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Well, we are in week five of our look at One John. And this will be our last week in First John. We're on chapter five. And then next week we'll do Two John and Three John. And so just we're gonna be leaning in, and I don't have time to review all of it. There's been so many different good sermons. But if you need to get caught up, you can watch online. You don't need to know the previous weeks to get something out of this week, which I absolutely love about it. But I wanna tell you just one quick thing about what we've noticed in First John. We've noticed in One John that he is hitting on three topics over and over again. Faith, love, and obedience. He's like, faith, love, and obedience. Faith, love, and obedience. Over and over again. That is just a theme that John is writing as an older minister to like his children in the faith. He's like, I want you to have faith, I want you to have love, and I want you to be obedient children. That's what he's saying. And you're wondering, like, where is this all going with each of these chapters? And in chapter five, I want you to know where he's going. He's going to Victory. He's going to Victory. That's where we're going in chapter five. He's going, you're gonna have victory over sin. You're gonna have victory over the world. You're gonna have victory over the devil. He's like, victory is yours. All right. And if. How many remember this song? Maybe you probably. It's probably pretty old and dated. If you know this song, you had fun in church. I'm gonna tell you that right now. Victory is mine. Victory is mine. Victory today is. You know that. You're not saying if you know that you had fun at church. I'm just saying, don't make me sing anymore. All right, but he's. This is going to victory. And you're like, praise God. Cause the first four chapters of First John, he has been beating us up, hasn't he? He's just like, this is. Come on, stand up. Do this. And now in chapter five, he's gonna talk about victory. And you should feel stronger leaving church today. First John, chapter five. We'll read starting in verse one. But I'm gonna focus today on verses three through five. 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. So he's saying this overcoming of the world, and I just wanna start right there, right in the middle of it. Overcoming what? We're gonna overcome the world. And if you missed it, in a previous week, we talked about there's a world system that is there, that opposed to. It's opposed to God. It doesn't want God, it wants to run away from God. It's without God. And this is this world system and it's fighting you. And it's saying here, like, you're gonna overcome. You're gonna overcome the world. And the world is fighting against you, saying, conform, give in, go with the flow. It's trying to steal your faith, your joy, your victory. It's trying to get you to live less than God wants you to live. It's trying to make you ineffective. It's trying to make you lose out on blessing. And so John is saying, like, there's. If you do this right, you're gonna overcome. You're gonna live in victory. You're gonna overcome the world. And I wanna let you know that when we're in a battle, we're in a spiritual battle. When you say yes to Jesus and you give your life to Jesus Christ, he forgives you, he makes you his child, you're forgiven and you have eternal life, but you're still in this world. And there's a battle going on and the world is gonna try to come against you and steal things away from you. And we can't let the world win. It's a battle of. Against these forces. And sometimes we get knocked down, but we get back up and we say, I'm not staying down. I'm gonna live in victory. And we've gotta realize we're on the winning team. The world and its system is gonna fade away. It's not what is meant to last. Jesus is meant to last. And so we're gonna hold on to this victory. So now in verse three, he says, for this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. John is letting us know again, like, if you really love God, you're gonna obey God, the proof of Loving God is obeying him. You don't just say it, you really obey what he says. And the world fights against you and says if you obey all the things that God wants you to do, like, that's a burden. Matter of fact, the world will say like, God is the big killjoy. He doesn't want you to have any fun. And they're like, you don't wanna do that. That's really hard. You should try to find the exception. You should just be happy that you're in. Don't live so sold out again. They just say, conform, go with the flow. The world says the commands of God, the things that he wants you to do, that's burdensome. You shouldn't have to do that. He's like, the world would say, like, don't be pure. That's a burden. That's like old school. That was for like previous generations. Don't worry about that. The world would say, don't be ethical in your business dealings. Don't. That, that's a burden to be ethical. The world would say like, don't forgive. Don't be burned by forgiveness. Like, hold the grudge. And the world comes off as saying, like, God's not a nice guy. He's not even, like, he's not even doing the best for you. Yes, God is doing the best for you. And it's one thing to have the world say it, but I wanna say that I've noticed this with some preachers right now and I'm saddened when people say things like this. I took my family to a church and I won't say the church or the pastor, but it was a high profile pastor went to visit and while we were there he was talking about purity and living pure for the Lord. And he had a lot of young people there at the church and you know, a lot of well known people. And he said, I know it's in there. And you know, I'm sorry guys. Like God says you gotta live pure. No premarital sex. Cause if I were God, I'd give you permission. And you know, but. And that's how he did it. And after service, I sat down with the family. I said, we'll have none