Spirit Of An Overcomer Series

The Spirit of The Overcomer

CCCAG November 25th, 2018

Scripture- John 16

Intro: Self Help

Starting out with a question this morning- What industry had an over $15 Billion profit margin last year?

Here's a hint- you can buy this product on Amazon or get it from any retail store.

The answer is self-help videos or books.

I was surprised when I read that statistic. $15 Billion is a lot of money

But it's nothing compared to the $500 Billion, spent by people in this country alone, on antidepressant or other mood stabilizing medications to help them feel better about life.

This seems to be the new normal in America, and it tells us something about ourselves.

There is a huge need in this country and even throughout the world for people to learn overcome the difficulties we have in life.

As you might expect, the bible has a lot to say about how we are to face the hardships of life and overcome them.

John chapter 16 gives us the answer for some of these issues.

So today we're going to go back into the upper room discourse and see what Jesus had to say about how you and I are to face the hardships of life. Jesus had a lot to say about this during his earthly ministry- in fact, it's almost like He looked ahead 2000 years and saw us in 21st Century America and prophetically is speaking into our lives today.

This morning we're going to go through John chapter 16 in small bites and we're going to start by reading the last verse of this chapter because it is the summary statement to the main idea of what Jesus is trying to impart to his disciples right before he goes to the cross. I contains the principle idea that Jesus wants to impart to you and me today.

John 16:33 In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Let's start by asking god's blessing upon our time together in his word this morning

Prayer

The title that we as believers give ourselves is that of “Christian”. To be a Christian means that you are a follower of Jesus Christ and adhere or obey His teachings.

In essence, it means that you are to be just like Jesus.

We see here in John 16 that Jesus said “I have overcome the world”.

That’s a pretty big deal isn’t it? Most of us have problems overcoming little things like overeating, getting enough exercise, or using bad language. But Jesus took on that, and everything in the entire world and overcame it!

He’s our example, and the one we are supposed to follow and emulate to show the world the wonder of what His Love and Power can do in our lives.

Today we are going to talk about overcoming as a Christian, just like Jesus did.

Before we get into how we learn to overcome as a Christian, let’s look at what Jesus had to say about the Christian life-

I. Description of Christian Life

A. Jesus warns us life will be hard, and there are fakers out there

When we read the gospels and see with Jesus actually teaches us and says to us, it can sometimes be a far cry from the preaching we see on TV or hear on the radio or read in Christian books. Some of the most popular preachers in America preach a version of the gospel that tells you that God wants you healthy, he wants you wealthy, and he wants you to live a completely pain free life.

Let philosophy might be a great way to sell some books or get people to send money into your ministry but it is not found in the Bible.

In every gospel, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, Jesus tells us that we will have trouble in this world. In every gospel He warns us about that trouble will come because of our belief, and that may include persecution and even being beaten and possibly even killed for being faithful to him. If you read the last book of the Bible, particularly in Revelation 2 and 3 you see severe persecution coming up on the church and the exhortation to be faithful until the end.

Jesus gives his disciples illustration of great hardship that might be lost on us in the 21st century, but to those living in bible times, this was the worst thing that could happen to you short of being killed for your faith.

B. Thrown out of synagogue

In verse 2, Jesus said that his disciples would be thrown out of their local church, called a synagogue. In 21st century America this doesn't seem to be a big deal. So what? If a church tells you that you can come back, you just go down the street for the next church. If the Lutherans make you mad you can go be a Baptist. If the Baptist get you upset come on over to the Assemblies of God. You don't even necessarily have to switch the denominations because in many cities there are multiple churches of the same denomination within that city.