Yeah, praise the Lord.
Let’s begin with a word of prayer.
Lord Jesus, we come to You. Victory could not be a part of our life if it were not for You, Lord Jesus. We do recognize the great Conqueror this morning as we share this word with one another.
Lord, it is on my heart that You would really just touch our hearts. You know where we all are, Lord, what our great spiritual needs are, and what Your great need is in this last hour—and how You want to match the two.
And so, Lord, we come this morning. We ask that You would, by the Holy Spirit, speak; and Lord, by the Holy Spirit, open our hearts, that we might truly hear what You are saying in this last hour. We ask in the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Now let me read that last chorus:
I dare not be defeated just at the set of sun,
When Jesus waits to whisper, “Well done, beloved, well done.”
Come, Lord, bend from the glory;
Oh, give me Thy Spirit’s cast.
Make me an overcomer, a victor to the last.
I want to read that because I do believe the sun is setting. The sun is setting on the age of what we refer to as the church age, the age of grace. But it is about to arise on a new kingdom, a new age, a whole new way of life.
It is going to be a marvelous experience for those who are ready, for those in Christ Jesus. It is going to be a whole new kingdom age that we know little about from the Word of God. But one day, hopefully, we will have the opportunity to really experience that kingdom life.
Now, that does not negate the fact that, honestly, we are to experience that kingdom life today and be prepared for the kingdom life in the future.
Well, interestingly enough, with the setting sun, and knowing the Lord’s soon return, last week John Blanchard shared on investing our lives. How are we investing our lives and our time? Really, when you think about it, our time is our life. It is limited by time. So how are we investing these things for that day when the Lord will return and set up His kingdom? Are we truly investing?
It reminded me of an illustration. It is a story; it is not scripturally correct, and I will try to explain that. But the story goes like this.
There was this Christian. He had been saved and lived his life like many do, basically living the way he thought was best and trying to do good here and there. Finally, he passed away, and he was there at the city—that city—and he entered through the gate.
An angel approached him and said, “Let me show you around.”
The man said, “Look, I’m interested in one particular thing.”
The angel said, “Well, what is that?”
He said, “Well, the Lord said that He was building many mansions, and I want to see my mansion.”
So the angel said, “Well, okay.” He began to show him around, taking him down the street of gold. He saw the tree of life there, and he began to see these mansions. They were just gorgeous and marvelous, you know. He was so excited and thrilled. He had finally made it, and he was going to have his own mansion.
They kept going, and as they went along, he noticed that the mansions got a little smaller—not quite as ornate and not quite as beautiful.
He said, “Well, when are we going to get to my mansion?”
The angel said, “Well, we just need to turn here down the alley.”
So they turned and went down the alley. They came to what seemed like a vacant lot. But on the lot there was some timber, a little bit of timber, and a few stones and bricks.
The angel said, “Well, here is your mansion.”
The man looked at it, kind of astounded. He said, “Well, this isn’t quite what I was expecting. Why is my mansion there? What’s going on?”
The angel said, “Well, look, we did the best we could with the material you sent us.”
So, that is not a scriptural illustration, but it is an illustration of the need.
Our brother shared that Scripture last week concerning our treasure. You know, do not lay up treasures on earth, where moth and rust will eat them away, but lay them up in heaven, where they are eternal in nature.
It says, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” So where is our heart in this last hour concerning our Lord Jesus Christ? Where is our treasure?
Let me ask it another way: How is your spiritual 401(k)?
You know, we have these things called 401(k)s. I had one before I retired; I still have it. I had to roll it over. But the bottom line is, I will never forget: I was looking forward to retirement and thinking about my 401(k), and about two years before I retired, the stock market crashed.
I waited until about five years later before the stock market even recovered to the level it had previously been. Oh, brothers and sisters, these earthly 401(k)s, I am afraid, might be disappointing to us.
Where are we laying up our treasure? In Christ, looking forward to His return, looking forward to His kingdom, investing our lives in Christ, that there might be that fullness—particularly in this coming kingdom age.
We do know that in the final city, the New Jerusalem, there are not going to be any unbuilt mansions. Praise the Lord. Everything there is without spot or blemish. It is all Christ.
But brothers and sisters, prior to that—prior to the kingdom age—there is a judgment seat of Christ. He will judge His own, not in the matter of eternal life and death. That has been secured because of the gift God has given us in Christ, so it is secure.
