We MUST Overcome
Scripture: Revelations 2 v 7:
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith to 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."
Jesus was speaking to John, the last of the original
twelve apostles still alive. He gave John precise instructions for the seven
churches which comprise His body. Each church represents two things, both the
various stages of church development over the centuries and the state of the
church today.
To each church He gave the words 'to him that overcomes'
referring to the evils of the age. And
in one place those who overcome will not be blotted out of the Lamb's Book of
Life! So its very important that we
understand what it means to overcome, and exactly what it is that we must
achieve.
In order for Christ to be formed in us we first need to
be emptied of everything that is not of Him. We have the gifts of the Holy
Spirit to help us identify truth from error in ourselves and others. We are
commanded to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.
Everything that the world offers is tainted so we must
start by examining our lives more and more minutely to rid ourselves of bondage
to the elements of the world. For example, religion is top of the list. Any
religion that does not exalt Jesus Christ above all others is a cult. You have
to overcome religious traditions that are contrary to Biblical truth, like baby
baptism.
Your walk with God must be above the law. Never indulge
in anything illegal but obey the law fairly. Legalism is an iron fist of
bondage that causes the Holy Spirit to withdraw.
Those Christians who have become Jewish in their ministry
by keeping sabbath and all feasts are going backwards under the law Jesus died
to finish. They must overcome this tendency or they may have their names
blotted out of the Lamb's book of Life.
Over the past forty years the Lord has emphasised that
people need to be set free of demons and the bondage they bring. Every drug
addict, alcoholic, smoker, sex addict, homosexual, religious fanatic militant,
cult member, freemason, murderer, rapist, corrupt politician, porn addict,
molester, wife abuser, adulterer, liar, glutton, insane person, etc is bound by a demon. These are the things
that God is saying we must overcome.
If we fail to overcome them our eternal destination is
uncertain. God is fair, righteous and loving but He will not permit anyone to
bring sinful activity into His kingdom. So instead of congratulating yourself
that you made it into the Lamb's Book of Life, start working on areas in your
life that need attention and overcome those things that could end up bringing
you grief.
Jesus is not putting obstacles in your way, He has given
us the power and ability to remove them. He is sending out a warning today, and
highlighting parts of the Bible that get omitted from pulpits in these days of
entertainment and frowns at words like sin, demons, Satan.
We cannot overlook what Jesus suffered on the Cross for
us and ignore the responsibility we have. We glorify Christmas into the birth
of Christ when its nothing of the sort. It has become a prime opportunity to
indulge the flesh, which is what the original pagan festival was. Called
Saturnalia, it was a time of orgies, drunkenness and death. We have sanitised it
into an exciting tradition of good food and giving.
However, Jesus was not born in mid-winter, as the purpose
of the Romans was to get everyone to a place where they could be taxed, which
would not happen in snow-bound winter time. He would have been born in warm
weather when shepherds would have sheep in the fields at night.
The most likely time would be the jewish New Year in
September. Rosh Hashanah means 'when the heavens are open' which would be a
perfect time for Jesus to be born. Our God has everything under control but we
have a free will to choose whether we will get very serious with Him so that we
will be able to withstand the power of the Antichrist in these end times.
Put the world and its rules, rites, traditions and habits
away from you and embrace the glory and freedom of the kingdom of God. Conform
to His Son and overcome every sin to receive the great home coming welcome from
our Father.
Prayer: Heavenly
Father, You are urging Your children to be mindful of the flesh and to overcome
its evils so we may be holy and without blame before You in love. There are so
few Lord, lone voices crying in the wilderness to make straight paths for the
coming of Jesus. Let our voices be heard loud and clear above the clamour of
the world. We MUST overcome to be gathered in at the last day. In Jesus' name.
Amen.