Before the kingdom can come forth in the world, it must come forth in a people. Many of us are yet dealing with spiritual infirmities and weaknesses related to sin and human frailty. In Part 2 of Kingdom Growth Guides we will deal with overcoming hindrances to walking in the kingdom of God lifestyle.
For many of us the reality of the kingdom of God coming forth in our lives and in our world may seem an impossible dream. We may feel that there is too much to overcome in our own lives and far too much to be overcome in the world. However, there is a source of overcoming power in the spiritual realm that far exceeds our natural strength. The following are a few stories of people who have tapped into that spiritual overcoming power.
The crowd at the finish line leans forward and intently peers down the track to see which one of the well-trained cyclists is leading as they all come into view over the last hill of the race. The young men who have trained diligently are now pushing their bodies to the very limit. Their lungs work to the fullest capacity to gather oxygen for pounding hearts to rush it to their powerful, muscular, sinewy legs — legs pumping like engine pistons in an effort to push their bicycles ahead of the others.
The burst of applause and cheers from the crowd is delayed for an instant. The crowd is shocked into silence for a split second while their minds try to accept what their wide-opened eyes are seeing. Gaping mouths begin to burst forth cheers and shouts of jubilation as the momentary disbelief of their own eyes is dispelled. Many eyes fill with tears as the crowd wildly applauds the young man with only one leg and one arm as he crosses the finish line first.
At another time and place in a high school auditorium, hundreds of teens gasp and draw back a little as they get their first look at a man walking out on stage. After only a few minutes, the man behind the disfigured face seems like one of their best friends. They are hardly aware of the massive scars or the knurled, maimed hands. They are mostly aware of the gentle love and real, caring attitude they feel coming from their new friend. Soon they are laughing hilariously with him as he humorously relates true stories of being burned almost to death in a military ordeal. All are moved and must consider the God he tells them about. His joyous love proclaims overcoming victory over the years of intense pain and great loss, and testifies of the powerful grace of the love of Jesus.
Many such true stories of people overcoming tremendous obstacles could be told. Our hearts would probably be touched by each of them. Something inside us seems to be excited. In some way we begin to feel encouragement in our own soul. Is it possible our own problems may seem to be a little less of a mountain when we consider their victories? Is there perhaps a new ray of hope released in us? Perhaps something like this thought crosses our minds, “If God helped them to overcome, possibly He can also help me.” Perhaps our doubt that God will do anything about our world is challenged a little. If He works in these individuals’ lives to overcome, isn’t it possible that He might work in many lives across the world? What might be the result of multitudes, one at a time, overcoming? Is there perhaps hope birthed in our hearts for our own lives and for the world by these examples of overcoming?
How did they do it? How can I do it? Many books are written in an attempt to answer these questions. We surely do not have all the answers, but one common denominator is always present. In a word, it is faith. What the individual believes, how he views God, himself, and the problem is the key. Most overcomers will say something like, “I never thought of myself as handicapped only challenged.” Or, “It never entered my mind that it could not be done”. A challenge seems to be there for the purpose of our overcoming it.Therefore, it is temporary, and if temporary, then temporal and not eternal. The temporal must yield to the eternal. The power for overcoming is the eternal God. “Handicap” implies a forever, negative condition we cannot overcome, but must succumb to. In faith, overcomers see God as greater than the problem and believe He is working with them. When God is working on the problem, it does not matter that it is too big for us. We know we could never do it alone. How we see God, ourselves, and our problems makes the difference!
Many lives have been damaged or crippled by bad things that have happened. Sin is always at the root of every bad thing. We each have been harmed to some degree by the results of someone’s sin. If we view our problem as a challenge that Jesus came to help us with, we can overcome. Our worldview can change if we see that the world’s crippling sin problem is no greater than the individual’s sin problem. There is just more of it. A bricklayer can lay one brick in a few seconds. It takes longer to lay an entire brick wall; however it is still the same problem and can be done only one brick at a time. If many bricklayers are working on the wall simultaneously, the wall is built much faster. If it is possible for one person to overcome, then it is possible for the world to overcome through faith in God.
“Overcoming” is one of the major teachings of the New Testament. Yet it has not been well understood or applied in past generations. Overcoming has been seen, for the most part, as pertaining only to the area of personal sin. Once we receive revelation of the “at-hand” kingdom, our overcoming begins to take on a much broader scope. Jesus has not only provided the potential for His children to overcome personal sin; but He has also provided a way for our overcoming to have an effect on the Church, the community, the nation, and eventually the planet.
Surely, the lack of overcoming in God’s people is heavy on God’s heart. Those who do not overcome are overcome. Overcome by negative emotions of depression, hopelessness, pride, anger, rage, violence, fear, worry, insecurity, jealousy, etc. These negative emotions lead to being overcome by lust of all kinds, bondages of immorality, drugs, alcohol, sexual perversions, selfishness, greed, etc.
This is not the lifestyle for which Jesus gave His life. He did not die to purchase failure for His people. If we are to ever see the overcoming of poverty, racial hatred, injustice, political aggression, child abuse, family violence, abortion, gang violence, and every other social sickness and evil, we must begin to understand the overcoming power of Christ. We must in reality grasp the ability to appropriate the great mystery of the overcoming work of Jesus.
The enemy wants you to believe the earth is his and the fullness thereof. He wants you to hide out and just try to hang on until you die and go to heaven. The enemy sure doesn’t want you to know that in appropriating the work (the ministry) of Christ Jesus you have the power to overcome him and all his dirty work. The truth is that the earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.
Psalm 24:1: The earth is the LORD’S, and the fullness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.
