before we pray I would like to share a story with you a powerful testimony that should teach all of us a lesson about perseverance faith and having a Biblical perspective in life in 2003 Aaron Ralston a highly experienced outdoor Enthusiast found himself literally between a rock and a hard place Aaron had traveled to Southeastern Utah to explore Canyon land's National Park on April 25th 2003 now as this solo hiker descended into the canyon something he didn't account for happened a giant boulder above him slipped and trapped his arm much like life sometimes we can plan
for this or we can plan to do that and then something unfortunate happens and all of a sudden you're trapped with sickness in your body or you're trapped with anxiety because the economy is failing and so what do you do when the unexpected happens and you realize that you need to let go of the fear of death so that you can grab hold of the eternal life offered in Jesus Christ and so here is Aaron Ralston stuck trapped hemmed in for 5 days and when speaking about this particular Point Aaron said he had to talk
with himself and tell himself that he had no choice but to cut his arm off the process took an hour and Aaron lost 25% of his blood volume but despite being dehydrated despite him losing blood and feeling weak and despite him only having one hand once free from the 800 lb Boulder he climbed out of the canyon and sought help now this is not an easy story to hear and I take nothing lightly but Aaron Rolston has been quoted saying I did not lose my arm but gain back my life he's also said some powerful
things that inspired me to tell you this message the first quote is when trauma happens we choose whether it's going to be a tragedy or a Triumph we choose whether we are going to be victims or Victors the second is everyone has a boulder in their life due to stress uncertainty and fear you do whatever it takes in order to turn those Boulders into triumphs rolon said when the boulders come and they will may your Boulders be your blessings too I don't know what form War the boulder in your life will come in but whatever
circumstance you face today remember that the Bible says in Psalm 40:2 he Lifted Me Out of the pit of despair out of the mud and the mire he set my feet on Solid Ground and steadied me as I walked along believe in the Lord and He will lift you up out of the pit you're in and set you on Solid Ground your Boulder may come as heartbreak or betrayal it may come God will see you through as long as you see yourself through the word of God you are more than a conqueror you are fearfully
and wonderfully made don't be discouraged hold on to the promise that God will lift you out of the pit of despair and set your feet On Solid Ground Paul in 2 Corinthians 1: 5 said for as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings so through Christ we share abundantly in Comfort too if we are afflicted it is for your comfort and salvation and if we are comforted it is for your comfort which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer suffer Our Hope for you is unshaken for we know that as you
share in our sufferings you will also share in our comfort for we do not want to be unaware Brothers of the Affliction we experienced in Asia for we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we Des spared of life itself indeed we felt that we had received the sentence of death but that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead he delivered us from such a deadly Peril and he will Deliver Us on him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again while in Asia
Paul states that he had experienced Affliction he experienced severe trials and he says he was burdened Beyond strength so much so that he despaired of life itself he said It felt as though he had received a death sentence can you imagine that can you imagine going through hardships that make you feel as though you have a death sentence written against your name can you imagine being burdened by problems this is how Paul Paul felt but if you pay attention to what he says in verse 9 Paul says indeed we felt that we had received the
sentence of death but that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the Dead He's essentially saying these difficult times these tough times have taught us to lose all faith in ourselves and to place all of our trust in The God Who raises the Dead all of us go through tough times all of us go through Seasons where it seems as though the odds are stacked against us and pain becomes a feeling we're all too acquainted with in Psalms 119:71 David said it is good for me that I have been
Afflicted that I may learn your statutes and I've always asked the question how can it be good for you to be afflicted how is there any good for you to go through pain tribulation and hard times but here's the Fai afflictions tough situations do more than simply show what kind of character we have tough times shape and form out character now I believe that Affliction although unpleasant is necessary for the Christian man or woman because if it were not for the struggle you're going through how would you know that God will never leave you nor
forsake you if it were not for the Affliction in your body how else would you know that by his stripes we are healed if it were not for the financial challenges you faced how would you have known that the Lord is a provider problems can sometimes be a blessing saints of God so be encouraged regardless of what you're facing now let us pray Lord Jesus you are worthy to receive all of my praise and adoration if troubles weigh us down your mercy your grace will lift us up although the heart hardships of life may push
us to our limits by your mercy and by your grace Lord we will overcome father the situations we face at times may be tragic and heartbreaking but we Look to You Lord by your mercy and by your grace we are more than conquerors may your Divine will be accomplished in my life if the trial I face is meant to shape me and mold me and a way that is more pleasing to you then may your will be done if the trial I face is meant to build my faith and build my character then may your
will be done Lord if the trial I face is meant to train me to become more patient more prayerful more grateful then may your will be done father whatever your will is for allowing me to face difficulty may you achieve within me that which you have set out to achieve Transform Me renew me teach me whatever the objective is I surrender to you Lord Jesus Psalms 102 verse1 and2 say hear my prayer oh Lord let my cry come to you do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress incline your ear
