A WORD ON OVERCOMING

J. T. Brown (Grangemouth)

Revelation 3: 21; 2 Samuel 23: 8–17; Revelation 21: 6, 7

It will be fairly clear, dear brethren, that I desire to say a word about overcoming. I think at the present time the Lord is looking for overcomers. There is much to be overcome. Each of us has things to overcome in ourselves, and then there are external things working against the saints at the present time which require to be overcome. Our brother Mr Craig, when he gave his address at our three-day meetings in May said, ‘I believe that everyone coming into fellowship would have something to give up’. I believe, beloved brethren, that everyone coming into fellowship and seeking to maintain the truth at the divine standard would have something to overcome. My desire is that each of us should be found here as overcomers. The address to Laodicea in Revelation 3 is a word to Christendom; it is a word to the professing church; the Lord Jesus presents Himself as “the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of the creation of God” (Revelation 3: 14). He would point out to such that there is an entirely new order of things of which He Himself is the Head and Centre, and He desires that we should have a vital part in it for the

glory of God. There is much related to Christ personally being given up in the professing church at the present time. The truth regarding the greatness of His person, and features related to the greatness of His work are being given up on every hand. There is a need for us to stand out boldly against the surrendering of the truth.

At the end of this address he says, “He that overcomes, to him will I give to sit with me in my throne; as I also have overcome, and have sat down with my Father in his throne”. Wonderful contemplation for our affections that we have to do with the One who has overcome, the Lord Jesus Christ! How much He has overcome! One major distinction between Christ and ourselves is that He never had anything to overcome in Himself. What Jesus had to overcome were external forces. Jesus was perfect; He was holy; He was sinless; there was never a thing in Himself that required to be overcome. He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separated from sinners and He endured so great contradiction from sinners against Himself. Wonderful contemplation for our affections is the perfection that was found in One glorious Man here, a Man in flesh and blood conditions, a Man who came into conditions such as you and I are in, and was tempted and tested in all things, sin apart. O thanks be to God He has overcome, and He has given us an incentive to overcome. How much He has overcome on your account, and on mine!

We were affected by the death of our dear sister whom we buried in our own locality during the week, thinking of what she had been in the testimony over many years. But O, beloved, there is One who has gone through death, who has “annulled death, and brought to light life and incorruptibility by the glad tidings”, 2 Timothy 1: 10. He has annulled death and “him who has the might of death, that is, the devil; and might set free all those who through fear of death through the whole of their life were subject to bondage”, Hebrews 2: 14, 15. That is what Christ has done, He has overcome, He has been so

thorough in His overcoming in order that you and I might be set free. We read in Luke 11,

“When the strong man armed keeps his own house, his goods are in peace; but when the stronger than he coming upon him overcomes him, he takes away his panoply in which he trusted, and he will divide the spoil he has taken from him” (Luke 11: 21, 22). The strong man is Satan, the arch-enemy of our souls, that one who has arraigned himself against us, but there is a stronger than he, that is Christ, and He has taken away his panoply, that is, He has taken away the complete armoury in which he trusted, in order that you and I might come into blessing. How great has been the work of our Lord Jesus Christ, that One who has overcome death and him that had the might of death. How thoroughly He has overcome.

We were speaking this afternoon about the glory of His perfect humanity. There He was, right through His pathway here, day after day after day, living in blessed communion with His God and Father. There came a time when Satan came up against Him, tempting Him.

Satan presents so many things which would attract persons like you and me; but the Lord Jesus, when tempted, said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word which goes out through God’s mouth”, Matthew 4: 4. What came to light at that time of testing and trial was the glory of a perfect humanity, and that One is intended to be attractive to your soul and mine. He has overcome every force which arraigned itself against us. He went into death, He tasted death for every thing. He tasted death in all its bitterness and in all its woe, as has been said, ‘For Him death was death, Man’s utter weakness, Satan’s extreme power and God’s just vengeance’. He met it all and went through in triumph. He entered into death, He entered into the grave, but He burst the bands of death. Thanks be to God for the triumph of Jesus!

He has overcome death fully and completely, and now He is seated with His Father in His throne. On one hand His rising involved an act of His own power, but the

Father also was active then, as the scripture says, “Christ has been raised up from among the dead by the glory of the Father”, Romans 6: 4. Now He lives in heaven. He is seated and crowned at the Father’s right hand in glory. Christ, our glorious Saviour and Lord, the One in whom we have put our trust, has overcome and has sat down with His Father in His throne; that is the throne of grace. Christ is offering a reward to persons like you and me who are found here on the principle of overcoming, “He that overcomes, to him will I give to sit with me in my throne”. It looks forward to the time of His public glory, the time when Christ will leave the Father’s throne and will sit down on His own throne. Then persons who are found here as overcomers will be given a part and place with Him there in that sphere of glory, a sphere of administration. What a wonderful time it will be!

