More Than Conquerors – In Christ

Photo: More than a conqueror, Nabeel Qureshi (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nabeel_Qureshi_(author)) –  example of victorious Christian faith.

What are the beliefs of your faith?

What kind of faith are you experiencing as a follower of Jesus Christ?  What is your daily experience?

What are your expectations of yourself spiritually, your daily walk with God?  Do you have one… a daily walk with God?

Having a victorious Christian life is not about having a sinless life!  No one is sinless.  We all will sin.  But we all can be “more than conquerors” as we practice a habit of confession and submission.

What do you expect of yourself?  For example: What’s with all this weak-kneed fear and expectation of failing with so many Christians nowadays? Believe me – I’ve been there, in weakness and failure, sinful and fallen, lacking strength, defeated and far from victory.

But I don’t stay there!  Those were times of my struggles and my defeats.  They were not my expectations.  I expected more of myself, but I failed.  However, as I have failed God, I have then repented, I have examined myself, I have repented more, and I took all that I am …once again to Jesus, yielding anew to His Ways, His leading, His Truths.

My faith is in Jehovah God, Yahweh, the great “I AM,” the God of forgiveness and strength, not a weak, petty Spirit Being who condemns me when I fail (like most all the gods of other religions and like most people).

God will never again condemn me.  He has forgiven me.

I have been born again!  And because of that – God has already declared in His Courts, “Entrance Granted into the Eternal“.

Romans 8:1
Therefore there is now
no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus

My Father God is that Father of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), always with outstretched arms ready.  He is not there to beat me when I limp back to Him.  He is ready for when I repent – to forgive, to love, and to bless me.

My Shepherd holds a staff, not to beat me when I fall, but to guide me safely back to green pastures (Psalm 23).  He picks me up, off crumbling cliff side, and puts me on a solid rock.  He refreshes and restores and leads me.

Psalm 23:3
He refreshes and restores
my soul (life);
He leads me
in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.

My Divine Friend is the God of the Universe!  Because I have chosen to commit myself to God and His Gospel, He calls me friend.  I will not be afraid.  My Friend is bigger than anyone on the block!  Because God is in me – what should I fear?!

James 2:23
And the Scripture was fulfilled which says,
“Abraham believed God,
and this [faith] was credited to him [by God]
as righteousness and
as conformity to His will,”
and he was called
the friend of God.

So I reach out to Him throughout my day, whether in confession and repentance from sin, or in victory and strength in His conquering empowerment.  I am His friend.  He cares about me, and listens to me.

Romans 8:14-17
¹⁴ For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, “^[b]Abba! Father!”

¹⁶ The Spirit Himself testifies and confirms together with our spirit [assuring us] that we [believers] are children of God. ¹⁷ And if [we are His] children, [then we are His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His spiritual blessing and inheritance], if indeed we share in His suffering so that we may also share in His glory.

1 John 3:1
See what an incredible quality of love the Father has shown to us, that we would [be permitted to] be named and called and counted the children of God! And so we are! For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him.

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My habit of confession and submission.  I think that maybe the key for all of us who name the Name of Jesus – – is to continue as a habit – what we originally did when we first came to Him for forgiveness:

confession of sin
and
submission to His will.

We need to habitually come to Him in confession of sin and submit to Him anew.

Romans 8:13-17
…if you are living according to the [impulses of the] flesh, you are going to die.

But if [you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit you are habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body, you will [really] live forever.

¹⁴ For all who are allowing themselves to be led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, “^[b]Abba! Father!”

¹⁶ The Spirit Himself testifies and confirms together with our spirit [assuring us] that we [believers] are children of God. ¹⁷ And if [we are His] children, [then we are His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His spiritual blessing and inheritance], if indeed we share in His suffering so that we may also share in His glory.

To be “more than conquerors” in our struggle against evil (Ephesians 6:12), to win-out over our “old self” of sinfulness (Romans 6:6), we must do as Paul teaches in Romans 8:13-17:

1. Live daily “by the [power of the Holy] Spirit” (v13)
   • Develop a habit: habitual confession and submission (based on v13)
2. Develop a constant habit of “putting to death the sinful deeds of the body” (v13)
   • Choose to not let sin reign: “Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body…” –Romans 6:11-15
     
3. Maintain a constant state of allowing your self “to be led by the Spirit of God” (v14)
   • Pray to God “without ceasing” – in habitual self-talk in your “inner man” (inner soul) with God
   • Pray without ceasing:(also Joel 1:13)

How we are More Than Conquerors

ONE. First things first: Make sure you truly are born again.
We will never conquer our sinfulness if we are not born again.

Romans 8:7-8
the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, ⁸ and those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Born naturally into sin, the normal human “is not even able” to yield himself/herself to God’s ways. “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (v8)  The Holy Spirit convicts hearts and convinces us of the Truth of Himself, leading you to Himself.

TWO: Put down sinfulness.
How do you know if “[you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit”?  If you are walking in the Spirit… you will find yourself “habitually putting to death the sinful deeds of the body” (v13).

