The Overcoming Church

We all go ahead and make this confession with me.

Say, heavenly Father, my ears are open, my heart is open to receive.

Enlighten my understanding, give me revelation, knowledge that will cause me to be victorious and successful, that will cause me to be a light and draw people to you.

In Jesus' name, amen.

I'm going to preach a message.

A few minutes ago I just went ahead and titled it.

We'll call it the Overcoming Church and Pastor preached this morning and used a foundation scripture out of Hebrews, chapter 3, verse 12.

Hebrews 3:12

And I'll go ahead and read that to you.

This is what he preached out of this morning.

It says beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily, while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.

For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

In other words, we started out with great zeal and excitement and we believed everything and we took it in and we put it into practice.

But somewhere along the way sometimes people get worn out and tired and some of those things fall off.

And so the if there is if we continue with the same level that we started out with all the way through the end.

And so we got to exhort each other and encourage each other and build each other up.

In the context of this scripture it was talking about the wilderness wanderers, the Jews, the Israelites, who were in the wilderness.

So they left out of Egypt and God led them out of Egypt.

Remember, their cries went up and God heard their cries and he said I am come down to deliver you out of this bondage.

And he led them right out of there with wealth and provision and led them right up to the edge of the Red Sea, where the Egyptian army was swallowed up by the Red Sea.

And he led them through the Red Sea on dry ground to the other side and led them all the way up to the Promised Land.

And he was building it up the whole way and talked about the Promised Land and said this is your land because I have given it to you.

And he said go ahead and check it out and send in 12 spies, one from each of the tribes, and send it in and check out this land that I have given you.

And they came back and they were excited about how great the land was, all the benefits of the land.

But Ten came back with an evil report and they said there are giants in the land and we be not able and we are but grasshoppers in their sight and our own.

And two of the spies, joshua and Caleb, came back and said they are bread for us.

Let's go up at once, we can take them.

But the report of the Ten was given to the people and the people believed the evil report and they start parroting the evil report.

We be not able.

We be not able.

They're giants in the land.

They're giants in the land.

That's what we have going on today.

Right now, there is an evil report that goes out through all kinds of media and all kinds of people and all kinds of sources, and if we repeat that, we're going to be stuck with the same outcome as the Israelites were in that time.

If we keep repeating that report, we are the source of the good report because we use God's word as the report.

And so if we have a promised land and America is a promised land it is a land that was given to us by God.

We have a covenant with God.

This nation was formed based on a covenant with God, all for the glory of God and the furtherance of the gospel of Christ.

That is the purpose of this nation.

It was made to honor God.

It was built out of a people that suffered religious persecution and wanted religious freedom, wanted freedom to worship God.

And so they came here.

God said I'll give you a place, come over here, but there's an evil report, and so we have to shut down that evil report.

You know, a journey that should have taken days ended up taking 40 years, and God has all kinds of patience, he's endless with patience.

He said all right, if you people won't do it, I'll raise up your children and they will go in and inherit the promise that I have given you.

You won't have it, but your children will.

And so think about what that did.

Think about the sin of not believing God, the sin of parroting the evil report.

Think about what that did to the others.

There were children that should have been born in the promised land.

Instead they were born in the wilderness and they could have been 20 years old, going into the promised land where they should have been experiencing the promised land for 20 years already.

And so repeating the evil report has consequences far beyond our own life, but it descends down into the next generation and the generation beyond that.

So Joshua was the one that led the Israelites into the promised land and he led them across the Jordan River.

And you recall that he said we haven't been this way before and he gave special instructions to follow the ark across there, give it some space, see which way the ark goes and follow in that path.

And they went across on dry ground and they got on the other side and he's feeling quite successful, having obeyed God in these steps and having watched what God did for him as Joshua led the Israelites across.

And so, on the other side, joshua was camped out near Jericho and he lifted up his eyes and he looked and it says that he saw a man who stood opposite him with his sword drawn in his hand and Joshua went up to him, feeling big and mighty and strong.

Remember, god called him to be courageous and very courageous and not fearful, and you're going to lead these people.

He's very courageous, walking up to this man who's got his sword drawn and he says are you for us or for our adversaries?

And the man responds no, are you for us or for our adversaries?

