Living the Free and Victorious Life

By Larry Gaines

Besides the Bible, "Living the Free and Victorious Life" is simply a book you cannot do without if you are a Christian. No matter how mature or immature you are spiritually or chronologically, you will have the means here to experience true spiritual, mental, and emotional growth. This book will deal with every aspect in your walk with God. It will show you and inspire you how to develop a deep personal close intimate relationship with God. You will learn the true character nature and heart of God and to hear His voice. You will discover your true identity and have the means to finding God's plan and purpose for your life! It will show you how to pray effectively and motivate you to do it on a regular basis. You will learn how to develop great overcoming faith which will open the doors to see all your prayers answered. It will show you how to fight spiritual warfare and how to be delivered from strongholds that have held you back from your destiny that God has for you. It will show you how to beat the devil and experience the true power of the Holy Spirit. You will learn not only how to live free every day, but what it truly means to be free indeed. It will make the way for you to be not just a conqueror in this life, but more than a conqueror by becoming a victorious overcomer. And lastly, you will discover and experience the abundant life Jesus came to give you. YES; it will give you everything you need to truly live a totally free and victorious life!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685172039

Book preview

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Living the

Free and

Victorious Life

Larry Gaines

ISBN 978-1-68517-202-2 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-68517-203-9 (digital)

Copyright © 2021 by Larry Gaines

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the publisher. For permission requests, solicit the publisher via the address below.

Christian Faith Publishing, Inc.

832 Park Avenue

Meadville, PA 16335

www.christianfaithpublishing.com

Printed in the United States of America

Endorsements

Senior Pastor Todd Mullins of Christ Fellowship has said this: "Larry’s love for God and optimistic outlook on life are seen in Living the Free and Victorious Life. His words will inspire you. God has completely impacted Larry’s life and it shows."

Pastor Ryan McDermott of Christ fellowship has said this: Larry Gaines is a great man of God who lives out the principles found within these pages. His love for Jesus and his passion for God’s word will be evident to as you read. Far too many Christians live defeated, deflated lives. Within this book there are many insights that can, as promised, help each and every one of us experience a free and victorious life in Christ!

Lisa Bartorilla, Larry’s friend for almost 20 years said: The entire book was absolutely incredible! I read it several times and I still go back and read it. What I love most is how easy Larry has made it to understand. I fully absorb what I’m reading because Larry has a gift to write in a way that people can understand. It is truly the best book I’ve ever read.

Debby Lauar, Larry’s friend for several years has said: Every Christian needs to read this book! Larry Gaines has written a must need primer for understanding the steps of Christian living. Living the free and Victorious Life takes you on a journey of faith not just for eternal salvation, but of daily decisions building up into lifestyle that reflects Christ. A true inspiration!

Disclaimer

Please note that all Scriptures referenced in this book are INSPIRED and may or may not be quoted exactly from any specific translation of the Bible. I also may intentionally leave parts of a verse out because it doesn’t relate to the point I am making. Also, some spelling and punctuation may be modernized or altered for clarity, and sometimes I may change the tense, use different pronouns, and/or add words like, yes, therefore, also, now and so on, so everything flows better conversationally and so the Scriptures relate better to the point I am making. If you see the Scriptural reference and the Bible version abbreviation, then that Scripture is translated exactly from that version. Feel free to look up any verse I mention in your own Bible, or online on Bible Hub (https://biblehub.com) or on Bible Gateway (https://www.biblegateway.com) where you will find multiple translations for each verse.

About the Author

Larry Gaines, born in 1950 in New York City, has a lineage that goes back to Abraham Isaac and Jacob. His DNA has shown him to be a 100% East European, Polish, Lithuanian, Latvian, Jew. In February 1974, he realized that the big city was not for him; so he moved into a suburban town right outside of Princeton, New Jersey. It was there at age 27 that he gave his life to Jesus becoming a born-again Christian, or what he sometimes refers to himself as a Messianic Jew. Larry is therefore now 100% Jewish by birth and 100% Christian by faith (second birth). You can get his full testimony at no charge by emailing him at [e-mail] and requesting it or by viewing it online at https://larryg4178.wixsite.com/my-site.

