A Daily Walk

John Randall: The actual spiritual battle that we're in. Some Christians are surprised by that. I don't know why I feel this way. I don't know why this happened. I don't know why I just get depressed. I don't know why this, and I just want to walk with the Lord and how come... You know why? Because this is a battle. This is a spiritual war that we're in, friend. I mean, that's actually what's going on around us.

Sometimes we don't even recognize how intense the warfare is, but it's a very real thing. It can start from the moment you wake up, sometimes through the night. I mean, there is a constant battle between the world, the flesh, and the devil. And yet, in the midst of this battle, the apostle reminds us repeatedly that we overcome. We overcome.

Guest (Male): We are thankful to the Lord for this time together with you. Welcome to A Daily Walk, where you never have to walk alone. Pastor John Randall is at the tail end of his study in First John, so find your place in chapter five. You know, life is a battle, and maybe you're in one as we speak. They can be hard to handle, but take comfort in this today. The Lord wants to fight for you, and we're not alone in the battle. There is also a way to overcome. Let's lean in and listen to this encouraging study from Pastor John.

John Randall: The psalmist declared in Psalm one concerning the man of God. It says in verse two, "his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he does meditate day and night." I mean, it's a blessing, this law of the Lord, the words of God, just to be in it makes a difference. It's a blessing, it's not a burden. In fact, the psalmist would go on to say in Psalm 19, highlighting the benefits of God's word, God's law, he would say, "more to be desired are they than gold, yea than much fine gold, sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb, and by keeping them, your servant is warned, and in keeping them, there is great reward."

The great reward and blessing that comes with walking in obedience to the word of God. That's not a burden to you. That should be a blessing to you. Folks, God doesn't give us a bunch of rules and commands because he's interested in restricting your freedoms and making your life miserable. That's not the God that we serve. He gives us commands and boundaries and precepts for our good, for our benefit. In a book entitled *Experiencing God*, I remember reading an illustration that was given by the author. It said this.

Imagine you had to cross a field that was filled with landmines. Someone, however, who knew exactly where each one was buried offered to guide you through it. Would you tell him, "I don't want you to tell me what to do, okay? I don't want you to impose your ways on me. I will find my own way, thank you. You're so restrictive." Boom. That would be the end of you. You would blow up. I don't know about you, but I would stay as close to that person as I could. I definitely wouldn't wander off.

His directions to me would keep me alive. He would say, "don't go that way because that way will kill you. Go this way and you will live." A lady after the service today said, "Pastor John, I was thinking about that illustration. I would ask the man to carry me just so I wouldn't just accidentally step in the wrong spot." I thought that was cute. Folks, the more we understand through our thinking and experience that God always seeks our good, no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly before him.

God loves to bless us. He's not trying to keep anything good from us. So, if I know that, the more willing I'm going to be to trust and obey him and what he asks me to do and what he calls me to avoid. Trust and obedience are closely connected to one another. My response, our response to his commands are born out of a full assurance of his love, and therefore I choose to walk in obedience because walking in obedience demonstrates my love reciprocated, responded back to him.

Jesus said in Luke 11:28, "blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it." And just as Jesus' obedience to the Father's will demonstrated his great love for us, our response to his will demonstrates our love for him. Jesus said, "you are my friends, John chapter 15 verse 14, if you do whatever I command you to do." Let me ask you something before we proceed. Are you walking today in obedience to the commands of God? And by obedience to the commands, I want to specify the difference between partial obedience versus obedience.

Are you walking in obedience to his commands? Are you seeking to live a life according to God's word? Do the scriptures guide your life? Oswald Chambers, he said something profound. He said, "one step forward in obedience is worth years of study about it." Are we actually walking in obedience? That's where the blessing is found. The Bible says it is God who works in us both to will and to do for his good pleasure. Christ never laid a commandment on a man or woman without giving them the strength to carry it out.

Every commandment that is given provides another chance for us to show and demonstrate our love for the Lord. I do this because I love the Lord. I don't do this because I love the Lord. And he loves me. And so therefore, because of this relationship, I'm mindful of that. As a new believer, you experience a new birth. You're born again by God's spirit, and the transformation starts as you learn to love and follow God's commands. But soon after you begin to know of this new birth and you begin to follow God's commands, something else will confront you, and that is this: the battle of the believer.

