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[0:00] Victory, victory. 1 John 5 is where we're going to go, verse 4. And it reads, for whatsoever! Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. And this is the victory that overcometh! Even our faith. Think of it, life, it's a battle. Sometimes we can fill up with battling. Actually, it's a spiritual war. And it's a daily struggle for all of us at times through life's tests.

[0:34] And many feel weak, unworthy, inadequate. Here is a promise for you from the Word of God. A promise that includes you, that is for you. That God wants for you to know joy and peace and purpose. Faith that overcomes. An overcoming faith. And it tells us there that we are at war with the world. The world, we know it's against God. We've heard mention of that earlier.

[1:05] The world, it just hates God and the things of God, the things that are right and true. Its values, its priorities are anti-Christ, aren't they? Opposing God. And God tells us that we are not to love the world, nor the things that are in the world. 1 John 2, 15. And verse 17, it reads, And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof. But he that doeth the will of God abideth forever. We know the world's ways are empty and vain. There's a spiritual emptiness. Follow the world and you'll miss out. Yet do the will of God and you'll abide forever. The world and its ways, they just can't satisfy the soul. And you're at war with the world. It's a war, an ongoing war. And God's word tells us, yet victory is possible by faith. And we win. We win by faith. That's what it tells us here. Think of Satan's strategy.

[2:03] It's against you, isn't it? To make believers ineffective, keep them feeling defeated, discouraged, distracted, compromising. And God's spirit gives us yet the power to overcome. So that's really the theme this morning. And our enemy wants for us to be defeated, to stunt our growth, to stop us growing, to make us unfruitful. But God wants us to be fruitful, doesn't he?

[2:31] He wants us to bear fruit. And his spirit produces that, that fruit. But for the meantime, every single day, we're up against this pressure, this enemy, these spiritual forces. Every day, it impacts our thoughts, our emotions, our decisions, relationships. Against us, it's the world, the flesh, the devil. And sometimes we feel like we're in this battle. And we're fighting a losing battle. It can feel like that. It's a reality for all of us that the word tells us we've got victory. But in the reality of the day by day, we don't always feel that.

[3:13] We feel like we're fighting a losing battle. It's a besetting sin, maybe, sometimes that overwhelms. And some can lose heart, lose hope. They can't seem to get victory. It's a battle for some. They feel like, well, the Bible says I have victory, but I don't always feel it.

[3:32] And it can become like this hamster wheel of a constant struggle. You know, the picture of a wheel and the hamster running around and around. And this constant struggle. Some would kind of see their Christian life as a performance-based standard that they must attain to, but they constantly fail. And we can feel like a failure, can't we? When there's this standard and we know we fall short every day and we can feel like we're a backslider, we lack victory. And some preachers can feed this kind of defeatism by preaching virtually sinless perfection. Okay, you've got to be here and you're down here. Come on, try harder.

[4:15] You know, it's as if salvation is contingent on what we do. Upon achieving that certain standard of overcoming a certain sin, rather than actually laying hold of Christ and knowing he's the one, he's my victory. Laying hold of him. When we have Christ and his saving, then we have victory. Rather than trying to aspire and attain to perfection. Yet knowing that Christ is that for us. It's not about our working harder and harder, trying to do, to be. And as if our salvation is our bragging on about, oh, I've overcome this sin, so that makes me saved. It's not about that. It's about, have you clung to Christ? Is Christ your all in all? Is Christ the one, your saviour? And so for some it can feel like this wheel that they never get there.

[5:14] It can easily feel like defeat all the time, constant defeat. When we focus on our circumstances or on our lack and on our failings constantly, rather than the promises of God for us. And that's the enemy's tactic, isn't it? Discouragement, that we never get there. This discouragement, this tactic to weaken our faith, to make us feel I'm unworthy, I'm inadequate, I'm never getting there. Well, we know in Paul's life, he said that I've not attained yet. I've not got there yet.

[5:46] Paul says, I'm still on that running track. And for the meantime, we can feel easily defeated and we can focus on our circumstances. And so we get discouraged. But God's word shows us that actually victory is assured. We have victory. No matter how hard to fight, the trials that test us, the temptations that pull us down, God promises that no matter what, we do have victory. It's not about a hamster wheel. It's about clinging to Christ. It's knowing that no matter what, in Christ you have victory. He is your victory, your daily victory. And the promise of God is, for whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. So this tells us of our victory. And here's the big question though for us. What matters most is this, are we born of God? Born of God? I know when we do some door knocking, talking to folk, and it really boils down to that. Are you born again? Do you know Christ? Are you saved? And as much as even we knock on doors and some that tell us that they go to a church and they belong to this or that church and they've been going for yonks. But yet the question is, are they born again?

