Creflo Dollar - What Do You Do When You Are Accused?
Let's begin tonight in Revelations chapter 12 and verse 10. That's been our text as we discover what to do when we are being accused and how to walk in this. Revelations 12:10, we'll begin here. He says, "And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, 'Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.'" The good news that he has been cast down, amen?
Now, I want to start tonight off by talking a little history of Satan. Let's look into his background. Once again, Ezekiel chapter 28, verse 15 and then 17 through 18. Ezekiel 28, verse 15 and then 17 through 18. Now, this is talking about Satan, who was an archangel and was referred to as Lucifer. And it says about him in verse 15, "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, until iniquity was found in him". So, he was perfect until this iniquity was found in him. Verse 17, he says, "Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of by brightness. I will cast thee to the ground. I will lay thee before kings, that they may behold thee". Verse 18, "Thou hast defiled thy sanctuaries by the multitude of thine iniquities, by the iniquity of thy traffick; therefore will I bring forth a fire from the midst of thee, it shall devour thee. And I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee".
Here, we see a little of his past, but we also see a little of his future. Let's go to the book of Isaiah 14:12 through 14. So, Lucifer was perfect. Satan, who was referred to as Lucifer, who was an archangel at one time, was perfect in beauty, but he was lifted up in his pride. You'll see it even clearer here. Verse 12, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart". Now, I want you to count how many times it uses "I". This is what he said in his heart, "I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High".
Five times, the spirit of I all on him. It's all about him, right? And then here's the reality, he says, "But I will", he says, "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High God". Look at verse 15, he says yet, here's the reality, "Thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit". And so, you can see very clearly he was really into himself. You know, that's putting it mildly. And so, that was the pride, that was a sin that was found in him, the iniquity was the pride of self. And so, Satan now, he's been brought down, he's been stripped of his authority. Jesus made sure of that. But Satan now wants to hinder people. He wants to hinder people, and not just Christian people, but yeah, mainly you. But there are three things that he wants to hinder the Christian with, three ways. He wants to hinder people from, number one, he wants to hinder people from choosing salvation. You follow what I'm saying? He doesn't want people to get saved.
So, right now, the people that are not saved, he's doing everything he can to keep them away from the light of the gospel. Number two, he wants to hinder people from living for God. So, once you get saved, he wants to hinder you from living for God. And number three, he wants to hinder people from walking in God's freedom and liberty that he has provided through his precious blood. Those three things, again, he wants to hinder people from choosing salvation, he wants to hinder people from living for God, and he wants to hinder people from walking in the freedom that God has provided for you. The deliverance from sin and shame and condemnation, this is his work. This is his work every single day, all right? So, you have an adversary. He's the devil, and he's trying to stop you from believing and receiving all of who God is and all that God has done and provided for you.
Look at 1 Peter chapter 5:8. See, one of the things we see here, and let me say this and so I won't forget about it, Satan wants to slander and discredit believers. And he uses accusation to do that. Satan wants to slander and discredit believers. You know, he feels he has to do that because if he doesn't discredit you and slander you, people will believe you, and follow you, and want to be like you, okay? So, part of the plan is to slander you. Part of the plan is to discredit you. Now, if you've never been slandered or discredited, it doesn't feel good. But at least now you know where it's coming from, amen? It's not coming from that person or that guy at the office or... it's Satan. He's behind it, he wants to slander, and he wants to discredit you, and he'll use accusations to do that.
Look at 1 Peter 5:8. So he says here, he says, "Be sober, be vigilant," why? "Because you have an adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, who walketh about seeking whom he may devour". Let's read this in the New Living Translation, if you will. To be vigilant means to be watchful. He wants us to be watchful. The New Living Translation says this, "Stay alert"! I'll tell you, if God's saying stay alert, we need to stay alert. "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour". He's looking for ignorance. He's looking for people who don't know God. He's looking for people who don't know who they are. He's looking for people who don't know what has been made available to them. He's looking for people who don't know they have authority over the devil. He's looking for people who don't know about the blood of Jesus. He's looking for people who don't know the Word of God.
Please remember Satan wants to keep people from choosing salvation. So, he's not just fighting people who are already saved. He's fighting to stop people who are not saved from trying to get saved, amen? And I tell you what, he is a liar, and he is defeated already by Jesus Christ, amen? So, stay alert, stay alert, stay alert. When certain things are going on in your life, recognize that's the devil, all right? Stay alert. Watch out for your great enemy. He's strategizing to try to come against you, to stop you. He's doing it every single day. Stay alert, that's called being sober. Recognize when it's the devil. Stay alert, watch out for your great enemy. Everybody at the very sound of my voice, you have an enemy, you have an enemy. "I ain't got no enemy". You got an enemy. He's the devil, and he wants to kill, steal, and destroy.
