From Victim To Victor!
John 10:10
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
KJV
Life is full of transitions from one thing to another. Transitions are nothing more than changes in direction that occur because of circumstantial changes that enter into our lives. For example, a person transitions from childhood to adolescence because of puberty, a person transitions from adolescence to adulthood because of maturity, a person transitions from adulthood to death because of life!
Transitional changes are nothing to be afraid of; rather, we must teach ourselves to become accustomed to change because it will most certainly come and transitions will follow. A songwriter wrote a great hymn of the church and said,
Time is filled with swift transition-Naught of earth unmoved can stand-Build your hopes on things eternal, Hold to God’s unchanging hand.
We must take comfort in the fact that even though life will bring change and transition, we can always rely on God not to change! In fact, God will always remain the same even when we leave this earth and join Him in the celestial realm of heaven, He will still be the same God.
It is God whom we must trust when the circumstances of life begin to usher in change and transition. We must trust that the omniscient, all-knowing God knows exactly what He is doing. We do not, and will not always comprehend or even understand His plan for our lives, but we must be willing to accept the changes in faith, and deal with the transitions in faithfulness to Him, trusting that He is in control.
But God does not ask us to trust Him without leaving us a promise to live by. We find that God has given us a Word from the treasure chest of His grace to help us walk faithfully to Him as He leads us and guides us through life’s maze of change and transition. The bible says in,
Rom 8:28
“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
KJV
God wants you to know that He has got you covered if you trust Him! He wants you to know that the changes and transitions in your life are not happening to hurt you; rather, they are happening to better you, if you trust Him! God wants you to know that if you trust Him and love Him, He is using your changes and transitions in life as instruments of growth to make you better.
In our text today, we find that Jesus Himself is teaching His disciples a lesson about change and transition. He begins lesson in verses 1 through 9 introducing the concept of being submissive to leadership that has been established by God. Jesus talks about,
- The validity of the Shepard – Verses 1-2: Sent by God
- The responsibility of the sheep – Verses 3-5: Hear His voice
- The purpose of the Shepard – Verses 7-8: Lead and guide
- The promise to the sheep – Verse 9: Good pasture
Why is Jesus teaching this lesson? Because verses 1 through 9 prepare us for what is coming in verse 10. He is teaching us that God’s plan for our lives is ultimate victory, but the thief/devils plan for our lives is to make us his victims. But God does not want to us to live our lives as victims, He wants us to live our lives as victors; therefore, we must know how to make the transition from victim to victor.
The thief/robber (stealth/violence) is definitely coming; “The thief cometh…” vs. 10, he is coming and is already here.
The thief is on a threefold mission to try and send you and your children to hell, he wants to victimize you by:
- Stealing Your Peace – Doubt=Lack of trust in God’s plan and direction
- Killing Your Potential – Fear=Inability to move on God’s promises (Petrified)
- Destroying Your Posterity – Inaction=Killing of offspring by leaving no inheritance
Even though we have all been victimized in one way or another, we have not been called to be victims. I don’t care what your situation in life looks like right now; you were not born to fail. You were born to win, you were designed for greatness, and you were built for power.
The thief wants you to believe that your life is over before it even begins, he wants you to give up before you even get started, he wants you to surrender the war before you even fight a battle, he wants you to be his victim. But God has made a way in the last part of our verse for you to overcome the victimizations of the thief, so that you can make the transition from victim to victor.
The thief wants to steal your peace, but Jesus said, “…I am come…” (I am here, presently) in other words you don’t have to doubt what God is doing your life, because the Shepard is in the field! He is present and on the scene!
The thief wants to kill your potential; but Jesus said that He wants you to, “…have life…” This means that God has not only given you potential, but He commands us to do what it takes to reach our potential. He came so that we could reach our potential living a sold-out, spirit-led, joy-filled life with God right now! The word life in this verse is the Greek word, “Zoë”. This means the very essence of life, in other words, the opposite of death. You cannot reach your potential in life, if you are dead in living!
The thief wants to destroy your posterity, he wants to destroy your future, but Jesus said that He wants you to not only have life, but to have it “…more abundantly…” This literally means that He wants you to have the kind of life that will never run out! Abundant life, that lets you know that you may at times be victimized by the devil; but you will always have the victory in Jesus Christ!
I want that kind of victory in my life! Things may go wrong in life, circumstances may cause you trouble, life may victimize you, but you can still get the victory just like Jesus did!
