Made for More – Part 2
Sermon Series – The Winning Way
Thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:57
Deceit Leads to Defeat
It is deeply troubling to me that Christians (God’s people) are losing at something that God has provided as a gift. Victory is a gift and yet many who claim to trust in God are losing in life. They are losing the victory that has been given in Christ. Even more troubling is the fact that many believers have given up the fight and are abandoning their faith in God because they lack the confidence to deal with the challenges in life. Why do people surrender so quickly in the face of opposition?
The only conclusion is that the deceit has led many to the point of doubting their faith. Deceit has crept in and many are questioning where they stand in Christ. Three factors are at the center of the believer’s defeat. First, many do not know that God has given them victory over the things of the world. Their spiritual ignorance makes them easy targets for the adversities of life. Deception can only grow in an environment of ignorance. Jesus declared that “the Truth will set you free.” For those who are comfortable with the notion that ‘ignorance is bliss’ or ‘what I don’t know – can’t hurt me,’ please heed this warning. It is God’s Truth that comes to the rescue of the troubled mind. God will deliver His people from bondage, but there must be an understanding that we must trust God for the deliverance. When Moses was sent to deliver his people from Egyptian bondage, the Israelites had to learn who God was. Then came the step of faith where they trusted God for their deliverance. Deception thrives in an environment of ignorance.
Deception has some other territories that it loves to invade? This second factor is at the core of the believer’s defeat and it is called human effort. Some believers depend on themselves and their self-help strategies to fight their spiritual battles. While it is commendable to pull yourself up by your own boots straps, someone must first give you the boots. The Apostle Paul balances our dependence on God with our efforts to obey God by saying, “Thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The victory always comes from God. Then we are given the responsibility of living it out. In the very next verse (1 Corinthians 15:58), the Apostle Paul gives the believer’s response to this God-given victory. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the WORK OF THE LORD, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Never be deceived into thinking that human effort can overcome the challenges of life. You will always need God to work in you and through you to experience true victory.
Then, there is the third factor that leads to defeat in the believer’s life. Sin always leads to defeat in life. What makes sin so deceptive is that people will justify why they do wrong. Some say that the “Devil made them do it.” Others will justify sin by saying, “everybody else is doing it.” Some even go as far as to say, “there is nothing wrong with what they are doing.” None of these justifications will change the outcome that the wages of sin is death. When a child of God disobeys God’s Word and falls into moral failure, this leads to loss. The only way that a believer can be confident of victory is that they are actively following the Savior. Please remember, Jesus Christ did not come to save us “in our sin” but rather, He came to save us “from our sin.” Whenever we follow the path of sin, we are going in the opposite direction of where God intended. The one who loves God must also hate sin. God’s victory begins with victory over transgression. The admonition is to lay aside every wrong and weight that so easily besets us and then run with patience the race that God has set before us. God desires that we win in life because we were made for more. More of God’s Power, more of God’s Goodness, more of God’s Peace, more of God’s Mercy. Victory comes from receiving more. Thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
How Do You Get More?
One thing I have learned is that I am not comfortable with losing. I don’t want to lose in my finances. I don’t want to lose in my health. I don’t want to lose my battle against sin. I don’t want to lose loved ones, and when I do, I need strength to get through it. I will admit, I don’t like losing.
So, how do you gain the victory in life? Please understand that this by no means suggests that we will never suffer pain, conflict, and even confusion. That is not what we are expressing. We are saying that in all these things, God has made us to be more than conquerors through the Love of Jesus Christ. Thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
We must know the three Ps of Winning in Christ. By knowing these truths, we are simplifying the fundamentals of winning in life. After all, Jesus said, “My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.” The three Ps of Winning in Christ are: Prayer, Practice, and Praise. Once we give our attention to these elements, victory is certain. Again we remind you that victory is not a guarantee that there will not be conflicts, but rather that God will give you His Strength in the conflict.