Let me show you this in the book of Job, Job chapter 1 and verse 9 through 11 in the NLT. Job 1:9 and 11 through the NLT, what the enemy wants to do. Satan stood before God to accuse Job of having an insincere love for him. And let me show you what he was talking about here. He's always trying to do that, and he's always proven wrong. But look at what he says here, he says, "Satan replied to the Lord, 'Yes, but Job has good reason to fear the Lord.'" This is what Satan was saying. He says, "You've already put a wall of protection around him and his home and around his property..." you know, God can put a hedge of protection around you and your house. Y'all need to understand what I'm just saying. And if he did it for Job, who was under the old covenant promise, imagine the hedge of protection that God wants to put around you and your house. I declare right now that there's a hedge of protection around you and your house, amen? He says, "You've already done all of this for him. You have made him prosper in everything that he does".
Now, if God's gonna make Job prosper in everything that he does, here it goes, I declare over your life that God is gonna prosper everything that you do, amen. Glory be to God. And then the Bible says, "Look how rich he is". Look at verse 11, he says, "But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face"! He's accusing Job, he's trying to say about Job the only reason he's with you is because you've blessed him. And that was proven wrong. You know the story, Job lost everything. Job lost everything. And even his wife was saying, "Why don't you just curse God and die"? Job was like, "You know what? No, no, I'm not leaving God. God never left me". And he proved the devil wrong. The devil thought it was all the blessings that caused Job to worship him. But you got to know for yourself it's not everything you got that motivates you to worship God. You got to make up in your mind you can take my house, you can take my car, you can take everything I got, but I'm gonna still worship God, amen.
That's when you know you're ready for some more, amen? You got to be willing to let everything go for God, amen? And if you've never been through that in your life before, when you get to that point, you can say, "Devil, whatever you're gonna do, but I'm not leaving God. I'm never gonna leave God". Let me tell you something, what you don't understand sometimes is that God has the same commitment when you say you'll never leave him, God's already decided he'll never leave you. He even said it in his Word, "I'll never leave you nor forsake you. I'll be with you even unto the ends of the world". But there can't be anything that stands between you and God. Take it all, take it all. I mean, my wife and I were in a situation, we made our mind up, "Lord, you can take this car away and give us a bug, you can take this house away and give us a tent, but we're not leaving you". We're not gonna ever play this game about I'm mad at God because he didn't do this for me, he didn't do that for me.
Uh-uh, if you get mad at God, you're mad at the only one that can help you. Let me leave that alone, amen? And look at Revelations 12:10 in the NIV. I like the way they use this phrase to describe Satan, how he was hurled down. I mean, he is a defeated foe. Revelations 12:10 in the NIV, he says, "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 Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, this dude has been hurled down".
I get the picture in a wrestling match. He is not even standing anymore, you understand what I'm saying? All of the accusations and the slander, everything he tries to do to stop you, he has been hurled down, amen? So, how do we respond to Satan's accusations? The accusations will take place. How should we respond as Christian people to those accusations? Accusations that will always come before God, telling you how you don't deserve grace, how you don't deserve mercy, slandering you and saying, you know, all the things you do wrong, all the sin you have done and, "God, how in the world can you forgive these people?" and all this other kind of stuff. How should we respond to Satan's accusation?
Let's show you how to do that. 1 John chapter 2, and verses 1 through 2. 1 John chapter 2, verses 1 through 2. So, Satan's gonna come. He's going to accuse you of something. He's going to, you know, try to work on your mind and work on you. And you have got to know how to respond. This is important as Christian people. We were talking about I think last week how to actively resist the devil. This is a part of that as well, and this tells you how. 1 John 2:1, he says, "My little children, these things write I unto you, that you sin not". All right, now Satan's accusing you of sin. And he says, you know, "I'm writing so you'll sin not. But if any man sin," he said, "remember this now when the accuser comes. You have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous". Look at verse 2, "And he is the propitiation for our sins. And not for ours only," watch this, "but also for the sins of the whole world".
Now, let me show you something. This word "propitiation," it means that he is our compensation, he is our payment, he is our peace offering, he is our ransom that has been paid. And what he says here is that he is our payment for our sins. Jesus, Jesus is the payment for all of our sins, past, present, and future. Jesus is the compensation and he's the peace offering for all of our sins. So, if the accuser of the brethren comes and tries to accuse you and condemn you with your sins, you can tell him, "Dude, my sins have been paid for. Jesus is the payment for all of my sins. So, I don't know what you're talking about. You didn't get the memo. He's the payment, he's the compensation. He is my peace offering. He is the ransom. I am free from sin. I am free from your condemnation. I am free from your shame. I am free from the guilt. I walk free like Paul did. I have wronged no man, I defrauded no man".
I'm telling you, when you do that by faith, you're gonna walk in a whole new realm of understanding that just really, really would blow your mind. All right, Satan wants us to be fearful, and he wants us to doubt our salvation. That's the bottom line. He wants you to be fearful, and he wants you to doubt your salvation. But look at Hebrews chapter 12, verses 1 through 2. Hebrews chapter 12, verses 1 through 2. In verse 1, he says, "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses".
Let me read this in the New Living translation. I like this is fine. Well, let me read this, and then we'll... let's read this first. "Wherefore seeing we are also compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and let us lay aside the sin which doth so easily beset us. Let us run with patience the race that is set before us". Verse 2, "Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and set down at the right hand of the throne of God".
