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May 26, 2024

Over-Comer Assurance

Over-Comer Assurance

Passage: 1 John 5:1-15

Speaker: Matt Petty

Series: Blessed Assurance

Category: Sunday Sermons

Keywords: church, faith, jesus, god, sermon, christian, bible, christ, gospel, hope, sermons, holy spirit, victory, jesus christ, lord, christianity, bible study, son of god, trust god, inspirational, overcome, victory in jesus, study the bible, assurance of faith, motivational, bible teaching, blessed assurance, believing in god, christian motivation, burnt hickory worship, burnt hickory baptist church live stream, christian inspiration

How can we have assurance of our faith? We seek to answer this question as we continue our sermon series called Blessed Assurance through the book of 1 John. We study the characteristics of an overcomer in scripture today. We see that those who overcome are born again; they love God and keep His commands, and they walk in victory. True faith is not simply believing what God says is true; it’s acting on what God says is true. This shows that we do really trust Him. As true believers, we are not called to live defeated lives. We have been saved, raised up, and made into sons and daughters of the King in order to live in Christ and victory. Do you have the assurance that you are an overcomer? What’s holding you back from truly trusting in God today? Are you living in victory? Do you need to accept Christ as your savior today? As always, we’d love to take the time to answer any questions you have and to pray with you, so reach out. You can also discover the next step in your faith journey by visiting burnthickory.com/next.

Well, Good morning, Church. Before we jump into the message today, I want to pause. I want to pray for all of the students, leaders, and families who will be represented in the trip that is leaving tomorrow, heading to Kenya for about 12 days. I want us to lift that up in prayer. If you've been around Burnt Hickory for a long time, you know that for about the last 13 or so years, we have had an incredible connection to Nairobi, Kenya. There is a partner, Peter Abungu, there. We have made many trips and sent many ideas, love, and support, and all of our hearts have gone out to them for the last 12 years. And now tomorrow, leaving out, is going to be the third high school trip of about 100 high school leaders and students heading out tomorrow to serve for the next two weeks. So, I just want us to lift them up in prayer this morning. They're going to be working in schools, the slums, churches, and different communities all around the Nairobi area. And I want this morning just to kind of be a symbol of what we can do for the next 12 days, lifting them up. All right. So here's how I want to do it. If you are going to Kenya, if you are a student going to Kenya, if you are a parent who has a student heading to Kenya, or if you are a direct family member, I'll say it like that. That is going to Kenya. Would you do me a favor and just stand and allow us to pray over you guys? That's a large portion of the room, which is cool! Yeah, I think we can give them a hand. That's cool. That is a large part of this room this morning. So, let's pray over this time.

Lord, we love you today, God. And at this moment, Lord, we come before you honestly and ask for your mercy, grace, and God, all of your power, to be with every single student, leader, and adult heading on this trip. Lord, we know that your desire is for us to reach the nations. Your desire for us as believers is for us to be your hands and your feet, and God, we commend those who are going. But God, we also ask that you just walk with them, Lord, that you give them power. Lord, give them incredible gospel conversations. You give them recall of all the things they have learned and memorized. God, you give them a heart to see in the souls that need to know you. God, you give them peace that passes all understanding. Lord, I just pray for all of the mamas and the room God is launching their kids and dads who are launching their kids literally across the globe. Lord, let us walk in your spirit and in your power and God and let us return from Kenya with new brothers and sisters in Christ and proclaiming your glory even back here in it's in your name we pray. Amen. Amen.

You guys can have a seat. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It is going to be a great, great trip. I can't wait to be there with them just to watch how God moves in them and through them. Well, listen. If you've got a copy of Scripture this morning, I want you to turn with me to First John, chapter five. As you're finding the first John five, let me ask you a question. Have you ever noticed, in so many ways, how much kids follow in their parent's footsteps? All right. Have you ever noticed how true that really is? I can't tell you how many times over the years I have heard my wife, Melissa, say these words to one of my boys. She will literally say, and I quote, you act just like your father. you are just like your father. Or she'll say to me, they act just like you. Now, we've been doing this thing a long time, Melissa and I, and I still don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Right? I don't know if that's praise or getting your kids under control. You know, I'm sure you've heard the saying, right? Yeah. Like father, like son, or like mother like daughter. And it's really not just in our actions. It's it's really not. I mean, when you look at kids, it is strange, strange, and just apparent sometimes. How strikingly similar a kid can look like their parent.

