1 Corinthians 15:57-58 – “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.”  NKJV

If there is ever a time a believer lives in any condition less than Full Spiritual Victory, that is one time too many.  That is not the plan of God even in times of struggle and difficulty there is Victory to be achieved, experienced, and manifested.  It is God’s desire for us to be Victorious and enjoy the inheritance we have as heirs of God and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ.  I am totally convinced we can see the path to that victory in the New Testament Church and as we near the time of the Second Coming we will see two trends manifested in an unmistakable fashion.

• There Will Be Revival in the Church – [Acts 2:17].

The Bible speaks of the former rain of Pentecost being followed by the latter rain of Harvest.  James 5:7, “Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain.”  In today’s troubled world more and more believers are engaged in prayer for revival and I am convinced God never lays a burden on people to pray for something He does not desire to bring to pass.  I sense something moving in the air, spiritually, and know that with the shaking that is coming and now is there is going to be the going in the mulberry bush and God is going to move mightily in our present world.

• There Will Be Religious Apostasy in the Church – [1 Timothy 4:1].

The devil is crafty and he disguises himself as an angel of light and messenger of truth.  When people depart from the faith they have no alternative but to give heed to “seducing spirits and receive doctrines of devils.”  That is the natural result and sadly, it is happening today. 

I have read that there are over 40 million verified witches in America and possibly another 40 million who dabble in the black arts.  The devil has made inroads in desensitizing the church to his tactic and many no longer recognize or discern the spirits at work even in our churches.  The devil is a “defeated foe” we are told in the Bible but not one who has given up.  The unfortunate reality is although he is defeated, many do not seem to know that or understand how to enforce the victory of Jesus at the Cross.

We are reminded in 1 John 3:8, “For this purpose was the Son of God manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.”  In James 4:7, we read, “Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”  I am encouraged that even amid apparent and revealed apostasy there are those in churches across the land who have:

1. Discovered there is a real spiritual war transpiring.
2. Decided they are on the Lord’s side.
3. Declared that Jesus has won the victory.
4. Determined they will walk daily from victory to victory.

It is the time that we, believers, renew our commitment and confidence in the Blood of Jesus and the Name of our Lord and begin to enforce the Victory Jesus won in our present world against our present spiritual foe, the devil.

Let me remind you that “Victory implies Struggle.”  Where there is no battle there can be no victory.  We have an enemy who wants to steal, kill, and destroy but Jesus has come so that we could have ABUNDANT LIFE!  We have a biblical, legal mandate and authority over the power of the devil and as we have seen on many fronts, ignoring or denying the existence of something does not make it disappear. 

The devil loves to be ignored and I am sure he is delighted when churches and believers deny his existence or influence.  If there is a lion in the street the only way to defeat that lion is to FACE HIM!  Victory is available to us but to obtain that victory we must believe it is possible and learn how to enforce Christ’s Victory on the Cross.

I will pause here and pick up next time to discuss HOW we can have Victory Now in Jesus manifested in our Daily Lives!   

God bless you as you go through this day in Him!