A Faith That Overcomes

Introduction

Today we are going to jump right in, I’ve got a lot to talk about this morning and I want to get us going right away. If you just joined us we are continuing our series in the letter of 1st John and we are starting chapter 5 today. This series is called True Christianity where we are looking at what it looks like to be a true Christian.

If you have your bibles, turn to 1 John 5, if you don’t, that’s ok, we will have the words on the screen. I have the notes on the app and on the back table for those who don’t have a phone or don’t like them.

Main Text

1 John 5:1–5 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. 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?

Today we are talking all about faith, so we need to start with a question for those who may be new to this topic. What is faith? Thankfully, the bible gives us the very best definition of faith.

Hebrews 11:1 ESV

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.

Faith is believing in something you cannot see. It’s a firm conviction that what you are hoping for will come to pass. The bible commands us to put our faith in God. We cannot see him and yet we are expected to trust in him and believe that He is the giver of eternal life through Christ Jesus.

John here says that the victory that has overcome the world is our faith. In other words, we can’t see it, but by believing we can overcome the world.

This got me to thinking…

What Does An Overcoming Faith Look Like?

I think there are at least three ways this type of faith reveals itself.

It’s A Faith That Prevails

Our faith in Jesus should produce in us a faith that helps us to overcome the evil one, specifically his lies.

Prevails - means to overcome opposing forces.

The Apostle John says that everyone born of God or born again overcomes the world. The world is the definition of an opposing force.

Remember back to chapter 2.

1 John 2:16 ESV

For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.

This is what is coming against you. Earlier in this series, we talked about the three lies of the world and John tells us our faith is what will help us overcome them.

The desires of the flesh - Lie #1 was that what we want will satisfy us.

The lust of the eyes - Lie #2 was that if we get what we see we will be fulfilled.

The pride of life - Lie #3 was that the more we can accomplish will satisfy us.

John is saying these three things are working against you and the victory that overcomes the world is our faith.

This isn’t something we have to work for, this faith isn’t something we conjure up. It’s something we get when we are born again. Read verse 4 again. Everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world.

How do get born again? Verse 5 - by believing that Jesus is the Son of God. When you put your faith in Jesus, you are born again. That’s also known as getting saved.

What does a faith that prevails look like?

A Faith that prevails is focused on overcoming the world, not giving into it.

A Faith that prevails means that when you hit the wall, you believe God put the wall in your way because he means for you to go through it, not turn around.

A Faith that prevails means that when all of hell comes against you, you stand. A Faith that prevails means that you are believing for God to get you through something, not avoiding it.

Personal story in relation to overcoming the world, specifically the desires of the flesh. Leaving a comfortable job making 6 figures to making half as much. Faith tried at tax time. A faith that prevails trusts God with your finances.

Finances and circumstances are the two things that I see that test our faith. Do you trust God with your bank account and your giving? Do you trust God when your circumstances sour? A Faith that prevails trusts God in all seasons of life and holds their money with open hands trusting God will provide for their needs and they live generous lives.

One of the secrets to prevailing faith is to prevail in prayer and knowing the word of God. When things get hard, instead of running away, hit your knees.

Here is one of the greatest secrets of prevailing prayer: To study the Word to find what God’s will is as revealed there in the promises, and then simply take these promises and spread them out before God in prayer with the absolutely unwavering expectation that He will do what He has promised in His Word.

R. A. Torrey

God is faithful people! Every promise He makes, He will bring to pass. Do not grow weary in the waiting. Push forward with prayer.

2 Peter 3:9 ESV

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.

It’s A Faith That Travails

The second description of an overcoming faith is a travailing faith. This is a faith that is believing FOR something. Most of us have this false humility where we are scared to ask God for things in prayer, but a person with a faith that travails will believe God for great things.

What does it mean to travail? It means to engage in a painful and laborious effort. Travailing is what a woman does during childbirth. She believes a child will come, but before he is born, she has to engage in the painful labor of bringing this promise to pass.

Ephesians 2:10 ESV

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Our faith produces something. Faith isn’t dead. It’s not buried, it’s not hopeless. In this case, John says that its a faith that overcomes the world. If we have faith in God, that faith will produce something. And many times our faith will need to travail through some painful times.

The Apostle Paul understood this. He spoke this of the church in Galatia…

Galatians 4:19 KJV 1900

My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you,

Paul was believing for Christ to be formed in his church and if you read the rest of this letter, you can see this was a laborious effort. People had come in and distorted the gospel and was leading people astray, but Paul had his faith in God and that God would form Christ in his people.