No, but as the commander of the army of the Lord, I have now come.

The commander of the army of the Lord is not for us or for our adversaries.

He is the commander of the army of the Lord.

He is Jesus.

He is not for this person or against that person.

He is who he is and we had better be found on his side.

And because Joshua obeyed and took the next steps and led them into the promised land, jesus came and said I am now come, I am with you.

When you're with me, you're on my team.

I'm not on your team, you're on my team.

And as long as you obey my word and my command, we're going to march through this promised land and we're going to kick out the trespassers and we're going to kick out the poachers and we're going to kick out the squatters and you're going to have this land.

And so that's the promise that we have from God today that if we go in and possess, I am come down.

The Lord of the armies of heaven has come down.

And I want to read you some passages where there's a description of the Lord of the armies of heaven.

In Revelations, chapter 1, verse 10, john.

Revelation 1:10

You know a little background on John.

John was the disciple whom Jesus loved when he wrote I John, the disciple whom Jesus loved.

When John was on the Isle of Patmos, he had a revelation moment.

He had a vision there where he got to experience an encounter with Christ, and in verse 10 it says I was in the Spirit on the Lord's Day and I heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet saying I am the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last.

What you see, write down and send it to the seven churches which are in Asia, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamos, thyatira, sardis, philadelphia and Laodicea.

Then I turned to see the voice that spoke to me and, having turned, I saw seven golden lampstands and in the midst of the seven lampstands, one liked the Son of man.

Now I want you to imagine what he's seeing here.

He saw one that was like the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to his feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.

His head and hair were white, white like wool or white as snow, and his eyes like a flame of fire, and his feet were like fine brass, as if it refined in a furnace, and his voice as the sound of many waters, and he had in his right hand seven stars, and out of his mouth went a two-edged sword and his countenance was like that of the Son, shining in its strength.

And when I saw him I fell at his feet as dead.

But he laid his right hand on me, saying to me Do not be afraid, I am the first and the last.

I am he who lives and was dead.

And behold, I am alive forevermore and I have the keys of hell and death.

I am come down.

That's the same person talking right there.

And John was somebody who was close to Jesus.

He spent a long time around Jesus, he listened to Jesus, he got to watch the miracles that Jesus performed.

He was intimately acquainted with Jesus.

I can imagine there were plenty of times when he looked into the eyes of Jesus while Jesus was talking to him here on this earth.

But in this moment, right here, he describes his eyes like a flame of fire.

To look into somebody's eyes you've got to be close, and he got close to Jesus in that moment and he got to see the passion and the compassion that's burning on the inside of Christ.

He says his eyes were like a flame of fire.

Another place in Revelation 19, verse 11.

Revelation 19:11

Now I saw heaven opened up and behold a white horse, and he who sat on him was called faithful and true, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.

His eyes were like a flame of fire and on his head were many crowns and he had a name written that no one knew except himself.

He was closed, with a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called the word of God.

And the armies of heaven, clothed and fined linen, white and clean, followed with him on white horses.

Now, out of his mouth goes a sharp sword that with it he should strike the nations and he himself will rule them.

With a rod of iron, he himself treads the wine press of the fierceness and wrath of the Almighty God, and he has on his robe and on his thigh the name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

What a fearsome and awesome sight Jesus is.

When he came on earth he lived as man, he was like you and me, but when he resurrected to heaven, he is seated together in heavenly places at the right hand of the Father.

And when he is coming back, he is coming back in a brilliant glory and he is coming back for a church that is also a glorious church, an overcoming church, one without spot and wrinkle and blemish, one without unbelief, one that will obey his word.

So the eyes of Jesus like a flame of fire.

I was a Boy Scout and I liked to sit around the campfire and it was mesmerizing to sit there and watch the campfire at night On a cool night.

You might have stars in the sky and you can lay there and see the stars and the constellations and an occasional shooting star.

But to sit there and just stare at that fire, you can watch it for hours and just be mesmerized by it.

You could look into the eyes of Jesus and be completely mesmerized.

The Israelites were led through the wilderness with a cloud by day and a fire by night, and that fire was a comfort and a warmth to them.

It was a protection to them, but on the other side, to their enemies, it was a terror.

