Helping Others Overcome Series

Introduction

Two part series- based on two teaching- Mike Bickle.

Helping Others Overcome by the Word of Our Testimony

Righteous Judgment in a Culture of Honor

We live in an age when the onslaught of the enemy against the people of God is growing more intense.

If is important we understand- we have been called into a corporate, many-membered body.

God has created us to live this life together w/others.

How do we overcome?

Rev 12:10-11

Verses speak of- end of the age- perhaps the most difficult time in human history to be alive.

We see how believers face adversity/overcome.

Overcome- conquer, prevail, to get the victory.

Not a word that describes survival, but …

living life fully and experiencing victory.

If believers living during the most intense time in human history can overcome- so can we today.

The believers overcame the devil by …

1. Blood of the Lamb

2. The word of their testimony

3. Not loving their lives

What does it mean they overcame Satan?

They overcame the …

power and the affect

of his accusations against them.

If you boil it down-overcome means-they did not quit.

Satan’s goal- get us to quit, to get us out of the game.

People constantly struggle w/temptation to quit.

Quit- not necessarily giving up on God, but …

settling for much less than God has for us.

Devil- constantly accusing us and trying to get us to look at our failures, mistakes, weaknesses.

Believers at the end of the age- able to overcome the power of the accusation of the enemy to give up.

Examine how they overcame- first two- briefly.

1. The Blood of the Lamb

Basis of our victory- the finished work of the cross.

Jesus paid our debt for our failures on the cross.

Therefore-devil no longer has-legal right to accuse us.

The problem w/accusations of the devil …

they cause us to relate to God based on how well we have lived/not lived our lives.

One week-feel good about our lives-next week do not.

We must understand what Christ did for us on- cross.

We must relate to God based on what He did …

not what we do or how we live.

2 Cor 5:17

The case God had against us in our rebellion- no longer applies because of what Jesus did for us.

2 Cor 5:21

The only way we can resist the accusations of the enemy is to have an understanding of the cross.

2. Not loving their lives

These were people that abandoned their lives to God.

They learned the meaning of taking up the cross daily.

The life they lived was not their own- it was Christ living in them.

They were pursuing a 100 fold obedience before God.

This is not possible w/o- proper understanding of the blood of the lamb and Jesus work on the cross.

3. The word of their testimony

The word of our testimony is much bigger than how we met the Lord ten years ago.

Our testimony is …

what we believe about Jesus today and

how we live out those truths today.

Satan is speaking accusations against God’s people.

For our testimony to be effective it must be verbalized to counter the accusations of the devil.

Not in the sense of speaking to the devil, but declaring the reality of what God says is true about our lives.

Now, our testimony- even broader than verbalizing who Jesus is and what He has done for us.

It includes what you believe Jesus thinks about others.

It is not just that I overcome by giving my testimony.

I can help you overcome- devil’s accusations when I testify to you about what God is doing in your life.

Eph 4:29 Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear. NASU

Part of my success depends on you encouraging and affirming me- because we are interconnected.

As we understand what Jesus has done for us and what His plans are for us, we can be successful.

Where do we get this understanding from …

God’s Word/personal prayer,

but also through those who encourage us.

Important-we learn-value of encouraging one another.

Rom 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ. NASU

Faith is awakened as we hear the Word of God.

We hear the Word by …

studying it, confessing it, singing it, and when someone speaks God’s truth over our lives.

The devil accuses us day and night.

God is raising up a body of people to speak words of encouragement over one another day and night.

Living a Lifestyle of Encouragement

Encouragement is testifying to others what God is saying about them.