Breakthrough from Dragons
You may be thinking – “That’s a crazy title for a sermon - dragons?” “Really Pastor Mike?” Believe it or not dragons are mention more than 35 times in the Bible especially in the Old King James version of the Bible! Yes dragons! Red dragons and one reference to fire breathing ones.
Introduction:
“Here be dragons” is a writing found on a famous copper globe -The Hunt-Lenox Globe of circa 1510 bears the phrase “HC SVNT DRACONES” (here are dragons) near the coast of eastern Asia - today this ancient globe is found in the New York public library. The origins of the phrase “Here be dragons” have circulated since maps were originally designed – it was popularly used to refer to the unknown edges of a map when its geographical area was unknown or unexplored. On old ancient maps you would not see this phrase expressed in words but in symbols of dragons, sea serpents and other icons warning of the danger of the unknown of the unexplored. “Here be dragons!”
Thesis: Today even in May of 2020 we need breakthroughs from dragons – yes – the evil ones (especially the Red dragon – Satan referenced in Revelation) – but we also need breakthroughs from the unknown dragons of the future or in the unknown charters of life. These dragons could be called Evil Political parties or empires, Covid19, Economic hardships – Job loss - Cultural change which highlights evil – Cancer - Political oppression and suppression of Christian churches and there could be many other unknown dragons that could be added to the list. But Scripture makes it clear that you can have victory over these dragons with faith expressed in action with the word of our testimony and a commitment to Jesus. Jesus is the dragon slayer!
Scripture from Revelation “They overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11 NIV, 1985 ed.). This phrase is placed in the middle of a chapter in Revelation speaking of dragons – specifically it references Satan – The Devil. But dragons come in many shapes and sizes as I discovered when we watched a new movie which recently came out.
Illustration: Reference the movie: “I Still Believe” by Jeremy Camp
In the movie Jeremy Camp and his fiancé Melissa battle the dragon of cancer – we see them have short wins over it – they call them miracles in the movie – One miracle happened when they went to do surgery and found no cancer in her body which they saw through scans this miracle enabled the two of them to get married - but eventually Melissa succumbs to the Dragon of Cancer – Jeremy always believes she will be healed - at her point of death she wakes up to tell Jeremy she is healed – he needs to believe that – don’t doubt and then she literally dies – he had always believed she would be healed but his faith is rattled – devastated – throughout their uncharted journey of life together God answers many prayers for the both of them and orchestrates various miracle God moments to encourage them to press forward. The movie which is a true life story is so filled with faith in the midst of Cancer and death and it shows how God gave both of them the victory over this unforeseen dragon – this unchartered area of life and death – Melissa found her healing in her death – she said at one point in the movie that a star has to die to get brighter – because Jeremy told her she was a bright star who out shown others – they came to accept that her death was for the purpose to help others which Jeremy would share in his music – telling their story to the world – Jeremy after her death had a breakdown and smashed his guitar – his hope and faith were crushed – this God moment in the movie reveals how God intervenes to help us defeat the dragons – in this unforeseen circumstances he finds a note from Melissa – saying when you are ready pick up your guitar and tell our story – he is blown away by God’s presence in the room and it led him to write two of his biggest hits “Walk by faith” and “I still believe!”
The true to life story which goes into more detail in Jeremy’s Biography - “I Still Believe” written by Jeremy Camp and Phil Newman. Shows why Jeremy is sharing their story – the tag line in the book is “Discovering hope and healing in the midst of life’s deepest valleys.” The movie which is available for rent today on cable channels and red book is a must watch at such a time as this - for me it was riveting – inspiring – encouraging – it is deeply anointed by the Holy Spirit. It brought encouragement to me as I have been battling dragons over the last few months – those unforeseen dragons of life!
A closed church and school
Covid19
Death of my dad
Death of Kathy’s Mom
After watching the movie two times – yes 2x - I came across a devotional on crosswalk which spoke to me this week: It’s from Crosswalk.com Devotionals called:
The Blood of the Lamb and the Word of Your Testimony by Sharon Jaynes
Today’s Truth: “They overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11 NIV, 1985 ed.).
