WE SHALL OVERCOME

By Evangeline Unity Esaaba Folson – We shall overcome

1 John 5: 3-5

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not grievous.

For whatever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.

Who is he that overcomes the world, but he that believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

The passage above highlights some of the things that can be done to make us overcomers. Some of the lessons that can be learned from 1 John 5:3-5 are:

Keep God’s commandments (Exodus 20: 2-17, Deuteronomy 28:1-14, John 15: 7)
Exercise your faith (Hebrews 11:1-6, James 2: 14-16, Matthew 21: 21-22)
Believe in what Jesus did on the cross (Acts 16:31, John 3:16)

In addition to the lessons from 1John 5:

Put on the garment of praise (Joshua 5: 20, Luke 19: 37, Psalm150:1 )

Keep God’s commandments

The commandments of God are found both in the old testament and the new testament.

However, the commandments are all summed up in the 10 commandments found in Exodus 20 :2-17:

Thou shall have no other gods beside me.
Thou shall not make unto thee any graven image or bow down unto them.
Thou shall not take the name of the Lord in vain
Remember the sabbath day and keep it holy.
Honor thy father and mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.
Thou shalt not kill
Thou shall not commit adultery.
Thou shalt not steal
Thou shall not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Thou shall not covet thy neighbors house, his wife, nor his manservant, nor maidservant , nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s

These commandments were given to Moses and it applies to all of God’s children and Christians. We are to obey every one of them and not just some of them. If we obey them faithfully, then the blessings listed in Deuteronomy 28: 1-14 will be ours. The curses listed in Deuteronomy 28:15-68 will come upon those who refuse to obey. These curses are mainly the opposites of the blessings at the beginning of the chapter and more.

Deuteronomy 28: 1-2

And it shall come to pass, if thou shall hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all His commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all the nations of the earth.

And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shall hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God. Some of the blessings are:

You shall be blessed in the city and on the field.
Blessed shall be the fruit of your body and the fruit of thy ground
Blessed shall be thy basket and thy store.
Blessed shalt be when thou comest in, and blessed shalt thou be when thou goest out.
The Lord shall cause thine enemies that rise up against thee to be smitten before thy face; they shall come out against thee one way, and flee before thee seven ways.

In effect all you do will be blessed. Even the pandemic could be a blessing in disguise because it will cause you to re-examine your life and make the necessary corrections to prepare you for the second coming of Christ.

John 15: 7

If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

Another important blessing that comes when you obey God’s commandments is that you obtain God’s favour and you will receive whatever you ask for from God as John 15: 7 says.

Exercise your faith

Hebrews 11: 1-6

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. By faith Abraham offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts: and by it he being dead yet speaketh. By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death: and was not found because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony: that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.

It is important to read and study the whole of Hebrews 11 because it gives examples of how people received miracles because they exercised their faith. Those who did not even receive what they expected by faith still believed and trusted God to the end.

James 2 : 14-17

What doth it profit , my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed, and filled: notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

Even so faith, if it hath not works is dead, being alone,

We must back our faith with actions. Like the passage above, you should not only pray for someone to be warmed or filled. Give him/her what they need, clothing, food, money etc. This is how to back your faith with action or works.

Matthew 21: 21-22

Jesus answered and said unto them, verily, verily I say unto you, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, But also ye shall say unto this mountain, be thou removed and be thou cast into the sea: it shall be done

And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer believing, ye shall receive.

If we believe that God can end the corona pandemic, then let us exercise our faith by obeying all the directions from our health personnel. In addition to this, let us pray and ask God to put an end to the current chaos in the world. It is our faith that would make us overcome.

Believe in what Jesus did

Acts 16: 30-31

And brought them out and said, sirs what must we do to be saved?

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved.. and thy house.

John 3 :16

For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

1 John 5: 5 says the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God overcomes the world. The verses from the book of Acts and John also say that if you believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who died to save the world then you shall be saved.

I believe we can overcome this pandemic if we believe what Jesus did on the cross. Jesus is the answer and solution to this pandemic.

Put on the garment of praise

Joshua 6: 20

So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets, and it came to pass that when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, the wall fell flat—–

Luke 19: 37 – 40

And when he was nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of olives , the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works they had seen.

Saying, blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto Him, Master rebuke thy disciples.

And He answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.

Psalm 150 : 1

Praise ye the Lord, praise Him in the firmament of His power.

Apart from keeping God’s commands, exercising your faith and believing in Jesus as the son of God, another important thing that would help us “overcome” is PRAISE.

In the book of Joshua, we are told that when the people of Israel came before the promise land, the city of Jericho, there was a high and strong wall they had to breakthrough. The sound of trumpets and shouts (praise) brought the wall down flat.

In Luke 19, Jesus shows us how praise is important to Him. When the pharisees asked Him to stop His disciples from praising Him, He said, if they stopped, the stones would start praising Him.

Psalm 150 shows us how, when and where to praise God. It ends with a call to everyone that has breathe to praise the Lord.

Conclusion

To conclude, I will like to leave you with the words of this song:

Chorus

JESUS is the answer for the world today,

Above Him, there is no other, Jesus is the way.

If you have some questions in the corners of your mind

And traces of discouragement, your peace you cannot find

Reflections of your past, seem to face you everyday

But this thing I do know

Jesus is the way.

I know you’ve got mountains, that you think you cannot climb

I know your skies are dark, you think the sun will never shine

In case you do not know, that the word of God is true

And whatever He has promised, He will do it for you.

References

WE SHALL OVERCOME