Will you please turn to 1 Timothy 4:7-8?
But refuse profane and old wives’ fables. And exercise thyself unto godliness:
for bodily exercise is profitable for a little; but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life which now is, and of that which is to come.
Then will you please turn to Revelation 2:7?
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches. To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
The same book, Revelation 3:21:
He that overcometh, I will give to him to sit down with Me in My throne, as I also overcame, and sat down with My Father in His throne.
And finally, Revelation 12:11:
And they overcame him because of the blood of the Lamb, and because of the word of their testimony; and they loved not their life even unto death.
Dear Lord, we want to thank Thee for gathering us together before Thee. We have already committed this time into Thy hand, and trust Thy Holy Spirit to enlighten us with Thy Word, that we may really see in our spirit. Draw us, that we may run after Thee.
Whatever Thou hast purposed for us, Lord, we pray that Thou wilt fulfill it for Thy glory. We commit ourselves totally unto Thee and trust Thy Holy Spirit to do His work. We ask in Thy precious name. Amen.
Well, thank God for gathering us together again this morning. As I suppose everybody knows, our burden is spiritual exercise: how spiritual exercise gives us the promise of life.
To put it negatively, without spiritual exercise, the promise of life will not be fulfilled in us.
God has given us His own life. He has given us Christ, and Christ in us is the hope of glory. But all these will not be fully realized until we cooperate with spiritual exercise.
Spiritual exercise is profitable not only for this present time; its profit will extend even to eternity.
We have already shared together on spiritual exercise and the second coming of our Lord Jesus. We have also shared on spiritual exercise and the kingdom of the heavens.
This morning, we look to the Lord that He will bring us into the matter of how spiritual exercise and the overcomers are so closely related.
Now, I believe, brothers and sisters, you are all familiar with the term overcomer. It is a very special term. You find it in the New Testament, just as you find in the Old Testament the term remnant.
It is God’s strategic plan for the recovery of His testimony. When the testimony of God suffers, then you find God reacts with this principle of overcomers.
Men may fail, and always fail, but God never fails. He always fulfills what He has purposed.
So this principle of overcomers is a very important principle to us, especially we who live in the last days.
As a matter of fact, the call to overcome is the Lord’s last call to His church. I believe this is such an important principle that we should consider what we mean when we talk about overcoming.
Now, what do you mean by overcoming? What are you going to overcome?
Oftentimes, we think of overcoming in terms of how we can overcome the power of sin. Of course, we know that when we believe in the Lord Jesus, He has forgiven our sins. But as Christians, we all feel that even if our past sins have been forgiven, we continue to sin.
Formerly, we sinned joyfully and willingly. But now, if we ever sin, we feel sad and depressed. How can we overcome the power of sin?
“Wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me out of the body of this death?” We may be brought further and begin to see that not only is the power of sin within us a real difficulty, but we need to overcome it.
Then we begin to realize that even the world outside is such a temptation that needs to be overcome. This is true not only of young people. I think older people have the same temptations.
We begin to realize that in us, that is, in our flesh, there is no good thing. We find that our flesh is always against the Spirit of God. Now, how can we overcome ourselves?
Of course, we realize that all these things come from the enemy of God. He is the source of all these problems. So how can we overcome?
Now, all these are very true. But, dear brothers and sisters, these are negative reasons. To be an overcomer, there is a positive reason why we must overcome.
The positive reason is that God has a purpose. He commits Himself to His people.
As in the Old Testament, God committed His testimony to the nation of Israel. The nation of Israel was to declare the excellencies of God throughout the whole world. They were to bear the testimony of God in a world of ungodliness. But unfortunately, they failed.
Now, in New Testament times, we find that God has committed the testimony of Jesus to the church. The church is to be the witness of our Lord Jesus.
The church never speaks of itself. The church is to uplift Christ, to glorify Christ, and to show forth the excellencies of Christ. But unfortunately, the church also failed.
Men always fail, but God never fails. So we find that, due to the failure of man, God reacts.
In the beginning, God created man. He created man according to His own image because God had a commission for man.
God wanted to use man to defeat His enemy. He used man, who is a little lower than the angels, to defeat the angel who is higher than man.
It is no glory to God simply to destroy His enemy. It is like a big man beating a little child. There is no glory in that.
For the glory of God, He raised man, who is a little lower than an angel, and yet used man to defeat His archenemy. That is the glory of God.
But unfortunately, man failed. Yet God did not change His plan. He sent His only begotten Son into this world to be a man. The Word became flesh and tabernacled among men.
The reason why our Lord Jesus came into this world, so far as God’s purpose is concerned, was to testify of God.
