Okay, take your Bible and turn with me to 1st John chapter 2 1st John chapter 2 Title of my message this morning is three keys to an overcoming Christian life three keys to to an overcoming Christian life. As you're turning to the book of 1st John, if you are looking for a book in the Bible to particularly love, I would suggest the book of 1st John. When I got saved, I read the book of 1st John. I memorized the book of 1st John. I studied the book of 1st John. I would counsel you to try to baptize yourself in the book of 1st John. 1st John chapter 2. As you're turning, the book of 1st John teaches us three important lessons. First of all, it teaches us what we ought to possess. what every person ought to possess and that thing is a no soul salvation not a think so salvation or a hope so salvation but a no so salvation secondly the book of first john teaches us what we ought to practice And what we ought to practice is a continual confessing, confessing and forsaking of sin. Keep short accounts with the Lord Jesus Christ. We get that from first John. And then the third thing that the book of first John teaches us is what we ought to pursue, what we ought to pursue and what we ought to pursue 24 hours a day, seven days a week is an overcoming Christian life. In overcoming Christian life, and I pray that God would stamp his blessing on the preach word Today, I want us to take a look at the flow of Scripture there in first John chapter 2 look with me at verse number 13 first John 2 13 I write unto you fathers Because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you young men because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you, little children, because ye have known the Father. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one. Now look at chapter four, if you would. Chapter four. Verse number four. Chapter four, verse four. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. Then over to chapter five. One chapter over, chapter five. Verse number four. Verse four. For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world. And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Verse 5, who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God? This morning, I want to preach to you three keys to an overcoming Christian Life, let's pray. Father, would you help me to know what to say? Lord, I've got material in front of me, I've got the message you've laid on my heart, but Father, I don't know what to say exactly unless you tell me, and I pray for your leadership, your guidance. I pray that this would not just be time put in, I pray that it would not be just me fulfilling an obligation. I was asked to come preach. I pray that it would not be that. I pray also that it would not be just attending another mandatory chapel session for those that are here. Lord, I pray for something special. I pray for something different. I pray that you get a hold of the heart of some person in this room today and give them a burning desire to become and overcome. Lord, I pray for a breath from heaven in this chapel time today, and I ask in Jesus' name. Amen. One of the greatest desires that I have in my life, one of the greatest goals that I have for my Christian experience on this pilgrim journey, one of the greatest longings of my life is that I might be an overcoming Christian. I want to be a conqueror. I want to be a winner. Someday when I stand at the judgment seat of Christ, When I stand there, the thing that I long to hear, the thing that I want to hear Jesus say is, Well done, thou good and faithful servant. I want to be an overcoming Christian. And I want you to want to be an overcoming Christian. The Greek word in 1 John for overcome is the Greek word Nikeo, which simply means to have the victory. Nikeo. Nike has borrowed that term from the Greek to express victory in an athletic sense. But I want to live in the winner's circle. I want to wear the laurels. I want to claim the prize and the rewards of faithful and obedient Christian living. I am saying to you this morning, I want to have the victory my life. All of us should want that. We're covering the life of Christ in our Sunday school time at Cornerstone Baptist Church. And we're studying the whole life of Christ. And right now, we're on the miracles of the Lord. And when Peter saw the Lord walking on the water, he said, Lord, bid me that I come out there and walk on the water too. I want to walk on the water. Now, I don't know how long he walked. I don't know how far he walked. I don't know if he took two steps, three steps. I don't know if he walked a block. But I do believe with all my heart that Peter walked on the water. But the Bible teaches that Peter began to sink. Now why did he begin to sink? He began to sink because he saw the winds boisterous. He was intimidated. He was filled with fear, trepidation. His heart melted and Peter lost the victory. Application. Friend, we are living in a time where the wind is blowing boisterous in 2019. And we must not sink. We must walk on the water spiritually. We must have the overcoming power of God. I see the winds blowing boisterous everywhere around me. I pastor a church in a very corrupt