Matt Hagee - Is He Getting What He Paid For?

John the Revelator, in all that he sees in heaven, he writes these words, "They overcame". Say that with me. "They overcame". I want you to understand, "They" means that there's more than one person in this world with problems, and that person is not just you. There's a lot of people that whenever they walk through hard times, the first thing that they do is they think that they're the only one who has ever suffered. "Why me" is the phrase instead of "Why we". Think of the song, "Nobody knows the trouble I feel". That's our attitude. And yet, here in Revelation, John says it's not just you. The good news is there are lots of people who are suffering. Don't you feel better? "They overcame".

There's more than one person on the planet that has a need today. There's more than one person in this room whose burdens need to be lifted and yokes need to be destroyed. There's more than one individual who's suffering in an hour of sickness. There's more than somebody just sitting to your right and left that needs provision or the chains of addiction to be broken, because they are in a struggle, and they are going to overcome. Now the good news is, is that it doesn't matter who they are. It doesn't matter what they're struggling with. It doesn't matter what their burden is. They overcome all in the same way, by the blood. By the blood. By the blood. "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb".

How are the sick set free from sickness? By the blood of the Lamb. How are those, who are in debt, set free and live in prosperity? By the blood of the Lamb. How is a broken home restored and a fractured marriage reunited? By the blood of the Lamb. How do you recover from the onslaught of the enemy? By the blood of the Lamb. "They overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony". The blood of the Lamb has been shed. Jesus Christ has done his part. The price has been paid. Now it's our job to let the word of our testimony speak for itself. He did his part. Are you doing yours? He shed his blood. He paid the price. Your ransom has been delivered.

Now are you testifying or are you testing him? Are you overcoming or can you not get over yourself? You see, in order to overcome the enemy, we've got to overcome ourselves. A lot of people say, "Oh, the devil made me do it". No, you just like it. I've heard this statement and it's very true, "You can't bind flesh: you have to crucify it". "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against powers and principalities". You can bind and you can loose powers and principalities. You can use the mighty name of Jesus, and those powers and principalities have to submit, because he has the name that is above every name. But when it comes to your flesh and your desire, you can't bind that: you have to crucify it.

You have to decide: I'm not going to do this anymore, and go nail yourself to that cross. "Oh, I bind me". No, you can't bind you. You have to crucify it. So if we're going to overcome, what is it that we have to do? We have to stand on the word of our testimony. What is our testimony? Our testimony was paid for 2,000 years ago. "It is finished," that is the word of your testimony. "It is finished" is how you pronounce to powers and principalities that the things that they used to bind you with, they can't hold you with anymore, because Jesus Christ has shed his blood, and now it is finished. That addiction is finished. That way of thinking is finished. That old life is finished, because old things have passed away, and behold all things have become new who are in Christ Jesus. Do you want to know what you should tell the world? "It is finished"! You have victory through Christ the Lord!

When you read these words in the gospel of John, it sounds as if Jesus Christ is giving up and quitting. But that's not at all what he's doing. He is saying that everything has been fulfilled. Every price has been paid. John 3:16 is being worked out before your very eyes: that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son: that whosoever believes in him would not perish but have everlasting life. "It is finished". It is a notice of eviction upon every demon in hell: that every yoke and chain is now broken. "It is finished" is a declaration of independence for every man, for every woman, for every boy, for every girl in every nation around the world, because whom the son sets free is free indeed! It is finished! The impossible is now possible! The crooked way has now been made straight! The mountain can now be cast into the sea! What you bind on earth, it is bound in heaven! What you loose on earth, it is loosed in heaven! Child of God, I've got good news today: it is finished! Give the Lord a handclap of praise!

You have to understand the power of that testimony, because any other testimony takes the glory away from God and puts it somewhere it doesn't belong. God said in Isaiah, "My glory I will share with no one". He'll share everything with you. He gave his son: that he could share his kingdom. He gave you a new name: that you could be a child of the king. But when it comes to God's glory, he said, you want my power? Pray in my name. You want my presence? Gather in my name. You want my prosperity? Give and it shall be given. You want my glory? No, because my glory I'll share with no one. So what happens when we don't understand the power of this testimony? The problem is that we begin to open up places for the enemy to come in and do what he does. Read the verse. Verse 10, it says, "The accuser who has accused them before God day and night, he has been cast down".

Now understand this: if the enemy, the devil, Satan himself, is accusing you before God, he'll accuse you to yourself. And he'll cause you to listen to the accusations that he whispers in your ear about others. We're always suspicious and we're always accusatory of everyone. Why? Because this is what the devil does to divide us. And even when he's in heavenly places, he's accusing you. But here in this verse, it says he's been cast down. So what happens whenever we choose not to stand upon the fact that our testimony is "It is finished"? We open up these doors that the enemy gets to use against us. Why? Because we start to build excuses in our accusations. We start to say things like, "Well you don't know where I've come from. You don't know how broken my home was. You don't know what my grandfather struggled with and what he put my father through and what my dad did to me". Guess what? It is finished.

