Discovery Church of Ridge Meadows

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” ~Romans 8:37 NIV

In this verse in an amazing section of God’s WORD at the end of the 8th chapter in Paul’s New Testament letter to the early churches in Rome the apostle gives us a moniker for the Christian… “CONQUERORS”

The Greek term is “Hupernikao” which has only one real meaning which is unique for any word within the Greek of Paul’s world… and that is this…

“To be more than a conqueror, to gain a surpassing victory”

In this amazing verse Paul labels God’s people as “CONQUERORS”… as people who a “VICTORIOUS”! However, my experience personally and especially as a pastor to His people is simply this…many of us live LIFE as the DEFEATED and not as the VICTORIOUS!

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to ponder this in the series I have been teaching at Discovery and I have to admit that I am still in pondering mode today as I sit answering emails… and Facebook posts.

Paul tells us that “We are to live LIFE as OVERCOMERS not the DEFEATED” but do we really believe that? Does our relationship with Jesus really make that kind of difference in the average believer’s life?

Well… the sad reality that I have found throughout my time as a pastor over the past 11 years is for the average Christian this is a TRUTH that seems to elude most of us!  BUT that does not make this any less a TRUTH… just because we don’t live it out… or we don’t have enough belief or trust in something that the Bible discusses doesn’t make it any less true.

The TRUTH is… because we have been FORGIVEN… because we have BELIEVED… CONFESSED… and TRUSTED we have been given the same power that raised Christ and seated Him at the right hand of the Father in Heaven.  We have been given access to the power of the Holy Spirit to LEAD… GUIDE… and DIRECT our lives into the WILL and PURPOSES of God for our lives both individually... and especially collectively!  We have been blessed with the ability to CONQUEROR life’s challenges… difficulties… trials and testings in whatever form they may come in!

However... the biggest CHALLENGE is to TRUST that TRUTH when our situations and circumstances do not always represent that reality. And I think therein lies the biggest problem with EMBRACING this TRUTH that Paul and other writers of the scriptures discuss… and that is…

“TRUTH is not always represented in our SITUATIONS and CIRCUMSTANCES!”

You see… more often than not LIFE is not a mirror image of the TRUTH contained in the Bible. My experience and that of those I have been privileged to walk with as a pastor has shown me that often in LIFE many of us face very challenging circumstances and situations along the journey. And “IF” we let those events dictate our BELIEFS we can find ourselves in some very difficult places along the way.

The TRUTH is… Jesus taught… and the Bible teaches… that we will have CHALLENGES and not simply live perfect little lives!  Listen once again to the words of Jesus as He discusses the challenges that He would face at the Cross and that His disciples would face during that time and beyond…

“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” ~John 16:33 NIV

You know... Jesus was someone who faced incredible CHALLENGES and SITUATIONS… He did not live a perfect LIFE as many of us understand that reality during His time on this planet. BUT… through it all He understood the TRUTH that we have “VICTORY” in the long haul when we TRUST in the POWER of God to see us through!

You see… despite LIFE… despite what LIFE appears to be as it is reflected in our situations and circumstances… we have the POWER to OVERCOME… to live as OVERCOMERS in this world… as we TRUST in the TRUTH that is revealed in the writings of Paul and his friends that remind us that as God’s people we are to live VICTORIOUSLY as OVERCOMERS each day!

Learning more and more to TRUST…OBEY… and CLAIM… the TRUTH...

Rev Trev