However, we will be judged on how we handled the life given to us, the grace given to us, and the gifts given to us. In that judgment, it will be decided what we will do in the kingdom age in serving the Lord Jesus Christ.
Those who are called will enter into the joy of the Lord. Unfortunately, there will be some who will not enter into the joy of the Lord at that time. They will, in a sense, be put on another side—not within the kingdom itself—but they will be disciplined, and they will learn Christ for a thousand years.
At the end of that thousand years, they will be ready. So the Lord will complete His promise to every one of us. But brothers and sisters, we need to be prepared for the soon return of our Lord. We need to be prepared for the judgment seat of Christ.
How do we invest our life? I was really touched by that last week. Where is our heart? Where is our treasure?
Well, this morning I am continuing in the book of Revelation, chapter 7. I wanted to share on this because it really ties into being prepared.
In this chapter there are two groups of people that we see, and we will read it in a minute. One group is called pious Jews. They are being sealed in preparation for Jacob’s trouble that is to come upon this earth. For the nation of Israel, it is Jacob’s trouble.
The other group we see is this multitude that appears before the Lord. We discover that they really are the overcomers down through the ages—the ones with strong spiritual 401(k)s in their lives, full ones that have followed the Lamb and given their lives to the Lamb.
So this morning, what is on my heart is just to see the real need, brothers and sisters: not just to talk about overcoming, but to become an overcomer in our lives. I am afraid the enemy has convinced us that it is impossible. Indeed, in yourself it is; but in Christ, all things are possible.
If we could begin this morning, let us look at Revelation 7:9 and then Revelation 7:13-15.
After these things I beheld, and lo, a great multitude, which no man could number,
of all nations and kindreds and people and tongues,
stood before the throne, and before the Lamb,
clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands.
And one of the elders answered, saying unto me,
What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they?
And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest.
And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation,
and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
Therefore are they before the throne of God,
and serve Him day and night in His temple:
and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them.
These are ones in white robes, full of righteousness. They have palms in their hands. Palm branches speak of victory in the Word of God, and actually in those days.
You remember our Lord Jesus when He came in what is called the triumphal entry into Jerusalem. They laid palm branches before Him, recognizing that He was the coming Conqueror and King.
It says they will serve Him in His temple day and night. These are ones with hearts given to the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not have one foot in the world and one foot trying to keep in the kingdom. They are the Lord’s, and they follow the Lord and the Lamb.
So here we have, in Revelation 7, this multitude—the overcomers down through the church age. The Lord brings them into view.
Now He also brings into view the Jews, the nation of Israel. Let us go back and read Revelation 7:1-4.
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth,
holding the four winds of the earth,
that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree.
And I saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun,
having the seal of the living God:
and he cried with a great voice to the four angels
to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea,
saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees,
till we shall have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.
And I heard the number of them that were sealed,
a hundred and forty and four thousand,
sealed out of every tribe of the children of Israel.
The pious Jews are being sealed before Jacob’s trouble begins.
Now, we are in Revelation 7, which is the interim between the fifth and sixth seals. In the fifth seal, we remember there were martyrs who had died in Christ. In the sixth seal, we see a great earthquake.
That seems to be a preview of the great tribulation that is to come after it. It is almost like it shakes the entire earth, and men begin to say, “Let us hide our face from God. His judgment has come.” It is like the announcement of the judgment of God upon this earth.
So it leads up to that period. Then God brings these overcomers into view. We know that these overcomers represent the church—God’s people, God’s heart on this earth.
He brings them into view right before the tribulation begins, which brings in the great tribulation and finally the seven bowls of God’s wrath upon this earth.
That is kind of where we are. We are at the beginning of the Lord’s return. He is still on the throne. He has not yet come to the cloud, and after that He will come from the cloud to the earth, but He has not done that yet.
Most likely at this point, those overcomers we see in Revelation 12—the man-child—have been raptured to the throne. God is looking at these overcomers as He prepares to proceed with the tribulations.
We need to understand that, in God’s eyes, when you look at the book of Revelation, there are really three kinds of people: Jews, Christians, and Gentiles.
They are represented by the nation of Israel, the Jews; the church, which we see through the overcomers; and the nations. We know that the nations will be judged as nations as well.
But here the Jews, the nation of Israel, are brought into view. They are being sealed, and God is going to work on this nation to restore them back to a testimony, to be a living testimony on this earth.
