This week Pastor Josh explores the tactics of Satan in Revelation 12. We see that accusation and shame are Satan’s favorite tools of warfare, and also how we can battle against that with the gospel.
- To live a flourishing life, we must seek true knowledge of God and true knowledge of self. But those often get disrupted and distorted by the tactics of evil.
- In Revelation 12, we see that Satan has been conquered, but he still goes on to make last-ditch efforts at slowing down the kingdom of God. In his fury, he seeks revenge on God’s victory by tormenting the church through accusation.
- Accusation is effective because it seeks to tell a story of who we are. It doesn’t just rehearse the facts but tries to weave a narrative of who we are.
- As Christians, we war against this by appropriating the blood of Christ in specific ways that lead to freedom and assurance.
COMMUNITY GROUP QUESTIONS:
- Pastor Josh started off his sermon talking about the necessity of true knowledge of God and true knowledge of self. Yet these often get disrupted and distorted by the tactics of evil. How have you experienced this? How has a knowledge of God or a knowledge of self been distorted in you?
- As we see in Revelation 12, Satan and his minions continue to fight against the kingdom of God, though they have been thrown down. It’s important for us as Christians to recognize that in our warfare we are fighting from victory and not for it. How do you know that you’re fighting from victory instead of for it? What are some things in your life that would signal you’re fighting from victory rather than for it?
- Accusation and shame seek to weave a narrative. Satan doesn’t try to rehearse the facts, but tries to weave those together in order that we would believe a false and degrading identity about ourselves. What are some areas you’ve seen this in your life? How has accusation tried to construct a false narrative for you?
- To fight against the accusations of Satan, we must appropriate the blood of the Lamb. This means we look at the cross of Christ and gather from it certain truths that will fight back against the shame and accusation. One that Pastor Josh pointed out is that the cross of Christ shows God is not waiting on a future version of you to love more. What area of your life needs to hear that truth the most? Where do you need to receive the rest that God loves you as you are today?