Good morning, Saints.
All things are possible. The only reason for that is because of Christ. He has made all things possible.
I like that song because it emphasizes what we have so much trouble with, and that is believing. You know, the sin that so easily besets us really is unbelief.
And I just pray that, in sharing what we have on this matter of overcomers and the overcoming life, we will be brought back into the freshness of the life of Christ through faith—that our hearts will be encouraged to believe.
I think, as we go on in our Christian life, sometimes we get to that point where we say, “It’ll just never happen with me.” Well, that’s not true. It’s just not true. But the enemy wants us to believe that.
So all things are possible in God. I hope the Lord will encourage us this morning. Let’s begin with a word of prayer.
Lord, we are so grateful to Thee that a whole new realm, a whole new kingdom, a whole new way of life has been opened unto us through Calvary’s cross, Lord.
Lord, not only our salvation, our eternal life in Thee, but, Lord, a whole new life—a whole new way. And yet, Lord, for so many of us, we do not seem to find that pathway through. We find ourselves on rabbit trails and off here and there. And, Lord, we miss so much. We miss so much.
But, Lord, when I look at the very end, I know it’s all real. When I look at that new city, Lord, with You, it’s done, it’s finished, it’s there, and we are part of it without spot or wrinkle. Oh, seemingly so impossible. But with God, all things are possible.
Lord, bring us into the reality of what You have accomplished in Christ. Lord, do not leave us. Do not let us go until we enter into the rest in Christ that You’ve provided for us, into that great promised land.
Oh Lord, I remember the nation of Israel—how little they really possessed. O Lord, the world lies ahead of us, this new realm. Lord, we want to possess all in Christ.
Lord, enlighten us today. Lord, give us revelation of the truth that we have in Christ. Lord, open our eyes and ears. O Lord Jesus, that we might find ourselves living this life of the overcomer, not for our sakes, Lord, but for Thine. We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Well, I will have to do a little review today for those who have not heard some of the previous messages. You really won’t understand, I don’t think, what I’m sharing this morning without a little background. So I will try to give a quick review this morning.
We’ve been talking on this matter of overcomers because, when we came to that seventh chapter of Revelation, we see this great crowd of those in linen, white garments—the overcomers down through the church ages.
God looks upon these overcomers, and He said, “I can move on with the opening of the seals, because I see it. I see some of the reality there in these ones, these overcomers.”
Brothers and sisters, when we speak of overcoming, I want to say, eventually we will come to realize, each one of us in our lives with Christ, that there’s only one Overcomer, and that Overcomer is our Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only Overcomer.
But the great and marvelous thing is that when you accepted the Lord Jesus Christ, His life came into you, and that life is His life. It’s overcoming life. And that is the life that we’ve all been called to live.
When we speak of overcomers, we’re not trying to lift up some special group or form some spiritual elite. It’s God’s intention that every one of His saints be an overcomer. That’s the life we’re called to—all are called to that life in Christ Jesus, all Christians.
But when we as Christians fail in our testimony in Christ, when the church in general fails in its testimony, God uses His own way. And the way He does it is through overcomers.
Now, the principle of the overcomer in the New Testament is the same as in the Old Testament. In the Old Testament, it was the remnant. God always looked to that remnant that would come through in the victory of God and in that stand for what God wanted.
And I remember we shared on the story of Gideon, how he was able to conquer two hundred thousand Midianites with only three hundred overcomers. So it is God’s way in the days of declension, which we certainly are in this hour, just before His return.
We’ve talked about the overcomer as so critical in God’s plan. If you look through the Book of Revelation, He uses the overcomer to bring the church into that place of maturity, to the New Jerusalem; also, critical in the restoration of the nation of Israel; and lastly, to bring the nations into compliance—the sheep nations, as we will see later on.
All through the Book of Revelation, overcomers were prevalent at key junctures in this advance towards the kingdom age.
We saw them in the early church, in the first century. We saw them right before the beginning of the great tribulation. We saw them actually before the opening of the seals, and then before the great tribulation. And then, at the beginning of the Lord’s return, they come into view again; and just before the rapture of the church and the judgment seat of Christ, we see them; and before the Battle of Armageddon and immediately near the end of it, we see this matter of overcomers.
We talked on the matter of the character of the overcomers. In a few simple words, they follow the Lamb. They just follow the Lamb.
