Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NASB.
Introduction from Part 1:
Oh beautiful thought, Jesus said - ‘I have overcome the world!’
Let us meditate on this most wonderful thought! He has overcome the world dear reader! Have Peace! No need to be worried or concerned for your past sins and mistakes, if you would turn to Him for help - for He has overcome the world. He already did this for you before you were born. He knew you would need help, and has already provided it for you. He can help you overcome sin, deal with your mistakes and all of your problems. The Apostle John declared, “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:” John 1:12 KJV. This is a most powerful promise to all who believe it and take it up. Take it up and get the joy of your salvation! Jesus declared, “I have overcome the world!” Oh what joy! Indescribable! Your success in this life and in the life to come - depends not on your strength or ability to be good – it depends on His mighty power to save you. If you will receive Him now, He will help you to become His son or daughter – He will help you to believe in Him.
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Romans 8:1 NASB. Dear reader, are you in Christ? If you are there is no condemnation for you! There is still time to be in Him – if you would have Him! Oh precious thought! Dear reader, if you would have this peace, receive Him and accept His help, then there will be no condemnation for you! Amen.
In this article, we want to explain why it was so important that Jesus overcame the world, and why this should be important to you. And that you should overcome the world too! We will show how you can do this. We will also answer the question, ‘Why am I having trouble overcoming sin or the world?’ This is why Jesus died on the cross. “If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.” John 8:36 KJV. If you desire this, and receive Him, you can be sure that He will make you free indeed! Jesus can make you free and give you the victory.
Jesus’ perfect life – overcoming the world, and His death is how God saves you by His grace. His perfect life and death is exchanged for your life of sin worthy of death. His life and reward is substituted for yours, if you will accept it. Jesus is the second Adam. 1 Corinthians 15:22, 45-47. Jesus (the Son of God) lived as Adam should have lived, trusting in His Father, living a perfect life and died to redeem the human race. To pay the price for your sins and mine, Jesus had to live a perfect life, getting the strength to live a righteous life from His Father - the way we can. God loves the sinner but hates sin, and will not excuse sin. But God can forgive sin, because of what Jesus did. And it is only because Jesus is the Son of God, equal with God, that His death could pay the price for our sins, worthy of death. This is Salvation 101.
Jesus, before He was born as a baby to Mary, was the Eternal Existent One. Jesus told the Jews “that before Abraham was, ‘I AM.’” “Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.” John 8:58-59 KJV.
Who is Jesus, who declared that “before Abraham was ‘I AM’?” Jesus declared that He is the “I AM”. In Exodus 3:14-15 God, the ‘I AM’, said that he was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. “Then Moses said to God, “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” God, furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations.”” Exodus 3:13-14 NASB. Therefore, Jesus was also saying or implying that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, ‘the I AM’. This does nothing to take away from His Father God. The Father is also the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
Still not convinced? It’s hard to separate Jesus from His Father. Jesus declared, “I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.” John 10:30-33 KJV. So when the Jews tried to stone Jesus in John 8:58-59, it was because they thought He was committing blasphemy, for him being a man and saying He was God. Did Jesus teach that He was God? Yes. The Son of God is also God. Implied in what Jesus said, was that He is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the I AM. Not the God “I Was” or the God “I Will Be”, but the God “I AM’ – always present tense, He is always God and always will be God. It is always now with God. He is not the God of the past or the God of the future, but always the God of Now, – “the I AM”. Jesus said, “And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err.” Mark 12:26-27 KJV. See also John 5:45-47, where Jesus declared that Moses wrote about Him. Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me;” John 5:39 KJV. The Scriptures testify that Jesus is ‘the I AM’, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob – He is the Son of God! The scriptures are centered around Jesus and what He would do, and what He is doing to save the world. -Jesus is ‘the I AM’, ‘the Savior of the World’, our Redeemer and friend.
