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2:01But it's clear that evil is no friend to people. I think you've already realized this. Sin promises much, but it delivers little. Satan cannot throw you off a cliff, but he can get you so down on yourself that he can tempt you to jump off. That's the way he works. He tempts. He tempts you to sin, and then when he does, he accuses you and makes you feel guilty for that, shames you. He deceives you, promises much, leaves you empty. He accuses people before God. That is his idea. Occupation, the prosecuting attorney. He doesn't want God and man connected.

3:07And so he causes you to sin. He lures you to sin. Let me say that. He tempts you to sin so that he can bring down or put you in a situation where the wrath of God comes down upon you. That's how he started this whole thing. He shames, he causes self-hatred, self-loathing. And then he'll tempt you to blame others for your sin. They did it to me. These people did it to me. This person did this to me. And it sets you in a rage against them for your own sin, thus destroying relationships. That's how he sets people at odds. And then he'll tempt you to blame God, saying, God, you made me this way. This is why I sin. You're the one that's ultimately responsible.

4:07And what he brings about is he tempts people and lures them into hating the only one who can truly save them. That's the way he operates. And this entices them further into sin. This is that tormenting process of evil. That's the way he operates. But the manifestation of evil is hostility towards humanity. He hates people. He is no friend to people. He hates the whole notion and enterprise of man being made in God's image. He hates God, so he hates you. That's never going to change.

4:51He may deceive you into serving him, but he hates you. It's only to get you to jump off that cliff. And many go through life deceived, broken, depressed, hopeless, and simply giving up on life because of this. But the good news is that evil in all of its forms will be defeated. Oh, I pray this morning that God would wake you up so that you would shun evil and pursue the good. And then, if you're already awake, he'd wake you up all the more. Shun evil, pursue the good.

5:40Well, last week we began looking at the defeat of the dragon. Looked at this beginning in verses 7. Let me just go ahead and read verses 7 through 10. And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war, and they were not strong enough. And there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old, who is called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

6:45He will be defeated in the heavenly realms before Michael and his angels. But also, as we keep reading, as we just looked this morning, and they overcame him. We understand that not only is he going to be defeated in the heavenly realms at some point in time by Michael and his angels, we know also that there is another generation before he's cast out of heaven that is going to be defeating him on earth. And that's who we're going to be looking at this morning. Not only will the dragon be defeated in heaven.

7:31By the angels, he is currently being defeated on earth by saints. Our text this morning informs us that this great evil monster can be and is being defeated now on earth, and it tells us how it is being done. And that's why I want to slow down a little bit and spend some time on this one verse. Look back at verse 17, and they overcame him. Shocking. They overcame him. He is overcome by people on earth.

8:22In other words, overcoming evil doesn't have to wait until the dragon is expelled from heaven. Notice the they, it's an emphasis, and they themselves overcame him. Who? Who is the they themselves? The brethren, the ones that are being accused. That he day and night he accuses them. And they overcame him. They. I think this is referring to that generation that's living at that time, just prior. To Satan being expelled from heaven as the accuser of their brethren. They're probably living on earth just prior to that.

9:11So it is speaking about that generation, but there are implications for us today. The same way they will overcome them is the same way he is being overcome now. That generation will pick up the apostolic testimony that has been picked up by us today, that'll be passed on by this generation to the next generation. It's the same apostolic testimony, and they will stand, they will overcome. Overcome, the word for overcome is they will conquered him. It's a word for victory. They prevailed over, they vanquished him. We just get this scene in heaven where Michael and his angels vanquish, cast out Satan and his angels, and yet here is a depiction of these who on earth who are vanquishing him, prevailing over him in their hearts right now. So if you think about that scene in heaven, and then think about a micro scene that is very similar in your own heart, this is how we all. Get caught up in this conflict between good and evil. We can relate very well.

10:37Just as he will be cast out of heaven, he is being cast out of the hearts and minds of people. They overcame him. They overcame him. Astounding. You see, I think we can easily get our mind around how Michael and his angels can cast out the devil and his angels. That we get. We can see these powerful angels. We get it. We know that good is not more powerful than evil. We know that the mightiest angel in the evil quadrant isn't a match for the mightiest angel in God's holy army. We understand that. We can get that. But here's a situation. How do those on earth overcome this monster of iniquity? How do they do it? They are at every disadvantage. I mean, they're people. They're living on earth. They're living in his world where he is strong, where he is ruler. They are at every disadvantage, and yet they overcome him. How?

