INTRODUCTION
SLIDE #1
• Life is very tough on us at times. I know there are some here who are having a rough go of it right now, you feel like you are powerless to deal with your situation, you feel defeated.
• That is not a good feeling is it? Who wants to feel defeated before they even step out of bed in the morning?
• We are in the midst of the Baseball playoffs right now. If you are a fan you know there are several teams who go into the season with no real hope of winning or getting to the playoffs. Teams like Tampa Bay, Detroit, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh just to name a few.
• You thought I was going to say Chicago didn’t you. They have the White Sox so they have a chance.
• We need to understand that we do not play on a team that has no chance of winning, the team we play on God’s team has already won the victory of us we just need to live it and enjoy the victories already won for us.
• The great thing about being the God’s team is the fact that God is the one who has provided the victory for us, He is the winning pitcher, the pitcher with the save and He hit the game winning homeruns!
• Today we going to see that Faith is the Victory. Through our faith, we get to experience some wonderful victories in life.
• Can you imagine being on a winning team and living like you do not even know it?
• Let us read 1 John 5:1-4 together this morning. SLIDE #2, #3
SERMON
Faith gives us: SLIDE #4
I. SPIRITUAL VICTORY (1)
SLIDE #5
1. When we believe in Jesus, we become a part of His family.
• When we believe in Jesus, we become a part of God’s family. We are new creations in Christ! Because of what Jesus did when He came to die on the cross for our sins, we achieve a spiritual victory!
• Making a decision to want to be a part of God’s family is the most important decision you will make in your life. If you are not a part of God’s family through the blood of Jesus, you will not receive eternal life, the forgiveness of sins, the indwelling gift of the Holy Spirit or the wonderful blessings God wants you to have in this life also!
• In a moment we will look at what it means to believe in Jesus.
• John tells us that if we believe that Jesus is the Messiah, or the one sent from God we are born of God.
• Being born of God is a one time past act with continuing present day results.
• When you are struggling, it is good to know that because of your faith, you are a part of God’s family.
• We have a spiritual victory because we are a new creation when we become a part of God’s family! SLIDE #6
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 (NASB) 17Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
• Our faith in Jesus gives us this wonderful gift! You no longer lost and dead in your sins you are child of God!
• SLIDE #7
2. What does it mean to believe in Jesus?
• The Life Application Bible states the following concerning belief: To “believe” means to put one’s trust and confidence in, to be convinced of, the truth. To believe in Jesus as “the Christ” means to trust him as God’s Messiah, his unique Anointed One, and have faith in him.
• It means believing that Jesus of Nazareth was God’s one and only Son and that he was anointed by God’s Spirit to preach the gospel, heal the sick, raise the dead, die on the cross for sin, and rise from the dead to become the Savior. (Life Application Bible)
• This verse does not imply faith alone. The word belief is a figure of speech that represents all the requirements of God which are necessary prior to one becoming a child of God.
• It would encompass the issue of repentance confession and immersion. SLIDE #8
• Galatians 3:26 - 27 (NASB) 26For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
• To believe means more that an intellectual exercise it involves action.
• If we believe, we will be led to do certain things like being obedient and loving others. We will look at both of these issues in a moment.
• Belief is not just saying you believe, it is acting on what you believe.
• Your belief or faith should lead you to change; it should motivate you to serve!
• We are told that the one who continues to believe is born of God.
SLIDE #9
3. We are called to love everyone in our new family.
• When we are in a family it is natural for us to love our parents, in this case, if we are born of God, we should love God.
• By default if we love the Father we are to love our brothers and sisters in Christ also since they are a part of our family.
• We are to have more than a superficial love for one another. Our love is to be deep and strong.
• There are 3 compelling reasons for us to love one another in Christ.
o It is logically necessary. If we can love the unseen God then we can love those whom we see. SLIDE #10
o We are commanded by God 1 John 4:21 (GWT) 21Christ has given us this commandment: The person who loves God must also love other believers.
o It is right that family members love other family members.
SLIDE #11
Faith gives us:
II. THE VICTORY OF LOVE. (2-3)
SLIDE #12
1. How do we know if we truly love our family members?
CLICK #12
a. We love the Father!
• Verse two gives us a two-fold test for us to gage how much we love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
• The first one is that we are to love the Father.
• Our faith gives us the victory to love God. We can love God even during the difficult times in life. There are many who cannot love God when things are not going right for them they want to blame God.
• It is easy to quit loving God or it is easy to never love Him.
• Our faith gives us the ability to love God.
