Author: Darrell
Last saved by: Jeanne Clark

The Mad Dragon of Christmas
Christmas Sermons Part 19
Revelation 12 	12-21-2014
Summary: Christmas took place in two locations: Bethlehem and in the spiritual realm. In the spiritual realm, Satan tried to devour Jesus at His birth. God protected Him. Satan tried to kill the woman (Israel), but God protected her. So now he has turned against the rest of her offspring (the Church). We must overcome him on the basis of 1) the blood of the Lamb, 2) the word of our testimony (about Jesus), and 3) our loving Him more than we love life. 
Revelation 12 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 6 The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days. 7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 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. 10 Then I heard a loud voice 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. 11 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. 12 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.” 13 When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. 14 The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach. 15 Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent. 16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.  
Introduction: The Other Christmas Story
How many of you have ever been in a Christmas play and you played a shepherd or a sheep or an angel or Mary or Joseph? By a show of hands, how many of you were ever in a Christmas play in which you played the role of the dragon? There was a dragon in the original Christmas story. Most people don’t know that, because when we tell the Christmas story, we always focus on the one that took place in Bethlehem. But there was another location for the first Christmas. There was a Christmas that took place on earth, and that was the one in Bethlehem. But there was also a Christmas that took place in the spiritual realm at the same time. We read about that one in Revelation 12 and that one involved a big, red dragon. At the very same time all those things were happening in Bethlehem, other things – massive, cosmic, history-shaping things ‒ were happening in the spiritual realm.
The Woman 
Revelation 12:1 A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. 
Let me tell you right up front that the book of Revelation is written in symbolic language. This is not a literal woman. This is not a literal woman. Obviously no literal woman has the moon under her feet and 12 stars on her head.

The way symbolic language works is kind of like a political cartoon. If you saw a political cartoon with an eagle holding out an olive branch to a guy with a star and a crescent on his chest – that would be a symbolic way of saying that the United States is making gestures of peace toward Islam. There is no literal eagle or actual star or moon or branch. The eagle is just a symbol that represents the United States, and the star and the crescent moon are a symbol that represents Islam and the olive branch represents a gesture of peace. That is the way the symbols in books like Ezekiel and Daniel and Revelation work. The last thing you should do when you read symbolic literature like this is try to picture what is described in your head. All you end up with is ridiculous pictures that don’t make any sense. And later in the chapter, when you see the dragon with seven heads and ten horns, you will get real confused trying to figure out how ten crowns can fit comfortably on just seven heads.

These are symbols. So what does the symbol of the woman with the 12 stars represent? If it is a nation then it would have to be Israel, because in verse 5 she gives birth to the Messiah. And that makes sense because Israel is very often connected with the number 12 because of the 12 tribes. In fact, in Genesis 37:9, Joseph had a dream where the heads of the tribes of Israel appeared as stars. So this woman represents Israel (or the people of God).
Birth Pains
2 She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. 
Many times in the Old Testament the suffering of Israel is described as labor pains. And in Isaiah 26 we find out what it was that Israel was supposed to give birth to.

e.g. Isa13:8, 66:8, Jer.4:31, 6:24, Micah 4:10, 5:3.

Isaiah 26:18 We were with child, we writhed in pain, but we gave birth to wind. We have not brought salvation to the earth 
Israel’s job was to bring salvation to the earth. But back in Isaiah’s time, it didn’t happen. They gave birth to wind. They went through a whole lot of suffering, like labor pains, but they gave birth to nothing.
But this time it’s different. Israel is suffering, having labor pains, but this time there really is a Savior that is going to be born. But there is a problem.
The Dragon
3 Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads. 4 His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. 

In Daniel chapter 7 there is a prophecy about the final world superpower that will oppose God and His people. And that superpower is described as a beast with ten horns (Dan.7:7).  And later in that chapter we are told what that symbol of ten horns means. Daniel 7:24 The ten horns are ten kings who will come from this kingdom. Satan will be the power behind the final world kingdom. It is not clear exactly what these seven heads represent. One theory is that it is a picture of the beast that is hard to kill.  As soon as you cut one head off, six others arise. Seven is also the number of completeness in Scripture so it may be a picture of complete domination in the earthly political realm.

Many of you have been taught that this is a description of the original fall of Satan, but that theory doesn’t work because this is taking place at the time of Jesus.

One way we know this is not referring to Satan’s original fall is the fact that Satan was already evil, functioning as the accuser of the brothers, prior to this fall. The one who is hurled down to the earth is the one who leads the whole world astray. Notice verse 10 - … the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. He was functioning as the accuser prior to being hurled down. To try to make this a reference to something that happened way back before Genesis 3 is to rip this verse out of the context. It is not a reference to the time when Satan first became evil. It is a reference to a battle that he loses.
The sweeping away of a third of the stars echoes the language of Daniel 8:10, where the little horn (Antiochus Epiphanes) causes stars to fall and tramples them. This is most likely a reference to the killing of saints.

