This Is Victory

[0:00] it is good to be here this day thank you very much David isn't it good to gather together this remembrance day and we're the the only country left in the United Kingdom that can do this just now still so it is good to be here I was speaking to some folks through the week some of my older sisters in the faith and just talking about remembrance I wonder do any of you just raise a hand if you do do any of you remember hearing a siren any of you had a shelter or your parents or grandparents had a shelter talking to some folks who remember that who remember the siren going off remember running out the back of the tenements to the shelter sitting in there as a kid and it's just this stuff is real you know we don't experience it quite like like that now but striving in the world and sometimes you know we we have it quite comfortable quite peaceful but as David says what do we do with that peace what do we do with the freedom that has been hard fought for and do we have such freedom can that freedom ever be won without loss or sacrifice

[1:46] I'm sure that if winning the war because that was the reason for the sacrifice is it not for a victory if winning the war could have been won without death then folks wouldn't have sacrificed their lives but it couldn't likewise Paul says in Galatians he says for if righteousness were through the law then Christ died for no purpose in other words he says if there were any other way Jesus would not have died if there were any other way but there wasn't it took great sacrifice to win great freedom and of course that's what it's all about and this morning we're going to be reading from 1st John if you've got a Bible if not it's going to be up behind us but from

[2:48] John's first letter 1st John chapter 5 and it's not so much going to be about sacrifice as it is going to be about victory because that is the reason for sacrifice so let me read the first five verses of 1st John chapter 5 John writes this everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him by this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey His commandments for this is the love of God that we keep His commandments and His commandments are not burdensome for everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world and this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God

[4:16] Amen and we pray that God would bless the reading of His word and that by His Spirit He would speak to us through His living word Amen so there's this idea of victory this idea of overcoming the world when I was young when I was a child I always wanted to be an astronaut you might think okay that's random I wanted to be an astronaut I was just fascinated with space with stars with the universe out there my parents would get me a telescope they got me books about space space pajamas everything and they would be my NASA engineers whenever there was a school craft project when we would build some sort of spacecraft or something I remember in Mrs. Mercer's class in primary 3 getting to taste space food wow how amazing space ice cream to be honest it felt like just eating cold coloured chalk but it was fantastic

[5:30] I remember my uncle my uncle got me a Discovery space shuttle when I got my tonsils out when I was a wee boy and it was great I just I would love to fly in that thing I was fascinated about that love to go to space maybe some of you can even remember seeing the Saturn 5 rocket back in the 60s big tall tower wouldn't it be amazing to sit on top of millions of litres of rocket fuel and set it alight you never wanted to do that no doesn't that sound fun but here's the thing do you know how difficult it is to leave the earth to leave this world it is really really really difficult the world has a huge pull on us David used the words that I quite like the world has a colossal pull on us in fact the world has such a tremendous pull that a rocket a rocket would need to reach a thing called escape velocity to get away it's the minimum speed required for something to escape the gravitational pull of a massive object like a planet or a moon or a star how fast do you need to go to get away from the influence of this world well let me give you a few examples of speed because it's about speed fastest animal on earth do you know what it is fastest animal who said falcon you would think you know maybe I'm being unfair not just a land animal peregrine falcon can reach a diving speed of 242 miles per hour wow so it can get away from a cheetah as long as the cheetah is chasing it in the air fastest car on earth what do you think the speed is 331 miles per hour it's parked outside if you want to see it isn't it anyone know the speed of sound 767 miles per hour the fastest bullet around 1800 miles per hour and a supersonic missile we were talking about war supersonic missile travels around 2300 miles per hour now if you believe the men went to the moon they had to reach this thing called escape velocity to get there now what kind of speed bearing in mind there are humans sitting on top of millions of litres of rocket fuel what kind of speed would they have to reach to get to the moon to get to escape velocity what do you think well let me tell you what it is it is 11.19 kilometres per second now you might think wow but you'll probably think okay what is that what does that mean the speed required to reach escape velocity to pull away from the colossal pull of this earth is 25,000 miles per hour 25,000 miles per hour with little humans sitting on top that is the tremendous pull this world has on us and here's the crazy thing it doesn't matter if it's a tennis ball or a 30 story building they all need to reach 25,000 miles per hour to escape the massive pull of this world it's the same speed for everything across the board isn't that crazy

