In Baseball; a game is forfeited when the opposing team is no longer able to play. In Basketball; a game is forfeited if the opposing team doesn't show up within 15 minutes, actions prevent the game from being played or they refuse to play after being instructed to do so by the referee. In Football; a game is forfeited when a team cannot field the minimum number of players required. In card games or board games; a forfeit occurs when the opponent simply quits. By definition, can we really say in these instances, there was a true victory?
Victory is the act of defeating an enemy or opponent in a battle, game, or other competition. In order to have victory; there needs to be a battle. In order to be victorious; there needs to be an opponent. If you win by forfeit; there was no real challenge, which means there was no true win.
I get asked why God would allow the enemy to be ruler of this world or "god of this age" (2 Corinthians 4). Though there's infinite revelation in what happened in the garden; our focus shouldn't be questioning why there's an enemy, but rather receiving the solution. You see, if Satan was taken out of this world, how could you be more than conquerors; like it says in Romans 8? With what or whom would you be over-comers? You would have no victory because there was no opponent or battle. The slap in the face lies in Satan still being here, but continually under your feet!
When you receive Christ, your eternal salvation is secure; you will be with Him for eternity in heaven. However, that doesn't guarantee you will rule and reign; either in heaven or here on earth. Reigning with Christ is more than being saved; it means you consecrated God in your heart (Joshua 3:5) and you fought the good fight of faith, suffering with Christ (Romans 8:17 "And if we are [His] children, then we are [His] heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory.") Ruling and reigning means you've received abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness; not just once when you got saved, but it's your lifestyle. The irony of it all, is that God gives us the ability to fight then He rewards us for doing what he gave us the ability to do to begin with.
God created us to be warriors! Our fight of faith is God training us for a war that's already been won; but we MUST allow our minds to be renewed to His truth. Otherwise, we’ll walk in fear instead of triumph. We cannot LIVE victoriously over sin, sickness, depression, addiction, physical diagnoses or any other evil unless our hearts are fully surrendered and our minds renewed to His truths. Every believer will receive rewards; not all the same, but to rule and reign in life doesn't mean you trusted God in a particular moment for a particular thing. It means you dedicated your entire life to following Him and your heart is in position of trusting Him fully.
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