So if it's finished, why are you still carrying it around? Sometimes we don't like it to be finished. Don't take away my problem. I won't have anything else to talk about. But that's not what the verse says. It doesn't say we overcome him by the blood of our lamb and the word of our complaint. It says, "By the word of our", what? "Testimony". And the testimony is it was nailed to a cross. And we have been set free. Sometimes we don't like that. And yet, Peter wrote to the New Testament church, and he said, "Cast all", say that with me, "Cast all of your cares upon him". Why? "He cares for you". We have a roaring lion, in this chapter, that Peter writes to the New Testament church. And he says, "Our enemy is a roaring lion. He wants to distract you with noise". "He's a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour".

He can't just come and devour. He's got to find those that he can devour. There's a difference. Why? Because you've got the blood of the Lamb. He can't devour you. You've got to let him devour you. And so how does he do it? He roars. And in the roar, you get anxiety, which is why it says, "Cast all of your cares upon him". You see, when you start to worry and care about something that you don't think God can handle, you're listening to the roar of the enemy, and you're taking the glory away from God. I don't think you can help me overcome my past, because the enemy's roaring at me. No, no, no, no. Cast that on him. He cares for you. Hit the mute button on what Satan's doing. This is the joy of your salvation. You don't have to carry it around. You don't have to deal with it anymore. You can cast it on Jesus and he'll carry it for you.

This is what Ephesians says, "It is by grace that you have been saved through faith. It is the gift of God". You cannot add to or take away from that gift. It is perfect all by itself. And yet, oftentimes, we want to do something to add to the requirements. Why? So that we can tell others what we did. You did nothing! He did everything! "Overcoming" means that the expectation is victory. When you overcome, you don't survive. When you overcome, you have dominated your opponent. A lot of Christians think that we're in a 15-round fight, and we're just hoping to make it to the cards.

Let's see who wins in the end. No! You're supposed to win every day. Why? Because this is the day that the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be made glad in it. How do we overcome? We overcome by the word of our testimony. We overcome by our worship. We overcome by our service. We overcome by winning the lost. We overcome by proclaiming the word. We overcome by praying always. We overcome by going into heavenly places and pulling down strongholds, and loosing the power of God to do what God wants on this earth, because his kingdom will come. And of that kingdom, there shall be no end! You are more than a conqueror through Christ!

Oftentimes, we like to keep the secrets of our success to ourselves, because they become the things that we use to take advantage of situations. Oh, I don't want to tell people how I made my money. Oh, I don't want to tell people how I got this job. Oh, I don't want to tell people all of these details. Well let me tell you: there are times in life when what you've got is just too good not to share. Most of the time, for us, it's gossip. "Shhh, don't tell anybody," which means you're going to tell everybody. "It's a prayer request". Yeah. If your prayer request is not about you... God knows. But the word of your testimony is something that's just too good not to share. It's too good not to tell people what Jesus Christ has given you the opportunity to do. It's too good not to let them know how you were lost and on your way to hell, but he came and he set you free.

And now your name is written down in the lamb's book of life. It's too good not to be able to share with someone how you have hope where you used to be hopeless, and how you have joy where there used to be sorrow, and how you have strength in your weakness. It's too good not to tell them that whenever you call upon him, he answers you and he shows you great and mighty things that you know not. It's too good not to be able to say that whenever you wake up, you're thankful that he's given you another day. And whenever you lie down, you're thankful that he's been with you every moment of every hour. His angels are still in charge over you. His hand is still upon you. His promises are still alive in you. And his strength still belongs to you, because he is a faithful God! He is too good not to talk about!

The problem is, is the reason we don't talk about him more is because we limit what his cross has done. We go to the cross, and we think there, we receive salvation exclusively. That's not all that happened at the cross. Everything that you have in your life, you got because of the cross. At the cross is where he took your sorrow so that you could receive his joy. At the cross is where you exchanged your fear for his peace. At the cross is where you received his glory and he took your shame. At the cross is where you received the riches of heaven, and he, for your sake, became poor. At the cross is where the burden of guilt was lifted off of your shoulders and sickness was shattered, and you received divine righteousness, and health, and peace, and joy in Jesus Christ. At the cross is where the exchange was made so that now you can do all things through Christ! Sin has been defeated! The grave has been conquered! You have been crowned a champion! Give the Lord a handclap of praise!

So how does that work? You've got to start testifying about it. Don't just come to church, and say, "Lord, thank you for my salvation, and help me get through another seven days". You start testifying. "Lord, because of what you gave me when you sent your son to the cross, my business is going to prosper. Lord, because of what you've done for me, I am favored. Lord, because of what you've done for me, I can't help but succeed, because you promised that if in all my ways I would acknowledge you, then everything that I do, it would flourish".

Father, I thank you that your favor is on my family. I thank you that it's on my heart. I thank you that it's on my mind. I thank you that it's in my mouth. I thank you that it's working in my physical body.

