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Steps to Victory

“To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” (Revelation 3:21).

The Promises

The apostle Paul, near the end of his life, stated his experience of victory, and the reward that he would receive in the end. "I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing." 2 Timothy 4:7, 8.

The promises to those who overcome are numerous.. "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God." "He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death." "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." "And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations." "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels." "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21.

The Throne

We know that the 144,000 are the overcomers from the last times, and they are given a place in the temple of God. "Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them." Revelation 7:15.

Where is the throne? "The LORD is in his holy temple, the LORD'S throne is in heaven: his eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men." Psalm 11:4 It is in heaven. And what does it mean to sit on Christ's throne? "And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." Matthew 19:28. These thrones are for judgment. "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Revelation 20:4.

Requirements

But what was the condition of receiving a place there around the throne of God? "To him that overcometh." What is overcoming? First of all, overcoming is getting past the problems listed by the true witness: "Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: 18 I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see." Revelation 3:17, 18.

Didn't Jesus already overcome for us though? "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." John 16:33. So we are okay, right? But we are not having victory. What is left to overcome? SELF.

How Do I Do It?

How are we to overcome? "And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." Revelation 12:11 What is the victory? 1 John 5:4 "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." Faith is what overcomes the world.

But, take heed lest you become confident: "Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." 1 Corinthians 10:12 What is God's promise in the next verse: "There hath 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 ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

What is the way of escape? "According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust." 2 Peter 1:3, 4. The way of escape is contained in the great and precious promises contained in God's Word!

The Steps

How do we apply the way of escape? When temptation comes we can follow James 4:7-8

  1. "Submit yourselves therefore to God…
  2. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
  3. "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.
  4. "Cleanse your hands, ye sinners;
  5. "..and purify your hearts, ye double minded."

Submit to God.

 This is the very first step in the road to victory. When an opportunity to sin comes, Satan is there to press it on us. The Holy Spirit is also there to remind us of what is right. At that moment, we have a choice. We either submit to God, or submit to Satan.

There is no other way around it. If we meet the temptation in our own strength, thinking that we will overcome it, we will be quickly defeated.

Whichever way we choose, the rest is decided. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?" Romans 6:16. If we yielded to Satan, he takes over, and we have no control, no escape from temptation. We must realize that our strength to overcome does not come from within.

Resist the Devil.

 Satan must be resisted. With what? Armor! "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 4:11-16.

What was the only offensive (attack) piece of armor in the list? The Sword! Which is? The Word of God!

"I entreat my brethren to become established, rooted and grounded, in the truth. Study the Bible diligently and prayerfully. The precepts and promises of God's word will arm you with divine power to resist the enemy." The Signs of the Times, 01-19-82, par. 18. "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee." Psalm 119:11.

Notice that this is in the past tense. "Thy Word have I hid…" If we do not put the gospel armor on now, we will not be armed when the temptation comes. Remember the case of David? Saul gave him his armor to use, but David had not trained with it. "And Saul armed David with his armour, and he put an helmet of brass upon his-- head; also he armed him with a coat of mail. And David girded his sword upon his armour, and he assayed to go; for he had not proved it. And David said unto Saul, I cannot go with these; for I have not proved them. And David put them off him." 1 Samuel 17:38-39. He could not use this armor. So what did he do instead? "And he took his staff in his hand, and chose him five smooth stones out of the brook, and put them in a shepherd's bag which he had, even in a scrip; and his sling was in his hand: and he drew near to the Philistine." 1 Samuel 17:40. He used what he was familiar with.

Jesus used this Sword of the Spirit in Matthew 4:1-11 in his fight against Satan. Satan came with the first temptation: "3 And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God, command that these stones be made bread." What was the response? "4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Matt. 4:3, 4.

Again there was a temptation: "5 Then the devil taketh him up into the holy city, and setteth him on a pinnacle of the temple, 6 And saith unto him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down: for it is written, He shall give his angels charge concerning thee: and in their hands they shall bear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy foot against a stone." Again Jesus replied: "7 Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Matt 4:5-7.

