📖 EVERY MAN HAS A STORY BEFORE THE VICTORY
“From Trials to Triumph—Lessons Rightly Divided”
Key Text: Romans 15:4 KJV
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning…”
🔥 INTRODUCTION — THEIR STORIES WERE WRITTEN FOR OUR LEARNING
The Bible is filled with men who experienced storms before success, testing before triumph, and difficulties before deliverance. Noah endured an unbelieving world. Abraham waited for God's promise. Moses faced an impossible sea. Joseph we... more📖 EVERY MAN HAS A STORY BEFORE THE VICTORY
“From Trials to Triumph—Lessons Rightly Divided”
Key Text: Romans 15:4 KJV
“For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning…”
🔥 INTRODUCTION — THEIR STORIES WERE WRITTEN FOR OUR LEARNING
The Bible is filled with men who experienced storms before success, testing before triumph, and difficulties before deliverance. Noah endured an unbelieving world. Abraham waited for God's promise. Moses faced an impossible sea. Joseph went through betrayal and imprisonment. David confronted a giant. Job endured devastating suffering.
But from a Dispensational perspective, we must make an important distinction:
We learn from all Scripture, but we do not apply all Scripture indiscriminately.
📖 2 Timothy 3:16 — “All scripture is given by inspiration of God…”
📖 Romans 15:4 — Things written aforetime were written “for our learning.”
📖 2 Timothy 2:15 — We must be “rightly dividing the word of truth.”
Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, David, and Job were not members of the Body of Christ living under the present Dispensation of the Grace of God. Their circumstances occurred within earlier dispensational settings.
Therefore, we do not claim their specific covenants, signs, earthly promises, or miraculous deliverances as promises directly given to us.
Our doctrine for today is found particularly in the revelation Christ committed to Paul.
📖 Ephesians 3:1–9; Romans 11:13
Nevertheless, their histories contain tremendous principles from which believers today can learn.
Their stories remind us:
GOD MAY NOT REMOVE EVERY BATTLE, BUT HIS GRACE IS SUFFICIENT IN THE BATTLE.
📖 2 Corinthians 12:9
1️⃣ NOAH — FAITHFULNESS IN A FAITHLESS WORLD
📖 Genesis 6:8–9
Noah lived in a corrupt generation, yet he remained faithful to what God had revealed to him.
His lesson is not that believers today should build an ark. That was God's specific instruction to Noah.
The principle is:
Be faithful to God's revealed truth in your own dispensation.
A. CORRUPTION AROUND HIM
📖 Genesis 6:5
The world surrounding Noah was corrupt.
Likewise, Paul warns believers today:
📖 2 Timothy 3:1–5
“This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.”
We cannot allow the spiritual condition of society to determine our convictions.
B. CONVICTION WITHIN HIM
📖 Hebrews 11:7
Noah acted upon what God had revealed.
For us today, faithfulness means standing upon God's Word rightly divided, especially the truth revealed for the Body of Christ.
📖 2 Timothy 2:15
Culture changes.
Truth does not need cultural permission to remain truth.
C. CONTINUANCE BEFORE HIM
📖 1 Corinthians 15:58
Paul tells us:
“...be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…”
Faithfulness is not proved by starting well alone.
It is demonstrated by continuing.
🔥 LESSON FROM NOAH:
STAND when others surrender.
STAY when others stray.
SERVE when others stop.
2️⃣ ABRAHAM — CONFIDENCE IN GOD'S PROMISE
📖 Genesis 15:5–6
Abraham's life demonstrates the faithfulness of God to His promises.
But right division is essential.
God promised Abraham:
a land,
a nation,
multiplied descendants.
Those covenant promises should not simply be transferred to the Body of Christ.
Our blessings are described differently.
📖 Ephesians 1:3
“...blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.”
A. PROMISE WAS GIVEN
📖 Genesis 12:1–3
God made specific promises to Abraham.
God does not forget what He has spoken.
That is one reason Dispensationalism rejects the idea that the Body of Christ permanently replaces Israel.
📖 Romans 11:25–29
B. PATIENCE WAS REQUIRED
📖 Romans 4:20–21
Abraham was:
“fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.”
God's timing tested Abraham's confidence.
Waiting does not automatically mean God has failed.
C. PERSUASION WAS DEVELOPED
Paul uses Abraham to demonstrate an important justification principle.
📖 Romans 4:5
“But to him that worketh not, but believeth…”
Salvation today rests not upon religious achievement but upon faith in Christ's finished work.