I mean, have you noticed this? I mean, I think that's why we use the words that they're the spitting image of. I mean, if you take my fourth-grade school photo, right? And you take Dalton Petty's fourth-grade school photo. Sometimes, I can't tell the difference. The mullets are the same. The look is the same. Everything about it is the same. It's not just in looks, not just in actions, but also in attitude sometimes. You know, I mean, when you hear these statements, the reality is that what we're saying is not that they're the same person. But did they have the family trait or a family resemblance, or are we acknowledging this attribute or birthmark that does what? That gives evidence that that kid belongs to that family. Well, one of Melissa's favorite lines in our house is you are your father's child, right? I don't know, once again, I don't know if that's positive or if that's negative. You know what I got to thinking this week?

That's precisely what the apostle John in this whole letter to these little churches is saying to these first-century churches. He's saying this. He's saying, listen, if you want to know that, you know that you know that you know Jesus. The reality is is there are going to be some family indicators. There's going to be some birthmarks, if you would, some language, some action, some tendencies. That is in your life that is going to show that you know Jesus. And what John is telling these churches is, is that God wants you to know these things. He wants you to be able to point your life in these directions that honor God and represent the family. He wants you to be sure that you are part of the family. Now, for the first four chapters of this book, we have seen John describe some of these birthmarks, some of this language, some of these indicators, and some of these looks of what it looks like to be a true follower of Jesus.

He said in chapter one that it means that we're walking in fellowship with God. They were walking in the joy of God. They were walking in the presence of God. He said in chapter two that we live our lives in a direction that we know will one day end this world, and then we're leaning into the Holy Spirit. He also shows us that as believers, as true birthmarks, as bona fide believers in Jesus, our lives are not chasing the things of the world, but they're chasing the things of heaven. Last week, he ended on this idea that if we are true believers, our lives have the love of God resting in us all through us, and not only are we receiving that love, but we're passing that love on to God and to others. John basically said last week in John four eight. He says whoever does not love does not know God because God is love. Well, today is kind of a sad day in my mind, at least, because today we're going to finish this little walk with the Apostle John. Well, we're going to finish this book up today by studying through a couple of sections of chapter five that kind of put the pieces together of this whole book one more time so that we can not only be sure that we have eternal salvation, but we can also know what it's like to walk the life of an overcomer, to walk the life of an overcomer. If we have to stamp a message title on today's message, it would be the Overcomer assurance that God wants us to walk in.

To which you would say, so Matt, what are we? What are we going to overcome? Well, God, if he were answering that question, he would say that we can overcome anything. Why? Because he's with us, and he's in us, and he's for us. And God would look at us and say, listen, you can overcome your past. You can overcome your present. You can overcome your future until Jesus comes. Why? Because I am in you, and I am the one Jesus would say that brings victory. So here's what I wanted to do I want to walk through part of chapter five, and I want to point out a couple of keywords, a couple of phrases that describe the overcomer's life. Now, don't take this as some name it claims is prosperity theology. That's not what it is, but I want you to take it as if we have victory, but we're called to walk in it. All right, let's walk through the text. We're going to pause, and I'll point out a couple of these key descriptions. All right. Here's what it says. First John chapter five, verse one. Here's where he starts. He says this. He says everyone, everyone. Now, it's the first word I want you to stop there because it's an important word. This text points to the fact that what John is about to say is for everyone. It's not just for the super Christian. It's not just for the super faithful. It's not just for the pastor. It's not for the life group leader. It's not for the person who has gone out and done what they want. And then they decide to come back and love Jesus. It's not based on your family heritage or your demographic situation. John says, everyone. Why? Because what John is about to describe is the desired blueprint for God to put into our lives.

