AN OVERCOMER IS GREATER THAN A WINNER

AN OVERCOMER IS GREATER THAN A WINNER
“Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.”

THE WINNER WINS BUT HE MAY NOT HAVE BEEN AN OVERCOMER.
The winner is the surviving participant in a contest. Sometimes, winning has a hollow ring to it as when other participants did not appear and so someone won by default. It is also possible for someone to become a winner not so much because of his superior strength and ability but because of the enemy’s weakness. The weak man defeats a weaker man and the weaker man defeats the weakest. Such is the scheme of things. At best, having a winner indicates a contest where the participants are assumed to have – or, at least verified to have comparable strength, equal ability and same chance of winning. Overcoming is something else. It’s more than winning.

Overcoming assumes a situation where a major hindrance exists and that the person’s ability is not at par with the requirement to remove the hindrance. Overcoming assumes the existence of a barrier that is too heavy to carry, to big to push to the side, too massive to do anything about. There is no contest for it is a no-contest situation. In an overcoming situation, one is generally expected to fail but he does not fail but ends up lifting the unliftable, pushing the immovable and solving the unsolvable. Such is the beauty and glory of overcoming. When one faces such a situation and he successfully deals with all the challenges on the way, he is called a CERTIFIED OVERCOMER.

But, note my brethren: You cannot be an overcomer unless you are allowed to face a most difficult situation, a strength-sapping experience or a hope-erasing problem. When a person faces any and all these with the grace of God, with the faith that God supplies, with the mercy that God provides, he becomes an Overcomer and there is nothing that this world can do to destroy him. Is God inviting you to become an Overcomer?

A LADY OVERCOMER:
Her name Deborah means BEE which may have been a name given later in relation to her characteristics. She is said to be the wife of a certain Lappidoth and she was also a prophetess. She was the judge of Israel at the time when this event took place. She was the one to whom the people presented their disputes. At the time of this writing, she had already gained a recognized social stature as indicated by her title prophetess and the naming of a palm tree as Deborah’s Palm tree. The uniqueness of her life was that she was married to a man whose name means TORCHES and she worked with a man whose name means FLASHING SWORD or lightning. Married to A TORCH, she worked with LIGHTNING.

How should one describe Deborah? From the pages of the Bible, it would appear clearly that Deborah was the Faithful one among the faithless; the Courageous one among cowards and the Clear-thinking one among the confused. She received and revealed the will of God to the frightened people, inspiring them to rise above their fears and anxieties. As a result, they accomplished far more than what was thought possible at that time. But, that is what an overcomer does: help people rise above their limitations to be the persons that they should really be in the eyes of God. Are you hearing the invitation of God to be an overcomer?



DEBORAH’ STORY:
Judges 4:1 Then the sons of Israel again did evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud died. 2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; and the commander of his army was Sisera, who lived in Harosheth-hagoyim. 3 And the sons of Israel cried to the LORD; for he had nine hundred iron chariots, and he oppressed the sons of Israel severely for twenty years. 4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment. 6 Now she sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, "Behold, the LORD, the God of Israel, has commanded, 'Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun. 7'And I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his many troops to the river Kishon; and I will give him into your hand.' " 8 Then Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go." 9 And she said, "I will surely go with you; nevertheless, the honor shall not be yours on the journey that you are about to take, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hands of a woman." Then Deborah arose and went with Barak to Kedesh. 10 And Barak called Zebulun and Naphtali together to Kedesh, and ten thousand men went up with him; Deborah also went up with him. 11 Now Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the Kenites, from the sons of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. 12 Then they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. 13 And Sisera called together all his chariots, nine hundred iron chariots, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, "Arise! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hands; behold, the LORD has gone out before you." So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left.

She had all the reason to fail and the most obvious reason is the fact that Israel was a Patriarchal or a male-dominated society. No woman was expected to lead but she did and it was really because of her presence and leadership that Jabin, King of Hazor, their oppressor, was defeated. She was an overcomer. From a purely human point of view, she was not really cut out to be an overcomer as can easily be seen by her characteristics and attitude in life. How would you describe an OVERCOMER?

AN OVERCOMER UNDERSTANDS THAT WHEN THE TASK IS NECESSARY, WE WILL CARRY IT OUT EVEN IF IT IS NOT OURS. THE OVERCOMER WILL NOT SAY: IT IS NOT MY JOB. THE LIPS OF AN OVERCOMER WILL NOT SAY THESE WORDS: I CAN’T AND I WON’T DO IT.

