How to Get the Victory!

By Pastor Jeff,

Deuteronomy 20:1-4, “When thou goest out to battle against thine enemies, and seest horses, and chariots, and a people more than thou, be not afraid of them: for the LORD thy God is with thee, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt.And it shall be, when ye are come nigh unto the battle, that the priest shall approach and speak unto the people, And shall say unto them, Hear, O Israel, ye approach this day unto battle against your enemies: let not your hearts faint, fear not, and do not tremble, neither be ye terrified because of them; For the LORD your God is he that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you.”

Israel had many battles in which God miraculously went before to ensure victory for the nation, Joshua at Jericho, Gideon against the Midianites, Jonathan against the Philistines to name a few. But the question is, was the victory prepared before the battle or is only announced after the battle is won? We normally think or give credit  for victory after the battle, whether it be at war, a sporting event, test has finished.

Others will claim the victory is in the preparation for the battle, if you believe in yourself or those that fight with you that you have already won. We do a lot of preparation for battle don’t we? we need to identify who are foe is, with Christians we know our foe is Satan, for we wrestle not against flesh and blood… We also need to know the place the battle is taking place (what kind of terrain, etc.). We need to know those who fight with us, the strengths of each as well as their weaknesses. We also would need to know the right time to go into battle {for us Christians now would be good).

1 John 5:4-5, “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” God revealed to me in the story of the “Prodigal Son” a key for us to knowing we have the victory already in our lives. Most of us know it well, how the youngest son desired his inheritance then went and wasted it. He found himself slopping pigs and eating the very food he was feeding them. The bible tells us one day that he came to himself and decided to return to his fathers house if only to be as one of his servants. Well the father one day looked out and saw his son and most of us might of reacted differently in that we would of maybe had him sent away, or required him to work as a servant or even a slave. Isaiah 55:8-9, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” The father didn’t react as many of us would think he should of, he instead ran to his son, wrapped his arms around him, gave his son his ring and a new robe, and announced a party to announce his sons return.

There was a  period in my own walk in that I found myself in the pig pen slopping pigs, I felt that no way God would ever take me back, but one day I came to myself, recognized the need of Jesus to take over my life again. Unfortunately I felt if I would of returned to the church that I had attended that I would be negatively judged because I had witnessed this attitude of  the church before, shame on us! Praise God though I did find a church that I was not known before and was roundly accepted. This is the attitude that JAM tries to portray!

If we have entered the race, we have the victory already, and though we may stumble, make huge mistakes, or may even fall away for a time. Jesus has already won the victory, 1 Corinthians 15:57, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Picture care of,http://hisimagemyquest.blogspot.com/