Jeff Schreve - Victory or Defeat?
We want to talk about this question today: Victory or defeat? When it comes to your life, your Christian life, what do you experience more of? Are there more spiritual victories or more spiritual defeats? Do you tend to find yourself not experiencing much thrill, just experiencing a lot of agony? I remember when I was in college, David Ferguson was our teacher in our college department, and he said to us, he said, «You know, for many of you, you have a sin that is something that just plagues you. It’s like a shadow, it just dogs your steps, and you’re just not able to shake it». He said, «It’s almost like there’s a handle on your back. And just when you think you’re starting to take off, spiritually, the devil grabs that handle and pulls you down and he rattles your chain and he shakes you and you fall into the same sin, same sin, same sin over and over and over again. And you experience the agony of defeat in the same area».
Maybe it’s drugs, maybe it’s alcohol, maybe it’s pornography, maybe it’s worry, maybe it’s gluttony. William Cowper wrote a song in the 1700s, «O For a Closer Walk with God». And one of his lines, I just love it. He says this: «The dearest idol I have known, whatever that idol be, help me tear it from thy throne to worship only Thee». You know, in all of our lives, we have certain things that become, as the scripture says in Hebrews chapter 12, «the sin which so easily entangles us». The King James says, «besetting sins». They’re the things we keep tripping over time and time and time again. And we wonder is victory really even possible? Is it possible or is it just a pipe dream? Because I can’t seem to get past this sin, whatever this sin is for you.
So here is our question: How can you live a life of victory and not a life of defeat? And here’s the answer: By recognizing the lies of the devil and applying the truth of God. We’re in a series called, «Fake News: Exposing the Lies of the Devil,» and today, «Victory or Defeat»? John chapter 8, Jesus is having an encounter with the Jews and with the Jewish leaders. And it says in verse 31: «Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, 'If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.' They answered Him, 'We are Abraham’s offspring, and have never yet been enslaved to anyone; how is it that You say, „You shall become free“?' Jesus answered them, saying, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who commits sin is the slave of sin. And the slave does not remain in the house forever; the son does remain forever. If therefore, the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.'»
Such a great chapter, John chapter 8, it begins with Jesus forgiving the woman caught in the very act of adultery. He says to her, «Was there no one here to stone you»? She said, «No one, Lord». «No one to condemn you,» He said, «Neither do I condemn you. Go, and sin no more». And then He has this encounter with the Jews, with the Jewish religious leaders, and the chapter ends with Jesus declaring that He is the Great I Am. «Before Abraham was born,» He says, «I am,» and they picked up stones to stone Him. That’s how chapter 8 ends. But He was hidden from their presence and He went away from their presence. They’re trying to kill Him. Why? Because He claimed to be the Great I Am. Well, right in the middle of the chapter, He says something very pointed and very profound about what it means to be a true disciple, what it means to have true spiritual victory, what it means to be set free from the power of sin, the destructive power of sin.
Now, I want you to notice with me two truths from the verses that we read concerning victory. Truth number one: The Lord wants you to have eternal victory in heaven. He wants you to enter into His victory that would last for all eternity. He wants you to have a genuine relationship with Him to experience true salvation. Now He says, «If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine». And in verse 31, it says that Jesus was speaking to those Jews who had believed Him. Now we read that and we’re thinking, «Okay, He’s talking about people who have trusted Him, who have been saved». But I don’t think that’s what John means because he used the same thing in John chapter 2, «that many believed in Him, beholding the signs which He had done».
But the Jews that we’re gonna see, they mainly believed in the signs that Jesus did. They were wowed by His signs. They followed Him in mass. Why? Because He fed them, because He healed the sick, because He raised the dead, He was amazing in what He said and what He did. And so they were curious and so they would come after Him. But Jesus would say, «Hey, if you really wanna be a true disciple, then this is what you need to do». See, there are true disciples and there are false disciples, just as there are true prophets and false prophets, true teachers and false teachers, true witnesses and false witnesses, true brethren and false brethren. The Bible talks about all those things, and the Lord doesn’t want you to be false. He wants you to be true.
