Alba 9-1-2024
WE HAVE OVERCOME
I John 4:4-6
"We Shall Overcome" is a gospel song that is associated heavily with the U.S. civil rights movement. Wikipedia has an article that says the origins of the song are unclear. It was thought to have descended from "I'll Overcome Some Day," a hymn by Charles Albert Tindley.
The article says that the modern version of the song was first said to have been sung by tobacco workers led by Lucille Simmons during the 1945–1946 Charleston Cigar Factory strike in Charleston, South Carolina. This seems appropriate since tomorrow is Labor Day, a day to pay tribute to the contributions and achievements of American workers.
But I'm more interested in the hymn. Again Wikipedia says, "I'll Overcome Some Day" was a hymn or gospel music composition by Charles Albert Tindley of Philadelphia that was first published in 1901. A black minister in the Methodist Episcopal Church, Tindley was the author of approximately 50 gospel hymns, of which "We'll Understand It By and By" and "Stand By Me" are among the best known. The published text bore the citation, "Ye shall overcome if ye faint not", derived from Galatians 6:9 that says: "And let us not be weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not."
This hymn has some good words. Let me share them with you.
1. This world is one great battlefield, With forces all arrayed;
If in my heart I do not yield I’ll overcome some day.
I’ll overcome some day, I’ll overcome some day;
If in my heart I do not yield I’ll overcome some day.
2. Both seen and unseen powers join To drive my soul astray,
But with God's Word a sword of mine, I’ll overcome some day. I’ll overcome some day, I’ll overcome some day; But with God's Word a sword of mine, I’ll overcome some day.
3. A thousand snares are set for me, And mountains in my way; If Jesus will my leader be, I’ll overcome some day.
I’ll overcome some day, I’ll overcome some day;
If Jesus will my leader be, I’ll overcome some day.
4. I fail so often when I try My Savior to obey; It pains my heart and then I cry, Lord, make me strong some day. Lord, make me strong some day, Lord, make me strong some day;
It pains my heart and then I cry, Lord, make me strong some day.
5. My mind is not to do the wrong, But walk the narrow way;
I’m praying as I journey on, To overcome some day.
To overcome some day, To overcome some day;
I’m praying as I journey on, To overcome some day.
6. Tho' many a time no signs appear, Of answer when I pray;
My Jesus says I need not fear, He’ll make it plain some day.
I’ll be like Him some day, I’ll be like Him some day;
My Jesus says I need not fear, I’ll be like Him some day.
Tindley wrote, “I'll overcome some day”. Pete Seeger and Joan Baez sang, “We shall overcome”. And the apostle John wrote, “You... have overcome”. I like them all. But I am drawn most to the words in scripture that says the overcoming has already happened. Here's what we find in I John 4:4-6.
“You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”
Notice, the power to overcome does not come from ourselves. It says that we overcome...
1. Because He is Greater (vs. 4)
We can overcome, because Jesus has already overcome sin, death and hell! And this victory is absolutely sure for anyone who trusts in Jesus Christ with obedient faith. Because Jesus won victory for every believer when He died on the cross for our sins and by rising from the grave. He is now our risen Lord, our Champion and King. And we have victory in Jesus.
When it says “greater is He who is in you”, this is talking about the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Christ in us. God’s Word tells us it is the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead that dwells in us.
It's in Romans 8:11. “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Acts Chapter two tells us that when we repent of our sins and are baptized into Christ, receiving His forgiveness, we then receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. So we can say with confidence, greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world. We are assured of victory over the spirit of antichrist because the Holy Spirit within us is greater.
Greater simply means more. If you are in Christ Jesus, the Holy Spirit, the One who is more than enough is on the inside of you. Because of this we have overcome. But to hear many Christians talk, you would think that the one who is less is on the inside of them. The Bible teaches we are more than conquerors through Christ, already having obtained victory. And yet we often live in defeat.
But there is no reason for that to be the case. Because in II Timothy 1:7 it says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” And Romans 8:15 says, “For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, 'Abba, Father.'” We are not given some strange spirit. It is the Spirit of Christ who dwells in us, and gives life to our mortal bodies.
When it speaks of “he that is in the world”, that refers to Satan, the god of this world. Jesus won the battle against that old devil. Our Lord is greater than he that is in the world. He is greater than those who possess the spirit of anti-Christ, who doubt that Jesus was and is the Christ. He is greater than any of our doubts and fears. He is greater than the struggles we face. He is greater than our physical limitations, and even greater than death itself.
The apostle Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” Knowing that His Spirit dwells in us should give us courage.
One fellow said that with the indwelling of the Spirit, you have a “secret” identity, much like the super heroes, with the capacity and power to defeat anything that comes your way. What is your “secret” identity? Before you accepted Jesus as Savior, you were just an ordinary Clark Kent, a regular Joe, and you got your nature from Adam, the first man.
But when Jesus came inside of you, you were changed from being in Adam to the In-Christ man. The reality is that if you’ve made Jesus your Lord, then He lives on the inside of you. The Spirit of the Lord, Jesus Christ is the one living in you and giving you the power to be an overcomer.
Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). He made it clear that troubles would not end simply because we receive salvation. But He did declare that ultimate victory is His, and by His Spirit we would be equipped to overcome the world, and share in His victory.
