The Blood Of Jesus And The Last Days - Part 2

Praise God. Welcome to our Sunday morning meeting here. We're going to turn to the Word of God this morning again, carrying on from last Sunday morning. We're going to look at Revelation chapter 12 again, and this is part two of our message here, dealing with the blood of Jesus and the last days. Last week we began to look at Revelation 12, and we saw in that vital chapter that three things come together and converge together in that chapter. The first thing is a unique prophecy, which I believe is for this hour, a remarkable prophecy of the accuser of the brethren getting cast out of heaven. The second thing that happens is the warfare that goes on, a spiritual invisible warfare that goes on in the heavenlies between Michael and his angels and Satan and his angels, and there is no more space or room found in heaven for them. They are cast out onto the earth. But there's a third thing that converges with these two other events, and it's a victory by the blood. It's born again believers, the church of Jesus Christ, rising up and overcoming the accuser of the brethren by the blood of the Lamb. We're turning here this morning to the Word of God, to Revelation chapter 12, just reading from verse 7 until verse 11. Revelation chapter 12 verse 7, and it says, and there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought against his angels and prevailed not. Neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world. He was cast out into the earth, and his angels cast out with him. And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ. For the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night, and they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death. Let's pray here this morning as we come to the Word of God. Father, I thank you for the power in Jesus' blood. What would we do with such an adversary as this old serpent, as this dragon, as the devil, as Satan? How would we stand against his accusations, this old serpent that was in the garden with Adam and Eve? How would we stand against his lies, his accusations, his falsehoods, if we didn't have the blood of the Lamb? Yet here this morning, by grace alone, by faith through that blood and the finished work of Calvary, we know that we have gained a victory over the accuser of the brethren. And my God, in faith, we know here this morning, Lord God, there is an hour where you yourself are going to cast Satan down and he shall accuse the saints no more. There is coming an end to every accusation, to the throwing of accusations against your saints. And Lord Jesus, we ask, let it be. Amen. Let it come to pass. We pray for it. Let your kingdom come and your will be done on earth, even as it is in heaven, in Jesus' mighty name. Amen. We come here to part two of this message from Revelation chapter 12, and we've called this the blood of Jesus and the last days. It's so vital that we see the importance, the power, and the place of the blood of Jesus in these last days. If ever we needed to be gripped, that we are in the midst of the beginning of sorrows, that we are in those days that are setting the stage for all the prophecy to come to pass. We need to be gripped by this. And as we do, we need to see the vitalness. We need to see the power and the virtue that is within the blood of Jesus Christ. We come here to part two, the blood of Jesus and the last days. We dare not face these last days. We dare not face the year that's ahead of us unless we overcome by the blood of the lamb. It must be through the blood, by the blood, with the knowledge of the blood and faith in the blood. It says here in Revelation chapter 12 and 10 concerning the accuser of our brethren being cast down, which accused them before our God day and night, verse 11, and they overcame them by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony. And they loved not their lives unto the death. I want you to see here the marvelous truth of scripture here, that we overcome the accuser of the brethren only by one way. Chapter 12 here is marked by the accuser of the brethren. We see the casting down for the first time in 6,000 years of history. For the first time in 2,000 years of church history, we see the accuser of the brethren that has accused the saints of God morning, day and night, morning and night. He has accused the saints of God. He has been regular and faithful in his ministry against the saints of God. And here we read in this chapter, for the first time in 6,000 years, he is cast out of heaven and he shall no longer make any accusations against the saints of God. Notice here how we overcome and get a victory against the accuser of the brethren. It is by two things, by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. Notice here that to gain a victory against Satan, against the accuser of the brethren, it's got to be by the blood. The accusations of Satan, the accusations against you in your Christian life, you cannot stand against them unless you go to the blood. It's only by the blood of the lamb. Do you see that when the accuser comes against us, when the devil comes against us, you have got to be driven to the blood of the lamb. Notice here, it is the blood of the lamb. It is the lamb of God. We are laid back as we face the accuser of the brethren. We are driven to return to Calvary, to look to Calvary again, to remember what happened on the cross when Jesus was offered as a lamb without spot or blemish. Since we overcome, we gain a victory. We triumph over the devil. We subdue him under us. We gain a victory over the accuser, but only by the blood of the lamb. It's by the blood, through the blood, because of the blood that we gain a victory against the accuser of the brethren. But it goes further and it says, and by the word of their testimony. By these two things, we gain a victory against the accuser of the brethren, by the blood shed by the lamb of God on that old tree called Calvary, by that precious blood, but also by the word of our testimony. What is the word of our testimony? It is the spoken word. It is literally a testimony carried. It is something that you as a believer, you can speak out and you testify to. It is the word of your testimony. That word testimony there means evidence, true record. The facts are a personal report. In other words, through the blood and through our personal testimony of what that blood has done in our life, a real experience of the blood. There is evidence. I know the blood has given me a victory. I know the blood has forgiven my sins. I know the blood has brought me into relationship with God. I'm made righteous. I'm justified by faith. I'm made clean through the precious blood of the lamb. I'm walking in a relationship with God, but by the blood of the lamb, since this is how you gain a victory against the accuser of the brethren. I want you to realize this morning, as we come to this message, that our adversary is a vicious enemy. He is the accuser of the brethren. When we come to the Bible, we read that the devil comes to real Christians, real saints, to tempt them. He comes to try and sift them or to cut them down. He comes to deceive them with lies and falsehood. He comes to buffet them or to thump them with his fist. He comes to hinder them and to stop them where they are so