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Christian
Education Pre-K-12
Richmond Academy
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Waiting & Waiting
Revelation 12:7-11 (KJV) “And there was war in heaven:
Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his
angels, 8 And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. 9
And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and
Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his
angels were cast out with him. 10 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. 11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,
and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the
death.”
There was war in heaven (not earth). Remember this concept. Michael and his
angels (not cute little naked babies with wings) fought against the dragon, and
the dragon fought back “But he was not strong enough.” This indicates there was
a time when Satan was able to maintain a place in heaven, indicating that God is
waiting for the Saints to become mature enough so Michael can do his job.
Satan, or the devil who leads the whole world astray was hurled down. Satan’s
power was destroyed on the cross of Calvary. Now Satan has to work through
deception. He is deceiving the whole world. He wants to usurp God’s authority.
God created man in his image, but Satan wants man in his image. Satan is filled
with self-will – those who are deceived are self-willed people. Satan was hurled
down to the earth. He wants control of the earth, but he wants it from a
heavenly vantage point. Satan was condemned to eat dust, so he craves the flesh
of mankind which is dust. When he is cast down he will eat more dust until he is
stuffed.
“Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: Now is come the salvation and the
power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ.”
Salvation, power, and the Kingdom of God and the authority of Christ all come
into being when Satan is brought down from His heavenly perspective and cast
under our feet. THE BURDEN OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD IS FOR THE SAINTS TO COME UP TO
THE FULL STATURE OF CHRIST SO MICHAEL MAY BE EMPOWERED TO DRIVE SATAN UNDER THE
FEET OF THE CHURCH.
Although Satan is already defeated from Christ’s standpoint, he is not defeated
from the church’s viewpoint until we rise up empowered in Christ. (Rom.16:20)
“The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.”
The church is continually being accused, and the world is under torment waiting
and waiting for the Saints to rise up in Christ so they may be empowered in
glory. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood and loved ones. WE ARE
WRESTLING AGAINST SATANIC LORDS IN THE HEAVENLY REALM. The accuser of the
brethren doesn’t stop night or day. As long as there are people filled with
self-will, Satan can influence the church because they won’t take up their cross
and follow on to know Christ Jesus.
If you are one who is continually being accused in your mind or by other people,
continually beaten down and defeated, then listen. The Lord gives us a time when
we overcome. God Himself will empower the church by the blood of the Lamb, by
the word of our testimony if we don’t give up, and we will no longer care about
our own lives, only about the will of God.
At the beginning of Revelation 12 he tells us how this will come into being. The
woman travails in birth until the son is brought forth and is caught up to God
and to his throne. This is the church who will travail and intercede until the
conquering Christ is formed in us. The moment that takes place our inner life is
caught up to God. Maturity enables the saints to overcome the accuser, and the
result is that God himself will fight for you by sending forth His angels to
defeat the wicked one.
In spiritual warfare there are two armies – one made up of angels fighting
angels, and the other an army of saints who exercise mature judgment which
enables God’s warring angels to fight. (Mat.16:19) “Whatever you bind on
earth will be bound in heaven and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in
heaven.” (John 20:23) “If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven;
if you don’t forgive they are not forgiven.”
Immaturity keeps us from exercising the appropriate judgment. Hebrews 5:13-14
tells us anyone who stays on milk will not understand righteousness and will
remain immature. We have been on solid food for awhile now – we are being
trained in righteous judgment! Righteous understanding and righteous behavior
are not automatic – they develop through a process that comes by the Spirit of
God to a faithful consistent people who will press into Christ. We will not
overcome Satan until we are able to judge between righteousness and wickedness.
The way we know Christ is formed in us is to be able to renounce evil when it
comes forth and to be able to embrace righteousness no matter what the cost.
WE OVERCOME BY BLOOD OF THE LAMB:
The blood pardons sin.
The blood clears the record so God no longer remembers our sin.
The blood protects us from the judgment of the world.
The blood is our spiritual nourishment to drink.
