READ 1 John 5:1-5 KIDS Fill in the blank: Faith is only as powerful as the.

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1 1 John 5:1-5 Faith Is the Victory October 22, 2017am Ne w Hope R oad Joelton, TN READ 1 John 5:1-5 KIDS Fill in the blank: Faith is only as powerful as the. Bill Bowerman accomplished a lot in his 88 year long life. Since he was the son of Washington state governor, Jay Bowerman, he was given a lot of opportunities that some were not, and he did not squander one of them. He played football even up into college at the University of Oregon. He was a member of the school s ROTC program and an US Army Reserver, but when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, Bowerman like his country urgently signed up to fight in World War II. Most of you have probably never heard of Bowerman. Was he a war hero? Yes, in many ways. He served his country faithfully, receiving the Silver Star Medal and four Bronze Star Medals for his work in negotiating a German stand-down near the Brenner Pass before Germany surrendered. But that s not what he is really known for. Was he a famous athlete? Kind of. He did have a successful career as a college athlete with Oregon, and upon his returning to the States from war, he began his career coaching track and field. He was very good at it, Corey M. Minter Page 1 of 8

2 too. When it was all said and done, Bowerman s boys won 24 NCAA individual titles, and he is responsible for turning out 33 Olympians in his career, which caught the attention of the US Olympic Track team. He coached the 1972 Olympic Track and Field team in Munich. But that s not what he is really known for. Was he an innovator? Yes. He is largely regarded as the man who formed and popularized the exercise of jogging in the US. Seeing it as a healthy form of exercise for the elderly, he published a 90 page book simply entitled Jogging that quickly sold over a million copies. Also, in a stroke of both genius and disaster, Bowerman borrowed his wife s waffle iron, melted a plastic/rubber material and affixed it to the bottom of his sneakers. He ruined the waffle iron, but thus started his career in sporting goods. In 1964, he and a former student athlete he coached struck a handshake agreement, and the company Blue Ribbon Sports began. But that s not really what he is known for. Most of you have never heard of Blue Ribbon Sports before even though I can almost guarantee you that about 99% of you have bought their product at some point in your life. That s because they underwent a name change within the first decade of business. They wanted a name synonymous with winning. So the Greek word for victory soon became one of the most identifiable and lucrative brands in history. Recognized only by its checkmark-like logo, NIKE has turned from the humble innovation of waffle-iron-sole shoes made by a college track and field coach into a multi-billion dollar company, $29.6 billion to be exact. Corey M. Minter Page 2 of 8

3 Why start off a sermon with a history of a sporting goods company? Because I want every one of you, every time you see that swoosh to think of 1 John 5:4-5. When John was writing to the Greco-Roman world of his day in Greek, he used the word nike four different times in just those two verses. If you write in your Bible, go ahead and underline them, maybe even draw a swoosh next to the verses. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? John (like us) lived in a victory-obsessed culture. The Romans were proud and strong conquerors of the world. Humility was frowned on. Any physical weakness was exploited. At the time of John s writing this in the Romans s eyes, Jesus had been dead for over 60 years, torturously dominated by the whip, nails and cross. Christians were weaklings who allowed themselves to be martyred for their faith without any kind of uprising or revolution. All of the Apostles (except John) have been killed for their faith. John, himself, has been persecuted. If extra-biblical records are true (and I believe they are), John has just or is about to be seized by Roman authorities, bound and dipped in boiling oil to try and shut him up about the Gospel. So you can feel the irony that those in that culture would have felt when John essentially says, Victory! We have won! There are three aspects about the Christian life that jump off the page at me when I read 1 John 5:1-5, and I would like to walk you through Corey M. Minter Page 3 of 8

4 them this morning. 1. The Presence of Victory Most of us are pretty comfortable with saying stuff like, Well, Jesus is going to win in the end, and I know what we mean. You look around at all of the sin, pain and suffering in this world, and it sometimes makes you focus on the sweet by and by or farther along aspect of the Christianity where all the wrongs in the world will be righted. But I want you to hone in on how John writes about victory in the Christian life. Not once, in verses 4-5 does John write in the future tense. He does not say 4 For whatever is born of God [will] overcome the world. And this [will be the] victory that [will] overcome the world our faith. 5 Who is he who [will] overcome the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? No. All but once, John writes in the present tense. 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes[present is overcoming] the world. And this is the victory that has overcome [PAST] the world our faith. 5 Who is he who overcomes[present is overcoming] the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? Sometimes the most dangerous thing for the Christian is to think in the future, instead of living in the present, rooted in the past. Christ ruling and reigning is not just a someday," sweet by and by, farther along future event. It is for the hardest of days, laid off from work, pleading with a daughter to stop the destructive behavior, standing over a casket, kind of days right now. John writes, Victory is in the PRESENT! Corey M. Minter Page 4 of 8