We have read in 2 Samuel 23 of persons who were found here as overcomers. I think this scripture is intended to have an appeal to us at the present time. These are the last words of David. It is a remarkable thing that the Spirit of God gives us the last words of a man of God like David, a man who himself was a great overcomer. It is interesting too that the Spirit of God records for us David’s last prayer, Psalm 72. That prayer which is for Solomon, finishes with, “The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended” (Psalm 72: 20). When Christ in exaltation comes before the heart, we have reached something in a full and complete way.

Here we have David’s last words. We did not read them but it says,

“Now these are the last words of David—

David the son of Jesse saith,

And the man who was raised up on high,

The anointed of the God of Jacob,

And the sweet psalmist of Israel saith,

The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me,

And his word was on my tongue” (2 Samuel 23: 1, 2).

These are the words of a man who was here as a great

overcomer. He went down into the valley of Elah and smote the Philistine giant with a sling and a stone, then he took the giant’s own sword and killed him completely. Think of the sense of triumph there was in the fact that he stood upon him and pulled out his sword and cut off his head and brought it back to Jerusalem. How wonderful have been the triumphs of David, a man who could meet the force of the lion and the power of the bear in his care for the sheep.

What a mighty overcomer he was, and such has become the sweet psalmist of Israel. He is a type of Christ, the One who leads on the service of praise. He would delight to lead out the heart of persons like you and me in praise to God, and, I believe as we are found here as overcomers, our part in the service of praise is the richer. Then it says, “The Spirit of Jehovah spoke by me,

And his word was on my tongue.

The God of Israel said,

The Rock of Israel spoke to me,

The ruler among men shall be just,

Ruling in the fear of God” (2 Samuel 23: 2, 3).

There is a certain stability reached in David’s soul. He had an appreciation of God as the Rock of Israel; something substantial, something full, something firm and foundational is reached in his soul. It says, “And he shall be as the light of the morning, like the rising of the sun, A morning without clouds” (2 Samuel 23: 4). David, this great overcomer, has the light of resurrection in his soul. It is the light of another Man in another world.

Then at the end of the section we have this record of his mighty men. I think the indications are that we are at the end of the dispensation. Right at the very close of this time this feature of overcoming should be found in persons like you and me. So it says, “These are the names of the mighty men whom David had”, the mighty men whom David had. I wonder if our David has every one in this room, I wonder if every one is

committed to Christ. I believe God’s desire is that every soul in this room should be committed unreservedly to Christ, that great mighty Overcomer. It says of this first one here,

“he fought against eight hundred, slain by him at one time “. I cannot go into the detail of that, but what I can see in it is that he had a power working in himself which was able to overcome in a great and full way this mighty opposing foe. Then it says, “And after him, Eleazer the son of Dodo the son of an Ahohite”; this man was a son. He was a son, and I believe that persons who are in the joy and dignity of sonship are intended to be overcomers so that they might be maintained in the joy and dignity of sonship; “he was one of the three mighty men with David, when they had defied the Philistines that were there gathered together to battle, and the men of Israel were gone up. He arose and smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave to the sword”. There was a tremendous tenacity marking this man. He did not give up. It is so easy to give up. God’s desire is that we should continue and go right on and complete the course to the glory of God. So it says, “He arose and he smote the Philistines”. That great formidable force was opposed to everything that there was of God, and was the great inveterate enemy of the children of Israel; but it says he

“smote the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand clave to the sword”. I believe the secret of this man’s power was the way in which he applied the word of God. He surrendered nothing of the word of God and was sustained in the conflict right through until he overcame and overcame completely. “Jehovah wrought a great deliverance that day; and the people returned after him only to spoil”. Out of this man’s activities there was something secured for the hearts of the people, and I believe for the heart of God Himself.

Then, “after him, Shammah the son of Agee the Hararite—the Philistines were gathered into a troop, and there was there a plot of ground full of lentils”. The Philistine force would attack the food supply that exists

for the benefit of the saints. In the setting in 1 Chronicles this is referred to as “a plot of ground full of barley” (1 Chronicles 11: 13), which would refer to the resurrection of Christ.

