There is a strange honesty in the way life feels.
No matter who you are, or where you’ve been, there comes a moment when you look at the landscape of your existence and whisper something with a sinking heart:
“In the struggle of life, nothing is favored for my success or well-being.”
That’s how it feels.
It feels like the deck is stacked against you.
It feels like the winds blow hardest in your direction.
It feels like your weaknesses are exposed while everyone else’s strengths seem magnified.
It feels as though every step forward comes with two steps back.
It feels like the battle lines were drawn long before you arrived on the field—and not in your favor.
Some of you feel this in your finances.
Some feel it in your family.
Some feel it in your body.
Some feel it in your mind.
Some feel it in your spiritual life, where the same temptations seem to return with renewed strength, and the same discouragement whispers the same tired lies:
“You’re not enough.”
“You’ll never get free.”
“You’re always behind.”
“You’re fighting alone.”
There is a heaviness to that kind of thinking.
And for many, it’s not theoretical.
It’s Tuesday morning.
It’s 2 a.m.
It’s the doctor’s office.
It’s the marriage conversation.
It’s the job you lost.
It’s the child who wandered.
It’s the habit that won’t break.
It’s the voice inside your own soul saying, “I don’t think I can win this.”
And then, right as you try to steady your footing, the world adds something else.
A growing scandal, now in every headline: professional athletes—men and women at the height of their craft—caught in game-fixing and betting schemes.
Fights thrown.
Outcomes purchased.
Referees influenced.
Entire seasons revealed to be fraudulent.
People are outraged because the competition was not real.
The outcome wasn’t decided by skill or strategy or strength.
It was decided in a back room, long before the competitors ever took the field.
And I must tell you something today:
the outrage makes sense—because we believe deep down that real battles should be fair.
But here’s the surprise of the gospel.
Here is the revelation Scripture wants to give you.
In the kingdom of God, the fight is rigged too—just not the way you think.
From earth’s perspective, it looks unfair against you.
But from heaven’s perspective, it is unfair for you.
God has tilted the field.
God has weighted the scales.
God has stepped into the ring.
And before you ever threw a punch, before you ever swung a sword, before you ever prayed your first prayer or took your first trembling step of faith—
the outcome was decided.
You do not fight for victory.
You fight from victory.
And if you will receive this truth into your bones, it will change how you face everything in life.
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Let’s go back for a moment to that feeling:
“In the struggle of life nothing is favored for my success or well-being.”
That is the confession of the natural heart.
That is the testimony of the human viewpoint.
That is what your eyes see, what your history tells you, what your disappointment suggests, what the world teaches.
But faith does not begin with what is seen.
Faith begins with what God says.
And God says something different—something defiant, something bold, something that runs directly against every discouragement, every fear, every lie the enemy has ever spoken over you.
God says:
“If I am for you, who can be against you?” (Romans 8:31)
Do you hear the tone of that?
Not a question seeking information.
A question dismantling fear.
A question rebuking despair.
A question that lifts the believer’s chin toward the throne of heaven and says:
“Look again.
Look higher.
Look deeper.
You are not as outmatched as you think.”
Because when the Almighty steps onto the battlefield, the battle loses all balance.
When the Creator fights for the creature, the outcome can only go one direction.
When the Lion of Judah roars, every other voice in the valley falls silent.
When the King of Kings moves His hand, no enemy can stand.
That is why the Bible so often speaks in past tense about battles not yet fought.
Joshua stands before Jericho, staring at walls that scrape the sky, and God does not say, “I will give the city into your hands.”
He says:
“See, I have given Jericho into your hand.” (Joshua 6:2)
Before the trumpet sounded.
Before the marching began.
Before a single stone trembled.
Victory before battle.
David walks into the valley where Goliath is boasting and snarling, and every soldier is trembling behind the rocks.
David is outmatched, outmuscled, out-experienced—and God tips the scales with a single truth:
“The battle is the LORD’s.” (1 Samuel 17:47)
Victory before battle.
Jehoshaphat wakes up to see three nations marching against him.
He is surrounded, overwhelmed, trapped.
But heaven sends a message:
“Do not be afraid… the battle is not yours, but God’s.”
(2 Chronicles 20:15)
Victory before battle.
And then the greatest of all—
the cross.