This travailing faith most often shows up in prayer. It’s believing that God will do something. It’s a faith that will pray for the impossible, it will persevere in this midst of circumstances that are the opposite of what we see. It’s the evidence of things hoped for…This faith believes God.

I said this recently, but it bears repeating, Most of us believe in Jesus, we just don’t believe Jesus. We can mentally acknowledge that he died and was raised, but when it comes to his promises in the here and now, we struggle to believe. John wants his readers to have that kind of faith - a faith that believes regardless of circumstances and believes for big things.

A travailing faith is more than just a prevailing faith though. When the world is falling down, maybe all you have is a prevailing faith, a faith that stands when you want to run. A faith that waits when you want to give up.

But a travailing faith is more than just holding down the fort, it’s a faith that believes God will destroy the enemy. It’s a faith that takes ground.

Travail before God in prayer—not the kind of prayer that is waiting, waiting, just to exist, to survive, to be sustained—but an intercession that will dynamite the dam so we can have a flood.

John Robert Stevens

This type of faith that tears a roof of a house to get someone to Jesus. This is the type of faith that calls down fire on false prophets.

What does this type of faith look like practically? A travailing faith would look like a grandmother praying incessantly for the salvation of her grandson. A travailing faith would look like someone who bought land during the great depression or great recession believing that world was not going to end. A travailing faith is someone who gets a cancer diagnosis or some sort of heart disease and rather than resigning to sit in a chair until they die, they fight.

It’s A Faith That Compels

The third adjective to describe an overcoming faith is that its a faith that compels.

A compelling faith is a faith that is going somewhere. It’s a faith that pushes you out the door.

To define compel, it means to drive forcibly. Everything we see in Scripture points us to a faith that will drive us to do things we couldn’t imagine, in places we have never been.

As an Elim church, our DNA is a missions. It’s going and taking the gospel to the lost and those in faraway lands. Our culture is one of going. This is the type of faith it takes to fulfill the Great Commission.

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

In the Greek this command to go, literally sounds like this, “As you are going…” In other words, the assumption is you will be going somewhere. Your faith will compel you to go.

Jesus sends his disciples to the ends of the earth. The Apostle John heard this command. He followed this command. He would travel all over the Middle East.

John tells us that our faith will compel us to love one another. That’s his point. He tells us in verse 2 that loving others and loving God are intertwined. If we love others, it’s because we first love God and obey him.

If there be any one point in which the Christian church ought to keep its fervor at a white heat, it is concerning missions. If there be anything about which we cannot tolerate lukewarmness, it is in the matter of sending the gospel to a dying world.

Charles Spurgeon

Church I fear we have lost our heart for the lost. I fear we have traded what we should be fervent about for the American Dream - money, college, sports, tv, endless scrolling.

I believe God is calling us to step up and step out. We need to get about the mission of the gospel. If you don’t have a passport, get one. If you don’t serve the body of Christ, start. If you are living a life that is self-consumed, stop.

This is the type of faith God wants us to have. This is what an overcoming faith looks like. It preaches peace to our enemies. It brings the gospel to muslims, jews and mormons. It’s not afraid of offending people, it is compelled to see them saved!

What does this look like practically?

First and foremost - missions.

Secondly, it’s about evangelism.

Imagine you are sitting at Chic-fila or you walk into some other restaurant and God puts it on your heart to talk to someone about Jesus. It feels like a burning inside of you. You can’t stop yourself.

A compelling faith means you go. It means you speak. Regardless of the outcome.

It means you believe that by being obedient, God will do the rest. The results are not up to you, the obedience is. It’s your job to put your “yes” on the table. It’s your job to step up and step out.

Conclusion

Now I want to know does these three words describe your faith? Is your faith prevailing in times of trouble? Is it travailing and producing something in your life? Is it compelling you to go and preach the good news?

If yes, then awesome. If not and I assume most of us saw some areas where we need to improve. We need to exercise some of that faith.

I want to encourage you. That faith, if you are a believer, is already in you, you need to be obedient. Faith is a muscle that needs to be exercised and the way we exercise it is in our obedience. Will you be obedient today? Will you ask God to help you walk in this type of faith and then be obedient to whatever he asks you to do? Will you start evangelizing? Or will you refuse to tell others about Christ? You have got to make a decision today.

Maybe you don’t have this type of faith at all. Maybe you don’t have any faith.

Maybe this is all new to you. Perhaps you heard some things about faith in Jesus and you realized you have never taken the first step of putting your trust in Jesus Christ as your lord and savior. Today is the day of salvation. Make up your mind today. Do not let another day pass by. Will you put your trust in him today and make a public profession of your faith or will you reject him? There’s no middle ground. The altar is open as we sing, come up front and let’s pray together.