Victory Through Faith

Subject for today's lesson.

We going to start with the first John 5:4 through 5 it's kind of helped set the stage. We're going to take a little bit of alerik look back at last week's lesson because we kind of left a question hanging and this week's lesson will be answering that question Victory through faith. 1st, John 5:4 through five for everyone who has been born of God, overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world. Our faith. Who is it that? Overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the son of God.

Now, you might want to turn the 1st Peter.

Chapter 13 through 9. That was our main text last week and I want to draw three points out of it. And I kind of get us on the same page with it because these two lessons tie and so close together. 1st Peter 1:3 through 9.

Blessed. Be the God and father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. According to his great Mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a Living Hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead to an inheritance that is imperishable. Undefiled unfading kept in heaven for you. And I just want to get our mind reminder. The bit about that particular lesson in that. He's talks about it right here. Born again, to a Living Hope.

Lot of Hope in our world for a lot of different things. Some hopes are positive, some hopes, we consider pretty negative but all the hopes that you can possibly have in this world. All of them will eventually die and come to no existence. God's living, hope that he's given us is exactly that it is alive. It will not die.

Verse 5 & 6 who by God's power are being guarded through faith. For salvation.

Ready to be revealed at the last time, in this, you rejoice over now for a little while. If necessary you have been grieved by various trials,

and I'm sure every one of us in this room and we talked extensively about last week have had trials They come in all kinds of shapes, they come in all kinds of ways. Sometimes it's possible, that Satan has requested permission from God to sift you to test. You sometimes when those Trials happen, they're just way life go other times, it can be well, kind of Life. What's this? Country is headed to right now this last week for the first time in the history of this country, a man on the street corner preaching, Jesus by holding up a sign that he is the Son of God. Got arrested for doing so in Philadelphia. That has never happened in this country. There could come a physical time when we will be physically persecuted, great death, maybe not. But for us as Christians, this low-life hope that we have is going to come about when that salvation is revealed when Jesus comes back to us. And it is a still a Living Hope and it reminds me of I watch the movie one time about Mahatma Gandhi and it covered his life. And in the early part of his life, he was living in as a lawyer, young lawyer in South Africa. And the local white folks begin to persecute the colored folks and he had a there was a big meeting and this is when he began to realize he was going to be a leader of some kind. And one of the things that he said that is true for us. That if they killed him, they would not have his obedience, just his dead body, and the same things. True for us to physical persecution, get, so we're going to look at a little deeper as we go into this. Last should get to as it was in the early days of the church. The first 250 years it might be required of us that we give our physical eyes, but if that happens, you'll have your body but they won't have your obedience. Continuing in the 1st Peter.

Verse 7. So that the tested genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold, that perishes, though it tested by fire, may be found to result in praise, and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. This is what is that? Incredible faith and it, God will test it. He will have it tested one way or the other can come in. All kinds of ways. Usually, something you're not thinking about it can come as a curveball as we talked about but we will get tested. But noticed what he says that faith is tested is more precious than refined gold.

Verse 8-9. Do you have not seen him? You love him. Do you do not see him now or now see him? You believe in him and rejoice with joy? That is inexpressible and filled with Glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls and that is where we left off last week. Obtaining the salvation of your souls. Now that leaves will that has three points that we just looked at what we learned last week. Born again to a living hope that can never die. And remember in that passage, we just read from Peter, we are protected by the power of God through faith. As long as we hold on to that faith. And this is why it's a victory. This is why we trust God's word and not man's. We will be protected. That is our Salvation is protected by God, no matter how crazy this world gets to be. We saw that. It's an eternal hope of life. We we get to Rejoice. Now, always for the Christian whatever happens under Leaf is this promise that we have And we obtained, the salvation of our souls.

Now, that is going to be this question. What we learned in 1st Peter? Hope you got from 1st. Peter is the what? The Living. Hope we got that. We got a promise from it. We got promised when we got, it's going to be there, no matter what but we were not told in that passage is just, how is that fair going to happen? How is that going to work? And that's what we're investigating here this morning. In 1st John 5 4, 3, red. Everyone has been born of God, overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. I remind you in our study of faith in the last few months, three qualities. That when we look talked about increasing our faith of the Apostles, it asked the Lord. We taught look took a good. Look at Faith and there were three qualities for Faith. H, St.

