Christ the Overcomer — Stephen Kaung

Heavenly Father, Thou does know the desire of our hearts. We ask of Thee only of one thing, and that is Thou will reveal Thy Son in us more and full. We want not only to see Him, but we want to be filled by Him.

We do pray that as we together wait in Thy presence, that it should be Thy pleasure to do this very thing to Thy people. Lord, our heart is that Christ may be exalted, that He truly may be all and in all, that His love may fill our hearts, that we may be unto the praise of His glory.

O Lord, we ask that at this moment Thou will deliver us from thinking of ourselves. We pray that we may think only of Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. We do commit this hour into Thy hands. We ask Thee that if it should please Thee that Thou will speak through Thy word to us.

Thou will do Thy work tonight as Thou has been doing since we began to meet. We do praise and worship Thee together in the name of our Lord Jesus and for His glory. I believe all you brothers and sisters agree with me that even though we have met just a few times and yet I feel myself, my heart is very full.

I do thank the Lord that it does not need to wait until the end of our time together to begin to realize what He means to us. I do praise the Lord that we may experience what He means to us even from the very beginning because He is the first and we believe He is also the last.

Several months ago as I was thinking of this time that we will have together, I was before the Lord wondering what He will have us to consider together before Him. And just one word came to me and during the past few months I may say that in the very beginning I didn't put too much thought on that one word.

That one word has been with me but I haven't really meditated upon it until the Lord laid me aside. And it was during that time that word began to become stronger and stronger in me. Many times I ask the Lord if this is what He wants to speak through this little instrument for this time but somehow I feel this is what the Lord wants to say.

So I hope that during our evening times together if the Lord wills that we will consider together this one word. I do not know if this has been the exercise of your heart during the past year or so and that one word is very simple and if I mention it you know it already and that is the word overcomer.

The Sealed Book and the Worthy Lamb

Will you please turn with me to the last book of the Bible, Revelation 5. We will read the whole chapter. And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the back, closed sealed with seven seals.

And I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a great voice, Who is worthy to open the book and to lose the seals thereof? And no one in the heaven or under the earth was able to open the book or to look thereon.

And I wept much because no one was found worthy to open the book or to look thereon. And one of the elders said unto me, Weep not. Behold, the Lamb that is of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath overcome to open the book and the seven seals thereof.

And I saw in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders a lamb standing as though it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God, sent forth into all the earth.

And he came and he took it out of the right hand of him that sat on the throne. And when he had taken the book, the four living creatures and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having each one a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.

And they sing a new song, saying, Worthy art thou to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain and this purchased unto God with thy blood, man of every tribe and tongue and people of nation, and madest them to be unto our God a kingdom and priests, and they reigned upon the earth.

And I saw and I heard a voice of many angels round about the throne and the living creatures and the elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain to receive the power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.

And every created thing which is in the heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea and all the things that are in them, heard I saying, Unto him that sits on the throne and unto the Lamb be the blessing and the honor and the glory and the dominion for ever and ever.

And the four living creatures said, Amen. And the elders fell down and worshiped. We have a very glorious chapter before us. It is a glorious scene in heaven. I believe most people know that this is a scene of the glory of redemption.

In chapter four of the book of Revelation, tells us of the glory of creation. Then here we have the glory of redemption. There in chapter four, verse eleven, it says, Worthy art thou, our Lord and our God, to receive the glory and the honor and the power, for thou didst create all things, and because of thy will they were and were created.

So here you'll find in chapter four, the glory of creation. Or we may say the glory of the creator. How glorious a scene we see in chapter four. And then following that, we have this chapter before us, which is the glory of redemption.

Because we find it is mentioned here, Worthy art thou to take the book and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain and dispurchased unto God with thy blood, men of every tribe and people and nation, and made them to be unto God a kingdom and priest and reign upon the earth.

And again it says, Worthy is the Lamb that has been slain, to receive the power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing. Here we find redemption is the song. It is the glory of the Redeemer.

