Today, you and I are going to have a heart -to
-heart talk, and I do desire that it may be a
very profitable heart -to -heart talk because
I'm talking about something that is vitally important
to both of us. In the riches of divine grace,
I want you to know something. Provision is made
for constant, unbroken victory. on the part of
every one of God's children, regardless of circumstances.
That's right. A victory that remains unaffected
by circumstances. You know, the victorious life
is not something which is obtained once for all.
A summit that's reached from which nothing can
dislodge us. Sometimes I think that we feel,
you know, that when we're born again, oh, that
wonderful moment when His Spirit bears witness
with our spirit that we pass from death unto
life and we know that in that moment God has
become our Heavenly Father and we enter into
that wonderful relationship of father and child.
Oh, it's a glorious experience. But sometimes
we get the idea, that we're going to remain in
that constant ecstasy, and that there'll no longer
be temptations, there'll be no feeling of depression,
and that we'll remain on that wonderful summit,
away up there on Pista's lofty mountaintop. But
you see, the big... Victoria's life is not something
which is obtained once for all. This victory
is secured from moment to moment by a moment
-by -moment faith. There is constant victory
for the believer so long as he trusts Christ
entirely and only. for so long. The moment that
simple faith is lost, that moment of victory
over sin is broken. There must be that moment
by moment, that day by day simple faith in Him.
That's why our Lord seems to sum up sin in just
one word, unbelief. And the scripture says, the
Holy Spirit, when he is come, shall convict the
world of sin, of sin because they believe not
on me. And this is exactly why John says, this
is the victory that overcometh the world, even
our faith. So what is the victory that overcometh
the world? Faith. Since then there is no such
thing as a once -for -all victory. It's evident
that this life is beset with perils and we must
constantly be on guard. Ever allow the peace
of God to guard our hearts. An earnest laboring
man used to insist upon quoting that little verse
that says, A peace of God shall guard your heart.
P -I -E -C -E A peace of God shall guard your
heart. Guard your hearts. And his idea was right.
For it is the indwelling Christ, the Son of God,
who does this thing for us. Now, what are some
of the dangers that beset a life of holiness?
And there is such a thing as a life of holiness.
The Bible teaches it. You must accept it if you
believe the Word of God. But what are some of
the dangers that beset this wonderful life of
holiness that the Word of God teaches us? To
be forewarned is to be forearmed. Nor need we
fear to face any danger. Don't sit there with
some fear in your heart that you're not able
to live this life or attain this wonderful daily
consistent life of victorious living there's
no need for you to fear any danger for the word
of God says for in all these things, we are more
than conquerors to him that loved us. Not only
has he made provision that we may become conquerors
and that we will be conquerors over anything
and everything we face in life, but more than
conquerors. And that's quite a promise. And that
promise comes from the highest authority in heaven
and earth. Face it. Accept it. It takes away
all fear. All right? First of all, we have self
-effort. Now, please, if you do not hear anything
else that I say in this little heart -to -heart
talk today, I want you to see something. Maybe
it will help you to cease from all of your struggling
and the strain and this terrific effort that
you're... putting forth to be a wonderful Christian,
to live this constant abiding life in Christ
Jesus. If you're living like that, it takes all
the joy out of salvation. It takes all the joy
out of being a Christian. It takes all the joy
out of living, really. You know? In the first
flash of joy at realizing the possibility of
such a life of victory, there's a tendency to
attempt to hug our possession, to make a continuous
and conscious effort to cling to it, lest we
lose it. A feeling that if we do not strenuously
concentrate our thoughts upon the indwelling
Christ, maybe we'll lose him. We go to sleep
at night fearing that we might lose something
even while we sleep. We wake in the morning and
think, oh, I must be very careful today. I must
put forth every effort because I might lose this
wonderful experience or I might lose the nearness
of the Master in my life. Perhaps this comes
from... regarding the victorious life as a blessing,
a possession we can forfeit or lose. Satan always
tries to get us to regard it as such. Always.