Friend to Friend: Have you ever wondered why Jesus kept the scars on His hands, feet, and side when He was resurrected from the dead? He could have returned without them. After all, He is the One who put fresh flesh on the rotting limbs of lepers, who took the bent and bowed and made them straight, who opened the closed eye, who untangled the mangled hand. But He chose to keep the scars. Have you ever wondered why? On the day of His resurrection, the disillusioned disciples huddled in their hiding place. Suddenly Jesus appeared in their midst. He didn’t knock. He didn’t open the door. He simply appeared. “Peace be with you,” Jesus said. But the disciples didn’t recognize Him. He looked like Jesus, talked like Jesus, but how…how could it be? In order to convince the disciples that He was indeed the risen Christ, Jesus made a simple gesture. He held out His hands and revealed His scars. He lifted His tunic and revealed the scar. It was then…that they believed.
Reality Check: There is power in your scars as Jeremy Camp has sung. There is power in your story and its connection to His Story. When you are not ashamed to tell your story about what Jesus has done in your life, people see Him in you. I’m not talking about the sugarcoated version of “I was lost and now I’m found.” I’m talking about the real story of you and your life and how he delivered you from the dragons.
• The abortion that grace forgave.
• The affair that grace forgave.
• The sexual promiscuity that grace forgave.
• The broken heart that grace mended and healed.
• The broken marriage that grace restored.
• The addiction that grace removed.
Don’t be ashamed of your scars God wants to use them. Satan wants you to be silent ashamed. Satan wants you hide them under a bushel. Here’s a truth that makes him tremble: “They overcame him [Satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony” (Revelation 12:11 NIV, 1985 ed.). The word of their testimony! Satan is defeated every time a saint tells his or her story of redemption. Healing…it’s what God does. Telling others about His healing power in our lives…it’s what He longs for us to do.
Above quoted and adapted from https://www.crosswalk.com/devotionals/girlfriends/the-blood-of-the-lamb-and-the-word-of-your-testimony-girlfriends-in-god-september-15-2014.html
T.S. – Back to The Bible and Dragons!
Question you may be thinking – Are there references to dragons in the Bible?
A Deadly Dragon Is Still Prowling! The Red Dragon spoken of in the book of Revelation is still alive! Satan Is Called A Dragon – he is still causing death and destruction:
Satan is called a dragon in the book of Revelation. He is described in Revelation 12:3, 4, 7, 9, 13, 17; 13:1, 2, 4, 11; 16:13 and 20:2. Revelation 20:2 tells us the dragon is the devil or Satan. The dragon also appears to symbolize evil power (Revelation 13:2) and again God conquers with it with His power (Revelation 20:2). Satan is an evil angel (Ezekiel 28:14), a created being – a cherub who used to live in heaven with God. In Revelation the term dragon is another name for Satan, and it is also symbolic of Satan’s real power and His power in evil political empires of the world past, present and future.
• We have a very real enemy who is called the Red Dragon (Revelation 12:9). His deception has led the human race into blatant sin, and he’s still deceiving and devouring people today in 2020 (1 Peter 5:8; 1 John 5:19).
• In 1 John, we find an unsettling test that divides people into one of two camps—the children of the devil or the children of God: Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil – it’s very clear in Scripture. The Red Dragon has been promoting sin and practicing sin from the beginning.
• The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil – The Red Dragon. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning (like the dragon) , for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. (1 John 3:8–10, ESV)
• You cannot defeat this dragon on your own. As prophesied in Genesis 3:15, we needed Jesus to crush the head of this serpent dragon. Through repentant faith in Christ and His work on the Cross and Resurrection from the dead, we can become children of God (John 1:12). Then we can rejoice with the Apostle John as overcomers “because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4).
o Jesus is the dragon slayer!
Let’s look at other references to dragons in Scripture:
Dragons are mentioned, by name, at least thirty-five times in the King James Bible translation. Twenty-two of these matches are in the Old Testament, of which seventeen are derived from the Hebrew word tanniyn (Strong's Concordance #H8577).
The remaining thirteen mentions of dragons in the Bible are found in the book of Revelation. They are derived from the Greek word drakon (Strong's Concordance #G1404).
Some of the more interesting Biblical references to dragons include the following:
Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the LORD . . . Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab, and wounded the dragon? (Isaiah 51:9, KJV unless stated).
I am a brother to dragons, and a companion to owls (Job 30:29).
Job 41:19-21
“Out of his mouth go burning torches;
Sparks of fire leap forth.
“Out of his nostrils smoke goes forth
As from a boiling pot and burning rushes.
“His breath kindles coals,
And a flame goes forth from his mouth.
