Being Victorious in Christ by Faith!

SPEAKER A You once to every time in the sight of the good or evil sky don't break on you that I choice of life forever with that darkness. And. SPEAKER B The Bible assures us in Ephesians two, verses eight to ten, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Welcome to faith to faith Here are your hosts, Ettienne McClintock and Braedan Entermann. SPEAKER C Dear listener, greetings and a warm welcome. Thank you for tuning into the program again today. We are delighted to have your company. And just before we start our Bible study, we just invite you to bow your heads with us in prayer. Gracious Father in heaven, we deem it a privilege to have an audience with you through Your word. We deem it a privilege that you've given us your Holy Spirit as well, to guide and lead us into all truth. And as such, Father, we now just surrender our ideas, our thoughts to you and ask you to lead us in the study through your Holy Spirit. Bless us, father. Bless the listener out there as well. May we be drawn closer to you. May we have a deeper appreciation of the faith that we are to have. That faith is the victory and how we are to overcome through faith in Jesus Christ, our Creator, our Redeemer, and our Sustainer. And this is our prayer in Jesus name. Amen. SPEAKER D Amen. SPEAKER C Now, in the previous program, we looked at the life of Noah and how Noah was a preacher of righteousness. And we get those texts from the Bible that tell us that by faith, Noah, when he was divinely, warned of things that were not yet seen. So remember, they had not seen rain, yet. They had not seen what a flood was like. It says that he believed what God had told him. He moved with Godly fear and prepared an ark for the saving of his household. And in doing that, his actions condemned the world and he became an heir. So, in other words, inherited the righteousness, which is according to faith. So Noah believed God, and he believed God contrary to him being able to scientifically prove what was yet to come on the earth. They'd never seen rain before. So, incredible faith. But he saved his house. And not only his house, there were others that helped him build the ark. For example, we know that Methuselah died the year of the flood. His father was a great man, Enoch, which we will get to later. But Enoch actually called his son a name, and the name was actually prophetic in what it meant, because it says when he dies, it will come. That's basically what it means. But we want to look at these people of faith. Noah, being a preacher of righteousness for 120 years, building ark and preaching, he obviously preached salvation. And the Ark represented Christ. It represented the Messiah who would save his people from their sin. And we know in the Book of Acts, chapter four and verse twelve, it says, nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. So whenever they preach salvation, it was always in the promise of the Messiah, the promise of the deliverer, the promise of a Savior. And we see that all these people overcame by faith. Now, what was it about their faith that gave them such great confidence that they could overcome? And we want to unpack that a little bit today, don't we, Braedan? SPEAKER D That's exactly what we want to do, yeah. SPEAKER C So we want to look at this text found in two Corinthians, chapter two and verse 14, and we can start our Bible study today on that text there. So the text says, Braedan, now, thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ and through us diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. So we can thank God, thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ. So were these people that we've just spoken about so far, these heroes of faith, were they led in triumph in Christ? SPEAKER D Absolutely, they were. And I love it about this. It says, now, thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph. SPEAKER C So it doesn't say sometimes, does it? SPEAKER D It doesn't say sometimes. And it presents God as our leader. It says, now, thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph. Or another word there is victory. Yes, who always leads us in victory in Christ and through us. So he's doing something else in us. He diffuses the fragrance of his knowledge in every place. What I love about this verse is that in the Christian experience, it's so easy to be contented with defeat and failure. SPEAKER C Yes, definitely. SPEAKER D But it's actually a way of thinking that's very, very contrary to the very plainest and simple teaching of the Scriptures. It says that God always leads us in victory. Victory is something that God wants for every single one of his children. And I remember back to when I was in school, when you win something or you do well in something, isn't it just a great thing where you win a race, you conquer in something? We weren't made to be to suffer and to experience defeat and failure all the time. The Bible says here, especially in our Christian life, we've been called to follow God and he will always lead us in victory every single time. SPEAKER C Okay? What I like about the always is that is continual victory. So it's not just victory in the past and then defeat in the present. It is victory in the past in the present and also the promise of victory through Christ in the future. And when we look at the Christian experience and I can relate to that and there may be some listening right now who can relate to that as well, that there are many of us who try to live the christian life on the strength of the faith which we had exercised when we first realized ourself