that they can't advance in the will of God. He comes to gain an advantage over them and also to gain a foothold in some area of his life, knowing that this devil is real. And when we speak about the devil, we're talking about his kingdom, all his minions, fallen angels and demons, which are synonymous. We're talking about the full structure of his kingdom. When I say the devil comes, I'm not talking about him personally in every incident, in every case, but I'm saying every Christian encounters the kingdom of Satan, the powers of darkness, wicked spirits, lying spirits, tempting spirits. I assure you, the real Christian has to face the darkness. There is something more than this physical world. There is a spiritual realm and we are in a spiritual warfare since knowing all that the devil comes to do and his kingdom does. We've got to know what it means to be washed in the blood of the lamb and to be born again. It says in Colossians chapter one and verse 13, listen to what Christ has done. Who has delivered us from the power of darkness. Have you been delivered from the power of darkness and have been translated into the kingdom of his dear son? This is the work of Jesus Christ in the born again experience. When you're saved by grace, when you put your faith in the blood of the lamb, these two things happen. Jesus himself delivers you out of the kingdom of darkness. You're not in his kingdom anymore. You've been delivered. You've been brought out and he translates you into the kingdom of his dear son. This is what God does to us in salvation. We're brought out of one kingdom and we're brought into another. We're brought out of the kingdom of Satan and we're brought into the kingdom of the son of God. We have been delivered. Since I'm not in between, I'm not half in and half out. You're in Satan's kingdom or you're in the kingdom of his dear son. It is one or the other. Listen, you've got to know what it means to be truly born again and washed in the blood of Jesus. When we go to one John, John speaks about this very much in his letter. Listen to what he says. He says concerning those who are born of God are begotten of God. In other words, they're born again. Listen to what it says. Those that are born of God, they keep themselves and the wicked one touches him not. A real born again Christian, do you know what he's going to do? He's going to keep himself. He's not going to play around with sexual sin or drugs or alcohol. I assure you, the real Christian is going to keep himself. It is a mark that you're born again, that you keep yourself, you guard yourself, you separate yourself from the darkness of this world. Saints, be a Christian in this world. The new birth is a mighty thing. You are born of the spirit of God and you keep yourself from the devil. You guard yourself. You don't just accept his lies or you don't just yield to his temptations. There is a keeping of yourself. Oh yes, I know there's failures along the way, but saints of God, get up and keep yourself here this morning. If you're really born again, you can keep yourself. You can guard yourself. You can watch yourself from the onslaught of hell. And it says the wicked one touches him not. If you're born again, if you're in Christ Jesus, the wicked one touches you not. Do you know what that Greek word means? And it's very important. It means the wicked one does not attach himself onto you. He cannot cling to you. He cannot hold you fast. He is not there holding you, refusing to let go or to have such a grip on your life that you can't get free. Do you know what? I reject the teaching of demonized Christians. There are no such thing. Satan can't dwell in you at the same time as the spirit of God. You're either in the kingdom of Satan or you're in the kingdom of God, but you cannot be both. You know, the church is filled with people, preachers having demons cast out of them. The church is more like a hospital than a military army. But I want to show you for these last days, let the real church of God arise. They're not having demons cast out of them. They're casting demons out. They're not there licking their wounds. They're going out to heal the wounds of others who are out there in this sin lost world. I want to assure you that real Christians are not indwelled. The devil cannot touch them. The evil one can. They can be tempted. They can sin. They can fail along the way. They're buffeted many times. But I assure you through the blood of Jesus, they gain a victory over the evil one. The devil cannot touch you. He cannot so grip himself onto you. Do you know what the word also means? It means to appropriate or handle for your own purpose. The devil can't use the same for his own purpose. It means to permanently harm. This word is vital because the devil cannot touch someone who is really born again and washed in the blood of Jesus. If ever we needed to understand that, it's in this hour and this generation. Since you the redeemed of the Lord, if you're born again, if you're washed in the blood here in this church, if you know Jesus Christ, do you know what? I want you to realize there's power, power, wonder working power in the blood of the Lamb. And you know what? There's a blood washed church that's going to function in one of the darkest hours in church history. This is a remarkable hour. We have come to the end of the church age. I believe we're right in the last chapter of church history. We are the last church that's going to be upon the earth before the coming of the Lord. I believe we're at the end of it all. And you know what? We've got to know the power of Jesus' blood. There is a victory. It's got to become personal. It's got to become our testimony. There's got to be evidence that we have a victory over the blood of the Lamb. When Jesus warned the church of the signs that they are going to see just before the end, the signs that would indicate that the last generation has come, in Matthew 24, he gives 10 significant signs and warnings that would indicate the beginning of sorrows are here. In other words, a period of time that's going to intensify, that's going to grow stronger, that's going to become more obvious. Listen to what he said in Matthew 24 and 9. Ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake. Do you know what? Our world right now is changing. Every single nation, you're going to be hated for Christ's sake. That didn't used to be the case. There were nations where you'd be respected for being a Christian, for following Jesus Christ. But Jesus predicted that this would be one of the last signs of his coming to make the church look up for the redemption drawth now, to look for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know what he said? All nations are going to hate you, you the church, the redeemed of the Lord, because of the name of Jesus Christ. There's going to be a radical change in our culture, our society, our politics. All of this makes us look up. Saints, I'm not in defeat this morning. I'm not scared this morning. I'm not trembling this morning. I was born for this hour. Jesus warned me about this hour. He gave indications. He explained it and he showed me what the church is to be. We are going to live and we are living in an hour when the real people of God are hated for his name's sake in every single