To Him that Overcometh

Stand up, stand up for Jesus, the strife will not be long. This day the noise of battle, the next the victor's song. To him that overcometh a crown of life shall be.

He with the king of glory shall reign eternally. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross. Lift high his royal banner, it must not, it must not suffer loss.

I am missionary Richard Yerby in Japan, bringing you this singing concert live from the very center of Japan. Now follows my sermon titled, To Him That Overcometh. My fellow brother or sister in Christ, how much spiritual motivation do you personally have? We present day in time Christian believers are in the Laodicean church age, the very last one of the seven church ages on earth.

Described toward the beginning of Revelation, the last book in God's Holy Bible. The head of the church, the Lord Jesus Christ proclaims the following to us Laodicean church members in chapter three of Revelation. Verse 14 reads, and unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, these things saith the amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God.

Verse 15, I know thy works that thou art neither cold nor hot. I would that thou wert cold or hot. Verse 16, so then because thou art lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth.

It somewhat amazes me that our Lord prefers that we be cold rather than lukewarm. Anyway, in reality, exactly what does it entail for our Lord to spew us Christian believers out of his mouth? Briefly stated, it is increasing suffering and increasing numbers of human death. My fellow Christian believer, do you have any personal interest in overcoming intensifying suffering and in overcoming and escaping death and thereby remaining alive on this earth? Does that thought motivate you to any degree at all to be a spiritual overcomer in this end time generation as wars, killing, violence, natural disasters, plagues, and famines increasingly kill more and more people? Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross.

Lift high his royal banner, it must not suffer loss. From victory unto victory his army shall he lead, till every foe is vanquished and Christ is Lord indeed. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross.

Lift high his royal banner, it must not, it must not suffer loss. Wise, godly, knowledgeable preachers and Bible teachers tell us that the Laodicean church age began in the year 1884 or 1885. Upon the lukewarm Laodicean church coming into existence then, Jesus Christ soon starts spewing it out of his mouth.

In the early 1900s came the great war with widespread destruction, suffering, and human death. More than two decades later, it was renamed World War I because World War II in the 1930s and 1940s followed it, bringing much more worldwide destruction, suffering, and death. Then followed wars and rumors of wars with no clear victories over the evil murdering warmongers who started those wars.

The USA warring with North Korea, then North Vietnam, followed by never-ending global wars against terrorist and terrorism. Also came worldwide deadly plagues such as COVID. And as you listen to me preach this right now, famine is spreading worldwide.

Do you prefer to die from such or to survive such? You should ever so seriously ponder that. Perchance you prefer to survive as opposed to meeting a tragic death, then please listen carefully now as I continue reading what our Lord writes to us Laodicean church members in Revelation chapter 3. Next is verse 17. 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.

Verse 17 ends there, and it behooves each one of us present-day Laodicean church folks to earnestly pray the following to the head of God's church. My Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I now fully yield myself unto thee, and open my heart and soul to God the Holy Spirit to clearly show me my present spiritual condition as it relates to these things that thou dost say to the Laodicean church in this 17th verse of Revelation chapter 3. Please show me the exact degree to which my heart and soul both consciously and unconsciously proudly deem myself to be rich, increased with goods, and having need of nothing. Please reveal to me the extent to which I am presently in thy holy sight, spiritually wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked.

Amen. Verse 18 reads, 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. Please pray, come Holy Spirit to teach me how I am to buy gold of God, gold that is tried in the fire, that I may be rich in thy holy sight, and what to do to buy white raiment, that I may be clothed, and that the shame of my spiritual nakedness does not appear.

How do I anoint mine eyes with spiritual eyesalve, in order to have perfect and clear spiritual vision? Please teach me and guide me to do these things. Amen. Reading verse 19 now, as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten, be zealous therefore and repent.

Earnestly pray with me now. Heavenly Father, thank thee for loving unworthy me. Save me from despising thy rebuking and chastening, knowing that thou dost it in love unto me as thy child.

Please work an humble and zealous and repentant heart within me. Amen. Reading verse 20, behold, I stand at the door and knock.

If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and will sup with him and he with me. Pray with me now. Lord Jesus, please give me ears to hear thee knocking at my heart's door and ears to clearly hear thy voice speaking unto me.

Please make me willing to fully open my heart's door unto thee. Make me ever so desirous to sup with thee and to have precious fellowship with thee. Please come into me right now and sup with me.

Enable me to daily, constantly walk according to thy Holy Spirit. Amen. Verse 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.

Oh, think seriously on what a glorious privilege this is as you pray along with me now. Lord Jesus, please make me aware of how blessed it would be for me to overcome the increase in suffering and death that thou art presently bringing upon this end time human race. Please highly motivate me to overcome death, the last enemy.

Stir up my heart with the noble goal of being granted the privilege of sitting with thee on thy throne. Amen. Last of all, verse 22 now.

He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches. Let's pray this also. Abba Father, please give me ears that clearly hear what the Holy Spirit saith unto the churches.

Guide me to heed those warnings. Please save me and my household from the end time destruction that is now upon the human race worldwide. Amen.

Stand up, stand up, our Jesus, stand in his strength alone. The arm of flesh will fail you, ye dare not trust your own. Put on the gospel armor and watching unto prayer.

Where duty calls are danger, be never wanting there. Stand up, stand up for Jesus, ye soldiers of the cross. Lift high his royal banner, it must not, it must not suffer loss.