That is the third thing this morning, the battle of the believer. It says in verse four, "whatever is born of God, that is whoever is a Christian, is born again, overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. And who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" One way that the Bible expresses our experience of being born again is found in Colossians chapter one in verse 13. And here's how Paul describes the conversion experience for someone being born again.

He, that is Jesus, has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of his love. That is a description of what happens to us when we are saved, when we are born again. We were once very much a part of the kingdom of darkness. Who runs the kingdom of darkness? One guess. The devil. That's his kingdom. He rules in darkness. And yet, when we express faith in Christ, we were brought out of, like rescued, pulled out of the kingdom of darkness, and we were brought into and became a part of the kingdom of light.

Suddenly we can see. Suddenly we experience this freedom and this joy that we never knew was possible. We didn't even know this was out there. And suddenly our eyes are open and now we're no longer in darkness and blinded and bound, but we're free and delivered and walking in the spirit. It's something so profound and marvelous. But this is the problem: the devil wants you back. He'd love to bring you... come on, come on back. Why do you want me to come back? I just listen, come back.

I just want to destroy your life. I just want to ruin your family. I just want your marriage to end. I just want your kids to go off the deep end. I just want to... so what do you think? What do you say? Come on back. Come on back. Remember how great darkness was? No, those are all lies. But that's what he desires to do. So now you've got a target on your back. The world system opposes us, our flesh, we battle it, tempts us, and the devil targets us. We're engaged in a spiritual battle.

And it's not so much a fight against people. The Bible says it's against principalities and powers and rulers of darkness in heavenly places, spiritual forces in unseen realms that oppose you and everything that you believe in. Sometimes that comes as a surprise to people. Last night we were on the field counseling people after they had committed their lives to Christ, got to give them a Bible and minister to them, pray over them last night. And for so many of them, there is just this joy and excitement of "I'm forgiven."

You'd see people just weeping over the fact that they realize "I've been saved. The Lord loves me." I mean, and it's a marvelous thing. And they're born again. There's going to be a new behavior. But what some of them maybe are not yet prepared for, and yet it is coming and God will equip them for it, is the battle that comes with it. The actual spiritual battle that we're in. Some Christians are surprised by that. I don't know why I feel this way. I don't know why this happened. I don't know why I just get depressed. I don't know why this, and I just want to walk with the Lord and how come...

You know why? Because this is a battle. This is a spiritual war that we're in, friend. I mean, that's actually what's going on around us. And sometimes we don't even recognize how intense the warfare is, but it's a very real thing. It can start from the moment you wake up, sometimes through the night. I mean, there is a constant battle between the world, the flesh, and the devil. And yet, in the midst of this battle, the apostle reminds us repeatedly that we overcome. We overcome.

Actually, the Greek literal translation is, who is he who is constantly conquering the world but the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? That's the person who's constantly, consistently overcoming, having victory. They believe in Jesus. If you're born again, you overcome the world. And that's our victory, our faith in what Jesus has done. The two words that are used here, pay attention. The word "overcomes" is in the present tense, and then there is the word "overcome," which is in the aorist tense.

Overcomes in the present tense signifies a fight that is in progress. It's ongoing. We're in it right now. It's consistent, it's continual. It doesn't stop until we go in to be with Jesus, and then it stops. Overcomes. But the word "overcome" is in the aorist tense, and that describes a once and for all victory and triumph at Calvary which assures us that we are overcoming. In other words, Jesus went to the cross, he overcame. Finished, battle over, won, victory. There's no challenges to that. It's done. He said it, "it is finished."

And therefore, because he overcame, finished it, now we are overcoming in the process of the battle that we are in. So we fight from that victory at Calvary and we consistently are able to overcome. Why? Because we're so strong? No, because we believe in him. We believe in him. It's our faith in him. And let me ask you this morning, what battles right now are you currently facing in your life? What spiritual warfare or attack are you going through? Is your family under attack? Is your marriage under attack?

Are your kids under attack? They are under attack, but I'm saying are you in the midst of it right now? What are you supposed to do? Well, we have to be clothed in the armor. We have to put on the helmet. We have to put on the breastplate. We have to put on the belt of truth and the shield of faith and shod our feet with the gospel of peace and take the sword of the spirit, and we fight. We stand fast against the wiles of the devil. That is what we are engaged in at this very moment. It's all around us.

And so the battles that you face today, you overcome them by faith. You overcome them by trusting in Christ and what he has accomplished. Your battles, my battles, are no different from those in scripture. And let me say this: God hasn't changed either. Whatever battle you're facing today, it is important, it is absolutely critical that you remember that. He's the same God. Therefore, the phrase that is used in several places in scripture, this phrase right here, remember it: the battle belongs to the Lord.

That's the phrase you want to remember. And it is a powerful biblical truth that reminds believers God fights for his people. It appears several places in scripture and offers great encouragement, especially during spiritual trials, opposition, and warfare. Let me give you an example. In the book of Second Chronicles, King Jehoshaphat was faced with a massive army. I mean, the southern kingdom of Judah was going to be destroyed. There was no way, absolutely no way that they would have victory. They were done.

And the king did not know what to do. The people were overwhelmed. And yet, God sent a word to remind his people and to assure them that they would not need to fight in their own strength, that God was going to fight on their behalf. Second Chronicles 20:15, listen to what it says. "Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God's." The fact that it says "don't be afraid and don't be discouraged" tells you something about the people receiving the word. They were discouraged and they were afraid.

And so the Lord said, "don't. Don't do that." Well, why shouldn't I be? There's one reason: the battle's mine. I've got this one. You're on my side. I'm going to take care of it. I don't know what battle you're facing today, but maybe perhaps you need to know this. Don't be discouraged, but remember it's not yours, it's God's. God, this is yours. I'm right here. Take me in. You've got the victory. I'm trusting in you with this. How about First Samuel? Before David defeated Goliath, he wasn't trusting in armor, his skill, his power.

What was he trusting in? The presence of God with him on the battlefield. So much so that before the rock came out of his sling, he said these words to his enemy in verse 47. "All those gathered here will know that it's not by sword or spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord's." Everybody's going to come to the realization when this is all over that it was all God. I mean, the odds were completely stacked against David, against Jehoshaphat. And so often that is exactly how God likes it.

It seems so one-sided, "we're done." And the Lord says, "these are the odds I like because this is where I show up and I get glory when I do what only I can do." That's what God desires. And so this is what the Lord says. It's not your battle, it's the Lord's. What about Exodus? As Pharaoh's army pursued Israel after they had made their exodus out of Egypt. The Lord led them right to the Red Sea. Two mountain ranges on either side, the Red Sea in front of them, and wouldn't you know it, the Egyptians coming toward them.

You hear the sound of the hooves, you see the dust in the distance. Pharaoh is on his way. The people lose it. They cry out to Moses, "you brought us out here to die! We're going to die! We should have stayed in Egypt! We should have stayed slaves! You're ridiculous!" All these things are just complaining and moaning and Moses is like... He goes to God privately. It's a great scene, by the way, if you ever observe it. He goes to God privately. He's like, "Lord..." he's like, "people, don't worry. God, what are we going to do?" It's just so us.

"God is for us! Oh, Lord, help us out!" And the Lord says to Moses, "why do you cry out to me? Tell the people to go forward." All right. I mean, his instructions. And Moses comes out in Exodus 14 and he said to the people, "do not be afraid. Stand still." Oh, that's hard for us. "And then see the salvation of the Lord which he will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall again see no more forever." Why? Why can he say that? Here it is. "The Lord will fight for you, and you will hold your peace."

I mean, what? The Lord just said, "I want you to stop. Just be still for a second. And I want you to watch, and I want you to trust me, and I want you to see what I'm going to do. You're so busy, you're so active. You're trying to get in there and control what you don't have the ability to control. It's not in your control. You can't manipulate the situation and try to figure it out. Well, if I do this and I move this piece and then maybe I'll get them to do that." It's out of your control.

Ever been in that situation? And all that you can do is either fret or trust God. I've done both. And the Lord says, "I want you to know I'm going to fight for you, and you just hold your peace. You just stand still and see. You just watch. The battle's not yours, the battle's the Lord's." It's important to remember that you and me, we are not in life's battles alone. God sees, God knows. Especially when you trust and seek him. You don't win by the flesh. You win by faith.

Victory doesn't come from our strength, from our skill, our strategy, our resources, but relying on the Lord through prayer, obedience, and faith. Zechariah chapter four verse six, the Lord said it so powerfully through his prophet. "It is not by might, it's not by power, but how? By my spirit," says the Lord. That's how it's going to get done. Not your might, not my power. It's God's spirit. In First Corinthians 15:57, Paul said it so powerfully. He said, "thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Yeah, I can thank God in advance. "Lord, I don't know how this is going to work out, but there's a couple things I know. I know you're for me, I know you're with me, I know you battle, I know you have a plan, and I'm going to see and I'm going to stand still and I'm going to watch what you're going to do because it's out of my control." Our job is to stand firm, to trust and obey God. Like Moses, like David, like Jehoshaphat, like so many others.

Our role is to take our position, to walk in obedience and to trust the Lord to work. There's something I've observed in my walk with the Lord and my journey with Jesus over the years, and perhaps you've seen this in yourself as well. It's amazing the revelation that God will bring about you as he takes you through something. You find things out about yourself that you did not know. It's like when you're squeezed, what comes out? It's like whoa, you know, when the table overturns, what's all over the place? It's something that's within us.

And what God's shown me is that if there are moments if I am anxious or worried or troubled or reacting, that those are usually the moments that I'm not at peace, that I'm not at rest, and I'm not really trusting the Lord in that moment. And the Lord has to readjust my vision and remind me of who he is, of what he's said, and I need to just redirect my attention to the Lord. Trust in him instead of leaning on my own understanding and all of my ways acknowledge him, and then he promises to direct my paths.

It is when you lean on your own understanding, it is when you try to labor in the effort of the flesh and you're just... are you trusting the Lord right now? Because it doesn't look like it. I'm saying this to myself. You know you. "Why am I anxious? Why am I all worked up?" You know why? Because you're not believing. It's your faith that's going to overcome. All this other stuff is not going to help you. And so, the battle is real. And you know something, church? The world is loud. It's loud.

It tempts, it pressures, it pulls. But it doesn't have the final say over the child of God. In the final part of this letter, the apostle John doesn't present a survival strategy. He actually declares victory. He states that those who are born of God, listen carefully to this, are not victims of the world, but they are conquerors, victors over it. Not by trying in our own power, not by hiding in fear, but by living through faith in Christ. May God help us this week as born again believers, filled with the spirit, choosing to live.

Walking in obedience, engaged in the battle, may we believe boldly what God has said. Obey joyfully, love deeply, and live triumphantly through Christ. The Bible tells us in Romans chapter eight verse 37, and I leave you with this passage. Romans 8:37, "yet in all of these things we are," notice this, "more than conquerors through him who loved us." Do you realize what that says? It's one thing to say, "you know something? You're a conqueror through him who loved you." Oh, that's good news.

It's as if Paul said that's not even... that doesn't even describe how much victory you actually have. To be clear, I would have to say you're actually more than a conqueror. You could be more than a conqueror? Yeah. Well, how is that possible? Only one way: through him who loves you. That's how.

Guest (Male): Today on A Daily Walk, we've been talking about the battle of the believer and how we overcome in Christ. Maybe the timing of this couldn't be better as you're in a battle today. Well, we hope you were encouraged to trust in the Lord. You're not alone. He fights for you. Pastor John Randall's message "Faith That Overcomes the World" can be heard again at adailywalk.org or wherever you get your podcasts. Pastor John's teachings are also accessible through our app, too. Just search for Calvary South OC in the App Store or Google Play.

Since Mother's Day falls within this month of May, we picked out a special book for you moms. It's *A Mom After God's Own Heart*. Written by Elizabeth George, you'll learn ten powerful ways to love your children. It contains easy-to-implement principles for enjoyable and effective parenting, specific tools for teaching your kids about God's love for them, and biblical insight to encourage you along the way. The cost is just $12. Order it today at adailywalk.org or call us at 877-242-0828.

And thank you for helping us get the word out on stations like this one all across the country. People today desperately need the hope and encouragement that God's word provides, and your support helps to make that possible. To donate to the ministry, please go to adailywalk.org or call 877-242-0828. By the way, I also want to mention Pastor John is on X and Instagram. If you are, too, start following him on X at pjrandall7, on Instagram at johnprandall. Well, it is time for us to part ways, but we'll catch you back here next time on A Daily Walk with Pastor John, where you never have to walk alone. This program is brought to you by Calvary South OC and made possible through your generous support.