It was a terror in the night.

To those who love and serve God, those eyes are warmth and comfort and peace and compassion, but to those who are on the other side they are a terror.

The eyes of Jesus are a terror to the devil.

They were a terror to John in that moment, somebody who was close to him and knew him, and he fell down at his feet as dead and Jesus had to put his hand on him and said don't be afraid.

And then it was that familiar voice that he had heard all that time with him, the compassionate voice, the familiar voice.

And John knew it was okay, I'm not really dead, he's not going to kill me.

The compassion came out.

You know, we don't have a high priest Hebrews says in chapter 4, who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, because he was tempted in all points, as we are yet without sin.

And because of that it says let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace that we might obtain mercy and find grace in time of need.

We don't have to be afraid of the mighty dread champion, as he is to some, to us.

He's our heavenly Father.

Amen To Jesus.

He's our joint heir.

He laid down his life for us.

In Revelation, chapter one, jesus goes on to give some commendations, some criticisms, instructions and promises to the seven churches.

There was the loveless church, and the loveless church was not a church that didn't have love for people, it was that they lost their first love.

They lost their first love of God and they got caught up in the routine and the orthodox of religion.

They just kept doing the same motions over and over.

Then there was the persecuted church and they endured all the way into the end and they received a commendation, but they were persecuted.

There was the compromising church that compromised on various false doctrines and they were commanded to repent.

All these churches are active in the world today.

By the way, you'll see examples of every one of these churches in the world today.

There was the corrupt church that had the Jezebel spirit, the compromising sin, and Jesus said repent.

There was the dead church.

They had no power, they had no life.

You see, the dead church.

In fact, we've had prophecies about the dead church.

As it relates to this one, god said he's going to send a hot, dry wind through churches and people are going to be so desperate to find water, to find nourishment.

And God challenged us, he challenged pastor.

When they come here, will they find what they're looking for?

Will they find water, will they find nourishment, will they find compassion, will they find what they need?

And we're seeing the evidence of that.

We're seeing people that are leaving their churches right now.

Some of them are compromising churches.

Some of them are corrupt, some of them are just got into the orthodox of religion and just keep doing things the same motions over and over, and some are completely dead.

And then there's some churches that are lukewarm.

I've talked about this recently.

Jesus and Laodicea talked about the lukewarm church and it's my understanding that they had a system of aqueduct in that city where they had both hot and cold flowing water through an aqueduct system, and both hot water and cold water have purpose.

Cold water is refreshing, it's cooling, it's healing.

Hot water is cleansing.

Both of them have a purpose.

But Jesus said Because you're neither hot nor cold, because you're lukewarm, I will spew you out of my mouth.

You disgust me, you make me want to vomit.

You have no purpose.

Oh, that's a terrible kind of church and we're seeing more and more of that today.

We're seeing churches that are just talking without a purpose and they are disgusting to the Lord of the armies of heaven.

But they have a promise if they'll repent.

Not one of these churches are condemned.

They all have an opportunity to turn around and to repent and to have a reward and an abundant entrance in heaven If they'll just turn around.

And we're charged in this church, and we're charged.

It really not just this church.

There's a lot of churches that have the message now Wake up.

There's a lot of people out there, a lot of pastors, a lot of churches that are called to wake up other churches and we're one of those and there's the faithful church, the overcoming church, the one who had the promise of the open door and also an escape from the hour of trial.

And then there was a little warning in there.

Jesus said hold fast that no one takes your crown.

Somebody could take your crown if you don't hold fast, if you don't stay on the right track and keep doing right.

You're doing right.

Don't quit, don't stop.

So.

His words were a judgment.

Of the seven churches, I know, 10 received condemnation and two received commendation, but it was a judgment on all of them and it was given out of love and compassion, not wanting a single one of them to be lost.

Every one of them had instructions whereby they could receive their reward.

In Matthew, chapter 12, jesus said that you're either for me or against me, and that he who does not gather with me scatters abroad.

Matthew 12 · chapter mention

You're either on my team or you're not.

Are you for me or for my adversary.

Nope, I'm the Lord of the armies of heaven.

Oh, so he spins it around here and says you're either for me or against me.

I'll remind you of the parable of the wheat and the tares.

