Experiencing Overwhelming Victories through Overwhelming Love - 2

                    

 Romans 12:21 “Be not overcome of evil but overcome evil with good”

We are continuing our meditation on the above text and theme.

God’s way is love, we can only have God’s kind of result if we do things God’s way, Love is the answer of God to the world.

Looking down through the ages, God has always answered through love. For instance, when man sinned against God in the Garden of Eden God killed a lamb and clothed their nakedness to cover man up. God does not answer tit-for –tat, an eye for an eye. His way is the way of love. You must choose to answer life with love. Unless we make this choice, things will become more and more difficult for us.

Brethren, you have been wired to

Experience Overwhelming Victories by Overwhelming Love

Rom 12:21 “Be not overcome with evil but overcome evil with good’

The word overcome means ‘to get the better of’ it means to overwhelm, gain superiority or upper hand’

There is a way to overcome and overwhelm evil. God’s way is the way of love and it’s the winning way.

1Cor.13 tells us that “love can endure everything without weakening. Love never fails or fades out or comes to an end”.

How would you like to be on the side of something that never fails at all times? If you stay on the side of love you will always win, whether against the devil or human beings.

Natural human beings don’t have an answer to love. Please know that God is not punishing us by asking us to love our neighbours but rather He wants us to win all

Do not be overwhelmed

Philippians 4:6 (AMP)

“Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition ( definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.”

We are at the season of the year that there is a lot of activities both in the physical and in the realm of the spirit. It is also a period when there is a lot of anxiety in the hearts of people. This is why I want you to meditate on our text for today. You see you cannot be in faith and entertain anxiety or worry at the same time. Where faith is present, anxiety and worry take a flight out of the window and vice versa is also true.  

Our text for meditation says to not allow anxiety in your heart under any circumstance or over anything, this means God is saying to you He can meet you at the point of your need. 

So, rather than allow yourself to be overwhelmed by the many things you need to do or accomplish before this year ends, turn it over to God and rest in Him. 

The Scriptures say, “He is able to keep to the uttermost that which is committed to His hand” and also that “faithful is He who promised, who also will do it”. Lastly, Jesus said:

“So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.” MATTHEW 6:34 AMP

Faith as a Shield

Ephesians 6:16 (NIV)
“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”

1 Tim 6:12-13 (NIV)“Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”

Taking a cue from our meditation some days ago where we saw that Jesus brought the use of faith to two main things, which were to get rid of stuff we don’t want and to bring in stuff we want, I want to point out to you today two other uses of faith.

From our first text for meditation, you can see that faith is used for defensive purposes because it is symbolized as a shield. A shield is for

Faith is a man’s grip on God

Luke 5:17-20
“And it came to pass on a certain day, as he was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judaea, and Jerusalem: and the power of the Lord was present to heal them. And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.”

Where God’s word has been preached or taught, power is present. Where the Holy Spirit is also power of God is there. But you will notice that even though the power of God was present to heal, nobody got healed until someone came who had faith. Faith is what is used to take

The use of faith

Mark 11:22-24

“And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.  Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

It seemed like Jesus broke the use of faith down to two major things: Firstly, it is to get stuff you don’t want but are already in your life out, “…that whosoever shall say to this mountain, be thou removed…”. Secondly, it is to get stuff you want in, “…what things soever ye desire, when ye pray…” 

Some people will feel guilty that that is all their

What comes next to obedience?

Romans 4:12

“And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.”

One more thing on walking in the steps of the faith of Abraham. After righteousness has been established in the heart as the heart is changed and the fear of God is implanted in the heart, it enables obedience. Now look at what comes next to obedience:

“Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.” Hebrews 11:11 KJV

What comes next to obedience? You receive strength to do whatever you have been asked to do. But that is not how we want it, we

Faith is in Steps

Romans 4:12
“And the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised.”

The Scriptures say that we walk by faith, so faith is a walk and if it is a walk then it is in steps. We live and walk by faith in steps, one step after another. Abraham the father of faith, his faith walk was in steps and the Bible says he is the father of us also who walk after the same steps he walked. In looking at Hebrews Chapter Eleven, we can glean the steps that are involved in the life of faith. 

We have looked at them separately but I want to bring

Faith increases our capacity

Hebrews 11:11
“Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.”

Sarah bears witnesses to us that faith brings into the life of the one who has it an increased capacity. Faith increases our capacity and enables us to do more than we normally do. I like the way the Message Bible expressed our text:

“By faith, barren Sarah was able to become pregnant…”

She that was barren was able to become pregnant! Even though the context has to do fruit of the womb, we can apply it to fruitfulness in every area. So you may seemingly be barren of ideas to move your life, your business, etc. forward

Reverential fear of God

Hebrews 11:7
“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”

Let me go back to the lessons we have been learning from the Heroes of faith in Hebrews Chapter Eleven. We see today something else faith brought to Noah which we easily skip over also because it does sound like a faith word. It is fear. The Scriptures say, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things

You have enough faith

Matt 17:20
“And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.”

Mark 4:31-32
“It is like a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it groweth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadow of it.”

Have you ever prayed that God should increase your faith because you believe your faith is too small to get the job done? Let me encourage you today and say you have enough faith in you to get the job done, have your needs met, heal you of that infirmity. How can you say that you ask? I did not say it, Jesus said it. He

Do not let go of your grip on God

Hebrews 10:35-38

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.”

