Sermon # 43 - We Are Overcomers Series

We read in Act 11:21, “The hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.” (ISV)

As long as we live on this earth, we will encounter numerous hindrances, but we have a God who can overcome every obstacle, and so every hurdle that comes along our way becomes a stepping stone to victory.

The early church had just begun to put their faith in the Lord Jesus, and as they began their faith journey, they were faced with myriads of hardships. It is therefore a fact, that for those who desire to follow Jesus, that we are not assured of a life of ease, but are instead guaranteed that the Lord will bring us out victorious out of all of these trials.

We exemplify Daniel for his deliverance from the mouth of hungry lions, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego for their mighty deliverance from the fiery furnace, but often in our personal lives we shun the very thought of encountering any such adversities.

It is only when we are hard pressed on every side, and overcome these difficulties, will we experience increase from the Lord, so that He will receive all the glory that is due to Him alone. We are all called by the Lord, and it is His will that we should be blessed, but it is also a reality that we will encounter various trials as we plod along on this journey of faith. In the midst of these trying situations, the Lord intervenes to do extraordinary deeds of deliverance way beyond our thinking and understanding, simply to prove beyond doubt that He is right beside us.

The Lord promised to bless and increase those whom He called, but that does not exempt us from adversity. Here are a few examples from the Bible.

1. Abraham received the promise but he faced hardships

We read in Genesis 12:2, “I will give you many descendants, and they will become a great nation. I will bless you and make your name famous, so that you will be a blessing.” (GNB)

This was God’s vehement promise to Abraham, to give him many descendants, to make a great nation from him, to bless him, make his name great so that he would be a blessing. However, Abraham too had to encounter many problems. On his journey through Egypt, Pharaoh took Abraham’s wife Sarah to his palace, but God who is faithful to His promise, intervened and delivered Sarah with His mighty arm, from the hands of Pharaoh.

2. Isaac received the promise but he faced hardships

In Genesis 26:24, we read, “That night the LORD appeared to him and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid; I am with you. I will bless you and give you many descendants because of my promise to my servant Abraham." (GNB)

The same blessing of Abraham was confirmed by God to his son Isaac. God is a God who specialized in supernatural increase. As Isaac prospered and increased in wealth in the land of the Philistines, the Philistines became envious of Isaac, and Abimelech the king of the Philistines ordered Isaac to move out of his territory.

3. Jacob also received the promise but faced hardships

In Genesis 28:14, we read, They will be as numerous as the specks of dust on the earth. They will extend their territory in all directions, and through you and your descendants I will bless all the nations. (GNB)

The promise of God to Abraham and Isaac was now reiterated to Jacob, that his descendants would be like the dust of the earth, and that his territory will extend in all directions, and that all the nations of the earth would be blessed through him and his descendants. But, Jacob too was challenged with numerous trials, and in the midst of it all the faithful promise of God remained unchanging.

The patriarchs remind us that to all of us who are called by God, our Christian life is not a cakewalk, and that we will encounter hardships that sometimes seem insurmountable, but we need not fear, for we have with us a faithful God who is far bigger than all the challenges we face. We too may be met with situations where we feel pursued, hated or forgotten, but the Lord has promised to be with us till the very end. We have the assurance that the Lord will give us victory over every trial, and we can certainly receive the increase that God has in store for us if we are willing to receive it by faith. The Lord specializes in taking those overpowering situations, and performing what seems impossible to us.

The believers in the early church were another great example, for amidst all the persecutions and hardships that engulfed them, the hand of the Lord was with them, and therefore multitudes were daily added to the church.