nation. He goes further and he says, and then, so at a time where the nations are literally beginning to hate real believers, and then shall many be offended. Talking about those in the church, they're going to be offended. They're going to trip over it. They're not going to be able to handle this hatred. They're going to say, this shouldn't be happening. Everyone should love me. I just want to love Jesus. They're going to get offended. People in the church who were happy a year ago are suddenly, as this hatred arises, they're going to become offended. And listen, Jesus said, and shall betray one another. Offense will lead to betrayal and shall hate one another. I believe this pinpoints people who are professing to follow Christ, to love Christ, to be in the church, but our whole world is going to soon change. The whole culture of this generation is going to so dramatically begin to change. There's going to be a progression from offense to betrayal, to hatred, step by step. We are going to see a Judas generation in the church arise. People are going to shock you. People who said they once loved Jesus, you're going to be shocked at what they're going to do. They're going to sell out Jesus for a lousy 30 bits of silver and shall hate one another. Do you know what hatred is? It is to love less, to have no emotion, no natural feeling, and betrayal leads to that. Betrayal always leads to no feeling. Before you betray a man or a woman, you have to be in a condition where you just don't feel anything anymore. You'll sell them out, betray them, be unfaithful, not be a real Christian. I assure you, there is something at work in your heart. It also says in Matthew 24 in verse 12, and because iniquity shall abound, because it's going to multiply, it's going to explode. What is iniquity? It is lawlessness. It's the Greek word for lawlessness. In other words, an utter contempt for law. It means a breaking of all law. God's law, man's law, the tradition of law. It is a throwing away of all boundaries, all distinction, of all regulation. It is going beyond God's law. That's what Jesus said this last hour would be like. Iniquity is going to abound. It's going to multiply. This lawless spirit that we are watching right now in our nations, I mean the riverbanks are busting. There's no more restriction. There's always been iniquity. There's always been homosexuality. There's always been sin. There's always been abortion. There's always been depravity. But you know what? It's burst in its bounds. Welcome to the last of the last days, to the last chapter of church history. You need to be equipped, and this message is to start you to be equipped. This isn't for the light. This isn't for the frivolous, but this is for those who truly love Jesus Christ. It says there, and Jesus warned 2,000 years ago. He warned us clearly. He said an hour is coming. I'm giving you the signs that give reach the last days, that you're living in the last hour. I'm showing you clearly that because iniquity abounds, because it begins to overflow in every nation, every area of society, the love, and that word love is agape love. The love of many is going to grow cold. It's going to wax cold. Agape love is going to become filial love. That's in the church, and it's talking about real genuine born-again believers, those that are born again, washed in the blood. You know what he says? The love of many is going to grow cold. I want to give you a serious warning, but I want to give you the remedy. The remedy is the blood of Jesus Christ. Nothing will keep you as fervent as the blood of Jesus. Nothing will keep you as fresh as the blood of Jesus Christ. I'm telling you this morning how to gain a victory over the accuser of the brethren. Who is it behind this rise of iniquity? Who is it behind this flood of abomination in this hour? It is the accuser of the brethren. Who is this accuser of the brethren? We're told in Revelation 12 and verse 9, this accuser who is going to get cast on. Saints, I've told you how dark it'll get, but I'm telling you of a church that's going to rise up in such an hour, in such a climate, and by the blood, they're going to gain a victory over the accuser of the brethren. What the devil means for evil, to annihilate the church, to corrupt the church, to pollute the church, to compromise the church, there is going to arise a church that's going to gain a victory over that same accuser. It is going to rise up in this last hour. It says in Revelation 12 and 9, and the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world, he was cast into the earth, and his angels were cast out with them before the final prophecies are fulfilled, before the rise of Antichrist. There's going to be a church that overcomes by the blood of the Lamb. Saints, I'm talking to you this morning. We are that generation. We are that church. Prophecy is about to come to pass, and I assure you our time is restricted. Our time is limited for this casting out of the accuser of the brethren, the rising up of the church to overcome by the blood, for Michael and his angels to triumph against the accuser of the brethren. All of this is coming in very fast, and I believe we're there. We are going to be put in a situation where we'll have no choice but to lay hold of the blood of the Lamb, and by a personal experience, overcome the accuser of the brethren. Notice here concerning the accuser of the brethren. It gives two animals and two names. The two animals are the dragon and the serpent. In this chapter, chapter 12 of Revelation, the dragon is mentioned eight times. He's only mentioned 13 times in the entire book of Revelation. He's not called the dragon anywhere else in the Bible, but he is called the dragon here. In other words, the devil is defined as a dragon more in Revelation 12 than any other chapter of the entire Bible. Look at him in this chapter. We see his tail drawn down a third of the stars of heaven. That means a third of the angels that become demonic spirits. We see him there waiting to devour the man-child. We see him in heaven fighting Michael. We see him trying to destroy the woman and pursuing after her. Then after that, we see him making war with the remnant of her seed. This dragon has seven heads and 10 horns. This dragon is the one who is just about to empower a political, economic, and religious system. It's going to arise on the earth. Once he's cast onto the earth, he's going to empower and inhabit a demonically controlled political system across our world. That's who the dragon is, but it's not the dragon we're dealing with here. We're dealing with the serpent. The serpent is the one who comes before the dragon. We read of the serpent three times in this chapter. We read of him, of his face, and of his mouth. Notice that very carefully about the serpent in this hour that we live in. The serpent who is the dragon, who is the devil, who is Satan. As a serpent, his mouth and his face is very important. When we look for the serpent, we go back to Genesis chapter three and verse one. It says, now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field. That means cunning, crafty, shrewd, to be smooth in your words, to be crafty in your actions, your plans, your motives, all of the devices that you put into operation. We are dealing with a serpent that