Living as an Overcomer – Tony Evans

Putting God in First Place – Chapter 2

1. Read Revelation 2:1-7.

   18. Who is speaking to John? (See also Revelation1:17-18.)

   19. Here in Revelation 2, who is he speaking to? The Church of Ephesus and to us.

 

1. Just as He does with us, Jesus knows everything about them and us. This church has worked hard and has “persevered and endured hardships in Jesus’ name”.

 

1. BUT they have forgotten their first love. He is talking about their passion for serving God.  They still love Him but they do not put Him first in their lives.

 

1. Having just celebrated Easter and Good Friday, we were reminded what Jesus did for us. The church at Ephesus has forgotten all of it.  Without our relationship with God through Jesus we are nothing more than a social club.

 

1. They have headed down the wrong road. They are making it about religion and not relationship.

 

2. When Jesus speaks to the churches in Revelation 2 and 3, He tells them what they are doing right and what they are doing wrong. This applies to every Christian today.  It is suppose to be all about a relationship.

 

3. The church at Ephesus had forgotten their first love. We have discussed spiritual gifts a number of times in this class.  When you are using you spiritual gift, is it something that you are doing out of obligation or out of love for Jesus?  Out of love. 1 Corinthians 16:14 says, “Do everything in love.”

 

“The issue with Ephesus wasn’t that they no longer loved God; it was that they no longer loved Him first. He was no longer their relational and heart’s priority.” (Evans)

4. We should serve out of love for Jesus. Tony Evans said in the video, that in a long time marriage, that love can leave and then they are nothing more than roommates.  We can do the same thing in serving Christ.  The original zeal that we had for Jesus has left us and then we are serving because we have always served.  It is always important to remember what Jesus did for us and why we serve.

5. 1 John 4:19 says that “We love because He first loved us.” We should serve “because He first loved us.”  He was willing to die that horrible death on the cross for us.  We held first place in His heart and He should hold first place in ours.  We should always remember that and keep it in the front of our minds.

6. When Jesus was asked which was the most important commandment, “37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22)  Both of these commands apply to serving Jesus.  We should serve because we love Him and because we should love others as ourselves.  I praise God constantly for putting others in my path that were willing to love me enough to share Jesus with me.  Shouldn’t we want to do the same for others?

 

7. Have you ever gone to a restaurant and had a waiter that had a bad attitude? He is working at the restaurant for the paycheck.  That is the way we can get when we are “working” at the church and not serving our risen Savior.

8. God wants to be number 1 in our lives. Do you set your weekly schedule by putting church in first?  Do you set your budget by putting your offering last?  Consider Cain and Abel.  Genesis 4 tells us that “Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil” and “Abel… brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock.”  Cain brought some, Abel brought his best.  Abel put God first, Cain did not.  Are you coming to church on Sunday to check a box or truly worship God.

 

9. Proverbs 3:9 says, “Honor the LORD from your wealth and from the first of all your produce”. God wants you to put Him first in everything.

“To love is to decide to compassionately pursue the well-being of another. To love God first is to passionately pursue His pleasure, to pursue that which brings Him glory and good. To love God first doesn’t merely mean serving Him or singing about Him. Nor does it merely mean telling Him you love Him in your prayers. Love is always reflected in actions that originate from the heart.”  (Evans)

10. Whenever you meet someone new, you have to spend time getting to know them in order to develop a personal relationship with them. I have said numerous times that in order to get to know God, you have to study His Word and spend time in prayer.

11. Consider Jesus’ friends Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). I have heard people say are you a Mary or a Martha.  Mary spent her time at Jesus feet while Martha was a doer focused on serving Him.  I would tell you that we need to be both.  We need to serve and spend time developing our relationship with Jesus.

Tony Evans says that the way to tell if your first love for Jesus is becoming a second love is to determine “if your performance for God has become an end in itself. If your checklist garners more focus than checking in with God, you have lost your first love.”

12. Ask yourself was singing in the cantata or reaching the final day of VBS the end goal or did I grow closer to God through the experience? In the case of the cantata, was the purpose entertaining the congregation or praising God because of who He is in my life?  Did I reach children in VBS or at least move them closer to salvation, or did I just entertain the children?   In everything I do for God, do I move closer to Him?

13. Is your list of ways that you are serving God equal to your list of ways that you are moving closer to God, such as Sunday School, Bible study, reading God’s Word or praying?

14. Tony Evans has a section entitled, “What Happened to the Fire?” In anything that we do, marriage, our job, friendships, . . . if we do not work at them, they will fade.  If we let living life become our first priority, then the relationship will die.  Have you ever had a long-time friendship sputter and fade to the point that they no longer cross your mind?

15. When we accepted Christ, we were on fire. We told everyone about Jesus and how He changed our lives.  Now we can go weeks without mentioning His name.

“What Jesus is saying to the Christians at Ephesus—and subsequently to each one of us who has an ear to hear—is that duty is never to replace devotion if we want to be an overcomer. Rather, devotion is to transform duty into something desirable, done out of a heart of love and generated by a relationship rooted in the priority of intimacy.” (Evans)

16. Ephesians 2:10 says, “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” If we don’t serve God for the right reasons, then our “good works” are just “good things”.  Good things are done because in our mind they are the right thing to do.  Good works are done because we love God and want to serve Him.

 

17. In verse 5 of Revelation 2, Jesus tells them to repent and start putting God first or He will come to them and put out their lampstand. Repent means to turn 180 degrees and head the other direction.

18. Evans uses the example of driving the wrong way on the highway. Repenting means exiting the Confession off-ramp, then go over the Grace overpass and head the right way by going up the Restoration on-ramp.

19. The first step is recognizing that you are headed in the wrong direction. Ask yourself, “Is God first in your life?”  You can look at your time and money and see what is most important to you.  Remember what it was like when you first accepted Jesus.   He was first in your life.  That was the right direction.

20. The next step is repenting from your sin. Repenting is telling God that you have wronged Him.  You were not putting Him first but from now on He will be first in your life.  Repenting is not confessing, repenting requires a change in your life.

21. When I was a young man and in love with Terry, I couldn’t imagine loving her more. I was corrected by Pastor Derry.  He said that when you put Jesus first in your life, your capacity to love goes up more than you can imagine.

22. Jesus tells the Ephesians to “Consider how far you have fallen!” Evans says “Repeat what you did at the start.”  The result of repenting is to repeat what you did when you first accepted Jesus.

23. John 14:21 says, “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” Without a personal relationship with Jesus, this will never happen.  We are to serve Him because we love Him and not because we a following a checklist.

24. This verse says that Jesus will disclose Himself to us. The NLT says He will reveal Himself to us. By putting Jesus first then we will see Him in a personal way.  When I am doing Bible study in the morning, then I feel a closeness to Him that I do not have on days that I skip my time with Him.  He feels distant.

25. Verse 7 of Revelation 2 says, “To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” (NKJV) This gift is for the overcomer.  The NIV says, “one who is victorious” who is the one who puts Jesus first in their life.  What is the significance of eating from the tree of life?  We will have eternal life.  The tree of life was in the Garden of Eden but it now is in heaven.

 

Evans says that being an overcomer gives us full access to all of Heaven, it is more than just being inside the pearly gates.  Terry and I went several times with Ed and Betty to the Wilds.  We went on the normal tour that travels along the same road that everyone else travels.  It was great but the most memorable visit to the Wilds is when we took Ed and Betty on the behind the scenes tour.  We got to see the animals up close.  We got to feed the Rhino out of our hands.  God is offering us the behind the scene tour of Heaven.  It is for the overcomers.

 

26. Based on this verse, the gift is in the future but in the present we also have the power of God to help us become an overcomer. Three verses come to my mind when I think of Jesus’ help in our daily lives.

 

1. Hebrews 13:5 – He will never leave us or forsake us. No matter what we do or endure the power of Jesus is at our disposal.

 

1. Matthew 11:28 – “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” This gives me the thought of the poem, “Footprints”.  On our good days, He walks beside us but on our bad days, He carries us.

 

1. Matthew 28:18 – ““All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.” The KJV says “All power” so we have Jesus walking beside us in the Holy Spirit, which means we have all power in heaven and on earth at our disposal.

“So this reward comes both in the present as well. As God discloses Himself to you here on earth, you’ll discover what you are to do, where you are to go, what purpose He has for you, what brings you your greatest joy, how to have healthy relationships, and so much more. You’ll discover the wisdom He has available to you when you draw near to Him in a relationship rooted and grounded in pure love.”  (Evans)

27. Personally knowing God is not the same as knowing about God. When you know God, it changes you.  You see His hand in everything.  You recognize that He is in control of everything in this world.  Knowing Him is a reward in its self.

 

28. When you do Bible studies, make sure that you take time to develop a relationship with God. It is good to read through the Bible but you need to make sure that your daily readings are not the goal.  Your goal in your reading should be to know God more.

29. John 16:33 is the foundational verse spoken by Jesus about becoming an overcomer. It says, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

Living as an Overcomer – Tony Evans

Exhibiting Steady Faithfulness  – Chapter 3

1. Read Revelation 2:8-11. Jesus is speaking to the Church of Smyrna.  Jesus identifies Himself in verse 8 as “the First and the Last, who died and came to life again.”  In the video, Tony Evans says that the “First and the Last” signifies that “what they were facing, He is in control of.”

 

2. First and the Last also means that He is eternal, He has no beginning and no end. He is the ultimate overcomer.  Through His resurrection, He overcame death.

 

3. Evans, in his book, points out the division in the world of politics today. There is the same division in the world of Christianity.  God wants truly committed Christians and these will become the true overcomers.  He does not want the “undecided” Christian.  Evans defines “undecided” Christians as those that claim to be Christian when it benefits them.  Read James 1:6-8.

4. Jesus tells the Church of Smyrna about remaining steadfast in faith. Regardless of the current situations in their lives, Jesus encourages them and us to be faithful.  He doesn’t want Christians to be tossed around by whatever is happening in the world.  He wants them to know that He is in control.

                                                                                                                  

5. We have read about what it was like to be under Roman oppression. The Roman soldiers were notoriously vicious.  Consider the beatings that Jesus received or the Roman candle shown in the movie, “Paul, the Apostle”.  Their treatment of anyone that did not submit would have been horrible.  Jesus endured the horrible treatment of the Roman soldiers, the beatings, the crucifixion.

 

6. When I read verse 9, I think of the hymn, “Give thanks with a Grateful Heart”. The chorus said, “let the poor say ‘I am rich’, because of what the Lord has done for us.”  It all comes down to what you value in life.  The world measures the rich based on things and money and Jesus did not.

 

7. We have learned that the Romans viewed the Caesars as gods. The faithfulness to Christ of the Christians in the Church of Smyrna would have brought persecution on themselves and Jesus says even to the point of death.

 

By failing to follow the Caesars as gods, the Smyrnan Christians  “were, in short, an enemy of the State and placed on a watch list. Their property was confiscated and they couldn’t access the funds in their bank accounts. Jesus reveals this when He mentions they are rich, meaning spiritually, yet live in poverty.” (Evans)

 

8. When we studied Acts, we learned about the Jews that followed Paul around and harassed him. They were faithful to the Jewish religion and not to God.  Jesus called these type of people, “a brood of vipers”.  Here in Revelation 2, Jesus says that they make up “a synagogue of Satan.” 

 

“That you may be tested: If this attack came from the devil, then why couldn’t these Christians in Smyrna just rebuke Satan, and stop the attack? Because God had a purpose in their suffering, and so He allowed it. God uses suffering to purify (1 Peter 1:6-7), to make us like Jesus (Romans 8:17), and to make us truly witnesses of Him. In all ages, the blood of the martyrs has been seed for the church.”  (Guzik)

9. Jesus is in control of everything that happens on earth, even the difficult things. At times we go through trials or difficult times in order to test us or help grow us as Christians.  Consider what Jesus endured for us.

 

“If you feel like you can’t keep up with emotional pressures, know that Jesus knows your pain. If you’re having trouble paying your bills, know that Jesus knows your stress. If you’re crying, know that He not only knows you’re crying but knows how that feels. If your world has been shaken, know that Jesus is aware of that, too, not only because He’s an omniscient God who transcends time and space, but because He lived a fully human life while on earth. In other words, Jesus is your Savior, but He’s also your compassionate Savior.” (Evans)

 

10. I have told you numerous times that ‘joy’ is not the same as ‘happiness’. Joy comes from God and it is present regardless of your current circumstances.

11. Jesus is encouraging the Christians at Smyrna to make faithfulness the same way. He wanted them and thus wants us to remain faithful regardless of what is happening to us.

12. Philippians 2:8 describes Jesus’ own faithfulness. Paul wrote, “And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”   Being obedient to God is equivalent to being faithful to God.

13. Regardless of what the “prosperity gospel” believers say, you will be persecuted and have trials. Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 3:4 “In fact, when we were with you, we kept telling you that we would be persecuted. And it turned out that way, as you well know.”  Read Matthew 5:10-12.

 

“Why Are We Tested?”

14. According to Tony Evans, when we are tested God expects three things to happen in our lives.

 

1. We should increase our compassion and understanding others enduring similar problems. As a result we “extend our experience of His compassion and kindness to others.”

1. We learned in the Adrian Rogers study that as Christians we are to “grow in our walk with Christ”. The more we know about Him the more we will understand why.

1. We will develop a deeper personal relationship with Him or “increasing our intimacy with Christ.”

1. Extending Compassion and Kindness to Others

15. Read 2 Corinthians 1:3-5. Empathy is critical when extending compassion and kindness to others.  If you haven’t walked in their shoes, how can you understand what they have endured in their lives?  Consider the prison mission field.  I have heard ex-cons say that the inmates will not listen to someone who hasn’t be incarcerated.

16. I am not suggesting that only ex-cons reach out to win inmate souls for Christ. Experiences and testing can provide us with understanding that ultimately will soften our hearts for other people and what they are going through.  We are to share the love of Christ with others through compassion and kindness as He would.

2. Growing in Our Walk with Christ

17. Read James 1:2-4. When our children are growing up, they can learn through trials.  The same thing applies to Christians.  We are to grow as Christians.  God puts problems and difficult people in our path to help us to grow.  He does not want us to self-reliant, He wants us to rely on Him.

