Dispensations

I'm studying Ephesians right now and have come to verse 10.  In this verse we see the word dispensation.  What is a dispensation?  It is the Greek word is oikonomia.  It means the management of household affairs, or administration.  It's simply the rule of the house, the way things operate for this time.  It is used 4 times as dispensation (I Cor. 9:17, Eph. 1:10, 3:2, & Col. 1:25) and 3 times as stewardship (Luke 16:2-4).  Some translations will use the word stewardship rather than dispensation.  I use the NKJV, which is based on the Textus Receptus.  In Eph. 3:9 there appears a word for fellowship--koinonia.  But some translations are based on the Alexandrian text, which uses the word oikonomia in that verse instead  Just something to be aware of.  The NKJV reads, "fellowship of the mystery", the ESV reads, "plan of the mystery", and NASB reads, "dispensation of the mystery."

 

Heb. 1:1 – God works in different ways in different times. This does not mean that God tried one thing and it didn’t work so He tried something else. The reason for each of these periods is to lead man to the cross, until the final period where Christ will reign forever.

 

These dispensations help us understand the overall plan of scripture. They help us have a big picture perspective.  Understanding these dispensations particularly helps us understand how we are no longer under the law.

 

So, what are the different dispensations?  There are seven, here is a list.  I interpret them slightly differently than some.  You may ask, "who cares?"  Does this information really do us any good in our day-to-day life?  For one, I will use them to explain the Sheep and the Goats post.  And I see a very practical aspect applied to our parenting.  I will post about that soon.

 

1. Innocence (Gen. 1:28) – from creation to the fall. How long did it last? We don’t really know, but we do know it ended when they sinned. They were no longer innocent at that point.

 

2. Conscience/Moral Responsibility (Gen. 3:7) – from the fall onward. You now know good and evil, I will leave you to your conscience to choose between those. But man tends toward evil, so we get up to Gen. 6:5 and God says that ALL the purposes of man were evil continually.

 

3. Government (Gen. 8:15) – from the flood onward. After the flood there were consequences for evil. Man was still accountable to his conscience to choose between good and evil, but God added an incentive. He says that anyone that takes a human life will have his taken away. We see the value God is placing on human life here. If you can’t govern yourself, someone else will have to. See also Rom. 13.

 

4. Promise (Gen. 12:1) – from the call of Abram onward. This promise was not based on anything Abraham had done; it was unconditional. All Abraham had to do was believe. This promise is still available to us by faith, as well. So this dispensation, too, has not gone away. Gen. 12 & Gal. 3, 4. God is now teaching humans to trust in Him.

 

5. Law (Ex. 19:1) – from Mt. Sinai until Jesus (or specifically John the Baptist—Luke 16:16). Promise does not end and the Law did not bring justification. It brought a picture of the Savior. It brought many, many types and shadows to point us to the cross. You can study everything in the law, from the Sabbath, to the Feasts, to the elements of the Tabernacle, to the Dietary Laws, to the specific instructions to the priests on how to administer offerings, to the laws for declaring leprosy cleansed, and you will see Christ through and through. Beyond all the symbolism, the law was meant to frustrate man and show him he could never make it on his own, even with conscience and human government.

 

6. Church (Acts 2:1) – from Pentecost until the rapture. This is sometimes called the Age of Grace (I do not agree with this title) or the Dispensation of Faith (again, I don’t think this is entirely accurate), or the Dispensation of the Spirit. This is the mystery Paul is talking about, the secret that was hidden, not revealed in the OT, that Gentiles and Jews would be part of the same Body, and that the Spirit would indwell us. These were mind-blowing truths. This is one of the reasons Paul prayed for revelation for the people he was writing to. We need to pray this pray, too, that the Holy Spirit would open our eyes to these profound truths.

 

· Do we still have moral responsibility (#2)? Yes, but now we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, to give us the power to choose right and wrong, and our human spirits have been recreated in the image of Christ—it wants to follow after Him.