Judges 4:4 Now Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lappidoth, was judging Israel at that time. 5 And she used to sit under the palm tree of Deborah between Ramah and Bethel in the hill country of Ephraim; and the sons of Israel came up to her for judgment.
Deborah was a woman judge and in Israel the position of a judge- the precursor of the King, was the job of a man. There was a need for a judge and there were many men but it seemed that all the men developed a sickness called “FEARITIS” (sobrang takot!) and so male judge emerged. Deborah could have said, It is not my job, but she did not. She served as judged over Israel. The mention of the husband is interesting because it indicates the he was still alive. But, he was not the judge, she was. The use of the word prophet, according to some scholars, also indicates that she might have been the wife of a prophet. Lappidoth, in other words, may have been a Prophet. But it was the time of great cowardice for men. And one woman did not say: It is not my job so I won’t do it. Instead, it seems likely that she said: It is not my job but it must be done so I will do it.

The reason for this attitude I believe is that Deborah may have been a mother. Mothers often carry out tasks that are not really theirs anymore but must be done for the family. Many mothers also carry out the duties of the fathers even if the husband is alive and kicking. Later, Deborah would be referred to as the mother in Israel or the mother of Israel.

AN OVERCOMER UNDERSTANDS THAT SOME ARE NOT SUCCESSFUL NOT BECAUSE OF INABILITY BUT BECAUSE OF INSECURITY. ENCOURAGEMENT WILL MAKE THEM OVERCOMERS.
Joshua 4:6 Now she sent and summoned Barak the son of Abinoam from Kedesh-naphtali, and said to him, "Behold, the LORD, the God of Israel, has commanded, 'Go and march to Mount Tabor, and take with you ten thousand men from the sons of Naphtali and from the sons of Zebulun. 7'And I will draw out to you Sisera, the commander of Jabin's army, with his chariots and his many troops to the river Kishon; and I will give him into your hand.' " 8 Then Barak said to her, "If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go." 9 And she said, "I will surely go with you…
An overcomer is someone who is not only successful but he/she helps others become successful. The overcomer is known for the impact of his/her life on those around him/her especially those who are discouraged and afraid. She can bring out the best in men and can help someone convert his fear into faith, his worry into worship, his anxiety into availability, and his terrors into treasures.

Barak, for some reason, was a certified fearful man. He also had ‘FEARITIS.” War was afoot. It was no longer possible to avoid. Barak was looking at it from a no-choice point of view and he knew this was the case. But this male leader told the lady- “I will go if you go with me, I will not go if you will not go with me”. Without Deborah, Barak was a cowering man openly admitting his fear. With Deborah, Barak became a courageous man. Some are not courageous by nature. However, God will give them a friend who is an Overcomer and the man becomes courageous and gains victory.

AN OVERCOMER UNDERSTANDS THE NATURE AND DEGREE OF THE DIFFICULTY BUT SHE ALSO CLEARLY UNDERSTANDS THE WILL OF GOD SO SHE CANNOT BE DEFEATED.
Judges 4:12 Then they told Sisera that Barak the son of Abinoam had gone up to Mount Tabor. 13 And Sisera called together all his chariots, nine hundred iron chariots, and all the people who were with him, from Harosheth-hagoyim to the river Kishon. 14 And Deborah said to Barak, "Arise! For this is the day in which the LORD has given Sisera into your hands; behold, the LORD has gone out before you." So Barak went down from Mount Tabor with ten thousand men following him. 15 And the LORD routed Sisera and all his chariots and all his army, with the edge of the sword before Barak; and Sisera alighted from his chariot and fled away on foot. 16 But Barak pursued the chariots and the army as far as Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not even one was left. Judg 5:31: "LORD, may all your enemies die as Sisera did! But may those who love you rise like the sun at full strength!" Then there was peace in the land for forty years. NLT

Sisera had nine hundred iron chariots. The sound of an approaching chariot was enough to frighten any enemy soldier. With an archer on board each chariot and with sharp blades protruding from the wheels- plus the snorting of a warhorse- infantry soldiers (foot army) really stand no chance at all. It would be a fight to the death- the death of the foot soldier. It was an act of supreme foolishness to pit in battle infantrymen against chariots. But, this was no foolishness after all. This was an act of faith. This was not a failure of wisdom. This was an act full of wisdom.

If you are fully aware of the seriousness of your condition and it seems so certain that you will be mauled, mangled, and defeated by your burdens or difficult situations, think again, God may actually be inviting you to become an OVERCOMER. The task is difficult; the burden is heavy, the problem perplexing but God is on your side. He wants you to become an overcomer.