The Monthly Encourager:
 Christ-Centered Encouragement for Wounded Hearts




The Bereaved Conqueror
January-February, 2007

Sometimes we don't just walk through the Valley of Bereavement, we crawl. We feel beaten, humiliated, and destroyed. Sadness is unrelenting, and whatever relief we have seems to come in short, almost teasing doses. We get just enough happiness to make us miss being happy. But take courage, every struggling Christian. These conditions do not signal your defeat. Far from it, they convey the context in which you must fight, and fight you will by the grace of God. For the same God who saved your soul has announced that through the ongoing love of Jesus Christ, you are more than conquerors. Read on and find encouragement for facing the new year: More Than Conquerors. Here is the outline:

  1. In what sense do we conquer as Christians?
    1. Death does not defeat us.
    2. Hardship does not defeat us.
    3. Surprise does not defeat us.
    4. Weakness does not defeat us.
  2. What are the circumstances in which we conquer?
    1. Tribulation.
    2. Distress.
    3. Persecution.
    4. Famine.
    5. Nakedness.
    6. Peril.
    7. Sword.
  3. How has the love of God equipped us to conquer?
    1. The fullness of our salvation.
      1. Foreknew.
      2. Predestined.
      3. Called.
      4. Justified.
      5. Glorified.
    2. The completeness of scripture.
    3. The availability of wisdom.
    4. The intercession of the Holy Spirit.
    5. The intercession of Jesus.