The Bible tells us that Jesus was manifest on this earth in order to destroy the works of the devil. That means He came to earth, died on the cross, and rose from the dead in order to destroy the power of darkness. That also means that darkness has been defeated. If that’s the case then the battle we are fighting isn’t to gain victory but from a place of victory. Our fight is to remind ourselves and the powers of darkness that Jesus has already won and so have we.
Learning to battle from a position of victory starts by looking at Jesus and how He operated while on earth. His life of prayer and devotion always resulted in an encounter with the Father and a manifestation of the Holy Spirit.
Luke 3:21-22 says, “One day Jesus came to be baptized along with all the others. As he was consumed with the spirit of prayer, the heavenly realm ripped open above him and the Holy Spirit descended from heaven in the visible, tangible form of a dove and landed on him. Then God’s audible voice was heard, saying, “My Son, you are my beloved one. Through you I am fulfilled.””
Jesus manifested the Kingdom from the moment He stepped onto the scene. He showed us what living from a position of victory looks like. Before Jesus ever touched the cross and went to hell, He lived a resurrection lifestyle. He lived as if He already had the victory.
MAKING IT PRACTICAL
You don’t have to go through hell in order to gain victory. If you are a follower of Christ, you have been taken out of hell and have the victory now.
ORDINARY LIFE VS RESURRECTION LIFE
There are two ways we can approach this life. We can live like most ordinary people, fighting to get some kind of victory, or we can live with a resurrection mindset that says we ALREADY HAVE the victory. You can really see these two lifestyles exemplified through the story of Lazarus’ death and resurrection.
You can always tell if you are fighting for victory or from victory by the way you talk to God. In John 11: 3 we see Lazarus getting sick to the point of death. His sisters write Jesus a letter. Here’s what they say. “Lord, our brother Lazarus, the one you love, is very sick. Please come!” That sounds pretty normal, right? When something bad happens, most Jesus followers turn to God and ask for help.
God wants to hear from us. He wants us to pour out our hearts to Him. He loves when we come to Him like children in order to talk about our concerns. We must do that. But, the letter that Mary and Martha sent wasn’t just asking God for help. It was written in a way that depicts their doubt more than their faith. Again, it’s normal to have doubts. That’s not the issue. I have had many doubts in my life but the Bible teaches me that when I doubt I can ask God for faith.
Mary and Martha weren’t asking for faith and they weren’t speaking from victory. They were using subtle manipulation to tug on Jesus’ heartstrings in order to get Him to come immediately. They said, “Lazarus, the one you love, is very sick.” Was there really a need to remind Jesus that Lazarus is the one He loved? We often speak to people that way in order to elicit a favorable response. That’s not how people speak when they know they already have the victory.
We can see this same kind of subtle manipulation and doubt in the way Jesus’ disciples talk to Him when He tells them they are going to see Lazarus. We can also see the resurrection mindset in how Jesus responds.
John 11:8-10, “But Teacher,” they said to him, “do you really want to go back there? It was just a short time ago the people of Judea were going to stone you!” Jesus replied, “Are there not twelve hours of daylight in every day? You can go through a day without the fear of stumbling when you walk in the One who gives light to the world. But you will stumble when the light is not in you, for you’ll be walking in the dark.”
Living an ordinary life means that we are always fighting for victory while still walking in some level of darkness. The disciples pretended to warn Jesus about what might happen if they go back to Judea but the reality is that they were probably afraid of dying themselves. On the other hand, Jesus talks about living the resurrection lifestyle, fighting from a position of victory.
Again, the Bible tells us that Jesus was manifest to destroy the works of the devil. The kingdom of satan is the kingdom of darkness but Jesus came to manifest the light of God, in whom there is no darkness and no evil. When we live from a place OF victory, we will always manifest light and light always destroys darkness.
MAKING IT PRACTICAL
Choosing to live from a position of victory will always result in a display of God’s glory. How do you choose to live that way? By talking to Jesus honestly, listening to Him, and doing what He says.
EXPERIENCING RESURRECTION LIFE
Jesus always did what the Father told Him to do. In the case of Lazarus, Jesus waited to go to His friend until several days after he died. Why? Because the Father wanted us to learn a very important lesson about trusting Him and living from a position of victory.
