Please read the following Scripture because it contains an extremely valuable lesson concerning total victory:
About that time King Herod Agrippa began to persecute some believers in the church. He had the apostle James (John’s brother) killed with a sword. When Herod saw how much this pleased the Jewish people, he also arrested Peter. (This took place during the Passover celebration. ) Then he imprisoned him, placing him under the guard of four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring Peter out for public trial after the Passover. But while Peter was in prison, the church prayed very earnestly for him. The night before Peter was to be placed on trial, he was asleep, fastened with two chains between two soldiers. Others stood guard at the prison gate. Suddenly, there was a bright light in the cell, and an angel of the Lord stood before Peter. The angel struck him on the side to awaken him and said, “Quick! Get up!” And the chains fell off his wrists. Then the angel told him, “Get dressed and put on your sandals.” And he did. “Now put on your coat and follow me,” the angel ordered. So Peter left the cell, following the angel. But all the time he thought it was a vision. He didn’t realize it was actually happening. They passed the first and second guard posts and came to the iron gate leading to the city, and this opened for them all by itself. So they passed through and started walking down the street, and then the angel suddenly left him. Peter finally came to his senses. “It’s really true!” he said. “The Lord has sent his angel and saved me from Herod and from what the Jewish leaders had planned to do to me!” When he realized this, he went to the home of Mary, the mother of John Mark, where many were gathered for prayer. He knocked at the door in the gate, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to open it. When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed that, instead of opening the door, she ran back inside and told everyone, “Peter is standing at the door!” “You’re out of your mind!” they said. When she insisted, they decided, “It must be his angel.” Meanwhile, Peter continued knocking. When they finally opened the door and saw him, they were amazed. He motioned for them to quiet down and told them how the Lord had led him out of prison. “Tell James and the other brothers what happened,” he said.(Acts 12:1-17 NLT)
Think about it, nothing in this world or the demonic realm could stop what the Lord had in store for Peter. Peter overcame and was protected from all obstacles until he reached his final destination in safety. Just look what he had to go through:
• 1 King
• Multitude of Jewish Leaders
• 16 Soldiers
• 2 Chains
• 2 Guard Posts
• 1 Iron Gate
• 1 Door Gate
• 1 Confused Servant Girl
• Group of Doubting Brethren
Only Peter himself could of stopped short of getting past every obstacle. That is so true of what Christians have to go thru in life. So many stop short before they get to the final victory. They think that all it takes is one or two prayers. They fail to recognize that the chains may have fallen off, but they still have more gates to go through before the total victory is theirs. Could you imagine if Peter did not continue to knock at the final gate door and just walked away in frustration. He would never of been able to deliver his timely testimony. Also notice how the angel told Peter to move quickly. Time was of the essence to escape the clutches of the enemy.
So it also is with sin. When battling so many sins in life, the total victory is not won until you learn to look at that sin the same way our Lord does with hate. We may temporarily overcome the sin, but continue to battle the lust for it. Not until we truly hate the sin and cultivate a distaste for it will we have gotten past every obstacle to that sin. We must never stop short until we get the total victory and every obstacle is past. Too bad most Christians always stop short and wonder why they still are plagued by a habitual sin years later. Also, many Christians entertain the sin and do not address it quickly. The more the sin is played with, the harder if becomes to break away from it.
Total victory does not just concern sin, but the same goes for anything we try to achieve as Christians. It could be a healing, a deliverance, a job, to see a loved one saved, or anything we set our sights on as Christians.
In conclusion, I hope this gives insight of why you may be battling certain things in life and wonder why you never get the total victory you so desperately need. Desperate needs require desperate actions. Use the tools the Lord provides. Scripture, prayer, fasting and fellowship without letting up may be necessary. Allowing weariness to set in is not an option. Please do not stop short until the final obstacle is past and total victory is won. Just remember, Jesus went all the way to Calvery for us and did not stop short until He declared, “It is finished!”
Annointing 