The reason why we are down hearted often is because of constant attacks or assaults by the world against a Christian's spiritual life. These attacks come in many ways including the allures of sin and consequences of sin; awful experiences that cause despair; danger; sicknesses; anxiety about lack of provision; pressure from work; hate and persecution from the world; or difficulties that arise in our day to life. Call them storms of life. These assaults by the world can be the death knell to our salvation, ruining our watchfulness and vitality in the Spirit, unless we overcome them.
John 16:33
'Take heart! I have overcome the world.'
The Lord Jesus lived in this same world we live in and he overcame it. We should be encouraged and assured therefore that if we be in the Lord we too can overcome the world.
1 John 4:4
The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.
This biblical confession asserts that the Holy Spirit (God) dwelling within a believer is more powerful than any evil, spiritual opposition, or worldly influence ("he that is in the world" or Satan). It signifies that Christians, as children of God, have power to overcome any spiritual adversity emanating from the world.
The Patriarch Abraham - How did he overcome the world?
There are many figures in the Bible who lived exemplary lives as children or servants of God, like the patriarchs, the prophets, the apostles and others, and all of them are in heaven. For today, we are picking on Abraham, to study how he led his life to become the friend of God, father of faith, the father of a great nation and through whom all nations of the earth were blessed. Therein we shall see how he fought and won the battle against the world.
The Calling of Abraham
Genesis 12:1-3
1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing.
3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
Abraham left Harran and went, in obedience to the voice of God. He obeyed God at that time even though he hailed from a family that did not know God: his father Terah and his grandfather Nahor worshiped other gods (Joshua 24:2-3).
As a child Abraham must have been brought up worshipping those other gods, and if at any time he sought the true God, this attempt was negatively influenced by the culture and the false religion of his countrymen, his relatives and his family. God calls him to separate from this, and go to Canaan where he would live as a stranger and a foreigner, and learn to worship God and depend on him alone there.
The Two-way Covenant Between God and Abraham
Genesis 18:18-19
18 Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him.
19 For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.”
God entered into a covenant with Abraham whereby He wanted him to walk faithfully before God, to lead a blameless life and do all of God's requirements (Genesis 17:1-2). Abraham did his part of the bargain. On God's part, God would be his God, he would give him and his descendants the land of Canaan, He would give him many descendants and He would make him great and would bless all the nations through him. God also fulfilled all of his promises.
Genesis 22:9-12
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood.
10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son.
11 But the angel of the Lord called out to him from heaven, “Abraham! Abraham!”
“Here I am,” he replied.
12 “Do not lay a hand on the boy,” he said. “Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son.”
Abraham feared God, committed himself fully to him, and would have sacrificed his only son Isaac in obedience to the command of God.
For this reason God, God blessed him and made his descendants numerous, He made his descendants possess the land of the Canaanites, and through Abraham's offspring all the nations of the earth are blessed.
God Appeared To Abraham Always And Abraham Built Altars To The Lord
Beginning when God appeared to Abraham in the land of Harran to call him, God continued to appear to him physically and in visions on many occasions. This was key. He appeared to him to teach him the way of the Lord, how to worship him, he encouraged him and reassured him of his promises to him, revealing to him future events. This is what made Abraham a prophet. He appeared to guide Abraham in all his decision making. Therefore God was with Abraham in everything he did (Genesis 21:22). Abraham walked before the Lord, and God's presence was with him always.
Genesis 12:7-8
7 The Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built an altar there to the Lord, who had appeared to him.
8 From there he went on toward the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the Lord and called on the name of the Lord.
Whenever the Lord appeared to Abraham, he built an altar there to the Lord and offered sacrifices there to the Lord. Also as he moved about, whenever he pitched his tent, there he made an altar to the Lord, and called on the name of the Lord. This was key and very serious.
To understand the importance of altars for the Lord, there's no better place to refer to in the scriptures other than Leviticus 16 and Leviticus 23 which elaborate the proceedings of the day of atonement. A holy day of Sabbath rest featuring the offerings for atonement; the temple; fasting, repentance and prayers; the high priest; the sacred garments of the high priest; the altar of burnt offering, the holy place, the altar of incense, the most holy place, the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat.
The Day Of Atonement
Leviticus 23:26-32
26 The Lord said to Moses,
27 “The tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement. Hold a sacred assembly and deny yourselves, and present a food offering to the Lord.
28 Do not do any work on that day, because it is the Day of Atonement, when atonement is made for you before the Lord your God.
29 Those who do not deny themselves on that day must be cut off from their people.
30 I will destroy from among their people anyone who does any work on that day.
31 You shall do no work at all. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live.
32 It is a day of sabbath rest for you, and you must deny yourselves. From the evening of the ninth day of the month until the following evening you are to observe your sabbath.”
The matter of building altars to the Lord was very serious and most important to Abraham as it should be to any child of God, as outlined in the scripture above and also in Leviticus 16.
At the Altar of the Lord, Abraham confessed all his sins and the sins of his household. Then he offered blood of a bird, or ram or bull or goat to atone for his sins. Through the blood of atonement and the garment of righteousness, he accessed the holy of holies where the presence of God is. He made reconciliation with God at the Altar, and was unified with God at the Altar. On that day of sacrifice and atonement and reconciliation, Abraham did not do any ordinary work, and he afflicted his soul through fasting, not eating any food the whole of that day. He was in sackcloth and ashes. At the altar of the Lord, Abraham called on the name of the Lord: prayed to God, pleaded with God, petitioned God, consulted with God, asked God for help, asked God to speak to him and walk with him, and to forgive his sins. This was the way of worship and life for Abraham. For sure, at the altar, Abraham encountered God, the very presence of God he needed to walk with every day in order to overcome the world. There he also obtained a new lease of life every time he came, because his sins were covered and he was given new clean garments to wear (Zechariah 3:1-10).
I can assure you that at the altar of sacrifice: the presence of God is encountered, temptation to sin is overcome, the consequences of sin are reversed, sin is forgiven, energy is restored, healing is obtained, hope is restored, wisdom is granted, hardships are endured, God provides, storms are calmed, and the soul finds rest. Hallelujah!
If you are looking for power to be victorious, there you go. That power is the presence of God in a believer, the Holy Spirit. But there's a God ordained protocol for tapping into that power, as revealed above. It's obtained by presenting the holy blood of Jesus at the mercy seat of God for remission of sins. And remember, the curtain that concealed the Most Holy Place in the Temple was ruptured when at first Jesus, our high priest, presented his eternal blood at the mercy seat of God on the day he was crucified. So the way to the holy presence of God most high is open to anyone who believes in Jesus, and chooses to keep the way of the Lord.
May the Lord bless you as you seek to overcome the world. Remember, the Lord overcame the world, so if we are with the Lord we shall overcome the world. We need to let the Holy Spirit of God dwell in us fully, because he is the power. Remember a believer is the Temple of the Holy Spirit. We need to approach God in prayer and fasting, in total surrender, presenting the blood of Jesus to him for remission of our sins. Let's honor the holy covenant of the calling of God through Jesus Christ, by walking before the Lord faithfully and doing all his requirements: obeying all his decrees and commands. We are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:37). Amen.