Victory!
August 28, 2024 12:00 AM
Gary Wright
When I was younger I played softball quite a bit. I am very competitive and I love to win and softball was no different. One season our team started off with four wins and zero losses. The next week however we had to play the best team in the league in a doubleheader. We practiced hard that week and ended up beating the team in both games. It was quite the victory.
In softball, the other team is the adversary. In order to have victory over them, there are some things we can do: batting practice, fielding practice, and working together as a team. All this practice and hard work helped us overcome and have victory over our adversary.
Because we all have sin in our life, we have an adversary, that adversary is death. No matter how hard we try, we cannot have victory over it on our own. Although that sounds very hopeless, Paul tells us where we can find hope.
In 1 Corinthians 15:57, we read, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus gave us victory over death. He lived a sinless life, He removed our sin by paying the penalty for it on the cross, and conquered death by being raised from the dead. When we put our faith in Jesus we may die a physical death, but we will live eternally with Him.
It is quite the victory.
With our victory over the best team in the league, our team had confidence like never before. We ended our season with only one loss.
If we truly believe that we have victory over death, we should also have confidence like never before. Paul writes about this in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
God gave us victory over death through faith in Jesus! When we have confidence in that victory we should be firm (steadfast) and unwavering (immovable) in God’s will for our lives. We as believers should be giving all we have to the Lord’s work (abounding), not just a warm body filling a position. Our labor is not in vain, our work in the Lord has a purpose and that purpose is to point others to victory over death through faith in Jesus Christ!
This month The River Church has been asking us to get involved in serving (Join the Team). Where is God calling you to be abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain?
When I was younger I played softball quite a bit. I am very competitive and I love to win and softball was no different. One season our team started off with four wins and zero losses. The next week however we had to play the best team in the league in a doubleheader. We practiced hard that week and ended up beating the team in both games. It was quite the victory.
In softball, the other team is the adversary. In order to have victory over them, there are some things we can do: batting practice, fielding practice, and working together as a team. All this practice and hard work helped us overcome and have victory over our adversary.
Because we all have sin in our life, we have an adversary, that adversary is death. No matter how hard we try, we cannot have victory over it on our own. Although that sounds very hopeless, Paul tells us where we can find hope.
In 1 Corinthians 15:57, we read, “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Jesus gave us victory over death. He lived a sinless life, He removed our sin by paying the penalty for it on the cross, and conquered death by being raised from the dead. When we put our faith in Jesus we may die a physical death, but we will live eternally with Him.
It is quite the victory.
With our victory over the best team in the league, our team had confidence like never before. We ended our season with only one loss.
If we truly believe that we have victory over death, we should also have confidence like never before. Paul writes about this in 1 Corinthians 15:58, “Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.”
God gave us victory over death through faith in Jesus! When we have confidence in that victory we should be firm (steadfast) and unwavering (immovable) in God’s will for our lives. We as believers should be giving all we have to the Lord’s work (abounding), not just a warm body filling a position. Our labor is not in vain, our work in the Lord has a purpose and that purpose is to point others to victory over death through faith in Jesus Christ!
This month The River Church has been asking us to get involved in serving (Join the Team). Where is God calling you to be abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain?