Victorious Living Series Part 1 Kathryn Kuhlman Abiding Versus Striving!

Today, you and I are going to have a heart -to -heart talk, and I do desire that it may be a very profitable heart -to -heart talk because I'm talking about something that is vitally important to both of us. In the riches of divine grace, I want you to know something. Provision is made for constant, unbroken victory. on the part of every one of God's children, regardless of circumstances. That's right. A victory that remains unaffected by circumstances. You know, the victorious life is not something which is obtained once for all. A summit that's reached from which nothing can dislodge us. Sometimes I think that we feel, you know, that when we're born again, oh, that wonderful moment when His Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we pass from death unto life and we know that in that moment God has become our Heavenly Father and we enter into that wonderful relationship of father and child. Oh, it's a glorious experience. But sometimes we get the idea, that we're going to remain in that constant ecstasy, and that there'll no longer be temptations, there'll be no feeling of depression, and that we'll remain on that wonderful summit, away up there on Pista's lofty mountaintop. But you see, the big... Victoria's life is not something which is obtained once for all. This victory is secured from moment to moment by a moment -by -moment faith. There is constant victory for the believer so long as he trusts Christ entirely and only. for so long. The moment that simple faith is lost, that moment of victory over sin is broken. There must be that moment by moment, that day by day simple faith in Him. That's why our Lord seems to sum up sin in just one word, unbelief. And the scripture says, the Holy Spirit, when he is come, shall convict the world of sin, of sin because they believe not on me. And this is exactly why John says, this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. So what is the victory that overcometh the world? Faith. Since then there is no such thing as a once -for -all victory. It's evident that this life is beset with perils and we must constantly be on guard. Ever allow the peace of God to guard our hearts. An earnest laboring man used to insist upon quoting that little verse that says, A peace of God shall guard your heart. P -I -E -C -E A peace of God shall guard your heart. Guard your hearts. And his idea was right. For it is the indwelling Christ, the Son of God, who does this thing for us. Now, what are some of the dangers that beset a life of holiness? And there is such a thing as a life of holiness. The Bible teaches it. You must accept it if you believe the Word of God. But what are some of the dangers that beset this wonderful life of holiness that the Word of God teaches us? To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Nor need we fear to face any danger. Don't sit there with some fear in your heart that you're not able to live this life or attain this wonderful daily consistent life of victorious living there's no need for you to fear any danger for the word of God says for in all these things, we are more than conquerors to him that loved us. Not only has he made provision that we may become conquerors and that we will be conquerors over anything and everything we face in life, but more than conquerors. And that's quite a promise. And that promise comes from the highest authority in heaven and earth. Face it. Accept it. It takes away all fear. All right? First of all, we have self -effort. Now, please, if you do not hear anything else that I say in this little heart -to -heart talk today, I want you to see something. Maybe it will help you to cease from all of your struggling and the strain and this terrific effort that you're... putting forth to be a wonderful Christian, to live this constant abiding life in Christ Jesus. If you're living like that, it takes all the joy out of salvation. It takes all the joy out of being a Christian. It takes all the joy out of living, really. You know? In the first flash of joy at realizing the possibility of such a life of victory, there's a tendency to attempt to hug our possession, to make a continuous and conscious effort to cling to it, lest we lose it. A feeling that if we do not strenuously concentrate our thoughts upon the indwelling Christ, maybe we'll lose him. We go to sleep at night fearing that we might lose something even while we sleep. We wake in the morning and think, oh, I must be very careful today. I must put forth every effort because I might lose this wonderful experience or I might lose the nearness of the Master in my life. Perhaps this comes from... regarding the victorious life as a blessing, a possession we can forfeit or lose. Satan always tries to get us to regard it as such. Always. He makes us believe that it may slip from our grasp, but it isn't true. It is not true. It is a person, not... a thing. Always keep that in mind. It is a person whom you serve, not a thing. This wonderful experience of being born again is a