Living in the Spirit of Faith and Victory

Devotional

Day 1: Giving and Receiving—Fruit That Abounds to Your Account

When you give to support the work of God, you are not just meeting a need; you are sowing seeds that produce fruit credited to your spiritual account. The act of giving is a partnership with God’s purposes, and the blessings and victories that come from the ministry you support are also counted as your own. God is pleased with such sacrifices, and He promises to supply all your needs according to His riches in glory. Your generosity is not just a transaction—it is a spiritual investment that brings a harvest of blessing into your life. [04:23]

Philippians 4:15-19 (ESV)
"And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica you sent me help for my needs once and again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."

Reflection: Who is someone or what is a ministry you can support today, knowing that your giving is a seed that will produce fruit in your life and in the lives of others?

Day 2: Jesus—The Author and Finisher of Our Faith

Jesus is not only the center of our message; He is the very source and completer of our faith. When you focus on Jesus, you are focusing on victory, because He has conquered death, hell, and the grave. Preaching and meditating on Jesus stirs faith in your heart, activating a victorious spirit that overcomes every challenge. Faith is not just a concept; it is a living force that comes alive when you hear and believe the word about Christ. [14:36]

Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)
"Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

Reflection: What is one area of your life where you need to shift your focus from your own ability to Jesus, trusting Him as the author and finisher of your faith?

Day 3: The Power of the Cross—Your Past Is Nailed and Defeated

Every mistake, every sin, every accusation that stood against you has been taken by Jesus and nailed to the cross. There is no longer a record of your wrongs in heaven’s system; the blood of Jesus has wiped your slate clean. When the enemy tries to remind you of your past, you can remind him of his defeat and your victory in Christ. This revelation lifts you out of shame and guilt, empowering you to live boldly in the freedom Jesus purchased for you. [23:36]

Colossians 2:13-15 (ESV)
"And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him."

Reflection: Is there a past mistake or shame that still tries to hold you back? How can you declare today that it is nailed to the cross and walk in the freedom Jesus has given you?

Day 4: The Spirit of Faith—Responding to Trouble with Victory

Having the spirit of faith does not mean you are exempt from trouble, but it does mean you always have a response rooted in victory. When problems arise, you do not deny their existence, but you refuse to be distressed, in despair, or defeated. The spirit of faith speaks—declaring God’s promises in the face of adversity, knowing that greater is He who is in you than anything in the world. This attitude keeps you above the mess, maintaining your altitude in Christ. [38:27]

2 Corinthians 4:7-13 (ESV)
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 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. So death is at work in us, but life in you. Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, 'I believed, and so I spoke,' we also believe, and so we also speak."

Reflection: What is one trouble or challenge you are facing right now, and how can you respond today with a declaration of faith instead of fear or despair?

Day 5: Living by Faith—Speaking and Acting from Victory

Faith is not passive; it is active, speaking and acting in agreement with God’s word. The same spirit of faith that was in Abraham, David, and Jesus is in you. When you believe, you speak—refusing to remain silent in the face of adversity. You are not fighting for victory, but from a place of victory, because Jesus has already won. Let your words and actions today reflect the confidence that God always causes you to triumph in Christ. [44:18]

2 Corinthians 4:13 (ESV)
"Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, 'I believed, and so I spoke,' we also believe, and so we also speak."

Reflection: What is one promise from God’s word you need to speak out loud today, declaring your victory and aligning your heart with the spirit of faith?

Sermon Summary

Tonight, we explored the powerful truth that in Christ, we are called to live with the same spirit of faith that animated the heroes of Scripture and, most importantly, Jesus Himself. Faith is not just a concept or a doctrine; it is the very atmosphere of the Christian life. When we preach Jesus, we are preaching faith and victory, because Jesus is the author and finisher of our faith, the one who has already conquered death, hell, and the grave. Our faith is not rooted in our own ability, but in the finished work of Christ, who has made us complete in Him and given us authority to walk in victory.

We looked at how Paul commended the Philippians for their giving, not because he desired a gift, but because he desired fruit to abound to their account. Their generosity was an act of faith, and God promised to supply all their needs according to His riches in glory. This principle of giving and receiving is a practical outworking of faith, showing that our trust is in God’s provision, not our own resources.

Turning to 2 Corinthians 4, we saw that the spirit of faith does not mean a life without trouble. Paul was honest about being troubled, perplexed, persecuted, and even struck down. Yet, every time he named a problem, he immediately declared a faith-filled response: “but not distressed,” “but not in despair,” “but not forsaken,” “but not destroyed.” The spirit of faith always has a response to adversity, rooted in the reality that Christ lives in us and that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world.

