Romans 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
In order to live like a conqueror, a person will have to think like a conqueror, for as a man thinks in his heart, so is he. Our thought processes, and specific perspectives we cultivate have a lot to do with our success or failure. Thus, a bright, positive outlook on life is critically important to achieving all that God desires us to become.
A morose, skeptical or even cynical outlook will bear fruit of its own kind, because our thoughts and our attitudes generally tend to affect the outcomes for either good or for evil. This is not to say that we are to make light of the challenges and temptations that may come our way.
We are to take them very seriously, yet we shouldn’t be overwhelmed by them, for if we have built upon The Rock, winds may blow and the floods may come and, yes, the waves of despair may beat upon that house, but according to Christ, it will not fall, for it was built upon a Rock.
Challenges, hurdles, difficulties and adversities must be acknowledged as the raw facts on the ground; however, we are not to stop there and grovel, but we are to place our complete faith and confidence in God’s Omnipotence, and this would make all the difference in the way that adverse situations would generally turn out.
This is what Christ knew, which the twelve disciples apparently did not know, when the storm on the sea of Galilee came sweeping down upon them, out of nowhere, and threatening to sink the ship, in which both they and Christ were sailing.
Experiences like these may seem to occur out of the blue, with the capricious forces of nature at work in an arbitrary manner. But this is not necessarily the case in every situation, because, if we were to step into satan’s shoes for a moment, we may see things differently from his perspective.
Here you have the Messiah, who has come to earth to obliterate your kingdom, and he is rescuing folks by the hundreds and thousands from captivity. And now you have Him, and His disciples all in one boat, at night on the lake all by themselves.
That boat would obviously be a prime target, to try and finish them off in one stroke, or as they say, to kill two birds with one stone. But throughout that ordeal Christ continues to sleep undisturbedly, even as the ship rocks violently back and forth, and waves overflow the vessel.
Christ was sleeping like a conqueror, for whatsoever might eventuate, His life, as well as all of those who trust in God, are under God’s direct jurisdiction and supervision, and because of this, whatsoever devils may throw at Christ, will be seen as an opportunity for another victory. Let’s read:
Mark 4: 37 And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full.
38 And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish?
39 And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.
In other words, whatever we do must be mixed with faith in order to live and think like a conqueror. This was the main problem with the Hebrews; it was not the devil, for in many of their various experiences, a recurring theme of a lack of faith surfaces from time to time.
The Psalmist, David as well as Paul, refer to this as being the real problem why defeat and failure often overtook them. Even though the devil will do what he has to do, he is not really the problem, for Christ has conquered him in our behalf already, and thus, the ball is squarely in our court, to either believe and be victorious, or to doubt and be vanquished.
Persons may often quote that oft repeated phrase: “The devil made me do it” but with the Christian, a saying like that isn’t nearly true. In fact, the phrase itself was actually inspired by satan, for he loves to have persons believe that he is all powerful and that they have no choice in the matter.
If as Christians, the devil could force us to do certain things or bring arbitrary adversities upon us without first getting permission from God, or if he can force us to make decisions against our own will then, we would be defenseless, and would be mere pawns in a game of chicken.
When the legion of devils which had haunted the demoniac man for years, were commanded to leave the man by Christ, they had to ask His permission to go into the herd of swine. If they could have done so without Christ’s permission, they would have done so, but the experience, shows us without any doubt, that God is always in control.
The devil can tempt and annoy, he could solicit, and heckle, he can when permitted, bring adversity of all kinds, but in all and throughout it all, the Christian’s freedom to choose always remains free, clear, and intact at all times.
In addition to this fact is the assurance that God is closely monitoring your situation, to make certain that devils do not overstep their bounds. It all has to do with thinking and living like a conqueror.
If the devil can “Make us do it” then it will be that we have no choice but to sin, and if this be the case, then the whole plan of salvation was a failure, since the Bible specifically says that Christ came to save His people from their sins, and also to rescue folks from satanic tyranny.
The fact of the matter is that with the Christian, God has set boundaries which cannot be crossed, either by men or devils, and whenever a study of this issue is done from a scriptural perspective a very sobering truth will be discovered, that the Bible doesn’t point to satan as the real problem.
