Oakbrook Evangelical Free Church

A.        5:1 What Do You Have To Believe To Be Saved?

5:1a ” Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God,

this is the first kind of overcoming faith – faith in Christ / becoming a Christian.  This is the great hurdle!

The first part of this verse is one of the clearest statements in Scripture of what a person has to believe to be saved. We must believe that Jesus of Nazareth is “the Christ” (i.e., the Anointed One whom God promised to provide as a substitute sacrifice for the sins of the world). Our brothers and sisters are those who believe that Jesus is the Christ.

John 20:30-31 “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” NIV

1 Corinthians 12:3 “Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is accursed”; and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. ” NASB95

John 5:24 ““Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” NASB95

Colossians 1:12-13 “giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,” NIV

5:1b “and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.” NIV

It’s a family matter.  If you love the Father you will love his child too.

Even though we may have little in common with some Christians, we can still love them because we share the same Parent and are members of the same family.

Pic of Aragorn - The Fellowship of the Ring

The council is meeting in Rivendale to decide the fate of the ring.

Representatives from every type of being is there: men, hobbits (Frodo, Sam and others), the wizard, elves, dwarf, are there.

            All trying to decide what to do with the ring.

            It is decided at this meeting that there are 9 volunteers who are

                        willing take the ring back to throw it in the fire from where it

                        came.

When Aragorn son of Arathorn, heir of Gondor walks in and the other men know he is the Son and accepts him because of this.

Pic of Men and Boy

Pic of mountain climbers

B.        How do we know we are loving each other?

 – by obeying God’s Word.  Anything less is not love.

5:2 “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.” ESV

Deuteronomy 6:5-7 ““You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. “These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way and when you lie down and when you rise up. ” NASB95

John 14:15 ““If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.” NASB95

John 14:23-24 “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me. ” NASB95

Devotions for the Man in the Mirror…

“No matter what the subject, we find many desires, ambitions, and motives in our minds when we consider a particular decision.  We attend a Bible study to learn more about Christ.  We are very anxious to fit in, to be liked, and to gain the approval of others.  We want to be loved. We want their approval so we are careful not to say anything that would damage our reputation.  And we are selfish enough to think about what someone might be able to do for us later on.

            If so many multiple desires, ambitions and motives run together in our minds how can we ever know if we are living a surrendered life of love for God and others? In one sense we cannot even fully know ourselves. 

“Who can discern his errors?”  Ps.19:12

Our hearts always have the capacity to deceive us.  Tiny pinholes in our character leak under too much pressure.  And our hidden or unknown needs motivate us in many ways we know virtually nothing about.

            We can live in the power of the Holy Spirit who indwells us and say “no” to our fleshly desires.  Though dark, secret caverns dot the landscape of our minds the blood of our Savior covers and cleanses the secrets of our sinful nature. 

Jesus knows we are filled with a mountain of motives and a den of desires. Yes, but how can we?  Is there a litmus test by which we can be sure we are loving God and each other? 

Yes there is and it is here in this verse!

This is very simple and straight forward. 

Genuine love for God will result in obedience to His commandments. Genuine love others will result in obedience to God’s commands.

What part putting off falsehood and telling the truth do we not understand?

            What part of not letting unwholesome words come out of our

mouth do we not understand?

     What part of being kind and tenderhearted and forgiving

     each other do we not get?

Acts of the sinful nature are obvious

Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. ” NASB95

Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. ” NASB95

C.        Reassurance – It’s Easier Than We Think

5:3  “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.” ESV

“The proof of the pudding is in the eating” Don Quixote, P2, Ch 24

1.         The fundamental proof of love for God and man is obedience to the Word of God. This must include willingness to sacrifice for our brethren (cf. 3:10-17). It is very easy to test our love for God. How committed are we to being completely obedient to His will? That is the measure of our love. Love for God and God’s children is essentially obedience to God’s commands. It is not so much how we feel about God and other believers but how we choose to relate to them that is crucial.

2.         God’s commands are not burdensome

Oppressive, so as to crush love because every believer has already exercised the faith in God that is essential for obedience

1 John 4:4 “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.” ESV

Matt 28:20b “And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Hebrews 13:5b  “I will never leave you or forsake you”

Matthew 11:28-30 “Come to me, all 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.” ” ESV

II.         Overcoming Faith – Phase 2, 1 John 5:4-5

5:4 “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.” ESV

We Are In A Real Battle - Our text indicates that we are in a battle with the world. It is the world we have to overcome. 

This is the second phase of faith – faith to live by.

We make the awesome discovering that not only are we saved by grace through faith but we live by grace through faith.

A.        Jesus Overcame the World

1 John 3:8 “the Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. ” NASB95

John 16:33 “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.” ” ESV

Colossians 2:15 “When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him. ” NASB95

Hebrews 2:14-15 “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. ” NASB95

Destroy does not = annihilate.  Satan is still at work today!

Destroy means “to rob of its power”

Luke 11:14-23  Christ has bound the strong man of the house

B.        We Have Overcome the World, 1 John 5:4-5

1 John 2:14 “I write to you, fathers, because you know him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, and you have overcome the evil one. ” ESV

1 John 4:4 “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.” ESV

Every Christian has overcome the world by his or her initial faith in Jesus Christ.

To continue to overcome and obey God all we need to do is continue to exercise faith in God (cf. Rom. 8:27; 1 Cor. 15:57).

This is the story of the entire history of God’s people.

