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Introduction:
One of the most powerful verses in the entire Bible is I John 5:4. Faith is the victory. In my mind, this statement has the
ring of a battle cry. It enflames our passions to fight the good
fight but strikes fear in the heart of our enemy. Let’s dig
deeper and learn the lessons behind this statement. Discussion: I.
We are in a battle. A.
There is a fight going on. We may not see it, but it
exists. In I Timothy 6:12 and II Timothy
4:7, Paul describes the Christian life as fighting the good
fight. But it is even more than that. B.
When the 70 returned to Jesus after they had been sent out
on what we may call the limited commission, they said, “Lord,
even the demons are subject to us in Your name” (Luke
10:17). Jesus responded in vs.
18, saying, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like
lightning.” The disciples work on earth was having an effect in
a spiritual battle and Satan was being defeated. C.
II
Corinthians 10:3-6
demonstrates that we walk in the flesh but we are engaged in a
spiritual battle. Ephesians 6:10-12 says we must be strong in the Lord, ready to stand
against the schemes of the devil because we are in a battle
against spiritual forces of darkness. D.
A great passage that demonstrates this behind the scenes
battle is in Daniel
10:10-21. Following three weeks of mourning, fasting and
prayer, Daniel saw one who had the appearance of a man. This is
clearly an angel of God appearing to Daniel and he spoke of a
battle in which he and Michael the angel fought against the Prince
of Persia and the Prince of Greece was coming. We are not going to
get into major details of this passage. However, suffice it to say
that Daniel is not hearing about earthly battles, but about the
spiritual battle that is going on behind the scenes. Daniel’s
earthly activities were a part of that spiritual battle. E.
We may not see the ruin wreaked by this war as easily as a
physical war but it is there. We do not see advancing tanks and
infantry. But we see the advance of humanism, hedonism and
individualism. We do not see bombed and burned out buildings, but
we see broken homes. We do not see prisoners of war caught in
torture camps. But we see seekers trapped in cults and false
teaching churches. We do not see hospitals full of bleeding,
crippled and paralyzed wounded. But we see masses of spiritually
beaten, exhausted and lost sheep in need of a shepherd. We must
enter this battle. We can be victorious. Faith is our victory. But
what faith? II.
Faith will bring us victory. A.
The best way I have ever heard victorious faith described
is an explanation of the three kinds of faith or perhaps it would
be better to say three levels of faith—conviction, trust and
surrender. B.
The faith of conviction. 1.
This first level of faith is a surface faith. This is the
faith of the intellect, an intellectual agreement to statements or
facts. It is not blind, but is founded on evidence. Today, we
might call this a head faith. John wrote in John
20:30-31, “Therefore many other signs Jesus also performed
in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this
book; but these have been written so that you may believe that
Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.” He was providing evidence
to convict people that Jesus is more than a man who lived and
died. Rather, He is the Christ, the Son of God. 2.
But stopping at this level of faith will not provide
victory. James
2:19 is clear when it says, “You believe that God is one.
You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.” Mentally
agreeing with a set of statements based on evidences is merely the
first step. Victorious faith must go deeper. C.
The faith of trust. 1.
This second level is the faith of the emotions, taking our
conviction a step further. At this point, we not only mentally
agree that God exists and God is powerful. We trust that this
powerful God is willing to take care of us. We accept that His
ways are best. Today, we might call this a heart faith. 2.
This is a transitional faith. Its great importance comes
from taking us beyond simple conviction and transferring us to
victorious faith. However, if we stop at this point, we will not
win the victory. If we simply agree to a set of facts and then
only grow to trust God, believing His way is best, we will still
lose our battle. John
12:42-43 provides an illustration. The text says even many of
the rulers of the Jews believed Jesus. They mentally agreed that
Jesus was Messiah. They trusted that His teachings were right. But
they had a problem. They wanted men’s praises and they would
lose that if they let their faith grow any deeper. They would not
confess Jesus and we know what Jesus said about that in Matthew 10:32-33. D.
The faith of surrender. 1.
This third and victorious level of faith is the level of
surrender. This is a faith of the will. Building on our conviction
and resting in our trust, we give up our will and work to
accomplish Christ’s will and work. Our faith is completed as it
not only fills our head and our heart but guides our hands. Today,
we might call this a hand faith. 2.
Paul described this victorious faith in Galatians
2:20. He had crucified himself with Christ. He was convicted
of Christ and trusted Him so much, that he had crucified his own
will and desires to be completely guided by Christ’s will. James
demonstrated the victorious nature of this faith in James
2:14-26. It is the surrender of the will and work that makes
faith perfect or complete. Until our faith translates into
surrendered action, we will not achieve victory through Christ.
But when we are convicted enough to trust Him and when we trust
Him enough to surrender to Him, then He will accomplish victory
through us and we will overcome the world. III.
What’s the take away? A.
This is all good to know. We are in a battle. To win, we
need a faith of the head, heart and hands. But if we stopped here
in our lesson, it would be a lot like recruiting a bunch of folks
into the military and then shipping them over to Iraq saying,
“Alright boys, to win you just need to get some weapons and
learn how to fight. Hope it works out for you. See ya.” That is
a formula for military disaster. Those boys need to be trained and
equipped. We may ask, how do we get trained and equipped to have
victorious faith? B.
Romans
10:17
provides the answer. “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the
word of Christ.” I cannot stress this enough. Our greatest tool
in the battle to overcome the world is the Bible. It is not church
attendance. It is not eating with Christians. It is not positive
mental attitudes. It is the Bible. C.
In Ephesians 6:13-17,
Paul described the armor with which the Christian warrior must be
arrayed to overcome the enemy. We know the Word of God is
described as our sword. But notice that, in reality, every piece
of the armor is tied to the Word. Our loins are to be girt up with
the truth that comes from God’s Word (John
17:17). We must put on the breastplate of righteousness. The
Word trains us in righteousness (II
Timothy 3:16-17). Our feet are to be shod with the preparation
of the Gospel of peace. Where is this Gospel of peace but in the
word of God (Colossians 1:5)? Then we take up the shield of faith. That is what
we are talking about today and we have already noted that it comes
from the Word (Romans 10:17).
Finally, we put on the helmet of salvation. Which salvation we
gain from obedience to the Word (Acts
20:32; II Timothy 3:15). D.
Without being in God’s word we are facing the battle
unarmed. Consider these very serious questions. Do you ever feel
like you are just not getting what you need spiritually? Do you
ever feel like God is not with you? Do you ever feel like you are
unprotected from the world’s advances into your life, home and
family? Do not look to others. Do not look to the church. Do not
look to the preacher, elders or teachers. Look to God’s Word.
How much time do you spend in God’s Word? Putting our armor on
only a couple of times a week during sermons or Bible classes will
not get the job done. We need to arm ourselves everyday or we will
become a part of the walking wounded. We will still be walking
around, apparently unaffected and unharmed but bleeding from the
mortal wounds in our spiritual heart. We must be in the Word. Conclusion: I John 5:4 says our faith is the victory. We are in a battle. We will win. But we will only win through faith. This is our battle cry—Faith is the Victory! Faith is the Victory!
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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