11:49How? Well, that's what our text answers. How do people overcome this monster of iniquity? Of evil. Well, the answer comes in three parts. And that's what I want to look at this morning. How do people speaking of how will they overcome, but bringing that down to us? How do people overcome him? How do we overcome evil today? Well, first of all, overcome, notice, by the blood of the Lamb. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb. Because of the blood of the Lamb. The basis for their victory is the blood of the Lamb. You think about what the Lamb did, and keep in mind this scene, the Lamb, when he first comes on scene in Revelation chapter 5, he is one who has been marred. He looks like a Lamb who was slain.

12:54His blood, crosswork, glorified, but bearing permanent testimony before heaven. The scars speak of the blood, speak of something that happened at that cross. And this is the basis of their victory. But I want to take a moment, and I really want to go down deep with this. The Lamb devoted. Defeated the dragon at the cross. And I first want to get your mind around how Jesus defeated evil at the cross. The specific accusations, you can see the emphasis here is upon his accusatory work. The very last thought of verse 10 is he who accuses them before our God day and night. The accuser of the brethren, the one who accuses.

14:04This one is the one who is overcome. He silenced. That's what happens. How did Jesus silence the devil's claims, the devil's insidious comments and slanderous accusations? How did he overcome them? Well, the cross. He overcame them by his blood, the incessant one, who day and night takes on God, takes on God's Son through His accusations of God's people. Well, first of all, the accusations aren't specifically written down here, but it doesn't take much study of the Bible to get the general feel of what. Some of those accusations are like. First of all, is the challenge to the worthiness of God the Father? Is God worthy of supreme love? Is God the Father worthy of supreme love? The accuser would say, No, he's not.

15:19This accusation is aimed at God the Father. His accusation, God is not worthy of supreme love. And Jesus' response through the blood, through His own blood, God is worthy of supreme love. And the cross, bruised it. He is worthy of supreme love. The cross demonstrated that our heavenly Father was worthy of such kind of love. You have to ask yourself. You already have. Is God really worth loving over yourself? That really becomes the battle between good and evil. Is God really worthy of loving him more than our own self-desires, self-ways?

16:26And is he worthy of such love? Not just when things are going well, but is he worthy of such love even to the point of great physical suffering or great public humiliation, shame before a hostile world? Is he worthy of being loved to that kind of degree? Or does God have to bribe us into allegiance as Satan attacked God and his relationship with Job? Job loves you because you give him all these good things. But Jesus demonstrated that God is worthy of being supremely loved in one's life simply because he's God, he's Father, He's good, He's worthy of it. Even if we don't fully understand it, He's worthy of it, and He can be trusted all the way to and through a Roman crucifixion. That's what the blood of the Lamb says. He is worthy.

17:38Second accusation resounding: Heaven is the justice of God, the justice of God. How can God forgive sinners? God can't really love. Let a sinner go. I mean, Satan's plan, get people to sin, get them at odds with God so that God would pour out his wrath on him. That's a sick thinking, by the way. Very sick, monstrously sick, but that's the way he operates. Evil is evil. Don't play around with it. But it's the challenge. He overcame by the blood of the Lamb, the challenge to the justice of God. And this, again, is an accusation aimed at God the Father. The accuser might say something like, God cannot be just and justify sinners at the same time. He cannot be just himself and justify. But what does the blood of the Lamb say? God is just. Oh, yes, he's just when he justifies sinners. And here are the scars. Think that the scene in heaven, the Lamb who purchases pardon. Oh, yes. Jesus legally took away the sins of his people by his substitutionary death. He took in himself the full penalty required by the law.

19:30And it was the blood of the Lamb that opened up the way for God the Father, who loves people immensely, loves you immensely, to be reconciled to you without being accused of being unjust. Oh, yeah, penalty paid. You can go free, and I am not unjust in forgiving. That's what the blood of the Lamb purchase. God is completely just and impartial. Everyone who comes to Christ will be justly released from God's wrath by the blood of the Lamb.

20:11Another accusation, sure, floating around there, is that is the challenge of Jesus' love to the Father. Jesus' love to the Father. This accusation is against Jesus as the Son. Imagine the accuser saying, Jesus does not love God supremely. Let me, Adam, he will not, he will curse you to your face. As he said to Job, but the blood of the Lamb says this: Jesus does love God supremely, and his blood proves it. You know, ever since that day when God declared his delight in his Son, this is not. Beloved son, in whom I am well pleased, Satan sought to discredit God by finding fault in Jesus. What kind of a father would like a son like this? What kind of a son is this that you would have delight in? And so, this temptation came against Christ to test him at every point, to show them an unfit, imperfect son, and so impugn God's character for beloving such a son as this. That's why you see this temptations that take place. But throughout Jesus' life, he overcame every temptation and silenced every accusation that he was not a good son. A good son honors the father, and that's exactly what Christ did throughout his whole life.

