The Overcoming Life is the Abundant Life

Christians , those of us born from Heaven, born of the washing and regeneration and renewal by the Holy Spirit, we are placed in a distinct realm called the overcoming life. It is the life that Jesus says, in the world you shall have tribulation, trouble and frustrations but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. GOD declares I have deprived the world of its ability no matter the circumstances to harm you.


John 16:33
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]

The overcoming life is also described as the abundant life. The abundant life is not a bigger house or a nicer car or even elaborate vacations . Abundant life is the life that breaks forth: through trail difficulties , distresses:

This is abundant life:

Matt 7:14
But the gate is narrow (contracted by pressure) and the way is straitened and compressed that leads away to life, and few are those who find it.

And this :


Rom 8:35
Who shall ever separate us from Christ's love? Shall suffering and affliction and tribulation? Or calamity and distress? Or persecution or hunger or destitution or peril or sword?


Rom 8:36
Even as it is written, For Thy sake we are put to death all the day long; we are regarded and counted as sheep for the slaughter. [Ps. 44:22.]


Rom 8:37
Yet amid all these things we are more than conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.

And finally this is how the Abundant life was purchased for us:


John 12:23
And Jesus *answered them, saying, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.


John 12:24
"Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.


John 12:25
"He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal.


John 12:26
"If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him.


John 12:27
"Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

Yes beloved of GOD the abundant life = the eternal life.. Without eternal LIFE THERE IS NO ABUNDANT LIFE.

Even sinners have cars beautiful homes and such things.. The excessive lavish living of the world can not and is not worthy to be compared to the true riches found only in Jesus Christ, the SON of the Living GOD.


Luke 12:15
And He said to them, Guard yourselves and keep free from all covetousness (the immoderate desire for wealth, the greedy longing to have more); for a man's life does not consist in and is not derived from possessing overflowing abundance or that which is over and above his needs.

It should be clear to us now when reading the above verse , having more is NOT the abundant life .

Ps 18:33
He makes my feet like hinds' feet, And sets me upon my high places

Where is this HIGH Place???

Eph 2:5
even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),


Eph 2:6
and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

And where is this heavenly place????

Eph 1:21
Far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named [above every title that can be conferred], not only in this age and in this world, but also in the age and the world which are to come.

The Abundant Overcoming life is being in Jesus...

John 15:5
I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing.

Spiritual Abuse

Have you ever been a victim of spiritual abuse? Are you being abused now , or do you even recognized that you are being abused? Most victims of abuse do not even recognize that are being manipulated .

Often many of GODs precious people are being used as mere merchandise, victims of elaborate schemes that have become a cash cow for many ministries.. It is BIG business, we have Ford, GM , ATT and so on and now the CHURCH...

The Bible provides us with clear indicators that reveal this rampant church malaise termed Spiritual Abuse;


Ezek 34:2
"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, 'Thus says the Lord GOD, "Woe, shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock?

The emphasis is on the flock and not the Shepard. The sheep are the benefactors of the Shepard's care.

I remember talking with a dear sister in Christ who told me how much she loved her Pastor. And sure we should love our Pastor, and not to the exclusion of even the least of the faithful we should love. We should not love our pastor any more or any less than the least thought of brother or sister in the church...

In this instance with my beloved sister in Christ... I was a little dishearten to learn that her Pastor hardly knew who she was.

Ezek 34:3
"You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.



Ezek 34:4
"Those who are sickly you have not strengthened, the diseased you have not healed, the broken you have not bound up, the scattered you have not brought back, nor have you sought for the lost; but with force and with severity you have dominated them.

I have seen more than just a few people leave churches hurt disillusioned and sometimes confused . The church that GOD provides for healing and restoration did not heal or restore the objects of the LORD Jesus's love His people.

The church is GOD's agent in the earth, His representative to administer His agenda, and what exactly is the agenda of GOD; I am so glad you asked that question.



Is 61:1
THE SPIRIT of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed and qualified me to preach the Gospel of good tidings to the meek, the poor, and afflicted; He has sent me to bind up and heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the [physical and spiritual] captives and the opening of the prison and of the eyes to those who are bound, [Rom. 10:15.]


Is 61:2
To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord [the year of His favor] and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,


As Jesus was sent, likewise we have the same mission until His return, the second coming of Christ. If the Church is NOT healing the broken hearted, Not strengthening the weak, Not seeking the lost' NOT setting people free from addiction's and other oppressive conditions then the church has failed in its mission.


John 20:21
Then Jesus said to them again, Peace to you! [Just] as the Father has sent Me forth, so I am sending you

Our purpose as defined is CLEAR.. Has it been muddied with other agendas being slowly adopted in our churches... where is our emphasis ????? Is it on the hurting, the lost , the distressed or the disillusioned???? Have we seen the church go after those who left the church..???Is there concerned for them???? In Fact I have rarely seen any real genuine effort to seek the lost or those who have went astray.. WHY?????