was in the garden of Eden. We are dealing with a serpent that had a dealing with our first parents 6,000 years ago. I want you to realize that the serpent has been coming against a chosen man, tempting them, deceiving, lying, manipulating, standing against him for 6,000 years since the garden of Eden. The name Satan and devil here are also important. Satan is taken from the Hebrew and has the meaning of adversary. He stands against, he resists, and this name Satan is used 14 times in the book of Job. If you want to understand who Satan is, how he operates, what his task is, remember name denotes character. If you want to understand what God means by calling him Satan or exposing him as Satan, do you know what? Go to the book of Job and see how Satan dealt with Job. You are looking at what it means to be Satan. You're looking at a definition of his character and his nature. He is also called the devil here, which is the Greek word diabolos. That word diabolos means false accuser or one who comes to slander. It's not just one who accuses, but he makes false accusations. It comes from the verb word or the action word diabolos, meaning the act of accusing someone or to throw darts. It actually is where you'd have arrows or darts and you would throw them. That's where it comes from. The accuser throws words and that's where we get the word diabolos. He is throwing accusations. He is throwing slander. He is throwing mud. He is the theme in your character. Since I'm telling you who the serpent is, who this accuser of the brethren is, here in Revelation 12, he is revealed in all of his fullness. He is defined in his character, in his calling, in his history. The cover is pulled back and we see who the accuser is. Do you know why you need to know this this morning? We are so ignorant when thoughts come to our mind, when somebody speaks to us the wrong thing or a wrong teaching, when we see things go on in our world, we don't realize who is operating there. We are so blind and ignorant so often to who it is that's working in the dark. I assure you this word devil is used 34 times and even once of Judas in the gospel. It is a real thing that we are facing here as the devil hurls and throws a verbal assault against who? The brethren, the blood-washed believer in the Lord Jesus. I've got three points for you here. Now that I've laid a foundation, I want you to hear this. We're in the last days. We're in the last hour of church history. There is a vital role for us to play in the world. We may look small and insignificant, but I assure you a believer that discovers and renews his knowledge of the blood of the lamb is going to find himself in a place of experiential victory in this hour. Since the battle is coming to us, whether you like it or not, you better hear what I say. You better be instructed by the spirit of God because there is coming a flood of the accuser of the brethren, the like of which you and I have never yet seen in our generation. It's going to engulf every nation, every government, all legislation. It's going to come against our children in the schools. It's going to affect you in the workplace. It's going to affect you from the highest realms of authority to the lowest. I assure you the accuser of the brethren is bringing the battle to us, but it is time for the church to rise up, to stand by virtue of the precious blood and to gain the victory over the accuser of the brethren. What the means for evil, God is going to use for good. What the devil thinks is going to floor us and wipe us out is going to be used to stir us up, to stand up as the redeemed of the Lord. I've got three points here for you this morning as we look a bit closer at this. Number one, he is a personal accuser. I want to show you three different realms of how the accuser comes and how we gain the victory, but I want you to see this one first. He is a personal accuser. You see, I want you to stop and consider this for a moment, that the accusations of the one in Revelation 12 who's going to get cast down, those accusations that are going to come to an end, it's a personal accuser that you're looking at. You are looking at your personal accuser. You see, the accuser of the brethren is an accuser of you. If you're a born-again blood-washed believer, you are a brother. He is an accuser of the brethren, of the brotherhood of Jesus Christ, those born again by the grace of God. He is an accuser directly of you. And notice with me here, we know from scripture that the accuser of the brethren, he will have a direct line towards you. He will tempt you. He will speak to you. He will attack you. Since if you find yourself in a place of condemnation and guilt through your own personal sin, you've sinned against God, it is time to turn to the blood of Jesus. If you're in this gathering and you're listening to my words this morning, and there's condemnation, and there's guilt, and there's thoughts, and there's feelings, and you feel afar off, it is time for you to overcome the accuser by the blood of Jesus. You may say, I deserve this. Yes, you do. But it's time to rise up by the grace of God and say, God, forgive me. I'm so sorry for sinning against you. Will you wash me? You've just gained a victory over the accuser of the brethren. It says in 1 John chapter 3 and 20, for if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart. Some of you think because your own heart condemns you, that you need to stay in that case. You know what? God is greater than your own heart. Your conscience may be condemning you. Your own heart may condemn you because of something you've said, or something that you've done, or something that you've thought. I want to show you God is greater than your heart. The blood of Jesus Christ washes you from all sin. There is a victory in the blood of Jesus. You may be in a battle against the accuser. He's pointing out your past sins. He's pointing out your lack of sanctification. He's pointing out something in your life this morning that you've been struggling with. You want to be like Jesus. You want to walk with God. But there's one thing you've been wrestling with. You know what? The accuser of the brethren, he'll be there to accuse you. He will come and accuse you. He'll say, what sort of Christian are you? You'll never change. You'll never be free. You'll never grow beyond this. You'll never get the victory over me. Saints, can I tell you, when the tempter comes, the accuser, it is time to lay hold of the blood of Jesus. You need to turn around to that devil this morning and say, I'm washed by the blood of the Lamb. I'm forgiven by the precious blood of the Lamb. I can gain a victory by the blood of the Lamb. I'm not the worthy one. I'm not the perfect one. But the Lamb of God died at Calvary. His blood was shed for me that I may go free. I want you to see that the accuser of the brethren has a direct attack to you. You may think it's your own thoughts. You may think that you're condemning yourself, but he is a condemner. He is a liar. He is a murderer. How do we know the difference between the devil condemning us and the Holy Spirit convicting? The devil says, you're done, you're out, and there's no hope for you. You know, over the past three months, I've had a number of emails and conversations with individuals, backsliders who