[Music] you might be going through the fire right now but you still have Jesus you have eternal salvation in him you have peace and purpose in this life because of him you have access to God the Father through him none of these things are visible to the naked eye but they worth infinitely more than we know Psalm 34:10 says the Young Lion suffer one want and hunger those who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing so right now you might feel like you're lacking a lot you might be struggling to see any good
things in your life but I encourage you to look a little deeper put on the eyes of faith and you'll see how God has provided for you we may not have riches here on Earth but we have treasure in heaven we may not have the relationships we desire but we have a heavenly father who loves us we may not have perfect health but we have a new and glorified body waiting for us when we step into eternity your wealth consists of more than what meets the eye your true wealth is the Eternal inheritance that Jesus
purchased for you with his Precious Blood regardless of what you're going through his grace is sufficient for you you might be in a place right now where you've experienced disappointment your dreams might be crushed your house or your stomach might be empty but if you know that you still have Jesus Christ then you will find your soul to be overflowing with the goodness and the favor of God in this very moment you could be feeling as though you've lost everything let me tell you that you haven't if you're a child of God you still have
Jesus and Jesus plus nothing equals everything you see God's presence is wonderful when his presence surrounds you you're surrounded by pure love when his presence surrounds you you're covered in safety and there's nothing from the enemy that can touch you in his presence there is power so much power that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you so much power that there is nothing impossible it's only in the arms of the Lord that you can find Divine strength it's only in God that you will find strength in your weakness it's only in him
that you can do all things because he strengthens you to fully trust in God we have to relinquish full control to put it another way it's to abandon trust in yourself or another human you stop trying to fix it yourself and you allow God you yield to God you surrender all control to him in all aspects of your life you need to accept that in the grand scheme of things your control is limited this is why we trust in an allmighty God this is why we trust in an all powerful God because we are limited
but he [Music] isn't we all make mistakes in life some mistakes are devastating a young man who's had no guidance no Father Figure no real love shown to him he can make the wrong choices and then find himself on the wrong side of the law a young lady who's impressionable Carefree driven by her emotions she can make mistakes and end up being left alone with a child when she'd actually been sold a dream of marriage and raising a family yes indeed mistakes can be painful and they can be costly too but isn't it wonderful that
we have a savior in Jesus Christ who firstly can see past our mistakes and by his grace and mercy can turn that mistake into a lesson that will bless you and secondly isn't it wonderful that we have a savior in Jesus Christ who can turn a bad situation into a good situation now let me clarify something I am not telling you to go out there and deliberately make a mistake or deliberately sin with the attitude that God will work it out in your favor that's certainly not the case because the Amplified translation of Galatians 6:
7 it says do not be deceived God is Not mocked he will not allow himself to be ridiculed nor treated with contempt nor allow his precepts to be scornfully set aside for whatever a man SWS this and this only is what he will reap so you do need to understand that you cannot go out in the world willfully sinning and not expect to reap what you sow no the mistakes I'm talking about are honest mistakes mistakes unplanned ones that you have not sat down and plotted we all make mistakes we've all made mistakes I'm sure
but to the person who thinks they can never recover from the pain and guilt of their sin to the one who is filled with feelings of worthlessness and shame the first thing I want you to know is that Jesus Christ sacrificed himself on the cross so that your sin your mistake should never Define you the second thing I want you to know is that the devil loves to condemn he loves to point the finger he absolutely loves to make you feel ashamed and to try to drown you in guilt so you need to be aware
of this you need to be sensitive about the difference between feeling guilty because you are convicted of sin by the Holy Spirit and feeling guilty because you are being condemned by Satan the Holy Spirit convicts and this leads you to repent the devil on the other hand he condemns in order to make you feel hopeless and worthless so please be aware of that now the third thing is that God is all powerful he is kind and mercy merciful he looks at the heart and should you make a mistake should you sin he is gracious enough
to pick you up dust you off and forgive you I'd like to speak to you on the topic of standing strong in the Lord standing strong in faith and I'll begin with a statement that I think you'll all agree with and that is if there's one thing that we can be certain about in this life it's the fact that life is often very unpredictable one moment you're on a high the next moment you come crashing down one moment it's all good it's peaceful and safe and in the next moment it feels as though all hell
