Latest / The Daily Word / September 7 – Fighting from Victory
Transcript
- Robert Rosales: Hey, good morning, friends. Welcome to the Daily Word podcast. I'm Robert Rosales, and along with my wife Yolanda, I have the privilege of serving as the campus pastor at our Gastonia location. I want to thank you for taking some time to invest in God's Word today. Whether you're listening on your morning commute, enjoying a cup of coffee, or beginning your day with the Lord, my prayer is. That this time encourages you and draws you closer to Him. I want to remind you, each day as a church, we are reading through the Bible together using the Life Journal Reading Plan. And today we're going to focus once again on the New Testament passage. One of the things I've learned over the years is that God often speaks in the quiet moments when we simply slow down, turn down the noise, and listen. Now, want to also remind us we're using the SOAP method scripture, observation, application, and prayer. It's a simple framework that I've been using for years, and it just helps us to move God's word from the page into our everyday lives. So if you don't have a life journal, let me encourage you, whichever campus you attend, come on, go to guest services and pick up one of those life journals as soon as you can. Now Before we begin reading from our text, let's pray and invite the Holy Spirit to speak to us and lead us. Father, thank you for this new day and for the privilege of opening your word. Quiet the distractions around us and the noise within us. Give us hearts that are teachable, minds that are attentive, and lives that are ready to obey whatever you reveal. Holy Spirit, Illuminate the scriptures and help us not only understand them but to live them out today. We ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, today's passage for September 7th is Revelation chapter 12. We're in the book of Revelation. And I journaled from verse number four. I'm going to read out of the New King James Version. Just listen as I read. John the Revelator writes. His tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth to devour her child as soon as it was born. Now I know the book of Revelation is not the easiest book to understand. There's commentaries, there's online study tools. Let me just point out a couple of things here that might not be so obvious. First, The third of the stars represent the rebellious angels. Second, the dragon is the devil. It's Satan himself. And the woman ultimately is the church, and the child is Jesus Christ. So that'll help frame in a little bit of what's being talked about in Revelation 12:4. Here's the title of my journal entry: Satan's Hostility Towards Christ. And the church. And this time I'm going to give you the observation and the application kind of all together. So here's my observation and the application. A couple of thoughts that are kind of synthesized from a commentary and from what I caught as I read. When John writes that the dragon's tail swept a third of heaven's stars to the earth, he's describing ultimate rebellion by the angels. And Satan's power and his relentless hostility towards Christ. But what does this mean for us today? Well, we should expect hostility and spiritual warfare as a normal part of our walk of faith because we have an unseen enemy who has declared war over us. The dragon's aggression isn't random or accidental, it's targeted and intentional. Yet notice what happens next. The child is snatched away to safety. Heaven itself intervenes. This reveals an insightful truth about our own battles. We can trust God to protect us against the attacks of Satan and his demonic army. And yes, we have an aggressive enemy, but he is also a defeated enemy and will not have the final victory. The dragon's fury, whether directed at Christ or at us, ultimately cannot overcome God and his protection. So, how do we as Christians live in light of all this? Our main focus needs to be obeying God's word and staying loyal to the gospel of Jesus Christ. Because knowing and obeying God's word gives the wisdom and strength essential to standing firm. Against the devil and his attacks. Friends, we don't win the war through our own strength. Our job is not to try to win the war, but to stay faithful to the one who has already won it. Amen. When you face temptation, opposition, or accusation today, I want you to remember: you're not abandoned in the struggle. The same God who protected the Christ child. protects his people today. So stand firm in his word. Remain loyal to Jesus and trust his sustaining grace to see you through. Come on. Somebody say amen, Pastor Robert. Pray with me as we close. Father God, thank you for speaking to us today through your word. Thank you for reminding us that no matter what the enemy throws our way, we cannot be defeated. If we stand on the faithfulness of who you are and what you say in your word, I choose to stir myself up and walk in a victorious mindset, not because of my own strength or because of what I can do, but because of what Jesus has already done. I do not fight for victory, I fight from victory. In Jesus' name, everybody said. Amen. Lakeshore family, thanks for joining me today on the Daily Word podcast. I pray you've been encouraged to stay in God's Word and walk closely with the Holy Spirit. God bless you and we'll catch you again tomorrow.