If it’s to Gethsemane and suffering, if it’s to the cross, they go to the cross. But eventually, if they do, they will follow the Lamb to the throne and reign and rule with Him. They follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.
They are the called, the chosen, the faithful. All are called to be overcomers. The ones that are faithful find out that they’ve been chosen—the chosen.
And the other thing I mentioned and emphasized from the ones on Mount Zion that we saw: they had a new song in their heart. Nobody else could sing it but them. It was because of their deep experiences with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Last time I shared, we talked about entering the overcoming life. And it’s by faith that we enter the overcoming life.
He becomes your source of life when you accept the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s your source. So you become initiated into the overcoming life when you accept the Lord Jesus Christ. You no longer become your source. Your natural life is not your source of life. It’s really to be Christ and not yourself.
We also talked somewhat about living the overcoming life. You know, Paul said we needed to walk worthy of our Lord Jesus Christ, worthy of our calling in Him.
Well, last time we talked about how Christians now live in two realms. Unbelievers can only live in one realm, and that is the temporal realm—the realm in which they experience every day when they wake up and go to sleep at night.
But for Christians, not only do we wake up and go to sleep, but we are in the eternal. Ephesians says we are seated with Christ in the heavenlies. Because you’re in Christ, you have entered the eternal realm where Christ is.
It’s something that is the great consequence of accepting the Lord Jesus Christ in your life: another realm, two realms.
Unfortunately, I’m concerned that as we go through our Christian life, it seems like we interrelate with the temporal much more than we do the eternal. And you’ll see what I mean a little later.
But in the eternal realm, everything is present. Everything is present. That’s why God—when you look at the end of Revelation, the New Jerusalem, to us it’s future—but in the eternal, it’s present. It’s now. It’s fixed, it’s done, it’s complete. God has completed it. It is secure in Christ.
But we will be a part of that city. We live in the temporal realm as well, and in the temporal realm, we are becoming. In the eternal realm, it is the realm of “I am.” In the temporal realm, the realm in which we live every day, it is the realm of “I am becoming.”
And I mentioned just a couple of Scriptures to help. In the eternal realm, it says in Hebrews 10:14 that He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified in Christ. We find out that we’re perfected already in Christ.
But in 1 Peter 5:10, it says after you have suffered for a while, God will make you perfect. So in the temporal realm that we live every day, in our physical bodies, we are becoming what we already are in Christ.
His ways are higher than our ways and man’s ways. He starts with the completed thing and then brings us into it. The world works just the opposite. It tries to take what we are and transform what we are into something else.
But the Lord says, “No, that’s not My way. I have you perfect and complete already in the spiritual, eternal realm, and now I am transforming you into that.”
But the basis is, I’m not transforming the old man into the new. I’m transforming that man that you are when you receive Jesus Christ in your life. It’s My life in you that I’m bringing through to completion. And the old, I have sentenced to crucify at the cross of Calvary.
Well, how are we transformed? It says, “The just shall live by faith.” Not only do you receive this new realm, or enter into it, by faith; you also have to learn to live by faith.
And that’s very hard for us people. We’re so used to the old way of living and depending on our mind, our will, and our emotions to get us through that we forget how to live by faith. But the eternal is obtained through faith, and that’s the only way you can obtain it.
Now, I want to share this morning a little bit more on this transforming work and living the overcoming life.
Let’s look at Romans 12:1. Romans 12:1.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
That means your whole being—a living sacrifice. We have come into Christ. We have received Christ. And we need to go back and say, “I’m going to consecrate my life. I have this new life, God, and I’m going to consecrate that new life to You.”
You’re not consecrating the old; you’re consecrating the new unto Him.
And then He goes on to say:
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.
The world wants you to operate the way you always have been—loving it, desiring it, living for it, working according to its ways. But He says, “I want you to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
The renewing of the mind, brothers and sisters—this is a critical part of the process of the overcoming life. If we don’t do something about the fundamental way that we think, then we’ll find that our mind, our old mind, our old way of thinking, will dominate our lives. And we will not be living in the consecrated life that we should be.
It is the new man that God is after. But the problem is, when you accept Christ, you still have this old mind, this old way of thinking, and that needs to go through a transforming work as well.
So how does the mind get transformed? It is through faith. You have to begin to center your life and your thinking on the Lord and His truth.