The Jews clearly understood that He was saying He was God when He said, ‘before Abraham was I AM’, because they picked up stones to stone Him. This is what they did to someone who was blaspheming or saying that they were god. But Jesus wasn’t blaspheming, because He really is God, the “I AM!” John tells us that no man has seen God [the Father] at any time, but that [Jesus] the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he has explained or declared Him. John 1:18; 1 John 4:12. Therefore in the Old Testament every time “God spoke with man” or they saw Him, it was actually the “I AM,” who later was also known as Jesus Christ, because no man has seen God at any time. Jesus said, “Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.” John 6:46 KJV. Only Jesus has seen the Father. But if you have seen Jesus, you have seen the Father. John 14:9. They are so alike.
Jesus is the exact radiance of His Father’s glory, and everything that was created was created by Him, through His Father’s power. Hebrews 1:1-6; John 1:1-4, 10-18; Exodus 3:13-15. Since Jesus is God, the I AM, and since no man has seen God at any time, He was the one who met with Moses and gave the Law at Mount Sinai! Exodus 19-34. And when Moses had asked to see God, it was the Lord ‘the I AM’, later known as Jesus that He saw! – He who was later called Jesus, born to Mary and died on the cross was ‘the I AM!’ Let that sink in. Only Jesus, the great “I AM”, “the Word of God” “made flesh”, who gave the Law at Mount Sinai, could pay the price for the broken Law of God. A prophecy about Jesus in Psalms 119 says, “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path. I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.” Psalms 119:105-106 KJV. [We have found many references by other authors that there are prophecies about Jesus in Psalms 119.] We believe that Jesus swore to keep all of His Father’s “ordinances”, commandments and “righteous judgments”. Jesus declared, ‘If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.” Jesus kept all of His Father’s commandments - perfectly.
When Jesus was getting ready to leave the room at the last supper with His disciples, He said, “but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.” John 14:31 NASB. What did Jesus mean when He said, ‘but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me’? What was God’s command? ‘Get up, let us go from here.’ He said this because it was the Father’s commandment that He die on the cross for our sins! And it was the time for His arrest and crucifixion! So He had to leave that room and proceed to the garden, where He would be arrested and later taken to Jerusalem to Pilot and to Herod, then to Golgotha to be crucified. Jesus always kept His Father’s commandments. Always. Jesus said, “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.” John 8:28 KJV. Jesus always obeyed God, He always kept His Father’s commandments, He always did the things that pleased His Father.
So Jesus, the Son of God, had to overcome the world in order to save us! He had to succeed where Adam failed. He had sworn to perform it - that He would keep all His Father’s righteous commandments and judgments – that God’s word would be a lamp unto His feet and a light unto His path! His perfect life must be substituted for your life of sin, for you to be saved. This is why it was so important that Jesus overcome the world! Otherwise, you and I would have no hope!
Since the beginning of time, there has never been a person who lived a perfect life, especially during mocking and torture and abuse, but Jesus. Jesus could only overcome the world through trusting in His Father, the same way that you and I can – if we were to be saved. If He had relied on Himself for anything, instead of His Father, His life and sacrifice wouldn’t have provided salvation for us. The wonder of it all is that Jesus went through this tremendous sacrifice for you and I and the world. He paved the way, through His blood, to provide not only for our forgiveness, but for a way that we could overcome sin too.
There will be no sin in Heaven - it will not be permitted there. There will be no tears in Heaven. “And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.” Revelation 21:4-5. Yes, He is faithful and true. Nothing that defileth will enter Heaven. At the destruction of the wicked in the Lake of Fire, the Second Death, all of the wicked will be destroyed forever. Revelation 20:14-15. All unrepentant sinners will be destroyed forever, and no taint of sin will ever rise up again the second time. Nehemiah indicates: “Whatever you devise against the LORD, He will make a complete end of it. Distress will not rise up twice.” Nehemiah 1:9 NASB. The Bible declares that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life. Romans 6:23. Here Paul contrasts death with life. Life is the opposite of death. Only death is promised to the wicked. The Bible never promises eternal life to the unrepentant sinner, but only as a reward to the righteous or the repentant person. Death and sin will be completely destroyed in the Lake of Fire, and there will be no more death, crying or pain after it is destroyed in the Lake of Fire. Since nothing that defileth will enter Heaven, there will be no sin in Heaven.
John the Revelator, writing about the New Jerusalem on the Earth made New, writes:
“And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it. And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there. And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it. And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” Revelation 21:22-27 KJV.
