FAITH AND VICTORY by Irene McGough

We all as Christians have so often been faced with problems and difficulties that
we have thought there's no workable solution to their situation. Christian
leaders, often seem defeated, and discouraged, and there is despair throughout
the Christian community. Defeat has become such a norm among us in the Christian
community that many have given up on the Biblical principles of victory and turned
to psychological and humanistic principles rather than Biblical ones. An entire
industry of counselling has grown up in recent years because of so much defeat in
the Christian community. So there are some Christians who would question whether
victory actually exists.

The Apostle Paul said in Rom 7:19” For the good that I will to do, I do not do;
but the evil I will not to do, that I practice.”

David fell short in his relationship with Bathsheba. Peter denied Jesus, and
Thomas doubted him. Abraham was a coward when a king wanted his wife. Moses fled
into the Midianite desert in defeat and fear of the Pharaoh. Should we then just
give up and accept defeat as the norm? Satan has convinced believers throughout
the ages that they must dwell in the slums. We like them in so many ways have
believed the lies of Satan. He's been telling the same old story since the
creation of man. He's attempted to convince every generation of believers that
they were destined to live in the slums of sin and that spiritual defeat is the
norm for the Christian life.

Luk 18:27 But He said, "The things which are impossible with men are possible with
God." God is the God of the impossible.

Mar 8:1 In those days, the multitude being very great and having nothing to eat,
Jesus called His disciples to Him and said to them,
Mar 8:2 "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have now continued with
Me three days and have nothing to eat.
Mar 8:3 And if I send them away hungry to their own houses, they will faint on the
way; for some of them have come from afar."
Mar 8:4 Then His disciples answered Him, "How can one satisfy these people with
bread here in the wilderness?"
Mar 8:5 He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?"
And they said, "Seven."
Mar 8:6 So He commanded the multitude to sit down on the ground. And He took the
seven loaves and gave thanks, broke them and gave them to His disciples to set
before them; and they set them before the multitude.
Mar 8:7 They also had a few small fish; and having blessed them, He said to set
them also before them.
Mar 8:8 So they ate and were filled, and they took up seven large baskets of
leftover fragments.
Mar 8:9 Now those who had eaten were about four thousand. And He sent them away,

In our own power we can do nothing.

Col 2:9 For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
Col 2:10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and
power.
Col 2:13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your
flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
Col 2:14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us,
which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to
the cross.
Col 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of
them, triumphing over them in it.

We are already complete in Him, and we can be confident that our Lord has already
overcome all principalities and powers.

1Jo 4:4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is
in you is greater than he who is in the world.

1Jo 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory
that has overcome the world—our faith. We have to ask ourselves do we really
believe this? We are born of God , we are new creations,

Rom 7:19 For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to
do, that I practice.
Rom 7:20 Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin
that dwells in me.
Rom 7:21 I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do
good.
Rom 7:22 For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.
Rom 7:23 But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,
and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
Rom 7:24 O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Rom 7:25 I thank God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!
So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law
of sin. Do you see here Paul recognized he was in a battle against the flesh,
against the old man, but he saw the victory was in none other than Jesus Christ.
The victorious Christian life is not something that I in myself can attain. It's
that which Christ has obtained for me. It's not what I can do for Him, but what
He's already done for me. It's not "I", but it's "Christ in me" that's the great
hope of victory. My responsibility is to trust in Him.

Victory is available to us because of what Christ has already done for us. It's
His victory. He won the battle. Our victory comes as we enter into His victory,
and that victory can only come about through faith. If we read about the great
heroes of faith, both in Biblical times and in modern history, we discover that
every one of their victories came through faith. Abel worshipped by faith. Noah
worked by faith. Enoch walked by faith. Abraham traveled by faith. Moses delivered
the nation by faith. David slew the giant by faith. Paul preached the gospel by
faith. Faith always has been and always will be the way the victory is obtained.
So then our personal victory is simply the faith issue.

Faith begins with God, not us. Faith isn't when we bring ourselves into a state of
belief. The Bible says "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of
Christ." Faith doesn't begin within us. It begins with God. It's impossible to
please God without faith, but it's also impossible to have faith without God.
Faith is objective. It begins with a source outside of us. It begins with God
speaking. It begins with the Word of God. It's an assurance in our hearts that's
produced by our hearing the Word of God.
Genuine Biblical faith is always directed towards Jesus. Hebrews 12:2 says,
"Looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." Jesus is the
initiator and maintainer of our faith. He is "the way, the truth and the life."
Jesus is referred to in the gospel of John as the Word of God. Therefore, any
faith that doesn't begin and continue with him isn't true faith.
Faith begins with God speaking to our hearts through His Word and continues by our
looking unto Jesus to meet every need we have. But, finally, faith works. Our
works don't produce faith, but rather the opposite is true. Faith produces works -
the work of God in our lives. Therefore, we can't brag or boast about any of our
abilities, resources, or achievements. We can only boast in Christ. He has become
our total source of victory and achievement. If we are truly trusting in Christ,
then we will know His victory.

Rev 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying:

"You are worthy to take the scroll,
And to open its seals;
For You were slain,
And have redeemed us to God by Your blood
Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation,
Rev 5:10 And have made us kings and priests to our God;
And we shall reign on the earth."
We shall some day reign with Him for we are the redeemed.
Rev 12:11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their
testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.
This verse speaks of Believers overcoming. We have been justified by the blood of
the Lamb. We have the covering in the blood. The blood of Jesus has set us free.
PRAYER is a very important key to effective Christian living. We really need to
spend time in prayer and Bible Study. A believer’s prayer should have a dramatic
impact upon conditions round about him, upon that which he or she prays. Prayer
should squash confusion, bring peace where there is storms, and bring quietness to
body, soul and spirit.

Jam 5:16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that
you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what
we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us
with groanings which cannot be uttered. We are to pray as the Spirit gives us
utterance, allowing the Spirit to entirely lead us in our prayers with groaning
that can’t be uttered.

Col 1:27 To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this
mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

CHRIST IS IN US THE HOPE OF GLORY> Have you got that?

6 And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus: (KJV)
As Christian's our rightful position spiritually is "seated together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus." A higher position of fulfillment is impossible: nothing
is higher and nothing is more dignified than being seated in the heavenly places
in Christ. As believers, we are "in Christ," and thus we have all of the rights,
privileges and responsibilities of sons and daughters of God.

This position and the outcome of our faith should be seen in our outworking of the
faith.

Jam 2:14 What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does
not have works? Can faith save him?
Jam 2:24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
Jam 2:25 Likewise, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she
received the messengers and sent them out another way?
Jam 2:26 For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is
dead also.
The outworking of our faith should bring us back to 1Co 13:13 And now abide faith,
hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love. Love for our brothers’
and sisters, love for our neighbours, seeing other people through God’s eyes
should be our aim.

So from this we come to the great commission and our responsibility.

Mar 16:14 Later He appeared to the eleven as they sat at the table; and He rebuked
their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they did not believe those who had
seen Him after He had risen.
Mar 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature.
Mar 16:16 He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not
believe will be condemned.
Mar 16:17 And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast
out demons; they will speak with new tongues;
Mar 16:18 they will take up serpents; and if they drink anything deadly, it will
by no means hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover."

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