The blood enables us to gain victories over the sinful carnal nature.
The blood of the Lamb is the basis to remove sin from our being.
WE DON’T OVERCOME ANY EVIL WITHOUT THE BLOOD.
Now, if all of this is true, what keeps us from overcoming? It is our self-will
that keeps us immature and unable to believe and accept the power of the blood.
With every disobedient response, we are negating the power of the blood. Only
when we obey the voice of the Spirit of God are we empowered by the blood of the
Lamb. The only way to remain empowered is to daily put to death the deeds of the
flesh by confessing them, repenting, and renouncing them as evil so we can draw
near to God and find help in time of need. ALL DELIVERANCE LOOKS TO THE BLOOD OF
THE LAMB FOR ITS AUTHORIZATION.
If we do not resolve to overcome sin during our lifetime, when we are given the
opportunity to do so, we shall reap corruption.
WE OVERCOME BY THE WORD OF OUR TESTIMONY: We always bear witness of God by what
we do and say. If we do and say in accord with Satan, we are overcome. If we do
and say in accord with the Word of Truth, not what someone tells us, but a Rhema
from God, then we overcome. You have to hear the voice of God to be able to have
a testimony. You know it is His voice because it gives you life. There is no
doubt. [While you are in training and learning, there will be times of doubt,
but we are talking about maturity today.] We are not a true witness for Jesus
until we are listening and obeying His voice. There are multitudes of false
witnesses in the church today – the evidence is unrighteous behavior, lack of
holiness, and lack of respect for God.
True servants of the Lord proclaim truth by what they do and say. Servants of
Satan proclaim what they are by how they act and speak.
How then do we determine which is the true testimony and which is false? This is
where we become the Judges. Whatever is contrary to the Scriptures (no matter
what doctrines are presented, no matter how much power is seen) is a false
witness. We have to “eat the book.” You can’t survive off of what I eat. [I am
not a bird that regurgitates and spits into your mouth] Learn to chew what is
being served, if it is truth. We come into the image of Christ by what we eat,
not by what we watch someone else do (no matter what the power). We have no
power to bear witness of Christ until we receive the Holy Spirit and are living
in the Holy Spirit. There is much ignorance today in the church because people
are trusting in myths that keep them infantile. [Ex: NAS (brought to my
attention) Eph.2:8 footnote: “The grace of God is unconditional, that is, we are
not saved on the condition that we hold out to the end or that we fail not or
that we do our best. We are saved by the grace of God, apart from any works.”
{NAS 1979 pg.1131}] If that is true, then we are not saved by enduring to the
end, even though Jesus Himself said in Matthew 10:22 you must endure to the end
if you are to be saved. You cannot possible overcome when you are living and
believing what is not scriptural.
WE OVERCOME BY LOVING NOT THEIR LIVES TO THE DEATH: The church is split over the
issue of suffering. Too many have gone forth with their ministry and gifts, not
waiting to be brought forth by the Spirit of God or the command of the Lord.
They just do what they want and think God is in it. In contrast, are those who
have paid the price and who wait and wait and wait until God speaks. With each
day passing they are dying to themselves and their own self-will. I had a
supernatural call from God to start our work. But I had to pray and wait and
encounter suffering before I was ready to receive that encounter with God. I had
an agenda that wasn’t His. But I was surrendered to His will and purpose. Until
we are willing to deny our own desires, we will attempt to fulfill God’s will by
our own methods. And like Abraham, we will create havoc that is far reaching
beyond our own agenda. Only as much as we are willing to die to our self can
Christ live in us, for it is only Christ who can overcome the accuser and place
him under our feet.
We have waited and waited as we are being prepared. Our Lord is going to sweep
us off our feet. He that overcomes will inherit all things and God will be his
God and he will be God’s son.
-Pr. Steve
January
Newsletter 2008 | Waiting & Waiting
Pastor's
Journal January 2008 | Renew The Mission
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Biblical
Counseling for Leaders
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