Hell believed it had arranged the ultimate unfair fight.
The sinless Son of God nailed between criminals.
Mocked.
Bleeding.
Seemingly abandoned.
But the moment Jesus cried, “It is finished,” the scales shattered.
The fight flipped.
The serpent’s head cracked.
Death lost its crown.
Sin lost its authority.
Satan lost his legal claim.
The greatest unfair fight in history turned out to be the greatest victory in eternity.
And that victory is not a story to admire.
It is a reality you stand inside.
This is where the gospel becomes intensely personal.
This is where theology becomes oxygen.
This is where Scripture becomes not merely truth—but survival.
Because when you say,
“In the struggle of life nothing is favored for my success,”
heaven answers:
“Child, everything that matters most is already fighting for you.”
You think the visible world is tilted against you.
Heaven reveals that the invisible world is tilted for you.
The Spirit intercedes for you with groanings too deep for words.
Christ intercedes at the right hand of the Father.
Mercy follows you.
Goodness chases you.
Grace covers you.
Angels surround you.
Providence arranges what you cannot see.
And the same power that raised Jesus from the dead—Scripture says it plainly—
is living in you.
It’s not fair.
And that is the beauty of it.
The devil is not fighting a fair fight.
He is fighting a losing battle.
He is fighting a finished story.
He is fighting a child of the King who carries resurrection power in jars of clay.
And that is why the enemy works so hard—not to defeat you—but to deceive you.
He tries to make you forget the advantage you carry.
He tries to make you think your fear is stronger than your Father.
He tries to make the fight look even.
But it never is.
When God is on the field, there is no even match.
There is no equal power.
There is no balanced contest.
It’s never a fair fight.
Not for the enemy.
Not for the darkness.
Not for the grave.
Not for the chains that once held you.
Not for the past that tries to haunt you.
Not for the sin that tries to cling to you.
Because the power that sustains you
is greater than the power that opposes you.
You may feel outnumbered—
but heaven is counting differently.
You may feel outmatched—
but the match is already over.
You may feel unsupported—
but the whole kingdom is leaning in your direction.
And once you see this—
once this truth enters the bloodstream of your faith—
you begin to walk differently.
You begin to pray differently.
You begin to stand differently.
You begin to breathe differently.
Because you finally realize:
You are not fighting for victory.
You are fighting from it.
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When the people of God begin to see life through the lens of heaven and not earth, everything changes. The ground you walk on seems the same. The responsibilities you carry remain. The challenges don’t instantly vanish. But something within you awakens with a deeper certainty: “God has already decided the outcome.”
This does not make you careless; it makes you courageous.
It does not make you passive; it makes you peaceful.
It does not make you arrogant; it makes you anchored.
It does not make you reckless; it makes you rested.
Because when you truly believe that the battle is the Lord’s, you stop obsessing over your own insufficiency and start marveling at His sufficiency.
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YOU FIGHT DIFFERENTLY WHEN THE FIGHT IS FIXED
Think of it this way: if you recorded a championship game that your team won, and you sat down later to watch it with someone who did not know the outcome, the two of you would watch in completely different emotional worlds.
They would gasp when the ball is fumbled.
You would smile.
They would panic when the opponent gains ground.
You would sip your drink.
They would slump when a key player is injured.
You would reassure them, “Just wait.”
They would shout, “It’s over!”
You would whisper, “It isn’t.”
Why? Because you know the ending.
You don’t deny the struggle, but the struggle doesn’t dominate you.
You don’t pretend the danger isn’t real, but the danger doesn’t define the destiny.
You don’t ignore the conflict, but the conflict loses its power to control your emotions.
Your heart is steady because your knowledge is secure.
This is exactly how the Christian life is meant to be lived.
God invites you to walk through today knowing the outcome of tomorrow.
He calls you to face the enemy knowing the enemy has already been disarmed.
He calls you to look at your weakness knowing His strength is already present.
He calls you to walk into the valley knowing He has prepared the victory before you ever arrived.
This is why Scripture uses the language of triumph even in the midst of trouble:
“In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.”
(Romans 8:37)
Notice the phrase “in all these things.”
Not after these things.
Not beside these things.
Not in spite of these things.
In them.
In the storm.
In the sorrow.
In the confusion.
In the temptation.
In the weakness.
