
Faith is the Victory
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November 27, 2024
1 John 5:4 Everyone who is born from God has overcome the world. Our faith is the victory that overcomes the world.
Faith is the cause of victory, the way, and the spiritual weapon by which we overcome. In faith, we cling to Jesus, in contempt of and in opposition to the world. Faith sanctifies the heart, purifies it, and has the indwelling Spirit of grace.
Overcome or be overcome.
Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not depend on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.
2 Corinthians 12:9 He has told me, "My grace is all you need because my power is perfected in weakness."
An overcomer is:
- a follower of Jesus Christ who successfully resists the power and temptation of the world's system
- is not sinless, but holds fast to faith in Jesus until the end
- does not turn away when times get difficult
- one who requires complete dependence upon God for direction, purpose, fulfillment, and strength to follow His plan for their lives.
What does it take to overcome?
James 4:7 Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Ephesians 4:30 Do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom you were marked with a seal for the day of redemption.
Galatians 2:20 I no longer live, but the Messiah lives in me, and the life that I am now living in this body I live by the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Mark 13:13 You will be hated continuously by everyone because of My name. But the person who endures to the end will be saved.
Therefore,
Romans 8:35-38 Who will separate us from the Messiah's love? Can trouble, distress, persecution, hunger, nakedness, danger, or a violent death do this? As it is written, "For your sake, we are being put to death all day long. We are thought of as sheep headed for slaughter." In all these things, we are triumphantly victorious due to the One who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor anything above, nor anything below, nor anything else in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is ours in union with the Messiah Jesus, our Lord.
Rewards to those who overcome:
- eat from the Tree of Life (Revelation 2:7)
- unharmed by the second death (Rev 2:11)
- eat from hidden manna and given a new name (Rev 2:17)
- given authority over nations (Rev 2:26)
- clothed in white garments (Rev 3:5)
- made a permanent pillar in the house of God (Rev 3:12)
- sit with Jesus on His throne (Rev 3:21)
And now, Victory
1 Corinthians 15:57-58 Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus the Messiah. Be steadfast, unmovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, because you know that the work that you do for the Lord isn't wasted.