Revelation 12:11 “And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.” ESV

But the truth is that even Christians have a problem with faith. The challenge has always been to believe God. If we would enter into the place of God’s provision, we must have faith. Faith is the key that unlocks the door.

By faith we came to know Jesus.

And by faith we enter into the promises of God.

Faith is the place to begin.

Vance Havner used to tell the story of an elderly lady who was greatly disturbed by her many troubles both real and imaginary. Finally she was told in a kindly way by her family, “Grandma, we’ve done all we can do for you. You’ll just have to trust God for the rest.” A look of utter despair spread over her face as she replied, “Oh, dear, has it come to that?” Havner would say, “It always comes to that, so we might as well begin with that!”

            Men of faith rise up and sing of the great and glorious king.

Do you have trouble with faith? Is it sometimes hard to believe God? I’m not talking about believing in God, but believing God for His provision. To walk by faith is not simply to believe in God, but rather to believe God for all of life’s needs.

This is so important. It is important because we are engaged in the living of life. And sometimes life is a struggle. For the believer, it is especially a struggle. The one born of God is immediately put in conflict with the world. The Bible teaches that we are in a battle. The alternatives are clear. On the one hand there is defeat; on the other there is victory. The choice is between being an undercomer, one who is always under the circumstances, or being an overcomer, one who rises above the circumstances. We can either be overcome or we can overcome.

You can be sure that the enemy of our soul, Satan, has marshaled all of his demonic forces for the sole purpose of overcoming the believer. On the other hand, the Lord has put in place a divine strategy by which we can become overcomers. It is a brilliant one. Not only has He placed His resources at our disposal, in the form of His angelic hosts, but He has placed within us an overcoming nature.

John sounds the battle cry. The apostle of love speaks often of combat and victory. He heard Jesus, before Gethsemane, say, “Be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” So John speaks of overcoming the Wicked One and the world here. He challenges each of us to live the overcoming life through faith.

The amazing truth is that we have been altered at the very core of our being. We have been turned, from a creature destined for defeat, into a creature destined for victory. We have been united with our Savior, who has already overcome the world. We begin to overcome by allowing this new nature to have its way in our lives. In our contest with the world we must learn to yield to the nature of God within us. We must choose to trust in God. We must allow God to cause faith to rise within us.

We Have An Invincible Weapon – What is it?

Faith is it? It is faith in Jesus as the Son of God.

Faith produces a new life in Christ.   Ephesians 2:8-9

Faith opens our eyes to see the kingdom made without hands

Faith brings us into an intimate relationship with Jesus

It is a living faith in a living God, who lives in us. Paul described it in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.” Christ in me! That is what this faith produces in us.

But it is also faith in action. It is a life lived by faith. Continuing in Galatians 2:20 we read, “The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Four places in the Scripture, in Habakkuk, Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, do we find the phrase, “The just shall live by faith.”

The faith which overcomes the world is a faith lived out in deeds. In James 2 we read of the relationship of faith and works. They go hand in glove. When we put our faith into action, we really begin to see what God can do.

Hebrews 11

It is hard to believe.  But don’t be afraid to believe God. There is no danger in looking beyond what our eyes can see physically and straining to see divine reality. 

Bill Murray  - Baby steps  Joshua 3:3-4a, 5,9-10,13

When we put our trust in God we release His power to help us in ways He wants and longs to help.  God’s plans are always for our good.  But His plan always calls for us to step out in faith.

Stepping out in faith will prove the words of Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” 

Faith will enable you to see beyond what seems impossible and believe it to be possible even though it may seem illogical. Philip Yancey defines faith as: “Believing in advance in something that will only seem logical when seen in reverse.”

Walt Disney had a vision. It was for a fantasyland where people could come and, for a little while, lose their worries as they enjoyed this dream world. The result of that was Disney Land. Then in central Florida another piece of ground began to be transformed. Today it’s Disney World. Mike Vance tells about being in Disney World soon after its completion. Someone said, “Isn’t it too bad, Mike, that Walt Disney didn’t live to see this.” Vance replied, “Oh, he did see it, and that’s why it’s here!” The power to see something through eyes of faith is the beginning of seeing it in reality.

F.B. Meyer said, “Unbelief puts our circumstance between us and God, but faith puts God between us and our circumstances.” Whatever the circumstances, choose to believe God. And sometimes that means you’ll have to take a risk. Faith is not walking only where you can see the way. Sometimes faith means crawling out on a limb because that’s where the fruit is. Never let the fear of failure keep you from believing God or you may end up like Miss Jones.

Choose to believe God. Choose to place your faith in His miracle working power. Choose to take an active step of faith based upon your trust in Him. Remember, Christ has already won the victory. By faith we enter into His victory as we come to know Him better. By faith we experience that victory as we allow Him complete control of our lives. It is this overcoming faith which pulls it all together. It is faith which makes the difference. It is faith which causes it all to work.

Someone who works in the field of Chemistry pointed out that if you mix hydrogen and oxygen, the well-known components of water, you get no reaction — and no water! But if you add a small amount of platinum to this stable mixture, things begin to happen.  The hydrogen and oxygen unite and a chemical change occurs which produces H²O.

Hebrews 4:1-2 “ Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. For we also have had the gospel preached to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith.” NIV

Just as platinum is needed as a catalyst to achieve the desired result so faith must be present in our walk with the Lord to pull together everything else we do. Our church attendance, Bible reading, prayer, and faithful deeds bring us to a place of victorious overcoming only as they are mixed with faith. We need to understand the “chemistry” of faith. It is explosive!