Silencing Satan and Strengthening Saints

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.

REVELATION 12:11

Confessing Christ not only seals salvation, as we saw yesterday, but it also silences Satan. How Satan hopes that you and I will not learn to believe and confess that Christ is Lord. In Revelation 12:11, John writes that one way the saints overcame Satan was “by the word of their testimony.” What is this testimony? “Jesus is Lord.” Satan is not afraid of you and me, but he is terrified by our testimony! 

Satan is conquered by confession. When you take the name of Jesus Christ and boldly fling it in the face of Satan, he cowers. I have seen firsthand the power of the name of Jesus and the power of the confession that Jesus is Lord. This is why Satan tried to destroy the infant Jesus through the evil King Herod. The devil knew full well Who that Baby in Bethlehem was. Satan tried to kill Jesus because he knew that the manger of Bethlehem held his defeat. 

Confessing Jesus as Lord not only seals salvation and silences Satan, it also strengthens saints. Do you want to be a strong Christian? Begin to confess openly and gladly that Jesus Christ is Lord—that He is your Lord! If you want your faith to be strong, put your faith in your mouth. Begin to articulate it. You’ll find that it will begin to grow. The more you assert something, the stronger its power will become in your own life. Confessing Jesus will increase your love for Him!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Operation Rescue

Virgin Birth

Truth of Mary, virgin, mother of Jesus!

Holy Spirit visited Mary!

Incarnation 

God became man.

In Christian theology, the doctrine of the Incarnation holds that Jesus, the Preexistent Divine Logos and the second person of the Trinity, God the Son, took on a human body and human nature and was made flesh.

He was conceived in the womb of Mary by supernatural means of the Holy Spirit, the third person if the Trinity. The doctrine of Incarnation, then, entails that Jesus Christ is fully God who became fully human to rescue all peoples from the penalty of their sins.

Christ is Lord and Savior!

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 He was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men.

5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. - John 1:1-5

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

He actually took up residence with man.

Living among us as a neighbor.

In OT times, memorials were sometimes set up to denote the presence of God.

17 So Joshua commanded the priests, "Come up out of the Jordan."

18 And when the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the LORD came up from the midst of the Jordan, and the soles of the priests' feet were lifted up on dry ground, the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and overflowed all its banks, as before.

19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.

20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal.

21 And he said to the people of Israel, "When your children ask their fathers in times to come, 'What do these stones mean?'

22 then you shall let your children know, 'Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.'

23 For the LORD your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the LORD your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over,

24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the LORD is mighty, that you may fear the LORD your God forever." - Joshua 4:17-24

God is with us!

3 powerful implications of " God is here"

1. Jesus came to expose God!

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

Jesus was God in human flesh!

No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father's side, he has made him known. - John 1:18

25 Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me,

26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep.

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.

29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.

30 I and the Father are one." - John 10:25-30

2. Jesus came to extend grace!

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. - Matthew 5:23-24

43 "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.'

44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?

47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. - Matthew 5:43-48

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.

32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. - Ephesians 4:30-32

We are selfish.

None deserve grace!

Be kind to those who despise you! 

3. Jesus came to establish truth!

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. - John 1:14

For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. - John 1:17

Two truths that will change your life!

1. Jesus is the only way to heaven!

13 "Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many.

14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. - Matthew 7:13-14

1 "Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me.

2 In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you?

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.

4 And you know the way to where I am going."

5 Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?"

6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. - John 14:1-6

2. Jesus eliminates fear!

8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples.

9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him.

10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me." - Matthew 28:8-10

We hand down our past family traditions. 

We want the younger generation to know their heritage.

Christ is our all in all!

1 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered.

2 This was the first registration when Quirinius was governor of Syria.

3 And all went to be registered, each to his own town.

4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the town of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David,

5 to be registered with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child.

6 And while they were there, the time came for her to give birth.

7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn.

8 And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night.

9 And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear.

10 And the angel said to them, "Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.

11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.

12 And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger."

13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

14 "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!"  - Luke 2:1-14

Thank You Pastor Kevin!!

