Enjoy The Victory

"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified." - 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 ESV

I'm reading a booklet and the Pastor says something interesting about besetting sin...

'Smoking is not the real issue; the issue is that this person enjoys no victory. His health is being tremendously affected. The whole issue behind his predicament is a besetting sin that he will not let go. As a result, He is limited in his blessings, in his process, and in his progress in the Kingdom of God. He has admitted that he doesn't feel right when he smokes, but he will not receive victory above his preoccupation.' -Carl H Stevens, Jr (Church Leadership)

The part that caught me this morning was '...he enjoys no victory...'

We need to enjoy victory. You might say, 'I'm not a competitive person'. Ok. I get that. But victory comes in many forms.

"And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death." - Revelation 12:10-11 KJV

Who did 'they' overcome in this Heavenly vision of the future? They overcame 'the accuser' who told them that their identity was something less than what it was.

The Blood of the Lamb = The reality that sin has been paid for and delt with

The Word of Their Testimony = The story they rehearsed about God's faithfulness

Loved Not Their Lives = The lived like eternity was real

Oversimplified. Yes. Maybe a little.

It isn't the smoking. It's the cycle of defeat. Jesus provides a counter spin of victory that overcomes the whirlpool of accusation. Every believer is an overcomer because of the blood but no believer will experience daily victories unless they talk truth against the current and live beyond self-love.

You are a winner. Say it. You have won because of Jesus.

"Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 'For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.' No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord." - Romans 8:35-39 ESV

I like the 'no' in that passage. That 'no' shows a contest. Let's win that battle today and say, 'No. We (not i) are more than conquerors.' because the accusation isn't just against us and we don't live in victory just for ourselves.

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