October 1 | Overcomer
1 John 5:5, “Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
Disciples are called to be overcomers, more than conquerors and a terror to the spiritual forces of evil. However, many people in the church today are not living the life of a true disciple, instead they are trapped in their sins and in bondage to their own fears and failures. Because many Christians don’t know their identity in Christ and the power of His resurrection they are subjected to living a life of continual defeat.
While being called to forsake all, live a new life and serve Jesus they are trying to follow Him with their baggage and are unable to step out of their past into their future. Since many are struggling to live out their own purpose they can’t really impact other people’s lives because they can’t give people what they don’t have- freedom.
They may cry out for help, but sadly they’re unwilling to really let God change them so they get stuck in a cycle of defeat. God will not bless their mess. Like the gerbil in a wheel, they go round and round but never go forward no matter how much human effort they exert. As a result, they watch others get off the merry-go-round of defeat but they remain in the same place watching time pass by. Before they know it they have not just lost days or months but years of their life to the battle within.
Now be honest- have you ever felt like that? Are you on the gerbil wheel of defeat? Have you watched Jesus set others free, but time has passed by and you’re still fighting and losing the same battles? If this is you, Jesus has come today to set you free once and for all! Today’s passage promised that whoever believes Jesus is the Son of God overcomes the world.
Jesus came to give you an abundant life that is totally free from sin and despair (John 10:10). It’s not too good to be true; it’s true because God is too good to let you live defeated- faith in Jesus will change your life forever.
Now is the time to cry out to God and ask Him to deliver you from all the lies of the enemy! John wrote, “The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:8). Today is your day, this is your hour for every work of the devil to be destroyed in your life.
Lester Sumrall wrote, “Christ came to conquer this world, to snatch it out of the hands of the devil and save us from hell. When Jesus appeared to the apostle John on the Isle of Patmos, He proclaimed that the keys of death and hell were in His hand (Rev. 1:18). Just after His resurrection, He told His disciples, ‘All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth (Matt. 28:18).’” Therefore, there’s no devil in hell that can stop you when Jesus is on your side- all authority in heaven and on earth is His!
Declare with me, “Father, I believe Jesus died on the cross and rose again for my salvation and total deliverance. Set me free today from all my sins, fears and hurts [name and confess them one by one]. I believe you are with me now and I receive your overcoming victorious life. By faith in Jesus, I will never ever be the same again. Hallelujah and Amen!”
Reflection
If you are born again, do you believe Jesus has already made you an overcomer?
Action
- If you haven’t been born again, confess Jesus as the Lord of your life right now!
- Repent of any doubt that you may have that causes you to think Jesus hasn’t already set you free and destroyed every work of the devil.
- Read out loud 1 John 3:8 & 5:5 until you believe it!