“Now the Philistines gathered together their armies to battle. And there went out a champion out of the camp of the Philistines, named Goliath.” (1 Samuel 17:1,4)
The story of David and Goliath is a familiar one and the story of one of the greatest victories in the Word of God. All of God’s Word is given to us for our instruction and this story is no different. Spiritually, we have Goliaths that come against us and hinder our spiritual growth. Just as David came through the battle victorious, we can defeat our spiritual giants.
The giants that come against us can only be defeated in the way God has ordained. Just as David could not go out to battle with Saul’s armor, which represents looking to the flesh for victory, we cannot go about seeking victory in our own strength. The Lord told David to take up five stones and to use these to defeat Goliath. Although David only needed one, the five represented grace and brought David victory.
Going God’s way to have victory in our lives means we must go the way of grace, or unmerited favor. This comes to us through God’s goodness as John 1:17 tells us, ” … grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.” Notice it’s past tense. Jesus, by His death on the cross as a sacrifice for sin, provided the grace of God to those that have faith in Him for salvation and for victory in our daily walk with the Lord.
We are to walk out this life by walking in the Spirit. But what exactly does it mean to walk in the Spirit. Some think it means denying ourselves of anything pleasurable, but that is not what we are to do. We are to place our faith in Christ and Him crucified which allows the Holy Spirit to work in our lives. This is the way the Spirit works, within the framework of the finished work of Christ. He works no other way. Placing our faith in the Lord’s great sacrifice will bring us the victory we seek in our lives over the world, the flesh, and the devil. As Paul tells us in the following verse from Galatians, the only way to overcome sin is to walk in the Spirit:
“This I say then, walk [the way we live our life] in the Spirit [accomplished by placing our faith in Christ crucified], and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh [ungodly desires]” (Galatians 5:16 with commentary).
Whether it’s the world, the flesh, or the devil, our enemies are powerful and cannot be defeated in our strength. The Lord has provided us with the way of victory and we can walk in it and be victorious.
“So David prevailed over the Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and killed him; but there was no sword in David’s hand.” (1 Samuel 17:50)
In this account, and in our lives, we find that the battle is the Lord’s. Our victory comes through Him and only through Him, This is a lesson we must learn and walk out in our lives. Jesus points the way to victory in the following verse:
“And He said to them all, if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself [our ability], and take up his cross [faith in Christ crucified], daily [a must] and follow Me [Christ crucified]” (Luke 9;:3)
It’s been said that “we stay in the same way we came in” meaning that we came to the Lord by faith in His atoning work at the cross, and that’s how we stay in. Our daily walk can only be one of victory by our continued faith in the Lord and His great sacrifice at Calvary. This is the way the Holy Spirit works – the only way He works as the following verse from Romans tells us:
“For the Law [a Law of God – His only way to victory in our lives] of the Spirit (the Holy Spirit – the way He works) of Life [life from Christ by the Holy Spirit] in Christ Jesus [by what he accomplished at the cross] has made me free [brought me victory] from the Law of Sin and Death [a powerful law – we have victory over this law only by the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus – there is no other way]” (Romans 8:2).
Paul had struggled in his own strength to follow the Lord and have victory in his own life. He said, “For I delight in the Law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members [the Law of Sin and Death] warring against the law of my mind [his desire to live for God] and bringing me into the captivity to the law of sin [the Law of Sin and Death] which is in my members [he did not have the ability within himself to live a life pleasing to the Lord].” His victory came when he exclaimed, “O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord [our answer for victory over the world, the flesh, and the devil]” (Romans Chapter 7 ).
We gain victory in our lives by faith in Christ crucified through the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s the only way the Holy Spirit works! If we leave the cross, we leave our only way to victory. We came to the Lord by the way of grace, unmerited favor, and have continued victory in our lives by grace. It cost the Lord greatly to provide the victory that is available to us today. Any giant that comes against us will fall as we walk out this life by faith. The Lord has brought the victory and it is marvelous in our sight.
See The Victorious Christian Living page on this website. Link below.
https://wordpress.com/page/tqministries.com/211
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Tom Quinn Ministries – tqministries.com 2021
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