city. On April 2nd, it is very likely that we will elect a sodomite to be mayor of Chicago. A sodomite! Very corrupt city. The wind is blowing boisterous in the city of Chicago. But also the winds of corrupt finances. Right now, the national debt is $21.97 trillion. $21.97 trillion. Now, I'll give you a little glimpse into my mathematical ignorance. I have no clue what that is. And if you came to me afterwards and said, can you explain a trillion? I probably could not do that. But I will say, like government, like people, and people are up to their gills in debt and financial destruction because we are losing the victory today over materialism and because of the love of money. The wind of financial corruptness is blowing. about the winds of corrupt morality. We live in a day and age where homosexuality is not just accepted. It's becoming the norm. And it's not uncommon for somebody to walk into some type of church on a Sunday morning and hear a message delivered by a homosexual minister in a church. We just would turn to the Bible. We'd see that the Bible says a bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife. Clear scripture settles the issue. But the winds of corrupt morality, the Catholic Church has been rocked by this priest's molestation. It's become a stench in the nostrils of even many Catholics. Pornography. The sodomites are running rampant. Disney just had their first homosexual parade. The transgender movement. The slaying of our babies with abortion. And I'm here to say that the day we live in is having its effect on believers. We're getting softer. We're not taking the stands that we once took, and we're losing an overcoming spirit. We're losing a victorious spirit. I see the winds blowing, boisterous when it comes to mental health. And I'm reminded of a man in the Bible who lost his mind named Nebuchadnezzar because his heart was lifted up in pride and God had to humble him and the man went crazy for seven years. I'm reminded of a man by the name of Saul. An evil spirit troubled him that this man was mentally unstable and he lost his mental faculties and only the music from the sweet psalmist of Israel could bring him back to his senses temporarily. There's one suicide every minute of every day around this world. People just can't handle the pressures of life. And I can understand that because they don't have Christ, but I see suicide flowing into the church. You say, what's the answer? I know the answer. The answer is for believers to desire with all their heart an overcoming spirit. We need an overcoming spirit to stay on top of the waters of this world because the winds are blowing boisterous. The word overcome appears 25 times in the New Testament. Five of those times, in this book, 1 John. The book of 1 John was written in 90 A.D. It was written in the eye of a storm. Much persecution against the believers of this time. Someone had said that between 50 A.D. and 300 A.D., five million Christians gave their life for the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, in order for them to stand like that, to stand, They had to have something that we don't have much of today. And I know what that thing is, an overcoming spirit. So I want you to ask yourself this question. Have you ever asked yourself this question? Now forget about the person sitting next to you, as I had to do as I prepared this message. I had to ask myself. God knows I have. Let me ask you, are you a victorious Christian? Are you a victorious Christian? Are you an overcoming Christian? Now talk to yourself. We're not gonna think you're crazy. Are you an overcoming Christian? Are you a conqueror in the Lord Jesus Christ? You see, because if you were, you'd wake up in the morning wanting to read your Bible. wanting to get into God's Word. If you were an overcomer, you would not be bragging about the Hollywood movies that you snuck and watched in your house and then come and brag to others and boast and ostracize them because they've got enough godliness not to want to watch that filth. Well, you'd have some ways if you were an overcoming Christian. I say to you, a worldly church will not change this world. We've got to have some overcoming Christians. And when we do, others will rise to the occasion and want to be overcomers with us. Before I get into the message, I wanna ask you three questions about the overcoming life. Three questions about the overcoming life. Number one, what is the purpose of the overcoming life? Why do we sing songs like victory in Jesus? Why does the preacher stand in the pulpit and beg people to want to live a victorious Christian life? I'll tell you why. Because if we get the victory in our lives, we will portray an accurate picture to the world of the Lord Jesus Christ. We then get to become his billboard. We sing around Easter time. He lives, He lives. Christ Jesus lives today. But not according to our lives. We have the Bible. We have the Holy Spirit. Yet many Christians have no control over their lives. None. They're double-minded. You say, what's double-minded? Man, I need to get right with God. And boy, you're sincere and you come, and then before lunch comes, you're right