|
"THE HOLY SPIRIT OVERCOMES"
TEXT:
1 John 4:1-6 Rom. 8:15-17
INTRO:
When a fine woodworker wants to make a special piece of furniture that
displays the highest quality wood he goes to a lumber yard to request
logs from an unexpected place. He will ignore the trees that came from
the valleys, even if they are perfectly straight and without knots in
them, even if they look smooth. What he wants are logs that come from
the very tops of mountains, the ones that are in pitiful shape because
of all the wind storms that soar over the mountains, he wants the trees
that face the constant exposure to harsh elements on top of the hill.
What does he know that he would choose these badly beaten trees?
Because these trees are constantly being tested by the elements their
grains in the trunks become very fine and closely packed giving them
extra strength. This finely tightly packed grain is what gives this
wood the beauty and durability that make fine furniture that will last
for centuries. Something in the wood responds to the pressures of life,
and this enables these trees to overcome and produce the finest and most
durable wood.
This is what happens to
Christians, the Holy Spirit lives in us and helps us to grow stronger
and stronger the more that comes against us, the Holy Spirit actually
helps us develop as overcomers so that no matter what storms come
against us we can not only overcome but become beautiful in spite of the
storms.
The main source of this
strength from the Holy Spirit comes from the Bible which was authored by
the Holy Spirit. He uses this to protect us from the world's onslaught
of evil.
PROP.
SENT:
The Bible teaches us that the Holy Spirit enables us to be overcomers.
He does this through the
Holy Scriptures by teaching us God's truth and by helping us endure the
hardships of life so we can overcome any deception or attack that the
enemy of our soul might throw our way.
I.
THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST 1 Jn. 4:1-6
A.
Testing 1 Jn. 4:1-3
1. We are living in
the days of the fantastic and the unbelievable!
a. There is so much
new technology, who can keep up with it all?
John Jacob Astor’s Book on
Year 2000
John Jacob Astor wrote a book about the year 2000, “A Journey to Other
Worlds.” In it he described how technology had saved humanity.
Steamboilers powered by the sun provided abundant power. The ocean tides
generated electricity.
Battery
powered airplanes flew through the sky. Astor envisioned a “Terrestrial
Axis Straightening Company” whose task was to reposition the globe so
that the earth’s climate would be universally spring. He described this
period of earth history as “the most wonderful the world has yet seen.”
Spaceships were off to colonize Jupiter. John Jacob Astor died on the
Titanic.
b. All kinds of
spectacular things are happening, things that are hard to comprehend!
c. People want to be
excited, they want to be amazed, they want to be thrilled!
d. In this age of the
spectacular the Holy Spirit calls us to be ready to overcome, to be
level headed while being open!
2. This is not new!
The early church witnessed the same desire for the spectacular, for the
mind-boggling experiences.
a. The Gnostics
provided them a good show ... teaching all kinds of great new secret
truths.
b. They had fantastic
prophecies that tickled their imaginations.
c. Today we have the
“Psychic friend’s network” and shows that glorify “mediums” as saviors
and helpers of mankind.
d. There is no lack of
interest in the weird today.
3. In the midst of all
this spiritual activity ... like that of today with all the new age
interest in the spiritual realm, John calls upon the Christians to
"test the spirits!"
a. The Holy Spirit's
presence in our lives encourages us to
“test the spirits” not to just swallow anything that comes
along that is suppose to be from God!
b. God created us with
faculties of reason and knowledge ... they are to be used, not made fun
of or put down.
ILLUS:
D.L. MOODY SAID, "THE BEST WAY TO SHOW THAT A STICK IS CROOKED IS NOT TO
ARGUE ABOUT IT OR TO SPEND TIME DENOUNCING IT, BUT TO LAY A STRAIGHT
STICK ALONGSIDE IT." THE STRAIGHT STICK IS GOD'S WORD!