21:56Jesus loves God supremely. And the crucifixion was the final temptation of that. And a final silence. There's no defect in this son's love for his father. He loved God with all of his heart, with all of his soul, and with all of his mind, with all of his strength. He showed us that what a good son is. God is right to be well pleased. Pleased with him. So, the blood of the Lamb was a victory for Christ. This is how Jesus overcame the accusations against himself and impugning the character of God, his Father, as well. But how does this relate to us? The same blood that he shed is also the basis for our victory over the same foe for the one who accuses us.

23:05Let me show you how this works. There is power in the blood of the Lamb for the saints. Let me show you how this works. At the same time, Jesus disarmed the accuser from attacking God and Himself, He put in our hands, in the hands of His people, a mighty weapon that enables us to overcome Him as well. Listen, we don't have to go out looking for a fight. He will find you. And you need to know how to overcome Him when He does.

23:45And you overcome Him by the blood of the Lamb. That is our basis. And it is through that blood that we silence the accusations, the accusers that even rages in our own head. It's through his blood that gives us the victory. Let me show you how this works. First of all, just look back at verse 9 for a second. Let me just show you how evil operates. Verse 9. And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old, who is called the devil, and Satan, who deceives the whole world. He was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. But look at the names. This is the most expansive description of evil in the New Testament. This evil persona. He is the accuser. He is the one who deceives.

24:39Working backwards, he's the accuser. That's where it meant he accuses. He's the one who deceives. He's Satan. He's the one who opposes God and opposes you. He is the devil. He is the one that slanderously is against you and slanderously against God. He is the serpent. He is crafty. And he is the dragon. He is merciless. He is brutal. Let me tell you the first challenge that he's going to launch against you, or one of them, certainly one of them. I'm not an authority. I'm just piecing together thoughts scripture as this reveals. He's going to challenge God's ability to forgive you.

25:31You ever heard this one? God cannot forgive you. God cannot forgive you. Your sin is too great for God. Now, God cannot forgive you. You have sinned. You've gone too far. You heard that one? Let me tell you what the blood of the Lamb says. Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the whole world. That's a lot. That's a lot in breadth. That's a lot in depth. I can assure you, your sin fits in that category.

26:10My debt, says the blood of the Lamb, is paid in full. My sin has not overcome the grace of God. Who do you think you are? Think about it for a second. God cannot forgive you. Who do you think you are? It's a lie. It's accusatory. It's deception. It opposes God. And it's slanderous. It's crafty. And He wants to destroy you. You may say, Yeah, Pastor, but you do not know what I have done. No, I don't, but I know what the Word of God says.

27:00I have lied greatly. I have murdered. I have murdered even my own child. I cannot be forgiven. I have betrayed somebody in the most horrific way. I have betrayed somebody very faithful to me. I cannot be forgiven. I have committed the grossest kind of immorality. You have no idea, Pastor. I will say to you, behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world. That's the truth. That's who you are to behold. Get your eyes off yourself. Don't let this accuser of your soul make it all about you.

27:59I have done the unthinkable. Pastor, I have even made a pact with the devil. I have sold my soul to the devil. I have prayed to the devil. You know what I'll say to you? Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Satan has no more claim on your life after the pact you made with him than he did before. We're all shut up under sin. It doesn't work that way. It's all, yeah, making a pact with the devil is sin, and guess what? It fits within that boundary. Behold, he takes away the sin of the world.

28:46We all have to behold him and come out of our bondage to sin. The truth is, God can forgive you. The second challenge the accuser of your soul may say is a challenge not to God's ability to forgive sin, but his willingness to forgive your sin. Accuser, it just goes on. He just keeps accusing. Okay, sure, sure, sure. God forgives. He has the ability to sin, but he's not going to, I mean, he has the ability to forgive sin, but not yours. He won't. He could. That's for other people, but he won't.

29:46Yes, God forgives, but not you. All that forgiveness stuff, that's for somebody else. You ever heard that one? What does the blood of Lamb, the blood of the Lamb say? His forgiveness is for you. He is willing to forgive you, and you can know for certain that you are forgiven. That's what the blood of the Lamb says. Listen, the resurrection declared with power that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the heir of all that is God, and Jesus is no liar.

