I'd like to follow along. I'm
gonna be in 1 John chapter five. 1 John chapter five. Beginning in verse one. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. and everyone that loveth him
that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. By this we
know that we love the children of God when we love God and keep
his commandments. For this is the love of God that
we keep his commandments and his commandments are not grievous. For whatsoever is born of God
over cometh the world. And this is the victory that
over cometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that over cometh
the world? But he that believeth that Jesus
is the Son of God. I'm gonna just stop right there.
My title today is this, this is the victory. This is the victory. Before we get too far into anything,
let me be very, very clear. I am not going to be preaching
about the victorious Christian life because I don't know anything
about the victorious Christian life that people talk about and
that people have written all kind of goofy books about. I do not preach, because I made
a mistake again. I looked something up on Google,
okay? What do you wanna know about
a victory in Jesus? Well, it gives you a victory over illness
and poverty. I don't know who these people
are. Well, I know what's wrong with them. They don't know anything
about Jesus Christ. The poor you have with you always.
Christ said that, folks, not me. Christ said that, I just
repeated it. But here's the thing, I'm not
gonna be naming and claiming anything. Because I can tell
you this, the so-called health and wealth gospel is a lie. And if that's what they're calling
a victorious Christian life, they're wrong. They're dead wrong,
literally. But the scripture is clear about
the true victory. Where is this victory? Well,
that's the wrong question. Who is the victory? Yeah, who
is the victory? because the true victory is only
in Christ Jesus. Now, 1 Corinthians 15, 57 put
it this way, but thanks be to God which giveth us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, but here John tells us whatsoever
is born of God. Now I looked at that because
generally, I mean whatsoever, okay? Yeah, what does bother
me? Well, I looked it in the Greek,
and you know what that word is? Pas, all. It's a little word, all, P-A-S.
It's what it's usually translated as. I don't know why it's translated
whatsoever here, but if you wanted to say whosoever, I'd go with
that. But here's the thing, all who
are born of God, that's who he's talking to. He's talking to believers. He's talking to believers. Oh
my. Jesus answered and said unto
him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. Understand, the beginning
of this verse tells us the child of God starts in time. by being born of God, being born
of God. That's where it starts for the
believer. God knew from the beginning. God chose from the beginning,
from before the foundation of the world, but there comes a
moment in time, and that time is not up to the chosen, it's
up to the chooser. Ah, Paul, Well, we were just
talking about this out on the porch, Walter's been talking
about it. When God, in his time, God who
knew me from my mother's womb, but in his good time, in his
time, revealed his son in me. Oh, that's what this is talking
about, being born of God. All that are born of God. It's
not the physical birth, it's the new birth. Born of God. Oh my, because here's the thing.
Before being born of God, we are ignorant of God. Of Jesus Christ and of the Holy
Spirit. As a matter of fact, before being
born of God, ignorance was our way of life. Our way of being. Because before
this, Believers even before this knew nothing, spiritually, spiritually. Because it says, the natural
man cannot know the things of the Spirit of God. He cannot,
because they're spiritually discerned, spiritually discerned, oh my. The new birth, regeneration,
born of God. All that are born of God says
this, overcometh the world. Now, overcomes the world is how
we'd say it now. This is a verb. This is something
that is done. But let's be clear, you don't
do it. even though you do it. Some people just don't understand
our logic. Well, that's because it's not
ours. This is what God says. We'll get to it, we'll get to
it. But this is a verb, and you know what this verb means? It
means to subdue, to conquer, to prevail. Overcome, overcome,
oh my. Understand, all born of God prevails
over the world. Now, let's also be clear about
this. This is not in a physical sense.