After being a Christian for only 7 months, he received a prophecy from a fellow Christian that said God would raise him up in the music ministry and make the way for him to minister if he would just delight in the Lord and delight in singing praises to Him and worshipping Him. Without Larry having to do anything to promote himself, that was exactly what happened as God made the way for him to minister. He was asked to lead worship 11 months after becoming a believer in his first church and then again in every church he belonged to in his first 23 years as a believer.

Also during those 23 years, Larry married a Christian woman in 1984 and made some great Christian friends in the churches he was in. He also ministered in music from time to time in a local prison, and brought church to nursing homes which he still does today. In 1990, with a lot of hard work, he became a CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and began establishing a solid professional career as a Financial Analyst and an Excel Developer. It would seem on the surface that everything in Larry’s life was great, but in reality, it wasn’t.

In those early years as a believer in Jesus, Larry struggled a lot in his walk with God and also in his most important relationships. His marriage was plagued at times with strife as he dealt with major financial pressures, and with many personal spiritual, self-esteem, and character issues. He periodically would get discouraged, depressed, and angry at God and others, often blaming them for his problems and failures. Truth be told, even though he was a Christian and supposed to be living an abundant life, deep down inside he was very unhappy with the person he was.

Larry lived a truly up-and-down life because he really didn’t know Who God is. Sometimes he was on fire for God, and other times he was upset with God or felt distant from Him. He used to say the only thing he was consistent in was being inconsistent. Part of it was due to a chemical imbalance he had which did get fixed in the mid-1990s. Some of it was because he couldn’t let go of his past abuse he received as a child which left him bitter, and some of it was due to church pastors and leaders who failed him along with some biblical teaching which gave him a wrong picture of Who God is. But the biggest issues that held him back from living the consistent abundant life God meant for him to have were his own sinful attitudes and strongholds he couldn’t seem to get set free of.

Larry, however, knew he had committed his life to God; so he got some therapy and counseling, and began spending countless hours studying the Scriptures on his own. He became a true student of the Word of God and dedicated himself to knowing the absolute truth about Who God really is and what His Word really says and means for us as believers. Knowing and living by the truth so we all could be living the life God meant for us believers to have was most important to him.

After being a Christian for almost 18 years, while studying the Scriptures, Larry got a deep revelation of God’s love and was convicted of his sinful attitudes. It was then he cried out to God promising God that he would take 100% responsibility for his life and never again blame Him or anyone else for his problems or failures. That became a turning point in his life.

This was also the beginning where he saw his calling as a teacher in the Body of Christ to help others also see the truth about God and His Word. He wrote many teachings about salvation, the heart and nature of God, faith, healing, and maturing in the Lord; but instead of getting them published and selling them, he just gave them away to people who wanted them or who he felt needed them. He also did some church Sunday school teaching from his writings which he loved doing.

But after 23 years as a Christian, Larry was still struggling with sins of the flesh which had a stronghold on him; and although he never committed actual physical adultery, his marriage eventually sadly ended in divorce. Around that same time the teaching he was under had gotten so dry that when church pastors and leadership failed him for a 4th time, he couldn’t motivate himself to go to church anymore. After he split from his wife, it was the beginning of him living 14 years without a church, a pastor, or a home where he could afford to live by himself. He led his life with a false sense of being free as he sadly succumbed to the passing pleasures of sin even though he knew this was not pleasing to God or God’s plan for him.

However during those 14 years Larry still never totally gave up on God staying close with many of his Christian friends and doing his best to walk in love as he knew this was highly important to God. He continued to study the Scriptures and to minister in nursing homes, and he always sought the Lord about the important decisions he had to make. He maintained his transparent relationship with God, so even though he knew he was living as a lukewarm double-minded Christian compromising in how he was following God’s Word, he never tried to hide it from God or from others when they confronted him about it.

In 2014, after 37 years of being a believer, Larry was able to fully retire with the help of a miracle you can read about in his book and then relocate to South Florida where he eventually was able to buy his own home and where he could afford to live by himself again. By this time, although Larry’s circumstances were pretty much stress-free, he still was periodically depressed and unhappy with the person he had become. He knew in his heart that this life he was leading was really not satisfying him or was pleasing to God. And because he realized how faithful God had been to him, he knew that he needed to get back to church; so at the encouragement of a close friend and sister in the Lord, he visited her church, Christ Fellowship. There he fell in love with what he describes as the anointed teaching and leadership of Pastors Todd and Julie Mullins who live their lives with the utmost integrity.

