How Not To Snatch Defeat From the Jaws of Victory, Part 4
 

How Not To Snatch Defeat From the Jaws of Victory, Part 4

Today's Three-minute Bible Study
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Title: How Not To Snatch Defeat From the Jaws of Victory, Part 4----------------- Date: 6/09/2000
Keywords:    "endurance" "goal" "prize"

Welcome to eXXit, the web site designed to help you stand strong in the face of sexual temptation.

Passages: Hebrews 12:1-2*

1. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

2. fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Questions

1. Do you see your life as a race to a particular goal?

 

2. Do you see a grandstand of witnesses cheering you on or a tree full of vultures waiting for you to drop?

 

Practical help

This group of studies has looked at the problem of failing even after riding a wave of success for a season. Why does this happen?

In Part I of this study, we looked at Elijah as an example of the phenomena. Here was a prophet who had just defeated 300 of his closest enemies only to run into the desert at the threat of one woman.

Then in Parts II and III, we looked at the promise in Philippians 4:13 that should have kept us invincible but didn’t.

So what have we learned thus far?

  1. Past spiritual victories are no guarantee of future spiritual victories.
  2. There are no easy scripture promises that will remove us from temptation and give us what we want outside of God’s overriding will.

Today’s passage talks about running a race. Now I don’t mind a sprint now and then (although every year I would choose to have the distance a little shorter – for example I still consider myself competitive at distances, say, no farther than from my living room to the bathroom). But this is a race of endurance. In fact, this race is as long as our lives.

You see, sometimes we fall back into spiritual failure when we think the race is over before it’s over. It’s fantastic if you have not viewed pornography for a length of time longer than the time before. But that’s not the goal. So between now and tomorrow, think about what you are running for. What’s the prize worth laying aside the entangling sin of pornography?

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*"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."