That You May Believe

Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name. (John 20:30–31)

I feel so strongly that among those of us who have grown up in church and who can recite the great doctrines of our faith in our sleep, and yet who can yawn through the Apostles’ Creed — that among us something must be done to help us once more feel the awe, the fear, the astonishment, the wonder of the Son of God, begotten by the Father from all eternity, reflecting all the glory of God, being the very image of his person, through whom all things were created, upholding the universe by the word of his power.

You can read every fairy tale that was ever written, every mystery thriller, every ghost story, and you will never find anything so shocking, so strange, so weird and spellbinding as the story of the incarnation of the Son of God.

How dead we are! How callous and unfeeling to your glory and your story, O God! How often have I had to repent and say, “God, I am sorry that the stories men have made up stir my emotions, my awe and wonder and admiration and joy, more than your own true story.”

Perhaps the galactic movie thrillers of our day can do at least this good for us: they can humble us and bring us to repentance, by showing us that we really are capable of some of the wonder and awe and amazement that we so seldom feel when we contemplate the eternal God and the cosmic glory of Christ and a real living contact between them and us in Jesus of Nazareth.

When Jesus said, “For this purpose I have come into the world” (John 18:37), he said something as crazy and weird and strange and eerie as any statement in science fiction that you have ever read.

Oh, how I pray for a breaking forth of the Spirit of God upon me and upon you; for the Holy Spirit to break into my experience in a frightening way, to wake me up to the unimaginable reality of God.

One of these days lightning is going to fill the sky from the rising of the sun to its setting, and there is going to appear in the clouds the Son of Man with his mighty angels in flaming fire. And we will see him clearly. And whether from terror or sheer excitement, we will tremble and we will wonder how we ever lived so long with such a domesticated, harmless Christ.

These things are written — the whole Bible is written — that we might believe — that we might be stunned and awakened to the wonder — that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who came into the world.

John Piper 

Sealing Salvation

. . . that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

ROMANS 10:9–10

 I want to take the next four days to show you some of the wonderful things believing and confessing Jesus as Lord will do for you. We might call them Christmas presents that you will never have to exchange or return! 

The first thing that believing and confessing Christ will do is seal your salvation. That’s what Paul is talking about in Romans 10:9– 10. He writes, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” It’s very clear. If Jesus is not your Lord, He’s not your Savior. 

Today we hear people say, “You’ve accepted Christ as your Savior. Why not make Him Lord of your life?” But let me say it again. If Jesus Christ is not your Lord, He is not your Savior. Christ is not divided. Dr. Vance Havner used to say that salvation is not a cafeteria line where we order “a little Saviorhood today, but no Lordship, thank you.” 

The Christmas message is so plain. The word from heaven was clear. The Baby of Bethlehem was, and is, the Lord of the universe. The wise men who came so far to bow before Jesus and present their gifts acknowledged Him as the Sovereign Lord. The angels rejoiced at the glad announcement that the Messiah had been born. Even the thief on the cross who was crucified next to Jesus confessed His Lordship and pleaded for salvation when he cried, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom” (Luke 23:42). Jesus instantly accepted his confession, telling him, “. . . today you will be with Me in Paradise” (v. 43). 

The good news of Christmas is that when you call on Jesus and say, “Lord, save me,” He says to you, “Today it is done.” Salvation is by grace through faith, and it is immediate and total. But you must be committed to Jesus’ Lordship if you want His salvation.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

The Birth of the Ancient of Days

Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” (John 18:37)

This is a great Christmas text even though it comes from the very end of Jesus’s life on earth, not the beginning.

Notice: Jesus says not only that he was born, but that he “came into the world.” The uniqueness of his birth is that he did not originate at his birth. He existed before he was born in a manger. The personhood, the character, the personality of Jesus of Nazareth existed before the man Jesus of Nazareth was born.

The theological word to describe this mystery is not creation, but incarnation. The person, not the body, but the essential personhood of Jesus existed before he was born as man. His birth was not a coming into being of a new person, but a coming into the world of an infinitely old person.

