A victorious warrior is commissioned. By definition, commissioned means, “the act of being granted power or authority to carry out a task or a duty.” Before a warrior goes into battle, he must be commissioned. The only people who are in the fight are followers of Jesus. If you aren’t a believer, you’re not just fighting an uphill battle; you are the opposition, enemies of God. By nature, the bible tells us that we are children of wrath. We have rebelled against God by our sinful nature. We become warriors and co-heirs in the victory when the Holy Spirit calls us to repentance and to a life of obedience to the Gospel. This marks the start of a battle between a believer and their own fleshly desires. As believers, we are not bound to sin, but in our imperfect human form, we will still stumble at times. As John Owen said, “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.” However, there is good news, grace. It is more unfathomable that we could imagine, so undeserved, but greater than all our weakness, shame, and sin. We don’t earn power or authority by our own merits, but by the merit and actions of Jesus on the cross, the Holy Spirit empowers us and we have authority by blood of Jesus to make war against the enemy and sin. A warrior must die to himself before he becomes alive to fight!
Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Colossians 2:13-15 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”
A victorious warrior conquers. Do you desire to have spiritual authority? Do you want to be more than a conqueror in this life? If so, we must become conquered by Jesus Christ. If you do, your life will no longer belong to you, but to Him. Our adversary, the enemy, is strong, but has been placed under the feet of Jesus by His power and resurrection. The Father has given all power and authority on heaven and earth to the Son. This is why we worship and celebrate. There is victory in the name and in the blood of Jesus!
Romans 8:37-39 “ 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.”
Revelation 3:21 “The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on His throne.”
A victorious warrior overcomes. We don’t rely on our own ability to overcome our situations. (sin, temptation, etc) Our attempts will always fall short. We lean on the power of Jesus who overcame everything on the cross. This doesn’t mean that there will never be struggle or that there will never be hard times. Suffering is a very real part of the Christian life and marked the life of Jesus and the disciples. The Gospel is a cause worthy of any and all suffering that comes our way. Our biggest sermon we preach to the world is our response to suffering. The Bible calls us to rejoice in our suffering. I’m not saying that we have to be happy about a close relative dying; a sick love one, or whatever. But in the midst of all the uncertainty and doubt, living a life of worship and giving God glory speaks volumes to the world.
John 16:33 “In this world you will have tribulation, but take heart, I have overcome the world.”
1 John 4:4 “Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
1 John 5:4 “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.”
We have victory because we serve The Victorious King. We have the ultimate victory over this world, sin, and death through the blood of Jesus. Faith in Jesus is our victory because through our faith we surrender to Him for His victory. It is a matter of our believing, yielding, and obeying to the absolute Lordship of Jesus Christ. Victory is achieved when God has His will in us and in our lives.
Deuteronomy 20:4 “for the Lord your God is he who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies, to give you the victory.”
1 Corinthians 15:55-57 “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 John 5:5 “Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
I’d love to hear how you are living victoriously.
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