The Overcoming Christian (2)
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The Overcoming Christian
The Overcoming Christian
Good morning children of God, brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Isn't it amazing! We have different careers, different likes and dislikes, we are all at different places in our walks, we have different backgrounds, yet we are all here because of Jesus Christ. Praise God.
The last time I was up here, we spoke about the power we give over to depression, anxiety, anger, hurt, and unforgiveness in our lives. We know that Christ, the perfecter of our faith, is the only true hope. Amen?
When someone says ”I am a believer,” it is a big deal. It means we BELIEVE that Jesus died, rose again, sits at the right hand of the Father, and that we are saved and separated through his atoning sacrifice.
It also means that we believe what our LORD and Savior tells us. Being a believer means we can choose to walk in victory because of what He did for us at the cross. Here is the thing: We have to stay plugged in to the Word of God, prayer, and fellowship.
Has anybody here ever used a vacuum cleaner? So I am vacuuming the other day, and all of a sudden, the vacuum stops working. I start hitting the power button and saying “What is wrong with this thing!” Then I notice that the plug came out of the wall. I had become so focused on what was in front of me that I had become unplugged from the power supply.
We are like that with God sometimes. We become so focused on everything else, that we start getting too far away from Him, and before we know it, we have unplugged ourselves, but we still expect His full power to be available to us.
John the beloved records Jesus Christ telling His disciples, telling you and me, that through Him, we have the power to overcome.
33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
You do not need to overcome this world, He already did that for you. Because Christ overcame this world, you are an overcomer this morning. Think about when Jesus said these words. Jesus was hours away from being arrested. Imagine the inner turmoil he was experiencing. Yet Jesus takes the time to tell us that we can have peace in Him.
Jesus is saying that we have a dual existence. We, as believers, are in Christ, but still living in this world. When we stay in union with Christ we have His peace.
When Christ says “so that you may have peace in me,” He is giving us a choice. We will find peace in him or in this world. It is always one or the other for believers. I think what helped me understand and do my best to live out this verse was to understand what Jesus meant by the word “peace.”
In the Greek, that word peace (your-rain-ay) means:
Peace (eirene) means to bind together, to join, to weave together. It means that a person is bound, woven and joined together with self and with God and others.
If you are a believer, you are woven together, bound with, and joined with Jesus, God, Holy Spirit, and other believers. If Jesus overcame the world, it means that we overcome the world and the enemy through Him. That is the reality for every believer.
The worlds system is the enemy of God. We can rejoice knowing that Jesus overcame the world. Do you know, that means, that Jesus ruined Satan’s kingdom. Jesus put Satan to shame at the cross.
The problem is with our mindset. The propensity of the human heart and mind is to focus on the negative, the hurt, and the pain. What Jesus is telling us in John 16:33 is that we need to start with an overcomers mindset.
33 I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Knowing and believing that we are woven and joined with Jesus should cause us to approach difficulties and sorrows with a different attitude. We know trials and tribulations exist, but we go in with the assurance of Jesus Christ. Instead of drowning in despair, our thoughts begin with God.
We stand with our head up and we say “Thank you for being with me LORD, thank you for going before me, let’s do this.”
The peace we try to get from the world is transient. It passes. The peace that Jesus brings is an overcoming peace. There are three behaviors we see in scripture that those with an overcomers mindset practiced.
The first thing we see through all of scripture from Genesis through Revelation is prayer. We must:
1. Prevail in Prayer
Now, this is going to sound strange coming from a Pastor, but there are times when I have difficulty praying. It is almost like I become a little kid, stomping my feet, and saying “I don’t wanna!” I think some of us would admit to acting like that at times. Like little kids upset, stomping our feet, throwing a fit, and saying “Come on Dad!”
When that happens, I have discovered that I am actually in prayer. It may not be what some call “reverent prayer,” but I am talking to God. When I finally get over myself, and stop acting like a brat, I start sharing my heart with Abba Daddy. Our victory over sin and overcoming what seems impossible begins with confession and prayer.
16 Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.
We must confess our sins to one another. This does not mean every little struggle or every little ugliness. James is talking about certain types of sins.
• when the sin has been a wrong or injustice done against someone else.
• when we have misled or lied to someone.
• when we have offended someone or caused someone to stumble and sin.
• when restitution should be made.
Why are we supposed to confess our faults to one another? Because we are accountable to one another. So that we can come up beside and help one another through the struggle of sin. WE ALL FALL SHORT OF THE GLORY OF GOD. We are to help one another up when we do fall, to learn from one another, and to pray with and for one another.
