Greg Laurie - How to Overcome the Devil (01/02/2018)
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Pastor Greg Laurie preaches from Revelation 12:7-12 on "How to Overcome the Devil," describing the future war in heaven where Michael casts out Satan. He explains Satan is not God's equal, needs permission to act against believers, is doomed and furious knowing his time is short, and attacks mainly through accusation. Believers overcome by the blood of the Lamb, the word of their testimony, and not loving their lives to death—relying on Christ's intercession and bold faith.
The Reality of Our Spiritual Battle
Well let's grab our Bibles now and turn to Revelation chapter 12. And the title of my message is, "How to Overcome the Devil." You know, Captain Scotty Smiley is a fantastic example of bravery and courage on the battlefield. But we too are in a battle. But a battle of a different kind. Not a physical battle, but a spiritual one, but just as real. The Bible tells us that we are fighting against principalities and powers and spiritual might in high places or in the supernatural realm. Ephesians 6 says, We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, powers, the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
I mean it would blow our minds if God were to sort of pull back the curtain and let us see into the spiritual world. The world of God and Satan. The world of angels and demons. The world of heaven and hell. Look, we are in a spiritual battle. As I have often said, the Christian life is not a playground. It is a battleground. So here is our choice. We either are going to win or lose in this battle. We are either going to gain ground or we are going to lose ground. We are going to advance or we are going to retreat. It is a decision we need to make. And I want to talk to you about how to overcome the devil.
Now here in Revelation 12, we are sort of shifting gears. Up to this point, we have been looking at what is happening on earth from a heavenly perspective. Sort of up there looking down. Now we are up there looking around. Now, because Revelation 12 is a description of a war in heaven. Who would ever think there would be a war in heaven? Well indeed there is. And it is a war among the angels. Now earlier in Revelation, angels are likened to stars. So this is literally Star Wars here that we are looking at. And we see Michael the Archangel duking it out with Satan, who is called the dragon.
So let's read about it. Revelation 12. We are going to read verses 7-12. And we are going to come back to verses 1-6 in our next look at Revelation. But for today, we will just look at verses 7-12. "And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. 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. 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. 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. Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.'"
Wow. Revelation 12 is an exciting chapter. And I don't think the devil wants us to read this chapter. And I certainly don't think the devil wants us to discover some very important truths that are revealed in it.
Truths the Devil Hides from Believers
Here are some things the devil doesn't want you to know. Number one, Satan is nowhere near to being the equal of God. Again, Satan is nowhere near to being the equal of God. Yes, Satan is mighty. But God is almighty. Satan is a destroyer. But God will ultimately destroy the destroyer. Here is what we know about God. He is omnipotent, he is omniscient, and he is omnipresent. Omnipotent means he has unlimited power. Omniscient means he has unlimited knowledge. Omnipresent means he is present everywhere.
The devil is not equal to that. The devil is certainly not omnipotent. He has a lot of power, but nowhere near to being equal with the power of God. He is not omniscient. Satan knows quite a few things, but he doesn't know all things like God. And he is not omnipresent. The devil can only be in one place at one time. So when we say the devil was tempting me, the fact is it was probably one of his demons doing his dirty work. He has a well-organized network of fallen angels, also known as demons, that do his bidding.
So here now in this heavenly scene we have Michael and Satan fighting it out. Not God and Satan. Because if Satan has an equal it would be Michael the archangel. Not God. So here now these two powerful angels are warring against each other. And this is ironic because they once served on the same side. Not unlike the Civil War. We remember that General Grant led the Union forces and General Lee led the Confederate forces. But prior to that they both attended West Point together. They both fought side by side in the Mexican-American War. But suddenly in the Civil War they found themselves on the opposite side of each other. And ultimately General Grant prevailed over General Lee. And in the same way we find Michael prevailing over Lucifer.
And so here is the thing we need to know. Satan is nowhere near to being the equal of God. If he has an equal it would be Michael, not God.