4 …The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born. 
This is the other Christmas story. And it has to be one of the most grotesque images in the entire Bible. It is meant to be grotesque. This is the most evil, vile, wicked thing that has ever happened. When the Son of God came into this world, the devil tried to devour Him.
Now here is a point where we can leave the nativity scene in the spiritual realm, and cut back to the one in Bethlehem. There is Mary, in her ninth month, traveling cross country to get to Bethlehem for the census. And Satan knows exactly what is at stake if this baby is allowed to be born. 
“Mary, did you know?” 
Maybe not, but Satan did. He knew that this young woman was carrying inside her his doom. I wonder how many attempts Satan made just during that journey to put an end to that pregnancy. Sending deadly germs her way, wild animals, muggers – maybe trying to collapse the roof of the stable during Jesus’ birth, trying to make one of the cattle kick the manger – I’m sure it was a really busy week for the angels assigned to protect Mary. We don’t know what all Satan tried, but we do know about one of the things he tried. Scripture tells us about King Herod’s effort to kill Jesus. First he tried to trick the Magi into giving Him up, and when they didn’t cooperate, he just killed all the boys in that region two years old or younger. We also know about Satan’s effort to devour Jesus spiritually during the time of temptation in the desert after Jesus’ baptism.
So in the visible, earthly realm there were a few indications of what was going on. But if you want to see the full picture – that is in Revelation 12. Behind Herod’s own piddly little reasons for wanting to kill this child who threatened his throne, there were much larger forces at work. All the forces of evil were marshaled against this little child.
5 She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. 
Satan’s attempts were all frustrated. God protected Jesus. King Herod was able to conquer nations, but he could not kill this one little baby. Verse 5 gathers in the entire period from Jesus’ birth all the way to His ascension into heaven. Satan was trying to destroy Jesus that entire time, but God protected Him.
The War
So now all Satan can do is turn his attention to going after God’s people – symbolized by the woman. And when that happens, Michael, who is the protector of God’s people, gets up and says, “This means war.”
7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 
Michael attacks and Satan defends.
“Who is Michael?”
Michael is the toughest, most dangerous angel in heaven. There is a group of angels in heaven called the chief princes (or captains). The chief captains seem to be the ones who handle problems that the other angels can handle. When Daniel prayed the famous prayer in Daniel chapter 9, the answer was delayed for three weeks. Finally in chapter 10 verse 12 an angel comes and explains to Daniel the reason for the delay.
Daniel 10:12 Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. 13 But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. 
So this angel came with the answer to Daniels prayer, but some powerful demon held him up for three weeks. This demon was called the prince (or captain) of Persia, so he must have been the power behind the Persian empire. And he must have been an incredibly powerful demon, because this angel was no lightweight himself. Listen to how he is described:
Daniel 10:6 His body was like chrysolite, his face like lightning, his eyes like flaming torches, his arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and his voice like the sound of a multitude.
This is an awesome, powerful, scary angel. And yet, even after three weeks of fighting, he could not get past this captain demon.
Daniel 10:13 …Then Michael, one of the chief captains, came to help me, because I was detained there with the captain of Persia.
So when there is a problem so big that even a powerhouse like this Daniel 10 angel can’t handle it, they call one of the chief captains. And Michael is one of them. In fact, Michael is very likely the leader of the chief captains. The reason I say that is because in Jude 9 Michael is called the archangel. And I get the impression from the way the archangel is referred to in the New Testament that there is only one archangel (Jude 9, 1 Thes.4:16). So that would make Michael like the king of the chief princes. If you are a demon, you do not want to mess with Michael.
So why did it take three weeks for Michael to show up and help that angel in Daniel 10? We don’t know for sure. One possibility is that he was busy with his day job. We find out what Michael’s fulltime job was in Daniel chapter 12.
Daniel 12:1 At that time Michael, the great captain who protects your people, will arise. 
That is Michael’s fulltime job. The most powerful angelic being in heaven was given the job of protecting God’s people. That is what he does. When he gets a break he might go help some angel that is getting wailed on by a demon captain, but his main job description is to stand watch over the people of God. And at the end of the book of Daniel, Daniel tells us about a time when there is going to be such an attack on the people of God that Michael is going to rise up.
Daniel 12:1 At that time Michael, the great captain who protects your people, will arise. There will be a time of distress such as has not happened from the beginning of nations until then. But at that time your people—everyone whose name is found written in the book—will be delivered.
It will be the greatest attack ever launched against the people of God, so fierce that Michael himself is going to have to take up a sword and get into the battle. That was prophesied in Daniel 12. And it happens in Revelation 12. John is letting us know that the fulfillment of the Daniel 12 prophecy happened on Christmas. And Michael isn’t messing around. He goes on the offensive.
7 And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. 8 But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. 9 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. 
This is the greatest war that has ever taken place. And it is not talking about something that happened back in the Garden of Eden - This happened at the time of Jesus. Remember when Jesus sent out the 72, and they came back all excited because they had so much power over the demons?
Luke 10:17 The seventy-two returned with joy and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” 18 He replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 I have given you authority to … overcome all the power of the enemy  
During the days of Jesus public ministry He brought such absolute devastation on the kingdom of Satan that there could be no question whatsoever about who Jesus was. In fact, He says that in the next chapter.
Luke 11:20 If I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.
Nobody can manhandle the devil like Jesus did – not even Michael. In the past, when Michael has gone up head-to-head against Satan, he didn’t even dare to mouth-off to Satan.
Jude 8 In the very same way, these dreamers pollute their own bodies, reject authority and slander celestial beings. 9 But even the archangel Michael, when he was disputing with the devil about the body of Moses, did not dare to bring a slanderous accusation against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”
Even the most powerful angel in heaven has to be careful around Satan. So when Jesus came along, and he could not just cast out an occasional demon here and there, but bring absolute devastation to the entire satanic kingdom, it was proof that this was Almighty God Himself. What Michael could not even begin to do on his own, Jesus could do with one arm tied behind His back. Jesus demonstrated that He was the only one in the history of the world who ever had enough power to walk right into Satan’s house, and carry off whatever He wanted.
Matthew 12:29 How can anyone enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.
So back to Revelation 12. When it says that Satan was hurled down from heaven by Michael and his angels, I believe that hurling down refers to the devastation that Jesus brought on the kingdom of the devil during Jesus’ earthly ministry. 
Notice – Satan’s defeat is connected to the authority of Christ.
10 Then I heard a loud voice 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. 
Now remember – this is symbolic language. Don’t think of this in terms of a geographical relocation. The point is not that Satan was relocated from one place to a different place. The point is that he was defeated, particularly in his role as accuser. Prior to the cross, his accusations against the saints sounded like they carried some weight. When Satan said they were guilty and deserved to be punished – he seemed to have a point.
