Welcome to the Victory Blog

Most people – even Christians – serve money, not God. We know what the Bible says, that we can’t serve God and money or mammon at the same time, but many of us still put money before God. It rules the world and most people’s major decisions revolve around it, yet many of us have no real deep understanding of what money is or how it functions.

“A prudent person foresees danger and takes precautions. The simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences” (Proverbs 22:3 NLT). When it comes to money, most people are simpletons in this very serious economic time. But a disciplined follower of Jesus is one who is marked by wisdom and walks a very different path. This series, and especially this message on Understanding Money, is meant to help all of us walk that path of prudence, going below what’s taught on the surface and getting informed about the history of money and how it really works.

Being diligent to get informed is one of the starting points of navigation I give in this week’s message to move you through this economic chaos, God’s way. Click here to get more points and to see money from a different angle.

Many Christians don’t want to think about the overall state of the economy. We know what it has come to, but we see it as something so far gone that we’re now overwhelmed to the point of ignoring it. That doesn’t have to be your position. As one who is becoming a fully committed disciple of Jesus, you have a viable solution because you serve a God who has real answers for everything!

We all know by now there is no earthly answer to the mess we’re in. The answer is found in scripture, and that is this:  “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and forgive their sin, and heal their land.” (2 Corinthians 7:14 NKJ)

Deciding to face the current reality of the economy is how you begin to actually deal with the economy. We’ll hear some difficult things throughout this message and the others to follow. Some of these things will shock us, clarify any doubts, or even confirm what we already know. My prayer is that we rid ourselves of any false perceptions we may have concerning our own country and that we get a deeper revelation of what God says about this subject so we can successfully navigate through it all according to His Word.

Click here to watch Part 1 in its entirety.

The power of the church is fully realized when the people within the church unite for the sole purpose of glorifying God. Victory World Church has been called to build strong families, to transform the community, to reconcile cultures, and to impact the world. We cannot successfully achieve these things, if we do not take inventory of where we are as individuals.

How can you ensure that you are partnering with the church? By following God’s calling over your life and understanding the power that is available to you when you join together with like minded individuals in understanding your purpose.

When we are willing to sacrifice our own desires, we are setting ourselves up to be used of God. It all starts with love. When we truly love others, we have a heart for service and an urgency to win souls for Christ. We desire to give of our time, resources, and possessions to help those in need.  We no longer think independently, but focus our efforts on our mission as believers purposed to reach the world with the gospel.

Listen to Pastor Dennis’ teaching on the power of the Church here.

Church is only half of God’s story for you. The other half is on the mission field right outside the church doors – where God expects you to live what you’ve learned while you were inside.  Week after week in church, so many Christians get built up on the wonders of Jesus and all His glory, but then that’s it. It stops there. The purpose of the Church is to equip you for what you need to do, which is hold Jesus up for all the world to see, not keep Him concealed or tucked away neatly within four walls.

The one question we need to ask ourselves after every message we hear in church is, “How can I take what I learned in here, out there?” As each of us increasingly acts on what we know, the Church body begins to reflect what it was always intended to be – united in thought and purpose (1 Corinthians 1:10 NIV). How are you doing on your part in this? If you’re connected to a church that feeds you well, how much do others on the outside reap the benefits of your fulfillment?

Many of us know why the Church exits. We understand that worship, ministry, evangelism, community and discipleship are basic purposes of the Church that train us to make Jesus known.  It’s great to be passionate about hearing His Word, but let’s be just as passionate about doing it. God has given us His Church to help us be successful.

Listen to Pastor Johnson’s teaching on the purpose of the Church here.

At any time if you’ve desired to get more involved in church, that’s an urge to pull away from selfishness and a longing to jump forward in your process of becoming a fully committed disciple of Jesus. God has a calling on your life; how can you operate in it if you’re just sitting in church?

God’s plan for His Church is about us, but not how we think. While most of us go to church for how it can serve us, God is focused on how it can grow us. He wants to mature you and equip you to do the work of His Ministry, and the Church is the training ground for that to happen.