[9:30] even this thing if I were to throw it up it would have to go 25,000 miles per hour because the thing is it's not about mass it's about speed the mass only affects how much fuel you need to get it to that speed but it's the same that's the thing it's the same for all and that's going to matter later when we're talking about this so here's the Saturn V rocket built by NASA this is what was used to go to the moon in the 60s this is just a bit taller than Big Ben it's like the size of Big Ben and it had to travel at 25,000 miles per hour to reach the moon now how on earth do you send something that size into the air never mind 25,000 miles per hour well let me tell you it's not rocket science well actually it is but basically all you need to do is you need to just get a few million litres of rocket fuel and light it up in particular stages at the right time now imagine being one of the folks sitting on top of that when it goes off just sounds like incredible fun doesn't it well this is how they did it okay stage one this is what you can see in front of you stage one fired five rocket engines that burned kerosene and hydrogen fuel by around 20 tonnes per second 20 tonnes of rocket fuel per second burning the moment of lift off and that's just to get it 42 miles above the earth and then stage two fired to increase the rocket to 15,000 miles per hour to carry it into the upper atmosphere and then finally stage three fired twice once to get it into orbit and then again pedal to the metal on to get it travelling at escape velocity 25,000 miles per hour so that it could escape orbit escape the pool and get away from earth to reach the moon now you might be thinking what about the international space station people go there all the time well the international space station isn't actually outside the earth's gravitational pool it's in orbit

[11:52] I don't know if you know what orbit is let me tell you an interesting fact about the space station okay because it hasn't reached escape velocity and the people going to the space station haven't there's actually only been about 24 humans in history that have travelled at escape velocity and that's the ones that went on the moon missions but the folks that go to the international space station don't reach that and here's the thing and this demonstrates just how such colossal pull this earth has the space station is actually falling all the time it's always been pulled by the earth because if you don't reach that speed you're just going to fall back down because of gravity and the space station is actually falling but it needs to keep a particular speed around 17,500 miles per hour in order to miss the earth when it falls so it falls past it and it falls past it and it falls past it and that's what the space station is doing it's actually falling all the time and in fact the reason why the astronauts in the space station seem like there's no gravity and they're floating around is just because they're falling at the same speed as the space station it's like if you were in an elevator and the elevator fell and you fell with it you would look like you're floating it's not that there's no gravity it's just they're in free fall you might station is in constant free fall and it just misses the earth and it has to keep missing the earth in order to stay up and it has to have it has to actually be propelled every so often to keep it at the right height because it will come down because of the colossal pull of the earth now you may be thinking you probably are what on earth has that got to do with 1

[13:48] John 5 well the point is this world in more than one way has a tremendous power to pull us in and the way to escape this pull is the same across the board it's not different for different humans it's the same across the board the same way for every person just as it's the same speed for every object no matter the size so we're going to see how we can possibly escape the colossal pull of this world the good news is there is a way and it really is not rocket science on this day of remembrance we shouldn't only be thinking about sacrifice but again as we said earlier the reason for the sacrifice is for the victory that is gained in this passage John tells us that the victory is a victory over this enormous pull of this world and he tells us that the thing that brings victory over this world is like the escape velocity the very thing that overcomes the colossal pull of this world now obviously

[14:55] John the apostle isn't talking about going into space but he is simply implying that gravity isn't the only thing that has enormous pull to keep us in this world in fact in John's writings it is evident that this world is not the only world that there is contrary to what many people think this isn't the only world that exists you remember if you know it in John chapter 1 Jesus was the one with God in the beginning who made this world and then he came into this world from somewhere else and John 8 John chapter 8 Jesus is having this discussion with his opponents about where he came from and where he's going with the Pharisees and he says to them you are from below and I am from above you are of this world and

[16:00] I am not of this world what does that mean if this is the only world this is not the only world likewise in John 18 Jesus is standing before Pilate and Pilate asks are you the king of the Jews and Jesus says my kingdom is not of this world brothers and sisters there is another world this is not the only world Jesus himself is from another world he is of another world see what we must understand is that it's it's not just some sort of world that's to come like the next world that's not what it's about rather it's a world that exists alongside this world and it's not just only different realms like a physical realm and a spiritual realm humans versus spirits or angels no it's the difference between a world of darkness and a world of light a kingdom of darkness and a kingdom of light to which both humans and angels exist in each one and belong to each world it's not just physical and spiritual it's a kingdom of light and a kingdom of darkness and humans and spirits belong to each there's a battle going on right now today see in

[17:32] John's gospel it says that Jesus is the true light coming into this world in John chapter 3 it says the light came into the world talking about Jesus but the people loved the darkness rather than the light because in the darkness their deeds are hidden aren't they but the light exposes sin see Paul says that those who believe are delivered from the domain of darkness and transferred to the kingdom of Jesus and Peter says those who are saved are called out of darkness there there's an overlap of these two worlds see the kingdom of darkness and the kingdom of light overlap that's why

[20:45] John can say the darkness is passing away the true light is already shining that's the thing that John is writing about so the question is while we live in this present world are we still held by its power or have we overcome this world I don't know what you think of your own Christian life if you're a believer but let me ask you this do you feel like you're overcoming do you feel particularly victorious maybe you don't maybe your life doesn't look that way but let's see what John really has to say about that because it's going to be encouraging this world is a colossal pull on us and it takes escape velocity to overcome it John says that that escape velocity that overcomes this world it's a surprising thing in the text don't you think when he says this is the victory that has overcome the world you expect him to say

[21:52] Jesus Christ our Lord and you would say yes and amen that is true indeed but he doesn't say that it's true but he doesn't say that this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith really yes it is and let me show you how okay see this might all sound abstract and far fetched but are we really fooled by the lie of materialism that there's nothing except that which is material there's nothing immaterial in the world it's the lie that's been perpetuated today and because we see with our eyes this physical universe we might believe it but you can search for yourself I won't get into it but you won't need to look far to see how far fetched materialism is this world is not all that exists this life is not all that there is and let me tell you that you are we need to hear that and we need to know that let's take a closer look at what

[23:04] John says about this world and why it should be overcome because you might not have really felt the effects of the invasion of this darkness strongly maybe you have you might not realize just how much the darkness pervades this whole world with everything and everyone in it it seeped into every human heart John says in chapter 2 that the kind of things that belong to this world are the desires of the flesh the desires of the eyes and the pride of life and this is the thing because belief in materialism or atheism and such is part of the lie and blindness and power that the whole world is under because when you think like that you have complete disregard for God and for any other world than this everything you do then becomes for the sake of this world for the sake of this life all you're concerned about is this world all you're concerned about is this life and all you're concerned about is doing things for this body we mustn't believe the lie that this is all that there is that this world is all there is this life is all there is or even this body right now presently standing here is all of who

[24:24] I am if this is the only world there is then this is the only place to find the things that humans long for and we can't find them we are always left wanting whether it's contentment happiness peace possessions love life forgiveness or freedom when this is the only world there is it's the only place we can search for them but do we find them not for long maybe we find little bits like panning for gold but we never find enough to last it always fades away it's never really enough we always need more we always want more more money more peace more love longer life and who can give us it well not anyone from this world and we end up craving the desires of the flesh that's what we do we end up craving the desires of the flesh the things that we want when we feel them we crave the desires of the eyes the things that we want when we see them and the pride of life the boasting that we have and the things that we have gained as though we've reached our goal as though we've reached our goal and we have all the things that we want but here's the thing that happens we we like we like we like the glory as though we are something yet it only drives us it drives us all the more to forcefully take the desires of our flesh and the desires of our eyes from others and therein lies the problem humanity is of this world and lies in the power of the evil one this world has a colossal pull on human beings and thus the world must be overcome that's why

[26:19] John says the world must be overcome but how we must reach the escape velocity folks we think about war and sacrifice and victory today more than any other day but I wonder if you realise just how active the battle is right now between this world and the kingdom of light there is a ruler of this dark world this dark world is ruled by the devil it doesn't make Jesus any less sovereign but there is also a ruler of the kingdom of light and let me say this very clearly the battle is not between them the battle is not between Jesus and the devil because there is no comparison whatsoever between Jesus and the devil they are not equal forces darkness and light are not equal forces Jesus and the devil are not equal forces and the ruler of the kingdom of light has already come already and has already defeated the darkness he has already crushed the serpent underfoot remember

