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1:30Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride, there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. She will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar. The kingdoms tottered. He raised his voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Come, behold the works of the Lord, who has brought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two. He burns the chariots with fire. Cease striving and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do come before you, ceasing for a moment in our week, gathering for the purpose to reflect and believe and trust and know that you are God.

3:00And how that touches every aspect of our being. So, Father, we pause this morning giving you thanks. May you be exalted here. Father, we thank you that you will end the wars, the strife between nation and nation, and between individual and individual, because you were God, and that is what you do. You put a cease and a stop to all wars. So, Father, we look forward to the day when you return in all your glory. We look forward to earth's better days, days of peace, days of your righteous reign over the earth. Until then, Father, we calm our hearts, knowing that you are God and that our days and our moments and our relationships are all in your hands. So, Father, with that, we can pause and settle and calm our hearts and worship you this morning. For it's in your great name we pray. Amen. Well, again, good morning. Please turn in your Bibles to 1 John chapter 5.

4:21I'll be looking at verses 1 through 4 today. 1 John 5, Verses 1 through 4. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. And whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.

5:08Well, as we gear up for another school year, a question before us, or I'd like to ask you this morning, is what does God want you to accomplish this coming year? Well, I can assure you there's an answer here this morning. The gospel gives us an answer. What does God want you to do this year? And I know there's a lot of different plans, a lot of different activities, a lot of different thoughts you have for this coming school year. But I can assure you, one thing, with authority from the scripture, I know what God's will for your life is, and that is for you to overcome every challenge to live for his glory. No matter what else he has going on for you, this much you can be. Sure, of that, God wants you to live for His glory, and He wants you to overcome every challenge that will threaten living for His glory. You know, last week we began looking at this gospel identity. If you will come to the Word of God and let the Word of God shape how you see yourself, it will also give you insight into what you are to do. Remember, last week we looked at the Apostle John, who went from a son of thunder to a disciple whom Jesus loves. Yes, an identity transformation. The gospel changed the Apostle John. He came to understand who Jesus was, and he came to understand who he is in light of Jesus. And he understood that Jesus was the Christ, and that Jesus was indeed the lover of his soul. He had a teachable heart, unlike Judas. So the first big question we have to ask in life, and these are the big questions that you have to ask yourself and do ask yourself: who am I? Who am I? Well, the gospel has an answer for that. God spoke into the world, gave his truth. What is truth? It's reality from God's perspective. And you cannot disconnect that reality from God Himself, God's Word, spoken word, incarnate word, truth, God inserting Himself into the world. And when you believe that truth, a change happens. And that's what happened to John, the apostle, who went from a son of thunder, one of a fiery temperament, and one of a worldly ambition. He got a hold of this truth of who Jesus was and is, and how important he was to Jesus. And all of a sudden, John, the light went on in his heart, and he understood that he was a disciple whom Jesus loves. That's the highest title that anybody could ever have in this world or at any other time, is to be related to Christ and to be one whom Jesus loves. And when that gospel truth gets a hold of you, when that gospel truth really comes into your soul, it has a power to free, a power to prevail over every other deficiency that there is in life. This one sufficiency compensates, overcompensates for all. And this is what happened to the Apostle John. He believed that truth, and then he came to understand that he himself, John, Was an apostle, was a disciple whom Jesus loves. It's a title we all can share. And this gave him life, a whole new life. And this is what happens when God speaks his truth. And when you come to believe that truth, it begets life, a life that comes from God. And this life, as he understood and grew, it put his soul at peace. Inner peace. John became a man of peace, no longer driven by the ambitions and fiery temper and the things of this world, but his life set at peace. And this freed him. Then, a soul stabilized by the truth, it freed him to start loving. Instead of being served by somebody else, he could freely start pouring himself out like Christ poured himself out. John, the apostle, started pouring himself out for other people. And you can only do that. You can only love like Christ if you know you're loved by him.

