[0:00] Well, take your Bibles if you would and turn with me to Isaiah chapter 27. Isaiah chapter 27. We're coming through the book of Isaiah. And here is a great verse. I'm going to kind of stop and just drill in just a little bit here.
[0:15] You know, sometimes you believe that the devil has power over you and causes you to fall. And you can't have victory in your spiritual life. And you tend to be beat up by the devil.
[0:27] I was listening to a book this week. I think I've told you about it for a couple of weeks. It's called Steal Away Home. It's a story about Charles Spurgeon and a slave that gets saved and becomes his friend.
[0:40] Goes to the Bible college. The pastor's college graduates. Goes from there to Cameroon. And he is the guy that really helped Spurgeon have some spiritual victory, at least according to this book.
[0:51] And one of the things in the book was Spurgeon was always depressed. He seemed to let the devil beat him up pretty hard. And a man who had been 28 years a slave was able to help him with that.
[1:02] I want you to read with me Isaiah 27. I want to talk to you about the fact that you have a defeated enemy. Satan's destruction. You have to know that God is the one who has real power.
[1:14] Sometimes Christians seem to magnify the devil and magnify sin and magnify temptation and make it like, well, we live in a big, bad world where we're going to get beat up.
[1:25] And that's just not what the Bible teaches. So let's read, if you would, Isaiah 27.1. And then we'll have a word of prayer. In that day, the Lord, with his sore and great and strong sword, shall punish Leviathan, the piercing servant, even Leviathan, that crooked serpent, and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.
[1:46] And those words are used all through the Bible about the devil. Let's have a word of prayer and look a little bit at the victory you have in Jesus. Father, thank you so very much for who you are.
[1:57] You created us. You made us. You saved us. You protect us. You preserve us. You carry us through. You intend for us to have victory. And I pray, God, that you would get glory tonight as we look through your word.
[2:11] And I pray you'd bless your people in Jesus' name. Amen. One of my favorite verses, I guess you hear too much, is the thief comes but for to steal, to kill, and to destroy. That's the devil.
[2:21] He comes to kill, to steal, and to destroy. But I am come, Jesus has come, that you might have life and have it more abundantly. And sometimes I hear, you know, there's like two sides to this whole thing.
[2:34] We're in a spiritual war. And some people tend to not believe in the devil. And some people tend to believe in the devil too much. And both of those are not good. And so there is a tempter.
[2:45] There is a devil. There is someone who would cause people to sin. He does have real power. He does blind minds that keep people from listening. Some people are afraid of him and some people hardly believe he exists.
[2:58] But this is what you can know. You have, we have victory in Jesus. I want you to look up verses with me and write them down in your Bible and use them if you would.
[3:08] Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10. Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10. We have victory. We're weak, but the Lord Jesus is strong. And Satan is weak compared to the Lord God of heaven.
[3:23] Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10. I really want you to put some emphasis on some words here. It says in 10, finally, my brethren. I'm ending up this book. I'm talking to you, my brothers in Christ.
[3:34] Be strong. But notice what he says. Be strong in the Lord. I need to draw close to him. He's my protector. He's the power. He's the one that has the victory.
[3:45] And then it says in the power of his might. So I want the power of God alive and working in my life. I want to be strong in my relationship to the Lord.
[3:56] Be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor that you may be able to stand. It ends up in verse 13. If you look at that, it says take unto you the whole armor that you may be able to withstand.
[4:10] If you got your Bible open, would you in verse 11 just circle this? Stand. We don't have to be defeated. We don't have to let sin have its way with us.
[4:22] We don't have to live in fear. We don't have to think Satan's stronger than us. We have in the Lord Jesus, we have power to have victory and to live in the victory through him.
[4:34] So I want to give you some promises that we have. These are one of my favorites. I really like the verse in Spanish. Look at Romans 16, 20. In Romans chapter 16 and verse 20, we have promises in the Bible about our relationship to Satan and about our victory over Satan.
[4:50] In Isaiah 27, it said that he is going to punish him. He is going to slay him. He is going to take care of him. In Romans chapter 16 and verse 20, the Bible says, And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly.
[5:06] The God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet. In Spanish, the word there is aplastar, which is smash. God is going to smash his head under our feet.
