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Posts Tagged ‘Overcoming’

The Spirit Indeed Is Willing – Part 1

Posted in Christian Walk, tagged , , , , , on November 8, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Scripture reading: Matthew 26:41

Some weeks ago, during prayer for some dear brethren, the word came, “the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak” – with this came also a much deeper understanding of these words.

Flesh is not only man’s body, but man’s whole being, including sense and reason when it is destitute of God, because the seat of sin is in the soul.

“Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth He any man: But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of HIS OWN lust, and enticed,” James 1:13-14.

God does not tempt man. Romans 8 speaks in absolutely plain language of the MIND OF THE FLESH; how it works contrary to the will of God. Man’s only hope of overcoming the flesh is through the Spirit, by which security is provided by God’s love. The Spirit gives life in place of death. The Old Testament brethren could not have the magnitude of OVERCOMING grace which we have received, because a set of laws or legal codes could not bring righteousness; only a life controlled by the Spirit, on the basis of THAT NEW LAW WRITTEN NOT ON TABLES OF STONE, but ON THE HEART, could produce such qualities in us as peace, joy, hope and love.

The flesh is constantly at war with the Spirit. The desires of the flesh are ever present, but the provision for overcoming is through the Spirit, therefore, the following seven steps are absolutely necessary to the overcomer.

  1. The believer should, at some time after accepting Jesus as Saviour, receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
  2. The believer should be aware of the Holy Spirit as being a part of the Godhead. 
  3. The believer should want to be no longer in charge of his own life, but desire the Life of Christ to be lived out in him.
  4. Be sensitive to the voice of the Spirit. (He is always speaking, but we are not always listening.)
  5. Be exercised in the operations of the Spirit through obedience.
  6. Most important – be willing and ready to submit to the chastening and cleansing of the Spirit as He makes known deep-hidden or simple-surface weaknesses – because “He will not always chide.”
  7. Bear in mind, that when we come together in worship, the move of the Spirit in the midst is different than in any other place – prophecies and all the gifts of the Spirit can be practiced, and the believer has the type of growth that is necessary to his overall spiritual advancement.

THE CARNAL MIND: The carnal mind is that which is not under the control of the Holy Spirit. Because of this, it can conceive and bring forth evil, since Satan is the prince of evil.

There are some innocent desires (might not be evil) which can eventually become the occasion of sin. The CARNAL MIND cannot please God.

Scripture states:

“Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry,” Colossians 3:5.

We should see to it that these members of ours do not resist the restraint of Divine Law. Human life, therefore, would be brought under subjection to the purpose for which it was ordained.

God made man to live in beauty and strength according to His Divine laws. Sin made an inroad and left a roadway. Man was defiled. God in His plan of restoration has to redeem man spirit, soul and body, but this cannot be achieved without the willingness and total submission to God’s Divine plan. As the Spirit is allowed to work in the inward parts, He is able to turn bitterness to sweetness, rage to peace, hate and animosity to love, rough to smooth, sorrow to joy and heaviness to praise, delivering the soul from envy, jealousy, malice (and) pride, causing a true spirit to pervade which can stand the LIGHT OF HIS COUNTENANCE.

So many times, it seems easier to give way to the flesh in anger, malice, strife, hatred, (and) mistrust of the brethren, or on the other hand deceiving the brethren, giving false witness, using a false balance and others too many to mention (whatsoever does not edify the individual or the Body of Christ, or glorify Jesus is not of God). Some things are seen out in the open – others are not very obvious; then some left only to the honesty of one’s conscience before God; “To thine own self be true.” (Shakespeare). Trust and be trusted.

(Excerpt from Nuggets for the Needy, 1997, pages 69-71)

Thought for today: The desires of the flesh are ever present, but the provision for overcoming is through the Spirit.

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He That Overcometh

Posted in Overcoming, tagged , , , , on September 3, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Scripture reading: Revelation 2:8-11

We find the church being split in two. Part of them will overcome and the other part will not overcome. There are overcomers and there are losers. Sometimes words do not convey the strength of meaning to us when we hear them. For instance, you hear the word overcomers and you wonder to yourself what is to be overcome. Overcomers first of all overcome their own natures. They overcome the mind of the world, the mind of the flesh, the mind they inherited from their families, and they overcome strong emotions. If you do not overcome your emotion and have them under control, then they will overcome you and destroy you. Overcomers overcome their own will and their own desires.

