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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

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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

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you