Resistance
There is Victory • Message 3
JC Thompson
February 16, 2025

Prayer Points for Prayer Time:

• Pray for people to stand firm in Christ’s victory.
• Pray for courage to follow God boldly.
• Pray that people will rely on God’s strength to overcome challenges.

Scripture Reading:

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
Colossians 2:13-15 (NLT)

A. Introduction

We are continuing our series, Resistance, because the moment you decide to follow God wholeheartedly, you will encounter opposition. The enemy doesn’t attack what isn’t a threat. If you're moving toward God, expect resistance.

Some of you know exactly what I mean. The moment you commit to praying more, distractions multiply. When you take a step of faith, doubt creeps in. When you step up to lead, insecurity whispers, "You're not enough."

Have you ever felt like the closer you get to a breakthrough, the harder the battle becomes? That’s not a coincidence—it’s a strategy.

But here’s the good news: Resistance isn’t a sign of defeat; it’s proof that victory is near.

Here’s the key:

Victory isn’t something you fight for – it’s something you live in. Jesus has already won, and today, we’ll see how to walk in that victory.

I think about Tom Brady and the Patriots being down 28-3 at halftime. It could have been easy to dial it in, but they were confident that they would be victorious no matter the circumstances.

I see Christians all the time living defeated lives, not recognizing the victory that is available to them through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.

Today, I want to talk about:

The Evidence of Jesus’ Victory:

1. DEFEATED
   (Colossians 1:15-16; 2:13. C/R: Hebrews 4:14-16)

Christ is the visible image of the invisible God. He existed before anything was created and is supreme over all creation, for through Him God created everything in the heavenly realms and on earth. He made the things we can see and the things we can’t see—such as thrones, kingdoms, rulers, and authorities in the unseen world. Everything was created through Him and for Him.
Colossians 1:15-16 (NLT)

This poem that Paul penned in an earlier portion of Colossians speaks to the fact that Jesus is the supreme being in all of the world. Everything was made through Him, and everything is for Him. Jesus and Satan are not equal in battle.

Some of you in here are going through real warfare and resistance in your own life. You are experiencing trials and temptations. For some of you, as you are taking steps toward God, Satan might be tempting you. You could have family or friends opposing you, you might be suffering physically or emotionally; and I want you to know today that you are not alone.

Satan is not the supreme being over all creation, Jesus is. But since Jesus became a human being, Satan was constantly in a struggle to kill Him. In fact, Satan was shooting bullets from the time that Jesus arrived on the earth as a baby. Satan threw everything at Jesus – temptation, opposition, betrayal, suffering – but Jesus never wavered. He stood firm, proving that He was victorious.

Satan attacked Jesus in the following ways:

Direct Temptation

1. Jesus’ temptation in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1-11)
   1. Wanted Jesus to doubt God and tempted Him in 3 ways:
      1. Physical Needs – “stones into bread” – lust of the flesh.
      2. Throw Himself off of the Temple and have God rescue You – lust of the eyes.

• Exchange the mission of God for the kingdoms of Satan – pride of life.

Opposition from People

1. Religious leaders
   1. Used the religious leaders to catch Him in a crime punishable by death (Matthew 9:1-8; Matthew 22:23-46; Mark 12:13-17)
2. Crowds
   1. Satan tried to get the citizens to throw Jesus off of a cliff. (Luke 4:23-30)
   2. He also used them to try and make Him king. (John 6:1-15)
3. His own disciples
   1. Peter rebuked Jesus
   2. Judas betrayed Him
4. His own family
   1. His brothers didn’t believe in Him (John 7:5)

Physical and Emotional Suffering

1. Betrayal
2. Abandonment
3. Torture and crucifixion

Demonic Influence

1. Herod’s infanticide (Matthew 2)
2. Jesus’ trial and the cross – Jesus was exchanged for a criminal.

Jesus faced constant attacks, but He never wavered, never stumbled, and never lost - He wasn’t shaken, even when the enemy threw everything at Him. You need to know that the enemy fights the hardest when victory is near. Because of that, we can trust Him!