– SOURCE UNKNOWN
4. The Bible predicted
that in the last days there will be
“deceiving spirits” going around, that if it were possible,
they would even fool the very elect of God!
a. Notice this verse
in Matt. 24:24
"For false Christs and false prophets will
appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect,
if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of time."
2 Cor
2:17 For we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of
sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ.
b. These were Jesus'
own words to His disciples! We should not be surprised to see what we
are seeing today with all the interest in the spectacular and
supernatural.
c. The implication is
that in the last days people will not be well grounded in truth ... we
will be taken by the spectacular, the exciting, a people looking for
something thrilling.
Faith Healer or crook, you be the judge, but
Benny Hinn and his Miracle Crusade appeared at Toronto's ACC this
weekend.
Controversy surrounds the
televangelist over his lavish expenses, which include an eight million
dollar home and a four million dollar private jet. Fortunately, Hinn
won't have to live in this manner for much longer.
Word on the street has him upgrading
to a thirty-six million dollar jet to aid in his mission: "winning
the lost at any cost."
Evel
Overcome With Good
Daredevil Knievel's testimony triggers mass baptisms at Crystal
Cathedral.
Brad A.
Greenberg
|
posted
4/13/2007
03:03PM
Christianity Today Magazine
On
Palm Sunday, hundreds responded to Robert "Evel" Knievel's testimony by
asking to be baptized on the spot at Crystal Cathedral. Speaking
alongside the Rev. Robert H. Schuller, Knievel told the congregation in
Orange County, California, how he had refused for 68 years to accept
Jesus Christ as Lord. He believed in God, but he couldn't walk away from
the gold and the gambling and the booze and the women.
"I don't know why I fought it
so hard," he said. "I just did."
But Knievel knew people were
praying for him, including his daughter's church, his ex-wife's church,
and the hundreds of people who wrote letters urging him to believe. And
then something indescribable happened during Daytona Bike Week this
March.
"I don't know what in the world
happened. I don't know if it was the power of the prayer or God himself,
but it just reached out, either while I was driving or walking down the
sidewalk or sleeping, and it just—the power of God in Jesus just grabbed
me. … All of a sudden, I just believed in Jesus Christ. I did, I
believed in him! … I rose up in bed and, I was by myself, and I said,
'Devil, Devil, you bastard you, get away from me. I cast you out of my
life.' … I just got on my knees and prayed that God would put his arms
around me and never, ever, ever let me go."
Pastor Robert A. Schuller, who
took over for his father last year, looked out on the church and noticed
most people were sobbing. He couldn't simply continue with the service's
script and proceeded directly to the offering.
5. The word to
believers here is to be prepared to “TEST
THE SPIRITS!”
a. This is the
“spirit of antichrist” ... seeking
thrills, even spiritual thrills without testing the expressions against
a sure straight stick ... the Word of God!
b. The Holy Spirit
helps us to overcome, through the Word of God!
c. Thus we need this
tool in our hearts and minds; it will protect us more than anything else
against the false expressions.
The Bible is the work
of the Holy Spirit, thus the Spirit overcomes for us through this Book!
d. Experts on
counterfeit money don’t study counterfeits for hours on end; they study
the real thing for hours so they can easily spot a counterfeit. The
better they know the real thing the better they can spot the
counterfeit.
6. These false
prophets and spirits ignore or fail to acknowledge that Jesus is the
God-man, and that only His work can save us!
a. False prophets
emphasize everything but Jesus!
b. They don't seek
to point people to Jesus, and if they do, they point people to a Jesus
that doesn't line up with Scripture!
Six Marks of a False Prophet
Any one of the
Bible’s six marks of false prophets is sufficient identification:
-
Through signs and wonders they
lead astray after false gods (Dt. 13:1-4)
-
Their prophecies don’t come to
pass (Dt. 18:20-22)
-
They contradict God’s Word
(Is. 8:20)
-
They bear bad fruit (Mt.
