God in You Is Greater

 God in You Is Greater

1 John 4:4-5: You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.  They are of the world.

·       It’s been more than 50 years since Jesus’ death and resurrection.

·       False teachers and prophets are trying to lure the children of God away from the truth. But the “children of God” have overcome these false prophets and false teachers.

·       The world and its system can be very convincing. There was extreme pressure coming from the lies of these teachers. And it is the same today!

·       The children of God have heard the arguments of the false teachers and have been able to “see through” them.

·       John reminds them, “You are of God, they are of the world! We are children of God, they are not. We are not they, and they are not of us.”

·       It’s important for us to understand the basis of their victory, because it is also the basis for our victory!

·       They did not overcome the lies of the false teachers because of their superior intelligence, or their excellent training, or clever arguments… it was, “because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”

·       It was because of the One who dwelt within them.

·       This is the greatest truth of our faith—God living within us!

·       It was the greatness of God, living in them, that helped them overcome the teachers of error—and it is Him who will help us today!

·       Our God is so much greater than the power of the enemy.

·       The world wants us to believe “something different” from our truth because of its illusions. Lies are all the enemy has.

·       This is why it is so important in the middle of our depression, darkness, despair, or disease that we turn to the word of God.

·       It is in the promises of the word of God that reveals the truth to us about the greatness of our God and the basis of our victory.

·       These promises are “covenant promises.” A covenant sealed with the blood of Jesus!

·       We can trust His word!

·       But how do we do that?

Isaiah 40:28: Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable.

·       God spoke through the prophet Isaiah to the “children of Israel” asking them a basic question, “What’s a matter with you? Why are you so worried?

·       Why don’t you know more about Me? I’ve been showing you who I Am since the beginning!”

·       Do you think that the LORD is not aware of what is happening in your life and the problems you are going through?

·       Don’t you know He is the Everlasting God, Creator of the ends of the earth?

Isaiah 40:29-30: He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall.

·       Do not depend on your own strength and abilities in your circumstances, because God is willing to strengthen you if you are willing “to be weak” so that He can be strong.

·       But if you want to be strong and fix your circumstances, God will not strengthen you… the result will be disappointing.

·       His grace is sufficient for you, but you must know how this works or you will faint and be weary.

Ø So how do I receive His power in my problems? How do I access His strength instead of my own? Well, I am so glad you asked:

Isaiah 40:31: But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.

·       When we are in a troublesome situation, our natural tendency is to try everything we can do to try to fix our problems.

·       We use our minds, our experiences, and all of our natural abilities and we faint and fail.

·       The word of God says we should wait on the Lord. Do nothing! Just wait!

·       If you want to see the Lord work--you must be patient.

·       Patience is a key element of your faith. It’s about faith and patience!

·       Panic is not your friend. You must refuse to act in your own strength.

·       Just chill until your emotions to settle down, and trust Him to keep His promises to you in His word.

1 Corinthians 2:14-16: But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

·       The world thinks that our faith in an “unseen God” is foolishness.

·       Since we are “children of God” we must trust Him like a child trusts his parents.

·       Just like a child, we don’t have to fully understand it; simply accept it, trust on it, and wait upon Him to act.

·       Remember, “The just shall walk by faith.”

·       You will find that the wisdom and intelligence of the one true God is given to you through the word of God and His Spirit dwelling within you.

·       You have been given the mind of Christ—it is a mind that waits on the Lord. It is the same mind that was in Jesus.

·       It’s the mind that appears foolish to others, but is wiser than men.

·       And it is the trust we have in Him that makes it possible to receive His greatness in our circumstances.

·       Let’s see the mind of Christ in action:

Matthew 4:1-4: And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.  Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”  But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

·       Jesus was in very difficult circumstances—He’s been fasting for forty days and nights. He had just been baptized in water and the Spirit.

·       The Father had spoken, “This is my Beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

·       And in the middle of difficulties, guess who shows up?

·       The enemy with his lies and tries to get Jesus to act in His own strength—commanding rocks to become bread!

·       But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ ”

·       The mind of Christ does not act in His own strength, but relies on the word of God.

·       The mind of Christ speaks the written word, or the promises of God… and then waits on the Lord. He stands on this ground! He refuses to be moved!

Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

·       This is a very different approach from the way the world does things.

·       We accept the authority of the Lord in our lives;

·       Because we know Him; we know He lives; we know He is the One with the power…and on that basis we accept the authority of the word of God.

