Participants:
Series Code: WHO
Program Code: WHO200029S
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00:25 Hi, I'm Shelley Quinn
00:27 and welcome to the 3ABN Worship Hour. 00:29 Let me ask, 00:30 do you realize that we are in a battle 00:33 for our lives, 00:35 a battle to overcome three opposing forces, 00:39 self, the influences of the world 00:42 and the sinister strategies of Satan. 00:45 And let me tell you, this is no minor skirmish, 00:48 it is an all-out war. 00:51 It is the war of the great controversy, 00:54 good versus evil. 00:57 And how we face the battle is up to us. 01:00 We have one of two choices, 01:02 we can either choose to remain on the losing side 01:07 and be overwhelmed by our circumstances, 01:10 overpowered by sin, 01:13 and dealing with doubt, despair, and defeat. 01:18 Or we can choose to line up on the winning side 01:23 and draw on God's divine power 01:27 and enjoy the victory of overcoming, 01:31 the victory of coming out on top. 01:34 You know, the Bible has so much to say 01:37 about the victory of overcoming. 01:39 Actually, you could say all of Scripture 01:41 is about overcoming. 01:43 But what we have to recognize is the battle is real. 01:48 But so is the victory in Christ Jesus. 01:51 He promises us the victory of overcoming, 01:58 which is the title of today's message. 02:01 Let's pray. 02:02 Heavenly Father, we come before You 02:04 in the name of Jesus 02:05 and oh, how we thank You, Lord, 02:07 for Your three greatest gifts of grace, 02:09 how we thank You 02:11 for our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 02:13 Precious Lord, thank You. 02:16 Oh, God, that You became a man and died for us. 02:20 Thank You for Your Holy Spirit, Lord, 02:23 and thank You for Your word. 02:24 We pray for Your anointing today, Lord, 02:28 get me out of the way 02:29 and, Lord, anoint this message and we give You all the praise, 02:35 all the honor, all the glory, in Jesus' name, amen. 02:40 Now today is going to be 02:42 a good old fashioned Bible study. 02:45 We are going to use a lot of Scripture. 02:47 So if you're a note taker, 02:49 you might just want to jot down 02:50 the references 02:52 because we won't have time to look these up. 02:55 But you can always watch on YouTube 02:57 where you can pause and get better notes. 03:00 So, what does the word overcome mean? 03:05 In the Greek it is Nike, it means to conquer, 03:10 to overcome by power. 03:12 It implies being victorious over an enemy in battle. 03:18 It implies endurance 03:21 and perseverance and determination 03:24 to prevail and triumph. 03:27 What guarantees us the victory? 03:30 I really should say, 03:31 who guarantees us the victory of overcoming? 03:36 Let's look or listen to John 16:33. 03:40 Jesus said, 03:42 "These things I have spoken to you 03:45 that in me, in Christ, 03:48 you may have peace in the world." 03:51 Let me repeat that. 03:52 In Me, you may have peace, then He says, in the world, 03:57 you will have tribulation, 03:58 but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world. 04:03 The death and resurrection 04:05 of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ 04:08 is what guarantees us the victory. 04:11 He accomplished His mission when He came to earth. 04:15 He dealt the death nail to Satan in His world system, 04:20 and He won the victory at the cross. 04:23 We're all sinners 04:25 and the Bible tells us 04:27 that the penalty for sin is death. 04:30 Second death, total obliteration. 04:33 But we all need a savior, 04:37 and we can't save ourselves 04:39 because salvation belongs to God. 04:43 Jesus Christ offers us the gift of eternal life, 04:49 the gift of salvation by grace through faith. 04:53 All we have to do is trust Him and receive. 04:59 Jesus is our redeemer. 05:02 He paid the price for our sins. 05:05 And the Bible says 05:07 that He released us from bondage 05:10 by His suffering and dying on the cross. 05:12 Ephesians 1:7 says, 05:14 "In Him, we have redemption through His blood, 05:19 the forgiveness of sin." 05:21 He liberated us. 05:24 You know, the Bible says that we are freed from our sin, 05:29 by His blood. 05:30 He reconciled us to God. 05:33 And now through Christ, 05:36 we are welcomed into God's loving embrace. 05:40 And He says, 05:41 "I will be your God, and you will be My people. 05:45 I will be your father and you will be My children." 05:48 This is covenant language. 05:51 Yes, the unbelieving world may still oppose Christ, 05:56 and may still attack His people causing us to have tribulation. 06:01 But let me tell you, they will not. 06:04 They cannot thwart His eternal purpose. 06:09 The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians 1:20, 06:11 that all of the promises of God 06:13 are yes and amen in Christ Jesus. 06:17 His resurrection, Peter tells us, 06:20 gives us a living hope that we have, 06:25 "an inheritance that can never perish, 06:29 spoil, or fade, kept in heaven." 06:34 Jesus is coming again soon. 06:36 He's coming to get His people, 06:38 to take us to heaven for 1,000 years, 06:41 then He will recreate this earth, 06:43 and there'll be no more death, dying or sorrow. 06:48 Those who accept Christ as their Savior and Lord 06:54 are considered to be born again. 