Whatever it is that you're struggling with today, don't talk about the problem as if there's nothing you can do about it. Talk to the problem about who's already fixed it. Whatever the burden is, you can cast it upon him. Why? Because it is finished. Child of God, if Satan would have known what the cross would have done, he would have done everything he could to keep Jesus off of it. But he couldn't, because Jesus himself said, "If I be lifted up, I'll draw all men unto me". Why are more people not following Jesus on the earth today? Because those, who should be lifting him up, aren't. What do we need to do to lift him up? Testify. Tell somebody about him. It's not enough to celebrate on the occasion. Rejoice in the joy of your salvation.

You have a reason to rejoice every day you breathe. Why? Because Jesus doesn't just save you on Sunday. It's not occasional coverage. Heaven is not a time-share community. And yet, we want to pretend like it is. You have a reason to rejoice, because he has made a way where there seemed to be no way. You have a reason to rejoice, because everything that the enemy intended for evil, he has taken and he has used it for your good. You have a reason to rejoice, because your future is not determined by your past. Your past has been covered in the blood of the Lamb. And your future is filled with nothing but the promises of his provision. You have a reason to rejoice. You say, "Pastor, you don't understand". No, you don't understand! People say, "Do you see what's happening in the world"? It doesn't matter what happens in this world. It matters who's sitting on the throne up there! "They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony".

The question that I have for you. Since Jesus Christ purchased you in his blood, are you giving him the full service he deserves? Are you giving him all the glory that he's worthy of? Are you giving him your heart, soul, mind, and body? Are you testifying of his goodness in your life? Are you constantly complaining about what you wish was different? You need to know something: your behavior either opens up God's blessings or it provokes his wrath. Now people are always interested in how they get God's blessings, but they don't ever want to consider that they could provoke his wrath. But go read the Word of God. In the book of Psalm, in the 78th chapter, it's talking about the children of Israel coming out of Egypt and how they walked through the wilderness. And it says, "They provoked God".

How did they provoke him? By doubting him. They drank from water that came out of a rock in the midst of the desert. Now that's a pretty good, miraculous drink right there. And while they're drinking, they say, "I wonder if he can feed us"? Have you ever been living in the goodness of God and wondering what he might be able to do for you next, instead of just saying, "God, I thank you for the water. And whatever else you have, I'm going to accept that too"? So they're drinking the water. They say, "I wonder if he can feed us"? He sends them manna. There's not one sick or feeble among them. But after a few days of eating the bread, they said, "I wonder if he can give us meat"?

Have you ever had something that was good and you thought, "Ah, I'm just tired of this"? And God said, "Fine. You want meat? Here's quail". And the Bible says, "And while the meat was in their mouth, he killed them". Make you spit out what you're chewing. Why? Because they provoked him. Their doubt led to complaint. And their complaint led to his wrath. So understand when it comes to the word of your testimony, you really don't have a choice, because the consequences are too dire. You can either celebrate his goodness or you can complain about what you think he's withholding and see which one of those two gets you where you want to go. He has paid for you such a high price that it cost him his life. And in allowing us to live, he wants us to use our life to give him the praise and the glory and the honor that he's worthy of. Is he getting what he paid for?

Can we stand? With your heads bowed and your eyes closed, this morning you could say, pastor, he's not getting what he's paid for. I'm not standing in the victory of the cross. I'm living in the pain of my past. I'm not thankful for his goodness today. I'm complaining about what I'm worried about tomorrow. I'm not standing in confidence that I can do all things through Christ. I'm worried about what I can't control and it's stealing my opportunity to give him what he's worthy of.

If that describes you, would you raise your hand right where you are? Hands all over this room. So for just a few moments, I want every person in this room to raise their hands. And I want you to open your mouth. And I want you to thank God. I want you to testify to him, before heavenly places, of his goodness in your life. Those of you who are watching, wherever you're watching from, I want you to begin to give him praise and glory, so that in all of the nations that are watching, there's more than 30 that are online right now, we would begin a global praise break about Jesus Christ and what we rejoice in, in the joy of our salvation.

Father, today we thank you for the blood of Jesus. We thank you that it has set us free. We thank you that it paid the price for our redemption. We thank you that we have the permission to go into heavenly places, and in the authority of his name, we can enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. We can open our mouth. And the Bible says that he'll inhabit the praises of his people. So Holy Spirit of the living God, I'm asking you to come into this sanctuary right now. And I'm asking you to remove burdens. And I'm asking you to break chains. And I'm asking you to destroy yokes by the power of the blood of the Lamb, so that once again, the enemy would be defeated: so that once again, powers and principalities would know that they have nothing on Jesus Christ: so that once again, we would see captives set free and be able to rejoice in the joy of our salvation.

Lord, we give you all the honor. We give you all the glory. We give you all the praise, because you have made a way where there seems to be no way. You have given us the victory. Greater is he who is in me than he who is in the world, because the one who is in me is the one who created heaven and earth. So today, in Jesus' name, I am declaring that this congregation is the inhabitants of Jesus Christ' throne room. And right now in this place, ask and you shall receive. Right now in this place, seek and you shall find. Right now, in this place, knock and let the door be opened unto you. Why? Because the blood of the Lamb has paid the price, and it is finished, in Jesus' name!