[5:20] God is going to smash his head under our feet. The idea in the Bible was when you conquered an enemy, you could put your foot on top of them and say, I have conquered you. You're on the ground. I got my foot on you.
[5:31] And so the Lord says, hey, don't you worry. I said in Isaiah 27, I said all through the Bible, I'm going to win. And in Romans chapter 16, he says, I'm even going to let you put your feet up there because you're in me and we win.
[5:46] Because Jesus wins. Bruise means to crush completely, shatter, break in pieces. It's God that will bruise him, but he'll do it under our feet.
[5:57] As Christians, we have victory. I'm a little tired of hearing different people act like I just can't defeat sin. I can't quit doing things that I shouldn't do.
[6:08] You never have to think like that. You have the power. Satan has no power. You have been freed in Jesus Christ. Sin does not have dominion over you.
[6:19] Amen? The Bible says in Psalm chapter 44 and verse 5, through thee will we push down our enemies. Through thy name will we tread them that rise against us. The psalmist could boastfully say, through you, Lord, I know I have victory.
[6:35] Through you, I know I'll overcome my enemies. You ought to have that same confidence. You ought to know that you can have victory. The Bible says in Romans chapter 8 and verse 37, nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
[6:51] Every believer ought to know you are a winner in Jesus Christ. You have victory in Jesus Christ. You don't have to be afraid because he didn't give you a spirit of fear but of love and power and a sound mind.
[7:05] Amen? I have to be afraid at night. The big storm comes. It wakes some of our most brawny, strong church members up because they told me this morning. But you know what? You ain't got to be worried about it because the Lord's going to take care of you.
[7:16] Can you say amen right there? And you can get on the airplane. You don't have to worry about it. He's going to take care of you. You can face sin. He's going to take care of you. You can face the accuser. He's going to take care of you.
[7:26] We are more than conquerors through him that loved us. Another beautiful passage. 1 John 5, verse 1. Would you look this up with me? 1 John 5, verse 1.
[7:37] I'll just be blunt honest with you. I know I'm going to win. I know that God's going to use me. I know that I'm going to have victory, not because of who I am but because of who I'm connected to, because of who I'm in.
[7:50] All of those things are true for me. And the Bible's full of these promises. I'm just going to give you a few tonight so you can know you have victory. 1 John 5, verse 1.
[8:01] Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Would you underline? Whosoever believeth. How many of you have believed? Say amen.
[8:12] How many of you have trusted? You see, he has already reconciled the world to himself. He's already done everything. He's already died for everybody. He's already paid the price for everybody.
[8:22] And when I believed that, I was born again. I was born of God. Born of God. Underline it. Is born of God. And everyone that loves him, loves him also that is begotten of him.
[8:35] If you love God, you'll love his son. Verse 2. By this we know that we love the children of God. When we love God and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments.
[8:46] And his commandments are not grievous. Would you underline that? You need to underline it in the verse right here. Because here's what ends up happening. You kind of get along like, man, living for God is hard.
[8:57] And doing right is hard. And not being an adulterer is hard. And Greg's right about what he said. Well, I thought Greg did a good job. And he showed us how we can have victory. We don't have to let that happen.
[9:08] But here's the problem. We don't ever have to think his rules or his commandments. His will is hard. It's not grievous for us. Because he's doing what's best for us. Amen. Underline it. His commandments are not grievous.
[9:19] And here's why they're not grievous. Look at verse 4. For whatsoever is born of God. Look at it. Underline it. Overcomes the world. Would you underline that? How many of you are born of God?
[9:30] Say amen. Then you can't be beat. For those born of God. What does born of God does what? Help me. It does what? It over? Come on. Say it. Born of God.
[9:40] What? What? Overcomes the world. And this is the victory that overcomes the world. What? Believe in God. Believe in God. Not screwing up your courage.
[9:51] Not holding your tongue a different way. Not getting up and saying this or that. But just saying I know he saved me. I know he's working in me. I know he has victory. I believe him.
[10:03] Now look at the next verse. One of my favorite verses. Look at what it says. Who is he that overcomes the world? But he that believeth Jesus is the son of God.