This is a battle royal when a person overcomes himself through the Blood of Jesus Christ and the power which God has given. For indeed, the Spirit of God has given us power to overcome familiar spirits, old family ties, things that pull us down and make us losers. We are not to go out and overcome other people. We need to overcome the flesh, the devil, and the world. This is what we mean by “he that overcometh.“

I John 2:15-17, Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. 17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

What is the love of the world? One day I went to the supermarket and observed the people. They all looked alike. I knew somehow that some Christians had come in, but there was no difference between the way the Christians looked and the way the sinners looked. They all seemed to be part of the sexual revolution. They were showing as much of their bodies as they could, both men and women, young and old. The mind of the flesh had been ministered from Hollywood, Paris, London, and from other fashion places to the minds of these people. The people have become one with this mind of demonic spirits that control the world.

We must realize that the ways of the world, the thoughts of the world, the emotions of the world, and the desires of the world ARE NOT OF GOD. The people of God ARE EXPECTED to resist these things and to be different. It is difficult, but the Holy Spirit in us will help us to be different. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

We have many songs that say, “I love you, Lord Jesus” and the songs are so beautiful. When you hear the people of God singing, you hope and wish their love was true but there is very little truth in it, because those who love the world do not love God. The quicker we realize we do not love God, the quicker we will come to repentance and say, “Oh God, I have discovered that I love the world and I do not love you. Give me Your love.” God will pour out His Spirit upon you. “He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.” This is the promise to the overcomer.

(Excerpt from The Book of Revelation, Volume 1, pg. 36-37)

Thought for today: Remember it is your own nature that you must overcome in order to be the overcomer.

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Devil’s Trump Card

Posted in Overcoming, tagged , , on October 4, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Scripture reading: Revelation 12:7-9

Let me tell you something: the devils we have been dealing with have studied humanity. For six thousand years they have been studying man’s psychology. They have been learning what man is all about and how he functions. They have studied our biological function and believe me, brethren, the devils work to upset us biologically. They work on our hormones. You had better believe it! If they know you can be caught in this way, they concentrate on it, and for years and years this has been what we call the “trump card” of the devil. You know that when you are playing cards and you play your trump card, you lose it! When you have played your trump card, you either become a winner or a loser at that point. The devil is now playing his highest card. He is playing his trump card, and he is about to lose it. He is going to lose it with some of us, but unfortunately with others he is going to win.

Whenever you have a vision of the spirit that is disturbing the Church at this time, you will see this spirit like a snake, a serpent. I do not know if any of you have ever seen that vision of a serpent, but this serpent generally wraps around the person from his waist downward, with its head up in his face. There is a meaning behind this picture. If I were talking to a crowd in Africa, immediately when you mention the serpent, they know what you are going to talk about. They know that you are going to talk about sexuality; you are going to talk about those human passions that have not been controlled. They know it! They understand it.

I notice here in the United States, they have a film that they show the children. They call it “The Little Mermaid.” Some of you, Christians, let your children watch it. It is, however, no little mermaid at all, but rather it is the symbol of the satanic spirit that rules over a great part of the world and which sometimes appears as a serpent.

The overcoming that we must do at this time is in this body. Let me draw a picture. Here are six circles touching each other; the first one is God the Father. The second, God the Son. The third, the Holy Spirit; and the fourth, my spirit; the fifth, my soul; and the sixth, my body. In other words, I am drawing the chain of command that makes the human being godly. We have God the Father coming through Jesus Christ the Son, through the Holy Spirit, through man’s spirit, to his soul, and to his body. What I am trying to show here is that God the Father sent Jesus Christ, the Son; and the Son came in the Holy Spirit into my spirit. Now, the problem is between the soul and the spirit. The problem is to have God break through the veil that is between my spirit and my soul. That is where the problem is and God is trying to break through. Now, He must minister to my mind, but the world is also ministering to my mind; the carnal realm is ministering to my mind. My mind is being bombarded by all these things.

It is not because your body is biologically in order that it functions. Your body functions because your mind tells your body what to do! Let me tell you of an experience I had. One day, I was welding a pipe and my mind was far away. I put down the hot welding iron and put my finger on it. My mind was so far away that it was only when I smelled flesh burning that I all of a sudden realized that my finger was burnt, horribly burnt until it was crisp. Immediately, out of my mouth came, “I shall not feel this! In the name of Jesus, I shall not feel this!” And I did not feel it!

So, I was running into the room to my wife to show her how my finger was so badly burned. Yet I was not feeling any pain, and it was because of the Spirit of God. When I let her see my finger to show her how burnt it was, I was ashamed—the finger was totally healed! There was no burn at all. That was a symbol to me of what the power of Christ working through your mind could do.

The mind is on top of the body, therefore the sins of the body are not coming from the body, but they are coming from the way you think!