Throughout His life, He always looked to His Father. He said, “I can say nothing of Myself; I say it because My Father has said it. I can do nothing by Myself; I do it because I see My Father do it.”
You find that the whole life of our Lord Jesus was governed by the will of the Father. He came to this world to testify of God.
No man has ever seen God; but the One who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. So He told His disciples, “He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father.”
Our Lord Jesus bore the testimony of Jesus in the face of temptation and assault. The enemy tried every means to destroy Him.
Do you remember how, before He began His public ministry, the Spirit of God led Him into the wilderness, and He was tempted by Satan?
What was the temptation of Satan? Satan tried to get our Lord Jesus to act as the Son of God.
“If Thou art the Son of God”—and He is the Son of God—“then You can do this and You can do that. Do this and that for Yourself.”
But you find how our Lord Jesus refused to act as the Son of God. He stood His ground as the Son of Man, because He had a testimony to give.
He came here not to testify of Himself, but to testify of His Father. As the Son of Man, He resisted the temptation of Satan and overcame the enemy.
The little child, as it were, beat the big man. It is the glory of God.
You remember in John 12, during His last journey to Jerusalem, it seemed as if the whole world was after Him. He gloriously entered Jerusalem.
Not only did the Jews seem to honor Him, but even the Greeks wanted to see Him. Humanly speaking, this was the glorious time of our Lord Jesus.
Even His disciples thought that this was the time when our Lord Jesus would be enthroned. But when the Greeks wanted to see the Lord, our Lord Jesus said, “The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.”
What He meant by glory was very different from what His disciples or the world thought of. “Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour? But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify Thy name.”
Then came a voice out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.”
In other words, the reason our Lord Jesus came into this world as the Son of Man was to restore the testimony of God. He glorified God throughout His life, even unto death.
This is the positive reason for His overcoming. Immediately following, our Lord Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.”
The positive reason for overcoming is for the glory of God and to maintain the testimony of God. The negative reason is to defeat Satan and all those things that are under Satan.
Our Lord Jesus is the Overcomer. He is the first Overcomer. Adam was overcome by the enemy, and by that he lost what God had committed to him.
Our Lord Jesus is the first Man who is the Overcomer. He has overcome, and because of that, He is now seated with His Father on the throne.
Now, brothers and sisters, on the basis of His overcoming, He says, “Upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.”
Why is it that the gates of Hades shall not prevail against His church? Because He built His church on the basis of His overcoming.
The church herself is an overcoming church.
If you turn to 1 John 5:4-5, you have these verses:
For whatsoever is begotten of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that hath overcome the world, even our faith.
And who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
The church is built on the basis of the victory of our Lord Jesus. That is the reason why the gates of Hades shall not prevail against her.
The church is raised by the Lord Jesus to bear His own testimony. The church is the instrument, the vessel, of the testimony of Jesus Christ.
Especially when you read the last book of the Bible, you find the term the testimony of Jesus. The testimony of Jesus is committed to the church. To put it another way, the church is here for the one reason of bearing the testimony of Jesus.
When you read the first few chapters of Acts, when the church was first built upon this earth, you find the scene was so glorious.
Not only were the one hundred and twenty there, but three thousand were added, and then many were added daily to the church.
They all persevered in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles, in breaking of bread, and in prayers. How they were totally delivered from self-possession! How they loved one another and served one another!
How they prayed with one accord! How they broke bread at every meal!
Then you find in Acts 11 that the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch.
People looked at the church and found that the church was something they had never seen before. It was a heavenly thing. They had a way of life totally different from the way of life in any nation.
It was not like the Jews. It was not like the Romans. It was not like the Greeks. They had a different way of life.
They were heavenly and spiritual, and they were centered upon Christ. They prayed to Christ. They sang of Christ. They lived for Christ. They gathered together for Christ. Everything was Christ.
So the world did not know what to do with these people. Who were these people? Ah, they were Christians. They were Christ-men.
Brothers and sisters, what a testimony! What a victory! Within thirty-seven years, the whole world had heard of Christ.
But unfortunately, when you come to Revelation 1 through 3, you find the seven churches existing toward the end of the first century.
The apostle John was the only one of the twelve still living. Evidently, before he was exiled to the Isle of Patmos, he was serving these churches. No wonder he was thinking of them.
But when you look at these churches, you find that the testimony of Jesus was in decline.
Especially when you read the first chapter of Revelation, you see a vision. It is a vision of our Lord Jesus in glory, a vision of our Lord Jesus after His ascension.