[10:14] That's who overcomes the world. So now how many of you believe Jesus is the son of God? Say amen. So I'm dealing with a porn issue here in my life. I want to get rid of that. I want to have a strong marriage. I want to overcome this sin. I want to overcome this weakness.
[10:25] I want to have victory in this. And I'm like I just don't think I can. And I'm going to say to you the Bible is real clear. We overcome the world. We can overcome any sin. We can overcome any temptation.
[10:36] We can overcome any fear because we believe God. And because we believe God we have victory. We overcome the world. Now what's the world? The world is that evil system that says I don't believe in God.
[10:49] The world is that system that says we want to do it our way and not your way. The world is that system that says I'm going to do it my way and stands in rebellion to God. We don't want to stand in rebellion to God.
[11:00] We want to get stronger in God. We want to draw closer to him. We want to draw nearer to him instead of being in rebellion to him. We have victory. Now did you know we have more power than Satan?
[11:15] Hmm. 1 John chapter 4. You're in 1 John. Look at it. 1 John chapter 4 and verse 4. 1 John chapter 4 and verse 4. You are of God little children and have overcome them because greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world.
[11:34] How can I say you have more power than Satan? Because of who's in you. Because of who's in you. How can I say that you have more power than Satan because of who you're in?
[11:45] Because of who you're in. I'm in Christ. Christ has more power. Christ is in me. Christ has more power. Greater is he that's in you than he that's in the world. You know Satan in the Bible he knows he's defeated.
[11:59] He knows he's been whipped. The Bible says in 1 John 3.8, he that commits sin is of the devil for the devil sins from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the devil.
[12:11] Jesus destroys sin. Jesus destroys death. Jesus destroys all of those things by him being here. And do you realize what the Bible says?
[12:22] Because somehow we get this idea that we can't stand against the devil. But in the Bible it's like really stated so simply. It's not that hard. Look if you would James 4.7.
[12:35] I've talked to you about that verse so many times you're probably tired of it. But look at it. In James chapter 4 and verse 7. I want you to underline the first before I read the whole verse to you. Underline this. He will flee from you.
[12:47] That word flee is a great word. We don't even use that word. What he'll do is he'll run like a sinking coward from you. He will tuck his tail between his legs and take off running from you.
[12:59] The word flee is the word run out of fear. It's what thieves do when the cops are coming. It's what cockroaches do when you turn the lights on. It's what happens when you're afraid you take off running.
[13:12] Now look what he says about it. Submit to God. Would you circle that word submit? Submit. If I want to have victory. If I want to have victory. All I got to do is say God I want to do what you want me to do.
[13:24] All I got to do is say what's the word of God say? What's the will of God for my life? And I just submit. And I say God take me. And I surrender to him. And I yield my life to him. And I say whatever.
[13:34] And let me explain to you how submitting works so you know. Submitting works like this. You already know what he wants you to do. He's already dealt with your heart. That's why you're worried about the sin. That's why you think the devil's so strong.
[13:44] But you know what's right. We talked about it a little bit this morning. How you're going to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit. He's guiding and working. And I even talked to some people this afternoon. I said tell me the truth. Is it true or not?
[13:56] That people that sin. They sense and hear the word. They hear the Holy Spirit speaking. Don't do that. Do what's right. They hear that. Here's all I got to do is obey. All I got to do is obey. I know I'm not supposed to do that.
[14:08] I know I am supposed to do that. And so I submit. But then look what else it says. Submit yourselves to God. Then it says resist. Just say no. That's really about all that means.
[14:19] Just be like. Nah. Not doing it. I resist you. Back off. I'm not doing that. So all of a sudden. Here comes this. We're just going to use this wild one here. Somebody is tempting you towards sexual sin.
[14:31] And somebody is coming on to you. And they're doing wrong. And in your heart. The Holy Spirit says. Uh-uh. You know. Honor your wife. Love me. Honor your wife. And I go. Okay.
[14:41] I'm going to. So when they say something. I say. Nope. Stop it. Drop dead. Get out of here. I don't do that stuff. And then the next thing that happens is. He flees. The devil's a big coward.
[14:54] He already knows he's whipped. All you got to say. You want to obey God. And he's like. Oh boy. Another one of them. He's going to go looking for easy pickings. Who are the easy pickings? The guy that's not obeying the word of God.