Thus it behooves each of us Christian believers to ask our own selves just exactly how do I become a Christian that overcometh in this end time age? Revelation 12, 11 clearly tells us the three things to do in order to overcome. Reading it now. 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.

Abba Father in heaven, please enable me to put these three things into effect in my spiritual life to the utmost of the ability of my will, my heart, my soul, and my mind. Amen. Number one, and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb.

Oh, in the gospel of John chapter one, verse 29, Jesus' forerunner, John the Baptist, introduces Jesus thus wise. Behold the lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. The wages of sin is death, eternal death for the eternal soul.

Thus what a wonderful act of salvation it be to have one's sin taken away by God and therefore be taken out from under that death sentence while at the same time to be given eternal life. Now, just exactly how did Jesus take away the sin of the world? By shedding his lifeblood on the cross to make an atonement for the sinful soul, which provides remission and cleansing of sin and the redemption and forgiveness of sin on the part of those people who will repent and receive this divine Savior, Jesus Christ, as their own personal Savior. In Leviticus chapter 17, verse 11, our Lord tells us, For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls, for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

On the cross, the Calvary, our blessed Savior died, gave his life to save the world from loss. In his pain and agony for every sin to hide, shed the blood that stained the old rugged cross. Was his blood, his precious blood, that stained the old rugged cross? Was his love that paid the awful cost? O soul so far astray, come and plunge today in the blood that stained the old rugged cross.

Think on the fact that it is naturally frightening, even to little children, to see blood freely flow from a somewhat serious cut or injury that a person has just received. Teenagers and adults know that serious bleeding must be stopped or that person will bleed to death. Also, it appears that little children subconsciously or by instinct know that bleeding leads to death.

Truly, the life of the flesh is in the blood, as God's holy Bible clearly teaches us. There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb. There is power, power, wonder-working power in the precious blood of the Lamb.

There is almighty power in Jesus Christ's shed blood on the cross to make sufficient atonement for each and every soul in the human race, because it is God's blood, as Acts 20, 28 tells us. Listen carefully now as I read Acts chapter 20, verse 28, one of the most important verses in God's holy Bible. Take heed therefore unto yourselves and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers to feed the church of God which he hath purchased with his own blood.

God the Son became flesh, became one of mankind, became a man, male, taking on a human body, human flesh, but the blood that flowed in the veins of that human man, Jesus of Nazareth, was God the Father's blood. The 1611 Authorized King James Bible clearly states this in Acts 20, 28, which I have just read. Please beware that other English language Bibles alter the reading of that important truth to muddle its meaning.

It behooves you to stay with the Bible that God wrote, the 1611 Authorized Version. Not only is there almighty power in God's blood that was shed on the cross, there is eternal power in that blood, which is God's blood. The wages of sin is death, eternal death in hellfire.

The eternal power of God's blood shed on the cross saves redeemed souls eternally from ever receiving that death sentence. O the blood, the precious blood, it shall never lose its power, for it reaches to the highest mountain and flows to the lowest valley. O the blood, the precious blood that stained the old rugged cross, it shall never lose its power.

Knowledgeable men of God speculate that angels carried that shed blood to heaven and applied it to the mercy seat that is before God the Father's throne in heaven. That shed blood is eternally alive before God the Father's throne, before his heavenly throne, eternally alive, because it is the blood of our eternal God. Amen.

To the cross, the rugged cross, they nailed his precious hands, and in death he fully paid the cost. There is pardon in his love for everyone that stands, for the blood that stained the old rugged cross. Was his blood, his precious blood, that stained the old rugged cross? Was his love that paid the all full cost? O souls so far astray, come and plunge today in the blood that stained the old rugged cross.

We have many wonderful hymns that sing of the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Oh, how I just love to sing them all, regularly, daily. David said, his praise shall forever be in my mouth.

I will bless the Lord at all times. I love to do that. I love to do that in public, here in Japan.

And here in Japan, we have much freedom to do street preaching, especially if we do not mechanically amplify our voices, keep it simple, and do not get in the public's way on the sidewalks and in the streets as they busily go about their busy day, slaving away for the world in the system of the devil. And it thrills my soul to simply raise my natural voice, standing among them, raise my natural voice in preaching and singing praise, lifting the Savior high out in public, in this densely crowded Japanese society of idol worship and Buddhists who are lost in spiritual darkness, on their way to eternal perdition, blind as to their spiritual condition. And, you know, as I sing in public, close amongst the ones going by me, it is not rare at all for demons to cry out from inside one of the Japanese people nearby me who is beset by those demons.

The devil and his demons cannot stand to hear about the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ because it has power to set captive souls free from the devil's power. Oh, brothers and sisters, let's sing it out to the human race. We are to be watchmen.

It is a spiritual battle for me here, but it is a most fulfilling life for me, not bland at all. And you Christians listening to me now, please intercede with me for the Japanese, for their lost souls, for Almighty God to set them free from all evil spirits, from their family members, from the rigid heathen society rules and pressure, and from the individual's own proud, selfish, and stubborn will that holds them back from repenting to their Creator God and receiving Jesus Christ as their own Savior. Our loving, merciful God is not willing that a single one of them perish, and he has filled my soul with the same compassion for them.

I don't want them to perish and go to hell. You please be a prayer warrior for me as I wage spiritual warfare on this fierce battlefield of Japan. My time is up for now.

Lord willing, I will continue this theme in my next sermon. Meanwhile, God bless you, and you always keep in mind that Jesus loves you, he died for you, and that he is certainly coming again to reign in glory, and the time of his coming is drawing nigh. God bless you this day and every day.