In Christ We Are Victorious

Title- In Christ We Are Victorious

Passage- and various

Attention-

I remember back when I played High School football and I was on the Junior Varsity team we played on a different day than the varsity team.

On Friday nights we would suit up and be on the sidelines just in case

I remember several times that the Varsity team was far enough ahead that the coach decided to allow the JV players to finish the game so the Varsity players wouldn't get hurt.

Even college teams and the NFL will do this as they near the playoffs

They would run up the score high enough and then let us play

At the end of the game we all could honestly say what...”We won the football game”

But in reality did I really win?

Honestly, all I was able to do, is not lose.

If it were just me and my fellow JV players against the opposing team we wouldn’t stand a chance

But the Varsity players we able to get the score to a point to secure a victory for us.

We didn’t win, the Varsity players did, we just enjoyed the fruits of their victory.

Introduction-

In the Bible we are faced with the reality that left to ourselves we are destine to sin

Ephesians 2:1–3 KJV 1900

And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Ephesians 2:1-

Galatians 5:19–21 KJV 1900

Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:1

Matthew 26:41 KJV 1900

Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.

We could read more but we get the picture that just like me on the JV team I had no power over the opposing team

Similarily, as a human being I have no power in and of myself to do battle with sin, Satan, of the flesh.

I need someone to be that Varsity team

Someone to secure that victory for me

What is the main driving point (CPS)?

Friends, Jesus Christ secured that victory through His death burial and resurrection.

Honestly, apart from the power of Christ in our lives we are destine to live a life of failure

Why does the CPS matter, what is the consequence?

When we turn to Christ, place our faith in Him, and understand our identity in Him as victors then we can turn our failures into victories

Our struggles into success

We can’t do it in our own power but in the power of the Cross we can be victorious

Transition

So when we place our faith in Christ Jesus what areas in our lives do the Scriptures tell us we can find victory?

This morning I want us to see three areas in our lives that Jesus Christ has already won a victory for us.

The first area He has won a victory for us is...

I. In Christ I have victory over the world ()

Explain

The context of this verse is Jesus teaching on His death burial and resurrection

Verse 16 He tells his disciples that they see him now but in the not too distant future they would no longer see him

Verses 17-18 The disciples are confused and in verses that follow Jesus shares wit them several things

1- Sorrow is coming (20-22)

2- Rejoicing will come to those who turn to the Father (22-24)

3- The confusion that they are experiencing the Father will make clear (25-26)

4- The Father is responding in love to those who turn to Him (27-28)

In verses 29-30 his disciples have a lightbulb moment and believe that He is the son of God

Jesus challenges their declaration of faith “Do you really believe?”

Verse 32 Jesus warns them that following Him will bring difficulty and even persecution.

And he ends with the verse I would like to focus on for a while this morning.

Jesus tells them

-I am leaving you

-It is going to be difficult

-You will scatter while I am making the greatest sacrifice for your sake

-But when those things are over and you begin to follow me again and it’s going to be difficult but I have prepared a path to victory for you…verse 33

-The world is going to be cruel to those who follow after Jesus but there is nothing to worry about because His leaving is what is going to bring us victory

So when Jesus tells His disciples and us that in the world we will have tribulation but He has over come the world what exactly does He mean?

When He uses the word world he is referring to this temporal realm of being in contrast to heaven and all of eternity.

So when Jesus tells His disciples and us that in the world we will have tribulation but He has over come the world what exactly does He mean?

He is referring to the time from creation until judgment....He is referring to this earth, those who inhabit it, the schemes and systems they set up within it, the governments and so on...

Anything that has been affected by the fall

He has the victory over it because He created it!

Relevance

Colossians 1:15–17 KJV 1900

Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature: For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

Colossians 1:15-

Why does this matter?

All things that are created are under the authority of the creator

Only He can bring us the victory over what He has created

Transition

The second area He has won a victory for us is...