When Jesus arrived in Bethany He eventually met up with both Mary and Martha. They shared their disappointment that He didn’t come sooner. He tried to comfort Martha but she was too busy being defeated to hear Him telling her that it wasn’t too late.
Please hear me. Loved ones die and the pain we feel is real. It can cut to the core of our soul. Experiencing that kind of loss and grief does not mean we are living in defeat. The defeat comes when we allow that pain to dictate how we move forward and how we allow ourselves to encounter God. We can grieve the loss of a loved one or even the loss of friendships or dreams, and still encounter the resurrection power of Jesus. We can also choose to encounter those circumstances and shut ourselves off from what God wants to do. It’s our choice.
After Jesus catches up with Martha and Mary, He becomes overwhelmed by the pain of the situation. He shows real emotion, compassion, and empathy. What He doesn’t do is show defeat. He is honest about the situation but also knows that the Father has something better in mind.
John 11: 33-35, When Jesus looked at Mary and saw her weeping at his feet, and all her friends who were with her grieving, he shuddered with emotion and was deeply moved with tenderness and compassion. He said to them, “Where did you bury him?” “Lord, come with us and we’ll show you,” they replied. Then tears streamed down Jesus’ face.
Jesus wanted to bring victory to their pain and disappointment. He wants to do the same for you and me. But He cannot release the glory of the Father if we are more focussed on the darkness than on His light. We have to believe that fighting from victory means we do more than wallow in our pain. Fighting from victory requires action but so often we do the opposite.
Jesus told Mary and Martha to take Him to Lazarus and show Him where he was buried. Martha and Mary did exactly that. It seems like a very natural response, right?. It’s what most of us would say and do. What we have to look at, though, is where our heart is at in those moments. Often when death enters into our life, whether it’s the passing of a loved one, a friendship, or some hope or dream, we have a tendency to give up too soon.
Remember, I’m not talking about not grieving. We should always grieve hard situations but that doesn’t mean we need to give up on life and, especially, give up on allowing God to move powerfully.
Another problem that comes during difficult times is that we often bury the pain so deep that it can keep us from experiencing resurrection life and the power of fighting from victory. Pain is meant to be processed and then moved out of the way. It is not supposed to become the place where we live.
CHOOSING TO LIVE FROM VICTORY
What we are supposed to do is live from a place of victory. What we are supposed to do is experience the powerful resurrection life Jesus has given us. Pain, hurt, and grief cannot stop the power of God but our decision to live ordinary lives can. So many times when people encounter pain, they just give up but Jesus is calling us to something deeper, something more powerful.
In the midst of grieving people, and even grieving Himself, Jesus took a step of faith and did the “impossible.” He stepped up to the grave, commanded that the stone be rolled away, and called Lazarus out. He didn’t let the pain He was going through stop Him from releasing the glory of God. Instead, He used the pain to push Him forward and encounter something that only God could do. That is what living in resurrection life will do. It converts our pain into rivers of grace that release the Holy Spirit to move.
MAKING IT PRACTICAL
To experience real resurrection life, we have to put ourselves into impossible situations and allow God to use our weakness in order to show off His power and glory.
Here’s your challenge. Are you willing to admit that you may be living in a place of defeat? What do you do more often: fight for victory or fight from victory? Be honest. Ask someone that you aren’t around all the time what they think? Spend some time with Jesus this week and see what He has to say. Maybe even fast and pray.
I John 3:8 says, “He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.” Jesus came, died on the cross, and rose again. That series of actions gave Him total victory over the kingdom of darkness. As Jesus followers, we have the very Spirit of Jesus in us. That means we have the same victory over the kingdom of darkness. It also means that we have authority to enforce that victory. We do that by manifesting Jesus everywhere we go.
Ephesians 5:13 says, “Whatever the revelation-light exposes, it will also correct, and everything that reveals truth is light to the soul.” We are to manifest that light always and everywhere so that darkness flees and what was broken gets fixed.
Today, we can live in the resurrection power of Jesus and experience victory no matter what we are going through. Let’s do this and take back a world drowning in darkness by shedding God’s amazing victory light.
Featured Image by Thank you! from Pixabay
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