Since there is no death in Heaven and nothing there that defiles or makes an abomination, there will be no sin in Heaven. Sin will not be permitted in Heaven. Only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life will enter there. God has a plan to help those who are saved enter Heaven overcome.
It was absolutely crucial that Jesus, the Second Adam, overcome the world, and succeed where Adam failed. But He also had to provide a way for you to overcome too, or it would be in vain. Sin and suffering will not rise up a second time. Without going through all of the details here, Jesus had to live a perfect life, suffer and die, be tempted and tried in all points like we are without sin (Hebrews 4:15 KJV), and completely overcome the world - in every way - for all of mankind – for all those who would choose to be saved. He paved the way - He provided the way for mankind to be saved and overcome the world too – by His blood. John the Revelator declared: “And they overcame him [the dragon, that old serpent the devil] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.” Revelation 12:11 KJV.
It was only through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which started at Pentecost that God would write His law of love in His children’s hearts. This was brought out in the first mention of the term, “the New Covenant” in the Bible in Jeremiah 31:31-34. See also Acts 2 and Joel 2. See also Exodus 19:3-8; 24:1-8 for ‘the old covenant’ which was also ratified by blood, like ‘the New Covenant’ of Jesus’ blood was. Luke 22:20-22 NASB. The “Old Covenant” was a “mirror image” of the “New Covenant”, with the “Old Covenant” being the type, and the “New Covenant” being the anti-type. There are a lot of important messages and prophecies in the Bible communicated via types and anti-types. God writing His Law in His people’s hearts would not have been possible before Jesus died on the Cross, it was a requirement! Forgiveness must come before transformation and overcoming! Before you can become born again, you must be forgiven, then you can become born again and overcome the world, as we discussed in Part 1. So we can only overcome the world through Jesus’ blood, and through the infilling of the Holy Spirit (when God writes His Law of Love in our heart), to those who give themselves to Him all-the-way. This is how we can overcome as Jesus overcame. This is how we can overcome by the blood of the Lamb.
Dear reader, you don’t have to be stuck in an endless round of sinning, and hurting yourself and others! God can help you change, and get all the happiness and joy that you need! He wants to take away your shame and guilt that sinning again and again brings. This is what is so wonderful about what Jesus did for us! Dear reader, you are not just saved by grace by faith, i.e. you are not just forgiven for your sins, but you can be cleansed from all unrighteousness too! ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 NASB. Let’s break down this formula: “If you confess your sins” – (easy to answer – did you confess your sins? It’s either Yes or No) if Yes – Then He will forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness and sin. Do you believe it? The only question to determine is if you have confessed your sins. If this is the case the result is that you will be forgiven and cleansed by Him – if you would have it. Do not be doubting God! If you want forgiveness, if you want cleansing, ask Him for forgiveness and cleansing – it’s that simple. The path to salvation for you is to believe the word of God – your eternal life depends on it.
If you are not sure if your faith in Him is strong enough, you can pray this prayer, “Please God, help my unbelief”. And He will help you to believe! “Jesus said unto him, If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.” Mark 9:23-24 KJV. Now this example from the book of Mark shows that this father knew that the healing of his child by Jesus could only happen if he believed. He loved his child and could not bear to lose this miracle of healing for his child because of his unbelief – so he humbled himself before Jesus and asked that he would help his unbelief! When you believe that Jesus and His Father love you and have all power to save and help you, you will pray, “Lord help my unbelief – Do not pass me by for the miracles I need in my life and for my family because of my unbelief!” You cannot save yourself, so what do you have to lose to pray to God, “Please help my unbelief”?
The Lord loves it when you cry out to Him for help! From the prayer of Solomon: “‘Should evil come upon us, the sword, or judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before You (for Your name is in this house) and cry to You in our distress, and You will hear and deliver us.’” 2 Chronicles 20:9 NASB. Since Jesus died on the cross, He is the High Priest of our confession (Hebrews 3:1; 4:14 NASB), and we simply need to cry out to God for help. And He will plead with His Father to help us! In our day we need not come to the Temple to cry out to God for help. But what Solomon meant here was that when the children of Israel prayed to God for deliverance (the God of their Temple – the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob), that He would hear and deliver them! Solomon’s prayer is an indication that we are to cry out to God for help, where He is, through prayer – through His appointed means.
