What does it mean to be an overcomer?

Let's start with the word "overcomer" it seems to suggest that we have overcome something so what is it that we need to overcome?

It's different with each person, really only you and God knows what's in your life that you need to overcome to be in perfect sync with him and his will for your life. But we know you must overcome evil to be good.

An overcomer is someone that has made the decision to follow Jesus Christ and all his teachings no matter what, the true overcomer has put Jesus above everything else on earth, in other words Jesus is more important to the overcomer then his/her home, car, money or even family. Are you kidding me preacher? Jesus must be more important to me then my spouse and children? Yes, Jesus is your Lord and master and he must be the most important person in your life if you are to be in perfect sync with him and his will.

Romans 12:1-2
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

Not many Christians well heed this direct command. Many who are saved never experience sweet communion and fellowship with the Lord Jesus; and they will forfeit future spiritual rewards for present carnal gratifications.

You can tell everyone that you are a Christian, you can even tell yourself you are an overcomer but if it's not true then God knows and you can't deceive him.

1 John 5:1-4
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.

Now I am not saying you have to be perfect, I'm not saying good works can save you (good works are for rewards), what I'm saying is that every sin you comment comes between you and God, even one small sin can lead to another larger sin and in a short period of time you can go from just one small sin to a bunch of larger sins and before you know it you are right back in a life of sin and God seems to be just a distant memory.

James 2:20-24
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only

You have to try to be as Christ Like as you can be, we all mess up at times and we all sin, Jesus knows this and he understands that we will never be perfect in this life but he wants us to really do our best to be like him. If your friends don't even know you are saved then maybe you are really not?

Romans 6:1-2
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?

We see here that God forbids us who are saved to live in sin because to live in sin is to die in sin and go to hell. There is only one way to look at this if you are still living a life of sin you are not an overcomer of sin and you are not going to heaven therefore you will not be taken in the rapture, I really don't know how to make it any more clearer.

You are not an overcomer if you watch trash on TV that no Christian should ever watch, or you hate others just because they are different then you, or if you look at porn or gossip about other people or you tell lies or cheat on your taxes or you live with someone you are not married to.

Some believe that no one that has ever been saved will be left behind, let's see what the Bible says about that.

Revelation 3:5
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

So with that the opposite must also be true, and that would mean he that does not overcome sin in his life that his names will be blotted out of the book of life.

Jude 1:20-25
But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garment spotted by the flesh. Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen.

If you cheat on your spouse or cheat people at your job or place of business, or if you don't forgive others of the things they do to you, the truth is I could go on giving reasons all day that will prevent you from being an overcomer but I think you get the point and that is if there's sin in your life you MUST get rid of it to be an overcomer, you have to remove all sin in your life that you comment on a daily or weekly basis.

"because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." 1 John 4:4

As I said we all sin from time to time but if there's any sin that you keep on committing over and over again then you have to stop committing this sin.

1 John 2:14
I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.

Revelation 3:15-16
I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.

The overcomers	The ones who do not overcome
Those who inherit the kingdom (James 2:5)	Those who are excluded from the kingdom or from its blessings (Galatians 5:21)
Those who reign with Christ (Revelation 20:6)	Those who do not reign with Christ (Matthew 25:30) but who must experience weeping and gnashing of teeth. (Those left behind in the rapture or cast into outer darkness)
Those who confess Christ (Romans 10:9)	Those who deny Christ - If you do not confess Christ you deny him - (2 John 1:7-8)
Faithful believers (1 Peter 1:21-23)	Believers who depart from the faith and who stop believing in Christ - Backslidden Christians (1 Timothy 4:1-3)
Righteous believers (Matthew 10:41)	Unrighteous believers (people with sin in their lives)
Persevering believers (Matthew 24:13)	Believers who abuse their faith in Christ - lukewarm Christians (Matthew 5:29)
Believers who have a living faith - faith accompanied by works (James 2:20)	Believers who have a dead faith - faith but no works (Hebrews 9:14)
Believers represented by the good ground (Matthew 13 - the parable of the sower)	Believers who are represented by the rocky ground and the thorny ground (Matthew 13)
Believers who are faithful and wise (Matthew 24:45).	Evil believers who are unfaithful and unwise and who will be cut asunder and appointed a portion with the hypocrites (Matt. 24:51)
Believers who put Jesus first in their lives. (Matthew 6:33)	Believers who have anything or anyone in their life more important then Jesus (The second Commandment)

Now as I said this is very difficult thing to explain, I saying you that you must have a certain attitude to be worthy to go up - Not that you must have faith plus works to be born again because I think that is a false doctrine that isn't scriptural. We are all saved the same way "by grace through faith", not works.

