July 13th, 2008 River of Life Ministries Pastor Michael West
Sermon: Victory, Sweet Victory
Scripture: II Chronicles 20
Victory. Ever thought about it? Maybe it’s in sports, or war, team against team, but ever think about victory for you? In your everyday life?
There are three components in the dedication for victory:
Unity. Unity of vision. We can only be victorious when all the players are on board, unified in vision, regardless of how much talent or potential there is.
Diversity of skills. What a baseball team was made up of all pitchers? Or football all quarterbacks? Or a business with only salespeople? Doesn’t make much sense does it? Every organization, every church requires diverse talents to succeed.
Leaders are dedicated to victory and raising players to their potential and pastors are dedicated to victory by raising up disciple-makers, because we are all called to be soul-winners.
I will not accept defeat. As a parent to a child going through school, “you will do your school work.” as a pastor to this church, “you will pray, you will worship, you will learn, you will obey, you will evangelize, you will love, you will forgive, you will lead!”
And in our failures, we will know that that is only a small price to pay as the success for today and we will press on together.
What makes some achievers excel and skyrocket while others plummet? Some call it luck, blessing or whatever, but the truth of the matter, in spite of great difficulties they finish in the top 5 percent in the company even though they may have lost some key accounts. Achievers find ingenious ways to increase profits…..Chad and the shirts…..
Achievers graduate while raising two kids in a single parent home. They see things possible where others don’t. They recruit one after another to join the team. It just seems as though things just happen for them. That’s there calling someone says. We like to think of ourselves as a bit above average and the achievers are those who leave average in the dust. Why? What makes the difference?
Is it family origins? Wealth? Better opportunity? High morals? The absence of hardship? No, none of those things. The factor that separates those who shine and those who don’t is found in one thing: the perception and the response to failure. Nothing else has the same kind of impact on our ability to achieve and accomplish what our minds and hearts desire.
It’s time to start living the life you have always wanted by getting serious with God and stop with the excuses.
If August is happening, it’s because you got serious with God and let Him have the battle. The only reason we need to pray on about something is for our own peace of mind.
Let’s learn from Jehoshaphat’s situation—II Chronicles 20:4-5
God heard him the first time. He need to speak about the situation and here is a good place to say, we can talk to God at other times, not just when there is trouble. God can see and He can hear.
God heard you the first time you prayed, after that, it’s time to talk to Him about Him. —II Chronicles 20:6
As friends with God, we have to know He is not just a problem solver, He is my Heavenly Father, my Friend, God is my everything and I appreciate Him more than any words I can say.
Look what Jehoshaphat said next—II Chronicles 20:7-11
He is ready for the fight. He is speaking fighting words. His faith is increased from this battle plan there will be victory each time.
Tell God of the situation, talk to God, praise Him and then declare what is going to happen by remembering what God has done before.
Talking God’s ear off with the problem or need doesn’t move Him, God already has a plan before you spoke and His plan is for deliverance. God isn’t surprised when the enemy lashes out and neither should we. Our part in the Lord’s battle is to focus on Him and His mighty power, worshipping Him, giving praises for the manifestation of His remedies and listen for a word or direction from Him.
Take your dreams, desires, visions, right now today and work them into reality. By faith in God they will become visible. August is going to happen, but we have to start today, putting off by killing your time will end in nothing.
Ecclesiastes 11:4 (Living Bible says, “If you wait for perfect conditions, you will never get anything done.”)
The first step to procrastination is to eliminate all the reasons and excuses for not taking immediate action. We are moving forward. This baby is coming. Let’s not make the mistake of making the main goal to keep busy, that’s a trap. What is more important than busy is, are we progressing. It’s activity versus accomplishment.
John Henry Fabre did a study of the processionary caterpillars. You know the ones that follow each other in a line, head to tail. Well, he took agroup of them and put them in a circle. They stayed in that circle, round and round they went. Then he placed some water and pine needles, their favorite food, in a saucer in the middle of the circle. The just kept going round and round eventually starving to death with their favorite food two inches away. Busy, busy, busy caterpillars, never accomplishing anything, just doing the same thing over and over.
They confused activity with accomplishment.
All this to say, Christians need to be accomplishing great things for God. After all, He did invest His Son and Spirit into us to do just that, accomplish great things not just talking about them.
Noise produces nothing. Often times a hen will cackle after laying an egg even if it was an asteroid.
We need to be like the Apostles, they weren’t known for policies, procedures, theories or excuses. They are known for their acts. Some people say, “I’m waiting on God.” reality is, God is waiting on them.
Psalm 31:15
The cost of growth is always less than the cost of stagnation and the only thing necessary for evil to win is good people do nothing. The longer we take to act on God’s direction, the less clear it will become. Procrastination, a marvelous tool of the enemy, holds us back form the blessings God has because we miss God’s timing.
Proverbs 21:25
Try to remember, everyday, excuses for delay keep the answers away. And don’t forget this, even when we see someone who appears to be successful, isn’t always the case because the adage is, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
It’s time to life the life you’ve wanted.
It’s time to let the Lord have His battle.
It’s time to rise from prayer and enter praise.
It’s time to move forward and leave excuses in the dust.
It’s time to admit we are dependant upon God.
II Chronicles 20:12
We can’t solve the problem, God can.
We can’t make August happen, but God can.
We can become united, use our skills, and become committed
We can pray and we can praise.
We can do the three things Jehoshaphat did in verse 12:
Admit that we do not have the might to stand against the enemy
Admit we don’t know what to do
Keep our eyes on God
Get dependant on God: John 15:5
God knows more than us: I Corinthians 13:9
Resting in Him and attitude in the heart: Psalm 131:1
Basically, due what Judah did, wait on the Lord, wait for the answer:
II Chronicles 20:13-15
Enjoying life is not irresponsible—John 10:10
