God’s Vision for your Victory by Renier Veldman
…the framework for victory
Compare life to a race (Watching Comrades)
Some people are very obsessed when it comes to winning, I played a lot of sports and the thrill of competition
Why are people obsessed with winning (Feels good to win, Fear of failure, affirmation, popularity, power)
Statement – Life itself is a competition (1 Cor 9:24)
1 Cor 9 : 24 – 27 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
Life is a competition with ourselves
Effective ministry is a competition with Satan for souls of non-believers (2 Tim 2)
2 Tim 2 : 5 Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules.
2 Tim 2 : 25-26 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.
Story of the Friend in school who was a Mormon
Competition for the minds of the Christian (2 Cor 10)
2 Cor 10 : 2-5 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Statement – We are going to be talking about Competition, Warfare, Victory and Defeat, and we will be using the book of Joshua
Joshua 1:1-9 – Keys to develop this framework for victory…. (READ)
The framework for victory centres around God alone.
1. Patiently wait to get your mission from God. V.1-2
Joshua 1:1 “After the death of Moses the servant of the LORD, the LORD said to Joshua son of Nun, Moses’ aide: ‘Moses my servant is dead. Now then, you and all these people, get ready to cross the Jordan River into the land I am about to give to them—to the Israelites.’”
Moses is dead, we need to understand the depth of that statement….
*now your mission Joshua is to take these people into the land that I have promised them
*this mission for Joshua was a long time coming
a. It took 430 years from the Abrahamic covenant until the giving of the law. (Gods time is not our time, God makes promises to us, but we need to rely on God timing)
b. It took 40 years for Joshua to get his marching orders from God – now during these 40 years Joshua was Moses’ aide, and everything Joshua learned and experienced set him up to be in a place in which he is ready for the task.
Virgin Active Strategic Product Launch Story
We were told we were not there yet, but if it was not for the hard work we have put in we would not have been here right now, so everything is a step by step process
Now this took a few weeks to complete, but not 40 years….. Joshua had to wait 40 years to start his mission
Statement – Everybody has a personal mission from God
We might not always know it but God is revealing day by day, piece by piece, season by season his plans and purposes for our lives
So what do we do today ??? – Martin Luther Story of the Trees
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
We do what we are called to do in this phase of your life…..
Are you doing what God called you to do today ?
2. Confidently stand on the promises of God. V.3-5
“I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I promised Moses. Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the great river, the Euphrates—all the Hittite country—to the Great Sea on the west. No one will be able to stand up against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
We have no clue what that meant to Joshua !!
Exodus 33:10-12 Whenever the people saw the pillar of cloud standing at the entrance to the tent, they all stood and worshiped, each at the entrance to their tent. The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. Then Moses would return to the camp, but his young aide Joshua son of Nun did not leave the tent.
Joshua wanted to be as close as possible to this, he watched and overheard this, and had a yearning for the same relationship with God as Moses had…..
What are some promises to us……..
a. The promise of His presence (Matthew 28:20)
“Surely I am with you always even to the end of the age.”
We have received a better deal than Moses (2 Cor 3) – We are the temple of the Holy Spirit
2 Cor 3:13 We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to prevent the Israelites from seeing the end of what was passing away. But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplatet the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
No matter what we are going through God is there
b. The promise of His power (Acts 1:8)
“You will receive power after the Holy Spirit comes upon you….”
c. The promise of His provision (Philippians 4:19)
“My God will meet all your needs
If we had to give kids everything they wanted, imagine how they would look……..
d. The promise of His perspective (James 1:5) AKA Wisdom
“If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to
all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.”
3. Purposely find your power source in God. V.6,7
“Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their forefathers to give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.”
a. Be strong. – We need to rest in God and allow Him to be strong for us
b. Be courageous. – God wants us to have a courage standpoint in Life….Internal
c. Be careful. – To Obey everything God has Called us to do…..
4. Constantly orient your mind around God. V.8,9
“Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day
and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you
will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and
courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your
God will be with you wherever you go.”
a. Memorize God’s Word. (They did not have pocket bibles)
b. Meditate on God’s Word. (Thinking deeply about it, we surround ourselves with a lot of noise)
c. Obey God’s Word. (we don’t just think about it, we DO it)
WE WANT VICTORY – Joshua gives us a roadmap for Victory
Ultimate Victory was given through Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for our sins on the Cross
Want Ultimate Victory – Trust in Jesus