10:13And of course, it's in this self-sacrifice, self-giving, living for the good and the well-being of God's glory and others. That's really what living for God's glory is about. And so, this is how John was transformed. Who am I? He is a disciple whom Jesus loved. Who am I? If you're in Christ, this is you, a disciple whom Jesus loves. And this truth and belief in that truth will bring a new kind of life. It will bring a deep inner peace. It will free you to truly give your life away for the good of somebody else for the glory of God and the praise of His name. That's what the gospel identity does. It transforms the heart. That's the first question you need to know in life. The question the philosophers ask: Who are we? What is man?

11:11But the gospel has an answer. Who am I? If you're in Christ, you're a disciple whom Jesus loves. And there's not a higher title that this world could put on you than that. That's the highest. But then there's a second question that comes out of that. Okay, who am I? I am a disciple whom Jesus loves. Now, what am I to do? What am I supposed to do? That's the second question in life. Who am I? And what am I to do? Many of you are asking that, especially in a college setting. You're asking it at this time in life. What am I to do?

11:52And the gospel has an answer. Amidst all the other pursuits and things you've got going on, this one thing is sure. What does God want you? To do? He wants you to overcome every challenge to live for his glory. That's what he wants you to do this semester and this year. This is what he wants you to do today. Who am I? A disciple whom Jesus loves. That truth has set me free, put my soul at peace so that I can love and live for his glory. And that's what he wants me to do: live for his glory. So, what am I supposed to do? Go and live for his glory and overcome every one of those challenges that will tempt you away from living for his glory. That's what you're to do this year.

12:36So, that brings us to our text. How do we do this? And looking back at 1 John 5, verse 4, our text makes it very clear. Two things makes it very clear. Number one, there are people who are overcoming the world. Second, there is a faith that has overcome the world. There are people who are currently overcoming the world, and there is a faith that has overcome the world. So, there are people who are overcoming the world because there is a faith that has overcome the world.

13:18Living for God's glory involves overcoming the challenges to live for His glory. It's implied. Remember when I I was in high school. I went through this phase where I'd like to buy an old car and would fix it up and paint it and then resell it and then take that money and then buy another one and do the same thing. So I got into painting and body work on cars. And I had my heart set on a Corvette Stingray. And I bought one and it had a 350 engine under the hood. It was the fastest thing that I knew of anybody having in my town. It had the engine. Fixed it all up, made it look that had these high-altitude jets, and where I was, that just made it to where I put the gas, I pushed the nothing, it could pass anything, and I mean, it could pass it with some smoke. I mean, it was fast.

14:28And I did, and so we did all this body work on it. It was just in beautiful shape, and it was so popular that somebody came over and stole it right out from my driveway. I never saw it again. I did have to finish paying it off, though. The insurance didn't pay for it. Why not? Because I left the keys in the car, all that kind of stuff. So I remember the morning that it got stolen, and we had this other Ford Pent. Station wagon. I don't know if you're four-cylinder, it had some of the wooden panels, you know, one of the panels had fallen off, and it was a whole different change of pace. If you didn't get going fast enough up, you know, down the hill, you had to get out and push it up the hill. It couldn't pass anything on the road. Well, that was my humbling experience. And it happened right after I got saved. Imagine.

15:30But I've noticed there's two kinds of people in life: there are those who just seem to get overwhelmed by the world. Life just seems to be this unbearable burden. Life is a disappointment. And guess what? They don't get better with age. No, the opposite. They grow more and more pessimistic, more bitter, more cold, and more lonely with time. They seem to compromise truth, disbelieve the gospel, give in to temptation, and they just seem to be overwhelmed.

16:07But then there's another kind of person, and they just seem to overcome whatever the world throws at them. You know what I'm talking about? Even when life throws them some of the most debilitating circumstances, it may knock them over for a little bit, but they don't seem to stay down for long. They're able to rise to the challenges of life. They are far more optimistic about life. And their ability to joyfully press on to heaven is evidence that they have already conquered this world. There are people who go through life conquering and reigning over the issues of life, and there are those that just seem to get bowled over and rolled over, and life gets them down and seems to keep them down.