The nation of Israel will respond when the Lord comes and touches down on the Mount of Olives. They will be saved, and they will turn to the Lord. They will be His earthly nation, the lead nation. They will carry the gospel of Christ during the millennium period, during the kingdom age.
And we see the church. We know that God will, through the overcomers and with the overcomers, reign and rule during the kingdom age for a thousand years. Those overcomers will reign and rule with Christ. They will share in the government of this world during the thousand years.
Eventually, brothers and sisters, it leads to the bride that we see—the New Jerusalem coming out of heaven.
We also know there are the nations, the Gentiles that are left. In the Word of God, it says He will judge the nations: sheep nations and goat nations. He said He will put the sheep nations here and the goat nations there. The goat nations will go into the fire.
The sheep nations will be an earthly people during the kingdom age. Now, who are these sheep nations? As best as we can tell from Scripture, there are two—or maybe one, if you want to say—requirements to be a sheep nation.
It seems to be those that are helpful and supportive of the nation of Israel and those that are supportive of Christians.
I have to say, at one time I thought the USA would be a sheep nation, but I am no longer as sure of that as I once was. I wonder, as it turns against Christians and as it has turned against the nation of Israel.
So I think we need to pray for our nation. We need to pray that we do not become a goat nation.
These are the three things the Lord is looking at in this final consummation of the age. At the beginning of His return, which I think is very imminent, brothers and sisters, He wants to draw our attention to this matter of overcomers and overcoming.
In the first three chapters of the book of Revelation, it begins with a vision of whom? The Lord of glory. Remember, the One with the white hair, the sharp two-edged sword coming out of His mouth, the feet of brass, the breastplate of gold. That is what we see, and that is Who is in charge.
We need to have that vision of the Lord of glory. He is also walking among His seven churches. They are the ones that were to carry the testimony of Jesus on this earth.
What does that mean? It means that the church is to be an expression, a real expression, of the life of Christ—the reality of Christ expressed on this earth. We are supposed to be that expression of Christ.
But as you see and read the seven churches, you realize there are flaws—things that do not come up to His standard, things that are not of His life and character. He points them out.
At the end of each one, He calls to the churches and says to those who will hear, “You need to overcome these things. You need to overcome.”
It is a book about the consummation of the ages. It will end with the New Jerusalem coming out of heaven, the bride for our Lord Jesus Christ, who will be with Him in eternity.
Satan will be cast into the lake of fire, and all those who follow him will be cast into the lake of fire. Now, I say that with emphasis, brothers and sisters, because you really need to know God’s heart for man has always been love.
God’s heart for man is that he would accept His salvation, because man is fallen and in a destitute state. Only the sacrificial life of our Lord Jesus Christ can pay for our sins. Only His life as a representative and substitute for us on the cross can deal with our old flesh and our old man. Only His victory at Calvary can become our victory.
You need to know that hell was not really designed for man. Hell was designed for the fallen angels—Lucifer and the fallen angels. A third of the angels rebelled against God sometime in eternity past, and God has reserved hell for them.
However, those who choose to follow the enemy—if he has become lord of your life—you will follow him. So it depends on whom you follow.
What remains in the end is a full, glorious Christ—an expression of Christ in fullness.
The best illustration I know of this, brothers and sisters—I think T. Austin-Sparks used it—is the sun.
If you look at the sun, it is brilliant. Well, you cannot see it today because of the clouds, but it is brilliant. You actually cannot stare at the sun very long before your eyes are burned. It is so brilliant, a brilliant white light.
But if there begins to be a shower and the sun is still shining, as the light travels through those water crystals, it forms a rainbow, does it not?
And you know what that rainbow is? That rainbow is able to diffuse that brilliant light into something that we can see. What do we see? We see the many varied colors of the rainbow.
That white light is not something in itself. White light is the combination of all the various colors and hues. That is what white light is. But you cannot see or appreciate the value of what that white light is until it is diffused through the crystals.
Brothers and sisters, that is what the church is supposed to be. That brilliant light shines through. The church is supposed to diffuse this glorious light and these colors for all the world—a testimony to the fullness of our Lord Jesus.
Well, overcoming is critical. Let me kind of move on here. I will never get through this morning.
In Revelation 7, God brings attention to these overcomers because they are critical. They have been responsible to Christ in fulfilling Christ’s purpose on this earth. The rest of the church has been doing its own thing, but these ones have been responsible to God in this purpose.