📖 Romans 3:24–28
🔥 LESSON FROM ABRAHAM:
Don't place confidence in your PERFORMANCE; place confidence in what GOD has provided in CHRIST.
3️⃣ MOSES — COURAGE BEFORE THE CRISIS
📖 Exodus 14:13–14
Moses stood before what appeared humanly impossible:
Pharaoh behind.
The Red Sea ahead.
Fear all around.
But we must rightly divide the event.
God has not promised the Body of Christ a miraculous Red Sea escape from every problem.
Paul himself suffered.
📖 2 Corinthians 11:23–28
Yet God's grace sustained him.
A. CRISIS CONFRONTED HIM
📖 Exodus 14:10
Israel saw Pharaoh's army and became afraid.
Sometimes circumstances expose what we really trust.
For believers today:
📖 2 Corinthians 5:7
“For we walk by faith, not by sight.”
B. COMMAND DIRECTED HIM
📖 Exodus 14:15–16
Moses had God's specific instructions.
Likewise, we should not invent our own spiritual program.
Our marching orders must come from God's Word rightly divided.
📖 2 Timothy 2:15
C. CHRIST STRENGTHENS US
Our promise is not necessarily, “God will remove your Red Sea.”
Our Pauline assurance is:
📖 Philippians 4:13
“I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
And:
📖 2 Corinthians 12:9
“My grace is sufficient for thee…”
🔥 LESSON FROM MOSES:
Sometimes God changes the circumstance; sometimes His grace strengthens the Christian through the circumstance.
4️⃣ JOSEPH — CHARACTER THROUGH THE CRUCIBLE
📖 Genesis 50:20
Joseph experienced:
rejection, betrayal, slavery, false accusation, imprisonment, and delay.
Yet the suffering was not the final chapter.
A. REJECTION DID NOT RUIN HIM
📖 Genesis 37:23–28
His own brothers sold him.
People may mistreat you, misunderstand you, or abandon you.
But bitterness does not have to become your identity.
Paul says:
📖 Ephesians 4:31–32
“Let all bitterness… be put away from you…”
B. RESISTANCE DID NOT REMOVE HIS CHARACTER
📖 Genesis 39:7–12
Joseph refused sexual temptation.
Grace is not permission to live carelessly.
📖 Titus 2:11–12
The grace that saves us also teaches us to deny:
“ungodliness and worldly lusts.”
Grace does not encourage sin—it educates the saint.
C. REVENGE DID NOT RULE HIM
📖 Genesis 50:19–20
Joseph refused to live controlled by vengeance.
Pauline doctrine likewise teaches:
📖 Romans 12:19
“Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves…”
🔥 LESSON FROM JOSEPH:
Don't let what happened TO YOU determine what develops IN YOU.
Let sound doctrine transform your response.
5️⃣ DAVID — COURAGE BEFORE THE CONFLICT
📖 1 Samuel 17:45–47
David stood before Goliath when others were paralyzed by fear.
Again, right division protects us from turning this account into a prosperity slogan.
Not every believer has a literal “Goliath” that God has promised to miraculously eliminate.
Paul sometimes prayed for trouble to disappear—and God allowed it to remain.
📖 2 Corinthians 12:7–9
A. GIANT APPEARED IMPOSSIBLE
📖 1 Samuel 17:4–11
Israel saw Goliath and focused upon his size.
David saw the same giant from the perspective of God's faithfulness.
B. GOD WAS GREATER
📖 1 Samuel 17:45
David said:
“I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts…”
His confidence was not ultimately in the sling.
His confidence was in God.
C. GRACE MAKES US STRONG TODAY
For the Body of Christ, Paul gives us the corresponding spiritual principle:
📖 Ephesians 6:10
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.”
Our primary warfare today is spiritual.
📖 Ephesians 6:11–12
🔥 LESSON FROM DAVID:
Don't measure your God by the size of your problem; view your problem in light of the greatness of God.
6️⃣ JOB — CONFIDENCE THROUGH THE CRUCIBLE
📖 Job 1:20–22
Job's life destroys the idea that godliness guarantees an easy life.
A faithful person can experience enormous suffering.
That lesson is especially important when confronting the modern prosperity gospel.
Paul himself experienced weakness, persecution, hunger, imprisonment, and hardship.
📖 2 Corinthians 11:23–30
A. PAIN CAN BE SEVERE
📖 Job 2:7–10
Job suffered physically, materially, and emotionally.