Satan's Limited Power and Future Defeat
Number two. The devil can do nothing in the life of the Christian without God's permission. He can do nothing in the life of the Christian without God's permission. This may come as a surprise to some, but the devil does have some access to heaven. Verse 8 says, They did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. Okay? So what we are reading about here in Revelation 12 has not happened yet. This is still in the future. But at this moment the devil does have some access to heaven. That surprises some people. It is not unlimited access.
Now before he had an all access pass. He was a high ranking angel in some kind of a worship leading role. And then he of course rebelled against God and led an angelic rebellion. So he lost his all access pass, if you will. But he does have some access still in heaven. But one thing is clear. Satan is on his way down. And if you follow him you are going to go down with him.
I find it interesting that Michael and his angels fought with the dragon. Another word for Satan. The grammatical construction of this phrase in the Greek indicates that Satan starts this. It could be translated Michael and his angels had to fight the dragon. So the devil is starting this fight. Something is prompting him to start it. And we wonder what it is. And it is with the archangel. We wonder does the rapture play a part in this. Because remember in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 we read the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout with the voice of the archangel. So we assume that is Michael because he is the only angel identified as an archangel in Scripture. So maybe when the Lord is calling the church home the devil is like totally ticked off. Like no way. This cannot happen. So this conflict begins. And they fight. But it is clear that the devil is going to lose this fight.
Now he has access. But as I said it is limited. It is almost like he is summoned more than he gets to go where he wants to go. Sort of like being called to the principal's office. Which happened to me many times in school. That is not a good feeling when it is announced to the entire class. Greg Laurie you have been called to the principal's office. It was because of something I had done. So periodically the devil is called into the presence of God. We have a behind the scenes look at this in the book of Job.
We will read in Job 1:6. One day the angels came to present themselves before the Lord. And Satan came with them. And the Lord said to the devil, Well where have you come from? Satan answered, Oh I have been going back and forth across the earth watching everything that is going on. What a perfect description of Satan. Just roaming about like a lion. Looking for a prey. Checking everything out. Then the Lord said to Satan, Have you considered my servant Job a perfect and upright man? One that fears God and shuns evil? The devil says, Oh give me a break. Let's paraphrase here. Does Job fear you for nothing? He fears you because you put a hedge of protection or a wall around him.
But here is the point. The devil wanted to attack Job but he recognized there was protection around God's servant. And in the same way when the devil comes our way he has to first get permission from God. He cannot just run through our life willy-nilly. I don't even know what willy-nilly means. But I am telling you he cannot do it. And know this. Whatever God allows in your life He allows it for a purpose.
You know I was talking with Scotty in the back room. And I said Scotty I am sure if you had your choice in life you would rather have your old life back with your eyesight. But you were not given that choice. But despite this adversity God has given you a platform to glorify Him with. And that is exactly what Captain Smiley is doing. But the Lord allowed this in his life. We can't dispute that. And the Lord allows tragedy in our lives. He has allowed tragedy in my life. He has allowed tragedy or hardship in some of yours. And we wonder why sometimes. We can't answer that. But here is what we do know. God will never give us more than we can handle. And when we are tempted, when we are tempted there is always a way out.
Quick poll. It is not scientific. How many of you have ever been tempted to sin? Raise your hand up. I hope all of you are raising. Not everyone is raising their hand. How many have never been tempted to sin? Okay we need to talk afterwards. Yeah okay. Number two. How many of you have given into the temptation to sin? You have sinned. Raise your hand up. Okay right. Now one last question. When the temptation came was there a way out of it? Of course yes. Because 1 Corinthians 10:13 says there is no temptation taken you but such as is common to man. God who is faithful will not allow you to be tempted above what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.
And sometimes the way out of that temptation is as simple as using the door. Just walking away if you have to. But God will allow these things. But He will never give us more than we can handle.
