We Win, So Stop Living Like You’re Defeated

by Allen White


But thank God! He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ. So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless. 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (NLT)


Okay, we’ll start this morning with a little etymology lesson (not entomology – that’s bugs). The word enthuse, is built on the Greek word for God, theos. To be enthused is literally to be “in God.” That’s a lot to be enthused about.


Paul’s last word in this letter to the Corinthian church follows a very long passage about the hope of future resurrection. The short of these 58 verses is “We win, so stop living like you’re defeated.” Nothing done for God goes to waste.


Are you living like a winner or a loser? Some say, “Well, it doesn’t matter if you win or lose…” Yeah, losers say that. You’re a winner. You don’t have to worry about losing.


We can even afford to be enthusiastic when things don’t appear to be going our way, because in the end, we win. We can be generous with forgiveness, because sin has been defeated, and we’ve been forgiven for all of our sins (Ephesians 4:32). We can be generous with our earthly resources, because God has generously provided for us and has much better things in store in Heaven (Matthew 6:19-20). Rick Warren puts it this way, “It’s not a sin to be rich, but it might be a sin to die rich.”


We can be enthusiastic about our prayers, because we know that they will be answered (Psalm 17:6). Or, we can watch a lot of cable news, get ourselves worked up into a frenzy that the country’s going to H-E-double hockey sticks in a hand basket, and dig a bomb shelter or something. Put a helmet on!


But, we’ve won. This is an occasion for excessive jubilation in all that we do. God is with us. We are in God. We are en-thused.


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