Power To Prevail

This whole Gospel is about overcoming the things that are overcoming the entire world. So am I talking about war, crime, economic distress, and social ills? No, because those are not the things that are overcoming everyone in this world. What is prevailing over all men is their unbelief and sins, and the spirits of this world. The things that are seen are just the symptoms of the condition of man. The real culprit is what is inside of man, and what is invisible to man. Things like fear, malice, covetousness, pride, and the lusts of this world (Mk. 7:21-23; Eph. 6:12; I Jn. 2:16). It is not possible to get rid of these kinds of things from our hearts and minds, except by the power of God that comes through true faith in Jesus Christ (I Jn. 5:4,5). This is why Jesus said that we must be born again by the Spirit of God, because as the scripture states, only the new birth experience can give us power over these things (Jn. 3:5,6). And it was this power that Jesus said his followers would receive after that the holy Ghost came to them (Acts 1:8). The scripture states, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly" (Rom. 5:6). You see, strength, or power, is what we were in need of; so that we could overcome the things that had always overcome us. In fact that is what this entire calling is about; prevailing over the spiritual ills that are the cause of all problems in this world (Jas. 4:1). People whose hearts have been made truly right by the power of God’s Spirit, and are kept that way; do not lie, or cheat, or steal, or kill, or demean others; or do any evil thing. Instead they devote themselves to staying free from such things so that God’s love and peace can be seen and felt by those around them. They refuse to be defeated by anything that would quench God’s Spirit and joy in them.

It takes some doing, some praying, and some dying to sin, to win the spiritual battles that we face; but there is a very good payoff for doing so, both here and hereafter. If we condition ourselves to overcoming the trials that we face while we live, then we will also be equipped to prevail over death when it comes our way. That is the ultimate payoff. Jesus made it clear that the eternal reward was only for those who overcome this world’s evils, and are found holy before God (Rev. 20:6; Rev. 21:7). And he made it equally as clear that those who did not overcome these things, but were rather overcome by them, would not be saved (Rev. 3:3-5; Rev. 21:8). There is nothing quite like winning spiritual battles against things that try to make us feel contrary to what is good and right in the sight of God. Jesus said, "In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world" (Jn. 16:33). So it’s evident that the only way we can overcome the world is by abiding in Jesus, for the victory is already his. “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith” (I Jn. 5:4). It is also evident that the power by which we overcome the world is his Spirit, for "the Lord is that Spirit" (II Cor. 3:17). So again friend, the only way we will ever overcome the "sting of death,” and obtain the “victory of the grave,” is by conditioning ourselves to overcoming the world while we are living. “But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you…For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live (Rom. 8:11,13). If we fulfill that saying, then we will be able to answer this one: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory" (I Cor. 15:55). It is certain that we cannot afford to not fulfill that saying. Amen.