06:57 And born again believers are overcomers. 07:02 Yes, we may face tribulation on the earth, 07:05 we may have tension and face opposition. 07:09 But Paul says this in Romans 8:37. 07:13 "Yet, in all these things, no matter what is going on, 07:18 we are more than conquerors through Him, 07:24 who loved us." 07:26 We are over conquerors, 07:28 more than victorious because of God's love. 07:33 When we are in Christ, evil cannot conquer us, 07:37 we will always have Jesus' peace, His comfort, 07:41 and we will have victory 07:44 in our relationship through Him. 07:47 In 1 John 5:4, John writes, 07:53 "Whoever is born of God overcomes the world, 07:59 they're victorious over this old world system. 08:04 And this is the victory," 08:06 he says, "that has overcome the world." 08:10 Our faith, 08:12 God in the person of Jesus Christ 08:16 absolutely conquered evil on the cross. 08:20 And those who are united to Him, 08:22 who are living in Him 08:24 will have victory in overcoming wickedness, deception. 08:29 Does this mean 08:30 that we will face every difficulty 08:33 with complete calm and composure? 08:36 Does this guarantee us happiness and health? 08:41 The Lord said, "We will have tribulation in the world." 08:48 So the answer is no. 08:50 But Paul had 08:51 more than his share of tribulation. 08:54 And in 2 Corinthians 2:14, he says, 08:57 "Thanks be to God 08:59 who always leads us in triumph in Christ." 09:04 Jesus always will lead us safely 09:07 through all of our problems. 09:09 In fact, my experience has been, 09:12 He carries us through, 09:15 we have His promise 09:17 that He will never leave us or forsake us. 09:20 We just have to recognize His presence. 09:23 He's with us right here, right now. 09:28 Do you remember the three opposing forces 09:31 I said that we must overcome? 09:33 Self, influences of the world, 09:36 and the sinister strategies of Satan. 09:41 Let me say this, 09:43 we must pause and ask ourselves, 09:47 are we overcoming? 09:49 Are we experiencing victory over self? 09:54 In order to experience victory over self, 09:58 we have to understand the science of sin. 10:03 Let's look or listen to James 1:14. 10:08 It says, "Each one is tempted, 10:13 when he is drawn away by his own desires, 10:17 his own lust, his own longing, his own craving." 10:21 See, temptation is different for everyone. 10:25 It is a result of our upbringing, 10:27 our environment, 10:29 even our inherited tendencies 10:31 that direct our personal choices 10:35 to satisfy our fallen nature. 10:37 But let's listen again to James 1:14. 10:41 "Each one is tempted 10:43 when he is drawn away by his own desires, 10:47 and enticed." 10:49 The word enticed literally means 10:53 to catch by bait. 10:56 Oh, please, don't take Satan's bait. 10:59 He will lure you, and then he will reel you in. 11:05 We have to understand how Satan sets the trap. 11:09 And sin is not just a spontaneous act. 11:15 Listen to what James goes on and says in verse 15. 11:18 James 1:15, 11:20 "When desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin. 11:26 And sin, when it is full grown brings forth death." 11:32 So, James is likening the process 11:36 or the science of sin 11:38 to the physical conception and birth. 11:44 You get a wrong idea in your head, 11:46 and you let it rattle a while around a little bit. 11:51 That's the gestation period. 11:53 And then suddenly, it gives birth, 11:56 but not to life, he says to death. 11:59 Then he says, 12:01 "Do not be deceived My beloved brethren." 12:05 Satan's deception makes sin look appealing. 12:11 Satan hides the shame of sin. 12:14 You know what he does? 12:16 He takes sin, 12:17 and he wraps it in the shiny foil paper 12:21 with a big satin ribbon, 12:24 just the kind of package you can't wait to open. 12:28 But it is nothing more than gift wrapped garbage. 12:35 We will never overcome sin 12:39 until we recognize 12:41 how abhorrent sin is to our holy righteous father. 12:46 If you want to know how God hates sin, 12:50 just look at the penalty God paid for sin at the cross. 12:56 If we want to recognize 12:58 what Satan is trying to do to us, 13:03 his second greatest sin or deception is this. 13:08 He will try to make us believe 13:11 that it is impossible to overcome sin. 13:15 Well, 1 John 3:8 absolutely erases that thought. 13:22 It says, "For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, 13:27 that He might destroy the works of the devil." 13:31 Jesus came to save us from our sins, not in our sins. 13:38 How does He do this? 13:39 You know, Jesus said, 13:40 "Apart from Me, you can do nothing." 13:44 But what He does is when we come to Him, 13:47 when we yield and submit to Him, 13:50 He infuses us with His power 13:54 and gives us strength to overcome. 13:57 What Paul knew that in Philippians 4:11. 14:00 He said, "I can do all things through Christ 14:05 who strengthens me." 14:08 Paul had learned 14:10 just as Jesus prayed three times in Gethsemane, 14:14 "Oh, Lord, let this cup pass for me." 14:16 Paul prayed three times to the Lord saying, 14:20 "Take this thorn from my flesh, 14:23 whatever painful hindrance that was to His ministry." 