Those three qualities humility.

Surrender. And Trust.

Those are the three qualities that our faith needs to have the humility is that? We're here to serve not be served. We took a look at Jesus. That's what he said. He was here to do. Remember when he washed the other disciples feet the night before he died. He took and wash their feet. Sandy told him. If you're going to be great in the Kingdom, you have to be here to serve. He said I came to B, not to be served but to serve and that's part of our humility. It's not all about me. It's about us and it's about us looking to help others and look to be a service to others. The surrender has to do with the surrendering of our will to his will. We humans are willful. You see it throughout the Old Testament. We were talking this morning class about the times, we've gone through all those old prophets and you remember, Jeremiah God sent prophets blong for Jeremiah that Jeremiah and 39 times and his book. It says we will not. Listen us human beings are willful. But the kind of faith is going to be Victory is a faith, which surrenders that will to his will and his word and then there's Trust.

When it comes to God, he is never ever lied. He's always kept his word, he's always been patient throughout the Old Testament. We see his patients with his people. When they went so far away from him and idol worship before he destroy the nation and he warned them over and over, this is going to happen. This is going to happen. It happened. He did give them opportunities to repent, right? Up to the very end. Thor. Trust is in God, not enough. Our trust is gone and man-made things are trust, is not in our wealth. Our trust is in the almighty, and we can't see it. Sometimes you can feel it emotionally, but when it comes to physical senses, you can't see it, feel it, taste it or touch it. And yet just as Peter had said, in this, we Rejoice, even though we have not seen him, we believe those are the qualities are necessary for the kind of faith, that is going. That is going to save us turning your Bible to Revelation the 12th chapter if you're following along in your book.

Revelation 12. 1 through 11. We have. Something that's incredibly important to us. Concerning this Faith. What we see in Revelation, 12:1 through 11 are the Saints, who went through the most horrible, persecution of God told him, it was going to come John and his vision that he got to see that God showed him, he showed him a lot of things but one of the key things and John a revelation, 12 is the second half of the book, and here's where God begins to show the victory of the Saints and all that takes place. So, turn your Bibles and we're going to take a read-through there, if I can find my cursor here.

Come on.

Up, there It Is. Well I had it. There it is.

First one through three, a great sign appeared in heaven, a woman clothed with sun with the moon under her feet and on her head, a crown of twelve Stars. She was pregnant was crying out in birth, pains in the agony of giving birth. Another sign appeared in heaven. Behold, a great red dragon with seven heads, and ten horns, and on his head 7 diadem's,

His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and cast them to Earth and the dragon stood before the woman, who is about to give birth so that when she bore her child she might devour it. She gave birth to a male child one who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron but her child was caught up to God and to his throne. What we're good at being given here was a vision for John to probably play it a lot like watching a movie with these visions and these Visions represent a different things. And it's pretty clear here the woman's giving birth to Jesus, the son of God. And no wonder Satan was standing there ready to Devour the child. Because if he could take down the child, then he took down, God's people. That didn't happen. He gets caught up to God. We know what the story of Jesus says, but look, what else happens here? The woman fled Into the Wilderness where she had a place prepared by God and what she is to be nourished for 1260 days, that is 42 months, three and a half years, a short period of oppressive time. Now, War arose in Heaven, nor the sea shift from the child being born. Here he goes up to heaven. Now, War arose in heaven. Michael and his angels, fighting against the Dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back. But he was defeated and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The Great Dragon was strong down the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world. He was thrown down to the Earth and his angels were thrown down with him. and I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, now, the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, the authority of his Christ have come for the accuser of our brothers, has been thrown down who accuses them Day and Night Before Our God, And you don't have to go through these different individuals parts of the vision he's saying, and identify every single thing to understand what is being talked about.

The Messiah has come as this is all in folded and whatever the war was in heaven and Michael and his angels defeated Satan at the site and gets tossed down here and he's got a short. Of time as the vocal say later and there's a continuous his War this time trying to take out God's people. And he continues and says, and they that's God. People conquered him. By the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony and for they loved not their lives, even unto death. I suggest you. This is a key passage for us and looking at how member our question before us. We know what we have. We know we have a hope Living Hope in heaven and we know that our faith, the outcome of it will be salvation. But how does that happen? We take our humility or surrender to him on our trust to him in our faith and we include three things that are talked about here. It's hearing verse 11. John point the Holy Spirit through John points us to the Victory and how it takes place. Revelation. 12:11 first. Notice what said by the blood of the Lamb?