It's where God wants all mankind to live. He says, everyone, watch this, who believes. Who believes? That's the second phrase, right? Any time I've said this before, anytime you see that word, believe in the Bible, it's a verb. It's a verb. You say, Matt, it's summertime, don't give me that. Here's what it means. It's an action. It is an action word. 241 times in the New Testament, and God uses the word believe as a word that has an action associated. It describes a leaning into the spirit, a trusting in the spirit, a walking in the spirit. This word, believe, always carries this connotation of past, present, and future. It carries a now implication. You said, Matt, why would you even say that? Here's why: A lot of us think that believing is something we just did in the past. No, no, no, no. Belief is continuous. It is walking that says if I'm not walking that belief out now, did I really have it? Then that's what it means. So we can say everyone who believes catches the rest of the verse. Here's what he says: Jesus is the Christ, born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.

Now, here's what John does. John gives us the first two characteristics right here. So let's deal with them. And here's what I want you to do: I want you to compare your lives to them. Here's number one. Here's the first characteristic of the overcomer. Number one, they are born. They're born again or born of God. They're born again. Now, I know when I say that they're born again. That's not really how we talk in church anymore. If you grew up in church, that was a major word, right? I can just remember over and over my grandfather being born again. And we don't talk like that a whole lot, but I think we should. And here's why. Being born again is such a powerful way to describe those who are truly in Jesus, and I think it separates this easy Christianity from what God really wants for us. Here's what that means: a born-again Christian, or I think Adrian Rogers puts it as a twice-born Christian. That one's even harder, right? I was born to my parents, and I'm born again. That's what it means. But a born-again Christian—let me describe it to you—is someone who has truly repented of their sins. They have turned to Jesus for their salvation, and as a result of that, they have become a true member of God's family forever. You see, this is important. Why? Because by nature, we are not members of God's family. We're not. You're not born good. You're not born with God. You're not born pointing your life to God.

That means that you don't have any rights. You don't have any privileges. You don't have any life with God. Why? Because of your sin. We rebelled against God. And what did God have to do? God had to send Jesus to be the sacrifice for our sins. And then here it is. And when we turn back to God, what Jesus does in us and through us is that he saves us. Here's why this is so important. And then he adopts us into his family. He adopts us. That's why I love that adoption mindset so much when it comes to what God does spiritually. Why? Because he takes us for who we are. He makes us into him, and we are born again. Let me say it like this: When you are naturally born, like at the hospital with your mom and daddy, you don't get to choose your family. Amen. Don't laugh at that because some of you are going to be in trouble this time, right? You don't get to choose your family. But here's what God does for us. He offers his love and salvation for us, and we choose to follow him and be reborn. This new birth is a choice, in fact.

Listen to how Peter says in First Peter verse 23, he says, for you have been born again. Watch this. This time, he says, this is not a perishable seed. That means, in other words, not from your mom and daddy, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring Word of God. Now, John, when he's writing this, that's what Peter said. But when John is writing about the idea of being born again, there's no doubt that John is thinking of the interaction that he wrote in his gospel between Jesus and this guy named Nicodemus, this religious leader named Nicodemus. He was incredibly religious and respected. He knew all of the Old Testament and all of Jehovah God. But he snuck over to Jesus one night, late one night. In John chapter three of his gospel, Nicodemus comes in and asks Jesus about salvation. And here's how he describes it. Jesus says this. Jesus says, very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.

So, what Jesus is saying is that being born again is the passing away of who you used to be and the rebirth in Jesus. And here's the deal with that: that makes you an overcomer. Why? Because you're no longer your own. You're no longer on your own, you're no longer under your own power, and you are now walking in God—First John chapter one and the gospel. He says this in verse 12. He says, yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave them, watch this the right to become children of God, children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision, or of a husband's will, but born of God. Now, I know what you're saying, Matt. Why are we spending so much time on this? Here's why we're spending so much time on this idea of being born again. I really believe that one of the main reasons that true believers. All right, I'm talking about true believers, not just church people. The true believers don't live as overcomers. Here's why I believe that they just continually revert back to the thinking that they are their old self.

