O Is For Overcome Series

Introduction

1.

2. Learning our ABCs is a part of every child’s early development...

Learning our Biblical ABCs is a part of every Christian’s ongoing spiritual growth...

As we continue to learn our Biblical ABCs, we come to the letter “O”...

O is for Overcome...

Overcome and its forms is found 38 times in the Bible...

It is found in both the Old Testament...

and the New Testament...

It is used in different ways and different contexts...

According to the dictionary...

overcome means to succeed in dealing with a problem or difficulty

as in “she worked hard to overcome her fear of snakes”...

it also means to defeat an opponent...to prevail...

as in “The army attacked and overcame the enemy”...

Overcome also relates to the power of our emotions...

being overcome with excitement...

and, as we look at the various uses of the word Overcome...

I trust that the Lord will speak to us as we continue to grow in our Christian walk.

Read Text: Revelation 21:6-8

1. Overcome: defeat of an opponent

A. In Exodus 17:13, Scripture tells us that “Joshua overcame the Amalekite army with the sword”...

In 1 Samuel 17:9, Goliath taunts Israel’s army...

If he is able to fight and kill me, we will become your subjects; but if I overcome him and kill him, you will become our subjects and serve us."

We all know the outcome of that battle...

When God called Jeremiah to be a prophet...

and to proclaim the hard words of judgment to God’s people...

Jeremiah knew that his own people would give him trouble...

But God reassures Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:19...

They will fight against you but will not overcome you, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord.

B. Sometimes, we battle against the enemy...

sometimes, our battle is against our own people...

and sometimes, we battle against ourselves...

Our battle may be the battle against sin...

or, we may be facing battles because of God’s judgment against our own sin...

Whatever our battle...

I am convinced that, while Christ delays His 2nd coming...

Jeremiah 1:19 applies to us even today...

we will battles, but, we will not be overcome...

because God is with us and will come to our rescue when we need it most.

C. In Matthew 18:18, we see the words of Jesus...

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it.

We are certainly in a spiritual battle...

Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

And although the foe is formidable...

we will not be overcome...

because evil has no power over Christ...

with God on our side...

our church will stand and flourish...

and sin cannot win...as long as we remain faithful to Christ.

1 John 5:4 says, “or everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith”

2. Overcome also refers to being overcome by our emotions...

A. In Luke 8:37, Jesus had just performed an incredible miracle...

sending a legion of demons out of the demon possessed man...

and into a herd of pigs...

the pigs rushed down to the lake and were drowned...

the pig herders ran into town to tell everyone what had happened...

and when all the people came out to see what was going on...

they found Jesus, with the formerly demon-possessed man...

sitting at the feet of Jesus...and in his right mind...

and they were afraid...

Luke 8:37 says, “then all the people of the region of the Gerasenes asked Jesus to leave them, because they were overcome with fear. So he got into the boat and left.

I find that result surprising...

I would think that seeing a demon-possessed man would be terrifying...

the town’s people had tried to chain him...

but he broke the chains...

and lived among the dead...

tearing the cloths off his body...

that would be scary to me...

But to these people...

they seemed to be MORE comfortable with the man when he was possessed by a demon...

than when he was healed by Jesus...

amazing...

they see this incredible miracle...

and they are OVERCOME with fear.

3. Overcome also relates to overcoming difficulty or problems

A. In Mark 9:24, a story is told about a demon-possessed boy...

his father had taken him to the disciples...

but they couldn’t help the boy...

the man persisted...

and brought the boy to Jesus...

Jesus told the man, everything is possible...

only believe...

Immediately the boy’s father responded, "I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!"