17:04What's the difference? Well, there's something under the hood that makes the difference. There's something different. One has faith in God, and the other really does not. And our text this morning shows us the difference that a vibrant faith does in a person. It takes the one who is overwhelmed and overcome by the world and turns them into an overcomer. Let me reread verse 4. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. It's not a hypothesis, it's a promise.

17:54For whatever is born of God overcomes the world, and this is the victory that has. Overcome the world, our faith. Our faith. There are those who are overcoming the world because there is a faith that has overcome the world. What about you? Do you let the gospel shape your identity? Do you let the gospel tell you who you are? Do you let the gospel tell you what you are to be doing? Well, I want to look at this faith this morning. Faith makes all the difference in the world.

18:33I want to look at three aspects of this faith that has overcome the world so that you will walk in it more fully. First of all, I want to look at the content of this faith that has overcome the world. Verse 1. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ, I'll stop there. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ, every person, it's a singular verb. Each and every person, the one believing that Jesus is the Christ. That is the content of the faith. This is that triumphal conviction. Who do you say Jesus is? Who do you believe he is?

19:20Well, the conviction that triumphs over the whole world is knowing that the Christ revealed on the pages of Scripture is indeed. God's Christ, and he is currently ruling, and he is ultimately God's ruler. This Jesus, pre-existent Son of God, he took upon himself flesh. Why did he take upon himself flesh? Because he wanted to stand in solidarity with his people, and so he took upon their flesh, born of the water, born of, but also came through the blood.

20:06He took upon human flesh in order to stand in solidarity with his people, and he was baptized in the blood, his blood, speaking of his crucifixion, in order to pay for our sins. He was crucified. He came through the blood, crucified, rose from the dead, and now he sits at the right hand of God, and he is the final judge of every single living soul. And friend, this is the soul's mightiest weapon. This is your soul's mightiest weapon. Confidence that Jesus is the Christ.

20:51It overcomes all false teachings. It overcomes all evil influences, and it overcomes all earthly principles. John knew this by experience, and he communicates it to us. And this is very different. Despite all the evil that John saw in his day, and despite all the evil that we see manifested all around us, we know where humanity is ultimately going. It is going to Christ's likeness. That is where it is going. He is ruler. He is the ultimate ruler. But he rules differently. The coming rule and reign of Christ, it's different than just a new politician taking office. You see, his rule and reign is about conformity to him.

21:51You see, you think about like even with this coming election, it doesn't matter who gets elected, you're still going to pretty much go about your life. Oh, yeah, you may have some different regulations, different rules, and laws that you're going to have to navigate around, regardless, but regardless of whether Trump or Harris is elected, you're not going to be called to be conformed to their personality or their individuality. But with Christ, Christ's likeness is. Part of his rulership. He is forming people into his image.

22:44So we know where humanity is going, Christ's likeness. We know where we are going if we are followers of Christ. We're going to Christ's likeness. That's where we're headed. And guess what he did? He overcame everything that challenged the glory of God. And that's where we're going. But there's more. It's not just that Jesus is the pattern for all, he is that. Being the Christ also requires of him active duties. He's not just the one that we are to conform to, but he is the one that has active duties before God.

23:31He is judge of all. He is Savior of all. He is the one who must shepherd all. He is the one that must advocate for all. He has responsibilities before God for every soul. And I can tell you with confidence, no one Christ like Christ Christ. No one Christ like Christ Christ. And so my confidence is not in my ability to serve Christ, but Christ's ability to shepherd me. My ultimate confidence is not that in my ability to lead, but Christ's ability to shepherd his people.

