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July 27, 2026 · 52 min · Longing
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Since 2000 Every Man Ministries has been activating men worldwide to live out their truest identity in Christ through its discipleship resources, live events, and steaming platform.
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The Longing for True Victory 0:00 I like 1 of my favorite movies of all time. And if you're familiar with the story, it's just about white and black kids coming together in the late sixties, and they're playing football together, and they have to get0:09 along with each other. And it's this incredible true story about how they start winning games on the gridiron, but the real victory, they're not winning. They're not coming together as brothers. And so they call a0:20 meeting, and they start talking about how in the midst of their winning season, they really need to win a secure victory with each other. Of talking about today in this0:31 longing series, what we all want, I think that that moment in the story reflects a lot of us. Where we're winning the battle of images, but in some area of our life, we're losing the battle of0:43 life, and we want a victory desperately. We really want to win a victory. And so that's what we're going to be talking about today, is the longing for victory. You know, if the if the the research is right, 9 out of0:55 10 of us means everybody pretty much to your right or left. They have an issue in their lives that they're walking around with that they want resolved. They would love relief. They would love rescue. They would love for,1:07 there to be a solution and for somehow God to intervene and change their circumstances. But I think we all have experienced this. Tell me if I'm wrong. Where there's an1:19 ongoing issue in your life that stays unresolved. Time passes, And then it sorta starts to change your thinking. The circumstances don't change. And then you start changing the way you1:31 think about yourself, the way you think about your spiritual journey, maybe the way you think about God, maybe what you think about that issue. And you become vulnerable to these other thoughts where it's just like,1:41 maybe this is the way it's always going to be. Or maybe I'm not going to change. Or maybe that person's not going to change. Or maybe my my my spouse isn't going to change. Whatever the issue is and1:53 whatever lie we believe, it's not true. Why? Because God's a part of your story. When God's in the mix, he's able to take your perspective on2:05 what's going on here. And because he's God, intervene, not in the absence of your issue or circumstance being resolved, but in the presence of it. And as I was thinking about this2:17 longing for victory and how all of us have some issue in our lives where we'd love to see resolution, and our circumstances change. It reminds me of when my son, who's now 23, but when he was 6, he saw2:29 1 of those kitty bottles of Motrin on the counter and it was orange flavor. So he saw it and he's like, candy. Drank the whole thing. Alright? And then my wife sees the,2:41 the bottle turned over. By the way, she hates when I tell this story. She sees the bottle turned over, and then I get the call from the neighbor. Ryan's in the emergency room, and so she rushes him to the hospital. I2:52 come from work. I'm driving to the hospital. And I get to that moment where I kinda bust open the ER doors, and I turn to the left, and there's my guy. And there's Chrissy behind Ryan's head just saying, it's gonna be3:04 alright, honey. It's gonna be alright. There's grandma saying the same thing and grandpa saying the same thing. And then I walk in. I'm totally helpless. He's terrified and disillusioned. He's in heavy Velcro straps on3:16 a backboard turned sideways. His nose is bleeding because they shove this nasogastric tube down his nose to go to his stomach. There's this black liquid going in to soak up the toxic, you3:28 know, medicine to try to soak it back up. And and there I am and there he is, and it's like, what do you do? So I stick out my hand like this, sort of like I'm a Jedi, and I said,3:39 Ryan, your dad's here. It's gonna be okay. Right? No response. So I get a little closer. I'm like, Ryan, look at me. Look at me. Your3:51 dad's here. It's gonna be okay. And then sort of a little bit of relax, but still fighting it, and I said it 1 more time. I said, son, look at me. Your dad's here. It's gonna be okay.4:03 And I I just watched this victory unfold in the midst of no tubes coming out, no Velcro straps coming off. I watched my son exhale and take a deep breath and just go.4:18 Nothing had changed. But the presence of his father and the promise of his father in the midst had totally brought him the victory of peace in the midst of a very4:30 terrifying and a very disillusioning moment. And I think that's where a lot of us are sometimes. It's hard to surrender in the midst. It's easier to be afraid and try to run ahead of4:41 God. Sometimes it's easier to just go, you