FaithLife with Pastor Earl and Friends
1 John 5:1-5 Overcoming by Faith
Overcoming by Faith
[music] Hi and welcome to another broadcast of Faith Life with Pastor Earl and friends. The glory does not go to any of us. It goes to Jesus who loved us and gave his life for us. If you're a person in these trying times that is trying to live your life without Christ in your life, it's going to be a tough way to go. But if you're a person who puts your faith in Jesus Christ, you will be able to live beyond a natural life. You'll be able to love a supernatural life because Jesus lives within you. He deposits his Holy Spirit within you when you repent of your sins and receive Christ as your Savior. We're looking at the book of 1st John, 1st John. John the Beloved, as we know, penned the Gospel of John, 1st 2nd and 3rd John, the Epistles, and then the book of the Revelation. So he wrote all about Jesus in the Gospel of John. Revelation, he writes to us about the plan of Jesus for the last days. Incredible book. It'll take you a lifetime to really grasp all that's in that wonderful book. And he wrote it as he was exiled to the Isle of Patmos, Revelation 110, tells us that, but inspired by the Holy Spirit. But in 1st 2nd and 3rd John, it's kind of a manifesto of discipleship where he tells us how to live the Christian life. Once you have received Christ as your Lord and as your Savior, how do we then live? How do we love? How do we lay down our lives for the cause of Jesus? Well, we're in chapter 5 of 1st John. If you'd like to, as you go to our Faith Life broadcast, you can listen all the way from 1st John, a chapter 1 all the way till our current study tonight or today, right in 1st John chapter 5. Let's go and explore these wonderful verses. Are you a believer in Jesus? John 3 16 is the gospel. For it tells us for God, the greatest being that ever was or will be, so loved. Because God is love. It's his nature to love. He loved the world, not the possessions of the world or the philosophies of the world, but the people of the world. He loves them from every kindred tribe, nation. God loves the world. He so loved the world that he gave his only begotten, one of a kind, unique son. He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever, and that's an invitation to all that will repent and receive him, believe it in him, puts their trust in him. It's an active kind of faith. And if you will put your trust in Jesus, it says, whosoever, believe it them shall not perish. There will not be a life without God for eternity in hell. It will be that you will be in heaven with the Lord for eternity, whosoever, believe it in him, should not perish, but will have everlasting life. Jesus came not just to give us biological life. There's another Greek word for life, and it's so a life, a life worth living, a life filled with vitality. Are you saying that if I receive Christ, that my whole life is going to be easy and wonderful? Absolutely not. But imagine a life without Christ to help you, without someone to love you so much, without someone to put your faith in and to partner with you and have fellowship with you to live in the dimension of the supernatural. I cannot imagine living without Christ. Let's get into our text of 1 John 5, and we'll try to get through about five verses. It says whosoever. Remember we shared with you there are some that teach what's called a limited atonement that Christ died only for the elect. And we know that the elect are those that God knew from the foundation of the earth who would receive him who would reject him. He didn't force a certain number of people to receive him and just let the rest go to hell. He gave us the opportunity in time to turn our lives over to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit will minister to you, show you that Jesus is the way and that you need a Savior, and I need a Savior. So belief, it's the same idea, putting your faith in whosoever. The Bible says whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved, that's you. Whosoever believeth, and that's in the present tense, puts their faith and puts their trust in Jesus Christ, you believe that Jesus is the Christ. Jesus, the definition of that name is Jehovah is salvation, and that he's the Christ Christ is Christ, that he is the Messiah, he is the anointed one of God. Remember when our Lord was talking to Peter and he said, "Who do you say that I am?" In Matthew 16, and Peter said, "You are the Christ, the Messiah." "The Son of the Living God." And Jesus said, "Yes, that's the right answer." So Jesus is not just a good man, not just a prophet, he's the God man. Jesus is the anointed one, and it says, "If you believe that Jesus is the Christ, you'll be born of God." John the third chapter, as our Lord is talking to Nicodemus, he said, "Except a man is born again, born from above. He cannot see the kingdom of heaven." So who's our believer? Put your trust in presently that Jesus is the Christ, you'll be born of God. In our first birth, we are born naturally after the seed of Adam's sinful, but when we come to Christ, we'll be born again, born from above. And everyone that loveth, there's that word with the root agape love, self-sacrificial God kind of love, everyone that loveth him that begat, that's God, who gave us eternal life, and made us as children. So if you're a person that says, "I presently love God with agape love with the highest form of self-sacrificial love," it says, "Everyone that loveth him that begat," you say you love God, "loveth same agape idea with self-sacrificial love, loveth him also that is begotten of him." I have four wonderful daughters, imagine having a house with four girls and their mom, a house filled with a lot of love growing up and also a lot of drama. But do you realize this? I love all of my children. My wife loves all of her children and all of the grandchildren because they are our seed, they are our children. And somebody may come up to me and say, "Well, I love this one and I don't love that one." I say, "No, no, no, no. I want you to love all of my children, and so does God. God wants you to love all of his children." So it says, "Everyone