Well, you and I have been having a little heart
-to -heart talk about this thing of living a
victorious, daily, consistent Christian life.
I've come to the conclusion a long time ago that
defeat and not victory is the sad inscription
which could be written over the life of many
a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. I meet them
every day. A long face. Oh, how dear me. And
there's no victory there. And there's no real
spiritual vitality there. And if you're in their
presence too long, you almost become depressed
yourself. It's just kind of like that. And you
almost hate to see them coming, you know. Oh,
there's nothing worse than a professing Christian
who is living in defeat. But remember, in the
riches of divine grace, provision has been made
by the Lord Jesus Christ for a constant and unbroken
victory on the part of every one of his children
in spite of circumstances. Oh, you say, but you
don't understand my circumstances. If you only
knew the trials that I go through. If you had
to live with my husband. If you had a son and
daughter like my son and daughter. If you had
to put up with neighbors like my neighbors. Catherine
Kuhlman, if you had to work where I work. then
you would not be able to say there is a place
in the Lord Jesus Christ where you can have constant
victory and be happy. I know, my friend, but
I'm not looking to that godless husband of yours
or those crying teenagers at your house. or those
neighbors of yours, or the folk with whom you
have to work, I'm still looking to Jesus. And
we have his promise. And he said that we are
not only conquerors, but we're more than conquerors.
Over all these things, all circumstances, everything.
We're more than conquerors, not through our own
efforts, but through Him, through the Lord Jesus
Christ. Oh, to me, that's thrilling. That's wonderful.
All right. What are some of the dangers that
beset a life of holiness and this wonderful life
of constant victory? Yesterday, We saw that it
was not self -effort. We can't do it in ourselves.
That's impossible. We must do it through him.
He's the one who keeps us. It's not we who keep
him. Abide in me, he says. Just rest peacefully
in him. So far as your life of victory is concerned.
I can't review the things that we said yesterday.
You should have been there listening. If you
missed it, you missed it. And so that'll teach
you to listen tomorrow so that you won't miss
anything. I'm just glad you're there today. All
right. Now, the second thing. There is no...
freedom from temptation. The victorious life
is not an untempted life. I know very often there
are those that after they have found this wonderful
new birth experience, they've had this experience
of knowing that their sins are forgiven, that
transaction between the individual and the Lord
Jesus Christ. Perhaps they've just gotten up
from over their knees, and their faces still
tear -stained. And I could have still been the
one who said to them, now remember to whom you
belong. You're now an heir of God, a joint heir
with Christ Jesus. He's the one. You are somebody.
And perhaps I had given them the feeling without...
saying so, that it's always going to be just
like that. There'll be no more temptations. Oh,
now they may feel as though they're completely
free from all temptation. But it isn't like that.
It just isn't like that. You were converted,
but the devil wasn't. Sometimes we act as though
that when we're converted, the devil got converted
too. He's just a big rascal as he always was.
It's just like that. Therefore, the Christian
life is not an untempted life. Only one man has
ever lived an unbroken victorious life, and that
was our Lord and Savior himself. And the Word
of God said, and he was tempted in all points
like as we are, yet without sin. Even he was
not spared temptations. So who do you think you
are? When someone stands behind the pulpit and
teaches that there will no longer be temptations
after this wonderful experience of being born
again, That one is unscriptural. For even the
Son of God was tempted. Then let me ask you,
who are you to believe that you have reached
such a spiritual state that you will no longer
be tempted? And I would like to know what that
little word all really involves. I wonder. I
think that's so very often. Papa always said
it was the aggravation and not the hard work.
That was so hard. And sometimes I think my greatest
temptation is to just kind of get disgusted with
people, you know. It isn't the hard work. Preach.
Nobody loves to preach any more than I do. Oh,
it's so wonderful. And in the miracle services,
not anyone gets as blessed as I do. It's so wonderful
to be in the presence of the Lord and see the
wonderful outpouring of the Holy Spirit. But
you see, it's just people who are so inconsiderate
and people who are so vacillating and undependable.
I'm wondering if the Lord sometimes got a little
disgusted with him, too, and he was kind of tempted
to say, you know, the word said that he was tempted
in all points, as we are, yet without sin. The
sinless angels were tempted, and some fell. That's
right. Read the Word of God. Angels were created
sinless, but they were tempted, and they did
not all remain sinless. Some of the angels fell.
Only one remained without sin, and that's Jesus,
Adam, and Eve in the sinless state. were tempted,
and they also fell. So let us not be surprised
when the devil tempts us. He'll do all in his
power to drag us down. And he knows your weakest
spot. He knows your weakest moment. He knows
when you're tired. He knows when you are in a
state of fatigue. And he's an old, dirty rascal.
He has no principle whatsoever. He has no consideration.
None. And he'll wait for that moment when you're
tired in body and say, now's my chance to strike.
There it is. Even Elijah knew that. One moment
at glorious victory, there he is literally, the
great spiritual giant. challenging the prophets
of Baal. And in that bongro, you and I think
we have seen wonderful miracle services, but
that was one of the greatest miracle services
that we know anything about. That was a real
miracle service, and I'm sorry I missed it. You
and I are in the Shrine Auditorium, or in the
First Presbyterian Church in Pittsburgh. New
York City. And we see sick bodies healed by the
power of God. And we say, isn't that wonderful?
Wasn't that a wonderful miracle service? But
I'll tell you something. There was a miracle
service that was even greater than anything that
you and I have ever experienced. When Elijah
stood there that day, that spiritual giant, literally
challenging the prophets of Baal. God came through,
he always does. And he sent that fire from heaven.
