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[Music] welcome to everyone just one brief announcement a reminder that there's no Bible study this Wednesday the 26th or January 2nd so we will resume after that with reference to our call to worship you can turn in your Bibles to Psalm 2 the second Psalm often quoted in the new testament psalm concerning our Lord Jesus Christ Psalm 2 beginning in verse 1 why did the nation's rage and the people plot a vain thing the kings of the earth set themselves and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed saying let us break their bonds and pieces and cast away their cords from us he who sits in the heavens shall laugh the Lord shall hold them in derision then he shall speak to them in his wrath and distressed them in his deep displeasure yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion I will declare the decree the Lord has said to me you are my son today I have begotten you ask of me and I will give you the nation's for your inheritance and the ends of the earth for your possession you shall break them with the rod of iron you shall dash them to pieces like a Potter's vessel now therefore be wise o Kings be instructed you judges of the earth serve the Lord with fear and rejoice with trembling kiss the son lest he be angry and you perish in the way when his wrath is kindled but a little blessed are all those who put their trust in him amen well please turn in your Trinity hymnal to him number 149 hymn number 149 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] well let us go to the Lord our God in prayer our Heavenly Father and our glorious God we gather together on the Sabbath day to call upon you and to sing your praises and to look to Holy Scripture we acknowledge that you are God Most High even father son and holy spirit we acknowledge your handiwork in the creation we acknowledge your government and Providence and we praise you for redemption through your son the Lord Jesus Christ we thank you for what our Bibles tell us in terms of the promises of the Old Testament and the fulfillment in the New Testament we praise you that in your time you sent forth your son born of a woman and born under the law to redeem those under the law for we know God by our merit and by our keeping of the law none of us would ever enter into heaven but how we thank you for the merit and the law keeping and the the substitutionary atonement our behalf we give praise to you for every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ that you have given unto us we praise you for justification by faith alone in Christ alone we praise you that you are sanctifying us by your Holy Spirit and that one day you will glorify us you will bring us into that New Jerusalem where we will sing the praises of our great God world without end Lord may you encourage our hearts with this thought may you cause us to reflect upon what is ours in the person and the work of the Lord Jesus and may these things serve as a great encouragement to us in this lower world for god we all confess many trials and afflictions and temptations and difficulties so may the thought of that one who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000 may it be a great encouragement to stir our hearts unto perseverance by faith we ask that you would bless this gathering together today that should strengthen each and every one of us that Christ may dwell in our hearts through faith and that the presence of the power of the Holy Spirit would at work here and we would ask that as your people gather your your believers you that you would sanctify us and conform us evermore unto the image of your beloved son and for those who have come here this morning that are that are still in their trespasses and sins we pray that today would be the day of salvation that Christ the Lord and His mercy and grace would be set forth before sinners and the Spirit of God would would produce or promote that conviction of sin and that conviction that Christ alone is a savior for sinners do that in this place today do that throughout the earth today as the gospel is preached we pray that it would run swiftly and be glorified and that a multitude from every tribe and tongue and people and nation would come to the God of heaven and earth through the son of your love even our Lord Jesus Christ forgive us for our sins and our transgressions cleanse us afresh in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ wash us and purify us and cause us Lord God to pursue the things that are that are pleasing in your sight but when we do sin may we never forget that we have an advocate with the father even Jesus Christ the righteous our God how we thank you for him and thank you for his advocacy on our behalf we thank you for the helper the spirit guides and directs and leads us and assists us and God we praise you for all of the resources that you have afforded unto us who God grant us grace to appropriate these things to utilize these things and to be the people of God you've called us to be and do forgive again our sins and iniquities as we enter into this this place today may we meditate upon and be struck afresh with the reality that our God is a holy God a righteous God the one who inhabits eternity as well the one who looks upon those who are humble and of a contrite spirit so do bless us in this regard we ask thee would be with those in our mets with physical trials and challenges and the sufferings that attend these bodies we pray for Linda that you would watch over her we know this recent round of chemo has left her a bit affected more than perhaps the others and we just pray God that you would just give her grace and give her peace and give her that that peace which does surpass all understanding we pray for little Jimmy Butler in the hospital that you had bless this little fellow we ask God that each and every day is lungs would grow stronger that he would be able to leave Children's that he would be able to return home in the in the in the in the near future we also ask God in heaven that she'd be with the Neufeld family she would continue watching over them that she would grant grace to dawn and give him physical health and strength Lord be with the proctors I pray for mrs. that you would encourage her heart this morning that her mother's in good care that you would be gracious to her and that you would watch over this situation in Lord Most High we ask that you would help each and every one of us God if we don't have the physical things associated with life in this world we definitely have the spiritual challenges and we know there is a real devil who roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour may the text of scripture this morning that we look at be an encouragement in that regard we know that we were told to resist him and he will flee from us the Christ has dealt the deathblow at Calvary's cross to that archenemy we know we also have this world that is in at enmity with God so help us Lord to be in it but not of it and with our own remaining corruption may we see that that that battle so clearly outlined by the Apostle in Romans 7 in Galatians 5 and may it produce in us a crying out to you for divine aid for the power and the presence of the Holy Spirit and may you be pleased to supply those needs that we have in and through our Lord Jesus Christ god bless the persecuted church those who are suffering for Jesus Christ God it seems that each and every day we are reminded of new things going on in this world again a world that is at odds with you and with your people we pray that you'd uphold your people that you would strengthen them in the midst of their suffering may they nevertheless find great joy because in this world we will have tribulation but Christ said to be of good cheer for he has overcome the world we do pray God in heaven through the suffering saints the gospel would go forth in these nations and that more sinners would come to the Lord Jesus Christ and God in line with what we read in Psalm 2 we pray for the governing authorities in this nation and throughout the earth God we pray specifically that the Kings the judges the governors the rulers would kiss the Sun that they would bow the knee to the Lord Jesus Christ we know God in heaven that he is a gracious Savior we know that our brother the Apostle Paul told us to pray for kings and all who are in authority and we pray specifically first and foremost that you would have mercy upon them that you would save them from their sin conform them unto the image of Christ and cause them to carry out their task in a manner that is consistent with the biblical law God if they do not repent if they do not forsake their evil we cry out to you to restrain them from the