14:27 He's begging God three different times. 14:29 Take it away, Lord. 14:31 Well, neither Jesus nor Paul got the answer to that request. 14:37 It wasn't taken away. 14:39 But God gave them grace to face their ordeal. 14:46 And Paul tells in response to his prayer. 14:50 Take this thorn from me. 14:52 In 2 Corinthians 12:9, Paul shares God's response. 14:57 Jesus said to him, 14:59 "My grace is sufficient for you, 15:02 for My power is made perfect in weakness." 15:09 We have to understand 15:11 that God's plan of salvation 15:15 is total dependence upon Him 15:18 for direction and for strength. 15:22 I love what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:13. 15:27 Paul said, "No temptation has overtaken you, 15:32 except such as is common to man. 15:37 But God is faithful, 15:39 who will not allow you to be tempted 15:40 beyond what you are able, 15:43 but with the temptation 15:45 will also make the way of escape, 15:49 that you may be able to bear it." 15:53 Hallelujah, that's a two hander. 15:56 God will empower us. 15:59 And we will know the victory 16:03 of overcoming self. 16:07 Now, let's look at our second category. 16:12 What we need to overcome is the influences of the world. 16:18 The world is the battleground. 16:21 There is a sinister system of evil out there 16:26 that is dominated by Satan. 16:29 And he is opposed to God, 16:31 everything about his system is opposed to God, 16:35 and God's purposes for humanity. 16:38 In 1 John 2:15, the apostle of love says this, 16:44 "Do not love the world or the things in the world. 16:48 If anyone loves the world, 16:49 the love of the Father is not in him, 16:51 for all that is in the world, " 16:53 now he's going to list three things. 16:55 He said, "All that is in the world, " 16:57 and He's categorizing it in three things, 17:01 "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, 17:05 and the pride of life is not of the Father, 17:09 but it's of the world." 17:11 Lust is a strong carnal desire 17:15 for that which God does not approve. 17:19 And let me tell you something, lust is pervasive in our world. 17:25 The lust of the flesh, 17:26 he's talking about our carnal nature, 17:28 our fallen nature 17:30 that is dominated by sinful tendencies. 17:35 And what Satan does 17:36 is he incites our flesh to want, 17:42 to desire the wrong things of the world. 17:47 Actually, Satan will even corrupt 17:50 God given desire. 17:52 So let me give you an example. 17:55 Sex. 17:56 Did you know sex was created and designed by God? 18:03 He meant for it to be 18:04 the most pleasurable experience, 18:07 but He reserved that right to a husband and a wife, 18:13 a man and a woman 18:14 who are joined in holy matrimony. 18:19 And what Satan does 18:21 is he tells us in the pursuit of pleasure, 18:25 it's okay, you could be sensually self-indulgent. 18:31 Satan uses the lust of the eyes. 18:35 He makes things look appealing to us. 18:38 Just think about Eve. 18:40 Here she is in the Garden of Eden. 18:43 All these beautiful trees, 18:45 wonderful fruit that she can eat from, 18:48 but Satan twisted God's word 18:52 and he made the fruit of the tree 18:55 of the knowledge of good and evil, 18:56 the only one 18:57 she wasn't supposed to eat from. 19:00 He made it so appealing to her that she partook. 19:05 And, boy, did that start the downfall. 19:07 Think of David 19:09 walking on his roof one evening, 19:12 looking down on a lower roof 19:14 and seeing Bathsheba as she bathed 19:17 and the lust of his eyes. 19:19 He wanted her and he took her, and he sinned. 19:24 Think of pornography 19:26 and how deadly pornography can be. 19:30 It's nothing more, but gift-wrapped garbage. 19:35 Paul tells us in Romans 13:14, he says, 19:41 "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ 19:44 and make no provision 19:47 for the flesh to fulfill its lust." 19:50 You know, I remember teaching on this in England 19:52 and this lady told me afterwards 19:54 she said, 19:56 "I have to walk by a bakery every day. 19:58 I love lemon meringue pie." 20:00 And she said, 20:01 "I almost stop every day and get a pie 20:03 and I'm gaining so much weight." 20:05 And she said, 20:07 "What does it mean to make no provision 20:09 for the flesh?" 20:10 And I said, "Change the path of how you walk home. 20:15 Don't walk by that bakery, don't buy that pie, 20:19 make no provision for your flesh." 20:23 But then, 20:25 John also mentioned the pride of life. 20:28 Satan will use 20:30 our natural inclination toward pride. 20:33 And what he incites in us is arrogance, hardiness, 20:38 prejudice, and materialism. 20:43 And he continues on in John, 20:46 after he talks about the lust of the flesh, 20:48 the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. 20:51 Here's how he concludes. 20:54 He says, 20:55 "The world is passing away, and the lust of it. 21:01 But he who does the will of God abides forever." 21:07 God will empower you 21:10 to enjoy the victory of overcoming the world. 21:17 Now, let's think about the third category, 21:21 the sinister strategies of Satan. 21:25 Let me tell you something. 21:27 Satan's forces of darkness are highly structured. 21:33 They're structured 21:35 for the most destructive purposes. 