24:24And so those who believe that Jesus is the Christ have received the Spirit's testimony. That's the faith that has overcome the world. You see, to receive the Spirit's testimony about Christ puts a person thinking like God thinks. And when you think like God thinks, you see the world as it is, you see yourself in relationship to him as things really are, and that moves you from being overcome to being an overcomer. The faith that has overcome the world.

25:03Its content is Jesus Christ, the one believing that Jesus is the Christ. Now, second, I want you to see its origin. Look at verse 1. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, is born of God. It's also stated again in verse 4. But the tense is important. Whoever is Believes that Jesus is the Christ is or has already been born of God. It's a perfect tense. The one who is believing that Jesus is the Christ has been fathered by God.

25:50You see, faith in God comes from God. Both its content and its ability come from God. Think about the content of faith. You remember when in Matthew 16, Jesus asked, who do people say that I am? And eventually Peter answers in verse 16, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. You see, eventually the disciples came to accept the testimony of the Spirit about who Jesus is. The works, the words, all of it testified. And so that they believed Jesus is the Christ. But also that ability to believe is also from him. If you look at the tense and the text and the way it's stated here, believing is the consequence of the new birth. Believing isn't the cause of the new birth. The language is very explicit. The one who is God is the birth of the birth. Believing has already been fathered by God.

27:05So we see faith is a consequence, a faith that comes from above, not a faith that rises up from the earth, but a faith that is given from above. And so there's a connection between faith and being born from above, such that we don't separate those theologically. Because it's best to understand that faith and the new birth happen simultaneously. You think about what's happening when God is fathering somebody. What's happening? They're believing. So as one is receiving the testimony of the Spirit concerning Jesus, one is being born of the Spirit. So you can't separate these two thoughts, but it's clear that faith is from God. It comes from his side of the fence. It's not of an earth. And this is what Jesus was saying. You must be born again. You must have that faith that comes down from above. Only those from above go above.

28:16So there's three aspects of this faith that has overcome the world. The first is its content. The second is its origin. Jesus is the Christ. And that conviction, that soul understanding. Comes from above. And then there's an evidence. Third aspect of this faith that has overcome this world is its evidence. Notice that there are two unavoidable effects of being born from above. First, as I already mentioned, there's the believing recognition that Jesus is God's unique Son, Christ.

29:00But second, second evidence, there is placement of the believer into the family of God, being put into the family of God. Notice, look at verse 1. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of him. Whoever loves the Father loves the child born of him. Whoever loves the one fathering, literally, also loves the one being fathered. So if you love the Father, you will love the one being fathered.

29:43You think about the family of God, what does that consist of? Well, it consists of the Father, consists of the Son, it consists of the Spirit of God, and it consists of all those born of God. That's the family of God. And you think about the family. About it in an earthly family context, we understand this because there are family bonds of love. Family members tend to love family members unless sin has so perverted things. It's natural for children to love their parents, it's natural for siblings to love each other. Only sin is what makes a mess of all that.

30:26But the family of God involves the Father and those born of the Father. And the one who loves the family of God is also loving God. Because what happens is when it's a work of God. So if you love God, you love the work of God. And when one is born from above, he or she is supernaturally placed into the family of God and is given a supernatural love for the family of God. I mean, what joins us? I mean, you can look around this room, and it's not that we're all from common backgrounds or family backgrounds. We're from very different backgrounds, tribes, and very different stations in life. And yet, if you hang out here very long, I will assure you, you will see and sense that there's a real genuine love for each other up here. And that comes from above. That's that supernatural gift.

31:34It's not just that they love Jesus, though. They love other believers. You see what happens? I'll read Stop. One commentator says it like this. The new birth is a supernatural event which takes us out of the sphere of the world where Satan rules and puts us into the family of God. And of course, there will be a supernatural love given. Move on. So, how does one know if he or she is loving God's children? Do you love God's children? Do you love the family of God? Look back at verse 2. By this, we know that we love the children of God when we love God and observe his commandments. What is the proof that you or someone loves the children of God? Obedience to God's commands.