· Do we still have human government (#3)? Yes, we do, but if we walk according to the Spirit, we don’t have to be afraid of the government. If they put us to death for righteousness sake, the Bible says we’re supposed to be happy.


· What about the law? Does it still stand? I Tim. 1:8-10 says that the law is not for the righteous—we have been made the righteousness of Christ—but for the lawless, the ungodly, the sinners. The law still stands to point people to Christ, to show them their need. The law still stands as a standard in our world, that if people would follow it, our world would be a better place to live in. The law does not justify us, but it sets the standard and grace gives us the power to live it.

 

7. Kingdom (Rev. 20:4) – from Armageddon onward. The visible rule of the Lord Jesus Christ on the earth. We can see II Sam. 7:12-16, Is. 9:6-7, Luke 1:31-33, Rev. 3:21, and Matt. 25:31. He came once to die, the second to reign.

  

Now, the thread that is common throughout all these dispensations is grace. That is why I do not call the Church Age the Age of Grace. Every single age has been the age of grace. It was God’s grace that blocked Adam and Eve from the Tree of Life. He did not want them to live forever in their fallen state. It was grace that God had on Cain when He marked him and sent him away. It was grace that saved Noah and his family. Grace called Abram out of Ur. Grace redeemed Israel from their bondage to the Egyptians. Grace came and dwelt among us. Grace will rule on a literal throne forever and ever. The other side of this coin is faith. You can read about people of faith throughout all the past in Hebrews 11. Just like them, we are saved by grace, through faith, in whatever age we live.

The Wise and Foolish Virgins

Matthew 25:1-13

¹ “Then the kingdom of heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ² Now five of them were wise, and five were foolish. ³ Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them, ⁴ but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. ⁵ But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all slumbered and slept.
⁶ “And at midnight a cry was heard: ‘Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!’ ⁷ Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps. ⁸ And the foolish said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.’ ⁹ But the wise answered, saying, ‘No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.’ ¹⁰ And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut.
¹¹ “Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ ¹² But he answered and said, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.’
¹³ “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.

I have been pondering this topic of the race for many months now and I see how many things in the Bible tie into it. If you want to read my post on The Race, click the link. Paul compared our Christian life to a race. He said he was pressing on to win the race and receive the prize. Later in his life, he said he had fought the good fight, he had finished the race, and he knew the prize was awaiting him. He told us in Hebrews 12 how to run that race, how not to get tripped up.

This is important because I know that a lot of Christians don't view their lives as a race. Rather they view Christianity as a ticket to heaven, a "Get Out of Jail Free" card, and that is the extent of their relationship with God. They hear about God's saving grace and sit back and don't ever find out anything else about Him and His plan. They sit around and don't ever do anything, telling themselves and others that they aren't saved by works (which is true). They don't ever take the time to enter into relationship with God, they don't even know him. They are like a bride that had a wedding, but doesn't want to live with the groom.

I heard something recently that was great -

"Between conversion and resurrection is discipleship."

Salvation is not the end, it is the beginning. How is your race going? Are you a disciple or a convert? Are you moving forward or regressing? I don't believe you can remain stationary in this race.

That is why I want to bring up this parable of the virgins. This story tells us of the consequences of running the race well, or not running well.

The general belief is that the wise virgins are Christians, but the foolish are not. I don't agree. Another view is that they are all Christians, but the wise virgins are the ones that get raptured, the foolish ones do not. Again, I don't agree. There are just too many things in the Bible that indicate that the WHOLE church is raptured. And that is a topic for another post.

I believe that all 10 are Christians. First, because they are virgins, they are pure. When we get saved, we are made new, pure, clean. We are made the righteousness of Christ (II Corinthians 5:21). We didn't deserve or earn our salvation (Ephesians 2:8).

