Download Never Give Up - the Christian Fellowship Church

In the movie “Galaxy Quest”, a great spoof on Star Trek and its fans, the catch-phrase is
“Never give up. Never surrender.” Even in the face of overwhelming odds, when you have no more
tricks to try, when you have no strength left, you still don’t give up. This sentiment is echoed in
Paul’s words in Romans chapter 8. Near the end of the chapter he discusses the various hardships
and dangers that surround every believer, asking the question “who shall ever separate us from
God’s love”. Then in verse 37 he completes the thought with “Yet all these things we are more than
conquerors and gain a surpassing victory through Him Who loved us.”
In 1 Corinthians 15:57, Paul says that God gives us the victory through Christ. In 2
Corinthians 2:14 he says that Christ always leads us in triumph. In 1 John 4:4, the apostle tells us
that we have already overcome the evil one. In fact, if you read through the epistles of the New
Testament, you will find that victory, overcoming and triumph are common themes. Because, you
see, we have already won.
Of course, you may not always feel like it. Sometimes you’re staring the devil in the face and
feel like a weakling. Sometimes temptations come that you feel you can’t overcome. Sometimes
people attack you and you feel much less than a victor. The problem is, our feelings, and even our
outcomes, don’t determine whether we win or not.
Most people view victory by earthly standards. You’re a victor if you overcome that
temptation, get the devil to flee or successfully choose love in the face of opposition. But those are
just small battles compared to the important one. Let me give you an example. In World War II,
Germany won many battles, however they lost the war because their enemy overran their capital.
In the spiritual world, the devil may win many battles against us, but his capital is overrun. Jesus
defeated him on the cross and if you are in Jesus and Jesus is in you, then the devil lost the war over
your life as well. What really matters is if you are condemned in the eyes of God. Those in Jesus are
not condemned, so Satan looses.
If that is the case, and I sincerely believe it is, then it is time we look at “failures” in a
different light. Just because you lost a small, or even big battle doesn’t mean you are a failure. After
all, battles don’t matter if the war is already won. That means that if you fall into temptation and
sin, you are not a failure. If you are praying for someone’s healing and it doesn’t happen, you are
not a failure. If you lose your temper with someone, you are not a failure. Why? Because you are
already a winner!
Please don’t misunderstand me. I am not diminishing sin. Sin is bad and must be dealt with.
It must be punished. Every time we sin, that sin must be paid for. It should be paid for with our
own lives, but Jesus paid for it all with His life. That means that no matter how bad sin is, it is not
true failure and we should stop looking at it that way.
Too many people get discouraged by the level of sin in their life. While we should never get
comfortable with sin, we should not let our failure in these battles discourage us from believing that
we have truly won the war. Rather than get depressed because we fell into sin again, we should
simply ask God for forgiveness through repentance and pick back up and start fighting again.
And if it is maturity you are dealing with, or perhaps trying to move in the gifts of the Spirit,
setbacks aren’t true failures. Just because you fail to manifest what you are hoping and praying for
doesn’t mean you ARE a failure, it just means you need more practice or growth. Don’t give up on
yourself when you fail. Failing is part of being human and motivation behind our eventual growth.
Failure is not really an option since we have already won.
So, never give up. Never surrender. Keep going. Keep moving. Keep fighting. Keep
growing. You’re not a failure, no matter how many times you fail. The only way to truly fail, is to
give up trying.