VICTORY

Prayer

Principle 5:

Voluntarily submit to every change God wants to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my character defects.

“Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires.” Matthew 5:6a (TEV)

Step 7:

We humbly asked him to remove all our shortcomings.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NIV)

Illustration of personnel victory

Introduction

Tonight we are going to look at an overview of Principle 5. We are going to answer the question, How can you have victory over your defects of character?

We are going to use the acrostic VICTORY.

The V is VOLUNTARILY submit to every change God wants me to make in my life and humbly ask Him to remove my shortcomings.

The Bible says that we are to make an offering of our very selves to God. “Offer yourselves as a living sacrifice to God, dedicated to his service and pleasing to him. . . . Let God transform you inwardly by a complete change of your mind” (Romans 12:1 – 2, GNT).

So how do you begin the process to have God make the positive changes in your life that you and He both desire?

You start by doing the I in victory:

IDENTIFY which character defects you want to work on first.

Ask God to first remove those character defects that are causing you the most pain. Be specific! “In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps” (Proverbs 16:9).

Let’s move to the C, which stands for CHANGE your mind.

Second Corinthians 5:17 tells us that when you become a Christian, you are a new creation, a brand new person inside. The old nature is gone. The changes that are going to take place are the result of a team effort. Your responsibility is to take the action to follow God’s direction for change. You have to let God transform (change) you by renewing your mind.

Let’s look at Romans 12:2: “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is —his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

To transform something means to change its condition, its nature, its function, and its identity. God wants to change more than just our behaviors. He wants to change the way we think. Simply changing behaviors is like trimming the weeds in a garden instead of removing them. Weeds always grow back unless they are pulled out by the roots. We need to let God transform our minds!

How? By the T in victory: TURNING your character defects over to Jesus Christ.

Relying on your own willpower, your own self-will, has blocked your recovery. Your past efforts to change your hurts, hang-ups, and habits by yourself were unsuccessful. But if you “humble yourselves before the Lord,... he will lift you up” (James 4:10).

The next letter is O: ONE day at a time.

Your character defects were not developed overnight, so don’t expect them to be instantly removed. Recovery happens one day at a time! Your lifelong hurts, hang-ups, and habits need to be worked on in twenty-four-hour increments. You’ve heard the old cliche: “Life by the yard is hard; life by the inch is a cinch.” Jesus said the same thing: “So don’t be anxious about tomorrow, God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time” (Matthew 6:34, TLB).

Let’s look at the letter R: RECOVERY is a process, “one day at a time” after “one day at a time.”

Once you ask God to remove your character defects, you begin a journey that will lead you to new freedom from your past. Don’t look for perfection, instead rejoice in steady progress. What you need to seek is “patient improvement.” Hear these words of encouragement from God’s Word: “And I am sure that God who began a good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns” (Philippians 1:6, TLB).

The last letter in victory is Y: YOU must choose to change.

As long as you place self-reliance first, a true reliance on Jesus Christ is impossible. You must voluntarily submit to every change God wants you to make in your life and humbly ask Him to remove your shortcomings. God is waiting to turn your weaknesses into strengths. All you need to do is humbly ask!

“God gives strength to the humble,... so give yourselves humbly to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. And when you draw close to God, God will draw close to you” (James 4:6 – 8, TLB).

Illustration and application of VICTORY

Invitation