“God, I have a compelling case here. Those people deserve to be punished.”
That really seemed to be true – until Jesus came and paid the penalty for all those sins Himself. So Satan was thrown down in the sense he no longer had the standing to make accusations that he seemed to have before the time of Jesus.
And Jesus’ defeat of Satan coincides with Michael’s defeat of Satan in verse 8, and the saints’ defeat of Satan in verse 11. You and I defeat Satan, and Michael and his armies defeat Satan, on the basis of Jesus victory over Satan.
So there is the other Christmas story. I don’t know if you want to go home and make some adjustments to your nativity scene, but God wants us to know that there was a whole lot more going on at the birth of Jesus than what we see in Bethlehem. And the big red dragon was a major player in the nativity. On that day there were two Christmas stories taking place – one in Bethlehem; the other in the spiritual realm. Two sets of events in two different realms. But there was one point where the two stories intersected ‒ one point where the Christmas story in heaven broke through, and was visible for a brief time from earth. And it happened in Luke chapter 2. 
The Angelic Victory Celebration
It was a night like every other night. The sleepy shepherds trying to pass the time…counting sheep (or whatever shepherds do to pass the time). And suddenly, it was as if one of the stars exploded. The sky was flooded with an ocean of light. And out of that steps forth a glorious angel. And eclipsing the angel in brilliance is the awesome glory of God. Shepherds were rough characters – they had to be. They weren’t afraid of wild animals, lions, bears – they weren’t afraid of thieves who would try to steal the sheep. They weren’t afraid of the dark – but they were afraid of this light.
Luke 2:9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
It was already seemingly as dramatic as scene as it could be. Gabriel was there. Gabriel was the angel who was sent to announce the most important events in human history. And he is there. The glory of God was lighting up the whole area – all around. The shepherds were terrified. But now the whole scene explodes with even more spectacular drama:
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God
Maybe this is that 12 legions of angels Jesus said He could have called at His arrest. Or maybe it was the entire angelic army – stretching from horizon to horizon. Can you imagine? Heavenly beings everywhere. This is a real event that really happened. Thousands of non-human, intelligent, powerful beings literally filling the sky and the ground all around you. And they are real. They are not just blobs of light or something. You can look into their faces and see their facial expressions. 
And you can tell by looking at them, and by listening to them – they are excited!
Luke 2:13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest…”
There are some Christians today who say we shouldn’t celebrate Christmas. They say, “We’re never commanded to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Celebrate His death and resurrection maybe, but not His birth.” They don’t think the incarnation of the Son of God in human flesh is a big enough deal to warrant a celebration. I can think of about 10,000 times 10,000 angels that would strongly disagree. I am looking forward to getting to heaven and seeing these anti- Christmas celebration people going up to Gabriel and the heavenly armies and setting them straight about how they were wrong to celebrate the birth of Jesus. The greatest display of angelic celebration that has ever taken place in all of history took place at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
But why are the heavenly armies there? The word hosts means armies. Why the armies?  Could it be that this happened right after one of the major battles in heaven?
Satan knows who this child is. And he knows what His birth means. Satan has been working to wipe out the Jewish people ever since Israel was just a single family back in Genesis. He tried to eliminate that family with a famine. Later he tried to exterminate the Jews in the book of Esther. He tried again under Antiochus. He has been trying for thousands of years to prevent this birth from taking place. But now it is about to happen. Mary’s due date is here. They are in Bethlehem. Her contractions are starting to become more regular. Satan can see that his doom is about to be delivered in a stable in Bethlehem, so he gathers all of his forces. He calls all the demons that are in various places around the world and gathers all of them for one massive assault. He has to prevent this birth. And if he can’t prevent it, he has to make sure that child does not survive.
Michael sees that, and he rises up. He gathers his weapons, and summons the armies of heaven. And he doesn’t wait for Satan to make the first move. He attacks. There is war in heaven, and Satan pulls out all the stops because he knows he is fighting for his life. The battle rages on until finally Michael and the armies of heaven gain an advantage and Satan is turned back, and the baby is born safely. Could it be that at that moment, as the armies of heaven are celebrating the victory, God opens the eyes of the shepherds to see that celebration? This is where the two Christmas stories intersect, and the big, cosmic Christmas story in the spiritual realm becomes visible for a moment from Bethlehem.
But the Revelation 12 Christmas story is not over. I asked you earlier if you have ever played a part in the Bethlehem Christmas story. Maybe you haven’t, but you do play a part in the heavenly Christmas story. Not a part in a play, but in the real thing. You and I show up in the Revelation 12 Christmas story in verse 11. You and I are going to have to face that dragon.
Fighting the Mad Dragon
10 … the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. 
Who are they? Who are the brothers who are being accused by Satan? That’s us. Now, look at verse 11.
11 They overcame him…
This great victory where Satan is cast down and hurled to the earth in defeat – that victory is not just something that happened in a moment of time. That victory stretches out from the time of Jesus all the way until now. The battle is not over. The devil has been hurled down to the earth, but look at verse 12.
12 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.
When someone realizes that he has lost the war, and now in his rage and anger all he wants to do is take down as many with him as he can – that is when he is especially dangerous. His hopes of winning are gone. All he wants to do now is express his anger. The dragon is mad. He knows he can’t win, but when you are controlled by anger and rage, all you care about is inflicting pain. He knows he is going down - he wants to drag as many with him as he can. And he wants to inflict as much pain and sorrow and heartache and grief on you that he possibly can.
The Christmas story does not end with a silent night in Bethlehem. It does not end with Magi presenting gifts. The Revelation 12 Christmas story ends with a warning. The dragon is wounded and he is mad, and he is coming after God’s people. When he can’t get to the child, he goes after the woman. And when he can’t get to her – guess who’s next? 
16 But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth. 17 Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring
Who are they? If the woman is Israel, and Jesus is her offspring, who are the rest of her offspring? The answer is in the rest of verse 17.
17 the dragon … went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. 
That’s us. The rest of her offspring refers to Christians – those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus. He could not get the woman, he could not get her Son, so now he is coming after us. So how do we defeat him? How we conduct the spiritual warfare? Power encounters? Do we try to cast out demons? Do we try to figure out techniques and incantations to keep the devil at bay? If the Revelation 12 Christmas story is a warning – letting us know about the rage of this mad dragon who is coming after us, does this passage give us any insight on how to defeat him? Yes, it does. If you want to know how to slay this dragon, the answer is right there in verse 11. Three ways:
11 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. 
The Blood of the Lamb 
Earlier in the book of Revelation, Jesus is described as the Lamb who was slain. This is a reference to Jesus’ death on the cross, where He suffered and died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins. That is the basis for our victory. Why do some Christians have greater success in battling Satan than other Christians have? Because some rely more on the work of Christ and others less.