Just a simple example: “Lord, I’m having a tough time living this life, but Lord, You’re the life. It’s Your life. It’s Your life that can live. Your Word says so. I believe it. I believe You, Lord, more than what I feel inside. I believe You.”
By believing what is really true in the eternal, God will begin to make it real and effective in your temporal life and living.
So this matter of transforming our minds is essential to maintaining our life of faith and the overcoming life.
You know, our minds are something else. We allow a lot of stuff in our minds that we just shouldn’t even say. We should say no to it when it hits us, you know?
But our fundamental thinking goes something like this: “The Word says, ‘I’m complete in Christ,’ but I know I’m not complete. I know I’m a mess. And just look.” And the enemy says, “You’re right. You are a mess.”
And he says, “It’s hopeless. You know, I’ve been striving and struggling with this, to be what the Lord wants me to be, all these years. I’m still failing. My life is more centered around failing and asking forgiveness than it is on triumphant life, victorious life in Christ. I find that I’m more performing than I am believing what the Lord has done.”
So your old mindset says, “It’s impossible.” That’s why I wanted to sing this song this morning: all things are possible. Our mindset is beginning to say to us, “It is an impossible life.”
Well, as long as you’re trying to struggle through in the strength of your old man and the natural life, it is impossible. But the problem with that is our mind is focused on ourselves—what we are not—instead of being focused on what we are in Christ.
How critical this is, brothers and sisters, to really lay hold of. You know, this morning, we talked about entering the promised land, possessing it. Right? We talked about that. You know who your promised land is? It’s Christ. And we’re to enter that land and we’re to possess it.
But as long as we’re focused on ourselves—and somewhere, if you remember, two and a half tribes never crossed that river—they were so focused on themselves and the richness of land on the other side of the river, where they could grow their crops, that they just never went in and possessed what God had for them.
It was self that they were more interested in, centered upon, rather than God’s promise: “I promise you the land flowing with milk and honey. Possess it.”
So our minds need to be transformed. How are they transformed? By believing the truth—by believing the truth, not false things; not things that you think might be sometime, but believing the truth as it is in Christ.
Christ is our righteousness, our sanctification, our completion, our fullness. Do you believe in Christ? Then you should believe that there is a fullness that you can possess. There is a completeness that you can possess, and you will become by centering your life and heart on what has been accomplished in Christ.
That is your foundation, your salvation. When you finally believed in Christ and you received salvation, brothers and sisters, it was something done two thousand years ago on Calvary’s cross. It was done, completed. It was in God’s heart from eternity past.
It was done then, but Christ had to come and live in the temporal and complete that work in the temporal, and make what was real in the eternal real down here. And His salvation was made real to you when you accepted Him by faith in Christ Jesus.
And you possessed salvation. You possessed eternal life because of that act of faith. And, brothers and sisters, that is the beginning of our life. But our whole life is a life of faith and laying hold of our possessions in Jesus Christ.
What is the secret to keeping Christ as the source, as the center of your life? Well, I do have a few thoughts that I think might be helpful.
Let’s look at Matthew 19:26. Matthew 19:26.
Maybe I better go back to verse 23 to get a little background. The rich young ruler had come to Christ and asked Him what he could do to possess eternal life.
And He said, “Well, you know, you’ve got to follow the Ten Commandments.” And he said, “Well, yeah, I’ve done these things.” And finally the Lord said, “There’s one thing you lack. You’ve got to sell everything you’ve got.” He was rich. “You’ve got to sell it all and give it to the poor and follow Me.”
You remember that story, because the rich young ruler—the Lord had looked upon him and loved him—but he went away in despair and in sadness. And we can live our Christian life like that.
To him, it was just impossible. What Christ had asked him to do was absolutely impossible.
So let’s get to verse 23:
Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
The disciples were exceedingly amazed, saying, “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus beheld them. In other words, He looked them right in the eye. He looked deeply into them.
And He said:
With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Brothers and sisters, we’ve entered into the realm of possibility—the possible. We’ve kind of left the impossible. The impossible realm is in the temporal, but in the eternal, we have the possible in Christ. With man, it’s impossible.
Brothers and sisters, when we hear things like this, our immediate reaction, because of our old way of thinking, is, “This life of overcoming is impossible.” And it stops us in our tracks.