Satan's Rage and Impending Doom
Number three. The devil does not want you to know he is doomed. He doesn't want you to know he is doomed. Look at verse 12. The devil has come down to you in great anger and he knows he has little time. The phrase that is used here for great anger refers to a violent outburst of rage. The word depicts a turbulent emotional fury rather than a rational anger. Commentator John Phillips wrote the following and I quote, Satan is now like a caged lion, enraged beyond words by the limitations now placed upon his freedom. He picks himself up from the dust of the earth, shakes his fist at the sky, and glares around, choking with fury for ways to bend his hatred and his spite upon humankind. End quote. Well said.
Why is the devil behaving as a cornered animal ready to strike? Why is Satan filled with so much venom and hatred? Why does Satan want our destruction? Answer. Because he knows Jesus Christ is coming back again. Go back to verse 12. Thank you for that smattering of applause. Verse 12 says, The devil has come down to you in great anger. He knows he has little time. Listen. Even if some liberal theologians don't believe it, the devil believes Jesus Christ is coming back. His goal, his objective, is to wreck as much havoc as he can in that time. And we need to wake up to the reality of it. And that is why the devil attacks us. And sometimes it seems like we are getting hit from every side.
I heard a story from the Korean War that illustrates the attitude that we ought to have. As enemy forces were advancing, Baker Company was cut off from the rest of the regiment. For several hours no word was heard, even through headquarters, who tried to communicate with this missing unit. Finally, a faint signal was received. Strangely to hear each word, a corpsman asked, Baker Company, do you read me? The reply, This is Baker Company. What is your situation? Baker Company replied, The enemy is to the east of us. The enemy is to the west of us. The enemy is to the south of us. And the enemy is to the north of us. After a brief pause, a sergeant from Baker Company then said, And we are not going to let them escape this time. I like that. That is the attitude.
You know, sometimes it feels like the devil is hitting us from the north and the south and the east and the west. Everywhere we turn there is an attack. There is a temptation. There is a problem. There is an issue. But listen. God will give us the strength to get through these things.
How Satan Attacks: Through Accusation
Here is something the devil doesn't want you to know. Number three. He doesn't want you to know that he attacks primarily through accusation. He attacks through accusation. It is good for us to know how the devil works. Paul said we are not ignorant of his devices. It was Victor Hugo, the author of Les Miserables, the book, who wrote these words, quote, A good general must penetrate the brain of his enemy, end quote. How does the devil attack us? Often through accusation.
Look at verse 10. I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ has come for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before God day and night has been cast down. That is the devil. He is the accuser of the brethren. He is quite clever. Here is how it works. He comes to you with a temptation. And by the way it is not a sin to be tempted. Sometimes I don't think we know that. It is not the bait that constitutes temptation. It is the bite. And it comes at the worst times, doesn't it? Maybe even when you are in church. You are just sitting there listening away and all of a sudden this ungodly, horrid thought is placed in front of you. And you are like, I can't believe this.
Now look, it is not a sin to be tempted. I don't care what the thought was. Because it just came randomly. You were not even thinking about that topic. Or it just came to you. Boom! Whoa! Where did that come from? And the devil says, you are so twisted. What is your problem? Why would you think such a horrible thought? And you are thinking, man, why would I think such a horrible thought? Man, you call yourself a Christian? What kind of Christian are you? Man, I call myself a Christian. What kind of Christian am I? You ought to just leave church right now. I am just going to leave church right now. Wait, wait, wait. That is the devil talking to you, friend. Don't listen to him.
It is not a sin to be tempted. It is a sin to give in to the temptation. But let us say you do give in to it. He tempts you. You take the bait. Now he comes to you and says, you are a hypocrite. God would never hear your prayer. Don't ever even think about going to God in prayer and asking for His forgiveness. You are not worthy to approach God. Listen. Your response to the accusations of the devil is the intercession of Jesus on your behalf. See Jesus is standing in the gap for you.
