“Father, I am your servant, willing and desiring to be used to bless your people.”
The Fields are white and the laborers are few!
2. C.H. Spurgeon said, “If God does not save a man by truth he certainly will not save them by lies, and if the old gospel is not competent to work a revival, then we will do without the revival;
Intro: ABC Wide World of Sports use to come on with the words “The Thrill of Victory and the agony of defeat.” There is nothing as exciting as winning. The taste of victory in our lives is sweet. Victory is essential to our health and happiness. Defeat is destructive to our lives, and remaining in defeat can destroy our faith. It is not God’s will for your life to walk in defeat, but it is His will for you and I to rise-up in the middle of Satan’s attacks upon our lives and live in victory.
I. To Live in Victory you must think Victorious
1. Gloom breads failure
- It is impossible to live in victory without a victorious concept
1 Corinthians 15:57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ
1 John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
1 John 5:5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
- The old saying goes you are what you eat.
- The same is true for our lives:
• If you are defeated in your thought life with negative thoughts of failure then you will never win.
7 Steps to Victory These 7 points spell VICTORY!
Write these down
(V) = Vigilance
1 Peter 5:8
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
Romans 13:14
But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.
Be watchful and on guard. This is a spiritual paranoia that is actually healthy!
Don’t feed the lion [your flesh].
(I) Imagine the Consequences
Eccles. 8:11-13
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
[12] Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him: [13] But it shall not be well with the wicked, neither shall he prolong his days, which are as a shadow; because he feareth not before God.
(C) Cry out to God
Psalm 34:6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles.
Jeremiah 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
Cry out when tempted, after you fail, and throughout the day.
(T) Take thoughts into captivity
2 Cor. 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: [4] (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) [5] Casting down [suppressing] imaginations [thoughts], and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Temptation comes like the serpent in the garden, saying, “ye shall not surely die…you’ll become as Gods!” If not dealt with immediately, Thoughts become desires, which turn into actions, which produce habits, that become your life.
The most dangerous form of LSD: Lust-Sin-Death!
(O) Omnipresence of God
Genesis 39:7-9 And it came to pass after these things, that his master’s wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, Lie with me. [8] But he refused, and said unto his master’s wife, Behold, my master wotteth not what is with me in the house, and he hath committed all that he hath to my hand; [9] There is none greater in this house than I; neither hath he kept back any thing from me but thee, because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?
His omnipresence means He sees it all, His omniscience means He knows it all, and His omnipotence means… He’s big enough to deal w/ us when we sin as children!
Psalm 139:2
Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off.
(R) Rely on the Scriptures
Psalm 119:11
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Memorize, meditate [Josh. 1:8] Ill.—Meditate in Heb means to “chew the cud”.
1 Cor. 10:13 There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.
[God will bring the verses to mind if they’re in your mind!]
The Bible is a sword…an offensive weapon with which to resist the devil and fight against him.
(Y) Yield to the Spirit
Romans 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
Whatever God says to do, we must obey, in order to have His power over sin in this world.
There you have it V.I.C.T.O.R.Y
If you Make up and put your mind into VICTORY through your HOPE in Him and Who he is, “you will always win.”
Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
- We have to have hope to live in Victory!
• I don’t want to fall into the hands of a doctor without HOPE
• I don’t want to fall into the hands of a lawyer without HOPE
• I don’t want to fall into the hands of a minister without HOPE
Psalms 71:14 But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee more and more.
- We serve the God of hope
• Not the God of defeat
• Not the God of pessimism
• Not the God of disillusion
• We have HOPE and beyond We have blessed assurance
Psalms 98:1 O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.
- You can live in doom and gloom or you can live your life surrounded in HOPE
2. David never allowed himself to focus on problems
- David will never be remembered as a blues singer
- David had bumps in life
- David had battles in life
- David had failures in life
- David had difficulties in life
- David wept
- David mourned
- BUT David learned to live in praise!
I need to stop here and Prophesy to Someone, Somebody here tonight just related to the Things that could have and should have Destroyed David! God just told me to tell you the Same power that Delivered David, The same power that Delivered Daniel, The Same power that Delivered the three Hebrew Children from the Fire. The same power that Parted the Red sea for Moses, the Same Power the Shook the Gates of the Prison doors open for Paul and Silas at their midnight hour is ready to be dispensed unto you. All you got to do is just change Garments! Take off that Garment of Circumstance, Take off that Garment of Defeat, Put on that Garment of Praise and I will do a new thing in your life that will not only amaze you but cause those that know you to stand in Awe.
