Everything in the kingdom of God is based on principles. God is a merciful God and He is also a God of principles. In most cases when God seem to bend His rules or change His mind concerning certain situations, He simply does that on the basis of HIS MERCY. But God wouldn’t bend His principles for you for an unjust cause. One of the principles of God is documented in John 8:32 which says “and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” It didn’t say “you shall pray the truth”, by simply knowing the truth, freedom is guaranteed; that’s a principle.

 

Another one is in Genesis 8:22. It says: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, and day and night shall not cease.” I am not sure there is anyone who prays to God for the day to break or the night to come, or for heat to come or for cold to come or for winter and summer to come. Since I have been born, I have never witnessed a time where the day refused to break or night refused fall. These things have been put in place and they simply function by the principles that God has put in place concerning them.

 

Joshua 1:8. It says: “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” One thing you would notice about all the above Scriptures is that they are all principle based. If you do certain things, certain results would be their outcome. It is not necessarily because you prayed, no! Prayer is good, no doubt. But it is not everything in the kingdom that responds to prayer, certain things respond to principles. And that is why this evening, we want to examine The Principles of Living in Perpetual Victory. Our Victory has been won for us, but if we are going to continue to enjoy that victory, if we are going to perpetuate it, if we are going to sustain that victory as we were taught last Sunday during our Leadership fellowship, I want to share these principles with us from the pages of the Scriptures.

 

Number one: THE PRINCIPLE OF PRAISE

Let us see how a people became more than conqueror or victorious in the Old Testament through the instrumentality or principles of praise. 2 Chronicles 20:1-4, 7-12, 20-23

 

“It happened after this that the people of Moab with the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat…”

 

Jehoshaphat happens to be the fourth king of Judah. Judah at some point separated from the whole unit of Israel and remained on its own under its own king and rulership. David was able to unite the entire nation under his kingship, handed it down to Solomon and Solomon reigned with wisdom and there was peace in his time. But after the death of Solomon, there was a tussle as to who should become king, this tussle led to the separation of the unit: Israel became the Northern Kingdom and Judah became the Southern Kingdom. So, when this account was documented, Jehoshaphat was the king, and he was a king who feared the Lord.

 

² Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, “A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar” (which is En Gedi). ³ And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. ⁴ So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord.”

 

Verse 7-12 showed us that there was a victory already over the land which must be defended!

 

“Are You not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? ⁸ And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ⁹ ‘If disaster comes upon us—sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine—we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple), and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ ¹⁰ And now, here are the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir—whom You would not let Israel invade when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them and did not destroy them— ¹¹ here they are, rewarding us by coming to throw us out of Your possession which You have given us to inherit. ¹² O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

 

The Lord gave Jehoshaphat and Judah victory through praise from verse 20-23

 

“So they rose early in the morning and went out into the Wilderness of Tekoa; and as they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, O Judah and you inhabitants of Jerusalem: Believe in the Lord your God, and you shall be established; believe His prophets, and you shall prosper.” ²¹ And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed those who should sing to the Lord, and who should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army and were saying:

“Praise the Lord,
For His mercy endures forever.”

²² Now when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the people of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah; and they were defeated. ²³ For the people of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of Mount Seir to utterly kill and destroy them. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they helped to destroy one another.”

 

Praise guarantees our victory. And this is why we give praise to God for the victory that Christ has won for us already. Hebrews 13:10-15 says: “We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat. ¹¹ For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. ¹² Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate. ¹³ Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp, bearing His reproach. ¹⁴ For here we have no continuing city, but we seek the one to come. ¹⁵ Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

 

Our victory has been signed, sealed and delivered to us through the finished works of Christ Jesus and that is why we praise Him all the time for it. So, praise is one of the principles of living in perpetual victory.

 

Number two: THE PRINCIPLE OF ACKNOWLEDGMENT

 

One way to live in perpetual victory is to continuously acknowledge it. Each time you see your school certificates: either primary, secondary or tertiary institution, it is an acknowledgment of the fact that you actually went to school. The school system gives you a certificate acknowledging the fact that you did pass through their school system and fulfill all the necessary requirements that warranted you being issued the certificate you are holding. This principle of acknowledgment is also important if we are going to live in perpetual victory.

 

Philemon 1:4-6 says: “I thank my God, making mention of you always in my prayers, ⁵ hearing of your love and faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, ⁶ that the sharing of your faith may become effective by the acknowledgment of every good thing which is in you in Christ Jesus.” Our victory in Christ must be constantly acknowledged. This is how to sustain our victory.

 

Number three: THE PRINCIPLE OF SURRENDER

 

This principle does not mean that you give up or you are defeated by challenges or difficulties confronting you. Because naturally, that is what the word ‘surrender’ connotes. The Principle of surrender when it comes living in perpetual victory simply means: “giving over to a powerful, higher presence.” In other words, Christ has won the victory for us according to Romans 8:34, and therefore, we are more than conquerors through Him. The principle of surrender then connotes that you simply surrender to Christ so that you can be a part of His victory and all that He has done. 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, Galatians 2:20 says:

 

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. ⁸ Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. ⁹ And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore, most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰ Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

 

 

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.”

 

The above Scriptures gave us a picture of a surrendered life in order to live in perpetual victory in Christ Jesus. So, if Christ says you are more than conqueror through Him, what more battle then is remaining for you to fight? All you just need to do is to surrender to Him and you continue to enjoy the victory that He has won for us already.

 

Number Four: THE PRINCIPLE OF ABSOLUTE DEPENDENCE ON GOD

 

We have heard with our ears, O God,
Our fathers have told us,
The deeds You did in their days,
In days of old:
² You drove out the nations with Your hand,
But them You planted;
You afflicted the peoples, and cast them out.
³ For they did not gain possession of the land by their own sword,
Nor did their own arm save them;
But it was Your right hand, your arm, and the light of Your countenance,
Because You favoured them.

⁴ You are my King, O God;
Command victories for Jacob.

 

Now from the verse we read above, it was obvious that God was the one who gave them the land. There was no record whatsoever that these people did anything. The victory they had was won for them by God Himself. What does this then connote? There are certain battles you cannot win except the Lord fights for you. There are certain territories you cannot conquer except the Lord conquers it for you. What do you need to do then? You just need to absolutely depend on Him to help you.

 

⁵ Through You we will push down our enemies;
Through Your name we will trample those who rise up against us.
⁶ For I will not trust in my bow,
Nor shall my sword save me.
⁷ But You have saved us from our enemies,
And have put to shame those who hated us.
⁸ In God we boast all day long,
And praise Your name forever.

Psalm 44:1-8

 

 

Number Five: THE PRINCIPLE OF FAITH

 

“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ⁵ Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

1 John 5:4-5

 

Sustained faith in God brings about sustained victory. Partial faith in God brings about partial victory. No faith in God at all would only amount to a life of struggle and frustration. Psalms 34:5 says “they looked to him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed.”

 

Number Six: THE PRINCIPLE OF OBEDIENCE

 

“Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God, to observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the Lord your God will set you high above all nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, because you obey the voice of the Lord your God.” “The Lord will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways.”

Deuteronomy 28:1-2, 7

 

I believe you have learnt something.

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Obayomi Abiola Benjamin!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!