You understand? It's not many mighty, not many
noble, not many wise, according to the flesh, are called. That's
not what we're talking about. No, believers overcome because
they are made free of the world by Jesus Christ. For the law
of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the
law of sin and death. And I'm gonna tell you something
folks, if the son makes you free, you're free indeed. I like that,
I like that. Oh, I don't always feel it, But
I like it, I do. And I'm gonna tell you this,
those without Jesus Christ are not free in any sense of the
word. And they've not overcome the
world. And listen right now, this struck me, I looked at this
in particular, it says, for whosoever is born of God overcometh the
world. That's in the present tense, it's right now. This is not something, oh, I'm
gonna look to when I raise in his likeness and I'll have overcome
the world. No, you've overcome the world here. In him. In him. Let's be clear. Oh my. He hath made me free from the
law of sin and death. And what does it say here? I'm
not gonna keep you long with this. This is the victory that
has overcome the world. This is the victory. And this
is a noun, victory. But you understand, this word
victory and the word overcome, the verb, they're all based from
the same word. Oh, I like that. Because you
know what this word victory means? The victory of our faith. It means to triumph, to subdue,
and to conquer. That same thing. It's just a
noun. This is the victory. It's a real
object. And the overcoming is the action. Oh, I like that. Because I'm
gonna tell you something. If our gospel be hid, it's hid
to those that are lost. What? To whom their minds are
blinded. Oh, but I'm gonna tell you something,
folks. If you're born of God, your mind is no longer blind
like it used to be. And the gospel is no longer hid
to you. It still may be hid to everybody
else around you. But then, oh, then, the light
of the glorious gospel can shine in our hearts. Why? Because he's
given us a new heart. He's given us eyes to see. He's
given us ears to hear. We no longer are stiff-necked
and uncircumcised in heart and ears and do always resist the
Holy Ghost. I'm gonna tell you something,
folks. That's a victory. That's a victory
right there. Our blindness is gone. Believers
have been freed from their bondage, and there is a triumph over the
world. There is a victory over the world,
and this is in every believer. And here's the blessed thing
about this. Whether you feel it or not. You understand? You have been freed from the
world. Our Lord Jesus Christ put it
this way. They're in the world, they're mine, and all mine are
thine. That's what he's preaching, praying,
and what he was preaching in John 17. They're in the world,
but they're not of the world. You know why? We have the victory. This is the victory. Oh, it's
not that we beat the world down and we take care of it, and oh
my goodness, we are overcomers. Oh, I'm serious, folks. Those verses in Revelation used
to scare me a little bit. He's an overcomer. He's an overcomer. It says it three or four times
in Revelation. And they really bothered me until I came back
and read this verse. Yes, we have the victory over
the world. Why? Because Christ has taken
us out of the world. We're in it, but we're not of
it. And who is that? All that are
born of God. All that are born of God. This
is the victory. And here it is, he put it in
plain English. Even our faith. Faith. Oh, I like that, I do. And just to put it very, very
simply, the faith that John is writing of here is not of yourselves. It's the gift of God. We are
saved by grace, through faith, and that not of yourselves. It's
the gift of God. Not of works. Not of works, lest
any man should boast. For we are what? His workmanship,
created in Christ Jesus unto good works, good works. I'm gonna
tell you something, folks. Overcoming the world's a good
work. It's a good work, but it's not of you, and it's not of me,
and it's not of anybody else except the one, Christ Jesus,
our Lord. It's His faith. He's the author
of it, he's the finisher of it. And he gives it. It's the gift
of God. What? To all that are born of
God. Hmm, I like that. Oh, it is our
faith, though. It's called our faith, four times
in the New Testament. You know why it's ours? I'm preaching this now. He gives
it to us. He gives it to all that are born
of God. And you know what we do with
that faith? We believe God. We believe Christ. And we overcome
the world. Oh my, I like that. This is the
victory. Our faith. The faith he gave
us. Oh, I like that. I'm gonna tell
you something, we've got many things through the faith of God's
elect. And I'm gonna tell you some of
them, I'm not gonna tell you all of them. But you'll read that being made perfect, he became
the author, he being Jesus Christ, of eternal salvation unto all
them that obey him. Oh my, Jesus Christ is the author
of salvation. And I'm gonna tell you something,
folks. A lot of people try to rub that obey thing in you, but
here's the thing. Our obedience is by his faith. He works in you both to will
and to do of his good pleasure. Oh, I like that. John 17 and
two put it this way, said, as thou hast given him power over
all flesh. Now that is the father gave the
son power over all flesh that he should give eternal life to
as many as thou hast given him. Oh my. First Peter one and nine
says this, receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation
of your souls. Oh, I like that. Salvation is
through the faith of Jesus Christ. The given faith of Jesus Christ. Secondly, we are justified by
faith. Romans 5 and 1 says this, therefore,
being justified by faith, we have peace with God. What? Through our Lord Jesus Christ.
You understand? Believers are made righteous,
justified by the faith of Jesus Christ. And that's how we have
peace. The peace is in Christ and he
gives it to us. And that peace is in Christ and
he is our peace. Christ in you, the hope of glory. Oh, I like that, I do. Oh my. He's our peace, justified by
his faith, made righteous in him. We, those that are born
of God, that's who I'm talking about, have peace with God. Understand? I don't have to fight
against God. Even better, I don't want to
fight against God. I used to, even when I didn't
know I was doing it. I don't want to now. God's always had peace toward
me through Jesus Christ. Now I know I've got peace with
God. You understand, Jesus Christ
never said anything in his whole life just for himself to hear
it. He spoke and it was written down
for us. You understand, he asked people
questions, he already knew the answers to them. But sometimes
you'll think of a question that you need to know the answer to.