32:37This makes a lot of sense. It's very straightforward. You see, loving God's children is displayed by loving God and obeying his commandments. You see, you think about it. You can't love each other without obeying God's commands. Don't steal. Yeah, you're not loving, if you're stealing. Stealing from somebody, you're not loving them. Don't covet. Yeah, you're not loving somebody if you're coveting what they have. Don't lie to one another, all that. You're not loving when you're doing these things. So obedience to God's commands, even forgiving one another, even loving one another, are His commands.

33:23And so if you're going to love one another, you are going to be obeying His commands. And if you have a heart to obey His commands, it's going to show up in the way you relate to one another. And look at what He says in verse 3: For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. So, what is the proof that someone loves God's children? They are obeying God. They are loving God and obeying Him. What does loving God look like? Obeying His commandments. It sounds like we've got some circular reasoning here, but it's not circular reasoning. They're interconnected truths, they verify one another.

34:03So, if you love God, you're going to obey His command to love one another. And if you're loving each other, you're going to be not stealing, not taking. So, the two truths are interconnected proofs. One cannot love God and keep His commandments without loving the children of God, and one cannot love the children of God without loving God and keeping His commandments. The two. Thoughts are connected. So love becomes the evidence of whether a person is truly born from above. And one of the temptations we are to continually be overcoming as believers in Christ is that temptation to live for ourselves, not to love, but we've been freed to love and to overcome everything that would challenge or rival God's glory. And one of those things is relating to one another in love, in a sacrificial love, regardless of whether they're deserving of it and regardless of how expensive such a sacrifice is.

35:19But look at what John says at the very end of verse 3. And dial in here. If you've fallen asleep, wake up and overcome the challenge. Look at the end of verse 3. And his commandments are not burdensome. For this is the love of God, verse 3, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. Now, pause. That's a remarkable statement. His commands are not burdensome. Remember Israel's history. What if God loved God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength? Love your neighbor as yourself.

36:10Upon these, all the laws, the prophets hang. We never love like this. To lay down your life like Christ laid down his life. I can't even do that for the people closest to me. And here's John looking, oh, and his commandments are not burdensome, they're not too difficult, they're not too heavy. I find that one of the most fascinating and remarkable statements. John saw the crucifixion, he saw what Jesus went through in his expressions of love for each other.

36:57John may very well have seen Peter's crucifixion, or certainly been informed of it. He saw systematically all of his fellow apostles die or be martyred for the faith. John knew hardship from the inside and the outside. And yet he can say, oh, yeah, his commandments are not hard. They're not hard to keep. What is going on? How can this apostle say that? The answer is: it's a new birth. He's got a lot better engine than my Ford Pinto had. There's a faith under the hood that made these incredible, difficult challenges of life seem easy. When you have that right engine, you can pass anything on the road. And that's what he's talking about. He has this faith that comes from above, understanding who he is. Jesus is the Christ, and I am a disciple loved by him. And I am being conformed to his image, and he wants me to overcome every challenge, including loving one another sacrificially.

38:24And he says, Yeah, that's not hard. It's not hard because of the faith, because of what's under the hood. To a natural man, it's impossible. You can't love like this. And that's why Jesus said, you have to be born from above if you're going to live for God's glory. And it's a gift. One commentator says it like this: Those who have been born of God have overcome the worldly tendency to satisfy their own sinful cravings, and as a result, They are free to show love to others and so fulfill God's commands.

39:07Another commentator says it like this: Believers in Jesus Christ are God's children born from above. They are loved by all who love God. Those who love God also keep his commandments. They keep his commandments because they overcome the world. And they overcome the world because they are believers in Jesus Christ born from above. So, what do they overcome? Well, they overcome all challenges and all temptations to live for God's glory, or all challenges to live for God's glory, and all temptations that would pull them away from living for God's glory. We're not talking about sinless perfection here, but we're talking about real growth in Christ's likeness that will be achieved by the power of God's Spirit.