[27:28] John 1 the light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it John 16 in the world you will have tribulation but take heart I have overcome the world says Jesus as Christians we do not overcome the world because we are powerful or even that our faith is powerful absolutely not it is not in the power of our faith it is not even in the measure of our faith but folks it most definitely is in the object of our faith we can only overcome this world by our faith because we have faith in the very one who has already overcome this world the battle is not between light and darkness it is not between Jesus and the devil light has won over darkness the darkness is passing away Jesus has conquered the devil the battle is between us we are not bystanders in all of this

[28:34] Jesus will not forcefully pull anyone out of darkness any more than he would pull the devil out of darkness the devil doesn't want to be saved he hates Jesus he hates the light and loves the darkness but the darkness is lost the darkness and its kingdom have been defeated and that's why in chapter 2 John says that the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining and then he says that the world this world that has a colossal pull is passing away but whoever does the will of God abides forever the only way we overcome is by faith in the one who overcame that is the escape velocity that will free us from the colossal pull of this world now let me finally say what this means what does this mean firstly for those without faith in

[29:38] Jesus and secondly for those with faith in Jesus see without faith in Jesus unlike what David was saying there's no hope of overcoming the darkness of this world there isn't you can't reach that escape velocity that will pull you away you will always be pulled in what that means you will not be able to escape the colossal pull of this world the pull of darkness on your life the pull of the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pull of the pride of life you will not be able to escape now I'm not saying that everyone in this world will be as absolutely evil as they can be but there will be no escape in the effects of this world this world will pull us into craving the things of this world and as this world is a world that is passing away we cannot overcome that as well without Jesus if you haven't escaped the pull of this world then you will pass away along with this world you cannot escape that people have tried for thousands of years every human effort to sustain life to reach eternal bliss to do good and to build utopia and all the best efforts of humanity to rebuild

[31:02] Eden fail and we end up with dystopia because this world lies in the power of darkness and that's where it will always end with ruin and destruction and death you may reach heights you may have many lifted moments but like gravity what goes up must come down the pull of this world cannot be overcome except with escape velocity ultimately things crash back down to the ground and humanity feels the pain and darkness all too closely don't we things of this world your good run of health will run out wealth will run out pleasure will run out will come crashing back down to realize that this world lies in the power of darkness and I know it sounds hopeless but that's the point without

[32:03] Jesus it really is quite hopeless hope but that's not the end of it because in Jesus there really is hope he's already overcome this world he has overcome the darkness he has overcome Satan he has overcome sin he has overcome death he is the true light that came into the world to save a world captivated by darkness he lived a completely righteous life never sinned once because sin is the way of darkness but in him there is no darkness at all like David said only light he gave his life on the cross at the hands of darkness at the hands of evil men he could have destroyed them all with a word but he didn't because that's not the way of light why did he say to turn the other cheek why did he say to pray for those who persecute us and love those who hate us because fighting darkness with darkness will only make darkness win but light shines brighter that's why the cross is a great victory because although it was darkness who tried to snuff out the light his sacrifice brought forgiveness reconciliation and peace and death could not hold him the darkness has not overcome the light the light will not respond in darkness but when it shines boy can darkness not overcome it so to those without faith this hopeless situation can end when you find hope in

[33:47] Jesus by faith and to those of us with faith in Jesus this is what it means not only can you overcome this world but by the very faith that you have in Jesus you already have overcome this world you may not think it you may not feel like it but what that means is you do not lie in the power of the evil one you are not held by this world you are not captive to the desires of this world see what your faith in Jesus has done has broken the spell of this world you are no longer enslaved and captivated and even allured by the darkness you are no longer under the power and the spell that makes this world and all that is in it your treasure because your eyes have been opened the spell has been broken by your faith you have overcome the world you are not filled any longer your faith has overcome that colossal pull so that you can see the light so that you can love

[34:57] God so that you can obey his commandments see that in verse three his commandments are not burdensome only a person freed from the pull of this world can say that his commandments are not burdensome because when you're pulled in by this world his commandments are burdensome that's what the world thinks of the commandments of God they're a burden they're restrictions they restrict our freedom they don't see that they are life and light but only when you're set free from the allurement of this world can you truly see how beautiful and joyful and freeing his commandments are that we would love God and that we would love one another just as Jesus has loved us is that not what David said that the reason why this world is at war with itself man versus man is because it's at war with

[35:57] God but when you love God you can love one another by and you can see that what is what victory is you can actually love God. Do you realize how much of a victory that is? How can a human being that once lay in the power of the evil one love God? How is that possible?