They have been praying faithfully for God’s will to be done on this earth as in heaven: “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.” They are the ones that work with God.
There are many who work for God, but how many work with God, serve with God, in this last hour?
We see them in Revelation 7, but we also see them in Revelation 12:5. Let us turn to Revelation 12:5. We see the overcomers again.
And she brought forth a man child,
who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron:
and her child was caught up unto God, and to His throne.
It does not say they were caught up to the cloud. They were caught up to the throne. The Lord Jesus Christ is waiting for those overcomers. He is waiting for the birth of the man-child.
The woman is the church, but there is this man-child within the church—these ones who really are after the Lord and want to follow the Lord in their lives. These are the ones the Lord will look to, and He will raise them up to the throne.
This is just prior to the sixth seal. In Revelation 14:1 and Revelation 14:4, near the end of the great tribulation, we see them again.
And I looked, and lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion,
and with Him a hundred forty and four thousand,
having His Father’s name written in their foreheads.
This is different from the Jews. This is Christians.
These are they which were not defiled with women; for they are virgins.
These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.
These were redeemed from among men,
being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb.
In other words, these are there on Mount Zion with the Lord, right near the end of the great tribulation. He calls them firstfruits.
That is because whenever you have a garden—I know you know I love Hanover tomatoes—that first tomato you get is so good. It is the firstfruit. Many will follow, but nothing like the first one.
Then we see them again in Revelation 14 as they prepare to introduce the King and bring Him to the cloud.
And I looked, and behold, a white cloud;
and upon the cloud one sat like unto the Son of man,
having on His head a golden crown,
and in His hand a sharp sickle.
And another angel came out from the temple,
crying with a great voice to Him that sat on the cloud,
Send forth Thy sickle, and reap:
for the hour to reap is come;
for the harvest of the earth is over-ripe.
That is reaping the Christians that remain. That is what that harvest is. There is another harvest later, of the grapes of wrath, which are the unbelievers.
Then, right before the battle of Armageddon, at the end of the tribulation, we see them again. Revelation 16:16 says:
And they gathered them together into the place which is called in Hebrew Har-Magedon.
Now let us go to Revelation 17:14:
These shall war against the Lamb,
and the Lamb shall overcome them,
for He is Lord of lords, and King of kings;
and they also shall overcome that are with Him, called and chosen and faithful.
The called, the chosen, and the faithful. At the end of the battle, they appear again in Revelation 19.
And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse,
and He that sat thereon, called Faithful and True;
and in righteousness He doth judge and make war.
And His eyes are a flame of fire,
and upon His head are many diadems;
and He hath a name written which no one knoweth but He Himself.
And He is arrayed in a garment sprinkled with blood:
and His name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which are in heaven followed Him upon white horses,
clothed in fine linen, white and pure.
There, once again, we see the overcomers.
Why are the overcomers brought into view? Brothers and sisters, God desires that man overcome. God desires that we be a part of His plan.
There is a sense in which, in order to bring all of His plan to fruition, He does not need man, because He is God. But, brothers and sisters, He has chosen to use man. That is His choice.
He has given us the privilege of being involved with Him in consummating this age, in bringing the kingdom in, in bringing back the King. But it is those who overcome.
There is a great need to overcome. We should not give up on overcoming, brothers and sisters. This is the Lord’s heart. He does not really need man, but He wants man, of his free will, to overcome.
Let me point out the importance to the Lord of overcoming. Let us go to Revelation 2.
The Lord, speaking to the church in Ephesus, said:
But I have this against thee, that thou didst leave thy first love.
Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent,
and do the first works;
or else I come to thee, and will move thy candlestick out of its place,
except thou repent.
Then Revelation 2:7 says:
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.
That is the promise. Brothers and sisters, we can falter in our first love, but the Lord is very serious about this matter of first love. He says, if you have faltered, if you have lost something of that first love, you need to repent in your heart before Him and overcome.
The next church is Smyrna, the suffering church. Revelation 2:10-11:
Fear not the things which thou art about to suffer.
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Once again, the Lord is saying some will suffer for their testimony of Christ, but overcome.
To the church in Pergamum, Revelation 2:15 says:
So hast thou also some that hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans in like manner.