know what, God? You don't know what you're doing. I know how to get my needs met, and you know better, and you take command of the situation. But you know what? God has a4:53 victory in store, and it doesn't have anything to do with your circumstances resolving. And I know that's hard for some of us. It's hard for me to stomach the fact that maybe God doesn't want to resolve and5:05 change my circumstances and maybe he wants to change me. And maybe he wants to give me a victory that looks a little different than what I think ought to happen, and then there's what he's5:16 planned to happen. Because I gotta confess that many days I feel like Ryan in that Unplanned, unwelcomed, unwanted thing is happening in my life, and I want relief5:29 now. I want the straps to come off now. I wanna conquer that thing that is in my life now. And then God says, well, Kenny, what if5:41 you had rescued Ryan before the team was able to do what it needed to do? You would have sabotaged the real victory, which is saving your son's5:53 life. Like, okay. So, Lord, if if the straps need to stay on a little bit longer, that's fine. If if I still gotta have the tube down my nose,6:04 fine. If you got a bigger plan and wanna save my life, fine. God wants the bigger victory for me in the midst of adversity or a challenge, not in the6:16 absence of it. And that's really the supernatural life. Just like Ryan, God replaced his panic with peace through the presence and promise of his father. And when you read the Bible, you see very6:28 quickly that either with his people as a collective or with individuals in the Bible, the personal resolution of their circumstances isn't like his number 1 priority. It's just not. There are people in6:40 need. There are circumstances that are happening, but what you do read is that there is a real desire on God's part to reveal himself in the midst. And for there to be a6:52 revolution of purpose and power, not in the absence of adversity or because all the obstacles are removed, but in the presence of it. And God's7:03 people end up not getting relief here, but they transport into a different dimension. It talks about this in Isaiah chapter 40 verse 31. If you have your notes, you wanna pull those out. I'm gonna7:15 read from the scriptures. 1 of those moments where the circumstances aren't changing, but God is calling his people to live in a different dimension of victory. Isaiah the prophet says7:27 to a captive people, but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk7:38 and not be faint. Now there's a phrase in there that I want us all to say at the same time. The phrase is this, and you'll say it after I say it. In the Lord. Right. You notice7:50 it. Those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. Now God was speaking this truth, this promise of his presence, and that they could live in a different dimension. And and so God grabs the image of an eagle.8:03 Alright? Eagles are built to soar at 10000 feet. Eagles have broad territory. And and they they just kinda ride the thermals. And and God's just saying, hey. When when you're going through an adversity, just8:15 remember, you might be in a low circumstance, but you're connected to the most high God. You're not a low flyer. If you're in the Lord, you might be walking on earth, and you might have ups8:26 and downs. But you can live in this different dimension of God's purpose and plan and have the real victory because you're connected to me. Now my friend, Dan, he loves eagles. He actually traveled8:38 to an eagle habitat exhibit at the zoo. And so he gets there and he's all excited. He's gonna he's got this big just like 10 times bigger than this. But in the end, he kinda sees that there's this big black8:50 net up there. Alright? So he goes to the habitat and he's got the director meeting him there and he says, you know, see that eagle right over there? It's over on that branch about 10 feet off the ground. And the9:02 director goes, yeah. I see it. He goes, what would happen if the net came off this habitat? What would the eagle do then? You know what the director said to him? He goes, that9:14 eagle would stay right there. Because it has allowed its circumstances to tell it who it is, and it no longer thinks it's an eagle. It acts like a common9:25 pigeon. And when I read that verse that those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength, they'll mount up with wings like eagles. I think about that eagle, and I think, boy, here's a majestic created thing9:37 built to soar at a high level. And God calls us to be like that, to rise above and live in this dimension of victory in the midst of obstacles in earth9:49 and adversity. But a lot of times, like that eagle, we let our circumstances tell us who we are. And we let our circumstances lie to us. And we we begin over10:01 time when things don't resolve the way we think they ought to, or we don't hit certain goals at a certain time, then we start to think, gosh. I guess God doesn't care. I guess I'm just10:13 consigned to this. And we start thinking