Jeremy Utley - The Secret of Overcoming Evil

Jeremy UtleySeptember 18, 201731mWatch on YouTube

In this collectionJeremy Utley130 messages

Speaker: Jeremy Utley Title: The Secret of Overcoming Evil Date: 09-17-2017 Our Goal as Christians is this: To be an exact reflection of Jesus, the Son of God (Romans 8:29) We do this individually by growing in purity in our personal lives (1 John 3:2-3) We do this corporately by becoming fully functioning members of a local Church (Ephesians 4:11-16)

Summary

The central message is that overcoming evil with good is impossible through personal effort alone; it requires God's power and love. True ability to overcome sin comes only after accepting God's unconditional love, as exemplified by the 'I do not condemn you' promise. Practically, growing in the knowledge of God's love requires two things: seeing how much He loves us and how much He has forgiven us, which is best cultivated by prioritizing a deep, childlike desire to simply be in His presence.

Outline

The message in plain words, in the order it unfolds. Select a time to jump the video to that moment.

We cannot overcome evil on our own strengthEveryone desires to overcome evil, but the true evil is sin, and there is no good in human flesh to overcome it apart from God's power.

The connection between forgiveness and overcomingDrawing from the two-sentence gospel in John, believers cannot successfully fulfill the command to go and sin no more until they fully believe they are not condemned.

The first way to grow in God's love: Be with HimJesus called the apostles to Himself primarily so that they would be with Him before sending them out to preach or work.Mark 3:13

Streams of living water flow from exposure to His presenceJust as children naturally pick up their parents' habits through constant exposure, believers take on the divine nature by simply cherishing Christ's presence.

Being rooted, grounded, and immovable in loveBefore any fruit-bearing can happen, believers must be immovable and deeply rooted in the love of God so they cannot be shaken by trials.

The second way to grow in love: Run back immediatelyWhen we realize we have drifted away or failed, we must not stay down in shame, but boldly approach the throne of grace with confidence.

Why God occasionally allows us to failFailures are permitted to empty us of self-confidence and to show us that there is no pit too deep for His love to reach.

Peter's overconfidence and Jesus' prayer for himPeter boasted that he would never fall away, but Jesus prayed that Peter's faith would not fail even when he hit rock bottom.Matthew 26:31

The secret to Paul's overwhelming conquestPaul was an overwhelming conqueror because he was fully convinced that nothing could separate him from the love of God.Romans 8:37–39

Heeding the warnings in GethsemaneJesus gave Peter a chance in Gethsemane to see his weakness before the major fall, showing us the importance of watching and praying.

The woman with the hemorrhage as a picture of emptinessThe woman who touched Jesus' garment did not just have faith; she came with total hopelessness, having spent all she had with no other options.Mark 5:25–29

Despair of self combined with confidence in HimJesus brings us to the place where we have no other hope, so that our desperation meets His power and releases His healing grace.

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Jeremy Utley - The Secret of Overcoming Evil

Jeremy Utley · September 18, 2017 · 31m

Victory Becoming like Him