Stand thy counsel to count before to be
done.
They knew that God and his eternal counsel
had outlined the battle and had appointed the
hour.
So we're beginning to see the forces, are
we?
Christ was taken on a lot, you know.
Oh, but there's more to come.
You see, let's go over to Colossians, and
we're at the second chapter, that great letter
to the Colossians, and we're at the second
chapter.
And it's talking about Christ at Calvary.
It's talking about him blotting out the handwriting
of ordinances that was against us.
Verse 14, we're at Colossians 2.14, blotting
out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us, which was contrary to us, and took
it out of the way, nailing it to
his cross.
Which did us good then, and having spoiled
principalities and powers.
These are words that we've been dealing with.
These are personalities that we have been dealing
with.
Demon principalities and demon powers.
Having spoiled them, and we'll look at that
very closely.
He made a show of them openly, triumphing
over them in the cross.
Oh, they were all in the arena, you
know.
I want you to get the hold of
that.
But we want to do it properly.
You know, we know the devil used Peter,
and we certainly know that he used Herod,
and Pontius Pilate, and the Gentiles, and the
priests, and the scribes, and the officers of
the temple, and the people of the Jews,
as it says.
But you know, all this is small fry
in this battle.
Principalities came to Calvary.
These demon princes who had followed Satan, and
whom Satan had delegated to deceive the nations,
they were heir to Calvary.
Oh, we'll never get this properly, you know.
When I survey the wonders, I feel stark
naked on the tree.
I cannot properly get in these countless thousands
of demon princes, but I know they were
there.
And I not only know that these demon
princes were there, I know that these demon
powers were there.
Principalities and powers.
Of course, I know that these are those
that we haven't looked at yet, but we're
going to look at the rulers of the
darkness of this world.
Because, you see, Satan is warring like this.
He's coming against the political, and he's coming
against the physical, and he's coming against the
mental, and he comes against every spiritual man
and woman.
He's coming against the eternal now.
But, you know, he does come against the
evangelical that we haven't touched yet.
When he blinds the minds of them that
believe not, he's got a squad, and they're
called the rulers of the darkness of this
world.
There were at Calvary.
My, there were men that shouted out, Save
yourself!
If you've built a temple in three days,
save yourself!
They were so blind, they didn't know what
they were talking about.
You'll find that the thieves were blind.
They railed at him.
You'll find that even scribes and priests went
by, said he saved others.
Himself he can't save, they worship.
Oh, yes, principalities and powers and the rulers
of the darkness of this world were all
there.
Let me say this to you, that wicked...
Let me go back to Matthew 27, I
think it is.
Matthew's Gospel, chapter 27.
Yes, it says in verse 29, And when
they had plaited a crown of thorns...
Now, this is talking about the soldiers.
The soldiers plaited this crown of thorns.
Now, I don't know how many of them
were occupied in plaiting this crown of thorns.
But if you could just see the long
eastern thorn, it's almost as strong as steel,
and it's as long as my first finger
there.
And these men plaited this crown of thorns.
Now, this was not usually done at crucifixion.
This was just two or three wicked characters.
And I think they were energized by wicked
spirits.
You see, for a man to stand in
a corner, or two or three of them
to stand in a corner, and diabolically weave
these together, knowing that they are going to
crush them into this man's head, there is
wickedness afoot here.
Now, we have an open meeting here every
Sunday morning after the ministry meeting.
And we just sit down round the table,
and we're just saints remembering the Lord.
And we don't expect every man to preach,
of course.
We don't believe in all-man ministry, because
we don't believe that the sheep should feed
the shepherds.
That would be a silly confusion, wouldn't it?
You don't think that God gave some of
us gifts to listen to trot, do you,
or trite?
We have no notion of doing that.
But I am not the only gift in
this place.
Thank God.
We've got about a couple of dozen here
who can take this platform at any time,
and we're so proud of them.
And the other morning, one of our young
folks sitting at the back now, he just
got up to preach, and he said this.
He said, you know, I have noticed for
the very first time that these men plaited
this crown of thorns and then put it
on his head, and I'll read in his
right hand.
And, of course, the reason, you know, is
a bamboo cane grows in Palestine about twenty
feet high, one of these thick bamboos.
And they were sort of making fun and
mockery.
And the young fellow said this, that they
put this crown of thorns upon his head,
and verse thirty, and they spit upon him,
and they took the reed then and smote
him on the head when the crown of
thorns was on his head.
And he looked down that meeting.
I was sitting watching him just then.
And there were tears in his eyes.
He said, I never saw that before.
I never saw that the crown of thorns
was there when they struck him on the
head with a cane.
Did you know?
Because it's very wicked, isn't it?
It's wicked to plait this crown of thorns.
It's wicked to crush it on his head.
It's wicked to harm him after you have
it on.
Because I can tell you that Christ was
meeting wicked spirits and he never even groaned.
He was absolutely dumb.
He just took it, stood there, never see
a fellow getting thumped and taking it.
There's not too many of us able for
that.
What a wonderful Saviour he was.
I can tell you that when the hour
would come and he's stark naked and he's
on the cross and all these my, then
came these principalities, these wicked princes.
Then came these powers.
Then came these rulers of the darkness.
Then came these wicked spirits.
And all the wickedness, even when he was
dead on the cross and hanging lifeless on
the nails.
He was dead, I tell you.
And he was dead a long time.
And this agent of a creature comes along
just on to steal wickedness.
Christ was speaking.
He took them all on, you know.
And you know, this is a tremendous word
in Colossians.
He spoiled principalities and powers.