21:38 Listen to what Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12. 21:41 He says, 21:43 "We do not struggle against flesh and blood, 21:47 but against principalities and powers, 21:50 and the rulers of the darkness of this age, 21:52 against spiritual hosts of wickedness 21:57 in the heavenly places." 22:00 You know what's funny, 22:02 I often recognize 22:03 when someone else is in a spiritual battle, 22:06 and usually anybody that's having a problem. 22:08 That's what it is. 22:10 But sometimes, 22:12 I am a little slow to recognize or admit 22:17 that the spiritual battle is the source of my challenges. 22:22 Let me tell you something. 22:24 We are all in a spiritual battle. 22:27 Every single day of our lives, 22:31 we are facing a spiritual battle, 22:35 and we need to know spiritual warfare. 22:39 Jesus said in John 10:10, 22:45 "The thief comes not, 22:47 but to steal and to kill and to destroy. 22:50 But I," Jesus said, 22:52 "have come, that you may have life 22:54 and have it more abundantly." 22:56 The thief, the devil comes to steal, 22:59 to kill, and to destroy. 23:03 He is a liar. 23:05 Jesus said, "He is the father of all lies, 23:08 that there is no truth in him." 23:11 And what he does 23:13 is he wages a war of misinformation about God. 23:20 Satan will say, "Oh, God has favorites. 23:23 God doesn't really love you." 23:26 But God says, the Bible says, 23:29 "God is not a respecter of people, 23:32 that he loves all of humanity." 23:35 And in 1 Timothy 2:4, it says, 23:37 "God, our Savior, desires all to be saved. 23:42 There's not this little group of elect people. 23:45 He desires all to be saved 23:48 and to come to the knowledge of the truth. 23:51 Satan says, 23:53 "Oh, God's going to torture people 23:55 in hell with unending pain, never ending." 24:02 But the Bible says 24:04 that those who choose the path to hell, 24:08 that they are going to burn up, 24:12 they will suffer the second death 24:15 that Revelation mentions four times, 24:18 and that second death 24:20 will obliterate their existence. 24:24 Satan will say, 24:28 "I'll have a little fun while you're young, 24:31 sow your wild oats now." 24:34 God says, 24:35 "Today is the day of salvation." 24:39 None of us are promised tomorrow. 24:41 Do not let this day go by 24:44 without crying out to the Lord 24:46 and saying, "Lord change my heart, 24:48 change me. 24:49 I want to accept Jesus as my Savior." 24:54 Satan knows Scripture. 24:56 And what he does is he distorts it. 24:58 It's a subtle blend of truth and error. 25:03 And he promotes 25:05 delusional theories of misinformation. 25:11 The Bible called Satan, the accuser of the brethren. 25:18 Satan focuses on our past mistakes, 25:21 and he tries to make us afraid of the future. 25:24 God says, "Don't dwell on the past. 25:28 I'm doing a new thing in you, can you not perceive it?" 25:32 And then He says, 25:33 "If you'll keep your eyes focused on Me, 25:36 you don't have to be afraid of the future. 25:39 Trust in Me, 25:41 and I will give you perfect peace." 25:44 God and Satan 25:46 are on totally different teams. 25:51 Satan uses smokescreen distractions 25:55 to keep God's people 25:58 from fulfilling God's ultimate purpose 26:01 for their lives. 26:03 In 2 Corinthians 2:11, 26:08 Paul gives this warning, 26:11 he speaking along then he says, 26:13 "Lest Satan should take advantage of us, 26:17 for we are not ignorant of his devices." 26:21 Let me just pause and say this. 26:24 Satan knows your human weaknesses. 26:27 The next time you're feeling overcome, HALT. 26:30 That's a four-letter acronym, 26:34 H-A-L-T Hunger, Anger, Loneliness or Tired. 26:38 If you're in any one of those conditions, 26:40 take care of it 26:41 before you take any other action 26:43 because if you don't, if you don't recognize that, 26:48 you're going to give Satan a foothold. 26:50 Let me give you an example. 26:52 Ephesians 4:26-27 says, "In your anger, do not sin. 26:57 Do not let the sun go down while you're still angry. 27:01 Do not give the devil a foothold." 27:06 You know, when we thoughtlessly vent anger, 27:09 it hurts people 27:11 and it's destructive to a relationship. 27:14 Yet, if we keep anger bottled in, 27:19 it can create bitterness and hostility within us. 27:23 So what do we do? 27:25 Find a constructive way to deal with anger. 27:30 Attack the problem, don't attack people. 27:37 When we know that if we are in Christ, 27:42 we can know the victory of overcoming 27:47 the sinister strategies of Satan. 27:51 Revelation 12:11 says, 27:55 "They overcame him, overcame Satan, 27:59 by the blood of the Lamb, 28:00 and by the word of their testimony." 28:03 No matter what tribulations we face 28:05 here on earth, 28:06 the blood of the Lamb, 28:08 the sacrificial offering of Jesus Christ on the cross, 28:12 we know that gives us the victory. 28:15 The word of our testimony is accepted by faith, 28:19 this gift of eternal life 28:21 that Jesus has given us to know that we are saved. 28:25 And this makes us 28:27 ultimately victorious over Satan. 28:32 So how do we position ourselves 28:38 on the winning side? 28:42 James 4:6 says this, 28:46 "God resists the proud, 28:50 but gives grace to the humble." 