Taffi Dollar - Life's Battles Are Real But So Is Your Victory - Part 1
You know, we’ve been living in what the Bible calls one of the most dangerous times and the difficult times. And so that’s what we want to understand is that believers have a walk before them, a walk that’s victorious but isn’t always going to be easy. And so, you know, we can do these things. We can have what the Bible says we can have, we can do what the Bible says we can do and we can be all that he wants us to be. And so, I wanna start off with this joke and there was one afternoon where a guy and his wife walked into a pet store to purchase some goldfish food. The man seeing a beautiful green parrot walked over through the bird to admire its fine feathers. The bird said, «Hey man, your wife sure is ugly».
The man was furious and complained to the owner. He went to the owner of the store and he says, «Do you know what your bird just said to me»? The owner went over to the parrot, took it out of the cage, slapped it around, said, «You better not talk to my customers like that. This is your last chance you did this before, next time I’m gonna get rid of you and take you back to the shelter». He then put the bird back in the cage. The man and his wife walked past the bird on their way out of the store. The parrot looked back at him and said, «You know».
So this morning, you know, it’s got some difficult times ahead. We see just, you know, the rifts of all the things that are taking place, inflation and increase of interest rates and going down. Just all kinds of things. So, you know, but we win in spite of all that’s going on 'cause we know what we have, amen. So we’re gonna look at the New Living Translation quite a bit this morning. You know, pastor’s been hanging around in that translation so I figured I’d give it a try and found some good nuggets that I believe will help us today. So the body of Christ should begin to prepare for great trials and testing that lies ahead so that we will not be caught or taken in a trap when things begin to occur.
So I wanna begin with this statement this morning, I want you to take really good notes here on this point. «Battles are real to life but much more real is your triumph and your victory in them». Battles are real. We don’t make light of that. Look at what he says over in Ecclesiastes, the book of Ecclesiastes chapter 9 verse 12 in the NLT. I would be unjust and a liar and a hypocrite if I got up here and said that there are no battles in life. Life is full of opportunities, obstacles and challenges. If we live long enough, then we’ll understand these things. And so he says here in Ecclesiastes chapter 12 verse 9, he says, «People can never predict when hard times might come».
People can never predict when situations… I never would’ve known the things that have happened, a pandemic, and losing loved ones such an accelerated rate. All the things that happen people can never predict. No one ever expected that to happen. When hard times might come, he says, «Like fish in a net or birds in a trap, people are caught by sudden tragedy,» «Caught by sudden tragedy». So battles, somebody say, «Battles». Battles and obstacles are real to life. And some of you, I’m not telling you anything new but just so that we understand that as believers, this is a part of our Christian life. And not to say that we are bad Christians or we’re doing something wrong when we experience battles and obstacles in our life, no, that is a part as we just saw here in the scripture that hard times will come.
And so, we can look at what it says here in John chapter 16 verse 33. Turn there in the Amplified. I wanna just walk us through some of the scriptures that remind us of who we are and we can understand that, this morning as we’re talking about faith under pressure that there’s gonna be some pressurous times, some difficult times but we find comfort in what the scripture says here in the Amplified of John chapter 16, right here in the 33rd verse. It says, «I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace. In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering,» but look at what it says, «But be courageous, [be confident, be undaunted, be filled with joy]». And you know why he says that? Right here, because it says, «I have overcome the world. [My conquest is accomplished.]"
So he has already accomplished everything that we are dealing with in this life. He says, «My conquest is accomplished». He’s already run to the end of the race, he’s already seen the end of this thing. It’s just like the book of Revelations where we have to look over there and understand that we win. The conquest is accomplished, it’s already ours available. The triumph, the victory. We have to begin to see the end of the thing. Not to get caught up in the midst of the challenge, right in the midst of the present moment, but to understand that there is an end. That this too shall pass and this thing will come to pass in our life because it’s already been accomplished.