to me answer me speedily in the day when I call Lord hear our cry when we encounter difficulty when we're caught in trouble Deliver Us and be our help Father your word in James 1 verse 2-4 says count it all joy my brothers when you meet Trials of various kinds for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness and let steadfastness have its full effect that you may be perfect and complete lacking in nothing father if I am to face difficult times if I am to endure tough times may it all be For
Your Glory I pray that you would use any difficult challenges to build my character use those afflictions to strengthen my faith Lord help me to understand that sometimes you may allow afflictions into my life so that I may grow spiritually so that I may learn to pray with more intensity Lord I understand that you are more concerned about my character than my comfort levels you care more about my growth as a Believer than the number of blessings I receive you Lord are more concerned with the state of my heart than the level of my comfort
1 Peter chapter 1: 6-7 says in this you rejoice though now for a little while if necessary you have been grieved by various trials so that the tested genuiness of your faith more precious than gold that perishes though it's tested by fire may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ Lord as I I face various trials May the result be that I will trust you more May the result of my trials be that I have stronger faith I pray that every Affliction would lead me to spiritual
maturity I pray that every Affliction will leave me with a desire to really connect with you Lord Jesus because I know that I cannot go through this life with My Own Strength Lord your word tells me that many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all and so I look to you as my rescue father when you allow me to go through tough times when you allow me to face certain obstacles I will hold on to your word your word that says in Psalm 34:1 15-18 the eyes of
the Lord are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry the face of the Lord is against those who do evil to cut off the memory of them from the Earth when the righteous Cry for Help the Lord hears and delivers them out of all their troubles the Lord is near to the Brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit I bless your holy name and I thank you for hearing my prayer Lord Jesus be glorified now and forever more in Jesus name I pray amen people of God I want to ask you something when
was the last time you publicly acknowledged Jesus Christ as your lord and savior now it may have been to a co-worker that you see every day or to someone you just met and struck up a conversation with but overall I believe that every single one of us during the course of Our Lives we will have at least one opport Unity to publicly declare what we believe and who we believe in the Bible says in Matthew 10:32 therefore whoever confesses me before men him I will also confess before my father who is in heaven now I
don't know about you Saints but here's my confession I believe in Jesus Christ I believe that he is the way the truth and the life and no one can get to the father except through Jesus I believe he is the bread of life he is the one who can sustain us I believe that Jesus Christ is the prince of peace and in him you will find peace beyond all human [Music] understanding I believe Jesus Christ is the light of the world and the Good Shepherd I believe he was a Healer and a miracle worker worker
when he walked here on this Earth and I also believe that he is still able to do the impossible even today I believe he died on a cross for our sins for my sins and I believe that he rose back to life after 3 days and ascended on high and right now he is Seated on the right side of the father listen to me in the name of Jesus there is power Jesus Christ is the name above every other name he is the author and the finisher of our faith he is the Risen one the
almighty one when we speak that name the mighty name of Jesus Christ every sickness has to Bow every disease has to leave every chain has to loose and so here is my my word to you as Believers we should not be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we should never compromise the word of God so that we can fit into this world we should not be ashamed of the gospel because the devil in the world oh they are aggressively spreading a message of deception the devil in this world is aggressively trying to lead people
away from the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ and so it's time that we as Believers of Jesus Christ it's time for us to stand up and to declare to the world that there is a savior there is someone who can set you free if you're bound there is a redeemer and his name is Jesus Christ Saints we should not be ashamed of the Gospel but as Christians we must stand up and fight for the gospel we must rise up as Sons and Daughters of the most high and Proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord an important
element of every believer's life and growth is to have a willing heart a heart that says yes Lord a heart that loves the Lord thy God a heart that says God your will be done above my own wants and needs when we do this when we submit and yield Our Lives to God and we get into a place where we can receive the wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit and make no mistake people of God every believer needs the Holy Spirit as their teacher we need the Holy Spirit to lead us into all truth we
need the Holy Spirit to reveal to us the will of God the holy spirit is truly a phenomenal gift to the believer once we tap into his power the Amplified translation of First Corinthians 2: 10 says for God has unveiled them and revealed them to us through the holy spirit for the spirit searches all things diligently even sounding and measuring the profound depths of God the divine counsels and things far beyond human understanding when we invite and allow the Holy Spirit into our lives he helps us to establish a closer relationship with the Lord the
holy spirit will be our teacher tugging at our heart and soul teaching us to obey the Lord to stand and to trust fully in God he will enable us to put all of our cares on him for he is greater than any problem it's through the wonderful gift of the holy spirit that we learn to develop a greater Reliance a greater level of trust in the Lord Almighty when we submit and yield to the power of the Holy Spirit we are able to rely less and less on human understanding on human wisdom or strength we