And by the word of the testimony. And by the not loving life, unto death and would want to look at a few thoughts about those three things because they are the key. Notice. What Levin said, this is how they conquered, they conquered by the blood of Christ, they conquered by the word of their testimony and they conquered by not loving their lives unto death.

The blood of the Lamb.

And that verse the brothers and verse 10. Would include the martyrs in Revelation 6 9 through 10 and all the others who would conquer Satan by Victory through faith. So, where's 11? That whole section in verse 10, the brothers were all of those at the time, but her back into the 6 chapter, who were the martyrs during that 250 year. And how they conquered is, how we conquer. And the first way is the blood of the Lamb. It is the Cross of Christ. Where the blood is gets gets poured out. And from that moment until his return that demonstration of God's power is available to any and all Who will live a life by faith? Humility. Surrender and Trust. And that's how we conquer his evil. The blood of the Lamb. in Revelation, 55 and I backed up here to Revelation 5 because In the first half of the book, which ends in chapter 11. This section here, if you remember, John is in heaven, he's having this experience. He seen these things. And he gets very upset. Cuz no one could be found to open the seals on the scroll Seven Seals, and he was really upset about it. One of the Elder said to me, weep no more Behold, The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David has conquered so that he can open the scroll. And it's Seven Seals in that Cochran was because he went to the Cross, he shed his blood, he was buried in his raised the third day. Revelation 5 verse 9 and 10, it says, they sang a new song saying where they are you to take the scroll to open it seals for you were slain, and by your blood and you ran, some people for God from every tribe and language and people from nation, and you have made them a kingdom and Priests who are God and they shall reign on Earth forever, and notice what he said and buy your blood.

Peter said it this way in his book still back to chapter 1. If you want to look there Verse 18, He says knowing that you were ransomed When you read that we're Ransom like he's using it here. he is talking about the fact that the price Ransom a price paid Your sins and you all know this was going to remind you our sins. Put us in a situation where we could not pay the price impossible to happen, no matter what. No matter the sacrifice no amount of anything was going to do it. It took got his blood and that's what Peter's bringing up here knowing that you were Ransom paid for from the fruit away inherited from your father's, not with perishable things, such as silver or gold. But with the precious blood of Christ like that of the Lamb without blemish and spot, then down in the 22nd verse, he says, having purified your cell Souls by obedience to the truth for a sincere. Brotherly love, love one another earnestly from up your heart. Since you have been born again not of perishable. See, but in Paris will through the living and abiding word of God. I remember we we did read the first few verses that first chapter and we was said, then that it was by his blood and Peter keeps making the point in that first. When you said you were born again to a Living Hope and here, he told us how we get born, how our faith. Causes us to be born again. I know I'm pulling over here at my computer cuz I'm looking at the first this year. I know you're saying up there. You don't see me pointing you just going to probably have to adjust to that. What the point? The point is that Living Hope. Takes our faith. And that faith has to be in that blood. This is where trust comes in. You can't see God, when you're baptized, you can't see God applying his blood of his son to your sins but he says he does it. You don't see God, having you be born again, spiritually, but he doesn't. You don't see God, wiping every sin off the board that you've ever committed and giving you the opportunity that you commit more, they can be wiped off and he does not remember them anymore. But he did it. And he constantly does it now. So that you can have that Living Hope when you passed or he comes back. So, the blood of the Lamb.

Next by the word of the testimony.