Oh, how I rejoice in this, you know.
He spoiled principalities and powers and he made
a show of them openly, triumphing over them
in the cross.
You know, I brought this whole book of
translations along.
You know, I get thrilled sometimes when I
see these great scholars translating these.
This word, spoiled, is a tremendous word.
Connie Bear, who is one of the great,
great scholars, there's a translation by Connie Bear
in Holston.
Well, this is what Connie Bear says.
Having spoiled principalities and powers means he disarmed
the principalities and powers which fought against him.
Did you ever see men in battle being
taken captive?
Did you ever see the power that took
them disarming them?
Taking their soul and their dead and their
gone.
They're disarmed.
I'll tell you this, he disarmed them.
Oh, but it's a much deeper word than
that.
Here's what, here's what Knox, and remember, Knox
was a Roman Catholic.
And remember, he was a Roman Catholic scholar.
Just don't get your own blood up too
much.
Because it happens to be he was a
scholar.
And this is what he honestly said.
He said, and the dominions and powers that
came against him, he ran out.
It's a good word, isn't it?
Because spoiled and disarmed and robbed.
Oh, the same thing anyway.
You see, when you disarm a man and
take his weapons away, you see sometimes in
the old battles in the Far East, they
took off their earrings and all the gold
and the rings and all the bracelets and
everything else.
They robbed them.
Leave them standing there like paupers.
Oh, well, he spoiled them.
He disarmed them.
He robbed them.
When do you see this one?
It says, on the cross, he discarded these
powers and authorities.
You know, you need all these words in
to get the truth of this.
Why has he bared his breath when they
came and are countless presents and this is
a bit of a battle we never see.
Then, old friend, he spoiled them.
He disarmed them.
He robbed them.
Then he lifted them and disarmed them.
You know, this interested me so much that
I went on into it.
If you go to the third chapter, are
you in the third chapter of the same
book, Colossians?
See, verse nine, says in the middle of
the verse, seeing that ye have put off
the old man.
Well, the word put off is the exact
same word as spoiled.
Discarded, you see.
Robertson, whom I believe to be the greatest
Greek scholar of all time, Robertson said, I
can see it like this.
I can see these hosts coming against him
in the darkness of Calvary.
I can see him disarming them.
I can see him taking every thread of
vestige from them.
I can see him lifting them.
I can see them pitching them and discarding
them and throwing them off from them.
Their victory.
You know, there's still another one to be
dealt with because it's not only Peter and
Judas and Herod and Pontius Pilate and principalities
and powers and the rules of the darkness
and wicked spirit.
The old Satan himself must be dealt with.
And as he stretched out his hands and
stepped into death, Satan must have shouted, I've
got him.
He's in my realm.
He just trampled death beneath his feet and
rose again.
And through death, he destroyed him which had
the power of death, which is the devil.
And for heaven's sake, never forget Calvary.
What a victory.
He spoiled principalities and powers.
You know, he needed to show them.
He needed to show them openly.
Oh, friends.
They were like some wreath of oppression.
He had spoiled them.
He needed to show them openly.
Let me get this word in.
He triumphed.
Oh, I think the word should be written
in capitals the whole way through.
Triumphed.
Now, let's get the hold of this before
we leave tonight.
Remember, we're marching on the train of eternity.
We're marching with this monster.
Not to be afraid of the devil, you
know.
One of these nights, we're going to show
you that you've only got to resist them
in the authority of Christ the name.
He'll free from you.
Oh, yes.
We've got to get this.
What a battle this was.
What an hour it was.
What a victory it was.
Now, next week's a very important week, you
know.
I talked about the charismatic movements the other
night, and so many said, I don't know
what night all this is about.
Well, now, I just don't know.
You see, I've got to go a bit
at the time to take the battle properly.
And I think the proper bit for next
week is to show every believer how you
can be more unconscious against the devil, principality,
power, rulers of darkness, wicked spirit.
See if it more than comes.
It's a wonderful time.
Then we've got to look at these rulers
of the darkness coming against the evangelical.
Then we've got to try to find out
all that these wicked spirits have done in
this world.
And I assure you that tonight.
And then we'll move into spiritism and voodooism
and charismaticism too.
We mean to do it properly.
If all winter hasn't, if Jesus dies, it's
only ten to ten tonight.
Well, what about it?
Or let me offer Christmas.
Let's sing a hymn that I think is
a great one.
691.
I honestly think that this is one of
the greatest hymns in the book.
I think it's a mighty one.
You know, watch it.
I don't know who wrote it, but I
know it's mighty.
What role the executor of all the evils
that I have done, I know them well
and thousands more.
Jehovah findeth none.
His be the victor's name who fought our
fight alone.
Triumphant saints no honor claimed.
Their conquest was his own.
By weakness and defeat he won the meet
and calm.
Shroud all our faults beneath his feet by
being shodden down.
He held in hell made law, made sin.
He sent all through.
God to the grave destroyed its soul and
death by dying fruit.
Blessed, blessed the conqueror slain.
Slain by divine decree.
Who lived, who died, who lives again?
For thee, we sing for thee.
My, what a masterpiece in the words of
our God.
Now we're going to sing it all.
Taking more time to sing it all.
691 please.
God we
bow to thank thy holy name.
We adore thee for Calvary.
We thank thee Lord for the battle fought.
And the victory won.
And the enemy routed.
We bless thee thou art the last Adam.
For there'll be no second fight.
Because you left no second fall.
Park us in thy fields.
Take us to our homes and safety.
Bless and preserve every head.
Bowed in thy presence.
Through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.