A Victory Mindset

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written,

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Questions: What then shall we say to these things?

If God is for us, who can be against us?

How will he not also with him graciously give us all things?

Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect?

Who is to condemn?

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword- pandemics??

Good Friday:

Suffering can’t separate us from God’s Love

Given all these current realities, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Suffering is a Given

Nothing Can Separate Us from God’s Love

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

: Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

: But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

: And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

During a time where we are stuck at home,

Example of mom posting a video, holding up signs “Get me out of here!”

For Easter, today we’re actually going to talk about what we CAN’T be separated from, whether we’re experiencing isolation or not!

VICTORY MENTALITY:

NOTHING CAN SEPARATE US FROM GOD’S LOVE!

“We are more than conquerors, through him, who loved us”

HOW TO KEEP THAT VICTORY MENTALITY TODAY AND TOMORROW:

“We are more than conquerors, through him, who loved us”

VERSE 37: “We are more than conquerors, through him, who loved us”

Easy bridge between having a suffering mindset and having a victory mindset

Christ embraced suffering, but suffering wasn’t the end all and be all. There was purpose to the suffering!

Those in Christ, there is a purpose in suffering: Suffering is one of the carving knives the Holy Spirit uses to shape us into Jesus.

When we suffer, we share with Christ’s suffering, just as we will share with Christ in his glory!

Suffering and glory are intimately linked:

Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”

: Jesus, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.

: But rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.

: And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

: [we are] heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

: For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Shift from a “suffering mindset” to a “Victory Mindset”

Hypernikao: Nike= victory, hypernikao

“To utterly defeat beyond the norm!”

New English Bible: “In all these things we have complete victory”

Young’s Literal: “In all these we more than conquer”

New Living: “despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours”

in all these we more than conquer

Common English: “But in all these things we win a sweeping victory”

Absolute domination:

Superbowl 24: San Fransisco 49ers 50, Denver Bronco: 10

From 1901 to 1904, Michigan did not lose a game

1901 Michigan Wolverines: Michigan Football Outscores Opponents 550-0 During the Season.

Fielding Harris Yost:

1901 Michigan Wolverines: Michigan Football Outscores Opponents 550-0 During the Season.

We are more than conquerors

Super conquerors, hyper conquerors, Conquerors who get to enjoy the spoils and plunder!

Through him (Jesus?)

From 1901 to 1904, Michigan did not lose a game

Conquerers:

Through him (Jesus?)

We didn’t accomplish the victory! We come after Jesus:

v. 32: Sent by God, was given up by God

v. 33: No charge can be made against us

v.34: Raised, rules, and intercedes

Through that work, that tunnel, we can have a victory mindset! We are more than conquerors.

Ava is obsessed with Cinderella right now. And the transformation that happens to Cinderella is similar to the type of transition that happens to us. We go from slaves and servants to being royalty! And it’s no magic trick, it’s no ‘bibbly boppity boo!’

It’s the miracle of resurrection life!

“Who loved us”

Action completed! CROSS! Gospel

: And one of the elders said to me, “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” And between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain.

The Lion= Animal of Easter

Lamb= Animal of Good Friday

The Lion conquered because he first became the sacrificial lamb

Easter assumes Good Friday: We are more than conquerors because of the LOVE displayed for us through Jesus.

We are more than conquerors because of the LOVE displayed for us through Jesus.

If you believe in Jesus Christ, than you are a victor! You share with Christ his victory over sin, evil, death and the devil! You share with Christ in strife and you share with Christ in his resurrection life! You are liberated by the lamb, and the Lion, and so you reign as rulers, rule as royalty, with Christ! You are not second rate in his eyes, you are co-heirs, adopted into his Dynasty as brothers and sister! Forever found. Forever freed. Forever family!

Alexander the Great

Napolean

Removal of debt

You are a hyper-conquerer.

You are a hyper-conquerer through Jesus

Reception of Gifts

Confident Conquerors:

Now, the question is, are you convinced of this?

Do you have a Victory Mindset?

Are you convinced by this?

ESV: “For I am sure…”

NIV: “For I am convinced”

Youngs: “For I am persuaded”

Do you have a victory mindset over this list Paul records in verses 38-39

“I am convinced”

Are you convinced you are more than a conqueror?

Nothing to fear: death, life, angels, rulers, present, future, powers, height, depth, nothing(!) can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Nothing Can separate you from God’s Love:

In the span of your entire life: From womb to tomb

From the spiritual realm of angels and demons

From time- present-future

From Space- heigh, depth

, life, angels, rulers, present, future, powers, height, depth, nothing(!) can separate us frmo the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

In case, Paul missed anything, “nothing in creation”

Are you convinced?

