justsayingJesusBless

The Overcoming Life Pt. 1

In the fight of our Lives / Everlasting Hope / Eight Overcomes

     I recently started watching the new reality show called The Sisterhood on TLC and I watched all the dysfunction and craziness of the show and I thought wow has Christianity come to this? Are we so into the culture of the world that we have lost our way? People often times wonder why I come against the church so to speak but I am not coming against the church, but rather exposing are current state. In order to change one must self-examine their hearts. 2 Corinthians 13:5 “Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.” Christianity today is more about swagger then it is about Godliness, blessings more than relationship with Christ, my life over Jesus Christ sacrifice. And it’s easy to get caught up in this modern day belief system. Maybe it’s because we have nothing to fight for, or maybe the ills of this life are too much to bear and so we need more of His blessings than His correction. When I see this I think wow I am so wrenched because I have indulged in this godless way of living.

When I read the word of God it tells me that Christ overcame the world “John 16:33”. It tells us that if we are a friend of the world we are enemies of God “James 4:4”. We must put on the whole armor of God “Ephesians 6:10-20” and put on Christ Jesus “Romans 13:11-14”. If we walk in the Spirit we won’t fulfill the lust of the flesh “Galatians 5:16-26”. Jesus Christ didn’t want to be famous for the miracles He performed “Luke 8:55-56”. The simple Gospel Message is that one must be born again “John 3”. Jesus even corrected the Chief Priest and religious leaders of His time “Matthew 23”. My point is that in order to be with Him (Everlasting Hope), we must be like Him, we must OVERCOME as the scripture says (2 Timothy 2:11-13) “This is a faithful saying: For if we died with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we endure, we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we are faithless, He remains faithful; He cannot deny Himself.”. And so simple put “WE ARE IN THE FIGHT OF OUR LIVES”!

Excerpt from D.L. Moody in his book “The Overcoming Life”

“When a battle is fought, all are anxious to know who are the victors. In these verses we are told who is to gain the victory in life. When I was converted I made this mistake: I thought the battle was already mine, the victory already won, the crown already in my grasp. I thought that old things had passed away, that all things had become new; that my old corrupt nature, the Adam life, was gone. But I found out, after serving Christ for a few months, that conversion was only like enlisting in the army, that there was a battle on hand, and that if I was to get a crown, I had to work for it and fight for it.

Salvation is a gift, as free as the air we breathe. It is to be obtained, like any other gift, without money and without price: there are no other terms. “To him that worketh not, but believeth.” But on the other hand, if we are to gain a crown, we must work for it. Let me quote a few verses in First Corinthians: “For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. But if any man buildeth on the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble; each man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed in fire: and the fire itself shall prove each man’s work, of what sort it is. If any man’s work shall abide, which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as through fire.”

Overcoming the Old Life

When we receive salvation that is only the beginning of the process of being saved, there is an enduring to the end that we must consider. I’m not trying to bring up the argument about once saved always saved or that your salvation is ensured, but the bible tells us that we must battle against sin and against our old nature. How much grace do you think you have? Please understand that Christ is not just looking at your actions, but the very intentions of your heart and He will determine who is saved in the end and who is not. The bible says that you can tell a false prophet by His fruits, so if one is saved he should resemble Christ in all His ways. But how can we be Like Jesus if we have never given up the old Life. The old life is the lust of the flesh because that’s all we know how to live by, and the struggle to live Godly is too much for some people yet they believe they are saved if they don’t change. Because of this struggle some people of God think living by the commands of Jesus is legalism and have to come up with another way to live Godly and live worldly.

We all have this fight and currently fight against our old nature every day. The truth is that we are not under the law, but are under grace, or in other words “By Grace through Faith” (Galatians 3, 4; Hebrews 8, 9, 10). Grace is not a pass to sin.  The law is a bunch of dos and don’ts but Grace Deals with who you really are. Grace deals with the wickedness of your heart and the imaginations of your mind. The fact of the matter is none of us could keep the law within ourselves, but the Holy Spirit gets us in-tuned to the Lord in order to live by his ways. Without His spirit you could never walk pleasing to the Lord “Romans 7; 8:1-11”. The same spirit that was in Him and worked through Him on earth is the same spirit that lives in you. But will profit you nothing if you do not yield your spirit to His. The power of God is not just supernatural manifestations but it’s the power to reconcile man back to Himself. There is no evil vile thing in Him. You have been set free from sin by the blood of the lamb. See fit you don’t go back from which He’s brought you from. Hold fast the word of God for your sake least you be persuaded by vile passions and false philosophy.

