The Overcomer: Part Two

The reward to those of the church at Ephesus is to have the right to feed on the body and blood of Christ. As we through Christ choose to do what is right, we are fed in the Spirit the body and blood of the Lamb. These are our eternal, resurrection life. In this manner we keep on laying hold on eternal life. We are to grow in eternal life until we are fully prepared for the redemption of our body. This was Paul’s goal, as we may notice in the third chapter of the Book of Philippians.

(5/18/2008) We still are hammering away at the rewards to the overcomer, mentioned in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation. Remember, the rewards to the overcomer are incremental. Some of them are applied to us now, at least in a measure. We are to move forward from the right to partake of the body and blood of the Lamb (the Tree of Life) all the way to our position on the Throne of Christ—finally to inheriting all that God is making new in Christ.

I do not have the ability to describe the Throne of Christ, that to which we have been called. But on that Throne sits Christ and every victorious saint from the time of Abel. The Throne of Christ is exalted above all other authority and power.

May I mention at this point that none of the promises to the overcomer are given by mercy or grace. This is because they are given to us as we are qualified and competent to receive them. For example, we are not given the right to eat from the Tree of Life until we turn back and do the works we did when we first came to Christ. We used to read our Bible and pray each day; we were kind to our fellow believers and did not judge or criticize them; we attended the gathering of fervent disciples on a regular basis.

As Oswald Chambers has stated, one of the problems of the Christian life is that of boredom. We are fervent when we first come to Christ. But if nothing exciting happens after several years, we may become too involved in the world and neglect prayer, Bible reading, and gathering with fervent saints.

All the members of the seven churches were believers in Christ. But only a minority of individuals qualified as overcomers. The same is true today. I think Christian people do not take Revelation, Chapters Two and Three seriously. I suppose they figure that it all will come out right in the end, whether or not they gain victory over the forces that come against them

Part of the reason for this casual attitude to the need to overcome may be due to the mythology that accompanies our preaching of salvation, that is, we are saved to go to Heaven to live in peace and joy for eternity, with no responsibilities or problems whatever.

The truth of the matter is that the Kingdom of God is a real Kingdom. It is not Heaven. It is a hierarchy of authority, with Christ at the Head. Underneath Christ are the victorious saints. They shall govern with Christ for eternity.

We Americans do not enjoy being told what to do. But in the Kingdom of God we either will rule or be ruled. We will not be permitted to do as we please. If we do not press through to victory, people who have been more diligent than we are going to be telling us what we can and can’t do.

If you do not want people telling you what you can and can’t do, then get busy and prove your stern obedience to Christ. Follow the Lamb wherever He goes. Turn aside from excessive involvement in the world spirit until you can hear what the Spirit of God is saying to the churches. Pray for the spirit of wisdom and revelation until you understand how high is our calling in the Lord Jesus Christ.

It appears to me that God’s people in America are not fervent enough, in many instances. Little by little we are seeing our values trampled on. It may come to the place, as is true now in Canada and Sweden, that if a pastor preaches that the practice of homosexuality is a sin against God, he will be fined, or put in jail, or both, and his ministry shut down.

I don’t believe the time is far off when the same will be true in the United States of America. God wants us Christians to wake up and realize that Satan is having his way in our country, and more so each day. The practice of abortion-on-demand is sufficient to bring the wrath of God on our country, and we slumber on!

God is looking for saints today who will pursue the life of victory in Christ. They shall be rewarded greatly, beside being enabled to stand during the age of moral horrors that is upon us.

Every believer can, through Christ, overcome every force that comes against him or her. He can come to the end of each day as a victorious saint, having the satisfaction in his heart that he is pleasing the Lord and doing all that is required of him. This is the way every Christian is to live.

The believer in the church at Ephesus had to return to his or her original fervency. He had to repent and do the things he did at first, because he had fallen from his high place in God.

If he did not return and do his first works, his lampstand, his testimony of Christ, would be removed.