Even there—especially there—you stand as more than a conqueror.
How can that be?
Because the victory is not measured by what surrounds you.
It is measured by Who surrounds you.
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THE UNFAIR FIGHT OF SPIRITUAL WARFARE
Now let’s lean deeper into the mystery of spiritual warfare. Many believers carry a private fear that the forces of darkness possess power equal to or greater than their own. They imagine the Christian life as a cosmic tug-of-war where God is pulling on one end of the rope and Satan is pulling on the other—and they feel like the rope is slipping through their hands.
But that is not the biblical picture.
The devil is not God’s rival.
Hell is not heaven’s equal.
Darkness is not light’s counterpart.
Satan is a created being, utterly dependent upon the breath that God allows him to continue breathing.
He operates by permission, not by authority.
He attacks by deception, not by dominion.
He tempts by suggestion, not by sovereignty.
The real battlefield is not power vs. power—it is truth vs. lie.
And this is where the fight becomes unfair.
Because lies crumble instantly in the presence of truth.
Darkness disappears the moment light is turned on.
Fear evaporates when love is perfected.
Accusation dissolves under the blood of Christ.
Condemnation collapses under the verdict of justification.
It is never a fair fight.
Satan cannot uncrucify Christ.
He cannot unresurrect Jesus.
He cannot unjustify the believer.
He cannot unwrite the promises of God.
He cannot unseal the Holy Spirit.
He cannot undo the cross.
He cannot reopen the grave.
Everything the enemy uses against you is temporary, but everything God gives you is eternal.
This is why the apostle John can say with absolute certainty:
“He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
(1 John 4:4)
He does not say, “He who is in you is slightly stronger.”
Or “He who is in you is competitive.”
Or “He who is in you has the upper hand.”
He says greater.
Infinitely.
Absolutely.
Eternally.
And if He is greater, then every battle you fight is fought on a tilted battlefield.
Tilted toward victory.
Tilted toward hope.
Tilted toward deliverance.
Tilted toward freedom.
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THE UNSEEN ADVANTAGE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
But there is another layer to this: the Holy Spirit.
When God placed His Spirit within you, He gave you the greatest unfair advantage in the universe.
You are not merely a forgiven sinner—
you are an inhabited vessel.
God does not coach from the sidelines;
He indwells from the inside.
He does not shout instructions from a distance;
He whispers strength into the cracks of your weakness.
He does not critique your technique;
He provides your power.
He does not point at the mountain and say, “Climb.”
He moves with you, in you, through you—and sometimes He lifts the mountain out of your way entirely.
This is why Paul can say:
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
(2 Corinthians 3:17)
Not because the environment is favorable.
Not because circumstances improve.
Not because the crowd cheers for you.
But because God in you becomes freedom around you.
In the struggle of life, everything visible may seem against you.
But everything invisible is for you.
If you could see what heaven sees—
if the veil were torn back for even a moment—
you would fall to your knees in worship.
You would see angels encamping around you.
You would see the Spirit interceding within you.
You would see Christ advocating for you.
You would see the Father delighting in you.
You would see mercy following you like a shadow.
You would see goodness overtaking you in quiet corners of your day.
You would see providence arranging the invisible intersections of your life.
And you would say with trembling joy:
“I am not fighting alone.
I have never fought alone.
And I will never fight alone.”
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THE ENEMY’S ONLY STRATEGY: MAKE YOU FORGET THE ADVANTAGE
This is why the enemy’s primary strategy is distraction and deception.
He cannot defeat you, so he tries to make you believe you are defeated.
He cannot remove your armor, so he tries to make you forget to wear it.
He cannot silence God’s promises, so he tries to drown them out with noise.
He cannot undo your identity, so he tries to make you doubt it.
He cannot stop the Spirit within you, so he tries to blind you to His presence.
Satan’s greatest fear is not your weakness but your awareness.
If a believer ever wakes up to the reality of what God has placed within them—
hell trembles.
If a believer ever stops fighting for victory and starts fighting from victory—
chains break.
If a believer ever sees the battlefield through heaven’s eyes—
courage rises.
If a believer ever realizes the fight is unfair—
the fight is finished.
This is why Paul tells the Ephesians:
“Stand.”
(Ephesians 6:11,13,14)
He doesn’t say, “Flail.”