the folly and the madness of trying to legislate apart from that that beautiful standard of your law we would pray God in heaven that you would have mercy upon this country we know it is a time that mimics that imitates that looks exactly like Judah in Isaiah's time when men call good evil and evil good we pray that in your wrath you would remember mercy and that you would bless the preaching of the gospel and in this country we pray that you would save a great multitude and we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well please turn with me again in your Trinity hymnals to number 151 hymn number 151 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] turn in your Bibles to John chapter 4 for our scripture reading this morning John's Gospel chapter 4 we'll read verses 1 to 26 John 4 beginning in verse 1 therefore when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John though Jesus himself did not baptize but his disciples he left Judea and departed again to Galilee but he needed to go through Samaria so he came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph now Jacob's Well was there Jesus therefore being wearied from his journey sat thus by the well it was about the sixth hour a woman of Samaria came to draw water jesus said to her give me a drink for his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food then the woman of Samaria said to him how is it that you being a Jew ask a drink from me a Samaritan woman for Jews have no dealings with Samaritans jesus answered and said to her if you knew the gift of God and who it is who says to you give me a drink you would have asked him and he would have given you living water the woman said to him sir you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep where do you where then do you get that living water are you greater than our Father Jacob who gave us the well and drank from it himself as well as his sons in his livestock jesus answered and said to her whoever drinks of this water will thirst again but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst but the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life the woman said to him Sir give me this water that I may not thirst nor come here to draw jesus said to her go call your husband and come here the woman answered and said I I have no husband jesus said to her you have well said I have no husband for you have had five husbands and the one whom you now have is not your husband in that you spoke truly the woman said to him sir I perceived that you are a prophet our fathers worshiped on this mountain and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship jesus said to her woman believe me the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem worship the father you worship what you do not know we know what we worship for salvation is of the Jews but the hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth for the father is seeking such to worship Him God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth the woman said to him I know that Messiah is coming who is called Christ when he comes he will tell us all things jesus said to her I who speak to you and he amen we see our Lord's encounter with this particular woman in fact if you go back to John chapter 2 at verse 24 it says but Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men and had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what was in man well the subsequent chapters makes that clear in chapter 3 he deals with Nicodemus before Nicodemus is even even to able the aunts asked his question the Lord Jesus says unless you were born again you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven well what evidence is this as well in John 4 where he knows this woman he knows her particular situation in fact later we'll see as she responds to her fellow Samaritans she describes Jesus as a man who told me all things that I ever did the Lord Christ knows what's in man the Lord Christ is able to speak specifically to what man needs and here in this context in John 4 Jesus is addressing this woman this Samaritan woman many ways Jesus broke all protocol by even talking to her John indicates that Jews have no dealings with Samaritans remember Samaria was founded by King Omri he was one of those wretched kings of Israel and Samaria became the capital of the Northern Kingdom and it was sort of a niche mix massive of different peoples and different things by the time of Jesus date they were really looked down upon Samaritans were not looked upon favorably and so this displays the reality that Christ Jesus came into this world sinners to save not just Jews but Jews and Gentiles Jews and Samaritans people from every tribe tongue and people in Asia I think that's one of the emphases in John's Gospel as the Samaritans will later confess in this chapter that Jesus is the savior of the world God so loved the world does not mean every single person without exception God so loved the world means people without distinction Jews Gentiles Samaritans Americans Canadians Africans people from every tribe tongue people in Asia John's emphasis is that way he wants to highlight that this Savior that has been given by God to the world is the one prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures as the one who would be born of a woman born under the law to redeem those under the law whether they're Jews whether they're Gentiles and when Jesus tells this particular woman to go and call your husband and come here the Lord Jesus again revealing that he knows what sin man revealing that he knows what's in this particular woman is dealing very gently and graciously with her when she says I have no husband and he says you have well said I have no husband for you have had five husbands in the one whom you now have is not your husband in that you spoke truly the woman now is starting to get a sense that she's dealing with somebody who's who's different she knows and again she will say tell a man who told me all things that I ever did so she now uses this opportunity asked Jesus about worship I perceived that you are a prophet verse 19 our our fathers worshiped on this Mountain and you Jews say that in Jerusalem is the place or one ought to worship well Jesus then highlights that salvation is of the Jews again the idea being the Jew first and also to the great its of the Jews but it includes Gentiles as well but notice what Jesus says here in verses 23 and 24 the hour is coming and now is when the true worshipers will worship the father in spirit and truth for the father is seeking such to worship Him God is spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth it's a beautiful thing the father is seeking such to worship Him the Bible always portrayed God that way when Adam and Eve fall God comes after them when Babel builders make this tower to raise up into the top of the heavens to make a name for themselves god confounds their lip gives them different tongues gives them you know various nations but then in the call of Abram we see the divine response to the Babel builders we see the divine response with reference to God's initiative in the saving of sinners if you're not a believer here this morning and you have this concept in your head that God saves but he doesn't like a miser God saves but he does it sort of hesitatingly you have not been taught the doctrine of God well god almighty sought out Adam and Eve God Almighty calls Abram out of career of the Chaldeans God Almighty sends the son of his love in order to redeem sinners the Lord God according to Jesus in this passage is seeking such to worship Him and with reference to this reality God is spirit and those who worship must do so in spirit and truth I don't think it means with the head and the heart but it means Trinitarian Trinitarian worship the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit that's what worship looks like it's not tied to a particular temple in Jerusalem but under this new covenant expression we come to the Father through the son by the spirit wherever we find ourselves specifically in local churches gathered together to serve God most high and then the final observation look at what happens at the end there have been those there's a man living today that says Jesus never claimed to be the Messiah I don't know these people get these concepts or get these ideas Jesus everywhere claimed to be the Messiah Jesus everywhere affirmed that he was the Messiah notice what the woman says in verse 25 I know that Messiah is coming who is called Christ when he comes he will tell us all things jesus said to her I who speak to you and he literally I am he affirms the fact that he's Israel's Messiah he affirms the fact that he's the chosen of God he affirms