30:25He is the one who claimed authority to forgive sins on earth and demonstrated it. He is the one that says, Come to me and I will give you rest. Anyone who comes to me, I will certainly not cast out. I can assure you, God did not resurrect a liar. He promised to receive all who come to him. John 6:37. God can forgive. God will forgive. And you can know that you are forgiven. This is the truth of God. Stop listening to the crafty, slanderous lies that oppose God, deceive you, and lead you to your own ruin.

31:30The third accusation, I can imagine. Sounds something like this. Sure, God can forgive. God's willing to forgive, but you'll never be able to stay the course. You don't have the capability to serve Him. You'll fail. You'll never gain victory. You'll never control your thoughts. You'll never control your passions. You know what the blood of the Lamb says? The blood of the Lamb says, oh, yes, yes. There is a purpose for the blood. The blood has an objective, and you know what that objective is? Life with God.

32:23The blood isn't just some random event somewhere isolated, disconnected from everything else that God is doing. It has a purpose. The blood has a purpose to cleanse, to renew, so that you can have life with God. You see, the one who took away my past sin is going to take away my future sin. The blood of the Lamb says this. My sin has been dealt with. That's not the issue anymore. The blood of the Lamb has taken care of it. What's more, I have a king who always leads us to victory. Let me tell you what the king of the earth does: he always leads people to their destruction. But if you're in Christ, we have a king who always leads us to victory. It's not about me anymore, it's about his competence.

33:29He knows how to bring about holiness in his people. It was the father's good pleasure to send his son to go to the cross to take away my sin. It was the God's good pleasure to send me his spirit so that I would be new, alive, and awakened to him. It never was about me. The same one who could figure out how to cleanse my sin in the first place is capable of teaching me how not to sin.

34:04He will confirm me in his holiness. I have a king, and he always leads to victory. It's not about me anymore. Yeah, I will fail. But I have blood. I have a sufficient sacrifice. So it's not about the sin anymore. I have a perfect king. So, it's not about the conclusion anymore. I'm just in the middle of this. Another challenge. Accusation really comes down to one of the deepest of them all. It's a challenge of God's love for you.

34:56Here's the accusation that you'll hear: God does not really love you. He doesn't love you, He doesn't really pay much attention to you, He doesn't even really know you exist. God does not love you. Well, what is the blood of the Lamb? All those scars in heaven. What does it say? God loves you to the highest degree. There isn't a higher expression of His love for you than the blood of the Lamb. All these accusations we can disarm, vanquish by believing.

35:44The challenges to God, to Jesus, and God's people are incessant. Working backwards, what happens? The accuser seeks to accuse you. His accusations are filled with lies. He is a deceiver. Are intended to oppose God and oppose you. They are slanderous. They are to slander you before God. They are to slander God before you. And all this is the work of the crafty serpent of old who wants to run you off the cliff and entice you to your own destruction. But behind all this is this dragon, this ruthless monster of iniquity, cruel hatred is his motive.

36:39I don't know why somebody would want to torment people and lead them to their destruction, but that's evil. And he cries out day and night. But there's something else that cries out day and night: the blood of the Lamb. The blood of the Lamb cries out so loudly, so profoundly, and so convincingly that the prosecuting attorney, the dragon, has to pack up and leave. Let me tell you, it's a major victory when a prosecuting attorney has to rest his case, or let me say it, when his case is thrown out. And this is what the blood of the Lamb. The Lamb does.

37:34Yes, the blood of the Lamb is a weapon against the accusations that will inevitably be launched against your soul. You can silence him now. So, how do people overcome evil? First of all, by the blood of the Lamb. Second, by the word of their testimony. Look back. Because of the blood of the Lamb. Then they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony. The word deals with that substance. It's the word logos, that verbal affirmation and life affirmation. It is substance, content, material evidence. The word of their testimony, the word, the substance of their testimony, their witness, the substance of it was all the way they overcame. Their lives were a material witness that they had received the testimony about God and God's Son. And they had become witnesses to that truth.

38:49You'll remember, first of all, Jesus. Notice this progression of witness in the New Testament. First of all, Jesus is the faithful and true witness. This is why, remember when he stood before. For Pilate, and Pilate said, So you are a king. And he said, Yes, I am a king, and for this reason I have been born and came into this world to testify to the truth. And everyone who hears the truth hears my voice. Yeah, Jesus was the faithful and true witness. And then, as he went through his life, being a material witness to the reality of God and what he is like, the disciples received his testimony, and then they too became material witnesses about God and his ways.

39:37And then, as those who picked up the apostles' testimony, they too became material witnesses to the reality of God, the truth of God in his Son. And just as the apostles received God's testimony about Jesus, it showed up in their lives, so likewise it did with those who received all the way down to us today, who received the apostolic testimony, who received the Christ who is revealed in Scripture. We are connected to the apostles who were the eyewitnesses and knew him, who were connected to Christ, who is also testifying to the reality of God and what he is like. There is a link all the way to us.