Then Revelation 2:17 says:
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
To him that overcometh, to him will I give of the hidden manna,
and I will give him a white stone,
and upon the stone a new name written,
which no one knoweth but he that receiveth it.
To the church at Thyatira, He says in Revelation 2:24-26:
But to you I say, to the rest that are in Thyatira,
as many as have not this teaching,
who know not what some call the deep things of Satan;
I cast upon you none other burden.
Nevertheless that which ye have, hold fast till I come.
And he that overcometh, and he that keepeth My works unto the end,
to him will I give authority over the nations.
False doctrines. But you have been given the truth. Hold fast to the truth. Overcome.
To Sardis, Revelation 3:2 says:
Be thou watchful, and establish the things that remain,
which were ready to die:
for I have found no works of thine perfected before My God.
And Revelation 3:5 says:
He that overcometh shall thus be arrayed in white garments;
and I will in no wise blot his name out of the book of life,
and I will confess his name before My Father, and before His angels.
The message to Philadelphia, Revelation 3:11-12:
I come quickly: hold fast that which thou hast,
that no one take thy crown.
He that overcometh, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God,
and he shall go out thence no more.
Let us go to the church in Laodicea. Revelation 3:16 says:
So because thou art lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold,
I will spew thee out of My mouth.
Then Revelation 3:21 says:
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.
The emphasis on overcoming, brothers and sisters: we just cannot drift through our Christian walk with the Lord. Overcoming is critical.
To me, I think salvation is really knowing the Lord Himself. We have got to know Him, not just know about Him. We have to experience the life of the Lord in our lives, that He is rich in our lives and true, because without that we cannot overcome.
He desires that man be a part of His great purpose—to be a part of that great bride, to bring in His bride, and to overcome the enemy. We are all to be a part of that purpose.
I want to emphasize how critical it is that we not lose sight of overcoming in our lives.
If we are satisfied with our salvation, with the blessings the Lord pours out on us, with our guarantee and promise of heaven—which are all true—if that satisfies us, I will have to say it grieves the Lord’s heart. He has so much more for us. He really does.
Brothers and sisters, let us not fall short of what God has desired: an overcoming life.
I was reminded and thought about this matter of overcoming and how serious it was. Do you all remember the story of Gideon? Anybody remember Gideon? All right, all right, we got some.
You know, Gideon and the people of God, Israel, were living defeated lives. The Midianites and the Philistines had basically conquered Israel. They were hiding out. Anytime they would grow wheat, the Philistines would come in and take the harvest from them.
They were having a very difficult time. The reason they were living defeated lives was because their hearts had turned away from the Lord. As the Lord often does, He said, “Okay, you keep going your way until you discover that you are in serious trouble, and then maybe you will turn back to Me.”
They had turned away, and they were in defeat. The Lord looked down, and He had mercy on them. This is in the book of Judges.
He found Gideon. Gideon was hiding away, but he had grown some wheat and was trying to harvest some of it before the enemy could come and take it. The Lord appeared to Gideon and told him He was going to use him to deliver the nation of Israel.
Gideon, of course, said, “Look, I am the least in my whole family here. I have no credentials. Nobody would dare follow me. I am just a simple Israelite.” Isn’t that what we all are? I hope. We are just simple.
Gideon said, “There is no way.” But the Lord insisted. And you know what changed Gideon’s heart? He saw the Lord. When he saw the Lord, he could not turn the Lord down.
He built an altar there. Building an altar is the same thing as coming back to the Lord and giving yourself to what Christ has done on the cross of Calvary for us, saying, “Lord, You are my Savior. You are our Deliverer, Lord.” That is what that altar meant. He was reconnecting with God.
Then he went, to the horror of the people in that little group, where the idol of Baal was standing, and he tore it down. Some of them actually got upset with him. But Gideon said, “No, God wants to deliver us from the Philistines and the Midianites.”
He sent out a call to those who would overcome, those who would stand up. And thirty-two thousand responded. He was amazed.
But the Lord said, “Gideon, I see these thirty-two thousand here, but these thirty-two thousand are not ready.”
He said, “Talk to them and tell any of them who are fearful to go ahead and go home.” Twenty-two thousand left.
Fear. Fear of man. Fear of going on with the Lord, or what it might cost you in friendships and jobs, in relationships, with your family, with one another. Sometimes it is costly.
But fear is the enemy’s tool in any case. I myself have had to deal with it personally in my life. I can only tell you that fear is not just a word; it is a spiritual force from the enemy that will try to crush you and take you.
