THE ACCUSER DEAFEATED
IAN JOHNSON
Jul 22, 2005
THE ACCUSER DEAFEATED Weapons of our warfare series 2005
When I was a young Christian I belonged to a Church that worked through control and fear. Fear that we would miss the mark, fear that we weren’t saved and so on, In hind sight I can see that the leaders didn’t have a good concept of the love of God themselves and were just projecting that into their congregation.
The enemy, Satan, is the accuser of the brethren. He causes us to accuse one another in order to bring division, and also he attempts to divide us away from God by making us feel we are not good enough, or we don’t fit the mold, or God could never love me! He does this in order to convince us that we, in some way have disqualified ourselves from the race.
There are two basic reasons that we were created. 1) To have fellowship with God 2) To be a representative for God on Earth and to show His glory.
Through the fall in the Garden, satan was able to break the link and he interrupted the plan. But in and through Jesus God has restored the potential to fulfil these callings again
All who have been born again through Jesus can again experience the reality of fellowship with God, and the privilege of showing off His kingdom, and demonstrating His glory
Satan fights against all who walk in these callings in different ways and at different levels. He deceives the unbeliever by binding their minds from the truth of the Gospel, which would restore them to God.
2 Corinthians 4:4
Satan, the god of this evil world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe, so they are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News that is shining upon them. They don’t understand the message we preach about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God. However against believers who have navigated past this blockage and pose a very real threat to satans kingdom, He lifts up accusations of past mistakes or Gods current displeasure.
The primary message that God communicated to man through Jesus is Ï LOVE YOU" The realisation of Gods love for us was lost when our soul was awakened to the Knowledge of Good & evil in the Garden of Eden. It was at this point that our soul became susceptible to the accusations of Satan.
We were no longer covered by Gods glory ~ So we tried to cover ourselves (Leaves) by doing good and trying to avoid evil
This morning I had two people like this come to my door, they were more interested in earning their salvation by going door to door, rather than accepting the forgiveness offered in Jesus by grace When we received Christ we are made secure by His blood and are covered by his glory. When we are covered by His glory we don’t look at the natural, we see Jesus! You cannot see Jesus without seeing Gods love, and when you truly see Gods love you see his forgiveness, and in this forgiveness the accuser is overcome!
Until we are secure in Gods love we are vulnerable to attack from the enemy because our confidence is in ourselves! When our confidence is transferred to Gods love, which is expressed in Jesus we are made secure.
2Cor 4:5-7 5 We don’t go around preaching about ourselves; we preach Christ Jesus, the Lord. All we say about ourselves is that we are your servants because of what Jesus has done for us. 6 For God, who said, "Let there be light in the darkness," has made us understand that this light is the brightness of the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ. 7 But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shin within us—is held in perishable containers, that is, in our weak bodies.* So everyone can see that our glorious power is from God and is not our own.
What wonderful love, not only has he forgiven us, he has made us to be partakers of his glory, He has placed within a great treasure. And this is what Satan is consumed with hiding from you and all those around you. Once he lived under the shadow of this Glory but now he is banished forever from it! And seeing it in you makes him mad!
In the light of this lets consider Psalm 91
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.2 This I declare of the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I am trusting him.3 For he will rescue you from every trap and protect you from the fatal plague.4 He will shield you with his wings. He will shelter you with his feathers. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor fear the dangers of the day, 6 nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. 7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you. 8 But you will see it with your eyes; you will see how the wicked are punished. 9 If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your dwelling. 11 For he orders his angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone13 You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet! 14 The LORD says, "I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name. 15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue them and honor them. 16 I will satisfy them with a long life and give them my salvation."
No wonder the enemy wants to accuse you all the time, He cant stand the fact that God in Jesus is covering you in His Glory Although Gods love endures forever, many of us go for long periods of time feeling separated from His love, because of the accusations levelled against us by the enemy of our souls. I am reminded that even in the most severe storm the sun is still shining above the clouds, and the truth is that the clouds will roll away and the sun will shine on us again. We just need to remind ourselves that nothing can separate us from the love of God! Romans 8:35-39 35 Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? 36 (Even the Scriptures say, "For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep."*) 37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Things past, Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. 39 Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Please note verse 38, Things past &things present & worries about tomorrow This is what the accuser of the brethren uses, He brings to remembrance our past failures, or sins from the past. He causes problems for today, which turn into worry about tomorrow, this is where we must not let our experience overrun the truth about His Love. It is at this point that many feel the need to work to atone for past or present mistakes, but this actually frustrates the grace of God in our lives and stops the flow of Glory! When Moses was born the king of his world tried to destroy the baby before he had a chance to grow into a deliverer! When Jesus was born the enemy tried to destroy him in the same way. The plan was to destroy the deliverer in their infancy! In a similar way Satan wants to destroy your ministry in its infancy, before you have a chance to deliver many from blindness. Once you enter into Gods glory it is very hard for the enemy to stop you! But be warned he wants to stop you through repeated accusation. Remember Peter. He failed He said he would never deny the Lord, and then he did! Not once but three times! After the resurrection Jesus confronted Peter. In John 21 he gave peter the "Peter do you love me" question, not once but three times then he said "Feed my Sheep" In other words Peter your past failure has not disqualified you from serving me! Peter had an appointment with destiny and the Love of God broke through the accuser’s condemnation! The rest is history! Glory fell at Pentecost and the Church was born. Another good example is Saul of Tarsus, one minute killing Christians next on the ground in a blaze of glory transformed! Again the accuser overcome. Consider 1 Tim 1:13-16 13 even though I used to scoff at the name of Christ. I hunted down his people, harming them in every way I could. But God had mercy on me because I did it in ignorance and unbelief. 14 Oh, how kind and gracious the Lord was! He filled me completely with faith and the love of Christ Jesus. 15 This is a true saying, and everyone should believe it: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—and I was the worst of them all. 16 But that is why God had mercy on me, so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life God saved Saul and made him a minister called Paul! Gods love will so liberate us in our hearts; we are compelled to obey him in love and devotion! 1 John 4: 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the Day of Judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we are like Christ here in this world. 18 Such love has no fear because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of judgment, and this shows that his love has not been perfected in us. 19 We love each other* as a result of his loving us first. It is John who also gives us the strategy to overcome the Accuser
REVELATION 12:11
11 And they have defeated him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of their testimony.
Remember, our confidence is in the blood of the Lamb not our own strength Remember the enemy’s war is waged with words of accusation and our war will be won with Words of testimony of what Jesus has done for us!
Today if this word reaches you as a down cast and defeated saint, one who thinks that their ministry is over, or that they could never amount to anything, I ask you to remember Peter ~ Denied the Lord Paul ~ persecuted Christians and blasphemed the Lord Thomas ~ filled with Doubt James & John ~ argued with pride over who was the greatest
THESE MEN TURNED THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN
The Glory of God is about to breakthrough from behind the clouds, He loves you and it is an explosion of this Love that will set you free again.
Get up, get ready, the glory is here.
IAN JOHNSON
www.papelim.org.nz