It is the vision of our Lord Jesus as the High Priest of our confession. Our Lord Jesus in heaven is serving and ministering to His own church.
The churches are supposed to be golden lampstands. In Old Testament times, in the tabernacle, there were only two things completely made of gold.
Many things were made of gold and wood, but there were two things made completely of gold. One was the mercy seat, and the other was the golden lampstand.
Gold in Scripture represents God’s nature. In other words, the church is supposed to be totally of the nature of God. There is no wood in it, and wood in Scripture represents man.
Even the best of men will not be there. The church is made of Christ.
It is not only Christ in you and Christ in me, but Christ in you without you and Christ in me without me. The Bible calls the church the Christ. It is the extension of Christ, the outgrowth of Christ, and the fullness of Christ.
Brothers and sisters, in the sight of God, the church is a golden lampstand.
We all know a lampstand is not an object of purpose in itself. It is not for decoration. Its purpose is to uplift the light, that the light may be lifted up and spread abroad.
Christ is the light. So the church is supposed to declare the testimony of Jesus. By testimony, it means more than just a word; it means the very life.
But when you compare the vision of Christ in Revelation 1 with His revelation to the churches, you find that almost every church had deviated from the testimony of Jesus.
Smyrna had no blame, and Philadelphia received all praise. But the other five had deviated and fallen from the testimony of Jesus.
It is as if Christ is coming to His church, and when He comes to the church, He cannot find Himself.
I always remember that story of a pastor in Boston. At that time, he was very popular and was used by God. He dreamed a dream.
He said that one day, while he was preaching, he saw a stranger enter the church building. The usher showed him to a seat.
Somehow, the stranger attracted him. While he was preaching, he could not help but keep looking at the stranger. He wondered what the stranger would think of his preaching, the choir, and the organ.
He thought to himself, “After I finish the sermon, as usual I will go to the gate and greet everybody. I have to speak to that stranger.”
But unfortunately, when he went to the door, the stranger had already gone. So he asked his usher, “Who is this stranger?”
“Don’t you know? It is Jesus.”
Jesus came to the church. What would He think of the church? Would He approve of our choir? Would He appreciate our organ? What would He think of my preaching?
Because of this, his whole life was turned.
Brothers and sisters, Christ has come to His church, but He cannot find Himself.
It is not the largeness of the church. It is not the multitude in the church. It is not how beautiful the church is. It is Christ.
If you cannot find Christ in the church, it is no church at all.
The church in Ephesus had everything. They had works, labor, and endurance. But the Lord said, “I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love.”
“I cannot find Myself. If you do not repent, I will remove the golden lampstand.” You may continue on earth, but in heaven it is gone.
Brothers and sisters, when you come to the end of the first century, the church began to lose the testimony of Jesus.
Negatively speaking, the church was conquered by the enemy of God. The church became a defeated church.
From the end of the first century until now, we find the last call of our Lord Jesus to His church.
The church in general has failed in the testimony of Jesus. It means that the church has capitulated to the prince of this world.
The testimony of Jesus needs to be recovered. The strategic way of our Lord Jesus is His call to overcome.
That is the reason why to be an overcomer is the present, urgent, most important need among God’s people. It is not just a term or a slogan. The principle of overcomers is the way of recovery of the testimony of Jesus.
But, brothers and sisters, we need to remember: how can we overcome? How can a little child beat a big man? How can out of the mouths of babes the praise of God be perfected?
It is not that there is such strength in the little child that he can overcome a big man. No.
We are able to overcome not because of ourselves, not because of our effort, and not because we are more dedicated. All these may be related, but these are not the reason for being an overcomer.
It is only by faith.
Now, what is faith? Faith is not looking into yourselves. Oftentimes, we search our hearts to see if we have faith in us.
“If I have faith, I can remove a mountain.” Then we try to work up our faith. Have you done that? “I believe, I believe, I believe, I believe.” And then we say, “Oh, I have faith.”
Faith is casting your eyes upon the Lord. Look unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith.
The church is built on the victory of Christ, and the church overcomes by faith. The church believes in God and believes in Christ. That is the only secret of overcoming.
Brothers and sisters, we need to remember: to overcome is not here. We had better confess that we are defeated and stop trying to overcome in ourselves.
With men it is impossible. Give up.
Now, is that the end? Give up is the beginning. When we give up ourselves, we give to Christ. We put our faith in our Lord Jesus.
His victory is our victory.
There is a little story I always like to tell. A little girl believed in the Lord Jesus, and she was really rejoicing in the Lord.