28:52 What does it mean to be humble? 28:55 Paul wrote to the Philippians and he said, 28:57 "Let this mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus, 29:00 who although He was God, 29:02 He took on the form of a bond-servant, 29:04 He came in the likeness of man, 29:07 and He was obedient 29:10 even to the point of death, 29:14 death on a cross." 29:16 Jesus said, "I only do what the Father tells me to do. 29:18 I only say 29:20 what the Father tells me to say." 29:23 In other words, 29:24 the mind of Christ 29:26 that Paul wants in us is a mind that His humble. 29:31 Humility is to be totally dependent 29:36 upon God. 29:38 That's what God in the person of Jesus Christ. 29:41 He didn't call on His divine powers. 29:44 He handled things as you and I have to, 29:47 and He was completely dependent upon the Father. 29:52 Now James goes on. 29:53 In the next verse, James 4:7, he says, 29:56 "Therefore submit to God." 30:01 The word submit 30:05 literally means to line up under. 30:09 It's a word that is used of soldiers 30:12 who are lining up under the authority 30:15 of their commander in chief. 30:17 We are to submit to God's authority, 30:22 to give Him our allegiance, to follow His leadership, 30:27 to obey His commandments. 30:31 And you want to know something? 30:34 We are either submitted to Christ 30:37 or we're submitted to Satan. 30:40 There is no middle ground. 30:42 Let me prove that. 30:44 Romans 6:16, Paul writes, 30:47 "Do you not know 30:48 that to whom you present yourself slaves to obey? 30:52 You are that one's slave whom you obey, 30:57 whether of sin, leading to death," 31:01 that's being on the losing side, 31:03 "or of obedience leading to righteousness?" 31:07 That's being on the winning side. 31:10 John 14:15. 31:15 You've heard this probably many times. 31:18 Jesus says, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." 31:24 Now, many times we stop there. 31:26 And we don't realize 31:28 He bridged this verse with the next verse. 31:31 Of course, there were no verse distinctions 31:35 when this was originally written. 31:38 What Jesus said, "If you love Me, 31:40 keep My commandments and I will give you, 31:45 I will pray to Father, 31:46 and He will give you another helper 31:51 that He may abide with you forever, 31:52 the Spirit of truth, 31:55 who will dwell with you and be in you." 31:59 You know, we don't obey to be saved, 32:02 we obey because we are saved, 32:06 and we're motivated by love and loyalty to God. 32:11 Obedience is empowered by grace. 32:17 It is, as God gives us the Holy Spirit, 32:21 He works in us to will and to do His good pleasure. 32:25 And I have to say this, 32:28 partial obedience is no obedience. 32:33 Let me repeat that. 32:35 Partial obedience is no obedience. 32:40 So, how do we prioritize obedience? 32:46 In Mark 12:29, 32:53 it begins to set this up, 32:57 someone is asking Jesus, 32:59 "What's the most important commandment 33:01 in all of the Word of God?" 33:04 And He says, " Hear, O Israel: 33:07 The Lord our God is one, 33:08 you shall love the Lord your God 33:10 with all of your heart, with all of your soul, 33:12 with all of your mind, 33:13 with all of you strength, 33:14 this is the greatest commandment." 33:18 Tall order 33:20 for loving with all of your strength. 33:22 Then as Jesus goes on to say, 33:25 "And the second is like it, and this is it, 33:30 that you shall love your neighbor as yourself." 33:34 There are no greater commandments 33:37 than these two. 33:39 Like I said, that's a tall order. 33:42 And I don't think it's humanly possible 33:45 that I can love my neighbor as myself, 33:47 not in my human weakened condition. 33:52 But Paul said in Romans 5:5, 33:53 that God pours out His love into our heart, 33:58 by the power of the Holy Spirit. 34:01 God is love. The Holy Spirit is God. 34:04 So as the spirit of love enters us, 34:08 we become empowered to love in this way. 34:14 Jesus said in Luke 11:9, 34:17 He said, "Ask and it will be given, 34:18 seek and you will find, 34:20 knock and the door will be opened unto you." 34:23 Actually in the Greek, these are linear verbs. 34:26 It's a continuous action. 34:29 Ask and keep on asking, seek and keep on seeking, 34:32 knock and keep on knocking. 34:35 And Jesus tells us in Luke 11:13, 34:38 what we're asking for. 34:40 He says, "If you being evil 34:41 know how to give good gifts to your children, 34:45 how much more will the Heavenly Father 34:48 give the Holy Spirit 34:51 to those who ask 34:54 and keep on asking." 34:59 You might wonder why we have to keep on asking. 35:02 Hey, we're leaky vessels. 35:04 We crave the spirit, we resist the spirit. 35:07 Sometimes we even quench the Holy Spirit. 35:10 Every morning, the first prayer out of your mouth should be, 35:14 "Oh, Lord, fill me again with Your Holy Spirit. 35:16 Help me remember how dependent I am upon You. 35:19 I can't do this without You." 35:21 Paul wrote to the Ephesians and in Chapter 3, 35:25 it begins in verse 16. 35:28 He's telling him, them, 35:30 "I am praying that you will be strengthened 35:35 with might." 