Becoming an Overcomer

Take God’s Word now and open, if you will to 1 John chapter 5. 1 John chapter 5, and we’re going to read together the first 6 verses. I’m speaking today on the subject, overcoming. Helping you to be an overcomer today, tomorrow, this coming year, this decade, and the rest of your life until Jesus comes.

1 John 5:1–3 ESV

Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

1 John 5:4–6 ESV

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? This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

Are you an overcomer? I mean honestly, are you an overcomer? Or, are you just simply trying to hold on ’til Jesus gets here? Now my dear friend, an overcoming Christian is not a super Christian. He is a normal Christian. The Christian who is not overcoming is a sub-normal Christian. It is God’s plan. It is God’s blueprint for you—day by day, this day, and the rest of your life that become an overcomer. And, when we meet one another around here in the church and we walk up and I say, “Bob, how are you doing?” He ought to say, “I’m overcoming.” “Margaret, how are you doing?” “I’m overcoming. I am living a life of victory, a life of overcoming.”

Now, let me talk to you about three very simple facts. And yet, these simple facts have tremendous importance for us if we’re going to live in the future. And, I can assure you that I am speaking to me as I speak to you.

I. You Will Encounter Powerful Opposition

Number one, you will encounter powerful opposition. Look in verse 4.

1 John 5:4 ESV

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

You have an enemy out there and that enemy is called the world. Now, God wants you to have opposition. God has engineered your life that you would have opposition. God could kill the devil and eradicate the world’s system if He wanted to, but He doesn’t. Because dear friend, if you don’t have any opposition, you’ll never know any victory.God allows you to have opposition that you might know victory.

Now, the Bible speaks, in verse 4, of the world. What do we mean by the world? (we talked about this a few weeks ago) It’s not the literal earth, it’s not the people of the earth

What is this world that we are not to love? What is this world that we are to overcome? It is a system. It is Satan’s system. The word that is translated world here is the word cosmos, and it means an order, or a system.

Go back to 1 John chapter 2,verse 16. “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” Now, that tells us dear friend about what the world’s system is. This is what we mean and this is what you are going to have to overcome.

here breaks them up...

*Passions Now dear friend, that’s what we call the lust of the flesh. It’s anything that tells you to pamper the flesh so that you will do something contrary to the will of God. That is what we call the lust of the flesh. And so, that deals with passions. And, then look if you will, here. And, all that is of the world, the lust of the flesh and then the lust of the eyes.

* Possessions Now what does he mean with the lust of the eyes. Well, that deals with possessions. You know the eyes just simply see things and they want those things. Your eyes have an appetite.

* Positions That’s the pride of life. To be something, to be somebody. Now there’s nothing wrong with holy ambition, but he’s talking here about unholy ambition. To try to be first, to put yourself ahead.

Passions, that’s doing. Possessions, that’s having. Pride that’s being. Doing, having, and being.

Now, you’re going to be pressured. There’s going to be unbelievable pressure this world’s system. Now, let me tell you about the world. We have been saved out of this world, but we are in the world. We are sent back to the world to witness to the world and that’s the only business we have in the world. We are not to conform to the world. We are not to condemn the world. We are not to compromise with the world, but we are to confront the world, and we are to overcome the world with the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Now, there you’re going to meet tremendous opposition. And, don’t get the idea that because you’re saved, you’re not going to have any opposition. As a matter of fact, that’s really when you’re opposition begins. If you’ve never met the devil it’s because you and the devil have been going in the same direction. You turn around, you start to live for God, and you’re going to have a collision with a system that I call Satan’s system and that the Bible calls the world.

II. You Must Exercise Personal Obedience

Number two, you must exercise personal obedience. Powerful opposition, personal obedience.

Now, let me tell you what overcoming is. It is obeying. That’s all it is. Just obeying God. You want to be an overcomer? What is the formula for overcoming? Just obey God. Just that simple.

1 John 5:2 ESV

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

What is keeping His Commandments? Well, that’s just obedience. For this is the love of God that we keep His Commandments. And, his Commandments are not a burden.

he equates keeping the Commandments of God with overcoming the world. They’re almost synonymous. You keep the Commandments of God, you overcome the world.

Now, he gives us three reasons for commandment keeping. Why should you keep God’s commandments?

A. For the Love of God

First of all, he says if you love God you’re going to keep His Commandments. By this we know—verse two—that we love the children of God when we love God and keep His Commandments. Verse three says, for this is the love of God that we keep His Commandments.

We can’t say we love him if we not keeping His Commandments. You’re a liar.

I mean, Love loves to please the one it loves.

