Praise the Lord for this
glorious and gorgeous day in Central New York, particularly in the town of
Marathon. He blessed us with His love and grace in His House yesterday. The
Church family hosted a fellowship hour after worship in our honor. It was a
great blessing. We had some family and friends who joined us for Sunday dinner
in our new home. In the evening we walked around, meeting our new neighbors.
It was a blessing. Our newsiest granddaughter Rosalind is doing well in
Abington, PA. Our oldest daughter, Janice, and her daughter, Micah, drove down
from Boston to Abington, Pa to spend some time with Rosalind and her family.
Ad I write this I occasionally hear the tractor trailers driving past, sharing
the road with some farm tractors, trucks, cars, and even Horse and buggies
driven by the Amish people. They all intersect the train tracks where the train
runs twice a day. I can hear beautiful and gentle morning doves serenading in
the early morning joining with other birds that love to sing and offer sweet
melodies to the Lord. We are surrounded by His matchless beauty, endless love
and grace, and never-ending faithfulness. We are blessed and loved.
It is always a treat to be in
church worshiping the Risen Lord. Somehow Jesus comes and gives us the
victory. Followers of Jesus have been given different names over the centuries.
At first, they were called "Christians," which means "Christ ones"
(Acts
11:26 ). The commonest word for these committed to Jesus is
disciple, which means a learner. In his epistle, Paul addressed the Christians
as saints, those set apart for God. They are also called believers, beloved, or
children of God. Each of these names describes a distinctive characteristic of
the lives of those who follow Christ. John suggested another name for
Christians: overcomers. A Christian is one who overcomes.
The description of a
Christian as an overcomer is confirmed in other places in the New Testament.
Revelation says this about the saints of God: "They overcame him because of the
Blood of the Lamb and because of the word of their testimony (Revelation
12:11 ). Paul said to the Romans: "But in all these things we
overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us" (R4omans 8:37 ). Paul urged
the Corinthians to give thanksgiving to God "who gives us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57 ). God's children are to be
overcomers. We are to experience victory in our Christian lives.
An overcomer is one who acknowledges the problem. The word overcomer implies that something stands in our way, that we are confronted by an obstacle, that we have problems which we have to overcome. An overcomer is not someone who breezes through life without any opposition or obstacles in his way. An overcomer is one who realizes each day will present another problem, another barrier, another obstacle that stands in his way, another opponent who criticizes him. He acknowledges the problems and then sets out to deal with them.
An overcomer is one who acknowledges the problem. The word overcomer implies that something stands in our way, that we are confronted by an obstacle, that we have problems which we have to overcome. An overcomer is not someone who breezes through life without any opposition or obstacles in his way. An overcomer is one who realizes each day will present another problem, another barrier, another obstacle that stands in his way, another opponent who criticizes him. He acknowledges the problems and then sets out to deal with them.
Whether or not you are an
overcomer has nothing to do with the circumstances around you. It has
everything to do with the commitment inside you. Everyone has circumstances.
The key is what you do with those circumstances. Problems will constantly
confront you as you live out your Christian life. A Christian has a problem to
overcome if he is to win victory in his Christian life. He sees those problems
as challenges he has to overcome. An overcomer acknowledges the
problem.
John said -- and he repeated it for emphasis -- that the Christian can overcome the world. That is the promise of God's word. You do not have to be defeated by the devil. You do not have to be disgraced by sin. You do not have to be destroyed by suffering. You can win the victory. You can overcome. is the promise of God's word.
Joseph was in the dungeon, but God released him. The Hebrews were in slavery, but God delivered them. David was overwhelmed by the guilt of his sin, but God forgave him. Daniel was in the lion's den, but God preserved him. Jonah was in the belly of the fish, but God retrieved him. The world is Satan and his plans. The world is sin and its pressure. The world is suffering and its pain. The world is that which stands in opposition to God. It tries to destroy our Christian witness. It tries to distort our desires. It tries to confuse our value system. It tries to dilute our interest in God's Word. It tries to squeeze us into its mold. It tries to draw us away from God. The problem is the world which tempts us to forget who we are and whose we are and to live beneath our privileges.
John said -- and he repeated it for emphasis -- that the Christian can overcome the world. That is the promise of God's word. You do not have to be defeated by the devil. You do not have to be disgraced by sin. You do not have to be destroyed by suffering. You can win the victory. You can overcome. is the promise of God's word.
Joseph was in the dungeon, but God released him. The Hebrews were in slavery, but God delivered them. David was overwhelmed by the guilt of his sin, but God forgave him. Daniel was in the lion's den, but God preserved him. Jonah was in the belly of the fish, but God retrieved him. The world is Satan and his plans. The world is sin and its pressure. The world is suffering and its pain. The world is that which stands in opposition to God. It tries to destroy our Christian witness. It tries to distort our desires. It tries to confuse our value system. It tries to dilute our interest in God's Word. It tries to squeeze us into its mold. It tries to draw us away from God. The problem is the world which tempts us to forget who we are and whose we are and to live beneath our privileges.
"This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith,"
All of life is lived on faith, and every person has faith in something. We open a can of food and eat it because we have faith that it is not harmful to us. We get on a plane and sit back with assurance because we have faith that the person who is flying the plane knows what he is doing. John is not talking about this general kind of faith, however. He is talking about a particular kind of faith. He who overcomes the world is "he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." Christian faith means to put our faith in Christ. A faith in Jesus which causes us to believe in Him, talk to Him, walk with Him and abide in Him -- that faith is the key to overcoming the world.
When David Livingstone, the great missionary to Africa, was called back to London to receive an honor, he was presented the award before a great gathering of well-wishers. Someone asked him how he had been able to make it through when natives rose up against him and when the power of darkness seemed about ready to overwhelm him. He opened his well-worn New Testament and said, "let me share with you the verse that helped me make it through: 'Lo I am with you always, even to the end of the age.'"
In Christ,
Pastor Brown N
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