OVERCOMERS
To listen to this message from Anthony Stander, as given at the Biblical Worldview Summit 2021, click here.
To view the video, click here.
“He who overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be My son” Revelation 21:7
Jesus Christ changed my life and rescued me from a life of sin and darkness in 1985. After having spent two years in the army in the Parachute Battalion, I lost my way and landed up in a maximum prison for 5 armed robberies, one of them a bank robbery. I was sentenced to 30 years imprisonment, with 15 years running concurrent with fifteen. I was in prison for almost 7 years. Jesus Christ has changed my life from the day He found me and I have been a Christian ever since that day. I have been privileged to serve in the Kingdom of God since that day of my salvation.
Today I want to talk to you about being an Overcomer. Today you will face a very different world, a world that is hostile to Christ and His followers. I have watched so many Christians backslide, commit serious sexual sin, or even leave the Faith. The Church today looks very different from 20 years ago. I met so many strong Christians in those days and today, we find so very many weak Christians.
The early Church was born in the fires of Pentecost and a few men and women changed the world. We need Christians today who are full of the fire of God, dressed in the armour of God, engaging the spiritual forces of hell and overcoming the darkness. If there is to be a fight, let it be a glorious fight for Christ and let God’s enemies be defeated.
“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
The Greek word for power in that Scripture is Dunamis, where we get our word Dynamite from. Jesus said you will receive dynamite power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you! Peter the rough fisherman under the power of the Holy Spirit won three thousand souls to Christ with one sermon. We need a church to arise with the same power of God to win the lost at any cost and drive the enemy from the battlefields of our world. You that are sitting here are that church and this is your purpose and calling. Why was the Power of the Holy Spirit poured out: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8
We are called to win the world at any cost. Make a difference. Be an overcomer. Many of you are much younger than us, in fact, some of us older Christians have been Christians longer than you have been alive. We have fought the devil and his legions by the Grace of God for many years. Our armour is dented, our shields battered, our swords are chipped, we bear many scars from these fights, we have been betrayed, denied, stabbed in the back, have been spoken evil of and some have suffered terrible losses of family and friends. Some of our wounds have never healed. But we are still here and the love of Christ and His example keeps us going forward. No surrender, no retreat. When we realise what Jesus Christ had done for us on that Cross, how He suffered for us that we may be saved, then no hardship is ever too hard.
We are encouraged in Hebrews 11:32-38: “And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still, others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented - of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.”
We are not called to live out our own lives here on earth, we are called to follow Christ, we are not promised wealth, or prosperity, or a soft life, we are called to stand for Christ and win the most precious treasure that Christ has, people. God makes every person unique with their own fingerprint and tongue print. Every person is utterly precious and if a person is lost, that blueprint is lost forever. God can make gold and jewels in abundance, but with the human race He only makes one blueprint and when a person is lost -that person is lost forever. God sent us to find His lost treasures and bring them safely to Him, like Jesus did! He came to the earth mission impossible, win the lost at any cost- so should we do the same! If God leads you to become a doctor or lawyer or business man, it is to first serve and obey God in His quest for His most precious jewels, the human race. Everything we do in our lives is done to obey Christ and extend His Kingdom.
Three military recruiters showed up to address high school seniors. Each recruiter, representing the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, was to have fifteen minutes. The Army and Navy recruiters got carried away, so when it came time for the Marine to speak, he had just two minutes. He walked up and stood utterly silent for a full sixty seconds, half of his time.
Then he said this: "I doubt whether there are two or three of you in this room who could even cut it in the Marine Corps. But I want to see those two or three immediately in the dining hall when we are dismissed." He turned smartly and sat down. When he arrived in the dining hall, those students interested in the Marines were a mob. The recruiter knew that commitment comes from appealing to the heroic dimension in every heart.
I think God is appealing to your heroic heart. Will you hear the call of God to follow Christ to whatever end? To be an overcomer means:
I am a soldier in the army of my God.
The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer.
The Holy Scripture is my Code of Conduct.
Faith, prayer and the Word are the weapons of my warfare.
I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience,
tried by adversity and tested by fire.
I am a volunteer in this army and I am enlisted for eternity.
I will not get out, sell out, be talked out or pushed out.
I am faithful, reliable, capable and dependable.
If my God needs me, I am there. I am a soldier.
I am not a baby. I do not need to be pampered, petted,
primed up, pumped up, picked up, or pepped up. I am a soldier.
No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me or lure me.
I am a soldier. I am not a wimp. I am in place, saluting my King,
obeying His orders, praising His name and building His Kingdom!