The word here is dia with the accusative, which means “on the basis of,” not “by means of.”

In practical terms, what does it look like to fight against the devil on the basis of the blood of the Lamb? As I was looking through what scripture says about the question, three words come to the surface: remembrance, reliance, and expectation.
Remembrance
Jesus commanded that we regularly partake in communion for the purpose of remembering what He did on the cross. Step one in using Jesus’ work on the cross to gain victory over sin is to move the cross from the back burner of our thoughts to the front burner.
Galatians 3:1 Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
Jesus’ death on the cross needs to be front and center in our thinking. And not just the fact that He died – but also the reason why He died. Constantly remind yourself what it was Jesus came into this world and died on the cross to accomplish.
1 John 3:8 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 
He died to destroy Satan’s work. He died to purify for Himself a people of his very own, eager to do good works (Tit.2:14). He died not only to create the church, but to make her glorious, spotless, without any wrinkle or blemish, but holy and clean (Eph.5:25-27).
Remember why Jesus died. And remember what provisions have been made for you as a result.
Isaiah 12:3 With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation.
In order to defeat the devil you need to draw living water from the springs of salvation every day with joy. What are the springs of salvation? They are all of the gifts and benefits and provisions made available to us through the cross. They are all God’s great and precious promises. What was it that brought the prodigal son back to his father’s house?
Luke 15:17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 
The thing that made him willing to go back was realizing that in his father’s house there was food to spare. Springs of salvation, food to spare, great and precious promises – they are all referring to the same thing. They are all referring to the provisions that are available to us as a result of Jesus’ work on the cross.
•	Forgiveness of sins, 
•	confidence that God accepts you and is pleased with you and takes delight in you, 
•	the promise that He will provide everything you need,
•	the promise that He will protect you from all harm,
•	the promise that He will guide you through life in a way that you will be able to follow, 
•	the promise that He will give you a spiritual gift in use you for His purposes, 
•	the promise that He will provide a way out of every temptation, 
•	all the promises of reward, 
•	the availability of greater love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and strength and hope and wisdom and humility and perseverance and gentleness and self-control and contentment and zeal and repentance and generosity and diligence and rest and comfort and security and passion and fulfillment and happiness and on and on and on.
Those are the springs of salvation that we need to draw from with joy hour by hour through the day. That is how you defeat the devil on the basis of the cross – keep reminding yourself that all of that is available.
“I realize all those things are true, but my sin … I just keep failing and keep falling and my faith is so weak and I did this and that and I’m repentant but even my repentance isn’t really up to snuff…”
Usually when people talk like that it is because they are taking ten looks at their own sin for every one look at what Jesus has done. Turn that around. Ten looks at the cross for every one look at your sin. Crowd the doubts out of your mind with faith. That will slam the devil to the ground.
Reliance
Once you remember that all those resources are yours, learn to rely on those instead of on yourself or your income or your spouse or anything else. You can tell what you rely on by what you spend most of your time running after or protecting. If you spend two minutes today seeking grace from God, you are not relying on grace from God. When you truly rely on something, your heart feels like you absolutely must have it at all cost. And when you are convinced you absolutely must have something, you will do whatever it takes to get it. And if you rely on the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ like that, the strength of that giant, red dragon will be crushed in your life.
Expectation
When you open your Bible, expect something. Expect God to follow through on His promises. Expect something that will feed your soul and give you greater insight into God’s glory. When you come to church, come expectantly. When you pray, pray expectantly. Have an attitude that really does believe that God will follow through on what Jesus gave His life to purchase for you.
Word of Our Testimony
So all of that is the first ground or basis for our victory against Satan – the blood of the Lamb. What is the second foundation for overcoming the devil in verse 11?
11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony
Sometimes we use the term testimony to refer to your life story. But your life story is not your testimony. Your testimony is Jesus’ life story – and about what your life and your words say about Jesus. It is like Jesus is on trial in the courtroom of the world, and you are a witness giving testimony about Him. If somebody asks you, “What is your testimony?” you can say, “Here’s my testimony: Jesus Christ, who is Almighty God, Creator of the universe, and who has existed forever – 2000 years ago took on human flesh and become a man. He was born of a virgin, lived a perfect, sinless life, but then took upon Himself all of the guilt for all of our sin. He voluntarily suffered the punishment for all those sins on the cross, rose from the dead on the third day just as He promised, and ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. He is preached among the nations, believed upon by His people, and some day He will return and will judge the living and the dead. He will destroy this world, create a new heavens and new earth, and rule and reign over everything and everyone forever and ever. That’s my testimony. The purpose of my life is to testify to that truth.” When verse 11 says they overcame the dragon by the word of their testimony, it means they testified about Jesus.
