Title: The Man Who Overcomes the World
Contents
one who conquers the world
1 John 5:1-5
Today is the morning of Chinese New Year,
Do you know a person named 'Anne Selivan'?
Many people know about Helen Keller, but not Sullivan, who raised Helen Keller.
Helen Keller was severely disabled, unable to see, hear, or speak.
Sullivan taught such a man to become a great man who surprised the world.
There was only one way to teach Keller, the sense organs.
Writing and expressing with the fingers of Helen Keller's palm, after a long struggle, she finally learned to speak.
And with superhuman effort, I got my PhD, and became a great person who inspires people a lot. Until this point, Anne Sullivan taught Helen Keller, she always said the same thing over and over and over and over again.
“Start and keep failing. Every time you fail, you will achieve something. You may not achieve what you want, but you will find something worthwhile.”
This is what we call ‘human triumph’. “Continue to start and fail.” As the saying goes, victory is not achieved through a single attempt or effort.
Only those who overcome the difficulties of failure and hardship and keep trying until the will is achieved will have the joy of victory.
The Lord also says in Matthew 24:13, “But he who endures to the end will be saved.”
Who in the world hates being successful or winning? Everything we strive and strive for is ultimately to become a winner in life. But victory or success is never easy to achieve.
The ‘one who overcomes the world’ that God proclaims at this time is the word about the eternal victor.
The very words of the text record the secret of becoming a victor in life. Verse 4 says, “For everyone who is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith.”
The secret to overcoming the world is only 'faith'.
The victory God speaks of does not mean winning the competition for survival in this world, where the flesh lives and eats. Moreover, I am not talking about winning in any sport or business.
It means winning the spiritual battle against the power of darkness, the ruler of the world.
Ephesians 6:12 says, “Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, and against the rulers of this darkness of the world, and against the spirits of evil in the heavens.”
Because Christians are those who have eternal life, winning the spiritual battle is the victory in all life.
Therefore, the saints are spiritual warriors who must fight until the final victory is achieved.
1. Those who overcome the world have unshakable beliefs.
What is trust? It should be the basis of life that guides the direction of one's life, that is, it is the driving force that determines the direction of one's life and actively pursues it.
Biblically speaking, this is faith like the rock that stands in Jesus Christ and is the secret of victory.
It is a belief and belief that a person who has faith does not waver or be discouraged no matter what temptation or worst situation he encounters.
My son, who was studying in the city during the busy farming season, came to the country house to help his father's work after receiving a filial vacation. My son started riding the furrows with clumsy skills.
When I look back after riding all the furrows, the furrows are a mess. The furrows my father rode were evenly spaced and rode properly, but his furrows seemed to have been made by a drunken person.
When the father saw this, he asked his son, “Son, what did you see in the furrow?”
Then the son said, ‘I did it by looking at the front of the tiller and the ground.’ Then my father advised me:
“Son, the cultivator wobbles to and fro, so the ground doesn’t look right. Align the cultivator head with the tree at the end of the field over there. You can ride the furrow properly only if your goal is not swayed.” As my father told me, Lee Rang became like my father.
The apostle Paul confessed in Philippians 3:14, “I am pressing toward the goal for the reward of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
Those who rely on and trust in Almighty God like this will move forward without wavering in any situation. Let's look at Romans 1:17.
“In the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed and leads from faith to faith, just as it is written, ‘The righteous will live by faith.’” The phrase “from faith to faith” does not mean the growth of faith. It means “by faith from beginning to end.”
In other words, it means ‘only faith’.
Everyone, are you in order?
It is said that the person who overcomes the world has unshakable faith and faith.
And unshakable faith comes from loving the Lord.
To love the Lord is to keep and obey God's Word.
2. Those who overcome the world have quick determination.
Verse 2 says, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandments.”
He said, “When you keep his commandments,” and what you keep and do depends on your determination.
A person is not only spiritual, but a decision is required in all of his life.
Success or failure in life is determined by decisions.
So, we are still living with countless decisions every day.
Moreover, it goes without saying that becoming a people of the kingdom of God.
This is a matter that requires a clear decision throughout the Old and New Testaments.
No one has been pushed into the kingdom of God by accident or unconsciously, or has become a people of the kingdom of God.
To become the people of God's kingdom, you must make a decision, decide what to do, how to live, and where to stay.
It is no exaggeration to say that the entire Bible is a long sermon on the word ‘choice’.
He spoke about God's election and man's decision through the prophet Isaiah.
Isaiah 43:10-12. “I, the LORD, saith. You have been chosen to be my witnesses and my servants, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am him. There was no god created before me. There will be none after me. I, I am the LORD, and there is no savior but me. I have declared and saved and seen and there was no other god among you; therefore ye are my witnesses, and I am God. saith the LORD.” These words urge man's decision toward God.
A person without faith lacks determination.
When you look at this side, it seems that this is the right thing, and when you look at the other side, it seems that it is right, so it is difficult to make decisions easily.
In the end, you are indecisive in everything and you are led by others, and you live with a loss of self-identity.
Abraham's nephew Lot shows this well.
Genesis 19:15-16. “At dawn the angel urged Lot, saying, ‘Arise, take your wife and your two daughters here. lest they perish together in the iniquity of this city.' But when Lot delayed, the men took Lot's hand, his wife's hand, and the hands of his two daughters, and brought them outside the city, for the LORD had been kind to him. ” Verse 26 says, “Lot’s wife turned to a pillar of salt because she looked back.”
Lot was a man who loved God, but he lacked determination.
Therefore, even though Sodom was full of sins, they could not get out of it and were living indecisively. Then, because of God's special consideration, he was pushed away, and even when he left the city of Sodom, he was also procrastinating and unable to make a decision.
In the end, when the city of Sodom was burned with brimstone fire, Lot's wife, who could not shake off her regrets until the end, looked back and became a pillar of salt.
Right now, there are so many people who believe in Jesus like Lot of Sodom.
I love and believe in God in my heart, but my body is still in Sodom, the land of sin.
In other words, they believe in Jesus, but they still live in a worldly way because they have regrets in the world.
You can never achieve victory by setting your mind on the world.
Do you want to be a winner in life? Do you want to be the one who conquers the world?
Then you must have unshaken faith and faith, and unshakeable faith requires a heart to love the Lord.
And faith and love are of no use unless they are put into practice.
You need to make quick decisions and act on them.
Such quick determination requires audacious courage.
1 John 2:15-16 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, for all that is in the world is the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, and all things are not from the Father, but from the world.” .
Gentlemen, we are not swaying like reeds.
I pray that you will become capable people who can overcome the world with faith, faith, love, and courageous and bold determination that risked their lives.