One day, a man came to test her. He said, “Little girl, you believe in the Lord Jesus?” She said, “Oh, yes.” “You are happy in the Lord?” “Oh, yes, I am happy in the Lord.”
He said, “One day Satan comes to knock at your door. What are you going to do? Can you close the door and not let him come in? He is mightier and more powerful than you are. You push, and he enters.”
She said, “If Satan comes to knock at my door, I turn to the Lord Jesus and say, ‘Go and open the door.’”
The Lord Jesus goes to the door and opens it. Satan says, “Excuse me, I knocked at the wrong door.”
This is victory. Brothers and sisters, we try very hard to overcome, but the secret is to look to the Lord. Acknowledge that you cannot, but He can.
Not only can He overcome; He has already overcome. It is on the basis of His victory that we overcome.
Revelation 3 says that we overcome as He has overcome.
So, dear brothers and sisters, overcoming is the life of Christ. This is the secret of it.
But for the life of Christ to work in us, we need spiritual exercise, because only through exercise will the life of Christ within us be released.
Now, how can we overcome? You find in Revelation 12:11 three elements of overcoming.
In Revelation 12, you find a vision concerned with the last days. You see a woman in travail, and you see the red dragon standing before that woman.
The dragon was not interested in the woman. Once he was interested in the woman, but no longer. He was interested in the man-child in the womb of the woman.
The woman would not be able to do him any harm. But the man-child that was to be born—he knew that as soon as it was born, he would be finished.
So he wanted to swallow up this man-child. But when the man-child was born, immediately he was caught up to the throne.
Because of that, there was war in the air. Michael and his angels fought with Satan and his followers, because the air is the headquarters of Satan. He is the prince of the air.
But this man-child penetrated through and arrived at the throne. Immediately there was war in the air, and Satan was cast down.
Then you hear a loud cry in heaven. Who are they? The man-child is a collective man-child, because the Bible says they have overcome.
They have overcome the accuser. Satan is the accuser. He always accuses you—sometimes truly, sometimes falsely. If you accept the accusation, you are finished.
He is always accusing us before God, just as he accused Job before God. How are we going to overcome him? By the blood of the Lamb.
Dear brothers and sisters, we need to have a deeper understanding of the blood of the Lamb.
We think of the blood of the Lamb only in terms of having our sins forgiven and being saved, as if after we have believed in the Lord Jesus, the blood of the Lamb is no longer useful.
But if you really know the value of the blood of our Lord Jesus, it is the basis of our victory day by day.
We human beings, even though we are saved, are still in this world. We are surrounded by all the temptations and assaults from the world.
We also have a fifth columnist with us: our self-life, our old life. It is always there. As long as we live, we will not be delivered from this old self until resurrection.
We are living in this kind of situation. How are we going to live?
In 1 John 1:7, we are told:
But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanseth us from all sin.
We are not super-Christians. We are just normal Christians. We realize all the temptations around us, and we realize that there is this self-life within us which the enemy uses.
How are we going to live our Christian life on earth? We live by walking in the light.
He is the light. The Holy Spirit enlightens us from within, and we walk according to that light. We are no longer walking in darkness; we are walking in light.
This is not merely knowledge. It is true that the Bible is the lamp before our feet, but here it says, “God is light.” His Word is light, but here it is God Himself who is light.
The light here is the light of life. We have the light of life within us, and the light of life guides our steps. This is the way we walk as Christians.
Christians do not walk by outward rules and regulations. Christians walk by the light of life within them.
He enlightens us. He shows us what is right and what is wrong, what is living and what is dead. He teaches us in all things, and we just walk in the light that we have.
As you walk in the light, as God is in the light, you have fellowship with Him. God is light, and the light of life in us is of the same nature, though very different in degree.
Our light may be one candlelight, while God is like a hundred candlelights. But thank God, if we have one candlelight and walk in that light, we have fellowship with one another.
Even though the degree is so vast, because the nature is the same, He can have fellowship with us and we can have fellowship with Him.
As we fellowship, more light shines. We begin to realize, “My, I have lots of darkness in me.” Thank God, the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all our sins.
We are just normal, just growing. As we walk in the light of life, we begin to realize that we are not perfect. We have much darkness. We confess, He cleanses, and we continue in fellowship.
As we walk accordingly, we grow in security. Brothers and sisters, we need the blood of Jesus all the way.
This is the foundation of victory. It is by the blood that we overcome. It is by Him that we overcome.
As some people have said, even the tears of our repentance need to be cleansed by the blood.
The blood of the Lamb is so precious. Do we love the blood of the Lamb? This is the only way to victory.