as sinners, our need of pardon, and therefore also, of course, the need of a Savior. So we live on that past life. But that pardon for sin in the past alone cannot sustain us in the present. While it is good to know that we need that continuous sustaining of faith by the power of Christ to keep us. And what happens is they start running the race and we maybe in our own lives in the past, we start running this race in our own strength. We started in faith, but we haven't continued in faith. So that word always that you brought out there now, thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ. They can talk about the triumph of the past, but is there triumph in the present? And I'm saying, really what God offers us is triumph always in Christ. But we have to exercise faith that Christ is with us in the past, he's with us now, and he will be with us in the future. Jesus says, I will not leave you nor forsake you. I am with you always, even unto the end of the world or the end of the age. SPEAKER D That's powerful. I got another verse here in Romans, chapter eight. And again another just a gloriously, victorious verse. And verse 35, it says, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or peril or sword? It's very interesting how we allow circumstances and situations and different crises and various things like that to threaten our relationship and our connection with God, which, as we've all experienced, leads to defeat and to failure. SPEAKER C I've experienced that in my own life, where a crisis comes and then we get distracted. We take our focus of Jesus or we blame God for it for some reason. I know someone who lost a dad, for example. They were a Christian up to that point in time, and then they abandoned the Christian faith because their father died. But the promise is not that we will not die on this planet. The promise is gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus. Even though we die, there will be a resurrection. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C So they lost their faith and experience. And then another young lady which I knew who was a Christian, perhaps a little bit promiscuous, she ends up getting pregnant and then she cries out, god, how can you let this happen to me? Well, if you have relationships outside of marriage, it's always the risk. And now they want to blame God because they fell pregnant. God has already said, don't do that until you get married. But there's many people who want to blame God for it, for the experience that they have that are wrong. But the thing is, even when those difficulties come, you were just reading there, and there's a number of them tribulations, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness or peril or sword, even in those things, they shouldn't distract us. Because the question is, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Will these things separate us? Well, some people have allowed those things to separate them from God, haven't they? SPEAKER D And it's interesting, Paul writes these things, see the tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, perilous order, these are things that he himself has experienced. Yes, every single one of them. He knows what it's like to have struggles. One time he said, without or from the outside are fightings and within are fears. There's like this conflict that he knows is very, very real. It's part and parcel to the Christian life. But so often we allow the pressures from the outside and the fears on the inside to disconnect us from God. Yes, and I love what it goes on to say. In verse 37, it says, yet in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. He says, I'm persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Jesus Christ our Lord. SPEAKER C Wow, that is so powerful. So what I like there in verse 37, it doesn't only tell us that we are conquerors. We've already said the fact that we can be conquerors in all things and always, as the text said in two Corinthians, chapter two, verse 14. But here it says that we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. And then it talks about this love. So again, it comes back to relationship, that relationship with the God, that relationship of trust and confidence in him. And Paul is absolutely he's gone through all these things, like you said, and he is absolutely persuaded in verse 38 that death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, not things present, not even things that are in the future, things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any created thing. So anything that's come into existence shall be able to separate us from the love, the agape love of God, the self sacrificing love of God, which is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. SPEAKER D Isn't that amazing? We often give the devil a little bit too much wiggle room. We often feel quite intimidated by the devil and his angels and his work, and we feel quite threatened. But he says here, no, an angel can't separate me from God's love. Not even an angel can do that. He says in all these things, even in all of these terrible situations, we are more than conquerors. And so often we would say, and we've been tempted to say many times, is, if only I had this particular situation, if only I lived in this particular neighborhood, or if I only wasn't married to this person, then I would be a more than conqueror. Then I would experience victory all the time. We blame our circumstances for our failures, but Paul says it doesn't matter what circumstance you're in, it doesn't matter what country you're in, doesn't matter what family you're born