Overcoming

“Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels.  He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

“To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:  These are the words of him who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.  I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name.  I will make those who are of the synagogue of Satan, who claim to be Jews though they are not, but are liars—I will make them come and fall down at your feet and acknowledge that I have loved you.  Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.

“I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.  Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name.” (Revelation 3:4-12 NIV)

When I was reading the letters to the seven churches in Revelation 2-3 recently, one word stood out to me—overcome.   Jesus uses it in addressing each of the churches at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyratira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.  Repeatedly, He says, “He who overcomes will…” He who overcomes will have the right to eat from the tree of life.  He who overcomes will escape the second death.  He who overcomes will be given the right to sit with the Lord on His throne.  In other words, he who overcomes will be rewarded.

The churches to which Jesus spoke were not having an easy time of it. Persecution and false teaching were rampant in the 1st Century. Remaining faithful to the Lord was a real challenge and many were falling away.  So Jesus wrote to warn and to encourage.  He warned of the consequences of falling away and encouraged the faithful to hold onto the faith because those who do will be greatly rewarded.  

Twenty centuries later, conditions may not seem as dire, but the challenge to overcome is still applicable to each of our lives.  The prince of this world seeks to draw us away from the narrow path that leads to life, just as much today as 2000 years ago.  It may be through false teaching (e.g., I’m saved so it doesn’t matter how I live my life.); it may be through greed or thirst for fame that leads us to compromise; it may be through idolatry, that we want something so badly we will forsake the Lord to have it.  Regardless of what it may be, we can be assured the enemy is seeking to draw us back onto the wide, easy path that leads to destruction. 

There is significance in Jesus encouraging all seven churches to overcome and remain faithful to Him.  It is a message for all believers down through the ages and for us today.  There is danger in giving up and forsaking the faith, but there is great reward in overcoming the temptations and difficulties we encounter in our daily lives.

Today, pay close attention to the message of Jesus.  The person who overcomes will be greatly rewarded.

© Jim Musser 2016