We are not perfect. We will never arrive on this earth at sinless perfection. Thank God, we are continually being cleansed, and we are growing. This is the way of victory.
Then secondly, they overcame by the word of their testimony.
You see the importance of the testimony of Jesus. It is not just negative; it is positive, because the testimony of Jesus has been entrusted to us.
We are here to testify of our Lord Jesus, to declare His excellencies, and to experience the riches of His glory.
You find that the testimony of Jesus eventually becomes our testimony. Our testimony is none other than the testimony of Jesus.
The word of our testimony means that we can speak it out, utter it, and declare it. When we declare it, the enemy is defeated.
Do you remember that story of the seven sons of the Jewish high priest Sceva? They tried to cast out demons.
They said, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.” But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?”
The evil spirit overcame them because it was not true in them.
How can the testimony of Jesus become true to us? When we really yield ourselves to the Lord and let the Lord Jesus rule over us, then it becomes our testimony.
Then it is powerful.
Thirdly, it involves a cost:
And they loved not their life even unto death.
How do they come to have the testimony of Jesus as their testimony? Because they are willing to lay down their soul-life.
The life here is not God’s eternal life. It refers to our soul-life.
This is what the Lord Jesus said: “Deny thyself, take up thy cross, and follow Me.”
Brothers and sisters, this is a cost we have to pay. During the process, there is spiritual exercise.
As you exercise your spirit, as you allow your conscience to be kept without offense before God and man, and as you are obedient to all the enlightenment God has given you, you walk in the light as He is in the light.
As you have daily communion with the Lord, out of this you find that He is able to do the impossible.
Oftentimes, in our experience, we cannot pass through, and the crisis is always based upon this question: Are you willing to lay down your life?
Then the life of Christ prevails. When you find yourself unable, then let go and let God. You find His grace is always sufficient.
Brothers and sisters, this is the way.
Now, overcoming is today’s process. One day every believer will be an overcomer, because God cannot fail.
“Whom He foreknew, them He also called; and whom He called, them He also justified; and whom He justified, them He also glorified.”
One day we will all be overcomers. But what is important is to overcome today.
Even though being an overcomer is a present experience, the reward is in the future. So it has to do with the life to come.
How can we enjoy the life to come? How do you live today? Do you overcome, or are you overcome?
For our encouragement, the Lord promises that there will be reward for those who overcome today, who keep His testimony, and who overcome the enemy and all his devices.
The Lord says that He has a reward reserved for you. That is the salvation reserved for us.
After every call to overcome, there is the promise of reward. The reward is not today. The reward is in the days to come, in the kingdom age.
When the Lord establishes His kingdom upon the earth, those who overcome today will be rewarded to reign with Him.
If you read Revelation 2 and 3, the seven rewards mentioned there are all related to life, all related to the life to come.
How can you have the life to come? If you overcome today.
For instance:
To him that overcometh, to him will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.
It is a matter of life.
Then in Revelation 2:11:
He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
There will be a second death. The second death refers to the lake of fire. The word here is not that the overcomer will avoid being in the second death, but that he will not be hurt of it.
This does not mean that those who do not overcome will be in the second death. It simply means being injured.
Do you remember the three friends of Daniel? Because they would not worship the golden image, they were thrown into the fire.
The fire was heated seven times hotter. Nebuchadnezzar sent his strongest soldiers to carry them to the furnace.
They threw them into the fire, but because the fire was so hot, even those strong soldiers were burned before the three friends had fallen into the fire. The fire injured them.
Those who believe in the Lord Jesus will never go into the second death, because that is eternal death. But one can be injured.
When would you be injured? During the kingdom. Like the unwise virgins, one may be cast out of the banquet and disciplined unto repentance.
The principle is this: discipline is necessary for growth. If you do not accept discipline today, you will be disciplined.
We do not know how, and we should not speculate. But the Bible gives us enough indication that if we love ourselves, do not deny ourselves, and do not grow up, one day we will be disciplined, because God cannot fail.
Whom He has called, He will glorify.
So, brothers and sisters, if you read all these rewards, they are all related to the kingdom age.
In the kingdom age, you will have the promise of life, but it is based upon how you follow the Lord today.
We believe that the message of the overcomers is the message for today.
It is all grace. It is grace with faith. May the Lord bless you.
Dear Lord, we do commit these scattered words into Thy hand. May Thy Spirit impress upon us how Thou hast called us to be overcomers.
Not in any sense are we perfect. We thank Thee for the precious blood. We thank Thee for Thy sufficient grace.
We thank Thee for the victory that Thou hast won. By faith, we can claim victory, not for ourselves, but for Thy glory.