Post by Rob W. Case on Nov 14, 2011 3:40:35 GMT -6
Editor's Note: This is a message I gave at my church on Sunday, November 13, 2011, and would like to share it with you my well appreciated readers.
I am going to cite a few Bible verses for you, and I want you to ask yourself if you see them as realities you can relate to from experience, or merely idealistic concepts that perhaps sound pleasing to hear, and may believe them to a degree, but just not now, not at this particular moment in time.
1 John 5:4-5
4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Or how about this one?
1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Or maybe even this one….
Romans 8:37b
….. we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
After hearing these three verses, can you, in fact, relate to them, and personally feel their true power at this time? Do you possess a victorious outlook when you’re stressed out, or when people behave rudely and ignorantly toward you? In other words, does life these days dim the prospects of your appointed victory according to God’s word? And so today, we are going to define what true victory is, and investigate many of the various “in betweens” that may in fact, be working to prevent us from reaching our predestined victory.
First off, we are going to define with clarity what victory actually means.
According to Noah Webster’s original dictionary, Victory is defined as a “Conquest; the defeat of an enemy in battle, or of an antagonist in contest; a gaining of the superiority in war or combat. Victory supposes the power of an enemy or an antagonist to prove inferior to that of the victor.”
And so, if we were to effectively summarize this definition, one could say that victory is the defeat of who we are at war with; Satanic forces, worldly influences, and fleshly attitudes that work together with our fallible and fleshly nature, including, but not limited to our personal prejudices, biases, and concerns. And if every epic battle known to man has taught us something, it is that victory consists of a series of steps in which these are some of their primary components. I am going to focus on 5 today.
1. Goal
2. Obstacles
3. Your mind
4. Challenges from those who are of the world; products of this world's system
5. Success/Failure in pursuit of reaching the goal.
1. Defining the Goal
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Our primary goal as believers is to tell people the Gospel message of Jesus Christ in that He came to die for our sins, and rose again to show the materialistic, secular world that there is a hope and a way to disassociate themselves from every harmful element that the world uses to mislead them, harden their hearts, fall victim to destructive strongholds, or being subjected to possessing primitive mindsets that have occurred in cycles, since the beginning of time. That said, Christ came as the 2nd Adam to re-activate the spiritual nature of every created man, and builds his Kingdom up through that particular channel.
As Jesus stated in John 18:36, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” And it isn’t. It consists of trusting in God’s word, and by that trust, acting in faith that relieves the fallen state of man to a journey of activation, restoration and growth and fulfilling the purpose God has destined for our lives. That in a nutshell, is the overall goal God set for mankind, and the reason why Christ came on earth to go through what he went through. In fact, I know that without a doubt, a deeply detailed examination as to what Christ went through on our behalf would make for a very fascinating study topic.
2. Obstacles
According to Noah Webster’s original dictionary, an obstacle is “That which opposes; any thing that stands in the way and hinders progress.”
The biggest obstacle to living out the eternal Kingdom of God, after becoming spiritually activated is our fleshly, worldly nature. This nature was established when we were born into this material world, and nurtured psychologically by its environment. In that, our experiences within the environment we grew up in, along with the people and frames of mind we chose to associate ourselves with, helped formed many of our personal opinions, biases, prejudices, and concerns. And while all of these traits are diverse among a variety of people, many of the beliefs commonly carried by the world cause deep divisions, factions, conflicts, and so forth. And yet when we become believers, everything in our being has become new in Christ. We just have to utilize the reality of that aspect by faith. From there, he takes care of the rest.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Couple that with the truth expressed in John 3:6-7 where Jesus said….
6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.
Go back a few verses, to verse 3, and Jesus says…
….. “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
And so, just as we were born into this material world, and nurtured by its environment, we become born unto the Spirit, and with the Help of the Holy Spirit, in accordance with following God’s word and unchangeable truths, our spiritual nature became nurtured by the Spirit of truth (i.e. the Holy Spirit), along with our changed heart which seeks the Lord in counsel. And yet, as we grow in Christ, we are of two minds, one of which is fleshly, and the other which is spiritual. The Apostle Paul effectively described the ongoing struggle between the two natures, the nature of the flesh and the nature of the spirit.
Galatians 5:17
17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
That said, it is easy to follow our wants, and slip into handling a bad/challenging situation by the means of the flesh, since that is the nature we are most familiar with. But walking in the spirit is more of a challenge since it requires a significant amount of faith and takes great discipline and “outside help” from the Holy Spirit to accomplish. And yet, the most effective way to accomplish this strategy is to execute it in faith, trust in the Lord, and from that trust, you will learn from your experiences in trusting Him, and grow from that in a constructive and dynamic way.