Because our old man, the old natural life, fully agrees with this: it is impossible to live this overcoming life. That’s the old mind, and it stops you immediately in your tracks. And you, like the rich young ruler, will go off in despair and dismay.
Oh, if this young man had only had a little faith.
Well, he went away in despair. But there’s more to this verse. He says, “With men, it is impossible.” But there’s a big word right here. He says, “But.”
Now, remember John Ratchett every time I talk about this word, “but,” because John’s always saying, “But God.”
But with God, all things are possible.
This little— I don’t want to use “magic”—this amazing little word, but, transforms everything. It transforms you from the impossible to the possible.
But. With God. All things are possible.
Notice, the word but is the transition. It is the point of faith that we need to come to.
Before the but, we see what we are in the temporal realm: impossible. This life is impossible. And when we come to the but, it is the point of faith, and it says, “But with God all things are possible.”
Brothers and sisters, in your personal life, if you come to those places where you say, “Boy, this is impossible. It looks totally impossible,” do you go on to use the word but? “But with God, all things are possible.”
It is the transition point. This little word, B-U-T, is an amazing little word and powerful.
When we hear the word impossible, or it comes in our mind—the word impossible—our old mind says it’s time to just stop and give up. If you can just get to the but—but—all things are possible in God.
In other words, it’s not over. It doesn’t have to be over because of your past failures. You can triumph and live this overcoming life. All things are possible with God.
Brothers and sisters, when you get to the word but, if you can say, “But with God, all things are possible,” what happens? Faith. Faith arises in your heart.
It generates faith because you’re not looking at yourself any longer. You’re looking at Christ and what He’s accomplished. And you have to say, when you see Christ, “All things are possible.”
Now you’re no longer centered on yourself, but you are centered on Christ. Your source is now God and Christ, and not your old life.
You know, it’s okay to recognize the facts that we experience in our temporal life. It does seem impossible. It’s okay to say, “Lord, this seems like an impossible life to live.”
As long as you can come to the but: “But, Lord, You said all things are possible. I can live it because of You.” That’s where your faith comes in. It generates faith. It’s what comes after the but that counts.
I think you find that true of Christians and non-Christians both. It’s always what we say after the but that’s really on our minds and hearts, that we really are thinking about, that we really feel.
I’ll give you a couple of examples. “Well, how are you feeling today, Jerry?” “Well, I’m okay, but I had arthritis get me down last week, and I had a couple of problems at work, and it’s just been awful.”
Now, where am I living? Am I living in “It’s okay,” or am I living in all of the problems? I’m living in all of the problems, because that’s what’s important. That’s what I see. It’s after the but.
“How was your trip to Disney World?” I’ll try to make it a little more simple.
“Well, it was good to get away, but the weather was hot, the lines were long, and it cost everything down there. It was sky-high cost. I was glad to get home.”
Now, what was important to this dad? Yeah, I got away, but boy, I paid the price. I went down there, and the lines were terrible. I was hot. I just wanted to get home. That’s where he was.
But let’s reverse it a little bit. “How was your trip to Disney World?”
“Well, the lines were long and it was hot. Everything was pretty high, very costly. But you know what? I had the best time I had in my life, and the kids loved it, and it was worth everything just to be with them and see how much joy they were having. It was really a thrill to be down there.”
Now, where is this guy? He’s living after the but. But in this case, instead of all of the issues and the problems, he’s seeing the good of what happened. So that’s the way we live. It’s always what we put after the but. It’s what we really think is important.
Another example: “You know, God loves me, but I really am beginning to wonder. I’ve had so many difficulties lately in my life, and I just don’t know where He is. It doesn’t seem like He cares anymore.”
Now, where are you living? You’re living in the old life, and the old man that notices all of the tragedy and the problems.
But what if they said, “You know, I’m having a tough time, and sometimes I even wonder if God is there. But you know what? I know God loves me.”
Now where is faith, brothers and sisters? You see the difference?
“Well, I know God is my sufficiency, but could you lend me a hundred dollars?” I didn’t get any laughs. Now I got a wife—thank you, you got with me.
In other words, it was the money. He needed the money. That was the primary. God being his sufficiency wasn’t primary; it came before the but.
But what if he had reversed it and said, “You know, I’m broke. I’m out of money. I don’t know how I’m going to make it, but God has promised to take care of me. God is my sufficiency, and I am trusting Him.”