Let me interrupt the trend of our meditation in the past three days to bring this word of encouragement to you today. Do not let go of your grip on God. What is your grip on God, faith is your grip on God and as long as you have your grip tight God will deliver on His promises to you. Your faith is like a lifeline thrown to a drowning man from a boat. As long as he does not let go of the lifeline, he can

Inherinting heaven and the heavenly

Hebrews 11:8-10

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” 

 I believe in using faith for material things, in fact, I believe we are to do that so we can train our faith also for spiritual things. If a man can use his faith to obtain a material blessing, he will understand that the same faith can be used to live a righteous and holy existence. This is the witness of the Hebrews Eleven heroes of faith. Their faith was not only used for material blessings but also

Faith's Focus

Hebrews 11:8-10

“By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.”

For the first time I am seeing the focus of Abraham’s faith as he answered the call of God to leave his father’s house and moved from place to place, he was looking for a city whose builder and maker is God.  That city is

Salvation of your House

Hebrews 11:7

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”

The next thing we see your faith in God does for you is that it prepares ground for the salvation of your house, or family. It was like Noah’s faith in God became like an ark prepared for the whole family to get in and be saved. God is a god of families, therefore, when one family member gets saved it

A changed life

Heb 11:5-6
“By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

The second thing we see a life of faith brought about is a “translation”.  Translation means a change or conversion to another form or appearance. This is what faith in God should bring about to the one who has it conversion

What faith brings to you

Hebrews 11:4 
“By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh.”
 

It is instructive to note that the first thing we see about the testimony of faith is that Abel obtained witness that he was righteous. I believe that is the very first thing that faith comes with to the life of the believer after

Faith and being led by the Spirit

Rom 8:14
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.”

Heb 11:1
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

John 3:8
“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

I am back today to further establish that it takes a life of faith to mature in being led by the Spirit. Notice the characteristic of being born by the Spirit, it is a relationship that is of faith because it is not when hear the sound of

Faith's ultimate victory 2

1 Peter 1:7-9
“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
 
Still meditating on faith’s ultimate victory, we saw yesterday that it does not end being able to acquire the best things in life but

Faith's ultimate victory

1 Peter 1:7-9
“That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ: Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory: Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.”
 
If you were asked what faith’s ultimate victory is, what would your answer be? I am sure your answer would not be far from it being the receiving of what you stood for in faith. Or it might be expressed as what is recorded in 1John 5:4, “to overcome the world or the systems of the world”. But that is not what

Leading of the Spirit

Romans 8:14
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

One of the very important aspects of the believer’s life is being led by the Spirit of God. There is as much faith in being and following the leading as in obeying the written word of God. 

What I am saying is that faith is required in following the leading of the Spirit. One of the reasons people fail in this area is because they try to reason out or rationalize the leading and faith is no longer involved when reason

The gift of faith

1 Corinthians 12:9
“To another faith by the same Spirit…”

Rom 12:3
“…according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.”

There are two different types of faith that these two verses speak of and it is important that you understand it. The first is the ‘gift of faith’, that is, faith as a gift of the Spirit which is different than the one that you receive at salvation, which was dealt to every man by God. 

The gift of faith operates as God wills but the other one is under the control of the believer. The gift of faith does not grow but you can grow in faith. There are things you do to prepare your heart to believe God in your

Authority of the word

Matt 8:8-10

“The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”

We are still examining what the centurion understood about authority that made him to be commended by the Lord as having great faith.

The second thing he understood was the authority of the word. He recognized that the word of someone who has authority is as

Understanding authority

Matt 8:8-10

“The centurion replied, "Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it." When Jesus heard this, he was astonished and said to those following him, "I tell you the truth, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”

Your understanding of authority will go a long way to determine the boldness of your faith. When you don’t understand authority and how it works you will be hindered in your faith.

In our text above, we see a man who is not part of the commonwealth of Israel at that time but because he understood authority, what it means to have one or to be under one was commended by the Lord as having great

The Holy Spirit

John 10:34-35

“Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken.”

We have looked at some things that God put in us that make us function like Him, such as faith and His word. The other thing (pardon my use of the word thing) that God gave us to enable us be and act like Him is His Holy Spirit. When Jesus was to go He told His disciples that He was going to give them another Comforter. 

The word another implied one just like Him who was going to be in them as well as be with them. Having the Holy Spirit in us is to enable us

Faith makes us act like God

John 10:34-35

“Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken.”

I said yesterday that faith makes us act like God. Well, the truth is that the believer is declared a god already by God and faith is one of the things that enable us act like Him. If not, what would you call Joshua asking sun and moon to

All things are possible

With God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26

All things are possible to him who believes. Mark 9:23

In these two passages, we find the same thing that is ascribed to God ascribed to him who believes, and that is, “all things are possible”. To ascribe the same thing to God and a believer, if not that it is clearly stated in the Bible, someone is likely to say that one is blaspheming or ascribing too much to oneself. 

But I am not the one who is ascribing it to the believer

Faith and Marriage

1 Corinthians 13:13

“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

Marriage is a place you constantly apply faith, in other words you believe in God that brought you and your spouse together that He will keep you both together till either death part you or Jesus comes.

It is also the place where you constantly believe in your

Holding your marriage steady!

1 Corinthians 13:13

“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

There is another thing about hope; the Scriptures refer to hope as the anchor of the soul. This means hope is that which holds one steady in stormy times. The reason hope can do this is because hope is also defined as a confident expectation that things will be better. 

You can look at your marriage and have hope, a confident

Three pillars of marriage

1 Corinthians 13:13

“And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

I believe that this verse describes to us the three pillars upon which a good and lasting marriage is built. Everybody understands that love is needed for marriage to continue so I want to bring the aspect of faith and consequently