18. When we have trials and we will have trials, God expects us to grow from them. Evans says, “God works behind the scenes to develop, strengthen, and guide you to His intended kingdom agenda for you.”  2 Peter 3:9 tells us that God’s agenda is to get everyone into His kingdom.

3. Increasing Our Intimacy with Christ

19. When you go through trials and you rely on Jesus to get you through them (not out of them), then you increase your intimacy with Christ. Your personal relationship with Him deepens.

20. The more that you rely on Him, the more you can rely on Him. There is a trust that builds but there should also be a relationship that builds.  It is different than an earthly friendship, it is a spiritual relationship unlike any other.

21. Philippians 3:10 says, “I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death”. Paul is talking about more than knowing about Jesus.

22. Jesus’ love for us is a boundless love. As Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

 

23. In verse 10 of Revelation 2, Jesus says that things will get bad. They will suffer.  They will face imprisonment and possibly death for their faithfulness.  He says that He will reward them for their faithfulness.

 

24. The reward is the “victor’s crown” or some translations call it the “crown of life”. Jim Cymballa calls it the “victor’s crown of eternal life”.  Jesus said in Matthew 16:25, “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

 

25. Jesus is saying in this verse in Revelation 2 and the verse in Matthew 16, “Don’t be concerned about this life on earth, the next life will be amazing.” Or “If it comes down to a choice between your life on earth and Me, then choose Me and we will be together forever.”

 

26. There are all kinds of discussions about the 10 days of suffering in verse 10. Just accept that it is a limited amount of suffering.  Jesus is in control of all things on earth and in heaven, even this time of suffering.  In the Book of Job, everything that Job went through from Satan had to be passed through God.  The same thing still applies today.

27. In the final verse to the church of Smyrna, Jesus says, “Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” Jesus is saying, “Pay attention and understand that this applies to anyone that will listen.” What Jesus says to the church of Smyrna applies to us also.

 

28. When He spoke to the church of Ephesus, Jesus said, “Make me first in your life, now and forever.” To the church of Smyrna, Jesus said, “To avoid the second death, put me first in your life by being faithful.”

 

 

29. Second death! Isn’t one enough.  I have heard, “If you are born once, you will die twice. If you are born twice, you will die once.”  The first death is a physical death.  The second death is a spiritual death, it is life without God in the “lake of fire.”  Revelation 20:14-15 says, “Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.”

 

30. You must be committed to Christ. The rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-27, believed that he had done everything right but when Jesus said, “One thing you lack: go and sell all you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”  He was not willing to completely commit to Jesus.

 

31. Where is your faith? Are you all in with Jesus?  Are you willing to say as Paul did and mean it?  “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believe”.  (Romans 1:16)

“And when trouble comes as a result, keep your eyes on Him. Hang on. Buckle up. Be faithful. He will be with you in the pain and waiting for you at the end with a crown of life and all the rights and privileges that go with that position.”  (Evans)

I saw a meme on Facebook that fits this lesson.

FAITH doesn’t always take you out of the problem,

FAITH TAKES YOU THROUGH THE PROBLEM.

FAITH doesn’t always take away the pain,

FAITH GIVES YOU THE ABILITY TO HANDLE THE PAIN.

FAITH doesn’t always take you out of the storm,

FAITH CALMS YOU IN THE MIDST OF THE STORM.

 

Living as an Overcomer – Tony Evans

Embracing Uncompromising Commitment – Chapter 4

1. Read Revelation 2:12-17. Jesus is writing to the church at Pergamum.  Jesus identifies Himself as “the one who has the sharp, double-edged sword.”  What is symbolized this double-edged sword?  It is the Word of God, the Bible.

 

2. Back in Revelation 1:16, John describes Jesus the same way. “In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.”  Evans says that the sword was a symbol of authority during Roman occupation.  The Romans would have ruled this region with a sword.

 

3. Romans 13:4 says, “For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer.” Remember in Matthew 28:18, Jesus said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”  At that time, along with the authority comes the sword.  For Jesus, the sword was the Word of God.  Evans asks, “Do you fear the power of the man and his sword? Or do you fear the power of Jesus and His Word?”

 

4. The writer of Hebrews (4:12) describes it.  “For the word of God is alive and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  Tony Evans says that it is double-edged because it can be a blessing or for judgment, for building up or tearing down.

 

David Guzik says, “God’s Word diagnoses the condition of man with a surgeon’s precision. It lays open the heart and accurately discerns spiritual health.”

 

5. The Church of Pergamum was in a bad location. Jesus writes that this church was “where Satan has his throne”.  It was located in the heart of satanic worship.  They had a gigantic altar dedicated to the Roman god Zeus.  They had temples to the Roman leadership.  Pergamum was the center for ancient Babylonian priesthood.  There were lots of negative influences in Pergamum.

 

6. On the positive side, Jesus said, “Yet you remain true to my name. “ With everything drawing them away from Jesus, they remained faithful.  Consider our world today, we are in the same boat.  There are so many things pulling us away from Jesus.  We are living in a time where, it has become easy to sin.  Even the government is helping us move away from God.  Gambling, marijuana, abortions, education . . . the list goes on and on.  It is becoming easier and easier to turn away from God.

7. Too many people don’t take the Word of God seriously. They say that it is just an old history book.  If the Word of God is not powerful and authoritative, then why is Jesus’ symbol for the Bible, a sword?  Because it is “it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow” and it is “God-breathed”. It is “alive and active” and it should be viewed that way and not just left on a shelf.

8. He reminds them of Antipas. One of their own who was put to death and did not turn away from Jesus.  Facing death would identify the true believers.  It is easy to say you are faithful to Jesus but add death to the consequences and we will see how faithful you are.

 

9. In verses 14 and 15, Jesus tells them what their failings are. First, they “hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to entice the Israelites to sin so that they ate food sacrificed to idols and committed sexual immorality.”  When the Hebrew nation was coming to the Promised Land in Numbers 22-25, we read about King Balak of Moab that was so afraid of the Israelites that he sent a prophet named Balaam to curse on them.

 

10. Balaam could not curse the Israelites for Balak, so he caused them to stumble by “enticing them to worship idols and commit sexual immorality.” All of the members of the church at Pergamum were not participating in these acts but they were compromising and allowing it to continue.  Yes, on the plus side the church was faithful but they were allowing improper beliefs to slip into the church.

 

11. The second thing that Jesus called them out on was they held “to the teaching of the Nicolaitans”. The Nicolaitans believed that if we are always forgiven for our sins by God, then we may as well sin even more.  Romans 5:20 says, “God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.”   Evans calls it an improper use of grace, “The more I sin, the more I am given grace.  So why not give God something to really forgive.”

 

12. Jesus’ warning is also like a two edged sword. First, He warns that there are some that are doing these bad things and they are to repent.  And since it is continuing, that means that the rest of the church is overlooking these bad things or are compromising and allowing it to happen.

 

13. The church is allowing the world in and allowing their immoral living to continue. This one is happening in churches all over the U.S. today.  Churches are saying, “We will accept your GLBTQ lifestyle and we will even allow you to become leaders and pastors in our church.”

 

14. In verse 16, Jesus says “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.” Jesus is saying, “You fix it or I will.”

15. We say love the sinner but not the sin. Jesus is saying “Get rid of the sin, or else!”  As long as people are willing to call on the name of Jesus, truly repenting and accepting Him as their savior, He will not come down here with His double edged sword and rebuke them.

 

16. Those that overcome are the ones that truly repent and those that do not compromise. In these verses, we learn that compromising and allowing sinners to continue to sin without repenting are equally bad.  Read 1 Corinthians 6:9-11.  They must truly repent.

17. In 1 Corinthians 5, Paul wrote to the church about a man that was a member of the church who was sleeping with his father’s wife and everyone knew it. Paul tells them “God will judge those outside. “Expel the wicked person from among you.”  Some say that we are not to judge. The church at Corinth thought they were being a loving church if they allowed the sinning man to continue to attend.  We are to correct or rebuke.  If we allow them to continue then we are guilty as the sinner.

“We must remember both reasons why it was important to deal with this sinning man among the Corinthian Christians: not only for the sake of purity in the church, but also for the sake of the man’s own salvation.” (Guzik)

Evans says, “Love is not enabling someone to continue in their own self-destruction. It’s compassionately and righteously pursuing the well-being of another.”

18. God wants the church to function based solely on the Word of God. He doesn’t want the world to creep into the church.  He wants Satan outside the doors of the church.

19. Evans uses the example of the hunter and the bear. The bear is hungry and the hunter wants a new coat to keep warm.  The two are mutually exclusive.  There can be no compromise.  If one wins, the other loses.  The issue with being welcoming and affirming to gays is the same way.  If we do so, then we would be inviting all other sins into the church.  The sinners would face eternal life without God but we would be responsible for destroying God’s church.

20. 1 Peter 5:8 says that “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” You cannot compromise with the devil.  Just like the bear, he wants to eat you.

21. The GLBTQ issue is different than most other sins. They say, “Accept me as I am.  I am not going to change.  This is the way that God made me.”  Most other sins are hidden from us but they are the same in that God sees all of them and we are all sinners.

22. God wants to take on all of our sin and He wants us to be totally committed to Him. He doesn’t want us to have a mixture of Him and the world.  It has to be all Him.

23. Revelation 2:16 gives Jesus’ warning them to REPENT! He says, “Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.”  My mom used to say, “Straighten up!  Don’t make me come in there.”

 

24. Jesus said that He would come to them and correct them. To correct them, He would use the double-edged sword which is the Bible.  He will bring judgment on the church.  1 Peter 4:17 tells us, “For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God?”  The church of God is not immune to His judgment, it is the starting place.

 

25. If they repent, they will become overcomers. They will receive 3 rewards.

 

1. Hidden manna – This is the perfect provision. The bread of Heaven.  The Israelites would have perished without the manna sent by God.  Tony Evans says, “this: If you’re living a life of compromise, God will not release His provision into your life like He would if you were a faithful kingdom follower. Compromise always costs you something. You may not know what it costs you, but it always limits God’s supply of hidden manna into your life and circumstances.”

1. A white stone – The white stone has other possible meanings but since it has your “new” name on it. It could be a pass or an invitation to a special part of Heaven or feast that is not for everyone in Heaven.

 

1. A new name – There are people that you have been closest to may have a pet name for you. This type of name signifies that you have a close personal relationship with the person and in this case it is God and Jesus.  It is the saying, “My friends call me John but you can call me Mr. Green.”  Would you rather be called “son” or by your given name.

26. The world today has a lot of uncommitted Christians. Willing to walking the walk on Sunday mornings for an hour or two but they live the rest of the week like a nonbeliever.  They live in the world through compromise.

27. Because of their compromise, they will give up the special manna and the special access. When you have a backstage pass, you have full access to the performer that others don’t have.  Without a backstage pass, we are out front with everyone else.  Entry into Heaven will be amazing but think about how amazing it will be with a full access pass.  You will want to be the one with the white stone with your new name on it.

Living as an Overcomer – Tony Evans

Viewing Sin God’s Way – Chapter 5

1. Read Revelation 2:18-29. Evans points out that the church of Thyatira is the small church but it gets the longest letter from Jesus.  According to Guzik’s Blue Letter Commentary, Barclay said that “The elder Pliny dismissed Thyatira with the almost contemptuous phrase ‘Thyatira and other unimportant cities.’”  Pliny was a Roman author.

2. Jesus doesn’t mess around when He identifies Himself to this church. He called Himself “the Son of God”.  To further identify Himself, He describes Himself as the one, “whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze” which is how He described Himself in Revelation 1:14-15.  I can picture his eyes of blazing fire seeing into my soul.

3. In verse 19, He says, “I know your deeds, your love and faith, your service and perseverance, and that you are now doing more than you did at first.” Just like all of the churches, Jesus is watching over them.  On the plus side, He does see growth in this church.  They are doing more than before.

4. In the Book of Acts, Thyatira was only mentioned as the place that someone had come from. Read Acts 16:14-15. It still doesn’t say anything about where Lydia’s home was located at that time but she was counted as part of the church at Philippi.  She probably came to Philippi often to sell her purple dye and textiles.

5. Lydia was important because not only was she baptized but she influenced her whole household and they too were baptized. Paul was welcomed at her house.  Even after Paul and Silas were released from jail in Acts 16:30, Paul stayed in Lydia’s home.

 

6. Tony Evans starts this chapter in his book speaking about zero tolerance in capitalism in the U.S. His example is the car manufacturers.  In order for the U.S. car manufacturers to compete with the foreign companies, then they have to get their quality up.  They adopted a zero tolerance rule for defects.  Owens Corning has had numerous programs to get the quality up or the defects down.

It is interesting that the reason Japanese manufacturing became such high quality was because of an American, W. Edwards Deming.  He taught the Japanese about quality.  The companies in America didn’t listen to him.  His most famous quote is “Quality is everyone’s responsibility.”  Today Ford says quality is job one.

7. When you think about it, zero tolerance can be applied to every aspect of our daily lives. We have a God that wants us to strive for zero defects in how we live our lives.  Jesus was the only one to accomplish zero defects or sins as a human.

8. Since Jesus is our goal, then when it comes to sin, our goal should be zero tolerance. As humans, we typically say, “I am a sinner, that is the way that I am.” or “What do you expect, I am only human.”  We try to rationalize our sin.

9. Romans 5:20 says, “But where sin increased, grace increased all the more” 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”  Man distorts these verses to justify his sin.  They say, “If I sin more, then God will forgive me more.” Or they say, “I confessed my sin, my slate is clean and I can now sin more.”  God still maintains His zero tolerance rule.

10. As for our mindset toward sin, we should have the same mindset as God. We should have zero tolerance.  We make excuses just like Adam and Eve did in the Garden.  Years ago I heard a modification of an old adage, “To err is human but to find someone to blame it on is more human.”

11. It started in the Garden, (Genesis 3:12), Adam said, “The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it.” We do the same today.  If we say, “God, you made me this way.”  In both cases, we are putting the blame on God.

“Far too many of us live as victims today rather than as victors. And one of the main reasons is that we tolerate too much that doesn’t reflect the values of the kingdom of God either in ourselves or in others.” (Evans)

12. In our minds we set boundaries that we are not willing to cross. But when it comes down to it we may be pressed into cross these boundaries.  Consider Jesus’ letter to the church at Pergamum, they were a compromising church.  God does not compromise and neither should we.  We need to tolerate what only God will tolerate.