Being in difficulty does not automatically mean someone lacks faith.
Paul suffered repeatedly while faithfully serving Christ.
B. PERPLEXITY CAN REMAIN
Job did not initially understand everything occurring behind his suffering.
Likewise, believers today will not always receive an explanation for every tragedy.
📖 Romans 8:26
“...we know not what we should pray for as we ought…”
Faith does not mean knowing every answer.
C. POWER IS PERFECTED IN WEAKNESS
Here Paul's revelation gives us an extraordinary principle:
📖 2 Corinthians 12:9
“My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”
Paul's thorn was not removed.
But Paul received something sufficient to endure it:
GRACE.
🔥 LESSON FROM JOB:
God's faithfulness is not measured by the absence of suffering.
Sometimes victory is not escaping the storm.
Victory is remaining faithful while passing through it.
📣 CALL TO ACTION — 3 “S” COMMANDS
1️⃣ STUDY THE WORD
📖 2 Timothy 2:15
“Study to shew thyself approved unto God…”
Do not build doctrine merely from inspirational stories.
Study the context.
Study the dispensation.
Study the Pauline revelation.
2️⃣ STAND IN GRACE
📖 Romans 5:1–2
We have access:
“...into this grace wherein we stand…”
Your standing before God is not based upon perfect circumstances or perfect performance.
It is grounded in Christ.
📖 Colossians 2:10
“And ye are complete in him…”
3️⃣ SERVE WITH STEADFASTNESS
📖 1 Corinthians 15:58
“...be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord…”
Don't wait for life to become trouble-free before serving Christ.
Serve during difficulty.
Serve despite disappointment.
Serve because Christ is worthy.
🏁 CONCLUSION — YOUR STORY DOES NOT HAVE TO BE EASY TO BE USEFUL
Noah teaches FAITHFULNESS.
Abraham teaches CONFIDENCE.
Moses teaches COURAGE.
Joseph teaches CHARACTER.
David teaches CONVICTION.
Job teaches ENDURANCE.
But there is an even greater lesson:
THE HERO OF OUR FAITH IS NOT NOAH, ABRAHAM, MOSES, JOSEPH, DAVID, JOB—OR EVEN OURSELVES.
THE CENTER IS CHRIST.
For the Body of Christ, our victory is fundamentally not measured by earthly success, wealth, health, popularity, or trouble-free living.
Paul says:
📖 Romans 8:37
“Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.”
Notice:
It does not say we become conquerors because “all these things” disappear.
We are more than conquerors “IN all these things.”
🔥 FINAL THOUGHTS — 6 LESSONS FROM 6 STORIES
1️⃣ NOAH — FAITHFULNESS
Stand for truth even when the world stands against it.
📖 Genesis 6:9; 1 Corinthians 15:58
2️⃣ ABRAHAM — FAITH
Be persuaded that God is faithful to what He has actually promised.
📖 Romans 4:20–21
3️⃣ MOSES — FORTITUDE
Walk by faith when circumstances appear impossible.
📖 2 Corinthians 5:7
4️⃣ JOSEPH — FORGIVENESS
Never allow another person's evil to produce bitterness within you.
📖 Ephesians 4:31–32
5️⃣ DAVID — FEARLESSNESS
Be strong in the Lord rather than intimidated by opposition.
📖 Ephesians 6:10
6️⃣ JOB — FORTITUDE IN SUFFERING
When the burden remains, God's grace remains sufficient.
📖 2 Corinthians 12:9
✝️ YOUR STORY MAY CONTAIN PAIN—BUT PAIN DOES NOT HAVE THE FINAL WORD.
📖 DON'T CLAIM ANOTHER DISPENSATION'S PROMISES—LEARN FROM THEIR FAITH AND STAND UPON THE TRUTH GIVEN TO THE BODY OF CHRIST.
🔥 DON'T BUILD YOUR FAITH ON A PROMISE GOD NEVER MADE TO YOU.
BUILD YOUR FAITH ON WHAT GOD HAS ALREADY MADE YOU “IN CHRIST.”
📖 Colossians 2:10 KJV
“And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”
⚔️✝️✠ Lady Dinah Scivoletti ✠✝️📖⚔️
⚔️✝️✠ Turco, Joan of Arc Priory ✠✝️📖⚔️
⚔️✝️✠✠Act and God will Act (Actus et Deus Act)✠✠✝️📖⚔️
