If you would like to download two encouraging, FREE full-length MP3s of Tony’s popular sermons: “The Sovereignty of God” and “How to Handle a Crisis,”
and jesus says this is the amen talking
this is the one who’s not going to tell
you what you want to hear i’ma tell you
like it really is
god wants you to fear him more than you
feel what’s wrong
he wants your fear of him to be greater
than your fear
of your problem truth is god’s view on
any subject matter
if there is no truth there can be no
legitimate unity
i’m here to tell you jesus saw satan had
your cage
but on the cross he has now opened the
cage door
so that he who the son sets free is free
indeed
there is a need today
to protest but the protest
that i am speaking of as we move along
is the protests
where the evil one is holding us hostage
where we’re living with spiritual
handcuffs on
or chains around our lives
some of it is due to our sins
others of it is due to our circumstances
all we know is we have been overcome
by the oppressive nature
of what we are dealing with
but i would like to shift the song a
little bit from we
shall overcome
to we have overcome anyone
who’s believed in christ has
overcome that’s what it says
but that ought to create a curiosity
because if you will look at me at
revelation
written by the apostle john in chapter 2
verse 7 we read he who has an ear let
him hear what the spirit says to the
churches
to him who overcomes in verse 11 he that
hath an ear let him hear what the spirit
says to the churches
he who overcomes in verse 17
he says he who at the near let him hear
what the spirit says to the churches
to him who overcomes in chapter
2 rather verse 26
he who overcomes in chapter 3
verse 5 he who overcomes
in chapter 3 verse 12 he who
overcomes so wait a minute
first john 5 says you have overcome
but the same author john when he writes
the book of revelation says
he who overcomes
so on one hand i have overcome
on the other hand i need to overcome
so how do i put this
together and what does it mean
john is writing to the seven churches of
asia minor as you’ll see in a moment
and he’s talking to the whole
congregation he says i want you to tell
this
to the whole congregation but in each
one of those scriptures i read you
he said he who overcomes meaning
it’s possible to be in the church
and in the congregation and not be one
of the overcomers
because he says he who so he talks to
everybody and then he comes down to the
individual and says let me talk to you
he who but he tells the whole church
everybody who has come to christ
has overcome so right now if you have
something that
should not be holding you hostage but
that
is holding you hostage then you need to
be an
overcomer because that’s what the word
means but
why do you tell me john that i have
overcome
and then john you come back in
revelation and tell me well
you need to overcome
when john says you have overcome he’s
dealing with your
legal status
christ has made every believer and
overcomer
legally but what you have
legally does not mean that’s what you’re
experiencing personally
if you are defeated and christian
that doesn’t make you unchristian that
makes you a defeated christian
so what he’s trying to tell you
and us is that the goal is to make
our legal status our experiential
reality
so that’s why the word is you have
overcome
spiritually legally because you come to
christ
but you may not yet have overcome in
terms of it working out
in your life in terms of you
experiencing it
in fact the only reason you need to
overcome is there something to overcome
to overcome means to overrule
a sin or a set of circumstances that are
illegitimate it is to overrule them
the bible makes it clear
if you are going to be an overcomer a
prevailer
that the link has to be made between
your state
and your standing between your position
and your practice between what’s
legal and what you experience literal
before he ever gets to talking about
being an overcomer
in chapters two and three
he gives us chapter one
he begins in chapter one of the book of
revelation verse one
saying the revelation of jesus christ he
says i’m gonna disclose jesus to you
he says in verse four i’m writing to the
churches
he takes this look at jesus in verse
seven
behold he is coming with clouds every
eye will see him
even those who pierced him and all the
tribes of the earth will mourn over him
so it shall be amen now watch this
jesus is talking in verse 8 i am alpha
and omega
who was who is and who was and who is to
come the almighty
he tells john in verse 11 write a book
john then says in verse 12 i turned to
see the voice
that was speaking to me jesus speaking
to him
and having turned i saw seven golden
lamb stands
in the middle of the lamb stands i saw
one like a son of man
clothed in a robe reaching to his feet
girded across his chest with a golden
sash his head and his hair were white
like white wool like snow his eyes were
like a flame of fire
his feet were like brandished bronze
when it had been made
to glow in a furnace his voice was like
the sound of many waters
in his right hand he had seven stars
uh verse 17 when i saw him i
fell at his feet like a dead man and he
placed his right hand on me and said do
not be afraid
i am the first and the last the living
one
if you and i are going to be overcomers
in practice
not in principle you’re going to have to
see the jesus that john saw
this is not jesus meek and mild
this is not jesus
in a manger no no no
this is jesus on fire
he says like the burning of a furnace
he says when he spoke it was like the
rushing
of many waters like oceans and seas just
thundering and he says when i saw this
jesus
it knocked the brother off his feet i
i fell down like a dead man walking
in colossians chapter 2 verse 15 it says
that
when jesus died he
he disarmed the rulers
of this present age