Next, notice that all 10 virgins have oil in their lamps. Oil in the Bible represents the Holy Spirit. They would not have the Holy Spirit if they were not saved. Now most who read this (and I did before, too) assume that the foolish virgins didn't have any oil (because of verse 3), but notice in verse 4 that the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. The vessel was apparently a separate container, so that they could keep their lamp full. And this is confirmed in verse 8 when the foolish say their lamps are going out. This tells me they did have oil at one time, but no reserves. Their lamps were lit, but they were going out. So they all started out with oil. They are all Christians that started out filled with the Holy Spirit.

Why did 5 of them get into the wedding and 5 did not? And what is the wedding? Revelation 19 tells of the marriage supper of the Lamb and the wife that has made herself ready. Verse 9 says, "Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!" I take this to mean there is really a literal wedding and marriage feast. And so only those that have made themselves ready get to enter. How do we make ourselves ready?

By keeping our lamps full of oil. This is walking in the Spirit (Romans 8:6, Galatians 5:16-26). Obeying the voice of the Spirit. Yielding in everything to the Spirit. Less of me, more of Him. This is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment decision. We don't just decide one day and then every day after that we are set. Again, it's not about starting, it's about finishing. There are many, many examples in the Bible of people that didn't finish well--Samson, Gideon, King Saul, Solomon, to name a few. These are to show us how NOT to live. (Romans 15:4)

Revelation 19:8 tells us that the bride is dressed in fine linen, clean and bright, and that linen is the righteous acts of the saints. So, you can't just sit still, you have to act! That is the only way you move forward in this race.

But...

You cannot just make up your own acts. This is what got Abraham in trouble. He had a son of his own will, Ishmael. That was not God's plan. Romans 14:23--whatever is not from faith is sin. What is faith? Faith is responding to God's grace. Is your action a response to God's grace, or is it an action to gain something from God, to get God to move? This is how you determine if it is of the flesh or of the Spirit. If it's in response, it's of the Spirit. If it is to gain, to make God pity you and do something for you, it is of the flesh. These works of the flesh will be burned up (I Corinthians 3:5-17). To obey is better than sacrifice (I Samuel. 15:22). You must be filling up with God's Word in order to know what His Spirit is asking of you. Remember my post on fruit? It fits perfectly with this post, click here to read.

Now, this does not mean that some of us attain perfection. Remember what Paul said in Philippians 3:12, "I have not achieved perfection." This is THE apostle Paul talking here. He wrote two-thirds of the New Testament, but he said he had not achieved perfection?!? None of us ever will. But notice his next statement, "I press on to possess that perfection." None of us will be complete and perfect until Christ comes back (Philippians 1:6). But we press on. This includes repenting when we fail (I John 1:9).

This is where it is helpful to know the difference between spirit, soul, and body. Our spirits are complete, they are made perfect. It is our soul that takes a lifetime to be regenerated, transformed, and sanctified. Our bodies on the other hand will be made perfect, in an instant, when Christ returns.

So those that sit around and say you're not saved by works, you are right. But that is justification and that is your ticket to heaven. However, your sanctification takes an effort on your part. It is the Holy Spirit that does the work, but you have to yield to it. This seems to determine whether you get in to that wedding feast or not.

Now is your chance. It's never too late. You can start moving forward in this race. You can fill up with oil. You can be ready for when the bridegroom comes!

So then, is this wedding one of the prizes that Paul referred to? Could it be one of the rewards? I don't know. This brings up an interesting question that may rattle you a bit. If you are like me, you have been taught your whole life that if you are a Christian you are part of the Body of Christ and the Bride of Christ. But Revelation 19 and this Parable of the Virgins seems to indicate otherwise. But don't listen to me, dig in and be like a Berean--search the scriptures daily to see if these things are so (Acts 17:11).

Why Did God Save You?

Why did God save you? Or rather, what did He save you for? Have you ever thought about it? There are general answers and specific answers, and this is beyond the basic answer of, "God is love, God saved me because He loved me."

Let's think about this a different way.