This may have been the case in bygone years when persons were not surrendered to God, but now that Christ has died on the cross, and has paid the entire penalty for all of our sins, the devil is no longer the problem.
He can cause problems, but the real problem is with the particular individual in question, and the use of his/ her freedom of choice to do either good or evil, or to believe or doubt as that case might be. That is, and has always been the real problem.
Thus, as far as the human agent is concerned, our faith in God or a lack thereof becomes the ultimate determining factor in whether we would live like a conqueror, or whether we will buckle under a heavy load. Let’s read:
Hebrews 4:2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.
Psalms 78: 22 Because they believed not in God, and trusted not in his salvation.
11 And forgot his works, and his wonders that he had shewed them.
41 Yea, they turned back and tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel.
42 They remembered not his hand, nor the day when he delivered them from the enemy.
[The Desire of Ages pp 125] While Satan can solicit, he cannot compel to sin. He said to Jesus, “Cast Thyself down,” knowing that he could not cast Him down; for God would interpose to deliver Him. Nor could Satan force Jesus to cast Himself down.
Unless Christ should consent to temptation, He could not be overcome. Not all the power of earth or hell could force Him in the slightest degree to depart from the will of His Father.
The tempter can never compel us to do evil. He cannot control minds unless they are yielded to his control. The will must consent, faith must let go its hold upon Christ, before Satan can exercise his power upon us. But every sinful desire we cherish affords him a foothold.
There are certain established facts, written in the scripture about the way in which God deals with us, which should be indelibly etched into the Christian’s conscience.
We refer to these facts as the fundamentals of faith in God which are to form the very bedrock of all our experiences, because they would produce fortitude, bravery, resilience, discipline, strength and tenacity, all of which are vital characteristics of a conqueror.
We should never allow the temptations that come our way to bulldoze us into a dark corner, for with Christ in the heart by faith we can stand tall and sing songs of triumph even as darkness may be looming on the horizon. Always remember that the evening and the morning were the first day, and therefore, if it is evening now in our experiences, the morning would be coming in like clockwork, because it is a cycle, set in stone by The God of heaven.
Thus, the following are some of the fundamentals of Faith that the Christian must grasp, understand, and never ever forget.
[1] God does not send persons into battle without first guaranteeing victory. The rules of engagement are to be followed, as instructed by God, and if they are, the person or nation in question will come out as a conqueror. This is absolutely the case, without any room for error, exception, failure, ifs, ands, buts, maybes, or any other outcome. Let’s read:
Numbers 33: 52 Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:
53 And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.
Deuteronomy 2: 24 Rise ye up, take your journey, and pass over the river Arnon: behold, I have given into thine hand Sihon the Amorite, king of Heshbon, and his land: begin to possess it, and contend with him in battle.
Joshua 8:1 And the Lord said unto Joshua, Fear not, neither be thou dismayed: take all the people of war with thee, and arise, go up to Ai: see, I have given into thy hand the king of Ai, and his people, and his city, and his land.
Joshua 6:2 And the Lord said unto Joshua, See, I have given into thine hand Jericho, and the king thereof, and the mighty men of valor.
Here come the rules of engagement which we spoke of earlier. If these are followed exactly as God says, there is absolutely no other outcome that can take place other than total victory. The Hebrews would be conquerors, whatever devils may, or may not do. Hence the reason why we must reiterate, that the devil is hardly ever the real problem.
If as instructed, the Hebrews would march around the city of Jericho each day for six days, and on the seventh day they were to march seven times as God commanded them to, there isn’t any other possible outcome, but to conquer, period. Let’s read:
Joshua 6:3 And ye shall compass the city, all ye men of war, and go round about the city once. Thus, you shall do six days.
4 And seven priests shall bear before the ark seven trumpets of rams' horns: and the seventh day ye shall compass the city seven times, and the priests shall blow with the trumpets.
5 And it shall come to pass, that when they make a long blast with the ram's horn, and when ye hear the sound of the trumpet, all the people shall shout with a great shout; and the wall of the city shall fall down flat, and the people shall ascend up every man straight before him.
20 So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
So, to set the record straight once and for all, let us rehearse the first fact: [1] God does not send persons into battle without first guaranteeing victory. The rules of engagement must be followed, as instructed by God, and if they are, the person or nation in question will come out as the victor. This is absolutely the case without any room for error on God’s part.