Faith is not denial of problems, but a refusal to let problems define us. The enemy wants to keep us silent, shamed, and stuck in our past, but Jesus has blotted out every record of our wrongs and nailed them to the cross. The spirit of faith speaks—declaring God’s promises, responding to trouble with trust, and refusing to be pulled down by the misery of unbelief. This attitude keeps us soaring above the muck and mire, living from a place of victory, not striving for it.

As we walk in this spirit of faith, we are empowered to face every challenge, speak to every mountain, and see God’s promises fulfilled in our lives. We are not fighting for victory, but from victory, because Christ has already won.

Key Takeaways

1. Faith Is Rooted in Christ’s Finished Work True faith is not self-generated optimism, but a response to the victory Jesus has already secured. When we focus on Christ—His death, resurrection, and authority—we realize that our faith is anchored in what He has accomplished, not in our own efforts or feelings. This shifts our perspective from striving to resting in His sufficiency. [14:23]
2. The Spirit of Faith Always Responds to Trouble Paul modeled that the spirit of faith is not the absence of adversity, but the presence of a God-centered response. For every trouble he named, he immediately declared a faith-filled “but not”—refusing distress, despair, or defeat. This teaches us to open our mouths and speak God’s truth in the face of every challenge, rather than letting circumstances have the final word. [38:15]
3. Faith Requires Action and Generosity The Philippians’ support of Paul’s ministry was more than financial; it was a demonstration of their faith in God’s provision and their partnership in the gospel. When we give, we are sowing into spiritual things, and the fruit of that ministry is credited to our account. Faith is always practical—it moves us to act, to give, and to trust God with our resources and needs. [03:17]
4. The Enemy Seeks to Silence and Shame Satan’s strategy is to keep us silent, shamed, and focused on our failures. But Jesus has blotted out every record of our wrongs, nailing them to the cross. The spirit of faith refuses to remain silent; it speaks God’s promises, confronts shame with the blood of Jesus, and stands boldly in the freedom Christ has purchased. [23:36]
5. The Spirit of Faith Is an Attitude That Lifts Us Higher Living with the spirit of faith is not about denying reality, but about maintaining an attitude that keeps us above the fray. This attitude—rooted in God’s Word and the indwelling Christ—keeps us from being pulled down by the misery and unbelief of others. It is the key to maintaining spiritual altitude, enabling us to live from victory and not for it. [49:06]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:01] - Philippians: Giving and Receiving
[03:17] - Fruit Abounding to Your Account
[04:23] - God Supplies All Our Needs
[05:18] - Offering and Prayer
[06:16] - Announcements and Upcoming Events
[09:20] - Honoring TJ and TA
[12:09] - Camp Meeting Details
[14:07] - The Spirit of Faith: Introduction
[16:08] - Complete in Christ’s Authority
[17:52] - Living by Faith, Not by Sight
[19:13] - Jesus Blots Out Our Past
[23:36] - Faith, Victory, and the Power of the Word
[28:13] - Treasure in Earthen Vessels
[30:11] - Responding to Trouble with Faith
[33:34] - The Enemy’s Tactics Against Faith
[36:04] - The Fight of Faith
[43:39] - The Same Spirit of Faith
[46:42] - Speaking Faith in the Face of Trouble
[49:06] - The Attitude and Altitude of Faith
[51:06] - Closing Prayer and Blessing

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

2 Corinthians 4:5-13 — (Focus: Verses 7-13, especially “We have the same spirit of faith…”)

- Philippians 4:15-19
(Paul commends the Philippians for their giving and God’s promise to supply their needs.)

- Colossians 2:9-15
(Our completeness in Christ, the finished work of Jesus, and the blotting out of our past.)

Observation Questions

In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9, Paul lists several hardships he faced. What are the “faith-filled responses” he gives to each problem? ([38:15])
According to Philippians 4:15-19, what was Paul’s attitude toward the Philippians’ generosity, and what did he say God would do for them? ([03:17])
In Colossians 2:13-15, what does Paul say Jesus did with the “handwriting of ordinances” (the record of our wrongs)? ([23:36])
The sermon says, “When we preach Jesus, we are preaching faith and victory.” What does it mean that Jesus is the “author and finisher of our faith”? ([14:23])