Victim Mentality vs. Victor Mentality

Victim: Not addressing those of you who are actually victims- perhaps victims of abuse.

I’m suggesting that as Christians firmly rooted in Christ’s love, we can’t live with a victim mentality...

Professional Counselor and Author Andrea Mathews writes about having a victim mentality:

The belief systems of the person with a victim identity fall along these lines:

Life is really, really hard.

Don't get up, you'll just get kicked back down again.

Beware, always beware of trickery; it's around every corner.

You can't trust anyone. I can't.

It's around every corner.You can't trust anyone.I can't.You just don't understand how hard it is for me.Everyone is always picking on me."They" are always bigger, badder and smarter than me.

You just don't understand how hard it is for me.

Victim mentality is a mentality of defeat.

These belief systems are in place to protect the victim from ever having to really engage life and hurdle its hurdles. Doing so is just plain too risky. No, the best way to cope is to just stay on the down-side of life, and never, never, never expect more.

Victor Mentality is a mentality of, well, victory!

Victory= Joy

Failure Mentality vs. Family

As a 13 year old girl, she remembers lining the streets and watching the parade of soldiers and tanks go down the streets of her little town. She remembers that no one ever went out like this. But she says, everyone came to town to celebrate. She recalls the soldiers passing out chocolate bars, which was a real treat for them! Maybe once or twice a year would they get to eat chocolate, so this chocolate represented something powerful. She said to me this past week, “Today you can eat chocolate every day, but as a child, it was only for special times.” And this, this was a special time. Chocolate was the sweet taste of victory! She recalls people just screaming out to the soldier- thanking them, singing together, rejoicing together.

She said, in her beautiful Dutch accent,

“Mark, I can not explain how happy we were. I have never experienced anything like it. People back then, you know, they just didn’t come together in public like this, but here everyone came! You just had to be there… I have never been so happy in my life.”

I have never been so happy in my life: the relief of victory, eating chocolate- let’s not forget- that’s a Victory Mindset.

This victory experience is one we can take with us everyday all day!

John Tried to Encourage the Early Church with a Victory Mindset:

Victor vs. Victim

John wrote to a fearful church, under the threat of persecution:

Do you feel defeated?

(2:7)“To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God”

(2:17)“The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations”

(2:11)“To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it”

(2:17)“The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations”

(2:26)“The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels”

(3:5)“The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God. Never shall he go out of it, and I will write on him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name”

(3:12)“The one who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne” (3:21)

You, on a throne!

Jesus is speaking about you- if you are a Christian, if you believe in Jesus as Savior and King- THIS IS YOU!

Now, I know people are watching from all over North America and the world.

Just a unique word to each of you:

For those of you with a daily Victory Mindset, who has experienced suffering and yet still allows the HOly Spirit to instill in you this victory mindset, then, well, that’s just awesome! Keep up being that inspiration, because the Lord will use your mindset to help others experience the Victory we have in Jesus.

For those of you who have more of a victim mentality but yet consider yourself a Christian, I want to invite you right here and now to die to that mentality. To steer the attention away from the feelings of defeat to the experience of victory. For those of you feeling especially defeated right now with the stressors of being home all day everyday, pray that the Lord will open your heart to what He is teaching you. Don’t waste this opportunity of suffering, take advantage of it in ways that will shape you to be more like Christ.

For those of who wouldn’t say they have any type of mentality towards what Jesus did for you: I want to end with this challenge. Becoming a Christian is risky business. It requires faith, and faith requires belief in the unseen. We can have decorative crosses and such. We can say the tomb was empty, but you didn’t see Jesus walking around with his scars personally. You didn’t see him ascend to heaven. I get that… Faith is not for the faint of heart- or at least it shouldn’t be. And so this is an open invitation for you to believe in the victory Jesus provided for you- yes, you- even through this camera through this computer screen- even though I can’t see you- this invitation is for you to consider faith in Jesus as your replacement, with your doubts and past decisions, who died for you, and rose from the dead.

What better feeling is there than experiencing a Victory Mindset.

We want for you to say, “I have never been so happy in my life!”

That happiness doesn’t negate things won’t be difficult. It took years for Europe to clean up the mess of war. But suffering surely puts suffering into focus.

Why woudn’t you take advantage of this hope? THis happiness? This certain about life.

Come to Jesus, and experience the joy of victory!

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

We carry in the body the death of Jesus.

8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

(2:7)(2:7)

A Victory Mindset

A Victory Mindset

Separation:

Separation:

Suffering Mindset

More than Conquerors:

Who are we?

How did we become hyper-conquerors?

Why did we become hyper-conquerors?

Confident Conquerors:

Confident Conquerors:

Conquerors Carry Christ’s Death and Life