Overcomers Gods Saints

Thirteen times in the last book of the Bible, Jesus emphasizes our calling to “overcome” this world and every evil design of our enemy, Satan. To the seven churches, which is a perfect incorporation of the church universal and of every time period, Jesus stated His promises to His “overcomers.” The seven warnings coupled with extraordinary promises to the seven churches closes each of the seven letters. He said seven times “To him that overcometh…” or a similar statement. (Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5,12,21) This closing is a highlight of each of these seven letters. To ignore these warnings is an incredible disrespect to the Holy Word of God and to the exalted Lord Himself.

The devil and his horde of fallen angels will see to it that you have a continual battle in this great warfare of the Christian life. This enemy is trained with at least six thousand years of experience and strategy training. The forces of our Navy, Army and Air Force have trained for months and even years, but the spirits that serve Satan have trained for millenniums. You are limited to your physical ability, but they are paranormal and possess powers that boggle the imagination. If you do not learn to depend on the power of God by His Word, by ChristÂ’s Divine Blood, and by His Spirit, you do not have a chance to be victorious. But our God has come to our rescue and every ounce of need is met in Him. He is our victory.

Even the angels of God have learned that their source of triumph in this war is in their Creator and God, not in themselves. Satan was angry over the fact that God took Moses up on the mountain to look into the Promised Land and that God buried him on that mountain. Satan did not know where the body was and got into a dispute with Michael the archangel over Moses body. The devil wanted Moses under his control in Upper Sheol where the First Testament saints were awaiting the death of the Son of God. The book of Jude recounts this celestial argument. “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee.” (Jude 1:9) Our only victory over Satan is in the triumph of the cross and the exalted name of our Lord. We dare not trust ourselves or the power of flesh.

Paul warned us to put on the “whole armor of God.” “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11) These words are some of the most important in Scripture. Much of the church acts as if the Christian life is a picnic instead of a battleground. Those that warn the believers of this incredible struggle and the hardships are called “negative” and archaic names. That is part of Satan’s scheme to render you unprepared for the storms. Ignore this liberal crowd of truth defiers and prepare yourself for the victories of Biblical warfare. You must put on the whole armor of God.

This revelation by the Apostle Paul speaks of the hand-to-hand combat that we face. “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12) This Scripture identifies four levels of spiritual forces in Satan’s armada. These four entities are named “principalities, powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high places.” It is insane to ignore this great evil “battalion” from Satan’s world. It is also foolish for a Bible believer to be afraid of them. We do not fight “to” victory, as if the battle is ours to fight, but we fight “from” victory because the whole war has already been “fought and won.” “…It is finished…” (St. John 19:30) The great failure is for us to make it a battle of flesh against flesh. We must look behind every struggle to see the real enemy that has launched the attack.

One of the Bible’s greatest promises is the key in our struggles. James, the Lord’s own brother in the flesh, taught us this principle. He stated, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” (James 4:7-8a) First, and always first, “submit yourselves therefore to God”. Put yourself utterly in His hands, surrender totally to His will, be His property, and then “resist the devil.” The secret is our surrender to Him before we even consider “resisting the devil.” When you are surrendered, it is no longer you doing the resisting alone. Your will must be engaged, but it must be in total dependency on Him, your Master, and not some helpless struggle of flesh alone.

The promise cannot fail, and at this point, Satan “will flee from you.” The devil loves a battle with you, but he does not love a battle with Jesus. We overcome by the power of God. Always remember it is the Blood, the Word, and the Spirit. That is why I said, “we overcome by the powers of God.” They are in the plural, and Satan may have a multitude, but he and his are still in the singular. Our God is on His throne, Jesus is on His right hand, the Holy Ghost is in us, and the angels encamp about us. Fear not my friends. “And he answered, Fear not: for they that be with us are more than they that be with them.” (2 Kings 6:16)