back into the same sin and you're falling in and out, in and out. Boy, your heart's sincere, but you've got no victory that's double-minded. In Romans, the Bible says that sin is not to have dominion over us. Yet the sin and the world and the flesh has made slaves of the average Christian. So the world gets a corrupted view of Jesus Christ. The world gets a hazy view of Jesus Christ, the world gets a blurry view of the Lord Jesus Christ, because we are his followers. And when they look at us, they're supposed to see how Jesus is. And when we give them the wrong picture, They don't want our Christianity. Hey, listen, Easter's coming. You say you believe he's alive. If you believe he's alive, then let him change your life. Show by your life that he's alive. Show the world he's able to change you. Now, many people will castigate and talk against preachers like me who preach on standards and convictions. and believing something. Well, Christianity is not a big list of do's and don'ts. Man, I've heard that a million times, and I'm sick of it. So this morning, I'm going to give you a great big do and a great big don't. The Bible says, be ye holy, for I am holy. And the only way we're going to show this world that God is holy is if we're holy. And they'll see it in us. And they'll say, wow. If she's like that, I can only imagine what God is. The purpose of the overcoming Christian life is to portray who Jesus is. The second question I wanna ask is what is the one problem in the obtaining of victory? What is the one problem in the overcoming life? In other words, what stops us? I believe it's one thing. And I believe it's a singular thing. You say it's Satan. No, it's not Satan. We expect out of him what we get. The Bible says he's our adversary. The Bible says he's the prince of the power of the air. He is the prince of this world. Nothing the devil does surprises me. He's been at it for a long time. You say it's Satan. No. Say it's the world. No, we ought to expect these things out of the world. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life. It's all of the world, and the world passeth away, and the less thereof. You say, what's the problem then? What stops us from an overcoming Christian life? The one problem, one word, self. Self. The thing that stops you from being an overcomer is the person you see when you look in the mirror. And so we must want the victory. The Bible says, but thanks be unto God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. I'm not going to add to scripture, but I know that the Holy Spirit intends for us to have the victory by first wanting the victory. And so other words, you can have the victory if you want it. And I am downhearted in one sense. I'm not a total pessimist, but I am downhearted in one sense because I believe that I'm watching a generation of Christians who really don't want the victory. It's not a passion in their heart. They've sat down and they've decided what type of Christian they're going to be. They've said, I'm not going to really cross the line into total victory. I'm setting a limit on my spirituality. And preacher, you can stand up there and preach, spit, holler, yell. I'm not going past right here. You're exactly who I'm preaching to today. It bothers me as a preacher of the Word of God that people set limits on their spirituality. It bothers me as a preacher of the Word of God that people say, I've already decided how spiritual I'm going to become and I'm not going any further. There ought to be something inside of a true born-again believer that says, I want to go further for the Lord Jesus Christ. And if that's not there, I check out my salvation. Third question. What is God's plan for having an overcoming Christian life? What is God's pattern for having an overcoming Christian life? What is his program? Is it possible? There's probably someone here today struggling. You're a believer, but you're struggling with something or some sin. And you're saying, Pastor Lewis, is it even possible that I could have an overcoming Christian life? Is it even attainable? Is it feasible? Can we be overcomers in a world like this? Man, you walk through Walmart, it's Halloween every day in Walmart. And you walk through Walmart, and you might look at those clowns and say, man, is it even possible? All of the filth in this world, and you might say, is it even possible that I could be an overcomer? I have asked myself that question as this world has gotten worse and worse and worse and worse. I keep going back to the Bible says it'll be like the days of Noah. This world is messed up, friend. And I'm trying to preach the truth without just being gloom and doom. But I have to tell you the truth. You're going out to minister in a world that is messed up. So much defeat, so much despair. So much downism. So much witness. That's a new word for people that are wit all the time. So much witness. That's the world that we live in. So many Christians that are hiding and cowering. Can we really have an overcoming Christian life? And I say the answer to that is yes, you can. You can have victory and I want us to claim it. I want every serious believer. There's probably some