I think that's what causes us so many problems in our spiritual walk. I think that's what causes us so many times to not live in what God has offered us. It's because we begin to look at ourselves as who we used to be, and we continually revert back to our own power, our own will, and our old. Here are the family gifts, and we forget them. We don't live as the forgiven, born-again family members that God has made us into. Church, the first step of being an overcomer and living an overcomer lifestyle is to be born again. Why? because God takes you from where you were and makes you new into the image of him. So, let me pause and just ask you this. Have you been born again? Have you given your heart to Jesus? Has there been a moment in your life where you've turned from your sin and shame, and you've turned to the Savior, Jesus, to make you his own? Or let me say this: if not, what's keeping you from it? If you haven't done that, what is keeping you from giving your life to Jesus? Or if you have given your life to Jesus? Why or what is keeping you from living out the new marks that God has put on your life? You see, the first characteristic of an overcomer is that they are born again. They're born again. I'm just going to ask you, are you born again? The second one? It's going to be no surprise if you've been walking with us in this book.

So I'm just going to mention it, and then we're going to move on pretty quickly. The second characteristic is that they love God. They are born again, and they love God. Now, if you were here last week, I'm talking about that same kind of love, that agape love, not the hey, bro, I love your truck. No, I'm talking about real love. I'm talking about sacrificial, not self-serving, action-oriented. I am yours, love. And I look back at verse one and watch what he says. He says everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. He puts it in two different ways, and he's dealing with a specific problem.

Remember I told you there was a group that split off the church because they were saying that Jesus really wasn't who he said he was? Well, John is dealing with this right here. And he's saying, listen, you can't just grab on to Father God without knowing who Jesus is, without loving Jesus. You see, I think our problem is a little bit separate from that. I think most of our culture's problems are that they want to love. They want to grasp the loving, sacrificial nature of Jesus, but they don't want to submit to the Father God. You see, there's a little bit of a different situation, but I think it goes both ways here. Right? What did he say? Everyone who loves the father loves the child as well. In other words, you can't just say that you love part of this whole thing of God. You have to love the triune nature of God. He mentions the spirit later on. So, number one, they are born again. Number two, they love God. Let me ask you, do you love God? Here's number three that same day. Number three is that they keep God's commands. Overcomers: If you want to live by overcoming life, you must keep God's commands. You could also say that they obey God's commands or submit to God's plans. You can feel whichever one of those words you want, but I love to keep God's commands because that's kind of what he says in the text. Watch this. First John five verse two.

He says this is how we know that we love the children of God by loving God and carrying out his commands. Verse three doesn't get any clearer than this. In fact, this is love for God. Watch this to keep his commands. In other words, if you want to know that you love God, you ask yourself, am I keeping God's commands? Why? Real love always has an action attached to it. You see, our love for God is shown by our submission to God's commands. Church, the number one indicator that you're part of the family is whether you submit to God's commands. Look, you can tell me all that you want to. I'm a Christian. Oh yeah. I've given my life to Jesus.

Oh yeah, Jesus is this, and Jesus is that. But the real indicator over and over and over and over through this book is whether I do what God says. That's what he says over and over. John says this so many times through his text you almost get tired of hearing it if you read it all. But here's why he does it. He does it because the people of his day and the people of our day really do honestly think that they can have a born-again salvation belief that they are part of the family of God, but yet, on this side, they still do what they want to do. And John's going, it doesn't work that way. You can't say he is Lord but yet not live like he is Lord. That's what he's saying, in fact, right? This principle is true faith. It's not simply believing what God says is true. It's acting on what God says is true because we really do trust him. You see, it's never really an action problem. It's always a belief problem. It's always a belief problem. You say Matt, I'm not sure I'm tracking you on that.