The only right the devil has to this world and its people is the right that we give him. His only power is the power of deception. If he can make people believe his lies, then he can carry out the lies. The Word is clear. Jesus has overcome the enemy and all of his work. We do not belong to the devil. We do not need to believe or obey him in any area. Neither the earth nor anything in it belongs to the enemy, and we do not have to give up anything to him. He has no right to cause the earth to be burned in judgment. He has no right to the governments of the world. The world system does not belong to him. It is God’s. God gave His only Son to repurchase it. He is waiting for His people to overcome and possess His world. Is there any mission on earth more important than overcoming?
Perhaps there is no more vital word in the Bible relative to overcoming than the following verse. If we can receive revelation light regarding the meaning of this verse, we will be on the way toward overcoming.
KEY VERSE
Revelation 12:11: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”
The Greek work translated“overcame”is “nikao” (nik-ah’-o) meaning “to subdue,” or “to get the victory.” It comes from the word “nike” (nee’-kay), a prime root meaning “conquest”, or “means of success.”
The Greek word translated “testimony” is “marturia” (mar-too-ree’-ah) meaning evidence.” It comes from “martus” (mar’-toos) meaning “witness” and implies “a martyr.”
Our overcoming begins with the blood of the Lamb. It is only by the cross that the enemy’s power was and is broken. When the perfect, sinless Son of God gave up His pure life on the cross to die for all sin, the penalty for all sin was and is forever paid. From that point forward, the enemy has no further hold, no further right to impose evil on any person on earth except as we allow it. In our ignorance of the work that Jesus has done and because of our doubt and unbelief, mankind continues to suffer needlessly. As the blood flowed from Jesus’ body on the cross and was absorbed by the soil of the earth, the earth was forever changed. God’s economy relative to man, the earth, and the devil was, for all time and eternity, changed.
God’s full acceptance and acknowledgment of the completed work of the cross as payment for the penalty of all sin is proved in the resurrection of His Son. Had the work of redemption not been perfect, had the law not been totally satisfied, there would have been no resurrection. It is forever settled. The enemy has no further right to impose evil without our (mankind’s) approval. That’s why the Scripture says, “the devil goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.”
Jesus then ascended to heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for us. The finished work of the cross, the blood of Jesus the Lamb, is ever before God to plead our case. The enemy has no rights. The case is always decided by the blood of Jesus, if we so plead. The matter is in our hands. We can deny the blood. We can plead our own case. We can, if we choose, deny our sin. We can choose to do it our way. We can walk in unbelief toward the blood of Jesus. This is disobedience to God and our invitation to the devil to impose evil upon us. We then become one he may devour.
Not only is Jesus interceding for us at the right hand of the Father, He has also returned to earth in the Holy Spirit to personally indwell each of His children. The Word says He became a life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians15:46, 2 Corinthians 8:17). Living in us, He is our source of power and righteousness for daily living. He is always with us, always available to communicate with us regarding every situation we encounter. His love in us causes us to desire to walk in obedience to God. It also grants us the power of His life enabling us to walk in the practical reality of being and doing exactly as He is and does. And, He always obeys the Father.
There are many things that can affect our ability to walk in the Spirit of Christ, but our walk must begin with our desire to lay aside any and every thing that hinders.
One major hindrance might involve our need to do things our way. Our will must take second place to His will. Eventually His will must become our’s. Daily we can attempt to live righteously on our own. We can strive to do things right. We can seek religious orders, systems, and practices to cause us to live righteously. In doing so, we deny the Lord. We deny His Holy Spirit living in us.
The evidence or “word of our testimony”comes forth from Jesus living in us. As we“do not love our own life to the death,” we give up our own way and allow Christ Jesus to live in us by the Holy Spirit instead of allowing our own life to live in us. As He lives in us and we listen to and obey Him, we overcome.
Revelation 2:7b: “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”
Eating from the tree of life means hearing and receiving living revelation of God, as opposed to reasoning things out from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. It means experiencing eternal (abundant) life now.
John 10:10:The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
Eternal life is a quality of life, not just a quantity. The Greek word translated “abundantly” is“perissos” (per-is-sos’) which means “beyond,” “super abundant (in quantity),” “ superior (in quality),” or “preeminence.”
Revelation 22:14: Blessed are those who do His commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter through the gates into the city.
Western culture has taught us to depend on our intellect. Education is seen as the answer to mankind’s social ills. The basic theory seems to be that, if we have enough knowledge, we will become smart enough to rule our own lives successfully. Independence is very important to our way of thinking. We feel, if we are intellectually sharp enough and have enough money, we can do what we want and have all we want. We think surely this will produce peace and happiness. This is partaking of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Yes, education and mental skills are important aspects of life; but they alone cannot bring us the abundant, overcoming life of the kingdom of God.
A number of years ago a man in his fifties came to me for personal ministry. We will call him Dr. Smart. I chose this name because he was one of the most intelligent men I had ever met. He held several doctors’ degrees, including a theological degree. Dr. Smart came looking for help with great emotional problems. I don’t believe I have ever seen a more miserable person. He was dealing with great inner pain and strife. Personal and professional relationships would not function properly in his life. He was intensely frustrated, lonely, and angry.
As we talked, I mentioned a scripture. He quickly told me where it was found, who wrote it to whom, the intent of the writer, and the cultural conditions at the time and place it was written. Yet, this poor man had no spiritual revelation of the Word. He did not have the first revelation of Jesus as Savior and Lord, and would hear nothing of spiritual revelation at all. He would debate and even become angry with any suggestion of spiritual revelation. His whole understanding came from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, He had no part with the tree of life. Jesus is the only source of abundant life, the kingdom of God lifestyle.
Keep on Pursuing Love
It Will Never Fail,
Ron McGatlin
http://www.openheaven.com
basileia@earthlink.net
Radical Disciples - A Remnant Revolution 