We read in the beginning how God created man and gave him certain instructions: See Genesis 1:26-28.  Read.

We see how man was to reproduce, fill the earth and subdue it, and to rule over the other creatures on the earth.  He gave man dominion over the whole earth and all its creatures.

But mankind, in the person of our first Parents, disobeyed God and surrendered the rule of the earth to Satan, his deceiver.  Even our Savior referred to Satan as "the ruler of this cosmos" (John 14:30).  Cosmos didn't refer to the universe then, as it does today, but to the entire world of organized human life on earth--government, society, economics--everything.  Satan's present domination of the world systems is comprehensive, all-inclusive.  John indicated just how comprehensive Satan's dominance is in I John 2:15-16:  "Do not love the world, nor the things in the world.  If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.  For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world."   He is called the "God of this age. (II Cor. 4:4). 

But Satan is not the rightful ruler; man is.  You can search the Bible from front to back and not find where God ever took the earth back from man.  In His eyes it still belongs to man, so God does nothing on earth without going through man.  Indeed, He became a man so that it would be a Man who won back the earth. However, since man is mostly under Satan's control, the earth is mostly under Satan's control.   Satan, the usurper, rules earth through its legitimate ruler, man.

(Now let me make it quite clear that the earth is the Lord's and all things in it.  God is ruling and over-ruling so that all things will ultimately come out as He has ordained.  But we know that God is not the cause of all the misery, suffering, sin, injustice, ignorance, rebellion and warfare on the earth.  That is the work of man under the sway of Satan.)

On this rebel globe every single event centers on man.  Man is the rightful ruler of the earth, and man is its destined heir.  Therefore, man is the center and focus of all earthly activity.  The contest is between God and Satan, and the will and heart of man are the contested ground.   Whoever wins man wins earth; for God gave earth to man and has not taken it back.  It is only with man's consent, man's effort, that God will redeem the earth.  If the earth is reclaimed by God it will be because man has cooperated with God in its reclamation.  If the earth were finally lost it would be because man sided in the end with God's Enemy, Satan. And in fact those who resist God's rule to the end share in Satan's punishment.  In Matthew 25, verse 41, the Son of Man will say to some in the Day of Judgment: "Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which was prepared for the Devil and his angels."

But here is the really good news.  Satan has already been defeated by one Man, Jesus Christ.  All of the authority that man forfeited to the Devil Jesus has won back on our behalf.  Therefore, Jesus said, just before He returned to the Father, "All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth" (Matt. 28:18).  ALL AUTHORITY.  In heaven AND ON EARTH.  Satan has no more authority whatsoever, though, as we have seen, he has much power.  Jesus, the Son of Man, our Representative Man, has all authority.  But He will not take back the earth without us. 

In some ways the situation is much as it was before Jesus conquered Satan.  There are still two kingdoms in this world, the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.  The Devil, his band of rebel angels,  hordes of demon helpers, and the great majority of mankind make up kingdom of Darkness.  And the Father, Son, Holy Spirit, the faithful angels, and God's people on earth make up the kingdom of God.   There is still a cosmic battle between light and darkness, good and evil, God and Satan.  This earth and its rightful ruler, Man, are the contested territory.  

Someone might ask, "Why do you place most of mankind in Satan's kingdom?  There are some good people who are not following Satan."  That's right, most people are not consciously following Satan; but they are in his kingdom nonetheless.  Paul says of all believers including himself, Jews and Gentiles,  great sinners and moral, upright folk, slaves and highborn that "He delivered us from the domain (kingdom) of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son" (Colossians 1:13).  C.S. Lewis once wrote:  "There is no neutral ground in the universe: every square inch; every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan."

This cosmic battle is of the utmost interest to the  inhabitants of three worlds.  There is, of course, great interest in heaven.  God's purpose is to demonstrate to the heavenly realms that his human experiment was not a failure, but a wonderful success:  Paul says in Ephesians 3:10 that "His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms."   And remember Peter's mysterious assertion that "Even angels long to look into these things" (I Peter l:l2).  In that inspired poem, the Book of Job, we see portrayed the cosmic contest between God and Satan with Job in between.  We often think of Job as an exploration of the problem of suffering.  And of course it is that.  But it is even more  than that.  Philip Yancey has an excellent chapter on Job in his book, The Bible Jesus Read.  In that chapter he points out how the faith of one man, Job, was very important to God.  I quote from the book: "Job presents the astounding truth that our choices of faith matter not just to us and our own destiny but, amazingly, to God Himself.  Eliphaz taunted Job, 'Can a man be of benefit to God'...What would He gain if your ways were blameless?'" (22:1-3). At the end Eliphaz had to chew on those words as he offered sacrifices through Job and asked forgiveness.  Job's faith gained for God a great victory over Satan, who questioned the entire human experiment." (p. 66). Yes, the battle is of the utmost interest in heaven.

The battle is, of course, intensely interesting to Satan and his forces.  I'm pretty sure they know, by now, the ultimate outcome. "They believe and tremble"  But they are postponing it as long as they can.  Therefore every inch of ground is fiercely contested. The Devil and his demons only give ground where they must.

And the battle is enormously important to our world; for, as I have said, the destiny of the earth and its inhabitants depend on the outcome of the battle.   The situation is summed up powerfully in Paul's statement in Romans 8:19: "For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God."  Philips' translation puts it even more forcefully: "The whole creation is on tiptoe to see the wonderful sight of the sons of God coming into their own."  And  why?  Because the destiny of this universe is linked forever with the destiny of man.

