“THIS IS HOW WE OVERCOME”
Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
Revelation 12:10-11
“An overcomer is one who, by God’s grace received through faith in Christ, has experienced the new birth and remains constant in victory over sin, the world and Satan. Surrounded by great opposition and rebellion, overcomers refuse to conform to the world and to any ungodliness within the visible church. They hear and respond to what the Spirit says to the churches, remain faithful to Christ to the very end and accept only God’s standard revealed in his holy Word. Note that we either overcome sin, the world and Satan, or we are overcome by them and are ultimately thrown into the lake of fire. There is no intermediate group” (FLSB).
1. WE OVERCOME BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB
And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
Hebrews 9:22
--Too much of the church has forsaken the blood in search of a more “appealing” gospel
--From Genesis through Revelation runs a trail of blood that is necessary to us overcoming
--The blood of Christ is the most powerful substance in the history of the world; but it is only beneficial to you and me if we apply it to our lives.
*14 Scriptural blessings of the blood of Christ
1. Atonement for the soul (Rom 5:11)
2. Remission of sins (Heb 9:22)
3. Life and peace (Col 1:20)
4. Redemption (Eph 1:7)
5. Justification (Rom 5:9)
6. Made nigh (Eph 2:13)
7. Pure conscience (Heb 9:14)
8. Cleansing from sin (1 Jn 1:7)
9. Sanctification (Heb 10:10-14)
10. New covenant (Mt 26:28)
11. New birth (1 Pet 1:18-23)
12. Overcoming power (Rev 12:11)
13. Church membership (Acts 20:28)
14. Salvation (Heb 9:15)
2. WE OVERCOME BY THE WORD OF OUR TESTIMONY
--Don’t despise your own testimony!!
--Each test that God brings us through is another testimony to His power and work in our lives
--What God has done for you should serve as a constant reminder of His goodness as well as a faith builder for what He can do in your current situation
--The greatest victory God ever provided for us was our personal salvation. Nothing we ever face will be as important or as difficult as that victory . . ., so why don’t we trust Him more?
*The biggest reason many are overcome rather than overcoming is that they quickly forget what God has done and can do!
**Psalm 78:9-11,40-43 (Psalm of warning, instruction, and teaching)
--This generation of Israelites who had seen God’s power displayed time and again were guilty of forgetting God and as a result they didn’t receive their inheritance
--An overcomer sees his/her current test as an opportunity for God’s power to produce another testimony (Psalm 77)
**WHENEVER THINGS WOULD GET DIFFICULT, ISRAEL WOULD QUICKLY FORGET GOD AND LONG FOR EGYPT. A SURE SIGN OF NOT BEING AN OVERCOMER IS WHEN YOU ELEVATE YOUR FORMER BONDAGE OVER YOUR CURRENT SITUATION
3. WE OVERCOME WHEN WE NO LONGER LOVE OUR LIVES MORE THAN WE LOVE OUR LORD
I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Philippians 1:20-21
Cassie Bernall was an overcomer that fateful April morning in 1999 at Columbine High School—her victory came days before when she wrote in her journal
Now I have given up on everything else—I have found it to be the only way to really know Christ and to experience the mighty power that brought Him back to life again, and to find out what it really means to suffer and to die with Him.
The beauty is this: An overcomer is willing to die for the One who raises the dead
**1 Corinthians 15:30-32 & 2 Corinthians 1:8-11**
*When a person is no longer concerned with his/her life and whether he/she lives or dies, he/she is a victorious overcomer!
“True believers, living in the center of God’s will, need not fear death. They know that God has a purpose for their living and that death, when it comes, is simply the end of their earthly mission and the beginning of a greater life with Christ” (FLSB).
WE ARE INVINCIBLE UNTIL THE LORD SAYS IT IS TIME!
**JOHN 14:30; REVELATION 1:18**
--Jesus was victorious over the devil and his power of death
“He (Satan) lost the right to inflict death on all others who became the property of Christ by virtue of His redemption for them” (Dake).
4. GOD HAS MANY BENEFITS IN STORE FOR THE OVERCOMER
A. Eat of the tree of life (Rev 2:7)
--This is a restoration of God’s original plan. Access to this tree was available before the fall.
B. Not be hurt by the second death (Rev 2:11)
C. Will be given some of the hidden manna. Will also be given a white stone with a new name on it that only you know (Rev 2:17)
--Final fulfillment of God’s promise.
--The white stone represents three things anciently:
1. Victory stones
2. Pardon and the evidence of it—a judge would give either a black or white stone to indicate conviction or pardon
3. Conquerors in the public games were given white stones with their names on them which entitled them to be supported the rest of their lives at public expense
--The name that no one knows except you could be an indication of what you overcame in your life and serve as a reminder to you of God’s power
D. Authority over the nations just as Jesus has received authority. Will also be given the morning star (Rev 2:26-28)
--The overcomers shall rule with Christ as kings and priests. Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords.
--The morning star is Christ Himself
E. Shall be clothed in white. Name will not be blotted out of the Book of Life and Christ will confess you before His Father and the angels (Rev 3:5)
--Clothed as the pure Bride of Christ!
--Overcomers will be honored by Christ before God the Father and all the angels
F. Be made a pillar in the temple of God, and will remain there. Will be given the name of God, Christ, and the New Jerusalem (Rev 3:12)
--Welcomed residents of God’s House
G. Granted the right to sit with Christ in His throne, just as He overcame and sat down with His Father in His throne (Rev 3:21).