The Quest Study Bible states this about what God is saying to Job – The Leviathan – is used to symbolize evil political powers (dragons) – Job was powerless over this dragon but God is not powerless over this dragon or beast see (Psalm 74:14) “It was you (God) who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.” – this fire breathing beast raises itself up against God especially in the end times through political powers (Isa 27:1) “In that Day, the Lord will punish with his sword – his fierce, great and powerful sword – Leviathan the gliding serpent (the dragon), Leviathan the coiling serpent; he will slay the monster of the sea.” In Gods discourse with Job he reminds him he cannot stop Leviathan – the dragon – he can not tame it – he cannot stop it – he cannot hold it at bay – but God can – God can slay the fire breathing dragon!
So yes, there is references to fire breathing dragons in the Bible! And God is the only one who can stop them and slay them!
So, Job is talking about fire breathing dragons? Be clear Dragons are associated to evil political empires! Evil political parties – are you tracking with me? Evil political people! Are all associated with dragons! There be dragons in this world!
Dragons can also be found referenced in the Bible and associated with political positions today:
Political beliefs and positions of today can be associated with dragons – serpents - evil – For example the Gay Agenda of today - Listen to the following Scripture text:
Deuteronomy 32:32-33: “Their vine comes from the vine of Sodom and from the fields of Gomorrah. Their grapes are filled with poison, and their clusters with bitterness. Their wine is the venom of serpents (dragons), the deadly poison of cobras”
Association with Political powers and their attacks on God’s people and faith:
Nehemiah 2:13: ““By night I went out through the Valley gate toward the Jackal (dragon) Well and the Dung gate, examining the walls of Jerusalem, which had been broken down, and its gates, which had been destroyed by fire.”
God will bring judgment on His own people who reject His truth and they will become desolated places which will be inhabited by dragons:
Psalm 44:19: “But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals (dragons); you covered us over with deep darkness.”
Isaiah 13:22: About Babylon - “Hyenas will inhabit her strongholds, jackals (dragons) her luxurious palaces. Her time is at hand, and her days will not be prolonged.”
Jeremiah 9:11: “I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals (dragons); and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”
Jeremiah 10:22: “Listen! The report is coming-a great commotion from the land of the north! It will make the towns of Judah desolate, a haunt for jackals (dragons).”
T.S. - So we see many references to dragons from the words of the Bible but the most specific reference to dragons is found in Revelation – let’s look deeper into this text which our main scripture comes from today:
Revelation 12:3-17:
The Woman and the Dragon
1A great and wondrous sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head.
2She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth.
3Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on his heads.
4His tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child the moment it was born.
5She gave birth to a son, a male child, who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter. And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne.
6The woman fled into the desert to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.
7And there was war in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back.
8But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven.
9The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels (now called demons) with him.
10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.”
Point: Jesus is the dragon slayer – he will defeat the dragon – He has power over the dragons! This is why we need Jesus the dragon slayer in our life and heart!
Here comes our main verse again today!
11They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb (Jesus blood – dragon slayer) and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
12Therefore rejoice, you heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to the earth and the sea, because the devil has gone down to you! He is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short.”
13When the dragon saw that he had been hurled to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child.
14The woman was given the two wings of a great eagle, so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the desert, where she would be taken care of for a time, times and half a time, out of the serpent’s reach.
15Then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river, to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent.
16But the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon had spewed out of his mouth.
17Then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to make war against the rest of her offspring—those who obey God’s commandments and hold to the testimony of Jesus.
By the way we Christians today are being attacked by the Red Dragon Satan and He is using political powers to attack Jesus Church – those of faith! Did you hear me? You are under attack by the dragon – he is waiting lurking in the unknown charters of life to come after you and devour you!
The Bible lists several characteristics of dragons – we need to understand them so we do not underestimate dragons.
• This beast can be poisonous (Deuteronomy 32:33)
• It is said to be quite powerful (Isaiah 27:1, 51:9).
• It has solitary habits (works in the background under wraps) (Job 30:29)
• It can make a wailing-like sound (Micah 1:8).
• Dragons can live in the wilderness (Isaiah 43:20, Malachi 3:1),
• Dragons live in deserted cities (Jeremiah 9:11)
• Dragons even live in water (Psalm 74:13, Isaiah 27:1).
• Although usually large, they can sometimes be small (Exodus 7:8 - 10).
• In the New Testament, they are a symbol of evil and rebellion against God (Revelation 12:3 - 4, 7, 13, 16 - 17, etc.).