II. In Christ I have victory over death (15:54-55)

Explain

Her Paul uses this statement “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death where is thy sting. O grave where is thy victory.”

Paul is using an argument that goes like this.

If death gets you it will sting but what has taken hold of death has the vastness and power to consume death.

I have been enjoying a lot of hiking since we moved and I know I will most likely never come across a bear in our hikes here there is often in the back of my mind the reality that there are things in the woods that could potentially eat me.

Paul is making a comparison. A comparison between the power of death and the power of His resurrection.

Here is my comparison....If I am out in the forest and come upon some honey I should be concerned for what?

Being stung by a bee.

What would have to happen for the sting of a bee to seem insignificant?

If a bear were to walk up behind me desiring that same honey

The bee is not to be feared…the bear on the other hand could swallow me.

The point Paul is trying to make is that death is temporary…like a sting

I know we are in winter but think back several months to mosquito season

You get stung and it itches…and its so annoying

But for how long?

Hours or days and then its back to normal

What if you get eaten by a bear?

That injury in comparison is not as temporary

Death without Christ is something to be feared…but the reality of the Jesus resurrection is vastly more powerful

Powerful enough to swallow up death like a bear could swallow a bee

Bridge to today

Relevance

Why does this matter?

Transition

The third area He has won a victory for us is...

III. In Christ I have victory over sin (; )

Explain

Not only does Jesus resurrection give us victory over death it gives us victory over sin.

Paul equates sin and death

Paul says In that sin brought death into the world

And to impress upon us our sinfulness we have the Law

And even the power of the Law…the idea that I can work my way to salvation is no comparison to Jesus resurrection

We look at death and sin and hopefully feel a bit of insufficiency against them

In reality what can we do to stop death from coming to us?

Nothing

It is the same reality with sin, before Christ we were slaves to sin…it is the blood of Christ that frees us from sin and gives us power and victory over sin.

The reality is that even though I have no power over death and sin…Jesus Christ won that victory for me and as I am united to Him by his death burial, and resurrection I become a part of that victory

Bridge to today

This is in a sense like watching the Green Bay Packers with my dad

At the end of a game where the Packers win his response is something along these lines

“WE sure played a great game today”

“Did you hear about the Packer game…WE won”

Now in reality did my dad, or any Packer fan for that matter, win anything?

No

The men who played in the game won

But there is in a sense where as a fan of a sports team, when they win, us as fans win

I have a friend who is a Cleveland Browns fan

In the very real sense when they lose, we lose

In the very real sense they they lose, he loses as well

Relevance

If I never watch a Packer game or never check their scores can I be a part of their victories?

Not really

To be a part of their victory I need to be a die hard fan!

I need to be committed to them

I need to have the mindset where I say “We won” instead of “They won”

In a sense I need to be united to them

In a union of sorts

Why does this matter?

Without Christ we are powerless to sin

If we do not realize our identity of being united in the victory He won over this world, death, and sin we will not have victory over them

It is when we commit to Him the way a Packer fan commits to watching and reading about them

What if Christians in this country were as committed to worshipping the Lord on Sundays as they were watching their favorite sports team

Or reading the Bible the way they read the sports page

It is when we devote ourselves to living a life united to Christ that we will experience the victories He has won for us

We need to be at church worshipping with likeminded believers

We need to be in prayer....more than when Aaron Rogers is about to throw a last second Hail Mary

We need to be in the Word of God learning who He is and how to live a right life before Him

When we abide in Him in that way the victories will come

Conclusion

Review of the Principles and the Sermon Proposition

We need to live out our identity in Christ as victors

Challenge to act now (your part)…immanence

It starts by understanding the truths we looked at today and applying them

Dedicating our lives to Him

Praying

Reading His word

Worshipping Him

Obeying Him

Final Statement

We can have victory in our lives but we need to turn to the true victor and keep our lives focused on Him

Closing Hymn

577 Be Strong In The Lord

Closing Hymn