I need to know the answer to. I'll ask myself questions. Oh
my. But he's our peace. We have peace. Now here's the thing, don't fight
with God. You're gonna lose anyway, so
don't fight with God. We have peace with God. We have
peace with God. Another thing is we're protected
by faith. Ephesians 6, 16, talking about
the whole armor of God. Above all, taking the shield
of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery
darts of the wicked. His faith is our protection. I wish I could lay hold on that
like I should. I wish I could lay hold on it just like I want
to. But it's the truth. His faith is our shield against
the attack. And there'll be attacks. Some
will be subtle and some are not so subtle. I wondered about using this example
because I'll have to confess to do it. All right. Anybody here read the Harry Potter
books? Yeah, me too. At least I got one to confess.
You understand? It's a good story. It is. But here's the thing. When you
get to the very last book and you get to the last few chapters
of that book, you know what Harry Potter does? He dies. He dies. Now, they leave it kind
of out of the movie so much. But in the book, it's very plain
what she's writing. Then Harry comes back from the
dead, folks. And they're protected by his
death. The bad guy's magic doesn't work
so much against them. You understand what that is?
That's heresy. That's what that is. But that's
what they're doing. They wanna take the things of
Christ And I'm sorry, folks, but I hear
that from people who say they are Christians. Jesus was just
a man full of the Holy Spirit. Well, he was a man. He is a man. But he's God. He's God himself
in human flesh. Matter of fact, the Holy Spirit
is called the Spirit of Christ. This is what the world does,
you understand? And yet, here's the thing. Any fiery dart shot at you, believe
Christ. You understand? Any question,
oh, you know, what do you think about the contradictions in the
Bible? Well, most of them I don't understand. They're not contradictions. They're things I don't understand.
That's what it is. You understand the failure is
not with the scripture, the failure is with us. It's with me personally
when I'm talking about myself. But you understand, if they throw
a fiery dart at you, you just say, hey, I believe God. I believe the Lord Jesus Christ.
You understand? I know he died for the sins of
his people and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that
which I've committed unto him against that day. And you know,
a lot of things just kind of get quenched away. They get quenched
away. They'll bounce off. They're not
gonna penetrate that shield. Now, it's not me. It's his shield. It's his faith. Our problem is
that still within us, We have unbelief. That's when the darts
get you. But we're protected by his faith
because here's the thing, and I want you to get this if nothing
else. The attack is not against you
or against you. The attack is against Jesus Christ. And let me tell you, folks, the
battle is the Lord's. It always is. And once you, if
you can lay a hold of that, I mean, I withstood, I didn't withstand,
I stood there in an angry church. You were there. And yet, it bothered me because of the
attack against Christ. I didn't take it personally,
I didn't get mad at those people, I was disappointed. Because I
thought some of these people believed the same things. And
some did. But it turned out to be far fewer
than I thought. But that's the thing, that attack
wasn't against me, it was against my Lord. And he can handle it. He can handle it. They've been
railing against Christ trying to get rid of this Bible for,
you know, however long it's been around. He can't. They can't. Oh, we're protected by faith,
by faith, his faith. Jesus can handle it. Next thing, we're kept by faith.
1 Peter 15, one in five, excuse me, who are kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed at the last
time. We are kept by the power of God through faith, through
faith. Have you ever tried, I don't
recommend this, okay, but have you ever tried not to believe
Jesus Christ? It don't work. I can't. Now maybe you can, I don't know.
I'm sure a bunch of people out there can. But I can't. Because here's the thing that
he teaches his believers. He's right when we're wrong. And when there is a wrong, it's
you, not him. I can live with that. I can live
with that. But I have to, because I'm wrong. You understand? The problem's
never with God. The problem's never with Christ.
The problem's never with the Holy Spirit. The problem is with
people. And the problem is with us sometimes.
But we're kept by the power of God through faith. We don't keep
ourselves. There's a reason for that. We
can't keep ourselves. It's not possible. Because here's
the thing, if he didn't keep us, if he didn't put that hedge
about us, like in Hosea, and like he said about, the devil
said about Job, haven't you put a hedge around him? Well, yes
I did. Glad of you to notice. Well,
sometimes we don't notice. But if he hadn't put a hedge
around us, we'd go astray all the time. We go astray enough
as it is, but he keeps us from going too far. Oh, but we're
kept by the power of God through faith. Paul wrote it, for I know
that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing. For to
will is present with me, but here it is, but how to perform
that which is good, I find not. And here's the thing, you never
will find it in you. I never will find it in me. It's
in him, it's in him. Oh, I like that. Paul continued
on, when I would do good, evil is present. What? With me, with
me, with me. Oh, who shall deliver me from
what? The body of this death. I thank God through Jesus Christ
our Lord. Oh my. We are kept by the power
of God through faith. Even though sometimes I would
do evil, I actually do evil. With my mind, I serve the law
of God. Oh. Sixth one, we have freedom through
faith. Freedom through faith. Deb and
I were talking about this the other day, it's what made me
think of it. Galatians 3, 24 and 25, wherefore the law was,
and remember that past tense, our, talking to believers, those
born of God, our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ that
we might be, what, justified by faith, but, And here's the
wonderful thing, folks. After that faith is come, we
are no longer under the schoolmaster. Now, it says that the schoolmaster
was the law. After faith has come, and not
before, we're no longer under a schoolmaster. What, we're no
longer under the law. We're no longer under the law.