[2] God does not give a Christian more than he/ she can bear. This fact also is a guarantee and therefore, is to be incorporated into our understanding of how stuff works, in the spiritual realm.
If you’re currently going through the wringer, where the heat of the furnace has been turned up several notches, you can absolutely bear it because God has set boundaries for temptations, and He commands, to evil men and demons, thus far, and no further. Let’s read:
1st Corinthians 10:13 There has no temptation taken you but such as is common to man, but God is faithful who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.
That way of escape does not only apply to spiritual things; it is a principle that is embedded throughout nature, for every animal living on planet earth, has been given a way of escape by God.
Some use speed, others use camouflage, some use force, while others find strength in their numbers, but every creature, without an exception, has been given a way of escape by God.
For instance, there’s a certain desert dwelling spider that is frequently attacked by a particular wasp, and, because of this known threat to itself, the spider has to live under the desert sands, only venturing out to find its food.
Its nemesis the wasp, knows this and patiently waits for it to surface, and then it pounces on the spider, thereby setting of a deadly battle for survival on the part of the spider. But, that wasp is known to have much better reflexes than the spider, and therefore, when the going gets tough, the spider gets going.
It does this by curling its body up into a wheel, and begins an epic, and frantic journey across the sand dunes cart-wheeling at forty revolutions per second, much to the chagrin of the wasp, and so, the spider is able to use the way of escape God has provided for it.
With the Christian our only way of escape is through Christ for we cannot like the spider, cart wheel away from our arch nemesis. All we can do is to flee into our Refuge, where we are safe from spiritual wasps that may seek to do us in.
To live and think like a conqueror therefore means that we must understand that in all things, Christ is our Refuge, and our only way of escape. Therefore, the following excerpts constitute mandatory reading for all who would live and think like a conqueror. Let’s read:
[Messages To Young People pp 53] If Satan sees he is in danger of losing one soul, he will exert himself to the utmost to keep that one.
And when the individual is aroused to his danger, and, with distress and fervor, looks to Jesus for strength, Satan fears he shall lose a captive, and he calls a re-enforcement of his angels to hedge in the poor soul, and form a wall of darkness around him, that heaven's light may not reach him.
But, if the one in danger perseveres, and in helplessness and weakness casts himself upon the merits of the blood of Christ, Jesus listens to the earnest prayer of faith, and sends a reinforcement of those angels which excel in strength to deliver him.
Satan cannot endure to have his powerful rival appealed to, for he fears and trembles before Christ's strength and majesty. At the sound of fervent prayer, Satan's whole host trembles.... And when angels, all-powerful, clothed with the armory of heaven, come to the help of the fainting, pursued soul, Satan and his host fall back, well knowing that their battle is lost.
Thus, we must reiterate the second sobering fact: [2] God does not give a Christian more than he/ she can bear. This fact also is a guarantee and therefore, it has to be incorporated into our understanding of how stuff works, in the spiritual realm.
[3] The person who desires to live and think like a conqueror must always be forward looking, because everything on this planet with all of life’s vicissitudes must be interpreted, and understood in the context of the great hereafter.
This third point of constantly looking forward puts in a correct perspective, any and everything devils may throw at persons. This outlook on life can prevent a host of unnecessary problems and worry, including depression, suicidal thoughts, revenge, arguments, family feuds over real estate, and living a life that is being controlled and dictated by mean green.
Abraham was a forward looking person, because in all that transpired in his life experiences, the fact of the great hereafter figured very prominently into his thinking, and thus, he was able to surmount many of the challenges, temptations, and trials he faced, and he was able to live aloof of many issues some of us lose sleep over.
For instance, when an issue arose between himself and Lot, over real estate, Abraham quickly diffused the situation by “looking forward”. He understood that whatsoever persons have, or don’t have would eventually burn, and therefore such things are not worth fighting over, and thus he deferred to Lot in the matter and the rest is history. Let’s read:
Hebrews 11: 8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
14 For they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country.
16 But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city.
The three Hebrew boys in ancient Babylon were also forward looking persons, for everything that happened to them, whether it was good, evil, or in between was interpreted in the context of the great hereafter. Thus, when Nebuchadnezzar threatened to burn the house down, they were not fazed in the least, for their understanding and perspective on life was that they are conquerors, whether they lived or died.