breaks loose you're at the top of the mountain one minute and you're walking through the valley of the shadow of death the next minute but if there's one thing to come to terms with in life it's the reality that life is unpredictable but here's the thing I am so grateful for the fact that in this everchanging life we have a never changing God Jesus Christ is the same yesterday today and forever more he doesn't change he healed thousands of years ago on this Earth and he still heals today he loved those considered to be unlovable
those considered to be outcast and rejects and he still loves those same people today he spoke the words peace be still and the storm bowed down and I believe he can and will speak those very same words in the middle of your storm today that's why when life happens you can stand strong in the Lord don't allow life's challenges to shake your faith in God stand strong in the Lord stand and let him fight your battles he has promised that the Deep Waters won't drown us and when we go through the fire we will not
be burnt so whether you're in the Lion's Den today or facing Pharaoh tomorrow stand strong in your deliverer who is Jesus we can trust him we can rely on him we we can depend learn and stand strong in the Lord but I'm not saying it will be easy I'm not saying it won't be tough but with God it's possible you know I've had moments where I've thought really God I've just come out of one thing and now here's another you see when we say stand strong in the lord it's not always going to be easy
I'm not saying that but what I am saying is that wouldn't you rather fall into the arms of the Lord than simply fall while trying to do things your way when your back is against the wall wouldn't you rather lean on God than your own understanding as we Face life's challenges our first impulse might be to surrender or to Simply give up and let it be and I understand that sometimes I understand that sometimes you can get to the point of just asking the question God why me why am I not married yet why did
I have to be sick why can't I make as much money as they are and while we may be stressed and pressed on every side I'd like to recommend something to you I would like to give you a formula that might help if you find yourself in that situation I would like to encourage you to stand strong in the Lord because it is he who goes before you he will not fail you nor forsake you and that makes him so dependable that's what should give you the tenacity to stand strong in faith our Lord has
a track record that's unmatched one that stood the test of time so despite the chaos despite everyone else getting married despite that job interview coming back as a no keep standing strong in the Lord Lord he who started a good work in us will see it through to the end reach out to him by faith be constant in prayer be relentless in your faith and watch him move in seemingly impossible ways now this isn't just a quick fix there needs to be some persistence you need some tenacity to stand strong in the Lord to stand
and believe to stand and wait for what he has promised because when you stand you're making sure that there is no temptation that can overtake you you're making it known to the enemy that you trust God to have already provided a way of Escape even if you can't see it you're guaranteed Victory when you stand strong in the Lord and the thing about standing strong in God is that it does take practice it takes a maturity of faith for you to be able to stand strong as a Christian you go through one trial and God
makes a way you go through a tougher trial and your belief is stronger but it's tested yet God still makes a way it's a maturing of faith and one of the keys to growth in terms of your faith in God is that it takes you actually cultivating a a relationship with Jesus Christ he invites you to know him he invites you to seek knock and ask but with that your effort is required you have to make the effort you have to discipline yourself to read his word to pray daily it takes daily communion with him
you have to count your blessings and shift your perspective so that you're filled with Thanksgiving for all that he has done done and here's why it's so important for you to do these things when you make prayer your practice when you practice not just reading the word but living the word when you appreciate God's goodness then this renews your faith in him each day this is the maturing of the Faith by living for him each day when you then come to face tough times his word is ingrained in you prayer is a part of your
lifestyle you have a personal relationship with the Lord this is when you can stand strong this is the way you will fortify your spirit so that when the enemy surrounds you like a flood you will be able to stand strong in the Lord I can assure you when you have an established relationship with Jesus Christ you will find that it becomes much easier to stand and be strong it will become your default stance and posture to trust God or run to hide and find refuge in him so I encourage you today to start a relationship
with the Lord today so that when the troubles come you will be able to stand strong in the Lord if life hits you and you fall wouldn't it be better to fall into the Loving Arms of Jesus Christ than anywhere else so don't be defined by a diagnosis don't be defined by the numbers in your bank account I've had to talk to myself and remind myself that I have a Creator who has a plan and God's plan will still Prevail God's will will still be done he has ordered my steps and so I am not
alone my beginning and my end is known by him my highs and your lows are known by him and I will walk by faith and not by sight believing that the Lord has numbered my good days to exceed my bad days so get to the point where you are content and at peace to say Lord my life is in your hands you have said be anxious for nothing you have said that you know the number of hairs on my head and so I surrender and yield to your will don't ever underestimate the power of the