The third temptation was the most difficult: "8 Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; 9 And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." But Jesus replied: "10 Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve." Matt. 4:8-10.

According to the promise, 'he will flee from you,' Satan left Jesus alone and fled away. "Then the devil leaveth him, and, behold, angels came and ministered unto him." Matt. 4:11.

This same victory is available to us. "Let us strive to overcome. 'To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my father in his throne.' Let us overcome the hasty words which mar the happiness and peace of mind of those about us. Let us overcome our impetuous tempers. Let us be kind and patient, accommodating, pleasant, thinking evil of no one. If we resist the devil, he will flee from us. Around every tempted soul there are angels of God, ready to lift up the standard of righteousness, if the tempted one will only show a spirit of resistance to evil." Review & Herald, 08-08-07, par. 20.

Not only will the devil flee from us, but we must flee from him as well, in the sense that we must avoid unnecessary opportunity for him to tempt us. 1 Timothy 6:11 "But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness…."

Draw near to God.

It is in coming close to God that we see clearly that we are sinners.

Isaiah was shown a view of God's throne. Isaiah 6:1-4 "1 In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. 2 Above it stood the seraphims: each one had six wings; with twain he covered his face, and with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. 3 And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 4 And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke."

He realized at that point that he was a sinner, in the midst of a sinful people. Isaiah 6:5 "Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts."

Cleanse your hands.

The hands are what is used to do things. We use our hands for action, both good and bad. If our hands are dirty, it means we have sinned. Cleansing the hands is obtaining forgiveness for sin. After we have seen more clearly the holiness of God, by drawing close to Him, we realize what wretched sinners we are, and plead for forgiveness. "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." "Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities." Psalm 51:7, 9

When Isaiah realized he was a sinner, he could receive the remedy. "Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar: And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." Isaiah 6:6, 7

Purify your hearts.

God wants to reward us. To those who overcome "will I grant to sit with Me in My throne." Do you want to be there? Do you really want to sit in God's throne? Did you know that for you and me right now, that might not be such a pleasant experience?

What is God like? "For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God." Deuteronomy 4:24. What about His throne? "And I looked, and, behold, a whirlwind came out of the north, a great cloud, and a fire infolding itself, and a brightness was about it, and out of the midst thereof as the colour of amber, out of the midst of the fire. Also out of the midst thereof came the likeness of four living creatures. And this was their appearance; they had the likeness of a man." "As for the likeness of the living creatures, their appearance was like burning coals of fire, and like the appearance of lamps: it went up and down among the living creatures; and the fire was bright, and out of the fire went forth lightning." Ezekiel 1:4-5, 13. Over and over in the book of Ezekiel, as the prophet was shown the glorious throne of God, there was one recurring element: fire.

How can we be in the middle of that fire and not be burned? "The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walketh righteously, and speaketh uprightly; he that despiseth the gain of oppressions, that shaketh his hands from holding of bribes, that stoppeth his ears from hearing of blood, and shutteth his eyes from seeing evil." Isaiah 33:14, 15. We must not have any sinful actions if we want to be there.

But, before the words and actions can be clean, the heart must be clean. "Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully." Psalm 24:3, 4.

The Lord desires more for us than just to forgive us. He wants to purify our hearts. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." Ezekiel 36:26. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9.

Therefore, may this be our prayer every day: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

 Conclusion

By what power do we overcome the world and sin? "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." 1 John 4:4

"You may feel that you cannot meet the approval of heaven. You may say, 'I was born with a natural tendency toward this evil, and I cannot overcome.' But every provision has been made by our heavenly Father whereby you may be able to overcome every unholy tendency. You are to overcome even as Christ overcame in your behalf. He says, 'To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.'…Christ died on Calvary that man might have power to overcome his natural tendencies to sin." Review & Herald, 02-23-92, par. 9.

Again we find a promise in Revelation 21:7: "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son." Let us strive to overcome, accepting the victory that is made possible in Jesus Christ.


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