40:29So let me look at the. Look at those who overcome. The apostles overcame. They had a new purpose for living. As they embraced who God says he is through Christ, when they embraced the testimony of Christ, God's testimony of Christ, they found a new purpose for living. And what is that new purpose for life? To become witnesses to the truth. No matter who you are, if you are in Christ, no matter what your background, no matter what your occupation, you've been given a new purpose in life, and that is to be a witness to the light, a witness to the one who saved you, a witness to the blood of the Lamb, a witness to him that God is good, Jesus is his son, he is to be obeyed, followed, loved supremely.

41:34It's clear by the word of their testimony that these were not ashamed of Christ's words. They were not ashamed of Christ's words or of him. And because of that, they were anchored in the truth. They overcame the deception. They overcame the slander. Because of the word of the testimony, they knew about the blood. They understood their sins forgiven. Therefore, they are the ones who are glorified. Going to overcome those who, the one who deceives the world.

42:06Why do they overcome him? Because they know the truth. So they will not fall prey to the wiles of the devil, his slanderous, they won't be taken in. They will follow him and overcome their king. They will follow in the footsteps of their king. I know our time's getting away. No, it's gone. But still going. I want to take you to this final point. How do people overcome evil? Well, by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and by not surrendering their loyalty to Christ. Look back at verse 11. And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.

43:00They didn't cherish their life more than loyalty to Christ. They didn't have affection for the things of this world more than their loyalty to Christ. All the way to death. The word of their testimony was carried all the way to death. It's like they were saying, I will follow Christ. All the way to death, but not just all the way to death, but every stop along the way that calls for me to exhibit loyalty to Christ. This is the spirit of true discipleship. They understood that whoever loses his life gains it, whoever wishes to save his life will lose it. But here's the point: they would rather die than surrender their loyalty to Christ.

44:07Listen, if you would rather die than surrender loyalty to Christ, you will win victories throughout your whole life. You see, life is about witness, not about well-being. These are the ones who found their well-being in witness. Let me say that again: life is about witness, not about well-being. And these are ready to die at any time. And throughout their days, they're dying daily. They've already taken up their cross, willing to lay their lives down in an ultimate sense, but also in all the little ways along the way. You think about that great military operation on D-Day, the storm. Of Norman G. Not everybody died, and everybody knew they not everybody was going to die as they stormed, but they knew that they all had to be ready to die. Such is the people of God in this generation and how they overcame. It's not that God's going to call them to actually die, oh, some they will, but they are ready to die.

45:32Listen, suppose someone runs into your car. Maybe your first thought should be about their well-being and the witness to Christ and loyalty to Christ in the episode than your own well-being. Maybe if someone inconveniences you or whatever, maybe your first thought needs to be about fidelity to Christ in your circumstances rather than your well-being. Well, you can see with these people, they overcame by the blood of the Lamb. This overcomes all the accusations against them and their unworthiness. Blood of the Lambs. Silences that. The word of their testimony affirms that they fear God over man. So any accusation that they love or fear man more than God is silenced.

46:47They also love God more than any other love. So they overcome the accusations of fearing man and loving something other than God. Listen, the blood is the basis of their victory. The word of their testimony demonstrates they fear God more than anyone else. And the love, by not surrendering their loyalty to Christ, they demonstrate that they love God more than anyone else, just as Christ had done. Well, it's in this context that the devil, the dragon, is going to fly into a hostile rage. Because not only is he defeated in the heavenlies, even on his own home turf, he is defeated by those who.

48:00Walk by the blood of the Lamb, who live according to the word of the testimony they have received, and are not afraid, and are willing to lay down their lives out of loyalty to Christ. Yeah, the dragon is being defeated now, and he is going to come looking for you. He will come. You're part of this age-old conflict, but he will be defeated, and he can be defeated, and now you know how. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for the blood of the Lamb that cleanses, renews, takes away our sin. We thank you for the testimony of truth that you have passed on faithfully to us in your word. Father, that we can know the truth, and it is to that truth we are married. And so we are able to overcome all the deception, the slander, the lies, and what's coming against us and in our world. Father, we also thank you for this beautiful example. First, we see in Christ, then we see in the apostles, and then we see again in this future generation of those who do not love their life more than fidelity to you, and they are quick to be loyal to you and all the little things in life. Help us, Father.

49:30To walk in their way and in this example. Father, we thank you for all this in Christ's name. Amen.