Interpretation Questions

Why does Paul immediately follow every mention of trouble with a “but not” statement? What does this reveal about the spirit of faith? ([38:15])
The sermon says, “Faith is not denial of problems, but a refusal to let problems define us.” How does this differ from simply ignoring or pretending problems don’t exist? ([37:15])
How does generosity, like the Philippians’ giving, demonstrate faith in God’s provision rather than trust in our own resources? ([03:17])
The pastor said, “The enemy wants to keep us silent, shamed, and stuck in our past, but Jesus has blotted out every record of our wrongs.” How does understanding this truth affect the way we respond to shame or guilt? ([23:36])

Application Questions

When you face trouble or adversity, do you tend to focus more on the problem or on God’s promises? What would it look like for you to respond with a “but not” attitude this week? ([38:15])
The sermon teaches that faith is rooted in Christ’s finished work, not our own efforts. Are there areas in your life where you are striving instead of resting in what Jesus has already done? What would it look like to shift your focus? ([14:23])
Paul commended the Philippians for their generosity as an act of faith. Is there a practical way you can step out in generosity this week, trusting God to supply your needs? ([03:17])
The enemy tries to keep us silent and shamed. Is there a specific area of your life where you have felt silenced or stuck in shame? How can you begin to speak God’s promises over that area? ([23:36])
The spirit of faith is described as an attitude that lifts us higher, keeping us from being pulled down by negativity or unbelief. Are there people or situations in your life that tend to pull you down? What is one step you can take to maintain your “spiritual altitude” this week? ([49:06])
The pastor said, “Faith requires action.” What is one step of faith—big or small—that you feel God is prompting you to take right now? ([03:17])
The sermon ended with the reminder that we are not fighting for victory, but from victory. How does this perspective change the way you approach your current challenges? ([49:54])

Sermon Clips

When you preach Jesus, you're preaching faith. When you preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, you're preaching uh substance that is creating faith in the heart of those that will believe and hear that word, right? You take that word in on Jesus and it causes your faith to be activated. It causes your faith to come alive. Praise the Lord. And it will also push you uh and you will see victory, right? Because when you preach Jesus, you're preaching victory because nobody has ever won like Jesus has won. Jesus has defeated death, hell, and the grave. [00:14:58]

In other words, Jesus has all dominion. Jesus has all authority. I am completed in him. Come on. And so I'm rolling with him. And just like we've been saying in the last couple services, Jesus got up out the grave and before he went up into heaven, Matthew 28, what he said? He said, "All power, all authority is given to me in heaven and in earth. And therefore now you go." So in other words, we are deputized, you could say, with that same authority, with that same power. [00:16:25]

So it's not just like go get dipped in the water and now something has really happened just because you was dipped in the water. No, my faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and my faith in him while I'm dipped under the water is what makes connection. And so it's not just enough to go get dipped, but even when you are going through baptism, what you need? Faith. Anything you going to get, anything you going to operate in, anything you're going to receive in the kingdom of God is going to require what? Faith. [00:17:34]

The just shall what? Live by faith. So faith is pretty important. All your living. All of your living. All of it. Faith. Praise the Lord. All right. So buried with him in baptism wherein also you were risen with him through faith in the operation of God who has raised him from the dead. And you being dead in your sins, in the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened, or that is to say, made alive together with him, having forgiven you how many trespasses? All of your trespasses. [00:18:22]

Jesus, the son of the living God, strolled downtown in eternity, took his own blood. Come on. And said, "I am taking these receipts." Went in and took your receipt. Found my receipt. Come on. Found all of our receipts. found the receipts of those of you watching online, marched them with him, said, "Baby, I'm taking these to the cross with me. These things were nailed to the cross." Hallelujah. Him on the handwriting of the ordinances that was against us. When you start hearing that about Jesus Christ, what's happening now? Your faith is rising like that's right. [00:22:28]

That that accuser the devil wants to bring and say, "Look, they're shameful." Come on. Look, they have this problem. Look, they messed up here. Look, they mess up there. And try to drag you down in the eyes of God. But God said, "No, I do not see them on their own status. I see them through the blood." Jesus took the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, nailed them to the cross, and now when you go to downtown eternity, there's no record to read. Hallelujah. [00:23:15]

That's why I always preach on faith and victory. I mean, you look at almost every message, we could do a marriage conference. Before that conference is over, I promise you, as soon as I get past the notes my wife forced me to use to say to people, I'm going to come to the word of faith, the Holy Ghost, the blood, and the anointing because that's the recipe for a good marriage, right? That's the biggest most important things you can get. And sometimes, you know, people give me a hard time like, "You don't really preach on family. [00:24:02]