Psalms 42:5 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance.
3. Learning to Live in Praise in Essential to Victorious Living
- Praise builds our courage
• (Jehosphat) II Chronicles 20
• (Paul & Silas) Acts 16:20
- Praise builds our faith
• Praise puts our faith into action
• The building of our faith pleases God; God gets excited God when we trust Him.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a re warder of them that diligently seek him.
• Praising God in the midst of our trials is like saying: “God you are my source of strength and though storms rise and winds howl, my trust is in you.”
- Praise brings the power of Heaven to our aid
2 Samuel 22:6 The sorrows of hell compassed me about; the snares of death prevented me;
2 Samuel 22:7 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried to my God: and he did hear my voice out of his temple, and my cry did enter into his ears.
2 Samuel 22:8 Then the earth shook and trembled;
1) God heard God always here’s the crys of his saints if we don’t regard iniquity in our hearts!
2:) God moved To Live in Victory you must get your eyes off of Circumstance
1. During the Storm of their Life in Matt 8 “ Peter got out of the boat”
- Peter focused on Christ not the storm only As his attention shifted he began to sink
2. Lame man at pool of Bathesda in John
John 5:3 In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water.
John 5:4 For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had.
John 5:5 And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years.
John 5:6 When Jesus saw him lie, and knew that he had been now a long time in that case, he saith unto him, Wilt thou be made whole?
John 5:7 The impotent man answered him, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool: but while I am coming, another steppeth down before me.
John 5:8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.
John 5:9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked:
- The King of kings walked into the mans presence
- Jesus asked him, “Do you want to be healed?”
- The man focusing only on the circumstance, “I have no man to help me…”
- Get your eyes off the circumstance and get your eyes on me.
3. Sometimes attacks come and they are so heavy that they overwhelm us, and it is hard not to focus on the problems that we are dealing with.
- When you are faced with loss in your life it is difficult to stay focused
• Loss of health
• Loss of loved one
• Loss of possessions
- Attacks are hard and they hurt, they bring pain and suffering into your life.
- But Jesus is our CHAMPION, our REFUGE, our STRONG TOWER, our SHELTER in the storm.
- He is the God of HOPE
- Focus on the Promise not the problems.
III. To Live in Victory you must never accept Defeat
1. To many Christians come under attack and they give up. They want to just sit down and not move.
2. They think if I don’t do anything maybe the devil want notice me, and he will leave me alone: WRONG. You merely exist in defeat. The opposite of Victory!
3. When you are defeated forward progress is stopped dead
- When your Prayer life is stopped you are living in defeat
- When your Devotional life is stopped you are living in defeat
- When your Commitment to service is stopped you are living in defeat
4. Some folks are sitting in pews and haven’t done anything for the kingdom in years.
- Blame lack of time; “Pastor I’m just way to busy” Well Slow down!
- Blame burn out; “I did it last, now let someone else do it”
- They Look for any excuse not to be profitable for the Master
5. Don’t live in defeat do something
ILL. Put Johnson in!
It was the middle of a high school football game, and the home team was losing. They just could not do anything. One irate fan yells at the sidelines, “Put Johnson in!” The sidelines yell back, “Johnson is in!” The fan yells again, “Well take Johnson out!” In other words do something.
Ecclesiastes 9:10 Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.
- In II Kings 7 There is a story of Samaria under siege.
• No food
• Most of the animals had been eating.
• Many wear starving to death.
• 4 Lepers lay at the gate discussing their options
Ø We can go into the city and die
Ø We can stay here and die
Ø We can go over to the Arameans;
If they spare us we live
If they kill us we die
- They decided to do something
- God rewards faith put into action
• They found they enemy gone
• They found food
• They found treasure
• Because they decided to do something
- When Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water He didn’t hear a mad rush behind him of others jumping out of the boat.
- It was Peter that did something
Conclusion: You can live in victory. You don’t have to remain in defeat.
1. Set your mind to thinking victory
2. Don’t focus on problem focus on the Promise
3. Do Something get up and get moving.
These are the steps to victory. As you begin to make these steps you will find that God provides victory in every situation of your life.