Now, when we tell our stories, are they a little different? Sure. Maybe one of you heard all of that about Jesus and believed and was saved at age five. And for someone else, it happened at age 50. There are some variations in how each one of us experience what Jesus did. But the testimony about what Jesus did is essentially the same for all of us.
The testimony about Jesus is in the Scriptures. The more we speak about what is in the Bible, and the more we live accordingly, the more we overcome the dragon. If you want victory over Satan, share the gospel.
I heard a story this week of a pastor who had a man in his church tell him the story of how he became a Christian. He said, “I was in Sydney, Australia, walking down George Street, and a strange little white-haired man stepped out from a shop in front of me and said, “Are you saved? If you died tonight, are you going to heaven?” And he handed me a little gospel tract. I took it, and later on read it, and gave my heart to the Lord.” Just a couple weeks later this same pastor ran into another pastor who told him that he got saved the same way – a little old guy stepped out from a shop on George Street in Sydney and asked him that same question and gave him a tract. Over the next three years, this pastor encountered 12 different people in England, Australia, the Caribbean, Atlanta, GA, and northeast India who told that same story of how they got saved. Some were pastors, missionaries, an army chaplain, and a former Hindu who became the leader of a huge missionary organization that lead hundreds of thousands to Christ. So the next time he was in Sydney, he asked about this guy. He found him. His name was Mr. Genor. He sat down with him and told him about all these people he had run into. And this frail, elderly man had tears in his eyes. He said, “I had lived a reprobate life in the military and someone led me to Christ, and I was so grateful, I committed to share the gospel in a simple way with at least ten people per day as the Lord gave me strength. I picked George Street because there are so many people there.” And then he said this, “In 40 years I never heard of one person coming to Christ through my efforts until today.” One little man, asking a simple question and giving people a written presentation of the gospel each day, resulted in people all over the world coming to faith in Christ. That is the power of the gospel.
What if you took some of those tri-fold gospel cards we have, or some of those Quest for Joy pamphlets, and gave one to your server every time you went to a restaurant? 
“Here’s something for you to read when you get a break. It’s just a little summary of what the Bible says about how to really know God and have all your sins forgiven.”
We defeat the devil by testifying to the world about the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Love Him more than Life
11 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. 
Probably the number one reason Christians don’t share the gospel more is fear. We are afraid someone will think we are weird. And in some cases, there is a possibility of persecution. When you live in a way that brings glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, you will run into opposition. There are some people who will hate what you are saying, or who will try to get you to stop living the way Jesus commanded us to live. And when that happens, the question will be – how much do you love your life in this world? When it comes down to a choice between a comfortable life or obeying the Lord Jesus Christ, which is it going to be?
You will overcome the dragon and be victorious when you love the Lord Jesus Christ more than you love your life. Victory over the devil will come when you can say with David:
Psalm 63:3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. … 5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods
Conclusion
Everything in the Christmas story is finished. It is all buttoned up – except for one loose end. There is still one piece of the Christmas story that could go one way or the other. The birth of the Messiah into this world – that is established. All of God’s purposes in bringing His Son into the world – those were accomplished when God raised Jesus from the dead and took Him up into heaven. That is done. The great dragon has been defeated and thrown down. That is accomplished. But now, the mad dragon of Christmas is coming after us. That is how Revelation 12 ends. And so the one open question of Christmas is simply this – are you going to fall victim? Or are you going to defeat him by relying on the blood of the Lamb, and by testifying to the truth about Jesus, and by loving Him more than you love your own life?
Benediction: 1 Corinthians 1:4-9 I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. 5 for in him you have been enriched in every way--in all your speaking and in all your knowledge--6 because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. … 8 he will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.
Application Questions (James 1:25)
1.	Is there someone in your life you could share the testimony about Jesus with, but you haven’t done it yet? What is preventing you from doing it this month?
2.	Jesus came into this world to destroy Satan’s work. Name several works of Satan that Jesus has destroyed in your life.
3.	In the past, what kinds of things have helped you draw water with joy from the springs of salvation (Isa.12:3)? What is preventing you from doing more of that in the month of December?

