FIRST JESUS

I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.

1 CORINTHIANS 2:12 (MSG)

Then He said to them all: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. ²⁴ For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. ²⁵ What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? ²⁶ If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

LUKE 9:23-26 (NIV)

THIS IS HOW WE OVERCOME.

And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

REVELATION 12:7-11 (NKJ)  

And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

REVELATION 12:11 (NKJ)

1. WE OVERCOME BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB

They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb …

REVELATION 12:11 (NKJ)

He has rescued us completely from the tyrannical rule of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom realm of his beloved Son. For in the Son all our sins are cancelled and we have the release of redemption through his very blood.

COLOSSIANS 1:13–14 (TPT) 

The law says that almost everything must be made clean by blood, and sins cannot be forgiven without blood to show death.

HEBREWS 9:22 (NCV)

For you know that your lives were ransomed once and for all from the empty and futile way of life handed down from generation to generation. It was not a ransom payment of silver and gold, which eventually perishes, but the precious blood of Christ—who like a spotless, unblemished lamb was sacrificed for us.

1 PETER 1:18–19 (TPT) 

The BLOOD REMINDS YOU OF WHAT CHRIST HAS DONE.

2. WE OVERCOME BY THE WORD OF OUR TESTIMONY

 … and by the word of their testimony …

REVELATION 12:11 (NKJ)

All of you set free by God, tell the world! Tell how he freed you from oppression.

PSALM 107:2 (The Message)

Has the Lord redeemed you? Then speak out! Tell others he has redeemed you from your enemies.

PSALM 107:2 (NLT)

… The man who had been possessed by the demons begged Jesus to let him go along. But Jesus said no. “Go home to your friends,” he told him, “and tell them what wonderful things God has done for you; and how merciful he has been.”

MARK 5:18-19 (LB)

Then the woman left her water jar and went back to town. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Do you think he might be the Christ?” So the people left the town and went to see Jesus.

JOHN 4:28–29 (NCV) 

… But one thing I do know, that whereas I was blind before, now I see.

Every time you testify, you remind the enemy that he DID NOT WIN.

3. WE OVERCOME BY REFUSING TO LOVE THIS LIFE MORE THAN JESUS

… They triumphed because they did not love and cling to their own lives, even when faced with death.

REVELATION 12:11 (TPT)

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If you truly want to follow me, you should at once completely reject and disown your own life. And you must be willing to share my cross and experience it as your own,^j as you continually surrender to my ways. ²⁵ For if you choose self-sacrifice and lose your lives for my glory, you will continually discover true life. But if you choose to keep your lives for yourselves, you will forfeit what you try to keep.

MATTHEW 16:24–25 (TPT)

Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

EPHESIANS 6:19-20 (NIV)

We overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our Testimony …. And we refuse to love this life more than Jesus.

4. OVERCOMERS KEEP STANDING UNTIL THE END

Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

MATTHEW 24:12-13 (LB) 

Anyone who meets a testing challenge head-on and manages to stick it out is mighty fortunate. For such persons loyally in love with God, the reward is life and more life.

JAMES 1:12 (The Message)

So don’t lose your bold, courageous faith, for you are destined for a great reward! You need the strength of endurance to reveal the poetry of God’s will and then you receive the promise in full.

HEBREWS 10:35–36 (TPT) 

Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong.

1 CORINTIANS 16:13 (NLT)

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.

2 TIMOTHY 4:7 (NIV)

The enemy (Satan) doesn't have to make you deny Jesus if he can simply make you quit following Him.

They conquered him completely through the blood of the Lamb and the powerful word of his testimony. They triumphed because they did not love and cling to their own lives, even when faced with death.

REVELATION 12:11 (TPT)

Victory doesn't begin with us. It begins with the Lamb.