The fear of death grips mankind. Now remember, I have to say and confess that I loved my father, but he was a man gripped with the fear of death. I hope, and I believe, I think, that in his final hours he finally accepted Christ.
But fear—that is a tremendous thing. The Lord said, “You are not ready. How can you conquer if you are full of fear?” So the Lord sent away twenty-two thousand.
Then the Lord said, “Okay, there are ten thousand. But Gideon, that is way too many. You do not need ten thousand.”
He said, “Send them all down to the water and tell them to drink.” So they went down. Some of them just got down and put their faces in the water, you know, and drank all the water they could hold. Nine thousand seven hundred did it that way.
Three hundred cupped their hands, got the water, and drank. The Lord said, “Take the three hundred.”
What was going on there? The other nine thousand seven hundred were not ready either, because they were not being watchful. They were not ready for battle. They were not being watchful.
The Lord has told us in this last hour what? Watch and what? Pray. He did not say just pray. He says, “Watch and pray.”
Be aware. Be aware of what is happening in the spiritual atmosphere. Be aware of what is happening in the world and around you, and evaluate these things from a spiritual standpoint.
Let the Holy Spirit come and show you and evaluate. Watch and pray, lest you become overwhelmed by the enemy unawares. The enemy is trying to get into our lives in many ways.
So He found three hundred. In the end, one hundred and twenty thousand Midianites were put to flight by three hundred overcomers.
But what we need to see and what we need to know is that these three hundred were not in the battle just for their own lives, just for their own welfare. They were in the battle for the nation of Israel. They were standing for the whole nation.
They were not just considering what their personal gain might be from winning this battle. They did not consider themselves an elite group.
I know some people, when we talk about overcomers, say, “Well, you know, they just think they are an elite group.” Well, honestly, if you really think you are an overcomer, you probably are not.
Even Paul said, “I press on, not as if I have already attained, but I press on.”
The Lord will make the judgment. Brothers and sisters, it all tells me that we need to be aware of what the Lord’s need is in this last hour, and it is a need for brothers and sisters to overcome—and overcome together, not just for your own life, but for the sake of the body.
And how do we overcome? Well, prior to Revelation 7, prior to the overcomers coming into view, we have this revelation of the King of glory.
Prior to Revelation 14, the overcomers being raptured to the throne, there are those standing with the Lamb on Mount Zion. Before the battle of Armageddon, it says they are with the King, and He is the Lord of lords and King of kings.
At the end of the battle, it says the King comes on a white horse, and on His thigh and cloak are written, “King of kings, and Lord of lords.”
The point is this: we need to see the Lord. If you are going to be an overcomer, we need to see the Lord. Sometimes we need a fresh vision of the Lord.
You know, our vision can dim. Our lives can become cloudy. But we need to overcome. We need to see the Lord. I do not think there is any other way of coming through without seeing the Lord Jesus Christ.
Gideon himself did not move until he saw the Lord.
Secondly, we need to see the Lord as the overcomer. We need to see the Lord as the only overcomer.
Now, that may sound strange. On one hand, we are saying we need to be overcomers, but on the other hand, we are saying Christ is the only overcomer.
Brothers and sisters, when we discover this, it revolutionizes our life: Christ is the overcomer.
He is the One who overcame sin. He is the One who paid the price for sin. He overcame sin, and He also took our place on the cross. The flesh, our old man, was crucified there with Christ. He overcame.
He overcame the world. The world could not entice Him. The world could not offer Him anything. He accepted the cross rather than luxury and kingship in this world at that time. The world had no hold on our Lord Jesus. He overcame.
Even His self-life, which was a pure self-life, He did not choose to use. He was always depending on God. He said, “I can do nothing except the Father show Me. I can do nothing except the power comes from on high.”
“It is not My will, but the Father’s will.” He denied His self-life all His life. He overcame self. He overcame the enemy, Satan.
The enemy attacked Him. Our Lord Jesus was brought into death, and He overcame death, which is the greatest stronghold of the enemy. He overcame it. He is the overcomer.
He ascended back to the throne and reigns there today. He is the only One, brothers and sisters, who can overcome in your life.
You will never, in that sense, become an overcomer. You will not become an overcomer in yourself. It is Christ’s life in you that can overcome.