into, what socioeconomic strata you're living in. Victory can be yours always. And where does it come from? Is it us gritting our teeth? No, it comes from us knowing and experiencing the love of God. And it's in following him. That's where the victory comes from. And if only we remember that more often. SPEAKER C True. That is so true. Now, I love what you've brought out there about us being conquerors through Jesus Christ and how that conquering actually is an element of an expression of God's love for us and our confidence in his love that nothing can separate us from Him. Because it says in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. So a knowledge of who God is, the knowledge of his love for us, even when to our senses, it looks like we've been abandoned by God suffering, privation suffering, whatever it is. He said, nothing can separate us from the love of God. Now, that is explicit confidence and trust in God that come what may, doesn't matter what I experience, even if I lose my life, for Christ's sake, I know that I'm not separated from his love. SPEAKER D That's right. We can even take this now to Revelation, the Book of Revelation. The Book of Revelation is saturated with victory language. And I love it because the Book of Revelation has it prophetically portrays scenes of conflict, especially relating to the end times, but it has this tone of victory all the way through it. SPEAKER C Yes, I love that, that's with the opening of the seals, it talks about conflict on the earth, scarcity on the earth, widespread death on the earth. It talks about the cry of the martyrs. So there's a lot of conflict going on at that time. So what does those verses bring out in regards to our faith and confidence in the Lord? SPEAKER D So in prophetic vision, John is shown this. So, verse two of chapter six. And I looked and behold a white horse. And he who sat on it had a bow and a crown was given to him and he went forth conquering. SPEAKER C And to conquer that is powerful. So who would this person be sitting on the white horse that was given a bow and a crown? SPEAKER D When we have a look at this symbolism here. It's actually a symbol of Christ because he's presented as coming on this white horse. I think it's in Revelation chapter 19, he's presented as coming in victory to reclaim his own and to receive the purchased that his blood purchased. And here he is going forth. It's a symbol of the Christian church with Christ at the head going forth, conquering and to conquer. There's this picture of just powerful victory right through to the very end. SPEAKER C Sure. And just to add to that, you were talking about who's sitting on the white horse. We know from Revelation 19. I just want to read from verse eleven. It says, now saw heaven opened and behold a white horse. So here we see a white horse again. And he who sat on him was called faithful and true. So this is the faithful and true witness in Revelation chapter three that brings a message to the last church, which is the Laodicean Church. And in righteousness he judges and makes war. So this here ties in with the fact that this person, this being who we know is Jesus Christ, goes out conquering and to conquer. So he goes out in righteousness he judges and he makes war. And it says, his eyes were flame of fire. So this is the description we see in Revelation chapter one of Jesus. And on his head were many crowns. And he had a name written that no one knew except himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood. So that gives us another clue. And his name is called the Word of God. And all the armies of Heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, follow him on white horses. And then it says out of his mouth goes a sharp sword, and with it that he should strike the nations, and He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron and so on and so on. So we clearly see the connection here between that and the Word of God. And we know that the Word of God was the one who was made flesh. The Word of God was the one who was God in the beginning and was with God in the beginning. And he was made flesh to dwell. SPEAKER D Among us, none other than our Savior. SPEAKER C Amen. SPEAKER D So here we have this picture of what Christ designed his church to be, and just what he designed the whole Christian movement to be. It's a movement that goes forth conquering and to conquer right through to the very end with Jesus at our head. That's possible. And that's what he's calling us to. SPEAKER C Now. We know that Satan was conquered at the cross through Christ. He says that the king of this world or the prince of this world was judged and he was cast out, he was cast to earth. We read that in Revelation chapter twelve. And then heaven rejoices. But then it says, Woe to the earth. So when it says he goes to conquer, he's conquered the devil at the cross, but he goes to conquer as well. So that's a continuous conquering that takes place. How is that conquering manifested with Christ, then continuously conquering? Do we see that in the church? SPEAKER D We do, and it's interesting. This conquering is both an external conquering and an internal conquering. SPEAKER C Okay? SPEAKER D If we look at our hearts and our lives, and the more we get to know God, the more we see the problems in our own lives and we see some big challenges that we face that need to be overcome in our lives. But furthermore, we look at the world around us. It's a battle zone. We see the devil influencing thousands and millions of people around the world to do terrible things. And the church is called to go into enemy territory