A megachurch pastor encouraged Christians to become overcomers when facing the specific challenges of this era in a sermon.
In the second session for Cedar Training Center’s conference featuring the theme “O Lord, make me an overcomer” held on October 6, Pastor Yu, senior pastor of Silicon Valley Christian Assembly in the United States, defined “overcomers” as people who, under all circumstances, live in a way that is Christlike, a way that does not resist God’s will or the Holy Spirit’s work. He explained that overcoming should be a normal state as a Christian. Although no one could judge whether they were overcomers, all Christians should still pray and strive to be an overcomer.
Pastor Yu started by reviewing his previous sermon in this series, where he preached on Revelation 2 and 3 to explain the calling to be an overcomer and the things given by Jesus to those who overcome. He stressed some of the main points of that sermon: the Lord calls people from every church to become overcomers, regardless of how good or bad their church is; triumphs and revivals always rise from true repentance; victory is always followed by blessings from God, yet the blessings are not what the overcomers seek after, but rather Christ himself is their real pursuit.
Moving on to this sermon, the American Chinese pastor stated, “God is still calling Christians and churches to become overcomers in this generation. How do we make this time-transcending calling not only our prayer but also our testimony?”
First, Yu introduced some of the challenges to become overcomers which are specific to the 21st century.
He quoted Philippians 2:14-16 to highlight that even in a crooked generation, God’s calling to victory does not become invalid. No matter what the circumstances are, or what the people around us, our generation or our churches are like, there is no excuse.
God calls overcomers in every generation, yet each generation has its specific challenges.
“We should learn from Nehemiah who inspected Jerusalem’s walls to have first-hand knowledge of the circumstances he was facing. We need to have a clear understanding of the challenges of this generation as well.”
Pastor Yu pointed out three of the many features of the generation we are in.
“First, individualism has developed into its extreme form.” Pastor Yu warned that “if ego is an enemy of Christian’s growth, today the ego is especially strong,” he said.
The second feature was that this fast-changing world rendered people both extremely busy and pushed them to quickly fall into decadence.
“The rapid development of material culture leads people into the trap of dissatisfaction and vanity.”
Thirdly, he highlighted that the information explosion brought chaos and left people superficial.
Pastor Yu continued that the foundation of Christians’ triumph is the triumph of Christ.
“By no means can anyone become an overcomer by themselves, but they must stand on the foundation of Christ’s triumph”, said Pastor Yu. “One aspect of this, is that Jesus has granted us the power and position of authority to triumph. Another aspect, is that Jesus has been living inside of us, which enables us to overcome.”
“Christians’ battles should start with a celebration banquet before they enter the battlefield, as described in Psalms 23. And God has even sent his Son to us. Whenever we are surrounded by the enemies, we see the banquet and we know that we can win the battle in Christ.”
Quoting from 2 Corinthians 2:14, he stressed that the triumphs are defined in Christ.
He claimed that Christians could see from three aspects that they could rely on God to overcome. From Philippians 2:9-11, Matthew 16:18 and 18:18, he concluded that we have inherited authority from Christ to overcome. According to 1 John 4:4 and 2 Corinthians 4:7, he declared that we have the life of Christ in us. From Romans 8:35-37, he concluded that God’s love can always support us in all sorts of situations.
Pastor Yu further encouraged Christians that we should take initiative and act resolutely to overcome and win the battles since we were not unable to. Instead, with God’s power, we should be not resigned to a powerless life and humiliation from the enemy.
Toward the end of his sermon, Pastor Yu drew a conclusion on the features of overcomers. “They are people who, in every circumstance, live in such a way that God’s will shall be done, Christ will be exalted, and the Holy Spirit will work freely with no hindrance.”
Reviewing the verses mentioning overcomers in Revelation 14, he encouraged the listeners again not to fix their eyes on their weaknesses, but to know that the calling to become an overcomer is a calling for every Christian.'