That is what we have got to learn to let live: the life of Christ. You know, when we talk about overcoming, we want to feel the strength. We want to feel the power. We want to feel the might.
But what did Paul say? Paul said, “I rejoice in my weakness,” that what? “That the power of God might rest upon me.” He rejoiced in his weakness. He did not struggle with his weakness; he rejoiced in it.
We see in the life of Paul one who did amazing things and went through tremendous suffering, and yet he overcame. But it was not Paul; it was Christ in Paul.
Paul is so clear about that: “I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.”
So how do you become overcomers? I think the first thing is that we need a fresh look at our Lord Jesus. Open our eyes. “Lord, open our eyes to really see You, see Who You are.” Give our hearts to Him.
In Romans 12:1, after we see all the marvelous work of the gospel and of the cross of Calvary, we get to that verse:
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
which is your spiritual service.
You have seen the Lord. You have seen all that He has done for you. Now give yourselves as a living sacrifice to Him. Then it goes on to say, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
Most of us here today realize the great work of Calvary and the fact that our Lord Jesus was the overcomer there. But do you really believe that the overcomer lives in you? Do you really believe that you can overcome because He is in your life?
When you face those circumstances that seem to be overwhelming, do you look and say, “Lord, these things are overwhelming, but Lord, You are the overcomer in my life. Lord, my whole mental condition is falling apart, but Lord Jesus, You can be my mind.”
The renewing of our mind.
Our mind—when we accept the Lord Jesus Christ, we have His life, but we have that old mind. That old mind likes the things it used to do. That old mind likes you to be in charge. That old mind has to get transformed.
It can only be transformed by seeing the Lord, being humbled in His presence, and believing His life in you.
I came across something that I might share more on later. I will just end with this about the great “but” in our lives.
Something like this: “Lord, I know I am in a terrible situation here. Lord, I know You won the victory on Calvary’s cross, but I am under it. I am done, done. Lord, I do not know what to do.”
“Lord, I have this decision to make, and I know You have told me that I could have the mind of Christ, but Lord, there is just this confusion in me. I just cannot figure it out.”
Whenever you are talking with somebody, you will say, “Fontaine, how are you doing today?” Fontaine will say, “I am doing okay. I am doing okay. But, Jerry, I have this pain in my hip.”
Right? We have had a lot of talk. I am not picking on Fontaine. I have pain in my hip, and I am not doing too well in my foot.
What is really happening in my brother’s life is what comes after the “but.” That is where we are living our lives. Often it is the self-issues that are after the “but.”
“Well, Lord Jesus, You have done everything for me on the cross. I know You have promised me everything. You made all these promises, and You told me I can overcome, but I am me. You know, Lord, I am me, and I do not think it is ever possible.”
The center is us. But reverse it for a moment. Just think about reversing it for a moment.
“Lord, I am not doing well. Lord, in fact, I am failing. Lord, I have failed You on this one matter so many times. Lord, it does not seem like I will ever overcome. But, Lord, You are Victor. You are the overcomer in my life. You are the One who will overcome.”
Do you see the difference? Do you see where faith comes in?
Think of our Lord Jesus Christ in the garden.
“Lord, take this cup from Me.” He was looking ahead at the cross. He did not even know what He was going to experience, brothers. He was God, but taking on the sins of the world, being separated from the Father—which He had never experienced—becoming sin on our behalf.
He was sorrowing unto death. It says His sweat was actually blood, so intense.
But there is that great “but.” He said, “Lord, if it is possible, take this cup from Me; but not My will, Thy will be done.”
You see where His heart was? You see where His center was? It was on God the Father.
Brothers and sisters, we need to be careful to keep our center not on ourselves and on our failures, but on Christ and His victory.
I am not talking about mind over matter here. I am talking about faith, because faith arises when we finally see the Lord and recognize that He is the Victor. All things are possible through this One, and we can look to Him.
Well, brothers and sisters, may we be encouraged not to give up. May we be encouraged to be a people of faith. The just shall live by faith, not by their feelings. The just shall live by faith.
Lord, we just come to You today. I feel so inadequate, but Lord, I just pray that You will touch our hearts in these days. Renew our eyes to be open to see You—Who You really are and what You have done.
Lord, give us faith—faith in Who You are and what You have done—that we would not be so anchored down with consideration of ourselves that we cannot see You.
Lord, I pray that You will open the eyes of our hearts once again. In Jesus’ name, amen.