wrong thoughts about ourselves, about God, about about other people. But what I want you to hear is that there is this different dimension. There's a victory, not in the absence,10:24 but in the midst of your circumstance. So think about what that issue is in your life. Whether it's a nuisance or a problem or even a real crisis, you can live in the10:36 Lord's dimension and and mount up in the midst of it and have the peace and perspective of God. In the new testament, Jesus said this to his followers. He says, I have told you these things10:48 so that in me, you may have peace. In the world, you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world. There it is again. Jesus is saying, you know what? You're gonna be11:00 living on earth environment that is broken and it is full of trouble. But in me, you can have peace. Why? Because I've overcome the world. So Isaiah11:12 says, put your hope in the Lord. Jesus says, in me, you can have peace. And then we get this theme that begins to develop that, yes, Earth is broken. Yes, Earth needs to be redeemed. Yes, people are flawed. Yes,11:24 things don't work out the way we thought they did. Yes, we're in a circumstance we never dreamed we'd be in. However, in the Lord and in Christ, we can have peace. We can mount up with wings like eagles, and we can11:35 overcome. Why? Because we're connected to the most high God who is the overcomer. Can I get an amen? Because that is our God. That is our experience. That was the experience of Jesus.11:47 But we're we're wise to stick with Jesus. And here's the application just as we're starting this discussion of longing for victory and experiencing victory in our lives. Write this down. Man's victory is in the absence11:59 of adversity. Hey. God never says that. God never says, hey. You're gonna live the victorious Christian life in the absence of obstacles. Alright? God's victory, write this down, is in the midst ofGod's Victory in the Midst 12:11 adversity. And this is where we need to really dial in what it means to know and love Jesus Christ and walk with Him because He's the overcomer. He's the creator. He's the12:22 redeemer. He's the king. He's the creator. He's the vine. He's the potter. He's the shepherd. He's the 1 that we're connected to as we walk along in the midst of life and as we have12:34 our ups and downs. And in the midst of that adversity, we can connect with Jesus Christ and we can become conquerors. That's what the Bible says. It says, in all these things, right there on your notes, in all these12:46 things, might want to circle that, we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. Now, that's Romans 8 37 verses 35 and 36 talk about trouble,12:58 famine, nakedness, peril, sword. Then it says in verse 37, in all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who13:10 loved us. What does that mean? K. More than conquerors, it means, upereniche. And the only reason why I know that word is because I like, what does that mean? Once I looked up the words, it means super13:22 victorious. Where in the absence of all these things? No. In all these things. And so what is God saying through his word? What is God saying about a relationship with him and a relationship with Jesus Christ? If you13:34 know God, there's a victory waiting for you, not in the absence of the challenges that you face. There's a victory in the midst of the challenges that you face. You see,13:46 God can change you. He can change your circumstances or he can change both. But it's like man to want the circumstances to change. It's like God to wanna change13:58 me. Amen? Because the problem never leaves me the way it finds me. And God uses all those things, but it's kinda like, hey, God, you know, can you chop chop? You know? Speed it up a little bit, maybe? Did I learn that14:10 lesson yet? Right? I love what it says in 2nd Corinthians chapter 2, because it goes to this theme that God uses everything and he leads us to14:22 victory. It says this, but thanks be to God who always leads us. Might want to circle that. As captives in Christ's triumphal procession and14:33 uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere. The picture is of a roman victory parade. So you go conquer, you come back, there's this big parade, and you've14:45 got captives. Alright? And so there's the general, there's his troops, and there's the captives, and the captives are chained to the chariots of the victor.14:57 But in this picture, it kinda gets reversed and it says, you know what? If you're connected to Christ, you have a victory parade and he's always leading you in victory no matter what's going15:09 on. And so that's what we're going to explore. We're going to talk about getting a victory not in the absence of challenges, but in the midst of challenges. You know, there's a guy in the Bible who really needed to win.15:18 You know what his name is? Job. Now if you read that book, it's just like, honey, I had a bad day. Really had a bad day. The life that you knew, that's gone. We have a new15:30 life and there's nothing