Whether you believe that this is also the scene of the ascension of our Lord, whether you believe that this happens at the time of our Lord's ascension or not, I think this is of not great importance.

Because anyway, redemption is eternal. The glory of redemption is eternal. But personally, I feel probably this describes the scene at the ascension of our Lord Jesus. As he ascended up to heaven. And there you'll find this glorious scene is opened to us.

Interpreting Revelation Without Losing Its Central Message

For the sake of having some background for what we will desire to fellowship this evening, I'm afraid that we have to get into some little kind of interpretation. Now this is something I would like to avoid very much.

Because we know that especially the book of Revelation, or how people interpret in so many different ways, and every interpreter feels that his is the interpretation. So I am very much afraid to offer you another interpretation or to follow any interpretation of any person.

So I do hope that you will bear with me. If I have to do a little interpretation, and if you don't agree with me, I'm perfectly happy about it. I certainly do not want to force you into my interpretation.

I remember some years ago, I was in South America. And when I was there, I met a servant of the Lord. And we began to have some time together. And he began to press upon me. Concerning certain passages in the scripture.

Concerning certain things in the scripture. He pressed me. He wanted me to tell him how I feel about them. Or how did I understand these passages. Now I try to do my best to avoid into such things. But he pressed me.

And I had no way out. I knew what he was after. But he just cornered me. He wouldn't let me off. Well I feel that I had to say something. So I told him. That's how I personally believe. But I say I'm open.

I'm willing to change my interpretation if I find out that that's not the most satisfactory one. But even though I try to tell him in this way. You know he came back saying that I did not believe in the Bible.

The reason is because it so happened that my interpretation was different from his interpretation of these passages. So I tried to tell my brother. I said brother I do believe the Bible. We may differ in interpretation.

But certainly we believe the Bible. But somehow his mind was made up. So I do believe that you will not treat me this way. Because if you do I would rather just sit down. For the sake of just giving some background.

I'm afraid I have to do a little interpretation. And as I say if you don't agree I'm perfectly happy. You can keep on interpreting it in the way that you used to. Anyway the important thing is not the interpretation.

The important thing is that which we are driving at. Now if we can really see what we are driving at. Then you can forget about the interpretation. Here you'll find a glorious scene in heaven. And I think it was a great suspense.

The Suspense of Heaven and the Title Deed of the Earth

As you come to this chapter I believe you shall hold your breath. Because here you'll find one who was sitting on the throne. And in his hand was a book. But it was a sealed book. And a proclamation went forth.

Who is worthy to take the book from the hand of the one who sits upon the throne. To open it and to read it. But after the mighty angel had made this proclamation. There was for a time no response. No response in heaven.

No response on earth. No response anywhere in the universe. I believe that if you are there. And we should be there. It was a great suspense. You do not know what will happen. And if you really know what it meant.

You will weep much as the apostle John. When the apostle John waited and waited. And there was no answer. There was no response. He wept. Why? Because he knew too much was involved. It was not just a matter of a person.

Or a few people. It was a matter that concerns. As our brother said. The eternal purpose. Because if there should be no response. Then everything is really finished. Then you remember an elder comforted him.

And say weep not. Behold the lion of the tribe of Judah. The root has overcome. He has overcome. Therefore he is worthy to take the book. To open it. And to make it known. Now dear brothers and sisters.

What is that book? That is where the interpretation comes in. I personally believe. And I know many believe the same way. That this is the title deed of the earth. This book of the right of God over his created.

You know God created the earth. The heavens and the earth. God was not only the creator of the universe. He was also the owner of the universe. He had never given up his ownership. Though he often gave stewardship.

But the ownership is ever in his own hand. Once upon a time. If our understanding of the scripture is correct. Once upon a time. God seemed to give the earth to an archangel. The stewardship of an archangel.

That that archangel may rule the earth. For the glory of God. But somehow unrighteousness was found in this earth. And the whole earth entered into emptiness. Then you remember God created man. Before he created man.