There are many people who preach that we are saved by grace. But there seems to be a deafening silence on the need to be born again and overcome the world. Grace is emphasized, but the power of God to save the sinner from sin is not. Many ignore the “cloud of witnesses” in the Bible, which tell of the power of God to help His people overcome. The importance of obeying God, and how the only way to truly obey Him is by being born again, is not being taught often enough. But the importance of being transformed by God into a new creature should be on every preacher’s lips! “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV. The way the gospel is preached by many is no gospel at all, but “another gospel”. 2 Corinthians 11:4. Being saved by grace, without becoming born again is another gospel. 1 Corinthians 16:22 KJV.
Let’s take Jesus’ declaration here very serious: “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:5 NASB. At the end of the day, the question to be asked is not ‘Are you saved?’ but ‘Are you born again?’ Have you confessed your sins? Every day you sinned? Have you given your heart to God? Every day? Are you transformed by His grace? Every day? Are you a new creature? Every day. Do you love Jesus? Every day? Are you His friend? Every day? Do you do whatsoever He commands you? Every day? Jesus said, “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.” John 15:14 KJV. Do you know what Jesus has commanded you? John 13:34; Matthew 28:18-20. You should study out what Jesus commanded you, if you would be His friend. Do not take God’s love for you for granted. Do not assume that you are saved, because you were baptized or “saved” years ago. Are you born again? Do you have the Fruits of the Spirit or the Deeds of the flesh in your life? The Fruits of the Spirit: Galatians 5:22-25. The Deeds of the Flesh: Galatians 5:19-21. Do you love your neighbor as yourself? Matthew 22:39. Someone who is born again is a “new creature” and has the fruits of the Spirit, and is growing in grace. It is true that you are saved by grace, but if you are being born again from above, this shows that you are allowing God to save you! Its not one or the other it’s both! If you are being saved by grace, you should also be becoming born again too! How could someone be saved by grace and never become born again, since Jesus declared that you must be born again to enter the kingdom of Heaven? John 3:3, 5. That’s an impossibility based on the scriptures! When you are born again, your life will be sweet with the love of God, and He will be helping you to get victory over sin and your lower nature. When you are born again, He helps you to not go back to your old ways. When you are born again, you will love God and others, and will want to obey Him. You obey Him by not hurting yourself and others, and by putting Him first in all things.
You must believe the Word of God as it is written, without injecting humanistic ideas into it. Please believe Jesus! You must be born again to be able to enter the kingdom of Heaven! But John declares that the one who is born again will overcome the world: “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” 1 John 5:4-5 KJV. So in order to be able to enter heaven you must be born again, and believe that Jesus can save you from your sins. And if you are born again and believe, you will overcome the world.
The truth of what we are saying here in this article should be easily understood, if you take the Word of God as it reads and simply believe it. ‘God said it, I believe it, and that settles it for me,’ as the song says. Don’t you let nobody turn you round! The Bible becomes a totally new book – a book of power, if you read it and believe it – it will transform you into a new creature! So, it’s not just ‘by grace are ye saved through faith’ Ephesians 2:8 KJV, but you are also saved by believing the word of God. Faith in God helps you to understand the Bible. Then you will love Him and want to be His child! When you take the Bible as it reads and believe it, the Bible will become a book of power and precious promises to you. “It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believeth;” Romans 1:16 KJV.