How this Philistine force is opposed to the resurrection of Jesus, and the food there is for our souls in such an order of things! O beloved, let us see what the enemy’s activities are at the present time. The Philistine force relates to the way in which the mind of man naturally is opposed to anything which there is of Christ. But there is food available, and if we overcome this Philistine force there is food available for us and for the saints. It says he delivered it and smote the Philistines, and Jehovah wrought a great deliverance. Later on we have a man who slew the Moabitish force, and it is an important thing that we overcome the Moabitish element in ourselves. It represents that side of things in us which would seek to settle down in things here, in natural relationships and that sort of thing. It says of him that he was “son of a valiant man, great in exploits, of Kabzeel—he it was that smote two lions of Moab; and he went down and smote a lion in the midst of a pit on a snowy day” (v.20). What a force there was arraigned against this man, but in his dependence upon God he went down into that pit at a time when things were uncongenial, and smote a lion on a snowy day.

In the midst of all this we have these three men who broke through the camp of the Philistines in order that they might secure something for the heart of David. These men of whom we have been speaking were marked by great military exploits, but I think these three were marked by love for David. What they did was to minister to the heart of David. I think it may not be going too far to say that what they did was probably morally greater than all the others in that their concern, in type, was to satisfy the heart of Christ. It says, “three of the thirty chiefs went down, and came to David in the harvest time to the cave of Adullam”. David was in rejection and Christ is in rejection at the present time.

It was “when the troop of the Philistines was encamped in the valley of Rephaim”, another entrenched position. As you take account of the public position of the church at the present time it appears to be an entrenched position. But it says, “David was then in the stronghold”.

O beloved, with Christ there is always a stronghold; being with Christ is always a stronghold.

In Him is strength, there is strength with Christ, there is strength in no other. “David was then in the stronghold; and the Philistines’ garrison was then at Bethlehem”. O how David felt that, the Philistine’s garrison was at Bethlehem, that place so dear to his heart. Bethlehem Judah was a place which was very precious to him, but at this time it was in the hand of the Philistines.

David longed, and said, “Oh that one would give me to drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is in the gate!” Someone was near enough to David to hear the longings of his heart. Now I wonder, beloved, young brother, young sister, if you are near enough to Christ to know the longings of His heart? These three “broke through the camp of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, which is in the gate, and took it, and brought it to David”. What overcomers they were; they overcame the whole of the Philistine foe. It does not say there were any losses in this battle, they just went right through the camp of the Philistines and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem. They went there at the risk of their lives, as David says, in order that they might secure that which could satisfy the longings of his heart. Then it says, “he would not drink of it, but poured it out to Jehovah”, that is, he used it, in principle, in the service of praise; it became a drink offering for God. It was done for David, but David used it in view of the satisfaction of the heart of God. Let us be found here as overcomers with a view to satisfying the heart of Christ and in order that there may be something for the heart of God Himself.

Revelation 21 is a wonderful chapter. In this

section John is looking right on to the eternal day. It is one of the few references in Scripture to the day of eternity, “I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of the heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice out of the heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall tabernacle with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, their God” (Revelation 21: 2, 3). It is a wonderful complacent system of praise arrived at, an area in which God can dwell, an area where God can rest complacently with men. That is God’s final thought, that He should dwell and rest complacently with men. It says in Psalm 132, “This is my rest for ever; here will I dwell, for I have desired it” (Psalm 132: 14). This is what was in the purpose of God, and you and I have a part in it. He says, “I heard a loud voice out of the heaven, saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he shall tabernacle with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, their God”. What wonderful complacency! I feel how little I can say as to it, but I think we know something of it in our experience as we come together to the service of God. I think we know something of the experience of the tabernacle of God being with men, God resting complacently with men.

Where we read, the Lord Jesus speaking, says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end”. This is the perfection of Christ, the personal greatness of Jesus, and I believe that what will occupy us in the eternal day will be the personal greatness of Jesus, “I will give to him that thirsts of the fountain of the water of life freely”. That is not in eternity, that is now; to persons who are thirsting now, Jesus will give the water of life freely. And it says,

“He that overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be to him God, and he shall be to me son”. What wonderful reward there is for overcoming. What greater experience could there be than to inherit these precious things of which we have been speaking. Let us keep the greatness of God’s

dwelling before us, and let us overcome in order that we may have a more abundant entrance into these great and precious things, “He that overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will be to him God, and he shall be to me son”. That is a word to each one of us as individuals. As we are found here in the spirit of overcoming we can know this blessed relationship with God Himself, and it is all with a view to something being secured for the satisfaction of His heart.

May it be so for His name’s sake.

Address at Dundee
9 August 1997