Victory in Jesus
by Larry Thomas
This article is based on a message I've preached at
two recent conferences on prophecy and discernment. No doubt I will preach it
again, (maybe in your church) but I feel I need to share it here because I
believe there are many hurting saints among our readers just like there were at
the conferences.
Many people that I talked to in Kansas City and in
England told me very similar stories --- so sad and so common. These suffering
saints have been criticized, even ostracized, because they have chosen to stand
for the truth of God's Word and against the devilish doctrines and seducing
spirits of this current, perilous age. Despite their courageous stand and their
confidence in God, they still confess that, at times, they wonder if they are
the only ones who don't see God in these bizarre teachings. Add to this the
hyper-faith message that we are to be the head, not the tail; and the
dominionist message that the church will take dominion over the world
(Christianize it, that is) and it's easy to understand why there is so much
confusion today.
What is really needed in the church today is a
reality check. And by that I mean a biblical reality check. What does the Bible
say will be the fate, the future of believers in the last days? We will be more
than conquerors. We will be overcomers. The Word says that we will have
victory. I know that sounds a lot like the claptrap being preached by the
enemies of the cross that abound in the church today. But it's not. The
difference is whether we define the words "victory,"
"conquerors" and "overcomers" by worldly standards or by
the Bible.
Paul possessed all these things, yet he suffered
greatly for his faith and his Lord. Listen to what he says, "But thou hast
fully known my doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long suffering,
charity, patience, persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at
Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord
delivered me. Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer
persecution" (2 Timothy 3:10-12).
Paul endured all these things. He didn't escape them
through some altered state of consciousness, some occultic formula for faith or
by fleeing. He endured hardship because, as he said, all who will live godly in
Christ Jesus "shall suffer persecution."
The Lord Himself endured great suffering. He endured
the hatred of the people He came to save. He endured the agony of Gethsemane.
He endured the cross of Calvary for our sins. He learned obedience through His
sufferings. Can His followers expect anything less? He could have called 10,000
angels, as the old song says, at anytime, but He chose to be obedient and to
endure.
No doubt the Lord would be labeled pessimistic and
defeatist by the faith crowd. The modem crowd has the audacity to say that Paul
would not have had to endure his troubles if he'd had enough faith. How
foolish!
What is the truth? What is the biblical reality for
believers in these final days of time? What will characterize the church from
Pentecost to the Rapture? We have victory, but not as the world would give us,
just as we have His peace, not the peace that the world can give.
The church age is a time of
testing:
"Blessed is the man that endureth temptation:
for when [not if] he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the
Lord hath promised to them that love him" (James 1: 12).
I'm amazed how the phoney-faith crowd can read this
passage of Scripture, and the ones to follow, and still preach that Christians
don't have to have bad days, times of testing, times of want, times of trial.
You don't have to have a Th.D. in Greek or Theology to understand that this
passage clearly teaches that we will be tested and that we are
"blessed" because of it. Reconcile that with the hyper-faith message,
if you can. The testing is part of our victory. That is the blessing in this
life. The "crown of life" (a laurel wreath signifying the winner of an
Olympic race) is our reward in the next life.
The church age is a time of
trouble and persecution:
"We are troubled on every side, yet not
distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken;
cast down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8-9).
Paul displays a remarkable understanding of the
balance between the painful reality of this world and the comfort of the Holy
Spirit in the midst of the tumultuous life of a believer. I'm sure he would be
reprimanded by Kenneth Copeland, Charles Capps and the like because of his
negative confession (e.g., perplexed, persecuted, troubled). Didn't the great
apostle know that he would not have suffered those things if he hadn't spoken
them into being?
Paul acknowledged that the entanglements of this
present life and the devices of the enemy will hinder us and hurt us, but he
had faith in God that He would help us in the hour of our troubles. Paul knew,
because Christ revealed it to him, that Satan has limits. He can make the
Christian feel cast down, but he cannot destroy him. Satan may perplex us, but
we are not in despair. We may be persecuted, but never forsaken.
That knowledge, that faith, that reality is part of
our victory in Jesus.
The church age is a time of
suffering and groaning:
"For I reckon that the sufferings of this
present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the
manifestation of the sons of God.... For we know that the whole creation
groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but
ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves
groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our
body" (Romans 8:18, 21-23).
Paul makes it quite clear that "this present
time" (the church age) will be characterized by sufferings. The pressure
and persecution will be so intense on the remnant of believers that they will
groan and travail for the "redemption of our body."
The church age will be a
time of patient endurance:
"Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for
the coming of the Lord draweth nigh. Grudge not one another, brethren, lest ye
be condemned: behold the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the
prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering
affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have
heard of the patience of -Job and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord
is very pitiful and of tender mercy" (James 5:8-11).
James says that those who endure are counted as
happy. I know it's not easy to be happy when we're enduring a trial or
hardship, but we can be happy because we know how everything comes out in the
end. Paul reminds us that all things work together for good to them that love
the Lord.