40:05Because when they do fail, they confess and they know how to deal with sin before the cross, and they're able to move forward in victory. They are moving towards Christ's likeness and Christ, because no one Christ's like. Christ Christ is going to see that they be perfected. This is the faith that has overcome the world. But what specifically are some of the temptations they overcome? Well, they overcome on a personal level. There's temptations that you and I this year are going to be called to overcome. I can mention a few of them. You're going to have to overcome the fear of man. And this is what those who are born from above do. They overcome the fear of man.

41:05Whether it's his reproach, whether it's his contempt, or even when that contempt turns into open derision and open mocking, or even when that contempt turns into overt assault, such who are born from above overcome the fear of man. They overcome dishonest gain. They understand God's ways. They prefer His ways and they understand the horrors and have no interest in growing in the ways of dishonest gain. They overcome the roaming eyes, the eyes that would look at vanity, would go through life just filling up the shopping cart of the world with all those things that would capture the eye.

42:01They overcome being ashamed of God's words before their superiors. I'm sure you know what I'm talking about. They overcome the hopelessness that comes in the face of affliction. They overcome the loneliness because they know that they are not alone. They overcome all the temptations and the allurements of wealth because they know what the true riches are. They overcome their tendency to be spiteful and to try to take vengeance in their own hand because they understand that Christ is the Christ and vengeance belongs to him.

42:46They overcome all those times of physical and spiritual exhaustion because they can trust and wait. They overcome even those frustrations that come when God's timing is different than ours. They know how to wait. They overcome the multiple opportunities for fleshly living, and you are going to be called to overcome those as well if you are in Christ. They overcome those who would make us feel ashamed of our hope. No, our hope is Jesus. Christ, King of kings, Lord of Lords, coming again. We don't have a second plan. It's him and him alone.

43:40They overcome the tendencies of developing a cold heart due to the evil that is in the world. They overcome the distractions of life that would keep them from living for God's glory. They overcome a proud heart due to achieving some sort of perfection. They overcome all these temptations because they have a faith that is overcoming the world. And they have a faith that overcomes everything that challenges the rival or rivals the glory of God. But these people also congregate together. They congregate together and they overcome temptations on a corporate level, not just on an individual level, but they are a group of people who continue to fervently minister out of a love for Christ, for his church, and for people in general. And they just keep a society going on ministering out of a fervent love for Christ.

44:54They are a society that lives amongst this world that will not budge. Buckle, retreat, or cave in to the pressures of the enemies of the gospels. They are a people who, no matter what kind of philosophical arguments are placed forward or what kind of pressures, they do not relax the biblical standards of morality or of marriage or of sexual relations, and they keep promoting truth even in the midst of it all. And they're a society of people, a church, because they love the truth, they overcome the temptations to compromise loyalty to Christ. Their first love is Christ, and they are devoted to Him. They will not abandon the Christ that the apostles have proclaimed to us and have been passed down to us through the words that they have left us in Scripture. And no matter how developed progressive thought gets or how militant the personalities that advocate them are, there are a people that just don't bow their loyalty.

46:14They have overcome the world. There is a society. I pray that Emmanuel will be this and continue to be this and grow in this area. No matter what the temptations you may face this year, that we will never be ashamed of Christ before the peers that you meet, the colleagues, or people, or professors, or people you work with, or your superiors. No matter how secular the society becomes, there are people who are not ashamed of Christ.

46:59There are people corporately, they overcome the temptation to give up, even though they may feel their seemingly insignificance or perhaps little impact. But this society, this church of Christ, overcomes all the temptations to cease following the way of the cross. And they will be here when Christ returns for them. They understand that the purpose of the church is to light their communities with the truth of Christ. That's what we're called to do this year. Light our community with the truth, gospel truth, that answers the basic question: who are we? And what are we to be doing? We're to be overcoming these challenges for the glory of God. All challenges that would hinder living for God's glory. That's what you're called to do individually if you're in Christ. That is what Christ is doing in you if you are in Christ. This is who you will become if you are in Christ. So, let's get on with it. Overcome all the challenges in your life today that would keep you from giving glory to God.