Time is precious because you are in an evil world and a fierce battle.  And you make a difference, whether you like it or not. It's not a matter of being a warrior or not being a warrior.  You enlist when you come to Christ for salvation.  The battle for our souls, our time, our resources, our energy goes on in spite of us.  It comes down to this:  You are in the battle of your life, for your life.  Are you a good warrior who fights to win or a useless warrior who, by not fighting, loses the war?     For as I said before, there is no neutral territory.  Let me quote C.S. Lewis again: "There is no neutral ground in the universe:  every square inch; every split second, is claimed by God and counterclaimed by Satan."

I have entitled this sermon "The Two Kingdom" for obvious reasons.   At first I had intended to call it "Redeeming the Time" because of the fact that the eternal outcome of our destiny and the destinies of many depend on how we, you and I, the redeemed saints of God use our time.  Paul says in Ephesians 5:15-16: "Therefore be careful how you walk,  not as unwise but as wise, redeeming the time because the days are evil."  The word for redeem means to buy up, as in the market place, as one would find something precious and by it all up.  In other words,  Paul is saying,  Be careful how you live your lives, not as people who don't know what this life is all about, but as those who do.  Treat your time as a precious commodity for "the days are evil"--that is, you are in a desperate situation. Every moment, every opportunity is important and upon it may hang eternal consequences.

But in the last analysis this sermon is about Two Kingdoms, and the warfare that is being wages between them.  We are soldiers whether we want to be or not.  The question is not shall we or shall we not enlist.  If you mean to follow Christ, you are a soldier.  The only question is, are you a good soldier or a bad one.  Are you fighting to win, or are you, by not fighting, destined to lose.

You fight the battle against darkness basically in 5 areas.

1)  You begin by enlisting in God's Army.   You do this by surrendering your life to Christ, by being born again.   As we read before, Colossians 1:13 says that Christians "have been transferred out of the kingdom of darkness and into the kingdom of the Son of His love."  Unless one is born again from above "he cannot see the kingdom of God."  He remains in the kingdom of darkness.   Paul says to the Ephesian church, "... you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth),  trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.  And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them..." (5:8-11).

2)  You fight in the area of your minds, by the thoughts you entertain, by what you think.  There is no neutral ground in your thought life either.  And the thoughts of your mind inevitably determine either victory or defeat.  Satan's demons attack us most directly through our minds.    Peter said: "Gird up the loins  of your mind and be sober-minded" (I Peter 1:13). Paul tells us to be renewed in the spirit of our minds (Eph.  4:23). God want us to "take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (II Cor. 10:5). If your thought life belongs to Christ the Devil has "no place" in you.

3)  You fight against Satan with your lips, through what you say.  It is not hard to understand why Jesus said that men shall render an account in the day of judgment "for  every idle or careless word they shall speak."  For "Life and death are in the power of the tongue."  What we utter with our lips matters; it matters to God and it matters to the demons that lie in wait to ensnare us by our own words.  Here is material for a dozen sermons.  How often we make ourselves vulnerable by what we say!   How often do we curse and blight those we love with our careless, negative words!  How often are lives wrecked and reputations ruined by thoughtless, ungodly tales!  How often is the tongue "set on fire by hell!"   The lips can be the doorway to heaven or to hell.

4)  You either help or hinder the cause of God's kingdom against Satan through your actions, through what you do.  Everything  you do either advances the cause of Christ or the cause of Satan.  I'm not talking about salvation by works.  I'm talking about having a conscience void of offense.  I'm talking about being either a part of the problem or part of the solution.  What you do matters; it matters to God and it matters to the Devil.  It either aligns you with the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness.   And as we lead holy lives, submitted to Christ in all things, we become "vessels for honor, sanctified, useful for the Master, prepared for every good work" (II Tim. 2:21). 

 Here are some guidelines to help us stay clear of Satan's kingdom:

 "Whatsoever you do in word or in deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him" (Col. 3:17).  "Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" (I Cor. 10:31). All things are lawful, but not all things are helpful, or build you up (I Cor. 10:23). Your body is the temple of God; therefore you are to glorify God with your body (I Cor. 6:19-20).   "Be careful not to let your freedom make those who are weak in faith fall into sin" (Romans 14:16, 19).

5) Finally, you can do the most damage to Satan's dark kingdom by your prayers, by how you pray.  Our thought life affects us; our words affect those around us;  our actions can affect many.  But through prayer we are virtually unlimited in the damage we can do to Satan.  Through prayer your influence can range over the globe, touch continents, move God to topple governments, to reclaim lives, to heal bodies, and change hearts.  Your prayers can be felt across town, across the country, around the world.  The promises of prayer are so vast and wide-ranging that one can hardly believe them.  "If you ask anything in my name, I will do it."  "Ask what you will and it shall be done for you."  "All things whatsoever you shall  desire and ask in prayer,  believe that you have received them and you shall have them."  God favors us to assist Him in bringing His will to earth:  "Pray Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

Which Kingdom are you in?  And if you have enlisted in Christ's Kingdom, what kind of soldier are you?  There is no neutral ground.  "He that is not for me is against me."   It's either Christ or Satan, Light or Darkness, Good or Evil.  And there is not a single square foot on this globe that lies between.  you can't be a conscientious objector or a noncombatant in this war.

Amen