35:37 And I mean, this, this word here is dynamite, 35:41 the dynamite power of God, 35:43 that you will be strengthened with might through His Spirit 35:47 in the inner man. 35:49 That, anytime you see the word that or so that, 35:53 it's a purpose statement. 35:54 So Paul wants us to be 35:55 strengthened with the Holy Spirit, 35:58 "For this purpose, that you, 36:00 Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith 36:04 that you being rooted and grounded in love 36:07 may be able to comprehend with all of the saints, 36:11 what is the width, the length, the depth, and the height, 36:15 to know the love of Christ, 36:18 which passes knowledge 36:20 that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." 36:26 Are you filled with all the fullness of God? 36:32 Just asking that question. 36:35 Who of us is going to say, yeah, 36:39 but don't let it intimidate you. 36:42 The Scripture says we can have it. 36:44 And 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 says this. 36:49 Paul writes such, I love this scripture. 36:53 He says to the Thessalonians, 36:56 "May the Lord make you increase 36:58 and abound in love to one another, 37:02 and to all just as we do to you. 37:05 "Who's doing the work here? 37:07 May the Lord make you abound in love. 37:13 And here we come with that purpose statement. 37:17 "So that He may establish your hearts, 37:22 blameless in holiness, 37:25 before our God and Father 37:28 at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, 37:31 with all of the saints." 37:34 What? 37:35 He says, "As God works in us 37:38 to cause us to increase in love, 37:42 He makes us blameless in holiness." 37:45 See, holiness just means to be separated from sin. 37:49 Love cannot sin. 37:52 So as we increase in love, we increase in holiness. 37:56 But it all begins with praying and saying, 37:59 "Oh, Lord, fill me with Your Holy Spirit today, 38:01 pour Your love into my heart today. 38:04 Oh, Lord, cause me to increase in love 38:07 and thank You, Father, 38:08 that You will establish my heart 38:10 blameless in holiness." 38:14 John writes in 1 John 4:4. 38:18 "You are of God's little children 38:22 and have overcome them," 38:24 he's talking about the evil spirits, 38:27 "you've overcome them 38:29 because greater is He who is in you 38:35 than He who is in the world." 38:38 The indwelling Holy Spirit will illuminate our minds, 38:44 He will, with truth 38:46 He will empower us with divine strength, 38:49 and we will overcome sin. 38:53 We will resist temptation, 38:56 no matter what Satan uses to lure us. 39:01 Now returning to James 4:7, 39:05 "Therefore submit to God, line up, 39:09 resist the devil, and he will flee from you." 39:15 Resist means to literally take your stand 39:20 against him. 39:22 By faith in Christ, empowered by the Holy Spirit, 39:28 we can successfully resist 39:32 the temptation of the evil, 39:36 and when we take our stand the devil will flee from us. 39:40 We will have continual victory 39:46 of overcoming self, 39:48 of overcoming the influences of the world 39:52 and of overcoming 39:54 the sinister strategies of Satan. 39:59 In James 4:8, he says, "Draw near to God. 40:06 Oh, draw near to God, and He will draw near to you." 40:11 Do you know God is waiting? 40:13 Even this moment, 40:15 God is waiting for you to draw near to Him. 40:19 This implies an intimate relationship. 40:24 And this is how you position yourself 40:29 on the winning team. 40:31 So, what weapons 40:35 does God equip us with 40:39 to enjoy the victory of overcoming? 40:42 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Paul says, 40:46 "That we walk in the flesh we did not war, 40:48 we do not war according to the flesh. 40:51 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, 40:56 but mighty in pulling down strongholds." 40:59 Let's hit the pause button. 41:01 The strongholds he's talking about is up here. 41:06 The battle ground is in our mind. 41:11 When we have unhealthy thoughts or fantasies or desires, 41:17 they take us captive, we become a prisoner of war. 41:22 But he goes on and he says, 41:24 casting down arguments 41:27 and every high thing that exalts itself 41:29 against the knowledge of God. 41:32 The high things that exalt itself 41:36 against God's knowledge are human philosophies, 41:39 human reasoning, 41:41 human theories that distort truth. 41:45 This is worldly thoughts, worldly wisdom. 41:50 And then it goes on in verse 5 still, 41:54 2 Corinthians 10:5, 41:58 he says, 41:59 "Bringing every thought into captivity 42:02 to the obedience of Christ. 42:06 Only can error, 42:11 Satanic error be defeated by God's truth." 42:17 Jesus is our commander in chief, 42:19 and we must yield to His authority. 42:23 We must ask Him, "Oh Lord, redirect my thoughts. 42:28 Help me, Lord, to be focused on Your truth. 42:33 Teach me Lord, give me wisdom and discernment. 42:36 Help me to test the spirits." 42:38 God's mighty weapons, the Holy Spirit, God's Word, 42:44 Christ living in our heart through faith, 42:47 love, faith, prayer, hope. 42:50 These are powerfully effective weapons. 42:54 So, we overcome not with literal weapons, 43:00 but by putting on the full armor of God. 43:04 Ephesians 6:10. 43:10 Paul talks about this armor. 