Many would have sinners continuing in sin while their life remains, with no power from God to be a better person. The devil doesn’t want people to know the true power of God and His ability to save – he wants to keep his victims trapped in ignorance and unbelief until it is too late! The devil doesn’t want you to believe God. Believing in God is a requirement for salvation. John 3:16. The devil doesn’t want you to please God either. Without faith it is impossible to please God. Hebrews 11:6. We are not saved in sin, but we are saved from sin! In this prophecy about Jesus, that Jesus would be born to Mary, that the angel showed to Joseph in a dream, he declared: “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 NASB. Jesus will save His people from their sins, not in their sins! If God cannot help you become a better person, then Christianity is a worthless religion, and don’t waste your time with it. But this is not true Christianity. Far be it! The world is full of worthless religions, don’t waste your time on them. But when you discover how wonderful it is to be born again, with the power of God “unto Salvation,” to help you overcome, you will wish that you had given your heart to God sooner! So discard the worthless teachings of half-way Christianity and accept the pure unadulterated teaching of Christ, and become born again. The world needs to see how God can forgive sinners and help them become better. This shows the real power of God. This is real salvation. Dear reader, He can make your life worthwhile, and help you to be a better person. Do not believe this non-sense that God cannot help you get your life in order and be a blessing to others and society, instead of a curse. You don’t have to be ashamed and guilty all the time – God can help you be a better person, if you let Him!
Because if you are born again and believe in Jesus, you will overcome the world. 1 John 5:45. If you are not born again, you will not be able to enter Heaven. John 3:5. If you have an ear, listen to what the Holy Spirit is telling you: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God.” Revelation 2:7 NASB. The one who overcomes will enter the kingdom of Heaven – therefore only the one who is born again and believes in Jesus will have the right to eat from the Tree of Life in Heaven – and thus live forever. What is the promise here to the one who overcomes? Eternal life – God will grant to him who overcomes the right to eat from the tree of life. – If you eat from this tree you will never die! Genesis 3:22-24.
“But as many as received Him [Jesus], to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name,” John 1:12 NASB.
This is not to say that you will be completely perfect and never fail the moment you first receive Jesus, and become born again or at any time after that, because it is a process of giving yourself to Him, and a process of receiving Him every day, every hour, and every moment. Its moment by moment, day-by-day. But when you receive Jesus, you will be given the power to obey God and be good at that moment, as long as you abide in Him. John 15:4-6. If you wish to overcome the world, give your heart to Jesus all-the-way and allow God to help you become born again. If God has convicted you that you need to do something, ask Him for the help to do it, then do it. Because the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God. Acts 5:32. If you do not wish to obey God anymore, then you can’t keep the Holy Spirit, and you can’t keep your born-again experience that all are required to have to be able to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. If you receive Jesus all-the-way, you will be given the power and the desire to overcome the world, and you will want to obey God, because you love Him.
Meditate on this truth here: “For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Romans 8:5-8 KJV. “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14 KJV. If you are the natural man, the things of the Spirit of God will be foolishness to you. If you are the natural man, you cannot know the things of the Spirit of God or do them. Without a new heart, with a desire to obey God, you cannot overcome. Jesus declared that the Holy Spirit has been sent to convict the world of sin. John 16:8. If you are not born again, you will be unable to receive ‘the things of the Holy Spirit,’ as Paul declared. But if you will truly set your heart to receive Jesus, you will become born again, and all the good things God wants to give you will be yours! If you let the Holy Spirit convict you of sin, repent, and give your heart to God, you will start to become born again! Then continue down this path. The answer to the above question as to ‘why am I having trouble overcoming sin or the world?’ is that you need to become born again or re-born again; that you need to confess your sins, give your heart to God and repent. When God tells you to do something, always do it – always ask Him for the help to do it. Spend much time with Him every day in His word, the Bible, and in prayer. Don’t live with unconfessed sins. Don’t harbor unforgiveness towards others. Matthew 6:14-15. Don’t live in rebellion or disobedience to God. Don’t regard sin or iniquity in your heart. Psalms 66:18 KJV. Don’t turn your ear from hearing the Law (the 10 Commandments) – study them and delight in them. Proverbs 28:9. Humble your heart before God. Don’t live in the flesh, but walk by the Spirit. Romans 8. To be born again and stay born again you must have the Holy Spirit. But to have the Holy Spirit you have to want to obey God, because the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey God. And Peter said to the Jewish Council and the High Priest, “And we are witnesses of these things; and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey Him.” Acts 5:32 NASB.