that loveth him that begat, that's God, loveth him also that is begotten of him, the children of God." Not a denomination, but followers of Jesus Christ, children of the Most High God. Verse two, we're talking about how do we know we are Christians? How do we know absolutely? How do we know by experience? By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep his commandments. Now these are not the Ten Commandments, these are his authoritative injunctions. And one of his core values, Jesus' core value, is that we should love him and we should love his children. Man, if we could just get people to stop dividing over denominations and their own distinctives and just start loving one another. Now everybody worships different and some people view the word in one way or another. But if you're a true believer, you should love God and you should love his children. By this we know absolutely and we know distinctively that we love the children of God when we love God and keep his commandments. So if you say you love God, you will just supernaturally love his children. All races, all nationalities, if they are a child of God, you have an obligation to love them. And it says and keep his commandments. The word for keep is you guard very carefully. His commandments and commandments is the idea of Jesus' authoritative injunctions, authoritative injunctions. A lot of people say, "Well, I'm a Christian and I'm a follower of Jesus." Okay. Well, are you following what he has commanded and what he has told us to do? I always told people in the past when we used to have those Bibles with red letters, I said, "Just read the red and do what he says." Now we're in the third verse, it says, "For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments. How do we show God that we love him? We're obedient. If your child is rebellious, they're not showing you the love that they should show you as the parent. By this we know the love of God when we love God and keep his commandments. For this verse 3 is the love of God that we keep his commandments that we guard very carefully, his authoritative injunctions. Not what some denomination teaches, not what some church or ecclesiastical authority teaches, but what does the Bible say? What does Jesus say? Not just member WWJD, kind of a cliche, what would Jesus do? We should say whatever Jesus says we will obey. This is the love of God that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not grievous. When you are maybe a part of a church and the minister there is some type of authoritarianity, abuses the sheep and controls them and manipulates them, that's not the love of God, you need to leave a place like that. When Jesus gives us commands, they are commands to enhance our life, to make our life better, to give us more of a blessed life, and those commandments are not grievous. They are not some heavy burden, they are not some heavy yoke that we have to wear. In fact Jesus said to come unto him all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me. Jesus carries the weight of the yoke as we are connected together, like oxen that are plowing a straight furrow. We should be working with and for Jesus just like that yoke together. Verse 4, this is a powerful verse because it talks about overcoming whatsoever is born of God. So if you're born of God, you will love God. If you're born of God, you'll love His word. If you're born of God, you'll love His children. For whatsoever is born of God, you've experienced the new birth. It says you will overcome the world, overcome the present tense. You will conquer this present system. This present world system is corrupt. The word for world is cosmos, and cosmos is not the people of the world. It is the philosophies and passions of the world completely toxic because they are without God. They are the ways of life without considering God. And I hope you don't live that way. It says whatsoever is born of God, overcome at the world. We're not to be overcome by the world, but we will overcome and conquer this world. Tells us about the heroes in Hebrews chapter 11 that the world was not even worthy to have them. And this is the victory. God does not want you despondent all the time or depressed because we go through those times. I go through them myself. And it says this is the victory that overcome at the world. When we're operating by our feelings, when we're operating by our fears, we can get overcome by this world. Concerned about what we're going to eat or drink or put on or make money or jobs and all that kind of stuff. But if we're walking in faith, we're trusting that God will take care of us. Put your trust in Him. And this is the victory that overcome at the world, even our faith. So it takes faith to become a Christian for by grace or you save through faith and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God. But also to conquer in this world, Ephesians 6 says take the shield of faith wherewith you'll be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. How do we protect ourselves from all the things Satan throws in our lives and throws in our mind and tries to get to our hearts? You've got to lift up the shield of faith and stand behind that and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, even our faith. So faith is important for salvation and it's important for our survival. Verse 5 as we close today, who is he that overcome at the world, but he that believeth. Exercise is faith. Put your trust in Jesus, not just for salvation, but for your daily supply, for your salvation and for your survival and for your success. Who is he that overcome at the world, but he that believeth, that Jesus is the Son of God. Do you believe that he's the Son of God? Do you believe that he's God the Son? If you do not or you're not sure, pray this prayer with me today. Say, Lord, I realize that I am a sinner and I repent of my sin and I receive you as my Lord and Savior today in the name of Jesus. Amen, and let me know via email at Carrisman, C-H-A-R-I-S-M-A-N. 1-2-3-4 at gmail.com or text me, text only at 386-795-8494. God bless you, God loves you, and I love you, and let's walk my faith today. (sighs)