Victory in Trials

• Your victory does not come when the trial concludes

  • Is the battle won when the soldiers are returning from the field, with the spoils of war?
  • The battle is won while the soldiers are still on the field. Returning home with the spoils can only come after victory has been won.
• Paul and Silas: Acts 16:16-34
  • Paul destroyed a work of darkness
  • KJV Translation of v. 18 reads that Paul was grieved; He was bothered that Satan had possession of the young woman and he set her free.
  • He picked a fight with the devil!
    • Whenever you destroy some work of darkness, you’re picking a fight with the devil. When you take a swing at him, be ready because he’s going to take one back

• The slave girl’s masters had Paul and Silas arrested & beaten
  • They made the claim that these men were troubling the city
  • The claim resonated with the people because they did not have God’s truth, but rather a warped and distorted lie that originated from Satan.
  • It was all about the material things of the world and living for oneself.
    • If Paul & Silas took away one person’s source of profit by bringing freedom, what was to stop them from hurting other people’s sources of profit?
  • The people should have rejoiced that the girl was set free

• Paul and Silas are now in a trial
  • They are in prison.
  • What do they do?
    • Do they complain, cry, whine?
    • Do they ask God for deliverance?
    • They praise & worship!
  • This is where the battle was won.
    • If they had contented themselves with complaining, or wallowing in self-pity, they would’ve been stuck in prison.
    • These men had their victory the moment they chose to obey God’s Word. The devil couldn’t break them or change their mindsets.
  • The conclusion of the trial was not the victory over the trial.
    • It was the part where the victorious soldiers clear off the field with the spoils. The spoils, in this case, were the souls of the jailer’s family.

• David
  • He was anointed king in 1 Sam. 16
    • The Lord saw his heart and it pleased Him
    • David was a man after God’s own heart – this set him up to be victorious in any of his trials
  • Goliath (1 Sam. 17)
    • The Philistine giant comes out mocking and slandering Israel and the Lord every day.
    • The men of Israel are cowering at the sight of the giant
    • David, however, wants to take care of this guy (v. 26)
      • When you stand up courageously to deal with a problem that has everyone else scared, you’re going to get opposition.
      • We know fear is a spirit and one that is not of God (1 Tim. 1:7); When David rose up, he was challenging a spirit from the enemy and he got opposition for it.
    • David’s victory over Goliath came when he decided in his heart to stand, not when he sunk the stone into his skull.
      • He understood the value of the covenant that he had with the Lord. He understood that the Philistine did not have one.
  • Hiding from Saul
    • David went about in the anointing of the Lord as a military commander. Because the Lord was with him, he brought many victories.
    • Saul became jealous and decided that he wanted to kill David (1 Sam. 18:7-8).
      • Operating in the anointing around people who are not operating in it but should be will provoke jealousy, anger and resentment.
      • This is exactly the same underlying spiritual cause for the Pharisees’ jealousy and resentment towards Jesus
    • David went out into the wilderness and hid.
      • Even hiding in the cave however, David was victorious.
      • He didn’t give up or give in.
        • He could have killed Saul on multiple occasions and ended the trial.
        • He understood, however, that if the Lord placed Saul in that office, who was he (David) to take him out?
        • This understanding gave him courage also that no man could remove him from the office into which the Lord placed him.
        • If the Lord has put you someplace, man cannot move you out of that place
• Choose life
  • Deut 30:19-20
  • The common thread to David, Paul and Silas is that they chose life in their trials. The moment they chose life was when they had their victory.
  • The outward circumstances may not have immediately changed, but in their hearts they were victorious.
  • Every decision we make is a choice of life or death.
    • It’s like our eating habits; everything we eat will either promote life and health to our bodies, or sickness and death.
    • Choosing to obey God’s Word is like eating your vegetables. It may not always bring joy to your natural self, but it promotes health and life in every aspect of your life.
    • Complaining, murmuring, self-pity, etc. is more like a deep-fried Oreo cookie. It might taste good for a moment, but there’s no life in it.

Key Scriptures: Acts 16:16-34, 1 Samuel 16, 17, 18:7-8, Deuteronomy 30:19-20