"It is significant that not only in the Bible but also in the ancient records and traditions of most of the nations of the world, tales of dragons abound" (ibid.).
The above from https://www.biblestudy.org/bible-study-by-topic/mythical-animals-in-the-bible/dragon.html
Breakthrough – is what we are talking about today specifically breakthrough from dragons both real (Satan The Red Dragon – Evil political parties and empires) and mythological dragons or symbolic dragons! Like Cancer – Covid19 – and the like!
So How do I get a Breakthrough when I battle dragons?
#1 - You need Jesus the dragon slayer and you need to put on His spiritual battle gear and use the weapons He has given you!
Ephesians 6:10-20:
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.
19Pray 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, 20for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.
I. The first thing our text tells us is we need to be strong in the Lord not in our strength – ability – or knowledge – Jesus is the dragon slayer (Verse 10-13).
a. We do not have the weapons to defeat this evil spiritual enemy we are warring with on our own.
i. We must use the equipment provided by the Lord to us to win this war.
ii. We are fighting against spiritual forces of evil they are not defeated by conventional natural means. We must use spiritual weapons of warfare made available to us by Jesus Christ.
iii. As the world has discovered with Covid19 – there are dragons we cannot slay with the help and power of Jesus Christ!
b. The Bible warns us to make sure we understand who we are fighting. We need to know our enemy.
i. Good generals will tell you that if you want to defeat you enemy you must understand your enemy. You must learn their tactics and their strategies for doing battle so you can counter them in battle.
1. If you have ever seen the story of Patton. You may recall that when Patton’s armor met Rommel’s army in Africa – Patton defeated him because Patton had read Rommel’s book on how to fight. He knew what He would do!
a. Patton yelled out after the defeat “I read your book Rommel!”
2. He was able to defeat the enemy because he knew his tactics and strategies.
3. The same is true of the Generals in the Irag War they have study their enemies and they anticipate his tactics and strategies and use the counter measures to defeat the enemy.
c. We should learn this lesson well because Ephesians tells us to take our stand and fight against “The Devil’s Schemes”. Did you hear me – there is time to fight!
i. But to be able to stand and fight you must know how your enemy operates.
1. Satan is a deceiver, a liar – He uses what he has power over to deceive people – example the media of today.
a. He seeks to kill steal and destroy not bring healing and hope.
b. He will come even as an Angel of light to deceive people into thinking he is speaking from God but give direction contrary to the Word of God.
c. Saddam did this by saying people who commit terrorists acts will be guaranteed a place in Heaven. Not true!
i. The Islamic radicals have promoted that they will die and go to heaven and be honored by God. This is a lie from the pit of Hell.
ii. So therefore, we need to understand that if the enemy can deceive others like this, he can you to. And he did years ago with the Crusades to the Middle East.
1. So much was done under the name of God but and the enemy appeared to Christians and deceived them into thinking they were speaking for God.
iii. Listen to me Deception of any kind comes from the Red Dragon the enemy of your soul.
1. Believing lies and putting on Charades will get you into a lot of hot water with the Lord – we need to stand and fight for His truth.
2. The Crusades got so bad they believed that the Lord told them to send children into battle because they would win and they were annihilated in combat.
T.S. – The first step in Spiritual warfare is to know you need Jesus the dragon slayer – then you need know your enemy’s plans and tactics so you can counter them and Jesus helps you with this. The next way to fight the dragon is we must out on our spiritual warfare equipment.
II. Then warrior Paul in Ephesians tells us to make sure we put on God’s Armor for this war we are in because it will save our lives for eternity (verses 14-20).
a. These are the weapons and protective gear given to us from the Lord to use for this Spiritual war we are in.
i. The Belt of truth- This is the support system that holds you pants up in battle.
1. For the Soldiers in the Gulf they had belts that held up their pants while in combat.
2. For us the belt of truth is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Without the belt of truth we are vulnerable on the battlefield – we are exposed and humiliated.
a. The sons of Sceva discovered this when they tried to take on the spiritual forces of evil without the truth.
b. They lost their clothes in battle
i. Same is true today if you try to fight the enemy without the belt of truth you will lose your pants and be shamefully exposed and destroyed. There are many dropping their pants in battle because they don’t have the belt of truth keeping them on.
b. The second protective gear is the breast plate of righteousness.
i. This is like the flak jackets and bullet proof vests that the soldiers use in the middle east to protect their vital organs.
ii. It is positioned over their vital organs to given them protection in the fire fights.
iii. The spiritual implication here is the same - the breastplate of righteousness is there to protect your heart from the devil’s bullets or firey darts.
iv. If you expose your heart in battle by taking off the breastplate of righteousness you can and will eventually be killed.