Now, let's read those two verses in the NLT as well. And so, one of the things that we can do to respond to this doubt is what he says here in Hebrews chapter 12:1 through 2. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down". That's what he's trying to get you to... what's slowing you down? What is it in your life that's slowing you down? "Especially the sin that so easily trips us up". He says, "And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us". Verse 2, "We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor besides God's throne".
In other words, looking unto Jesus. This is how you're going to go and defeat that doubt. You're gonna look unto Jesus. I don't know if you've ever been attacked with the temptation to start feeling sorry for yourself, or you were having a good day and something happened, and you now want to feel like you're sad. That's when you... see, it's one thing to know this, but you open your mouth up and you speak to yourself, looking unto Jesus. "Jesus has died for me on that cross. I am not gonna be sad. I am not gonna feel sorry for myself. I was happy when I got up; I'm gonna keep on being happy. Devil, I know this is you, but I'm not gonna sit here and quietly let you cause me or help me to sink into a pit of depression. All is well.
Jesus died on that cross. He's delivered me from shame. He's delivered me from blame. He's delivered me from condemnation. And the joy of the Lord is my strength". You got to start speaking to yourself. You don't just sit there and let the devil just beat you down. Now, listen, you can be sad, and you can be down, and you can be depressed. Or you can open your mouth up and you can look to Jesus. Oh my God, he went through hell literally, literally went to hell and went through hell for you and I. And it's just nothing, I'm just not gonna... I see it like this. I'm not gonna give the devil the pleasure of seeing his tricks work on me.
God has been too good. God has done too much for me to sit around moping and feeling sorry for myself. I got to get up, listen, he was whipped with a cat of nine tails. He was nailed on a cross of Calvary. He died and went three days and three nights in a pit of hell just for me? And then you upset 'cause somebody didn't call you back, are you kidding me? Our salvation comes from God, and our salvation comes from God alone. And I don't care what the enemy whispers to you. Honey, when you get saved, that is secure.
Look at Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 through 9. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 8 to 9. Your salvation is secure, amen. Your salvation comes from God. Ephesians chapter 2:8 and 9 says, "For by grace are you," what? Saved. How did you get it? "Through faith, and that's not of yourself; the gift of God". Look at verse 9, "It is not of works, lest any man should boast". We didn't do it. My salvation is from God. I'm not saved 'cause of what I did. I'm saved because of what he did, amen? And I receive that right now, and there's no way a devil going to talk me out of something that God gave me. God gave me a gift. And the accuser of the brethren wants to come tell you all the reasons why you shouldn't believe you saved. "How you gonna be saved and this happen last night? How you gonna be saved and you was real mean to your wife? How you gonna be saved".
Wah wah wah, I'm saved, that's why I'm gonna correct all that, 'cause I'm saved. Don't let nobody talk you out your salvation. And church folk, I'm talking about church folks that try to talk you out your salvation. Church people can be real judgmental. Excuse me, I'm getting kind of like that. Look at St. John chapter 10, verse 27 through 30. St. John chapter 10, verse 27 through 30. It's these little, simple topics that I'm talking about that'll help rescue in complicated situations. My salvation comes from God. You keep thinking your salvation comes from you. Your salvation didn't come 'cause you were goody goody. In fact, a lot of folks who got saved wasn't goody goody. God saved a lot of us out of a nasty pit, amen? My salvation comes from God. Say that, "My salvation comes from God". Say out loud, "It's a sure thing".
Look at John 10:27 through 30. He said, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me". 28, "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand". Lord have mercy. "Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand". And he says, "My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand". Thirty, Lord have mercy, and he says, "I and my Father are one". He says, "Ain't nobody going to be able to pluck".
Listen, number one, when God save, God save, you know, completely. I'm saved. I'm saved, I'm on my way to heaven. I'm not saved because, you know, I was so flawless. And I'm just saying, man, I'm saved 'cause Jesus. I believe in Jesus came and he saved my soul. And if I were to die right now, if you were to die right now, you're going to absent from your body and present with the Lord, but quit doubting your salvation. Quit looking at your life and your life journey, and go back and decide, "Well, I don't know if I'm really saved". Honey, if you made Jesus the Lord of your life and invite him into your heart, you're really saved! Can't nobody pluck you out! Come now. Can't nobody pluck you out. My God, can't nobody pluck you out.
Ooh, Jesus. John 1:12, John 1:12. You ain't seen this many Scriptures on a Wednesday night in a month or so, have you? John 1:12, watch what he says, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power". Who did he give power to? Those who received him. How many of you received him? You got power. He would be lying, and he's not a liar. If you received him, you got power. Power to do what? To become sons and daughters of God. He gave you power to become the sons and daughters of God. So, you are sons and daughters of God, not because you qualify, not because you kept the five this or the five that. You made him the Lord of your life, and if you received him, you have the power to become a part of his family. And the devil wants to accuse you, and he don't want you thinking you're a part of God's family. And the reason why he's so upset, 'cause he used to be a part of the family.