No one has to send me flowers, gifts, food, cards or candy, or give me handouts.
I do not need to be cuddled, cradled, cared for, or catered to.
I am committed. I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around.
I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside.
I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit.
When Jesus called me into this army, I had nothing. If I end up with nothing, I will still come out ahead. I will win. My God has and will continue to supply all of my needs. I am more than a conqueror. I will always triumph. I can do all things through Christ.
The devil cannot defeat me. People cannot disillusion me. Weather cannot weary me. Sickness cannot stop me. Battles cannot beat me. Money cannot buy me. Governments cannot silence me and hell cannot handle me. I am a soldier.
Even death cannot destroy me.
For when my Commander calls me from His battlefield,
He will promote me to captain and then allow me to rule with Him.
I am a soldier in the army and I’m marching claiming victory.
I will not give up. I will not turn around.
I am a soldier, marching Heaven-bound.
Here I Stand!
Will you stand with me?
Ask our Lord what does He want to do with your life, surrender all, knowing that you are created for a purpose in His Kingdom. None of us will know true happiness until we find God’s purpose in His Kingdom for our lives, you were created for a time such as this, you were not placed in the medieval ages or sooner. God saw fit to place you in this year and knew that you and I would be the best people for this end time battle. But we need to overcome the sin that so easily holds us back. We need to step up in our Christian walk, Christ Alone, no porn, drunkenness, worldly parties, addictions, or any other thing that will stop us from doing what the Lord had commanded us to do! The promises of God are to them that overcome:
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." Revelation 2:7
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death." Revelation 2:11
"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it” Revelation 2:17
“And he who overcomes and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations -HE SHALL RULE THEM WITH A ROD OF IRON; THEY SHALL BE DASHED TO PIECES LIKE THE POTTER'S VESSELS - as I also have received from My Father.” Revelation 2:26-27
“He who overcomes shall inherit all things and I will be his God and he shall be My son.” Revelation 21:7
“To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches." Revelation 3:21-22
We need to be overcomers. God’s Word demands that we be overcomers and run the race set before us, not turning to the left or right, joining the army of God as excellent soldiers, Holy warriors with a Godly mission: “Blow ye the trumpet in Zion and sound an alarm in my holy mountain: let all the inhabitants of the land tremble: for the day of the Lord cometh, for it is nigh at hand.” Joel 2:1
“Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.” Joel 3:9-10
God is preparing an army in the last days and you are part of it.
“And the Lord shall utter His voice before His army: for His camp is very great: for He is strong that executeth His Word: for the day of the Lord is great and very terrible; and who can abide it?” Joel 2:11
God is looking for men and women who will stand fast against the onslaught of the enemy, we know our God and will not be afraid, we will use the victory Jesus obtained for us and the weapons God has given us, to demolish demonic strongholds, overcome sin and to win the lost at any cost. Part of the nature of God is that He is a warrior.
“The Lord is a Man of war: the Lord is His Name.” Exodus 15:3
A great preacher said that God never backs down from a fight. God is there and He confronts the enemy and puts him to flight. In fact, God often seeks battle with the enemy. The Old Testament is a typology of the New Testament. What they did in the flesh we now do in the Spirit. They fought the enemy in the flesh, we now fight the real enemy in the spirit.
“Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all, to stand.” Ephesians 6:11-13
God is looking for people who will stand today against all the odds, champions of the Faith. We have a great cloud of witnesses (Hebrews 12:1) watching us. The old champions are dead now, they are looking to us and saying “what will you do? We won great battles, defeated the enemy, what will you do?” They have thrown the torch to us. Are we going to catch it?
We are getting old now and we look to the younger generation to step up, to volunteer for the army of God and to take our places one day. In Flanders Fields, one of history’s most famous wartime poems, written in 1915 during the First World War by Canadian officer and surgeon John McCrae. But the poem speaks to us today, as we older Christians are ready to throw the torch to the younger generation, he says:
Flanders Field
Take up our quarrel with the foe,
To you from failing hands we throw,
The torch, be yours to hold it high,
If you break faith with us who die,
We shall not sleep!
Let your answer be:
Your flaming torch aloft we bear,
With burning heart an oath, we swear,
To keep the faith, to fight it through,
To crush the foe, or sleep with you.
“Also, I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send and who will go for Us? Then I said, Here am I! Send me." Isaiah 6:8
Anthony Stander is the Pastor of Living Waters Community Fellowship.
Email: astander35@gmail.com.
Africa Christian Action
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