1. Your righteousness is the armor that lets you live for eternity. If you lose is or take it off your open to eternal death.
c. The third element needed in warfare is that your feet are fit with the readiness.
i. In other word’s it reflects to the text that Christ will come back like a thief in the night and that the soldiers need to always be ready to go with Him into battle.
ii. We need to be ready to fight for Jesus at a moment’s notice. Are you ready! Talks cheap – there comes a time when action is required – battle is a must.
iii. He’s coming back and are you ready. Do you have Jesus are you ready to wage war on the enemy of your souls.
1. Or are you fat and out of shape spiritually? Are your weapons loaded and ready or are you sleeping like the church in Revelation? They were not ready - not prepared for a war – they were a sleep on the front will.
2. You must be ready.
d. The next item we need for battle is the shield of faith.
i. Faith is your shield in the mist of war. When you superior officer tells you to do something you have to trust - have faith that what he says to do will make the difference between life and death for someone in your outfit and for your life.
ii. But in spiritual warfare the shield of faith is like the patriot missile - it knocks out the enemy’s missiles from hitting you its target.
e. When we are in spiritual combat and we must have the helmet of salvation on.
i. The helmet and the uniform in the middle east battles designated whose side you were on. It’s the uniform and the helmet that allows you the right to be in the war.
ii. The helmet is also there to protect your head and mind. To survive in this battlefield you must have the mind of Christ and that is the mind of salvation.
iii. Salvation the helmet allows you the right to be in the war and it protects in the fire fights.
iv. It’s there to protect your mind and designate what side you are on.
v. It’s either life or death-blessings or curses.
f. The sword of the spirit is the next weapon in the arsenal of God for us.
i. We are to use the sword of the spirit against the enemy.
ii. Jesus used it in Matthew 4 in the temptation by the Red Dragon and it drove the enemy away.
1. I want you to know that this is an offensive weapon.
2. The problem in the church is no one uses this weapon to go after the enemy
a. We think Jesus just wants us to leave sin alone and not make war.
b. Wrong O!
g. The next weapon is prayer I call it the stealth bomber.
i. You cannot see it coming but when it hits you know it.
ii. We need to have more stealth bombers in the army of the Lord. Prayer is the force that creates miracles and allows God the opportunity to meet a threat head on with his power.
iii. By the way it’s important to note that the stealth planes are first in battle. Is prayer paving the way for you in battle?
h. I want to add one more for our list of spiritual weapons it is found in Luke 10:17-20.
i. We need to make sure we use the power of the name of Jesus in battle.
ii. Just this name alone terrifies the enemy and the demon’s and the enemy runs for cover.
Conclusion:
Today we have discovered that we have been in a war for years with spiritual forces of evil in this world (dragons). We are at war with dragons – Satan (The Red Dragon) and His Evil political empires and parties!
• We have also discovered that the Lord has given us specific insight into how to defeat this dragon force which is trying to impose its evil way on this world and on your lives.
• We have also discovered that the Lord has provided us with the uniforms, the protective gear, the offensive weapons necessary to win this war and defeat the powers of darkness in our lives and in other’s lives.
• But it all comes down to us acknowledging first that we are in a war with dragons.
The second thing we must do is we must be willing to fight in this war against the dragon. Talk is cheap we must go to war – put our faith in action!
The third action is we must learn about our enemy and understand his tactics - just read the Bible folks.
The fourth action is we need to put on the armor of God to wage war with our enemy. We need Jesus armor!
Once we have taken these 4 steps of faith in action we will see the enemy driven back in our lives and community (The dragons will be overcome) and dragons will be defeated in other people’s lives too.
We will see that we have the stronger force on our side and that the battle is ours to be won in the power of Jesus’ name and in the use of the armor of God and the sword of the spirit.
Satan and His Leviathan evil empires and parties are powerful beings. Satan is a created, powerful angel who turned to evil and was then removed from heaven. Leviathan was a powerful created animal of the sea. Scripture reminds us that God is greater than any spiritual or physical being. There is nothing like God on earth, in heaven or anywhere else. Glory to God!
So, what are you waiting for? Let’s, go to war against the dragons!