i disarmed them so the reason why the
devil can defeat us
is because he can deceive us into
thinking their bullets still in the gun
but what jesus did on the cross the
scripture says
is he disarmed them he took away the
authority
so now you’re beaten by deception
that feels like reality looks like
reality
seems like reality
that’s why the scripture says in romans
8 37 you are more than
conquerors
in him who loved us and gave himself for
us that’s why john 16
33 says in me you’re gonna have peace
because i have already overcome the
world
[Music]
i’m sure for many of us maybe even most
of us
this has been one of the most trying
years in our lives
people have suffered loss people have
found themselves
claustrophobic and closed in light of
the virus we’ve seen all kind of
division
and yet in the midst of this we’re
called to trust god
it is our hope that throughout this year
god has used the urban alternative and
our ministry of god’s word
to help encourage and strengthen you
during this time
as we close out this year i want to
thank you for your prayers for us
for your prayers for the word of god
that’s been going forth and for your
support
your generosity which has kept us
bringing god’s truth throughout the
nation and actually around the world
so may god richly strengthen you
help you to recover from anything that
has
that has hurt you this year but also
empower you
for a brand new hope in the year to come
again thank you
for being a friend of tua we couldn’t do
what we do
without you
he speaks in these superlatives because
it is your connecting with this
risen christ romans 5 10 after he says
god demonstrated his love toward us that
while sinners christ died for us in
verse 8 he comes to verse 10 and he says
and we are saved or delivered by his
life
so the overcoming comes with this life
if you’re a believer in jesus christ you
don’t have
triple a you got triple g god god and
god
that’s god the father god the son god
the holy spirit you’ve got
triple g and what he wants you to know
is when you begin to
look at him differently and relate to
him as the risen christ
who is ascended who’s now functioning
with fire in his eyes
not soft uh skin but but hand like wool
and
and a voice like thunder that’s who
you’re dealing with
and that’s who you must relate to
on the cross jesus christ lifted the
sins of the whole world
for all men for all time on
calvary so what did you tell me the size
of your problem was
[Applause]
you’re dealing with somebody who handled
the world
and it’s sin and it’s accompanying
circumstances
so it may be bad but it ain’t that bad
okay so that raises a question
where can i find this power look at
chapter 12 of revelation verse 11
and they overcame him here’s our word
because of the blood of the lamb because
of the word of their testimony
and they did not love their life even
when faced with death
and one verse
will shift how you relate to jesus
when you shift how you relate to jesus
he
shifts how he relates to you
because now you’re relating to him as he
is not as you want him to be
because a lot of folks come to church
worshiping a jesus
as they want him to be not as he
declares himself to be
and isn’t it terrible when somebody
talking for you
trying to describe you to you when you
know you
so jesus said let me explain this to you
it says they overcame him
referring to satan in that context they
overruled him
they prevailed against him when three
things were in place
these three things can be summed up in
one word
their identification with christ
now follow me closely here
when they properly identified with
christ
they prevailed
let me say this as i get into this god
places
victory in your reach not in your hand
big difference overcoming
is in your reach you can get it but it’s
not in your hand
see for many people the cross is a
historical event
two thousand years ago jesus died on the
cross
and i believe he died for my sins i
accept him as my savior
and because of that i’m saved i’m going
to heaven and all that’s true
but these folk are overcoming him by the
blood in the present
in the presence of this of this text
they’re not they’re not just overcoming
them because the blood work 2 000 years
ago
that’s why when paul described his
identity in galatians 2 20
he said i am right now crucified with
christ
nevertheless i live yet not i
it’s christ who lives in me and the life
which i now live i live by faith in the
son of god
who loved me and gave himself for me he
says if you want to look at
my life now i am controlled by the cross
that is i am controlled by the work that
jesus christ did 2 000 years ago
that affects my decision-making in the
present
he said secondly they overcame him
by the word of their testimony
you will not overcome whatever
you’re needing to overcome if you are a
secret agent christian
forget overcoming because
jesus christ with fire in his eyes
is not trying to help folk to overcome
who are embarrassed to be associated
with him
he says you deny me before men i will
deny you before my father
matthew 10. you confess me before men i
will confess you before my father
god has placed everything in the hand of
his son
at the name of jesus every knee will bow
every tongue will confess
that jesus is lord to the glory of the
father
so the father is glorified when jesus
is the superstar he was wounded for your
transgressions
bruised for your iniquities the
chastisement
of your peace was on his shoulders by
his stripes
you are healed and you can’t identify
with the risen christ
he said it’s by the word of your
testimony
oh and then he hits us with a zinger
he is with a zinger number three because
he says number three
and they did not love their life even
when faced with death oh they overcame
him
because
of a love relationship that they
possessed with him
that transcended dying