We are overcomers because greater is He who is in us than he, that old devil, that is in the world. And we also are overcomers...
2. Because We are of God (vs. 4 and 6)
No one can come to God except through Jesus. But to those who accept Him, He gives full access. When you have the Son, you have the Father also. Think about this reality and let it sink in, you are of God. Let Him speak this assurance into your spiritual being, and allow the One who is more, the One who is greater, to rise up in you. And know that as God’s child you have been called to victory.
As a child of God, there is nothing too great for you to handle if you let God lead you in all that you do through the Holy Spirit who dwells within you! But it requires a willing heart.
Someone put it this way. We should be Silly Putty Christians. At first that doesn't sound so good. But there are several things silly putty can do. It can be molded and shaped by its user. A Christian should be molded and shaped by God.
Silly putty can bounce. We were made to bounce back when trials and pressures drop us to the ground. We weren’t meant to stay there. We were made to overcome. If something has knocked us down, we should bounce back to where God wants us to be.
And if you press silly putty down on a newspaper, it will copy what is there, creating a reflection of it on its surface. The apostle Paul urges us to do the same thing with God. Reflect Him, copy Him, imitate Him. Ephesians 5:1 says, “Be imitators of God as dearly loved children”.
When we are of God, we can take great comfort in the fact the Holy Spirit of God has taken up residence within us. He’s always present to help, not just when we feel it, but always. When we let Him mold us, lift us up, and we let Him be impressed into our lives, we will overcome the things of the world. And we will overcome not only because He is greater, and because we are of God, but also...
6. Because We Know the Truth (vs. 6)
Our faith can not be based on our feelings. It must be based on what we know to be the truth of God’s Word. Understand this: It is the Holy Spirit who influences sound Christian teaching, and it is other spirits who influence unsound teaching. John warns us about this because there are many times we run into false teaching. And the proponents are very good at presenting their false ideas.
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Verse five says, “Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.” This refers to the fact that the source of their doctrine is not biblical because the false teachers say what the world, and the worldly people, want to hear. Sadly there are many main-line denominations that have wandered from the truth and bought into the politically correct attitudes of the world. But it has not been without consequences.
It has been recently reported that a large number of churches have removed themselves from their denominations. Most of these divisions have been over the unbiblical teaching on sexuality. For example, The United Methodist Church has lost at least 1/5th of all congregations since 2019. And the Episcopal Church has lost upwards of 20% of its congregations. Since 2009 at least 600 congregations in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America have left as a result of the ordination of gay/lesbian clergy and marriage.
So how did it happen? These churches neglected to test their teachers/spirits to see if their message was biblical, or simply some philosophical message made to receive the approval of the world rather than the approval of God.
The Bible identifies the real and present foe of our faith: Our enemy is the devil, that old Satan who is deceptive and destructive and active. At times it seems as if the devil, who is described in Revelation 12:10 as “the accuser of our brothers, who accuses them before our God day and night” is winning. But Revelation 12:12 says that “He is filled with fury because he knows that his time is short.”
Satan’s powers are limited toward us. In Christ, we have overcome. The devil cannot overpower us unless we let him. James 4:7 tells us to “Resist the devil, and he will flee from you”. We resist, not by relying on our own strength, but by remaining close to our champion, Jesus.
What God wants us to know and be assured of is this: We have overcome! We can defeat the enemy! Again, why is it true that we can defeat Satan, our enemy? The answer to that question is: First, because God is greater and more powerful. And Second, because we are of God and His Spirit dwells within us. And Third, we have the truth that leads to our salvation. Besides, Satan is a defeated foe.
I like the way Max Lucado summarized this fact. He said, “Evil will have its day and appear to have the sway, but God will have His say and ultimately win the day.” Satan may be vicious, but he will not be victorious, unless we allow him to interfere in our lives.
We have overcome because we are not alone in our battles: God is with us, and His power is within us. Becoming an overcomer is not about being perfect or never facing difficulties. Rather, it's about understanding and embracing the power of God that resides within us. Because greater is He that is in us, than he that is in the world!
CLOSE:
If you have ever followed anything about weight lifting, you may remember the name Paul Anderson. In the 1950's Paul Anderson was the “strongest man in the world”. In 1956, Paul had won the Olympic gold medal for weight lifting. He only stood 5'9" tall, but Paul weighed 375 pounds!
His massive body allowed him to lift weights his competitors couldn't even imagine. In just four years, Paul became a World Champion, Olympic Champion, two time U.S. National Champion, set 18 American Records, and 8 World Records. One of Paul's feats had been listed in the Guinness Book of World Records. It was his back lift of over 6,000 pounds!
Paul Anderson became a very devoted Christian who established the Paul Anderson Youth Home which still exists today and continues to follow its mission of working with kids who might otherwise be incarcerated. Paul put on shows to support the boys' homes he ran in Georgia. He did things like lift a table holding 20 of the biggest people from the audience. Paul also drove nails through two boards with only a handkerchief protecting his palm.
Then he would proclaim: "If I, the strongest man in the world, can't get through one day without Jesus Christ? What about you?" Where did Paul Anderson get his spiritual strength? It came from above, and it lived in Him by the Holy Spirit of God. Now that same strength lives in us! The same strength lives in every Christian today, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. Thank God for the victory we have in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! In Him, we have overcome!