The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in the field, but while he slept, the enemy came in and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way.

But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared.

And so the servants of the owner came and said Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field?

How is it that you have tares?

And he said to him an enemy has done this.

And the servant said do you want us to go out and gather them up?

And he said no, lest you gather up the tares and uproot the wheat at the same time.

He said let both grow together until harvest.

And at that time, at harvest time, I'll say to the reapers first gather the tares and bind them into bundles and burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.

That's a very provoking parable right there, and it kind of sounds like the world we're in right now.

If I had to look at America right now I'd say there's a lot of good seed sown, but the enemy has come in and sown weeds in this nation and you're seeing good wheat come up and you're seeing weeds come up right in the middle of it.

You're running roughly 50-50, maybe 55-45.

I hope the scales are still in our favor, that God judges this nation as a righteous nation, because we still put them first.

But it's getting too close and so we've got weeds coming up in our nation.

Should we rush out there and tear them all out?

No, he said.

You're at that point.

You're close enough to harvest time when you see those weeds coming up, you're close enough to harvest time.

Are you get what I'm saying?

When you see the weeds coming up among the wheat in your nation, you're getting real close to harvest time.

It's getting real close.

He said don't worry about the weeds.

The weeds are going to come up and I'm going to have my harvesters come in and they're going to bundle the weeds up and burn them, but the wheat I will gather into my barn.

We're getting right close to the end.

The disciples asked what the signs of the end times would be and Jesus said take heed that no one deceives you.

Take heed you can be deceived.

Don't let anyone deceive you.

He said many will come in my name saying that I'm the Christ, and will deceive many.

And you hear wars and rumors of wars.

See that you are not troubled.

Obey my commands.

Get this right.

Don't be troubled and repeat the message of the trouble, for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet, for nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, and there will be famines and there will be pestilences.

We're in the middle of a pestilence right now and earthquakes in various places, and these are the beginning of sorrows and they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you and you'll be hated by all nations for my namesake.

We are hated by all nations for the name that we bear, the name of Christ, and then many will be offended and betray one another.

Many will be offended and betray one another.

Does that sound like the nation we are in right now?

I'm offended.

People are so offended all the time they walk around in steady offense and they betray each other.

You're not wearing a mask.

I'm turning you in.

You're open during a famine.

I'm turning your business in.

I saw people in your business.

Your church is open.

I'm turning you in.

Here's a hotline you can call.

Thank you, lena Hidalgo.

If you see anyone Not doing word right, by my order, you can turn them in.

Cultures are offended with each other.

People are offended with each other.

They take offense.

You know offense is something that you have to pick up and take.

There's offense laying on there on the ground and you have an opportunity to take it or leave it.

And people are taking offense and it says many will be offended and will betray one another and will hate one another.

We're in that time right now and there are many false prophets who will rise up and deceive many.

Let me give you an example of false teachers and false prophets Churches that say it's time we have unity.

We need to be unified as a nation, we need to come together and accept that Joe Biden is our new president and Kamala Harris is our vice president and we need to have a peaceful transition from this administration into communism.

That is a false teaching.

They have the wrong perspective and there are many churches that are deceiving their congregations with that and there's a stark warning for churches like that and because the lawless one will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

How much more lawlessness do you see in our nation today?

I'm offended, so I'm going to go burn businesses down.

I'm going to steal big screen TVs, I'm going to destroy automobiles.

I'm going to beat people on the street because I'm offended and I'm entitled to do whatever I want.

Because I'm offended and because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold.

It's getting hard to love people when they're so extraordinarily lawless and evil.

But Jesus said there's still the precious fruit of the earth and we're to love them.

But they hate us.

Don't be deceived.

They hate us, they hate the church.

But he who endures to the end shall be saved, and this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all nations, and then the end will come.

So we're going to have more opportunity to preach this gospel to the nations and then the end will come.

We're getting so close.

I know it's getting dark out there, but that's not all bad, because Jesus said I'm going to come like a thief in the night.

Jesus had compassion on people.

He loved people and he loves the people that are destroying stuff.

He loves people in this nation that are breaking in and setting things on fire and having a tantrum, people who are offended at every little thing.

