HOW TO BE A WINNER

Base Text: 1 Samuel 14:48

INTRODUCTION

Last Sunday I spoke about the title "From Victim to Victor." Today I want to explain: And how can I be a winner?

The root of the word in Hebrew, Natsach (נָצַח) implies permanently surpassing the enemy, it implies superior brilliance. This is described very well in:

Psalms 108:13 — "In God we will do mighty things, And he will trample down our enemies."

Being a conqueror according to Psalm 60 where this phrase "In God we will do mighty deeds" is repeated, in headings such as Psalms 60: "To the Victor (lamnatseach), upon Shushan Edut", indicates dedication to the one who "overcomes" calamities, symbolizing eternal divine victory, not temporal. The etymology connects with permanence (non-reversible defeat).

In biblical history we can learn many things, but one of the few that we observe is the opportunity of what many could have been, but were not, because of their rebellion, for not changing their personality, for not believing in God, and even though they saw it, they preferred to be defeated.

The Story of Saul

This is the story of Saul. The base text says how Saul largely defeated his enemies (vs 48) but he stopped defeating them. Saul could have been the most prominent King of Israel, but his decisions led him to be defeated, a seeker of witches, and he ended up committing suicide.

1 Samuel 14:47 — "And Saul left off following the Philistines; and the Philistines went to their own place."

Example from 2 Kings 13

On several occasions Israel did not defeat their enemies because they lacked Faith in God, they did not trust and their "Defeatist" personality did not allow them to advance:

2 Kings 13:18-19 — "And he said to him again, Take the arrows. And when the king of Israel had taken them, he said to him, Strike the earth. And he struck it three times, and stopped. Then the man of God, angry with him, said to him, If you struck five or six blows, you would have defeated Syria until there were none left; but now you will defeat Syria only three times."

Some try once or twice, but are defeated.

The Spiritual Battle

How are we going to defeat our enemies? "They are not blood and flesh" but:

• Principalities
• Powers
• Hosts
• Defeatist thoughts
• Deformed personality

1. WITH THE POWER OF THE RESURRECTION

Philippians 3:10 — "That I might know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming like him in his death."

Meaning of Dunamis

The word power in the Old Testament appears 52 times and in Greek it is said "Dunamis" which means "Dynamite".

Dynamite in the context of Spanish is a word that came from the Swedish language: explosive and destructive material. The power of the resurrection, the dynamite that is in the death and resurrection of Christ is powerful to destroy all myths, thoughts, personalities, etc.

a. In Christ we are more than conquerors

Romans 8:37 — "But in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us."

Christ defeated death:

1 Corinthians 15:55-57 — "Where, O death, is your sting? Where, O grave, is your victory? For the sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

Revelation 1:18 — "And I who live, and was dead; but behold, I live forever and ever, amen. And I have the keys of death and of Hades."

Hebrews 2:14-15 — "Therefore, since the children partook of flesh and blood, he also partook of the same, to destroy through death him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and to free all who through the fear of death were subject to bondage all their lives."

Christ had to die. There he defeated diseases, with his death he paid the price of sin, so that man would be free from all ties, from all thoughts.

Isaiah 53 — "He bore our infirmities."

Isaiah 61:1-3 — (Read)

That power that raised Jesus from the dead two thousand years ago is available to transform the weaknesses of life into strengths. You just have to take it and say: "Yes, it can be done. I want to be a winner."

The power of God will annul all the past, eliminates, neutralizes, the curses, the usual failure.

2. THE POWER OF GOD WILL CHANGE YOUR PERSONALITY

The power of resurrection allows him to overturn his past and overcome his problems, but that's not all he does. It also helps to change the personality (victim) (suffered) for someone who wins, for someone who overcomes.

Reflection Questions:

• What would you like to change about yourself and how would you do it?
• What changes would your spouse like to see in you? For example, a wife says of her husband: "He is very temperamental"... "90 percent temperament and 10 mental."
• Complete the following sentence Is it typical of me...?
  • Is it like me to always be late?
  • Is it like me to screw up?
  • Is it like me to always start and never finish?
  • Is it like me to explode, get depressed and angry?

to. God uses process to change

I said this word a few days ago: "Let's continue in the process" and someone said "More?" But process does not mean "defeat." Process is change, until we reach the stature of a perfect man:

Ephesians 4:13

2 Corinthians 5:17 — "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."

This is a crucial moment: submitting our lives to Christ, a new life begins "born again." Being born for the first time is just the beginning, all this is followed by a process:

Romans 12:2 — "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, acceptable, and perfect will of God."

Someone paraphrased this way:

"Do not allow the world around you to squeeze you into its own mold, but let God renew you in a way that changes the attitude of your mind. Thus you will see in practice that the will of God is good, pleasing to him and perfect."

The Fruit of the Spirit

God's purpose is for us to bear fruit, and this is the result of the Holy Spirit:

Galatians 5:22-24 — "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. But those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires."

These are the characteristics we need to be winners. You can't get this on the street corner, no one sells potions to spread and change. It is the power of God that transforms us.

Application Questions: -How many of the people you work with exhibit these qualities?

• Could those who know you say that these qualities describe you?

The opposite reality:

The sad thing about all of this is that instead of loving, we can often be seen as unfriendly. Instead of living happily, we feel defeated, depressed, discouraged. Instead of experiencing peace, we feel tense and oppressed.

Instead of being patient we live irritated, instead of being kind there is selfishness, instead of being faithful we fail in our commitments. We are given to responding with anger or resentment instead of being humble, instead of having self-control, we see life torn to pieces.

b. Don't put it off

Ecclesiastes 9:10 — "Whatever comes your way to do, do it according to your strength; for in Sheol, where you are going, there is no work, nor labor, nor knowledge, nor wisdom."

Only one thing will prevent change, and it is not the devil (he has already been defeated), nor is it the circumstances. It is Procrastination or rather Procrastination.

The saying "I better start tomorrow" or "next month." How many people want to diet to lose weight, but they always live saying "better tomorrow" or "next month" or "next year."

Why spend another night with the frogs?

A sentence I read in a book said: Why spend another night with the frogs?

The Egyptians had many false gods. God confronted them with the 10 plagues, each plague in Egypt represented a god. For example, they worshiped lice and God sent them many lice, they worshiped frogs and God sent them many frogs.

When Pharaoh at the Frogs gave up, he ordered Moses to please tell God to take away the frogs:

Exodus 8:9 — "And Moses said to Pharaoh: Deign to tell me when I should pray for you, for your servants, and for your people, so that the frogs may be removed from you and from your houses, and that they may only remain in the river."

And he said: TOMORROW.

Final questions:

• What would you ask for?
• Why would anyone want to spend one more night with frogs?
• Why are there people who know that it is wrong and do not decide to change?

Years go by over and over again in the same situation. They cannot receive miracles, they postpone. Others have not been born again.

CONCLUSION

This change comes from the spiritual, and it is not the other way around. It does not begin in the flesh, it comes from the deepest depths. If you don't start there, nothing can happen. It doesn't happen overnight, this comes in the process.

Sketch based on the preaching of Pastor Josué Angarita - Iglesia MMM Portal Campestre, Girón, Santander.