Victorious Living. Series

The date today is the 5th. The Romans utilised what we now use as a letter for the number five, it is? (V). Just as a matter of interest and I’ve never started a sermon this way, here we go. The sermon is brought to you today by the letter V. The reason being that I want you all to leave here today knowing that you can be victorious, but more to the point are “victorious” in Christ, that you have the victory, that you know your value in Christ Jesus and as a result are not vanquished in 2025. That because of that victory your witness will speak volumes, I will be taking this into next week also, this is part one of a two-part series. A V twin series.

I’m focusing on part of Johns first letter. The same John who wrote the gospel, wrote the three letters of John also the book of Revelation, or as it’s been described the Gospel of John from the Island of Patmos. He is known also as the disciple that Jesus loved, and it is thought was Jesus' cousin. It is also thought by some scholars that the reason Judas kissed Jesus was to show those with him who Jesus was because John looked a bit like him. John’s was an eyewitness to the events of Jesus ministry. The first verse of his first letter states this: “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life.” Who is The Word of life? Incidentally John was the only disciple to die a natural death, not that they didn’t try to kill him, he survived being boiled in oil. There is also some thought that he didn’t die but ascended to heaven. This is something he said about being victorious: 1 John 5:1-12.

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. ?This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.?In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith.?Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because the Spirit is the truth. For there are three that testify:??the Spirit, the water and the blood; and the three are in agreement.?We accept human testimony, but God’s testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son.? Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.??And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

Where John was going with this was to tell his readers that if we have Jesus, the Son of God we will overcome the world and that we have life. It is my experience that this is a spiritual connection that occurs with God when we repent and accept Jesus as Lord and Saviour. John had the advantage of one-on-one involvement with Jesus, as did the other disciples. As a result, they were all willing to die for Jesus in the knowledge of the guarantee of eternal life. Their value as men as individuals rested in the knowledge of who they were in Christ, not their earthly heritage, not that they were from a long line of fishermen, or were the best tax collector or the most zealot Zealot. Even in death the apostles saw themselves as victorious not victims.

We enter into a new year with the desire, well I do, to be victorious for all of 2025 and into the future. I don’t want to have this just be a year of the things of Andrew, why? Because I know that Andrew is flawed. To be standing here today took God’s intervention in my life, I was saved by God’s grace when I put my faith in Jesus. Putting aside the old me was and still is the best move I ever made and make. Does that mean I’m now without fault? Not at all. But I can guarantee that the life that I live now is Andrew in a better place than he would have been. Because being in God’s will is better than being outside of it, I know this for a fact, because I’ve been in both places.