once knew Jesus Christ, and they said, I've sinned and I cannot be forgiven. I don't think God can forgive me. Maybe I've sinned away the day of salvation. Do you know the Holy Spirit, when he convicts you of sin, he always leads you back to the blood. And he says, there's power in the blood. There's power in the blood. There's forgiveness in the blood of Jesus. You say, but you don't know me. I want to tell you, one of Christ's own apostles, Peter, the apostle, chosen by Christ, raised up. You remember Christ one day prophesied, Peter, there's a day coming, you're going to deny me. Peter said, never. All the rest might, but I will never deny you. You know, it was only days later, he's standing warm in his hands by the fire, the world's fire. There's Roman centurions there. There's little handmaidens and he's there in the coldness of night, standing with the ungodly, standing amidst their conversation, warm in his hands, seeking to get warm by the fire of this world. In that environment, he denied Jesus Christ three times. What a heartbreaking thing. Do you know what happened next? He was heartbroken. He went out and he wept. He went out and he wept. I can assure you the accuser of the brethren came to him. Do you know what he done next? He went and took those other fishermen apostles and he said, come, let's go fishing. You know what he gave up in the ministry and he went back to his fishing nets. When Christ next finds him, he's out there fishing again. He's turned away from ministry, gave up on preaching. Why? Three times he denied Jesus Christ and said, I do not know him. I do not know him. Do you realize that the devil came in on that as the accuser of the brethren? Don't you realize the devil must have said, I've got Peter now. Peter will never recover from this. You say, how do you know that the devil was there? Jesus said, Jesus had said previously to Peter, Peter, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat, but I prayed for you that your faith will not fail. He didn't pray that he wouldn't fail. He prayed that his faith wouldn't fail. Peter did fail. And I assure you the accuser was there to say, you're finished. You're finished. How can you call yourself a Christian? But that man had a new meeting with the Lord Jesus Christ. I tell you, Christ came looking for him. He is the good shepherd. He goes looking for that one sheep that's gone astray. If he'd done that for Peter, he'll do it for you. I can assure you, my friend, there is an accuser of the brethren. That great man of God on the day of Pentecost stood up and preached on 3000 are born again. Don't tell me there isn't a victory over past failure. Don't tell me there isn't power in the blood. Don't tell me that you can't rise up out of the pit of guilt and of condemnation of hopelessness of having gone back to your fish and nets. Since when you see Christ again and all that he's done for you, you'll stand up and preach again under the power of the Holy Spirit. That's always a personal accuser. Satan comes to accuse you personally, but notice further, he doesn't only accuse you to you, but he accuses God about you. He accuses God and listen, he goes to God when you're innocent as the accuser of the brethren. Satan is a false accuser. He doesn't just go when you sin or you fail or something happens. Satan goes to God to accuse you when you haven't done anything wrong. You say, where do you get that? I find it in the book of Job. If you go to the book of Job, you'll find this as clear as day. It is God himself who points out to Satan, the righteousness of a man of God, who eschewed sin, that there was no one on God's planet who was quite like Job. Well, you know what Satan said. Then Satan answered the Lord and he said, does Job fear God for naught? Do you know what he's doing? He is accusing Job to God. This is what Satan still does today to the saints of God. He makes accusations that are not true. He even creates and invents scenarios of what you would do in certain situations if God allows it to happen in your life. You know, Satan goes to God and he challenges him and says, you know, this no good saint of God, you just let him have a bit of suffering and he'll deny you. That's what he's saying here about Job. He says, does Job fear God for naught? He said, why wouldn't he fear you? He's challenging Job and he's saying that fear of God isn't the real fear of God. It's a fear that's birthed out of greed. Actually, all he is is a greedy, selfish so-and-so. Satan begins to accuse Job unto God. So it's not only the accuser accuses you to yourself, he accuses you to God. He goes to God. Listen further. And he says, put my forth thine hand and touch Job and all that he has and he will curse you to thy face. What a challenge that this is Satan the accuser saying to God, just you touch him, let some things go wrong in his life and I know he'll curse you to your face. This was a righteous, godly believer, a man who walked with God, who had integrity, who could control his speech and yet there is the devil unseen to him, unknown to him, invisibly at the throne of God saying, if you allow these things to happen to Job, he will curse you to his face. Do you know that the devil makes such accusations about you? Do you know God has allowed certain things in your life to prove that there's more in you than the devil accuses you of? Don't you realize that there's things in life, trials and troubles and things we don't understand that it is the devil accusing you at the throne of God and yet God allowed all of this. You know why? There is something real in you that he is going to manifest. He's going to bring it forth. He knows that you're not serving him for greed. It's not out of a fear taught by man, but there is real integrity. There's real integrity. The accuser of the brethren studied Job very carefully. He studied his lifestyle, his conduct. He noticed the hedge in and around Job's life. He studied his family very carefully. He counted his possessions. He knew where it all was. He was able to attack it and he also noted the work of his hands and his influence on that generation. Oh, what a thing to challenge and yet it was all in God's plan. God actually had a plan in drawing Satan's attention to him. It wasn't out of God's control. God was using the accuser. God was using Satan. God was using the devil in Job's life. It's hard to accept that I know. It's hard to see and understand that and yet at the end of the story, what we see of Job is he comes forth as gold out of the trough. God will never allow the accuser to stand and accuse you without having a plan and a purpose in it. We read about another man who he wasn't an innocent man who the devil accused, but actually there was an issue in his life. Listen, the accuser also accuses God when there is something in your heart and life. In chapter three, we read a very important chapter there. Zachariah is all about the people of Israel after the 70 year captivity. They make that long journey from Babylon back into the city of Jerusalem to begin to rebuild the house of God, the temple of God. There are two leaders. Zerubbabel is the political leader, the governor, the one with royal blood in his veins and by his side is the high priest called Joshua, a man of God, a spiritual man. These two men led the