If we continue to sin it doesn’t mean we have a pass to continue sinning. We must ask the father to help us. I believe the first thing the Holy Spirit does is reveals your sins and weaknesses. What we do with this is up to us. Sure the Lord will help you overcome, but you have to fight. Some things that held me up before don’t anymore, but some other things still causes me to stumble and fall and I have to overcome them. Deliverance is not just a state of spiritual well-being, it is a fight. Remember that this world is not our own, and wherever the Lord is you should want to be and that requires a little more than most are willing to concede, but the reward is by far so much greater than your present struggles. Give no place for the devil, as the old saying goes “give him an inch and he’ll take a mile”.

Fight the Good Fight of Faith!

1 Timothy 6:11-16

“But you, O man of God, flee these things and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, gentleness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, to which you were also called and have confessed the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate, that you keep this commandment without spot, blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ’s appearing, which He will manifest in His own time, He who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.”

     Our hope is that if Christ saved us than He is willing and able keep us. I thank the Lord that His patience is still for us even if we are not deserving of it. Jesus is our Everlasting Hope and we should pursue those things which are above and not here on earth. If you were to accomplish all your goals or fulfill all your dreams do you really think that is greater than reigning with Christ forever? To he that overcomes shall receive a crown not to he who just makes it by. Why be concerned with the things that are passing away? Glorious is the crown of life which the Lord gives. To truly be blessed is to suffer with Christ, so that He will remember you before our Father in Heaven.

The Eight Overcomes

Here are the Eight overcomes presented by D.L. Moody from his book “The Overcoming Life”. Also down below is a link to download the overcoming life book in PDF format for your personal reading. This is a great book and Christian Classic every Christian should read it.

The first is: “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life.”

He shall have a right to the tree of life. When Adam fell, he lost that right. God turned him out of Eden lest he should eat of the tree of life and live as he was forever. Perhaps He just took that tree and transplanted it to the Garden above; and through the second Adam we are to have the right to eat of it.

Second: “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” Death has no terrors for him, it cannot touch him.

Why? Because Christ tasted death for every man. Hence he is on resurrection ground. Death may take this body, but that is all. This is only the house I live in. We need have no fear of death if we overcome.

Third: “To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”

If I overcome God will feed me with bread that the world knows nothing

about, and give me a new name.

Fourth: “He that overcometh, and keepeth My works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations.”

Think of it! What a thing to have; power over the nations! A man that is able to rule himself is the man that God can trust with power. Only a man who can govern himself is fit to govern other men. I have an idea that we are down here in training, that God is just polishing us for some higher service. I don’t know where the kingdoms are, but it we are to be kings and priests we must have kingdoms to reign over.

Fifth: “He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.”

He shall present us to the Father in white garments, without spot or wrinkle. Every fault and stain shall be taken out, and we be made perfect. He that overcomes will not be a stranger in heaven.

Sixth: “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of My God; and he shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from My God: and I will write upon him My new name.”

Think of it! No more backsliding, no more wanderings over the dark mountains of sin, but forever with the King, and He says, “I will write upon him the name of My God.” He is going to put His name upon us. Isn’t it grand? Isn’t it worth fighting for? It is said when Mahomet came in sight of Damascus and found that they had all left the city, he said: “If they won’t fight for this city what will they fight for?” If men won’t fight here for all this reward, what will they fight for?

Seventh: “To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne.”

My heart has often melted as I have looked at that. The Lord of Glory coming down and saying: “I will grant to you to sit on My throne, even as I sit on My Father’s throne, if you will just overcome.” Isn’t it worth a struggle? How many will fight for a crown that is going to fade away! Yet we are to be placed above the angels, above the archangels, above the seraphim, above the cherubim, away up, upon the throne with Himself, and there we shall be forever with Him. May God put strength into every one of us to fight the battle of life, so that we may sit with Him on His throne. When Frederick of Germany was dying, his own son would not have been allowed to sit with him on the throne, nor to have let anyone else sit there with him. Yet we are told that we are joint heirs with Jesus Christ, and that we are to sit with Him in glory!

And now, the last I like best of all: “He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be My son.”

My dear friends, isn’t that a high calling? I used to have my Sabbath-school children sing–“I want to be an angel”: but I have not done so for years. We shall be above angels: we shall be sons of God. Just see what a kingdom we shall come into: we shall inherit all things! Do you ask me how much I am worth? I don’t know. The Rothschilds cannot compute their wealth. They don’t know how many millions they own. That is my condition–I haven’t the slightest idea how much I am worth. God has no poor children. If we overcome we shall inherit all things. Oh, my dear friends, what an inheritance! Let us then get the victory, through Jesus Christ our Lord and Master.

The-Overcoming-Life

Bless the Lord all my soul!

Just Saying, Jesus Bless!

–          Craig