He first made this earth habitable. I think one thing we should know and that is. God never works along a mechanical line. God is well able to restore the earth mechanically. Physically. To a certain degree.

But God's way is always along a spiritual and moral principle. He did restore the earth out of ruin. And made it habitable. But that doesn't mean that God has restored the earth. The restoration waits upon something that runs along a spiritual and moral line.

And that is the reason God created man. God created a being. Lower than angels. And with that being. Going to subdue the earth. And to restore the earth morally. And spiritually. Into the very plan and thought.

He did restore the earth physically. But that was only a preparation. Then he created man. And his hope is with man. That through man. The whole earth. All the created things. May be restored unto God.

And to the praise of his glory. In other words. When man was created. You remember he was created in the image. Not only in the image of God. But he was given dominion over the earth. Created in the image of God.

That he might communicate with God. That he might receive God into him. That he might know God and his way. He was given dominion. Power. Authority. Over the created things. And we all know. All these are for the purpose.

Of bringing the earth back to God's intended. Dear brothers and sisters. From here we know of one thing. And that is man is created. With the purpose. Of being an overcomer. Does not create man. That he may be defeated.

God created man with the purpose. That through man. The adversary of God. May be defeated. In other words. Man is created. With the purpose. Of being an overcomer. Only when man overcomes. Then God's purpose.

Will be fulfilled. And God has made every provision. For man to be an overcomer. He is created in the image of God. That he may overcome. He is given dominion. So that he may overcome. He is given every opportunity.

Possibility of overcoming the adversary. And yet. We know. Adam. He was defeated. In other words. The stewardship of man. But that doesn't mean that the ownership of God is jeopardized. Because we find that in the hand of the one who sits upon the throne.

There is this book. God still holds the ownership of this earth. And all the created things. But he is waiting for man. He is waiting for that man. The man. The overcomer. The earth. And to bring everything back.

To the purpose. Three thousand years. About three thousand years later. We find in the book of Psalms. There you'll find in Psalm number eight. David. Under the Holy Spirit. Began to mention something saying.

What is man? That thou art mindful of him. And the son of man that thou visited him. For thou has made him but little lower than angels. And crown him with glory and honor. Thou makest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands.

Thou has put all things under his feet. All sheep and oxen yea and beasts of the field. The birds of the heavens. And the fish of the sea. Whatsoever passeth through the path of the sea. Three thousand years later.

You'll find God has not given up his thought. Here you'll find he is still talking of man. What is man? That thou art mindful of him. And the son of man that thou visited him. Thou has made him a little inferior.

A little lower than angels. But has crowned him with glory and splendor. And has given him dominion over all the created things. Man. The first man. But God has not given up the concept of the man. The overcomer.

So in one sense you'll find through David, God reassured us that he had not changed his mind. He was still looking for the man. The overcomer. On the other hand you'll find through the prophet David. He foretold that one day the man of God's heart will come.

And when he shall come. God's purpose shall be fulfilled. Then another thousand years. Until you'll find in Hebrews. And there you'll find in Hebrews chapter two. It says. Maybe we started a little earlier.

What is man? That thou art mindful of him. Or the son of man that thou visited him. Thou made him a little lower than the angels. Thou crowned him with glory and honor. And hast set him over the works of thy hand.

Thou didst put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he subjected all things unto him. He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we see not yet all things subjected to him. But we behold him who has been made a little lower than the angels.

Even Jesus. Because of the suffering of death. Crowned with glory and honor. That by the grace of God he shall taste of death for every man. For it became him for whom are all things. And through whom are all things.

In bringing many sons unto glory. To make the offer of God's salvation perfect through suffering. Here you'll find after probably four thousand years later. In Jesus. In Christ Jesus. God has finally.

And here you'll find it is connected with Revelation chapter five. There you'll find this man. The overcomer. Here you'll find he ascended up on high. And there he was given to open it. To make it known.

In other words he alone is worthy to execute the plan of God. Concerning the earth. And of course all the created things. So dear brothers and sisters probably. In this chapter five of Revelation we find the glory of the redeemer.