48:33Well, this is the faith that has overcome the world. Do you have it? We've looked at its content. Jesus is the Christ. Its origin, it comes from above. Its evidence is a love for the Father and His children. And it overcomes every challenge that would rival the glory of God. And do you have this faith? Look back at verse 4: For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. It is already in the process of overcoming the world. It's a present. Whatever is born of God is overcoming the world.

49:19You see, if you believe Jesus is the Christ, you understand that you are in solidarity with Him, you're in solidarity with the world. Who currently reigns over the world. You're in solidarity with the one who overcomes the world. You are a disciple of him who overcame the world. So, guess what that makes you? One who is overcoming the world. And you know also that you have been freed if you are in Christ. You have been freed to live for his glory. You have been freed to overcome every challenge to live for his glory.

50:03You see, so go overcome the world. Overcome the challenges. You know, John said these words at the height of Roman dominance. Never forget the context of these. Looking around from John's time, it looked like the power of Rome was everywhere, it was increasing, and yet John is very clearly saying, victory does not belong to Rome. And John is telling his audience, look to Christ, and let me tell you, you will see a victory on a whole other level.

50:47Look upon those who are looking upon the Christ up on the cross, and I will show you a victory that is overcoming the world. But in the midst of all this, that John is saying, He's saying to the audience, and with implications to us, John is saying, Let me tell you who you are. You are in Christ. You are overcoming this world. You think about historically speaking, the Roman Emperor, the government, and everyone else associated with the world's powers at that time were completely powerless to stop the rising faith in Jesus Christ that was taking over that world.

51:41As you think about our present situation, we look around us today, and the power of evil seems to be advancing on all fronts without restraint. And yet, as we look into the text this morning, it's very clear: as John is stating, victory belongs to Christ and those who humbly follow Him. That's where victory is. That's to whom victory belongs. And so, the question comes back to us today: Have you genuinely received God's testimony concerning Jesus? Do you really believe that Jesus is the Christ, that He came to be the Christ for you?

52:30To stand in solidarity with you, to take away your sin, so that you could become like him and truly live in victory as he lived in victory and overcame this world. If you're in Christ, you have been born of God. You do possess the faith that has overcome the world. Now, leave here today and overcome it, and keep overcoming it. And when it gets you down, get back up and overcome it. Don't let the world tell you who Jesus is. It's John's message. Don't let the world tell you who Jesus is. Don't let the world tell you who you are. And don't tell the world what you are to do. Let God tell you who Jesus is, who you are, and what you are to be doing. And then go out and be who you are.

53:30Who are you? You're a disciple whom Jesus loves. What are you to do? Overcome the world. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, help these truths to sink deep in our hearts as they did the Apostle John's heart, and so transformed him from a son of thunder with a fiery temperament and a worldly ambition. Help us, Father, to understand that you came. Sent your Son to dwell among us, to stand in solidarity with us, that we might be in solidarity with Him, in solidarity with the cross, and so we have payment for our sins. In solidarity with His resurrection, so we have freedom and power in Him to overcome every challenge that would rival your glory. Not for our glory, but for your glory. And so, Father, those things that get us down, Father, forgive us. Forgive us where we have lost sight of who you are and your great love towards us. Father, put this faith, let this faith that overcomes the world be ever alive and active in us. Put that engine in our souls, Father, to the end that you would be glorified, and all we will do is just humbly go through life submitting to you and overcoming the challenges. Not because we're great in and of ourselves, but just it's you're worthy of it. And that's what you call us to do and have empowered us to do. So be with us now. Be with all of us as we lay down these besetting sins, these soul anxieties to you and perplexities of life, and show us the way to overcome them for your glory. And humble. Submission to you.

55:33We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.