He makes us believe that it may slip from our
grasp, but it isn't true. It is not true. It
is a person, not... a thing. Always keep that
in mind. It is a person whom you serve, not a
thing. This wonderful experience of being born
again is a person, not a thing. This life of
holiness, this life of victorious living is a
person, not a thing. It is the Lord Jesus Christ
himself who comes, not so much for us to possess
him, but that he may possess us. He cannot slip
from our grasp. He holds us. His promise, I will
never leave thee nor forsake thee. That's why
I like... to dwell upon the abiding Christ rather
than the fullness of the Spirit. Someone put
it so wisely. Once it was the blessing. Now it
is the Lord. Once it was the feeling. But now
it is his word. Once his gifts I wanted, now
the giver own. Once I sought for healing, but
now, beloved, I seek himself alone. And that's
exactly what I'm talking to you about today.
He keeps us. It is not we who keep him. No. It's
not like that at all. He, the Bible says, is
able to keep. He's able to keep you. He's able
to keep me. We do not have to keep him. Of course.
We must allow the Lord Jesus Christ to be the
home of our thoughts. We must be willing to be
kept. That's where the danger comes in. The minute
that you are no longer willing for him to keep
you, then you get into trouble. But as long as
you are willing for him to keep you, for he's
able to keep, not only able, but willing as long
as you are willing to be kept in continuous victory.
I'm talking about a life of victory, a daily
consistent Christian life of victory, regardless
of circumstances, regardless of depression, regardless
of... Anything that might happen to you or come
into your life, provision has been made for a
continuous victory. Looking unto Jesus in faith
and in love does not mean strenuous effort to
retain him. He's a willing Savior. He's a willing
guest. He's a willing Lord. Our look of faith
is not with strained eyes, but with a restful
gaze. In the Great Miracle Service, how often
I see folk as they are sitting there in the pew,
and there's this strained look on their faces,
and oftentimes when I glance down, I see their
hands clenched into almost a fist, straining,
oh, straining to be healed, and almost as though
they're trying to heal themselves. It isn't like
that. It's when you sit there completely relaxed.
So much so that there's a look of glory upon
your face. In that moment, you're thinking about
the bigness of the Lord, the wonderful power
of the Holy Spirit. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and the finisher of our faith, that suddenly
you feel that wonderful presence of the Holy
Spirit just flowing through your body. It's not
looking to Jesus through strained eyes, but with
just a restful gaze. It makes all the difference.
in the world. Abide in me, says our Lord. Just
rest peacefully in Him so far as your life of
victory is concerned. At every alarm, at every
approach of temptation, just abide in Him. He
is the Rock of Ages. He is all -powerful. Consider
the lilies of the field, how they grow. Not by
self -effort, not by toiling or striving. They
just abide in the sunshine and they drink in
its life. And the word says, which of you by
being anxious, by worrying, by screaming, can
add one cubit to his stature. That's exactly
what our Lord asked in the Sermon on the Mount,
and in his mind was something more than physical
stature. It's not our faith, but his faithfulness
that maintains the victorious life. Trust in
the Lord, Do good, so shalt thou dwell in the
land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Read it.
It's in the 37th Psalm, the third verse. I read
it so very often on Monday night in the Monday
night services because sometimes I think we need
it more on Monday than we do on Sunday, you know.
Trust in the Lord. Trust in Him. Do good. And
you cannot trust in him without doing good. The
two go hand in hand. You just cannot. There's
something about it. If you're not doing good,
then there's something wrong about your trust
in the Lord. And as sure as you're trusting in
the Lord, you will invariably do good. Then go
on from there. So shalt thou dwell in the land.
and verily thou shalt be fed in other words and
verily the lord will take care of you is that
simple we may remark in passing that even our
conflict with evil around us and i know the powers
of the enemy are great i know the hour in which
we live I know the temptations. I know the frustrations.
But even in view of this fact, our trust must
be entirely in Him and not in our own power and
in our own effort. How remarkably this is brought
out in our Lord's instructions to His disciples
when He said, Behold, I send you forth as sheep.
amidst wolves. That's exactly what he says. Now
look at this. How does he proceed? Does he say,
Be ye therefore armed to the teeth? No. No, he
doesn't say that. He continues by saying, Be
ye therefore harmless as dogs. Why? Because he
is our defense. He is our shield. Sometimes it's
not the easiest thing in the world to just commit
everything unto him. It's not the easiest thing
in the world to say, well, oh, dear me, in this
hour of frustration and... with the circumstances
under which I have to live, it's not easy to
be harmless as dogs and relax. But the Word of
God says we can afford to relax because He is
our defense and our shield.