- Translated by Grace Song
10月6日香柏木培训中心的特会讲道：《得勝者的意義與今日的你我》。本次大会的主题是“主啊，使我成为得胜者”，第二次讲道。
得胜者是一群能够在各种环境里面活出基督、使神的旨意和圣灵的工作可以通行的人。得胜应该是很自然、很正常的事。虽然我们不能评判自己是否已经得胜，但我们应该有这个心愿和祷告。
上次：得胜者的呼召和奖赏，启示录2、3。
上次的关键点：七个教会是代表众教会的；主对每个教会都有个别、针对性的评价，都要交账；不管是怎样的教会，主都有得胜者的呼召；圣灵对众教会所说的话，凡有耳的都应当听；一切的得胜和复兴都是来自于真正的悔改转向神；得胜呼召之后一定跟着主的祝福，但得胜并不是为了奖赏，而是为着主；最后，有时神亲自呼召得胜者，来带来复兴。
本次讲道中，于牧师带大家看，在21世纪作为得胜者对我们有什么特殊的意义。“神仍然在呼召21世纪的圣徒和教会，成为这个时代的得胜者。如何让这个跨越时代的呼召，成为你我今日的祷告和见证？”
首先，于牧师分享了21世纪得胜者特别的挑战。腓立比书2:14-16（世代）任何世代，上帝都呼召。环境、周围的人、时代、教会的状况，没有任何借口。
每个时代上帝都呼召我们成为得胜者，但每个时代都有独特的艰难和挑战。尼希米是我们的榜样，他查看城墙，对自己面对的情况有第一手的认识。
提了三个点：
第一点，个人主义的极度发展。人人只顾自己满足，抬高自己，把自己孤立起来。保罗早已预告了：“末后时代，那时人要专顾自己”。如果说基督徒成长的仇敌是‘我’的话，那么今天的时代的‘我’是特别的强烈。 ”
第二点，快速改变的时代，让人极其忙碌、快速堕落。如今物质文明的发展快速、道德的堕落、人际关系的淡漠，都是过去几千几百年无可比拟的。“忙”成了这个时代的特征，“快速的改变也让人陷入永远不满足的虚空和痛苦。”
第三点，资讯的爆炸使人陷入混乱和肤浅。
然后，于牧师强调，基督的得胜是我们得胜的根基。
“成为得胜者，绝对不是从自己来的，而是站在基督已经得胜的地位上。”客观上看，耶稣为我们赢得了权柄和地位，我们是站在基督已经得胜的地位上，他把得胜的名和权柄赐给我们了。主观上，耶稣的生命已经内住在我们里面，这使我们能得胜有余。
于牧师笑称，“基督徒的争战，应该是先吃庆功宴 ，然后进入战场。”就像诗篇23篇，你在我仇敌面前摆设宴席。他甚至把他的儿子赐给我们。每当我们被仇敌环绕，我们看到这筵席就知道我们可以靠着基督夸胜。
于牧师用林后2:14强调，只有在基督里，我们才能得胜。
接着，于牧师说，基督是我们得胜的倚靠。
腓立比书2:9-11，马太福音16:18和18:18
“基督已经把他得胜的权柄和地位给了我们，因此我们也应当积极、主动地得胜。”
约一4：4，我们的倚靠在于得胜的生命和能力。林后4:7最后，我们得胜的倚靠是基督的爱。罗8:35-37
于牧师强调说，得胜的能力和权柄，基督已经赐给了我们，我们应当不甘心自己继续活在软弱里面，不甘心被仇敌羞辱。我们应求上帝赐下这颗不甘心的心.
最后，于牧师解释了得胜者的特点。
他们在任何处境下，得胜者总是让神的旨意通行（大卫）、总是让基督的生命照常显大、总是让圣灵工作与运行自由。
于牧师回顾了启示录14章中得胜者有关的经文，2:11，14:3-4，17:14，总结道，得胜者同羔羊一同站在属灵的高峰；他们额上写着父的名；并且在宝座前唱无人能学的新歌。他最后再次鼓励基督徒，不要看自己的软弱，得胜的呼召是给每一个人的。
于宏洁牧师分享：得胜者的意义与今日的你我
A megachurch pastor encouraged Christians to become overcomers when facing the specific challenges of this era in a sermon.
