How to Live in Total Victory
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Is it possible to live in total victory over the enemy?
The Scripture tells us that we can be transformed into His likeness from “glory to glory”, but how is this possible and how do we get to the place where we are living a life of glory to glory and total victory?
I believe many Christians not only live in defeat because they have been led to believe that grace, in a way, is God’s tolerance of minor sins that are somehow overlooked.
The Bible refutes this lie in Romans 6:1-2 “What shall we say then, shall we continue in sin that grace may about? God forbid! How shall we who are dead to sin live any longer therein?”
The Bible calls for complete eradication of sin from our lives.
It’s called radical Christianity.
I was surprised to find how much the book of 2 Kings is a detailed overview of the Christian life and the battle against sin and idolatry in our hearts.
We read about king after king ruling over the lands of Israel and Judah, and the description is the same: they did evil in the sight of the Lord by worshiping at the altars of false gods, worshiping at the high places burning incense, and causing their children to “pass through the fire”.
These descriptions are lightly sprinkled with kings who sought to please the Lord, but still left traces of idolatry in the land.
They wouldn’t go all the way in eradicating idolatry.
They refused to be radical. And sadly, this invited continual defeat for the lands of Israel and Judah.
The recipe for total victory was total eradication of sin and idolatry. God refused to bless Israel and Judah while they refused to worship Him and Him alone.
He would not tolerate their divided affections!
Then along came King Hezekiah.
How to Live in Total Victory
In the entire book of 2 Kings, we read about only one king who was able to bring total victory to the land of Judah.
By the time King Hezekiah comes on the scene as the King of Judah, Israel has been complete defeated by the Assyrians, the people have been taken into captivity, the Assyrians have mingled people from other nations they have conquered in the land of Samaria with Israelites, and what resulted is what would be known as the Samaritans.
The Samaritans were a mixed breed of Israelites with these other nationalities, a result of Israel being conquered by the Assyrians because of their wickedness and refusal to fully repent before God.
King Hezekiah was as godly as his father King Ahaz was wicked.
He went throughout the land and completely destroyed every altar and every high place throughout the land of Judah.
He even destroyed the bronze serpent Moses had made (Numbers 21:9), because the people had made it into an idol and called it Nehustan.
He reopened the temple in Jerusalem and reinstated the priesthood and holy days.
Radical Christian living will be met with spiritual warfare
And just like what happens when we make steps in our life to eradicate sin and live radical lives for Jesus, the enemy comes calling.
In spades.
The King of Assyria came calling on Judah’s door.
Assyria was the world power at that time, and they were force of terror, conquering nation after nation. And yet, Assyria was no match for God.
The army came marching against Jerusalem, but they never made it.
Overnight, the angel of the Lord slaughtered 185,000 Assyrians. Sennacherib went home defeated and the land of Judah was spared.
The Assyrian army of terror was no match for the God of Israel who rained victory down on the land of Judah as a blessing for their total obedience to His Word.
Total victory is preceded by total obedience
And the same is true for us today.
If we want to live in total victory, we must be prepared to first live in total obedience.
I don’t believe for one moment that King Hezekiah’s campaign to completely eradicate idolatry from the land of Judah was met with praise and adoration.
I am certain that when he began to destroy the altars and high places that the people were angry.
Even more so when he destroyed the bronze serpent made by Moses, because not only was this an idol to them, it was also a relic. It was something that had been with them for centuries and commemorated a mighty act of God.
But he knew that if he didn’t destroy it, the land of Judah would continue their worship of the serpent as a god.
The key to total victory
Dear sister, if you want to live a life of total victory, you must first be willing to take the first step in total obedience.
But don’t stop at the first step!
Many Christians make the first step to total obedience, and walk in it until they come upon an area of secret sin in their life that they enjoy.
Just like the other kings who left the high places or golden calves, they skip over those areas of their life and refuse to move forward in total obedience to God and then wonder why they still live in defeat.
Total victory requires total obedience, and total obedience requires doing the hard part of letting go of secret sins and guilty pleasures that hold you back from enjoying the fullness of God’s blessing in your life.
Are you ready to be a King Hezekiah?
Are you ready for radical obedience and total victory in 2020?
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What a great lesson! I never thought about the idea of the Old Testament kingdoms representing the Christian life in that way. I always marveled that so many of even the “good kings” left the high places up and running. Wow! Such a perfect illustration. I will be thinking about this one for a while!