Jesus loves them and, just like these churches who got it wrong, every one of these people have an opportunity to change their classification from tear to wheat.

They don't have to be burned.

All through Jesus' ministry, he expressed emotions.

He was joyous, he had the oil of gladness far above his brothers.

He expressed anger.

He got mad when they turned his father's house into a den of thieves.

He took time sitting there stewing while he's braiding a whip and walked in there quietly and starts kicking over their tables and beating people.

Let's remember the whole picture of who Jesus is.

He is not a wimp, he is not a pushover.

He is not a passive, compliant person.

Are you for me or for my enemies?

No, I'm the Lord of the armies of heaven.

So all the way through his ministry, he was driven by the love of his father and the compassion for all of humanity.

And there is a great divide in this nation and you see this nation being divided, and so when you hear voices saying we need to unify, that is not the right message, that is the wrong voice.

There is no unifying in the world in the end time God said I'm dividing it, I'm separating, I am not unifying with the devil.

When you hear your elected representative saying it's time to reach across the aisle, you tell them no, do not reach across the aisle.

Agree with, negotiate with or shake hands with the devil.

God is dividing the good from the evil.

There is two categories, good and evil, and he is separating it out.

And they need to hear our voice.

We are called to be salt and light.

We're called to be influencers.

We're called to influence our government and influence those who we install in governmental positions.

We don't put them there and walk away from them, but we influence them and help them to do right.

Do not let them reach across the aisle.

Give them a stark warning.

We do not negotiate with the devil.

We are not here to unify.

We are here to be a restraining force against the antichrist spirit that is at work in the world today.

We are here to get in the way and stay in the way.

Jesus said do not think that I came to bring peace on earth.

I didn't come to bring peace.

I came to bring a sword, for I have come to set man against father and daughter, against mother and daughter in law against her mother in law.

That does not sound very nice, but it is righteous and it is good.

Jesus is not afraid to offend.

He is not afraid to be offensive to people when they're on the wrong side.

Get behind me, satan, you den of vipers.

You're of your father, the devil.

Get those words in your mouth.

You need to be someone who has all outspokenness and be able to answer evil with God's word.

If that makes you cringe and shy and fawn and turn away and think I don't like confrontation, then you won't like Jesus, because he is very confrontational.

And so if we've got Jesus, the spirit of Jesus through the Holy Spirit, on the inside of us, oh God, grant with all boldness that we may speak.

Don't worry about what you're going to carry, the provisions you're going to have or what you're going to say when you get there.

Just go and be ready, and when you get there I'll put my words in your mouth and you better speak it with the boldness that I give you.

That's what he wants us to do in these end times.

We are called to answer evil with God's word.

Jesus was rejected from the start of his ministry and he got up and he read where he found what was written about himself in Luke, chapter four, found where it was written about himself the Spirit of the Lord is upon me because he's anointed me, he said, and he starts to describe what he's anointed to do, and he sits down in the seat of the Messiah, and they were ready to stone him.

That was how he started his ministry, with people who hated him and were ready to kill him.

And so think no different of ourselves.

He was rejected from the start, in Isaiah, chapter 53, who has believed our report and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

Isaiah 53 · chapter mention

For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form and comeliness, and when we see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.

He's been despised and rejected by men, men of sorrows and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from him.

He was despised and we did not esteem him.

Surely, he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him, strickened, smitten by God and afflicted.

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.

The chastisement of our peace was upon him and by his stripes.

We were healed.

We are healed, but he started out not being liked, and so we're not here to be liked, we're here to be the overcomers, and we're not to do that without compassion.

Jesus had compassion.

I keep coming back to that compassion, the flame of fire in his eyes, the compassion, the comfort that that provides to people who love him and the terror to people who hate him.

You're going to be a terror to people who hate you, but you're going to be a peace and a comfort to people who are ready to come in.

Jesus shouted if anyone thirsts, let him come unto me and drink.

And he who believes in me, he said out of his heart, he's talking about the Holy Spirit.

Now, when you're filled with the Holy Spirit, rivers of living water will flow out of you and you'll be a refreshing to people and people will come to you.

Jesus fed people.

He fed the 5,000.

When he came out, he saw the great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because he saw them as sheep not having a shepherd.