Let me try to explain it like this. Let me step out on a limb and just say this. Here's something that kind of hits me every time I see this point and every time the Holy Spirit brings it up. When we're thinking about living out the born-again life, the new life, the true believer life, the reason is that so many of us are okay, not us and other churches. All right, let's just put that on tape. But other churches, right? The reason that so many of us don't obey God, the reason that so many of us don't keep his commands, and the reason that so many of us don't live an overcoming life, let me give it to you, is that we really just don't believe God. We don't believe in God. That's really what it is. You say, man, what are you talking about? You see, we really don't believe that God will step into this situation, that God will meet us in that minute, that God will fulfill that need, or that God can heal that relationship. We really don't believe that God will come through, and we don't believe that God really wants to make us overcomers. You see, man, I'm still not following you. Matt, can you get a little more specific? Man, yes, I'm glad you asked. Here's what I mean by this: the real reason is not you but other churches. The real reason that you don't make time to pray, study the Bible, and read His word is that you really don't believe that matters.

Does that make more sense now? The real reason that you're not faithful to your spouse is that you really don't believe that it's God's plan and design for you to commit to them for the rest of your life. You really don't believe that God can heal your marriage. The real reason that you don't tell the truth is that you really don't believe that it's only God that you should impress, and it's God that will hold you accountable one day for those words. The reason that your family is not committed to the church is that you really don't believe that the body of Christ is way more important than any athletic program that your kid's going to be in for the next three years. The reason that you don't serve is that you really don't believe that other people matter to God.

The reason that you don't give, that you don't tithe, that you don't sacrificially give, is you really don't believe that God has commanded it, and you don't believe that God will fulfill that need when you give it. You see, here's the deal. Anytime we say, or anytime we think, I know God says it, but if I do, something might happen. Or if I do, something might go wrong. We're saying this to God. God, I'm smarter than you. I've really thought through it, and I believe me more than I believe you. You see, it's always a belief problem when it comes to God's commands. It's not an action problem; it's a belief problem. Because if you were very sure that it was going to happen, you would do it every single time.

So, what changes the mindset? There's only one thing that changes our mindset. It's trusting wholly in the fact that Jesus is who he says he is, and he always has your best interests at heart. In fact, look back at the text and watch this: total mindset difference. Man, I've been looking forward to these couple of verses for weeks and weeks because they're a game changer for those of us who want to be overcomers. For those of us who want to walk out our faith, watch this in verse three. Here's what it says. It says, in fact, this is love for God. We looked at that to keep his commands. We already looked at that. But watch this. And his commands are not burdensome. Wow. You might want to you might want to underline that because this is this is life-changing here. Did you hear what he said? John just said to the one who really trusts God and loves God. John says to them and to us God's commands are not burdensome. What is burdensome mean? It means that they're not heavy. They're not weighty. They don't weigh us down. It doesn't mean that they're easy. That's not what he's saying. He just means they're not burdensome. Why? You're going to see it in a minute. But I want you to write the principle down. Write. The fourth characteristic of the overcomer is that not only do they follow God's commands, but number four, they have a right view of God's commands. They have a right view of God's commands.

Now, let me flesh this out, okay? But I need you to stay with me. I know, I know, I know, I know, you're like, man, we just need to go to lunch. No, no, you need to hear this. It's not enough for you just to know God's commands. Okay, that's not enough. A lot of people know God's commands in their minds. What John is also saying here is this. It's not enough for you just to live God's commands. All right? It's not enough. Although that is the proof that you love God. What John is saying is this. He says if you want to be an overcomer, the reality is, is that you should see God's commands for what they really are. When you see God's commands for what they really are, then you will sacrifice, you will give, you will follow God's commands no matter what because you will begin to see them as not threats to who you are, not threats to a lifestyle you want to live. Still, you will begin to see them as ways that you can honor him and that you can live victoriously. You see, here's the deal. When you submit to God, when you give your life to God, and when you begin to follow God with all of your heart, the reality is that this mindset in you changes. It changes from the commands of God's being threatening to your life to the commands of God being the things that set you free in life.