people of God back. They're two leaders who love God and want to walk with God, but in Zachariah chapter three, the prophet comes to Joshua with a open vision, a prophecy for him. Listen to what it says in Zachariah three and one. And he showed me Joshua, the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord. And I believe that's Jesus Christ, the angel of the Lord. He was standing before him and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. I want you to see here, here is the high priest, the most religious and spiritually alive man in the nation. The man that's going to lead them back to restore the house of God, a man who longs for revival. He is a leader who desires the spirit of God to move. But you know what? As he stands before the Lord, at his side stands Satan and Satan is there at his right hand to resist him. The word resist means to attack, to accuse, or to condemn. The devil is standing beside him, accusing him, accusing him. I believe he's accusing him before God. I believe Satan was standing as these men make their way back to have another revival, to rebuild Jerusalem. You know where Satan is? He is standing at the right hand of Joshua. Joshua cannot see it. The prophet has to reveal it. The preacher has to make it clear. But there is Satan at his side, accusing him, accusing him. You know what I believe he was saying? How can you use a man like this to bring revival? How could you use a man like this in a position of ministry? How can you use a man like this to restore the house of God? I believe he was accusing Joshua before the presence of God. And yet Joshua did not know until the prophet revealed it. Do you know what happens here as Satan is accusing him and resisting him? Listen to what the Lord says. The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan. You know what? He is dealing with the accuser of the brethren, just like Christ prayed for Peter that his faith would not fail. Here is the Lord standing with Joshua. Do you know what? Thank God the Lord doesn't leave us in the hands of the accuser. He says, the Lord rebuke thee, O Satan. And it says in verse three, now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments and stood before the angel. You know, this is one of the holiest man in the nation. And yet in the vision, we see filthy garments. There was an issue here, maybe a lack of sanctification, maybe some issue with his wife at home, maybe some issue, he's trying to work through it in his own heart, maybe something with his children. I don't know, but his garments were filthy. And you know what? Satan took opportunity and he says, God, you can't use this man. You can't lay your hand on this man. But do you know what the Lord done? Yes, the Lord reveals the filthy garments. Maybe this was something in Joshua's life he wasn't even aware of. Maybe his heart was sincere and pure and he wasn't aware of issues going on in his life, of some blemish that the devil was using. You know what the Lord, the Lord's never scared to expose and reveal something that is hidden. God does reveal sin or filthy garments. Listen to what the Lord says, take away the filthy garments. I believe this high priest was trusting to the blood of the lamb. I believe this is him overcoming by the blood of the lamb. I believe this is him gaining a victory against the accuser of the brethren. What does the Lord say? Take away his filthy garments. And he said, this shall pass. This high iniquity will pass from me and I will close thee with the change of Raymond. He given new clean garments. That's what the blood of the lamb does. Next of all, he given a new fair miter for his head. You know what was written on the miter of the high priest? Holiness unto the Lord. What a remarkable thing that amidst the battle with Satan, the accuser of the brethren, just as Satan comes to accuse the lamb of God, our great high priest, our advocate comes to bring deliverance. Since he'll meet with you this morning, he'll give you new garments. He'll give you a new hat for your head. He'll anoint your head with the oil of gladness. He rebukes Satan on the basis of his own righteousness. He changes this man of God and close him in holiness. And then he instructs him, if you walk with me, if you obey me, then I'll bless you. That is the first point here this morning. The devil is a personal accuser. We see it with Peter, with Joshua, with Job. Sometimes he brings false accusation. Sometimes true accusations. And sometimes he's trying to prophesy something into place. This is the accuser of the brethren. Sometimes he is accusing you of what is real in your life. Sometimes he just lies about you. The accuser of the brethren, how do you overcome him? By the blood of the lamb. You accuse him. You overcome him when the accusation is true. Are you there this morning and the devil is accusing you? How dare you sing the songs of Zion? How dare you pray this morning? How dare you approach the Lord this morning? How dare you break bread this morning? Someone like you, you know what, you can gain a victory this morning. By saying, oh God, forgive me, cleanse me, wash me. Maybe there's nothing in your heart, but the accuser's coming, saying you're proud, you're arrogant. Maybe he's accusing God about your lack of sanctification and your growth in Christ. Overcome him by the blood of the lamb. I do want to be like Jesus. I do want to mature. I do want complete victory. Then rest in the precious blood of the lamb. The accuser that we overcome by the blood of the lamb and our word of our testimony is overcome by the precious blood. It is the blood, the lamb of God that gives us the victory. Second of all, a brotherly accuser. A brotherly accuser. He's not only a personal accuser. He is a brotherly accuser. What do I mean by the accuser of the brethren being a brotherly accuser? Do you realize he will go to your brothers in the church and accuse you? He will go to them. He will speak sentences or points up and out. He is an accuser of the brethren, but also he can go to you. He can come to you with thoughts, with feelings, with ideas, pointing things out, and he can actually begin to accuse your brother in Christ without foundation. Like with the first point, sometimes it may be true. Sometimes it is utterly false. First of all, where there is no issue, you can become an accuser of your brother at the instigation of Satan stirring you up. You know what? And there is no issue. There's no biblical issue. There's nothing they're doing wrong. You may not like the way they look, the way they dress, the way they speak, or their humor, or their temperament. Your heart might rise up against someone, and yet if I ask you, what's the issue? You can't even point it at anything. You know, in Mark chapter 7, in Christ speaking, he speaks about an evil eye. Do you know what an evil eye is? It is to be an accuser of the brethren. An evil eye is to look on someone else with an evil heart or with a wrong heart. It's placed alongside fornication, adultery, and murder. If you are there with an evil eye against a genuine believer in Christ, and yet there's no good reason, and you don't deal with it biblically, but yet you look on them, you have attitudes, you have thoughts, and you tolerate it, and you never deal with that. You don't come to the