of that in our household. Like, he doesn't know better than God. No, no, no, no. Yeah. I was like, no, he should have got up there and said, hey, God says you need to live pure. And if he says it, it's the best way to live. I just heard this and I agree with it. They said, God's blessings are when you stay in his boundaries. That's where his blessings are. And so it's one thing that the world is telling you, like, oh, yeah, God's not, you know, don't do it. But if the church is doing that, shame on us. John's, like, having none of that. He's like, no, this is not burdensome. And it's. God's gonna give you the strength to live out the holy life that he wants you to live. John's saying, like, the loving the neighbor and loving your friends and loving your enemies. And John saying, loving God and obeying his commands, like, this is not burdensome. Like, this is. God's gonna give you the strength to do that, and he's with you right there, giving you the strength to do that. And as I was thinking about this and studying, I couldn't help but think about our Christmas videos. Have you ever seen when we've done those Christmas videos and we have the kids and they have the marshmallows and they're not supposed to eat them? If you haven't seen it, take a look. I think it's worth. It's so cute. Go ahead. Take a look at this right here. What is it? Wait, hold on. I have to go make a phone call quick. So just don't eat the marshmallows. But I'll be right back. Okay? Okay. Okay, guys. Okay. Don't eat an egg until she gets over here. Okay. I'll tell my baby sister not to not eat those. Okay? Yep. Perfect. You tell her, Iyana, don't eat those. Maya. Maya. No, no, no, no. Oh, no. Okay. A sign. Yeah. Did you notice, like, she put him up. I feel terrible for those kids, too. I'm like, eat the marshmallow. Two marshmallows will make you sick. Anyways. But anyways. But she leaves the room, and she's like, do you guys have the strength to endure this and what I'm asking you to do? And then she leaves the room. That makes it really hard on those kids. And John would tell us, like, God's commandments are not burdensome. And how can he say that to us? Cause you know what he's saying? Jesus is right there with you in the room, and he's telling you, don't fall for that temptation. Obey my command. Oh, I know it's hard to forgive, but my hand is on your shoulder. Forgive them. I'm right here. Go say your story. Forgive them. Do you understand? And he's right there with us, and so his commands are not a burden. To us, because he actually gives us the strength to live the way he wants us to live. But there's another thing, why it's not a burden to us is his commands are not a burden to us. Because we love Him. We want to obey Him. You should want to serve God. And as I was thinking about this, when I was a kid in elementary school, I went to school and I thought my teachers were the greatest. And people on planet Earth. And my teachers, I was like, whatever they wanted me to do, I did it. And they even told my parents, like, he doesn't have to work that hard. They're like, no, he wants to do that. I just wanted to do whatever they wanted. I found out that one of my teachers loved Fran Tarkeyton. And this was back in the day. So I'm dating myself. Cause my assistant said in your notes, who's Fran Tarkeyton? I said, get thee behind me, Packer fan. But anyways, yeah, so I found out she liked Fran Tarketington. And Fran Tarketington was a customer of my dad's at Key Cadillac. I said, dad, could you get Fran Tarkington to write a letter to my teacher and say, she's the greatest teacher? And so he did it. Fran Tarkington did it. And I went and had that thing framed up, and I would just. And I gave it to her as a gift. I mean, whatever made him happy. Cause I really cared for my. I love my teachers. And I think about John saying, like, if you love God, his commands are not a burden. Like, you want to please him. You want to do what's right. I remember I was in Jerusalem, and I was talking to a rabbi, and we were on one of our global teams, and we were there talking to Moshe, and that's his name, and we're in his shop, and he's a rabbi. And I said, well, Moshe, there's 613 laws. Don't you find that a burden that you have to follow all those laws? And he said, oh, Rob, I delight to do what God wants me to do. And I listened to this rabbi, and he quoted Psalm 48. He said, I delight to do your will, O my God. Your law is within my heart. And then he went to Psalm 119,35. He said, Lead me in the path of your commandments, for. For I delight in it. And I determined when I left his shop that day, this guy's loving that he gets to follow 613 laws. I wanna love that I get to be led by the spirit of God, I wanna love whatever Jesus told me to do. I wanna love whatever he's clarified is the best way to live. And his commandments that I wanna follow, they're not a burden to me. I wanna have more passion than he does. So to love and live for Jesus and obey what he tells me to do. And so John's saying, like, it's not a burden to follow God. It's not a burden. It's not reluctant. It's not sad. We are glad to do this. Elizabeth Elliot, who is the wife of Jim Elliot, who was a martyr for missions, she called this the glad surrender. The glad surrender. Just like I surrender if you want me to do it. Glad surrender. I love that I get to do this for you, Lord. So in verse four, as we continue, says, for everyone has been born of God, overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. So I wanna just focus on the first part of this. It says, those who overcome those that are born of God, those who have been cleansed from sin, those who've been brought into God's family through faith and in his grace for our forgiveness, those that are the child of God, and those are the ones that overcome the world. And so how do you know that you're a child of God? Well, you've done this. You've repented of your sins. You've realized that. That you've sinned and you've fallen short. You've accepted Jesus Christ as your savior and you accept the price that he paid on the cross. And you believe now that he rose from the dead and that he's waiting for you in heaven. And you say, I wanna live for you. And typically you are born again or born of God and you have, like, a marking moment. You have a marking moment. You may not know the day, but you know the month or the year or the season that it happened. There's something where you really say, I surrender and I give you my life. We're gonna have an opportunity here at all of our campuses for that to happen again. At the end of the service, we'll say, if you're ready to say yes to Jesus, this could be your day. And we're gonna ask you to raise your hand. But you know that you're born of God because the truth was spoken to you and something happened within your spirit. And you knew that you were a sinner and that you needed to say yes. And so you said yes. I want to give my life to Jesus Christ. I want that forgiveness. And whether it was a hand raised or a friend that told you at work or happened at your house or wherever it happened. There's a moment where you said, jesus, I'm yours. You have me. I give you my life. And there's this surrender. And for me, I was seven years old and I did that thing, and I'll never forget it, that I was seven years old and I said yes to Jesus Christ. One pastor said, there's evidence of new birth right in first John. And I love this, and I think we might have it on the screen real quick. But if you've had the new birth and you're wondering, like, am I saved? Like I said the prayer I did that I asked Jesus, I. I really wanna live for him. These are evidences. You keep his commandments. 1st John 3. 24. You walk as he walked. 1st John 2, 5 and 6. You don't hate others, but you love them. 1st John 2. 9. You don't love this world anymore in this system. 1st John 2. 15. You confess the Son and receive Him. 1st John 4. 15. You practice righteousness. 1st John 2. 29. You don't make a practice of sinning. 1st John 3. 6. These are just some of the evidences. But the people that are born of God, those that are followers of Jesus, it says, you will overcome the world. Now, I want you to understand this. The present tense of this victory here is a constant reality. We have victory right now. And Pastor Warren Wiersbe said this. He said, the Christian is not fighting for victory, but from victory. The battle has already been won. Now, some of you need to hear this. You feel like you're not a victor. You feel like you're defeated and you're under and the world has you down. You got to understand who you are in Christ. Those that are born of God, that are children of God, are living in victory that has already been attained and you should live differently. And I was trying to think of a way to illustrate this. But have you ever watched a movie where there is such a main character, you know, they can't die, or there can't be a sequel. You know what I'm talking about? Like, they're just two main character. They're not gonna. Somebody else might die, but not them. And you're watching them and they're in a precarious situation. You're like. It doesn't even phase you. Cause you're like, can't die, can't die. They're this celebrity, the. They're like the movie star. They can't die. They're gonna get out of this. I don't care. They're getting out. Well, that's the confidence you need to have in Christ. I already have the victory. I know the sequel. All right? I know that I'm going to be with Christ in heaven. I know that he has the victory. He's given me that victory. And I wanna walk as a victor through this world. I'm not a victim. I'm a victor as. And I have this victory that is mine. And this word, that victory, is the noun form of the word overcome. And it's written in a way that says there's a decisive victory that's already won with results that still stand. It's a finished fact. It's done. God has given you the victory, and you need to live as a victor. Now, I know the world attacks you, and I know the world fights you, and I know the world system always is trying to get you to compromise. And. And sometimes we do, but we can't wallow down there. We've gotta get over that and say, I'm not gonna live that way. I wanna live in victory. Now, this word victory is really the word Nikao. That's the Greek word for it. It's also the name of a Greek goddess, Nike. All right, now you say Nike. Yeah, we call it Nike, all right. N, I, K, E, but it's really pronounced Nikkei. But as Americans, we changed the way it's. Now it's Nike. I don't know. That's not the proper pronunciation. And we do that all the time. The other day, I was out with some missionaries from Europe, and it was. It was Gouda Mac and cheese, right? And I said, oh, we'll take the Gouda Mac and cheese. And they look at me and said, it's Gouda. And I was like, it's Gouda. It says. It says it's Gouda. They said, no, it's Gouda. You know, like, we're from Europe. We know. And I was like, seriously? So I checked. They were right. All right? So I was like, we just changed the name. In America, we call Gouda, but it's actually Gouda. Or if you're Dutch, it'd be Gouda. You know, so. And you have to have that on there, you know, if you're Dutch. All right, but we changed the name. But Nikkei, or Nikao, victory, it means to conquer, like an athlete that has gained mastery over their competition. That's who you are in Christ. And it's not because of your efforts. It's because of what God has given to you as a child of God, you are living in victory. You gotta understand, you should live this way, going throughout your life and say, God, I wanna be an overcomer. I wanna live in victory. I wanna align with who you say I am and what your word for says I am. We are overcomers and we should live that way. And again, when it comes back to the not burdensome, we should not be as overcomers. Saying, how close to the line can I go and not fall over, cross over. An overcomer doesn't say that. Somebody living in victory doesn't say that. We're gonna live in a way that says, I wanna be closer to God. I wanna follow his commands. I wanna, I wanna live for his glory. I wanna live for his honor. I wanna live in the victory that Christ has given to me. And so then how do we know we have this victory? It says, for everyone has been born of God, overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world. What is it our faith? Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God. So the key to our victory is to believe that Jesus is the Son of God. And as we go in victory, we're like, I know that I'm believing in the right one. It's Jesus Christ. He's my Lord and Savior. He is the Son of God. He's true and everything he said is true. How does that give you victory? I'll give you a quick couple things. First of all, when you understand that what you believe in Jesus Christ, that he is God's son, that he came to this earth, that he lived a perfect life, that he died on the cross for you, you start to realize, I serve a God that cares for me. I serve a God that cares for me, that loves me so much that he sent his only begotten son into this world. God cares for me. And when I'm faced with struggles or temptations or the world fighting against me, I can have victory because I have faith in Jesus Christ. And I know God cares for me. And you can have confidence in that. But there's more. You start to realize because you believe in Jesus Christ, cause he's your Lord and personal savior, you realize this, that he's with you. He said, I'll never leave you, nor will I forsake you. And so when you're faced with struggles or temptations because you believe and have faith in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, you're like, you know What? He's never gonna leave me. He's right there with me. Going back to the marshmallow illustration, you know, that was Ace and Roger, by the way, the twins. And Ace was like, roger, don't do it, don't do it. How many know we all need an ace in our life, right? And we do. In overcoming the world. When we have faith in Jesus Christ, we know that he said, I'll never leave you nor forsake you. I'm right there with you saying, you don't have to give into this. You don't have to be overcome by the world. You are a victor. He's right there with you. So when you have this faith in Jesus, you just realize he, he's with me. He's with me and he's strengthening me. Another thing, when you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and you overcome the world, you see that Jesus went through all the things that you're facing and he was able to overcome em. And he's saying, I'm with you. I won't give you things you can't handle. I'll give you an escape route to get out of those situations you can overcome. And you realize if Jesus can do it and, and his strength is in you, you can do it. And the last thing would be this. When you believe that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, you overcome the world because you have faith in Jesus and you realize, he won and I win. He won. He won over death, hell and the grave. And because I serve Jesus Christ, I have faith in Jesus. Guess what? He won. I win. I can live as a victor in this life. And it reminds us like it was Friday, but Sunday was coming. It was looking bad, but there was victory. And so some of you need to realize it may look like Friday in your spiritual walk right now, but Sunday's coming. You need to realize you have the victory. You are an overcomer in Jesus Christ. Faith sees that Jesus is better than anything the world offers. Says Lord, I wanna be a victor and I want to live this way. Come on, church, you gotta realize we are on the winning side in the end. We win, we have victory right now. We need to live in that victory. We know the sequel. So come on, let's live in victory and have this victory that John is proclaiming to his congregation. And I want to proclaim to you, live as a victor, live as an overcomer. Stop letting the world squeeze the life out of you and take the blessings of God away. Leave church today saying, victory is mine. Victory is Mine. I can live in victory. I have faith. I have love. I have obedience. And guess what? It's all pointing to victory. Victory in Jesus name. So, Lord, I just pray right now that you would help us to realize that the victory is ours because of what you did. It's not because of our efforts, it's because of what you did. And so, God, I pray that we would live in victory. I pray for anyone right now that is thinking your commands are a burden. I pray that they'd realize they're not. It's the right way to live within your boundaries. God, I pray for anyone that is struggling right now and they feel like they're under it. Lord, no. Let them realize they're a victor in Jesus Christ. God, I pray for a greater level of obedience, a joy in obedience. I pray that we'd have just a faith in you that is so strong and we realize your victory is our victory. We can live in this way. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for this. Thank you for this. In just a moment, Lord, we're gonna ask for anyone else to join the family of God. And I believe here and at all the campuses and online, people are gonna say yes to you. And so, God, we thank you that it's not limited, that they could call upon you and be saved. Lord, we thank you for that. Help new people to come into the family of God and help those of us that are already in live in a way that declares we're living in victory. In Jesus name I pray. Amen and amen. Thanks for watching river Valley on YouTube. I'm Pastor Rob Ketterling, lead pastor of River Valley Church. We want to hear from you, so if you have any comments or questions, please send those to onlinerivervalley.org Matter of fact, we'd love for you to be part of the online community. If you could join the Discord server, we'd love it. We welcome you to be part of the church. Here's a video we think you're going to enjoy. And by the way, don't forget to subscribe.