Believers are not under a schoolmaster anymore. We are free from the
schoolmaster, freed from the law. I'm gonna tell you something,
folks. Those that are born of God have overcome the world.
Freedom, freedom, like that Gadarene demoniac. You understand? They
bound him and he'd break them. They fettered him with chains
and he'd break them. And Christ came, and you know
what Christ did? Christ could have bound him and
not been broken. But you understand, with that
Gadarene demoniac, this is the way of religion. They want you
bound. They want you fettered. But you
know what you'd have had? You'd have had a fettered demoniac.
You'd have had a bound demon. I'm sorry, folks, I don't want
that in church either. Jesus Christ freed that man.
And if Christ, again, if the Son of God makes you free, you
are free indeed. What it is, that demoniac, the
demon part was gone, and that man didn't need to be bound anymore. He was seated before the Lord
Jesus Christ in his right mind, and you know what he was doing?
He was listening. He was listening to Christ and
would go follow him. And Christ said, no, go home
and tell people what I did for you. Tell people what God has
done for you. Oh my, freedom. Oh, I like that. Jesus Christ
has made us free. Romans 8 21 puts it this way,
because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage
of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. All that are born of God. This is the victory. This is
the victory. Our faith. Now of course, I already
said it, this is because our faith is his faith. He's the author of it. Not only
that, he's the finisher of it. We don't add anything to his
faith. No, no, no, no, no. You understand? You don't add anything to perfection. We don't add anything. He's the
author of it, he's the finisher of it, his faith is perfect and
complete, and this is the victory given to us, given to us. Oh, I like that. He gives his people his faith,
and we are saved by grace through his faith, his faith. Oh, I like that. And that's not
of ourselves, I already said that. But I'm gonna tell you
something, having been given this faith, the faith, it's our
faith. We can claim it. He gave it to us. That's the only way that it's
ours. Because he gave it, he gave it. Oh, I like that. And it is given by God to those
that are born of God. And I'm gonna tell you something,
when he does this, you'll hear the gospel. You'll hear the gospel,
and you'll start to believe it. That's the amazing thing. You
may have been born and raised under the good news, under the
gospel, but you never, Heard it. Never saw it. Never understood it, either in
your heart or your mind. Oh my. But here's the thing. Those that have been given faith
by Jesus Christ, they know he is true. He is true. Oh, I like that. This is a victory. But thanks be to God, which giveth
us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. And what is the
victory? Verse five, who is he that overcometh
the world, but he that, what? Believeth, oh my, that Jesus
is the Son of God. You understand? He just came
to verse five from what he said in verse one. Whosoever believeth
that Jesus is the Christ, is born of God. You're not gonna
believe that Jesus is the Christ, not truly, until you're born
of God. And everyone that loveth him
that begat, loves him that is begotten of him, of him. God has overcome the world, and
his faith gives us the victory. Knowing Christ, believing Christ,
loving Christ in faith is the victory. It's the victory. And
he gives his people eternal life in himself. He calls us his brothers,
his brethren. God calls us his sons and daughters.
We call each other brothers and sisters in Christ, in Christ,
oh yeah. I like that. He calls us his
brethren, he calls us his body, he calls us his church. Overcoming
the world is completely because of Christ Jesus. We are the Lord's
and he is ours. Why? He's given himself to us. Oh my. Beloved, let us love one another,
for love is of God. And everyone that loveth is born
of God and knoweth God. We are brothers and sisters in
Christ Jesus. We are his family. Our relationship with each other
is through the Son. Through the Son. In Him, we have
fellowship with the Father and the Son, and fellowship with
each other. And His people have overcome
the world in Him, in Him. Oh, I like that. There's this
verse, a song by Philip Doddridge. "'Tis done, the great transaction's
done. I am the Lord. Oh, and he is
mine. He is mine. But here it is. He drew me and I followed on,
glad to confess the voice divine. You understand? This is a victory. We follow Christ. We follow Christ. We believe Christ by faith. His faith, which he gave to us,
which makes it our faith. This is the victory, even our
faith. All right. Our Heavenly Father,
thank you. Lord, for your faith that you've given to us, that
we might know you are true. that we might know these things
are true, that your word is true, and Lord, help us to believe
it. Help us when we struggle, help us when we fall, lift us
up, dust us off, and send us on your way. Make us to walk
in your paths. Light our way. Be with Walter
as he goes to preach at Danville. Be with Paul as he's gonna come
and stand before you. Be with all the people preaching
your gospel in this world on this day and every day. In Christ's
name we pray, amen.