person, not a thing. This life of holiness, this life of victorious living is a person, not a thing. It is the Lord Jesus Christ himself who comes, not so much for us to possess him, but that he may possess us. He cannot slip from our grasp. He holds us. His promise, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. That's why I like... to dwell upon the abiding Christ rather than the fullness of the Spirit. Someone put it so wisely. Once it was the blessing. Now it is the Lord. Once it was the feeling. But now it is his word. Once his gifts I wanted, now the giver own. Once I sought for healing, but now, beloved, I seek himself alone. And that's exactly what I'm talking to you about today. He keeps us. It is not we who keep him. No. It's not like that at all. He, the Bible says, is able to keep. He's able to keep you. He's able to keep me. We do not have to keep him. Of course. We must allow the Lord Jesus Christ to be the home of our thoughts. We must be willing to be kept. That's where the danger comes in. The minute that you are no longer willing for him to keep you, then you get into trouble. But as long as you are willing for him to keep you, for he's able to keep, not only able, but willing as long as you are willing to be kept in continuous victory. I'm talking about a life of victory, a daily consistent Christian life of victory, regardless of circumstances, regardless of depression, regardless of... Anything that might happen to you or come into your life, provision has been made for a continuous victory. Looking unto Jesus in faith and in love does not mean strenuous effort to retain him. He's a willing Savior. He's a willing guest. He's a willing Lord. Our look of faith is not with strained eyes, but with a restful gaze. In the Great Miracle Service, how often I see folk as they are sitting there in the pew, and there's this strained look on their faces, and oftentimes when I glance down, I see their hands clenched into almost a fist, straining, oh, straining to be healed, and almost as though they're trying to heal themselves. It isn't like that. It's when you sit there completely relaxed. So much so that there's a look of glory upon your face. In that moment, you're thinking about the bigness of the Lord, the wonderful power of the Holy Spirit. Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, that suddenly you feel that wonderful presence of the Holy Spirit just flowing through your body. It's not looking to Jesus through strained eyes, but with just a restful gaze. It makes all the difference. in the world. Abide in me, says our Lord. Just rest peacefully in Him so far as your life of victory is concerned. At every alarm, at every approach of temptation, just abide in Him. He is the Rock of Ages. He is all -powerful. Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. Not by self -effort, not by toiling or striving. They just abide in the sunshine and they drink in its life. And the word says, which of you by being anxious, by worrying, by screaming, can add one cubit to his stature. That's exactly what our Lord asked in the Sermon on the Mount, and in his mind was something more than physical stature. It's not our faith, but his faithfulness that maintains the victorious life. Trust in the Lord, Do good, so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Read it. It's in the 37th Psalm, the third verse. I read it so very often on Monday night in the Monday night services because sometimes I think we need it more on Monday than we do on Sunday, you know. Trust in the Lord. Trust in Him. Do good. And you cannot trust in him without doing good. The two go hand in hand. You just cannot. There's something about it. If you're not doing good, then there's something wrong about your trust in the Lord. And as sure as you're trusting in the Lord, you will invariably do good. Then go on from there. So shalt thou dwell in the land. and verily thou shalt be fed in other words and verily the lord will take care of you is that simple we may remark in passing that even our conflict with evil around us and i know the powers of the enemy are great i know the hour in which we live I know the temptations. I know the frustrations. But even in view of this fact, our trust must be entirely in Him and not in our own power and in our own effort. How remarkably this is brought out in our Lord's instructions to His disciples when He said, Behold, I send you forth as sheep. amidst wolves. That's exactly what he says. Now look at this. How does he proceed? Does he say, Be ye therefore armed to the teeth? No. No, he doesn't say that. He continues by saying, Be ye therefore harmless as dogs. Why? Because he is our defense. He is our shield. Sometimes it's not the easiest thing in the world to just commit everything unto him. It's not the easiest thing in the world to say, well, oh, dear me, in this hour of frustration and... with the circumstances under which I have to live, it's not easy to be harmless as dogs and relax. But the Word of God says we can afford to relax because He is our defense and our shield.