As he attended there on a regular basis, he made some great Christian friends and began to deeply experience the true heart, nature, and character of God personally and intimately on a consistent basis. And as he experienced more and more of God’s love, he got the breakthroughs he needed to finally get free from the strongholds that were plaguing him. He repented of all of his sins becoming on fire for God once again, and he has been that way ever since. He is truly living now an uncompromised totally sold-out life where Jesus is his true Lord and where the sins of the flesh have no power over him anymore.

Larry no longer gets depressed and is now happy with the person he has become. This dedication to God and putting Him first in his life is what enabled Larry to finally learn what it takes to live totally free and victoriously on a consistent basis as you will see when you read his book. All the specifics that God showed him and taught him are what inspired him to write this book so its readers too can learn the secrets of what it takes to experiencing this wonderful abundant free and victorious life that God has created every one of us to have!

Introduction

I believe this book is different from all other Christian books you have ever read and probably will ever read. Most Christian books are written with a ‘theme’ in mind first like Evidence that Demands a Verdict by Josh McDowell, or Beyond Blessed: God’s Perfect Plan to Overcome All Financial Stress by Robert Morris and Dave Ramsey, or The 15 Invaluable Laws of Growth by John Maxwell. But mine was not. Here is the story behind the book.

I was given the call in early 2018 by Senior Pastor Todd Mullins of Christ Fellowship Church¹ to pray and fast for the 21 days preceding Easter. What I did was research all the Scriptures I could find on who we are in Jesus, and any other Scriptures I could find that were encouraging or I believed were especially important to know; and then I decided to declare and pray those Scriptures out loud over myself and many of my Christian friends’ lives for those 21 days. Some of those Scriptures also became personal prayer commitments to God.

As each day of the fast passed, God would bring more Scriptures to mind that I felt belonged; and as He showed me things in my alone time with Him or through my church Christ Fellowship’s messages, I found myself adding even more Scriptures to these prayers. Soon I started combining those Scriptures that came from different places in the Bible into paragraphs of Scriptures that had similar or compatible themes and began to rearrange these paragraphs to make it all flow more naturally. Then I added teaching and exhortations to go with the scriptural prayers so I could give it to other believers to declare and pray also.

After the fast was over, I had such a breakthrough in my walk with God that I decided to continue to pray and declare these Scriptures every day while continuing to add more Scriptures, exhortations, and teachings. Then suddenly one day, God impressed upon my heart to write a book using these paragraphs of Scriptures and teachings as the foundation of the book.

After reviewing everything I had accumulated, I did not sense that Who We Are in Jesus was the right title for the book. I actually kept seeing Living Victoriously as more of the theme. Then after hearing Christ Fellowship’s Pastor Todd Mullins’ sermon series Free to Be… that’s when I believe God gave me the title, Living the Free and Victorious Life and THAT is the theme that is emphasized throughout this book.

Now in order for me to share all these Scriptures in today’s vernacular that I believe best communicates the message I believe God is communicating to us in the context of my book in the 21st century, I was inspired to combine various translations and paraphrase certain Scriptures using my own words². However, in doing so, I do not believe I have compromised God’s Word or changed the principles in it. His message transcends any one verse of Scripture, especially because the only true written Word of God is in the original languages of Hebrew and Greek. The full Bible has been translated into over 400 languages, of which there are probably over 500 versions in English alone; so in reality, every word in English we read in any Christian Bible is a combination of people’s translations and interpretations.

Throughout this book, you will also find that I tend to repeat myself, so please bear with me. I do that for emphasis and also because different subjects tend to overlap, so it becomes necessary to repeat certain truths. Also, please forgive me for putting so many words in CAPS. I am NOT yelling at you! J Again, I do this for EMPHASIS. I also put many words or phrases in quotes to draw attention to them, so please take extra note when you see them. And if I put a sentence in bold, it would be wise to keep in your journals and get into your heart.

I am speaking to you directly throughout this book as if we were together, face-to-face having a conversation, only I’M doing all the talking! J I want you to feel my tone and my heart so my words are able to touch your soul and spirit! I am coaching, encouraging, and inspiring you besides instructing and teaching you! I want this book experience for you to be as personal as possible so I encourage you to email me any time if you want to discuss specific issues or have any questions, and I will do my best to respond as soon as it is reasonably possible for me.

