1 Jn. 4:1, 4 All Christians battle “the world, the flesh, and the devil.” As a loving Father, God will equip us and empower us to overcome them so we can do God’s will and live in his full blessings. God is greater than every foe.
This world is ruled by sinful desires for physical pleasure, sinful desires for what we see, and pride 1 Jn. 2:15-17. The devil has used these from the beginning. This world system pulls on us constantly to draw our hearts and lives away from the Lord to follow its sinful ways 1 Jn. 5:19.
1 Jn. 5:2-4 We overcome this world by faith in God and his word. By faith in Jesus as Lord, we are born again and indwelt by God’s Spirit. By faith in God, we love him, we love others, and we live by the truth that God is greater.
Genuine faith has corresponding actions.
By faith we
I. Receive Christ’s victory Gal. 6:14
Jesus broke the power of this world system to dom- inate us by dying on the cross. By faith, we receive the victory he won for us, and we boast on, and rejoice in, him.
God gave us illustrations of the battles we face from Israel’s experiences. God had freed his people from slavery in Egypt, but to possess the land God promised them, they had to believe God and drive out the adversaries.
The first city they faced, Jericho, is a picture of this world system. When Joshua came to Jericho, he had an amazing encounter Josh. 5:13-15. Whose side are we on? Is my heart surrendered to our holy and loving leader? This tests our faith in God and his word Josh. 6:2; 1 Jn. 4:4 “have…” It takes faith to praise him before the walls come down. Heb. 11:30 Receive Christ’s victory.
II. Renew our minds Rom. 12:1, 2
This world may try to beat us down, intimidate us, tempt us to sin, but always for the purpose of shaping us into its mold and leading us away from the Lord 2 Tim. 4:9, 10. We must constantly commit ourselves to the Lord and renew our minds with the truths of his holy word.
All but two men of Joshua’s generation missed the promised land because they refused to believe God. Let’s learn from their example. Josh. 6;6, 10 Prioritize God’s presence and renew our minds to say what God says.
III. Reach out to others Jn. 3:16; Rom. 10:13, 14
God loves people, not a system, and we’re to do the same. Preacher means to tell or proclaim. How can others know the good news unless we tell them? We’re not to be drawn into this perishing world system, but we’re to reach out in faith with the good news to people Heb. 11:31.
Where is your heart in relation to God and this world?
Let’s love God and love others rather than this system.