[37:12] That's a victory. The fact that you love God is a great victory. The devil has nothing on you. Nothing. You can actually love your brothers and sisters. Boy does that annoy the devil.

[37:31] Boy does the one who rules this world not want to see the world at war with itself. What an annoyance that you would love one another. You can actually obey the commandments of God. You can do that.

[37:49] Again, that doesn't belong in a world of darkness. That's the kingdom of light right there. You have control over the pull of this world.

[38:00] This world still has a colossal pull. But it doesn't need to have victory over us. By your faith we have victory over it. You do not love this world.

[38:13] Nor do you love the things of this world. Even if you fail at times, you can go to the Father and be forgiven through the Son. You will not pass away with this world because you have overcome this world.

[38:30] This world is no longer your only treasure and only hope. You do not need to fight for survival. You do not need to chase the American dream.

[38:41] Whatever that means nowadays. And this is the thing. You do not need to fear darkness. And you do not need to fear death. And the faith, the faith that John's talking about, isn't a faith that says yeah, I have faith that at the end of time, remember that we were in that and the story of Lazarus.

[39:05] I know that things will be okay in the by and by at the end of time and the resurrection on the last day. It's not the faith that John's talking about just as it wasn't the belief that Jesus was talking about back then.

[39:17] When Jesus says, I am the resurrection and life. I'm here today, not the last day. John is saying this faith is not about later on in life. You know, at the end of time and the new creation and the next world.

[39:30] He's saying this is faith and today faith that this world is not the only one that there is faith that this life is not the only life that there is and faith that your body is not all that you are.

[39:42] Faith that you are alive in Christ contrary to what it might seem like on earth. Faith that when you go to the graveside of a brother or sister that they are alive.

[39:55] They are alive. Not in some last day, today. Though their body might lie there, though this body might fail, though we might have moments where we deteriorate, we are alive in Christ.

[40:11] Christ, we do not need to fear death. We need to stop thinking like this body is all that there is, that this is all that we are. Because when you believe that lie, of course you fear death.

[40:25] And of course you do all that you can for this body and this life. But who is it that overcomes this world except the one that believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Because it's not about the power or measure of our faith, but the object of our faith.

[40:41] That's the escape velocity. When the object of your faith is Jesus, the Son of God, faith in anything else or anyone else is like a fuel that cannot reach escape velocity.

[40:56] It will never do. it's not the one who lives a good life. It's not the one who does enough good deeds. It's not even the one who goes to church.

[41:07] It's not brothers and sisters. It's the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. And you'll be able to tell if that faith is true because it will result in a life that is light shining in the darkness.

[41:23] The one who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey His commandments.

[41:39] For this is the love of God. That we keep His commandments. That we live light. For His commandments are not burdensome.

[41:50] You see that? The result of true faith is loving God and obeying His commandments. Loving the children of God. Living a life that is a light in the darkness.

[42:01] That's what a true believer looks like. Not one that doesn't make any mistakes at all. But one who is a light. Who is not pulled by this world. Who is not filled and cast under the spell that the whole world lies under.

[42:16] But a life that can love God. A life that can obey His commandments and love people. Reflect the light of God in their life. That's the one who has overcome the darkness.

[42:29] The one who has overcome this world by faith in Jesus. We remember today those who fought their sacrifice and the victory it brought. But let us remember that there is a battle raging on right now.

[42:43] Not with light and darkness. Not with Jesus and the devil because He's already won. He has made the sacrifice and He has overcome the world. But the battle is for your soul. For your eternity.

[42:57] For where we belong in the kingdom of light or the kingdom of darkness. Look to Jesus and know the truth in these words of John. Be strengthened by the truth of these words of John.

[43:12] Because if this is you you have victory. for everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world.

[43:28] Your faith. And who is it that overcomes the world? the world? All right.

[43:44] stuff on the world. Bye Bye laaak and bunda of the spirit and sing