[7:08] And do you know for sure that you're saved? Do you know that you're heaven bound? Do you know that assurance? And they lack that. It's surprising how many do that. Or they say, yeah, I believe and I'm doing this to keep my salvation or whatever it be. Wrong answer.

[7:25] It's not about faith plus me. No, it's faith in him, faith in Christ, his work that saves us. And so the promise here is if we're born of God, there is victory. We're assured of it. So let's look closer a little at this text and what the word of God shows to us. And the first truth, as I mentioned, is this, of this we must be sure. Are we born of God?

[7:54] That's the launching pad, isn't it, for the Christian life. This is our basis for victory. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. Are you born again? Are you born again?

[8:07] I know we knock on the doors of folk well-meaning who say, oh, we love Jesus. We believe in Jesus. He's a good prophet. He's a great prophet.

[8:20] But do you know Jesus as saviour? Because without a saviour, we're lost. And yet if we're born of God, if we trust in Christ, we have everlasting life. It's our source of victory. Born of God. To think that you are born of God. Born again. And this promise of victory starts right here. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. It's a promise, a declaration. This is true for you. Our triumph is here. It's not in us, not by us. No. It is not in our strength, in our wisdom. The victory is because we're born of God. It's because we have that new identity as children of God. And as a saved one, you have the very life of God within you. And Paul testifies of it in Philippians 4.13. He says, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. Even though I'm feeling defeated of my own effort, even though the world and its temptations are against me, they cannot defeat me.

[9:27] And you can say, yes, I'm a child of God by his grace. I'm a partaker of the divine nature. To think of it, that you are a child of the king. Think of that, that you are a child of the king.

[9:39] Wow. What a blessing to know that. I know I always feel privileged when I come to church because I know I'm meeting with the royal family. You know, sons and daughters of the living God.

[9:55] Kings and priests to be, to have that royal family that you are in God and that you have his overcoming power, that by virtue that you are born of God, that you have his saving, his power, the same power, the same power that spoke the world into existence is in you. The same power where God divided the Red Sea for his people. The same power that toppled the walls of Jericho. The same power that sent fire down from heaven upon Elijah's sacrifice. The same power that raised up our Lord Jesus from the dead.

[10:33] His great power is in you, available for you, moment by moment. His victory making power. And he empowers you to overcome. And so you can say, as a child of the king, I'm bought with a price.

[10:46] He's mine and I'm his and he's bought me. He's valued me and he's paid the very value or his precious blood for me. So therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. Know your position in Christ. Victorious. Victory. And you can know I am born of God. I'm an overcomer in Christ.

[11:10] That's your status. That's your identity. And this is not positive thinking when you say, I'm born of God. I am an overcomer in Christ. It's not some positive thinking kind of guru mindset, but it's a spiritual truth that transforms your whole mindset, your whole thinking. You can say no to sin and yes to God through the power of his spirit. You're his and he is yours. And consider that you are born of God. Consider also what we're up against, the world. Consider the world, our enemy.

[11:52] When you're in a fight, of course, you ought to identify your enemy. Know what the enemy is. I remember as a lad, I used to collect aircraft books and one of them was an old World War II book, which had silhouettes of different planes. And the gunners, I guess the anti-aircraft gunners, would use such a book to identify from the silhouette, whether it's a Messerschmitt or a Spitfire, to discern between whether it's the enemy or whether it's the friend. And we need to know who we're up against, don't we? That we've got an enemy. We need to identify him and his works. Our enemy is the world. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. The world is our enemy.

[12:44] And Satan is described to Corinthians 4 verse 4 as the God, small g, of this world. Think of the world. It's talking about the world's philosophies and value systems opposed to God's truth. It hates God.

[12:58] It wants our children to be reading smart in the public libraries. It wants our children in the kindergartens even and the schools, let alone the universities, to be warped and corrupted and twisted and perverted and turned against the truth of everything that is righteous and of virtue.

[13:17] The world is our enemy, brothers and sisters, and its values. Think of secular humanism, of materialism, moral relativism, any ideology that places human wisdom above divine revelation.