So he began to teach them many things.

There is a multitude of people out there who have no shepherd.

They may have a shepherd, but they're going the wrong way.

They're being led astray, and that hot, dry wind is coming through those churches and people are leaving those churches.

Why is my church closed?

Why is my church closing up again?

There are other churches that are open.

Why won't my church say anything about politics?

Why is my church more concerned about their 501c3 letter from the IRS than speaking the truth?

Why does my church act so fearfully and won't speak out boldly on these various issues?

They don't want to offend anyone.

People are leaving those churches and they're going to come to churches like this one who are unashamed and unafraid, and when they come, will they find water?

And so each one of you is a supply of water Out of your belly.

Rivers of living water will come out and refresh and nourish and heal people that come in here.

It is not the job of the pastor to heal the multitudes when they come in here.

There's so many things that we hear on a regular basis and we take for granted.

Your level of biblical knowledge is going to be much higher than some of the people that come in here from dead churches, from compromising churches, from lukewarm churches.

Your level of knowledge is so much higher and you're going to have to help these people along?

Are rivers going to come out of you?

Are you going to be available to help these that come in here?

When pastor is up here and he appears angry and he has a righteous anger against what's going on in the world today and people see that, well gosh, your pastor sure is mad.

Why isn't he more kind to people?

Why did he say our county judge is stupid?

Then you're going to have to help and say, well, because she is.

And let me tell you why.

And you're going to have to help people along.

Every one of you are a believer and there's a believer's ministry and it's far greater than a pastor's ministry.

The pastor is here to train up and raise and equip you for the work of the believer's ministry and you're going to have to help people come along and you're going to have to have that compassion and that passion for what's right and that righteous anger when it's time to not put up with stuff.

Are you going to be stifled in public?

It's up to you to decide what you want to do.

But when I walk into a store, I do not wear a mask.

I don't do it.

I walk in If they are bold enough to question me about it.

Sir, do you have a mask?

No, I do not.

Would you like one?

No, thank you.

And I keep walking.

Most people are too cowardly to engage in the confrontation beyond that point.

I found it very strange to walk through the grocery store not wearing a mask and me feel like I'm doing something wrong.

I'm over that feeling.

I engage people, I look them in the eye, I smile at them and I don't have a mask.

If they want to stare at me, I stare at them until they look away.

It sounds kind of funny, a little bit confrontational, like I'm kind of pushing stuff, but I'm not bending to the evil in this world.

I will not bend to it.

If they ask me to leave, I leave.

It's their right, their house, their rules, and they can ask you to leave and I don't have to spend my money there.

And so I encourage you to take a stand, take a bold stand.

If you're a business owner and somebody tells you you have to be closed because your business is not safe, it's not safe for you to operate your business during these times, oh okay, I'll close up, I'll go ahead and bleed out the last bit in my account until I have no business until I have nothing left, or you say no, I'm going to stay open, come and take it and they might bleed you out that way.

But either way, you have an option to stand for righteousness and trust God or bend to evil and bleed out.

I think I'll stand for righteousness and trust God.

This is my promised land.

We have rights and I'm not gonna give up on them and I'm gonna stay open.

This church is gonna stay open.

We're not closing up.

Other churches need to open up and we're gonna help them open up.

You need to take a stand and not repeat the lie that's going on in the world right now.

Jesus healed people and he did it publicly.

You need to be bold enough to stand wherever you are and put your hand on somebody and minister healing to people wherever they are.

They need it.

When people come to you, they will find rivers of living water.

Let Christ's compassion come out in you.

It's part of the job of the overcoming church.

We'll be hated for his name's sake.

There's persecution available, but we who overcome won't have to go through those kinds of trials.

There's relief for us when we're the overcoming church, to let that compassion be your driving force, let it well up on the inside of you.

A lot of times that's the indication from the Holy Ghost that he wants you to do something.

When you feel compassion towards somebody and you don't even know what to do, just be willing and start going that direction.

Don't worry about what you're gonna say.

God's words will come out of your mouth if you'll let it.

He said I'll give you the words to say when you get there.

You know, compassion also comes to the defense of others.

Compassion protects people and I'll give you an example.

I've mentioned this one before, but remember First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs when that gunman came in there and shot.