B. For the Love of Others

All right now, let me give you the second reason. Not only love for God but love for others.

1 John 5:2 ESV

By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.

You see, listen. If you love me then you’re going to obey God. The best thing a dad can do for his children is to obey God. The best thing a husband can do for his wife is to obey God. The best thing a Christian can do for the Church is to obey God. Because you see, when you disobey God it hurts me. When I disobey God it hurts you. The only problems we have in this world today are people who disobey God. Any time you get hurt by another person, somehow that person is disobeying God.

When I get on an airplane, I want that pilot to be an obedient pilot because if he disobeys the laws of aerodynamics, the laws of the federal administration, aviation administration, or whatever, I can get hurt. And, dear friend, if we love others we ought to obey God. But, let me give you a very powerful reason.

1 John 5:3 ESV

For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

Look in verse 3 that says, for this is the love of God that we keep his commandments. Now, watch this, and His Commandments are not burdensome. Do you know what that means? Have you ever gotten that idea? Has the devil ever told you, “Oh, oh it’s so hard to keep the Commandments of God?” Have you ever believed that lie? Don’t get the idea that God is some sort of vengeful deity up there, sitting up there on the throne saying, “Now let’s see, what can I do that’ll make life hard for him? Oh boy, here’s a hard commandment, let’s see if he can keep this one. Boy that’ll make him squirm like a worm in hot ashes.” all of God’s Commandments are for your welfare. Every time God says, “Thou shalt not.” He’s saying, “Don’t hurt yourself.” Every time God says, “Thou shalt,” he’s saying, “Help yourself to happiness.”

God’s will is not for God’s sake, but it is for your sake. God doesn’t need anything because he’s God. What God is trying to do is to help you to live a happy, overcoming, victorious life. And therefore, the will of God is not something that we have to do, but it is something that we get to do. It is a pleasure to do God’s will. So why keep the Commandments of God? Well, keeping the Commandments of God is just simply overcoming. And, why do you do it? Well, if you love God you’ll keep His Commandments. If you love others you’ll keep His Commandments. Be good to yourself, and keep His Commandments.

You may say- That’s like, you’re going to tell me or I’m going to tell you how to be rich. And, the answer is have a lot of money. I mean, show me, how can I keep God’s commandments? Yes, I will agree, I will agree, if I kept God’s commandments, I would be an overcomer. But, the problem is, I don’t have what it takes to keep God’s Commandments.”

III. You Can Practice Perpetual Overcoming

And, I’m going to show you that you do, because this same Scripture that I read to you says number one, we can expect powerful opposition, number two, we must exercise personal obedience, but number three, my dear friend, listen to me, we can expect perpetual overcoming.

Now, begin to read in 1 John 5 verse 4.

1 John 5:4 ESV

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

And, in those scriptures, I gave you the three great ingredients that God has put into your life.

Here’s the how...

There are three great resources that God has given you so that you can obey and so that you can be an overcomer.

A. By Birth

Now, let me show you what I mean by that. Now you see, when you’re born of God then you become a partaker of the divine nature. Now, the Bible calls that regeneration. And, what does he mean by regeneration? Well, you are re-gened. Regene-erated. I have in me right now some genes and chromosomes. I got those by my natural birth and I have natural proclivities that came by my natural birth. But, when I received Jesus Christ, I got re-gened. I am re-gene-erated. I have some new genes, some spiritual chromosomes in me, and I have the nature of God. I have become a partaker of the divine nature. And, God has given me inside and supernatural power. Now, you need to understand that if you’re saved then you have supernatural power. Don’t ever say, “I can’t overcome.” Because that’s not humility, but it is blasphemy and unbelief. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.

All that the Father was to His Son Jesus Christ, His son, Jesus Christ, wants to be to us. May I say that again? All Father was to His Son Jesus Christ, His Son Jesus Christ, wants to be to us. But, all that Jesus Christ was to His Father, we are to be like Jesus Christ. Now, have you got that? And, when we are to Christ what Christ was to the father then, the power that the Father put into His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, is the same supernatural power that will be flowing through us.

I have been born again. Now, if you haven’t been born again, you’re not going to overcome the world. The devil’s going to say, “Jump.” And, you’re going to say, “How high?” No body, no body, no body, can be an overcomer without the new birth.

All right, first of all, birth. But now, a lot of people are born again, who don’t overcome because dear friend, they don’t take what they receive by birth and put it into practice.

B. By Belief

And so that brings us to the next thing. Not only by reason of birth, but also by reason of belief.

Now look at verse 4.

