Thursday, June 16, 2011

Victory

“For he will conceal me there when troubles come;
he will hide me in his sanctuary.
He will place me out of reach on a high rock”.       Psalm 27:5  NLT

We should realize and act upon the principle that every victory must lead to taking and holding possession of.

Merely to conquer a bad habit or to drive doubt out of our heart is not in itself sufficient.  We must follow up our victories with being more than a conqueror,” that is, seizing the territory so the enemy cannot recapture it.

When the Israelites conquered the Amorites, they followed up their victory by occupying their land. (Num. 21:21-32)    This made any counterattack by the enemy impossible.

We must secure our victories in such a way that counterattack is impossible.   Otherwise, as Jesus reminds us in His parable, the end may be worse than the beginning.  (Matt. 12:43)   The only way to crucify our fleshly desires is to drive them from our mind, then allow the Holy Spirit to create new, fresh desires in us.

The only way we can conquer hate is to replace it with love. We cannot conquer bitterness by confessing it; we must replace it with praise and thankfulness.

In other words, there must be no vacancy after victory!

As Apostle Paul wrote, we must withstand, fight and overcome the enemy, after which we must stand.  (Eph. 6:13)

Too often we have won the victory only to fail to stand steadfast afterwards.   It does not take the enemy long to recognize an unguarded gate and seize it.

Leban gave his sister Rebekah great advice as she was leaving to go marry Isaac; “May your descendants possess the gate of those who hate them”.  (Gen. 24:60) 

The city gate was the city’s most crucial defense, once lost, the whole city was lost.

That is where victory will lead us…….to make inoperative those things that would keep us from enjoying what Jesus bought for us…..salvation.

“The LORD your God himself will cross over ahead of you. He will destroy these nations before you, and you will take possession of their land. Joshua also will cross over ahead of you, as the LORD said.   And the LORD will do to them what he did to Sihon and Og, the kings of the Amorites, whom he destroyed along with their land.  The LORD will deliver them to you, and you must do to them all that I have commanded you.    Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”      Deut. 31:3-6  TNIV

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