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. 1 John 4:4
When I was a youth volunteer, I heard a story from an older man that I will never forget. He told a story of being stuck at a light in his car for a long time. His mind daydreamed until the passenger in the car next to him caught his attention. It was a little boy about 7 or 8 years old, riding in a jeep. The young kid started making faces at him and sticking his tongue out. He was saying things in his annoying voice and trying his hardest to invoke a reaction. After this persisted and the old man had had enough, he stepped out of his car to deal with the situation. The little boy got quiet when he saw the man step out. But it was then when the old man noticed that in the driver seat of the car was a bodybuilder of a man with huge muscles and tattoos. He knew that this man wasn't someone that he wanted to mess with, so he calmly waved and got back into his own vehicle. He caved when he saw the power and strength of the young boy's father.
I love that story because many of us forget that we have a Father in heaven who is much more powerful than any demon or adversary that Satan throws against us. We can sit comfortably in the passenger seat, knowing that our identity as a child of God is secure. We don't have to live in fear, but we can sit in the strength and protection that God offers. John puts this idea clearly when he said, "…the Spirit that lives within you is greater than the spirit that lives in the world." God is much more powerful than any present force or enemy that we come up against in this Forgotten War. As kids of the Most-High King, we can take confidence not in our own power, but in His supremacy.
God can give you the power to stand against the attacks of the evil one when you are weak. He will make your position firm when you trust Him and other people for help. God will enable you to resist the temptation to compromise, but instead to live a life of conviction. Even when the crowd turns away, He gives the supernatural strength to follow Jesus. When we feel threatened or put back by the evil one, we have to sit securely in the passenger seat, knowing that God is our defender.
The power of God is constant and available to those who have trusted in Jesus as their Lord and Savior. When a person makes Jesus their master, they are filled with the Holy Spirit. They have a new identity as a child of God. When you think about God's power filling you, take some time to think through that moment you accepted Jesus. How did God's power and the Holy Spirit living inside of you change things? Where did you find more courage and strength? Where did you see God defending and having a hand in the events of your own life? Take some time to work through these questions. If you have never accepted Jesus or made Him your master, please come by the decision counseling room this weekend or use the decision tab to get more information about accepting Christ.
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. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.
Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.
Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.