3. Your Mind
Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Much is at stake in how we choose to handle our affairs. In fact, it’s amazing how much our decisions are affected by our attitudes and our attitudes from our state of mind. The mind, in various aspects, is the “control station” which triggers the will to take or not take a certain action. And yet, at times amidst certain situations, our minds can be tarnished by discouragement in our walk and resolve, especially when we are in a state of uncertainty or confusion, or if we are bombarded by negative attitudes and feelings that are sort of dragging us down and making us unproductive in our mission to achieve the victory we are predestined for.
Proverbs 23:7a
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he….
There are so many things that have the potential to dominate our minds and take away much needed time we should be spending on achieving the goal of communicating the Gospel and living it out. Anxiety, fear, and worry, are all things that are most likely to affect us if we are not thinking the way Jesus would have us think; by focusing our minds on having victory in Jesus.
Ephesians 4:22-24
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
4. Challenges from those who are of the world; products of this world's system
2 Corinthians 4:4
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
This is very fascinating, because without Christ, the world’s spiritual state is dead, and is easily influenced by Satan. After all, if a person is blind to discern things beyond what he can see, touch, hear, taste, and smell, then he will define his sense of reality primarily on those aspects alone, since they are most familiar to them. And since a person who is subjected to such restrictions is conformed to the patterns of this world's system, and is not spiritually activated as a member of the Kingdom of God, He will act on what he feels is right, and when confronted with any notion of God, he will dismiss it as foolishness.
1 Corinthians 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
One of the reasons I think this aspect is so important to the life of a believer is because we have a tendency to lose sight of the fact that this is such a widespread, universal case that is alive and active in this world’s system. That said, sometimes some Christians have a tendency to feel intimidated by the world in boldly coming out and taking a stand for Jesus Christ, because next to them, the world’s “reason” or challenges to the things of God may sound more intelligent than the faith aspect that appears to many in the world as plain and simplistic. And yet, no matter what he does to try to dethrone God, man cannot do it through reasons of logic, science, etc. But what does happen is that reason, logic, science forms the “body” of events that point to the soul of the matter, which is filled in by God’s word and thus establishes the paramount concept that is faith. And even though the world may have a way to sort of “puff up” its arguments with a lot of “big words,” and arguments that may sound, on the surface, sophisticated and intelligent, rejection of God is anything but.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16
14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Jesus had favor between God and man. As such, when we are well aware of our state of being, the world’s state of being, and the workings of what causes the divide, we can execute boldness and confidence in regards to which belief is more aligned with the truth, and overcome all of the obstacles the world tries to throw our way.
Another challenge I would like to address really quickly under this same heading is acceptance. Sometimes being a Christian can be lonely, because perhaps the world believes in some of the naïve clichés and prejudices that are propagated about Christians throughout the world. Sometimes the desire to be accepted by non-Christians can lead to passiveness and inaction, which can lead to unpreparedness if confronted with an argument or verbally attacked.
5. Success/Failure in pursuit of reaching the goal.
Upon reaching the goal and pursuing victory in overcoming ourselves and working for the Lord, it is essential to know what success actually consists of. In 2 Corinthians 6:3-10, 13 we are given a laundry list of the Apostle Paul’s hardships. These hardships amounted to great success in growing one’s citizenship in the Kingdom of God and overcoming the world.
3 We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
13 As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.
The Apostle Paul also added on to this concept while in Prison as is recorded in 2 Timothy 4:6-8,
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
And 2 Timothy 4:16-18
16 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Ultimate victory in this fashion all rests on how willing and determined you are to simply follow the Lord, fight your fleshly, earthly nature, allow yourself not to be intimidated by the world, remain faithful, and to tie it all together, trust Him in seeing you through all the obstacles that work to try to prevent your victory from taking place.
Peter’s victory also reflects this truth as well....
1 Peter 1:6-9
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
And as for failure; failure begins where we fail to follow through, or just give up on the steps we mentioned today.
I am going to cite a few Bible verses for you, and I want you to ask yourself if you see them as realities you can relate to from experience, or merely idealistic concepts that perhaps sound pleasing to hear, and may believe them to a degree, but just not now, not at this particular moment in time.
1 John 5:4-5
4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.
Or how about this one?
1 Corinthians 15:57
But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Or maybe even this one….