Micah 5:2 puts it like this, 700 years before Jesus was born:

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days.

The mystery of the birth of Jesus is not merely that he was born of a virgin. That miracle was intended by God to witness to an even greater one; namely, that the child born at Christmas was a person who existed “from of old, from ancient days.”

And, therefore, his birth was purposeful. Before he was born he thought about being born. Together with his Father there was a plan. And part of that great plan he spoke in the last hours of his life on earth: “For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world — to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice” (John 18:37).

He was the eternal Truth. He spoke only the truth. He acted out the greatest truth of love. And he is gathering into his eternal family all those who are born of the truth. This was the plan from ancient days.

John Piper 

Confessing Jesus as Lord

Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.

ACTS 2:36

Have you crowned Jesus as Lord in your personal and family life? Are you gladly, freely, and openly confessing Him as Lord? In Luke 2:10 the angel said that the announcement of Jesus’ birth was “good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.” God wants this message known around the world.

You see, the Lordship of Jesus is what separates the crowds at Christmas. Anybody can get sentimental about a little baby lying in a manger. Now make no mistake—I thank God for the “sweet little Jesus boy.” The Bible’s emphasis, however, is not on Jesus the infant, but on Jesus the Lord. Many of the same worldly people who stand around the manger this week singing Christmas carols will be drunkenly singing “Auld Lang Syne” in a few days at New Year’s Eve parties. They do not confess Jesus as Lord. 

In Bible times, to openly and boldly confess “Jesus is Lord” really meant something. For a Jew to say that Jesus was Lord meant that He was Jehovah God, the eternal, self-existing God of the Old Testament. The Jews held God’s name in such reverence that they would not even pronounce it. The scribes copying the Scriptures would pick up a new pen to write the word Lord. 

For a Jew to confess Jesus as Lord meant paying a price—being excluded from the nation of Israel. But this was the truth that Peter declared to Israel in his great message at Pentecost in Acts 2. He said, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus . . . both Lord and Christ” (v. 36).  Gentiles also had to pay a price for that confession, because it was deemed treason against Caesar to confess anyone else as Lord. It cost many early Christians persecution, and oftentimes death, to confess Jesus as Lord and Christ. 

I wonder at this Christmas season, is Jesus your Lord in this way? Do you see Him as God? Do you confess Him as Lord no matter what the cost may be? Jesus does not want prominence in your life; He deserves and demands preeminence. He is Lord!

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

Christmas Solidarity

The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. (1 John 3:8)

The assembly line of Satan turns out millions of sins every day. He packs them into huge cargo planes and flies them to heaven and spreads them out before God and laughs and laughs and laughs.

Some people work full-time on the assembly line. Others have quit their jobs there and only now and then return.

Every minute of work on the assembly line makes God the laughingstock of Satan. Sin is Satan’s business because he hates the light and beauty and purity and glory of God. Nothing pleases him more than when creatures distrust and disobey their Maker.

Therefore, Christmas is good news for man and good news for God.

“The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” (1 Timothy 1:15). That’s good news for us.

“The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). That is also good news for God.

Christmas is good news for God because Jesus has come to lead a strike at Satan’s assembly plant. He has walked right into the plant, called for the Solidarity of the faithful, and begun a massive walkout.

Christmas is a call to go on strike at the assembly plant of sin. No negotiations with the management. No bargaining. Just single-minded, unswerving opposition to the product. We won’t be a part of making it anymore.

Christmas Solidarity aims to ground the cargo planes. It will not use force or violence, but with relentless devotion to Truth it will expose the life-destroying conditions of the devil’s industry.

Christmas Solidarity will not give up until a complete shutdown has been achieved.

When sin has been destroyed, God’s name will be wholly exonerated. No one will be laughing anymore.

If you want to give a gift to God this Christmas, walk off the assembly line of sin and don’t go back. Take up your place in the picket line of love. Join Christmas Solidarity until the majestic name of God is cleared, and he stands glorious amid the accolades of the righteous.

John Piper