Christ the Overcomer: The Lion of Judah

Here you'll find the overcomer. You know very often when we think of the word overcomer. Start with ourselves. Can I be an overcomer? How can I overcome? We try to overcome. I think the very thought of overcomer is too self-centered.

And probably this is the reason why we are overcome instead of overcoming. The concept of overcomer in the Bible must begin with him. First we must have a vision of him. Of him. Of Christ the overcomer.

Unless we know Christ as the overcomer you will never overcome. Our whole possibility of being overcomer rests upon him. So I do look to the Lord, dear brothers and sisters, that we should not start with ourselves.

Because if we do we will end ourselves too. We will never get out of ourselves. I believe that the Lord wants us to see him. To behold him. The word says behold. No overcomer except one. Who is worthy?

No one is worthy. But he, the man. You know in the book of Revelation you find very often it is written in symbolic. Here you find the elder comforted. The weeping apostle saying now weep not. It is not as hopeless as you think.

Actually it is very hopeful. Behold. The lion of the tribe of David. Of the tribe of Judah. The root. Behold the lion. Now of course you are not looking for a real lion. It is a figurative way of speaking.

Behold the lion of the tribe. Character. This lion feature of Christ. Inward character. And with this character he overcomes. The lion. And then later on as he tried to look for the lion he saw a lamb.

So if you are really looking for a lion you won't find it. Because you are looking for a lamb. And again we will say even this lamb is symbolic. Representative. It reveals a lamb character. He is the overcomer.

Overcomes are the basis of these two characters. In these two features. Let us look a little bit into these two features. First lion. Now when you see a lion or when you hear the word lion. What is the impression that gets into you?

When you think of a lion immediately you realize that a lion is the king of the beast. Majestic. Powerful. Full of strength. Every challenge. Never retreat. Will come into you. Our Lord Jesus is the lion of the tribe of Judah.

As we read the full gospels you will find through the life of our Lord Jesus a lion character in him. Let us describe a little bit. First of all you will find that in the life of our Lord Jesus there is that singleness of purpose.

That utter devotedness unto the Father. There is no looking to the right or to the left or even looking backward. But you will find our Lord Jesus sets his faith as a free. Like a lion. He never goes back.

You will find that he sets his heart upon the will of the Father and there he goes. There is no deviation. There is no compromise. There is that singleness. There is no fear. When he was twelve. You remember when he reached the age of being a son of the Lord.

He went with his earthly parents to Jerusalem. But he perished there. Finally they found him in the temple. Asking questions and answering them. And when his earthly parents said well why child do you treat us this way.

And our Lord Jesus said should I not be occupied with my father's business. And he was twelve. You may say this or you may even say this is the age of accountability. He was certainly accountable before the Lord.

And here you will find his heart was when he was thirty. There John the Baptist was baptizing the people. And he went. He asked to be baptized. John hesitated. John said I shall be baptized by you. And how come that you come to be baptized.

But the Lord Jesus said suffer it. It is for the righteous. There you will find he offered himself for the sins of that time. You will find our Lord Jesus had his heart set. He was in the wilderness tempted.

Forty days and forty nights. Oh how Satan tried to draw him out. Tried to make him claim. That is his rightful claim. Because he is the son of God. The son of God turned these stones into bread. He is the son of God.

He certainly can turn these stones into bread. But the Lord Jesus. And he says man does not live by bread alone. But by every word that proceeds from the mouth throughout his life. You will find that singleness of purpose.

That utter devotedness unto the Father. He said your time is always ready. But my time is not yet come. You can do anything you like. But I cannot. I speak because my Father has spoken. I do it because I have seen him done it.

You will find that our Lord Jesus has committed himself fully to the Father. And there he goes without any. Even in the Garden of Eden. Garden of Gethsemane. You remember his prayer was not my will but thy will.

This is the first feature of a lion. Determination of heart. He committed and devoted to the Father. Oh there is such a holy boldness in our Lord. You know when you read the four Gospels you will find our Lord Jesus was not afraid to uncover the mask of the day.