Holy Spirit don't underestimate the influence of the holy spirit it's through the power of the holy spirit that we are convicted of sin and as Believers we ought to desire to be filled sealed and Sanctified by the holy spirit it's the holy spirit that reveals God's will for our lives it's the holy spirit that teaches us the ways of God his principles and his precepts it's the holy spirit that reveals the Deep Revelations of God to us it's the holy spirit that guides Believers into all truth it's the holy spirit that helps us in our
weakness and intercedes for us so make no mistake we need the Holy Spirit we must have him to lead us how do I know if I have the Holy Spirit or rather the question should be what are the effects of the holy spirit in my life what are the signs that I am indeed living under the influence of the Holy Spirit now have you ever noticed that the best preacher in the world the most dynamic the most charismatic min minister in the world cannot get you to change your life they cannot change your heart they
cannot preach they cannot teach they cannot reveal to you anything new that will change your life and why do I say that I say that because for someone to change their life there needs to be a conviction a persuasion has to take place inside of you it's deeper than simply being told to change a doctor for example can tell you that you need to change your diet but it's the pain in your body that makes you that convicts you to make the change and listen to the doctor in the same way all a preacher can
do is tell you to change your diet of sin to a diet of righteousness and then it's the holy spirit that convicts and twists and turns your heart and soul to repentance all that an evangelist can do is speak the gospel all they can do is preach Jesus Christ all they can do is preach repentance but it's the holy spirit that convicts you to change it's the holy spirit that moves within you and persuades you to change your life another man another woman standing on a pool pit with a microphone can never lead you to
make a change in your heart and in your life the Holy Spirit can however lead you to change your heart a pastor a bishop none of these people under their own skills or abilities can lead you to make a change and recognize that the hidden things in your life are sin it's only through the Holy Ghost now when you and I confess that Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Savior when we received Christ in our hearts we received the Holy Spirit by faith and it's interesting that there are so many layers to the Holy
Ghost in Galatians 5 between verse 16 and 25 we're told in several different ways how our conduct should be how our lives should be as believers who are filled with the Holy Spirit take note of these statements verse 16 walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh Verse 18 but if you are led by the spirit you are not under the law verse 22 but the fruit of the spirit is and the Bible lists them verse 25 if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit
four different statements here walk in the spirit be led by the spirit bear the fruit of the spirit and live in the spirit your entire life as a Believer is determined influenced Guided by the Holy Spirit and so going back to my initial point that the Holy Spirit not the pastor or the preacher the Holy Spirit convicts you to change your life and turn away from sin and that's only the beginning so to the one who asks how will I walk in wisdom and not fall back into my old ways the holy spirit will help
you do this how can I remove this desire of sin the holy spirit will help you walk in the spirit and he will give you the strength to fight those tempting desires of the flesh how do I live with boldness as a Fearless Christian in these evil days the holy spirit will give you power and authority he will be your helper it's the Holy Spirit who will help you to understand and discover God God's will for your life the key for us is willingness are you willing to be absorbed to be filled by the holy
spirit will you let him walk in you and through you furthermore the Holy Spirit challenges you he challenges you to do right I've too often heard that still Small Voice Within me saying you need to pray today have you read God's word this isn't something you should be listening to the Holy Spirit challenges you to live right to examine yourself even and to see all that's hindering you it's a beautiful thing to have the Holy Spirit and welcome him into your life the Bible says in Ephesians 1: 13 and 14 in you also when you
heard the word of Truth The Gospel of your Sal ation and believed in him were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory you see the holy spirit is our helper the holy spirit is our comforter the Holy Spirit has sealed us he has sealed us as belonging to God we are marked by the Holy Ghost so to the one who ask how will I walk in wisdom and not fall back into my old sinful ways the holy spirit
will help you do this the holy spirit will be the one to strengthen you someone may be asking how can I remove this desire of sin within me how do I break this cycle well it's the holy spirit that will help you walk in Purity it's the holy spirit that will give you the power to overcome those tempting desires of the flesh someone might be asking how do I live with boldness how do I live as a Fearless Christian in these evil days well Saints the holy spirit will give you power and authority he will
be your helper it's the Holy Spirit who will help you to understand and discover God's will for your life but the key for us is willingness are you willing for your heart to be invaded by the Holy Spirit are you willing to be filled by the Holy Spirit to be led by him counseled by him will you allow him to work in you and through you I encourage you to open up your heart open yourself up to the Holy Spirit [Music]