Do you know there are only two reasons that God gives us commands? They're to give him glory and for our good. Teenagers, listen to me in this. God is not withholding things from you to punish you. God is not setting boundaries in your life to punish you. God is setting boundaries in your life for his glory and your good. So when God says no, listen to the church; it is not a threatening thing for us. It is a way for us to know that we are glorifying him and we are seeking eternal good. Does that make sense? That's how when we read the Bible, we're not like the world. This is man. Doesn't God take away all the stuff that seems to be so good from Christians? No. What God does is he frees us up to live eternally, and he frees us up to live for his glory. And he frees us up to live for our good. That's why the statutes of God, David says, taste like honey to his lips. That's why, for us who aren't walking in obedience, they seem so threatening. You see, write this fifth principle down. We just talked about it a little bit, a little bit. This fifth characteristic of the overcomer is that they just walk in victory. They walk in victory. Why? True love plus obedience plus understanding who God is and what God has told us to do equals our being able to walk in victory. Watch what he says in verse three. This and his commands are not burdensome.

In other words, it's not a burden to walk after God because we know that we're walking for eternity. Watch this for everyone born of God. Watch what he says overcomes the world. Do you see that? This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Watch this. Verse five, who is who overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. Now I want you to do something with me. I want you to circle the word victory and circle the word and circle the word overcomer in your Bible. So, if you have a digital Bible, just highlight the whole verse. All right. Put a note out to the side, whatever you got to do. Because these two words are the same word, victory and overcome are the same Greek words. You might have heard this before, but it is the Greek word Nike. Catch this thing. You have to love it right here. Right? So, if you just perked up right, Candy Crush, hang on. Right here it is, right? The Greek word for victory here is the Greek word Nike or Nikaō. And it literally means victorious. It is a symbol of victory. If you go back to Greek times. One of the Greek gods was the goddess of Nike. It was the goddess. Nike is where the company stole its whole deal from. If you look at one of the images of the Nike emblem, it is actually part of one of the wings of one of the renderings of the Greek god Nike.

It's where Nike got their whole victorious speech from. I'm not even kidding. This is where they took it from, but what is God saying to us here? He's looking at you, and he's looking at me, and he's saying, listen, you can walk in victory; you can walk in me. John is going a little bit further because, during this time, the thinking of Greek life at least was the only the gods could be totally victorious. But John is saying that is not true because the one true God, Jesus, has Niked you, right? He hasn't Nikaōd you, and he has made you his victorious son and daughter, and you are now more than conquerors. Write this principle. Now, true believers are not called to live in defeated lives. You've been saved, raised up, and made into a son and daughter of the King.

To live in Christ and to live in victory. Victory? How? Because Jesus has redeemed you. Because Jesus has put his life into you. Because Jesus has delivered you, because Jesus has died and has made you into himself. In fact, Jesus said it like this: John 16:33 Jesus said, I've told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. This and in this world, you will have trouble. But take heart. What's this? Roger? I have Nikaō. I have Nike. I've overcome the world. It's the same word. Keep going. Paul says in Romans 8, all the way down to verse 37. There's a lot more in your notes, but don't worry about those. Watch this in verse 37. It says, know in all these things, we are more than Nike, right? We're more than conquerors. That's the word again. Through him who loved us. For I'm convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor demons, nor the present, nor the future, nor any other powers, nor height, nor depth, or anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Listen, church, that's the victory, the stuff the world has to give you. It's going to go away. The stuff the world has to give you. It'll bite you hard and leave you high and dry. But God has given you Nike. He's given it to you. And now we walk in the Nike. Why? Because we're born again. We walk in the Nike. Why? Because we follow his commands. We walk in the Nike. Why? Because we realize the boundaries that he's put on our lives are for his glory and for our good. We walk in the victory. Why? Because we are sons and daughters of the King. That's what he's saying. It's saying that when we become so saturated with being victorious, the other stuff around us seems like it's nothing, just useless to us. And we walk right past us. Church. The victory has been given. Yeah, I'm so tired of Christians walking around with a ho-hum attitude and a self-defeating life. We win, and it's time for us to start living like it. So, number one, they're born again. Number two, overcomers love God. Number three, overcomers have to keep God's commands. We have a right view of God's commands. We walk in victory. Let me give you the last word. We're going to close it down, I promise. Verse 13. Watch what he says. We've looked at this verse before. It's a thesis statement of the whole book. He says, as I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life, and watch what he says.