7:18-20);
-
All men speak well of them
(Lk. 6:26)
-
They deny that
Jesus, the one and only Christ, has come once and for all in the flesh
(I Jn. 4:3).
c. This is the first
great test of the true Spirit, the Holy Spirit always puts Jesus as the
focus and the Holy Spirit always lifts Jesus up, not Himself, or the
self proclaimed prophet himself!
B.
Truth 1 Jn. 4:4-6
1. While the world
toys with Truth, mixing falsehoods in with truth, we who are saved have
a "sure word of prophecy" ...
the Bible!
2.
We can and will overcome the world
because greater is the Holy Spirit that is in us than the spirits that
are in the world that are deceiving people!
4:4
a. The reason the
world listens to these deceivers is because they don't know the truth
... thus they are easy candidates for buying into falsehoods that sound
true!
b. When they speak
from a worldly view ... those in the world listen, it’s like playing
their song!
c. We however know
better! We have the Scriptures, the fountain of truth and the
“Spirit of truth” as the Holy
Spirit is sometimes called in the Bible to lead us and guide us into
all truth! John 16:13
3. We are not of the
world anymore after we get saved, we have a whole different way at
looking at truth, we see truth through Scripture, God's very eyes to us,
we cannot be OF the world any longer, even if we still must be IN the
world!
ILLUS:
IT IS RIGHT FOR THE CHURCH TO BE IN THE WORLD, BUT IT IS WRONG FOR THE
WORLD TO BE IN THE CHURCH. A BOAT IN WATER IS GOOD, BUT WATER IN THE
BOAT IS BAD! ONLY GOD'S WORD WILL KEEP THE CHURCH AFLOAT IN A SEA OF
DECEIT AND SENSATIONALISM!
– SOURCE UNKNOWN
4. The whole concept
here of us being overcomers has to do with the Holy Spirit in our lives
working through the Scriptures, God's truth!
5. Everything
should be tested by God's Word, it is the straight stick the Holy Spirit
lays down beside any crooked one for us to compare it with!
II.
THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION! Rom. 8:15-17
A.
Triumph! Rom. 8:15
1. We are not overcome
with fear anymore because in Christ we are now sons and daughters!
a. We have been
adopted!
What is
adoption in the first century?
b. This adoption alone
has made us overcomers already, we have overcome death in Christ and we
will rise again to live with Him forever!
c. With a new nature
that we receive in Christ we can overcome sin also!
2. We are no longer
“slaves" we are
“sons!”
a. Therefore, we no
longer have to fear!
b. We belong to God;
we carry His name and now His nature!
c. This sonship gives
us access to the Holy Spirit which in turns gives us victory through
knowledge of His Word and by His empowering nature in us as we walk with
God!
3. This sonship
removes from us the fear of being overcome and gives us the confidence
and strength to know that we will be overcomers!
ILLUS:
THE SCENE IS A COURTROOM, ROBED IN A BLACK GOWN THE JUDGE MAKES HIS WAY
TO THE BENCH, TAKES HIS SEAT AND THE PRISONER IS LED IN WITH HANDCUFFS
AND SEATED BEFORE THE JUDGE. HE IS NERVOUS AND AFRAID; THIS MAN SITTING
UP THERE IN THE BLACK GOWN HAS THE POWER TO PRONOUNCE SENTENCE ON HIM,
HE SITS AFRAID. IN THE MIDST OF THIS, A YOUNG BOY SUDDENLY COMES INTO
THE COURT AND RUNS JOYFULLY UP TO THE JUDGE AND WHISPERS IN THE JUDGES
EAR. THE JUDGE IS SEEN PULLING A QUARTER OUT OF HIS POCKET AND WITH
GREAT JOY HANDING IT TO THE LITTLE BOY WHO TAKES IT AND RUNS FROM THE
COURTROOM WITH A BIG SMILE. THIS WAS THE JUDGE’S SON, HE ENTERED THE
COURT WITH NO FEAR AND WENT TO HIS FATHER THE JUDGE WITH ANTICIPATION
AND CONFIDENCE, FOR HE IS NO PRISONER, HE IS THE SON! ONLY THE
PRISONERS OF SIN FEAR FACING GOD ... WE WHO HAVE BEEN ADOPTED AS SONS NO
LONGER HAVE FEAR, WE ARE OVERCOMERS!
