Victorious Living

VICTORIOUS LIVING

INTRODUCTION: This lesson is basically a review of the discipleship course and summarizes the basic principles necessary to help produce a victorious life in Christ.

I.     Be consistent in devotions and prayer.

A.   As has been pointed out in prior lessons, devotions and prayer are the basic elements
        of developing true communications with God.

B.   It is essential that the habit of daily involvement in these activities be developed in
        your life, I Peter 2:2; Colossians 4:2; Philippians 4:5-7.

II.    Be consistent in fellowship.

A.   As a new Christian, it is important that one understands the need of Christian fellow-
        ship and church involvement.

B.   It is only within the fellowship of a New Testament Church that you can reach spiritual
        and doctrinal maturity, Hebrews 10:24,25.

III.    Be sure you are filled with God’s Holy Spirit.

A.   He is the source of all power for living and change in our lives, Ephesians 5:18.

B.   The filling of the Holy Spirit is a continuous process.

1.     The verb “be filled” really means “be ye being filled” and thus shows a continuing

action.

2.     Remember that we are filled by meeting the conditions which are:

a.  Desire:          We must really want God to control our lives.

b.  Surrender:  We must prove our desires by surrendering control of our lives to

the Holy Spirit.

c.  Cleansing:  We must deal with any unconfessed sin in our lives. God cannot

use an unclean vessel.

IV.    Learn to deal with temptation and sin.

A.   Remember that temptation is going to come our way.

B.   God has promised victory over sin and temptation if we will look to Him for strength

and deliverance, I Corinthians 10:13.

C.   The sources of temptation are the world, the flesh, and the devil.

1.     We also need to remember what to do in case we should succumb to temptation,

I John 1:9.

2.     It is necessary to immediately confess and forsake the sin in order to restore fel-

lowship with God.

V.      Develop the habit of obedience.

A.   It is extremely important that we have an attitude of willing obedience in all that God
        commands us to do.

B.   By being disciplined and persistent, we will succeed in following God’s will as a habit
        of life.

C.   This kind of obedient life is possible only when we follow God’s commands, regardless
        of how we may feel, Romans 12:1; I John 3:22.

VI.     One must stay in the center of God’s plan.

A.   It is only when a child of God is consciously living in the center of God’s will for his life
        that he has the full abundant life God has promised to all who are faithful.

B.   God’s plan for our lives is perfect in all respects.

C.   Remember it is doing the will of God that brings the peace of God into our hearts,
        Colossians 3:15.

VII.   We must become an effective witness.

A.   It is necessary for anyone who truly desires to grow in Christ to be involved in witness-
        ing.

B.   An effective way to witness is to share with others a personal evangelistic testimony,
        I Peter 3:15.

VIII. We must grow in the knowledge of God’s Word.

A.   Knowledge of God’s Word is intimately tied to growth in Christ.

B.   Knowledge alone, however, will not produce growth.

C.   True maturity involves both knowledge and the elements of growth already noted,
        II Timothy 3:16,17.

IX.     We must live by faith.

A.   The most significant thing for us to remember is to change from a “feelings” orientation
        to a “fact” orientation.

B.   We must learn to place our faith in what God says rather than what we feel. This is the
        only way we will ever become consistently obedient, consistent in devotions and prayer,
        and consistent in all the other areas of Christian living.

C.   We must learn to trust God’s Word as having the answers to our problems and obey its
        directions whether we feel like it or not. This is the only way our faith will survive through
        periods of great trials and when the external environment is negative, Colossians 2:6.