blood of Jesus. You don't plead the blood of Jesus over the situation. Do you know what it's called? It's called an evil eye, and it's like murder. Do you realize how much rises up in the church? And really, it's the accuser of the brethren behind it. Do you know the devil loves to divide and to conquer? Do you know he loves to set a real Christian against another real Christian? He'll stir up David's brothers to accuse him of pride in his heart. That's why you've come to the battlefield. He'll stir up Joseph's brothers with envy towards their brother, saying, look at this arrogant little boy. Look at his attitude. He's trying to rule over us. I assure you there is an accuser of the brethren. He not only goes to God to accuse you, he not only accuses you of your own sin, but he actually comes to you to try and split you from your brothers and your sisters in Christ Jesus. I want to exhort you here for a moment. Be very careful of the thoughts that come to your mind. Test everything by the word of God. Only deal with your brother and sister according to the written scriptures. It says in Exodus 20 and verse 16, thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. You shall not bear false witness. Again in Exodus 23 and one, thou shalt not raise a false report. Put not thine hand with the wicked to be an unrighteous witness. Do you realize if you make a false accusation and you can claim the covenant of the blood, but if you make a false accusation against a brother and you harbor it, or you share it with others, and you've never dealt with it in a right way, do you realize it is something that God detests? It is something that God is against to bear a false witness. In other words, lie or to misrepresent or to claim that things are in their heart that are not in their heart. Friends, you don't know what is in a man's or a woman's heart unless their words explicitly reveal it or their actions reveal it. And then it's in the open. You don't know what's in someone's heart and you better take heed to yourself rather than delving into other people's lives. Be very careful. There is an accuser of the brethren that would love to divide Christians and be also very careful. Do you realize the accuser of the brethren likes to stir up backbiting, slander, gossip, lying, false accusation. He loves to do it in the home. He loves to do it in the church. He loves to do it amidst brethren. It says in Proverbs 6 and 16, these six things does the Lord hate. In other words, they're an enemy. He hates them. Six things. Yea, seven are an abomination unto him. Why would he say he hates six, but there's seven that's an abomination? Well, he goes on to list six things, idolatry and other things that God hates. But there is a seventh. Listen to what the seventh is. He that soweth discord among brethren. If you ever find a Christian and he goes about sowing discord, sharing things, and he's never dealt with it in a right way, in a biblical way, he's just causing division in the church. I want to show you the devil is using that man. The accuser of the brethren is using that man. No, let me say something more. I want to tell you that that man, what he's doing, sowing discord or division among brethren, that God says he not only hates it, but it's an abomination. It's an abomination unto him. I mean, there's nothing worse. It is worse than murder. You think murder is bad? God says someone who sows discord is far worse. Now I know we live in a generation. It says don't judge. You're not allowed to judge. Now I'm not of those because I've done a whole teaching, 15 messages on how to judge biblically. I'm not of those who say you can never accuse your brother because the Bible says there's a time when you ought to point out your brother's sin. There's a time when we ought to judge one another. In fact, it says in John 7, 24, Jesus talking, he says, judge righteous judgment. Again, in 1 Corinthians 5 and 12, Paul the apostle says, ye judge them that are within the church. In Deuteronomy 1 and 16, it says, and I charged your judges at that time saying, hear the causes between your brethren and judge righteously between every man and his brother. Since there's an entire teaching that says we are meant to judge, there are verses that show that we ought to make an accusation where there is something viable, but you better be very careful that you're on scripture ground. It says in Galatians 2 and 11, but when Peter was come to Antioch, I, Paul, withstood him. Meaning I was against him. I resisted him. I opposed him to his face publicly because he was to be blamed. This is Paul publicly to the face of Peter in a church at Antioch. You know why? Because Peter was compromising and bringing something into that church. I assure you there's a right time to deal with issues in the body of Christ. We read in Romans 16, 17, now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offenses contrary to the doctrine which you have learned and avoid them. Notice here, he says only avoid or separate yourself from those who make divisions and offenses that are contrary to doctrine. In other words, it might be right to divide yourself or cause an offense when it is according to scripture or on the basis of scripture. You know, sometimes if you don't separate from a brother, you're sinning. Other times, if you do separate from a brother, you are sinning. How are you meant to know whether it is a sin to separate or a sin not to separate? You've got to know doctrine. You've got to know what the Bible actually teaches. You've got to understand it. You know what? There are divisions that are sinful and there are divisions. Christ, when he preached, he caused a division and yet it was right. This is the second great point here. And I believe in the last days in the generation, brothers are going to betray you and become Judas's in this hour. People in the church are going to get so offended with what's changing in our world. They're going to begin to betray one another. Do you realize we better be careful not to be an accuser of the brethren. I believe we're going to see many rise up in this hour who are going to become accusers, false accusers and liars of the brethren. And you know what? It's the devil working in them. But third and lastly, the devil is a divine accuser. This might sound strange, but I want you to hear as we close here, and we've got to overcome this kind of accusation and this form of the attack of the accuser of the brethren. He not only accuses you, not only your brother, but he is a divine accuser. You know what he does? He accuses God to you. He accuses God. He not only stops at accusing you, he accuses God. He points the finger. He actually will come to you with thoughts, with ideas, with imaginations, and he will accuse God. If you're not aware of this, you need to wake up to this this morning. The devil, the accuser of the brethren will not only point the finger at your brother and encourage you to hold a grudge or a bitterness. You know what? He'll come to you and he'll say, God is not doing good by you. Now, I want you to see here that Jesus Christ in the book of Hebrews, time after time, is called our brethren, or we are his brethren. He took on us our flesh. He took on a human body to become our brethren. And in fact, in Hebrew, it says he is