We begin a week that will reflect upon an event that will propel human history into one of most important events in history. The week that proceeded the crucifixion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus. We know this week as “Holy Week,” and this day would be the day we call “Palm Sunday.” On this particular Sunday, it was calm as they waved the palms, Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey and the people surrounding Him shouted, Hosanna. Matthew narrates a beautiful picture of prophecy and foreshadowing as He writes, Mat_21:9 And the crowds that went before him and that followed him were shouting, "Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!" As Jesus Christ pressed closer to the cross, His true nature become more realized by those that were astute to the Torah, those that were true students to the things of God would begin to realize this truly is Messiah. This is the one that will overcome sin, this is the one sent from God to lay down His life for you, and me.
Over the next few days, you and I will have a very rich opportunity to share our faith with people who might not otherwise give an ear to the gospel. People you might know that only come to church twice a year and this coming Easter may be one of them. It isn’t that their salvation is dependent on you inviting them to church, but it may open a door for them to hear about the Lord that overcome the world when He overcame death. This Easter Sermon will be entitled, “An Unshakable Trust.” I want our trust in Christ to be unshakable, and I know He has given us the ability to harbor an unshakable faith. How do I know this, because He sent the Holy Spirit to make sure we don’t get to far down the road. In theological terms, we might call this the “perseverance of the saints,” but I call it “I got your back,” despite yourself, the child of God, through Christ, and with the power of the Spirit, will never disperse out and away from the arm of the Lord. See, If Christ has overcome the world, if Christ is victorious in the world, then we are victors as well.
Today I want to share a message with you entitled, “The Conquering Christ,” When I think of Jesus I think of His sacrifice for me, but I also think of Jesus as the overcomer. Remember, we have been speaking about how Jesus told His disciples they would be persecuted for His name sake? A truth that Paul later elaborates on when he pens these words, Rom 8:36 As it is written, "For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered." Rom 8:37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Jesus is the ultimate conqueror or overcomer, so we overcome through Him as well. If you were to look up the word overcome in the dictionary you would find a number of different definitions for this verb.
- succeed in dealing with (a problem or difficulty): "she worked hard to overcome her paralyzing shyness"
- defeat (an opponent); prevail: "without firing a shot they overcame the guards" · [more]
- (of an emotion) overpower or overwhelm: "she was obviously overcome with excitement"
There is another and better way to see the verb “Overcome.” In the spiritual sense. When the word is used in the N.T., it always refers to a Spiritual victory. John reminds us again, 1Jn 5:4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. As if to say, “we, through Christ, keep on conquering the way of the world.” The victory over the world was, potentially, won when we believed in Jesus as the Christ, the Son of God. We overcome the world by being brought into union with Christ. Going into this holy week, I want to present to you, The Conquering Christ…
Extending from last weeks sermon, Jesus told them several things about himself and about sorrow. That like a mother that goes through the labor of having a child, it becomes joyful when that child arrives, so when you suffer and sorrow now, a day will come when you will have joy. Extending from last week… Jesus says, Joh 16:25 "I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. Joh 16:26 In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; Joh 16:27 for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.
You might not understand everything, and that’s ok, but joy is coming. Why? Because serve…
- The Conquering Christ Who Tests Our True Beliefs: You say you truly believe and trust that Christ brings you revelation and joy? You say you are an overcomer? Oh yea? Where is the fruit to that answer, where is the proof in the pudding, where is your orthopraxy in light of your orthodoxy. If we trust in Christ, why do we act so contrary so many times? This question is a question that Jesus asks His disciples because their actions didn’t line up with their profession. Let’s look, Joh 16:28 I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father."
- The Son was sent by the Father into the world for one purpose, to redeem mankind. Jesus explains to His disciples that He is leaving the world, but He isn’t leaving defeated, but He will ascend to the Father as victorious. As He reiterates a point He has made previously, He also is revealing the disciples motives to them. Notice what the disciples say, Joh 16:29 His disciples said, "Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Joh 16:30 Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God." Joh 16:31 Jesus answered them, "Do you now believe? That is the same question I would ask you, “do you believe?” Jesus is pushing their faith, for the same word is used to describe faith and believe. The disciples made mention that they “now know,” but in reality, they really didn’t get the fullness of Jesus’ words. Even though they said that Jesus “knew all things,” they didn’t literally mean it, it was like saying, “you speak of much knowledge and truth, you must be from God.” If they truly believed what Jesus said, they would have never of scattered when the guards came to arrest Jesus. They would have remembered that Jesus said they would be persecuted as well. Therefore, the words of Jesus reveals they really didn’t believe. A God that loves us will correct us, A good and loving God will strip away our walls we build up around our emotions and motives and expose them if indeed they are faulty. He will rip the roof of and expose our sinfulness and lack of belief. Why? Because he wants us to grow in our faith.