the fact that his mission is to come to save his people from their sins and if that's the mission of the Son of God and you're a sinner and may I say to you believe on him the beautiful thing you're a sinner he's a savior you need him and he is pleased to say from every tribe tongue people and nation well let us pray father thank you for this Christ and thank you for this way of salvation this access to the Father that we have through the son in the power of the Holy Spirit may we worship you this way and may we adore you and may we ponder these things and God as we consider the the incarnation of the Son of God and what a blessed and a beautiful thing this is that he came down for us men and for our salvation may you encourage our hearts and may we see the great love wherewith God has loved his people and we pray that you would draw sinners by the power of the Holy Spirit giving those graces of faith and repentance so that Souls may close with Jesus and we ask in his most blessed name amen well let's sing for our final him before the preaching number one six eight number 168 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] oh please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Revelation well look at Revelation chapter 12 the passage that we have looked at in the past a passage that shows us the triumph and the victory of our Lord Jesus Christ but that that triumphant victory of our Lord Jesus Christ does not mean or translate into heaven on earth in other words after these things after the dragon is defeated he turns his anger and his rage against the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ I think this chapter does capture what our Lord says in the Upper Room when he says you in this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world also this chapter I think illustrates for us or flashes out the implications of genesis 3:15 so let's look at revelation 12 beginning in verse 1 now a great sign appeared in heaven a woman clothed with the Sun with the moon under her feet and honor had a garland of twelve stars then being with child she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth and another sign appeared in heaven behold a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven diadem's on his heads his tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born she bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron and her child was caught up to God in his throne then the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God that they should feed her there 1260 days 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 excuse me 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 in the sea for the devil has come down to you having great wrath because he knows that he has a short time now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child but the woman was given two wings of a great Eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time from the presence of the serpent so the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood but the earth helped the woman and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the dragon had spewed out of his mouth and the dragon was enraged with the woman and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ amen let us pray father thank you for the written word of the living and true God thank you for this passage of holy scripture and the great triumph that shows us concerning the Christ may you bless and encourage our hearts now may he strengthen us may cause us to meditate upon such truths as these and may they be that that help in our Christian walk we ask that you would forgive us for our sins and our transgressions we ask that you would supply us with the the aid of the Holy Spirit that he would guide us now that he would lead us now then you would illumine our minds and our hearts to receive your word and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well the book of Revelation as we see here is a book that's charged with vision and an image and metaphor and and symbolism in fact if you look at chapter one there's a bit of a sort of an indicator on how we ought to approach the book of Revelation in chapter 1 verse 1 the revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave him to show his servants things which must shortly take place and he sent and notice this word and signified it by his angel to his servant John who bore witness to the Word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ to all things that he saw blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep those things which are written in it for the time is near so you see that there is straight prose there's straight narrative there there's reporting of certain facts and data but there's things that are signified there are things that are represented there are visions conveyed that teach truth and revelation 12 is one of those visions and the truth behind it is that Christ is Victor Christ is triumphant and the devil ultimately is a miserable loser the defeat of the devil is underscored in four places in Revelation chapter 12 now there might be those here that have been taught that revelation is a scary book I think what's really scary is that people have been taught that revelation is a scary book revelation is not a scary book revelation is a most encouraging book for the people of God it's about the kingly office of Jesus Christ in fact notice going a bit further in Revelation chapter 1 this sort of opening statement to the seven churches which are in Asia Minor verse for grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come and from the seven spirits who are before his throne that's a reference to the Holy Spirit and his completeness in his fullness and from Jesus Christ now notice we talk about Christ as prophet priest and gang that's because John does and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness there's this prophetic ministry we see the firstborn from the dead there's his priestly ministry and then notice and the ruler over the kings of the earth that's the kingly office of Jesus Christ John says we're not waiting for Jesus to be the king to be over the kings of the earth John says this is a present reality and I would suggest that that would have encouraged the people of God that were suffering at this particular time they needed to understand that though is a beast or you know a beast from the land a beast from the sea that will see or at least refer to in Revelation 13 it's as if John is saying gods over all this Jesus has this he he has the power he has the authority he is going to sustain you he is going to see you through it it sighing to be pleasant at times there's going to be trial there's gonna be difficulty there is going to be faithful martyrs like Antipas but there's going to be conquest from Christ for his people because it's already occurred at the cross so go back to chapter 12 I want to look first at the incarnation of the son in verses 1 to 6 secondly the defeat of the dragon in verses 7 to 12 and then thirdly the persecution of the woman in verses 13 to 17 I doubt I'm going to successfully answer every question that you may have as a result of our study in Revelation 12 I'm going to just kind of do a broad overview and fly over it and and spend time where I think John would have us to spend time but note first incarnation of the woman we have to identify these three sort of entities there's this woman there's this dragon and then there's this male child and some have suggested that the man that the woman is Mary in fact if you look there at verse 7 verse 2 then being with child she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth Roman Catholics obviously would favor the interpretation that demands that the woman here is Mary I don't believe that's what John is suggesting to us I think the woman here in language reminiscent of say Jacobs vision or Jacobs dream is the Old Testament people of God it's from the Old Testament people of God that Messiah cons it's from the Old Testament people of God that Jesus comes later on this woman is going to be identified in verse 6 and then again in verse 13 as one entity that has to run from the devil or the dragon there I think we see continuity the Old Covenant people of God transition into the New Covenant people of God so it doesn't demand one particular woman but rather the idea is is that the promised Messiah in those Old Covenant scriptures given to Israel has come or is gone and then this dragon is enraged and wants to try and stop this the dragon is clearly identified in verses 3 and 4 he's a great fiery red dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven diadem's on his hat I don't think it's necessary for us to parse out all that that means but simply to suggest that it ties us to the divisions given to Daniel in other words John's revelation is one of the most Old Testament ish books in the New Testament doesn't have the most quotations but the Old Testament is definitely very much present in the book of Revelation and so I think this description of this devil sort of ties us in to some of the things that Daniel saw but it goes on to describe him later specifically down mning the chapter in verse 9 so the Great Dragon was cast out that serpent of old called the devil and Satan who deceives the whole world now look at his activity with reference to the woman look at his activity with reference to the male child the male child isn't sure you surmise is our Lord Jesus Christ now the devil wants to try to prevent the Lord Jesus Christ from coming onto the scene and that is what John refers to in verse 4 his tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth and the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born now that certainly is reminiscent of the situation facing our Lord at the time of his incarnation remember that Herod massacred the innocents Herod took the sword against anybody who might fulfill that particular prophecy and had them executed but this goes way back into redemptive history as I said genesis 3:15 is behind the scenes here in revelation 12 and in genesis 3:15 we read very specifically I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and her seed he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel God promises in the garden a deliverer God promises in the garden a deliverer who would be a man God promises in the garden a deliverer who would be born of a woman God promises in the garden that this deliverer would achieve total conquest through his own suffering that's the emphasis at the end of genesis 3:15 we see specifically there I will put enmity between you and the woman in between your seed and her seed he shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel God's first promise of the gospel is spoken to the devil himself and he says to the devil you'll bruise his heel but he's going to crush your head and even before we get to Herod massacring the innocent we see the devil trying to stop the birth of this seed you see it all the way back in Genesis 38 with that instance of Judah and Tamar if Judah had his way there would be no line of the Messiah you see this with reference to Pharaoh's massacre of the innocence and the Exodus or before the Exodus you see it with Wicked Queen Athaliah in 2nd Kings chapter 11 verses 1 to 3 tell us that she went on a purge and her purge specifically was to wipe out all of the potential contenders for the Judaic throne and she wanted a massacre every single one of them in the line of David well there was a faithful woman by the name of Jehovah who spirited away joash and hid him she hid him away so that the line survives atholea ultimately meets our end but the line of David continues you see it all throughout the Old Testament where there's these threats to that line you see it at the times of Ezra and Nehemiah remember the council given by those religious reformers to the Israelites who had married the pagans they told them to put away those pagan wives they didn't want to compromise the seed they didn't want to jeopardize the Davidic line God had promised to David that from David's line God would raise up a son and that son would sit upon the throne and that son would reign forever and ever ever world without end and this is particularly what John is telling us with reference to the devil the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born this seed of the woman was purposed to destroy the serpent and so the serpent thinks in his own wretched way we'll all destroy any possible contender for my position and that's what drives the devil in redemptive history to try and exterminate the seed of David but it doesn't happen does it who's more powerful than the devil God who's more powerful than Satan God always bothers me and it should bother you in persons try to deify God deified Satan as if he's a contender on the same sort of level with God Satan's creature God is creator Satan is made Satan is conquered Satan is on a leash according to Revelation chapter 20 Satan is not God he is not a deity he does not have omniscience omnipotence or omnipresence in fact the instructions given to the people of God with reference to their dealings and doings with Satan is to resist him I think I've shared with you many years ago I went to a sort of prophecy I don't know if it's a prophecy conference but it was a it was a conference put on by a fellow who had these techniques on how to cast demons out you might ask why did you go there there was a reason I wasn't actually looking for you no lessons and instructions on how to cast out demons not suggesting that I I have all those answers but it has always struck me very very nicely that that the instructions given to us in the Bible with references to the devil as resist him it's a short conference if we actually were biblical about it you know all these people come in huh how do we fight against the devil how do we how do we deal with these demons how do we how do we launch resistance against the the the the the nefarious foe of our souls resist him that's about what half a second you don't sell DVDs and books and CDs back then probably VHS cassettes at that particular time dating myself here but you don't sell stuff by just adopting the biblical strategy resist him not say these words do these things all this stuff but resist him why because he's a conquered foe the skirmishes that exist are mapa battles Christ has won the victory because that's one of the things I think persons are struck with when they come to Revelation 12 if as we see the devil is defeated by the cross work of Jesus if as we see the devil is cast out of heaven why is it that he then rages against the church on earth and God allows this God not only allows this but God has decreed this because if the son learned obedience through suffering those who are co-heirs with Christ to every benefit secured by Christ they're going to learn obedience by suffering too in other words afflictions and trials and hardships and heartaches in this world have redemptive means or have redemptive ends but in God's plan they further conform us unto the Savior other words ask Christians we shouldn't say why am I being harassed by the devil why am I having a tough time in the world why am i this brethren this is God's purpose for you now you may not like that you may say well pastor Butler you don't know my particular ins and outs and I don't want to minimize that and I don't want to trouble you by thinking that I don't care about that I try to pray for people and try to pray with reference to the afflictions and the trials that people face but the Christian Church needs to get this down health wealth prosperity gospel is a lie even if we're reformed we think well you know I'm a I'm a good godly well I don't think any of us would say good godly I hope none of us would say that would what we're trying we're struggling we want to persevere and be like Jesus so why is everything going wrong in my life because God's conforming you under the image of his son through everything going wrong in your life we could ask the question with Jesus why did everything go wrong in his life why is he prophetically looked at as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief why is it told us in the prophet Isaiah he had no form he had no comb leanness he wasn't this handsome stunning character that we were all drawn to no I think that the Prophet is speaking to the days of his passion we hid as it were our faces from him we didn't want to look at the gore we didn't want to look at the agony we didn't want to see that sort of thing well why does Jesus do what he does well according to Hebrews 5 he learned obedience through suffering the point is brethren that the decisive conquest at Calvary with reference to the devil does not mean there is no more malice inflicted on the people of God in fact a proper reading of Revelation 12 I think will suggest that if we're not being plagued by the devil if we're not being molested by the world then we're probably not being faithful in other words where will the devil be the devil will be where those seeds of gospel preaching are being sown because the devil doesn't want people to hear it and believe it and be saved why would the devil mess with a church where all the message is is health wealth and prosperity that's why they're all happy that's why they all have white teeth that's why they you know the wives have big hair that's why they all have summer homes there's no molestation from the devil there's no fighting there's no battles there's no persecution but the infant church in Revelation 12 though the conquest occurs at Calvary nevertheless the devil rages nevertheless the devil seeks to exterminate the people of God I think the idea is thus I couldn't do it with Jesus but I'll go after his people but Jesus is there with his people Jesus fortifies Jesus strengthens Jesus gives grace so that his people can it can press on in the midst of it look at revelation chapters 2 and 3 the letters to the churches in Asia Minor is it all just fun and games everybody's happy everybody's happy everybody's just singing in and praising and doing great things no Jesus dresses real suffering real hardship real martyrdom and yet the people of God did say well well why if if Christ won this decisive victory are we still suffering the Bible explains it we don't need to read it and revelation 12 is one of those passages notice revelation 12 verse 5 she bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron number John 18:37 last week are you then a king Jesus says you say rightly that I am a king for this cause I was born now notice what John does she bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron and her child was caught up to God and his throne this is what this is kind of a telescope a quick snapshot doesn't go through every jot and tittle of the Lord Jesus life doesn't deal with the earthly ministry doesn't deal with the opposition by his enemies it doesn't deal with all of that it simply deals with incarnation and ascension it simply deals with the reality that this male child was born this male child escaped the grass for the attempt of the devil she bore a male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron psalm 2:9 and her child was caught up to God and his throne GK bill says that temporal telescoping is involved in verse 4 is suggested by verse 5 now a snapshot of Christ's entire life his birth his destiny and kingship and his incipient fulfillment of that destiny in his assent to God's heavenly throne after his post resurrection ministry is given in one line he wasn't necessary for John be of every jot and tittle of the life and Ministry of Jesus Christ he was born and he was caught up to God in heaven that encapsulates everything when we drop down to verse 11 we'll see how the saints of God overcome the accusation of the devil it is by the blood of the Cross it's not that John is anti atonement John is giving us this telescope John is giving us this snapshot of the life of Jesus but notice in verse 11 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 now notice verse 6 then the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God that they should feed and feed her there 1260 days again the idea here specifically is that the Ascension of Christ does not remove from the people of Christ hardships trials and difficulties it's a one thing I kind of want to just get across a couple weeks ago I took a night off from Genesis 11 and we looked at James 1 James Wan deals with the believer and trials a lot of people are tried in this contest with a lot of people going through various things and issues in the life of the church things that we know about may not even know about other things I think it's good for us to get a biblical understanding of the believer and affliction and here's specifically verse 6 remember I said that that revelation is very Old Testament ish this is Old Testament language you know it was Israel in the wilderness where God cared for her was Israel and the wilderness where God protected her they didn't interpret it this way they didn't look at it this way they didn't say boy we loved it out in the wilderness no they got out in the wilderness and what did they say boy back in Egypt we had garlic and we had leeks and we had onions and we had all kinds of good things they whined and grumbled and complained but God through Moses in Deuteronomy tells them that it's there in the wilderness that I carried you the way a father carries his son so that's pretty typical isn't it we look at the wilderness and we say man this isn't as good as we had it in Egypt we prefer to be a slave class as long as we had garlic and leeks and onions we prefer anything over this Lord and yet God says it is precisely then that I was protecting you it was precisely that not not that he's not in Egypt but it's precisely then that I'm carrying you the way that a father carries his son it is precisely then that I am fortifying and stabilizing and securing you that's the emphasis in verse 6 then the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God that they should feed her there 1260 days so that's the incarnation of the son the attempt by the dragon of the devil to try and stop that incarnation through redemptive history culminating right up to Herod trying to assassinating the innocents now note the defeat of the dragon in verses 7 to 12 see I think revelation 12 is a bit of a behind-the-scenes look behind the scenes look of what's happening we see the cross we see this decisive victory on on earth but what's the implications for sort of behind the scenes what's happening in heaven and I think this helps us with Revelation 13 as well again I don't want to get too involved in trying to detail for you all the particular ins and outs of the book of Revelation but suffice it to say in Revelation 13 John's going to introduce two nasty characters there's a beast from the sea and a beast from the earth these aren't real monsters they're not like real sort of you know things that you might see under your bed or in your closet that's not what they are one's a political power and one is a religious power but the power behind that is this dragon the power behind them is the devil the power behind them is Satan it jives with what Paul tells us in Ephesians 6 we don't wrestle with flesh and blood but with principalities and powers and those darkness are those dark things that that lie behind the scenes well that's what Revelation 12 does it it takes us behind the scenes and shows us what happens scripture is very clear that when Jesus died on the cross he vanquished his foes when Jesus died on the cross he triumphed over his enemies I just think we should probably look at those passages or a selection of those passages you can turn to Colossians chapter 2 Colossians chapter 2 verse 15 having disarmed principalities and powers he made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them in it this is connected to the first coming of the Lord Jesus it's connected to Calvary see there's this idea that Christ won't really be king until the second coming that's not where revelation in the New Testament tells us Christ is Cain Christ is ruler over the kings of the earth we're not waiting for the king to come we're waiting for him to consummate we're waiting for him to bring us into the eschaton but but Christ at the right hand of the Father he intercedes for his people he's an advocate with the father on our behalf when we said but he's also the ruler over the kings of the earth just like he was in revelation 1 prime minister trudeau is not ultimate Yahweh is President Donald Trump is not ultimate Yahweh is no governor no king no authority no earthly power is ultimate God Most High specifically the Lord Jesus the media toriel king stationed at the right hand of the Father he's ultimate doesn't both tell us that in Ephesians 1 he has that name of Philippians 2 where he has that name that is above every name he has universal Empire and verse 15 in Colossians 2 associates that or attaches it to the cross so does Hebrews chapter 2 you can turn there Hebrews chapter 2 just to show you that Christ was victorious at the cross the devil was defeated at the cross Hebrews 2:14 in as much then as the children of partake in a flesh and blood he himself likewise shared in the same that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death that is the devil how does Jesus destroy the devil through Jesus death is that the emphasis in Revelation 12 he is born he's incarnate and then he's ascended what's assumed in between is that he died on the cross that he was raised the third day and then he ascended on I it's associated with that that verses 12 and following com'd devil cast out by virtue of Christ's cross work notice in first John first John another statement concerning the emphasis on the defeat of the devil at the first coming of the Lord Jesus first John 3 verse 7 little children let no one deceive you he who practices righteousness is righteous just as he is righteous he who sins is of the devil for the devil has sinned from the beginning for this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil now what manifestation of Christ do you think John is talking about he's talking about the manifestation of Christ in his first coming he's incarnation he's taking on our humanity with all of the essential properties and the common infirmities thereof yet without sin his life of perfect obedience to the Father his death on Calvary is a substitute and as a sacrifice he is referring to that coming that's where the devil was defeated and that's what revelation 12 is telling us as well so when we look at Revelation 12 verses 7 to 12 as I said it's a behind-the-scenes look it's what happens in heaven now you might be puzzled about this statement that that the devil is in heaven those of you who've read the book of Job you read in job chapter 1 and you see that the devil is talking to God tonight we're gonna consider another passage that we've looked at in the past in Zechariah chapter 3 there's this Joshua the high priest and the devil's right they're telling God that this is a wretched man he might ask the question well why is the devil there in the presence of God and I might say to you I have no earthly idea but the Bible tells us that that's where he is the Bible tells us that that's where he was where he was because revelation 12:7 in following says that he was cast out the casting out of Satan in verses 7 to 12 in Revelations wealth is not at the creation of the world it's not that first sort of fall of the devil and God casts him out but it's at the recreation of the world the new creation inaugurated by the death of our Lord Jesus Christ it's that activity that brings the death blow upon the devil and that's what John describes notice in verse 7 again using Old Testament language using concepts that the Bible is already presented he says 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 that connected to the death of our Lord Jesus Christ just like we saw in 1st John just like we see in Hebrews - just like we see in Colossians - and if we would have taken the time just like we see in John 12 when Jesus says and I if I be lifted up I will draw all men to myself and the ruler of this world will be cast out it was the first coming it was that those events associated with the incarnation of our Lord the Creed was right who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven he assumed our humanity to do what he did at the cross so that he could vanquish our greatest enemy the devil and so that he could deal with our other enemies the world and say probably the greatest enemy is our flesh so there might be a time when the devil's not messing with you there might be a time when you're not being messed with by the world just imagine you're on earth deserted island and it's just you the devil is busy he's out you know messing with other people because remember he's not deity he's not omnipresent he's not omniscient he's not omnipotent he can't be everywhere all the time doing everything all the time so you might be on that island lonely but happy because you like some private time but there's that enemy still that the remaining corruption there's still that in you there's still there it's still present its abiding it's always there pilgrim a Christian swimming through that River Jordan it isn't just you know just do it like you know Michael Phillips and and just soar through there there's struggle there's hardship there's eggs there's pains I'm gonna slug it out brethren you see in terms of the devil he has been vanquished and that's what the text is telling us now what is the response of heaven to this what is the response of the people of God to this first and 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 it's one of the functions of the devil he's an accuser it's an adversary of the people of God that's what he's doing in job 1 he says to God job only serves you because you've made life good for job job only does what you tell him to because you give job every good thing so God says go ahead take it from him and see what happens job says naked I came into this world naked I shall return blessed be the name of Yahweh the devil accuses we'll see that again tonight in Zechariah 3 what's the devil doing there in that scene where God is with Joshua the high priest the devil is right there to accuse Joshua and tell god what a wretch and what a miserable failure Joshua is he's not what the devil does to us you're a rat you're miserable failure you don't live the way God says you're not holy you're not perfect who do you think you are claiming title to heaven when you can't even do this that or the other that's a function of the devil and what we find is that the cross work dfangs the devil with this particular aspect of his conduct you see the same sort of thing in Romans chapter 8 who is he who will condemn his Christ who justifies who shall bring a charge against God's elect the Apostle is in essence challenging the devil challenging the world and challenging our own Flash when all of these accusations come to us what are we supposed to respond with it is Christ who died it is Christ who has risen that's my hope that's my help that's my solid ground you see the devil is cast out and the people of God rejoice as a result notice in verse 11 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 now note this particular warning in verse 12 therefore rejoice o heavens and you dwell in them why because the devil has been cast out of the heavens but notice this warning in verse 12 woe to the inhabitants of the earth excuse me and the sea for the devil has come down to you having great wrath because he knows that he has a short time that's the validation or that's the sort of undergirding we need when we get to Revelation 13 why are the inhabitants of Earth and sea being worn and being cautioned because the devil has this short time he's going to do everything he can to try to disrupt people on earth that's the point he he has lost he has been vanquished Christ has triumphed over him but he's kind of like a petulant child you know a child that didn't get his way but he has to make everybody miserable around him I know none of you kids are like that you don't get your way and you embrace it from the heart and you say yes mommy yes daddy with a big smile on your face well well there are some of these kinds of kids that actually do exist you know mom at Walmart says you can't have this and they flip out and Walmart and they just are a public spectacle they don't get their way and they lose it kind of the devil is in this particular that's why the warning comes in verse 12 it's not something about oh the political times in the 21st century you're gonna know there's a specific application in this particular context but the caution holds because the devil after he's defeated is like that whining kiddin Walmart thrown its hamper temper tantrum just you know ripping things off the shelf because he didn't get what he wants that that's how the devil is presented so why wouldn't we have this view the book of Revelation being scary and and it's gloomy and it's do me and it's all you are not reading the same book of Revelation that has historically fed the people of God in the Church of Jesus Christ because they all read and they say praise God Almighty for Jesus the devil is portrayed here losing on four fronts will summarize that when we get to the end of the message the devil is also seen here as a petulant child ripping down the shelves at Walmart because mommy said no can't have it God defeated the devil through the cross work of Jesus Christ so the devil turns his anger and his vengeance upon the Church of Jesus Christ and that's what verses 13 to 17 highlight notice in verse 17 we see the outrage of the dragon now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child and this isn't Mary the mother of Jesus stature CH this is the people of God this is connection Old Covenant Israel New Covenant Israel it's the mother it's the people it's the ones from whom Messiah comes it's the one that loved Messiah that the people of the Messiah so the devil turns his rage and enmity against them when the dragon saw that she had that he had been cast to the earth he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male child now the next bit of reference and verse 14 again it's Old Testament language it's God's provision for the nation of Israel it's God's character of his people in the nation of Israel notice in verse 14 but the woman was given two wings of a great Eagle that she might fly into the wilderness to her place where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time from the presence of the serpent wilderness in Israel was a good thing they complain they whine they want to go back to Egypt but it was there that God