[13:32] The world is our enemy. Get that. The world, this world that promotes self-gratification, self-centeredness, rebellion against God's authority, often through media, culture, peer pressure.

[13:45] The world, it's endemic in the world and its ways and its thinking. And it tells us in 1 John 2 that all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father but is of the world. And as believers we're called to live as strangers and pilgrims in this world. Hey, we ought to be, hey, that we actually stand out as something markedly different. Some would mock the Amish or this or that because they're kind of unworldly.

[14:19] Yet there's a somewhat of a truth to that. Hey, we should be actually really different. There ought to be a difference, not saying we've got to be Amish or anything, but that we should be, as it were, strangers and pilgrims. As we live in this world, there's an identity that we're different from this world and its ways. We think of the world, it refers to kind of those ungodly systems, ungodly systems that oppose Christ, where we see they prioritise materialism, possessions over God, and the pride, this self-reliance, this, I am, I believe in myself, people say, don't they?

[15:01] Oh, I'm so good. I, I, I, like the devil. And then we see pleasure-seeking, this instant gratification over eternal rewards. And the world tempts us, it's in us, it's in our mind. At times we've got to constantly counter it. The world wants us to conform to its values, values so-called, as we know often, that which is not something to value. And to compromise our integrity for popularity, to just go along and to go with the world's way of thinking. And when we're talking about the world, this world that is our enemy, we're talking about this spiritual power that drives worldly values, and it stands in opposition to what God wants for us. We think of temptations, they come in many forms, materialism, lust, pride, the desire for approval. It's the world. The world's kind of thinking, it captures us sometimes, the fleshly desires that distract from God's purpose. And every day we face this battle, we're at war with the world. We ought to be. This relentless battle is happening. And this battle impacts us, our choices, our relationships, our thought patterns, and it calls for us to exercise a constant vigilance. The good news is this, our Lord has already overcome the world. He tells us that.

[16:31] John 16, 33, he says, I have spoken these words unto you, that in me you might have peace. He says, and in the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

[16:46] He says, take heart. He says, be confident. He says, here's a good word for you. There's a good cheer for you here. I have overcome. I have overcome the world. Think of the world, it's thinking, it's entertainment choices, it's priorities. Our Lord says, in the world you're going to have some trouble, some tribulation's going to happen, but he says, I have overcome the world. And know this, that you're a child of the king, greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. So putting the question then, how do we overcome the world? How can we overcome the world? We could think maybe there's ways we could regularly evaluate the ear gate, the eye gate, what's happening, how are we feeding, garbage in, garbage out, the influences of life, what are we watching, what are we listening to, what are we reading? Are these drawing us towards our Lord or tempting us to compromise? Are we making purposeful decisions as to what we ought to do to be? And can we replace that unhelpful input with rather what's going to build our faith?

[17:58] Hey, wouldn't it be good to have some more of this in the brain matter? Wouldn't it be good to have some of the word in the gray cells so we can take that to mind and make it, that it guide us, our decisions, that it build our faith, that we have that rather than what the world would feed us with, social media, entertainment, cultural trends, often they can be contrary to God. We know we ought to discern discernment what we are receiving. Discernment, spiritual discernment is crucial. As it reads of this familiar one, be not conformed to this world, but rather be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Think of that discernment that we call to, that rather the will of God ought to be that driving force, not the world and its voices. And when we're intending a decision, can we ask, does this align with God's will? Is it his will? Does this draw me closer to our Lord or push me away from him?

[19:04] This habit is a good habit to have that discernment and it will help guard our heart and our choices, guard our way, our steps, our mind. And when we have these times where peer pressure comes, worldly temptation, can we just, hey, just stop for a minute, take time to pray, ask God to lead, ask God for his will and ask God for his strength to stand firm and to go forward in faith. Think of this enemy that we face and think how can we audit those kind of influences in our lives, that TV program, that music, that social media. Is it the world, worldly things, worldly thinking, worldly programming or is it going to be godly to rather that? Is this decision going to conform me to Christ or is it going to conform me to the world? Notice then that we are born of God, that our enemy is the world. Thirdly, that we have faith, that is our victory. Our faith is how we secure our victory. Here's how. This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Faith.

[20:26] This faith is a trust in God's promise. It's a trust that God has said and I believe it. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Faith is beyond the tangible.