move away from trusting in our own abilities and move to complete and total trust in the God of all ages Isaiah 11:2 says the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him the spirit of wisdom and understanding the spirit of counsel and might the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord did you get that if you need wisdom and understanding pray that the holy spirit will fill you if you need counsel and might if you need knowledge pray that the holy spirit will fill you now finally I would like to read Ezekiel
36: 26-27 which says I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you I will take the Heart of Stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of Flesh I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them let us pray and invite the Holy Spirit into our lives Lord Jesus thank you for the gift of the holy spirit in your love and mercy you never let left us to fend for ourselves here on Earth you
never left us to fight with our own strength but instead you gave us a helper you gave us the Holy [Music] Ghost perspective what is your perspective as a believer in Christ I ask this question because at some point in your walk with the Lord as you know him more and more you have to shift your perspective from God take me here take me over there to Lord I Thank you for how far you've brought me I thank you because I am no longer where I used to be perspective your perspective goes from always asking
and always seeking to receive from God and it shifts to you always seeking to serve him your prayer becomes Lord how can I serve you Lord make me a vessel for your use when the Bible says be still and know that I am gone it's really telling you to stop everything you're doing stop worrying stop fighting stop resisting and start yielding to God start listening to God there is something about Stillness and I believe that this verse is calling us to be still before the Lord because we need to direct all of our attention all
of our focus on the Lord you see when you spend time getting to know the Lord when you spend time in the presence of Jesus Christ you will truly be transformed and I encourage you to desire and hunger for these types of Rich Encounters in the presence of God because it's only in those onetoone intimate encounters that each of us can get a personal revelation of who God truly is it's only in those onetoone intimate encounters that each of us can be empowered and filled with Courage the courage to face the world and stand up
for Christ the courage to stand up to the devil and declare that Jesus Christ is Lord the prophet Isaiah received a revelation that should inspire all of us to recognize God for who he truly is listen carefully to what Isaiah 45: 2-7 says I will go before you and make the Crooked places straight I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron I will give you the treasures of darkness and hidden Riches of secret places that you may know that I the Lord who call you by your name am
the god of Israel for Jacob my servant's sake and Israel my elect I have even called you by your name I have named you though you have not know me I am the lord and there is no other there is no God besides me I will gge you though you have not known me that they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides me I am the lord and there is no other I form the light and create Darkness I make peace and create Calamity I the Lord
do all these things this is a wonderful revelation of just who God is God is firmly in control God is all knowing god is Almighty Isaiah 45:22 to 23 says look to me and be saved all you ends of the Earth for I am God and there is no other I have sworn by myself the word has gone out of my mouth in righteousness and shall not return that that to me every knee shall bow every tongue shall take an oath in those moments where we are still before God we need to realize just how
Mighty God is just how powerful God is the Bible tells us there is no one and nothing that can be compared to God we need to remember this nothing and no one is worthy to be competed for the number one spot of your heart God should be first people of God I want to ask you something when was the last time you publicly acknowledged Jesus Christ as your lord and savior now it may have been to a coworker that you see every day or to someone you just met and struck up a conversation with but
overall I believe that every single one of us during the course of our Liv lives we will have at least one opportunity to publicly declare what we believe and who we believe in the Bible says in Matthew 10:32 therefore whoever confesses me before men him I will also confess before my father who is in heaven now I don't know about you Saints but here's my confession I believe in Jesus Christ I believe that he is the way the truth truth and the life and no one can get to the father except through Jesus I believe
he is the bread of life he is the one who can sustain us I believe that Jesus Christ is the prince of peace and in him you will find peace beyond all human understanding I believe Jesus Christ is the light of the world and the Good Shepherd I believe he was a Healer and a miracle worker when he walked here on this Earth and I also believe that he is still able to do the impossible even today I believe he died on a cross for our sins for my sins and I believe that he rose
back to life after 3 days and ascended on high and right now he is Seated on the right side of the father listen to me in the name of Jesus there is power Jesus Christ is the name above every other name he is the author and the finisher of our faith he is the Risen one the almighty one when we speak that name the mighty name of Jesus Christ every sickness has to Bow every disease has to leave every chain has to loose and so here is my word to you as Believers we should not
be ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ we should never compromise the word of God so that we can fit into this world we should not be ashamed of the gospel because the devil in the world oh they are aggressively spreading a message of deception the devil in this world is aggressively trying to lead people away from the saving Gospel of Jesus Jus Christ and so it's time that we as Believers of Jesus Christ it's time for us to stand up and to declare to the world that there is a savior there is someone who
can set you free if you're bound there is a redeemer and his name is Jesus Christ Saints we should not be ashamed of the Gospel but as Christians we must stand up and fight for the gospel we must rise up as Sons and Daughters of the most high and Proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord
