Sermon Tone Analysis

As that video and our Worldview magazine remind us on this Missions Sunday…

We have a huge task

Taking the Gospel to 3.3 Billion people who are either inadequately or completely unreached — many of those people are Hindus and Buddhists

I encourage you to read about the task of reaching this huge group of people.

Not only to read but, because you have read, to pray.

Pray especially for the ministry priorities mentioned on page 11.

That in the next 5 years:

150 new workers are raised up to minister in the Hindu and Buddhist regions

That 50,000 prayer partners stand behind the Gospel efforts to reach these groups

That God will inspire people to give financially and that He will multiply what is given

Again, this is a HUGE task

But as an old song by John Waller says:

It's time to dream big dreams Lord,

To see Your vision Become reality

'Cause it's for You, by You, And those who Love You wanna do

Something so big

It's destined to fail without You, Lord

Something so great

It takes a miracle to do

We, Your children

Wanna do something big for You

The the task of reaching our world with the Gospel is NOT impossible.

IF we will rely on the power of the Holy Spirit who leads us to triumph over the REAL enemy.

The enemy who, according to our text in verse 9 “deceives the whole world.”

The real enemy is the devil.

Clearly identified in Vs. 12 of our text

Labeled in Verse 9 as the great dragon, the serpent of old

And in vs. 10 of our passage as “the accuser of the brethren”

THAT is who the enemy is trying to keep humanity blinded and enslaved

The enemy is not radical Hindus and Buddhists who are willing to persecute those who follow Christ.

Who are willing to burn down churches, to destroy businesses.

Who are even willing to kill followers of Jesus.

These radicals are people who are being inspired by, led by, energized by the devil.

But as our passage reminds us:

Our enemy, the devil, is a defeated foe.

He WILL be cast out of heaven

And even now WE defeat him by:

The Blood of the Lamb

The Word of our testimony

By not loving our lives even when faced with death for the cause of Christ

Victory Through the Blood and Our Testimony

Let’s read about in our text:

Revelation 12:7–12 (NASB95) And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon.

The dragon and his angels waged war, 8 and they were not strong enough, and there was no longer a place found for them in heaven.

9 And the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is 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.

10 Then 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, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

11 “And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even when faced with death.

12 “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.”

This passage speaks of a tremendous defeat of satan and those who follow him.

It is one of several defeats mentioned here in Revelation

The final defeat which we long to see is:

Revelation 20:10 (NASB95) And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

That is the final demise of satan.

Never to be mentioned again.

Rejoicing in Heaven

But even this beginning victory over satan in vs. 9 inspires great rejoicing in heaven.

Hear Revelation 12:10 (NASB95) [Hear the… ] 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, he who accuses them before our God day and night.

All those who have gone before us have longed for and rejoice to see the day spoken of in vs.9

To see the devil thrown out of heaven

The constant barrage of accusations against them ended

They and WE rejoice to see the dragon defeated just as they and we know how to defeat him.

3 things will cause the defeat of the enemy as he seeks to accuse us before God.

As he seeks to keep the Gospel from going forth in an expeditious fashion

Yes, the Gospel must not only go forth, but there must be an urgency, a sense of time constraints.

An understanding that people are dying and going to hell every minute.

I was very struck by Brother Mundis’ quote of Carl Henry on page 7:

“The Gospel is only good news if it get’s there in time.”

So, through the 3 methods revealed in Vs.11, let us see that dream that is so big it is destined to fail without the Lord.

We will do that ...

The Blood of the Lamb

First of all, by relying on the Blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

For the past several weeks we have focused on the Lamb of God in our evening prayer services

And the Blood of the Lamb in our morning services.

This afternoon at 5 pm we will once again gather to pray in the Name of Jesus.

But, when it comes to defeating the accusations the devil levels against us, our only defence is the Blood Jesus shed for us.

Apart from the Blood we are guilty as charged.

We are guilty of hatred towards others, of lying, cheating, stealing, sexual immorality, envy, strife — of gross sin against God.

Ah, but BECAUSE of the Blood, THROUGH the Blood, as we saw last week in Hebrews 9:14 our consciences are cleansed from sinful deeds so that we might serve the living God.

Jesus shed His Blood to cleanse us.

As Hebrews 9:22 (NASB95) … one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

Jesus shed His Blood to cleanse us and purchase our forgiveness.

The devil wants to keep us beat-down, defeated, wallowing in despair.

But the Blood of Jesus gives us the victory over his constant accusations.

The Word of Our Testimony

Not only does the Blood of the Lamb give us victory over the accuser of the brethren, but the word of our testimony invades the darkness of hopelessness.

So many believe the lie of the devil that there is no escape from the despair and depression.

There’s no escape from the chains of darkness with which he binds us.

But then we speak the word of our testimony.

When we speak of that amazing grace.

Of how…

I was once lost but now I found.

I once was blind, but now I see.

I was once a sinner, but Jesus has set me free.

As we declare the works of God accomplished by the Holy Spirit through the Name of Jesus, others discover the hope of salvation through Jesus.

Page 28 of the Worldview tells of the conversion of a Buddhist monk.

How did this happen?

First, the Holy Spirit revealed the truth — that his life empty — in spite of all his religious works, his constant pointless study of idolatrous maxims and mantras.

Second this Buddhist monk went to a Sunday service where he heard many testimonies of changed lives

Those testimonies inspired him, gave him the hope of a fulfilled life of purpose.