[20:41] It seems beyond what we can see with our eyes and beyond our struggles, beyond our fear, our failure, our present circumstance. We can look to the invisible God, the Almighty, who knows the future.

[20:58] And in the context of Hebrews 11, look at the heroes of the faith. By faith, Noah built an ark, trusting God's warning of the coming flood. By faith, Abraham left his homeland, not knowing where he was going. But by faith, he trusted even when the path seemed unclear. By faith, Moses led Israel through the Red Sea as God parted the waters for his way. By faith, Enoch walked with God. Wouldn't that be something? By faith, Samson trusted God's strength despite his personal flaws? As we know, the Bible tells us warts and all that it's not a flawless life sometimes. Naturally, by faith, Samson got through. He trusted God's strength ultimately. By faith, David faced Goliath with a sling and a stone.

[21:57] Think of it. Faith. There's power there. It's powerful. Your faith is powerful by the grace of God. And these men, these women, these heroes of Hebrews 11, they weren't superheroes. They weren't superhumans. They were ordinary people who trusted an extraordinary God. You can do that too. We've got an ordinary woman that's making a worldwide impact in an amazing way.

[22:25] Homegrown, around the corner from here. And has now stood up for God and for something that's right and righteous. And God's using her and others who might want to join the cause.

[22:38] It's possible by faith, isn't it? To make an impact beyond our own little circle, our own little world, our own little community, to be something for God, to do something for God.

[22:52] And that's what these ordinary people did. As they trusted an extraordinary God, their faith was their victory. And it's the same for you and me. We're fighting, also we're fighting from victory, not fighting for victory. There's a sense where we have victory now. We're fighting from victory because he's already won, hasn't he? Hasn't he already won? Isn't Satan already a defeated foe? Our victory is already assured. Our battle is not a trying to win. Because God has already won the ultimate battle. He's triumphed over sin, death, the devil, evil, through Christ's work at the cross. And as believers, we are already more than a conqueror through Christ, who loved us more than conquerors. The battle against spiritual forces, it's already been won.

[23:43] So you're fighting from victory. This is just a little skirmish, as it were. The war's already done. The war's already, it's already clear who the winner is and who is ultimately the conqueror of it all. The victorious one, the mighty conqueror, our saviour. We're just in little skirmishes and little fights here and there that really are minor in the scheme of things. But we're already more than conquerors because the battle has already been won. We think of in Joshua's case with Joshua, God told Joshua in Joshua 6 verse 2, the Lord said unto him, the Lord said unto Joshua, see, I have given into thine hand Jericho and the king thereof and the mighty men of valor. This is before they did anything. This is before he got off his armchair. Now this is God saying, hey, God's saying to Joshua, I've given you Jericho.

[24:44] It's already done. God told him before the battle. And we think we're operating from that place of victory. That God says it, we have victory. And we have that victory all of us have victory in the reality of the spiritual Christian life. And the sense of the word here in our text when it says, this is the victory that overcometh the world, it's got a sense of, it's got a constant victory. So that's the sense of the grammar in the Greek there. This is the victory that overcometh the world. It's a victory that is a constant, a constant.

[25:27] victory. It's a continual victory. It's saying here that believers have, continually have victory. continually have victory. The present tense, overcometh. It tells of an ongoing victory. Then this word, that overcometh, is a tense which is a decisive victory. It's ongoing and it's done. As in it's finished. It's a completed victory.

[25:54] It's ongoing and it's done. As in it's finished. It's a completed victory. The point is we are in victory.

[26:05] We are already in victory. And faith is the victory. Faith is a weapon. We see faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

[26:17] Faith is our weapon. It's our strength, isn't it? As we take the word of God, as we believe it, as we act upon it, we take it into action in our life, as we walk it out, as we take it as read, as we stop questioning it.

[26:34] It's not a picking fault with it. It's about actually do what it says, believe it, take it to heart, believe in the authority of it, and feed your faith with the word. Scripture is like Philippians 4, be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving.

[26:52] Let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and your minds through Christ Jesus. It's telling us there of the promise of prayer, the promise of faith, the promise of trusting God.

[27:11] And there's many scriptures, if you could just take. There's ammunition here. This is your ammunition, isn't it? For this battle of life.

[27:23] It's your armaments. The word of God. Your weaponry. And when temptation knocks, you can go to another scripture, as it tells us here, of the way to escape.