He killed 26 people and injured about 20 others in there.

Oh, there is a man Stephen Williford is his name, he's a former NRA instructor and he was home with his daughter when she came into the bedroom to tell him that she heard gunshots at the church, which is basically across the street and partway down the block, and he grabbed his rifle and loaded up a magazine and he kept hearing pop, pop, pop and he knew that every one of those pop sounds was another round going into another person and he had to get there as quick as he could.

And when he got there he took cover behind a pickup truck and he was able to shoot that gunman who was wearing a bulletproof vest, and he shot him between.

He was a good shot.

If you're gonna carry a weapon, be a good shot.

There's nothing in God's word that says that we have to be victims.

I encourage you to carry a weapon.

I do and I'm a good shot.

But Williford took that man's life and went and asked about it.

When asked about that, was he bothered by it?

Was there hate?

Were you angry when you shot him?

What drove you to shoot him?

He said I didn't shoot the gunman out of hate.

I shot him out of love, because I loved the people in that church, loved him too, but I couldn't save him.

I shot him out of love.

Another example I don't ever wanna forget these.

We ought not ever forget what our military does.

We ought not forget what our troops have gone through, what people have done so that we can have a free nation.

People have given their lives literally given their lives so that we can have the freedoms that we have today.

I'm not saying that we can have freedom in our lives so that we can have the freedoms that we have today and people are ready to give away their freedoms that someone died for in the name of safety.

And it's a false safety.

There's no safety in it and if you're gonna give away your freedom in the name of safety, you don't deserve either one of them.

On December 4th 2006, 19-year-old Army Private First Class Dennis was patrolling a neighborhood in Baghdad.

He's a Humvee gunner.

That means he sits up in the hole in the top of the Humvee where there's a gun on top and he's operating that weapon.

And they were going through a neighborhood when an enemy fired through a grenade into the vehicle right down the hole that he's standing in from a rooftop above, dropped a grenade right in there and he had time to bail out of that vehicle before that grenade went off but he didn't do it.

There's a strap that runs right behind his back that he kinda leans back on and sits and it supports his weight while he's behind that weapon.

And he had a choice to make to bail out and he made the conscious choice to unstrap that strap and fall backwards onto that grenade and cover that grenade and he gave his life and four others were saved because he gave his life.

He just unclipped and laid back and gave his life.

Jesus did the same thing.

He just laid back and gave his life.

He said I'm the good shepherd, and a good shepherd gives his life for his sheep.

No one takes it from me, but I lay it down myself.

That's what Jesus did.

He fell on that live grenade so that we could live.

How many things has Jesus bought and paid for?

He gave his life for us so that we could have some stuff, so that we could have some rights, so that we could have some privileges, so that we could have the family name, so that we could have a certain standing.

And he gave that to us.

And how many churches give up that standing, give up those rights, give up those privileges, give up that position?

Jesus paid for that.

He said I gave my life so that you can have that and you're giving it away.

You're a church without purpose God help them.

A church that'll give up their position in Christ that doesn't.

They're so caught up in the religious rituals that they won't come out of that, that they won't see what the blood of Jesus bought and paid for.

We have a covenant with him and we're in covenant with our troops that give their lives.

We're in covenant with Ross McGinnis, who unstrapped and laid back on that grenade so that others would live.

He gave his life for this country.

He gave his life for our freedoms, to protect and defend what we hold dear and so many people don't hold it dear anymore.

They said what he did well, that's great, and he got a medal for it.

We'll give him a medal to pin on his dead chest when we bury him.

But we're gonna give up our rights and our freedoms to operate our businesses, to be open.

We're gonna give up our rights and our freedoms to speak freely on social media platforms and have it censored and shut down.

We're gonna give up our rights to be hired by somebody because of what we've said on social media.

We're gonna give up our rights to have God in schools, to have God in our government, to have in God we trust printed on our currency.

We're gonna give up those rights.

We'll pin a medal on his dead chest and say thank you for your service.

We're gonna give up what you just paid for.

It ought not be so.

We need to be the overcoming church.

The overcoming church is not one that will lay down and take it anymore.

The overcoming church has been called to arise and shine.

Your light has come.

It's a command, not a choice.

