What Is Victory?

by Pastor Vinnie

Don’t sin! Don’t do it. Stop. Sin kills. Sin kills you. Sin kills others. Sin will even kill God. It put Jesus on the cross. Why would you want to keep doing that?

“…To their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again and subjecting him to public disgrace.” Hebrews 6:6b NIV

What is that you say? Is stopping easier said than done?

I know you think that. I know you, maybe indirectly, have been taught that. I also know you are wrong. I am not saying you can gain instant perfection. Let’s leave perfection to Christ and His translation of you at His return.

“In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.” KJV

However, the fact that you’re not perfect, always growing, forever seeking to become more like the Savior is no excuse to be stalled, stuck, and living in defeat. Victory is not perfection. Victory is not sinlessness. Winning is not the absence of failure. Instead, it is the embracing of the success that Christ produces in you like fruit, growing in your spiritual life as you gradually keep walking with him.

“ The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” Galatians 5:22-23 NIV

Keep walking. Keep getting up. Keep refusing to stay down. Keep seeking His Spirit. Keep asking, pleading, and chasing after His Spirit no matter how badly you mess up and He will gradually, yet consistently, produce His Spirit’s fruit in you. Here is the thing to keep in mind, you likely won’t even see or notice it. This, too, is by design, so that your rising up out of the ashes of defeat will not be tripped up by your very typical, earth-bound, human pride. However, those around you will see it! Those who have daily and random contact with you will notice that there is something different about you. They will notice your joy, your inner sense of peace in crisis; they will see a gentleness inside you. They will be struck by your spirit of kindness, inner selfless goodness. They will be inspired by your off-the-charts self-control, not to mention your faithfulness both to doing right and to caring about them. They will see your love.  You, however, will only see how much further you still have to go to be as beautiful as your Savior.

“Those who become new creatures in Christ Jesus will bring forth the fruits of the Spirit… They will no longer fashion themselves according to the former lusts, but by the faith of the Son of God they will follow in His steps, reflect His character, and purify themselves even as He is pure. The things they once hated, they now love, and the things they once loved they hate. The proud and self-assertive become meek and lowly in heart. The vain and supercilious become serious and unobtrusive. The drunken become sober, and the profligate pure. The vain customs and fashions of the world are laid aside…The loveliness of the character of Christ will be seen in His followers. Love beautified and ennobled all His actions. Love is of God…The closer you come to Jesus, the more faulty you will appear in your own eyes; for your vision will be clearer, and your imperfections will be seen in broad and distinct contrast to His perfect nature. This is evidence that Satan’s delusions have lost their power; that the vivifying influence of the Spirit of God is arousing you.”[i]

You see it is easy to say, don’t sin. It is harder to do that. But you know what is easier than both of those things and works? Love works! It is true! Love works! Don’t think about how hard it is to stop sinning. Think about how sweet, and how joy-filled, how powerful, and how transforming LOVE IS! Don’t sin… Just love each other! It really is that simple. The act of not sinning merely is showing love, respect, and value to each other and the creator. LOVE is VICTORY!

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:36-40 NIV

Dear Friends have Victory. Dear Friends, Love God and Love each other. Do this, and your Victory is being lived out in you and growing deeper and deeper all the more to the day of our Lord’s arrival and appearing in the clouds. You will seek out his Holy Spirit to teach you how to love.  Then, love, not perfectionism, will rise in your heart to be your new target. It will become less and less about how you will get to Heaven and more and more about how you can love others into the Kingdom. Slow and steady, is the race into eternity. Run it, one foot in front of the other, all the way to that glorious finish-line ahead of us all!

Reflect on these words (video below)

Resurrecting:

The head that once was crowned with thorns
Is crowned with glory now
The Savior knelt to wash our feet
Now at His feet, we bow.

The One who wore our sin and shame
Now robed in majesty
The radiance of perfect love
Now shines for all to see.

Your name, Your name
Is Victory
All praise will rise
To Christ, our king.

