jesus, the One who loved my soul? ...I went to the waiting Saviour! I did not wait to experience any feeling. I did not wait to listen to the lies of Satan. I knew I needed Jesus then and there. I must not wait...I had to go to [Jesus] for cleansing from sin. So I went to Him! He took me and cleansed me...The thoughts of finding self-assurance were long gone. Jesus became my assurance and hope. Jesus took away my...sin. He cleansed my record...Praise be to God, who gave His Son, Jesus, to rescue me and pardon my sin with His Blood.”

Redeemed, redeemed,
   Redeemed by the blood of the Lamb;
Redeemed, redeemed,
   His child, and forever, I am.

That young man’s testimony is a perfect example of our text! God “hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:13-14).

There is only one thing left for me to say. Will you trust Jesus and be cleansed from your sin by His Blood? Amen. Dr. Chan, please lead us in prayer.

(END OF SERMON)
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Scripture Read Before the Sermon by Mr. Abel Prudhomme: Colossians 1:9-14.
Solo Before the Sermon by Mr. Benjamin Kincaid Griffith:
“Then Jesus Came” (words by Dr. Oswald J. Smith, 1889-1986;
music by Homer Rodeheaver, 1880-1955).