This is what drove them to utter those now famous words, that have echoed and reechoed throughout the ages. It was that forward looking perspective on life which kept Daniel from fussing, and cussing and fighting, when he was being thrown into the den of lions.
In other words, if those lions ate him, it really would not matter, and if God delivered him, it would not really change the dynamic, because, any which way, he understood that he was safe in the arms Jesus, whether he lived or died. Let’s read:
Daniel 3: 16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
17 If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
18 But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
Job also was a person who lived and thought like a conqueror, for even though the rains descended, or the floods came and the winds blew with relentless fury upon Job, he did not cave, just as Christ stated. Jesus states unequivocally, that Christians who will remain anchored in Him will not buckle even when severely tested. Let’s read:
Matthew 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
25 And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Job also cultivated that forward looking mentality, and it is that specific perspective that kept him in the midst of very deep trouble. As he lay on his bed licking his wounds he remembers that in the bigger picture, it will have a good end.
And thus, instead of wallowing in the mire of the here and now, his faith reaches forward, it pierces the future, and he is now strengthened to keep on pressing on. Let’s read:
Job 19: 25 For I know that my redeemer lives, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth:
26 And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God:
27 Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.
This leads us to the crux of our study, in which we must observe certain issues pertaining to thinking and living like a conqueror, in the episode between Saul, David, and Goliath. At that time, Goliath posed a significant threat to the children of Israel, and Saul was lost for answers on how to address the problem because he left God out of the picture as he often did.
David however, faced the same threat, but he did so from the perspective of a conqueror, for he did not assess the situation without the God factor being “Mixed” into the equation. In fact, both David and Saul uttered words at this time, which warrant our attention. We will begin with Saul’s assessments. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 17: 33 And Saul said to David, you are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
On its face that is actually a true statement, because the odds would be stacked against David for obvious reasons. The mindset of a conqueror does not lead him/ her to dismiss any obvious risks or threats, as if they are not worth consideration.
We are warned in the scripture that the devil has come down to the inhabitants of this earth, having great wrath, knowing that he has but a short time. God did not inspire the prophet John to write those words so that persons would make a mockery of the threat, just because we believe in Jesus.
On the contrary, Christians are to take those threats very seriously, and its because of the gravity of the situation why the God factor presently becomes indispensable. However, one who thinks and lives like a conqueror will not be overwhelmed by the threat, because Christ is bigger and greater than any risk that may obtain.
Faith and presumption are often confused, because on the one hand, it may seem as if faith would drive one to do and dare, things that might seem illogical and unreasonable. On the other hand strictly logical modes of thought are often found to be diabolical enemies of faith, for they restrict the God factor to only that which is scientifically or humanly possible.
Thus, even though what Saul says to David is true, in and of itself, if David were to think like Saul, Goliath would have them all for lunch. A true conqueror will acknowledge his/ her limitations, while at the same time, leaving the window of opportunity wide open for God to do the seemingly impossible, as He went on to do with David. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 17:32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
37 David said moreover, The Lord that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the Lord be with thee.
In all of their wanderings, trials, and temptations, in the wilderness and beyond, the Bible states that too often, the assessments done by the Hebrews were not mixed with faith. Therefore, we who are living on the very threshold of eternity should learn from their mistakes, while we still can.
Whenever waves of despair sweep over our souls, and whenever temptations and trials, and difficulty pose significant and imminent threats, let us do like David, and take them seriously, but let us never ever allow ourselves to be overwhelmed by them, to the point where the God factor is excluded.
Leaving God out of the picture poses the utmost danger to the Christian, for it is not the devil that is the problem, it is the disposition to view his threats as being too difficult for God to intervene, in a way that would bring victory to the tempted soul.
Let us therefore dwell more on the power of God, and the mega promises He has given us, rather than on the risks and threats served up by devils, for if we do so, we will soon discover that whenever God is included into our reckoning, victory will not be a farfetched theory, held in merely philosophical lines, it will be a living reality in all of our life experiences.
We therefore end with two passages of scripture which should forever cement this sacred truth into our consciences, that we are more than conquerors through Him that loves us. Let’s read:
1st John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.
1st John 3: “For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.”
God bless!