Jesus said to Peter once, Simon, Simon, Satan has been asking excessively that you would be taken out of the care and protection of God. But then he went on to say, but I have prayed for you that your faith would not fail. And when you have returned, strengthen your brothers. Peter, the devil has been asking for you by name. But I prayed for you. I am interceding for you. And the Bible tells us that Christ intercedes for us in heaven. Romans 8:33. Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is He that condemns? Christ who died. More than that was raised to life. Is at the right hand of God. Interceding for us.
How to Overcome the Devil
All right. Well let's wrap this up. Because the title of the message is, How to Overcome the Devil. So how do we do that? Well we are introduced to a group of believers here that are able to overcome Satan. Now where are we in the book of Revelation? Well we are looking at the tribulation period. The rapture has already happened. There have been certain believers that have been martyred. That we looked at earlier in Revelation 7. Who had been washed in the blood of the Lamb. Who are saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You avenge our blood and those that dwell on the earth.
So now we read about these believers that are being persecuted, no doubt, by the Antichrist. But they are able to overcome the devil. How do they do it? Look at verse 11. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
How do you overcome Satan? Number one, you overcome him by the blood of the Lamb. So the next time the devil comes to you and says, You are not worthy to approach God. You know what I advise? Agree. You know you are right. I am not worthy to approach God. And I never was worthy to approach God. And I never will be worthy to approach God. My access to God's presence is not based on my worthiness. It is based on what Christ did for me at the cross.
See sometimes we get into this. Sometimes we get into kind of a works righteousness mentality as a Christian. And here is how we think. Well I did really well today. I got up in the morning and I read four chapters from the Bible. And I said grace over my meal at lunch. And I even shared my faith with someone at work. And I went to a midweek Bible study. Man I am doing so well spiritually. And I know I can just approach God and pray.
Well maybe the next day you slept in and you didn't read the Bible. And you forgot to say grace over your meal. And you didn't share Jesus. And you missed that midweek study. Oh man I am not doing as well as I should be doing. I am not worthy to approach God. Now look we can talk about how important all those elements are. But let's not be sidetracked. The point I am making is simply this. Your access to God is there. And if you have done well great. Approach God. If you have sinned. Approach God and say Lord I have sinned. And this is why I need the blood of the Lamb.
Listen. The devil will always try to keep you away from the cross. And the Holy Spirit will always bring you to it. The devil will accuse you and condemn you. And say you can't go to God. But the Holy Spirit will convince you. And convince you. And say you must come to God. See if you are feeling bad about something you have done that is wrong. That is a good thing. It really is. You know why? It means your conscience is working. You want to have a working conscience. Right? Because the Bible warns about having your conscience seared as with a hot iron.
You know we have a fire alarm in our house. Actually I think it is a smoke alarm. All I know is it goes off all the time. My wife cooks an egg and the smoke alarm goes up. There is no smoke. And the thing goes off. It is hypersensitive. I guess it is better to have a hypersensitive alarm than one that isn't sensitive enough. Right? So if your conscience is sensitive. That is a good thing. You do not want it seared like an iron was applied to it.
I heard a story about a man that went to see a doctor with two severely burned ears. The doctor said, Wow. Both your ears are burned. You have to tell me. How did this happen? The guy said, Well let me explain doc. I was ironing a shirt and someone called me on the phone and I answered the iron instead of the phone. That is horrible. Okay. That explains one ear being burned. How did you burn the other? Well they called back. And by the way that is me. That happened to me. No. No. But here is the thing. You want your conscience to be sensitive and open to the work of the Spirit.
It is the blood of the Lamb. My access to God is a result of what Jesus has done for me. Hebrews 10:19 says, Dear friends we can boldly enter heaven's most holy place because of the blood of Jesus. This is the new life giving way Christ has opened up for us through the sacred curtain by means of His death for us. Ephesians 2:13 You who are sometimes far off have been made near by the blood of Christ. 1 John tells us if we walk in the light as He is in the light we have fellowship one with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin. It is like that old song says there is power in the blood.
