“David answered, ‘You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax. I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel’s troops, whom you curse and mock. This very day God is handing you over to me. I’m about to kill you, cut off your head, and serve up your body and the bodies of your Philistine buddies to the crows and coyotes. The whole earth will know that there’s an extraordinary God in Israel. And everyone gathered here will learn that God doesn’t save by means of sword or spear. The battle belongs to God—he’s handing you to us on a platter!’” – 1 Samuel 17:47 MSG
David did not say “You come at me with sword and spear and battle-ax, so I come at you with the same.” it says “I come at you in the name of God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel’s troops,” and he added this truth, “The battle belongs to God—he’s handing you to us on a platter!”
It is with this attitude of victory and prayer I share the following with you:
At St. Marks MBC of Redding (http://freesites.ourchurch.com/s/SaintMarksMissionaryBaptistChurchofRedding/) I often heard the phrase, “I stopped by to tell you…” when someone was giving a poignant testimony or when Pastor preached a special point in his sermon.
Brothers and Sisters in the Lord, today, in this blog, I stopped by to tell you…”We have ALREADY won!”
“A song of praise. Sing a new song to the Lord, because he has done amazing things! His powerful and holy right arm has brought him another victory.” – Psalm 98:1
I stopped by to tell you…”Our victory happened IN THE PAST!” It is not waiting until we are perfect. It is not something we look forward to when we get to heaven. It has ALREADY happened!
“Because everyone who is born from God defeats the world. And this is the victory that has defeated the world: our faith.” – 1 John 5:4 CEB
“The victory that HAS (past tense!) defeated the world”. We already have it. We have ALREADY won! Can it be that simple? “What about when things happen in my life,” you ask, “troubles, sorrow, pain, and such. Where is the victory in those?”
“I have told you these things, so that you can have peace because of me. In this world you will have trouble. But be encouraged! I have won the battle over the world.” – John 16:33 NIRV
You see, even in the midst of trials and troubles we can have peace because of Jesus.
Brothers and Sisters, today, I stopped by to tell you…”He has ALREADY WON the battle over the world!”
