- Ephesians 6:12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
In the world people live while achieving their goals by way of competing, fighting, and struggling against each other to produce winners and losers. Therefore, a loser says, “I lost because that person is strong,” feels victimized and gets discouraged. However, the way people succeed and win in God is different. It is not a way in which people win by contending with people and it is not a way in which people lose by fighting against people. That is a competition that is disconcerting just to look at and that is an unfair way.
’Victory and success’ by God’s laws, reason, and order is for each person to win in the fight against various things present in their life.
- It is to win and succeed by fighting evil and unrighteousness with your own righteous actions.
- It is to fight with and struggle with time. It is to win by keeping the time 100% through being diligent.
- It is to win by repenting for your sins.
- It is to win and succeed by fighting against Satan, the world, your physical nature, wicked people, and unrighteousness while [at the same time] doing the work you should do.
- It is to win and succeed by making sure to pray [at each time].
- It is to be victorious in love by loving God, the Holy Spirit, and the Lord.
- It is to win while giving glory to God, the Holy Spirit, and the Lord.
- It is to win while taking action on God’s Will such as evangelizing, delivering the Word, testifying.
No matter who you are, if you do your very best, each of you can 100% surely win and succeed according to your level. However doing [anything] 100% is not easy to do. It doesn’t happen easily but you will achieve it as much as you do.
Each person received their rewards from God because they each fought and won with their thoughts and with their actions against situations in their lives and for the sake of their missions. You should not [think or say], “I got second place because of that person. I got third place [because of that person].” Such words are said only in physical races or competitions of the world.
Spiritual battles are different. It is for each person to listen to ‘God’s Word’ and fight and struggle to keep and take action according to that Word in their daily lives and their everyday lives. It is for each person to fight and struggle to raise their level. Therefore, it is within range of what you are capable of doing. So if you want to win, you will win.
It is to fight with the ultimate things you should do in your daily life. If you wake up 100% at the right time at predawn and pray, then you have won in that area. Anyone can do it if they try! No matter who they are, if they pray sincerely, then all [such people] have won 1st place and achieved victory. No matter who you are, since you are the one who committed the sins, if you received forgiveness by repenting 100%, then you have defeated Satan, defeated your physical nature, and won 1st place as God wanted you to do. If you did not sin at all that day, then you have won with righteousness that day. If you did the work you should do even though you did not want to, then you are a winner. You should do the work you should do but do it at the right time. Only then will you win. You should do the work you should do but do it ‘diligently’ at your peak level. Only then will you win. Each person knows whether they did the work they should do at the right time with diligence at the 1st place level or [they did it] ‘late’ with ‘average [effort]’ at ‘the 2nd place level.’
You are ‘a 1st place level winner’ if you did [the work] at the right time, diligently, and flawlessly.
Even if each person fights with the world, Satan, wicked people, unrighteousness, and their physical nature against ‘circumstances in their lives’ and for their mission, there are times when they will have conflicts with their brothers in words or actions. At times like this you have no reason to have conflicts in words or actions if everyone does according to God’s thoughts. If all the cars drive correctly on the highway, there is no reason to have collisions, right? But if a few cars violate signals or speed limits, there will be collisions. The same is true with lives before God.
If all of us do according to God’s thoughts, there is no reason to have conflicts with our brothers. If, not only you but everyone drives correctly, car accidents will not occur. The same is true with driving your life and driving your faith. It is to fight each day with the work you should do in your life that day. It is to win 1st place in each area of life by doing your very best.
Even if you live only one day, there are many things each of you should do because you have to live while doing the things that are necessary to do. Yet, a day is limited to 24 hours. If you want to do a good job with one thing and use up even the time you should spend on doing other things in an effort to do [that one thing well], you will win only with that one thing but be unable to do other things.
Let’s say that you are trying to succeed and win in the following three areas: Praying at the right time at predawn, listening to the Word, and thanking and loving God. You have to do all three things in order to be successful and victorious. However, if you fail to do other things while [spending time] praying, then you will lose in the other areas.
Your life’s destiny, your faith are affected tremendously by how you conduct your thoughts, your actions, and time. Therefore, you have to do a good job with ‘managing time and piloting your faith.’ You have to live a life that succeeds and wins while [at the same time] taking action at the right times by doing this skillfully.