Overcomers Will Reign In Christ - Part 2

In Matthew chapter 5, the end of the Sermon on the Mount, it says, verse 43, middle of the Sermon on the Mount, sorry. You've heard it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. So, what about a person who doesn't love his enemy, doesn't pray for those who persecute him? Does it mean the Lord meant that, well, even if you don't love your enemy and you don't pray for those who persecute you, you'll still be a son of your Father. These are just examples, I wanted to show you how many people have favorite verses when they want to understand something. If somebody were to come and ask, how can I be a son and a daughter of God? They won't go to 2 Corinthians 6, say, you've got to come out and be separate, don't touch the unclean thing. Or if somebody says, how can I be a son of God? They won't go to Matthew chapter 5 and say, you've got to love your enemies and bless those who curse you. We've got other verses which we go to. As I said, it all depends on what it means to receive. So, when we recognize that Satan himself quoted a scripture to Jesus to try and lead him astray, don't you think that it's possible that Satan could quote a scripture to lead us astray? And he has led millions of people astray by quoting one scripture and makes them understand it according to the dictionary meaning. There are millions of people today who think that believe means, well, I believe in the Lord Jesus just like I believe that the sun rises in the morning or something like that. And they believe that the devils fool them. But Jesus corrected it by saying, but it is also written. Don't just quote one verse, Satan. See what the other verse says. You put both together and you get the truth. So, when we put all the scriptures together, I've just shown you some of them, as to how to be a son of God, it means a lot more than just saying, Lord Jesus, come to my heart. And that's the reason why you have such a lot of shallow Christianity in the world today. And even in churches that start out so well, after a while, it becomes shallow. Because standards go down, as I said, on Sunday, everywhere. Standards go down. And that's because we're not taking all of scripture. Let's turn now to Matthew's Gospel, Chapter 28. I mentioned this too the other day, that there were two sides to the Great Commission. One was to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature. And God would confirm His word with signs following. The sick would be healed, demons would be cast out. And that happens even today. But then the other side of the Great Commission, just like the other side of a coin, is, here in Matthew 28, again going to all nations and now make disciples. And here there's no mention of miracles or any such thing. Here it is a question of teaching people obedience. Make disciples, and teach them to observe every single thing I commanded you. And if you do that, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Now, isn't it true that almost every Christian takes that verse, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age, and applies it to themselves, even if the rest of that verse is not true in their life. To whom did Jesus say, lo, I am with you always, to the end of the age? He said, if you decide in your life that you're going to go and make disciples, in every place you go, and you're going to teach them to obey everything I commanded you, then, I am with you always to the end of the age. I think a lot of believers don't experience the Lord's presence with them, because they don't fulfill the conditions. There are many, many examples of this. For example, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. It's not found in scripture. Scripture 1 John 1, 7 is, if we walk in the light, if God is in the light, then, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. So, dear brothers and sisters, be careful, that Satan doesn't fool us, by making us think we've got a promise, when we haven't fulfilled the condition. He who overcomes will inherit all things. And the devil says, oh no, you don't have to overcome. You'll still inherit all things. Remember what Jesus said, Satan is a liar, and the father of lies. And remember that he deceived our first parents, Adam and Eve, by telling them a lie. God had said, if you eat this fruit, you will die. In other words, you'll be cut off from me. And Satan said, oh no, you won't die. That's okay. Whether you eat it or don't eat it, it'll be the same. And they believed it. So, in the New Testament, we read in Romans 8, 13, if you live after the flesh, you will die. Talking to believers, if you live after the flesh, you'll die. And the devil says, oh no, you won't die. You'll be alright. And you know the number of believers, who would rather believe the devil, than believe God's word. Because, when you believe the devil, you can live as you like. And imagine, that everything is gonna be alright. Well, when you take God's word seriously, you'll find that there are warnings there. If we take those warnings seriously, we protect ourselves. I'll give you another example. In John's Gospel chapter 16, it says, John 16, the last verse, These things I have spoken to you, so that in me you may have peace. In the world, you'll have tribulation. What did Jesus say? In Him, we will have peace. But in the world, we'll have tribulation. Now today, when a preacher says, in the world, you'll have prosperity, they'd rather believe that. Jesus said, in the world, you'll have tribulation. Or, when a person says, in me, in Christ, you'll have prosperity, Jesus said, no, in me, you'll have peace. So, there are many verses like this, where, if we are not familiar, with scripture, and the word of God, we are going to be deceived. And I think of, what, when the rich man told, Abraham, please send Lazarus from paradise, to my brothers, so that they at least will repent, and don't come to hell. You know what Abraham said to the rich man? They've got the Bible. If they don't believe the Bible, they're not going to believe, even if someone goes back to them from heaven. That was his answer. They have the Bible. It's the last verse of Luke 16. So, I believe that's the word that comes to us. They have the Bible. If they don't read that, and if they don't believe what's written there, and they believe all the fanciful things that preachers tell them on television, or in books, or in sermons, they've got only themselves to blame. They have the Bible. And the Bible says, in the world you'll have tribulation. Why should you be surprised then, if you have tribulation? Because the world said, but at the same time, in the world, where there's tribulation, Jesus said, in Him, we will have peace. In the midst of all this tribulation, we have peace. Because we have a Father, who cares for us, who will not allow a hair of our head to be touched without His permission. That's why we have peace. But the tribulation will be there. That's not going to change.