As I’ve mentioned the last couple of weeks… I talk to a lot of people who claim to be believers in Christ, but seem to have more defeats than victories, They are constantly recounting the details of their latest trial, latest hardships or their latest burdens. From their perspective, the enemy is always on the offensive, and they are always on the defensive, struggling just to survive and make it through another day.
I see this quite often and it’s sad, it should not be. There are millions of people who have been deceived in the worst possible way, to quite literally spend their entire lives being subjugated by an already defeated fore. A foe who has been completely beaten and spoiled by Jesus Christ Himself.
Today what I want to share with you, is the victory (yes, victory!) that you have in Christ today, right now. Not sometime later when you get to heaven, but right now today in this world. And by seeing this, you will not need to live another single second in defeat. You will no longer be held hostage by a powerless enemy any longer.
A common belief among the church is we should exhort each-other to holy living, which we commonly believe to be to stop committing sinful acts. This has actually caused a lot of confusion, resentment, bitterness and condemnation with many in the church due to the fact that it takes the center focus away from Christ and puts the focus back onto ourselves and our own works. It may surprise you to learn then that God has a completely different diagnosis and prescription for living a strong life in Christ (your holiness is actually already taken care of, as we have studied previously); but as for living a strong and solid life built on the foundation of Jesus Christ, the typical way in which the church body handles this is not only detrimental, but actually opposite to what scripture says!
That's why, today in this study we will be examining from scripture what God says about living a strong life in Christ. How it happens, what can hinder it, and how we should react if we see someone else struggling (or ourselves!) and hint: it is not by pointing out their faults! If you have been wondering what the real Biblical solution is to strength for living, this study will reveal the “secret”.
Nearly every single day, I invariably have at least one encounter with someone struggling in their behavior to some degree. I am not speaking about people of the world here, but about believers. People who genuinely want to “do the right thing.” but find themselves incapable of accomplishing their goal. This should not be surprising, because as we have been studying in the scriptures, it is very clear that we have no ability to perform within ourselves. Our victory does not come from our own self-effort, striving or willpower.
This does not mean that we have to live in defeat. There is a source of strength, there is an avenue of victory over the world – though it may not come the way that you expect. Many believers actually think that victory only comes by buckling down, gritting your teeth and clenching your fist tighter – in other words through “trying harder”, but this is not what the Bible teaches. What we will be studying today is how to have true victory, through Jesus Christ.