I. EXORDIUM:
Remember the old song "you and me against the world"? It's really GOD and us against the world. Know why.
II. AUDIENCE PROFILE:
Believers
III. OBJECTIVES:
To prove that GOD and us are really against this world
IV. TEXT:
1 John 5:4-5 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)
For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.
And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God.
V. THESIS:
GOD and us against this world because we have defeated this world because of CHRIST's victory and we are winners because of our faith.
VI. TITLE:
GOD and us against the world
VII. EXPLICATION:
A. Author: Apostle John
VIII. MAIN BODY:
A. Every child of GOD defeats this world (1 John 2:3-17, 1 John 4:4, John 16:33, Romans 8:35-37)
1 John 2:3-17 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)
And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments.
If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth.
But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him.
Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.
Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before.
Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining.
If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness.
Anyone who loves another brother or sister is living in the light and does not cause others to stumble.
But anyone who hates another brother or sister is still living and walking in darkness. Such a person does not know the way to go, having been blinded by the darkness.
I am writing to you who are God’s children because your sins have been forgiven through Jesus.
I am writing to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I am writing to you who are young in the faith because you have won your battle with the evil one.
I have written to you who are God’s children because you know the Father. I have written to you who are mature in the faith because you know Christ, who existed from the beginning. I have written to you who are young in the faith because you are strong. God’s word lives in your hearts, and you have won your battle with the evil one.
Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you.
For the world offers only a craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world.
And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever.
1 John 4:4 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)
But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world.
John 16:33 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)
I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”
Romans 8:35-37 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)
Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?
(As the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”)
No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
It's not because of our own abilities that we are victorious but because of the Spirit who dwells in us due to the victorious work of CHRIST in His life and in the cross. CHRIST have already defeated this world for us, and how easy it is for us to defeat death.
B. Trust CHRIST to give the victory (1 John 5:1, 1 John 4:15, 1 Peter 1:21, Ephesians 3:17)
1 John 5:1 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too.
1 John 4:15 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)
All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God.
1 Peter 1:21 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)
Through Christ you have come to trust in God. And you have placed your faith and hope in God because he raised Christ from the dead and gave him great glory.
Ephesians 3:17 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)
Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong.
As we fully trust CHRIST with all we got, our roots will grow down deep into GOD's love and this trust will keep us strong.
C. Believe CHRIST and win (Galatians 1:10)
Galatians 1:10 (New Living Translation, Second Edition)
Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.
As we believe CHRIST, we will win CHRIST's approval and not the approval of human beings.
IX. CONCLUSION:
GOD and us against this world because we have defeated this world because of CHRIST's victory and we are winners because of our faith.
