Victory through God's Word

To live according to God's Word is to live in victory. In fact the Bible says Jesus Himself is the Word of God. Jesus is the Word made flesh - "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14, NKJV).

The Word became a man and lived among those who believed in Him. When Jesus speaks, the Father Father speaks through Him, revealing eternal truth to us. Jesus' words are spirit, life and truth.

Moses said to the children of Israel: "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord" (Deut. 8:3, emphasis added).

Therefore Jesus also said, "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life" (John 6:63).

If you are to live by faith, every Word that proceeds from God's mouth you will have to live by. If you are to live by faith you will not base your decisions on your own intellect or rational thought, nor on your senses, but on what God says in His Word. His Word will be a constant source of life for you and the foundation upon which you structure your life.

Rock and Sand

Jesus told a parable to his disciples toward the end of His Sermon on the Mount:

"Therefore whoever hears these sayings (words) of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: and the rain descended, the floods came, and winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall" (Matt. 7:24 - 27, NKJV).

A man built his house on the rock and another built his house on the sand. The one who built on the rock heard God's Words and put them into practice. The other heard God but did not do what He said.

The obedient one experienced victory when the storm came. He was able to withstand all the pressures that came against him. The one who had built on the sand had heard what God said, but had not obeyed. He suffered the loss of his house in the storm.

If you are to be a man or woman of faith, you will need to apply God's Word to your life. There is no point in possessing a Bible, reading it and even saying that you believe what is written there, if you are not prepared to put the Word into action. The one who lives the Word will be victorious.

Faith is not knowing a series of promises which you claim for yourself. These promises are part of the Covenant God has made with His children. He will certainly keep His side of the covenant and will bless you abundantly. He expects you to live by your side of the Covenant: to live according to His Word and by the power of His Spirit. This can only be done by faith.

The man of faith realizes that the whole revelation of God's Word is for him. He cannot pick and choose what he fancies. These are words to obey and promises to believe. Both belong together.

God intends you to be able to withstand whatever storms batter you, whatever difficulties confront you. Faith and obedience form the way of victory: hearing God, believing what He says and do it.

Being set free by the Truth of His Word

The words of Jesus are the answer to every human need. It is through His words that believers are set free:

Jesus said, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31, 32).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. Notice the conditions for being set free by the truth of the Word. Only those who uphold the truth of His Word are true disciples (true believers or true Christians).

2. Only true disciples (true believers or true Christians) understand the truth of His word.

3. Only true disciples (true believers or true Christians) shall be set free by His Word.

4. Many believers (true or otherwise) try to find liberty and freedom from their needs and problems in other ways - through philosophy and psychology, through techniques in the ministries and prayers of "great" men of God. But none of these methods will work for them. It is only the truth of God's (Jesus') Word and what He had accomplished, that will actually liberate people.

The Holy Spirit guides us into all Truth

The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth and one of the functions of the Holy Spirit is to reveal the Truth of God's Word to us. Without the help of the Holy Spirit there is no way we can understand the Scripture.

Jesus said, "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you" (John 16:13, 14).

The Holy Spirit does not act in independence. He "will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I (Jesus) said to you" (John 14:26).

When the truth of God's Word becomes revelation in our hearts, faith will be created within us. Only then can we be motivated to obey Him. Then we are able to act upon his words. When we do so, we experience peace. Failure to live God's Word leads to conflict. We then have no confidence before God. Our prayer life will be affected because we lack confidence of receiving answers from God. And such doubt and lack of confidence prevents both faith and victory.

Faith and Obedience

Faith within you is inspired by hearing God's Word in you heart. The Holy Spirit takes the words of the Scripture and speaks them to you, so you know you have heard directly from God (though not audibly).

The Holy Spirit will not convict a believer of sin and promise blessing at the same moment. What the Lord does, both in Scripture and in Christian's experience, is to give promise of blessing if there is repentance first.

Moses said, "All these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the Lord your God" (deut. 28:2).

To recognize Jesus as your Lord is to respect His authority over you. When your soul and body are submitted to the influence of His Spirit you will be mightily blessed, and will have confidence before God in your Christian walk (please read my earlier posting - The Spirit, Soul and Body of man).

To walk in obedience and submission is to walk in love for the Lord. This is not to be a begrudging submission coming from a rebellious heart, but a willing response to His love. It is love answering love. In His love God gives; in your love you submit willingly to His authority and obey.

John said, "Beloved, if your heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight" (1 John 3:21, 22, NKJV).

Allowing Jesus to be the Lord in the daily circumstance of your life gives you confidence before Him. You want to obey Him and do what pleases Him. In response, he wants to bless you and grant the desire of your heart.

Psalmist David said, "delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart" (Ps. 37:4).

Those living a victorious life walk in obedience to Jesus and the truth of His Word. This is true fellowship. He is the Victor. He is the Answer to your every need. And you can live in close harmony and fellowship with Him. Not only will you be blessed as a result, but others will be blessed because of you. When your life is submitted to Jesus, His Spirit flows out of your life as rivers of living water (John 7:38). And others are blessed with God's love and power because of you.

Faith, feelings and Reason

It is common to find believers contradict the Truth of His Word with their reason.. There will be occasions when their feelings seem utterly oppose to what God says in His Word. At such time they will have to choose whether they will trust their feelings, or believe the truth of God's word.
This is one of the most important aspects of a life of faith. The temptation to believe the natural reason rather than the supernatural power of God will always be with you. Reason limits the Lord in your life; faith releases His activity in your experience.

Life's experience tells us that it is easier to believe reason than revelation; it is easier to believe feelings than the Word; it is easier to listen to your doubts than to the Lord! Yes, easier - but not right.

This is the point of struggle for many Christians. It is so much more reasonable to believe what you can see, touch or feel. But faith is believing what you do not see (Heb. 11:1). Are you going to adopt the easy way, or live by faith?

A problem of the children of Israel (Numbers 13, 14)

The children of Israel wandered around the wilderness for a whole generation because of their lack of faith. When Moses sent the spies ahead into the Promised Land, ten of the twelve believed what they saw rather than the promises God had given them. They listened to their fears instead of to their faith.

Only Joshua and Caleb listened to the Lord, believing His words. To Joshua was given the privilege of leading the people into their inheritance. But those who listened to their fears perished in the wilderness. For them the promises of God and their own ambitions remained unfulfilled.

God is not opposed to reason; He is beyond reason. His thoughts and ways are much higher than your thoughts and ways (Isaiah 55:9). Do not limit the Lord by your reason. If God says one thing and you say another, someone has to be wrong! Whenever you contradict the Lord you can be sure He is right. He will not change His Word to accommodate your reason or feelings. It is your ideas and attitudes which will need to be changed and be brought into line with His Truth.

Many do not walk in victory and experience triumph in their Christian lives because they choose to believe themselves; to believe what they think or fear, rather than to agree with God's revelation of truth and the promises He gives in His Word. You have to make the decision whether you believe waht God says or whether you trust your own wisdom instead.

For true believers, there can be no compromise on this point. You cannot mix a little of the Word with your own wisdom and expect to see great things from God. Your mind will need to be submitted to His Spirit. And He will reveal the truth to you. What He wants from you is - hear the truth; believe the truth and obey the truth.

The wise man built on the rock. If you are wise you will listen carefully to the Lord and put His words into practice. If on the other hand, you choose to be foolish, you may hear what He says but trust in your own "wisdom" instead. Then you will build your house on the sand and it will not be able to withstand the storms of life. The choice is yours - are you going to be wise or foolish?