in it. Everything's gone, all the money, all the camels, all the sheep. I know you're not gonna like this. Oh, curse God and die? Oh, is that how you respond to circumstances?15:42 Is that how what we're gonna do? Is that how's it gonna And so they start to process, right? Don't you process when things are going wrong in your life? You're just like, why is God letting this into my life? Why did15:50 this happen now? What did I do wrong? What did that other person do wrong? And you start looking for reasons. And the backstory of Job is that God decided that he was gonna allow it to happen.16:02 Oh, interesting. Now, there's something interesting to achieve a greater purpose. And so Job does what most of most guys do. They start over processing. Wait. I said that wrong. Most girls over process, but16:14 Job does what most people do. They start you ever over analyze and start over processing and just like processing, like you you you're talking about it and pretty soon I run out of words and Chrissy just keeps over16:25 processing. It's just like, I don't know what the answer is. I'm just trusting the Lord, man. But you you you know that situation where you're16:37 just like, why? How come? Why now? What did I do? And you want an answer. You're searching for meaning, right, in the middle of your challenges. And Job is certainly 1 of those guys that needs him because it's16:48 unwelcomed, it's unchanging, and it's undeniable what's going on. So he's gotta get through it. How's he gonna do it? Well, then his friends come into the picture. They start processing. His wife says, curse God and die.16:58 Job says, though he slay me, yet I will praise him. He's trying to find faith in the middle of the circumstance. And then God just kinda gets spiritual heartburn at about chapter 38 of the book of Job.17:10 And just like, I'm intervening. This is giving me indigestion. And God just it says that God, the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. And so into the storm comes the17:21 voice of God, and God just starts reminding Job who he is. Were you there when I stretched out the heavens? Were you there when I laid the spans of the sea? And then getting into this dialogue, right around17:33 chapter 40 verse 8, God says a very interesting thing to Job. You know what he says? He said, would you condemn me to justify yourself? In other words, did I17:45 stop being good because I didn't change your circumstances? Very interesting phrase, and then god continues on. By by chapter 42, Job's like, okay. I I I got17:57 it. I got it. And then he says this, alright, and on your notes there. And this is our 1st theme of turning the corner. Job starts turning the corner. Write this down. When he starts getting God right.18:09 Alright? Write that down. If you're taking notes, write that down. And that's when he starts getting the victory. Job says to the Lord, I know that you can do all things. No purpose of18:21 yours can be thwarted. Sort of like, Job sort of taps out And he and he and he lets go of trying to over analyze it. He starts a dialogue with God in the middle of his desperation, and he18:33 starts turning the quarry the corner. And that that knowledge of God moves from up here, actually he lets it, he calms himself down long enough to let it fall into his chest. You18:45 see? And that's when God delights when we start getting him right. In the New Testament, Jesus bumped into a lot of religious people and18:56 try to and try to figure out why things were happening. But then he runs into this pagan centurion who gets it right because he's got a crisis. He's got an adversity and he needs a victory.19:09 And we pick up the story here in Matthew chapter 8. It says a a centurion came to him asking for help. Look, he said, my servant19:21 at home is paralyzed, suffering terribly. And Jesus said to him, shall I come and heal him? The centurion replied, lord, I don't deserve for you to come under my roof, but just say the word and my19:33 servant will be healed. For I, myself, am a man under authority with soldiers under me. I tell this 1, go, and he goes. And that 1, come, and he comes. I say to my servant, do19:44 this, and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel19:56 with such great faith. Would you say this with me? God delights when I get him right. So here is, here's a Roman centurion. He he needs a win. He's20:08 got a problem in his household. He encounters Jesus, sees that that Jesus is this is this man of God. He's the son of God. He has power and he's compassionate and he can change20:20 things. And he goes to Jesus and he says, hey, I got an issue. And Jesus says, do you want me to come to your house? He goes, nope. Because you can do anything. You you say the word20:31 and and my servant's healed. I I know what it's like to command things and I see in you that you can command healing anytime you want. You can command resolution anytime you want. You want something to change? Nothing20:42 can stop it. So since you're in command of everything, you just say it and it's done. And