In Revelation 12.10 we are informed by John that one of Satan’s titles is “the accuser of our brethren” and that he accused them day and night, in other words all the time.
Satan tries to steal and kill and destroy us in many different ways. He tries to tempt us to sin – to act in ways that are self-destructive, he tries to lie to us, to distract us from God’s Word and local church, but when he is accusing you, that means he is truly pulling out all the stops to stop you bearing fruit.
When satan tried to take down Jesus, he starts with tempting him. He lied to him and tried to deceive him. When that didn’t work, satan stirred up people to actually murder him! But that wasn’t the worst. They tried to throw him off a cliff, inspired by satan because they didn’t like his preaching. A satanic storm tried to sink his boat and drown him. But that wasn’t Satan’s worst attack.
When satan was so finally fed up of Jesus, he stepped up from lies and even murder and started with accusations. If you are being accused, that means that satan really wants to take you out.
It won’t take you being a Christian for long before you are inevitable accused of something. Satan loves accusing people of wrong doing, and loves finding people who are happy to share his accusations far and wide.
So, at the end of his life, when satan was trying his hardest to end him, he started with accusations. For the whole week before the cross, there was accusation after accusation, lie after lie. They tried their hardest to entangle him and trap him, finding a reason to accuse him. They accused him on his life his ministry, on everything he did and said and they didn’t mind making things up either. The high priest accused him, Pilat accused him, he was also accused in Herod’s palace. What a week!
And Jesus responded by keeping his peace. Matthew 27.14 tells us he never answered a word, so much so that the governor marvelled.
So aaccusations come. So it does good to find it why they come and how to deal with them. Let’s start on the very basic level and define what an accusation actually is.
It is an allegation made at someone. It is essential when someone points a finger at you and says you are doing this wrong, you are guilty, you have failed.
Even if the statements are complete lies they can still bring a sense of guilt that paralyses you from serving God. It takes the highest level of maturity as a Christian and the highest level of intimacy with God to withstand the assaults of constant accusations and still say silent.
Even though accusations come out of the mouths of humans, they are words from the accuser of the brethren. Every time you accuse another, you are siding with satan and siding with his words. Satan is the accuser of the brethren, but sadly he often uses the brethren to voice these accusations.
Have you noticed how some people are just good at some jobs? Now we have a building in Manchester, we are hiring the same people again and again to fix things because they are good at the job. Sadly, some Christians are hired by satan over and over because they’ve developed the skills to be good accusers of their Christian family.
They are normally people who are over familiar with you, and did not guard their heart to your true character and calling in Christ. Judas was Christ’s friend, but lost sight of who Christ was. Satan is happiest when accusations come from people close. Family, friends, colleagues, people from your church, people in your work or school.
Now, if you haven’t been on the receiving end of an accusation, you may think just brush it off. Alas, it’s just not that easy. You have to guard your heart and mind against accusations or you will be knocked off course by them and shipwreck your Christian life.
Most people I meet feel too condemned and too unworthy to serve God. One of the reason people embrace those feelings is accusations. When the voice of the accuser was silenced, there was according to Revelation, strength, salvation, and power. If we too can learn how to silence the voice of the accuser and not give that voice any safe space in our heads, we will enter into a place of strength, salvation, and power.
It’s all in Revelation 12. When the accuser is overcome, “Now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of Christ, for THE ACCUSER OF THE BRETHREN IS CAST DOWN”. When we as brethren refuse to listen to accusations about ourselves and others, we start to see salvation and strength. Miracles happen, healings happen, the weak become strong. Many Christians are weak because they like listening to accusers.
I don’t know about you, but I want church services where salvations happen, where the kingdom is advanced, where the power of Christ is manifest. So, I do everything I can to ignore accusations against me, to refuse to listen to accusations against others, and to ensure my mouth does not yield to the accuser.
The kingdom of God depends on us all doing this. Let’s take this seriously.
Next week… Let’s find out how accusations destroy divine relationships and how to stop it happening.