Perhaps the greatest Bible examples of winning are provided by Abraham and David. They each faced insurmountable difficulties, but they came out to be winners because they trusted in God. Romans 4 gives a summary of Abraham’s faith in God. Some believe that everything was handed to the man, but that is not true. Abraham had to believe God and through his strong faith, he gained the reputation of “being the friend of God.” So, how did Abraham apply the three Ps of Winning in Christ.
Obviously, Abraham prayed. That is how he was able to obtain information from the Lord. Rather than listening to the voice of circumstance or the voice of neighbors or the voice of family members, Abraham trained is ear and his heart to listen to God. In a similar way, we must train our heart to listen to God’s Voice. The world screams at us daily with its message of confusion and conflict and when we give in to that message we reap the consequences of confusion and conflict. God spoke to Abraham and in hearing the Voice of God, Abraham listened with his faith. That is the essence of prayer and the key to our victory in Christ. Listen when you pray.
Abraham also Practiced his faith. The best way to remember what God told you is to do what God says. Faith requires action. When God told Abraham to leave his native country and go to a land that He would show him, Abraham obeyed and went out. It is the same today. If you are going to experience the Victory of Christ, you must obey the Voice of Christ. The Apostle James reminds us that demonstrating our faith by actions is the best way to prove that faith is genuine. “Show me your faith without works and I will show you my faith by my works.” James 2:18. There are some who attempt to replace obedience to God by praise, but the equation does not work that way. The greatest praise we can give to God is to obey the Lord. Obedience is better than sacrifice. At one point in his life, God tested Abraham and asked him to offer Isaac as a burnt offering. Abraham did not hesitate (Genesis 22) because He believed that God was able to raise his son from the dead. The results is that Abraham followed the three Ps of winning in life and was able to experience victory. Prayer, practice, and praise is like donning our soul with spiritual virtues that protect us from the elements. Then God works through those same situations so that we can experience victory. It worked for Abraham and it will work for you and me.
The Apostle Paul had a sincere desire to see believers grow in the Grace of God and win the battle in life. The words he wrote were inspired by God to help us not only deal with life but to defeat adversity from conquering our soul. Thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. This singular verse contains the three Ps of winning in life. It is a prayer because it shares what God has given. It embraces the practice of our faith because it declares victory through our Lord Jesus. It also is an offering of praise because we thank God for His blessings in Christ Jesus. You might say, we have the “package deal.” Deacon Rufus Knight Jr. would talk about God giving us “the package deal” which meant everything we needed was in Christ Jesus our Lord. No one expressed this better than the Bible patriarch David. At an early age, young David understood that the Lord was his Shepherd and would meet all his needs.
I believe that David knew the moment that he showed up on the battlefield that he was made for more. While we may look at prayer, practice, and praise as three separate transactions, they should be viewed as the trinity of the victorious spirit. They can operate independently but are more powerful when they are combined. 1 Samuel 16 reveals that David showed up at the battle front fully prepared for victory. Why? His praise to God was in place. He was ready to practice what he believed. It is evident that he knew the power of prayer because he said, “God delivered me from the bear and the lion, and he will deliver me from this Philistine giant.” Prayer, practice, and praise must embrace the attitude of someone who recognizes that they were made for more.
Let us reflect for a few minutes. What if David believed what everyone else believed? What if he had given in to the taunts and mocking and simply concluded that the giant was too big to fight. Israel would have lost the battle that day and would probably not be a nation today. People who are made for more have no proof of their claim except what they have experienced with their Lord. All they know is God. In the simplicity of their faith, they are willing to step up and face whatever it is that needs to be faced. They don’t do that with reckless speculation but rather, they stand on the solid foundation that God will give them victory. Thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. As we now know by the reading of Scripture, David won that day. It was a result of his prayer life, his practice of following what God gave him to do, and his praise that acknowledged God for the victory.
What about your life today? You are facing some giants I’m sure. How do you plan to defeat those giants and live victoriously? Put this verse into practice, and you will be assured of God’s Presence in every conflict. Thanks be to God, which gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.