He doesn’t say, “Panic.”
He doesn’t say, “Swing wildly.”
He doesn’t say, “Try harder.”
He says, “Stand.”
Why?
Because you don’t win the fight by overpowering the enemy;
you win by standing in the victory Christ already secured.
Standing is an act of defiance.
Standing is an act of faith.
Standing is an act of remembrance.
Standing is an act of worship.
Standing says:
“Christ has already won this.
I refuse to surrender what He has purchased.”
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THE FIGHT OF FAITH IS THE FIGHT TO REMEMBER
The real struggle of the Christian life is not muscle—it is memory.
The battle is not whether you are strong enough;
it is whether you can remember Who is strong for you.
The fight is not about performing better;
it is about believing deeper.
The enemy knows: the moment you remember who your Father is, the moment you remember who lives inside you, the moment you remember the empty tomb—
the imbalance of power becomes obvious.
And suddenly you see it:
It’s never been a fair fight.
Not then.
Not now.
Not ever.
The enemy never had a chance.
Because Christ never fought to see if He would win.
He fought to reveal the victory He already carried.
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When a believer realizes that the battle is fixed in their favor, a quiet strength begins to rise. Not arrogance, but assurance. Not pride, but peace. Not recklessness, but resilience. And this strength reshapes how you face every moment of your life.
Because if the outcome is already settled in Christ, then your steps—even your trembling steps—are not taken toward uncertainty, but toward fulfillment. You are not walking into the unknown; you are walking toward a victory that has already been spoken over you.
Let’s go further. What does a believer look like when they finally internalize the reality that the fight is unfair… in their favor?
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A BELIEVER WHO KNOWS THE FIGHT IS UNFAIR WALKS DIFFERENTLY
Think of Joshua circling the walls of Jericho.
A military commander walking around a fortified city with no weapons drawn, no siege towers built, no battering ram raised. It looked foolish to everyone else—but Joshua walked differently because he had already heard from God:
“I have given you the city.”
Jericho’s walls didn’t fall after Israel shouted. They fell after Israel believed. The marching was not a military tactic; it was an act of trust. It was the physical expression of an invisible confidence.
When you understand that God has already gone ahead of you, your obedience takes on a new character. You don’t obey because you fear failure; you obey because you trust the One who has secured the future.
You walk differently because heaven has spoken.
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A BELIEVER WHO KNOWS THE FIGHT IS UNFAIR SEES THEMSELVES DIFFERENTLY
This is one of the most transformative aspects of gospel confidence.
You stop defining yourself by: your past mistakes,
your present weaknesses,
your fears,
your failures,
your limitations,
your doubts.
Because those things—real as they may be—are not the determining factors of the fight.
Christ is.
There is a moment in David’s life that reveals this truth with breathtaking clarity. When he stood before Goliath, Saul tried to offer him armor, weapons, and the logic of human warfare. But David knew the fight wasn’t fair—not because he was strong, but because God was present.
He said:
“You come to me with sword, spear, and javelin… but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts.”
(1 Samuel 17:45)
In other words:
“You are fighting with weapons.
I am fighting with God.
And that changes everything.”
When you know who stands with you, you see yourself differently.
Your weakness doesn’t disqualify you.
Your youth doesn’t diminish you.
Your scars don’t shame you.
Your brokenness doesn’t sideline you.
The unfairness of the fight is your greatest strength.
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A BELIEVER WHO KNOWS THE FIGHT IS UNFAIR APPROACHES SUFFERING DIFFERENTLY
Here is where the gospel becomes profoundly tender.
Some of the deepest battles of life cannot be solved with a shout, a stone, or a march around a wall. Some battles involve grief. Some involve illness. Some involve unanswered questions. Some involve a journey through a wilderness that seems too long and too barren.
But even in suffering, the unfairness of the fight remains.
Because suffering is never the final word.
Pain is never the defining identity.
Loss is never the end of the story.
The resurrection stands in the background of every sorrow, quietly declaring:
“This is not how your story ends.”
The Spirit stands within you, whispering with unbreakable gentleness:
“You are not walking through this alone.”
And the Father stands above you, promising with eternal certainty:
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Suffering is real.
But despair is a lie.
Because Christ is risen—and that shifts the fight forever.
