In a walk with God you must never become devil conscious but always have your focus centered upon the Lord. If you focus on anything, let it be to obey the Word and magnify the Lord.
Many religious groups become so aware of devils that they look for devils instead of the moving of the Lord. The focus of your attention should always be on the Lord, not on the devil.
We need to reduce Satan to his proper size. Since Satan is a master of illusion and deception, we need to see a realistic picture of Satan in relationship to us now.
We know that we are in the conflict of the ages in its final resolution. We know that in our generation we will see the spirit realm cleansed of fallen angels, evil spirits and demons.
We know the Lord’s Kingdom will be established in righteousness and Satan himself will be bound in the abyss. This is a happy prospect, but at the moment we do not see that as a reality yet.
We see what Revelation 12 calls the raging of Satan because he knows that he has but a short time. Oh, what deception Satan can bring if we are not aware! Therefore, we must go to the Word in order to understand the true picture.
Our text is found in Revelation 12:7–12. And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. And the dragon and his angels waged war, and (this is the important phrase) they were not strong enough. That is good to remember: they were not strong enough. The dragon and all his angels were not strong enough.
And there was no longer a place found for them in heaven. I like that. Satan no longer has a place. This is talking about the second heaven or the place where he rules over nations or cities.
And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who was called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the authority of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night.”
He has been our accuser. Satan has stood and accused us before God; but when he is cast down and he no longer has access to be our accuser, the role is shifted. Now we become the aggressors. To us is given judgment. Christ says that the prince of this world is judged. Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. John 12:31. He has already been cast out of heaven; now he is cast out of earth. Where is he going? He is being evicted from every place. No place is found for him, no place.
Satanic efforts toward self-condemnation are probably one of the greatest problems the average person has in a walk with God.
The enemy sends condemnation to you to make you feel condemned. After a while you accept the satanic invasion of the wicked one’s fiery darts, and you begin to believe his lies. You begin to assume that the thoughts which have flooded your mind are your own thoughts, that his accusations are true; and you end up self-condemned.
How do the saints overcome him? “And they overcome him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death. For this reason, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them. Woe to the earth and the sea; because the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time.
He has only a short time! As that phrase becomes real to us, we begin to feel the victory rise in our spirits. We rejoice because we know how to overcome him.
How do we overcome Satan? In verse eleven there are three keys to the saints’ overcoming him. The last one mentioned is that “they did not love their life even to death.” One of the most effective ways to overcome Satan is to go against the human instincts that prevent us from becoming disciples.
I think that self-preservation is probably one of the strongest instincts we have. We react to preserve ourselves. The fear of death lodges within us, and we want to live. It is a strong drive. As a result of that instinct to live, people will continue to live out their days and labor, even under intolerable circumstances.
Jesus said if you lose your life for His sake, you will find it (Matthew 16:25). You must be willing to lay your life down; you must be willing to come into such dedication that you love not your life unto death.
As a Christian, you cannot reach the height of victory or overcome the harassment of Satan until you come to the place where you have given your whole life to the Lord and have taken up your cross to follow Him (Matthew 10:38).
You do not take up a cross for an ornament or for something to hang around your neck. Scripturally, you take up a cross for one purpose: to die on it. You determine that you will follow the Lord. The cross is an instrument of death; you are determined that everything of the old Adamic life is to die. You love not your life unto death, and you are willing to lay your whole life down for the Lord. As long as you have any other selfish or ulterior motive, the ministry that God wants in your life will never come forth.
There is a second factor in overcoming Satan: “the word of their testimony.” You do not overcome Satan through personal strength; you overcome him because the Word has authority. That is the reason Jesus Christ used the Word during the temptations that Satan brought in the wilderness. Jesus said repeatedly, “It is written” (Matthew 4:1–11). He took the Word and used it effectively. You also use the word of your testimony, and it is a powerful force.
People do not realize how great the civil war is in their bodies—the flesh warring against the spirit and the spirit against the flesh … these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. Galatians 5:17.
People do not realize that they cancel out any good effects when they speak positively one minute and negatively the next. They make themselves ineffective when they grumble and complain and then try to stand on the promises of God. They are consuming all their spiritual energies and force in a civil war in which everything is dissipated; they are lucky to even survive.
If you want to overcome the enemy, you must focus on one area alone. Eliminate the negative testimony! Hold fast the confession of your faith without wavering, as the Word says (Hebrews 10:23). Come before the Lord and proclaim it—a positive declaration—because you overcome Satan by the word of your testimony.
Be positive in your praises to the Lord and in your thanks. In everything give thanks; in everything trust Him! When you do this, you will eliminate that negative force which erodes your position before God and gives Satan a real occasion against you.
Those who murmur and complain are asking for more trouble than they realize; they have no defense. The Old Testament records that God judged the murmurers and complainers in the wilderness.
God takes it very personally when people complain, for their murmuring is against Him. Murmuring is a form of unbelief. You murmur because you are not daring to believe that what God has said to you is really true.
He has said that you are a person living under His smile and blessing because you have accepted His grace and salvation. When you reject that, you are not claiming anything from God. It disturbs the Lord when people, especially those who have already partaken of His goodness, reject what He has for them in their murmuring and unbelief. Blessed are they who overcome because of the word of their testimony.
The third reason for the victory of the saints over Satan is that “they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb.” We cannot escape the fact that the victory comes because of the blood of the Lamb.
He shed His blood vicariously for us. It is in that victory of the blood of Jesus Christ that we stand. That is the way we overcome: through that precious blood. He made the sacrifice for our sins; He is the one who shed His blood for our atonement. We are made one with God through the suffering of Another on our behalf. He was the substitution for us.
When God grants us repentance and the blood is applied to our life, sin no longer remembered, it is like it never happened. In heaven there is no remembrance of sins against one another.
Why does the blood of Jesus atone for us? Jesus’ precious, innocent blood was recognized by the Father as holy and righteous. That precious blood was shed for our guilt.
In turn we can accept the righteousness and the guiltlessness of the One whose blood was shed in our stead. It is a matter of transference.
If Christ took upon Himself our infirmities (Matthew 8:17), and the Lord laid upon Him the iniquities of us all (Isaiah 53:6), then by faith, God can lay upon us the righteousness of Christ. We can overcome Satan, not because we are worthy or strong, but because we stand before God and before Satan absolutely guiltless.
Satan can accuse me and point out my faults, but by the precious blood of Jesus, my sin is no longer a reality. How can Satan accuse me any longer if by the word of my testimony I have accepted the blood of Jesus Christ to produce in me an absolutely righteous state? It is imparted to me. God looks upon me and sees the righteousness of His Son, just as He once looked upon His only Son and turned His face away from Him. Jesus died on the cross crying, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Matthew 27:46b. If God laid my sin upon His Son and then turned away because of the ugliness of my sin, how much more will He turn His face toward me and look upon me with favor when He sees the righteousness of His Son upon me?
We overcome Satan by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of our testimony, and by the fact that we love not our lives unto death but we live them wholly for the Lord. This is a simple process that the Lord is working in every one of us. He wants us to accept the blood of Jesus Christ with joy and thanksgiving. We must apply the blood to our hearts so that when the Father looks upon us, He sees the righteousness of the Son.
Christ’s blood is not merely substituted in our behalf; we are really cleansed. The blood of Jesus Christ brings the impartation of Christ’s righteousness. The word of our testimony makes it a way of life, a reality in everyday living. By faith we profess it and receive it, and then we surrender control of our lives day by day to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. This is the salvation that is ours through Jesus Christ the Lord.