13. Jesus identifies Himself as the “Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and His feet are like burnished bronze.” By saying that He is the Son of God, He is pointing to His deity.  By His very nature, He is God and He is pointing to His power and authority given by God, the Father (Matthew 28:18).

 

14. His “eyes like a flame of fire” tells us that He can see in to our very core. He can see what is in our hearts and minds.  Have you ever had someone that could look at you and you were sure they knew what you had done.  My mom was that way.  She would say, “I know that you are guilty.”  She just didn’t know of what.  Jesus will know.

 

“His feet like fine brass: Jesus chose this description of Himself from Revelation 1:15 to emphasize His purity because brass is pure and highly refined in the fire. It also emphasized His steadfastness, because brass was the strongest known metal in the ancient world, and feet like fine brass would be strong and unmovable.” (Guzik)

“This city was located 35 miles southwest of Pergamum. It was known for the protection, promotion, and benefits offered to people who shared a similar occupation or enterprise through what were called guilds. They were similar to a steelworker’s union or a teacher’s union today.” (Evans)

 

15. In verses 20-23, they are tolerating a woman in the church named Jezebel. There is no connection to the one in 1 Kings 16 who was married to King Ahab.  She appears to be no less evil.

16. After converting to Christianity, this church would have worked to escape the old ways, “sexual immorality and the eating of food sacrificed to idols” and she was unwilling to repent. Paul ran into this problem a lot in his travels.  It happened so much that the Christian Council in Jerusalem (Acts 15:29) wrote a letter that said, “You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.”  Salvation comes from Jesus but God still has a zero tolerance for sin.

 

17. As I sit here preparing this S.S. lesson, I am reminded of God not wanting the Hebrew nation to even think about going back to Egypt. In Numbers 14:3, they said, “Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?”  This is what Jezebel was doing into the church at Thyatira.  “Wouldn’t it be better if we went back to the old ways, when sexual immorality and worshipping idols was ok?”

 

18. When we become Christians, God wants us to stay faithful to Him and turn away from our previous sinful lives, never to return. That is what repentance is.  In the church of Thyatira, Jezebel was a self-proclaimed prophet who was working for Satan, trying to lead them back to their old sinful ways.

 

19. Jesus lets them know that if they want to be called the children of Jezebel, then things will not go well for them. Jesus’ response to their sinful nature should not be surprising to us.  In verse 23, Jesus says, “I will strike her children dead.”  Romans 6:23 tells us that “the wages of sin is death.”

 

20. Jesus used numerous metaphors based on reaping and sowing. Paul said to the church at Galatia, “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows.”  (Galatians 6:7).  He lets them know here in Revelation that He will make an example of those that follow Jezebel and tells them that they will reap what they sow.

 

“When you’re sick, you don’t simply tolerate your symptoms; you look for a solution. A cure. If your sickness becomes severe or even life-threatening, you head to the ER. Had I just resigned myself to tolerate the pneumonia I developed during the COVID-19 pandemic, I probably wouldn’t be writing this book right now.” (Evans)  Jesus is that cure and we have to put our faith in Him, completely relying on Him.

21. In verses 24 and 25, we see the benefit of being an overcomer. Jesus defines the overcomer as one who does “not hold to her teaching and have not learned Satan’s so-called deep secrets, ‘I will not impose any other burden on you, 25 except to hold on to what you have until I come.”

22. Becoming an overcomer is all about staying true to Jesus. There will be Jezebels in our lives and as a mature Christian we are not to be drawn away from Jesus by every Jezebel we encounter in our life.  I have known men that wear a bracelet that is inscribed “WWJD”.  It is a constant reminder to check everything that they do with “What would Jesus do?”  Another way to check to make sure that you are on the right path is to ask yourself, “What does the Bible say about what I am doing?”

 

23. Just like what was going on in the church in Thyatira, today we are being called on by the world to be more tolerant. Sin is slipping into our churches in the name of diversity or acceptance.  The world appears to be changing but God is immutable or unchanging.   He is the same today as He was on the day of creation.  We have to stay true to God and His Word.

“At one time in our American culture, biblical values were at least supported or tolerated. But today many biblical values are dishonored. Not only are they rejected, but their rejection is flaunted all over our entertainment and in our culture itself. The opposition to Christ and His kingdom values has become a very public dismissal in a whole number of areas. In many ways, then, we are similar to the church in Thyatira. We have believers who are persevering and show love and faithfulness, but very few stand up to the open and outright spiritual rebellion taking place throughout our land, society, schools, churches, communities, and entertainment industries. There must be a standard that those of us in the kingdom of God hold to and uphold. If we drift out of alignment under Christ, the culture will have no bearing at all. We are the standard bearers for marriage, culture, relationships, integrity, grace, and more. Without this, we are no better than the church in Thyatira.”  (Evans)

           

24. In verse 26, the NIV translates overcomer to be “the one who is victorious and does my will to the end”. To the overcomer, Jesus will give authority over the nations.”  If we stay faithful to Him, then we will rule and reign with Him on high.

1. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 6:3 that we will even judge angels.

2. Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:12 “if we endure, we will also reign with him.
   If we disown him, he will also disown us.”

3. The writer of Hebrews said in Hebrews 2:8 that God put EVERYTHING under our feet and He did not leave anything out.

25. In verse 28, Jesus will give the overcomer the “morning star”. What is the morning star?  We have to read ahead to see.  Revelation 22:16 tells us that “I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”  His gift is Himself.

26. On earth it is key for us to focus on Jesus. Remember that verse 26 says, His gifts are for “the one who is victorious and does my will to the end”.  Not everyone will be an overcomer.  It is not a competition, as many as overcome will be victorious but you have to do His will.  Paul encouraged the members of the church at Philippi with these words:  ”But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14)  The prize is Jesus.  There is a Southern Gospel song entitled, “Look for Me at Jesus Feet”.  I don’t know what special access we will have in Heaven but I can think of no more wonderful place to spend eternity than at the feet of the morning star, my awesome Savior.

27. Throughout Paul’s letters, he encouraged the Christians to persevere. In the 70’s it was “Keep on Keeping on!”  Don’t let the world and what is going on get you down.  Keep your eyes on the prize, the bright morning star, Jesus.

28. It is all about what Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” If we fill our hearts and minds with Jesus, we will have less time for the world.  We have to remind ourselves of “WWJD” in all situations.

“He who has an ear”: “This is a letter that applies to everyone. It applies to those who are like Jezebel, who lead others into sin. It applies to those who follow the teaching of a Jezebel, and follow others into sin. It applies to those who permit a Jezebel to work her wickedness. Finally, it applies to the faithful who must hold fast.”  (Guzik)

Living as an Overcomer – Tony Evans

Walking in the Spirit’s Power – Chapter 6

1. Read Revelation 3:1 – 6. Evans describes Sardis as a major garment producer.  Guzik says that it was well known “for its softness and luxury”.  Softness and luxury can make you self-reliant.

2. Jesus identifies Himself to this church as “the seven spirits of God and the seven stars.” Isaiah 11, God describes the Messiah.  In verse 2, He lists the seven spirits of God and they are:

1. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him (the Messiah),

2. The spirit of wisdom and understanding,

3. The spirit of counsel and strength,

4. The spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

 

3. Jesus told us that the Father and the Son are one (John 10:30). In 2Corinthians 3:17, Paul completes the Trinity. He says that the Father and the Holy Spirit are one.  Guzik says, “Jesus has the fullness of the Holy Spirit in Himself, and He has the Holy Spirit in fullness to give to the Church.”

4. Here in Chapter 3, Jesus tells us that He is the one who holds that seven stars and in Revelation 1:20 He tells us that “the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches.”

5. In case you missed it, He has started His letters to the church by telling John to write the letters to the “angel of the church”. Prior to Jesus’ time on earth, angels were God’s messengers.  So Jesus is sending these letters via God’s messengers to make sure the churches get them.

6. And what have they done wrong? Jesus says “I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.”  They are just going through the motions.  They are doing things but really aren’t doing them for the glory of God.  The spirit is not alive in them.

7. At Owens Corning, management would have said that they are not engaged. Or as one of my coworkers said about his work ethic, “Nine to 5, it all pays the same.  I can work hard or just sit at my desk.”  They are dead on the inside.  Evans points out that “success tends to build complacency.”

“Not only were the Christians in Sardis feeling self-sufficient, but so were their pastors and spiritual leaders. We know this because Jesus also introduces Himself as the One who has the seven stars. Stars are a reference to the spiritual leaders. This reveals that there was a void of quality leadership in the church. The leadership that should have been setting the pace for the congregation to follow in terms of grabbing onto and pursuing the work of the Spirit had been setting the wrong pace of independence and ease.”  (Evans)

 

8. They received salvation when they accepted Christ just like the other churches but they were not living it. Worship had become something that they did once a week and they were only in attendance but not present.  Church was just someplace they went once a week out of habit.

 

9. In verse 2 and 3, He gives them three actions that they needed to do. He said, “Wake up! Strengthen what remains . . . and repent.”  Jesus says that they are headed the wrong direction, their church was dying.

 

10. Similar to what He told the church at Ephesus, they lost their first love. He doesn’t say it that way but it was something very similar.  He tells them to “Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent.”  He wants them to get back on the right road.  Don’t do what you are doing just because it is what you have always done.

 

11. Jesus tells them to take your foundational learning and hold to it and dump the rest. If need be, when you meet together, pray for the entire time and make it meaningful with regards to building your relationship with Jesus.  Just keep what is true worship.

 

12. If they don’t change their direction then He will come and straighten them out. He says that He will come like a thief in the night.  They won’t know when so they won’t have time to get right with God unless they do it NOW!

 

13. This is the same way that He says that He will rapture believers. He is warning them not to wait, fix it now.  Jesus used a parable to teach about His return which is recorded in Matthew 25.  It is a warning to be prepared for the bridegroom (Jesus) is coming.  If we are not prepared He will leave without us.

14. Those working at the church of Sardis have hidden agendas that serve their own interests. Worship in Sardis has become all about the individual and not about worshiping God.  Proper worship is about a unified body praising God together and not a bunch of individuals going through the motions.

15. One of the most divisive parts of worship can be music. Some say, “I like contemporary music.” Others say, “I like the old hymns.”  God says, “I don’t care what music you bring, just bring it with love for Me in your hearts.”  Make sure that in your heart you are praising the Lord.

16. The church at Sardis was busy but their attitudes and motives were wrong. Based on Revelation 3:2b, they weren’t getting their jobs done or not done right.  Jesus told them “I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God.”  Another possibility is that they jumped into a task and lost interest and didn’t finish to God’s expectations.  They merely said, “That’s good enough.”

17. Colossians 3:23-24 says, “23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”  This applies to everything we do but especially when we ARE serving God.

 

18. In verse 4, Jesus says that not all of the members of this church have this problem. There are some that do not have soiled garments.  Their garments are clean and they are close to sin-free.  Their hearts are in the right place.  God is their number one priority.

 

19. They will have a personal relationship with Jesus like no other. They will walk with Him and talk with Him in a personal way and not in a group.  They will be wearing white and everyone will know of their purity. Not only does Jesus say, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”  He will say, “Walk with me my dear friend.”

20. In verse 5, Jesus says that they won’t be the only ones to wear white. He says that the “one who is victorious” or the overcomer will also wear white.  The overcomers will wear white because through everything that they experienced on earth, they overcame.  They remained steadfast in faith to Jesus.

21. Jesus says to the overcomer, “I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.” Revelation 20:15 explains what happens if your name is blotted out of the book of life.  It says, “Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.”  If you overcome and stay true to Jesus, then you will not end up in the lake of fire.

22. As true believers we should not doubt our eternal security in Christ Jesus. John 10:27-30 says, 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”  Jesus has promised to hold on to His sheep and His sheep will have eternal life.  It doesn’t say “might”.

23. The first reference to the book of life is in Exodus 32:32 where Moses was willing to give up His eternity with God for the forgiveness of the sin of the Hebrew nation. He said, “please forgive their sin—but if not, then blot me out of the book you have written.”  God does forgive them but He does promise, “Whoever has sinned against me I will blot out of my book.”  This will never happen to the true believer, the overcomer.

24. In these few verses, Jesus warns that if the members of the Sardis church do not repent then He will come like a “thief in the night” but to some that are the overcomers, He guarantees their passage to heaven.

25. In Matthew 10:32, Jesus said, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.” Here in Revelation 3, Jesus repeats it.  He says, I “will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels.”  One can see that hiding your light of Jesus under a bushel, will not make you an overcomer.  We are to let our light shine.

 

Evans gives us “three ways this remnant in Sardis shows what living a Spirit-filled, Spirit-led life is like.”

 

1. Committing Ourselves to Christ’s Ways, Not Culture’s Ways

1. When we let the world influence our church, then we are not staying true to Jesus. Consider the “Welcoming and Affirming Churches”.  They are throwing the Word of God out the window in the name of diversity or the world’s culture.

1. People say that the Bible is just an old book but it is applicable for our lives today. Letting any part of the world in to our church is compromising on God.

1. Pastor Brian posted a meme that illustrates the negative effects of compromise in a church. It said, “It’s not unloving to say, “Jesus is the only way to Heaven.”  It’s unloving to pretend there are other ways.”  We can never compromise on the route to salvation.

2. Striving for Godliness, Not Worldliness

1. “Worldliness is anything you take part in that leaves God out as the primary determining worldview for how the things of this world should be experienced. “Soiling your garments” is done anytime you place another viewpoint or perspective higher than God’s.” (Evans)

1. Often we forget about the obedience part of accepting Christ. When we give our lives to Jesus, we give our lives to Him.  As the hymns says, “Now I belong to Jesus, Jesus belongs to me.  Not for the years of time alone, But for eternity.”

 

3. Keeping Our Reputation, Not Losing It

1. As Baptists, we believe that “Once saved, always saved.” We can’t lose our salvation or have our name blotted from the book of life.  In question #22, we read John 10:27-30 where Jesus says, “no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand.” 

