Overcoming The World

Secular -

Jesus said that, “in this world you will have trouble, but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world.” The new father in the following story definitely had some trouble:

One day shortly after the birth of their new baby, the mother had to go out to do some errands. So, the proud papa stayed home to watch his wonderful new son.

Soon after the mother left, the baby started to cry. The father did everything he could think of to do but the baby wouldn’t stop crying. Finally, the dad got so worried he decided to take the baby to the doctor.

After the doctor listened to the father all that he had done to get the baby to stop crying, the doctor began to examine the baby’s ears, chest and then down to the diaper area. When he undid the diaper, he found that the diaper is indeed full.

"Here’s the problem", the Dr. said, "He needs a change."

The father was very perplexed, "But the diaper package says it is good for up to 10 lbs.!"

Historical/Cultural Context -

The book of 1 John is one of the five books in the New Testament that was written by John the Apostle, brother of James. They were known as the sons of thunder. This letter was written between A.D. 85 to A.D. 100. First John was written to a church or group of churches in crisis—churches who were being attacked by false teaching. Some individuals who had once been associated with the church had accepted heresy and had left the church. After they left they continued to spread their false teaching to the church. They went so far as to organize and send out itinerant preachers to various churches with the goal of converting those in the churches to their beliefs. This created confusion and plunged the churches into crisis. In response to this situation, John wrote 1 John, following that up with 2 and 3 John. His goal was to stop this false teaching and to bring comfort to the Christians in these churches.

Biblical Text -

1 John 5:1–5 NKJV

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

-[Prayer]-

Life Principle - Believers Overcome The World By Belief Coupled With Obedience

Life Point - Be Functional

Exegetical -

1 John 5:1–2 NKJV

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments.

Homiletical -

God expects us to be a functional family. He expects us to be a functional Christian family in our local body of believers.

Are you one of the functional parts? Or a part that just doesn’t quite work?

These are the questions that we should continually ask ourselves on a daily basis.

This verse in the King James is absolute poetry, but can be confusing to the modern reader.

Let’s break it down:

Whomever hold that Jesus is the savior from our sin, truly from the heart is born of God.

If you love Jesus then you also will love those whom are your brothers and sisters, in Christ.

This is an appeal to a functional family. If you you love your parents you should also love your siblings.

However, a little of people come from a dysfunctional family.

You ever wonder why some churches just seem to fall apart, almost out of the blue?

It is because the family has become dysfunctional. Little things here and there begin to eat away at the stability of the family. Instead of confronting these things head on and taking care of issues we kind of excuse them; we let them go. Then, overtime the family begins to hold onto grievances until one day the whole things blows up!

Song of Solomon 2:15 NKJV

Catch us the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender grapes.

A family is, believe it or not, tender. So is a church. We all must take care to bind up wounds and protect the vines. It is the little things that tear families apart, because those little things lead to big things.

Proverbs 14:12 NKJV

There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

John 15:1–11 NKJV

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

By loving God and keeping His commandments we are then required to love others. like we said last week.

Matthew 22:37–40 NKJV

Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

This is the true test of regeneration. Do you hate those that call upon the name of Jesus? Even one person? If the answer is yes, then you better make sure you are saved, because this is the test.

Can we do this perfectly? No. No one can, but Jesus did. So because of Jesus we can, albeit imperfectly, keep His commandments.

The question is not do you love perfectly, but do you love those who are your brothers or sisters at all? Are you harboring any hate towards someone at all. I am convinced that a Christian cannot harbor hate toward another for very long. They may for a time, and if God leaves them long enough on this earth, they will eventually have to have a face-to-face meeting with God, as it were. They will have to have that “come to Jesus”moment where they have to let it go and let God heal it.

Philippians 2:13 NKJV

for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.

Illustration -

A man named Jack was walking along a steep cliff one day, when he accidentally got too close to the edge and fell. On the way down he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall. He looked down and to his horror saw that the canyon fell straight down for more than a thousand feet.

He couldn't hang onto the branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up the steep wall of the cliff. So Jack began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear him and lower a rope or something.