Romans 8:37b
….. we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
After hearing these three verses, can you, in fact, relate to them, and personally feel their true power at this time? Do you possess a victorious outlook when you’re stressed out, or when people behave rudely and ignorantly toward you? In other words, does life these days dim the prospects of your appointed victory according to God’s word? And so today, we are going to define what true victory is, and investigate many of the various “in betweens” that may in fact, be working to prevent us from reaching our predestined victory.
First off, we are going to define with clarity what victory actually means.
According to Noah Webster’s original dictionary, Victory is defined as a “Conquest; the defeat of an enemy in battle, or of an antagonist in contest; a gaining of the superiority in war or combat. Victory supposes the power of an enemy or an antagonist to prove inferior to that of the victor.”
And so, if we were to effectively summarize this definition, one could say that victory is the defeat of who we are at war with; Satanic forces, worldly influences, and fleshly attitudes that work together with our fallible and fleshly nature, including, but not limited to our personal prejudices, biases, and concerns. And if every epic battle known to man has taught us something, it is that victory consists of a series of steps in which these are some of their primary components. I am going to focus on 5 today.
1. Goal
2. Obstacles
3. Your mind
4. Challenges from those who are of the world; products of this world's system
5. Success/Failure in pursuit of reaching the goal.
1. Defining the Goal
Matthew 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Our primary goal as believers is to tell people the Gospel message of Jesus Christ in that He came to die for our sins, and rose again to show the materialistic, secular world that there is a hope and a way to disassociate themselves from every harmful element that the world uses to mislead them, harden their hearts, fall victim to destructive strongholds, or being subjected to possessing primitive mindsets that have occurred in cycles, since the beginning of time. That said, Christ came as the 2nd Adam to re-activate the spiritual nature of every created man, and builds his Kingdom up through that particular channel.
As Jesus stated in John 18:36, “My Kingdom is not of this world.” And it isn’t. It consists of trusting in God’s word, and by that trust, acting in faith that relieves the fallen state of man to a journey of activation, restoration and growth and fulfilling the purpose God has destined for our lives. That in a nutshell, is the overall goal God set for mankind, and the reason why Christ came on earth to go through what he went through. In fact, I know that without a doubt, a deeply detailed examination as to what Christ went through on our behalf would make for a very fascinating study topic.
2. Obstacles
According to Noah Webster’s original dictionary, an obstacle is “That which opposes; any thing that stands in the way and hinders progress.”
The biggest obstacle to living out the eternal Kingdom of God, after becoming spiritually activated is our fleshly, worldly nature. This nature was established when we were born into this material world, and nurtured psychologically by its environment. In that, our experiences within the environment we grew up in, along with the people and frames of mind we chose to associate ourselves with, helped formed many of our personal opinions, biases, prejudices, and concerns. And while all of these traits are diverse among a variety of people, many of the beliefs commonly carried by the world cause deep divisions, factions, conflicts, and so forth. And yet when we become believers, everything in our being has become new in Christ. We just have to utilize the reality of that aspect by faith. From there, he takes care of the rest.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
Couple that with the truth expressed in John 3:6-7 where Jesus said….
6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You[c] must be born again.
Go back a few verses, to verse 3, and Jesus says…
….. “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
And so, just as we were born into this material world, and nurtured by its environment, we become born unto the Spirit, and with the Help of the Holy Spirit, in accordance with following God’s word and unchangeable truths, our spiritual nature became nurtured by the Spirit of truth (i.e. the Holy Spirit), along with our changed heart which seeks the Lord in counsel. And yet, as we grow in Christ, we are of two minds, one of which is fleshly, and the other which is spiritual. The Apostle Paul effectively described the ongoing struggle between the two natures, the nature of the flesh and the nature of the spirit.
Galatians 5:17
17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
That said, it is easy to follow our wants, and slip into handling a bad/challenging situation by the means of the flesh, since that is the nature we are most familiar with. But walking in the spirit is more of a challenge since it requires a significant amount of faith and takes great discipline and “outside help” from the Holy Spirit to accomplish. And yet, the most effective way to accomplish this strategy is to execute it in faith, trust in the Lord, and from that trust, you will learn from your experiences in trusting Him, and grow from that in a constructive and dynamic way.