• I have had times in my life where I wanted to get mad at God, or I wanted to think God was not with me because things did not go the way I wanted them to go. My faith kept me ground in Him.
• If we love the Father, we will love His children!
CLICK #12
b. We obey His commandments.
• The second way we can tell if we love our spiritual family by obeying God’s commandments.
• This would seem like it would have more to do with loving God than loving others doesn’t it?
• The NASB says we are to observe His commandments. This simply means we are to carry them out, or do them.
• When you think about it how many of God’s commands to us are directly tied to how we treat one another? If we are doing God’s commandments in our life, then by default we love one another since that is one of God’s commands!
• When Jesus was asked by one of the scribes in Matthew 22:36-40 what the greatest commandment was He told them it was to love the Lord God with all you have and the second one was to love your neighbor as yourself. SLIDE #13
• In verse Matt 22:40 says: Matthew 22:40 (NASB) 40“On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
SLIDE #14 Verse three gives us something else.
2. How do we know if we truly love God?
CLICK #14
a. We are to keep His commandments.
• This sounds familiar doesn’t it? John says if we love God, then we will keep His commandments.
• How many of them? We will try to keep all of them.
• We cannot separate obedience and love, they go hand in hand.
• Our faith gives us the ability and desire to keep God’s commandments. Sometimes, many times it is not easy to keep them.
• If you love you parents, you will try to obey them if you love your spouse you will try to do what they want you to do.
• If we do not have faith we will not love God enough to want to even try.
• I have always felt that if a child is defiant and refuses to obey reasonable commands from their parents, they do not really love their parents, they love themselves more than there parents.
• If we do not want to obey God, we do not love Him as much as we should.
CLICK #14
b. His commandments are not a burden to us.
• If we love God what He wants us to do is not a burden to us. It may be difficult at times, but we are not oppressed by them.
• Burdensome means that something is, heavy, oppressive, or difficult to observe.
• How many of you men have been asked by your lovely wife to do something, you know a “honey do” and you did it while you grumbled the whole time?
• You felt oppressed by the request. Now if we love our wives, we will do what she wants with joy (if we know what is good for us )
• Would you enjoy a meal that your wife made if she were cursing you under her breathe the whole time she was making it and if she acted angry at the thought of cooking for you? NO!
• You would wonder if she was mad at you.
• My wife took great care of me on my birthday she made me steak and 2 coconut cream pies. The thing that made all the food especially good was the fact I knew my wife did those things for me because she loves me.
• It was not a burden for her to do it. It took time and work but I could see the love in her eyes when she presented the meal to me.
• If everything God wants you to do causes you to be angry or unloving to Him, you need to step back and look at the love you have for Him.
CLICK #14
3. Our faith gives us the power to love our family.
• There are times when it is hard to love God and even harder to love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
• Our faith gives us the power to love even when it is difficult!
SLIDE #15
Faith gives us:
III. VICTORY OVER THE WORLD. (4)
SLIDE #16
1. Our faith allows us to overcome to world.
• If we are born of God we have overcome the world! This is the state of those who are born of God, they are over comers, they are winners, they play on the winning team.
• Jesus defeated Satan! SLIDE #17
• Jesus even defeated death for us! 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NASB) 57but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
• Our faith gives us the victory! The world cannot defeat us!
• The word “world” denotes the system or people opposed to God’s purpose.
• God’s will will be done!
• The world cannot stop what God has in store for you unless you give in.
SLIDE #18
2. What does it mean to overcome the world?
• To overcome means to carry off to victory, to conquer. By the way the word for victory of which is the root word for overcome is transliterate from the Greek into English as “NIKE” pronounced NEE-kay.
• Our faith has allowed us to defeat the world so we can follow God!
CLICK #18
3. Jesus has given us the victory! It is time we live like champions!
• It is time we understand that we are on the winning team we need to live and act like it!
• In Romans 8:30-39 we are told of all that can come between us and it speaks of what we could allow to separate us from the love of God. SLIDE #19
• In verse 37 we are told: Romans 8:37 (GWT) 37The one who loves us gives us an overwhelming victory in all these difficulties.
CONCLUSION
• As Christians we have a lot to be excited about. Jesus gives us the victory; it is our job to live it. Live like a winner; do not let the world drag you back down.
• Through Jesus we can do all things; God is great than anything the world has to throw at us! SLIDE #20
• Live knowing that Jesus gives you victory! It can be tough, but remember what 1 John 4:4 says: 4You are from God, little children, and have overcome them; because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.