If God has convicted you on something, that means that the Holy Spirit has been sent to convict you of sin. You cannot make yourself better – you cannot make yourself want to do right – this is the gift that only God can create in you. Only God can impress your heart and convict you of your need to be better – if you have this desire – it is because God has placed it there. It is God alone who can create this desire in you for peace. Your part is to choose to humble yourself before God, ask His forgiveness and do what He wants you to do. If God wants you to do something, do it – ask Him for the help to do it. This is why it is so dangerous to put off what God is asking you to do for a “more convenient season.” Because that season may never come. You have no guarantee that God will be able to impress your “hard heart” tomorrow or at a more convenient season, if you haven’t responded to Him now, when He pleads with you. Once a person commits the unpardonable sin, they will no longer notice their conviction, because their heart is hardened. It is only by confessing your sins to God, humbling yourself before Him, and asking for His help to obey that you can overcome and be good – while you still hear His sweet voice. The voice of God is sweet indeed to those who have yielded themselves to Him. Dear reader, don’t ignore the Holy Spirit if you want peace, joy and really live.
You must be born again if you wish to overcome. You cannot decide that at a later date that you will make everything right, repent and give your heart to God and then everything will be fine. You have no assurance of tomorrow – remember it is the Holy Spirit who convicts you of sin – don’t grieve the Holy Spirit away! Today is the day of salvation. You only have now, you don’t have tomorrow. “And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain — for He says, ‘AT THE ACCEPTABLE TIME I LISTENED TO YOU, AND ON THE DAY OF SALVATION I HELPED YOU.’ Behold, now is ‘THE ACCEPTABLE TIME,’ behold, now is ‘THE DAY OF SALVATION’.” 2 Corinthians 6:1-2 NASB.
Jesus declared, “But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper [the Holy Spirit] will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged. I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. John 16:7-12 NASB.
From the above quote from Jesus – it is clear that He must send you the Helper (or the Comforter) or the Holy Spirit to convict you of sin, and righteousness and judgment. And that He has many more things to say to you, but you are unable to bear them now, if you are not where you need to be or fully born again. You are not able to decide that on such and such a date that you will confess your sins, repent and give your heart to God. All you have is now. Only God can send the Holy Spirit to convict you of sin and righteousness and judgment. So seek after God while He may be found, while you still hear his voice.
“Seek the LORD while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Isaiah 55:6-7 NASB.
The good news is that the ruler of this world has been judged, Jesus has won the battle as He declared in John 16:11 above - He has won the victory! John 16:33 – You don’t have to worry about how you can be born again and overcome the world – Jesus will take care of that for you – if you let Him!
You have no guarantees for tomorrow. If you have a desire for a new life with God and are tired of being trapped in sin and addictions – don’t put it off – do what God has asked you to do, soon as you can, pleading for His help. God has promised in many places to help the sinner be saved. “And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart.” Jeremiah 29:13 KJV. “Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble, And He brought them out of their distresses. He caused the storm to be still, So that the waves of the sea were hushed. Then they were glad because they were quiet, So He guided them to their desired haven.” Psalms 107:28-39 NASB. God will never turn you away if you ask for His help – He will always help you with the help you need if you want it and ask Him. Spend much time with Him, whom you love and He will change you.
Today if you hear his voice – harden not your heart.
“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end; While it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.” Hebrews 3:12-14 KJV.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” Romans 8:1 KJV.
“Dear Heavenly Father, help me to be in Christ Jesus and believe in His and Your ability to save me. Let there be no condemnation for me. Please help me to become born again and overcome the world as Jesus did, through His blood. Please help my unbelief so that I may not miss out on any of the promised blessing you have for me and my family.” In Jesus name, Amen.
If you are in Jesus, dear reader, there will be no condemnation for you. If you believe in Him, confess your sins, repent and receive Him into your heart every day, then there will be no condemnation for you, because He will forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9. The cleansing is the process which helps you get rid of the sin in your life and overcome. If you believe in Him, if you receive Him, you will become born again.
“And he [Abraham] believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.” Genesis 15:6 KJV. See also Romans 4:3 KJV.
This is how you become righteous – like Abraham became righteous – by believing in the Lord.
Dear reader, Jesus has overcome this world! Have peace! Receive Him and let His victory be yours and overcome by the blood of the Lamb!