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A BELIEVER WHO KNOWS THE FIGHT IS UNFAIR SEES TEMPTATION DIFFERENTLY
Temptation is not a test of your strength;
it is a test of your dependence.
When you feel the pull of old habits, old wounds, old patterns of thinking, old fears—your instinct may be to fight harder in your own power. But your power was never the determining factor in the fight.
The victory over temptation was secured before the temptation even arrived.
When Jesus faced the devil in the wilderness, He did not fight with clever arguments. He fought with identity and truth.
The enemy said, “If You are the Son of God…”
And Jesus responded with what God had already spoken:
“It is written…”
You overcome not by mustering strength but by remembering truth.
Not by outperforming the enemy but by outbelieving him.
Not by wrestling in the flesh but by standing in the Spirit.
And every time you stand, every time you resist, every time you choose Christ over the lie—heaven smiles, because you are participating in a victory that has already been given.
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A BELIEVER WHO KNOWS THE FIGHT IS UNFAIR FACES THE FUTURE DIFFERENTLY
Most people face the future with uncertainty—because they think the outcome depends on them. But not the believer. Not the one who sees life through the eyes of victory.
Jesus said:
“Take heart; I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33)
Not will overcome.
Not might overcome.
Not try to overcome.
I have overcome.
Past tense.
Finished.
Completed.
The world is still filled with trouble, but trouble no longer holds the final word.
Your future is anchored not in your performance but in Christ’s perfection.
Not in your endurance but in His faithfulness.
Not in your potential but in His promise.
And that makes the future something astonishing:
not a battlefield to fear, but a territory to claim.
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WHAT GOD HAS BEEN TRYING TO SHOW YOU
Let’s gather this together, because this is the hinge of the entire message:
You have been fighting battles God already won.
You have been fearing enemies God already disarmed.
You have been dreading outcomes God already settled.
You have been carrying burdens God already lifted.
You have been rehearsing failures God already forgave.
You have been hiding from sorrows God already redeemed.
The unfairness of the fight is not meant to confuse you—it is meant to free you.
Free you from striving.
Free you from shame.
Free you from self-reliance.
Free you from despair.
Free you from perfectionism.
Free you from fear.
God has not called you to win;
He has called you to walk in His victory.
God has not asked you to manufacture strength;
He has asked you to receive His.
God has not commanded you to overcome by your might;
He has commanded you to stand in His.
And when you finally accept this—when you let this truth settle in your soul—you begin to speak differently:
“I am not overwhelmed… I am overshadowed.”
“I am not abandoned… I am accompanied.”
“I am not defeated… I am delivered.”
“I am not fighting upward… I am fighting from above.”
Because it’s never been a fair fight.
Not for you.
Not against you.
But for you, because Christ is with you.
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THE FINAL DECLARATION
Let this be the anthem of your spirit:
“The enemy does not determine my outcome.
The grave does not determine my future.
My weakness does not determine my worth.
Christ determines everything—and Christ has overcome.”
You do not stand in uncertainty.
You stand in victory.
You stand in the shadow of an empty tomb.
You stand in the strength of a risen Savior.
You stand in the love of a faithful Father.
It’s never a fair fight.
Not now.
Not ever.
Because the power that fights for you is greater than the power that fights against you.
And once you know this—
really know it—
you will never walk the same again.
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APPEAL
There are people in this room who have been fighting in their own strength—exhausted, discouraged, worn thin by battles they were never meant to carry alone. You’ve been living as though the outcome depends on you. You’ve been believing the lie that nothing in life is tilted in your favor.
But heaven is leaning toward you today.
The Spirit is drawing you.
The Father is welcoming you.
The Son is standing for you.
And Christ is whispering into the deepest part of your heart:
“Let Me fight this.
Let Me carry this.
Let Me decide this battle in your favor.
Come stand in My victory.”
If you need strength for a battle, courage for a valley, forgiveness for a past, or hope for a future—the invitation is open.
Stand in His victory today.
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CLOSING PRAYER
Father, thank You that You never ask us to fight alone. Thank You that victory was secured at Calvary, sealed at the empty tomb, and delivered to us through Your Spirit. Help us believe what You have already spoken. Help us stand in what You have already finished. Help us walk with confidence, courage, and calm assurance—knowing the fight is never fair, because You fight for us. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