HELP! HELP! Is anyone up there? "HELP!"

He yelled for a long time, but no one heard him. He was about to give up when he heard a voice. Jack, Jack. Can you hear me?"

"Yes, yes! I can hear you. I'm down here!"

"I can see you, Jack. Are you all right?"

"Yes, but who are you, and where are you?

"I am the Lord, Jack. I'm everywhere."

"The Lord? You mean, GOD?"

"That's Me."

"God, please help me! I promise if, you'll get me down from here, I'll stop sinning. I'll be a really good person. I'll serve You for the rest of my life."

"Easy on the promises, Jack. Let's get you off from there; then we can talk."

"Now, here's what I want you to do. Listen carefully."

"I'll do anything, God. Just tell me what to do."

"Okay. Let go of the branch.""What?" "I said, let go of the branch. Just trust Me. Let go."

There was a long silence.

Finally Jack yelled, "HELP! HELP! IS ANYONE ELSE UP THERE?"

Like Jack, so too are a lot of church goers. Notice I didn’t say so are a lot of believers, just church goers.

Life Point - Believers Are Already Victorious

Exegetical -

1 John 5:3–4 NKJV

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.

Homiletical -

You ever feel like your life is just too stressful?

Have you ever lost just about everything?

Has there ever been more month than money?

Ever been there more than once in your life?

When the world falls apart around a believer it is grievous, it is hurtful. However, can you imagine what it is like for those who aren’t believers?

We have a peace that transcends those times that the world just can’t see, they can’t understand it. Why? Because they are dead in their sins and they need Jesus to see it!

If you are born of God your love is vertical and it is horizontal to the brethren, John tells us these commands are not burdensome? How can he say that when Christians are being martyred all around him in this time? When the churches are being persecuted?

But he goes beyond that. He doesn’t just say that. He says that the believer has overcome the world! That we are victorious!

Let me just say that the victory of Christ is not something that can be mentally ascended too. It is something that cannot just be taught and understood with the mind.

No, this victory goes down to the bone! Even further than the bone, down to that which is the metaphysical part of man. It is spiritual. It can only be comprehended when understood through the lens of true faith. True trust in Christ.

This victory can only be experienced on a level that transcends words.

It is this victory from our faith that has caused Christianity to endure over 2000 years. Not as a particular denomination or organization; but as an enlightenment that changes minds, hearts and lives.

Matthew 11:25–30 NKJV

At that time Jesus answered and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight. All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

His burdens truly are lite for the believer. What is His burdens? Love. How do we get and give love? Through Faith.

This love and faith doesn’t even come from us. It all comes from God to begin with.

What is faith?

We can spend years contemplating what faith is, but I will touch on it only briefly. Here are 3 things we know about faith.

We know that faith is a gift of God’s grace, through which all other gifts come from.

Romans 12:3 NKJV

For I say, through the grace given to me, to everyone who is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, as God has dealt to each one a measure of faith.

You see, the Corinthian church of this day were reveling in the spiritual gifts that God had given them. So much so that they began to get big heads about it and became obsessed with the miraculous gifts.

Paul says, “Hey don’t be so haughty the faith through which these other gifts are given don’t just come from you. That faith is God’s gift as well. So these other gifts don’t have anything to do with you either.”

We know that faith is a miraculous gift that God has given.

Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

It is through faith that we receive the grace of God. Faith in what? Christ Crucified and Him resurrected.

Hebrews 11:1 NKJV

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

That verse alone you can contemplate until the cows come home. Paul spends a lot of time after this verse giving examples of this concept.

We know that it is impossible to please God but by faith.

Hebrews 11:6 NKJV

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

God said to seek Him and You will find Him.

Luke 11:9–10 NKJV

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Someone may be saying, “Pastor I agree with you, but how does this not feel burdensome?”

I’ve got 2 responses to this:

The snarky response is:

“He is God, who are we to question Him?”

Romans 9:20 NKJV

But indeed, O man, who are you to reply against God? Will the thing formed say to him who formed it, “Why have you made me like this?”