So what is the true disciple? Well, the true disciple is one who comes to Jesus on Jesus’s terms. True disciple comes to the Lord on the Lord’s terms. He comes the Lord’s way. He doesn’t try to come his own way. And the argument that Jesus had with the religious leaders showed the religious leaders they hated Jesus. Why? Because Jesus wasn’t playing ball their way. Jesus was talking about another way and they didn’t want to come that way. And Jesus said, «You are bound in sin and you need the Son to set you free». And when the Son sets you free, you’re free from the penalty of sin, there is no condemnation for you; and you’re free from the power of sin. And the Lord wants that for every single person to have victory forever and ever and ever in heaven because your sins are forgiven and your faith has saved you and you can go and live in peace forever.
So that’s the first truth. And that is so critical. And so many people believe a lie. They believe they’re not right and they believe they’re all right. Why? Because they’ve been baptized, because they joined the church, because they give some money, because they come, you know, Christmas and Easter, maybe a few other times, that they’re a good person. They try to not hurt people. Those things are wonderful, but that doesn’t get you to heaven. You have to come the Lord’s way, poor in spirit, understanding you’re bankrupt, you can’t do anything to save you, and Jesus is the only one who can save you and He is the Great I Am.
Now, second truth: The Lord wants you not only to have eternal victory in heaven, but He wants you to have daily victory on earth. Now, this is the kind of the rubber meets the road for the Christians in this audience, those watching livestream, those under the sound of my voice. You say, «You know, I’ve put my faith and trust in Jesus and there has been a change in my heart and I believe I am a true disciple and not a false disciple, but I’m struggling with sin. I’m struggling with sin. And I don’t understand because if the Son has set me free, then I’m free indeed. And I’m really, really struggling». Well, look at it again. Jesus said in verse 31: «Jesus therefore was saying to those Jews who had believed Him,» those who were checking Him out, those who were seeking, those who were moving closer to Him. That’s what He means. «If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free». The truth shall set you free.
Now, every true disciple has eternal victory because they passed out of death into life. And so their names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. And they’re never gonna lose that. And so they’re gonna have eternal victory. But they also, as a Christian, can have daily victory. And the Bible makes that clear, Romans chapter 6… they were saying in Romans chapter 5: «Well, you know, if sin brings grace, then let’s just sin it up because the more I sin, the more grace I get». And Paul says, «Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we who are dead to sin still live in it? We have died to sin, knowing that our old man is crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that henceforth, we should not serve sin for he who is dead, is freed from sin».
In Romans chapter 6, Paul says, «I’m freed from sin. We’re freed from sin. Every Christian is freed from sin». But now here’s the rub. Okay, that’s what it says on paper. But what about my life? What about practice? How does that work in practice? Because, man, I sure don’t feel like I’m dead to sin. A true disciple still experiences the presence and the pull of sin. You can be a true disciple and you still experience the presence of sin. Heaven is where you are taken away from the presence of sin. We still live in the presence of sin. I’m free from the penalty of sin as a believer, I’m free from the power of sin. I have died. My life is hidden with Christ in God and sin no longer has dominion over me, but I still deal with sin. I still struggle with sin.
You know, we sometimes sing that song, «In the Sweet By and By». But what about in the struggle now and now? How do you do in the struggle now and now? Because in the sweet by and by, we’re not gonna have to struggle with sin. But right now I live in a fallen world and there are temptations that come into my life, just as there are temptations that come into your life. And how do we have victory over those, so it’s not just on paper? That we can’t just say, «Well, Romans 6 says I’m dead to sin, but sure don’t feel like I’m dead to sin. And so I guess it’s just for other people. It’s not for me». Well, Paul said this, Romans 7: «For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the wishing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. For the good that I wish, I do not do; but I practice the very evil that I do not wish».