provided for them and there that God carried them the way that a father carries his son the book of Exodus tells us Exodus 19 you have seen what I did to the Egyptians and how I bore you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself Deuteronomy 32 10 to 12 he found him in a desert land and in the wasteland a howling wilderness he encircled and he instructed and he kept him as the people of his eye as an eagle stirs up its nest hovers over its young spreading out its wings taking them up carrying them on its wings so the Lord alone led him and there was no foreign God with him see the readers of Revelation and us included ought to think of God's care and provision for the nation of Israel at the time of this persecution in that instance through Pharaoh God bore them up on eagle's wings so the reference here the verse 14 makes sense in the big in in the context of biblical biblical history we ought to say oh yeah that's God providing for his people now notice verses 15 to 17 the serpent continues to attack there is this campaign against the church he doesn't just leave Walmart he doesn't just go quietly again you might ask the question why didn't God I don't know God uses him even for his own good purposes Luther said he's he's he's God's devil so no leash you ever walked down the road and there's a big dog and he comes running at you and you fear for your life and then snap he stops because he's on a chain you take a moment to praise God for anybody and everybody who's ever made a chain in their life and figured to put it on a big dog so that it wouldn't eat you to death but that's a good thing right that the dog is stopped the devil can only go so far he's bound according to Revelation 20 the binding of Satan there doesn't mean he's not a personal enemy to the people of God doesn't invalidate the implications of first Peter 5 he roams about like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour what's in view in Revelation 20 is clearly delimited so that he can no longer deceive the nations in other words in this new covenant era the gospel goes forth to every try people in Asia but here specifically the devil does not go quietly we see this campaign against the church in verse 15 so the serpent spewed water out of his mouth like a flood after the woman that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood again we read that as adults typically children usually get the book of Revelation better than adults and we go what's it's just telling us that there's this active campaign on the part of the devil to try and upgrade the people of God we may not know all the particulars and outs of the imagery and all of the particular ins and outs of the details but this much I know the devil hates the people of God and he wants to hurt them that's how you're supposed to understand 15 to 17 the devil hates the people of God and he wants to try and hurt them but the earth by God's grace protects the people of God so general reference to The Devil's campaigns against the church Bo again says the image of the flood proceeding from the Serpent's mouth portrays his attempt to destroy the church by deception and false teaching that's exactly how the beasts operate in Revelation chapter 13 but notice we then see verse 16 the earth helped the woman the earth opened its mouth and swallowed up the flood which the Dragon it spewed out of his mouth and now verse 17 and the dragon was enraged with the woman and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ the petulant child who leaves Walmart ripping everything down gets out of the parking lot and says well I'm still going to go after that look devil I'm not the most brightest bulb in the chandelier but you lost accept it so the devil has nobody in his corner saying that to him look you've lost you've lost over and over and over again you've lost in your battle against the Christ verses 1 to 5 you've lost in your fall from heaven verses 7 to 12 you've lost with reference to the woman in verses 13 to 16 and you'll continue to lose according to verse 17 in every campaign against the people of God subsequent to this that's what the text is telling us so is this discouraging it's this gloomy is this sad or is it a picture of Christ triumphant is it a picture of the one whom jaundiced describes in Revelation one as the ruler over the kings of the earth the beast from the sea the beast from the earth these are rulers in their in theirs particulars fears in the earth but Christ is over that the devil is a loser according to Revelation chapter 12 but that doesn't mean the devil isn't going to stop trying to molest and trying to destroy and trying to hinder the people of God notice how the people of God before we close our exposition and move on just to a few thoughts and application notice how the people of God are described in verse 17 the dragon was enraged with the woman and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring who are the offspring of the woman who are the people of God who are the people for whom Jesus died they keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ in other words they believe the gospel they're washed in that precious blood verse 11 and as a result they try by God's grace and the enabling power of the Holy Spirit to obey God in other words they don't see the commandments of God as burdensome John tells us that in his epistle the commandments are not burdensome they're not Grievous that doesn't mean we're never burdened agree but the burden and the grief comes because we don't comply with those Commandments the way we ought to a wretched man that I am the Apostle says who will deliver me from this body of death you see the Christian seeks by grace to obey the Word of God not because he's trying to earn his or her salvation but because he's been justified freely by grace and that faith in Christ is alone but it is not alone because all of the other Grace's that accompany salvation are inherent in it and so brethren the people of God are described in revelation 12:13 as those who actually do what God says now not perfectly not always we need the Advocate we need his mediation we need his intercession we need to continually go back to that fountain that is open for sin and uncleanness the brethren the heartbeat of the Christian man and woman boy and girl so I want to do what God says I want to obey the Lord Oh I love your loft David said oh how I hate you Oh what a terrible thing you're lost you know there was a good thing fact Paul putting the blame not on the law in Romans seven but on us problems never been the law the problems been us with reference to the law the law is holy it's good it's just the Apostle speaks glowingly of the law the Possible's condemnation is us relative to the law and that we break it in that we trounce on it in that we stomp on it and that we want nothing to do with it but as far as the people of God those say by grace through faith in Jesus they are those summer Samara late described there as those who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus well in conclusion the triumph of the Lamb the Incarnation the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ led to subsequent events led to his life of obedience to the father see sometimes people might say well why did Jesus come into the world was it simply to start a new religion was it simply to you know inaugurate a season of great consumer spending is that why we have this sort of thing no he came into this world sinners to save how does he save sinners you may ask and you should ask he saves sinners by being their substitute he saved sinners by being their sacrifice he saves sinners by having obeying the law of God perfectly see when Jesus is in his earthly ministry if we would have kept reading in John 4 Jesus says my meat is to do the will of him who sent me why does Jesus say that because none of us ever did and none of us ever will jesus said that because it was the defining aspect of his earthly ministry I always do what pleases my father jesus said why does he do this because we need a righteousness and the only way that you and I are going to get a righteousness is if God gives us 1 and that righteousness comes as a result of Christ's perfect life of obedience to the Father but we not only need that righteousness we need our our sin dealt with we need our sin forgiven and what the cross is about the cross is the one who's altogether lovely in chief among ten thousand the cross is about Christ who knew no sin being made sin for us and on that cross taking the penalty and the punishment and the judgment of God on our behalf see the gospel answers to everything we need forgiveness we get it through his blood we need a righteousness we get it through