He says this is the confidence, all right? It's the confidence in what? When we're walking, when we're loving, when we're obeying, when we're seeing God's commands. Right. Watch this. When our hearts become so aligned with him, watch what happens. This is the confidence when we approach God well; this is the confidence we have in approaching God that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know he hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have what we asked of him. Here's the sixth characteristic of the overcomer number six: they keep asking God to move. They keep asking him to move. Now, here's what this means. Does this mean I can just go out and flippantly ask God to do anything in this world that I want him to do? No, that's not what it means. He'll look at you and go, that is not for my glory or for your good. Not a chance. Right? Here's what this means. It means that when we realize who we are and him, we begin to walk that out, obey his commands, and see him for who he is, what he's doing in our lives, and how victorious we can be.

It means that part of our life, all it wants to do, is point towards him, towards his renown, and towards his glory. Overcomers just want to be with Jesus. They just want to see Jesus move. And what do they do? They keep asking, praying, and trusting God to do what God wants to do anyway, and that is to reach the nations. Bless his children and be their Savior. And when we align ourselves to that, here's the beauty in the whole book.

Let me close it out. It's we know that. We know that. We know that we know not only that I'm just his child, but we know that I'm walking in the fullness of who he is. And whatever Satan throws my way, it's not going to affect me. Church. John's message is not a threatening message. It's a message going, hey, this is available, but it's not automatic. You kind of turned from who you were, turned to me, and gave me your life. And I Jesus said, will Nikaō you. Will you pray with me?

Lord Jesus, today, God, we thank you that you hear us. As we close this book down today, I just want to give one more opportunity for people to submit their hearts to you, to give their lives to you, to see you for who you are, to invite you in, to forgive them, and to be their Lord.

In the quietness of this moment with your head bowed, I'm just going to ask you, is that where you are right now? Do you need to give your life to Jesus? And say, here I am, Jesus save me if that's you right now, in just a minute. When we stand in this time of invitation, I'm just going to ask you to be bold today. Step out from where you are, walk up and look at me or one of the other counselors, and go, hey, I need Jesus to save me today. Will you pray with me? I love to do that, man. If you're online, or maybe you just don't quite have that boldness right there, man. You can go on to the next steps and just text. Hey, today I need to invite Jesus and accept him as my Savior and Lord. Somebody will reach out to you in minutes or hours today. Maybe today. You just need to take another step, though. Maybe you are a true family member of God. But today, you just need to say, here I am, Lord, here's me, put me back on track. Give me the victory that you've promised.

Lord today. Move in these next couple of minutes to show us who we are and how we can walk in you. It's in your name we pray.

Amen. Amen.

Let's stand and sing. I'm going to be standing right over here. And I'd love to pray with you and over you today, if whatever you got.

Follow Along with the Message

Overcomer Assurance

May 26, 2024

1 John 5:1
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.
Characteristics of Overcomers

1. They are again.

1 Peter 1:23
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
John 3:3
“Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
John 1:12–13
12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God — 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

PRINCIPLE: From the moment of the post-resurrection ascension of Jesus into glory, it has been the days.

2. They God.

1 John 5:1
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well.

3. They God’s command.

PRINCIPLE: True faith is not simply believing what God says is true; it is on what God says is true, because we really do trust Him.

1 John 5:3
In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome.

4. They have a view of God’s commands.

5. They walk in .

1 John 1:3–5
3 …And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

PRINCIPLE: True believers are not called to live defeated lives; you have been saved, raised up, and made into son or daughter of the King to live in Christ and in .

John 16:33
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
Romans 8:31–39
31 What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all — how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died — more than that, who was raised to life — is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
1 John 5:13–15
13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 14 This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us — whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him.

6. They keep God to move.

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