and to conquer. And that conquering is not with the force of arms. It's not trying to use coercion or anything like that, but it's winning people with the love of God into a relationship with God where they can be conquered, as it were, with love. SPEAKER C Amen. Yes, that's right. And we read about that, obviously, in Romans, chapter eight, where it was the love of God that gave Paul the ability to overcome regardless of what happened to him. Nothing could separate him from that love. And that is the love that we actually share with others once we've received it ourselves. SPEAKER D That's right, yes. SPEAKER C Beautiful. Now, in regards to conquering and to conquer, just a few verses, well, a few chapters down in Revelation chapter 15, we read and I saw something. This is 15 and verse two, I saw something like the sea of glass mingled with fire. And those who have the victory, now listen to what they had. The victory, victory over the beast, over his image, over his mark and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass having harps of God. So here we see people who've experienced the victory of Christ during a great and very dangerous period of time in earth's history. Now, for us, it's still future, but here we see people who've actually gone through the experience and they've obtained the victory through Christ. It says they had victory over the beast. Now, the beast is someone that is worshipped. It says, the whole world will wander after the beast. They will worship the beast. Then it says over his image. So we see the first commandment, you shall have no other gods before me. So that worship, they've overcome the worship of the beast, they've overcome the worship of the image. And the second commandment is don't make any graven images. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C Then it says also that you shouldn't take the name of the Lord your God in vain. That's a third commandment. And it says, they had a victory over the number of his name. So that's the third commandment. They obtained a victory through Christ, and then also talks about the mark of the beast, which actually believe refers to the fourth commandment. So their relationship with the Lord, which is the first four commandments, our love for God, with all our heart, mind, soul and strength, is manifested in the fact that they overcome these counterfeits. SPEAKER D That's right. SPEAKER C And this is all through this person, our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who comes out on a white horse in symbolism, he conquers and then he goes on to conquer, but he conquers through his church. SPEAKER D Conquers through his church. SPEAKER C Beautiful. SPEAKER D I love this because so many people, first and foremost, they have no idea what the beast is or the mark of the beast. They know it's some creepy, bad thing. And even for those who do know what it is, there can be a sort of anxiety, worry, fear. Am I going to be able to stand? And I love this. Here we just get the end of the story. The Bible says very, very clearly that, yes, there will be people who will experience victory standing on that sea of glass, who nothing in the world, no, no threat of any kind could separate them from the love of God, having victory over all of those things. SPEAKER C So Christ is the one that gives them the victory. Christ is the one that goes out conquering and to conquer. But we see in Revelation, chapter two and three. So we're going back now towards the beginning of the book. Seven times. There are seven messages sent to the churches. Now, they were churches that existed in the time when this book was written by John the Revelator, the beloved disciple. But then each of those churches also have a sequential meaning because it actually gives time periods right through to the very last church, which is the church of the Laodiceans. And it's the people who are under the judgment, or people's judgment. That's what the word Laodicea means. But for example, if you read Revelation chapter two and verse seven, the message to the first church, which is the church of Ephesus, it says, he is an ear, let him hear and hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give him to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Then the second church, there's a church of Smyrna. And in verse eleven, it says, now he has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death. So there's a first death, which is the death we die naturally, the death we die on this planet. But the second death is obviously the punishment for sin. Then the third church, pergamus. That church is also told to overcome. It says, he who is an ear, let him hear. And we in verse 17, what the Spirit says to the churches, to him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manner to eat, and I will give Him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written, which no one knows except him who receives it. Then the fourth church, you've got Thyatara. And in verse 26, and he who overcomes and keeps my word until the end, to Him I will give power over the nations. And then we get into the next church, the Church of Sardis. And it says there in chapter three and verse five, he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the book of Life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before the angels. Then you have the church, the 6th church, the Church of Philadelphia. And in verse twelve of chapter three, it says, he who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go out no more. And I will write on Him a name of my God, the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from