Devotionals
Day 1
Preparation: 
Read Psalm 119:1-8 and pray S.I.O.U.S.
Scripture Reading:
Luke 2
Sermon segment:
It was a night like every other night. The sleepy shepherds trying to pass the time…counting sheep (or whatever shepherds do to pass the time). And suddenly, it was as if one of the stars exploded. The sky was flooded with an ocean of light. And out of that steps forth a glorious angel. And eclipsing the angel in brilliance is the awesome glory of God. Shepherds were rough characters – they had to be. They weren’t afraid of wild animals, lions, bears – they weren’t afraid of thieves who would try to steal the sheep. They weren’t afraid of the dark – but they were afraid of this light.
Luke 2:9 An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.
It was already seemingly as dramatic as scene as it could be. Gabriel was there. Gabriel was the angel who was sent to announce the most important events in human history. And he is there. The glory of God was lighting up the whole area – all around. The shepherds were terrified… But now the whole scene explodes with even more spectacular drama:
13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly army appeared with the angel, praising God
Maybe this is that 12 legions of angels Jesus said He could have called at His arrest. Or maybe it was the entire angelic army – stretching from horizon to horizon. Can you imagine? Heavenly beings everywhere. This is a real event that really happened. Thousands of non-human, intelligent, powerful beings literally filling the sky and the ground all around you. And they are real. They are not just blobs of light or something. You can look into their faces and see their facial expressions. 
And you can tell by looking at them, and by listening to them – they are excited!
Luke 2:13 Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest…”
There are some Christians today who say we shouldn’t celebrate Christmas. They say, “We’re never commanded to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Celebrate His death and resurrection maybe, but not His birth.” They don’t think the incarnation of the Son of God in human flesh is a big enough deal to warrant a celebration. I can think of about 10,000 times 10,000 angels that would strongly disagree. The greatest display of angelic celebration that has ever taken place in all of history took place at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Further Study:
Read Esther chapter.9. There had been an effort to exterminate all Jews from the face of the earth, but God stepped in and delivered Israel. And in chapter 9 we read about their joyful response to that deliverance. What do we learn from that passage about the proper way to celebrate God’s great acts of salvation and the arrival of a savior? (Note especially verses 17, 19, and 22.) Why do you think God wants us to celebrate in those ways? Think through the right ways and wrongs ways this could be done.
Memorize Titus 2:11-12
Prayer: 
Talk to the Lord about your methods of celebration, and how effective they are for increasing the joy of others in Christ. 
Doing: Do not be a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the Word (James 1:22-25) 
•	Write down three specific things you want to do this week to put what you have learned about celebration into practice. 
•	Check this box when you have done all three.