So often, for so many of us, we will not confess our sins or try to make things right. We allow our pride and ego to overshadow the will and command of God. We will refuse to reach out for prayer or for help. And then we blame God or we blame other people for not listening to us or helping us when we never opened our mouth to begin with! We can not truly pray for or help one another if we do not know what we are praying for or what help is needed.
The second thing we see in scripture that overcomers do is:
Prevail in Prayer
Pursue God’s Promises
Let’s look at Galatians 3:9
9 So all who put their faith in Christ share the same blessing Abraham received because of his faith.
The Apostle Paul told us this so that we would have a clear understanding about our adoption into the family of God.
The Jews were set apart in a very special manner by the promises they received from God; the promises to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and the prophets. God promised to be their God; to protect, support, and save them; to give them what was called the promised land; and to cause the Messiah to spring from their race. The Apostle Peter adds to this:
4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
The Apostle Peter tells us that God has also given the Church exceedingly great promises; all that he had given to the Jews along with redemption through the blood of Christ, the indwelling influence of Holy Spirit, and eternal rest in the Kingdom of Glory. God made over 8,000 promises in scripture, and He will fulfill every single one of them. Thank you Abba Daddy!
Through Christ, God sees you as righteous, God calls you Holy, He has set you apart for His divine purpose and Glory. God made promises to you and me, and God keeps His promises.
To overcome the world means we must be obedient to the upward call of Christ. We must persist in our progress.
Prevail in Prayer
Pursue God’s Promises
Persist in Progress
We are to continue striving to become more Christ-like daily. It takes real effort. Obedience to God reveals the fruit of The Spirit in the Christian life. Look what the Apostle Peter said:
5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge,
The Apostle Peter is telling us this journey does not end with faith alone. As we continue our walk, we are adding to our faith by living out the very characteristics of Jesus Christ. Moral excellence means that we develop goodness of character, even if those around us do not.
It is striving to live life the way we should. Living as the LORD commands us to live. When we do, we naturally add knowledge because we learn how to handle those everyday situations in a Christ-like manner. It is seeing those trials or those situations, knowing the right thing to do, and doing it. Even when it is difficult. Even when nobody else is doing what is right. The Apostle Peter goes on to say:
6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness,
Self-control. Who here struggles with self-control at times? Peter is referring more to the pleasures in life. When we indulge in those things or do things we know are not good for us.
I had a heart attack when I was forty. I remember meeting with my cardiologist for a follow-up visit. Many of you did not know me then, but I weighed about 250 pounds, ate like garbage, hated any kind of physical activity, and smoked like a freight train. I looked at him and said “Doc, I don’t get why I had a heart attack so young.” You should have seen his face! He says “Bob, do you think the two packs of cigarettes a day, the pound of bacon a week, two pounds of cheese, and the fact that you avoided any kind of exercise had something to do with it?”
I knew overindulgence was bad for me, but I had not developed self-control. We are all called to continue to develop both spiritual and physical self-control as we mature as Christians.
The patient endurance Peter is talking about in this verse refers to the pressures and problems of life. It is interesting that the person who struggles with self-control typically has a hard time with patience.
I really like the words used in the KJV version; “long-suffering.” My God above, does it not seem like sometimes problems don’t end! Like you are just being pelted with one after the other? Nobody likes trials. The defeated person stays there, focused on the negative. The overcomer in Christ goes in knowing that in and through Him, you have already overcome.
When Peter is speaking about godliness, It means God-likeness. In the original Greek it meant “to worship well.” In all things, glorify God. This is what makes the believer distinctive. We should look different from the world. We should be in a perpetual state of worship.
We are not to get caught up in petty things, or the passions and pressures that control others. We seek to do the will of God. Sometimes that means taking the difficult path and dealing with some pain or discomfort.
This last verse is huge for all believers to remember.
7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone.
Brotherly affection must have been a tough one for Peter. These guys were debating and disagreeing all the time, tempers flaring, and acting, well, human. I know none of us are like that. If we love Jesus Christ, we must also love our brothers and sisters in Christ. What about everybody else, the rest of the world? We are to show an agape love.
The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter One: Knowing and Growing (2 Peter 1:1–11)
When we have brotherly love, we love because of our likenesses to others; but with agape love, we love in spite of the differences we have.
Worship Team
Godly love is to love In spite of the differences we have. Agape love means loving those we do not think deserve to be loved. It is the love of God for the ungodly, it is the love of God for the unworthy.
Brothers and sisters, by the blood of the Lamb, you are an overcomer this morning. Jesus has given you all the tools you need. His Word, Holy Spirit, the power of God within you. How about we start Boldly proclaim THIS TRUTH!
“I am an overcomer by the Grace of God.”
Believe it, and live it.
Alter Call/Prayer