But the reason for that is I preach Jesus, which is the cure for any struggle. Come on. I preach Jesus. I preach the word. And what's that do? You want good marriage, get faith. You want good marriage, have the Holy Ghost. Come on. You want good family, have the anointing working. Right now, is there practical stuff you need? Absolutely. Right. Come on. But when we preach Jesus, what do we preach? Faith. Victory. Right. He took all the handwriting of the ordinances that was against us and he nailed them to the cross. [00:24:56]

But listen, he didn't just go nailed to the cross. And now there's no record. Let's keep reading. And he spoiled. What's that mean? He he whipped them. He defeated them until the point of collecting trophies, of collecting rewards. Right? And so having spoiled principalities and powers, what he did, he made a show of them openly. So if you like sports, this is what we call, this ain't just getting a W, but this is running up the score, right? I'll never forget when I watched U beat Texas A&M when I was a teenager, 77 to zero. [00:25:38]

The devil will never forget. Come on. The devil will never forget the whooping that he took. And so, anytime he tries to come and remind you of some of the whooping you have took, come on. You remind him of the whoopins he took. When you remind him what Jesus did when he took the handwriting of ordinances that was against me and nailed him to the cross. You got the wrong suspect. That ain't me. I that's under the blood of Jesus. When you get a hold of that, your faith going to go to another level. [00:26:40]

So when you preach Jesus Christ, you're preaching faith and you're preaching victory all the time. Praise the Lord. And so, uh, you preach Jesus and you preach faith and you preach victory. And what's going to happen is is people will overcome their struggle without me making a message called the struggle is real. Well, we already know the struggle is real. What we're working on is getting you to understand that the Bible is real. Are you listening to me? Amen. [00:27:18]

But we have this treasure in what? In earthn vessels. That's talking about us, ourselves, our body. There is a treasure that I contain. There is a treasure that I am carrying. And so you need to realize that you need to understand that you carry something, right? You possess something that this world needs. And so it says it's not uh we have the treasure of the vessels, but this the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. And so what are we carrying? Well, we're we're designed to be carriers of the glory of God. [00:28:07]

Greater is he. Go read first John. Greater is he that is in you. Where at? Where is he at? He's in you. Greater is he that's in you than he that is in this world. And again, you start to focus on greater is he that is in me. What's going to happen? There's faith that's coming in response to that. Right? Because we know Romans 10:17. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes how? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. [00:29:04]

So he said, "We have this treasure in earth vessels that the excellency of the power may be uh of God and not of ourselves." Verse eight, listen now. We are troubled on every side. How many understand that doesn't sound very exciting? That's not the part of the verse you want on the t-shirt, right? We are troubled on every side, but immediately, what does he say? Yet we not stressed out. We're not giving in to distress. We're not giving in to stressing out. We're perplexed. [00:30:03]

So being a person of faith and being a person that understands the spirit of faith does not mean you are a person without any trouble, without any problems. Right? Sometimes what happens is people uh in our camp what camp's that uh well it's not boy scout camp. I tell you that you say what camp is that? It's like the word of faith camp or the charismatic camp or I say like the Holy Ghost camp or the full gospel camp. I really don't care what name you try to put on my can, but the deal is it's going to be faith. [00:36:26]

A problem has presented itself. But right now, the greatest overcomer that has ever overcome is working in me. And I'm overcoming this problem right now. And so, it's not it's not that we're in denial. is that we always have a response. So look at verse eight. Look at verse nine. He lists these troubles. He lists these problems. In fact, he says we are troubled on every side. But the moment that he says there is trouble, he immediately pivots and says what? But I am not distressed. [00:38:17]

Let me tell you something. When the devil comes with a problem, comes with a trouble, you better not sit there with crickets. You better open your mouth and respond. Praise the Lord. Because when the devil hits you, hit him back harder. Are you listening to me? Don't take the hit and then go cry in the corner. Only reason you go to the corner is so Mick can cut your eye and you can get back out there and knock Clubber Lane out until he fought in the third Mr. T. I pity the fool. Never respect your mama. [00:41:30]

So really the spirit of faith is like an attitude and that attitude will help you maintain the proper altitude. In other words, it'll keep you up out of the muck, out of the mire, out of the problem, and keep you flying on course. You must have the spirit of faith. That's all time I got to talk about that tonight. It's 8:10. All right, stand up on your feet. Praise the Lord. We'll pick up unhitch and rehitch right back here next Wednesday. [00:49:06]

Ask a question about this sermon

Chatbot

Transcript

What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?

Were there any personal stories shared?