Revelation 12:10-11 Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. And they overcame him by the blood of The Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.

I got the word from The Lord yesterday morning that I was going to write on overcoming but when I typed it into my bible gateway concordance I was surprised at what I found. Beginning in Revelation 2 there are interesting promises for “he who overcomes” I will list them for you below.

Revelation 2:11 he who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.

Revelation 2:17 to him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who received it.

Revelation 2:26 and he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations.

Revelation 3:5 he who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Revelation 3:12 he who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.

Revelation 3:21 to him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.

What does it mean that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony? You wouldn’t be reading this and I wouldn’t have written it if there were no blood of the Lamb. We were redeemed, from the sin we were born into, and the sins we committed and will commit, by the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. (1 Peter 1:18-19) So that we could testify of Him and the ways that following Him have enriched our lives. We testify about Him in every action that we make. Everything we say. Everything we do. Once you have identified yourself as a Christian people are watching. It reminds me of the quote from Gandhi “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike Christ.” While Gandhi was in South Africa he tried to attend a church service but the elder at the door would not grant him access based on his ethnicity. This was before he went on to lead India out from under the bonds of English rule mainly through non-violent rallies and marches. He was called the father of the Indian nation. It makes my stomach turn to think about all the lost people of India that could have been saved if those Christians that he encountered had encouraged him rather than blocking his entrance to church. And while we probably won’t have that kind of influence we do still influence all the people we come in contact with each day.

If Christian means little Christ then we are supposed to be acting like Jesus Christ…right? What did Jesus do? He loved people. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. He healed people. He was a servant who put other peoples needs above His own. And He told us to do the same. Jesus did not come to judge the world but to save it (john 12:47). If that man that denied Gandhi access to the church service had known what it means to be a Christian he wouldn’t have judged him.

Are you judging the world or loving and serving the world?