43:12 He says, "Be strong in the Lord 43:14 and then the power of His might 43:16 put on the whole armor of God, 43:19 that you may be able to stay on," 43:22 that means to be established, to be unmovable, 43:26 "to stand against the wiles of the devil, 43:29 that you may be able to withstand, 43:32 to resist in the evil day. 43:35 And having done all to stand, 43:37 stand therefore take a firm position 43:41 in this battle against Satan and here's how. 43:45 Now He's going to tell us what our armor is. 43:50 He says, 43:51 "Having girded your waist with truth," 43:54 remember, God's truth is the only way 43:58 that you can defeat Satan, 44:00 "having put on the breastplate of righteousness." 44:04 Hey, take a deep breath. 44:06 This is not your righteousness, 44:07 the best you can do 44:08 is but filthy rags before the Lord. 44:10 This is the righteousness of Jesus Christ 44:13 in 2 Corinthians 5:21. 44:16 It says that God made Him Jesus who knew no sin, 44:21 to be sin for us, 44:23 that we in Him 44:25 might become the righteousness of God. 44:29 Hallelujah. 44:31 When you are in Christ, 44:35 you have been credited with His righteousness. 44:40 Our sins were imputed to Him. 44:42 His righteousness was imputed or credited to our account. 44:47 1 Corinthians 1:30 says 44:48 that Jesus Christ has become for us, 44:52 our wisdom from God, our righteousness, 44:55 our sanctification and our redemption. 45:00 You should be so excited 45:03 to think about what your Savior has done for you. 45:07 And once again, if you haven't accepted Christ, 45:10 I invite you this day, don't put it off anymore. 45:15 But tell Jesus, 45:17 I want to be on the winning side. 45:20 Now Paul goes on, still talking about our armor, 45:23 Ephesians 6:15, 45:25 "Having shod your feet 45:28 with the preparation of the gospel of peace." 45:34 Boy, there's a lot of confusion over this, 45:38 having shod your feet 45:39 with the preparation of the gospel of peace. 45:42 You know what I think it is? 45:44 I think he's... 45:45 that Paul is saying, 45:47 "I want you to have a sure footing." 45:49 If you know God's love, if you know God's strength, 45:54 God will enable you to stand firm. 45:58 And, boy, what better place to learn the truth 46:03 than Romans 5:8-10, says, 46:06 "God demonstrates His only love toward us, 46:10 in that while we were still sinners." 46:13 Christ died for us before we ever accepted Him. 46:18 He died for us 46:20 much more than now having been justified 46:24 by His blood, that means you're declared, 46:27 when you confess your sins, He declares you innocent. 46:32 He take, hit, the blood of Jesus blocks away 46:36 all the forensic evidence, 46:38 and the judge says, not guilty. 46:42 He says, "Much more 46:43 having been justified by His blood, 46:46 we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 46:48 For if when we were enemies, 46:51 we were reconciled to God 46:53 through the death of His Son much more, 46:56 having been reconciled, 46:58 we shall be saved by His life." 47:03 If you remember, 47:04 Romans 5:8-10 every morning, 47:07 if you get up and you think about this, 47:10 you talk about 47:11 preparing the way by the gospel of peace, 47:15 your feet are going to be shod and you will have sure footing. 47:21 Now Ephesians 6:16 47:26 continues the explanation of the armor. 47:28 He says, "Above all, take the shield of faith." 47:33 This is to trust in God. 47:35 This is a defensive weapon, the shield of faith. 47:38 Take up the shield of faith, trust in God, 47:41 trust in His promises. 47:44 And if you, if you don't feel like you have enough faith, 47:47 be like the man who came to Jesus and said, 47:50 "I believe, Lord, help out my unbelief. 47:54 Jesus will give you the faith. 47:57 He says, "Take up that shield of faith 47:59 with which you are able to quench 48:01 all the firing darts of the wicked one." 48:05 Satan has no power against you 48:07 when you believe God's promises. 48:09 And then he says, "Take the helmet of salvation." 48:14 Oh, Christian, please listen to me. 48:18 Oh, listen to this. 48:20 I talk with people 48:21 who've been in the church for years 48:24 and they have no assurance of salvation. 48:27 The Bible tells you, if you are in Christ, 48:30 you can have absolute assurance of your salvation. 48:34 Listen to 1 John 5:12. 48:38 It says, "He who has the Son has life. 48:43 He who does not have the Son does not have life." 48:47 Now in verse 13, he says, 48:49 "These things I have written to you 48:51 who believe in the name of the Son of God, 48:54 that you may know 48:57 that you have eternal life 49:00 and that you may continue to believe 49:03 in the name of the Son of God." 49:07 You, if you are in Christ, you can say, 49:11 "Thank You, Lord, that I am saved." 49:14 Have assurance of your salvation 49:16 because that's the helmet you need to put on every day 49:20 to be able to fight the devil. 49:22 And then he says, 49:24 "And pick up the sword of the Spirit, " 49:26 which is the Word of God. 49:28 If you think about Jesus 49:30 in the wilderness when He was tempted, 49:32 how did He defeat the devil? 49:35 It is written. It is written. It is written. 