Jesus is just like, Wow. All those religious people in Israel, they don't see me the way you see me.20:55 I I'm so amazed. I'm so delighted that you got me right. So here is Job getting God right. Here's a centurion getting God right. And then the Bible encourages us21:08 to just get God right. In Revelation chapter 3 verse 7, it says this, these are the words of him, Jesus, who is holy and true, who holds the key of David.21:20 What he opens, no 1 can shut. Can we finish it together? And what he shuts, no 1 can open. And so the Bible says that if God wants something to happen, nothing can stop that. Now, let's pause a 2nd and let's talk about21:32 you. What is your unresolved thing? What is your issue that you would love to see a victory in? What he opens, no 1 can shut, and what he shuts, no 1 can open, which means that the outcome is21:43 in God's hands. God can do anything. And he delights when you get him right. So if you want to turn the corner to victory, you got to start letting God be God. What's that? He's in control. He's sovereign.21:55 He's loving. He's wise. Listen. He has your best interest in mind, secures my victory22:08 in the midst. My view of God secures my victory in the midst. Remember my story about Ryan? What was the victory? Terror and confusion and disillusionment needed to go away, and it needed to22:20 be replaced with peace. How was he gonna do that? At the presence of his father and the promise of his father, and he trusted me. You know what God's saying to some of you right now? You need to trust22:31 me. I know that your circumstances isn't the way you want it at the moment, but you can trust me. I have the victory in hand. So that's the 1st thing that Job does and the thing that we need to do. We gotta start getting22:42 God right. 2nd, Job starts owning his place. You can write that down, owning my place. You're gonna start turning the corner and getting the victory that you long for when you start owning your place.22:54 Job has this reflection. He's listened to God ask him a lot of questions when God speaks to him out of the storm. And then he's reflecting back to God the conversation, and he says this to God.23:06 He said, you, God, asked, who is this that obscures my plans without knowledge? Surely, I spoke of things I did not understand, things too wonderful for me23:18 to know. You said, listen now, and I will speak, and I will question you, and you shall answer me. Look at what Job says. My ears had heard of you, but now23:29 my eyes have, what? Seen you. Therefore, I despise myself, and I repent in dust and ashes. So eyes off of God and onto the23:41 gaps in his life, eyes back on God. And now he has this revelation in the midst of no relief of God. God's still God, and Job has a change of23:53 mind. It's like, you know what? God's in my life. God's a part of this story, and it starts traveling 18 inches down to his heart.24:06 Mind. I'm letting you be you and I'm gonna be me. There's you and there's me and I'm putting myself in this position, which is what is required for you to get the victory. The victory requires humility. Let's say that24:18 together. The victory requires humility. If you want God's victory in the midst of your life, you need humility. In fact, that's why the Bible commands this this attitude which makes the relationship24:30 work and gets God's resources flowing toward you. In 1st Peter chapter 5 verse 6, it says, humble yourselves, therefore, under, keyword, God's mighty hand that he24:42 may what? Lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. And so the Bible commands this not because God needs you to24:53 bow, but because that's how the relationship works. Humility is like the oil of a relationship with God. The Bible says that God's opposed to the proud, but he gives grace to what? The25:05 humble. Right? And so in order for us to turn a corner, we gotta get God right, and then we have to own our place. That's why in the Bible, there's pictures that put God in a certain position and us in a certain25:16 position. There's created, creator, and then there's created. There's potter, and then there's clay. There's vine and then there's branch. Right. There's shepherd and then there's that's right. So25:28 the Bible paints pictures where there is this relationship and only fear and pride can destroy it and make it something that it's not. Because for the created thing to experience the25:40 intention of creator requires humility. For the the the branch to experience the life and power in the vine requires humility. We have to abide. Right? That's what the Bible says.25:52 For the sheep to get the protection and the provision and the direction of the shepherd, we have to listen to the voice of the shepherd. For the clay to experienceShow more In this video 0:00 The Longing for True Victory12:00 God's Victory in the Midst26:00 Get God Right, Own Your Place40:00 Let God Use You50:00 Don't Limit God: Claim the GoldComments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
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