Day 2
Preparation: 
Read Psalm 119:9-16 and pray S.I.O.U.S.
Scripture Reading:
Ephesians 5:25-27
Sermon segment:
How do we defeat Satan? Three ways. The first is on the basis of the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 12:11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb…
Earlier in the book of Revelation, Jesus is described as the Lamb who was slain. This is a reference to Jesus’ death on the cross, where He suffered and died in our place to pay the penalty for our sins. That is the basis for our victory. Why do some Christians have greater success in battling Satan than other Christians have? Because some rely more on the work of Christ and others less.

The word here is dia with the accusative, which means “on the basis of,” not “by means of.”

In practical terms, what does it look like to fight against the devil on the basis of the blood of the Lamb? As I was looking through what scripture says about the question, three words come to the surface: remembrance, reliance, and expectation.
Remembrance
Jesus commanded that we regularly partake in communion for the purpose of remembering what He did on the cross. Step one in using Jesus’ work on the cross to gain victory over sin is to move the cross from the back burner of our thoughts to the front burner.
Galatians 3:1 Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified.
Jesus’ death on the cross needs to be front and center in our thinking. And not just the fact that He died – but also the reason why He died. Constantly remind yourself what it was Jesus came into this world and died on the cross to accomplish.
1 John 3:8 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work. 
He died to destroy Satan’s work. He died to purify for Himself a people of his very own, eager to do good works (Tit.2:14). He died not only to create the church, but to make her glorious, spotless, without any wrinkle or blemish, but holy and clean. 
Remember why Jesus died. And remember what provisions have been made for you as a result.
Isaiah 12:3 With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation.
In order to defeat the devil you need to draw living water from the springs of salvation every day with joy. What are the springs of salvation? They are all of the gifts and benefits and provisions made available to us through the cross. They are all God’s great and precious promises. What was it that brought the prodigal son back to his father’s house?
Luke 15:17 “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! 
The thing that made him willing to go back was realizing that in his father’s house there was food to spare. Springs of salvation, food to spare, great and precious promises – they are all referring to the same thing. They are all referring to the provisions that are available to us as a result of Jesus’ work on the cross.
•	Forgiveness of sins, 
•	confidence that God accepts you and is pleased with you and takes delight in you, 
•	the promise that He will provide everything you need,
•	the promise that He will protect you from all harm,
•	the promise that He will guide you through life in a way that you will be able to follow, 
•	the promise that He will give you a spiritual gift in use you for His purposes, 
•	the promise that He will provide a way out of every temptation, 
•	all the promises of reward, 
•	the availability of greater love and joy and peace and 
•	patience and kindness and strength and 
•	hope and wisdom and humility and perseverance and 
•	gentleness and self-control and
•	contentment and zeal and
•	repentance and generosity and
•	diligence and rest and comfort and 
•	security and passion and fulfillment and happiness and on and on and on.
Those are the springs of salvation that we need to draw from with joy hour by an hour through the day. That is how you defeat the devil on the basis of the cross – keep reminding yourself that all of that is available.
“I realize all those things are true, but my sin … I just keep failing and keep falling and my faith is so weak and… I did this and that and I’m repentant but even my repentance isn’t really up to snuff…” Usually when people talk like that it is because they are taking ten looks at their own sin for every one look at what Jesus has done. Turn that around. Ten looks at the cross for every one look at your sin. Crowd the doubts out of your mind with faith. That will slam the devil to the ground.
Further Study:
Pick one book in the New Testament and print it out. Highlight every spring of salvation (every benefit Christ has provided for us) that you can find in the book.
Memorize Titus 2:11-14
Prayer: 
Spend some time thinking about the various benefits of salvation that Jesus purchased for you. Think about them until feelings of joy start to spring up in your heart, and then thank God specifically for each one.
Doing: Do not be a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the Word (James 1:22-25) 
•	Write down three specific benefits of salvation that you want to do a better job remembering. Put them on an alarm on your phone, or on 3X5 cards placed in spots you will notice them numerous times a day.
•	Check this box when you have a day when, by the end of the day, you feel like you have been thinking about those benefits all through the day.
•	Check this box when you have come to the point of feeling literal feelings of joy and happiness as a result of focusing on those benefits. 

Day 3
Preparation: 
Read Psalm 119:17-24 and pray S.I.O.U.S.
Scripture Reading:
Ephesians 6
Sermon segment:
How do we defeat Satan? Three ways. The first is on the basis of the blood of the Lamb.
Revelation 12:11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb…
The way we overcome on the basis of the blood of Christ is by remembrance (yesterday’s devotional), and also by reliance and expectation.
Reliance:
Once you remember that all those resources are yours, learn to rely on those instead of on yourself or your income or your spouse or anything else. You can tell what you rely on by what you spend most of your time running after or protecting. If you spend two minutes today seeking grace from God, you are not relying on grace from God. When you truly rely on something, your heart feels like you absolutely must have it at all cost. And when you are convinced you absolutely must have something, you will do whatever it takes to get it. What are you relying on for your wellbeing in life?

Expectation: 
When you open your Bible, expect something. Expect God to follow through on His promises. Expect something that will feed your soul and give you greater insight into God’s glory. When you come to church, come expectantly. When you pray, pray expectantly. Have an attitude that really does believe that God will follow through on what Jesus gave His life to purchase for you.
Further Study:
Pick another book in the New Testament and print it out. Highlight every spring of salvation (every benefit Christ has provided for us) that you can find in the book.
Memorize Titus 2:11-14
Prayer: 
Think carefully about your levels of reliance and expectation regarding the benefits of salvation purchased for you by the blood of the Lamb. Talk to God about them one by one.
Doing: Do not be a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the Word (James 1:22-25) 
•	Write down three specific benefits of salvation that you want to do a better job relying on and expecting. Put them on an alarm on your phone, or on 3X5 cards placed in spots you will notice them numerous times a day.
•	Check this box when you have a day when, by the end of the day, you feel like you have increased your reliance and expectation significantly. 