Is that not the life of faith we’ve been called to?
“You know, I know God says He’ll give us wisdom. He’s our wisdom, but frankly, I have no clue. I’m just totally confused.”
You know, it could be the other way: “You know, right now I don’t have any clue, Lord. I’m confused. I can’t seem to find the answer, but You are my wisdom, Lord, and that’s what I’m depending on.” Faith.
When we begin to think in the old way, putting God before the but, so to speak, instead of after, we find ourselves living—listen to this—you’re living in your circumstances. And there is what’s controlling your life: your circumstances are in control.
All you can do at that point, if you stay in that mode, is hope that your circumstances will change for the better. Now, God, in His mercy, a lot of times in our lives does change our circumstances. But we as Christians also know that sometimes He doesn’t change our circumstances.
What He wants us to do, brothers and sisters, regardless of our circumstances, is learn how to live with Him as the source of our life and our overcoming.
You know, the enemy, if you put God before that but—“You know, God loves me, but I really wonder”—oh, the enemy loves that. He says, “I got him now. I got him in my grip. All he’s thinking about is himself. He’s the center. He’s trying to find a way out, and I’ve got control of that.”
However, how dramatically it changes when we can say, “My circumstances are tough. I’m in a hard place, and I wonder sometimes. But you know, I know God loves me. He said in His Word He’ll never forsake me. He’ll love me to the end. I believe that.”
The enemy cringes. He has to leave that ground.
Our enemy gets concerned when God is the primary thing—Christ and His work on Calvary’s cross is the primary thing in our life. And that’s when it comes after the but.
I’ve got a few more examples. I think examples help us.
“I’m very weak. I’m weak physically, but God is my strength. I will make it through.”
“I’m very sorrowful. This situation has brought great sorrow into my heart, but Christ is my joy. He’s my life. He is my peace.”
“I’m very tired. I’m very tired, and I just feel like staying home. But the Lord has called me to, invited me to, His table. That’s important to the Lord. He will quicken me.”
We could say the same thing, I think, about prayer meeting. Boy, I don’t know of any night of the week I have more tiredness in these bones than Wednesday night.
And am I going to submit to that thought, that old way of mind-thinking? Or am I going to say, “But God will quicken me if I go?”
And you know, brothers and sisters, I don’t know about you, but I really do. When I come on Wednesday nights, I depend on the Lord’s quickening. I really do.
And that came from a long, many-years-ago experience that I had, and the Lord showed me that great lesson: that if I would come, He would quicken.
“I’m under attack. I know the enemy is attacking me, but Christ is the Victor. Christ is my Victor. I know he can attack; it’s been allowed, but Christ is my Victor.”
And as you believe that, as you see that, lay hold of that, possess that, you will find yourself in victory. Even if the circumstance doesn’t change, you will be in victory.
The but, the B-U-T, is the bridge that moves you from the stuff of life to faith in Christ.
Brothers and sisters, it’s important: you don’t have to deny the negative. Some Christians have this thinking that they have to deny the negative. “You know, I’m not sick. You know, I’m not in that condition.”
Well, that’s your real condition in the temporal. That’s okay. You don’t have to deny what you’re experiencing in your soul. But you don’t have to despair either, if you can just get to the but.
“But God. But Christ. With Him, all things are possible.” The but moves you from the level of the soul, operating in your soul life, to the level of operating in the spirit by faith. That’s the difference.
And when you do that, that opens the door for Christ to really come in. It opens the door to His power in your life, even if the situation stays the same.
Think about our Lord Jesus Christ for a moment. He was in the eternal. He always was in the eternal, but He lived in the temporal, didn’t He? He came, He lived on this earth as a man. He grew as a man, from a babe to a man.
He lived in the past, present, and future here. He had a past, present, and future. In the eternal, everything was present.
But what of our Lord? What was His center?
In the garden, He says:
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me: nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt.
He did not deny the turmoil in His soul at that point. He was facing having to become sin for everybody, that He might be judged by God—something that He didn’t know about. He’d never sinned. He had no idea, a thought, of what sin really would do to Him personally.
He said, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from Me.” Remember, He did it three times.
He did not deny the trouble in His soul. As a matter of fact, He was so troubled that the Word says God sent angels to help support Him at that time. The disciples couldn’t. They were asleep. They couldn’t handle that hour.
