THE OVERCOMERS
Revelations 12:9-11 NKJV
9 So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
10 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
Occasionally, I will come back to Revelation for our devotional. Today's verse deals with our enemy and how he is overcome in our lives.
I am not sure of the timeframe in verse nine when Satan is cast down and his angels with him. But we do see one of his main characteristics. He is a deceiver, and he is very good at what he does. Thankfully, he does not prevail and cannot deceive those who know the truth. This gives us insight as to his key strategy of deception. The best defense against deception is a knowledge of truth. God's Word is truth.
He is also the one who accuses us before God. God is not the accuser. Jesus and the Holy Spirit are not the accusers. So, that nagging voice that condemns us is not coming from the Lord.
Verse 11 is a powerful verse holding insight into how we overcome Satan. In the time we exist now, Satan is still active. He is still attempting to deceive and overcome. But we are able to overcome him because of the blood of the Lamb. Jesus' blood was the price for our freedom. We have been purchased out from under Satan's authority by the sacrifice of Jesus. My kids, when they were small, used to tell each other you're not the boss of me. Because of Jesus' work on the cross, we can say to Satan you're not the boss of me.
And while we are saying that, there are other things we need to say. Another way we overcome is with the word of our testimony. What are we saying about what Jesus has done for us and who we are because of Him? Are we saying that we are new creations in Christ? That we are strong in the Lord? That we are empowered by the Holy Spirit? That we are more than conquerors through Jesus, who loves us? What we are saying about ourselves is the word of our testimony. And the word of our testimony can be a major tool for overcoming Satan and his schemes.
Conversely, if we are constantly talking about how hurt we are, how poorly life and other people have treated us. How we never seem to win. How we are constantly living in fear. These are words that work with Satan's lies and deception. These are the words that keep us down, not lift us up. It's so easy to fall into the trap of saying only what we see and feel. But we can train ourselves to speak what God's Word says about us. Words are powerful, so we must use them to our advantage.
The last tool for overcoming the enemy is not loving our lives to the death. Please do not think that this means having no regard for our physical well-being or even contemplating self-harm. This refers to not living our lives for ourselves only. Paul spoke of not counting his life dear to himself in Acts 20:24. In other words, he was not living to protect his life and live for his benefit alone. He was willing to live for the One who died for him. The more we live to protect our lives, the more of a target we become.
We know that Jesus wins in the end. God's kingdom will last forever and ever, and all who have put their faith in Christ will be a part of that kingdom. And in that day, Satan will have no power or influence. But even though Satan is defeated, he is still active. So we must resist and overcome Satan and his deception and attacks. But thankfully, we have all the tools and strength we need.
PRAYER
Lord, thank You that Satan is defeated by Your work on the cross and in Your resurrection. Thank You. I have everything I need to overcome in this life.