The fear that held us now gives way
To Him who is our peace
His final breath upon the cross
Is now alive in me.

Your name, Your name
Is Victory
All praise will rise
To Christ, our king.

By Your spirit, I will rise
From the ashes of defeat
The resurrected King is resurrecting me
In Your name, I come alive
To declare Your victory
The resurrected King is resurrecting me
By Your spirit, I will rise
From the ashes of defeat
The resurrected King is resurrecting me
In Your name, I come alive
To declare Your victory
The resurrected King is resurrecting me
By Your spirit, I will rise
From the ashes of defeat
The resurrected King is resurrecting me
In Your name, I come alive
To declare Your victory
The resurrected king is resurrecting me

He’s resurrecting me
Our God is good.

The tomb where soldiers watched in vain
Was borrowed for three days
His body there would not remain
Our God has robbed the grave
Our God has robbed the grave (yes He has, yes He has)

Your name, Your name
Is Victory
All praise will rise
To Christ, our king.

By Your spirit, I will rise
From the ashes of defeat
The resurrected King is resurrecting me
In Your name, I come alive
To declare Your victory
The resurrected King is resurrecting me
By Your spirit, I will rise
From the ashes of defeat
The resurrected King is resurrecting me
In Your name, I come alive[ii]

Related Articles:

Love Letters In The Sand

Seeking Sinking Simon

It’s A Beautiful Day

Footnotes:

[i] Collected thoughts from the book Steps to Christ, Chapter 7, “The Test of Discipleship,” by Ellen White.

[ii] Resurrecting: Elevation Worship. Songwriters: Christopher Brown / Wade Joye / Steven Furtick / Matthews Thabo Ntele / Mack Brock

Resurrecting lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

The post What Is Victory? appeared first on Simply Vinnie - Unpacking The Complicated.

The Power Of Courage!

By Pastor Vinnie

According to a Washington Post poll[i] America’s top 12 fears are;

12. Ghosts

11. Clowns

10. Darkness

  9. Zombies

  8. Strangers

  7. Flying (airplanes)

  6. Claustrophobia

  5. Blood/Needles

  4. Drowning

  3. Bugs/Snakes/etc.

  2. Heights

  1. Public Speaking[ii]

Everyone fears something and those fears don’t need to be rational. Zombies and Clowns? –Really America, really? And that is the thing about fear; it is not rational. It is hardwired into to us ever since the fall.

Before the fall there was no such thing as fear. Why? There was no reason for it. There was no danger to worry about. We lived in perfect unity with creation and God.  Yet, tragically, “The Fall” changed all of that.

“Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden.  But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”[iii]

Fear is spiritual and fear is emotional. Fear is even physical, a biochemical, seemingly uncontrollable, response of living in a broken, and now dangerous, world. Man was not meant to live in a dangerous world. Man was not meant to have to think about his own survival.

According to the mental health website Very Well Mind,  “Fear is a natural emotion and a survival mechanism. When we confront a perceived threat, our bodies respond in specific ways.”[iv]We begin to sweat, our heart rate races, pupils dilate, the bronchi dilate,[v] both the amygdala the hippocampus activate, and adrenaline levels spike putting us in “fight or flight mode.” In essence, your body overrides all your mind’s default settings to do whatever is needed to survive! If it means a fight to the death or to flee to ensure you remain, the auto-response can be so powerful that it shuts out higher critical thinking.

Imagine Adam, who just the other day cuddled up to the Lion as a pillow, now one day after the fall has now become today’s dinner menu for that same Lion! This is not the time for critical thinking or a pause for theologically pondering of what his sin has caused in the world. It is time to be scared, run for your life, and live to ponder another day! It is a good thing fear causes us to flee danger rather than explore it. Had Adam stopped to ponder the sudden anger of his furry pillow- friend you would not be here reading this blog! Fear has its proper place! Dread, terror, and angst, all belong because the world has fallen and the danger is real! Angst exists to make to dread what could now be.

