Topic: End Times Prophecy and the Overcomers. Category: End Times>
Bible Scripture: Revelation 12:10-11.
Listen to the full sermon.
Let us go back to a time when there was great persecution of the church. A time when the most cruel and evil empire of humanity was in power.
There was a man in exile for his testimony of Jesus. He had a vision from the Lord God Almighty.
The vision revealed what had already taken place and what will happen in the fulfilment of God’s purpose and plan.
The man who received the vision, his name is John.
In the vision John declared, I can see a woman. Clothed in the beauty and goodness of the Lord God Almighty. She knew her beauty and goodness was from Him.
Under her feet is her fleshly pride. She knew He is the creator of heaven and earth and all things good.
She intimately knew that she was the most loved by Him. Not because of anything she had done, but because of what He had done.
He gave her all of Himself. His love, His joy, His peace, His patience His goodness, His kindness, His gentleness, His self control and His faithfulness. He adorned her with jewels. In fact she is His Jewel. In exchange for her filthy rags of pride, hopelessness and unbelief, He clothed her with His beauty. He filled her with faith.
The woman represents a tribe of people, who chose to receive God’s gift of Himself.
overcomers on earth
From this tribe, the smallest of tribes, many many generations in time past, God gave a promise to a man. God said, ‘Through your children, I will rescue many people.’
The man’s name was Abraham.
From this same tribe after generation and generation came a shepherd boy. The shepherd boy is from the tribe of Abraham, from the tribe of Israel. This shepherd boy knows the Lord God Almighty’s love for him.
The shepherd boy becomes king. I can hear the Lord God Almighty saying to the shepherd boy, ‘Through your children, I will rescue many people.’
This shepherd boy who became king of Israel, his name is David.
Many many generations pass. John said, The woman cries out in pain once more, as she is about to give birth to the child.
But wait… The fiery red dragon, the evil one is ready to devour the child as soon as it is born!
The woman cries out in pain once more. She now gives birth to the child.
overcomers in heaven
The fiery dragon, full of his own pride and evil makes war. I can see the good spirits fighting with the fiery dragon and the evil spirits who choose to follow. The good spirits are winning.
John testifies, the child is God who becomes flesh and blood, born of the Spirit of God. The child is from the tribe of Abraham, from the tribe of David. He is the blood sacrifice to rescue all who choose to receive His free gift. I can see Him now. The lamb of God.
I can hear Him say, ‘It is time for me to give my life as a blood sacrifice, to push back the darkness. I will rescue you forever and ever and ever.
It is dark. It is very, very dark. Yet I can see the love in His eyes as He gives up His life. I can see the blood falling, falling, falling…down to the ground.
I can see the love in His eyes as He gives me His life. He dies on a cross. The flesh and blood sacrifice for all humanity.
Time passes.
overcomers over death
I can see the empty tomb. He is alive! Up into heaven. He is there with the Lord God Almighty and His throne. I can see His nail pierce hands. He is called the Word of God.
I can see the fiery dragon is defeated. He falls like lightning from the sky, down to earth, to pursue the woman and her offspring.
The woman’s offspring represents all who believe and receive God’s eternal sacrifice of Himself in Jesus. The church is her name.
The believers from the tribe of Abraham and believers from all tribes become one in Christ Jesus. The woman and her offspring are now one.
The fiery dragon, the accuser of the brethren, the serpent of old, Satan is his name. He pursues the woman and her offspring, the church.
Then John says in Revelation 12:10-11 ‘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.’
overcomers over evil
The ultimate defeat of satan happened in time past, through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ.
Jesus’ victory is not bound or trapped in a moment of time, it was for time past, time now and time future. It is an eternal victory!
Salvation has already come and the saints are already triumphant over satan because of the blood of Jesus and the word of their testimony.
Satan pursue’s the Church of every tribe and nation. Yet he is continually in torment because of our very existence we constantly remind satan of his ultimate defeat. The defeat which was through the death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ. The Messiah, the Anointed One, the Saviour of the world.
Satan is blinded by his own pride so continues to persecute the church, even knowing he is defeated. Satan knows we will neither worship him, nor the beast, nor the antichrist, nor join in the injustices of man’s empire without God. We know the truth and will not listen to the voice of the false prophet, yet satan continues to persecute.
None of those things that oppose God and His Kingdom have any power over us. God is an unstoppable force. Satan is forever frustrated and defeated, all because of Jesus.
Even tho some of the church has been martyred or persecuted, they are overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. They indeed did not love their lives to the death.
overcomers for eternity
Not all are killed for their belief. Yet all in Christ Jesus are overcomers.
His victory is our victory because we overcame satan (time past) by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony.
The church and every individual are a testimony to the defeat of satan and the victory of Jesus. Every individual who receives Jesus and believes is an overcomer.
the overcomers seven promises
Jesus said, To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.
He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.
To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.
And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—“He shall rule them with a rod of iron; They shall be dashed to pieces like the potter’s vessels’—as I also have received from My Father; and I will give him the morning star.
He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
testify
Therefore we are overcomers by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony. By the transforming work of the Holy Spirit we too do not love our lives to the death.
Sermon categories: son of man> love of God> hope and healing> know God> truth> power> end times> experience God> life> success in life> kingdom>
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