Why did you marry your husband? Why did he marry you? Was it so you could keep his house clean? Was it so that he could keep your car running right? Or move heavy objects around the house? How about opening those tough jars? Why did you have kids? Was it so there would be extra hands to help around the house? NO.

Relationship is primary. We married our spouses because we enjoyed spending time with them. We had kids to have more people in our family, to spend time with.

Marriage is the picture of our relationship with God, the church is called the Bride of Christ. See Ephesians 5. God wanted a family, that is why He saved you. See Galatians 4. He wants to spend time with you. He knows all about you, He wants you to know all about Him.

Let's flip this around--what if I never have time for my husband or kids because I’m too busy serving them. I'm doing the laundry, the dishes, the cooking, but never stop to spend any time with them. There’s not much relationship, is there? Many in the church are doing just that. They are in up to their eyeballs with service, but never make time for relationship with God. God wants Marys and Marthas, but Mary comes first. Read about Mary & Martha in Luke 10.

God wants to be your all in all. He wants to be the most important thing in your life. He will not take second place.

So, how do we spend time developing that relationship? Will it grow with a once a week meeting? (i.e. church) How would your marriage do, if you sat down to spend time together just once a week? How well would you know your children, and they get to know you, if you only saw them once a week?

Spend time with God in conversation. That can be prayer, He talks back through His Word and sometimes a still small voice. That voice needs confirming, most often through His Word, sometimes through experiences. I have a friend that wanted to bless a practical stranger, at the gym where she works out. She asked God to show her what flavor of ice cream to buy this girl, so that she would know God's love. She distinctly heard the word strawberry. She would never have thought of that on her own, my friend is a big-time chocolate lover. She bought the ice cream and sure enough, strawberry was this girl's favorite flavor. This opened the door for my friend to tell this girl how much God loves her, He loves even the little things about us, He cares about what flavor ice cream we like. This is an example of hearing from God that could not be confirmed directly in His Word, but was confirmed in a sure way.

Now on the topic of prayer--what is it? Again, back to the easily understood picture of the family. Do you get together to spend quality time with your husband and then run down a list of things you want from him? Things you want him to do? Does he take you out on a date night and then proceed to tell you he has a big meeting in the morning and needs his shirt ironed, and lunch packed? Or do you sit and complain to him of your miseries? "I’m not paid enough, I can’t ever catch up on the laundry, the kids are wearing me out!" Do you sit down with your kids and go through a list of what is to be expected of them? NO! You spend time with your spouse and kids getting to know them, talking about your dreams, ambitions, goals, sharing fun experiences together. There are times for requests, but this isn’t our primary communication! It should be the same with God. We spend time in His Word, getting to know Him. Not out of our sense of obligation to Him, not to be worthy, but to be in relationship. Not to complain, not to run down our list of wants, but to get to know Him more. And the more we know, the more we trust.

What other ways can we communicate with God? Through worship. We were created for His pleasure. Rev. 4:11 KJV Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created. This is not a forte of mine, I am not a gushy person. When I want to worship, I open the Psalms. I do sometimes listen to worship music, but I am very, very picky that the lyrics be scriptural—and a lot aren’t.

Study of His Word The Bible is God's Word, it is God speaking to us. You want God to talk to you more? Read more. He's given us 66 books that reveal Himself to us. All we have to do is open it up and we can hear from Him anytime. The Jews believe that study is the highest form of worship. Us Westerners think of learning and study as a chore, and we think it ends when we finish school. In the Jewish Talmud, the term education was synonymous with "heavenly work." Yes, it is work. You have to work at your marriage. You have to work at being a good parent. If we don't put in any effort, then we don't really love.

Action We cannot simply think in our hearts that we love God and we cannot simply say with out mouths that we love God. There must be some proof. It costs us nothing to say it. Notice Revelation 2:5 says to get back to the first work. Relationship is work. Our marriage’s won’t work if we just tell our spouse’s we love them, but never show them. Our kid’s will not feel our love if it is never backed up with action.

God proved His love to us, by His action. We prove our love to Him, by our action.