1 John 5:4 ESV

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Now, once you have been born of God and once you have received this nature, then how do you put it into practice? By your faith. By believing, you see, faith is the lifestyle of an overcomer. You do not overcome the world by trying, but you overcome the world by trusting. Faith is not simply believing that what God says is true. Faith is acting upon it because it is true. Faith is not blindly believing in spite of evidence. It is acting and it is obeying in spite of consequences. Now, when you begin to have enough faith to say, “I’m going to obey God simply by faith.” You know the reason that many of us don’t obey God? We really just don’t believe God.

Why does, how does belief help you to overcome? Well you see, what belief does is it makes Jesus Christ real to you You see, look in verse 5.

1 John 5:5 ESV

Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

I’m not talking about believing that abstractly, but when you believe that the Son of God is in you.

Do you know why people love the world? This same book of 1 John says this, if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. the reason we would love the world is ’cause we don’t love the Father. If any man loves the world then the love of the Father is not in him. Who is the love of the Father? The Lord Jesus. “This is My beloved Son.” Now, if Jesus Christ is not meeting my needs, where am I going to go to have my needs met? To the world. If Jesus Christ is meeting my needs then I don’t have to go to the world to have my needs met.

If I had just set down to a wonderful meal. I mean a big, thick steak And, a nice baked potato. And, a tall glass of ice tea and all of that, and everything is just right. And, then after I finish, you come up to me with a plate of stale crumbs and you say, here help yourself.” I’ll say, “No thank you. I’m already satisfied.”

The only reason that the people go for the things of this world is that they have an unsatisfied desire that they think that the world can satisfy. I mean, a person who’s already satisfied in Jesus doesn’t have an itch the devil can scratch. Now what does faith do? Faith makes Jesus Christ a bright living reality to you. Who is the one that overcomes? The one that believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.

All right, now listen. Here’s the third way we overcome...

C. By Blood

I said, first of all your birth. I said, secondly your belief. And, thirdly blood. Notice if you will in 1 John 5 verse 6. 1 John 5:6

1 John 5:6 ESV

This is he who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ; not by the water only but by the water and the blood. And the Spirit is the one who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth.

Not by water only but by water and blood. Now, what on earth does that mean? Well, He came by water. That’s the natural birth. You see, this is what God has given, that you might overcome. God has given you the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ, you read over there in the book of Revelation chapter 23 verse 11: “And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb.”

God has given to you in your blood certain things that war against disease. They are called antibodies. And, whenever an invader gets into your body—a microbe gets into your body that would destroy your body—These antibodies, in your blood, war against that and you get well.

But, you know sometimes an invader will come into your body, And, by the time your body mobilized some antibodies to fight that disease, you’re dead. And, that’s the reason so many people died of small pox because we didn’t know how to immunize against small pox. People would get small pox and they would just die.

Up in Missouri, a tribe of thirty-thousand Indians and were reduced to thirty Indians by small pox. The settlers went in there and they found the Indians just lying in the tent, stacked up dead. But, you know how Pasteur and others learned that we could immunize.

Now, how do you immunize? What you do is find a person who’s had a disease and who’s overcome that disease and the person who has overcome that disease has what they call wise blood. He has these antibodies on the inside of his body that can fight that. So, what they do is get the blood of somebody who has already overcome that disease. They make a serum out of it and inject that into somebody else and immunize that person and now he gets the code. And so, that blood knows that invader and when that invader comes in, he can overcome.

In John chapter 16 and verse 33 Jesus said,

John 16:33 ESV

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

Now, how did Jesus Christ overcome the world? Jesus Christ took the disease of sin into His own body willingly. He was not a sinner, but He took sin into His own body. And, He went to the cross and on the cross He paid the sin debt and He overcame sin.

Jesus said, “Whatever I have overcome, you can overcome.” The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, now flows through his body, the Church. Many of us think about the shed blood, but my dear friend, the shed blood dealt with the penalty of sin. Jesus has a body and in that body is His blood. You are the body of Christ. And, the rich, red, and royal blood of the Lord Jesus Christ cleanses us. Not cleansed, but cleanses us from all sin. You have everything that is necessary for you to live a victorious life. You have the birth, the belief, and the blood. It’s all yours. And, that’s the way that you are going to overcome.

That’s the way, dear friend, when you first of all make absolutely certain that you have been born again. Secondly, have faith in God that makes Jesus Christ real to you. Have your satisfaction in the Lord Jesus Christ. Let Jesus be your all in all by faith. And, then dear friend, on the authority of the blood of Jesus Christ, they overcame him, Revelation 12 verse 11, by the blood of the lamb.