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, July 2000, pg. 29-31)

Thought for today: Let the power of Christ work through your mind so that your body would obey the righteous commands that come from your Father in heaven.

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The Company of Overcomers

Posted in Overcoming, tagged , , , on September 30, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Scripture reading: Jeremiah 31:31-34

In the book of Revelation, John saw all of us sitting here. John said he looked at the company of the overcomers and they were all worshipping the Lord. He saw you! Before you were born, he saw you, and you were worshipping the Lord; and God said, “It is good. Let them be birthed.”

So, we are born in various, different circumstances. Some of us were born in darkness: “Lord, when I think of the night… my soul… in the past! It was so dark; it was so terrible; it was so hopeless!” Yet, God said, “It is good!” For God saw the end of it.

Although I cannot see the end of it, I am rejoicing in the end of it, for I know that God is seeing it. He said that all them that He called, He perfected (Ref. Romans 8:29-30). He said He called you because He already perfected you! He knows what you are going to go through!

Today we are up against the Church’s greatest battle up to this point, and I believe there will be no greater when we overcome. The reason is that we are just a few years from the end of this age, and according to my understanding, after the end of this age, Christ must come forth and walk and talk in human flesh and blood. He must walk on the streets of the city and bring forth the glory of God; and mankind must see God walking through men! This is the promise. He said in Jeremiah 31:33, “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

This promise was made to Israel, and as God engrafted us into this Israel, we became a part of the promise. So God must, I say, God must bring forth this thing on earth before He finishes the job! He cannot finish this age until He has brought this thing to pass! God must be God, and we must be a kingdom of priests, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, and a peculiar people unto God (Ref. 1 Peter 2:9). You are not satisfied with what you are right now and I am not satisfied with what I am. Then, if we are not satisfied, God is not satisfied either!

(Excerpt from The Omega Message, July 2000, pg. 27-28)

Thought for today: Let us strife in our daily lives towards having God’s law written in our hearts.

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God’s Order in the Church

Posted in Overcoming, tagged , , , , , on June 14, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Scripture reading: I Timothy 3:1-13

Let us look into God’s order for the church. His order is that the church should be ruled by elders appointed. It is a plural ministry that God appoints in the church. You might say to me that the word “bishop” is in the Bible. Let us read the King James Version in I Timothy 3:1, “This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.” The whole verse is incorrectly translated. NOTHING IS WRONG WITH THE WORD OF GOD. What is wrong is what man says the Word of God says. Let us look at the Greek. The following is from the Textus Receptus by J. P. Green. I Timothy 3:1, “Faithful the word. If anyone overseership aspires to a good work.” This says that if a man has a desire to take care of God’s flock, God’s people, he desires “a good work.” Notice, there is no word in the Greek which suggests a HIERARCHY or an OFFICE called “bishop.” Also, nothing is said about being a bishop. The word is “overseership.” The word “bishop” is another Latin word that comes in to promote the idea of a hierarchy. The word “bishop” came into the denominations from the Roman Catholic church that ordained a hierarchical set-up, from the Pope on down to the Cardinals, Bishops, etc. This reveals how much the church has departed from God. Divine order, which God set in the church, has been destroyed by traditions.

Let us look at the Greek word “episkopas,” erroneously translated in I Timothy 3:1 as “bishop,” in another place in the Scriptures. In Acts 20, Paul is about to bid a final farewell to the brethren in Ephesus. He was not going to be coming back for he was going to Jerusalem to be offered up. He knew it was the end and he was giving the last message to the church. Acts 20:17, “And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.” The message he is giving them concludes with verse 28, “Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.” In this case, the same word “episkopas” is translated “overseers,” where as in I Timothy 3:1 it was translated “bishop” bringing in that hierarchical concept.

I Timothy 3:12, “Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife, ruling their children and their own houses well.” This word “deacons” was coined from the Greek word “deakonon” which means “servant,” and in this specific place was called “deacons.” There is no such thing as a “deacon.” It should be translated a “servant.” All servants of God should “be the husbands of one wife” and rule their own household.

From the above scriptures we can see that there has been much error brought into the church. Nevertheless, God’s Word prevails.

Revelation 2:7, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God.”

God always has His overcomers. He is revealing to us that even in this Ephesian church, where some people had fallen away and lost their first love, there were some who were going to be overcomers. We see two churches in the one church – one as overcomers and one as those who do not overcome. This is a picture of all of the churches throughout all of the ages even unto our time. Make your calling and election sure for you can either be an overcomer or a loser.

(Excerpt from The Book of Revelation, Volume 1, pg. 34-35)

Thought for today: May we strive to walk in God’s divine order so that we overcome and are blessed to eat of the tree of life.

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