That’s what Paul said. After he was saved, Romans 6: «I’m dead to sin». Romans 7: «I’m still struggling with sin». Man, it’s still there. It’s still working on me. I have a new nature and I’m dead to sin, but sin is still in my members, as he describes it. There’s still this pull of the flesh that wants to do evil. And then he goes on to Romans 8 and says, «But praise God, I can walk in the power of the Spirit». And that’s how he has victory and that’s how you and I have victory. Praise the Lord. That’s good. Now, a true disciple walks in victory by walking in the truth. «You shall know the truth,» Jesus said, «and the truth shall make you free». The only way to have victory in practice, so it’s not just on paper. To have victory in practice is you have to apply the truth to your life. You have to know the truth and you have to walk in the truth.
Psalm 15 says, «O Lord, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy hill? He who walks with integrity, and works righteousness, and speaks truth in his heart». So critical to do that. You know why? Because the natural flow of life will get you to believe a lie. Just the natural, everything is coming against you as a Christian. The Bible says that as we grow as a Christian, it’s the narrow road that leads to life. And where is the narrow road? The narrow road, as one preacher described, comes right up through the gut of the broad road that leads to destruction. And there’s a current that pushes us back.
If you try and coast in the Christian life, you’ll never stay in the same spot. You’ll go backward. Why? Because there is a current of evil that comes against you and that comes against me. So we have to push forward in the truth so that we can live in victory every single day, so that we can experience the thrill of victory and not constantly experience the agony of defeat. And so I want to share with you five truths that are so critical, so foundational, for you to believe, for me to believe, in order to walk in victory. Because the devil is a liar and the father of lies.
Truth number one: God’s love for you is not based on your performance. It’s not based on your performance. So often, we think that, you know, God loves me if I’m doing right. But if I’m doing wrong, then He doesn’t love me. You’ve heard me say before we have a daisy theology. When I was a kid growing up, we would, if we liked a girl, we would pull out a little flower and we’d pull off the petals, and what would we say? She loves me, she loves me not, she loves me, she loves me not.
And you hope to get to the last one, «Ah, she loves me! Maybe I’ll write her a note or kick her». You know, I mean, you’re a little kid. So that’s how you showed a girl you liked her, you know? We do that with the Lord, and we say, «Well, I’m doing good today. He loves me. Man, I messed up. He doesn’t love me anymore. He loves me not. Oh, but then the next day I did something good. He loves me. But then I messed up again. He loves me not». And we live on this roller coaster of God’s love. He loves me, He doesn’t love me, He loves me, He doesn’t love me. Listen, God loves you because He’s chosen to love you and He loves you with an everlasting love and it doesn’t matter how you perform, He just loves you.
Romans chapter 5, verse 8: «But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us». I mean, you talk about bad performance. You’re a sinner, you’re separated from God and God demonstrates His love toward you and that He sent His Son to die for you. I mean, «For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life». So the lie is I have to perform for God to love me. And when you live on that kind of a performance treadmill, man, your life is just constantly going up and down, and you will experience so much defeat and so much discouragement.
Second truth: God’s acceptance for you is not based on your performance. See, they kind of go hand in hand. God’s love for me, God’s acceptance of me. And we have the same idea. Well, God accepts me when I’m doing well. He doesn’t accept me, He doesn’t love me, doesn’t accept me, if I’m not doing well. If my mind’s in the gutter, if I’m in a fight with my wife, if I fell in this area or fell in that area or fell in the other area, well, then God doesn’t accept me. Ephesians chapter 1, verse 6. The scripture says: «To the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved».
The Beloved is Jesus. And the moment that you accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, God accepts you. And you’re accepted in the Beloved because you’re in Christ and God accepts Christ, He accepted Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. And if I am in Christ, then I am accepted in the Beloved. And what the Father said about Jesus, «This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; listen to Him». Then I’m in that and I am His beloved son, not in the sense of Jesus, but I am in His beloved Son. And the Lord is pleased with me. Maybe not with what I am doing at the moment, but He’s pleased with me as a person, just like with our kids. We are pleased with our kids because they’re our kids. And even when they’re messing up, we still love them and we still accept them as our children. And God does the same for us.