In the second session for Cedar Training Center’s conference featuring the theme “O Lord, make me an overcomer” held on October 6, Pastor Yu, senior pastor of Silicon Valley Christian Assembly in the United States, defined “overcomers” as people who, under all circumstances, live in a way that is Christlike, a way that does not resist God’s will or the Holy Spirit’s work. He explained that overcoming should be a normal state as a Christian. Although no one could judge whether they were overcomers, all Christians should still pray and strive to be an overcomer.
Pastor Yu started by reviewing his previous sermon in this series, where he preached on Revelation 2 and 3 to explain the calling to be an overcomer and the things given by Jesus to those who overcome. He stressed some of the main points of that sermon: the Lord calls people from every church to become overcomers, regardless of how good or bad their church is; triumphs and revivals always rise from true repentance; victory is always followed by blessings from God, yet the blessings are not what the overcomers seek after, but rather Christ himself is their real pursuit.
Moving on to this sermon, the American Chinese pastor stated, “God is still calling Christians and churches to become overcomers in this generation. How do we make this time-transcending calling not only our prayer but also our testimony?”
First, Yu introduced some of the challenges to become overcomers which are specific to the 21st century.
He quoted Philippians 2:14-16 to highlight that even in a crooked generation, God’s calling to victory does not become invalid. No matter what the circumstances are, or what the people around us, our generation or our churches are like, there is no excuse.
God calls overcomers in every generation, yet each generation has its specific challenges.
“We should learn from Nehemiah who inspected Jerusalem’s walls to have first-hand knowledge of the circumstances he was facing. We need to have a clear understanding of the challenges of this generation as well.”
Pastor Yu pointed out three of the many features of the generation we are in.
“First, individualism has developed into its extreme form.” Pastor Yu warned that “if ego is an enemy of Christian’s growth, today the ego is especially strong,” he said.
The second feature was that this fast-changing world rendered people both extremely busy and pushed them to quickly fall into decadence.
“The rapid development of material culture leads people into the trap of dissatisfaction and vanity.”
Thirdly, he highlighted that the information explosion brought chaos and left people superficial.
Pastor Yu continued that the foundation of Christians’ triumph is the triumph of Christ.
“By no means can anyone become an overcomer by themselves, but they must stand on the foundation of Christ’s triumph”, said Pastor Yu. “One aspect of this, is that Jesus has granted us the power and position of authority to triumph. Another aspect, is that Jesus has been living inside of us, which enables us to overcome.”
“Christians’ battles should start with a celebration banquet before they enter the battlefield, as described in Psalms 23. And God has even sent his Son to us. Whenever we are surrounded by the enemies, we see the banquet and we know that we can win the battle in Christ.”
Quoting from 2 Corinthians 2:14, he stressed that the triumphs are defined in Christ.
He claimed that Christians could see from three aspects that they could rely on God to overcome. From Philippians 2:9-11, Matthew 16:18 and 18:18, he concluded that we have inherited authority from Christ to overcome. According to 1 John 4:4 and 2 Corinthians 4:7, he declared that we have the life of Christ in us. From Romans 8:35-37, he concluded that God’s love can always support us in all sorts of situations.
Pastor Yu further encouraged Christians that we should take initiative and act resolutely to overcome and win the battles since we were not unable to. Instead, with God’s power, we should be not resigned to a powerless life and humiliation from the enemy.
Toward the end of his sermon, Pastor Yu drew a conclusion on the features of overcomers. “They are people who, in every circumstance, live in such a way that God’s will shall be done, Christ will be exalted, and the Holy Spirit will work freely with no hindrance.”
Reviewing the verses mentioning overcomers in Revelation 14, he encouraged the listeners again not to fix their eyes on their weaknesses, but to know that the calling to become an overcomer is a calling for every Christian.'
- Translated by Grace Song
American Chinese Pastor Yu Hongjie Encourages Christians to Be Overcomers in This Age