[15:06] The guy who's not saying no to sin. Some of us say we fall in sin. But it seems like we more like invite sin in. Some of us say we're falling into sin. And we're being pushed into sin by the devil.
[15:17] And it seems like more like we want that to happen. First Corinthians 10.13. You know so well from your own study. But look at what it says. There has no temptation taken you.
[15:29] But such as is common to man. I am never able to say. You just don't understand. I'm going through more than anybody else you've ever known. And this verse just said. No you're not. You're like.
[15:41] You don't understand the temptations I feel. And the apostle Paul said. Oh yeah I do. Everybody goes through it. No but I feel really tempted. He said yeah it's common. You say but you don't understand.
[15:52] I mean I just can't get victory. He goes yeah that's common. That's normal. So you need to understand. That whatever's happening in your life. You have victory. It is common.
[16:03] That you're being tempted. But God is faithful. Look at the verse. But God is faithful. And he will not allow you to be tempted above that you're able. That word suffer there.
[16:14] Circling right the word allow. He just said. He said I won't permit it. I will not allow the devil. You know the devil's like a big roaring lion on a chain. He can only go so far.
[16:26] And all he can do is yell. He can't even bite you. He can't even get to you. I love the story of Pilgrim's Progress. And he hears the roaring lions. And he's told to stay on the path. And as he goes down the path.
[16:37] The lions come recharging towards him. He realizes. As long as you're on the path. The chain stops them just before they get to you. You just keep on walking. Right on between these roaring lions. On a chain that can't reach you.
[16:48] He will not permit it. Look at the verse. It says it clearly. God is faithful. He will not allow you to be tempted above that you are able. But will with the temptation.
[16:59] Make a way of escape. There's always a way for you to have victory. You say sometimes I just have this urge to get into porn. I just have this urge to get drunk.
[17:10] I just have. Whatever's going on that's happening in your life. I just don't know how to deal with it. Here's what I can tell you. It happens to everybody. Lots of people have had your situation. But they have learned that God has always made a way for you to have victory.
[17:25] He has made a way for you to be able to escape. He's a way and a way for you to stand up under the temptation. I can have victory. It may be 2018. Almost 2019.
[17:36] And it may be that you're being led to believe that there's no way Christians can have good strong marriages. And have good happy homes. And there's no way our children can turn out right. The world's going too bad. And things are like that.
[17:47] Not true for us. We're in Christ. And we can have victory. It's a matter of time before Satan's just totally locked up and put away. I don't know if you know that. He knows that.
[17:58] Listen, if you would, to Matthew chapter 8 and verse 28. It's just a matter of time. It's just a matter of time. And Matthew, this is just, I just love this verse. You might not have paid attention to it.
[18:08] But look what it says. And behold, they cried out, saying, What have we to do with thee, Jesus? Thou Son of God, you Son of God, are you come hither to torment us?
[18:18] But you've got to know about this, before the time. You notice what they said? When they're getting cast out, when they know they're beaten, and they know they don't have victory, here's what they said. Wait a minute.
[18:29] Time out. Aren't you supposed to wait a while before you pick on us? We know we're losers. We know the battle's over. We know you've had the victory. But do you have to do it now? Are you here before the time? See, they already know.
[18:42] They knew and told Jesus. They knew and the Holy Spirit wrote it down in Matthew chapter 8. But you, these demons, know they've lost the battle. His future, Satan's future and his angels is already prepared.
[18:54] Matthew 25, 41 says, Then shall he say unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for, made for the devil and his angels.
[19:06] Jesus has won the victory. We're not in a war where we're like, I hope Jesus wins this. I hope God comes out on top. It seems like sin is raging and the world is wicked.
[19:18] From the president on down, man, we're in trouble. And what's going to happen around the world? And the God of heaven's already won the battle. There's already a place prepared. The demons already know that they've lost.
[19:30] John chapter 12 and verse 31, The victory was won at Calvary. Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out as Jesus dies on the cross.
[19:40] Let me give you a couple of more verses I love. Revelation chapter 12 and verse 11. Revelation chapter 12 and verse 11. You know what?
[19:52] It's tribulation time. The sin is rampant. The devil is going crazy. Satan is attacking the church. But here's what happens. They still win. God's people overcome.