He was not afraid to tear off the pretension of tradition. He was bold. Come because he is the lion of the tribe of Judah. Now dear brothers and sisters of course we know one thing. And that is most basic.

If you want to overcome anything. The first thing is you must overcome yourself. If you have not overcome yourself you won't be able to overcome anything. How small that thing may be. You see we always try to overcome this thing and that thing.

If you start that way you will discover that even though that thing is a very small thing. It overcomes you. If you want to be an overcomer the first thing is you have to overcome yourself. And look at our Lord Jesus.

You will find our Lord Jesus how he denies himself. This holy self. This self is not like our self. Our self there is no good in us. That is in ourselves. In our flesh. But his is different. And yet you will find in the life of our Lord Jesus how he completely denies himself.

He has full control over himself. Never for a moment he gives in to himself. To his holy self. We must. Now it is almost beyond understanding because we do not have this experience. We do not have this experience of holy self.

But here you will find our Lord Jesus is so holy and blameless and spotless. Even himself. He says not my will. He has full control over. And because he has overcome his self so completely. You will find he overcomes.

That which is towards the end of his life he said. You will have tribulation in this world but you do not need to be afraid for I have overcome the world. He is in the world. He is not out of the world.

The world tried to get into him. The world tried its best to get into him. But towards the end the world realized they had to get him out. He never let the world get into him. He has overcome. Do you not think that overcoming the world is just overcoming this thing or that thing in the world?

Don't go to this place or don't go to that place. Or give up this thing and give up that thing. That's overcoming the world. Not at all. It may be included. But overcoming the world is does not let the world have at foot.

Oh he has overcome sin completely. He was tempting all things just as we are. Because of his utter devotiveness he has overcome the ruler of this world. Oh even towards the end of his life he said the ruler of this world has come.

But he has no place in that. There is no place. And because of this he is able to spoil the principalities and authorities and make captives of them. He has overcome the ruler. And of course lastly he has overcome death.

The last enemy is death. But here you will find he has gone into death. Not try to avoid death. But he has gone into death. He brings death to death. The life of our Lord Jesus you will find he overcomes.

Union With Christ as the Source of Victory

If we want to be overcomers there must be this line in character in us. We do not have it. We have very strong will. I think it is easier to find strong wills than to find weak wills. One day a few of us, I think five of us were talking together and then one sister said everyone is strong willed.

I agree with her. I think it is very difficult to find a weak willed person. Well we are all weak willed in certain things, in certain respects, that is true. But in the core of our will you will find we are very strong, all of us.

We may be very strong willed but we do not overcome. The same character is not in us. But thank God because Christ is the Lion of the tribe of Judah. He has overcome. And dear brothers and sisters, how do we overcome?

By being in union. Only by our being united with Him in one, then you will find His character begins to characterize us. That is how we are brought into overcoming. Do not think that to be an overcomer is just by listening to some overcoming messages.

To be an overcomer is just by claiming Romans 6. Well these may be included, yes, but you will find that it is not an awkward formula. Christianity is not a system of formulas. By repeating certain magic words you overcome.

That is not Christianity. The only way to overcome is to be united with the overcomer. It is His life. It is His character. But this is only one side. We find there is another side, when the elder said, behold the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

The Lamb Character and Victory Through the Cross

Well the apostle John began to open his eyes. You know when you are weeping you don't see very clearly. So he tried to open his weeping eyes and try to locate the Lion but he couldn't see the Lion. And he saw paradoxes.

A lion cannot be a lamb. A lion cannot stand. But here you find a lamb slain, yes standing, with seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God that are standing. Here you find the other side of Christ the overcomer.

There is the Lion side and there is the Lamb side. Naturally Lion and Lamb cannot be together. You have to wait until the millennium as you find in Isaiah. You have to wait until the millennium to have the Lion and the Lamb together.

But here you find in the life of our Lord Jesus on the one side there is the Lion character and at the same time there is the Lamb. He overcomes as the Lion. Probably we can understand that. But he overcomes as the Lamb.