3. Your Mind
Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Much is at stake in how we choose to handle our affairs. In fact, it’s amazing how much our decisions are affected by our attitudes and our attitudes from our state of mind. The mind, in various aspects, is the “control station” which triggers the will to take or not take a certain action. And yet, at times amidst certain situations, our minds can be tarnished by discouragement in our walk and resolve, especially when we are in a state of uncertainty or confusion, or if we are bombarded by negative attitudes and feelings that are sort of dragging us down and making us unproductive in our mission to achieve the victory we are predestined for.
Proverbs 23:7a
7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he….
There are so many things that have the potential to dominate our minds and take away much needed time we should be spending on achieving the goal of communicating the Gospel and living it out. Anxiety, fear, and worry, are all things that are most likely to affect us if we are not thinking the way Jesus would have us think; by focusing our minds on having victory in Jesus.
Ephesians 4:22-24
22 You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; 23 to be made new in the attitude of your minds; 24 and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.
4. Challenges from those who are of the world; products of this world's system
2 Corinthians 4:4
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
This is very fascinating, because without Christ, the world’s spiritual state is dead, and is easily influenced by Satan. After all, if a person is blind to discern things beyond what he can see, touch, hear, taste, and smell, then he will define his sense of reality primarily on those aspects alone, since they are most familiar to them. And since a person who is subjected to such restrictions is conformed to the patterns of this world's system, and is not spiritually activated as a member of the Kingdom of God, He will act on what he feels is right, and when confronted with any notion of God, he will dismiss it as foolishness.
1 Corinthians 1:18
For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
One of the reasons I think this aspect is so important to the life of a believer is because we have a tendency to lose sight of the fact that this is such a widespread, universal case that is alive and active in this world’s system. That said, sometimes some Christians have a tendency to feel intimidated by the world in boldly coming out and taking a stand for Jesus Christ, because next to them, the world’s “reason” or challenges to the things of God may sound more intelligent than the faith aspect that appears to many in the world as plain and simplistic. And yet, no matter what he does to try to dethrone God, man cannot do it through reasons of logic, science, etc. But what does happen is that reason, logic, science forms the “body” of events that point to the soul of the matter, which is filled in by God’s word and thus establishes the paramount concept that is faith. And even though the world may have a way to sort of “puff up” its arguments with a lot of “big words,” and arguments that may sound, on the surface, sophisticated and intelligent, rejection of God is anything but.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16
14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for, “Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
Jesus had favor between God and man. As such, when we are well aware of our state of being, the world’s state of being, and the workings of what causes the divide, we can execute boldness and confidence in regards to which belief is more aligned with the truth, and overcome all of the obstacles the world tries to throw our way.
Another challenge I would like to address really quickly under this same heading is acceptance. Sometimes being a Christian can be lonely, because perhaps the world believes in some of the naïve clichés and prejudices that are propagated about Christians throughout the world. Sometimes the desire to be accepted by non-Christians can lead to passiveness and inaction, which can lead to unpreparedness if confronted with an argument or verbally attacked.
5. Success/Failure in pursuit of reaching the goal.
Upon reaching the goal and pursuing victory in overcoming ourselves and working for the Lord, it is essential to know what success actually consists of. In 2 Corinthians 6:3-10, 13 we are given a laundry list of the Apostle Paul’s hardships. These hardships amounted to great success in growing one’s citizenship in the Kingdom of God and overcoming the world.
3 We put no stumbling block in anyone’s path, so that our ministry will not be discredited. 4 Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5 in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; 6 in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; 7 in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left; 8 through glory and dishonor, bad report and good report; genuine, yet regarded as impostors; 9 known, yet regarded as unknown; dying, and yet we live on; beaten, and yet not killed; 10 sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich; having nothing, and yet possessing everything.
13 As a fair exchange—I speak as to my children—open wide your hearts also.
The Apostle Paul also added on to this concept while in Prison as is recorded in 2 Timothy 4:6-8,
6 For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. 7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.
And 2 Timothy 4:16-18
16 At my first defense, no one came to my support, but everyone deserted me. May it not be held against them. 17 But the Lord stood at my side and gave me strength, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. And I was delivered from the lion’s mouth. 18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Ultimate victory in this fashion all rests on how willing and determined you are to simply follow the Lord, fight your fleshly, earthly nature, allow yourself not to be intimidated by the world, remain faithful, and to tie it all together, trust Him in seeing you through all the obstacles that work to try to prevent your victory from taking place.
Peter’s victory also reflects this truth as well....
1 Peter 1:6-9
6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. 7 These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. 8 Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, 9 for you are receiving the end result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
And as for failure; failure begins where we fail to follow through, or just give up on the steps we mentioned today.