OUR AUTHORITY IN JESUS For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world--our faith --- 1 John 5:4. More than ever we need to access the authority that Jesus Christ has given us and stand our ground by learning how to overcome this world and its god— “Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you” --- Luke 10:19. We mustn’t allow the devil to walk all over us. After all, our mandate is to trample him under our feet! By wisely exerting God’s authority we will prevail against the ever-increasing opposition that is rising up today against His kingdom!   ARISE AND SHINE!   Believers who not only know their authority in Christ, but who also whole-heartedly seek after the Lord and do not harden their hearts to the voice of the Holy Spirit, they will receive a mighty revelation about Jesus being the one in you who is greater than he who is in the world --- 1 Jn. 4:4. They will arise and shine for the cause of Christ! These are the ones who are learning how to overcome and take the enemy’s kingdom by storm. For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, looking for the one who will say: “Here I am! Send me” --- Is. 6:8. Will you be the one who will lay down your life, overcome the enemy and seek God’s face? Yet in order to overcome the enemy you may need some help in this process. So let’s look at three main keys that will teach you how to be an overcomer.   OVERCOME BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB   The first key in becoming an overcomer is to embrace the cross and the blood of the lamb— “And they overcame him by the blood of the lamb . . .” --- Rev. 12:11a. Without the blood of Jesus, which was shed for us on the cross, we would have remained as aliens to God. We would have been no better off than the people where Jesus was born: wretched sinners, in the commonwealth of Israel, slaves to the Levitical law and all its judgment. “that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ” --- Eph. 2:12, 13. By the blood of Christ we are made blameless and we stand as the spotless bride of Christ. The cross wiped out the requirements of the law and for all who believe in Jesus the enemy is defeated— “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. Having disarmed principalities and powers. He made a public spectacle of them triumphing over them in it” --- Col. 2:14-15. In Roman times, to make an open spectacle of the enemy meant that the defeated king would be humiliated by being forced to parade fully naked in front of his conquerors. Now think about this. Jesus not only disarmed every principality and power but He paraded them helpless and full of shame before all the host of heaven. Now that is a sight that I would have loved to see! So now that God no longer holds our sins against us because the accusations of the law have been silenced, we can come boldly before the throne of grace and seek His face --- Heb. 4:16. We can ascend the hill of the Lord --- Psalms 24:3–6 because the blood of Jesus gives us clean hands and it purifies our hearts. Notice what verses 6 says: “This is Jacob, the generation of those that seek Your face.” Jacob wrestled with God and wouldn’t give up until he received the blessing. Then God changed his name to Israel and he birthed an entire nation. That was the inheritance that His grandfather Abraham left for him in the spirit. He simply had to contend for it. Likewise, we also have a great inheritance but we must become like Israel (Jacob) and ascend the hill of the Lord and never give up until we receive it. With that fortitude – principalities, rulers of this age, and demons will all tremble when we come near them because the same spirit that raised Christ from the dead is alive in you and me --- Rom. 8:11. The devil knows that he only has a short time --- Rev. 12:12 and therefore he will try to inflict as much havoc as possible; yet only if we let him. The fact is he is a defeated foe because Jesus disarmed him when He died on the cross and was resurrected from the dead. Remember, the devil only has as much power as we give him, and the only weapon that Satan has now is his tongue. But if he can get us to believe his lying whispers and to doubt God or get into fear, then he will be able to take that small foothold and eventually turn it into a gaping hole. We need to be aware of his schemes and wield our authority to defeat him.   OVERCOME BY THE WORD OF YOUR TESTIMONY   The second key in becoming an overcomer is by testifying about Jesus. — “And they overcame him by . . . the word of their testimony . . .” --- Rev. 12:11. Every time you get a breakthrough, get healed, reap a harvest, etc., it can become a powerful tool. There is tremendous power in the spoken testimony of what Jesus has done for us, whether in our lives or in the Bible. The promises of God have to be spoken in order to be claimed because they are the testimony of Jesus. In the beginning God spoke and then it was so. (See Genesis Chapter One.) Similarly, we have to confess the promises of God. Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God --- Rom. 10:17. When we confess (aloud) the promises of God, they are heard, and that confession builds faith on the inside of the hearer. For instance, when I first got saved I had a hard time identifying with the fact that I was actually a child of God. So I would quote out loud Ephesians 1:4, 5 over and over again, sometimes for hours a day— **** “Just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will.” **** After practicing this repeatedly, suddenly it was as though that scripture lived inside of me and it became very powerful. Yet that would not have happened if I had not spoken the words over and over again, thereby receiving the revelation. And now every time the enemy tries to bring any sort of condemnation or any thoughts of rejection I can simply quote that same scripture and stand on that promise of sonship. Furthermore, the testimony of Jesus is not only about scripture spoken out loud, but it’s also about what God does in your life and in the lives of others. For example, when I feel spiritually dry I will immediately read a book or listen to a CD about the great things some of the past Generals like Smith Wigglesworth, John G. Lake, and Maria Woodworth-Etter have done for the kingdom. It really puts a holy jealousy on the inside of me for more of God and advancing His kingdom. Yes, there is just something so powerful about voicing the testimony of Jesus and reading about the lives of past Generals, but what’s more, both of these actions naturally go hand in hand with remembering God’s mercy and intervention. Remembering is so important. Just look at what happened to the Israelites. By forgetting what God had done for them the people wandered aimlessly in the wilderness. They would have been far better off if only they had remembered what life was really like back in Egypt and how God in His mercy heard their cry and sent Moses and Aaron to deliver them. By remembering God’s goodness and testifying about it we’ll have a steady continuous inflow of faith. And then we will never run dry—even when those difficult times come when it’s harder, because trials will surely come—but the testimony of Jesus will help us keep our feet firmly planted. Also, every time you open your Bible and read about what God has done for His people or all the prophetic encounters they have experienced, you can, by faith, receive an impartation by the spirit of prophecy that resides in the Word. Therefore, when you read the Word start to expect to receive a true heavenly impartation of what you are reading. For example if you want to start dreaming more or understand dream interpretation then study the book of Daniel. It’s full of supernatural displays and heavenly dreams and encounters.   OVERCOMING MEANS NOT LOVING YOUR LIFE   The third key in becoming an overcomer is not loving your life to the death— “. . . and they did not love their lives to the death” --- Rev. 12:11b. There are different kinds of “death.” One kind involves “dying to self.” I believe that Paul explained it the best way possible when he said: “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” --- Gal. 2:20. If we can get a true revelation that we died with Christ on the cross over two thousand years ago, all of our selfish ambition will be put to death and we will truly live for Christ to the fullest. Another kind of death involves something more than dying to self. It’s the strength to look any kind of persecution straight in the eye and never drop the truth of the kingdom; whether it’s ridicule from friends or it’s an extremist that wants to end your natural life. “. . . for they did not love and cling to life even when faced with death [holding their lives cheap till they had to die for their witnessing]” --- Rev. 12:11b, Amplified Bible. We need to be so in love with God that nothing matters but to do His will. This brings great joy to His heart. So how can we cultivate such a great love for God that we are recklessly abandoned to Him? That answer is simple. Just spend time with Him because when you draw near to God He will draw near to you --- James 4:8. There is nothing in the world that can compare to God’s love for you. Jesus said that the greatest love that anyone can have is to lay down one’s life for his friends --- John 15:13. Consider what this means . . . laying down your life for your friends because this truth also applies to laying down your life for the sake of the gospel. Now maybe you’re thinking that you’re not so sure if you can lay down your life for the gospel’s sake. That’s okay, because as you draw closer to God you won’t be able to resist the strong burning desire to “count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord” --- Phil 3:8. This is the place of surrender. And it’s in this place where you will receive more and more revelation about what it takes to be both an overcomer as well as a spiritual warrior.   OVERCOMING THE STRUGGLE INSIDE YOURSELF   Actually, in the spirit we can look like mighty warriors with all of our armor polished and weapons razor sharp. But we can also look anything but mighty, having all of our armor lying in a pile next to us as the battle rages on. Far better to be ready in full armor because God is calling every single one of us to the battle field! And He is calling every one of us to be an overcomer! As well, being an overcomer is more then just winning the battle for lost souls. It’s about winning the struggle that’s inside of every one of us, to overcome. It’s about ascending the hill of the Lord and taking the nations as our inheritance --- Psalms 2:8 because we are the Jacob generation --- Ps. 24:6. As we claim what is ours the gates and the everlasting doors will be lifted up and the King of Glory shall come in --- Psalms 24:7–10.   OVERCOMING WILL COST YOU EVERYTHING   Before closing I want to emphasize that the revelation of the blood of the Lamb, the testimony of Jesus and the importance of laying down our lives are becoming more and more needed each day. So don’t let your heart grow cold, but let it be ignited with the fire of the Spirit. After all, we will see nations be born again in one day --- Is. 66:8. Finally, just know that gaining the spirit of the overcomer, in the end, won’t cost you just a little something. It will cost you everything!

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