We, the church, are commissioned by Jesus to overcome in this wilderness of this world.
In the book of Revelation chapter 2-3, Jesus said the following to the seven churches:
Revelation 2: 7 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.
Revelation 2:11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Revelation 2:17 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.
Revelation 2:26-28 And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
And I will give him the morning star.
Revelation 3:5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.
Revelation 3:12 Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.
Revelation 3:21 To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
***
John said:
I John 2:13 ... I write unto you, young men, because ye have overcome the wicked one. ...
And again, in I John 2:14, John said ... I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.
***
The only way the circumstances of this life overcome those of us who have the Holy Spirit is that we are failing to pray, and failing to wait on God, and failing to do things according to the will of God.
If we are debating and arguing and striving in order to overcome, we are not going in the way of God because those are the ways of the flesh. Galatians 5:19-21
The way of God is peace, joy, patience.
*****
On October 29, 2018, I became entangled in a long robe and twisted and fell and broke, fractured, several bones in my right arm.
This was a terribly painful experience, excruciatingly painful. But during the weeks that followed, I had many opportunities to deal with secular matters and overcome through asking God what to do about the problem.
James 1:5 If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.
***
This is the essence of overcoming.
We overcome problems by turning to God in prayer, by doing what we believe is right in the sight of God, and by succeeding through what God shows us in overcoming the problem.
If we complain to other people, and murmur, and are downtrodden by the problem, feeling it should not have happened to us, we are condemned in the wilderness. It is wrong to do this. God gives us multiple examples of those who bring negative evil reports, and the outcome for those people is not good.
When God sent the children of Israel to spy out the land in Numbers 13-14, they returned saying it indeed had very good fruits in the land. They brought back samples of the grapes. They were very large and very good. But they brought an evil report along with the good fruit, and the evil report was there were giants in the land. They were not able to overcome, yet God had given them the land and told them to go in there. They did not have faith in that which God said to them.
***
Today God has given us this land. HE has made us kings and priests. We are to reign on this earth in this present time as we live here.
We are to overcome in this wilderness through God.
Overcoming is a sign of turning to God and receiving wisdom from God and applying proper applications to the problem. When we do this we marvel in God's wisdom.
Failing to overcome is a sign that we have not turned to God properly, nor heard from God properly, nor followed God properly.
Therefore, failure to overcome is unacceptable for us as Christians.
If you want to please God while you live on this earth, you must overcome through God, for that shows that you belong to God, that you are turning to God, and that you are doing what God shows you to do.
I Corinthians 10:5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
Definitions of overcome:
- succeed in dealing with a problem or difficulty
- control, bring under control, get under control
- master, conquer, defeat
- prevail against
Bringing a negative report is failure to overcome the problem. We must not do this. We must work through the problem until we have the proper solution by prayer.
We apply the solution, and we report to the church that which is good, not that which is evil.
Negative reports are evil. They steal peace and joy and even faith. If you bring a negative report you may end up being like those who brought a negative report when they were sent to search out the land. God ended up killing them in the wilderness.
Paul gave us these examples by the Spirit of God in I Corinthians 10. He said these things happened to them in the wilderness as examples for us, as admonitions, that we would not do as they did in the wilderness.
***
We overcome in this wilderness of life, in the circumstances of this life, by putting our faith in God as we turn to God in prayer, laying out the whole situation before God with all our heart, and doing that which God shows us by HIS Spirit.
Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (through the WORD).
We overcome problems by turning to God in prayer, by doing what we believe is right in the sight of God, and by succeeding through what God shows us in overcoming the problem.
If we complain to other people, and murmur, and are downtrodden by the problem, feeling it should not have happened to us, we are condemned in the wilderness. It is wrong to do this. God gives us multiple examples of those who bring negative evil reports, and the outcome for those people is not good.
When God sent the children of Israel to spy out the land in Numbers 13-14, they returned saying it indeed had very good fruits in the land. They brought back samples of the grapes. They were very large and very good. But they brought an evil report along with the good fruit, and the evil report was there were giants in the land. They were not able to overcome, yet God had given them the land and told them to go in there. They did not have faith in that which God said to them.
***
Today God has given us this land. HE has made us kings and priests. We are to reign on this earth in this present time as we live here.
We are to overcome in this wilderness through God.
Overcoming is a sign of turning to God and receiving wisdom from God and applying proper applications to the problem. When we do this we marvel in God's wisdom.
Failing to overcome is a sign that we have not turned to God properly, nor heard from God properly, nor followed God properly.
Therefore, failure to overcome is unacceptable for us as Christians.
If you want to please God while you live on this earth, you must overcome through God, for that shows that you belong to God, that you are turning to God, and that you are doing what God shows you to do.
I Corinthians 10:5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
Definitions of overcome:
- succeed in dealing with a problem or difficulty
- control, bring under control, get under control
- master, conquer, defeat
- prevail against
Bringing a negative report is failure to overcome the problem. We must not do this. We must work through the problem until we have the proper solution by prayer.
We apply the solution, and we report to the church that which is good, not that which is evil.
Negative reports are evil. They steal peace and joy and even faith. If you bring a negative report you may end up being like those who brought a negative report when they were sent to search out the land. God ended up killing them in the wilderness.
Paul gave us these examples by the Spirit of God in I Corinthians 10. He said these things happened to them in the wilderness as examples for us, as admonitions, that we would not do as they did in the wilderness.
***
We overcome in this wilderness of life, in the circumstances of this life, by putting our faith in God as we turn to God in prayer, laying out the whole situation before God with all our heart, and doing that which God shows us by HIS Spirit.
Philippians 4:6-7 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (through the WORD).
*****