KEYS TO VICTORY OVER SATAN

One of the verses in Revelation that has totally captured my attention is Revelation 12:11. In the light of all that is going on in our world, I believe this is an important verse to commit to memory and have a basic understanding of.

“They have conquered him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death” (Revelation 12:11, ESV).

1. The blood overcomes (conquers) Satan’s accusations, which are meaningless because Jesus has already paid the penalty that our sins deserved.

Somehow the church of today has lost sight of the “power of the shed blood of Jesus Christ.” We don’t talk much about it and have traded the “power of the blood” for the power of positive thinking, the power of positive confession, the power of 21^st century business models.

Ignore the importance of the power of the blood of Jesus Christ and you are consigning yourself to a life where the enemy is constantly taking advantage of you.

You might say, “Well, outside of the Bible I don’t know what to read.” A longtime friend of mine, Ray Beeson, has just released an excellent book on the blood entitled SIGNED IN HIS BLOOD. Get a copy and take hold of the most important keys to victory. (And he did not ask or even hint that I should do this.)

As I am writing this part of the article, an old song keeps coming to mind. We don’t sing this much in church anymore and I truly miss it:

            Would you be free from the burden of sin?
            There’s pow’r in the blood, pow’r in the blood;
            Would you o’er evil a victory win?
            There’s wonderful pow’r in the blood.

   Refrain:
   There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r
   In the blood of the Lamb;
   There is pow’r, pow’r, wonder-working pow’r
   In the precious blood of the Lamb.

                   (The song Power in the Blood is public domain)

One of the highlights of my life was hearing a choir of about one hundred former drug addicts sing this song, first in English and then in Spanish. Redeemed from the hell of drug addiction, those brothers had experienced the power of the blood of the Lamb and when they sang about it, heaven came down to earth. It was glorious!

2. “They have conquered him (Satan) . . . by the word of their testimony.”

The word of our testimony overcomes Satan’s deception and lies. This is the language of the witness stand in a courtroom. In the face of pressure to turn away from their faith in Christ, they did not do so and their steadfastness reveals the genuineness of their faith.

What is their testimony? It is a personal declaration of how they came to know Jesus Christ as savior. Your sharing may not be a perfect presentation of the gospel but the Holy Spirit can use it, and He will if you will “just do it.” The enemy has lied and deceived many into thinking, “I’m no good at this. What do I have to say? Others can do it better.” And because of this religious spirit of deception, very few people share anything of their testimony or their witness.

Your witness has a “power” to it and the apostle Paul put it this way;

“For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16, NLT).

Don’t be ashamed—just share what Jesus means to you and let the Holy Spirit minister to those you share with. When you share your “witness,” the Holy Spirit can use it to draw people to Christ. There is a power to the gospel but it doesn’t have a chance to work if we don’t share it.

3. “They have conquered him . . . for they loved not their lives even unto death.”

If there is a spirit of Laodicia in today’s church, and I believe there is, then this point needs to be emphasized . . . strongly!

We are temporary residents on this earth and in this life. When we received Christ as our personal savior, we traded in our earthly citizenship for eternal citizenship in the Kingdom of God. As pilgrims, we are not to hold tightly to earthly things and to this fleshly body, and because we don’t, Satan’s ability to threaten us and to accuse us is diminished.

When we are “over the top” consumed about our salary, retirement, fringe benefits, houses, cars and possessions, then we are in danger of directing our love in the wrong direction.

I thank the Lord daily for a nice car, a nice home, mostly nice friends but I am ready to give it all up in a second to do what He wants me to. There is only one Master of the vineyard and it’s not you or me. I’m a pilgrim here and I’m available to Him, and when I make that clear, then the enemy’s ability to follow through on his threats, his accusations, is diminished.

We have in our grasp the keys to victory over all the threats of the enemy. But if we are holding on too tightly to “our lives,” if we are not sharing our “witness,” or if we have no understanding of the “power of the blood,” then we have put the keys to victory away and have invited the enemy to take advantage of us!