49:39 You remember Zorro, 49:40 old Zorro used to come 49:42 and after his brave feats he would, 49:47 three bold swipes, 49:48 he would make his mark 'Z' 49:51 to leave his initial on the gate. 49:56 You can leave your initial on the gate of the enemy. 50:02 When the enemy comes against you, 50:04 pull out that sword and with three bows swipe say, 50:08 it is written, and Satan must flee. 50:13 Then he says, praying always with all prayer 50:16 and supplication in the spirit. 50:18 The Bible tells us that the spirit, 50:21 we don't know how to pray in our weaknesses. 50:23 But Paul tells us in Romans 8:26, he, 50:28 even the widow know how to pray as we ought, 50:31 the Holy Spirit will make intercession for us. 50:36 And then Paul writes in Ephesians 6:18, 50:41 "Being watchful to this end 50:43 with all perseverance 50:45 and supplication for all the saints." 50:48 Oh, this reminds me of what Peter is saying, 50:51 "Be watchful, be sober, 50:53 be vigilant because your adversary, 50:56 that devil roams around like a roaring lion, 50:59 seeking whom he may devour. 51:03 Resist him, stand steadfast in the faith, 51:09 steadfast in the faith, 51:11 knowing that the same sufferings 51:14 are experienced by your brotherhood 51:17 in the world." 51:19 Do overcomers still face sickness, death 51:22 with absolute peace, calm, and total serenity? 51:27 No, even when you're walking in faith, 51:30 death is heartbreaking. 51:32 You know, we don't realize, 51:36 sometimes we try to be so stoic, 51:39 but death is the last enemy that will be destroyed. 51:44 In 1 Corinthians 15:52, it says, 51:48 "In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, 51:51 at the last sound of the trump, " 51:54 this is Christ's second coming, 51:56 "this incorruptible, " 51:58 it says, "must put on, 52:00 the corruptible must put on incorruption, 52:03 the mortal must put on immortality." 52:07 When does this happen? 52:09 Right now, Paul told in 1 Timothy 6:16, 52:13 only God is immortal. 52:16 We put on immortality at that last trumpet. 52:19 And then he quotes... 52:21 This is 1 Corinthians 15. 52:22 If you don't believe me, look up 1 Corinthians 15:52-54. 52:28 He says, "When this corruptible has put on incorruption 52:32 and this mortal has put on immortality, 52:36 then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, 52:42 death is swallowed up in victory." 52:46 I just want to say one quick thing. 52:49 Some people think 52:51 that if you don't have a complete physical healing 52:56 that you don't have enough faith. 52:58 Oh, if you've ever said that to anybody, 53:00 ask for their forgiveness. 53:02 Do you remember in Acts 19, when Paul, 53:06 they take a handkerchief from Paul 53:07 and they take it to sick people, not Paul, 53:10 they just take the handkerchief and they would get well. 53:14 People say whoa, Paul had the gift of healing. 53:19 Really, in 2 Timothy 4:20, 53:25 Paul's writing to Timothy and he says, 53:28 "Erastus stayed in Corinth, 53:32 but Trophimus I have left in Miletus sick." 53:38 Don't you think that Paul was doing 53:40 a lot of praying for Miletus? 53:43 Miletus was one of his people. 53:45 So, what we have to know 53:48 is that the Bible has a lot to say, 53:51 Jesus has a lot to say about being an overcomer. 53:55 To every church, 53:57 all seven of the churches in Revelation Chapter 2 and 3, 54:01 Jesus makes a promise. 54:03 If we are overcomers, and those, 54:07 some of those promises include 54:09 that you will enjoy the gift of eternal life 54:14 that He will not blot your name out of the book of life, 54:17 that you will not suffer the second death. 54:21 Oh, I want to know the victory of overcoming, 54:27 don't you? 54:29 Here's Tim Parton now to sing "Victory in Jesus." 54:37 I heard an old, old story 54:42 How a Savior came from glory 54:47 How He gave His life on Calvary 54:52 To save a wretch like me 54:57 I heard about His groaning 55:01 Of His precious blood's atoning 55:06 Then I repented of my sin 55:12 And won the victory 55:17 I heard about His healing 55:22 Of His precious power revealing 55:27 How He made the lame to walk again 55:32 And He caused the blind to see 55:37 And then I cried, 55:39 "Dear Jesus, Come and heal my broken spirit" 55:46 And somehow Jesus came 55:50 And brought to me the victory 55:56 I have victory in Jesus 56:00 My Savior forever 56:04 He sought me and He bought me 56:08 With His redeeming blood 56:13 He loved me 'ere I knew Him 56:18 And all my love is due Him 56:22 He plunged me to victory 56:27 Beneath 56:30 The cleansing flood. 56:42 Thank you, Tim. 56:44 You know, we can count on this. 56:47 I want, if you've got a pen, write this down. 56:50 I'm going to give you several scriptures. 56:52 I love these promises. 56:54 Philippians 1:6 says 56:56 that God will complete the good work 56:58 He's begun in you. 57:00 1 Peter 1:5 says, we are kept by His power. 57:03 Hebrews 13:20-21 says 57:06 God will make you complete 57:08 in every good work to do His will. 57:12 Jude 1:24-25 says 57:14 He will keep us from stumbling. 57:16 And 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says 57:19 that He will sanctify you completely. 57:22 There is victory in Jesus. 57:24 You can know that victory of overcoming. |
Revised 2021-01-08