Now, you know what I found? Those two things are so huge and so critical to understand that God loves you, to understand that God accepts you. And here’s what I’ve found. If in your past, you’ve experienced abuse, abandonment, rejection, you have a hard time with believing that God loves you not based on performance and God accepts you not based on performance. You know why? Because you feel less than inside. You feel that there’s something wrong with you. You know how sometimes you see a football game and you see some football player make a big play and you know what he does after he makes a big play so often? He does that… You know, like, I’m Superman, I’m pulling my shirt off to show you that there’s a big «S» that says «Superman».
You know what is going on in the mind of the person who’s been sexually abused, person who’s been rejected, the person who’s been abandoned? They pull their shirt and there’s a big «S» and it says «Shame». Shame. I’m not Superman. I’m shameful man. And how could God want to have a relationship with me? How could He accept me? How could He love me? And then we feel like we’re less than, we’re Hester Prynne from «The Scarlet Letter,» and we have a big scarlet «A» on our chest and we feel less than and we don’t measure up. We’re second class Christians. There’s just no way. And so I had to work and work and work and work and maybe then God will accept me. That’s a lie. God accepts you the moment you accept Jesus. God loves you, no matter who you are, no matter what you did.
Third truth: God’s forgiveness of your sins is complete and total. Complete forgiveness, total forgiveness. «If we confess our sins,» 1 John 1:9, «He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness». I want you to circle that word «all» or write that down. I don’t know if it’s in your notes, and it’s on the screen. «He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from,» A-L-L, «all unrighteousness». Acts chapter 10, verse 15: «What God has cleansed, no longer considered unholy». «What God has cleansed, no longer considered unholy».
Some of you are haunted by the ghost of guilt from something that you did last week, last month, last year, last summer, 5 years ago, 10 years ago, 20 years ago, 50 years ago. And the devil takes it and he beats you up with that. «Yeah, but look what you did. You had an abortion, you did this, you did that, you did the other,» and you’re just beaten down with guilt, «and there’s no way,» he says to you, «there’s no way God can forgive you for that». But that’s a lie. That’s a lie. And what we need to do is quit elevating our sin over God’s Son. The sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross, what did He say as He was dying on the cross? «It is finished». Paid in full, and His blood washes whiter than snow. You can walk in forgiveness.
I love it in Luke 7 when He tells the prostitute, «Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Go in peace». Hey, what’s the truth? No matter what you’re going through in life, God is good, God loves you, and His grace is sufficient for your every need. Keep going God’s way. Keep waiting for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage. Just wait for the Lord. And then fifthly, truth: God’s Spirit will never leave you, and He will lead you. He’ll never leave you and He will lead you.
Paul said in Galatians chapter 5: «But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law». We can be led by the Spirit. We don’t have to do this. I don’t have what it takes to live a victorious Christian life. He does. And he says, «Jeff, if you’ll just get out of the way, if you’ll just yield yourself to Me, then I’ll live it through you».
If you’ll walk by the Spirit and not by the flesh, the flesh is pulling, saying, «We wanna do this, we wanna go to this sin. We wanna participate in this activity». And the Spirit is saying, «We need to soar with Jesus. We need to go the Lord’s way». We have a choice. We can discipline our minds in the truth or we can just kind of float along and get pushed back in the lies.
Listen, aren’t you tired of going after cobwebs? You kill the spider with truth. You say, «Lord, You promised, 'And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.' And God, I wanna be free. I wanna be free from the handle on my back. I wanna be free from falling and falling and falling and falling in the same sin, same sin, same sin. God, I wanna have victory and I don’t want it to just be on paper. I want it to be in practice in my life». And that can happen. You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.