Notes of Faith April 22, 2025
Be an Overcomer
And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations.
Revelation 2:26
The theme of overcoming is consistent in the letters to the seven churches in Asia minor. Christ promised blessings of various sorts to the churches whose members would overcome the resistance they experienced in the world: Ephesus (Revelation 2:7), Smyrna (Revelation 2:11), Pergamos (Revelation 2:17), Thyatira (Revelation 2:26), Sardis (Revelation 3:5), Philadelphia (Revelation 3:12), and Laodicea (Revelation 3:21).
To the church at Thyatira, Christ promised two things: They would rule with Him over the nations, and they would be united with Him when He returned (Revelation 2:26-28). Jesus promised His disciples that they would rule with Him in His Kingdom (Matthew 19:28), a promise later affirmed by Paul (2 Timothy 2:12). Christ also said He would give them “the morning star” (Revelation 2:28)—apparently a reference to Himself: “the Bright and Morning Star” (Revelation 22:16).
We should take these two promises as our own and see them as motivation for overcoming the world. We who are faithful with little in this world will be given much in the world to come (Matthew 25:21). Whatever is before you today, remember that you can overcome through the power of Christ.
Conformity to the world can be overcome by nothing but conformity to Jesus.
Andrew Murray
1 John 5:4-5
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world — our faith.
5 Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
We are overcomers by being in Christ! We have a new world and life prepared for us that we cannot imagine! Living through the trials and tribulations of this life is often distressing, emotionally stressful, often involving great sacrifice on our part. But the life to come should encourage us to persevere through any difficult circumstance. We are loved beyond our knowledge and drawn to God because of His love for us. Even after believing faith has made its home in our hearts, we are brought into a more intimate relationship with God by His work and not our own efforts. Praise Him today, that you are an overcomer through Christ and have abundant blessing prepared for you to experience with Him forever.
Pastor Dale