Conqering the Christian Life
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
From our vantage point it seems that our lives get into more messes than we can figure out. But, again, that’s just how things appear.
According to the Bible, the children of God are a perpetually victorious people. We can’t always see it. We don’t always feel it. We don’t always live like it. It’s true nonetheless.
Notice, this verse says, “…WE ARE more than conquerers...”
As Christians, we have the assurance that no matter what challenges and struggles we face in life, we are more than conquerors through Christ Who loved us. The love of Jesus gives us strength to overcome any obstacle and to live a victorious life.
With Christ as our anchor, we are able to live a life of victory, knowing that He will never leave us nor forsake us.
Romans 8:37 has brought comfort and hope to the hearts of God’s children for many years. It reminds us that us that we are “More Than Conquerors” in spite of how things appear to us, or in spite of how we may feel about our circumstances.
Tonight, I want to focus on this fact concerning feeling - most of the time, as I’ve already said, we don’t feel like conquerers, yet, the Bible says otherwise, so tonight, I want to give you some pointers on how we can battle this “feeling” and truly conquer in our Christian lives...
I-Conquer with More Prayer
I-Conquer with More Prayer
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
Many Christians lack victory because they neglect to pray…Many people treat God only as a spare tire, and pray when something big happens, but otherwise, they neglect Him…When this happens, that person forgets that it’s “…the little foxes, that spoil the vines...”
Paul writes that EVERYTHING is the proper subject of prayer! There are no areas of our lives that are of no concern to God!
Prayer should be a great priority because prayer is a great privilege.
16 Rejoice evermore.
17 Pray without ceasing.
Don’t be anxious about anything, but be prayerful about everything. The hymn writer reminds us in the hymn “What a friend we have in Jesus” about prayer:
What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs
to bear! What a privilege to carry everything to God
in prayer! Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh, what
needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer!
Have we trials and temptations? Is there trouble
anywhere? We should never be discouraged, take it
to the Lord in prayer: Can we find a friend so faithful
Who will all our sorrows share? Jesus knows our
every weakness, take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we week and heavy laden, cumbered with a load
of care? Precious Savior, still our refuge; take it to
the Lord in prayer: Do thy friends despise, forsake thee? Take it to the
Lord in prayer; In His arms He’ll take and shield
thee; thou wilt find a solace there.
II-Conquer with More Promises
II-Conquer with More Promises
20 For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God by us.
Some Christians fail when it comes to reading, remembering, and relying on God’s promises…They unsuccessfully depend on their own strength, but if we are to live a victorious Christian life, we must trust God and depend on His promises!
56 Blessed be the Lord, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant.
God’s Word is true and His promises are true and can be trusted.
That is a very important fact, especially in those times when we encounter complications from a change in our plans and are setback, tripped up, or moved aside.
The reliability, dependability, believability, capability, credibility, durability, impeccability, infallibility, and sensibility of the Word of God gives us a firm foundation from which we can live our lives and face our storms and complications when there is a change in our plans.
D.L. Moody said, “God never made a promise that was too good to be true.”
God’s promises are good and they are always true!
We need to believe this and act like we believe this to have victory in our lives!
III-Conquer with More Peace
III-Conquer with More Peace
I told you about prayer a moment ago from Phil. 4:6, now we move to verse 7 of that passage...
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Many Christians fail to be victorious because they simply have no peace…They live with fear and doubts rather than with faith and confidence.
Jesus said,
27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
We must simply accept the peace He offers us!
The Bible describes three aspects of peace that relate to God.
Peace from God: this phrase is found throughout Paul’s epistles in the New Testament; it reminds us that true peace comes to us as a gift from God.
Peace with God: describes a relationship we enter into with God through the finished work of Jesus Christ.
The Peace of God: This is the peace spoken of in Phil. 4:7. This is a peace that “passeth all understanding”…It’s mind-blowing! It’s a peace beyond our power of thinking!
It is a peace that is divine in origin. It is a peace that cannot be disrupted by the problems, disturbances and difficulties of life. It is a peace that cannot waiver, that cannot be shaken and that cannot be destroyed.
This peace doesn’t just surpass the understanding of the worldly man; it surpasses all understanding!
Job had this kind of peace. Daniel had this kind of peace. The 3 Hebrew boys had this kind of peace. David had this kind of peace.
And as a child a God tonight, we have this peace! You can have victory with this kind of peace!
IV-Conquer with More Praise
IV-Conquer with More Praise
14 But I will hope continually, And will yet praise thee more and more.
It’s obvious that many Christians have no victory because they wear long faces and possess negative attitudes.
A good example of this would be last week on Facebook, there was a post going around that said this...
“If we’re being honest…Sometimes it’s the “church folk” that run people away from the church.”
I love what Bro. Jeremy Simpson said about this...Now, that’s a true statement first of all, but why must we dwell on the negative behavior of some and not expound the positive affects of others…He said, “if we’re being truly honest, it’s also church folks that have loved every sinner INTO the church!”
Thank God for the true saints and get your mind out of the gutter of negativity! The worst I’ve seen in Church is still better than the best I’ve seen in the world!
The point behind this goes to Philippians 4:8 which says,
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
There’s not a lot of thinking on these things in the church today, but I’m here to tell you, if you’re going to have victory, the Bible tells us what we need and one thing we need to stop being so negative!
Psalm 71:14 was written while the Psalmist was in a serious crisis and depended upon God for help…Yet in this psalm, he doesn’t slip into despair or seem to lose the sense of God’s favor…He has problems, yet he praises!
We need more praise!
2 While I live will I praise the Lord: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being.
1 I will bless the Lord at all times: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
David resolved that he would praise the Lord no matter what happened to him!
This is an effective antidote to the poison of doubt, depression, and despair!
If we are going to be victorious, we must praise more!
Conclusion
Conclusion
Romans 8:37 (KJV 1900)
37 ...we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Paul tells us that the only reason that we are victorious in this life is “through Him that loved us”. Our victory does not lie within ourselves; our victory rests in Christ alone!
The love of God for His children is so vast, so deep and so far reaching that God wants us to know that nothing can come separate us from His great love for us.
38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.