So then, since we have a great High Priest who has entered heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we believe. This High Priest of ours understands our weaknesses, for he faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.  So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive His mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.
HEBREWS 4:14-16 (NLT)

Here’s a question: At what point did Jesus, in the midst of these “bad things,” seem worried or anxious? I mean, think about it… After miracles, He was opposed. They tried to trick Him regularly. Those closest to Him didn’t get it at times. And He was ultimately betrayed by one of His closest friends. Yet, He was in control and purposeful.

Satan thought he had Jesus at the end. As Jesus died on that cross, Satan must have put in some early celebration plans. Could you imagine the days after Jesus’ death? Hell was celebrating, and disciples were doubting. I can just see the band of the devil getting on the field, but there was still time on the clock.

I’d also like you to see that Jesus didn’t negotiate; He just straight-up conquered. Our victory is whole, full, complete, without blemish. One day, sin’s presence will be completely gone. Our victory will be wholly realized. We have no reason to fear; we have no reason to hesitate because He paid it in full!

Jesus decisively defeated the devil and overcame him at every opportunity.

Jesus didn’t just defeat Satan personally – He also took away the very thing that gives Satan power over us: our sins.

2. DISMISSED our debt.
   (Colossians 2:13-14. C/R: Matthew 12:36)

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.
Colossians 2:13-14 (NLT)

We were dead. This phraseology from the New Testament authors might be familiar, but it is meant to convey a point and grab your attention. Before Christ’s intervention in your life, you were dead.

But how?

The author here isn’t describing a biological death, but instead a spiritual death. Because of our sins, we are unable to trust God or live by His Word. We are powerless without Jesus.

This phrase, Jesus canceling the record of charges against us, I want to stop down on for a moment. Jewish scholars believe that God keeps a record of all the wrongs committed and I think Scripture gives evidence to this. Here’s one example:

“And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak.”
Matthew. 12:36 (NLT)

Grading on a curve

I learned recently that Greenville County only gives 50s as grades in school. No longer zeroes. But according to the Law of God, if you are 99.9% compliant, then you are guilty and fail.

This might surprise you, but I am a nerd. I love school. The opportunity to share with everyone else how smart I was compared to them was exciting. I know. Big deal.

In middle school, teachers began to do something unique: they called grading on a curve. If an assignment did not score 100, they would adjust the entire class's grades by a curve based on the highest score on the assignment.

Well, I got 100 on one of the curved assignments. Everyone was frustrated by my good grade because it meant that the standard for their grade on the assignment would not be relaxed. I did not like the pressure associated with making everyone else feel bad.

So, you know what I did the next time an assignment came? I missed questions on purpose in order to help my classmates. I know, noble move.

But then something interesting happened: Someone else made a 100. I was so frustrated that I missed on purpose, and someone else got the 100. I would never let that happen again.

I tell you that story to let you know that God does not grade on a curve. He has a standard, and that standard is perfection. Our sin is real and has real consequences. Our debt requires real payment.

Jewish literature speaks of a written record of wrongs being recorded. It is important to note that the holiness of God, dictates that we are morally blameless. If you are like me, you recognize that you don’t have a couple of sheets of paper up there; you have books and books and books of sin nailed to that cross.

That is the consistency and requirement in the Law. God sees all and does not grade on a curve. He takes that debt, every sin, every evil that has been committed, and Paul describes Jesus nailing it to the cross, signifying payment for all of sin. And that we are made alive together with Him!

Some argue against this because more good over bad should be enough, that God will graciously forgive without a need for someone to pay for the wrongs done. But when people describe heaven and what they want, they want 0% evil. They want all of the bad gone, and that is the type of heaven described in the Scriptures. So why would it be okay with our .0001% bad if we do not desire a heaven with any of that sin and evil in it?

Not only that, but we want a God of Justice. We want God to see every evil and make it right. But we just want that for everyone else and not us. We must feel the weight of our sin.

This is the type of Savior that we serve. When the Bible says that we are victorious, we are most certainly victorious. But we must not minimize that we were indebted to the devil; we were his slaves. The life of God was not in us until Christ intervened. There is a battle for our soul, and Christ is victorious.

Think about your book for a second. Our sin, our evil, puts us in spiritual prison, and the only way out is by someone paying the penalty for us. Jesus does that.

The enemy uses our debt to have power over us. But through Christ, that debt is erased and paid. He has no power over us, Jesus paid it all.

