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Home Sermons 2011 Overcome (Part 2 of "Being prepared for the 2nd coming of Jesus)
 
Overcome (Part 2 of "Being prepared for the 2nd coming of Jesus) PDF Print E-mail
Written by David Charlton   

Scripture

Revelation 2:7 (NIV)
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
 Revelation 2:11 (NIV)
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.
Revelation 2:17 (NIV)
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it.
 Revelation 2:26 (NIV)
To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations-
 
Revelation 3:5 (NIV)
He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.
Revelation 3:12 (NIV)
Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.
 Revelation 3:21 (NIV)
To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.

   Core Idea, Challenge & Summary

Core Idea: The more we overcome, the more prepared we are for Jesus’ 2nd coming.

Challenge: To challenge Christians to overcome sin and evil by not sinning, resisting evil and doing good in order to be more fully prepared for Jesus’ 2nd coming..

Summary: In the Book of Revelation, Jesus concludes each message to the seven churches with a strong exhortation to overcome. We are to overcome the sinful ways of this world and Satan’s attacks in order to better prepare ourselves for Jesus’ 2nd coming. 

We overcome by not sinning, resisting evil and doing good. To do those three things, we must first receive God’s free offer of forgiveness through faith in Jesus. Then, through prayer, Bible study, worship, fellowship, and service, God teaches us to recognize sin and evil. Upon recognizing sin and evil, we rely upon God’s power not to commit the sin and resist the evil. As we do this, the Holy Spirit transforms us into the likeness of Jesus Christ. In this way, God prepares us for Jesus’ 2nd coming.

The Sermon

I. Introduction: The African-American Spiritual, “We Shall Overcome”

     A. Became the anthem of the Civil Rights movement during the 1960s.[1]  

  • August 1963, Joan Baez led a crowed of over 250,000 in singing “We Shall Overcome” at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington.
  • Lyndon Johnson used the phrase “We shall overcome” on March 15, 1965 while addressing congress concerning the ‘bloody Sunday’ attacks on civil rights demonstrators during the Selma to Montgomery marches
  • Dr. Martin Luther King quoted the words, “We shall overcome” in his final sermon delivered in Memphis on March 31, 1968.
  • By singing this song, the civil rights activists proclaimed their confidence that they would have victory over the evil system of racism and hatred then prevalent in the U.S..

     B. This song, however, also applies to Christians

  • In the Book of Revelation, Jesus concludes each of his messages to the seven churches with a strong exhortation to overcome or conquer, depending on the translation you use. (Revelation 2:7; 2:11; 2:17; 2:26; 3:5; 3:12; 3:21)
  • By overcoming, we become ready for Jesus’ 2nd coming
  • What are we to overcome? How are we to overcome?
II. Overcome what? Answer found in Ephesians 6:12: “For we are not contending
     against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the
     world rulers of this present darkness, against the spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
     heavenly places.”
     A. We are not to overcome other people. People (flesh & blood) are not our real
          enemies.
     B. We overcome the sinful ways of this world (the principalities, powers & rulers of
          this present darkness.)
     C. We overcome Satan and his minions (The spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
          heavenly places.)
     D. Jesus tells us to pray for those who persecute us because our real enemy is not
          the person mistreating us.

     E. To put it more simply: Our real enemy is sin and evil.

III. How we overcome sin and evil

     A. We overcome sin and evil by doing three things:

  • One: Not sinning
  • Two: Resisting evil
  • Three: Doing good
     B. Before we can begin to overcome sin and evil by not sinning, resisting evil, and
          doing good, we must first receive God’s free gift of forgiveness through faith in
          Christ. This is a prerequisite to overcoming.
  • For more on this step, refer back to last week’s sermon
  • Once you take this step, you will be ready for Jesus’ 2nd coming. There are, however, degrees of readiness. To become fully ready, we must take the necessary steps to overcome sin and evil.
  • Two summers ago, I was ready for my backpacking trip. I was in shape and carried plenty of food, a warm sleeping bag, a nice tent and a waterproof backpack. I was ready but realized I was not fully ready when I found myself standing under a scorching sun in a big open field with no sun block lotion. Likewise, when we receive God’s forgiveness, we are ready for Jesus’ 2nd coming but we are not fully ready until we begin to overcome sin and evil. 

     B. Not sinning

  • Sin can be very subtle and hard to recognize. It is often disguised as false righteousness. The church, in its zeal to rightly teach that the homosexual lifestyle is incompatible with Scriptural teaching, often encourages people to mistreat, ostracize or even hate homosexuals. That is a sin camouflaged by a false righteousness.
  • We must learn from God how to recognize sin. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to recognize sin through the Scripture, God’s written word. For example, God’s written word teaches that the entire Law is summed up by love (Matthew 22: 34-40).  Whatever is not loving towards God, ourselves and our neighbors is a sin.
  • We rely on God’s power not to sin. We can’t do it on our own.
  • When temptations come, pray and recite Scripture. Ask God for help.
  • For example, I have a tendency to gossip. I must ask the Spirit to let me know when I’m starting to gossip and then ask the Spirit to help me to stop.

     C. Resisting evil

  • Do not stand for oppression, cruelty, coercion, thievery, manipulation etc…
  • That’s what the Civil Rights movement was all about. They were resisting evil

     D. Doing good

  • Seek opportunities to demonstrate God’s love
  • We fight evil with goodness and we fight hate with love
  • Be willing to sacrifice your time, talents, money, reputation, prestige and even your life for the sake of others.

IV. Conclusion

     A. As we rely on God’s power not to sin, resist evil and do good, the Holy Spirit
         transforms us into the likeness of Jesus Christ. In this way, God prepares us for
         Jesus’ 2nd coming.
     B. Are you fully prepared for Jesus’ 2nd coming? Are you cooperating with the Holy
          Spirit to receive power not to sin, resist evil and do good? 


[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/We_Shall_Overcome
 
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