Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.—1 Corinthians 15:58
overcome—to get the better of in a struggle; to conquer.
succumb—to give way (to), to yield, to submit (to succumb to persuasion).
Today’s Evangullible Church
In today’s evangullible church, countless believers are yielding to the temptations of our Adversary and falling away (Luke 8:13). Giving in to compromised teachings, once faithful believers are succumbing to the deception that Jesus warned would come in His name (Matthew 24:3-5). Those who could have been overcomers become succumbers—unless, of course, they remember what they received and heard, and hold fast, and repent (Revelation 3:3).
Overcomer—one who patiently waits for Jesus Christ’s return, hates evil, tests and tries false teachers and false apostles, labors for the true Jesus Christ with patience and does not faint under pressure (Revelation 2:2-3); one who does not fear suffering and is faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10); one who holds fast to the name of Jesus Christ and does not deny the true faith of Jesus Christ (Revelation 2:13); one who holds fast, is not seduced by false teachers and false teachings and keeps the works of Jesus Christ unto the end (Revelation 2:20-26); one who is watchful and strengthens the things that remain, remembers what he has received, holds fast, and is always ready to repent (Revelation 3:2-3); one who keeps the Word of Jesus Christ, does not deny His true name, and holds fast to what he has (Revelation 3:8-11); one who is willing to be rebuked and chastened (Revelation 3:19).
In short, an overcomer is one who is faithful to Jesus Christ and all that He teaches in His true Holy Word.
Succumber—one who does not wait patiently for Jesus Christ’s return, does not hate evil, does not test and try false teachers and false apostles, does not labor for the true Jesus Christ with patience and does faint under pressure (Revelation 2:2-3); one who does fear suffering and is not faithful unto death (Revelation 2:10); one who does not hold fast to the name of Jesus Christ and does deny the true faith of Jesus Christ (Revelation 2:13); one who does not hold fast, is seduced by false teachers and false teachings and does not keep the works of Jesus Christ unto the end (Revelation 2:20-26); one who is not watchful and does not strengthen the things that remain, does not remember what he has received, does not hold fast, and is not always ready to repent (Revelation 3:2-3); one who does not keep the Word of Jesus Christ, does deny His true name, and does not hold fast to what he has (Revelation 3:8-11); one who is not willing to be rebuked and chastened (Revelation 3:19).
In short, a succumber one who is not faithful to Jesus Christ and all that He teaches in His true Holy Word.
He that overcometh,
the same shall be clothed in white raiment;
and I will not blot out his name
out of the book of life,
but I will confess his name before my Father,
and before his angels.
—Revelation 3:5
See no evil
hear no evil
speak no evil
Churches tainted with the purpose driven seeker friendly business model
refuse to see heresies
refuse to hear about heresies
refuse to speak against heresies.
I think the principle established in Leviticus 5:1 Now if a person sins, after he hears a public adjuration to testify, when he is a witness, whether he has seen or otherwise known, if he does not tell it, then he will bear his guilt.
They will have to stand before Jesus in humiliation. Pastor, pastor why did you sin against me. Why did you allow wolves to attack me.
In as much as you did to the least of these you have done it unto me.
A preacher of the Gospel told me the answer to this Purpose Driven movement is to abandon it altogether and return to Biblical truth, Biblical, Living, Biblical preaching, and Biblical principles. The idea that these new “purpose-driven” methods will restore the Power of God in our midst is a red herring. Rick Warren might just as well say that if only instead of being a preacher of righteousness (2 Peter 2:5) Noah had done some simple market research and built a “purpose-driven ark” more than 8 people would have come aboard. When holy-living, Spirit-empowered preaching, loving unity, and faithfulness to truth doesn’t seem to bring results, turning to the new methods advocated by Warren will only spell disaster. There will be results-but all of the wrong kind. A generation ago A.W. Tozer wisely said “ one of the most popular current errors and the one out of which springs most of the noisy, blustering religious activity in evangelical circles, is the notion that as times change the church must change with them”. Faithfulness to Gods Word, as opposed to what evangelicalism calls success, will be the standard of reward at the judgement seat of Christ ( 1 Cor. 2:4-5) Obedience to the command of teach and preach, without trimming our sail to the wind of the world, is the most pressing need of the hour.