in here that are not serious. In fact, you're just waiting to where you can get out of here and go do your own thing sometime in life. I'm not really preaching to you. I hope you get right with God, but I'm preaching to the people who say I want it. I want it. And I want us to claim it today. I want us to see from the Bible how we can have a victorious Christian life, how we can be overcomers. Number one, when Brother Armacost, Pastor Armacost gave the introduction and talked about the Bible, I knew exactly why God wanted me to preach this message. Number one, the overcoming life is a life that stays in touch with the precious word of God. Now, when I got saved, I fell in love with books. Good books. And I wanted to build a Christian library, not because I was called to preach, but because I was saved, and I think every Christian, called to preach, called into the ministry or not, should want to build a Christian library at home. And so I fell in love with books like Pilgrim's Progress. I fell in love with books like Fox's Book of Martyrs, biographies on men like Moody, Torrey, Finney, Mullard. praying hide, and I love books, but when I got saved, there was one supreme book. When I got saved, there was one book that towered over all the rest. When I got saved, there was one book that God gave me to lead me, to guide me, to control me, to comfort me, and to possess me, and that was the word of God. So glad that when I got saved, I fell in love with the Bible. I fell in love with the Bible. So how do I know if I'm in love with the Bible? Wake up. Love you enough to say that. How do you know if you fall in love with the Bible? You're not afraid to talk about it at school. You want to talk about it at school. Why? It's in you. You love it. Hey, when I fell in love with my wife, I know I'm using the term fall in love, forgive me, but when I fell in love with her, I sure like to talk and tell other people about her. Why? Because I was in love. If you're in love with the Bible, you'll talk about it. And if you want to know if you've got a buddy that's spiritual or not, if he or she is tight-lipped about scripture, you better stay away. Have you ever fallen in love with the Bible? You ought to fall in love with the Bible. Keep your place here, but turn to 2 Peter 3. 2 Peter. 2 Peter 3. Verse number 18. The Bible says, but grow, that means it's a command. I've got those two words underlined, but grow. As a reminder to me that this is not something you do if you want to. But grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever, amen. The Bible says, but grow in grace. But grow in grace, that means if you're not growing in grace, it is a disgrace. How many disgraceful believers are here today? You show me a believer that is defeated by the devil. You show me a believer that's run over by the world. You show me a believer that's filled with worldliness and sin, and I'll show you a believer that's a stranger to the Bible. They put up this excuse for why they can't really dig into the Bible. They pass that book for why they can't really get in the Bible. They set up this smoke screen for why they can't really get in the Bible. And the source of defeat in this world is your lack of relationship with the Word of God. If you have a strong love and relationship with the Word of God, you will stay on top of the water. I don't care how much the wind is blowing boisterous. And who loves this book is going to be a winner. Somebody walked into a gas station and they saw a sign hanging and it said, a powerful motor is a clean motor. Powerful motor is a clean motor. And I like that. And you learn that lesson when you own a vehicle. Somebody told me a long time ago, the life of an engine is the oil change. And I've got almost 260,000 miles on a minivan. And there's one thing we made sure we did religiously. Religiously, we changed the oil. Now listen to me. Is your life powerful? If it is, there's only one reason why. It's been cleaned by the word of God. Ephesians chapter 5 you don't need to turn there but Ephesians 5 26 says that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of the water by the word We get washed by the word. So the Bible has two goals for us To get us clean by salvation and to keep us clean through sanctification Now look back at 1st John chapter 2 1st John chapter 2 Verse 13, 1 John 2, 13. Bible says, I write unto you fathers. Don't miss that. I write unto you fathers. Look up here for just a second. Most of you young men today that are here are going to become fathers someday. There's something very special about looking at a child and know that that's a child that God's given you. Don't miss the truth, those of you that are going to be fathers. I write unto you fathers because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I write unto you young men because ye have overcome the wicked one. I write unto you little children because ye have known the father. Now notice the beautiful chain reaction there. It starts with the fathers in verse 13. And if the fathers get it, it'll work its way down to the young men. And if the young men get it, at the end of the verse, it works its way down to the