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Overcoming The Devil Series
Contributed by Ken Henson on Oct 6, 2013 (message contributor)
Summary: Not everyone overcomes. We overcome the Devil, like those in heaven, by the Blood of the Lamb by the Word of our Testimony and by not loving our lives so much as to shrink from death.
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Revelation 12 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.”
They overcame him (the accuser of our brothers)
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.
They Overcame
Not everyone overcomes.
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ 23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ Matthew 7:21-23
Each of the letters to the churches includes the exhortation “to him who overcomes . . .” and offers rewards to such (Revelation 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21). This implies that many IN THE CHURCH will not overcome.
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life
He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death
To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna
To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations
He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life
Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Revelation 2:7,11,17,26; 3:5,12,21).
So Who Does Overcome, and How?
4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. 1 John 5:4-5
The last words of David:
“Is not my house right with God?
Has he not made with me an everlasting covenant,
arranged and secured in every part?
Will he not bring to fruition my salvation
and grant me my every desire? 2 Samuel 23:5
By the Blood of the Lamb
Notice, it doesn’t say “they overcame the enemy through prayer” or “they overcame the accuser through fasting” or “they overcame satan through resistance and fighting”. The blood of the Lamb is not a work of the saint, it is a finished work of our LORD.
3 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “Sir, you know.” And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Revelation 7:13-14
“The Blood of the Lamb is not something you do, or something you say. It is the means of your cleansing. You do not claim to be clean by your good works, or by “claiming the blood of Jesus” over various places and things, or by any other work. You rest in the finished work of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 15:56-57
For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your forefathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Peter 1:18-19
John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! John 1:29
Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne Revelation 5:6
(Blank Slide)
Satan will come to us, and accuse us, “you are a sinner!” “you failed again!”