The second response, yes does encompass that but that isn’t the entirety of the situation.

The full response is simply one word, “Peace”

John 14:25–27 NKJV

“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

Jesus didn’t leave the believer alone, He sent the Helper. Who is the Holy Spirit to live inside the believer. So believe this, no matter where you go you have God with you and in you at all times. He sees your struggles and sees your pain and gives you supernatural peace.

The word used for peace here also can mean tranquility. When the storm rages around you, it is like you are in the eye of the hurricane and all is calm. Only for the believer, we never leave that eye.

I would rather live in my tin box of a house eating a Twinkie for dinner because that’s all I have than to live in Chaos and have no peace in my life or my household.

Oh I may go through some bad times, but in those times there is peace. Some of you have been through things that in my mind I say to myself, “I don’t know how in the world you are still standing here.” But immediately I am reminded by the Holy Spirit of one word which carries so much power, “Peace.”

That is overcoming the world. Not having the most money, the most power, the best cars or whatever else this world has to offer. It is about having faith in Jesus the savior of my soul, and His gift of the Holy Spirit on the inside of me giving me love and peace before a mighty God.

Life Point - Only Believers Get To Overcome The World

Exegetical -

1 John 5:5 NKJV

Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Homiletical -

There is a song I heard in the 80s or early 90s when I was in my Christian Rock phase, where I wouldn’t listen to anything that wasn’t Christian Rock. That a group named Petra come out with. It was there praise & Worship album called Petra: The Rock Cries out. They took one section of scripture and ask one question. “Who is This King of Glory?”

Psalm 24:8–10 NKJV

Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory. Selah

Who Is Jesus. You know in our Americanized churches we have been told Jesus is many things, that He isn’t. We have ascribe many words that people tell us that Jesus said; that He didn’t actually say.

We say we believe in Jesus and have been born again and many of us in this room are born again. I hope all of us in this room are. But why do we always talk about Him and not truly find out what He said?

When was the last time you read one of the Gospels?

Has it been a while?

That supernatural peace and victory that I talked about earlier? When was the last time you actually experienced it in the midst of turmoil?

If you are a true born again believer in here, and you haven’t experienced that in a long time, then you have a relationship issue between you and God. You know how to fix it? Spend some time meditating on God’s Word.

How does one meditate on God’s Word?

You ever seen a cow chewing on Cud? They eat it, it goes in the stomach it comes back up and they chew some more and then it goes to the next stomach.

This is the way it should be with God’s word daily. You read it, you think about it. Later, you think about it again and contemplate how it effects your life and how to put it into practice. This should be happening throughout the day, over and over. You should be in prayer constantly throughout the day.

Someone will say, “Pastor that just ain’t possible, I got too much to do.”

Really? Did you know you can pray in your head to God, without making a sound? You know all that self-talk you do in your head all day long?

Oh ya’ll know what I’m talking about. Ladies you can think of something your husbands said in the morning and you will be talking to yourself and meditating on it all day, and then you let him have it!

Men you aren’t exempt you can think about a project you’re working on and a problem you need to deal with and what the best solution is about it all day. You also talk to yourself about it. You get home, kiss your wife and start heading to the shed or porch or where ever you go in your house to work on your hobbies and just as you almost get there, she lets you have it!

So you know what you could do? You could take all that wasted energy over things that have no eternal value and do the same with God’s Word and instead of self-talk, talk to God in your head all day and keep bringing up His Word and talk to Him about His Word.

Funny thing is, I didn’t know what self-talk was when I first heard the term. Because unbeknownst to me I had spent a lot of time just talking to God. It just wasn’t always about His Word. Most of the time it was like, “God can you believe that idiot just cut me off in traffic! What a moron!”

I say all that to say this, believers you have access to God’s peace any time, anywhere. Unbelievers you don’t. Why? Because you need to know Jesus. Will you come to Him today? You know He won’t turn you away.

Life Principle – Believers Overcome The World By Belief Coupled With Obedience

Call to Action – altar call….