And this is where the motives of our heart are very important. Are we sitting down to pray and read our Bibles to check religion off of our “To Do” list? Are we trying to earn God’s favor? We must have pure hearts when we come before Him, for He knows our thoughts afterall. See Hebrews 4:12 and John 4:24.

What about service? Aren't we supposed to be doing a job for the Lord? I'm glad you asked. The answer is yes, but it must be in proper priority, and with the proper motivation of heart. If all God wanted was servants, He didn't need to create mankind, He could have stopped with the angels. Remember the story of Mary and Martha from Luke 10. We are to be Marys first (sitting at the feet of Jesus, learning and worshipping), then Marthas (serving). Again, I bring up the comparison of the family. Husbands, wives, and children all have duties in the home, but we discussed previously how if service was all they did, the relationships in the family would break down. Service is a form of worship, but if we don’t have these other things in place—prayer and study time, service doesn’t mean anything. I Samuel 15:22 – to obey is better than sacrifice. We cannot just make up things to do that are in service to God. We must be doing things out of obedience. Romans 14:23b—whatever is not from faith is sin. So, if God didn’t tell us to do it, it is not from faith, it is not out of obedience, EVEN if it is a good thing, then it is sin. Did we hear God tell us to do such and such? Are we sure that is God’s will for us? How do we know? We only hear from God if we are spending time with Him, regularly. We can sacrifice all day long, all year long, all our lives, but when we stand before the Lord, He says, “I never asked you to do any of those things.” See I Corinthians 3—those works will be burned up in the fire. See also the Parable of the Virgins in Matthew 25. The virgins (Christians) that didn’t keep their lamps continually full of oil (the Holy Spirit) did not get to go in to the wedding (see Revelation 19:7-9). Revelation 19:8 tells us that the wedding garment is the righteous acts of the saints, but are these acts we just come up with on our own? I don’t believe so. Back to I Samuel 15:22—obedience is supreme, how are we to obey if we never take the time to listen to what God is telling us? Therefore time for prayer and study is key.

Revelation 2:1-7

“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.”’

Let's get back to our first love. Let's repent and do the first works.

Christmas Prophecy 23

The Messiah would be laid in a rich man's tomb.

Prophecy -

Isaiah 53:9

And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Fulfillment -

Matthew 27:57-60

Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.

I don't really know why this detail is significant, but if it is in the Bible, it has to have meaning. Every detail, every name, every jot and tittle has significance, if it is in the Bible. The Holy Spirit inspired over 40 men to write 66 books that we call our Bible. The Holy Spirit also oversaw the details of the councils that canonized the books that we have included in our Bible.

Did you know there were other books written? There was a Book of Enoch and a Book of Jasher (this one is referenced in Joshua 10:13 and II Samuel 1:18), there was a third epistle that Paul wrote to the Corinthian church that is "lost." Whatever books didn't get included was completely planned by the Holy Spirit. What we have, we have for a reason, and everything included in it, is there for a reason.

Perhaps Jesus was laid in a rich man's tomb because it had the giant stone as the door. This makes the resurrection miracle all the more awesome! Without that giant stone it would have been easier to say that the disciples just stole His body. But to move that big giant stone, while Romans soldiers were on guard?!? It just isn't plausible. But that reason is purely my own conjecture.

This is a continuation of our Christmas Prophecy series. Here is a list of the previous entries:
Christmas Prophecy 1
Christmas Prophecy 2
Christmas Prophecy 3
Christmas Prophecy 4

Christmas Prophecy 5

Christmas Prophecy 6

Christmas Prophecy 7

Christmas Prophecy 8

Christmas Prophecy 9

Christmas Prophecy 10

Christmas Prophecy 11

Christmas Prophecy 12

Christmas Prophecy 13

Christmas Prophecy 14

Christmas Prophecy 15

Christmas Prophecy 16

Christmas Prophecy 17

Christmas Prophecy 18

Christmas Prophecy 19

Christmas Prophecy 20

Christmas Prophecy 21

Christmas Prophecy 22

Functional or Dysfunctional

Functional comes from the root word function, meaning the natural or proper action of anything. Dysfunctional then means the opposite, the unnatural or improper action of anything. We see dysfunction all around us in this world, families with dead-beat dads, people in codependent relationships, enablers, manipulators, parents having to take care of adult children, grandparents having to care for grandchildren because the parents are not capable, and on and on and on. Relationships that are unnatural and improper.