 

1. Is your reputation grounded in the saving knowledge of Jesus? Do others recognize you as a believer?  Do they ask you to pray for them?  It is critical for a Christian to be recognized as a one.  Earlier we read (#25) Matthew 10:32, Jesus said, “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven.”

 

1. “Being an overcomer means overcoming subtle sins like complacency, ease, a desire for cultural popularity, and spiritual distance from the Holy Spirit. And you can overcome these when you stick close to Jesus and make His will and desire your own.” (Evans)

 

Living as an Overcomer – Tony Evans

Accessing Spiritual Power – Chapter 7

1. Read Revelation 3:7-13. Evans says that this small church of Philadelphia was living the Christian life both in worship but in their everyday life.  They would not be moved away from Jesus.  Philadelphia is the city of “brotherly love”.

 

2. Jesus begins His letter to this church by identifying Himself. He says that He is “Him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David”.  In the book of Leviticus, God tells Moses and the Hebrew nation to “be holy, because I am holy”(Lev. 11:44,45; 19:2).  God’s attribute of being holy is like that of love, it is who God is.  God is holy.  Since Jesus is God, therefore Jesus too is holy.

3. Merriam-Webster defines ‘holy’ as “exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness”. The second definition is “devoted entirely to the deity or the work of the deity”.  Only God and Jesus can be holy like the first definition.  Since He is holy and we are to be holy, we must be “devoted entirely” to Him.

Guzik says regarding Jesus being true:   “There are two ancient Greek words that we might translate true. One means “true and not false.” The other means “true and not fake.” The ancient Greek word used here for true (alethinos) is the second, with the idea of “real” or “genuine.” Jesus is true in all of who He is; He is the real God and the real man.”

4. Also Jesus identifies Himself as the “who holds the key of David”.  The “key of David” goes back to Isaiah 22:20-24.  Verse 22 in Isaiah 22 says, “ I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.” Here in Revelation 3, Jesus essentially quotes Isaiah 22:22 in describing “the keys of death and Hades”.  Combined with Revelation 1:18 which says, “I hold the keys of death and Hades”, the key of David must be “the keys of death and Hades”.

 

5. The keys also denote the authority of Jesus. When you bought your home, you didn’t give the keys to your house to just anyone.  Matthew 28:18 says, “Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.”  The keys also denote authority.

6. Evans uses the example of airplane pilots to compare living with and trusting God as opposed to relying on ourselves. Pilots use Doppler radar to see what is happening around them so they can adjust their course.  Without it they may run into heavy turbulence and may not know how to get through it.

 

7. The same thing can happen if we are self-reliant and don’t trust God. Evans says, “you have to understand that unseen forces out there want to keep you from having a safe landing. They want you to crash. But in His infinite wisdom and all-knowing power, God can keep you flying high and safe and ultimately enable you to reach your divine destination known as your calling. And in Jesus’ message to the church in Philadelphia, we discover another key to living with earthly success in the midst of trials—tapping into kingdom authority.”

8. Just like today, if we allow Him, the church of Philadelphia was dependant on Jesus to open and close doors. In Acts 16, Paul was heading into Asia to preach the gospel but Jesus would not allow them.  Acts 16:7 says, “When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.”  Jesus shut the door.

9. When our pulpit committee was interviewing pastors, we were ready to bring a pastor before the church for a vote but Jesus shut the door. Circumstances changed and it was clear that he was not the right man for our church.  Calling a pastor is truly something that controlled by Jesus.

10. In Revelation 3:8, Jesus says that because they are weak, He has opened a door for them. Weak is an interesting word in the Bible.  Joel 3:10 says, “Let the weak say, ‘I am strong.’”  In 2 Corinthians 12:9b-10, Paul says, “Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”  Being weak allows you to be reliant on Jesus, who is stronger than you ever will be.

 

11. Because they “have kept His word and have not denied His name”, Jesus will humble the “synagogue of Satan” before them. As we have seen before in Jesus’ letter to the church of Smyrna (Rev. 2:9) that those in the “synagogue of Satan” are those that claim to be Jews but who are not faithful to God.  As I read about this church, I think of the 23^rd  Verse 5 says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” 

Evans says that we should adopt the attitude of humility.  He says, “Living with humility involves remembering that, even on your best day, you’re a sinner saved by grace. As long as that truth is front and center in your worldview and emotional grid, you will position yourself to live a life marked by humility and gratitude.”

 

12. Another Psalm says it more accurately, “The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at My right hand until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet’” (Psalm 110:1). Your faithfulness to Jesus will make you blessed and God will humble those who are not faithful or that mock the true believers.

 

13. Jesus says that He “will keep you from the hour of trial”. To me this is another scripture that supports a pre-tribulation rapture.  Because they and we have been faithful then He will remove them and us from the Tribulation that is “going to come on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth”.  If we are raptured before the test then we will not be “inhabitants of the earth”.

 

14. Alternately, Paul tells us that this earth is not our home and in Philippians 3:20, he tells us that “20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior. 21 He will take our weak mortal bodies and change them into glorious bodies like his own, using the same power with which he will bring everything under his control.” Once we claim Jesus, then we are “citizens of heaven” and not “inhabitants of the earth.”

 

15. In his book, Evans has a section on “Putting In The Work”. He uses the example of auditing a college course.  When you audit a course, you are saying I want the knowledge but I don’t want to put in the work, no homework, no test, no responsibility.  As a Christian, it is important that we put in the work.  We come to church on Sunday and are spoon fed a sermon.  We need to spend time at home going deep in God’s word and developing our relationship with Jesus.

 

Evans says if you “don’t put in the work of personal and spiritual growth, you can’t expect to receive the transforming power that enables you to live as an overcomer. Information without application has no transforming value. Not only that, but it lacks the authority that comes tied to the credit for having invested in the developmental process entirely.”

 

16. Numerous times throughout His letters to the churches, Jesus encourages the members of the churches and us to persevere. If we are headed in the right direction then we are to continue that direction but if we are not then Jesus warns them and us to repent.

 

17. The church at Philadelphia is headed in the right direction. They are to maintain their course.  He warns them not to let anyone cause them to change course.  During our pastoral search about 10 years ago, one of our major concerns was making sure that we listened to God’s leading and did not call a pastor that would take us in the wrong direction or as Jesus puts it, “so that no one will take your crown” or cause us to lose it.

“This was not a crown of royalty, given because of royal birth. This was a crown of victory. Jesus encouraged His saints to finish their course with victory, to ‘play the second half’ just as strongly as they ‘played the first half.’” (Guzik)

 

18. In verse 12 of Revelation 3, Jesus tells them and us that He will make the overcomer a “pillar in the temple of my God”. What do you think of when you hear the word “pillar”?  I think of strength, foundational, trusted.  When we went to Corinth and Ephesus, the walls of the buildings were lying on the ground or made into rubble but many of the pillars were still standing.

19. In Galatians 2:9, Paul calls James, Peter and John, “those esteemed as pillars”. A pillar gives you a sense of trust, something you can hold on to and someone you can go to in times of trouble.

 

20. We are living in an uncertain time in history. If you allow it, the uncertainty will tear you up.  Jesus says that the overcomers will never leave the Temple.  The overcomers have a place of permanence with God in Heaven.  God is immutable or unchangeable.  He is someone you can hold on to in times of trouble.  Your future is certain, you will be with God forever.

 

21. Continuing in verse 12, “I will write on them the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on them my new name.” Revelation 21:1-5, tells us that John “saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God”.  He also tells us that God has made all things new.

 

22. Back in His letter to the church of Pergamum, Jesus said that to the overcomer He would give “that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it.” Here Jesus tells them of a new Jerusalem and that He would have a new name.  All of these things point to a personal relationship with Jesus.  Today on earth, we cannot know the hearts of those around us except by what they do.  The overcomer will have the mark of Jesus and we will readily know that they are an overcomer.

“This works together well with the image of a pillar. In the ancient world, having a special inscribed pillar added to one of the temples sometimes honored a faithful city servant or distinguished priest.” (Guzik) “Philadelphia honored its illustrious sons by putting their names on the pillars of its temples, so that all who came to worship might see and remember.” (Barclay)

Living as an Overcomer – Tony Evans

Reflecting Authentic Christianity – Chapter 8

1. Read Revelation 3:14-22. Unlike the other six churches that Jesus wrote to, He has more issues with the way the members of the church at Laodicea are living their lives.  They are fully immersed in the world.  Laodicea was a wealthy area.  God doesn’t have an issue with wealth, He has problems with self-reliance.

2. Jesus said in Matthew 19:24, “it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” It doesn’t mean that if you are rich then you can’t get into heaven.  People with money tend to be more self-reliant and focused more on their money than on God.  Rich people can have a comfort thing and attribute their wealth to themselves and not to God’s blessings.
   

3. Jesus identifies himself as “the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation”. Google defines Amen as, “The basic meaning of the Semitic root from which it is derived is ‘firm’, ‘fixed’, or ‘sure’, and the related Hebrew verb also means ‘to be reliable’ and ‘to be trusted’. The Greek Old Testament usually translates amen as ‘so be it’; in the English Bible it has frequently been rendered as ‘verily’, or ‘truly.’”  Somewhere in my life, I was told “amen” means that you are in agreement with what was said.

4. 2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are “Yes” in Christ. And so through him the “Amen” is spoken by us to the glory of God.”   Jesus is the “Amen”.  He fulfilled more than 300 prophecies/promises.

 

5. Jesus is the “the faithful and true witness”. When we face God, Jesus will be our faithful and true witness and He will have one of two responses.  He will say “‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:23) or “Well done, good and faithful servant!”  Jesus knows us.  He doesn’t look on the outside, He can see what is in our hearts and minds.

6. Finally regarding Jesus calling Himself “the ruler of God’s creation,” He was given that power and authority by God. All power and authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Jesus. (Matthew 28:18)  He was there when God created and He will be there when we are judged.

7. Evans brings up the geographical point that two rivers or aqueducts that flowed into Laodicea. Even though it makes a good analogy, most theologians disagree with hot water and cold water flowing into the city but there were rivers and hot springs in the region, so the Laodiceans would have understood that they were lukewarm.

Guzik says regarding Laodicea, “One of their problems was a poor water supply that made Laodicea vulnerable to attack through siege. If an enemy army surrounded the city, they had insufficient water supplies in the city, and the supplies coming into the city could be easily cut off. Therefore, the leaders of Laodicea were always accommodating to any potential enemy, and always wanted to negotiate and compromise instead of fight.”

8. In the previous chapter we learned that Jesus told the church of Philadelphia, “I know your deeds. . . I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.”  They were not fence-setters.  They were committed to Jesus and God’s Word.  The members of the church of Laodicea were the exact opposite.  When you think of someone willing to compromise on everything, do you think of them being committed? No

9. In verse 15, He says, “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other!” Have you ever let you hot coffee or Diet Coke sit for a time while you did something else?  When you went back to drink it, the drink was lukewarm.  It was not what you were hoping for.

10. Jesus found the lukewarm Christianity in Laodicea off-putting, to the point that He said, “I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” The NKJV says “vomit” and the KJV says “spue”.  It would not be good for the lukewarm Christian.

11. Jesus says that He wishes that they were either hot or cold. Hot would mean that they are on fire for Him.  They would be willing to endure whatever the world throws at them for the sake of Jesus.  Cold means that they are committed the other way but they would have at least been committed to something.  Ephesians 4:14 says “Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.”  If a cold person turns to Christ, he can be used of God but a lukewarm will switch sides at a whim.

12. The old adage sums up the Laodiceans, “If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything.” This comes from self-reliance.  God wants us to rely on Him.  Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

 

“Hot water heals, cold water refreshes, but lukewarm water is useless for either purpose.” (L. Morris)  It was as if Jesus said, “If you were hot or cold I could do something with you. But because you are neither, I will do nothing.” The lukewarm Christian has enough of Jesus to satisfy a craving for religion, but not enough for eternal life.” (Guzik)

13. The church of Laodicea says, “I am rich and will follow Jesus as long as it doesn’t cost me anything.” They consider poverty to be only a physical thing but it is a spiritual thing too.  Our salvation only costs our faith but this church does not have enough faith to merit salvation.

14. As the old hymn “Give Thanks with a Grateful Heart” says, “And now let the weak say ‘I am strong’, let the poor say ‘I am rich’, because of what the Lord has done for us. Give thanks…”  This hymn tells us that spiritual richness and spiritual strength that comes from Jesus.  Joel 3:10 says “Let the weakling say “I am strong!” and Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 6:10, “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.”

15. Jesus says that they do not truly grasp the state of their spiritual life. He says, “you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.”  Spiritually speaking their lives are a mess and their future does not have salvation in it.  Jesus will say to them on their day of judgment, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!”  (Matthew 7:23)

 

16. The Laodiceans are living fake lives. Their goals are not Jesus’ goals for them or us.  Their measuring stick is not the same as Jesus wants us to use.  Jesus says that He will sell them gold but it is not the same gold that they already possess.  1 Peter 1:7 tells us that “These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”

17. The reference to wearing white shows purity. We see it all the time in weddings.  In Mark 9:3, when Jesus was transfigured, “His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.”  Jesus told us that the few members of the church of Sardis who have remained faithful will “They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy.”  This applies to all who are overcomers and remain faithful but not those in the Laodicean church.

18. Jesus says that the members of the church of Laodicea “are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” Jesus will solve their problems by:

 

1. For the Poor – “counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire”

2. For their Nakedness – “white clothes to wear”

3. For their blindness – “salve to put on your eyes”

 

19. The treatment for blindness makes me think of Paul’s conversion on the road to Damascus. He was heading to take Christians to be crucified because of his spiritual blindness but Jesus gave him physical blindness to make him see the light.  Then Jesus removed his blindness with the help of a man named Ananias.

20. The members of this church put earning money at the top of their priority list. God was not at the top.  He says, “they clock in at church for duty rather than to cultivate a relationship.”  Indifference and complacency have crept into their worship.  When attending worship becomes out of habit and not out of love and desire to do so, there is a problem.  In Hosea 6:6, God tells the people of Israel, “I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices.  I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.”

