Tuesday night was another fantastic message by Bro. Robert Henson. His title was "Becoming a Life Champion!" Focus: Successfully Living the Christ Life.
Life Champions are:
1) Victors
2) Overcomers
God wants you to be saved! Satan designs his attacks where we are weakest, but God provides divine assistance.
Victor
Victor = a conqueror; a person who defeats an adversary; one who vanquishes an enemy.
This speaks of a victory so overwhelming that the adversary never again arises from the dust of defeat to offer any challenge to the believer.
Romans 8:35-39 speaks of the victor:
"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. For I am 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 creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."
Overcomer
Overcomer = one who prevails in a struggle or conflict; a person who overcomes difficulties; one who surmounts (comes over) opposition, debilities, weaknesses and/or temptations.
Overcomers, with great resolve, continue to fight on.
There are some enemies that I have been able to annihilate, but there are some enemies that I am still fighting. I still face opposition, but by God's grace I'm an overcomer, still fighting. One of the favorite tactics of the devil is to say, "You must not really be saved if you're still struggling." This is not true! As long as you keep fighting, overcoming, you are a Life Champion.
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| I took a "few" notes |
Children of Israel
At the Red Sea, the Lord made the children of Israel victors. Not one Egyptian survived. They never fought Egypt again!
It was in the Land of Promise that the children of Israel became overcomers!
The Red Sea experience lasted 36-48 hours. Completely overcoming the Promise Land lasted for years. Most of us spend more time in the promise land than at the Red Sea! Deuteronomy 7:22 says, "And the Lord thy God will put out those nations before thee by little and little." Little by little the children of Israel overcame their enemies.
In Judges 3:1-4, the Lord gave three reasons why Israel was not given immediate victory and occupancy of the entire Land of Promise:
So that the Israelites would learn and know how to fight the enemy.
So that their children would learn and know how to fight the enemy.
So that it could be discovered whether or not the Children of Israel would be obedient unto the Lord and His Word and to the leadership He had appointed over His people.
You and I
Key understanding: You and I experience both types of spiritual warfare.
Some adversaries Jesus helps us crush once - drug addiction, alcohol, cigarettes. The other level is conflicts that we face everyday such as lust, pride, anger, poor attitudes, jealousy.
As born again children of God we have three main enemies with whom we contend: the devil, our flesh, and the world. Our biggest enemy is our own flesh but "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Phil 4:13) 2 Corinthians 2:11 says, "Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices." Christ will keep us from being outsmarted by the devil.
Key understanding: FORGIVENESS plays a key role in our overcoming!
We have a much more difficult time overcoming when we don't forgive. Unforgiveness is the most employed strategy of Satan. We must forgive others and ourselves. Those who don't forgive themselves live under constant condemnation. Don't live with unrelenting regrets. God doesn't expect you to continue grieving over what you cannot change.
Key understanding: If you are currently fighting the good fight of faith, you are participating, even now, in championship living!
The book of Revelation addresses numerous promises to the overcomers! Not one time are the promises made to victors.
Revelation 2:7 "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life."
Revelation 2:11 "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death."
Revelation 2:17 "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.."
Revelation 2:26 and 28 "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations...and I will give him the morning star."
Revelation 3:5 "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."
Revelation 3:12 "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name."
Revelation 3:21 "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne."
Revelation 21:7 "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." - Overcomers inherit ALL THINGS!!
This was such an outstanding message! Just re-reading my notes this morning was inspiring. God loves overcomers! And right on time, there was this simple quote in my email box:
Today you can choose to live the rest of your life as a Life Champion!