5 Though persecuted and beaten, boiled and abandoned, imprisoned and alone, VICTORY IS NOW. But how? Seriously, practically, how can Christians say that they have victory. In order to see The Power of Faith, we have to look at that one time that John wrote in the past tense. 2. The Power of Faith 4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome [PAST] the world our faith. John changes the tense of the verb here to refer to victory based on, rooted in, some victory in the past. John doesn t specify what that past event was. But it isn t difficult for the believer to know what it was. 1 Christ crucified, buried and resurrected 2,000 years ago has just as much victory for you tomorrow morning when you clock in as it did that first Easter morning. You see faith is only as powerful as the object of your faith. Everyone has faith. We drive 70mph on an interstate that sometimes has oncoming traffic going just as fast only separated by a small barrier and about 10 feet WITH TENNESSEE DRIVERS NONETHELESS. We have faith in our cars, until they break down and become unreliable. We have faith in ourselves, unless we do not have the experience or strength to do something. Everyone has faith. That s not the issue. The issue is what do you have faith in. Buddhists have faith in Siddhartha, but he died. Muslims have faith in Allah as relayed by Muhammad, but Muhammad died. 1 Stephen Davey. The Brand of Every Believer. series_list/?filter=book&book=62 Corey M. Minter Page 5 of 8

6 Billions of people put their faith in a religion, hoping that by keeping a set of moral standards they can appease a holy God, but every single one of them sinned; we have all fallen short of the glory and holiness of God. Trillions of people throughout the ages have put their faith in themselves, but no amount of faith in yourself can stave off infection or cancer or age or financial ruin or war. When you are on your deathbed, faith in yourself believing that you can will not buy you one more breath. So what makes faith so victorious? What makes it so powerful? Faith is only as powerful as the object of your faith. When you put your faith in Christ, you are trusting One Who died but rose again. You are trusting in a perfect God Who died to satisfy Justice. The power of our faith is solely wrapped up in what Christ did on the cross. He died; so I can live eternally. He rose; so I can live victoriously. I read something recently that blew my mind. It was an article published under the title The Startling Beliefs of our Future Ministers, and it asked basic theological questions of seminary students in diverse denominations. Do you believe in a physical resurrection of Jesus Christ? 54% said no. Do you believe in the virgin birth of Christ? 56% said no. Do you believe in the deity of Christ? 89% said no. Do you believe in the second coming of Christ? 99% said no. 2 The scariest thing about that is that it was published in A generation of pastors who would not affirm the resurrection, miraculous birth, deity or returning of Christ has bred many to call themselves 2 Charles R.. Swindol, The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart (Word Publishing,, 1998), p. 480 Corey M. Minter Page 6 of 8

7 Christian because they think the Bible teaches nice things mostly. They call themselves Christians because they think Jesus was a kind person Who was treated badly, and they can empathize with that. Verse one talks about the object of our faith a bit more clearly when it says: 1 Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God Essentially, when you believe that Jesus was sent by God for the redemption of the world, God treats you like a member of His family. As a member of His family, you live by His standards. In so doing, God gives you a peace and a desire to obey Him more. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 3. The Peace of Obedience One of the biggest misconceptions of Christianity is that it is made up of a bunch of rules that if you do not keep then you are kicked out. That is a gross misrepresentation of the faith. We would not look at our own families and think that of our parents. So why do we do that with God? When we were kids, we might have obeyed our parents rules out of fear. We obeyed merely because we did not want the consequences of disobeying. Hopefully, as you have grown and matured and your relationship with your parents has grown and matured as well, you do not honor them out of fear of consequences but because of the love you have for them. Our life with the Lord is similar. Our faith in Christ creates a relationship with God, that relationship is based upon love, and we obey Corey M. Minter Page 7 of 8

8 God s commandments not out of responsibility or fear of consequences, but out of love. For some reason, we look at Christianity and think Got to. I ve got to do. When in all reality, it is a religion of Get to. Because Christ grafted me into His family, Because I am God s I 'get to John says it best, 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. And Jesus affirmed it when He said, Matthew 11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. Corey M. Minter Page 8 of 8