[27:36] There is no temptation taking you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful. Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that you may be able to bear it.

[27:55] So when temptation knocks, we stand on this one. God is able. God is faithful. He's going to make a way for me to get out, to escape. And we see scriptures like Ephesians 6 tells us of the shield of faith.

[28:12] Above all, taking the shield of faith. It's got that covering of that shield, that wherewith that shield, you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

[28:25] Faith is for us a shield. And yes, you're in a battle, an ongoing battle, but you have ongoing victory. Ongoing victory. God's granted you that blessing to be a believer, to have that faith, that faith that trusts him.

[28:44] And the enemy's darts fly all around us from every direction, doubt, fear, temptation. Yes, we constantly got these fiery darts coming our way, but faith is the shield.

[28:56] And that will extinguish all the fiery darts as we trust in God and his word. We see the example of Peter as he walked on the water towards the Lord.

[29:07] His faith held him up until he looked at the waves, didn't it? Matthew 14, 28. We see that faith was such that it had power beyond human understanding.

[29:20] If we could just have our eyes on our Lord and trust him, that we'll have that faith to carry us through. And strengthen your faith daily as you immerse yourself in the word.

[29:31] And think of faith-building scriptures like these two, for example. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?

[29:43] And what time I am afraid? I will trust in thee. There's so many verses. When we're feeling like our faith is weak, when we're feeling like we're not overcoming, hey, build your faith again.

[29:55] Get some ammunition. Resupply. Get some more armament that you can get ready for the fight. And speak the promises of God. When you have those times, speak his promises.

[30:09] Take it, the word, and memorise it. Hide it in your heart. And speak it aloud when you face challenges. Can you build a habit of reading God's word daily?

[30:20] Even just a few verses. That you're taking it in. That you're receiving it. And when doubt or fear creeps in, you'll know the word that you can answer those things with.

[30:30] Those promises of God that you can take God's truth to heart. Verses like, Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added unto you.

[30:42] Let faith be your anchor and your sword and shield. Born of God. You've got an enemy of the world. You've got this faith that is overcoming.

[30:57] And then we see a promise of victory. We see victory is assured.

[31:08] This is the victory that you have. That overcometh the world. Even our faith. Brother, sister, you have victory. You're fighting from this place of victory.

[31:21] From this principle of victory. Victory. And our victory in Christ is ongoing. It's not a one-time event. It is a daily victory.

[31:32] We live it out day by day. And your victory, it's not some absence of battles, but it's his presence with you in the battle. Over and over again, there's many verses that tell us, he tells you, I am with you.

[31:47] Isn't that your victory? His presence? It's his presence with you day by day. So how do we live as overcomers day by day?

[31:58] We can walk in it. And it's through prayer. We know that we have the word of God, the sword of the spirit. And I know there's a saying, I believe it's popularised in the military when there's a battle going on and we might feel inclined to despair and feel defeated.

[32:19] I've heard an ex-military person who we know says, get a helmet. Get a helmet. When you're despairing, when you're feeling like, oh, the battle's lost and the morale is weak and I'm feeling like chucking in the towel and quitting, get a helmet.

[32:39] And what is the helmet we're meant to get? The helmet of salvation. Take the helmet of salvation. That's going to keep your mind and that's going to keep things sorted. Upstairs.

[32:50] So you're going to have the right mindset that you know you're saved. I know I popped into the Harvey Sunday School before and one of the songs that they're singing this morning is if you're saved and you know it, clap your hands.

[33:07] Take the helmet of salvation. If you're saved, if you've got the helmet of salvation, then you can know it, you can show it, you can believe it. It's the helmet of salvation. So get a helmet.

[33:18] Wear that helmet of salvation. In other words, the assurance of your salvation. Hey, I'm saved because I'm a believer in Christ because he saved me by the virtue of his blood.

[33:31] And the sword of the spirit is the word of God. His word will help you to fight those spiritual battles of day by day. When our Lord faced temptation, in Matthew 4, what did he say?

[33:44] It is written. It is written, devil. It is written. Take that. Jab him with it. He counted Satan's lies with the word, didn't he?

[33:57] And you can use Bible verses when you're in that place of battle. You can use those Bible verses to stick it to the enemy, all right, against his enemy's attacks.