The Lord of the armies of heaven demands it Arise and shine, get up and shine.

Get up and wake up other churches, wake up other people.

Wake up your families.

If they'll hear you, great if they don't move on.

Don't waste your time If they won't listen to you.

That's a hard choice you're gonna have to make with your friends and family and coworkers.

But he didn't come to bring peace.

He came to bring a sword that's gonna divide mother and father and son and daughter and family.

The tears have come up and the wheat is precious and the tears will be bundled and burned and the wheat will be brought into his barn.

And we're watching it right now.

We're watching it happen right now.

I'm not willing to wait for another generation to rise up and occupy this promised land.

We are promised something by God and I'm not willing for our next generation to rise up and do it for me.

I'm not willing to die in the wilderness with a bad report.

The church needs to wake up.

What Jesus did he didn't do, so that we could have a minimal kind of a life.

He didn't do so that we could just barely get by to eat, by, to hopefully go unnoticed by the enemy.

Hopefully he doesn't take too many shots at us.

Maybe we can just squeak by and stay hidden all the rest of our life.

Now, what he did, he did so that we could have an abundance, so that we could super abound, so that we could be a light, so that we could be attractive to other people, so people could question and wonder why is it during this time of famine and pestilence that your business is thriving?

Well, because I didn't close.

How are you able to stay open?

I didn't close.

Weren't you listening?

I was unwilling to give up what our soldiers have paid for.

I was unwilling to give up what Jesus said I could have.

He said I can have it and you can't take it from me.

You need to have that kind of boldness.

The day and age we're in requires it.

We cannot be feeding on the wrong source.

If you're listening to news sources of any type out there, be very wary what you're hearing.

There's very few that will report anything true.

You'll have levels of truth mixed with levels of lie and you'll have to discern between all of that and the best thing you can do is turn that off and find an alternative news source.

Don't listen to it anymore.

If you have to be on social media, find an alternative version of it.

Unplug.

Disconnect from the God of this world.

If you're not plugged into him, he cannot influence you.

There's no time to get this wrong, no time.

Revelation 12,.

I'm gonna close with this.

This is the short version of our story.

In verse one it says Now a great sign appeared in the heaven, a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and on her head a garland of 12 stars.

Then, being with child, she cried out in labor and in pain to give birth.

And another sign appeared in the heaven behold a great, fiery red dragon having seven heads and 10 horns and seven mediums on his head and his tail drew a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to earth.

And the dragon stood before the woman who was ready to give birth, to devour her child as soon as it was born.

That's the story of Jesus coming into this earth, god's plan for redemption, for salvation, god's plan to return the authority and dominion back to us.

And the devil was so afraid he had to come looking.

He was ready to devour that child and she bore the male child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron.

There it is again, and her child was caught up to God and his throne.

And the woman fled into the wilderness where she has a place prepared by God that they should feed her there.

1,260 days, remember.

They fled to Egypt and hid out, and war broke out in heaven and Michael and his angels fought with the dragon.

And the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail.

Nor was there a place found for them in heaven any longer.

So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old called devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world.

He was cast to earth and his angels were cast out with him.

Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of his Christ have come.

What Jesus did changed everything in that moment.

For the church that will receive it and do it.

For the accuser of our brethren, who has accused them before God day and night, has been cast down.

He cannot accuse us anymore.

He has no access to God anymore.

The blood of Jesus cries out to our innocence and pleads our case before God all day, all night.

He has no access to accuse us of anything.

The blood of Jesus has cleansed us and made us pure.

And then it says and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony, and they love not their lives until the death.

That's how we're gonna win this thing.

That's how we're gonna be the overcoming church.

We're gonna be the overcoming church because we take advantage of the blood of the lamb.

We live by the covenant of the blood of the lamb.

We apply the blood of the lamb on the door posts of our home in our threshold.

We have a threshold covenant that when that blood was dripped into that threshold, god stepped over onto our side and he said I'll protect this house and we are more than conquerors in Christ.

We are the overcoming church if we'll endure to the end.

And we overcame him by the blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony.

What does your testimony say?

What do you tell in others?

How are you helping other people know what you know and be able to do what you do?

It's imperative that we do it and not quit.