Sin robbed us of security. Sin robbed us of safety. Sin robbed us of always having control of our higher functions. In some ways sin has made us slaves to our base emotions, if not at all times, at least as a new default setting. We are cowards because, in this world, there are a lot of very good reasons to be cowards!

Maybe that is why the Bible tells us a whopping 365 times, “Do Not Fear!” That is at least once for every day of the year! God knows fallen man’s default emotion and biological wiring is to fear. And God’s call on our life is that through his promises we can live above and beyond our default lower settings!

The Apostle of Love, John the Beloved, takes the issue full, HD, 4k high definition for us when he declares,

“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.”[vi]

Perfect love cast out fear. Sure, we still need to run from lions. However, if you have not thought it out yet, let me help you. The average lion runs at the speed of 80km per hour (50mph)[vii] while the average human runs at 44.72 km (28mph) [viii]. That means the speed of Grace is G= 50-28mph! Hahaha! Run as fast as you can! But you are only going to make it because God loves you! If this was math we’d say, solve for love, L=Surviving the Lions of your Life!

Fallen men cannot overcome their base fears. Sin has hard-wired him to “fight or flight” responses. However, when we live out of the perfect love of God’s Grace we can live in God inspired Courage!

Moses charged Joshua;

“Be strong and courageous, for you must go with this people into the land that the LORD swore to their ancestors to give them, and you must divide it among them as their inheritance.  The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”[ix]

It was by faith in the perfect love of God that;

• David had the courage to slay Goliath!

• Daniel had the courage to spend the night in the lion’s den!

• Moses had the courage to die on the mountain never having been in the Promised Land!

• Esther had the courage to go boldly into the King’s throne room unannounced!

• Elijah had the courage to stand against the pagan priests of Baal!

• John the Baptist had the courage to baptize Jews in defiance of the Sanhedrin!

• Nicodemus and Joseph had the courage to ask Pilate for the body of Jesus!

• Paul had the courage to push on to get to Rome even at the cost of his very life!

“But those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.”[x] Because they know they cannot walk or run fast enough, on their own, and it is only God’s perfect love, and grace, that lifts them up on Eagle’s wings and makes up the difference (Grace=Lion Speed-Human Speed). Courage means understanding, even before you come face to face with your fear, God’s love protects you, watches over you, and puts you where you need to be. Because, only God’s Grace can do what the amygdala the hippocampus, adrenaline spikes cannot complete!

Having courage means, daily placing your salvation in the hands of God, not at the feet of fear.

I use to have a Pastoral mentoring group I attended monthly as a young, new pastor. The older, well-seasoned wise pastor, who was our mentor, often choose to communicate throughout the month, via emails. I never got an email from that mentor, not even once, where the signature line right about his name was not a charge to us younger Pastors to have Courage![xi] As a young pastor facing new, scary challenges all the time. I felt like Joshua hearing Moses tell him, no matter what you face on the other side of the river of ministry, “Be strong and courageous… The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged!”

Dear readers, I say to you, God loves you, perfect love casts out fear…

Courage, and Onward into The Battle!

–Vinnie out.

Courage, and Onward into The Battle!

Footnotes:

[i] https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2014/10/30/clowns-are-twice-as-scary-to-democrats-as-they-are-to-republicans/?utm_term=.54334c42419a

[ii] I am not sure what that means for people like me who do America’s worst fear for a living!

[iii] Genesis 3:8-10

[iv] https://www.verywellmind.com/the-psychology-of-fear-2671696

[v] https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/what-happens-brain-feel-fear-180966992/

[vi] 1 John 4:18

[vii] https://www.speedofanimals.com/animals/lion

[viii] https://www.iamlivingit.com/running/average-human-running-speed

[ix] Deuteronomy 31:7,8

[x] Isaiah 40:31

[xi] Thank you, Pastor Dale Long!

The post The Reserve Of Courage appeared first on Simply Vinnie - Unpacking The Complicated.