When you understand God’s plan for the Church – why we go, how it works – you begin to better understand where you fit in it. There’s an incredible fulfillment that takes over your life when you lock in to a church that is alive and filled with Jesus. How and where do you start? Make yourself available to help or serve in any ministry, take classes that grow and change you, and get committed. You’ll begin to mature in very visible ways as you find yourself moving into the calling of God on your life. When you do this, you get strong and wise enough to defeat anything the enemy throws at you.

Get more on the plan of the Church here.

Cutting Church off is popular these days. People grow tired of this or that and feel the need to break away, thinking they can develop their relationship with Christ independent of His Church. But I’m not so sure we really understand what it means when we disconnect ourselves from it. The very foundation of the Church is Christ, the Son of the Living God (Matthew 16:16).

You could be in your lone corner of the world, on fire for God, but before long your fire will go out. You have no real power by yourself; you have power with people, and it’s the Church – not the individual – that has the power to change society.

Hebrews 10:25 reminds us, “Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.”

If you’re on a serious path to becoming a fully committed disciple of Jesus, what’s your relationship with His Church? Do you understand it? Knowing the price paid for it causes you to see it through brand new eyes. Click here for more in-depth on this message.

If you’ve accepted Christ as Lord, then His promises apply directly to you, and He says He’ll provide for our needs like no other can or will – even in a dead situation. So what’s preventing you from living like He’s your Radical Provider?

From an economy perspective, what’s bad now will be even worse in the days to come. There are no earthly solutions. God has the spotlight on us, and He expects our mode of operation to be the exact opposite of fear, worry and survival. When you’re in Christ, you don’t have to “survive.” You live for the will of God, whether you survive or not.

We can depend on Jesus to be our Radical Provider, but can He depend on us to have radical trust, radical priorities and to live with radical stewardship? Listen here for more on how to live and respond to the way Jesus taught concerning provision from God.

You don’t need a big, outgoing personality to be able to relate to people. You just have to genuinely care about others and make them priority. If this is a struggle for you, find all the encouragement, guidance and wisdom you need in the radical love of Jesus. It has the power to transform us into radical relators.

When we’re God-inspired in such a way that we make it a point to add value to people, no matter how undeserving the world labels them, we become radical relators like Jesus. How could He accomplish the extraordinary by relating to people in an ordinary way? Ordinary wasn’t sufficient enough. He had to be radical in his interactions with others in order to reach them, and He let love take the lead on His mission.

Pastor Colleen’s extension of the Radical Love message highlights several examples of how we can relate to people more radically, like Jesus. Watch it here.

If you want a better relationship with Jesus, jump into His Radical Love. Seek it out and study it. His is the ultimate bond of love, superior to any other you’ve known. It’s mind-boggling to even realize that this unending, perfect love of Jesus is aimed directly at us. But just as He so freely sustains us with it, He wants us to model it in our lives and share it with others.

How do we love like Jesus when we’re hurting? How do we do it when we’re ashamed, stuck or afraid and everything around us is opposite of Him? He knows what we feel today, but just as there is power in His name, there is also power in His love. We are overcomers because of His shed blood and sacrifice for us on the cross; we have victory because of His radical love! Believe that and then decide to be focused and pursue it.

This week’s message covers four dimensions of the radical love of Jesus. When you get a basic understanding of these four and apply them, you’ll experience full life and power in Christ. Click here to watch.

As we pursue Jesus, I believe one of our most consistent prayers right now should be for a true revelation of how radically powerful He is. When we get a deeper understanding of Jesus’ power, nothing in us can stay the same. Everything about us shifts as we become convinced that there really is more to Jesus than the images we’ve confined Him to.

All too often we know Jesus as our Savior, but we don’t bow to Him as the all-powerful Lord of our lives. Do you see Jesus as more than the baby in a manger, the humble one who died on the cross, or your forgiving best friend who you can always count on? Do you sometimes secretly regard Him as a weak entity who was beaten, bruised and killed, and in need of your worship? He doesn’t need us. We need Him. His name is the Word of God and He is the Word Made Flesh.

This weekend, Pastor Johnson painted a very clear picture of our Mighty Jesus, laying out implications of His radical power and how we can live by it. This message will stir you into truth about the Great I Am who is Lord over all. Click here to experience it.