·       And we trust in it with child-like faith and it is there--that we find life as God intended it to be lived. We walk in the Spirit not in the flesh (our own power).

·       God is greater than the evil spirit that is in the world.

·       Let’s go back to John.

1 John 4:5: They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them.

·       “They” are the false teachers of the world.

·       This includes all varieties of false teachers; including pastors, college professors, celebrities, social activists, theologians, politicians, and televangelists.

·       When they come out and speak, there is one revealing thing about them is that they say what the world wants to hear.

·       And what is that? It all comes down to the “wisdom of man.”

·       It’s amazing that in the face of such immense failures that some man comes along that seems to have all the answers. We will enter a “golden age” of mankind where our abilities will solve the problems of man.

·       Beware of this kind of talk, even if it comes from someone you agree with. These are the utterances of an antichrist spirit.

1 John 4:6: We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

·       What does John mean by, “we are of God?” He’s talking about the apostles.

·       “We apostles are in communion with other Christians, and we are of God.”

·       We, who have walked with Jesus, have full authority, because we have been commissioned by Jesus Himself, to speak the full message of Christianity.

·       John, and the other apostles, could say that they were of God, because they were in union with Jesus Christ in a relationship that was unique because…

·       They watched Him, they lived with him, they listened to Him, and they followed Him. They were witnesses in a personal bond with Him.

1 John 1:1-3: That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— 2 the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

·        In the beginning of 1 John, John testifies to what he had seen, heard, and touched—the Word of life.

·        Their faith was shattered by His death and crucifixion, but on the morning of His resurrection, they were convinced again—almost against their will because of what their eyes had seen.

·        The world had seen the brutal death of the King of glory.

·        There was no doubt that Jesus of Nazareth died on that cross.

·        His death was horrific. It seemed final.

·        But they saw He who was dead--was alive again. It was hard to believe.

·        But they had to believe their senses; they had to believe their eyes and their ears. They touched Him, they saw Him, and they heard Him.

·        They lived with Him for forty days until His ascension back to the Father.

·        They were completely convinced.

Acts 1:4-5: And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

·        And then finally, on the Day of Pentecost, all doubt was taken away, as was promised, they were filled with the Holy Spirit and they were “commissioned” to spread the good news of the gospel.

·        They could now know Him better through His Spirit than they ever knew Him in the flesh! With the “Holy Spirit Baptism” all doubts were gone!

·        They were called to be “witnesses” of His resurrection…and they needed help!

·        John says, “We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

·        Do men receive the witness of the Apostles, or do they sit back twenty centuries later and pretend to know more than the Apostles?

·        The world’s false teachers always attack the word of God, and too many Christians enter the argument about the accuracy and authority of God’s word. This is usually not profitable. We are called to be witnesses!

·        Our truth is based on the most unsolvable problem of human life:

·        He rose from the dead! Who else has ever done that? Who else has ever provided those kinds of credentials to be believed?

·        That truth--is the basis for our faith!

·        The evidence is the empty grave. He was seen by more than 400 witnesses for forty days after His resurrection. It is true!

·        We shouldn’t ask people to believe the bible is true until we have asked them to believe that the Lord Jesus is alive and come into a fellowship with Him.

·        And then having come to know Him in their own life—then they can accept the authority of the word of God.

1 Corinthians 2:20-23: For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us.  Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.

·        We know Him. We are in relationship with Him. We are of Him. He is in us and we are in Him. He has given us His Spirit as a guarantee.

·        Isn’t it time to believe Him? How can we ask others to believe when we are often unbelievers?

·        We have many promises from God. They are ours, don’t let anyone cheat you. We have a God who keeps His promises. He is a God we can trust.

·        He has promised peace and protection, He promised to give us comfort, salvation, and a new life.

·        He promised to supply all of our needs.

·        He promised to complete the work He has begun in you.

·        He promised to give you rest—if you’ll just come to Him.

·        God’s promises are trustworthy and He never lies. He promises to prosper you and not to harm you, He promises to give you a future and a hope. And He goes to prepare a place for you in His heaven.

·        He kept His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

·        He Kept His promises to David and Solomon. He kept his promises to Ruth, Naomi, and Esther.

·        He kept His promises to peter, James, and John.

·        He kept His promises to Mary and Martha, and he kept His promises to Paul, Silas, Barnabas, and Timothy.

·        He is also your God. He kept His promise to them and He will keep them to you. He loves you, and he has a plan for you. His Mercies never come to an end, they are new every morning. He loves you and He cares for you. You can trust Him.