But if
[you are living] by the [power of the Holy] Spirit
you are habitually putting to death
the sinful deeds of the body,
you will [really] live forever.
– Romans 8:13

THREE:  Live in the Spirit.
Living in the Spirit, you have His power!  You have the power to choose not to sin.  You can have victory over the temptation to do sinful deeds. But when you do “let sin”, and you fail to “not let” sin reign in your body (–Romans 6:11-15) then it is time to go back to God and let Him reign in you again: you can choose to “confess and submit” anew.

We should not be characterized by sinfulness.  But born again believers do struggle with sin and doing sinful deeds.  Right?  Or do you think you aren’t “one of those”?  Sinful deeds are actions Jesus would never do.  Sinful deeds are so plentiful in the human condition.  I struggle with many in my life.  How about yours?   What are the sins that easily wrack you up… the weights upon your soul that hold you down, your vanities and distracting meaningless things you fill-up your days with?

Psalm 119:37  Amplified Bible (AMP)   Turn my eyes away from vanity [all those worldly, meaningless things that distract—let Your priorities be mine], And restore me [with renewed energy] in Your ways.

Hebrews 12:1   In the KJV version…   Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,

Sometimes it helps to read the same verse in other versions.  I like this one for this verse:

Hebrews 12:1   In the Amplified Bible (AMP) version….
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of ^[a]witnesses [who by faith have testified to the truth of God’s absolute faithfulness], stripping off every unnecessary weight and the sin which so easily and cleverly entangles us, let us run with endurance and active persistence the race that is set before us,

FOUR:  Love others.  Don’t condemn them.
As a sinner saved by grace: Do you judge non-believers and condemn them for their sins?  Or are you loving and forgiving, as Christ was during His life on earth?   Jesus was known as the friend of “publicans and sinners” and He did not condemn the adulterous woman.

Are you accepting of Christians who practice confession and submission?  Or do you continue playing the judge and jury and condemn them?

Since we all sin, why are Christians so prone to criticize and condemn other Christians for their past?  Why “hold it against them“?  You sin too.  All of us Christians fail to live to the max the way God would have us be living.

We commit sinful deeds:  (add your own to this compilation!)

worrying instead of trusting God, letting yourself become irritated by what someone says (instead of being understanding, forgiving, longsuffering, patient), thinking yourself to be more important than the other guy, allowing yourself fits of anger, flipping-off irritating drivers, mumbling to yourself damning words when offended, actually saying unkind words, making come-back cutting remarks, put-down retorts, holding resentment towards a difficult person, focusing on the bad in others, refusing to relent and forgive, lusting, gossip, speaking badly of someone, shunning, walking past someone without caring about them – not saying a kind word, slighting, bullying, being unkind towards, not inviting someone because of (whatever)…

taking what is not yours (pilfering at work; shoplifting; cheating on taxes), withholding kindness, not doing the loving thing, self-centered thinking, wishing someone dead, neglecting a loved-one

Willful Sinners Who Turned to God.  These sinned greatly, but then repented and God blessed them:  King David, Jonah, Rahab, Peter, Thief on the Cross, Liz Curtis Higgs…

What they did… murder by contract/lured to have killed, lust, voyeurism, adultery, fornication; refusing God’s request, hating a people group; prostitution; though a chosen disciple of Christ – three times he denied he knew Jesus; declared guilty of crimes and hung on a Roman cross; lived a promiscuous lifestyle.
– Source: My Heinous Heinous Ways

FIVE:  Pray.
Use Scripture to pray confidently.  This passage builds confidence:  Hebrews 10:19-25.

^{Excerpt:  22} let us approach [God]
with a true and sincere heart
in unqualified assurance of faith,
having had our hearts sprinkled clean
from an evil conscience
and our bodies washed with pure water.
²³ Let us seize and hold tightly
the confession of our hope
without wavering

Each day start your day and end your day —  with a prayer something like this, quoting these or any of many other Scriptures you find as you get into reading the Bible:

Oh my God Jesus, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right and steadfast spirit within me.” “Turn my eyes away from vanity [all those worldly, meaningless things that distract—let Your priorities be mine], And restore me [with renewed energy] in Your ways.” Today, make “…me bold and confident with [renewed] strength in my life.”

The victorious Christian life is the normal Christian life.  We are more than conquerors through Christ who strengthens us.  Don’t settle for less.

With the Holy Spirit now in us, it is strengthening to practice a daily habit of prayer like the Psalmist.

Psalm 119:37    Amplified Bible (AMP)Turn my eyes away from vanity [all those worldly, meaningless things that distract—let Your priorities be mine], And restore me [with renewed energy] in Your ways.

FOR MORE:

What kind of faith are you experiencing as a follower of Jesus Christ?  What is your daily experience? How can you become “more than conquerors?
__________

Jesus Knows Your Thoughts

Conversations With God

Be a little more Christian

Romans 8:15  “For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading again to fear [of God’s judgment], but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons [the Spirit producing sonship] by which we [joyfully] cry, “^[b]Abba! Father!”

Don´t Let It …Excerpt: Life is a series of choices. What you choose is up to you.

• • Choosing to follow Jesus is a choice.
  • Choosing to reject Jesus is a choice.
  • Choosing to sin is a choice.
  • Choosing to obey Jesus is a choice.

Your basic choice on earth is to choose or reject Jesus.  Jesus said, “You must be born again.”  That is your choice to make.  Have you accepted Jesus?   Been born again?