It was an overwhelming time for our Lord Jesus Christ. He did not deny what He was feeling or the turmoil in His soul.
However, He did come to the but: “But not My will; Thine be done.”
His source of life was the Father. When He said that, He was declaring His source of life was not Himself, to be able to make it through the cross in this temporal realm. But He could make it through in this temporal realm because His source, His life, was the Father’s life.
And that’s what He laid hold of at that time: “Not My will, but Thine be done, Lord.” He put God after the but.
He chose the Father to be the center and source of His life, and therefore He endured the cross, brothers and sisters.
It’s okay to express your feelings, your thoughts, the turmoil you may be experiencing. Just put them first, before the but. But please do come to the but.
Let’s look a little more. I want to really, obviously, emphasize this. Let’s go to Psalm 13.
Look at David. David was a—I wanted to say a master at this—but it was David’s heart. That’s the way his life with the Lord was. He lived in the strength of the Lord. He knew his own weaknesses.
Let’s begin, Psalm 13, verse 1:
How long wilt Thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?
How long wilt Thou hide Thy face from me?
How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart daily?
How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?
How dark a situation that David is in. He doesn’t deny his situation. He tells the Lord exactly how it is and what he’s feeling, and describes his circumstances before the Lord. He’s in a deep, dark place.
But then he cries out, listen:
Consider and hear me, O Lord my God:
Lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;
Lest mine enemy say, I have prevailed against him;
And those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.
He’s desperate. This is a desperate man. And I think we’ve all probably been in that place.
But here’s the critical point, verse 5:
But I have trusted in Thy mercy;
My heart shall rejoice in Thy salvation.
I will sing unto the Lord,
Because He hath dealt bountifully with me.
You see the difference? He’s come to faith. His center and source is now Christ—God—not himself. He realizes he’s not going to make it through this dark place that he’s in, but he’s confident he will because God has shown him mercy.
And he says, “I will rejoice in Your salvation,” and there he’s talking about the salvation from his existing condition.
So you see that in the Scriptures: it’s faith. And David had learned to live by faith. His situation had not changed at that point. The situation was still tough and difficult, but God was his source of life. Christ became his source. It was through faith, and he overcame through faith.
Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 4:7-12.
We have this treasure—there we go—we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
Here’s the premise right up front. We are weak. In ourselves, we’re just earthen vessels. But we have the excellency of the power within us that demonstrates the great power of God, that it is of God and not of us.
We’re troubled. Listen to this. In this, what you see in the beginning is Paul’s perspective in the temporal. But then he shows God’s perspective of his situation in the eternal. Listen to this:
We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed;
We are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not forsaken;
Cast down, but not destroyed.
Where’s his emphasis? Our brother has already confessed that he’s distressed, perplexed, persecuted, but he also declares, “I’m not distressed. I’m not in despair, and I’m not forsaken, and I’m not destroyed in Christ.” That’s faith.
Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
That’s why this is so important. In the temporal, we suffer the dying of the Lord Jesus in our circumstances. They’re brought, and it brings us down. But we also demonstrate His resurrection life when we can say, “But I’m not in despair, I’m not forsaken, and I’m not destroyed.”
Verse 11:
For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
Paul was basically saying, “My circumstances have come about because God wants to demonstrate His life in me.” And that’s what He’s doing in all of us. And it is a life of faith.
When we put the things of God, the way God sees things, after the but, we really bring in God’s perspective to the situation. Doesn’t that really change how you look at it—your circumstance?
When you read those Scriptures again when you go home, you’ll see how that great change is made. The circumstances no longer have control of Paul. They’re not in control. It is the Lord that is in control, and he realizes that. And it’s for God’s glory that he’s going through this.
Brothers and sisters, I think in our lives we all have our difficult circumstances. Are we going to live under them? Are they what’s going to control our life, and we’re just hoping that somehow those circumstances will change?
Or can we put Christ after the but and say, “But God, with God all things are possible”? When you do that, brothers and sisters, you experience His life in you.
Doubt may be one of our biggest enemies. We want to see the evidence of things before we can believe.
Listen to this: when I’m talking about possessing what’s in the eternal, our thinking is, “Well, Lord, if You’ll just demonstrate that first to me, then I’ll believe it.” But the Lord doesn’t work that way.
The Lord says, “No, you have to have faith first. Then I will show it and demonstrate it in your life.”