Oh, to think I missed that one. Oh, to think
I missed it. Had I been there while Elijah was
challenging, the prophets of Baal, I probably
would have been standing behind him saying, stick
him, stick him, stick him. You know, yeah, I
will. Then doing my part, I'll tell you all that
I would have known what to have done under the
circumstances. Yeah. But do you want to know
something? It was only a few hours later, just
at the time when Elijah was so tired in body,
there was an ounce of strength left. He was human.
He was human. And the devil was waiting for that
weak moment to attack him. Just a few hours later,
he prayed to die. Let me die. Oh, I'm so discouraged.
Jezebel is out there after my head. And she'll
probably get it, you know. How quickly we forget
the power of our God. In that moment of despair,
did God cut him off? Did God forget him? No.
Nope. He just let him sleep. Said child of mine,
all you need is just about 12 or 14 hours of
good sleep. And then he not only put him to sleep,
but he even sent the angels to bake him a cake.
I tell you, that's what our Heavenly Father is
like. But I also want you to see the power of
the enemy. Devil did attack him when he was tired
in body. The weakness of the flesh. There was
no weakness spiritually. There was no weakness
in the spirit. The weakness was in the flesh,
and God knew it. So let us not be surprised when
Satan tempts us. He'll do all in his power to
drag us down. because the victorious life is
the only one that really counts. And every child
of God will be tempted. But we can count it all
joy, even the face of that temptation. For we
are told that the shield of faith is able to
quench all the fiery darts of the evil one. That
shield of faith. That's the reason I say to you
when I come into your home, no matter what happens
to you, as long as God is still on his throne
and hears an answer's prayer, and just so long
as your faith in him is intact, you cannot be
defeated. You will not be defeated. Not one of
us meets... ever go down in defeat. As long as
our faith in Him is still intact. And the most
wonderful thing is that He will even supply the
faith. He the author and the finisher of our
faith. He is the supplier of that faith. How
can we lose? I ask you just confidentially and
it's a reasonable question. How can we lose?
Perhaps sitting there right now, you're defeated.
Oh, if I could see your face. It's so long. No
wonder your husband hates to come home. No wonder
your children hate to come home. Or maybe I'm
talking to a Baxton preacher. course you're not
having any spiritual results. Of course you're
not influencing your church and the members of
your church. When you stand in the pulpit, they
can sense your defeat. They know it. And you
cannot give to anyone else any more than what
you have experienced yourself. How can you give
someone else victory when you have no victory
yourself? You can't do it. But watch something.
It's the life of victory that is the only one
that really counts. And you can look up having
the shield of faith. And that shield of faith
regardless of circumstances, is able to quench
all, A -double -L, all the fiery darts of the
evil one. If it wasn't true, God's word never
would have said it. All right. Now this constant
attitude of faith. Because, you know, there are
those who say, well, now, if we fall, what? There
are some people that sometimes I think are actually
born with a negative attitude. They come into
the world. When they make their first cry, it's
a negative cry. Uh -huh. And they go through
life. still crying negative tears. Everything
they say, all their thoughts are negative. If
we fail, I am afraid to accept Christ as my Savior
because maybe I'll not be able to live the life.
Don't ever say that to me. Whatever you do. I
may show some of that human side of me because
that's one thing I cannot take from anybody.
When they give as an excuse, maybe I won't be
able to live the life. Maybe I won't be able
to hold out if we fail. There's always the possibility
of sinning. But remember, Jesus knew the weakness
of the flesh. He created us. He knows all about
us. He knows us better than we know ourselves.
And so he has made a provision for this possibility
of sinning. Oh, he's a wonderful heavenly father.
Go back, if you will, please, to the Old Testament.
It's the fourth chapter of Leviticus. And it
says, The priest that is anointed do sin as the
people. Look at that. You say, my goodness, I
never thought of a priest sinning. Well, God
did. The Creator did. Always keep in mind, there's
only one who is sinless. Just one. A person can
be deeply spiritual, yet that person is not immune
to temptation. God knew it. Leviticus, the fourth
chapter. I'm repeating it because somebody said,
I don't think it's in my Bible. Yes, it is. It's
the third verse, the fourth chapter of Leviticus.
priest that is anointed. He's anointed. If that
priest do sin as the people, what happens? He
has to confess that sin just like anyone else
because he's a human being too. Now, doesn't
this prove that sin is inevitable? Now watch.
Every ship that sails is provided with a supply
of lifeboats, lest there should be a wreckage
or a collision. Every ship, I don't care how
small, how large, is always provided with lifeboats
because there's always a possibility of a storm.
a collision that could be a shipwreck. Of course,
this does not imply that it is the captain's
intention to wreck his ship, nor does it mean
that therefore every ship must be wrecked. No.
But if we confess that sin, and confession is
one of the most important Important doctrines
and one of the most important thing of man's
theology and of God's word. There must be confession.
And you confess it to him. Oh, I know it's the
enemy of our soul who is the accuser of the brethren.
And he'll keep attacking you on this one score
and say, aha, you did it. You did it. You yielded.
You did it. In that moment of weakness, you did
it. He's the accuser of the brethren. Don't act
like the devil now, whatever you do. Jesus said,
if we confess, if we sin, whether we be priest
or just an ordinary person, he's made a way,
a provision through his tender love, and he is
there to forgive us. of that sin. That's our
heavenly father.