– SOURCE UNKNOWN
4. No wonder Paul says
here that we call Him, "Abba father,"
or as it is translated best from the Greek,
"dear daddy!"
a. The Spirit of
sonship is the sealing of the Holy Spirit in our lives as evidence of
our adoption!
b. The Holy Spirit
lives in us when we get saved, and He is the evidence of that salvation,
always drawing us toward works of grace and into the Bible as God's
Word!
B.
Testimony Rom. 8:16-17
1. Here Paul spells it
out, the Holy Spirit gives an inner witness with our human Spirit that
there has indeed been a change!
a. Where before we
were not interested that much in spiritual things, we are now!
b. Where we once felt
alienated from God we now feel close to Him.
c. Where we once took
little or no interest in the Bible we now have a desire to know what
God's Word says and means!
d. There is a marked
difference in our lives, one that is witnessed by others as a result of
the Holy Spirit prodding us on to live a holy life!
2. Even suffering
doesn't destroy us or our faith, in fact it makes us stronger as the
Holy Spirit gives witness to our spirit that God is doing a work of
grace to strengthen us through these trials!
a. This is what
happened to Jesus, He overcame trials without becoming bitter against
His father, for He knew that God the Father was using these things to
bring salvation to man!
b. Trials only make
Christians stronger, we are like tea; the more hot water we get into,
the stronger we are!
3. Do others know that
we belong to Christ, the world is hungry to see real spirituality, to
see real Christians, people who are Christ-like!
a. Is it
“like father, like son?”
b. The Holy Spirit
counts on using us to get the message to others, if we overcome, then
others will see that it is possible in Christ to overcome!
ILLUS:
YEARS AGO A PREACHER CAME TO UNDERSTAND THIS TRUTH OF HOW THE WORLD IS
LOOKING FOR THE REAL THING. HE WAS WORKING ON A PROJECT OUTSIDE;
HAMMERING AWAY AS HE BUILT. A YOUNG BOY STOOD NEARBY WATCHING HIM. FOR
THE LONGEST TIME THE BOY JUST STOOD THERE WATCHING HIM AND NOT SAYING A
WORD. THE PREACHER KEPT WORKING ... THINKING THE BOY WAS ADMIRING HIM
FOR HIS GOOD WORK. FINALLY, THE PREACHER THOUGHT HE WOULD ASK THE BOY
IF HE HAD ANY QUESTIONS OR WOULD LIKE SOME POINTERS ON THE FINE WORK HE
WAS DOING, THINKING HE COULD TEACH THE BOY SOMETHING. THE BOY RESPONDED
HOWEVER, "NO ... I'M JUST HANGING AROUND WAITING FOR YOU TO HIT YOUR
THUMB WITH THAT HAMMER, I'M CURIOUS WHAT A PREACHER SAYS WHEN HE HITS
HIS THUMB WITH A HAMMER!" THE WORLD IS WATCHING!
– SOURCE UNKNOWN
4. The world needs to
see the presence of the Holy Spirit, this happens as they watch the Holy
Spirit working through us and upholding God's Word in our daily lives,
this is the real meaning of being an overcomer!
a. Nothing will
attract more people to Jesus Christ than overcoming Christians who
practice what they preach!
b. This is the
essential meaning of being a "witness!"
c. As the Holy Spirit
bears witness to our spirit, we bear witness to the world of Christ!
CONCLUSION:
The Holy Spirit enables us to be overcomers; He does this by
revealing to us the truth about sin, and the truth about Jesus!
The
Holy Spirit constantly keeps us focused on Jesus, who He is and what He
has done, this makes it possible for us to be overcomers.
The
main foundation for this truth is Scripture, authored by the Holy
Spirit.
God's Spirit brings the word alive in us and helps us recall it so we
can overcome!
|