I like what a brother said. He said, “You must affirm before God will confirm.”
You must affirm before God will confirm.
Brothers and sisters, I only offer this this morning to show us where we really are, and how we do need to change our way of thinking as Christians.
Now, there’s one last thing. I’ve got a few minutes left that is so critical—an absolute for this life of overcoming.
If you really want to keep Christ as the source, keep Him after the but, so to speak, there’s one thing absolutely critical, and that is fellowship with the Lord Himself.
You have to have fellowship with the Overcomer if you expect to overcome. Otherwise, what I’ve just shared about putting things after the but just becomes a technique for you.
And that technique will fail you if your heart isn’t in it—a heart of belief. And I think faith really comes from fellowship with the Lord Himself. That’s where your faith comes from.
That’s when, out of fellowship, you can say, “But God. But God.” To keep Him as the center and source, you have to have fellowship. Otherwise, you will become, once again, the center of your life.
Let me say it another way. You need the light that you gain in fellowship with God to keep the darkness out of your life.
Darkness is interesting. Darkness—listen to this—darkness is the absence of light.
Darkness is the absence of light. Wherever there is light, the darkness disappears. That’s why fellowship in light with God and Christ is so critical: to drive the darkness out.
Otherwise, we tend to live in the darkness, and our minds go back to the old way of thinking. And the law of sin and death begins to overwhelm and take the place of the law of life in Christ in your life. You go back under it for the lack of fellowship.
Darkness is the absence of light, and light is the only way to dispel darkness. Fellowship is absolutely critical.
Let’s look in John. I’ll finish in a minute. John 15:4. This great chapter of John 15—if you ever want to know how much the Lord loves you, look at John 15. Look at the cross first, then look at John 15.
John 15:4. First three words: “Abide in Me.”
Abide in Me, and I in you.
Brothers and sisters, that is a command to the Christian. That is not just a desire of the Lord; it is a command of the Lord: “Abide in Me.” Dwell in the Lord.
Dwelling in the Lord is required for the Christian walk. Living in this temporal life, you’re going to have to dwell in Him. You have to have that light.
John 15:4: “Abide in Me.” If you don’t, then the natural life and the old mind will take over, and your self-life will dominate your life instead of the life of Christ.
Once again, the law of sin and death is counteracted by the law of life. But if you’re not doing the things to strengthen your life in Christ, then the law of sin and death begins to weigh you down and pull you under.
John 15:5, very pointed. John 15:5, the last part of that verse:
Without Me ye can do nothing.
Listen: without Me, you can do nothing.
Wow, does that not explain a lot of our life, a lot of our failure? Because we’re trying to do it without Him. “Without Me ye can do nothing.”
Brothers and sisters, I think our life in the Lord is very much like iron. We’re like that iron rod.
An iron rod is black, cold, and hard in itself.
But if you put that iron rod into a fiery furnace, boy, it begins to glow red hot, and it becomes very pliable. The glory of the iron comes forth. It’s just a bright mass, a brilliant mass. That’s glory. It’s the life of Christ.
And as long as the iron is in the fire, in the presence of the fire—and of course I’m talking about abiding in Christ—if you’re abiding in Christ, in the presence of the fire, brothers and sisters, it’s glorious.
The iron has transformed into something marvelous. But as soon as you withdraw it from the fire, it returns to its hard, cold, black condition.
That’s why abiding in the Lord, fellowship in the Lord, is so critical, and actually may be one of the greatest reasons we fail in the life of overcoming.
Lord, we do come to You this morning. I just want to say, Lord, with man it is impossible; with God all things are possible.
Lord, we want to be overcomers. We want to have You as the source and center of life, and really be able to enter and live in the eternal as well as this temporal, Lord.
Lord, we are thankful that You’ve done something in the eternal that cannot be changed, cannot be lost, cannot be done away with. Lord, we are found to be complete in Christ, perfect in Christ.
And Lord Jesus, oh Lord, may we learn to live in the realm of the “I am.”
Lord, it is what You’ve done and completed that is the foundation of our Christian life. Lord, I am, and because I am, I am becoming.
Thank You, Lord. Lord, what a great work of Calvary. What a great thing You’ve done. Lord, how we bless and worship You this morning.
Lord, with man all things are impossible, really, but with God all things are possible. Amen.