[20:06] God's people have victory. And here's how they do it. Revelation 12, 11. They overcame him by the blood of the lamb. See, what happens is Jesus died on the cross.
[20:17] Jesus destroyed Satan. I'm under the blood of Jesus Christ. I've been saved. I've been cleansed. I've been made new. I'm in Christ. I have victory. And so when Satan attacks, I already know I have victory.
[20:28] We overcome by the blood of the lamb. And I think there's a couple of things here that are kind of interesting. In my opinion, it might be happening in this verse. Look here. Number one, it's a reality that I got saved.
[20:40] That reality was made real in my life on May the 6th, 1962. Now, it's been real ever since he died. It's been real ever since before the foundation of the world. But on May the 6th, 1962, I said, I trust you, Jesus.
[20:52] And I realized that I had been saved by Jesus Christ's sacrifice. If you understand that, say amen. Now, you know what the next thing is? When the devil comes attacking, it's time for you to speak up.
[21:03] See, look what happens in the verse. They overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. You know what you got to tell the devil? I'm blown to you. You came with me. I've been saved by Jesus.
[21:14] He's in me. Greater is he that's in me than he that's in the world. I don't have to listen to sin. I don't have to be defeated. I have victory in Jesus. By the word of your testimony.
[21:25] Here's what I think you do so many times. You're just like, oh, no. I can't stand. I can't have victory. Why you do that? You can just speak out. You don't pray for victory. You live in victory.
[21:37] You don't pray God will let you win. You already know you have won in Jesus Christ. And then the last one is they love not their lives unto death. They said, I'd rather be dead than not love Jesus.
[21:47] I'd rather be dead than not serve Jesus. The devil can nothing you can do to me. And the devil looks at you and says, hard to work with you. I'm out of here. Own to easier pickings. I can't handle you.
[21:58] The blood of the lamb, the word of their testimony, and they love not their lives. Jesus will destroy him. Time's up. Let me give you the last one. You do know where he's headed, right? You know a verse that the devil has to hate reading in the Bible?
[22:11] If you believe this is the word of God, look at Revelation chapter 20, verse 10 real quick. The devil has to hate reading this verse. He's been causing havoc. He's been, he knows what Isaiah says.
[22:22] And he's got to be praying, God, I know my time's coming. The demon said that, remember? Look at Revelation chapter 20, verse 10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.
[22:38] Now check that out, would you? The devil's like, I can whip you. But if he reads Revelation chapter 20, he's like, oh boy. I already know the end of this story too.
[22:49] The devil doesn't even have to wonder what's going to happen. The devil's smart enough to read the Bible. The devil quoted the Bible to Jesus pretty easy. You can quote and say, hey, you ain't going to win here. I already know you're not going to win. I'm going to trust what Jesus did.
[23:00] When Jesus was on the cross, he could have called 10,000 angels, the Bible says. You've sung it, you've heard it, and you believe it. But did you know that only one angel put him in the bottomless pit in Revelation chapter 20?
[23:13] He could have called 10,000, but one was enough to whip him. Look at Revelation chapter 20, verse 1. And an angel came down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand.
[23:24] He grabbed ahold of the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil, and bound him for 1,000 years. One angel tied him up. Jesus said, hey, if I needed help, I can call 10,000 angels and one of them take care of him.
[23:35] I'll have 9,999 extras just in case. Jesus has the victory. God has the victory. Now, why are you letting sin beat you up?
[23:47] Why are you letting the devil make you live in discouragement and depression? Why are you letting sin take away your joy? Because you want to.
[23:58] Here's the only way you lose. Because you won't trust truth. Mad yet?
[24:11] You see, it's not the devil so strong. It's not the fact that you're weak. It's the fact you refuse to trust what God said. You have victory. I mean, if you was to look at the devil and say, you know what?
[24:22] The Bible says, greater is he's sinning me than he's sinning the world. That means he's sinning me bigger than you. Get out of here. They'll be like, well, excuse me. But here's what you do. Oh, no, you're big. And you can whip me. And I'm going to fall into sin.
[24:33] And I'm going to do things I'm going to regret. Tomorrow I'm going to feel horrible about it. But I still have any power. And the Bible would say, really? You haven't read truth? We have victory in Jesus.