I Am Going to Make It

Charles Greenaway was a colorful missionary leader. He frequently said, “I might not look like much, but I’m going to make it.” You might not look like much, but if you have faith in Jesus you will make it! You can overcome! My text today is from Revelation 12:7-12: And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. The great dragon was hurled down – that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him. Then I heard a loud noise in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death. Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.” So, if we are going to make it, whom must we overcome? Martin Luther called him our ancient foe. John calls him that ancient serpent, referring to the tempter of Eden. He is called the devil or Satan. Devil comes from the Greek for a false accuser or adversary. Satan come from the Hebrew for adversary, our enemy. He is the great deceiver who leads the whole world astray using lies and half truths to mislead us, using pleasures to distract us, raising doubts about God and morality, using threats and bluster to stir our fears, and drawing us to sin so he can accuse us. He is the accuser of God’s people, accusing us in our hearts to burden us with guilt, accusing us to one another to divide us, and accusing us before God to destroy us and embarrass God. But God defends and restores His people. This foe has two dangerous allies. As average individuals, we deal more directly with them than with the devil who, unlike God, is limited. One of these allies is called the world, which is really mankind alienated from God. The world is a system of thought placing earthly power, sensual pleasure, material possessions, short-term security, popularity, and fame above God. We now often refer to the influence of the world as peer pressure, pressure to conform to this kind of thinking. The other ally is probably our most dangerous foe. We call it the flesh, our own sinful nature. We are prone to sin, to have wrong desires, and to be spiritually lazy. We must overcome all three, the world, the flesh, and the devil. That is who we must overcome. But more specifically, what must we overcome? Certainly, we must overcome immorality and other sin. The world and the flesh invade the church. Satan tries to get us to accept sin so that he can accuse us. But by faith, we can overcome. Besides sin, we must also overcome afflictions and persecutions. Affliction in Revelation comes from the verb “to crush, squeeze”. Various trials of life will put the squeeze on you. This includes sickness, unemployment, and other non-spiritual troubles. It also includes spiritual attacks on body, mind, or spirit. And there is overt persecution because of our faith. There is another danger. Perhaps the greatest threat many of us will face is spiritual apathy, or as Revelation 2 would put it, losing your first love for Jesus. You can work hard for God without really loving Him. You can put on outward religion without any life within. You can go through the motions with no fire. You can deceive yourself. But we can overcome this apathy. We must do so. And why is it important to overcome? According to Revelation 21:6-8, the overcomer receives eternal life in relationship with God. But those who refuse to believe face eternal fire, eternal separation from God. The rewards for overcoming mentioned in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 are worth the commitment Jesus call for: “The right to eat from the tree of life”, to be “not hurt at all by the second death”, and promises: “I will never blot out his name from the book of life” and “I will give the right to sit with me on my throne”. It is crucial that we overcome! It is eternal life or death! So, how do we overcome? In verse 11 of our text, we are given a two-part answer. First, we overcome “by the blood of the Lamb”. The death of Jesus on the cross destroys the work of Satan. Jesus frees us from guilt and accusation. Jesus frees us from the fear of death. Jesus enables us to overcome sin. His blood assures victory over tribulation. His dying for us stirs our souls, overcoming our apathy. His blood is the concrete answer to Satan’s lies and deceit. Second, we overcome by the word of our testimony. Salvation is received by a confession of faith, an open agreement with God that Jesus is our only hope of salvation and our acceptance of His grace. Our testimony of faith silences Satan. Our confession of Jesus as Lord frees us from worldly thinking. Repeated testimony of His grace reminds us to put the flesh to death. Confession renews our faith, and faith is the victory that overcomes the world, faith in the risen Jesus and His blood. So, let us confess. Let us agree together: Jesus is God become man to be my Savior. Jesus died on the cross bearing my sin and guilt. Jesus rose again that I might live with Him forever. Jesus lives and reigns now as my Lord. Jesus will come again in glory to rule over all. Jesus has crushed Satan’s head giving us victory. Jesus has overcome the world. Jesus gives me victory over my flesh. Jesus will build His church here by His Spirit. I choose to believe and trust in Jesus. I choose to follow His leading through the Holy Spirit. I choose to die daily to my flesh and live for Him. I will overcome by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of my testimony. Can you make this confession? If so, you might not look like much, but you are going to make it!