“The more self-reliant a person feels they are, the less they realize how reliant on God they are. We are all reliant on God for every moment in time. We are reliant on Him for every heartbeat and every breath. Yet it’s easier to forget this when good things come easy to us.” (Evans)

21. As a parent of two boys, numerous times I would hear from one of my sons, “He’s in MY room.” I would reply, “This is MY house, not yours.  You only get to sleep here because I say you get to.”  It is a good thing that God doesn’t treat us that way because this is HIS earth not ours.  We get to live here as long as He says so.  He blesses us every day and we should thank Him for it constantly.

22. Because we live in the United States of America, we should thank God constantly for putting us here and allowing us to live in one of the greatest countries in the world. Our boarders are overflowing because they want what we have.  We did not ask for it so we should thank Him often.

23. If you are like me, you do a lot of complaining. We take the blessings from God and then expect them to continue without praising Him or thanking Him for all He has done for us.

24. In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus tells us to store up treasures in heaven. Our time on this earth is short but our time on heaven will be eternity.  Part of the issue is contentment.  Treasures on earth are short lived and leave you wanting more.  Eternal treasures will be with you for eternity.

25. In verse 19, Jesus says, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” As parents we should understand this verse.  Our children spend their early lives learning and testing.  Their testing is to see what you will allow and see how far they can push you.  I always battled being consisted in where I drew the line.  God is unchangeable.  He draws the line in the same place.

26. If we love our children then we will want them to know that there are limits and that we will always love them. There are lots of people today that aren’t willing to correct their children and their children will not grow up knowing right from wrong.  Here Jesus says, “I love you and I am willing to lead you in the path of righteousness, even if I have to correct you.”

“You may be facing something you cannot overcome on your own and so God is seeking to draw you back to Him. He allows this challenge so you can discover your need for His hand in your life. Rather than forsake you altogether, God patiently disciplines you to draw you near Him. To teach you. To guide you. To remind you of what matters most.”  (Evans)

27. Verse 20 fits into the category of highly quoted verses in the Bible. People may ask when something happens, “Where was God?”  Jesus says point blank, “Here I am!”  He says, “I will never leave you or forsake you.”

28. Jesus is standing at the door to your heart when you need Him or want Him. He cannot enter unless you ask.  He is willing to come in and dine with us or have a personal relationship with us but we have to want it.  This offer is for the lost and believer.  For the lost, it is for Him to give us salvation.  For the believer, it is for a personal relationship with Him.

29. God puts no limits to the depth of our relationship with Him. We have control.  We can be as deep as we want.  Look at the state of the seven churches.  We can be as close as the church of Philadelphia or as distant as the church of Laodicea.  He is always with us on Sunday but He can be present the rest of the week if we are open to it.

30. As a true believer, you heard the knock and you responded. If you remember, you may not have answered His first knock.  He says that He stands at the door and knocks.  Some us need to hear Him pounding on the door but He doesn’t.  It is similar to the “still small voice”. (1 Kings 19:12)  You can only hear it if you are tuned to it and ready for Him to come in.

Evans says it this way, “People must first welcome Him, because He will not go where He’s not wanted—whether in corporate church or an individual’s life. If they don’t want Him, by basis of free will, He will let them have their life without Him.”

31. Jesus says that if we let Him in then He will dine with us. He wants to fellowship with us.  I have said numerous times, it is all about a personal relationship with Jesus.  It isn’t about religion.  Remember Hosea 6:6?  “I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices.  I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.”  Offerings and sacrifices are religion, He wants your love, a relationship.

32. In the final two verses, He says “The overcomer will get to ‘sit with me on my throne,’ because they overcame like I did.” They were victorious, just as Jesus was victorious. There can be no greater reward than to share the throne of Jesus.  Sitting with Jesus on His throne tells us that we will rule and reign with Him but it also tells that we will have a deep personal relationship with Him.

33. To be an overcomer, we must overcome Satan and the world. Those who chose Jesus are constantly under attack.  If you aren’t under attack by Satan then you may already belong to Satan.

34. Fortunately we don’t have to be perfect. 1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”   To be an overcomer doesn’t mean that you overcome Satan and the World by yourself.  It takes the power of Jesus.

Evans says, “Tapping into God’s provision through the power and person of His Son, Jesus Christ, is the key to being an overcomer—to being a victor, not a victim.”

Putting the Seven Churches of Revelation into Historical Perspective

(Guzik) –  Taken from the Blue Letter Bible website.

Many have attempted to make sense of Revelation chapters 2 and 3 (the letters to the seven churches of Asia) by taking them as a unified whole. It is significant that Jesus chose these particular seven congregations to address, though there were other churches in the region that were not written to (such as the church at Collosse). Additionally, some have pointed to the order of the letters as evidence of their significance as a broad explanation of church history in the period between the Ascension and Jesus to His return.

Henry Morris, The Revelation Record (written in 1983)

“Although it is by no means the dominant theme, there is a sense also in which the seven churches seem to depict the respective stages of development and change of Christ’s churches during the ensuing centuries. History has, indeed, shown such a general development through the years… He is not capricious in His selection. There is bound to be some significance in the sequence of the seven, as well as the total.”

Following is a chart from page 66 of “The Revelation Record”:

Church	Period in Church History	Dates
Ephesus	Apostolic Age	Before a.d. 100
Smyrna	Age of Persecution	a.d. 100 to 313
Pergamos	Imperial Church Age	313 to 590
Thyatira	Age of Papacy	590 to 1517
Sardis	Reformation Age	1517 to 1730
Philadelphia	Missionary Age	1730 to 1900
Laodicea	Age of Apostasy	1900 to ?

 Living as an Overcomer – Tony Evans

In order for a Christian to become an overcomer, they have choices to make and we will look at three of these choices in detail:

1. Choosing to access God’s power against Satan

2. Choosing to be a conqueror in all things

3. Choosing to pursue godliness and grow in godliness.

We have said numerous times in this class that our goal is for others to see Jesus in us.  This means that our goal in life should be to be like Jesus which makes our goal ‘godliness’.  “The pursuit (of godliness) is the foundation of our walk with Jesus while on this earth, and growing in godliness is the path to abundant life in Christ.” (Evans)

Obtaining Power for Spiritual Battle – Chapter 9

1. Paul tells us in Ephesians 6:12 that “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” We are in a spiritual battle but we don’t have to face it alone.

2. On our side in our spiritual battle is Jesus. We have heard numerous times that God will “never leave us or forsake us” (Deuteronomy 31:8 and Hebrews 13:6).  When it becomes a spiritual battle we can’t win without Jesus on our side.

3. There is an old Gospel song called the “Champion of Love” sung by the Cathedrals. It speaks of a spiritual boxing match.  “In this corner, of the good and the right stands a champion clothed in white.”  Jesus is our champion, Satan is no match for the power of Jesus.

4. Romans 8:31b says, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” In a battle, there have to be two sides.  In the other corner is Satan.  When we studied Satan in our S.S. class, we learned that he has many names.  “Satan” in Hebrew means “the adversary” or “the opponent”.  The “devil” in the Greek means “the adversary”.

 

5. As Jesus’ adversary, Satan is not Jesus’ equal. He can only have as much power as God gives Him.  He is not God or a god, He was an angel.  He is more powerful than we could hope to be.  We need Jesus on our side.

 

6. Satan views his final goal as defeating Jesus. He wants to prevent us from doing God’s will.  He can’t take away our salvation.  He wants to make Christians ineffective at reaching others.  If he can ruin your witness for Jesus then he is winning.  He wants to prevent us from overcoming.

7. Satan will use every trick in his book to prevent us from overcoming. He will bully you, deceive you, he will lure you away from the right path and distract you from doing God’s will.  He has perfected his tools of evil.  He even used them to attack Jesus. (Luke 4:1-13)

 

8. One of his other names is “the accuser”. Revelation 12:10b-11 tells us, “For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down. They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”  It is only through Jesus’ power and our faith that we can defeat Satan.  It is the power of the blood of Jesus.

 

9. We can see Satan’s handiwork all around us today. When the news media started years ago, they just reported the news.  Now they put their own spin on it.  CNN, Fox News and even local news stations have become great propaganda houses pumping out news modified or sensationalized to get people to follow them.  They begin to sound like the propaganda machine used in Nazi Germany before WWII.  Even the weathermen have turned into Chicken Little sensationalizing the local weather.  “The sky is falling, the sky is falling.  Be weather aware! Watch me!”

10. Revelation 12 sheds light on the fact that our battle with Satan is a spiritual battle and that it will get worse. Evans calls this spiritual battle “clash of the kingdoms”.  The battle is good versus evil and Satan will be ousted from heaven to be on the earth.  He and his minions will work overtime because their time will be short, 7 years.

“Even before Adam fell in the garden through committing the first sin, Satan was kicked out of heaven and sent to earth. And since the fall, all hell has broken loose down here. Yet Satan still has access to the heavenly realm, and that’s why a spiritual battle continues to take place. The dragon, also known as the devil, is our adversary, and he’s free to create havoc on earth. He’s also free to speak on that havoc based on the permission we give him with our unrighteous words and deeds.” (Evans)

11. Satan is free to go back and forth from the earth to heaven. He can lead us off the narrow path and then tell God what we have done.

“You and I are living in a day of mass deception. People are being tricked about their sexual identity. People are being tricked about their gender. They’re being deceived about the basics of and definition for marriage. They’re being deceived on how to best handle finances. If we were to be honest, we’d have to admit that we’re all being deceived in many ways when it comes to Satan seeking to usurp God’s rightful rule in our lives.” (Evans)

 

12. We can all see how others are being influenced by Satan but it is difficult to see his impact on our lives. Jesus said, “You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”  (Matthew 7:5)  Things haven’t changed much.  Where do you think the plank and our sin started?  Satan in the Garden

13. Deceit is one of Satan’s most powerful tools. We all are exposed to it on a regular basis and we have trouble seeing it working in our lives.  Just because we are Christians doesn’t mean that we are immune to Satan’s attacks.  In fact, we are the primary targets for deceitful attacks.

14. Based on what it says it Revelation 12:11 (#7 above), “They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony”. From time to time we sing the old hymn “Power in the Blood” but do we really believe and understand it.  Satan first tempts us to sin and then once we give in and sin, he uses it to beat us over the head with it. We require the power of Jesus to get back on the right path and erase our sin.

15. Jesus died on that cross to remove all sin from our lives. Not just the sin that we committed before we accepted Him but any future sin.  Jesus’ blood can wash away all of our sin.  Jesus blood can make the vilest sinner clean.

16. 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” Don’t let Satan beat you over the head with unconfessed sin.  Unconfessed sin can interfere with your relationship with Jesus and prevent you from overcoming Satan’s attacks.

 

17. The last part of Revelation 12:11 says, “and they did not love their life even when faced with death.” The apostle Paul said it this way, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”(Philippians 1:21)  We should have the heart of Paul.  Today in the U.S., when we speak out for Jesus we expect some persecution but not to the point of death.  Unfortunately, we come up with other excuses for staying quiet with the help of Satan.

 

18. There are places in the world today where people are willing to live their lives with this attitude. Consider in Egypt, Coptic Christians make up about 10% of the population.  The ancestors of these Christians go back to the years that Joseph and Mary brought their young son into Egypt for safety.  Evans has a few stories from these Christians living in a world surrounded by Muslims.

 

“I write that the words haunt me because as I look out over our collective body of Christ today, at those of us who call ourselves followers of Jesus—“people of the cross”—I wonder if anyone would be willing to give up their physical life in order to be saved by God because they’d witnessed our own commitment to Ya Rabbi Yasou (Oh my Lord Jesus). Would anyone see our lives and say in the face of imminent death, “Their God is my God”? I wonder. Or, rather, do those outside the church look at the contemporary church of Jesus in America today and find little more than a religious social club? Is it made up of people no different from the society we’ve been called to transform? In the end, would we just become another church like the ones in the book of Revelation who heard condemnation rather than commendation?”  (Evans)

 

19. Satan seems to be winning today. If you look at the people inside “the church”, do they look and behave any different than those outside the church?  Is the divorce rate of Christians, percentage of abusive spouses any different?  The number of welcoming and affirming churches, as well as the number of GLTBQ pastors is growing.

 

“The principles of surrender and humility have been lost on us. Surrender means much more than giving up your life in the face of persecution. Surrender refers to giving up your will for God’s will to be done. It means yielding your purpose for God’s purpose to be lived out through you. Even Jesus had to face the principle of surrender in the garden of Gethsemane when He asked that God’s will be done, not His own.” (Evans)

20. In Luke 9:23 Jesus says, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” This is true surrender.  How often does it say that we should “take up our cross”? Daily.

21. Does this mean that we are to take up our cross and head for Calvary daily? No, Jesus already did that.  It means as the old hymn says, “Where He leads me, I will follow. . . I’ll go with Him, with Him all the way.”  It is making His will your will.  He is the number one priority in your life.  There is no, “Just a minute Lord.  I have to take care of my life first.”

22. Tony Evans says, “Jesus has a big fan club.” Taking up your cross daily should not conjure up thoughts of being a fan.  A fan is a “enthusiastic admirer” and not a committed follower.  A fan stands on the sidelines and says, “Way to go Jesus!”  A committed follower prays “Thy will be done” and makes it their will.

GOD’S POWER MANIFESTED IN OUR LIVES

23. Read Philippians 3:8-11. Paul was “Not a Fan”.  His entire life was given to God.  It was misguided at first but Paul was willing to listen to Jesus and become committed to Him, even unto death.  Paul was beheaded.

24. I have heard people say that “If I accept Christ, I will have to give up the fun stuff of life.” Paul said, “Everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him.” (Phil. 3:8-9 NLT)

25. Power of the Resurrection. One of the most overlooked and under appreciated powers in history is the power of the resurrection.  In verses 10 of Philippians 3, Paul says he wants to not only know Jesus but to know the power of the resurrection.

26. In Romans 8:11, Paul says, “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.” This verse speaks to the unlimited power of God to resurrect Jesus but also the same power will raise us from the dead.  Without this power we will die and that would be the end.

27. On the road to Damascus, Paul encountered our resurrected savior and went from persecuting Christians to leading them. Evans says, “What happened to Paul was a genuine “power encounter.” He came face-to-face with resurrection power. When you know Christ, the old stuff is erased. No wonder the apostle said, in effect, “Out with the old knowledge. I’ve found the new!”   . . . victorious Christians know Christ more closely, align themselves under His rule more fully, and thus experience His resurrection power.”