That is beyond human reasoning. And dear brothers and sisters the greatest victory of our Lord Jesus is through this Lamb. He is the Lamb slain from the foundation. Oh you find in Isaiah chapter 53 when the prophet prophesied about our Lord Jesus how he described the Lamb character of our Lord.

He was oppressed yet when he was afflicted he opened not his mouth. As a Lamb that is led to the slaughter and as a sheep that before its shearers is done, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away and as for his generation who among them considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people to whom the stroke.

He was born in a manger. He was born as a little baby. I think that if the Savior of the world should come he should come forth as a full grown man. Because he should be the symbol of strength. Adam came forth as a full grown man when he was created.

But this full grown man is a very weak man. Our Lord Jesus came to this earth as a baby. And yet the greatest strength is in that baby. He was brought up in Nazareth. No good things ever come out of Nazareth.

He was like a root out of dry ground. There was no calmness. No outward beauty. And you know throughout the life of our Lord Jesus he said I am meek and lowly apart. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me.

He was reviled but he never reviled. He never tries to hurt anyone. When he is hurt he never answers that. He is like a lamb led to the place of slot and healed. He is like a sheep under the scissors.

All his wounds are being sheared off. All his beauty, all his glory. Oh how people shear him. Take away everything from him. He was willing to suffer. He was willing to die. The way of the lamb is the way of the cross.

Dear brothers and sisters, why is it that God has to use the lamb, slain, the cross to overcome? It is because of the recourse and the consequence of the fall of man. Man fell because of pride, of independence, of self-exaltation.

This is the cause of the fall of man. In order to overcome, their self is denied. Why being the lamb of God, so meek and lowly, suffer so much, endure in silence and finally the greatest victory in the universe is obtained through this lamb character.

How can we ever be overcomers? There must be this lamb character. You know sometimes we are as bold as lion. We devour everything. No lamb character in us. Where is the spirit of the lamb? Where is the spirit of humility?

Where is the willingness to suffer in silence? Yes, sometimes we suffer, but the whole world knows about it. We are lacking in this being taken away. We lack this lamb character. We are very bold and sometimes too bold.

We do not overcome. Dear brothers and sisters, there has to be a combination of these two. And no one can put these two together, make a compound out of it. No one can do that. Only by, that is the only way.

Christ Formed in Believers as Overcomers

So dear brothers and sisters, let us remember one thing. God is looking for overcomers. His whole plan rests upon man as overcomer. But to be an overcomer, there is only one way. And that is by, that is the only way.

It is only when we are united with Christ, then Christ the overcomer begins to characterize us. This lion character and this lamb character begin to grow in us. And as Christ is gradually formed in us, you see man as overcomer.

So let our eyes be centered, focused upon him. Do not look at yourselves. If you look into yourselves, you will be discouraged. But let our eyes be focused upon him and see him as the overcomer. And you know, the lamb slay horns and seven eyes.

Horn speaks of power, eye speaks of discernment, full of wisdom. These are the seven spirits of God that are sent to all the earth. And no wonder in this glorious chapter, you will find the anthem rising up throughout the universe.

Starting with the angels, thousands of thousands, tens of thousands, and they were praising the Redeemer. And they were responded, they were responded by all the created things. And ended up with amen.

Oh dear brothers and sisters, if only we can see Christ as the overcomer. That will bring us into a worshiping spirit. Our Heavenly Father, we pray that we may see thy Son. Behold, the lamb slain. Oh, we pray that we may see Christ as the man, the overcomer, in whom all thy purpose is fulfilled.

Who is worthy alone to bring thy purpose into full realization. Oh, how we praise and thank thee that we are by grace united with him. His victory is our victory. Not only objectively, but because he is our victory.

His very life is ours. His very character is ours. Oh, how we pray that thou has been so gracious to us that we may be a part of him who is the overcoming one. Oh, may all the praise and glory and adoration of our hearts be unto God and to the lamb forever and ever.