Orthopraxy (practice what you preach)
What we see in the disciples, when they were pressed with their true beliefs, is a failure to line up their beliefs and their practice. There is a simple formula or truth about right practice, ready? 1Jn_3:10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. For a Christian, growing in faith and knowledge of God, our actions and practice must be in line with our profession. I can go on and on about the meaning of hypocrisy and how many of us fall into being heavy or lightly seasoned hypocrites, but God will expose your unbelief and move you forward to a robust faith in Him.
- The Conquering Christ Who Demonstrates True Triumph: Joh 16:32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.
- Once Jesus pressed their true belief and faith, He dropped the bomb on them. “Behold, listen…in the future for you, you will run and abandon me.” Jesus uses the term coming that is in the Futuristic present middle indicative that just simply shows and demonstrates the absolute foreknowledge of Jesus. He says, you all will abandon me, you will go and hide in your homes, and leave me alone. A prophecy first given to Israel, now given about the true representation of Israel, Jesus Christ, Zec 13:7 "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who stands next to me," declares the LORD of hosts. "Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.
- Once the reality of these verses sink into the hearts and minds of the disciples, there is a truth that Jesus will not truly be alone. All the way up to when Jesus says, “My Father, why have you forsaken me.” One of the most horrendous and yet beautiful sounds ever to be echoed across Golgotha’s hill. In one sense, it was horrendous because the Son of God had to suffer and die because of our sinfulness, and yet beautiful in the same exact sense, because the Son suffered and died. But we know how the story ends don’t we. Listen, every one of us would have been like the disciples, we would have scattered too, but God doesn’t abandon us. We might abandon Him, in the way we worship, in the way we “pray.” In the way we study about Him. I don’t know about you, but I am not satisfied with little Christonese sayings, “The man upstairs has it.” What, do you have an older gentleman staying in an upstairs room at your house? If you talking about God, He is not only “upstairs,” He should be part of our whole life, tell me about Him, not some watered-down version of God. See, you might be sitting here this morning and say to yourself, “I will never move away from God,” but your Bible study has been reduced to a verse or two maybe once a week, and most of the time it’s used out of context. Or, your prayer life has been reduced to a pithy saying like, “Let go and let God.” Do you realize, God’s “” even if we don’t “let go.” We abandon God in the way we worship, when we are more worried about presentation than we are substance. We have abandoned our Lord over and over again. So…These are ways we identify with the disciples but, there is hope. Joh 16:33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world."
- The “yet” is loaded with hope and victory. Jesus said, He reveals these truths to you so you may have peace. Repeatedly, in church history, disciples of the Lord Jesus have been pressured by the enemy to pack up camp and retreat, but we serve a risen and victorious Lord.
The kind of peace I want, is the kind of peace that understands, whatever happens, Christ has me, “for my savior loves me so, He will hold me fast,” He will hold me to truth. A few years after these words, many of the Jesus followers will be put to death for their faith. In ancient Rome, crowds by the tens of thousands would gather in the Coliseum to watch as Christians were torn apart by wild animals. One spectator, who was a Christ follower said, “I stood uncovered to the heavens above, where He sits for whom they gladly died, and asked myself, ‘Would I, could I, die for Him tonight to get this gospel to the ends of the earth?’” Rader continued, “I prayed most fervently in that Roman arena for the spirit of a martyr, and for the working of the Holy Spirit in my heart, as He worked in Paul’s heart when He brought him on his handcuffed way to Rome.” Those early Christians “lived on the threshold of heaven, within a heartbeat of home, no possessions to hold them back.” What is holding you back from selling out completely to Him. Is Jesus the true conquering Christ, if so, why do you live in defeat. Jesus said, take heart, I have overcome the world. One this day, where we begin Holy week, Jesus came riding in on a donkey in humility, but the next time, he will come as the realized ruler of all the cosmos. Jesus owns it all, the world just doesn’t realize it yet.
- Genghis Khan (1162-1227), 4,860,000
- Alexander the Great (356-323 B.C.) 2,180,000
- Cyrus the Great (600-529 B.C.), 2,090,000
- Attila (406-453), 1,450,000
- Adolf Hitler (1889-1945), 1,370,000, all of which he lost in 3 years
- Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) 720,000
- Hernando Cortes (1485-1547), 315,000
“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!” Abraham Kuyper
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