May the grace of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you, as you give yourself to Him and receive Jesus every day. May the grace of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you - to help you become a son or daughter of God. – May you become born again from above, and overcome by the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 12:11), and overcome as Jesus overcame. Then you will have the right to eat from the Tree of Life in Heaven. Amen!
By John Foll, written between 1/27/2024 and 4/27-2024 – 5/25/2024.
© Copyright 2024 John Foll
Originally posted 2024-05-25 17:43:08.
“Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;” 1 John 3:21 NASB. The real question is why should our heart condemn us? God has promised us that ‘if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’ 1 John 1:9 KJV. It is impossible for God to lie. ‘So that by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have taken refuge would have strong encouragement to take hold of the hope set before us. This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and one which enters within the veil, where Jesus has entered as a forerunner for us, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.’ Hebrews 6:18-20 NASB. Since Jesus greatly loves us, suffered and died for us on the cross for our sins, and is now in Heaven as our High Priest, we do have an anchor indeed for our soul! He will plead our case with His Father because He loves us, if we will confess them to God. We can trust that if we confess our sins, that God not only has forgiven us, but that He will also cleanse us from all unrighteousness, that is to make us more like Him, because it is impossible for Him to lie! So just believe it! So there is no reason for anyone who knows this to have any guilt in their heart!Why would you want to carry this heavy load of guilt? Jesus bore it for you, oh sinner on the cross for you, if you will accept it and believe. So confess your sins, and let Him take that load of guilt off of you now. There is no reason for you to carry it for a moment. Just confess and be free and cleansed and be happy! Could this be the reason why many do not have the confidence in God that they should have? Could it be because their own heart condemns them, and they know that they stand guilty before God?
I am already a Christian, so why do I need to explore your site, articles or books? Some may think that because they have been a Christian for many years, that they have no need for what we are presenting; they may think that this information is only for new Christians, or for those who want to become one. While what we are presenting will certainly help new Christians or those who want to become one, this Ministry was actually created to help those who have been in the faith, who are not where they should be to have a new, vibrant life with God. Don’t be too quick to think that you don’t need this information, because God’s church in this age is characterized in general as being lukewarm.
Hearts are often need of revival, so let’s speak more on God’s love, and then maybe they would believe, be happy, and be accepted by God and be saved. Many have been in the church for years without any apparent growth, and many have lost what they had in the past somewhere. They continue on in their passé Christian existence without knowing or remembering what they are missing. And you cannot slip a piece of paper between a lot of Christians and people who don’t know Jesus at all. Think that statement is too bold? Think again, it is sadly the truth in many cases. If you love Jesus you will never tire of hearing that *‘old old story of Jesus and His love.’ You will not think it bad that we are writing yet another post on God’s love and mercy for the world, and how you can obtain it, but you will want to hear it again and again!
Jesus said, “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have […]
Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the […]
“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'” Luke 14:26-30 NASB. Are you able to finish the course that is set before you? Hebrews 12:1. You will be able to finish the course that is set before you, if you count the true cost, and the true value of the surpassing riches that God wants to provide you. “And raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places, in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:6-7 NASB.
Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down His life for His friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you.” John 15:13-14 NASB. Jesus is the good shepherd who laid down his life for His friends!Jesus said, “Why do you call Me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say?” Luke 6:46 NASB. We are Jesus’ friends if we do what He says. Doing everything that He said is doing everything that He has commanded us.
How to know if you are born again and belong to God? Do you love to tell of Jesus and His Father’s love? Or do you love to tell the faults of others? Do you love your neighbor as yourself? Does doing the right thing, being a good witness, and sharing your faith seem like a duty or a pleasure? Do you have a nagging guilt that you should do something for God and others? Or do you have a burning desire to serve God and help others? Are you so happy that you are free? Or are you bound in slavery and guilt?
Certificate of Achievement: This acknowledges that [blank] is a servant of God because he/she loves Jesus. [Your Name Goes Here?] Signed by the Holy Spirit. Today’s Date? Please look at this certificate and ponder the importance of what it is trying to teach, it is really quite simple, yet powerful. This pictorially shows us how we can please God, and know if we are on the right track or not. It is not just trying to be cute, but to help all to see the truth.