[34:08] He can memorize the word because scripture is our ultimate weapon, isn't it? And when fear arises, for example, you can quote, for example, Isaiah 41 10, Fear thou not, for I am with thee.

[34:21] Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee. Yea, I will help thee. Yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.

[34:33] Think of the word of God. Let it be your weapon. Let it be your guide to determine your walk in victory. And it's God's way, isn't it? The word. As we decide every day to live for Christ, we'll confess his word, we'll cling to his promises, we'll cleave to him, we'll decide every day to live for Christ, God helping us, and we'll have that walk, that victorious walk, the victorious Christian walk as a journey.

[35:00] And sure enough, there's going to be some times when you feel like, hey, it says I'm walking with God and I know I'm trying to walk with God, but sometimes in reality we can feel like we're not doing that well.

[35:14] But it's slow and steady. It's faithful steps, isn't it? It's a long distance event, living for Christ. We can stumble and tire naturally, yet we press on.

[35:25] And we keep on going, day by day, keep on walking. And the scriptures like this one that tell us, hey, alright, preacher, I've fallen. You know, people often come to me and say, hey, I've got this sin and that sin and preacher, help me, pray for me.

[35:41] I've got this thing going on and that thing. And we can feel like, hey, we're losing. We're losing this fight every day. And the scriptures like this one, for a just man falleth seven times and riseth up again, but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

[36:00] Know that God will help you to get up again. If you feel like you've fallen, you've failed, you're slipping, you're stumbling, you're struggling, get up and trust God's strength.

[36:11] Keep on running because this battle is still playing out. The battle rages on, doesn't it? And even when the battle feels intense, we can know victory every day.

[36:23] We press on, we fight on. And there's a saying here, giving up is only the sure way to fail. We can give up or we can keep on, keep on pressing forward.

[36:36] It's the victorious Christian life, isn't it? That we will not give up. We're going to keep trusting God. We keep on pressing forward in that race. Keep on learning, keep on stretching, keep on trusting, keep on, we're not apprehended yet.

[36:52] One day we will. The finish line's getting ever closer. We're learning to obey God in those practical ways, step by step, inch by inch, forgiving others.

[37:03] God's helping me to have grace. Keep on serving. Don't feel like it's too hard. And throw in the towel. Giving up is the way to fail.

[37:14] But yet we can trust, we can lean on Christ, we can cling to him and knowing his strength. We can keep resisting temptation, learning, failing, but learning maybe one step forward, two steps forward, hopefully, one step back.

[37:31] We can hopefully keep on on the running track. Those godly habits can help transform us and our thinking, our daily walk. So press on, brother.

[37:42] Press on. And know that there's a wonderful testimony that comes from the testimony of your life. You look at the examples of brothers and sisters who've been through some tough things and they're a testimony to the grace of God, aren't they?

[38:00] A testimony to the world. As Revelation 12, 11 talks about, they overcame him, the enemy, the devil, by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony and they loved not their lives unto the death.

[38:14] Of course, there's that picture there of the overcoming, of the overcomers in that context there. We see that there's a testimony that came out and we also have that truth that we can live out our faith via testimony, a testimony of God's faithfulness when we overcome temptation, when we learn how to forgive, when we exercise grace, when we find peace in our storm, in those times of storm, when we go through loss and heartache and hard things, questions come but yet, our victory is assured and others are going to see Christ in you.

[38:56] Brother, sister, we can see, look at the example of Job. Wow, what came his way and yet, we look at Job and hey, wow, what an example for us, what we can learn from him and wow, the precious testimony that others can see and know that we can thank God.

[39:20] Now, thanks be unto God which always causeth us to triumph in Christ and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place. There's a thankfulness we can have that even through the test, after the test there's a testimony and we can know God always is going to cause us to triumph.

[39:39] Notice there it talks about the savour. There's a sense where there's kind of fragrance that comes that there's a fragrance that comes of Christ's victory. We could think of it or picture it of a fragrance of a flower wherever we go just as a fragrance from a flower it affects the people nearby and it's the same for you and me.

[40:05] Our Christ-like character can be like a fragrance that we can impact others that we can influence others. It's been said that crush a flower and its fragrance will still perfume the air with unyielding grace.

[40:19] We can have daily victories and the battles aren't going to warp us and make us mean and nasty and make us all miserable but the trials are going to be the trying of our faith which is going to be producing gold.

