Moving From Victim To Victor

MOVING FROM VICTIM TO VICTOR

Psalms 18:1-5

Psalms 18:1-5 1 I will love thee, O LORD, my strength. 2 The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my buckler, and the horn of my salvation, and my high tower. 3 I will call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised: so shall I be saved from mine enemies. 4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. 5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death prevented me.

Roadrunner v. Wiley Coyote

1. Wiley had the best-laid plans. He invested in the most up to date gadgets in order that he might win the battle.

2. Yet the best-laid plans always backfired on poor ole coyote.

Now just for a moment lets parallel the life of coyote with our own.

1. The battle was not only a physical but a mental

2. …Keep in mind Coyote dealt with defeat everyday and sometimes several times everyday and that tends to play on ones mind and its in the mind

that most of our battles rage.

3. Coyote tried to handle things on his own.

4. No matter how many times he failed he still depended on his wit and will to win the battle

5. But Coyote was far to proud to seek help this was his battle and he would win it on his own. I can identify.

6. I am sure in the beginning ole Coyote thought this was no big battle

7. The no big battle theory does nothing but add confidence in our own strength.

8. The good news is there’s a way to turn your mourning into dancing and your sorrow into joy and there is a way to move from the victim to the victor!

First lets look at David the Victim.

4 The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. 5 The sorrows of hell compassed me about: the snares of death

prevented me.

A. No matter how you slice it David was as my dad used to say in a “heap of trouble”

B. Now we don’t have much problem admitting the victim part. In today’s society everybody is a victim…either a victim of somebody else’s doing

or a victim of our own doing

C. But David did not just play the victim role, David decided that he would much rather be the victor than the victim.

This message is for those who are tired of fighting a losing battle and want to move from victim to victor.

The key to my entire sermon is found in verse 6.

6 In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God.

Two keys tonight from moving from victim to victor

I. There must be a confession of

weakness.

1. David when finding himself in distress.

2. David when finding himself in a battle.

3. David when finding his mind being attacked with doubt and defeat.

Admits he is weak and

Cannot defeat the enemy.

4. The first step in moving from Victim to Victor is to admit our weakness.

A. Why must we admit our weakness because only

when we confess our weakness are we able to

possess His strength.

2 Cor. 12:9-10 New International Version (NIV)

9But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that 2 Cor. 12:9-10 Christ's power may rest on me. 10 That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties.

For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Notice the turnaround.

Verse 9 & 10 said His strength is made (complete). His strength is made complete in my weakness.

B. I CONFESS my weakness that I might POSESS His

strength.

The reason why a lot of US never move from victim to victor is because we refuse to admit our weakness. We are back to the Coyote syndrome of I can handle things on my own.

A. It is human nature to handle things in our own strength and NOT to admit we are weak

1. because we have come to believe that weakness is linked to failure.

B. But God’s way of thinking says to admit our Weakness

1. This allows us to possess His strength and His strength is not failure but success guaranteed.

The first key is to confess our weakness but there has to be more than just a confession. Then I must do the second thing David did to move from victim to victor.

Psalm 18:6. In my distress I called upon the LORD,and cried unto my God.