Every victory in battle is connected to the heart of the soldiers that fight for it. For believers to have victory in their life, there needs to be the same heart and perseverance of a soldier operating in them. The Bible gives us the heart attitude and principles that will allow you and I to win the battles that come against us. In this blog, I want to give you four of those principles. I believe the same diligence and fight in order to win must be recaptured in the heart of the church and believers everywhere.
[1] Sold out to Christ
Matthew 16:18-19 Jesus tells Peter, “…I will build My church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven.” Knowing the purpose of the battle is vital. Jesus said that it was to build His kingdom. But He also promised that they would be so provided for that the gates of hell and its assaults will not prevail over or against it. The church would advance. Victory is what every battle is about, and knowing that you are called to win and be provided for is everything. The soldier fights with all his weaponry in order to win, and so do we. But the price is a sold-out-life. All the way to the death if need be for the soldier. You and I are called all the way. We are challenged that the only way to victory is to be totally crucified with Christ. If we are not willing to go all the way, then we have no right to expect victory in any way.
[2] Never Look Back
In Joshua 3:14-4:20, we see the story of the children of Israel crossing the Jordan that God had miraculously parted. If God opens it, He expects us to go through it. Remember, the God who brought you to it can bring you all the way through it. Joshua was told to take 12 stones from the midst of the Jordan and take them to the other side. They were to be set up as a memorial and a declaration of how God is the one that brought them through, and not themselves. It was also a declaration that they were never to go back. Always forward is the motto, and the promises fulfilled are always before us, and never behind us. We, as believers, must always remember that the prize is always on the other side of valor. Without a determination to advance into the promise with faith, we will never see what all God has planned. Sometimes your faith advance seems to be right into the jaws of harm’s way. Cancer is defeated because we grab faith and never let go. Disease, depression, addiction, fear, and everything attached to Satan’s kingdom is defeated because we never let go of the promise and never give up our faith to win. God promised something, and we need to advance right toward victory till we possess it in our own hands. Jesus said in Luke 9:62, “…No one having put his hand to the plow and looking back is fit for the kingdom. The soldier knows no retreat, nor do we. So fight to win, and fight to possess.
[3] Fearless
In 1 Samuel Chapter 17, Israel is faced with a great challenge. The Philistines’ armies have invaded the land and are preparing to engage the nation. As they prepare for the battle, suddenly the whole dynamic changes as a giant named Goliath enters upon the scene. Intimidating and taunting the warriors and the king, he dares for one to come forward to fight him. He curses and defies the armies of Israel to such an extent that his tactics send the entire army as well as the king into a deep state of fear. The weakness of the king spiritually has caused him to forget who he is and the God that he serves. He allows sight to overrule faith and descends into fear. On the scene arrives a young lad who has a different heart. A young man with a demeanor and an anointing that is soo missing at this time, but he possesses them because he knows who is Lord over this battle and Who is Lord over the nation. Young David approached the king with the full intent to not only face this giant but to defeat him. David knows who he is and what the covenants of God are. He is ready to step forward and allow his God [Who is Almighty] to defend him. David approached the giant with the best heart of a warrior, and that is a fearless heart. With this heart, he stays the course, faces the giant with all he has, and watches the hand of God go to work. To step back from the battle in fear is failure. But to step up to the battle knowing who you are fearlessly as a believer becomes total victory.
[4] One Accord
In 1st Chronicles Chapter 12, we see how all the armies of Judah and the surrounding tribes are coming together to make David king over all Israel. This army has great talent and ability. They understand the signs of the times, and they are all men of valor and great renown, but the thing that makes all that effective is found in vs. 38, “All these men of war, who could keep ranks, came to Hebron with a loyal heart, to make David king over all Israel; and all the rest of Israel were of one mind to make David king.” Without a one accord spirit in purpose and heart, we fall short of the plan of God. Division in heart, mind, and goal will stop us short of what God has for us. In Acts 1:14, the Bible says, “These all continue in one accord in prayer and supplication. For the early church to ever get off the ground, let alone succeed, the disciples needed to stand together in one accord in all things for the purpose. They had to have one heart together for the kingdom to advance. On the day of Pentecost, they were all found in one accord together as the Holy Spirit fell on a room full of unique people, but a people that were with one heart and one accord for all God had for them.
The warrior’s heart is one to be reckoned with. With an understanding of cost, plus a heart that never turns back, the true soldier of Christ moves forward with the fearlessness and the powerful peace of God to guide him. Together, with a true one accord spirit, the battle’s victory becomes certain. Let’s face what’s ahead together as believers. In doing so, we will see the faith in God magnified. Disease will leave. Bondages will be shattered, and the broken will be made whole. We need it, our nation needs it, and a generation yet to be known must have it.
Blessings,
~ Pastor Giovannetti