[40:41] The crushing is going to bring forth a fragrance that our testimony is going to yet minister to others and his work in us is going to be a testimony to others and when you praise God through your pain you're going to declare he is sufficient.

[41:00] when you love the unlovable you're going to reflect his grace. Your life is going to be a living sermon that points others to Christ even when those hard times of life come they'll yet be a fragrance that comes that you're going to show others the sufficiency of Christ in you that your faith filled life is going to point others to Christ that even in the hard times of your life that they are going to be somehow a witness to others because even in your struggles you're trusting in your Lord and he's going to help you and it speaks volumes to the lost who don't have that hope and you can share your testimony of God's faithfulness for you you can tell a friend how God's helped you through a trial because you've been there and done that you can testify of that and you can encourage the struggling believer with the scriptures that strengthened you you can comfort others with the comfort that you've received from the

[42:02] God of all comfort and you can live in a way that reflects Christ's victory because you've been through the battles you'll be a testimony of the victory that is in Christ in whatever circumstance!

[42:15] of your life and you can let your light so shine before man that they're going to see that testimony they're going to see God's work in your life and they're going to glorify God think of it you are born of God a child of the King you have so much blessing in just that you are born of God and brother sister you are promised victory and it tells us that in all these things of life and the context is of all kinds of tests and trial and of what can separate us can this can that he says no in all these things we're more than conquerors through him that loved us think of it brother sister this victory it's not something you must earn it's not this hamster wheel of your attaining and aspiring that's the goal of showing that you're saved of fruit it's not something that you must manifest to prove yourself or prove your faith you've already got faith that is your victory and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith the victory that you have was won 2000 years ago at the cross and this enemy the world the flesh the devil all three the enemy is a defeated foe he doesn't act like it he's making out that he's still got a bit of fight in him but he's he's a mangy lion with his teeth knocked out he's just about finished but we can get a bit scared with his roarings now and again but brother sister

[44:06] Satan is a defeated foe amen so stand on the promises of God you can overcome the world you are in Christ Paul says it's no longer I that liveth but Christ that liveth in me I am crucified with Christ and the world is crucified unto me as well think of it of this overcoming as you stand on God's promises how can you have more victory you can cultivate it by cultivating spiritual discipline fellowship the word prayer cultivate that cultivate those spiritual disciplines there's a truth that we're dead to sin we see there we've crucified the flesh the affections and lusts there's a sense where the world is dead to me we're crucified unto the world and the world is crucified unto me and know that God is faithful thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord

[45:13] Jesus Christ believer here this morning know that you are born of God that this is the victory whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world and this is the victory that overcometh the world even our faith know that truth today the victory that you have and encourage one another because we're all soldiers in this together there's this truth that we're like an army onward Christian soldiers as a camaraderie that we have isn't it as brothers as sisters we're in this fight together and soldiers fight better together that's why the church is good that's why assembling is good because soldiers fight better together we can encourage one another in this fight rather than trying to do it alone and there's a sense where this victory is this the kingdom of God isn't it it's God's victory it's this greater triumph that

[46:17] God and his people have overcome in Christ let us pray Lord we thank you today for every soul Lord we pray that each one might know what it is to be born of God to be born again Lord we know that without that we cannot have victory Lord we pray that each one might know what it is to say Lord Jesus thank you for paying for my sin for your forgiveness of my sin because of the virtue of your blood shed at the cross in my place Lord that you took my part my sin and paid for it all and that finished work is the victory that is the victory ground that we fight from that victory Lord as believers we have that assurance of your everlasting life we know that we can overcome Lord help us we know that as believers we all at times have time of doubt of struggle

[47:20] Lord we know every one of us has weakness and failing Lord yet we know a victory that is our triumph in Christ that assurance that you have overcome and defeated the foe the enemy and even in this hostile world that hates you Lord we still have victory Lord because you have overcome the world help us Lord we pray to walk in that victory the truth of that and by faith will be like those that have gone before us that overcame so many obstacles Lord we can by faith also overcome help us Lord to cultivate that kind of victorious faith when we face struggles and when we are hurting or struggling help us

[48:25] Lord to lean upon you more ever more so to cling to Christ Lord we pray encourage every heart help us Lord to respond in our own way to this challenge Lord that we might claim these promises of your word and be assured of that victory to know whatever life throws our way that we are more than conquerors through you who have loved us so in Jesus name we pray Amen Amen Thank you.