little children. Man, we've got to have a love for the Bible. Look at verse 14. I have written unto you, fathers, because ye have known him that is from the beginning. I have written unto you. Again, writing. What's being written? The Word of God. I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong. Now, what is attached here to being strong? What's attached to it? and the word of god abideth in you that's what's attached to being strong and what's the result and ye have overcome the wicked one you will never overcome the wicked one you will lead a frustrated old life Filled with depression and misery and and and never getting where you where you ought to be and and dissatisfaction It'll be like that forever until the word of god abideth in you Like it ought to and then when that happens, you're gonna overcome this old world The word of god abideth in you what does it mean to fall in love with the bible you read it all the time and you love it Let's make it real practical If I said who loves the Bible every hand in here would go up But that's not putting your hand up isn't loving the Bible like you are too So, how do I know if I'm in love with the Bible you read it all the time? And you let get a hold of you How close are you to the Bible? And that Bible is still on my shelf in my office at church. It's fallen apart. It looks like it's a hundred years old. But listen to me. I wanted to be close to that Bible. I didn't know much, but I knew that there was something in that book that would get me through, that would give me victory. The measure of your closeness to the Bible. is the measure of your closeness to God. Don't come to me and say you're close to God if you're a stranger to the Bible, because it's not possible. There was a boy that went off to college, and his mother said, read your Bible every day. Read it every day, especially the Psalms. Yeah, okay, I'll read the Bible. About three weeks went by, and he called his mom and said, Mom, I really need some money. I'm behind on some bills. They're coming due, and I don't have any money. His mom said, have you been reading the Bible like I told you to? Have you been reading Psalms? And he said, no, Mom, I haven't been reading the Bible. I'm sorry, I haven't. About two weeks later, he called again and said, Mom, I'm really in trouble financially. Something's gotta happen. especially in the book of Psalms. No, I'm not reading my Bible. I'm trying to get money for these bills. That's all she would say is, have you been reading your Bible? Finally, at the end of the semester, this crazy boy got the Bible off the shelf, and he said, you know what? I'm going under. I'm going under. I'm going under. Turned to the book of psalm and when he got to the book of psalm in between every Three or four chapters of the book of psalm was a fifty dollar bill or a twenty dollar bill Or a ten dollar bill. He had neglected the word of god And missed his blessings And i'm telling you today you are neglecting the richest book in the world and you wonder why you don't have the victory That's why you're not an overcomer Overcomers are in touch with the word. Number two, the overcoming life is a life that lays claim to the power of the Holy Spirit. The overcoming life is a life that lays claim to the power of the Holy Spirit. If you could just get this, if you could get this, this isn't in my notes, but it's in my heart, you can't do it. You will never do it. But the Holy Spirit can do it if you'll let him. The power of the Holy Spirit. This does not belong to an unsaved person. An unsaved person has to face their flesh alone. An unsaved person, they have to face the world alone. An unsaved person has to face the devil all by themselves. But the warfare of the believer has an aid. This warfare is not a lonely warfare if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. Go to 1 John chapter 4. 1 John 4, verse number 2. 1 John 4, verse number 2. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God, and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come, and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have, there it is, overcome them. How? Because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. In this passage, the Holy Spirit is contrasted with the spirit of this world that was there even when this book was penned. And that is the spirit of antichrist. What is the Bible saying when it says greater is he that is in you? not it, not some force, greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. I'm here to tell you that the Holy Spirit is a much greater and more powerful spirit than the spirit of Antichrist that wants to destroy every person that I'm looking at in this room. I thank God that the Holy Spirit is a greater spirit than the pornography spirit. It is everywhere today. It is all over the place. It is so easy to access. Boy, I hope you'll say I want guards in place. Man, I just, I've become device man here lately. Somebody gave me a tablet Man, first thing I did was I went home and put covenant eyes on that thing. Somebody, I preached on a Wednesday night and I came back to my office and it was a brand new laptop, Dell laptop in the box sitting on my desk with all the software installed. That night I put covenant eyes on that thing. And they've got this new feature where they're taking screenshots of the stuff that's coming across your screen. And I love it! I've heard of a father that would sit in the living room and watch pornography. on television screen right there in front of his son, his wife walking in and out of the living room. He's sitting there watching pornography. The Bible saying here, that's the spirit of antichrist. Don't let this world into your home. Don't let this world into your mind. Don't let this world onto your mobile device. Why? Because you've got a greater spirit than the spirit of pornography. You've got the Holy Spirit. Thank God the Holy Spirit is a greater spirit than the materialistic spirit. There's something in all of us that wants more stuff, and I'm saying you better be careful, because when it becomes covetousness, you will lose your pilgrim mentality. You'll get comfortable with this world and start to think that it's your home, and there's only one spirit that'll give you victory over stuff-itis, and that's the Holy Spirit. So many homes have a wife with visa syndrome and a husband with MasterCard syndrome. And there's one way to get victory. And that's the Holy Spirit arguing over money, divorce over money. That is the spirit of Antichrist. Love of money is the root of all evil. I'm thankful also that the Holy Spirit is a greater spirit than the music spirit. Music is going to be the ruination. Sad to say. I hope I'm wrong. I would love to be proven wrong, but statistically speaking, I won't be. Music will be the ruination of somebody in this room. You just can't let go of it. I heard of an independent fundamental Baptist pastor. His daughter openly said, I've got all of Elvis's records. And she's a young girl your age. I mean, Elvis is like really, really way back. Dad gets up and preaches in the Independent Baptist pulpit every week and she's listening to Elvis. There's a greater spirit than that spirit. It's the Holy Spirit, you see. If you wanna be an overcomer, get ahold of the power of the Holy Spirit. and it can help you to overcome those anti-Christ spirits that wanna destroy you and keep you from having the victory. A couple things about the Holy Spirit. You can grieve the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to grieve the Holy Spirit? It means to break the heart of the Holy Spirit. So how can I do this? He says, don't do it. Man, you're about to do something and there's something inside of you, you know it's more than just conscience. And it's saying, he's saying, don't do it. You know you ought not to do it, don't think it. And you turn around and do it anyway. You know what you've just done? You've just turned him off. And that's grieving the Holy Spirit, when you just turn him off. But the Bible also speaks of quenching the Holy Spirit. Those are two different things, and you need to know the difference. Grieve not the Holy Spirit, by the things that you do. Quench not the Holy Spirit by the things that you don't do. To grieve deals with morality. To quench deals with God wanting to put character inside of you. His character. The character of His own Son. And you hear a message and the Holy Spirit says, go forward. Respond. Get some things right. Deal with it. And you don't. You've just quenched the Holy Spirit. You've snuffed out His dealing in your life and He's trying to make you more like Christ. You can't grow if you're not making definite decisions. And the Holy Spirit will say, witness to this person. Man, you've just walked into a store and you've got tracks on you. And the Holy Spirit says, witness. Man, I was doing what every good Baptist preacher does on Sunday night. I was buying fried chicken after the evening service. And I went into this place, and the lady saw that I was in a suit. She was very nice to my daughter and I, and gave her a track and a flyer. She said, oh, Pastor Lewis? She said, my last name is Lewis. She pulled out her ID right away to prove to me that her last name was Lewis. I said, maybe we're cousins. She said, I went to a church. Last week, somebody gave me the address, and when I got to the address, the church wasn't even there. And she said, I've been struggling with cancer, this, that, and the other thing. My family, I want to be in church somewhere. She said, I'll be there this Sunday. And we had a good conversation. The guy in back of me, I thought he was offended because I was keeping him from ordering. He overheard the conversation. He said, my wife and I have been looking for a church, too. And he took an invitation. Now listen to me, I could have said no. And if I would have said no, I've quenched him. Dad had two little girls. And these two little girls were very jealous of Daddy's attention. The older girl one day outran the younger girl to go get a hug from Daddy. She jumped up in his arms. She just hugged him, hugged him. Then she got down and she bragged, she shouldn't have done this, but she bragged to the little sister, I've got all of daddy. I've got all of daddy. The other little girl was hurt and the father could see