God. And I will write on Him my new name. Then the very last church we read there, the Church of the Ladice, verse 21 to Him who overcomes, I will grant to sit with me on My throne as I also overcame. So this is Jesus speaking, the same way Jesus overcame and sat down with His Father on his throne. So the challenge there to overcome is presented to us, but it is not done in our own strength, is it? Because it is done in the strength of Him that sits on the white horse who conquers and goes out to conquer. SPEAKER D This is so powerful. I love in every one of those promises. It says, he who overcomes, the one who overcomes, the one who overcomes. And if we take a look at the context of each of these churches, they were facing some very challenging things. It goes back to Romans, chapter eight. Again, these people are facing persecution. They're facing all of these different challenges, and God is saying that victory is accessible to them no matter what situation they're in, victory is accessible and available for them to have freely. And I love the last promise there where Jesus says, I also overcame. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D And he didn't overcome sitting on a throne in no. No. He overcame by being born in a terrible neighborhood. He was teased about his birth, he was marginalized. He was rejected by the elders of the people. He was crucified, he was tortured, he was mocked, he was ridiculed and then crucified. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D And so Jesus knows what it's like to face some challenges. He knows what it's like to live in a bad neighborhood and to face rejection and marginalization. And yet he says, I also overcame. SPEAKER C Yeah. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with our griefs. The Bible says, and it says there that in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto his brethren, his brethren being us, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in the things pertaining to God. SPEAKER D It's beautiful, isn't it? SPEAKER C Yeah. SPEAKER D And so that's what I love about Jesus, is he sets the standard. He doesn't look down to us and say, come on, now, get yourselves together. Overcome. He says, I can give you victory because I've achieved victory. Now, we got to ask the question, how did he achieve that victory? Was it just by gritting his teeth? Was it by using his divine power? No, it wasn't. It was by putting implicit trust and confidence in the Father at all times. SPEAKER C Yes. SPEAKER D Believing. And this is how he overcame the devil. He said, it is written he claimed Scripture, he clung to Scripture, believing that the Word had power to be able to help Him in every situation. And he sets us an example and he says, I've set you an example that you should follow in my steps. SPEAKER C That's true. That's very powerful. We are also called to resist, aren't we? Resist the enemy, to resist the devil. And in James, chapter four, we are told to resist the devil and he will flee from us. But I don't know how many of you out there have actually tried that. I know I have tried and I've failed miserably. Resist the devil and he will flee. But he didn't flee. The issue was that I hadn't submitted myself to God, because the text actually says, therefore submit to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you. So this is a submission to God in humbleness and humility, because it talks about those who receive grace. And I just want to read this in the preceding verse. In verse six, he says, But He gives more grace. Therefore he says, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. So we got to humble ourselves before God, take up our cross and follow Him. Then it says, Submit yourself to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you, because the grace of God will allow you to make that resistance. And then the Devil, when he sees he's defeated, he doesn't like defeat, he takes off very quickly. SPEAKER D Isn't this so interesting, the word submission? Submission and victory side by side, that doesn't click well with my brain. Naturally, when we're going to get victory, we don't want to be submitting. SPEAKER C That's right. How can you achieve victory through surrender? Because typically that seems to do the opposite to us. SPEAKER D But this is the beautiful thing. And once we realize this, our victory is assured. Submission and surrender to God is the victory, because the defeat is our defiance and rebellion against God. That's the defeat. And so the victory. And the devil can't hack it, he can't handle it is when we are surrendered to God. And I love this verse in Revelation, chapter 21. It's kind of like the keynote of the anthem of victory. And we have it here in verse seven. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be his God and he shall be my son. SPEAKER C Beautiful and dear listener, we pray that God has blessed you in our study today. We're talking about Jesus going to conquer. He has conquered, and then he continues to conquer, and he gives a victory to his church, those who have humbled themselves, who have surrendered to Christ to obtain that victory. And we've just come to the end of our program now. We pray that God will bless you as you continue in your own personal study, and we look forward to catching up with you next time. Until then, God bless. SPEAKER B Thank you for joining us on Faith. To Faith. If you would like more information about today's program or if you have any questions, please contact 3ABN Australia Radio by Phoning. 02 4973 3456. 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