1 John 5:5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
We have spent a few days studying the Letter to the Ephesians found in the 2nd Chapter of Revelation. Jesus praised them for their good deeds and called out their failures. In the Morning Message yesterday, we listed these things because they are all pertinent to all of us today. Everything Jesus wrote to the Ephesians, He is writing to us now.
As a review, the following is what Jesus expects from His Church. Hard work, patience, turn from evil, test all spirits, recognize and call out false apostles, persevere, lift up the Name of Jesus, never forget your first love, hate the doctrine and practices of the Nicolaitans.
This is quite a list but it is only the content of the first of seven Letters. In closing, Jesus said, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the Churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the Tree of Life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7) To accomplish all the things listed above, one must be an overcomer. This sounds easy but how do we become an overcomer?
In actuality, on our own and under our own power and strength, we cannot overcome anything. But, the good news is, we don’t have to! Jesus overcame it all for us! He said, These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. (John 16:33) When Jesus went to the Cross, He overcame all the power of the enemy. He did it! No sin or wrongdoing was overlooked or missed. Everything the enemy stole from mankind was overcome by Jesus on the Cross. That’s WHY He went!
God loves us so much that He sent His Son to die on the Cross for our sins and every other thing that the enemy has laid upon us. This includes all sickness and disease too. By His stripes, we are healed! (1 Peter 2:24)
Jesus has called us all to be overcomers. He would not call us to something we can not attain. We CAN be overcomers! We can! All we have to do is believe Jesus conquered the Devil on the Cross of Calvary. When we believe this and place our faith in that Fact, the enemy cannot harm us!
We cannot fight the enemy ourselves. We don’t have to! He is already defeated. Jesus already did it! The war is over. The Victory is ours! All we have to do is recognize it and walk in that Victory Jesus won for us. Paul said it like this: Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it. (Colossians 2:15)
The enemy is still there but Jesus disarmed him! He has no power over us! The only power he has is what we give him. To rise up against him in the Victory Jesus won on our behalf is to be an overcomer! We can all be overcomers if we believe in the Finished Work of Jesus on the Cross. This is where the Victory was won and it was won for YOU and me.
Our lives as born-again believers is all about faith in Christ and Him crucified. Everything the enemy attacks you with was nailed to the Cross by Jesus Himself. Believe that and you will immediately become an overcomer! This faith will change your life! Hallelujah!
Faith in the Cross of Christ will….….turn the tide ……….in your life.
Living by faith in Christ and Him Crucified, Doreen
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