Look and be Victorious
I have over come the World
The Lord wanted us to have a clear glimpse of Himself and of His glory. Most of our troubles are due to this, that we do not see him or know him as He is. Whenever we feel discouraged, disappointed and defeated, we can find a sure remedy: turn towards the Lord Jesus Christ and receive a new vision of Him. Christian people throughout the world are conscious of the lack of holiness among themselves. We do not see life and power among God’s people. Yet our Lord said, “He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do” (John 14:12). Again He said, “Lo I am with you always, even unto the end unto the end of the world” (Matt. 28:20). We read in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” These verses in God’s Word, which are known to almost every Christian, show that our God can never fail. But we have failed; therefore we do not receive His power.
Our Lord knew beforehand every attack the devil would make upon His people. That is why He has given us many words of warning. We know the devil may come as a roaring lion, or like a revenging wolf, or a flood, or an angel of light. We should not think that because the enemy is very strong we would be defeated. Our Lord says so plainly ‘Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world’ (John 16:33). Only by him and through Him before we can experience the victorious Christian life.
Full Recovery
In the Book of Revelation we see how we have to come to the Lord Jesus Christ in order to become more than conquerors. The message of this book is a message of complete victory. This victory qualifies us to inherit all things of the new creation, and to recover every loss, which we have sustained. We do not like to lose anything nevertheless it often happens that we do lose something. We lose by negligence; by theft and by our own forgetfulness. When we were children we lost pens, pencils, books and many other things. We come our mothers every week with same old complaint, that we had lost these things. When we grew up, through negligence we lost our keys, chappals and glasses. Now also we forget our umbrellas and other articles in trains, and we have many things stolen, the dhobi ruins many our clothes. Some people seem to have holes in their hands, they let slip many vessels and break them. Thus we have a record of loss. Then imagine somebody comes to you one day and say, “Mr. A, come with me and see all the things you have ever lost.” You follow him, and to your great surprise you find everything there that you have lost, and behold, they have all become new. Now would you not feel very, very happy? You would say, “Praise the Lord! All my lost things have been recovered.”
You find the very same message in the Book of Revelation. It tells us how every loss, right from the day that Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, may be recovered. Mankind has lost everything because of the curse of sin. The Lord Jesus Christ came into the world to restore to us all that we have lost. When I was a small boy, I saw a juggler. He took a watch from some one and put it into an empty vessel, and hit it with a hammer several times. He smashed the watch into small pieces. Then he put a cloth over the vessel, and lo! He drew out the watch again unbroken and complete. All who saw it wondered how he did it. The juggler had only charmed us. But spiritually our Lord will perform wonders. He will take our ruined lives, defiled with sin, and make them perfectly whole.
We shall be like Him
We live in the days of photography. Many people carry cameras and many other go on dreaming one day they too will have one. Many people, when they want a photo to be taken of themselves, buy or borrow a nice suit, a ring and a wristwatch, so that they appear handsome. When I had my first photo taken, I borrowed a wristwatch; and when proof came, the first thing I wanted to see was whether the watch was seen. It was there, and I was happy. Also the photographer took a brush and made my face fair. I was dark, but my photo showed that I was fair.
It is human nature to desire to look better than we are; but God, in His Word, gives us a photograph that is a true picture of ourselves. The Bible says, “From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it, but wounds and bruises, and purifying sores; they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment” (Isaiah 1:6). What a sad picture! Can you imagine such a man standing before you? You can see from head to foot he is nothing but bruises, wounds and putrefying soars. It would be a loathsome sight to see; nevertheless, that is how God sees you and me. Such is our spiritual condition before God. Sometimes a man may go to the doctor. Outwardly he looks very good. But the doctor finds he has a very horrible disease. When an operation is performed it is found that the disease is far advanced, and the doctor said he would live for one or two months at the most. His friends can hardly believe that it is true. They say, “ How can it be so? He looked so well. How can he die in such a short time?” Well they cannot see inside the man, but the doctor can. Similarly God sees our inward corruption and our sinful nature. You may think you are beautiful, but God says that you are very ugly, because He sees in and the curse upon your face, Remember, this is true of every human being.
