A conqueror is a person who is able to overcome a challenge. Jesus said in John 16: 33 take courage; I have conquered the world! Jesus truly conquered the world long before his physical birth on earth. The Revelation account of the war in heaven tells it all.
Revelation 12: 7-11 says and war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world-he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming, “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah, for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God. But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death… for the devil has come down to you with great wrath, because he knows that his time is short”.
Anyone who defeats the devil is a true conqueror with Christ Jesus for that is why he came. Without Christ Jesus, we cannot be conquerors because our wars are spiritual. Paul confirmed this fact in Ephesians 6: 12, for our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. We must be vigilant, always alive with the blood of Jesus and the word of his testimony that Jesus is Lord. Winners do not quit and quitters do not win. Winners must do as follows:
We must exercise faith and belief
1 John 5: 5 said who is it that conquers the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God? The basis for conquering is an unfailing belief in Jesus as the son of God. Hebrews 11: 33 say how Samson through faith made conquests. Paul also said of himself in Romans 8: 36-37 “For your sake we are being killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Conquest is showing an unfailing faith in Christ Jesus.
We must have knowledge of Christ
We must also have knowledge about Jesus’ capacity. 1 John 4: 4 says for the one who is in you is greater than one who is in the world. So, we must first ensure that Jesus is within us and upon that assurance we can be battle ready. Having Jesus in us is not by mere word of mouth but true submission and total submission to his authority in repentance and confession.
It is stated in Revelation 5: 5, then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” We reiterate that there is no conquest without the blood of Jesus Christ, the Lion of the tribe of Judah.
We must be true and honest to God
God knows our hearts are the seat of decisions. Psalms 66:18 said if I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. In the book of Acts of the Apostles, the evil spirit confronted the Seven Sons of Jewish High Priests named Sceva who did not have the spirit of Christ Jesus in them yet ventured to cast out evil.
The evil spirit said in Acts 19: 15-16, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered them all, and so overpowered them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded. The LORD said in Jeremiah 8: 10 therefore I will give their wives to others and their fields to conquerors, because from the least to the greatest everyone is greedy for unjust gain; from prophet to priest everyone deals falsely. We must be careful how we invoke God’s name without a true heart.
We must be born anew
We need to be born anew and to live by the tenets of God’s word if we must be conquered with Christ Jesus. Upon a worthy relationship with Christ Jesus, he would give us the faith to conquer in battle to his glory. 1 John 5: 4 said for whoever is born of God conquers the world. And this is the victory that conquers the world, our faith. Many of us profess Jesus by word of mouth yet we are not born anew in heart. God knows us from the heart and he cannot be mocked.
We must determine to conquer
The time is so short for Jesus’ return so there is no time to waste. Determination underlines success. Paul said in Romans 4: 4 now to the one who works, wages are not reckoned as a gift but as something due. We must be determined because there is reward for conquerors. 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27 say “Do you know that in a race the runners all compete, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win it.” The way to conquer is by the blood of Jesus, Revelation 12: 11.
The reward for conqueror
A conqueror will be given permission to eat from the tree of life, Revelation 2: 7. He will eat the hidden manna and be given a new name, Revelation 2: 17. He will be given authority over the nations, Revelation 2: 26. He will receive the Morning Star, Revelation 2: 28. He will wear the white robes, Revelation 3: 5. He will be a pillar in God’s heavenly temple, Revelation 3: 12. He will reign with Christ Jesus, Revelation 3: 21.God will be his God and he will be God’s child, Revelation 21: 7.
Are we ready to be conquerors for Christ Jesus? Let Jesus preserve our souls in his blood in battle.
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, we affirm that we are battle ready to join hands with you. However, we sometimes quiver in faith, knowledge, and preparedness because of sin. Strengthen us to prepare in your blood for battle. Give us the grace to endure even when death looms. Rejuvenate us with your conquering Spirit and let our faith always rest in you. In your holy name we pray, Amen!!