We are so accustomed to dysfunction that we let it carry over into our relationship with God. Is your relationship with God unnatural and improper?


Q -

1. Do you go to church because of whom you're married to, or dating, or because your parents make you?

2. Are you in a relationship with God as long as the going is smooth, but once it gets rough, you bail?

3. Do you read your Bible to feel good?

4. Do you go to church to get an emotional high?

5. Do you put your trust in any person (spouse?) or thing (job?) more than God?

6. Do you ask others for prayer, because you feel their faith is stronger than yours?

7. Do you seek out encouragement from others to pull you out of your discouragement?

8. Do you pray only when you have a problem?

9. Is your faith based on tradition or conviction?

10. Are you content to be spoon fed God's Word, relying on hand-my-down revelation from others?




A -

1. God wants you to seek Him because you are responding to His Word, not just because of whom you're married to or dating, or what rules your parents have.

2. God wants you to be committed in the good times and bad (He promised we would face persecution - II Timothy 3:12). He is not the one that causes any bad thing in your life. See James1:17 and John 10:10.

3. He is looking for those that diligently seek Him (Hebrews 11:6), not just reading the Word to feel good, but reading to get to know Him, to find out His will, to gain an awe and reverence, a proper fear of the Lord, to be motivated by obedience--that is when we will gain true wisdom from His Word (Proverbs 9:10).

4. Going to church and being emotionally uplifted is totally fine, but to be seeking after a feeling is wrong. We are not to be driven by our emotions. Romans 8:6 says that to be carnally minded is death. Being carnally minded is being controlled by what you feel.

5. God want us to trust completely in Him and not place any one person (spouse) or thing (job) above Him, that becomes idolatry. Proverbs 3:5, Jeremiah 17:5-10

6. Having others pray for you is totally fine and scriptural, but don't ever feel that God won't listen to your prayers. Don't ever feel like your faith is too small. Jesus said faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains (Matthew 17:20). Faith comes by hearing the Word (Romans 10:17), you have the answer before you to release the faith that He has already placed on the inside of you (Romans 12:3).

7. Getting encouragement from those around you is part of the purpose of the church (Hebrews 10:24-25), but if you are relying on them more than God, you are wrong. David encouraged himself, reminding himself of God's promises, when he was at a particularly low, depressed state (I Samuel 30:6).

8. Prayer is for so much more than giving God our laundry list. Prayer is a conversation with God, we talk to Him, He answers us with His Word. Praise and thanksgiving should be a much higher priority than asking for things. There is a time and place for requests, but that is not all prayer is. See how the prayer starts and ends that the Lord taught to his disciples in Matthew 6:9-13, with praise.

9. The more you spend time in God's Word, with a pure motive of submission to it, you will move away from tradition to conviction.

10. It's time to get out of the highchair, start feeding yourself, start digging into the solid food (truths, revelation) of God's Word for yourself, and He will reveal wisdom to you. Hebrews 5:12-14, read in the New Living Translation.




I hope you will allow the Holy Spirit to use this strong word to teach you. I don't mean any of these things to condemn you, but rather convict. How do you know the difference? Condemnation pulls you away from God, conviction pulls you closer. We all need to examine our motives and heart from time to time. Some of you have pure hearts, some of you just don't know any better. We have all been at one of these places at one time or another. It's time to grow up. I have actually seen people that live a life of spiritual immaturity and dysfunction and as a result have a hell-on-earth life. They are saved, but they do not walk in victory. God wants better for you.