How do we overcome the power of sin in our lives?
I was recently listening to “Overcome” by Jon Egan and the Desperation Band on the way home from my son’s Lacrosse game, when I was captured by one of the lyrics at the end of the song. I’ve sung this song dozens of time, so it wasn’t a new song for me, but this time something clicked. The repeated lyric is “And we will overcome, by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony, everyone overcome.” Revelation 12:11 is the verse that bridge it taken from.
Revelation 12:11 (NKJV) “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.”
I really began to ask the Lord about it. So how do we overcome? What is the significance of this verse? How does the rubber meet the road and why? (If you read my blogs very often, you’ll find that’s a very common question I ask…)
1. The blood of the Lamb
First things first… This is the fulfillment of God’s law. This gives us the LEGAL RIGHT TO OVERCOME. “Hebrews 9:22 (ESV) “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” When we’ve been washed in the blood of the Lamb, we are forever the possession of God himself. There is MUCH that could be said here, but that’s for another day… Here’s the meat of this post…
2. The word of their [our] testimony
This is gives us the POWER TO OVERCOME. This is where the rubber meets the road. We’re all familiar with Proverbs 18:21 “21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” But for me, in getting to that verse, I’ve glossed over the prior one, verse 20.
Proverbs 18: 20-21 (NKJV) 20 A man’s stomach shall be satisfied from the fruit of his mouth; From the produce of his lips he shall be filled. 21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.
When those two verses are put together, we’re talking about a whole meal! What we claim – the words that we speak – is what will fill our stomachs. This is a very interesting picture as the stomach is essentially where digestion of our physical food begins after we eat. “You are what you eat,” is a saying we learned to help us make healthy choices of our meals. How appropriate! So it is with the words we speak. When we speak words, we listen to those words, we hear those words, we believe those words – we digest those words. When we speak words of defeat over our lives, our character, our circumstances, our children, etc., etc., we begin digesting those words. Those words “satisfy” our stomach and we continue to live in those things we believe. “You are what you eat,” becomes much more like “You are what you speak.”
It’s time to stop the madness! It’s time to begin confessing the words of life. Even if it’s not evident yet, speak it. For example, “I was unhappy, but God has given me joy and helped me overcome. (Gal 5:22)” or “I was an angry man; but God has given me patience and helped me overcome. (I Cor 13:4)” or “I was afraid and let fear rule my circumstances, but God has given me a spirit of power, love and a sound mind and helped me overcome. (2 Tim 1:7)” Speak what God has or is making you BASED on what HE says about you in his Word – the Bible.
Hear me… I am NOT advocating a “name it and claim it” theology. God is NOT a Genie, but there is a “working out” of our salvation. There is a process of transformation and I believe renewing our mind with the Word of God and what God says about us is part of that process.
The word of your testimony is what breaks the power of sin in your life, but only if you’ve been bought by the blood of the Lamb.
3. They died to themselves
“… and they did not loves their lives to the death,” is how Rev 12:11 ends. This is the MEASURE OF OVERCOMING!
Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who lives, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”
I find this to be the most difficult verse in the Bible to really live out. My wants, my desires, my needs, my expectations, my rights… and the list goes on. If I’m offended, my flesh is probably alive. If I am angry, my flesh is probably alive. If I feel slighted, cheated, short changed, cut off, hindered, delayed or detained, my flesh is probably alive.
Only when I am fully dead to me, can I be fully alive in Christ.
THIS is overcoming defined!
So here are three questions for today’s take-away:
1. Are you legally God’s? This is critical and the first thing and most important thing. All eternity rides on the answer to this one. Without #1, you can’t do #2.
2. What is God helping you overcome in your life? Speak it OUT LOUD! verbalize it! Hear yourself say it audibly!
3. What part of you do you need to die to? This IS the victory!
If you want to discuss the answer to any of these questions, email me at [email protected].
Running After Papa…