his life we need justification we get it all through both the death of Christ and the resurrection of Jesus says why Paul says for our trial he was delivered up because of our offenses and he was raised for our justification see that's why Jesus came that's why the cross that's why the Incarnation that's why that great and beautiful thing where he came down for us men and for our salvation it was in order to redeem us from our sins we see as I said the utter defeat of the devil if you missed that let me repeat it the devil fails in his attempt to destroy the child he failed with Tamar he failed with the P the the people of Israel you know marrying with the pagans he failed with atholea he failed with Herod he fails every single time revelation 12 tells us that he was poised there right in front of the woman ready to get that baby and stop him and neutralize the threat but he fails he's cast out of heaven he is cast or he's ultimately dealt with in terms of his continuing campaign against the church and the people of God a third observation I've already brought this out but we need to remind ourselves the persecution of the church we've seen in the book of Acts I've tried to make that conspicuous that it's not located only to the book of Acts but it's presently going on going on in China it's going on in the Middle East it's going on where God's people are and they don't have the same sorts of liberties that you and I very often take for granted the people of God suffer gross persecution at the hands of godless States and this validates what Paul says it's not ultimately the flesh and blood it's the demonic power behind it it's the devilish power behind it when we're critiquing socialism or communism it's not simply because Marx was a terrible human being though those things are true but it's because the devil is behind these anti God campaigns what would be the the end game is if they could the institution of communism to try and rid God from a society that's the devil's hand in all of that well it has to deal with economics economics are moral brethren there's a whole commandment given to economics you'll hear sometimes you know it's all you'll be talking about the economy the eighth commandment is a is a moral principle you're not supposed to steal it's just a fundamental thing you see we need to see behind these machinations and Men there is a devil in his campaign against the church again Beale makes the observation Christians can be assured that the serpent begins to battle against their bodies only after he has lost the battle over their souls this Express is one of the major themes of the book the suffering of Christians is a sign not of Satan's victory but of the Saints victory over Satan because of their belief in the triumph of Christ with which their suffering identifies them in other words we don't look at suffering Christians and say what's your problem you don't have enough faith what's your problem you're not a you're not a team player what's your problem you're a wine or you're a grumbler we should be singing praise God Almighty you've been counted worthy to suffer shame for his name so cut this whole backwards approach to suffering and trials and difficulties in the Christian faith we actually blame people that are going through afflictions could you imagine if Benny Hinn was your pastor and he came to your sick bed and he said you just need to get more faith and you'll get up off this bad boy that'd be the last pastor I'd ever want kick a man when he's down come on anybody ever entertains the thought that that's biblical that's just terrible pastoral theology blaming people who are going through afflictions now we need to take a sober assessment of our lives I think this is inculcated in James five on that statement dealing with the sick call for the elders of the church and if he has committed sins they will be forgiven we should do a spiritual inventory if there's big calamity in our lives it's not bad to say well you know I got a look at my heart got a look at my soul I gotta see where I'm at but if it is the case that I'm not harboring some massive sin and some guy comes along and tells me that you know you're in this condition because of you seems to neglect a very sovereignty of God neglects the very reality that God has purposed difficulties trials afflictions and hardships in our lives to conform us under the image of his son so why in the world would any pastor a group of people blame somebody who's going through affliction do we blame the woman in revelation 12 because the devil's enraged against her oh you're just a faithless grope there you're just a terrible lot there no we don't say that we root for the woman we wanted to be victorious we want God to spirit away a spirit her away on his on his wings as Eagles were for that and yet we get to individuals suffering in the Christian life we'll want to come in and kick them in the ribs and say well you know you deserve this because this that and the other that we even call it gospel that we've been associated with Christianity Jai Crescent matron in the early part of the 20th century said with reference to liberalism theological liberalism it's not a subset of Christianity it is something completely contrary to Christianity that's the voices we need today let's not namby-pamby dance around the issues these men are liars if they blame you when there's not some ain't as sin in your life some undealt with sin if somebody comes along and blames you because you're suffering they're liars they're working for the dragon they're operatives of the beast they're men who want not to be trusted listen to the master who said in this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer I've overcome the world doesn't that get at revelation 12 doesn't that summarize revelation 12 doesn't that bring to the forefront the very lessons that we were trying to bring out here in this world there will be tribulation but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world brethren that's the message that the people of God definitely mean to appropriate and if you're curious about this whole idea of the devil accusing the Brethren come back tonight when you look at Zechariah chapter 3 we'll investigate that a little bit more fully and we'll see how the Christian can silence the accuser who tries to raise this opposition how in the world do you think you could ever be one of the people of God because Christ died because Christ is risen it's not me it's not my words my merit it's not my law not my abilities but it's me Savior it's my lord it's the one who shed his blood on my behalf that is my hope that is my righteousness you don't know that Lord that hope and righteousness can be yours by coming to him in faith not just moral reform I got to go out and be a better me today know if you got that from this I just don't know where the disconnect came you can't go out and be a better you you need the best you need the champion of our salvation you need the king of kings and the Lord of lords you need the one who is prophet priest and King you need the one who was for us men and for our salvation born of a woman born under the law to redeem those under the law and the way of access to that King is through faith in Him well let us pray our Father we thank you for your word we thank you for the incarnation of our Lord and for the glorious description of his victory here in Revelation 12 we know that he has completely defeated the devil yet we know that devil does seek to roam about as a lion roams about as a lion seeking whom he may devour to help us to see our hope our protection our foundation in the person and in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ I pray that you would encourage all of our hearts as we do fall into these trials help us to face them the way James counsels with all joy and help us to know that you have your purposes even in the midst of these things go with us now and bring us back together that we may worship you tonight and we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen well that's closed by singing the doxology in praise to our triune God it is in the Trinity hymnal at page Roman numeral 16 if you don't already know it will stand as we sing the dark solid [Music] [Music] the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all amen go with us now father may we know these blessings in our own hearts and lives and may we be encouraged at this view of our Lord Jesus Christ having dealt the deathblow at Calvary's cross for his people we ask that you would cause us to reflect upon this and respond with great joy with Thanksgiving and gratitude to our wonderful father and we pray this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen