There are 3 things that are eternal:
1. God
2. The Word of God
3. Those who do the will of God
1 John 2:17
17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
You can abide in God forever. Everything else on earth will pass away but you can remain forever if you abide in God.
What do we need to overcome?
#3 Desire of our flesh
Our flesh can be the temple of God or the place where temptation abides. If you listen to your flesh, you will become a spiritual criminal. We must crucify our flesh daily.
Galatians 5:19-21
19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
When temptation comes to your thoughts, immediately spit them out. Those thoughts are most often to
Sexual immorality is the one sin that we commit against our own bodies. Sexual sin goes inside you and destroys you from the inside out. Sexual sin destroys your family and your children.
1 Corinthians 6:18-19
18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?
When King David committed sexual sin, it took over his family. His son Amnon raped his sister, Tamar. This sin started a chain reaction that destroyed his family and almost took his kingdom from him.
How do we overcome sexual immorality? Overcoming Satan is not too hard – just cast the devil out. Overcoming ourselves is the hard part.
How did Anna overcome herself?
Luke 2:36-37
36 Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; 37 and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years,[i] who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day.
Anna overcame by staying connected to God.
She plugged into God. She fasted and prayed and served God day and night.
When the wrong desire comes to your mind, cut off those thoughts and desires immediately.
#4 Expectations of society
We are not of this world. We must separate from this world. We must be the salt and light of this world. We must overcome this world.
It is difficult this day because of all of the technology. Parents want to give their children every good thing. They think that technology is a good thing to give their children, but technology is a dangerous thing to play with. It’s like handing your child a snake and telling him or her to be careful not to get bit. No one would do that because of the risk. But technology is very risky.
We must live by the Word of God and not by the standards of the society that we live in. We must judge whether something is good or evil by the Word of God.
#5 Unbelief and doubt
We must overcome unbelief and doubt in our own hearts and from other people around us. There are many people who walk in doubt and unbelief. They don’t trust God.
If you say that you are a Christian, trust God.
God is our solution. He is our healer. He is our comforter. He is everything. He should be your best friend.
When you overcome unbelief and doubt, God will be able to fulfill His promise in your life. Hold onto the promises of God. He is faithful.
God bless you,
Pastor Sun East
Other messages in this series:
You must overcome in order to receive God’s promise
Overcome tests and trials by faith
Overcome through spiritual battle
Overcome by overcoming yourself