CBC WKND 25 Session 4
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TOGETHER WE HAVE WON!
TOGETHER WE HAVE WON!
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
Good morning students and good morning church!
Man, this has been such a wild WKND.
It is kind of like stepping into a time machine but also not because time doesn’t go backwards. It just keeps moving forward.
Alright we need to jump into this thing before I lose control.
This whole WKND has been centered around the theme: Piercing The Darkness. For each session we have been walking through 1 John.
Session 1: Jesus Shattered The Darkness - 1 John 1
Session 2: Living in the Light - 1 John 2
Session 3: Love Overcomes - 1 John 3
This morning we are going to wrapping things up with 1 John 4.
The message today is titled, “TOGETHER WE HAVE WON!”
State Champ Basketball Game intro
You know people give me a hard time all the time because I only played 30 seconds in that game, but you know what, I AM STILL A STATE CHAMPION!
I have realized in life that I would rather be the worst player on a winning team, than the best player on a losing team.
I love telling this story because it connect directly to our victory in Jesus. Because whether you know it or not. There are two teams playing in this game called life. A team of light and a team of darkness. A team of righteousness and a team of sin. A team of life and a team of death. The team of God and the team of the world.
You can only be on won of these two teams and one day the world series is coming. The ultimate finale and clash between the two forces. And I want to make sure this is so very clear before I began.
God has already won. Jesus has already won. And we get to win. We get to be victorious for all of eternity because of Jesus.
Because…
TOGETHER WITH CHRIST WE HAVE WON
TOGETHER WITH CHRIST WE HAVE WON
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
The world is going to teach a false doctrine about Jesus and the people of the world will listen. They will be drawn in. But John makes it so clear to the believers.
4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
It doesn’t matter what lies the enemies spread. It doesn’t matter what they try to say. None of it will be greater than the truth of Jesus. And YOU child of God who has placed your faith in Jesus you have overcome them.
This is not meant to be about a singular false teaching and misleading. This verse is representing every false doctrine, every lie, every sin, every enemy of God.
4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
We have done nothing. Jesus completed the work. Jesus did what no one else could do.
What we get to do is win! And I LOVE WINNING! If fact we have a saying in the Shepard household and Titus is already learning at 2 years old. It is, we are Shepard’s we win! It is very simple but it is true.
Now I haven’t turned into some garbage prosper gospel preacher since leaving. I do not mean that we are winning because God is going to bless us with wealth, health, and whatever else that people say and it’s just dumb. And we are winning because God just makes our life easy and comfy when we follow Him and just gotta have enough faith and everything is going to work out just the way you want it to and you are going to be a winner. NO I AM NOT SAYING THAT.
THE WORD OF GOD DOES NOT SAY THAT. Let me make sure this is clear, the word of God does not say that winning with Jesus is having earthly blessings.
What His Word tells us is that the good or the bad, the happiness or the struggle we experience here on Earth will hold no weight compared to the eternal life we have with Jesus. Being in the presence of His glory for all of eternity. That is winning! And as I have been explaining over and over and over again to the students, we get to be with Jesus because of what Jesus has done.
Sin stood against Jesus and it fell
Death stood against Jesus and it fell
Satan at the end times will stand against Jesus and He will fall.
No one will claim victory over Jesus but everyone that is with Jesus will claim victory for all eternity.
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
54 …“Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”
9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
False teachers will do everything they can to pull you away from who Jesus truly is. This is the message of all of 1 John.
Students, your generation faces more deception than any before—social media lies, cultural confusion about identity and truth, false teachers online, and peer pressure that contradicts God's Word. But notice again because this is so important John says "you have overcome them"—plural!
When the world tries to deceive you about sexuality, purpose, or identity, Christians the Spirit of God will reveal the truth to you. But you have to be with Him, you have to be in His Word, you have to be in His church. It’s like what I was saying last night about sanctification. The Holy Spirit does the work - but you gotta cooperate.
You know why I was on that state championship team because I signed up for and I showed up every day for practice.
The desire of God and the desire of John while writing this is that you would know the truth and the truth is, that together with Christ we have overcome all darkness. Together with Christ we have won!
TOGETHER WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER BECAUSE WE HAVE WON!
TOGETHER WE LOVE ONE ANOTHER BECAUSE WE HAVE WON!
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
This is the 3rd time John brings up the importance of loving you fellow believers.
John reveals that God's love isn't just individual—it's perfected when it flows through community relationships. Students and church, when you love each other sacrificially—when you choose forgiveness over grudges, when you support instead of compete, when you include instead of exclude—you're not just being nice. You're literally manifesting God's invisible love in visible ways! Your student ministries, your churches become a preview of heaven, a light in the darkness for your schools and neighborhoods. This means your friendships here aren't just social—they're spiritual! When you encourage a struggling friend, when you pray together, when you choose unity over drama, you're demonstrating a love that the world cannot understand and cannot defeat. Together, your love becomes the very presence of God that overcomes hatred, division, and despair.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
And I have to be honest Cornerstone has done an incredible job of loving Jesus and loving others.
You when I told Chuck that I felt like was moving Couri and I away. I was terrified. Cornerstone was my home and my family. You still are my home and my family. I hear so many pastor tell horror stories about churches they have worked at. For me it’s just stories of lessons and of blessings. Now not everything was perfect but my time here was everything I needed. I came here as a boy. And I left as a much bigger boy lol.
Story of wanting to give up but the love of Christ through the church kept us going.
Story of prayer and being obedient to the Lord
Story of Titus
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
Students and church we are able to pierce the darkness of this world.
We can do this because JESUS SHATTERED THE DARKNESS for us.
We can walk and live in His marvelous light.
We can know with all assurance that Love has overcome.
And lastly we can have confidence that Together we have won!