not ashamed to be called or to call us his brethren. He is not ashamed. Can you imagine that Jesus Christ is not ashamed to call you and I brethren? You know why? We're redeemed by the precious blood of the lamb. But look, I want you to see that the accuser of the brethren will accuse God to you. Going back to the Garden of Eden, when Satan, the serpent, approached Eve. Listen to what he said. Yea, hath God said. First of all, he asked a question. Well, that's all he done was raise a question. You know, when you get the devil coming, question of the Bible, you know who you're dealing with. He is an accuser. He'll start doubting the word of God. Then I'll lead to an accusation against God himself. But you know where it begins? Before the devil, the accuser of the brethren, before he ever brings an accusation, before he speaks to you and says, look at God and accuses God of something. You know where he starts? He starts with the written scripture, with a promise or a certain teaching. He actually draws your attention to the promises of God or what God has spoken. That's where he begins. And he begins to say, hath God said. Do you know what he says straight after that? In Genesis chapter three and verse one, he utterly denies. Ye shall not surely die. He goes from simply raising a question. Hath God said. He raises a question over the word of God, whether it's true or not in your life, in your experience. And then he begins to say, you will not die. It will not happen. It's not true. Then in verse five, for God does know. In other words, Eve, God knows, and he hasn't told you. He's hiding something from you. He's trying to keep something good back from you. You know what the devil is doing? He is accusing God. He is accusing the Lord Jesus Christ. He's saying your God isn't good. He isn't kind. He isn't answering your prayers. He isn't merciful. He is a hard task master. The devil comes to accuse God. Do you realize how many times the devil has accused God to you? I mean, the accuser of the brethren, and you think it's just you. When you think it's just you, you don't respond. You don't overcome. You don't gain a victory over the accuser of the brethren. You know what? You need to begin to fight. When the devil comes to raise a question over the word, you need to be very careful in that hour. Like Eve, she didn't realize she's being led by the news down a certain pathway. For God does know that in the day ye eat thereof, your eyes shall be open and ye shall be as God's, knowing good and evil. You know what? You're going to be as wise as God. You're going to have knowledge like God. You're going to have divine wisdom, but God's word is keeping you away from that. Or what about in Job chapter 2? You remember Job's wife? You see, God had told Satan, you can touch Job, but don't touch his flesh. Do you know his wife? They're one flesh. They're one flesh. Satan actually couldn't kill Job's wife. They're one flesh. He was forbidden and he dare not cross that line. But it doesn't mean that he didn't use Job's wife. You see, if the devil can't take something off you, he'll use what you have there in the house. If he can't split this church, then he'll use things within the church or use individuals that stay in the church. If he can't split up a marriage, then he'll use the partners to say certain things to each other. If he can't get you to a divorce court, then he'll just raise up accusations within that very home. That's what the devil done with Job. You see, he took his children, his wealth and his health, but he couldn't touch that lady. He couldn't kill her. But do you know what he done? He used her as a mouthpiece. I'm talking about accusations from Satan against God. Do you remember what she done in turning to her husband and what she said? Listen, then said his wife unto him, does thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. Do you know where we first hear that statement of curse God and die? In the mouth of the accuser of the brethren, in the throne of God, in heaven, Satan is there in heaven, accusing Job. He will curse you and die. Now on earth, in Job's home, Job's wife has picked this up. She is looking at everything happening to his life, from the loss of children through to the loss of his health. And you know what? The accuser of the brethren has not only gone to the throne of God, but has come to her and she is now speaking the words of the accuser of the brethren. Maybe that began with a thought and she is accusing God and she is accusing the man of God. And she is saying, do you still retain your integrity? Curse God and die. Don't you realize lady that the devil is using your lips as the accuser against God? That God is good? I want to tell you, God is good. Even in the midst of Job there, scraping the boils on the ash heap. God is good. God is good. And Job knew enough not to deny God and to hold that tongue. You know, I want to tell you, the accuser of the brethren will come to you and say, God isn't being good to you, or faithful, or providing for you. He's not kind and he's not answering your prayer. Do you know who you're dealing with? The accuser of the brethren. And you know, there's only one way to respond, not with arguments, but with the blood of Jesus Christ. How do I gain a victory over the accuser when he accuses God's word and the character of God and the person of Christ? Do you know how I do it? By the blood of the lamb. I look to Calvary. Do you doubt that he loves you here this morning? Then look to Calvary's lamb again. Do you doubt that he's kind and he's considerate? Look to the bleeding lamb this morning. Do you doubt that he's answering your prayer? Are you here with your sins forgiven? He's answered your prayer. All of your sins are forgiven. You're made clean and white in the blood of the lamb. You're free by the grace of God. Don't let the devil accuse God in your mind, in your heart, or in your emotions. Amen. Will you bow here? Pray with me as we close this gathering this morning. Father, I pray in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Lord God, I pray for all of us here this morning that we are going to gain a victory by the blood of the lamb and by the word of our testimony. Loving not our lives, even unto the death. I pray that everyone in this meeting this morning is going to gain a victory against the personal attack of the accuser of the brethren. That we are going to gain a victory over the accuser who accuses our brother or our brothers who accuse us. I pray through the blood that we're going to gain a victory. Third and lastly, I pray that you'd help us by the blood of the lamb, by the grace of God, to gain a victory over the accuser when he comes and accuses you, challenges your word, lies about your character, lies about your goodness in your work in our lives. I pray, O God, give us a victory this morning in this meeting. Give us a victory over the accuser of the brethren in Jesus' mighty name. Saints, I'm telling you this morning, this morning you need to draw the bloodline. This morning you have to say enough is enough. That's it. No further. I've allowed thoughts against my brother. I've allowed thoughts against God. I've tolerated thoughts against myself. But this morning it must be quenched in the precious blood of the lamb. Praise God.