John 13:34
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another

Tell me this, If a family member not a church member , is missing, would you go looking for them???? Yes you would and you would lose sleep until they are found..

The reason we are not seeking out the lost is because we really do not love each other as the Bible defines love.. otherwise we would behave far differently... Yes Christianity goes beyond the occasional Sunday tradition of ..Look at your neighbor, and tell them I love you...

My guess would be to seek out those who left hurting and disillusioned would exposed current church leadership in some circles . The autonomy most churches hold may come under review... accountability... might be expected.. people might have questions.. .. Much of what we describe as leadership are men and women who are many times opportunist.. and not truly called by GOD... Because when the sheep are under attack and scattered.. they hardly lift a finger of concern.. in the majority of cases not even a phone call.


John 10:12
"He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them.

A good Pastor loves the sheep...

John 10:11
"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.

The covert church agenda , meaning a not open and obvious but clothed in the guise of religion is leaning towards self aggrandisement and self exaltation...

If I give enough money, then I will get more money from GOD... We say that's is not the reason we give.. , we say we give cheerfully, because GOD loves a cheerful giver.. and The Lord declares give and it shall be given unto to you.... ALL Absolutely true..

BUT, it has been abused and in our giving WE have been abused!!! Abused?? How , let me share an enlightening verse or two:

2 Cor 9:9
As it is written, He [the benevolent person] scatters abroad; He gives to the poor; His deeds of justice and goodness and kindness and benevolence will go on and endure forever!

Notice the gifts are going to the poor..


Acts 4:35
and lay them at the apostles' feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.

Here needs are being met , and NOT excesses. ... two Rolls Royce's are usually my limit for preaches..

I personally think when leadership lives extravagantly it sends the wrong message...our wealth is not always aligned with the worlds idea of wealth...WE ARE DIFFERENT...

Spiritual ABUSE!!! Yes many of us have witness the manipulative sermons, laced with messages designed to make you feel guilty, condemned and fearful for not giving when you knew that at the time you had pressing financial matters...


Rom 8:1
THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit.

Statements like:

Will a man rob GOD!!!

Well you are robbing GOD preacher anytime you take away resources intended to meet the needs of Christ Body the Church , the people sitting in the pews.......

Oh here is a good one... All that God has done for you and you are holding back the Money He gave you!!!!

If He gave it too me He intends for me to use it... for me and my brothers and sisters in need...


Our LORD would never make us feel guilty in fact our LORD desires mercy and NOT sacrifice... In this instance GODs mercy declares keep your money.. why because you need it... do not be presumptuous and think because you gave during a moment in which you were taken by persuasive speech that GOD is obligated to bless you.. He is not.. Why, because The Holy Bible says.. do not tempt the LORD thy GOD!!!

What I am bringing to the forefront on this subject does not stop at money.. It also means your time.. , your affections and even the gifts that GOD has given us.. We should be free to give, free to love, free to help and free to grow our gifts ... because where the Spirit of the GOD is there is liberty


2 Cor 3:17
Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom)...

To be Continued Jun 21, 2008

Sinning Against Your Body -Continued

The dynamics of the sex act or intercourse creates a union called marriage. That's right sex equals marriage. The Bible says one of the recognized ways to become married is through the very act of having sex. No ceremony is required. Here is verification in scripture;

Gen 24:67
Then Isaac brought her into his mother Sarah's tent, and he took Rebekah, and she became his wife, and he loved her; thus Isaac was comforted after his mother's death

When Isaac took Rebekah and Rebekah surrendered to Isaac they became Husband and Wife.

With this in mind the next time you are tempted to have sex consider you are not having just sex but you are really getting married...

" Hey Baby you want to have sex", becomes "Hey Baby, lets get married"

Today, we have often taken a Holy (Set apart from common usage) act and made it profane , unclean and dishonorable. We have removed the Holy from Holy Matrimony hardly anyone is a virgin when they marry so where is the exclusiveness ????? Its long long gone... sadly so.


The consequences for our lack of respect for GOD's laws are all around us.. The Bible says His Judgements are made manifest in the earth...


Ps 50:4
He summons the heavens above, And the earth, to judge His people:

Think not that the upheavel in the earth is coincidental, because actually nothing truly is coincidental...

The frightening thing is how insensitive our moral nature has become.. we are seldom alarmed and have become very dull in our hearing and therefore we can not hear GOD... We are physically, morally and spiritually sick as a Church..



Acts 28:27
FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, AND WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES; OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, AND HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM."'

Can we return to a life that honors Jesus... We must... because we ARE set apart.. lets us return while there is still time... and the door is still open... one day soon, there is little time remaining and suddenly without warning...the door will be shut permanently.


Rev 22:12
"Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.

Rev 22:13
"I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end."