Working The Word (Walking Away From Addiction Into The Sweet Arms of Jesus) Victory Through Jesus

By: Hanny Lynn Stearns

Fish N Loaves Ministries, Inc.

“Multiplying God’s Word Around The Globe”

 August 26, 2016

Victory Through Jesus

1 Corinthians 15:57-58

But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. 

This is one of those scriptures that gives us a promise and a victory declaration to speak out loud, or work over our lives – hallelujah! Instead of saying, “I’m an addict” we can say, “Thank You Lord that through Jesus You give me the victory. And because of Jesus I will be steadfast. I will be immovable. I will abound in the work of the Lord. I know that my labor in the Lord is not in vain.”

My friends, that is what working the word is all about. Saying it out loud and applying to ourselves, in faith every day. The more verses we can pick out to say every day the better. And even if we didn’t do so great one day, we can get back up in the race and keep on going – and be steadfast. We can be immovable. All we have to do is place our faith 100% in the word of God.

If we really do have faith in God and His word, there is no reason for anyone to ever fail because God’s word never fails. For example, if you were trying to quit smoking, you could do something like this. Every time you pick up a cigarette you say, “I’m free.” And every time you take a puff, say it again, “I’m free.” Keep saying it. When you buy a pack of cigarettes, say, “I’m free.” When you lay the pack down by your bed at night, say, “I’m free.” In time you will become free. If Jesus is your Savior, and you want to make Him your Lord, just trust in the power and authority that He already gave you and keep standing on and speaking out His word.

There was a man who approached our pastor with this very problem. He was addicted to smoking and did not think he could quit. He said he could not quit smoking no matter what he tried. Our pastor told him to never say “I can’t” again. Then he gave him the advice I just mentioned. Within two weeks, the man approached our pastor and said, “I’m free!” He had quit smoking and lost the urge to ever pick up a cigarette again! Glory to God.

We can do this for anything we have been struggling with. It can be food, alcohol, drugs, you name it. Keep saying His word out loud in faith – regardless of what has happened or how things look. In time you will see His word bud. Then it will spring forth and produce the sweet fruit of victory in your life. You see, God’s word is a seed. When you plant it in your heart in faith, over time, it will begin to bud and blossom. The word is also known as water. It is a seed that waters itself and produces a harvest in our lives. Our faith is what shines on the word in our lives and causes things to happen. I have seen it work for me again and again. If I miss it one day, I just repent and get back up and keep depending on God and His word. I depend on His Spirit. Look at this….

Zechariah 4:6-7

“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel:

‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’
Says the Lord of hosts.

‘Who are you, O great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain!

And he shall bring forth the capstone
With shouts of “Grace, grace to it!”’”

We will not be able to achieve success in our own strength. I have had to learn this hard way to be certain! But God’s Holy Spirit will get the job done. I can’t explain how He does it, but I stand forever amazed that He does. Glory to His name forever! Working God’s word works when we work it. But if we are watching TV, reading magazines and watching the news and weather, we will miss it. We must focus on the Lord and His word. We must spend time in His presence. That is the best place to be after all. There is no Christian on this earth who does not have the power and authority over the enemy and their flesh. They just have to use it.

The last part of today’s verse is a command. It is something the Lord is telling us that we must do. We must be steadfast. According to Webster’s Dictionary, this means to be devoted to something, or loyal – firmly fixed in place. Have you ever “dug your heels in” on something? You refused to budge. Well, this is the same type of thing. We should “dig our heels in” and refuse to be moved from our labor in the Lord.

We need to be immovable – refusing to budge. Again, it is a determined effort to remain steady on something. If it is to overcome an addiction, then that should be our stance. We refuse to give up until the thing is starved to death and no longer a part of our lives. The best way I have found to overcome an addiction – and I have had to overcome several, is to starve it. I had to be determined to get past it. God told me I could so I stuck with it.

Don’t feed the addiction. Feed your faith by working the word of God. In so doing, you will find out how God gives you the victory through Jesus Christ who lives in you – the hope of glory! Praise God!