that she was hurt. And so he went after her and he held out his arms and she ran and he wrapped his arms around her and she wrapped her arms around him. And the little sister looked up to the older sister and said, you may have all of daddy, but daddy's got all of me. Listen to me. Your life will never be victorious until the Holy Spirit has all of you. All of you, that's what the Holy Spirit wants. And if you're defeated today, if you're always down, and wonder why you're never walking on water spiritually, I'll tell you why. You're out of touch with the Bible, you're out of touch with the power of the Holy Spirit, and then last, The overcoming life is a life of empowering faith. Empowering faith. I need faith. Now, you might sit there and say, I need a job. I need some money. I need this. I need some grades, pastors. Would you pray for my grades? I'm struggling in a class, or two, or three, or four. I'm struggling, and I need this. Listen to me. This is what you really need because it'll help all of those other things. Faith. You see, I'm learning in my Christian life that we must walk by faith and not my sight. I'm learning that the Bible says the only way I can please God is by my faith. Now turn to 1 John 5. 1 John 5. I could care less. type of family you come from, because I've seen a lot of kids come from good families that did not have faith. I don't care what your last name is. I don't care who your dad is. I don't care who your mama is. I have a question for you. How's your faith? How's your faith? Look at 1 John 5, 4. For whatsoever is born of God, Overcometh the world and here it is and this is the victory that overcometh the world Even our faith Is your faith not your mom's is your faith alert Is your faith not your dad's is it vital is Is it pulsating? I'm gonna ask you some questions today. I want you to check the temperature of your faith. Do you have the type of faith that can survive the dark, dark hours of life? The dark hours of life. A couple weeks ago, I was at the funeral of a 10-month-old baby boy, Henry Burns. Seven weeks before that, his father was buried. His wife, Elizabeth, is at home with seven kids. And I'm here to tell you today that she has a strong faith. Is your faith that strong? Question number two, can you survive the death of a close loved one? I was 17 years old and I watched cancer eat my mother up as she lay in a hospital bed until she died. I had one thing. You said, what'd you have? I had some faith. Is your faith that strong? Number three, can you survive the loss of one of your children to the world and not get bitter about it? Somebody in this room is gonna raise a child that doesn't turn out for God and your temptation is going to be to get bitter. Get bitter at the pastor, get bitter at the church. Do you have enough faith that can take you through that? Now, the Bible says if you train up a child the way he should go, when he's old, he'll not depart from it. But if you don't do that, and you don't get the result, do you have enough faith to at least keep you going for God in spite of it? Number four, can you live with about a false accusation? People are gonna say things about you that are not true. And it's gonna make you mad. and it's gonna hurt your heart, but do you have enough faith to keep going? Number five, can you survive the loss of a good friend, especially when you tried to do what was right and you lost a good friend because of it? I'm asking you about your faith. Number six, if you get a life-threatening disease, do you have enough faith to take you through it? Now I've watched people have these things happen to them and they became bitter backsliders. No more victory. Why? They lost faith. They lost faith. You have to stay in touch with the Bible. You must claim the power of the Holy Spirit. You must have an overcoming faith. There may be someone here today, you may say, I'm not even a child of God as 1 John says. I'm not born again. Maybe you've been hiding behind religion. I heard the story of two boys. They got on a train one day and they sat in the back car. And the conductor came and said, boys, I'd rather you not sit here in the back car as we take this ride. I need you to move up a couple of cars. And he said, no, we like this car. We want to ride in the back car. And he said, I understand that. But I'd just rather you move up. It's not going to be good for you to ride here in the back car. Move up. No, man, what's wrong with you? We want to ride in the back car. We like this car. Finally, the conductor was frustrated. And he said, this car is not going anywhere because it's not hooked on. You can stay in it. I look at some people and I try to be perceptive and observant and I see that they're going nowhere. No power, no passion, no victory, no overcoming, no answers to prayer. I've come to the conclusion that people like that, in most cases, aren't hooked on. They're not saved. Christian, be an overcomer. Let's pray. Father, would you bless this invitation? Lord, as I know, I've been obedient to you and I pray that you would use what was said in hearts. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen. Please stand to your feet.