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Week Six:
Faith is the Key to a Victorious Life - Part 1:
“For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith”1 John 5:4 (NKJV).
The victorious Christian life is the life that is lived, by faith, in a moment-by-moment surrender to God. The victorious Christian life is rooted and grounded in faith. Part of living the victorious Christian life is properly dealing with temptation. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it. In the context of this verse, Paul is speaking to a church surrounded by idolatry and temptation. For any fight, whether natural or spiritual, you need to have the correct weapon for the fight you are involved in. As we see in the scriptures our weapons for warfare are not physical (touch, feel, see, hear, taste), they are mighty before God. “But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds” 2 Corinthians 10:2-4 (NKJV). The New Living Translation puts in this way, “For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith.” This verse is not saying if “our faith” is strong enough or big enough we will be able to overcome and overtake the weapons of our warfare; so that we can get the victory in Christ Jesus. In other words, faith is the source of our victory, because faith is brings results through our victory. They are also effective in overthrowing destruction and strongholds, in which our weapons remain mighty before God through our faith.
Faith is the Key to a Victorious Life - Part 2:
“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” Galatians 2:20 (NKJV).
The victorious Christian life is lived with eyes set on the things of heaven, not of this world. Jesus is our model in this: For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. “Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God ” Hebrews 12:2 (NKJV). When a Christian faces a temptation, God will always give a clear way of avoiding the sin, but it is still the choice of the individual to take the way out or not. Avoiding temptation requires moment-by-moment submission to God. Faith is our victory in Christ, because it is the key to defeating the enemies of this world and possessing the promises of God. Faith is not just how we receive from God. Faith is actually the evidence that we have what God has already provided for us and in us through the victorious Christian life is a journey of faith, not just for eternal salvation, but of daily decisions building up into lifestyle that reflects Christ. When we allow God to establish His Word and His Truth in our heart, faith emerges. Faith is the evidence that He has done and provided all that we have hoped for. Victory is not something God just hands to us, but rather it is a relationship with Him rather it is a person, Jesus. When Jesus is Lord of our lives we are then able to live in, and move in, His victory in our lives. So, developing our faith is all about growing in our relationship with Jesus, therefore, are obstacles and storms that we encounter in life that need to be overcome. They are overcome by faith, as we trust Jesus who holds the key to our victorious life. The victory we have in Jesus is what empowers us with His grace to persevere and overcome the storms in this world.“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” 1 Corinthians 15:57 (NKJV).
Faith is the Key to a Victorious Life - Part 3:
“Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” Ephesians 5:1-2 (NKJV).
Many Christians make this mistake, thinking that they are walking in love. Just remember, if you are “walking in love” with your enemy, you are letting them through to hurt someone you love. The choices we make today will determine the amount of spiritual authority we have tomorrow. A majority of believers remain stagnant in their lives even after years of being saved because the choices they make are in the flesh. A victorious Christian does not conform to the choices that the world makes, rather they make a conscious effort to be led by the Spirit of God. If you don’t stop the enemy at your door, they will enter your house and destroy what you’ve worked your whole life to build. If you have been building your home with God’s help and His guidance, then you are allowing the enemy to come in and destroy the work that God has done in you and through you. The enemy doesn’t want to be friends, he wants you dead. That’s the way we have to see people who are operating in the lie the enemy presents to them. Their acceptance of his lie, should not be your defeat. In any fight, be it war or sport, there are occasions when you will miss the ball, miss the shot or be in the wrong place at the wrong time. That’s not when you beat yourself up, that’s when you get back up quickly and get in the right position. You start doing what you know is right and you keep fighting. You will win, if you faint not. Do not faint because of fear or lack of stamina to fight the enemy. You have a more powerful source of life. The enemy’s source is full of death, destruction and darkness. Keep that stuff off of you by always working with truth and light by faith. “There is a way that seems right to a man,But its end is the way of death” Proverbs 14:12 (NKJV).
Faith is the Key to a Victorious Life - Part 4:
Having faith, learning how to use it and knowing exactly how it works, is of no value to you, if you don’t realize you’re in the middle of a warzone. If you behave as if the enemy or person trying to attack you is a friend or a non threat, then you will simply communicate with them using friendship skills. There were social, financial, and political pressures to return to their old ways and participate in pagan practices. God in His faithfulness told them, and us, that there is no temptation anywhere at any time that will take Him by surprise, and He will always make a way to escape it and thus endure. Faith is the calm assurance that what we do not yet see is far more real, more substantial, more trustworthy than what we do see.“By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith” Hebrews 11:7 (NKJV).
The life of faith chooses to believe God in all things. “For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness” Romans 4:3 (NKJV). If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Use your faith as a weapon in the hands of the most skilled fighter is useless unless the fighter uses the weapon. Our faith is only useful to us if we use it. The last person you want to displease in a spiritual fight is God. God has at His disposal, and has made it available to you, angels, powerful words, access to places, people and things that you need to win your fight. The way you access and operate all of these things is through faith. “If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory” Colossians 3:1–4 (NKJV). The eternal life of the believer is set securely in Christ. The victorious Christian is one who lives in that reality. Weariness and losing heart are great dangers for everyone who seeks to follow Jesus. In fact in several places in scripture the Bible uses the illustration of a race to describe the Christian race.