THE MAIN IDEA
A victorious life is only found in Jesus Christ! 

THE WORD OF GOD CALLS US INTO VICTORY
God alone is the One who gives the  victory. Humanity is obsessed with winning at all costs, but the victory that humans seek don’t  mean that much in the end. In Jesus’s eyes, there are no such things as winners and losers. Or to  be more accurate, because of the curse of sin, we are all losers apart from Jesus Christ, because  apart from Christ, we all lose to the curse of sin and death. There is only one victory that really  matters in this world and that victory is victory over sin and death. That victory is only found in  Christ Jesus (1 Corinthians 15:57), and by His grace, our Lord Jesus Christ continually calls us to  take part in His victory. The word of God calls all of us into the victory found in Christ Jesus  alone. 

FAITH IN GOD BRINGS US TO VICTORY
God alone is the One who brings us victory— the only victory that really matters—victory over sin and death. But God is also active in  bringing us victory in this life through all the many challenges and struggles that we have to face. God invites us into His victory, but He doesn’t call us to do nothing. If we want to experience His victory, we must do what God tells us to do, even if it makes absolutely no sense, and even if  we really don’t want to do it. That is obedience. Obedience is always born of faith. Of course, we  should exercise wisdom in a broken world, but our starting point should always be faith and  obedience. That is because God knows better than we do (Proverbs 3:5-6). Not only that God  wants what is best for us (Romans 8:28). When we act in faith, which is obedience, God will  bring us to victory in our trials and tribulations. 

THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD IS OUR VICTORY
The whole point of God promising  Israel victory and then giving them victory is so that “you will know that I am the LORD” (verse  28). There is a big difference between knowing about God, which ends in the head, and know  God, which lands in the heart. It has been said that the longest distance in the world is from the  head to the heart. To “know” God is to have a personal encounter with the living God—to  personally experience His goodness, His grace, His mercy, His forgiveness, His salvation, His  love in our lives. But sometimes, we might feel spiritually stuck. That happens when what we know about God is not making that long journey down to our hearts into knowing God  personally. And somehow it is always ourselves blocking the way. That is a dangerous place to  be. Because as with Ahab and Israel, God may find it necessary to allow a great disruption or  challenge or struggle in our lives to clear the path from our head to our heart. We clear that path  by not conforming to the pattern of this world, and by being transformed by the renewing of our minds in the Holy Spirit (Romans 12:2). And that knowledge—the personal knowledge of God  we receive—is our victory. 

DISCUSSION QUESTION
What is the greatest upset victory you can think of, or better yet, have been a  part of, and how did it make you feel? How has Jesus Christ helped you to achieve victory  over challenges or struggles in your life?