This book is packed solid with extremely important Scriptures that apply to your everyday life, especially the "PARAGRAPHS³ of Scriptures. Without me changing the Spirit" of these individual Scriptures, as paragraphs they will sound something more that you can relate to personally. So think of those Scriptures when you read them as being part of the ongoing conversation I am having with you; at any point later for your own sake, you can always check the references. Also, PLEASE don’t rush through them, or for that matter, ANY part of this book. Reading it SLOOOOWLY will give you the best chance to get the most out of what God is trying to show you or say to you. God WILL surely speak to you through this book, so be ready!

One thing you should know about me is that I DON’T teach formulas; I teach principles from my knowledge of God and of His Word. Therefore, YOU need to seek God and decide exactly how YOU are going to apply those principles in your walk with God. This book also includes many important foundational Scriptures and truths you need to know to get you grounded in God’s Word. Understanding and following my suggestions are going to be of critical importance to receiving the heart understanding that it takes to get the most of this book so that living a free and victorious life will truly be your everyday reality!

I want EVERYBODY who says or thinks they are a Christian, that is, a believer in Jesus the Messiah, to live this free and victorious life we were meant to have. There is nothing much worse to me than for a Christian to be feeling defeated or depressed⁴ like I did so much of my first 18 years as a believer. None of us believers should ever get to that point if we are truly trusting and obeying God, but in order for us to really trust God and have the desire to obey Him, we need to have a healthy knowledge of Who God is and what His Word says. THAT is what my book aims to give you!

So what then does living free and victoriously actually mean? It means we consistently see ourselves as GOD sees us and truly take hold of how much He deeply loves us. It means living with stability and a quiet confidence knowing our identity in Christ. It means walking daily by faith and having intimate fellowship with God without condemnation, fear, or worry. It means we will be doers of the Word by walking in obedience to God by loving Him and loving and others as He has loved us. And that means staying out of sin and being quick to forgive, not allowing any bitterness to enter our hearts. It means we will be growing daily in the grace and knowledge of God by continuing to learn truth from His Word, while we grow in character and are conformed to the image of Christ. And that will result in us being who God has called us to be and doing what God has called us to do.

Living a free victorious life however, does NOT mean we won’t go through trials, hardships, and sufferings like all believers do regardless of what point they are in their walk with God. You see, what actually does make us free and victorious, is that in the midst of these tribulations, we will NOT be shaken and completely freak out by getting into fear; but instead, we will more automatically maintain our joy, our peace, and our hope by staying in faith because THAT is what gives us an automatic victory until a manifested victory comes to fruition! And THAT my brothers and sisters is living the free and victorious life!

Now in all honesty, I am not sure I know anyone, including myself, who feels they live free and victoriously 100% of the time. We are still just humans who live in a body of sin with a sinful nature in a world full of temptations and distractions! And, we will have our moments and maybe periods of time when we will be tempted to worry or get in fear, doubt, and unbelief, or just feel like we are more defeated than victorious. And there may be times when we will feel God is not close to us at all, but distant. We may even still sin on occasion and have to repent; it’s very hard in this life to never get offended or to never become angry or bitter at people.

Therefore, it IS going to be a battle just to feel like we are truly free and victorious even if we are basically living that way most of the time. I believe this is the norm for every Christian. Even the Apostle Paul who I believed truly lived a free and victorious life had his moments. (2 Corinthians 12:7–9)

We are ALL a work in progress and there are always new challenges we face in life especially as we grow older and get deeper into God’s plan for our lives. We just need to realize that to be able to live free and victoriously is more of an ongoing process rather than a final destination. Every difficult test and trial we face can be used to mature us; even when we fail, because we can ALWAYS learn something from it. Now I DO believe we CAN truly grow to be very consistent in living in that realm, but ONLY after we have gone through sufficient difficult tests and trials; and THAT’S why I have written this book, to give you the means to deal with those difficult tests and trials so as I have said, free and victorious living becomes your everyday reality!

In the book of Exodus, we see that the Israelites were set free from their bondage when God brought them out of Egypt. That was their step 1 in their process. When we were born again, that was our step 1.

The Israelites then spent 40 years in the wilderness; that was their step 2. They could have spent much less than 40 years in the wilderness, but they chose to walk a path of unbelief by disobeying God and complaining against Him instead of trusting and obeying Him. Our step 2 is getting on the straight path to living a free and victorious life BY trusting and obeying Him!