And so we don’t just, you know, pitch a tent and stay right there and camp right in the middle of the circumstance, but we understand that it has been accomplished. And he says, «My victory abiding». So he says, «Be of good cheer, be courageous because his victory is abiding». So battles and obstacles are real to life, but much more real than the battle that’s real, is your victory. Much more real is your triumph, much more real is the conquest. Those things are real. We don’t make light of the fact and ask that you go around and act like things don’t exist and ignore situations in our life. No, we don’t try to minimize or say that these things aren’t real, but we declare that much more real is our victory. You may be in pain this morning but much more real is your healing. You may be in a difficult situation, much more real is the restoration and the wholeness and the deliverance. Much more real because the battles are temporary.
Those are the things that we have to go through to get to the other side. Those are the things that we have to overcome and be willing to stand and having done all to stand to stand therefore. And understanding that we have what it takes to go through this thing, you know why? Because we have Jesus on the inside of us. There’s that supernatural strength. I was looking at the scripture last night it just blessed me. It talked about how, I think it was Elijah, how he overran the chariot. God gave him supernatural speed. God will give you supernatural strength in the midst of test and tribulations. I’m telling you, whatever it is you’re dealing with today, there’s a supernatural strength that will outlast your natural strength. God got on Elijah to the point that he ran faster than the horses.
And you know, that has to be the power of God because for a man, a human being to be able to outrun an animal that could go twice as fast as a man but you know what? That grace, that ability began to get over his life and as a result, he just began to experience the supernatural. You think that someone were crazy if you saw an individual just outrunning a car to the red light. You think, «What in the world»? But that’s what this is, that’s what we’re talking about. We’re talking about how God will cause us to supernaturally, supernaturally be able to not put up with, but I’m telling you, to come out on the other side with not even a smell of smoke. You don’t look like you’ve been drugged through and you know, come out the ringer but I’m talking about like Daniel did in the lion’s den. He came out, glory be to God.
And the power was all over him, the glory was all over him, the goodness was all over him. He just had to begin to testify that this is the Lord’s doing. «This is the Lord’s doing and it’s marvelous in my eyes». That’s how God will begin to get the glory where we’re confident that in this world we’re gonna have some battles in life, but much more real than the battles are our victory 'cause our victory is assured today. Somebody say, «My victory is assured today». So your victory is assured. He says over in Psalms 34 verse 19. Let’s look at this in the Amplified. Let’s look at this in the Amplified translation. Psalms 34 verse 19, glory be to God. He says, «Many hardships,» «Many hardships and perplexing circumstances confront the righteous».
I could begin to write a book over the different hardships and perplexing circumstances. I’m sure many of you can too because there is a devil loose and that devil wants to do everything that he can to give us an opportunity to throw in the towel, to cave in and to quit. But we are not quitters. We got stand power. We have the ability to outlast opposition. We have supernatural strength, we have supernatural grace, we have all that we need to win in this life. And so he says that, «There’ll be many hardships and perplexing circumstances». But look at what he says, «But the Lord rescues him or her from them all».
I said, he’s a rescuer this morning. My God, you can be determined to go off on the cliff just don’t know maybe you’re in ignorance, maybe situations just something that came back from the past but I’m telling you, he’ll get you right off that cliff. His grace, his mighty hand, the hand of the Lord will just begin to come along and scoop you up and say, «Here my child, I have a plan for your life. I have a good plan for you». And so he says, «But the Lord rescues them,» «Rescues him from them all». Some of you may have children who are, you know, gathering testimony, doing what they want to do, but you know what? I find confidence. Confidence in the scripture that says that «He will rescue him and he will rescue them, he’ll rescue us all». Glory be to God. He is a rescuer. I said, he is a rescuer.
Some of y’all know that it wasn’t but the Lord, if it were not for the Lord, you would not be here today. Rescuing you from yourself, rescuing you from your mess, rescuing you from your craziness, rescuing you from your rebellion, rescuing you from bondages and addictions in your life. I’m telling you this morning, he is a rescuer. Some of us didn’t even know we needed to be rescued, just living life. And all of a sudden, his goodness just begins to manifest. And then in the midst of it all, he just begins to reveal and to show his plan.