And this is a little different from the blood of the lamb and the word of the testimony is another cause for their overcoming number are verse 11. We've got blood of the Lamb, we have the word of the testimony. This was the Saints response. A response of Faith to the hearing of the Gospel, the death burial, and resurrection of Jesus. That was an amazing good news because in those days and age people didn't believe in the resurrection or life after death the Greeks absolutely didn't believe in the Romans didn't really care. They thought religion was just something you did in your spare time. But the word of the testimony the death bear on Resurrection as the Saints throughout history have lived the word of the testimony. Now notice what I said, They lived it. You confessed it before. Baptism, you confess it when you spread the gospel to others but you also have to live it. We become that Shining Light by living the word of the testimony, which is the death bear on, resurrection of Jesus, making him the Christ. People with face today, we're commanded also to share that Living Hope with others. Proclaiming Jesus is death burial and resurrection that is what the people of verse 11 did. This 250 year. Of persecution on-again-off-again that happened. There's a lot of recordings about the torturous things, the Romans did the Christians. Literally throwing them to the Lions. Literally burning them at stake and a Christians did it willingly. Some of them record says some of them did it with smiles on their face. Happy the Romans just couldn't believe it, but those Christians Faith was such. They were happy to be suffering for Jesus. It also record that history. During that. Of time, the church is growth, was an explosion. During that period from Acts chapter 2, The Gospel spreads. When you get to about 70 AD lawn 100 ad on the explosion of the crystal of Christianity, with Gentile goes all through the Roman world. Even though. Even though off and on the Romans would physically, persecute Christians, seize their property seized their families. Literally kill husbands, and wives in front of each other. I'm trying to get Christians to burn incense to Caesar. They did this thing that's on the bottom line here. They proclaim the gospel, they lived it. They talked about it, regardless of consequences in the church just exploded in growth.

The Bible says in John 20:30 through 31 and this is a part of the word of the testimony John wrote and said. Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples which are not written in these books. But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and that by believing, you may have life in his name.

You heard preachers talk about it. Romans 10:17. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word. We don't do just Blind Faith In following God, we do what's talked about here and John 11? He gave us evidence written evidence that Jesus is the Messiah. John only talks of seven miracles in his whole book. Matthew, on the other hand takes extreme dick goes into extreme detail to prove. Jesus is the Messiah from the old Prophecies of the Old Law and how Jesus came and fulfilled every bit of it. Mark, Matthew and Mark or Luke. And Mark, they continue Luke actually said in the beginning of his book that he went out investigated everything. Probably the two-year. Paul spent in any Jews custody are in custody and Judea before he went to Rome. It looks like poop when around and talk to everybody possible. So he would buy eight. Be able to save. These are the eyewitness accounts. I talked to the people who were there. Your faith is not based on some fantasy. Are face to faith is based on evidence. That evidence is God's word. That's how we get our faith in. Romans 5:2 through him. We have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in Hope of the glory of God. The word of the testimony produces our faith. We live by it will bet we obey the truth and true far is souls. And in the process, we gained access into God's grace, his mercy and loving kindness in the blood of Christ. Paul says and 2nd Corinthians 5:7. We walk by faith, not by sight. Whenever you run into the words of the terms, we walk in the New Testament. It usually means. This is how we live. We live the word of the testimony. We talked about it, we share it. We hold it. Dear in our hearts, everything that God has done for us and it builds our faith.

John 20, 30 and 31 G. Just did many other signs of the present, the disciples which are not written in this book but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of God, and believing, you may have life in his name through him. We've obtained access to this faith, and for we walk by faith and not by sight. Now I put this slide up for this reason. I want to remind us of what you said in Hebrews 10 at verse 38. Has God, as I said, always warns us, he said in Hebrews 10:38, but my righteous one shall live by faith. That's us. He also says, if he lets his righteous one, if he shrinks back, my soul has no pleasure in it.

By the word of the testimony by the blood of the lamb and by not loving the life unto death.

Loving your life. Even unto death together with the previous two essential and we're focusing on on Revelation, 12:11. Blood of the Lamb. They were the testimony and then they did not love their lives in the death. They had the Martyr spirit. All those Saints may never be called upon to die for the name of Christ. Never the last, we must not love our lives unto death.

