Victorious Living Part 2 Kathryn Kuhlman

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.