Now look over at 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 12. We’re gonna look at this from two translations. 1 Peter 4, verse 12. I’m gonna look at it from the Amplified and we also want to look at it from the Message translation 'cause we’ve been talking about battles, we’ve been talking about how you know, we have to show up when we looked at how David showed up for the battle. You can’t win any battle that you’re not willing to show up for. You can’t run, you can’t hide, you can’t act like it doesn’t exist, you gotta show up and then you can’t run was what we talked about last time. Don’t run from the battle. You don’t have any reason to run. The Goliath was strutting around, he was trying to intimidate them in the midst of everything that was going on to make them think that, you know, he was bigger than anything else there, he was bigger than God.
And so, you know, we have to remind ourselves of who we are and what it is that we have on the inside of us to not be afraid that we are bigger than our fears. The size of the battle doesn’t have anything to do with our God. God is big. He is bigger than any giant, he is bigger than any problem, he is bigger than any circumstance, he is big. We’re not talking about a little God. Some of y’all’s gods is too small. That’s the problem right there. You think your God can’t do anything. You think you gotta help God along. You think that it’s about you know your part and then God doing his part, no, God is big he doesn’t need you. If you think that you can’t overcome, if you think you can’t win, you think you can’t come out of that thing, your God is too small.
And so we have to look at the perspective in our lives and begin to realize that he is Jehovah, he is El Elyon, he is Jehovah Gmolah, he is Jehovah Nissi, he is Jehovah Ropheka, he is God, he is big and he will do what needs to be done. All he wants us to do is to trust him, to realize that our victory is assured, our victory is accomplished, our victory belongs to us. So it says in 1 Peter chapter 4 verse 12, «Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal,» 'cause sometimes we just surprise, good God. But you know, we have to remind ourselves, «Okay Lord, okay Lord, help me not to be surprised 'cause I had not expected this». So he says, «Beloved, do not, do not».
You know you got teenagers why are you surprised that they gonna start liking hormones and stuff? He says, «Do not be surprised». You know, you married that person, why are you surprised when it start getting a little rocky? That’s what marriage is, it’s work. It’s gonna get rocky sometimes. You know, you at that job you know, you know that corporate can be very messy and political. He says, «Do not, do not be surprised». Amen. «Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal which is taking place». We can just put a period right there. Can we just put a period right there, «That is taking place». He says, «Don’t be surprised, beloved». 'Cause it’s going to take place. It’s going to happen.
In this world you gonna have some tribulations, some tests, and some trials. You’re gonna have people to talk about you, you’re gonna have folks who may just, you know, do all kinds of things. But he says, «It is going to take place,» you know why? To test you, to try you. People are gonna try you. He says, «That is to test the quality of your faith».
What’s the quality of your faith? Does your faith just disappear when hard times come? Does your quality of your faith, you know, you don’t act like a Christian anymore when the fiery ordeal, well you just turn into a whole different person. It’s like, no, what’s the quality of your faith? Because that faith comes from God, it’s the God kind of faith that is on the inside of us. That faith that can move a mountain, he says, «Just a mustard seed faith». If we believe and not doubt in our heart, we shall have whatever we believe. So it is designed to test the quality of your faith as though something strange or unusual were happening to you.
Look at what it says in the Message translation as though something were happening to you. He says, «Friends, when life gets really difficult,» really difficult, this pandemic I’m telling you it got really difficult: isolation, mental capacity was under an all time attack, the competency, when life gets really difficult, jobs were lost, businesses were closed. When life gets really difficult. I’m seeing this person 24 hours a day, seven days a week, none of us have any breaks from each other. «When life, when life gets really difficult». «These kids are trying me, Lord Jesus, thank you for your patience». «When life gets difficult, friends,» he says, «Don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job». God is on the job. He hadn’t left the throne. I said, God is on the job. He’s on the job. What are we doing?