Matthew 10:28 do not fear. Jesus said, do not fear Those Who Kill the body but cannot kill the soul, rather fear Him who can destroy both body and soul in Hell. Number Baton, Revelation 2:10, through 11, and Jesus was talking to the seven churches to one of them. He said, do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw, some of you into prison that you may be tested for 10 days, you will have tribulation, be faithful unto death, and I will give you the Crown of Life, he who has an ear, let him hear what the spirit says, to the churches, the one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death. When you get to Revelation 20, you find out the second death gets Satan and all his group cost in the eternal hell forever. And what he told these people in that church and the second chapter verse 10, 11, the one who conquers being faithful to death, that person can't be hurt by the second death. Now, one of them, there's a note on here. If you look at the bottom of that slide faithfulness, not until death. Yes. And I'm being a bit nitpicky on words but there's a reason for it. The word that translated onto is different from the word, thats translated into or until I'm sorry though. I'm the death, faith is required. That's not what's being talked about here. The Saints must be willing to die for Christ. If called upon unto means as far as another word, what's being required You by Jesus is you have to have that willing spirit that martyr spirit that you're willing to go as far as Holding to his faith, living it to being killed by for the purpose of it. That's what those people did unto. Different than Intel.

Turn your Bible through Woods. Matthew 10:34 through 39. Remember here were talking about not loving your life in Jesus. Had some things to tell us about this while he was here.

Verse 34. 336. He said, do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword for I've come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother and a daughter in law against her mother-in-law. In a person's enemies will be those of his own household and that is true for some of us. Thank goodness. Sometimes it's not the truth but it is true. It sometimes in Jesus warned us One of the things we learned from history of the martyrs there were children who turned in their parents. There were parents who turned in their children to the Romans sad as it is, that is the reality in his God is always done with us. He's tells us the truth ahead of time here is where we have to make that decision in our heart to be faithful unto. As far as death. Jesus goes on 37 to 39, whoever loves father or mother, more than me is. Not worthy of me. Whoever loves son or daughter. More than me is. Not worthy of me. Whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life, for my sake, will find it. That's being faithful as far as death, but no matter what happens. You made that decision now whether you're going to get tested that or that way or not, we don't know right now. In Matthew, 10, 38 and 39 whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy. Whoever finds his life will lose it. Whoever loses his life, for my sake, will find it and John 12, 25 to 26. Jesus said whoever loves his life loses. It whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me where I am there. My servant will be, also, if anyone serves me, the father will honor him. So, here's our Victory. We've looked at the three key elements to this victory. Blood of the Lamb word of the testimony and not loving your life unto death.

And that brings us to the invitation this morning. There is an invitation here from God to everyone of us. Sometimes, we need to renew our invitation in our acceptance of his invitation. Sometimes it might be, we've got some sending our life. We need to repent of And ask God to forgive us, maybe you have got some kind of public sin in your life and you need of prayers of the men of this congregation. When we're done, asked us will be happy to do that or maybe you're someone who's never been baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of sin. We can take care of that too. After about 45 minutes of fell in the bathroom with some warm water. And it's an imitation this lesson at the end here is an invitation from God in 1st Timothy 2:3 through 4, Paul wrote this to that young preacher. This is good and it's pleasing. In the sight of God, our savior who desires all people to be saved to, come to the knowledge of the truth of some of your translations will say, instead of who desires will say that it's his will that the poor translation of that word. When you think in terms of God's will, if it's with his will, he just going to do it when he created the Earth? That was his, will he willed into existence? But this word desires a different kind of week Better translation in English Standard here. This is what God wants. It's in his heart, it's in his heart so much that he wants us to be saved. And have that Living Hope then he went through off, thousands of years, preparing us law of Moses, then the prophets Jesus comes preachers for 3 years, death bear on Resurrection, he did everything He laid out a great gift to everyone of us. A Living Hope and he wants us to come to knowledge of the true. So we can have that Living Hope. Joshua had something interesting to say, concerning God's invitation to his people. This is after the juice at Concord, what they did, have the promised land and they still haven't taken out all that evil culture, that God wanted them to destroy. They didn't do it. Like God said to do it. And he said that culture will they have an impact on you? We live today in a similar in culture. That worships sensuality more than anything else but Joshua said there's some Joshua 24-15 if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day, whom you will serve. Whether the gods of your father, served served in the region beyond the river or the gods of the amorites and whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

Knowledge and choice. That's what God offers knowledge of how to conquer, how they have a Living, Hope how to live a life and have the victory of faith. That comes from knowledge and US choosing and sometimes you got to renew that choice. Sometimes, you got to take a look at your heart. Am I living the word of the testimony? Am I living trusting? His blood. Am I living the very things that he's told us about here? Walking with him.