28. The Power of the Fellowship of Sufferings. Philippians 3:10 says that Paul wants to know “the fellowship of His sufferings”.  As humans we would like to omit that part.  We are all in until He throws in death and suffering.

29. Paul understood what he was saying. 2 Corinthians 11:16-33 tells us all about Paul’s suffering for Christ.  Jesus even tells us that we are blessed when we are persecuted or suffer for His sake.  Matthew 5:11-12 records, “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

30. We are all in until the going gets tough. What do you meant that I not only have to accept Jesus as my savior but I have to be obedient and endure persecution.  That is what true love is.  “To love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and love him with all your mind.”  Revelation 12:11 says, “They triumphed over him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.”

31. Evans says, “Jesus desires that we connect so closely with Him and know His heart and His Word so deeply that we think His thoughts and anticipate what He’s about to say next in guiding, leading, or directing us.” Definitely not a fan.

32. The Power of Relationship. Paul starts verse 10 of Philippians 3 with, “I want to know Christ.”  Paul wasn’t talking about a distant relationship but he wanted to know Jesus personally.  We should do the same.  Think about why you are going to church every week.  Getting to know Jesus personally should be at the top of your list.

33. As a younger man I attended church because it was what I should do, or to serve God or because it would be good for me and my family. Today, it is because of my personal relationship with Jesus.  Some of the old reasons may still apply but they all interconnect with my personal relationship with Jesus.  There isn’t anything that I wouldn’t do for my best friend.

34. The Power of Revitalized Life. Romans 8:11 says, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.”  Just as Jesus was resurrected from the dead, we too will be resurrected.

“Why did even the shadow of Peter passing over sick people heal them (Acts 5:15), and why did his chains fall off in prison (Acts 12:7)? How was he able to praise God for the privilege of suffering for Christ (Acts 5:40-41)? Because Peter met Jesus in a new way at Pentecost (Acts 2). Peter knew Christ in the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings—and he had a revitalized life.” (Evans)

35. The Power of Connection. Matthew 15 records Jesus’ parable where He says, that He is the vine and we are the branches.  Verse 4b says “No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.”  Without our connection to Jesus, we cannot do anything.  The old hymn says, “Without Him how lost would I be”.  We need the power of the connection to Jesus.

 

36. Recently I repaired a light fixture for Betty that had a short in the switch. The light had lost connection to its source of electricity.  There was no light coming from the bulb.  I needed to fix the connection.  When it comes to our relationship with Jesus, Evans says, “You need a closer, tighter, and deeper relationship with the One who has what you need to overcome, because He Himself has overcome it all.”  Being under Jesus’ authority, due to our intimate relationship with Him, puts us over Satan’s power so that we are overcomers (Romans 16:20).

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The entire United Methodist Church denomination has opened their doors to the GLTBQ community.  “The UMC also officially believes that ‘all people are of sacred worth’ and ‘implores families and churches not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends’.”

• Marriage – The UMC broadened its definition of marriage to include two people of consenting age, and removed punishments for ministers who officiate at same-sex weddings. The UMC also amended its official teachings to affirm marriage as a sacred covenant between two people of faith.

• Clergy – The UMC lifted its ban on GLBTQ clergy, including removing language from its rulebook that said homosexuality was incompatible with Christian teaching.

• Social Principles – The UMC approved a rewrite of its Social Principles that describes human sexuality as a sacred gift and calls for human rights for all, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, and other categories.

 

 

 

Living as an Overcomer – Tony Evans

Living as a Conqueror in All Things – Chapter 10

1. The second choice that a Christian has to make to become an overcomer is choosing to be a conqueror in all things. In the previous chapter, we learned that if we choose, we can access God’s power to battle against Satan.

2. Without faith in God’s power, we could potentially cower in our homes out of fear. John 16:33 is the cornerstone verse for becoming an overcomer.  It tells us, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

3. Both God and Jesus are waymakers. Isaiah 43:15-16 says, “I am the Lord, your Holy One, Israel’s Creator, your King.” 16 This is what the Lord says—he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters.” The woman with the bleeding disorder recognized that Jesus would make a way for her to be healed.  If she could just reach through the crowd and touch the hem of His garment in Matthew 9:20.

“But if anything ought to garrison (fortify) our faith and strengthen our spiritual walk, it’s those times when God shows up in the midst of the chaos and brings us through. Our view of Him is broadened in those seasons we can’t handle on our own but God gives us all we need when we need it most. It is one thing to hear God is a waymaker, but it’s another thing altogether to see Him make a way. It is one thing to hear God is able, but it’s another thing altogether to see Him work things out. It’s one thing to hear Jesus can fix it, but it’s another thing altogether to see Him fix it.” (Evans)

 

4. Read Romans 8:31-39. We should post this in our homes.  One of the most powerful statements in the Bible, “If God is for us, who can be against us?”  We have the same power at our disposal that created the universe or raised Jesus from the dead.

5. In verse 37, the Greek word “hypernikaō” is used and translated as “more than conquerors” (NIV and NKJV) but the NASB translates it as “overwhelmingly conquer”. With the power of God, we can do more than get by, we can overwhelming conquer.

6. I have said numerous times, we put human limitations on the power of God. His power is limitless.  If you call on it, He will do “exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us.”  (Ephesians 3:20 NKJV)

7. To claim this “supersized” overcoming, you need to understand your relationship with God through Jesus. Romans 8:16-17 says “16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.”

 

8. Evans says that co-heirs are so much more than a simple heir. If you have a sibling then your inheritance is cut in half but a co-heir means that inheritance is not divided.  For instance, if your father has two kingdoms and you are an heir, you will inherit one of the kingdoms.  As a co-heir, you inherit control over both kingdoms with your other co-heirs.  Everything that your sibling controls, you also control.  The NKJV calls us joint heirs with Jesus.

9. Being a co-heir with Jesus gives us a connection with Him that is beyond a friend or brother. This connection and the verses from Romans 8:17-27 sets up Verse 28.  Evans calls Romans 8:28 “the greatest verses in the Bible for Life Application”.  It says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  

 

10. Verses 17-28 speak about struggles. My Bible has the header of “Present Suffering and Future Glory”.  We can look at the misery or division in the U.S. today or a physical ailment or a death in the family as our “Present Suffering”.  We can wonder what is going on.  “But Paul wants you, a child of God, to know that in the midst of the tears and pain life brings your way, God can work it all out for good if you love Him and live in the calling He has for you.”(Evans)

11. Evans uses the example of a cake. You don’t eat each ingredient by itself.  You mix them together and bake them and you end up with a cake that tastes great.  In life the same thing can occur.  If you look at each individual trial by itself, it can weigh you down.  But if we look back on these trials and troubles together and try to understand it in God’s eyes and not our eyes, we may see the good in it.

12. If you look at the apostle Paul’s life. He was raised with a great foundation in Judaism.  He persecuted Christians, even to the point of death.  Then when he met Jesus on the Damascus road, he was changed forever.  But he still had troubles.  He was jailed and whipped and persecuted.  These trials made him more empathetic to the troubles of the Gentiles and to us.  His understanding of the Old Testament enabled him to defend his faith against the Jewish leaders and troublemakers.  Everything that he went through ended up making him a better witness for Jesus.  It all helped him love Jesus more.  “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 NIV)

 

13. As a parent, you never want to answer a Why question with “Because I said so!” We want our children to obey because they love us.  There are times in our lives when God asks us to do something that we don’t want to do and we ask “Why?”.  He wants us to just do it because we love Him.  Jesus tells us in John 14:15 that “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” (NASB)

 

14. John MacArthur in his book, “The Gospel According to Jesus”, points out that part of the Gospel taught by Jesus includes obedience. Evans says, “God knows our love is real when we choose to obey Him. Loving Him is a tangible, measurable concept, not merely an ethereal, emotional feeling in the moment. You love God when you do what He wants you to do even if, and especially if, you don’t want to. And that can be tough.”

15. Consider Abraham and his son Isaac. (Genesis 22:1-15) When God said “Take now your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering.” (NASB) God knew that Abraham loved Him because he did as God asked without question.

 

16. Evans calls Romans 8:28 a “cause and effect” verse. You have a role to play in living as an overcomer.  Evans says, “Submitting or surrendering to God in the midst of your suffering and negative situations is what moves you from living as an heir to living as a coheir with Christ.”  We are to be obedient to God in the good and bad times.

17. Some people claim the salvation that faith in Jesus brings. They view it as “I have things covered for when I die.”  That isn’t all faith in Jesus brings.  If we look at Abraham again.  He was completely obedient to God.  He made a connection with God.  God’s hand was on him throughout his entire life, as well as his descendants’ lives.  He lived a blessed life with a close personal relationship with God.

18. Romans 8:32 says, “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” (NASB) The word “freely” means that it comes at no charge.  We get His grace.  We get what we don’t deserve.

“Freely means that the good God gives us comes out of our coheir relationship with Him. This free flow of grace shows up when God takes the good, the bad, and the ugly in your life and works it together for good. The good refers to the things you’re proud of. The bad refers to the things you may regret. The ugly refers to the painful stuff that life itself, or others, may have done to you. All of these things mix together to produce a good or beneficial result when you fully love God.” (Evans)

19. The foundation of our relationship cannot be based on the gifts that we are expecting. The foundation must be love.  Remember, Jesus said “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15 (NASB)  Our relationship with God is not a “carrot and stick” relationship.  If our motivation is the blessings that He gives above our love for Him.  It won’t work.  He will see right through us.

20. God knows when we need Him most. Psalm 46:1 says, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”  Jesus reveals His loving heart for us during the bad times.  Evans says, “That’s where His power and authority become yours and allow you to live as an overwhelmingly victorious, conquering, overcoming Christian.”

21. To me, the least painful funeral is for the loss of a believing loved one. As a believer, you can rely on Jesus for His strength and love to get you through the loss.  But since they were a believer, you can take comfort in knowing that you will see them again.  I don’t know how non-believers get through the loss of a loved one without Jesus.

22. An old adage said, “Shared joy is double joy; shared sorrow is half a sorrow”. God wants us to give the sorrow, pain and other negatives to Him.  If we share the problems in our lives they are reduced but giving them to God makes them insignificant.

23. God wants us reliant on Him. Self reliance means we go through the trials alone.  God doesn’t want that for us.  He wants us to be “super-overcomers” and only He can make that happen.

24. Evans uses the example of Joseph in the O.T. I can’t imagine all of the bad things that were poured on him by his brothers or because of them.  God took the bad things that happened to him and turned them into good in his life.  In Genesis 50:20, Joseph tells his brothers, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good. He brought me to this position so I could save the lives of many people.” (NLT)  Remember Romans 8:28, “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  All things and that includes the good and the bad.

25. Remember Jesus tells us in Matthew 28:18 that He was given power and authority over all things. So it doesn’t matter who or what you are up against in your life, Jesus has all power and authority over it or them.  You may get a horrible diagnosis like the “c” word, the doctor doesn’t have the final say.  You may be called into your boss’ office during a “downsizing”, your boss doesn’t have the final say.  Your emotions may have a say in what you are feeling but always remember Jesus is in control of everything.

26. ACCESS GOD’S KINGDOM AUTHORITY – In chapter 7, we covered this topic in depth. In Revelation 3:8, to the church at Philadelphia, Jesus “placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength”.  Jesus has given them the permission thus authority to go through the open door.  Evans defines authority as the right to use the power you possess.  “What living as an overcomer through our obedience to Jesus and love for Him produces in your life is access to kingdom authority.” (Evans)

27. Evans uses referees in a football game as an example of ones that are weak compared to the football players but they have been given authority over everyone in the game. Their authority overrules the power of the players and coaches.

28. Compared to Satan, humans are weak and are no match for the power of the fallen angel. Your relationship with Jesus as co-heirs, you have access to His authority which overrides Satan’s power.

29. Read Colossians 2:13-15. Jesus has “disarmed” Satan through His work on the cross.  Our faith in Jesus and His forgiveness gives us access to His kingdom authority.  We have said numerous times that Satan is no match for our Savior.  Keep Matthew 28:18 at the front of you mind, it tells us that “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me (Jesus).”

30. We need to realize that unless we allow him, Satan has no power over us. As Evans says, “Satan’s gun is empty.”

“He no longer has the last word, because Jesus Christ now sits high above all other rule and authority. And you and I are seated with Him, sharing in that authority when we are a coheir with Christ based on our relationship with Him.” (Evans)

31. This doesn’t mean that you won’t have problems, trials, depression and all of the other things that come from living in this imperfect world. Remember Romans 8:28, “in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”  There will be bad times but Jesus will help you get through them and possibly you will see the benefit to your life.

32. Evans says, “One way to bring this victory about even faster is to praise God.” Consider all the trials of Paul, he lists them in 2 Corinthians 11:16-33.  After everything that he endured, he still praised God.  Paul says in verse 31, “God, the Father of our Lord Jesus, who is worthy of eternal praise”.  We don’t praise God for the bad things that happen.  We should never stop praising Him.  It is important to continue to praise God even in the valleys of our lives.

 

33. We can praise Him because He has power and authority over Satan and He has given us access to that power and authority through our relationship with Him. Ephesians 2:6 says, “(God) raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

“This is why our focus on the churches in Revelation is so critical. The believers, as recorded in Revelation 12:10-11, overcame. They overcame Satan because they never lost sight that the very thing set out to bring hell into their lives did not have the last word. They never lost sight that Jesus has conquered Satan, granting them access to an authority higher than the devil’s own.” (Evans)

 

34. Seated with Christ. Back up in Tony Evans’ quote (between #30 and 31), it says that as co-heirs with Christ we are seated with Him.  This came from Ephesians 2:4-7.  “But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions —it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.”

Guzik says, “We don’t sit in the heavenly places with Christ Jesus, or at least not yet. Instead, we sit in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Since our life and identity is in Christ, as He sits in heavenly places, so do we.”

Clarke says, “And now we sit in heavenly places — we have a right to the kingdom of God, anticipate this glory, and are indescribably happy in the possession of this salvation, and in our fellowship with Christ Jesus.”

