Battle Plan For Victory Series

Battle Plan for Victory

James 4:7-10

In 331 B.C. Alexander the Great was marching to take over the world. He had one more enemy to conquer in order to vanquish the mightiest kingdom of the day Persia. The Persian army was led by king Darius. Darius was a ruthless leader, just like Alexander. The two men and their armies met at the battle of Gaugamela.

Alexander the Greats army consisted of 7,000 cavalry and 40,000 infantry. Darius and the Persian army numbered 35,000-50,000 cavalry and anywhere from 100,000 to 800,000 infantry. Alexander was greatly outnumbered.

But Alexander came up with a Battle Plan that would prove to be fatal for king Darius. Alexander allowed his right flank to peel off and pull the left flank of Darius’ army away from their main force. When that happened a small gap opened up in the Persian battle lines. This allowed Alexander and his crack cavalry to gallop through the opening and attack and crush king Darius himself.

Even though Alexander was greatly outnumbered his battle plan gave him victory over his enemy.

Ladies and gentlemen if you and I are going to win this battle against Satan and his forces here on earth then we must follow God’s Battle Plan for Victory.

If we are to win over temptation and find victory here on earth then we must realize that we are in a war.

The forces of evil have lined up against us and they don’t care what temptation it takes to get us or what sin ensnares us. And if the Christian doesn’t figure out their in warfare then they are more trapped then they really know. The problem with most Christians is they feel to see that failing to follow God’s Battle Plan actually leads to following Satan’s plan for their life.

Well how can we tell when we are being attacked by the enemy? Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Whenever an impediment to usefulness is pleasing or gratifying to you, consider that it came from Satan. Satan never brushes the feathers of his birds the wrong way. He generally deals with us according to our tastes and likes. He flavors his bait to his fish.” Prayer, and Spirtual Warfare, pg. (538)

We are in a war a struggle within and that struggle leads to seeking worldly pleasures and when a believer does that they are quenching the power of the Holy Spirit working in their lives. Now James blows the trumpet call to all believers, he says, “If we are to have real victory over our enemy then follow the Battle Plan.” Heed the call believers so that your life can really make a difference for all eternity. Notice with me the two calls of God in the Battle Plan for Victory.

I. The Call to Submit (v.7) Here we see the first call in the life of victory. If we are to live a life that really matters for God we must submit to God. The word submit is a word some believers have taken out of their vocabulary. It means to obey, be a subordinate, to line up under, or my favorite, “to get into proper order.” It is a military term.

We must also understand that we either submit to God’s will or we submit to self-will. And that submission to self-will is exactly what the devil wants us to do. Because self-will is Satan’s will for our lives.

The believer then must submit to the Savior. Notice how we do this:

A. Submission to the Savior (v.7a) Many people today believe in a God, a Supreme Being. That one day they will be with God when they die. They are uncertain that they can know this God or that God wants to get involved in their lives.

This submission really means that a believer submits to what is going to govern their lives. This is a question of Lordship. Who is my Lord? Can I do what I want to do or do I have to do what God says?

General William Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army. He was a Godly man who submitted to the will of God all his life. Later in life he lost his eyesight. His son, Bramwell, was given the task of telling his father that he would never see again. When William Booth heard he would never see again, he asked his son, “you mean I shall never see your face again?” “No sir, not in this world.” General Booth then said this, “I have done what I could for God and for His people with my eyes. Now I shall do what I can for God without my eyes.”

When we line up under the authority of the Lord of our lives nothing will stop us from fulfilling His plan and purpose for our lives. If we’re to have victory over the enemy in this life, we must be willing to follow God by submitting to the Savior. . Is Jesus your Lord?