Oh the devil doesn't want us to talk about the blood. And the devil certainly doesn't want us to appropriate the blood. I asked Billy Graham years ago if an older Billy could speak to a younger Billy who was just starting out in ministry. What would you say the younger Billy should emphasize more? Billy said I would preach more on the cross of Christ and the blood because that is where the power is. The devil doesn't want us to talk about the blood. Why? Because you can overcome him by the blood.
You say you are losing me. Blood, blood, blood. What is all the blood? Okay listen. Because Jesus died on the cross and met the righteous demands of God. I can approach the Lord any time no matter what I have done if I will confess my sin and ask for His forgiveness. Remember the Israelites in the Passover? God told them to slay a lamb and then apply the blood over their doorway. On the top and on the right and on the left. And when God's judgment came upon the land if the blood was applied He passed over. Right? So we apply the blood. Lord I can approach you because of the shed blood of Jesus. They overcame Him by the blood of the lamb.
Number two. They overcame Him by the word of their testimony. When a believer is cleansed and walking in fellowship with God they will want to tell others. I think the best defense is a good offense. So instead of just trying to hold ground we should gain ground. We should move forward. Tell others. And I think when you sort of identify yourself as a Christian it is a good way to make yourself accountable even to non-believers. To say in your workplace, I am a Christian. Not in an obnoxious way. But you just come out and say, I believe in Jesus Christ.
To say to members of your family. Or in your neighborhood. Among your friends. I am a follower of Jesus. The moment you put that stake in the ground they are going to be watching you and evaluating you. And frankly evaluating your God. They are going to say, so that is how a Christian acts. Oh. So that is how a Christian treats his wife. Oh. So that is how a Christian treats her husband. Oh I get it. That is how a Christian raises their child. Oh. That is how a Christian does. And so they are watching you.
Nothing is worse than getting corrected by a non-believer. Especially when they are right. Has that ever happened to you? You have done something inconsistent and your non-Christian friend says, I thought you were a Christian. Well I am. Praise God. Then why did you just do that? Well. Maybe you should just say because I sinned. Thank you for calling me on it.
The word of their testimony. They spoke up. Listen. Everybody has a testimony. A testimony is just your story. We heard Scotty Smiley's testimony. It is a powerful one. It is a story of a man raised in church who went to serve his country in the military. He was severely injured in an act of heroism. And despite his adversity he has faith in God and wants to encourage others who are hurting. That is a great testimony. What is your testimony? You say, well Greg I have not gone through any great adversity. You do not have to go through adversity to have a testimony. What would people say about you? Well you know what? Let me tell you about this guy. Let me tell you about this girl. You have a testimony. The question is, is it a good one? Or is it a poor one? But it is your story.
And these folks overcame the devil by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. They spoke out for what they believed.
And finally they did not love their lives to the death. What does that mean? That means that these believers knew their lives belonged to God. You had already seen others martyred that we read about earlier in Revelation. They knew as followers of Jesus in the tribulation period where the Antichrist can control that they could lose their lives. But as far as they were concerned, that was up to God. They knew that their times were in His hands. Thus they spoke up for their faith in Christ. And whatever the consequences were, they were ready to face Him.
How important it is for us to know that our lives belong to God. God decides the day of our birth. God decides the day of our death. And it is up to us what we do with that in-between part. That little dash between the two dates. Birth and death. You do not decide what happens on those dates. God decides the beginning. God decides the end. You have everything to do with a dash. That is your part. That is where you have the testimony. And love not your life to the death.
The story is told from the back pages of Christian history of a believer who was brought before one of the Caesars. He was told to renounce his faith and give glory to Caesar. The man would not do it. So the emperor said to him, give up Christ or I will banish you. The Christian said, well you can't banish me from Christ for God says I will never leave you or forsake you. The emperor said, well I will confiscate your property. The Christian said, my treasures are laid up in heaven. You can't touch them. The emperor said, I will kill you. The Christian said, I have been dead to this world in Christ for forty years. My life is hid with Christ and God. You can't touch it. The emperor turned to some of the members of his court and said in complete disgust. What can you do with such a fanatic? God give us more people like this. They did not love their lives to the death.