James says the coming of the Lord draweth nigh, and
he calls the saints to be patient; to endure whatever Satan and his world might
throw at us. The coming of the Lord is even nearer now. Saints today must
endure and be patient. The power of the Holy Spirit in our lives enables us to
wait for that blessed hope. That supernatural ability to endure is part of our
victory.
The church age is a time of
refining and perfecting:
"My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall.
into diverse temptations; knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh
patience. Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and
entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:2-4).
Have you been tempted and tested? Be glad, the apostle
says. These times of testing are necessary. God uses these times to bring His
children into submission to His word. Our faith is tried in order that we might
learn patience and with it total dependence on God for provision and direction
in our lives. God wants to demonstrate to us the depth of His love. It is in
times of temptation and testing that the true power of God is most keenly seen
at work in our lives. So it should be a joyful experience seeing God work on
our behalf in these times.
Our ministry is a faith ministry. By that I mean
that we trust God completely to provide for our ministry and family needs. He
does so through the support of people like you that believe in what we are
doing and support us through offerings, purchases of ministry materials and
hosting services in churches. God has always been faithful to provide. But in
our flesh we get a little anxious from time to time when the cash flow is
interrupted.
A friend, commenting on this condition, asked
"Don't you get a little weary of living on the edge?"
"Yes," I replied. "But you can see
heaven from there."
Everyday is a new adventure, when you walk by faith.
You really learn to trust God. I'm amazed almost every day how God provides for
our needs. As my faith has been tried over the years, I have learned that God
never fails. And, although I am still impatient in some areas of my life, I've
learned to be patient with God, knowing that He will meet all of "my needs
according to His riches in glory."
Learning to trust God in the midst of trials and
temptations --- to be totally dependent on Him --- is part of the victory we
have in Jesus.
The church age is a time of
unceasing labor:
"Now he that planteth and he that watereth are
one: and every man shall receive his own reward according to his labour....
Every man's work shall be made manifest for the day shall declare it, because
it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's works of what
sort it is" (I Corinthians 3:8, 12).
One of the derivatives of the Greek word for slave
(doulos) means "to work and and to work hard." When we become a
slave, or servant, of God we are expected to work hard for the Kingdom of God.
This hard work will add nothing to our salvation, but will add to our heavenly
treasure chest. These works are to glorify Christ and bring sinners to
repentance. Such works include prayer, Bible study, witnessing and other
Christian activities. You will never get caught up with your Christian
workload. It is a never-ending job.
Growing in Christ and seeing others birthed into the
kingdom is a joy, not a job. This unceasing labor is part of our victory in
Jesus.
The church age is a time of
agonizing conflict:
“Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal
life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession
before many witnesses" (I Timothy 6:12).
"Earnestly contend for the faith..." (Jude
3).
These two verses of Scripture, and many others that
could be cited, demonstrate the war-like conflict that believers will engage in
during the last days.
The Greek word which Jude uses for
"contend" is the word from which we take our English word
"agonize." In other words, Jude told the church that holding fast to
the doctrines given to the church by Christ and the Apostles would cause agony
for believers. I'm sure many of our readers can relate to this. It is sheer
agony to stand against the mounting flood of heretical teaching in the church
today. But that agonizing, that constant warfare, that unceasing controversy is
normative. The agony of Gethsemane that Jesus endured was caused by more than
just the forfeiture of His life. To do the Father's will, He preached truth to
those who didn't want to hear it. He knew that truth would make them free (John
8:32), and He agonized because they rejected the truth. He agonized over the
city of Jerusalem because its inhabitants did not know "the hour of their
visitation." Like the Master, His disciples will suffer rejection and
persecution. A soul-wrenching agony over those who reject so great a salvation
is part and parcel of the believer's life. Be thankful that you are still
sensitive to the spiritual needs of others. Rejoice because you still care
about truth and holiness. Although it is painful, that too is part of our
victory in Jesus.
What then must the church do
in these last days?
·
Paul
wrote, "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). We
must not let the troubles we see and experience stiffle our faith in the
promises of God concerning the future glory of the church.
·
Paul
also said, "For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope:
for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see
not, then do we with patience wait for it" (Romans 8:24-25) In these final
days, we must live by faith, waiting for that blessed hope, the rapture of the
church.
·
We
must also endure hardship like a soldier of the cross. "Thou therefore
endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ" (2 Timothy 2:3). To
wear the medals of a valiant soldier, we must suffer the scars of battle.
·
Finally,
we must keep an eternal, not a temporal, perspective on things. "While we
look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen:
for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen
are eternal" (2 Corinthians 4:18).
Remember, those who pray for real victory in Jesus
should expect it to be accompanied by fierce opposition and persecution. But we
will endure, and eventually overcome, "by the blood of the lamb and the
word of our testimony. “
Br. Larry Thomas was a well
known speaker, teacher and author, as well as the founding visionary of
A.B.P. He went to be with the Lord in
1997.