that’s why that’s why paul says in luke
9 he says i die daily
every day when i get up in the morning
and i say i am dead to me and i’m alive
to you
paul says
for me to live is christ and to die is
gain
paul says i don’t know whether to stay
here or to go home to be with christ
he said i’m betwixt in between
if if i if i stay here
it’s to serve christ
if i die is to go be with christ
and if i suffer he says i reckon that
the suffering of this present time is
not be worthy to be compared with the
glory that shall be revealed unto me
so he’s saying basically i’m in a
no-lose deal
living dying it’s all christ
so if i’ve got to be rejected because of
christ
if i’ve got to be misunderstood because
of christ
i’ve got to be not liked because of
christ not because of my foolishness
but because of christ then that’s
the way it is
once you have now identified with christ
you have positioned yourself to be an
overcomer
you have positioned yourself to see the
move of god
overruled
you know i i get up i’ve lost about 45
pounds
and uh
thank you okay
now the main thing i i do
is the treadmill the main exercise is a
treadmill
i i will admit to you
i am unmotivated that’s not something
like
i look forward to do it okay
i do want to get healthier and i do want
to lose some weight so
the problem is on that treadmill i sweat
on that treadmill
i’m huffing and puffing on that
treadmill i’m struggling because i got
this goal in mind but i’m
i’m struggling on this treadmill it’s a
struggle
so what i always do to mitigate the
struggle
of overcoming the treadmill and the
fact that i don’t want to do it is i
turn on the news
so right in front of me i stare at the
news
for 45 minutes it has my undivided
attention
that news does not take away the sweat i
don’t sweat let’s because i’m looking at
the news
it doesn’t take away the breathing it
distracts me
it gives me something else to focus on
and i discover
i can go longer when i’m focusing on
that than when i’m focusing on this
i got to do this but i try not to make
this my focus
i try to make that my focus because when
i make that my focus it affects how well
i do this
if you really want to overcome bad
enough
then jesus says you got to do this but
the way you do this is by focusing on
that
and if you understand that i have
already overcome
and you walking through this thing you
need to overcome this sin or
circumstance
but you’re looking at me and you’re
saying okay jesus i thank you or you’ve
already overcome this
you’ve already overcome my emotions
you’ve already overcome my circumstance
you’ve already overcome my pain you’ve
already come to overcome my addiction
i just want to thank you that you’ve
already overcome it
i’m sweating and i’m tired but i’m more
than a conqueror
in jesus christ who loved me and gave
himself
for me and i just want to give you glory
because i’m a focus on the news of
heaven
during my struggle on earth
look let me close let me close look look
any of you who like pro wrestling
let me let me explain something
it’s fake okay
let me explain something if you like pro
wrestling
it’s fake
it’s been pre-scripted
they have already decided who the winner
is going to be
that that has been pre-decided
predestined
predetermined elected that’s all
has decided before the match even starts
if you believe they pay you more
because you made it look more real so
they have scripted this thing
but even if you’re being defeated even
if you’ve been thrown
down even if you’re being abused if it
has already been predestined
that when this thing is over you’re
going to be more
than a conqueror that thing is going to
turn around
in some way somehow i know the devil’s
been slamming you
i know circumstances have been beating
you i know sins have been
owning you i know it looks like the evil
one
is controlling you but jesus christ on
the cross
has already prescripted that you are a
winner
he’s already prescripted that by
relationship
to him you’re overcomer he’s already
prescripted
that satan has no longer any control
over you
he’s already prescripted that greater is
he that’s in you
than he that’s in the world he’s already
prescripted
that those folk don’t control you
anymore he’s already prescripted
that that circumstance doesn’t control
you anymore
i know you’re being thrown down i know
you’re being beaten up
but you can now look at it and declare i
am an
overcomer and i’m coming back at you in
the name
of the lord jesus christ
life is full of obstacles things that
get in the way of our joy our stability
our steadfastness our peace our
productivity
it would be great if we could go through
life and
the challenges did not interfere
with our well-being but the beautiful
thing about following christ
is that he gives us the enablement
to overcome those things that would seek
to overcome us
to be an overcomer doesn’t mean that
there’s nothing to overcome
or the word would be meaningless we’ve
seen a football team overcome a deficit
we’ve seen a tennis player overcome what
looks like an inevitable defeat
and we’ve seen broken lives overcome
that which looks like
circumstances that would destroy them
one of the key ways you know that god is
real
and that jesus is alive is when he
enables you to
override something that looks like feels
like
and seems like it has overridden you
yes i wish i could promise you that uh
follow jesus and there won’t be any
hurdles to jump over
but then i wouldn’t be telling you the
truth
jesus made it plain in this world you’re
going to have trouble but be of good
chia
there’s some good news even in the midst
of great
negative circumstances and painful
situations
and that is in some unique supernatural
way
he puts springs in the heels of your
spiritual feet
so that you can leap over those things
that will seek to hold you hostage
and finish your race victoriously
[Music]
[Music]
[Music]
you