Day 4
Preparation: 
Read Psalm 119:25-32 and pray S.I.O.U.S.
Scripture Reading:
Matthew 28
Sermon segment:
The first ground or basis for our victory against Satan is remembering, relying on, and expecting the benefits purchased by the blood of the Lamb. What is the second foundation for overcoming the devil in verse 11?
11 They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony
Sometimes we use the term testimony to refer to your life story. But your life story is not your testimony. Your testimony is Jesus’ life story – and about what your life and your words say about Jesus. It is like Jesus is on trial in the courtroom of the world, and you are a witness giving testimony about Him. If somebody asks you, “What is your testimony?” you can say, “Here’s my testimony: Jesus Christ, who is Almighty God, Creator of the universe, and who has existed forever – 2000 years ago took on human flesh and become a man. He was born of a virgin, lived a perfect, sinless life, but then took upon Himself all of the guilt for all of our sin. He voluntarily suffered the punishment for all those sins on the cross, rose from the dead on the third day just as He promised, and ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the majesty in heaven. He is preached among the nations, believed upon by His people, and some day He will return and will judge the living and the dead. He will destroy this world, create a new heavens and new earth, and rule and reign over everything and everyone forever and ever. That’s my testimony. The purpose of my life is to testify to that truth.” When verse 11 says they overcame the dragon by the word of their testimony, it means they testified about Jesus.
The testimony about Jesus is in the Scriptures. The more we speak about what is in the Bible, and the more we live accordingly, the more we overcome the dragon. If you want victory over Satan, share the gospel.
I heard a story this week of a pastor who had a man in his church tell him the story of how he became a Christian. He said, “I was in Sydney, Australia, walking down George Street, and a strange little white-haired man stepped out from a shop in front of me and said, “Are you saved? If you died tonight, are you going to heaven?” And he handed me a little gospel tract. I took it, and later on read it, and gave my heart to the Lord.” Just a couple weeks later this same pastor ran into another pastor who told him that he got saved the same way – a little old guy stepped out from a shop on George Street in Sydney and asked him that same question and gave him a tract.
Over the next three years, this pastor encountered 12 different people in England, Australia, the Caribbean, Atlanta, GA, and northeast India who told that same story of how they got saved. Some were pastors, missionaries, an army chaplain, and a former Hindu who became the leader of a huge missionary organization that lead hundreds of thousands to Christ. So the next time he was in Sydney, he asked about this guy. He found him. His name was Mr. Genor. He sat down with him and told him about all these people he had run into. And this frail, elderly man had tears in his eyes. He said, “I had lived a reprobate life in the military and someone led me to Christ, and I was so grateful, I committed to share the gospel in a simple way with at least ten people per day as the Lord gave me strength. I picked George Street because there are so many people there.” And then he said this, “In 40 years I never heard of one person coming to Christ through my efforts until today.” One little man, asking a simple question and giving people a written presentation of the gospel each day, resulted in people all over the world coming to faith in Christ. That is the power of the gospel.
What if you took some of those tri-fold gospel cards we have, or some of those Quest for Joy pamphlets, and gave one to your server every time you went to a restaurant?
“Here’s something for you to read when you get a break. It’s just a little summary of what the Bible says about how to really know God and have all your sins forgiven.”
We defeat the devil by testifying to the world about the Lord Jesus Christ. 
Memorize Titus 2:11-14
Prayer: 
Ask the Lord if He would have you make some kind of commitment similar to Mr. Genor’s commitment. And ask Him to bring to your mind which people in your life right now He would have you share the gospel with. Pray for courage and for compassion for their souls. 
Doing: Do not be a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the Word (James 1:22-25) 
•	Write down what you believe should be the next step in your progress in the area of sharing the gospel.
•	Check this box when you have put a plan in motion to reach that next step.

Day 5
Preparation: 
Read Psalm 119:33-40 and pray S.I.O.U.S.
Scripture Reading:
Luke 14
Sermon segment:
We defeat the devil on the basis of Jesus’ blood, and our testimony about Him. Then what is the third thing in verse 11?
Revelation 12:11 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. 
Probably the number one reason Christians don’t share the gospel more is fear. We are afraid someone will think we are weird. And in some cases, there is a possibility of persecution. When you live in a way that brings glory to the Lord Jesus Christ, you will run into opposition. There are some people who will hate what you are saying, or who will try to get you to stop living the way Jesus commanded us to live. And when that happens, the question will be – how much do you love your life in this world? When it comes down to a choice between a comfortable life or obeying the Lord Jesus Christ, which is it going to be?
You will overcome the dragon and be victorious when you love the Lord Jesus Christ more than you love your life. Victory over the devil will come when you can say with David:
Psalm 63:3 Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. … 5 My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods
Everything in the Christmas story is finished. It is all buttoned up – except for one loose end. There is still one piece of the Christmas story that could go one way or the other. The birth of the Messiah into this world – that is established. All of God’s purposes in bringing His Son into the world – those were accomplished when God raised Jesus from the dead and took Him up into heaven. That is done. The great dragon has been defeated and thrown down. That is accomplished. But now, the mad dragon of Christmas is coming after us. That is how Revelation 12 ends. And so the one open question of Christmas is simply this – are you going to fall victim? Or are you going to defeat him by relying on the blood of the Lamb, and by testifying to the truth about Jesus, and by loving Him more than you love your own life?

Further Study:
Read Matthew 13:44-46. It says the thing that caused the man to sell everything he had was joy. How can joy make you want to get rid of all your possessions? 
Memorize Titus 2:11-14
Prayer: 
Ask the Lord to show you any aspects of this life that your soul loves more than Him. Repent, and ask God to open your eyes to how much superior He is than anything in this world.
Doing: Do not be a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the Word (James 1:22-25) 
•	Write down at least one specific way you believe the Lord would have you put into practice something you saw in His Word today.
•	Check this box when you have done it.