The debt was yours, but the payment was His. Another way to say this is that you owed, but He paid.

Not only did He erase our debt, but He also disarmed the enemy.

3. DISARMED the enemy.
   (Colossians 2:15. C/R: 1 Corinthians 15:54-57)

In this way, He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross.
Colossians 2:15 (NLT)

Paul wrote that Jesus disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. This is not in some invisible way, although that most certainly happened, but in a more visible, embarrassing way. He publicly shamed them as He was raised from the dead.

I can just imagine that feeling that reverberated in the unseen realm as the stone rolled away and Jesus walked out of that tomb. The tomb that the demonic realm would have assumed held their greatest victory, became their greatest embarrassment. Jesus shamed them through His resurrection.

Another translation says that Christ spoiled or divided the spoils of the enemy.

Spurgeon describes His victory and disarming of the enemy in the following way.

So what does it mean that Christ "divides the spoil"? First, it means that He has completely disarmed His enemies. Satan came against Him, wielding a sharp sword called the Law—its blade poisoned by sin, making every wound fatal. But Christ struck that sword from Satan’s hand, leaving the prince of darkness defenseless. His helmet was split in two, and his head crushed beneath a rod of iron.

Then Death rose to fight Christ. But the Savior seized its quiver, broke its arrows in half, and handed Death back only the feathered shafts—keeping the poisoned tips for Himself so that Death could never again destroy those He has redeemed. Sin, too, marched against Christ, but He tore it apart completely. Once Satan’s armor-bearer, Sin’s shield was cast aside, and it lay lifeless on the battlefield.                               —  Charles Spurgeon

Oh, the picture that sin, Satan’s tool to manipulate us, overpower us, burden us, shame us, destroy us, is completely made useless by Jesus. By Jesus’s victory we are in dependence on Him and have guidance and direction for our life. By Jesus, we have real spiritual power. By Jesus, we have a light and easy yoke. By Jesus, we are given righteous clothes rather than clothes of shame. Jesus is victorious over all of our foes.

There is still a battle. The enemy wants you to doubt this spiritual reality, and sometimes the weight of our struggles in this world can feel heavy, but Jesus has made another way available.

“Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:54b-57 (NLT)

What was supposed to shame Christ, became the shame of Satan. Jesus didn’t just eke out a win against Satan; He embarrassed him. He put His name and charges against you on the scoreboard of heaven, and it was a beatdown of eternal proportions.

Closing Reminder:

The demonic submit to Jesus, not to you. We don’t stand in our own strength—we stand in His authority. Victory isn’t about how strong we are; it’s about how powerful He is.

Takeaway:

You can’t earn what Jesus has already given. Jesus has given you authority – not to fight for victory, but to stand in His victory. You don’t have to fear Satan’s power, but you do need to stand firm in Christ’s strength. Not because of who you are, but because of who He is.

Through His finished work on the cross, they are under your feet.

How Do You Walk in Victory?

1. Know and Speak the Truth

• Victory begins in your mind. When the enemy lies, respond with the truth of God’s Word.
• Jesus didn’t argue with Satan in the wilderness—He declared, “It is written.”
• We need to grab a word of truth to believe before we feel its reality in our lives.

2. Walk in Authority

• You don’t fight for victory—you fight from victory.
• You’re not trying to win a battle; Jesus already won it. Stand firm in the authority He has given you.

3. Stay Connected to Other Believers

• You were never meant to fight alone.
• The enemy targets isolated believers—just like a wolf targets a lone sheep. But when you’re surrounded by community, you’re stronger.
• Practical Steps:
• Join a Group. Growth happens in community. Get connected with others who are fighting on the same squad.
• Go to Connect Track. Get plugged into our church and find your team.
• Take a deeper step. Let your group in on what you are fighting. Lead.

4. Pray with Expectation

• Victory is sustained in prayer.
• Don’t pray as if you’re uncertain—pray like you know the battle has already been won.
• Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us that when we bring everything to God, His peace will guard our hearts.

Final Charge:

Jesus has already won the victory—your job is to walk in it.

• Stand in truth.
• Walk in authority.
• Stay connected.
• Pray with expectation.

Victory isn’t a feeling; it’s a fact. The battle is won, the enemy is defeated, and Jesus reigns forever. So, live today like someone who has already won!