 

35. Yes, we are still on this earth but once we are saved then our home is no longer on this earth. Our citizenship is in heaven, read Philippians 3:20-21.  Earth is where we are living but we can draw on Jesus’ spiritual power through prayer.

 

36. Consider Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” In order to battle Satan, we can’t defeat him if we think in a physical way.  We have to draw on the spiritual power of Jesus to defeat him.  We can never be an overcomer unless we think spiritually.

 

37. In Matthew 6:32-34, Jesus tells us about worrying about the future. He says, “32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”  When you tap into the power and authority of Jesus through your relationship with Him, it changes the way that you feel and think.  It is the difference between self-reliance and relying on the limitless power of Jesus.

38. Paul understood it. He wrote in Philippians 4:3, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”  We need to rely on the power that comes from heaven.  Later in that chapter Paul wrote, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”(v. 19)  We need to replace our stress with prayer.  When you tap into the power of Jesus, it should change the way that you think.

 

39. In closing this chapter, Evans says something that no human wants to hear. God does not take us out of our troubles.  In order to experience the overcoming power of Jesus, we pass through the valley.  We want God to pluck us out of the troubles.

 

40. Romans 8:37 says, “But IN all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.” It says “IN all things”.  None of us want to go through trials and troubles but if we skip them, we won’t see the power of God.

 

41. When they left Egypt, the Israelites would have liked to have blinked and ended up in the Promised Land. If that would have happened, then they would have missed the parting of the Red Sea, the protecting fog, the manna from heaven and the walls of Jericho falling down, just to name a few.  God constantly delivered them throughout their trip, despite their whining.

42. Jesus said, “And lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” We have heavenly power through our relationship with Jesus.  As co-heirs, we have a seat in heaven because He has a seat in heaven.  It is our great intercessor.

 

43. We will not be delivered from our trials but we will be delivered in and through them. The poet understood it when he penned “Footprints in the Sand”.  Jesus walks beside us until the trials come and then he will come.  When they get too difficult, He will carry us through them.

 

“But though I want to encourage you, I don’t want to paint an unreal picture of this life. God is not promising that the devil will leave you alone if you follow Him. He’s not promising that if you love Him, people won’t seek to oppress or block you. He’s not promising you a life free from bumps or bruises or sprains. But He does want you to know that since He did not spare His only Son but delivered Him up for you, your victory is secure. No matter what you’re going through or facing right now, you can overwhelmingly conquer as a super-overcomer in Jesus Christ. (Evans)

Living as an Overcomer – Tony Evans

Pursuing a Godly Life – Chapter 11

1. In 1 Samuel 15:22, Samuel says, “What is more pleasing to the Lord: your burnt offerings and sacrifices or your obedience to his voice? Listen! Obedience is better than sacrifice, and submission is better than offering the fat of rams.”(NLT) In Hosea 6:6, God says, “I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings.” (NLT) The Hebrew nation was missing the mark.  They thought that God wanted the burnt offerings but what God wanted was their and our obedience and love.  He wanted a personal relationship with them.

2. Evans uses an example of a college writing assignment in which he received an “F” because he did the wrong assignment. It was a good paper but on the wrong topic.  Most of the churches that we looked at in Revelation 2 and 3 did the same thing.  They were focusing on the wrong things.

3. In 1 Timothy 6:11, Paul tells Timothy and us, “Pursue righteousness and a godly life, along with faith, love, perseverance, and gentleness.” (NLT) Living as a Christian, we are to be in pursuit of a “godly life”.  In 2 Corinthians 3:18 we are told, “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.”  A godly life is one that works to be more and more like Jesus.

Evans says, “You and I have been saved for eternity so that we can develop and live out godly lives on earth.”  He defines ‘godliness’ as “a lifestyle that’s consistent, both desirous and functionally, with the reflection of God Himself. Godliness is the hallmark of the Christian life, and your personal spiritual power, contentment, and satisfaction.”

4. 1 Timothy 4:8-10 says, “8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. 9 This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance. 10 That is why we labor and strive, because we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all people, and especially of those who believe.” In our Christian life, we should be striving for ‘godliness’.  Our soul should be longing to be more like Jesus.  Our soul is designed to reflect God.  If we are not reflecting Him like the crystal sea in Revelation 4, then our soul should be telling us so.  Evans says, “A soul that lacks godliness is a hungry soul. It’s a starving soul.”

5. Paul told Timothy in verse 9 that the necessity of living a godly life is so important that it “deserves full acceptance”. It isn’t something that we should do, it is something that we must do.

6. Read 2 Timothy 3:1-5. These verses give some insight into what people will be like as Paul says, “In the last days”.  To me, these sound like people in our world today.

7. In verse 5, Paul says “holding to a form of godliness” (NASB) or the NLT says, “They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.” We saw this in some of the churches in Revelation 2 and 3.  They held to their own idea of godliness.  Godliness is something that you do all the time and not just on Sunday.

8. Evans uses the idea of wearing a Superman costume. It is not the costume that makes you Superman.  The costume is just an outward appearance.  In the same way, acting godly in public doesn’t make you godly.  Godliness resides in your heart.

9. Tony Evans defines religion as “man’s attempt to convince God through activity in order to get him to be favorable to you.” A person can seem religious on the outside and not be devoted to God on the inside.

10. Throughout His time on earth, Jesus encountered numerous religious people, such as the scribes and Pharisees. Matthew 23:26-27 records Jesus saying to them, “27 “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. 28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.”  He called them “whitewashed tombs”.  They appeared freshly painted on the outside but it was only skin deep.  The inside was still wicked.

 

11. Evans says, “Spiritual maturity, also known as godliness, comes through intimacy with God.” Being in the church every time that it is open does not affect what is inside your heart.  You have heard Pastor Brian say numerous times, “Preaching from the pulpit, singing in the choir, serving on church boards, . . . will not save you.”

 

12. In Matthew 6:5-6, Jesus rebukes the Jewish religious leaders regarding praying out loud so that everyone can see and hear them. When praying corporately, I used to worry about making a mistake in front of others.  Your audience doesn’t change when you pray privately versus corporately.  You are praying to God through Jesus Christ with the help of the Holy Spirit.  Others just get to listen in.  The Holy Spirit perfects the communication with God.

“For many people, the church is God’s donut shop. They come to hear a sweet song. They want to hear a sweet sermon. They enjoy the sweet atmosphere and seeing everyone dressed up all sweet with their Sunday-sweet smiles. But when there is no true connection to the living God and it’s all about the form of religion, they leave without any spiritual maturity at all. You can have the look without its reality. You can have the paraphernalia without power. You can have the form of spirituality without true kingdom authority.”  (Evans)

13. Evans uses the difference between Moses and Pharaoh’s magicians. The magicians could imitate Moses’ miracles but Moses had the true relationship with God.  Both were able to change their staffs into snakes but as it says, in Exodus 7:12, “But Aaron’s staff swallowed up their staffs.”  You can appear to be a Christian but you will not have the power that comes with it.

 

14. The power to be an overcomer only comes from true godliness. The old “duck test” doesn’t hold true for Christians.  “If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is a duck.”  You can do everything in your power to look like a Christian, you still don’t have the power of a Christian.

15. Do you remember Philip’s encounter with the sorcerer in Acts 8:9-24? The sorcerer wanted to have Philip’s power to heal and offered him money to have it.  In verse 21, Philip told the sorcerer that, “You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God.”

GODLINESS IS A LIFESTYLE

16. This is going to sound strange but godliness is much like dieting. You can fast for a short time or starve yourself to achieve your desired weight but unless you make a lifestyle change in the way you eat, you will put the pounds back on.  We can have godly moments in our life and push to look godly but unless we make it our lifestyle, it will not become permanent.

17. Years ago when I was teaching junior high Sunday School, the students were complaining that Northridge was having a “Random Acts of Kindness” Day. They didn’t get it.  The hope was that the students would see that being kind to others can change them and you and maybe the students would want to make a lifestyle change and be kind all the time.  When you make the lifestyle change then the behavior becomes natural.

18. Do others see God in you? That is what godliness is.  We always say that “God is love.”  Can they say “John is godly.”?  Is it a natural behavior or attribute that you show all the time?

19. I know people that wear “WWJD” bracelets to remind them to be godly. Jesus was godly and behaving like Jesus is our goal.  Unfortunately, we have a “sin nature” in us that is contrary to godliness.  Paul talks about it in his letter to the Galatian church in Galatians 5:17-25.  He even lists what acts are and are not godly.  He calls them “fruits of the spirit” and “acts of the flesh”.  The fruits of the spirit are things that are WWJD.

20. Godliness assumes that you agree with God on the inside. Consider this, God is always right.  Do you ever find yourself disagreeing with God’s will for your life?  If you do, this is not godly behavior.  If you find yourself saying, “I don’t think that God is right on this one.”  Then you are elevating yourself to a god.  I often say that “There is only one God and it is not me” to remind me that it is not about me, but it is all about Him.  He created everything and I have created nothing.  Even my discoveries as a scientist, He already knew.

21. In the last chapter, we learned that Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” I don’t know God’s purpose for why things work out the way they do.  I rarely know my own plan, let alone God’s plan.  It is best to trust Him and accept it.

22. When you think that you know more than God then that puts you at or above God’s level. This is a form of idolatry where you are your own god.

23. Idolatry is on the side of ungodliness. Paul calls this the “doctrine of demons”.  Read 1 Timothy 4:1-5.

24. We learned in our study of Satan that Satan and his demons are experts at trying to get us to alter our thinking or doctrines. Consider in the garden where Satan asked Eve, “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God.” (Genesis 3:5)  To us today, Satan is saying something similar. “Go ahead.  Leave God out of this. There is no since praying about this.  Take control of your own destiny.”

25. You need to make God your first step in every decision or plan. Remember God is all-powerful and all-knowing and you are not.  Take it to God in prayer to make sure of which direction you should go.

“Legalism provides those in power with a way of controlling, manipulating, and even extorting the lives of those who fall under their care. Godliness does not mean living a checklist-perfect life. It means living in the light of the presence of God to such a degree that your heart beats in tune with His. Your thoughts reflect His. Your choices honor His character. There is a consciousness of God’s presence within you when you live a godly life that affects you. You don’t need to force it or read a list of rules in order to keep it. Your life will reflect the love of God when you make Him your priority.” (Evans)

26. What does Jesus tell us are the two most important commandments? Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.  Love your neighbor as yourself. (Matthew 22:37-39)

27. Since godliness is being like God and “God is love.” (1 John 4:8). Love is one of the attributes of God, it is His very nature.  A few verses later in 1 John 4:19, John writes “We love because he first loved us”.  We show our godliness if we love God and others.

“You are to love God and love others. Loving God means passionately pursuing His glory. When you’re so closely aligned with God’s presence, love is the way you function. Love shows up in your thoughts. Love shows up in your words. Love shows up in your choices. Love shows up in your relationships. Love shows up in how you view and spend time with God. Too many people spend time with God only during the visiting hours on Sunday or for a few minutes each morning. But those who pursue godliness live in His presence.” (Evans)

28. Godliness is holiness. 1 Peter 1:16 says “Be holy, because I am holy.” Peter is quoting numerous verses quoting God in Leviticus.  This is a command from God but God wants us to be holy because we love Him.  Just as a child reflects his/her parents, then we are to reflect God.

29. Read Isaiah 55:6-9. God is speaking to the Israelites through Isaiah.  It would not be long before God allows them to be captured.  They were as far away from God as possible.  They were ungodly people.  It is a direction that I see the U.S. headed.  When I was young, the odd ones were the ones who didn’t go to church and now it is the opposite.

30. As Christians, our thoughts should be of God. When we have trials and troubles then we should go to Him first because He is at the front of our minds.  In these verses in Isaiah 55, God tells them that “For my thoughts are not your thoughts.”  This is not because of God but because of us.  The Israelites were ungodly and their thoughts were about anything but God.  They went to Him out of desperation.

 

31. Living as the world lives in the opposite of godly. Our children use the argument “All my friends are doing it, so why can’t I?” This is the opposite of godliness, it is worldliness.  “Times have changed, get with it.” This is also a worldly statement.  God is immutable or unchangeable.  The world is ever changing.

32. 2 Timothy 2:16 says, “avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness”. There is nothing more worldly than social media.  Yes, there are some good things about social media but Evans calls it “Satan’s tool for worldwide gaslighting”.

33. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary says gaslighting is “psychological manipulation of a person usually over an extended period of time that causes the victim to question the validity of their own thoughts, perception of reality, or memories and typically leads to confusion, loss of confidence and self-esteem, uncertainty of one’s emotional or mental stability, and a dependency on the perpetrator.”

34. Consider this past election, by the time it was over we had no idea what the candidates stood for. If we listened to Facebook posts, mainstream news media and the candidates themselves, we would not have voted at all.  We had to just turn it off or tune it out.  If you listened you would have been scared of all of the candidates.  It was all, “worldly and empty chatter”.   Hopefully, before you voted, you prayed first.

35. We are living in a time as it says in Judges 21:25, where “everyone did what was right in his own eyes.” In the history of Israel, a king was judged based on whether or not, “He did what was right in the sight of the Lord.”

36. “Worldliness is any system headed by Satan that leaves God out. A person does not need to be a criminal to be worldly. Worldliness is the opposite of godliness, in that it is living a life apart from God’s perspective.” If you are not praying then you are not seeking God’s perspective.  If you don’t want to know God’s perspective on something then you are not living godly.

37. There are a lot of churches in the world today that try to merge godliness and worldliness. I gave you the information about the United Methodist Churches becoming welcoming and affirming.  Churches must hold to biblical values.  The Bible has to be the only source because it is the Word of God.

38. James 1:5-8 says, “5 If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. 6 But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. 7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.” More and more people, pastors and churches are becoming double-minded.  They are trying to live in the world and they are living of the world to some degree.

 

39. If it is contrary to the Word of God, then it is worldly. You cannot be double-minded or a fence sitter.  You have to be all God to be godly.  Bringing any amount of the world into your church will make it worldly.  Just like false teaching that Paul was talking about in Galatians 5:9, “This false teaching is like a little yeast that spreads through the whole batch of dough!”  Bringing worldly things into the church can spread through the whole church making it ungodly.

“When God’s people leave God out yet still try to suck in the spiritual authority or the kingdom power they need in order to overcome, they’re only ushering in death cycles in their life. Whether it be the death of a dream, a relationship, a career, or of anything else, trying to survive spiritually using worldliness as your oxygen will destroy you. You were made for so much more.” (Evans)

40. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” In order to be an overcomer, you have to strive for godliness.  As we said in a previous chapter, we have to claim the power of God to overcome Satan and the world.  Our ungodliness gives Satan the victory.

 

41. Evans says, “If you are a Christian, God is your environment. He supplies your power. He supplies what you need to overcome. He supplies your everything.” You need to be dependent on God and not self-reliant or reliant on the world.  As the old hymn says, “Without Him I could do nothing, without Him I’d surely fail.”  You cannot be an overcomer without Him.

42. When you claimed Jesus as your Savior, you were given all that you need to overcome Satan and the world. 2 Peter 1:3 tells us, “His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.”

Spurgeon said, “Divine power! What stupendous issues are grasped in that term, divine power! It was this which digged the deep foundations of the earth and sea! Divine power, it is this which guides the marches of the stars of heaven! Divine power! it is this which holds up the pillars of the universe, and which one day shall shake them, and hurry all things back to their native nothingness.”

43. Sometimes I get so used to saying that the Holy Spirit lives in me that I don’t think about what it means. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of God.  Paul had to remind himself that the spirit of God is the spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead, the one who created everything.  I have also said numerous times, don’t put human limitations on our God.  His power is infinite.

“When we accepted Jesus Christ for our salvation, the Holy Spirit fertilized our human spirit. He quickened our spirit and made us alive spiritually. The problem is that the devil seeks to abort our spiritual conception. Satan seeks to stop our spiritual maturity from progressing. And in many cases, he’s been successful. But that’s not because believers lack what they need to grow and develop. It’s because they have been enticed, confused, deceived, distressed, or distracted away from the pursuit of godliness.” (Evans)

44. The question that you have to ask yourself, “How badly do you want to it?” Evans says that one of the differences between a growing believer and a stagnant one is appetite.  I always think of end to football season.  Usually in the bowl games both teams are good enough to win the game but it comes down to hunger and focus.  This applies to Christians.  Daily we have to ask ourselves, “Are we focused on God?” and “Are we hungry to overcome?”

45. Do you think as the Apostle Paul did, when he wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7-8, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.”

“God wants to know how bad you want Him. How bad you want access to His spiritual authority. How bad you want to overcome that thing, person, drama, toxicity, behavior, or whatever else is keeping you down. Your desire will show up in your willingness to deny worldly gains and focus on your spiritual walk with Jesus Christ.” (Evans)

46. 1 Timothy 6:6 says, “But godliness with contentment is great gain.” There is benefit to pursuing godliness.  When we looked at the seven churches in Revelation 2 and 3.  Jesus told each church where they were deficient and told them how to become an overcomer.  Their path to getting rid of their deficiencies involved the pursuit of godliness.  Our path to overcoming Satan and the world also includes the pursuit of godliness.

47. God told the Israelite exiles in Jeremiah 29:13, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” This is a big part of godliness.

Living as an Overcomer – Tony Evans

Rejoicing in Growth and Abundance – Chapter 12

“In this chapter, I share some practical applications for not only pursuing godliness but for continuing to grow in godliness.”

1. John 10:10 says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (NASB) Evans says that the path to an abundant life goes through Jesus. The abundant life is not one filled with money and fame but one of spiritual wealth.

 

2. Remember Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21, 19 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” The abundant life is contentment with your life.

3. If you look at the common way that rich people think, “I have more but I want more”. At what point do they have enough.  I believe that joy is about being more than content regardless of your circumstances, the same thing applies to an abundant life.  Hebrews 13:5 says, “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

4. Many of you remember the TV show, the Beverly Hillbillies. They were dirt poor and then struck it rich.  Throughout the shows they were content with their previous lifestyle but through the pressures of the world and Mr. Drysdale, they were being pushed be more like the world.

 

5. When we accepted Jesus, He has taken us from being spiritually poor to a place of spiritual richness. A few weeks ago, we read Revelation 3:21, it says, “To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne.”  How much richer could we be than to sit at the right hand of God with Jesus.

6. James 1:9-10 says, “9 Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. 10 But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower.” Worldly richness is temporary but spiritual wealth is eternal.

 

“The riches of this world will certainly fade away — but James says that the rich man also will fade away. If we put our life and our identity into things that fade away, we will fade away also. How much better to put our life and our identity into things that will never fade! If a man is only rich in this world, when he dies, he leaves his riches. But if a man is rich before God, when he dies, he goes to his riches.”  (Guzik)

 

7. We have said a number of times in this study that God is trying to transform us into the image of Jesus. He is our goal and our measuring stick.  As humans we can never come close to reaching this goal.  We have obstacles in our path in the form of our old sin nature.  Too often we allow our goals to align with the world’s goal.

8. Evans says that not only are we suppose to pursue godliness, we are to grow in godliness. Our godliness can never be as good as Jesus but we have to move His direction.  He will give us some practical applications of pursuing and growing in godliness.

DOING THE WORK

9. The power required to grow in godliness and attain godliness can only come from God. We must tap into the power that comes from a personal relationship with God through Jesus and studying God’s Word.  Attending church on Sunday is a good first step but we can never reach the godliness that God wants for us without more.

10. Read 1 Timothy 4:4-10. Guzik says, “The word godliness comes from the old English word Godlikeness; it means to have the character and attitude of God. This was a worthy goal, much more worthy that the potential attainments of physical exercise.”  The “But” is that it requires work.  In verses 7 and 8, Paul says “discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness”. (NASB)  The Greek word that Paul used for ‘discipline’ is ‘gymnasia’.  Sound familiar, some translations say ‘train’ or ‘exercise”.

11. Anything worth having is worth working for. Paul says “for bodily discipline is only of little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.”  If you do physical exercise and then stop and don’t continue, I was always told that you lose what you had gained in two weeks.  It is temporary.  Growth in godliness is eternal.  Godliness impacts how we think and act in our daily lives now, especially if we make it our lifestyle.

 

12. Galatians 5:17-18 tells us, “17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Being under the Spirit is like godliness.  If you are living and growing in godliness then you are living by the Spirit and the things of the Law are meaningless.

 

13. If we are to ever reach our goal of being like Jesus, then we have to grow in godliness. Our sin nature tries to keep us grounded in the world but our godliness keeps us focused on God.  Without living and growing in godliness we will not be able to grow as Christians.

 

Evans says there are four specific ways to WORK.

 

14. Exercise your soul. Just like your body, your soul can get out of shape.  When it is out of shape, your soul cannot handle the evil things that the world throws at you.  Consider the election, there was so much propaganda regarding the issues and candidates that it stressed me.  Evans would say that my soul was out of shape because I let it bother me too much.  It is similar to huffing and puffing as I take my out of shape body up stairs.

 

“If your soul is out of shape because ungodliness rules your thoughts, words, and actions, you need more than an intention to overcome. You need more than a resolution to live as an overcomer. You need more than a desire to grow spiritually.  If spiritual laziness overrules decisions and discipline that develop your spiritual muscles, then you will not be positioned to overcome difficulties as a way of life.  You need more than a good intention to overcome.  You need to put in the work.”  (Evans)

15. Deny Worldliness. In #7 above, we read verses from 1 Timothy 4.  Verse 7 says “have nothing to do with worldly fables fit only for old women” (NASB) and the NLT calls them “godless ideas and old wives’ tale”.  Paul is saying avoid old wives tales and anything that has no spiritual or Biblical foundation.  As I said above, I allowed myself to get caught up in the election propaganda that had no Biblical or truthful foundation.

16. Read 1 Timothy 4:1-3. Paul gives us two examples of things that fit into this category:  “They will say it is wrong to be married and wrong to eat certain foods.” (NLT)  As for being married, they assumed since Paul was not married then that was the correct way to live.  The Jews were accustomed to having limitations put on what they could and could not eat in the Law.  But in both cases, people were working on false information.  So Paul sets them straight.

 

17. Paul says this information is from “deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons”. We cannot mix the world’s view in with God’s view and still be on the right path to being an overcomer.

“Life transformation takes place when you practice the spiritual disciplines.  You develop your ability to overcome when you base your perspective on God’s kingdom worldview.  You already possess all you need to live in and grow in godliness, but you need to refrain from mixing it with worldly ways of thought.” (Evans)

 

18. Live in Community.  Several times in this study I have quoted the adage, “A shared joy is a double joy; a shared sorrow is half a sorrow.”  Evans says that you need a partner to hold you accountable and keep you on course.  It doesn’t have to be a spouse but it can be.  When I used to workout, I had a workout buddy.  When I would think about skipping, I would tell myself “Dave is going to be there.  I can’t let him down.”  We have a whole church of partners willing to help us.  The Christian life is not a solitary one, it is designed as a community.  Consider Paul always traveled with someone or in a group.

 

19. Develop Gratitude.  Remember we started this chapter with John 10:10 which says, “I (Jesus) came that they may have life, and have it abundantly”.  The abundant life starts with godliness.  It impacts every aspect of your life.

 

20. 1 Timothy 4:4-5 says, “4 Since everything God created is good, we should not reject any of it but receive it with thanks. 5 For we know it is made acceptable by the word of God and prayer.” When God created, He saw that it was good.  He didn’t leave anything out.  When we receive it, we are to receive it with gratitude.

 

21. James 1:17 tells us that “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father”. Having just come through Thanksgiving, we should be aware of our blessings from God and hopefully you showed God your gratitude for all of them.  You need to thank Him constantly and not once a year.  King David was in awe of God’s caring and he said, “Who am I that you are mindful of me.”

 

22. When we say grace, we thank God for His providing us the food on the table, what about everything else. Do you count your blessings?  We are a truly blessed people.  Look at those crossing our border, trying to get a part of what God has blessed us with by just putting us in this country.  Never forget to thank Him for everything.

 

Abiding in Jesus

23. Jesus said in John 15:7-9, “7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. 9 Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love.” (NASB) More than just exist in Jesus’ love, we are to abide.

 

24. Evans calls Jesus the “dispenser of godliness”. The closer you are to Jesus, the more godliness you have.  The closer your relationship with Him, the more important WWJD becomes.  The less godly that you are, the less important Jesus is to you.  Godliness requires you to tap into the power of Jesus to overcome your old self.

25. Jesus’ presence in your life becomes more and more evident to others. Jesus’ presence will impact everything that you say and do.  It changes what is important to you.

Evans says, “Practicing the presence of Jesus means bringing Jesus in on everything you do, whether in your thoughts, words or actions.  It also includes showing a heart of gratitude throughout your day as you witness and identify the many provisions Jesus has given you.  Whether it is a provision of wisdom to know what to say and do at the right time, or the provision of safety or even a material provision, Jesus is the source of all good things in your life.  You sanctify these things through the Word of God and prayer.”

26. Consider if you wanted to lose weight. If you only controlled your eating on Tuesday and ate what you want the rest of the week, how would your weight loss go?  Or if you were an athlete and only practiced once a week?  That is what you are doing, if you only come to church on Sunday.

 

27. Something Dr. David Jeremiah said still sticks in my mind. He said that some people look at God as a vending machine God.  They come to church looking for a blessing or an answer to a prayer.  They may want God to get them out of their current problem.  They don’t come wanting a relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ but that is where the power is.

 

28. Evans says that you can tell when you are growing in godliness in yourself or those around you. You no longer allow the “doctrine of demons” to dominate your life.  Things that didn’t bother you very much before, now make you want to turn the channel.

29. In the book “My Heart Christ’s Home”, as Jesus moves into your life or abides in you, there are some rooms that are easy to allow Jesus to see. You give Him free access to them.  You try to control what He sees in your life.  When it comes to your heart, you want to put locks on the door so He doesn’t see what you have hidden.  Abiding is defined as “To abide is to “dwell,” “remain,” “be present,” and to “be held and kept.”  If Jesus abides in you, then He is more than a casual visitor, He must have full access.

30. Earlier in this chapter, I said that you have to make godliness your lifestyle. That is what Jesus wants if He moves in to abide with you.  It is not something that you do when you think about it.  You have to become so comfortable with godliness that it happens without thought.

31. In the beginning you will have to work at it. That old sin nature gets in your way but as you work at it, godliness will become second nature to you.  You will have to work at it every day, all day long.  Godliness grows as you develop a deeper personal relationship with Jesus.

32. In Matthew 5:21-45, Jesus covers thoughts that we may have and points out how they are equivalent to being subject to judgment under one of the ten commandments. For instance, Jesus equates hatred to murder.  If you fully have Jesus abiding in you and you work at it, you won’t have to worry about the 10 commandments.  Jesus’ influence on you leads you in the right way and you allow Him to lead.

“God’s got a gym membership for you. And, by the way, it’s open enrollment. Anyone who wants to get in can do so by virtue of your relationship with Jesus Christ. He has already paid the price. With this membership and use of it comes the power of God’s Word to operate in your life through prayer and gratitude as you practice the presence of Christ. While godliness grows within you, godlessness will have to shrink and fall away. You can’t have both. The overcomer’s life is a life of spiritual discipline revealed by godliness in all you think, say, and do. But the good part is that it’s not entirely up to you. You have help.” (Evans)

33. He will satisfy you with good things as you tap into His spiritual power for you to live as an overcomer in Christ, striving for godliness and the abundant life along the way, and be rewarded for it in eternity.

Conclusion:  From Victim to Victor

34. Evans uses the example of professional wrestling to describe our victory in Jesus. The end has already been predetermined and life is just a matter how we get to the victory.  In professional wrestling, the victor ended up beaten and bruised but he still knew going in that he was going to win.  We too, will have trial and trouble and are beaten and bruised by Satan and the world but we can know in advance that with Jesus on our side, we will be victorious.

35. 1 John 4:4 tells us, “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.” If you don’t believe it, skip to the end of the book of Revelation.  It tells us so.  We win because Jesus wins.  God has plans for us that will be amazing and all we have to do is hold fast to Jesus.

 

36. Right now, Satan appears to be winning but this is just temporary. Remember what Jesus said in John 16:33, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”  His victory was not temporary, it is eternal and as overcomers we can claim that eternal victory too.