The doctor may say there is no hope for you, but our Lord does not say that. He tells us we have sinned, and also we can be transformed and changed completely. He will not say to you “ I am very sorry I cannot change you, you are too bad.” Many parents, when they see their children ruined by sin, have said this about them. They have done their best to change them but they are still rebellious. They rebuke and punish them and when they still remain the same they say, “You go away from home, you are not fit to be called my child.” But the Lord Jesus will not say that to you. Although He sees our shameful and sinful condition; nevertheless He says, “ My child, I will transform and make you like Myself.” We shall be like Him” (I John 3:2). Are they not wonderful words? Even angels will admire us because we will not e like angels, but like Him, like the God of glory. When we see Him as Hi is, then we will be like Him. Oh, what a tender love! What infinite grace and power He displays to us!
A small girl asked her mother, “When we go to heaven will we be black or white?” The mother replied, “ We will be neither black nor white. We shall be like the Lord Jesus Christ.” That is quite true. For this purpose we must have a clear vision of the glory of our living Savior. John the apostle had such a vision when he turned round and saw the Lord. John says of the Lord, “His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow; and eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters. And He had in His right hand seven stars; and out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword: and His countenance was as the sun shineth in His strength” (Rev 1:14-16). The Lord revealed Himself to John in this way so that we may understand what kind of people He wants us to be.
John the apostle was very discouraged when he saw the persecution and sufferings of the believers in those days; many were scattered, many were in prison, many lost their possessions, and many through fear lost their joy and peace. The devil thought, “ I have got the victory,” but he did not know how the Lord was working inwardly in the hearts of the believers through these experiences to transform then into His own likeness.
We preachers some times forget this inward work. We become very happy when we see a large crowd. But when there is only a small number to speak to we feel sad; we lose our joy. We look to numbers too much. That is how many missionaries and pastors have been deceived. They thought that by having large crowds and many converts they would please God. They sent glowing reports to England and America:” We have baptized so many converts, please send us more money. The people are very poor. They do not have clothes to wear, and only rice to eat, morning, mid-day and evening. They have no mutton or ghee, only in terms of crowds and numbers. Now imagine a mother having twenty-five children: the first child is blind, the second dumb, the third lame, the fourth deaf, and so on with the others also. How much Joy would these children bring to the mother? Another may have only two or three children, but they are very strong and healthy, with no defect. Which mother, do you think, would be the happy one? Those who care not numbers may say, “ we have baptized so many,” but how many of them are spiritually deaf, dumb and blind? Why do such missionaries and pastors do this? It is because they have not seen the Lord nor known His power. That is why you find much spiritual barrenness in Christian work in India today.
God was saying to John the apostle, “John, do not be discouraged when you look at the tribulation and the poverty of my people or at their sufferings and trials. But see the inward work I am doing in them through these very things.” Just as gold is refined in the fire, so also the Lord is refining His people through their trials. It is this inward work which is of infinite value to the Lord.
He is Our Wisdom
In Rev. 1:14 we read, “His head and His hairs were white like wool.” John saw a shining face with white hair. Some people do not like gray hair. They use the best oil to keep their hair black. They think that by coloring their hair they can become young and will be happy. Why did the Lord have white hair? See Dan 7:13. Daniel saw the ‘Ancient of days.’ That is, the one who is from the beginning, and who has the wisdom. This one, the Ancient of days, is offering to us his wisdom. By sin, we have become stupid and foolish. But the Lord Jesus Christ becomes our wisdom when we receive Him as our Savior. Then we understand things to come and things pertaining to the whole Kingdom of God.
Now our Lord Jesus said, “ verily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them: and to hear those things which ye hear and have not heard them’ (Matt.13: 17). These are things, which the angels desire to look into (I Peter 1:12). These things: which were once hidden to worldly men and even to prophets and righteous men are now being revealed to the followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. When the living Lord Jesus came into my heart He Himself becomes my wisdom. It is not my Bible knowledge, which is my wisdom, but the living presence of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, is my wisdom. I live for Him and I serve Him. The more I know Him; the more He becomes my wisdom. That is why John saw in his vision that His hairs were white like wool as white as snow.
When a baby is born into a family the neighbors come to see the little one. The first thing, which they ask will be, “ is it like the father or the mother?” It will have some likeness of both the parents. As the child grows, this likeness will be more apparent. When we receive Lord Jesus Christ into our hearts we are born into His family. Therefore we should be like Him, otherwise you have no right to be called a Christian; you should be a child of the devil.
Please believe God’s word, repent; and receive the Lord Jesus into your heart today; then you will become His child with the hope of seeing Him and becoming like Him. Eventually, we are all going to be like Him, when we see him at His second coming. Now upon the earth we can receive Him into our hearts. Can you say truthfully, joyfully and boldly, that the savior has come to live in your heart? If not receive Him now.