After 40 years, the Israelites finally were able to be brought into the Promised Land; that was their step 3. Our Promised Land is actually Heaven which would really be our step 4, because our step 3 is actually living a free and victorious life on a fairly consistent basis. To get to step 3, we just need to continue to experience new levels of freedom and victory in our daily walk with God. Every experience can be a learning experience. If we get on the right path and stay on it, we will get there! And I believe THIS book WILL help get you on the right path and then help keep you there if you apply what you have learned from it AND make the prayers and declarations from the last chapter of this book a part of your lifestyle.

You may have to read certain sections over and over again, and maybe even the whole book several times over. Then as time goes on, you may need to refer back to it from time to time. Listen, I do NOT want you to slip back into bondage or to ever feel defeated because it does NOT have to be that way anymore! I GUARANTEE; IF YOU do YOUR part, you can be sure God will be faithful to do HIS part! The One Who calls you IS FAITHFUL, and HE WILL SURELY DO IT! (1 Thessalonians 5:24)

And, it doesn’t matter where you are now in your walk with God. You may be a believer for several months or several years or many years. You may not be so mature or be very mature or be somewhere in between. You may feel not so close to God or feel very close to God or just simply feel at peace with God. I truly believe though, if you do not feel you are living a free and victorious life on a fairly consistent basis NOW, then this book IS YOUR NEW BEGINNING. THIS IS YOUR FRESH START! THIS BOOK WILL MARK A NEW ERA FOR YOU as you really sense that ALL THINGS NOW HAVE BECOME NEW! (2 Corinthians 5:17)

Now may God bless you abundantly as you read this book; and as you continue on this journey with Him, I pray that God, the source of all hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace as you trust in him so that you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 15:13) AMEN and AMEN!

Chapter 1

Almighty God, King and Lord of All—the Great I AM

Our God is THE ALMIGHTY GOD, KING AND LORD OF ALL; THE GREAT I AM! The Lord is God; there is no other besides Him. For the LORD our God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the Great and Mighty Awesome God Who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. On His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. He is the Most High over all the Earth. He is the GREAT I AM, the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End, and the one Who is, and Who always was, and Who is to come, the ALMIGHTY GOD! (Deuteronomy 4:35, Deuteronomy 10:17, Revelation 19:16, Psalm 83:18, Exodus 3:14, Revelation 1:8, Revelation 22:13)

And our God is PERFECT, HOLY, RIGHTEOUS, JUST, AND FAITHFUL! God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should change his mind. He keeps and fulfills all His promises. He is the Rock; His work is perfect for all His ways are just and fair. He is a God of faithfulness and without iniquity, just and righteous is He. For as the Heavens are higher than the Earth, so are God’s ways higher than our ways and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. His understanding is unsearchable. He is the One Who is high and lifted up, Who inhabits eternity and Whose name is Holy and Who dwells in the Highest and Most Holy place.

(

Numbers 23:19, Deuteronomy 32:4, Isaiah 55:9, Isaiah 40:28, Isaiah 57:15)

And God is OMNISCIENT. He is all knowing and possesses all knowledge. He knows everything about everybody—what we did, what we are doing, and what we will do. And He knows everything that has ever happened, is happening, and will ever happen. The former things I declared of old; they went out from my mouth, and I announced them; then suddenly I did them, and they came to pass… There is nothing made that He has not known. The Psalmist said: You have searched me, LORD, and You know me. You know when I sit and when I rise; You perceive my thoughts from afar. You discern my going out and my lying down; You are familiar with all my ways. Before a word is on my tongue You, LORD, know it completely. (Isaiah 48:3, John 1:3, Psalm 139:1–4)

And God is OMNIPRESENT. He is everywhere at the same time and sees everything everywhere at the same time. Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I ascend to heaven, You are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, You are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night, even the darkness is not dark to You; the night is bright as the day, for darkness is as light with You. And He is the One God and Father of all, Who is over all and through all and in all. (Psalms 139:7–12, Ephesians 4:6)

And God is OMNIPOTENT; He is ALL POWERFUL. There is NOTHING that He can’t do. Oh, Lord GOD, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too difficult for You! For with God NOTHING is ever impossible and ALL things ARE possible! (Jeremiah 32:17, Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37)

And God is the CREATOR of the universe and all that is in it! In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that is made. For