God Wants To Help All Christians Live In Victory Series

God Wants to Help All Christians Live in Victory

1 John 4:1-6

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Series: The First Epistle of John

(Prepared January 7, 2024)

MESSAGE:

*The Allies winning World War II was one of the greatest military, political and moral victories of all time. Millions of people were set free, and one of those people was Mrs. Anna Ozdoba. I had the privilege of getting to know Anna after my first mission trip to Ukraine in 1994. I needed someone to translate the letters I had received from Ukraine, and Anna was a close neighbor to one of our church members.

*Miss Anna wound up living in West Monroe for many years after the war, but she was born and raised in Ukraine. When Anna was just 15 years old, she was kidnapped by the Nazis and taken to Germany to work as a slave laborer on a farm. Things were so bad that Anna prayed to die. But one day as Anna prayed, she drifted off to sleep, and in a dream, she saw Jesus sitting next to her. When Anna thought about Jesus and all the suffering He went through for us, she decided that she would never again ask God to take her life.

*Then came the victory! From the prison-farm, Anna could see the building that served as the local Nazi headquarters, with the Swastika flag flying above. Then one day the flag was different. Anna didn't know what it meant, but a friend of hers said, "Don't you know what that is? It's a British flag."

*The war had been won! That day Anna left the farm as a free woman. She walked all the way to Italy. Then somehow, she made her way up to England. I think she met her husband there, and eventually they moved to West Monroe.

*But it made all the difference when Anna realized that the victory had already been won. And Jesus won our eternal victory when He died on the cross for our sins and rose again from the dead! Now for a while, the battle between good and evil still rages on. But the Lord's final victory is guaranteed. And because His victory is guaranteed, Christians: Our victory is also guaranteed!

*This victory is absolutely sure for everyone who puts their trust in Jesus Christ. We have victory in Jesus! And today's Scripture helps us live in His victory. Here's how.

1. FIRST: GOD URGES US TO TEST FOR THE TRUTH.

*In the last verse of chapter 3, John spoke about God's Holy Spirit. It's 1 John 3:24 which says, "Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us." There John spoke about God's Holy Spirit.

*Now in vs. 1 John gives us a crucial warning about other spirits, evil, lying spirits. And John said, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

*Church: The devil will always try to deceive us. He will always question God’s Word, God’s work, and God’s will for our lives. Here are just a few of the devil's lies: "Jesus Christ didn’t come in the flesh. God doesn’t love you. You don’t need Jesus. It doesn’t matter how you live. Don’t worry about lost people."

*The devil will always question God’s Word, God’s work, and God’s will for your life. But who are the "spirits" John talked about in vs. 1? They certainly include the devil and his fallen angels who are now demons. In John 8:44 Jesus said this to the Christ-rejecting Pharisees, "You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."

*The devil is the father of lies. And there are many lying, demonic spirits loose in the world today. That's why in Ephesians 6:10-13 Paul said this to all Christians:

10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

11. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

13. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.