1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:13,750 Speaker 1: Life Audio Thank you for listening to Your Daily Bible Verse, 2 00:00:14,550 --> 00:00:18,190 Speaker 1: the podcast that examines one verse each day to learn 3 00:00:18,210 --> 00:00:21,250 Speaker 1: more about God and His will for our lives. I'm 4 00:00:21,290 --> 00:00:25,200 Speaker 1: your host, Kyle Norman. After a brief message from one 5 00:00:25,210 --> 00:00:41,230 Speaker 1: of our sponsors, we will continue with today's verse. Today's 6 00:00:41,240 --> 00:00:46,530 Speaker 1: verse can be found in 1 John 5.5. Who is 7 00:00:46,630 --> 00:00:50,490 Speaker 1: it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes 8 00:00:50,810 --> 00:00:55,110 Speaker 1: that Jesus is the Son of God. Have you ever 9 00:00:55,170 --> 00:00:58,110 Speaker 1: heard the saying, Love God and do what you want? 10 00:00:59,220 --> 00:01:03,980 Speaker 1: It's quite popular among some Christians. This saying is attributed 11 00:01:04,060 --> 00:01:07,690 Speaker 1: to St. Augustine, the North African bishop of the 4th century. 12 00:01:08,530 --> 00:01:11,670 Speaker 1: But in truth, Augustine's saying was a little bit more 13 00:01:11,730 --> 00:01:16,370 Speaker 1: nuanced than that. But this sentiment, it sounds lovely, doesn't it? 14 00:01:17,030 --> 00:01:19,950 Speaker 1: Isn't this the best of both worlds? We get to 15 00:01:19,990 --> 00:01:23,480 Speaker 1: declare our authentic love for God. We get to say 16 00:01:23,540 --> 00:01:26,340 Speaker 1: yes to Jesus and all the good things that Jesus 17 00:01:26,400 --> 00:01:29,680 Speaker 1: brings into our lives. But We don't have to worry 18 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,860 Speaker 1: about how that impacts us in any way, right? I 19 00:01:32,880 --> 00:01:35,440 Speaker 1: get to be who I am, doing what I want 20 00:01:35,720 --> 00:01:41,020 Speaker 1: in complete unrestricted freedom. Because, after all, if Jesus really 21 00:01:41,080 --> 00:01:45,420 Speaker 1: loved me, wouldn't he say, Kyle, you just do you? 22 00:01:46,550 --> 00:01:49,710 Speaker 1: Isn't letting someone define their own existence and their own 23 00:01:49,770 --> 00:01:56,030 Speaker 1: life the epitome of love? John's First Epistle speaks a 24 00:01:56,130 --> 00:02:00,690 Speaker 1: lot about the intersection between love and obedience. In fact, 25 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:04,660 Speaker 1: John states plainly that our love for God must be 26 00:02:04,760 --> 00:02:08,440 Speaker 1: seen in keeping God's commands. And the reason we keep 27 00:02:08,480 --> 00:02:12,120 Speaker 1: God's commands is because Jesus' word in our lives, it 28 00:02:12,160 --> 00:02:16,859 Speaker 1: brings freedom and life. His commands are not burdensome. Rather 29 00:02:16,900 --> 00:02:21,040 Speaker 1: than limiting our freedom, Jesus' word opens the door for 30 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:25,440 Speaker 1: new life. And the radical thing that John reminds us 31 00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:30,060 Speaker 1: of is that living in obedience to Jesus actually helps 32 00:02:30,220 --> 00:02:35,220 Speaker 1: us overcome this world. Listening to Jesus' voice and putting 33 00:02:35,260 --> 00:02:39,550 Speaker 1: his words into actions actually frees us from the burdens 34 00:02:39,590 --> 00:02:44,250 Speaker 1: that this world so often places upon us. John says, 35 00:02:44,669 --> 00:02:48,310 Speaker 1: Everybody born of God overcomes this world, and this is 36 00:02:48,370 --> 00:02:53,450 Speaker 1: the victory that overcomes the world, our faith. Our trust 37 00:02:53,510 --> 00:02:57,350 Speaker 1: in Jesus, our acceptance of Him as our Lord, and 38 00:02:57,389 --> 00:03:02,350 Speaker 1: our willingness to live our lives with Him overcomes whatever 39 00:03:02,430 --> 00:03:06,850 Speaker 1: this world throws at us. Now, the Greek word for 40 00:03:07,050 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: overcome in this passage is the word nike, and it 41 00:03:10,780 --> 00:03:16,239 Speaker 1: means to prevail, to conquer, to overcome. The word implies 42 00:03:16,400 --> 00:03:19,880 Speaker 1: some sort of existing battle, but it is a battle 43 00:03:19,919 --> 00:03:25,180 Speaker 1: that we withstand, that we prevail against. Faith in Jesus 44 00:03:25,720 --> 00:03:29,060 Speaker 1: creates a victory over the things of this world that 45 00:03:29,160 --> 00:03:34,500 Speaker 1: tempts us away from the life that Jesus calls us to. Now, 46 00:03:34,540 --> 00:03:37,870 Speaker 1: of course, overcoming the world doesn't mean that life around 47 00:03:37,970 --> 00:03:43,130 Speaker 1: us becomes magically problem-free. Living like Jesus is not as 48 00:03:43,310 --> 00:03:47,030 Speaker 1: easy as we might think. After all, we do follow 49 00:03:47,060 --> 00:03:52,900 Speaker 1: a crucified Lord. Jesus asks us, to forgive others when, 50 00:03:53,220 --> 00:03:56,540 Speaker 1: let's be honest, we would rather not. We are asked 51 00:03:56,860 --> 00:03:59,980 Speaker 1: to bless those who curse us when what the world 52 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,080 Speaker 1: tells us to do is give them a piece of 53 00:04:02,140 --> 00:04:05,310 Speaker 1: our mind. And let's not begin with loving the people 54 00:04:05,350 --> 00:04:09,730 Speaker 1: that we call enemies. These things, they push against what 55 00:04:09,830 --> 00:04:12,630 Speaker 1: others tell us or how the world tells us that 56 00:04:12,670 --> 00:04:17,760 Speaker 1: we should believe and act. Sometimes living like Jesus creates 57 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:23,400 Speaker 1: more complications rather than less. The commands of Jesus are 58 00:04:23,440 --> 00:04:28,890 Speaker 1: not necessarily easy, but they're not burdensome. His commands are 59 00:04:28,930 --> 00:04:33,190 Speaker 1: not weights that crush our spirits. They don't carry messages like, 60 00:04:33,490 --> 00:04:37,310 Speaker 1: you're not good enough, or do more, be more, earn more, 61 00:04:37,450 --> 00:04:41,670 Speaker 1: try more. The commands of Jesus, they are not obstacles 62 00:04:41,730 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: that weigh us down. And yes, we might sometimes struggle 63 00:04:46,480 --> 00:04:50,159 Speaker 1: to fully embrace our Christian life, but this doesn't take 64 00:04:50,220 --> 00:04:54,560 Speaker 1: away the victory that is rooted in our faith. Our 65 00:04:54,700 --> 00:04:59,119 Speaker 1: faith in Jesus, our steadfast desire to be close to him, 66 00:04:59,560 --> 00:05:03,300 Speaker 1: it prevails against the world because in Jesus we have 67 00:05:03,500 --> 00:05:07,680 Speaker 1: access to a strength and a peace and a resilience 68 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:12,260 Speaker 1: that is deeper than anything else in existence. We overcome 69 00:05:12,310 --> 00:05:15,730 Speaker 1: the world because we know that in the end, Jesus' 70 00:05:15,810 --> 00:05:19,930 Speaker 1: declaration of love and forgiveness will always have the final word. 71 00:05:20,930 --> 00:05:24,729 Speaker 1: we overcome because we walk into whatever situation we face 72 00:05:25,170 --> 00:05:26,990 Speaker 1: in the presence of the one who is the Lord 73 00:05:27,029 --> 00:05:32,120 Speaker 1: of life and death. Jesus himself declares that he has 74 00:05:32,240 --> 00:05:35,640 Speaker 1: overcome the world. And so our victory over the world 75 00:05:36,120 --> 00:05:39,800 Speaker 1: is but a participation in the victory that Jesus has 76 00:05:39,880 --> 00:05:44,290 Speaker 1: brought to us through the cross. Now, Augustine may have 77 00:05:44,310 --> 00:05:46,930 Speaker 1: been right when he called us to love God and 78 00:05:46,970 --> 00:05:50,089 Speaker 1: do what we want, but that is predicated on the 79 00:05:50,150 --> 00:05:55,610 Speaker 1: fact that our heart's desire is for the things of God. Ultimately, 80 00:05:55,690 --> 00:05:59,470 Speaker 1: there is a deep connection between love and obedience. Our 81 00:05:59,550 --> 00:06:03,930 Speaker 1: love for Jesus becomes incarnated in our lives as we 82 00:06:04,010 --> 00:06:08,330 Speaker 1: begin to mold our life around him. And what this 83 00:06:08,410 --> 00:06:12,260 Speaker 1: means is that the lures and the lies of this world, 84 00:06:12,580 --> 00:06:16,180 Speaker 1: they fade from our view. The Apostle Paul said the 85 00:06:16,220 --> 00:06:19,970 Speaker 1: same thing when he wrote in Galatians 6 verse 15, 86 00:06:19,970 --> 00:06:22,930 Speaker 1: that the world has been crucified to me and I 87 00:06:22,970 --> 00:06:26,960 Speaker 1: to the world. So how can you live from a 88 00:06:27,010 --> 00:06:31,400 Speaker 1: place of your victory? How might you stand against your 89 00:06:31,440 --> 00:06:36,020 Speaker 1: struggles or battles in the firm resolve that no matter 90 00:06:36,100 --> 00:06:39,740 Speaker 1: how big they may seem, they ultimately hold no power 91 00:06:39,860 --> 00:06:42,560 Speaker 1: over you and the Lord who goes with you?