Closing Invitation to Victory
Now listen. Maybe some of you have come here today with a heavy heart. You know you are full of guilt because of a sin you have committed. You didn't even want to come to church today. You felt so unworthy. Listen. You have never been worthy and you never will be. So let's just get that off the table. And let's talk about how to get rid of your guilt. Let's talk about how to be relieved from the penalty of your sin. It is the blood of the lamb.
You have to say, God I am sorry for my sin. I admit it. And then recognize that once you have received His forgiveness you have open access to His presence any time you want to go there. Maybe you have been running from God. Maybe you have rebelled against God. Scotty shared how he had to ask forgiveness because he doubted God. He was angry with God. Maybe that describes you. Maybe something has happened in your life that you don't think is fair. And you are holding God responsible for it. You need to say, Lord I am sorry. I don't understand. I want to believe in you today. And He will forgive you of all of your sin. And you can leave here in that same victory that these believers had. Overcoming the devil.
Or you can go away from here mad at God. Running from God. Rebelling against God. And frankly you will face the consequences. Listen to this. The devil he is on his way down. He is going down baby. Way down. Okay. And if you follow the devil you are going down with him. Say well I am not following the devil. Well listen. I hate to break this to you. If you are not following Christ you are following the devil. Well I don't agree with that. I am the master of my own faith. I am the captain of my own ship. You are an idiot. Sorry. Probably shouldn't have said it. Okay you are not an idiot. You are a jerk. Is that better? No. Listen. Fool. You put the word in you like. You are being manipulated. You are being ripped off. Because the Bible says that the devil, the prince of the power of the air as he is described in Scripture, or the God of this world, listen, has blinded the minds of those that do not believe. And they are under the control of the devil.
See one of his greatest strategies is convincing us to believe there is no devil. And we are in charge when in reality he is the puppeteer. He is the one calling the shots. Listen. You don't have to live that way. You want true freedom. It is not living in sin. It is living free from sin. It is following Christ. And he will forgive you today if you will turn to him.
So we are going to close in prayer and I am going to give you an opportunity if you need to. To get the blood of the Lamb working in your life. So you can be forgiven and right with God. Let us pray.
Father thank you for your word to us today. And now I pray for all of those here listening, watching that may not know you. That may be living apart from you because of sin that has not been dealt with. Lord would you help them to see the reality of their sin. Help them to turn from it and help them to receive the forgiveness given to us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the cross.
While our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying maybe you would like God's forgiveness today. You would like your guilt removed. You would like to know that when you die you will go to heaven. You want to be ready for the Lord's return. You are ready to say yes to Jesus. If that is your desire wherever you are sitting. If you want Christ to come into your life. You want Him to forgive you of your sin. You want to go to heaven when you die. Would you lift your hand up right now wherever you are sitting and I will pray for you. Just lift your hand up where I can see it please. God bless you. God bless you and you. Up in the balcony God bless you guys. God bless all of you raising your hand.
Now I can't see you everywhere. You are outside in the amphitheater in the court building at Harvest Orange County, Harvest Orange Crest. But you raise your hand as well. Just saying I need Jesus Christ in my life today and I will pray for you. God bless you. God bless all of you.
Now I am going to ask all of you that just raise your hand if you would please. I want you to stand to your feet and I am going to lead you in a prayer of commitment to Jesus. Again just stand to your feet. You that raise your hand. You that want His forgiveness. Wherever you are. Here in the main sanctuary. If you are watching a video screen. Wherever you are. Stand to your feet if you want to make this commitment. Or maybe a recommitment to Jesus. And I am going to lead you in a prayer. Anybody else? Stand now. One final moment. Stand now. I will lead you in this prayer. Alright. God bless you that are standing.
Pray this prayer out loud after me. Pray this now. Lord Jesus. I am a sinner. But you died on the cross for my sin. And shed your blood for me. I turn now from my sin. I choose to follow you from this moment forward. Thank you for loving me. And calling me. And forgiving me. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.