However the first fruits rapture is a blessing for the faithful who are found worthy, if you do not have any good works then your faith is dead and without faith it is impossible to please God and if you do not please God you will not be taken in the rapture.

Hebrews 11:6-7
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.

There are some people out there who think that they can live any way they want (e.g. drugs, porn, perversion, etc.) and God will smile and bless them and accept them in heaven regardless of a despicable lifestyle. I say that if someone is living like that they are backslidden or never saved to begin with in any case they are not pleasing God.

Enoch went UP because God was pleased with him. What pleases God? Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ and love him with all your heart and let your light shine.

To be an overcomer a Christian does not let his or her human spirit override the Holy Spirit in their life. It means that they do not let man govern that part of their life that Christ and the Holy Spirit must inhabit.

2 John 1-8
Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.

To escape the great tribulation and able to stand before the son of man are not unconditioned gifts of love or grace but rewards and privileges for those that are accounted worthy of them.

This is an event for the overcomer that has prayed and purified themselves in the eyes of Jesus Christ.

Revelation 2:26-28
And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations: And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father. And I will give him the morning star

Revelation 3:21
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.

Jesus didn't say that every Christian would be an overcomer he didn't say every Christian will rule with him he only said that the overcomers would have these privileges

Here are five things we must do to be worthy (to be overcomers) to be taken in the first fruits rapture:

Luke 21:36
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.

Watch for our Lord to return and pray to be counted worthy; do not allow yourself to become lukewarm or spirituality asleep.

1 John 3:2-3
Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

Believe that Jesus will return and live like he may return today. Live everyday like it may be your last day on earth because it may well be.

1 John 2:28-29
And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.

Hebrews 9:28
So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.

This means watch and look for signs of the rapture, talk about the rapture keep it alive in your mind and heart and hope for it every single day and live like you know the rapture is just around the corner. Walk with Jesus in a way that you are worthy to be taken in the rapture if it happened today.

So now do you see why I said Jesus must be the most important person in your life even more so then your spouse and children?

The question you must ask yourself is simply this, is Jesus the most important person in my life?

I want to make it very clear that being saved through the blood of Jesus Christ is not the same thing as being an overcomer, to be saved all you have to do is believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and ask him to forgive you and come into your heart and life and make you a new creation.

What I am talking about here in this article is becoming an overcomer someone worthy of receiving rewards and becoming a king and rule with Jesus Christ. Now you may say I don't care about that I just want to get into heaven, well when you think of how long we will be in heaven why would you not want to be next to Jesus? In fact if you even love Jesus would you not want to be an overcomer to please him? If you don't love Jesus you need to pray because you have a major problem and you need to get right with God NOW!

Faith in Him isn't just the way to eternal life in heaven; it is also to be our way of life here and now. If we believe in Jesus, we will:

Worship Him. As we grow in our love for and trust in the Savior, our natural response will be to adore and praise Him.

Share Him. We should want everyone to know this wonderful God who rescued us and transformed our lives.

Look for His coming. To be with Jesus face to face is our greatest hope and joy.

This life is only a breath in comparison to the time we'll spend with Him in eternity.

This could mean you have consciousness of a problem, this is something that may be totally lacking in the foolish ones. That's a good thing.

But if you truly love Jesus and are doing your best then it is the devil wearing you down. Then it is a bad thing.

If you are "born again" and love Jesus and want to be like him and be with him than you should be fine, if you only think of him on Sunday and you had rather be living your life here on earth then be with Jesus then you are not an overcomer.

There are two types of people you should not listen to they are those who say everyone will be raptured, that ignores the responsibility we have in obeying Christ, that is a real bad idea.

The other type is the ones who say that only a few make it and barely so, that would be planting fear and doubt into your heart which will grow into an unfruitful tree.

It is a serious issue and I am sure you are not the only one thinking of it. Confession is good for the soul and God can use it to humble and refine us. I have had to confess some pretty bad things myself; it is part of the healing process.

I am sure you would not want this thing keeping you out of heaven if indeed that is the problem. Either way seek wise council. You can always email me and I will help you understand if you have problems you need to work on or not. I love you and I am here for you, just ask!

When Jesus returns in the rapture I believe he will see his people with love in their hearts for him, that's all he will see and he will take those people with him to be his bride.

If you want to be sure you are "rapture ready" then check your heart and see if there's true love in it for Jesus Christ if there is than you are "rapture ready" Have faith in Jesus that he will take you and trust him and he will not leave you behind. I believe by grace we are saved though faith and by faith we will be taken in the rapture so keep the faith and keep watching for Jesus!

Be sure to read my article on (How To Crucify Self) it will be a great help if you want to become an overcomer and rule with Christ.