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Part 1 - Living victoriousAt the beginning of the first book of the Bible we are introduced to the dragon. Satan appears in the form of a cunning, speaking serpent who deceives Eve and causes the fall of mankind. The story ends with a prophetic promise that points to Jesus. God speaks to the serpent: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he will bruise your head and you will bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15; NIV).Although Satan's final defeat came through the death and resurrection of Christ, Jesus thoroughly defeated the devil at every turn during His earthly life. Jesus showed us what it means to live victorious. He gave His disciples the authority to personally experience this victory over sin, Satan, and evil. This is our heritage as children of light.Psalm 91 is considered the Messianic Psalm. That is, it points to Jesus himself and is fully fulfilled by Christ. Satan quoted verses 11 and 12 of this psalm to Jesus in the wilderness. Luke tells us the following: “And he brought him to Jerusalem, and set him up on the battlement of the temple, and said to him: If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here; for it is written, 'He will command his angels on your behalf, to keep you,' and 'They will carry you on their hands, lest you strike your foot on a stone'” (Luke 4:9-11; LUT). Ironically, the next verse of Psalm 91 aptly describes what happened to Satan that day in the wilderness when Jesus overcame every temptation: "You will walk over lions and vipers, and trample down young lions and dragons" (Psalm 91:13; NIV). . Jesus is the ultimate dragon slayer! At every encounter, He trampled on the enemy, as the Bible prophesied.John Gill writes the following about Psalm 91: “Some think that here the Messiah is meant; and that the Psalm contains promises of protection and security for Him as a man; protection from diseases, wild animals, evil spirits and evil people, guarded by angels; and it is assumed not because Satan applied any of these promises to Jesus, namely Matthew 4:6, but because they seem to apply to Him better than anyone else: In the Syriac version, therefore, part of the heading of this psalm reads: '...spiritually it is called the victory of the Messiah and of all who are made perfect by Him'”.I love this phrase: "Victory of the Messiah and all who are made perfect by Him". As siblings of the great dragon slayer, we are all called to tread on serpents and dragons just as He did. His victory is our victory! His authority is ours! His gifts and His power are ours!Matthew Henry, in his commentary on Psalm 91, writes: “The devil is called a roaring lion, the serpent of old, the red dragon; so the apostle seems to agree with his statement in Romans 16:20; NIV: “But the God of peace will soon trample Satan under your feet” to refer to these designations. Christ crushed the serpent's head and overthrew our spiritual enemies (Colossians 2:15). In Him we are more than overcomers; for Christ bids us come and put our feet on the necks of our vanquished enemies, just as Joshua bade the heroes of Israel do the same. Some believe that the promise was perfectly fulfilled in Christ; in His miracle-working power, which He possessed over all creation, healing the sick, casting out demons, and especially pouring into the command to His disciples to lift up serpents with their hands (Mark 16:18).”In Revelation, John describes Satan as the great "dragon, that serpent of old, called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world" (Revelation 12:9; NIV). Here we see that this great dragon, waging war against Almighty God, fighting the archangel Michael and other mighty angels (v. 7), persecuting the church, and attacking the believers, is none other than "the serpent of old." He is the same who deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden and whose head was crushed by the Messiah. We're still fighting him today. But we fight from a position of victory, not defeat.Luke 10 tells us that Jesus sent 72 disciples to go in pairs to the places He would later visit. He gave them authority and commissioned them to heal the sick and tell them that the kingdom of God was at hand. When they returned to Jesus they were filled with joy that the demons obeyed them in Jesus name. Jesus answered them, “I saw Satan fall from heaven like lightning. Behold, I have given you power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and power over all enemy violence; and nothing will harm you. But do not rejoice that the spirits are subject to you. But rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (verses 18-20; NIV).What an amazing section! Jesus, who was prophesied to crush the serpent's head, gave us the authority to do the same. But there is an even more glorious promise: whatever happens to us in life, our names are written in heaven. Whatever happens, we win! We fight from a position of victory. For this reason, Jesus promises us: “In the world you have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).As disciples of Jesus, who are also His sons and daughters, we have authority to withstand the onslaught of the enemy and bring the kingdom of God to earth!