Becoming a Faithful Kingdom Servant, Like Jesus:
Overcoming
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world- our faith.” 1 John 5:4
Overcoming: (Overcome) v. To get the better of; to gain superiority over. Conquer, defeat, beat.
The purpose of this year’s theme: Encourage and equip the saints of God (specifically TMC) to overcome adversity and challenges that arise from our flesh, the world, and the devil. This will be accomplished through the preaching and teaching of the Gospel as it relates to faith in Jesus Christ. Our foundational books of instruction are 1st John, Hebrews, and Genesis.
We will study how the saints overcome in three stages:
- The start of overcoming-salvation (positional sanctification Heb 10:10)
- The flow of overcoming- growing in faith (progressive sanctification 2 Cor 3:18)
- The completion of overcoming- perfection (ultimate sanctification 1 John 3:2; 1 Thess 5:23)
It is the intent of this year’s theme to increase the “flow of overcoming” for every believer that engages.
Becoming signifies process, and process signifies steps (Short sustainable steps leading to an overarching goal). Becoming also signifies that there is a starting point. Planes fly from a “place of origin” to an intended destination. Road trips begin in one city and end in another. Caterpillars become butterflies, eaglets become eagles, and children become adults. Becoming can mean a change in location or a transformation of identity. For the Christian this means both, a change in location; from kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Jesus (Col 1:13- He has delivered us from power of darkness and conveyed us into the Kingdom of the Son of His love), and a transformation of identity; from sinner to child of God (saint) (1 Cor 6:11- And such were some of you. But you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.). We don’t become mature believers overnight. Becoming a faithful kingdom servant, like Jesus indicates a life of overcoming through faith. This faith is not blind, nor is it faith in faith. It is faith in the Creator of the universe, the God of the Bible, the Son of God Jesus. Hebrews 11:1 tells us, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” And Hebrews 11:6 tells us, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him (God), for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.”
There is no becoming a faithful kingdom servant, like Jesus without faith. It is our faith that enables us to overcome the challenges and adversities of this world, to become the faithful kingdom servants that God intended for us to be. Let us not be discouraged, because faith does not originate with us. So, no man or woman has the upper hand when it comes to faith. Eph 2:8-10 states, “For by grace you have been saved though faith, and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Romans 12:4 tells us that God has given everyone a measure of faith. Another good working definition for faith would be: My positive obedient response to what God has commanded of me.
Again, “Becoming” has a beginning. For the saint, the beginning is being born again. “Born again” is the initial entry into the Kingdom of God by the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit). Jesus said in John 3:5-7, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said unto you, you must be born again.” While it is God’s will for us to be born again, it is not His will that we stay newborn babes in Christ. His will is that we grow up in Christ. Jesus said, “But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bear fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Matt 13:23 1 Peter 2:2 says, “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word, that ye may grow thereby: Are we bearing Spiritual fruit as stated in Gal 5:23?
So, back to overcoming: We are not called to overcome or conquer one another. Gal 5:15 tells us that if we bite and devour one another beware lest ye be consumed by one another. Our overcoming is directed toward the world, our flesh, and the devil Eph 2:1-3. We do this practically by adhering to Ephesians 6:10-20.
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