[Music] if you're in a situation that seems hopeless you don't have to despair you don't have to lose heart because god has the power to grant you victory against all odds against all odds you can defeat your goliath against all odds you can overcome whatever trial whatever difficulty you are facing right now it doesn't matter how unworthy how unqualified or how unlucky you think you are if god is for you then no one can be against you if he says he's on your side you better believe he's going to march you to victory so when
the world tells you that you've got no chance or when the devil tells you to just give up stand firm in your faith keep on pushing forward your ability to overcome hardship is not predetermined by statistical analysis or roll of the dice your future rests in the hands of god and he will equip you with whatever you need for the battle ahead because of the favor and providence of god you can look at any situation and say with man this is impossible but with god all things are possible [Music] at some point in your life
you have to stand for something you have to take a stance and say this i can accept however this right here is unacceptable we do this in our homes there are people who we trust people who we know to be honest and of good integrity and we can welcome those people in and accept them into our homes and then there are people who we want to keep at a distance we can love them with the love of christ from a distance but it doesn't mean that we can allow them into our homes if we know
that their character is questionable likewise if someone attempted to make you do something that is directly against god's word against what you know to be right i'm sure that the majority of us would have the boldness to stand up for what is good for what is pleasing and right to the lord which brings me to the core part of my message today and this is to encourage you to stand up to the enemy absolutely refuse to be intimidated by the devil refuse to tolerate his sneaky attacks and temptations give no room to satan give him
nothing to work with at all many of you have lived in fear far too long and it is time it's time to live in the power and might of jesus christ no longer should you be a timid quiet shaky christian man or woman just because the devil threatens to make some noise don't you know to whom you belong don't you know that you were purchased with the precious blood of the son of god so it's time it's time to stand up boldly and declare that jesus christ is lord over your life that means no devil
or demon no dark force or principality can have a say over your life god has the final word i encourage you to stand up for righteousness in a world that is lost you are an ambassador of the most high so stand up to the lies of the enemy stand up with the truth of the gospel stand up with the strength of the holy spirit stand up and wage war in the heavenlies through prayer you must stand up and embrace your identity as a child of god now is the time for you to stand firm now
is the time to be unwavering you need to have a strong foundation a foundation built on the very word of god in order to have a firm foundation you must know the word of god for yourself and know what it says about you know that it tells you in first peter chapter 2 verse 9 that you are a chosen race a royal priesthood a holy nation a people for his own possession that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light [Music] if you've ever seen someone with
bad eyesight you'll find that the simplest of activities will become difficult now a christian who hasn't got the word of god in them is like a person with bad eyesight without the word of god you have no idea the protection you've been given without the word of god you cannot see that you've been offered peace beyond understanding the word of god reveals things to you you begin to see the devil for who and what he really is a deceiver and the father of all lies you begin to see the passion of christ the love and
passion that led him to be wounded for our transgressions to be bruised for our iniquities the chastisement for our peace was upon him and by his stripes we are healed the word of god reveals all of that the word of god is sight to a christian this is why it's important that you obey joshua 1 verse 8 which says this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth but you shall meditate on it day and night so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it for then
you will make your way prosperous and then you will have good success you must meditate on the word so that you can keep your eyes on the lord when you have the word hidden in your heart you will always have a reason to say it is well with me if you're struggling and can't seem to find a way out of the mess you're in fix your sight keep your eyes on jesus and on his word whether the economy is good or not whether my friends are there or if they have abandoned me your eyes are
to always be on the word of the lord [Music] i am desperate to have a deeper closer relationship with god i want to get to the level where i can have a burning bush experience i desire to get to the level where i can enter the lion's den of life's problems and i know that i will not be moved i will not be shaken i will not be afraid i desire to be a servant in god's kingdom to live a life of purpose so that i may hear the words well done o good and faithful
servant that's my desire and my dear brothers and sisters i am not naive to the enemy's ways he will not simply step aside and let me get to a higher level of faith or an improved prayer life i am fully aware that he will devise schemes schemes that are designed to discourage and distract me schemes designed to make me doubt schemes that come to tempt me into falling out of god's will for my life but even then i am not afraid i am not living in fear nor am i anxious because greater is he that
is in me than he who is in the world i have victory through jesus many times when i have been wrestling with uncertainty i have turned to psalm 16 verse 8 and this is how i apply the verse in my life i have set the lord always before me in other words god orders my steps the lord goes ahead of me to clear my path or rather god is in front of me he is already in my future and when it says because he is at my right hand i shall not be moved i claim
and declare that the lord is by my side i am anchored in jesus i am rooted in jesus [Music] the certainty of your hope should be based on the word of god because in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god that's what makes it so powerful more powerful than a two-edged sword so when in doubt be grounded in the word of god when you're feeling hopeless stand on the word of god that's the foundation we ought to have never giving up never losing hope because christ will
never leave us nor forsake us i'd like to encourage you from the book of nehemiah in chapter 8 the latter part of verse 10 says do not sorrow for the joy of the lord is your strength we can stand strong because of the great joy we have in christ we can be at peace knowing that no matter the outcome of our situation we have eternal hope in jesus we have great assurance that even when things seem uncertain the lord is always working out for our best interests isaiah 40 verse 31 says but those who wait
on the lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings like eagles they shall run and not be weary they shall walk and not faint all throughout the bible we see these beautiful promises promises that god will give us strength in our time of need promises that our heartfelt and persistent prayers will be heard by god promises that we should not sorrow because through the joy of the lord we have strength over and over we are reminded that no matter what we face there is hope we are heard by the lord we should
not rely on ourselves for strength but instead we should understand that our strength comes from jesus so it's not about how hard we try or our ability to fight it's all about jesus [Music] i may not know what your situation is and i certainly don't know what it feels like to walk in your shoes but there are certain emotions certain mindsets certain feelings that are common to every human being on this earth and what i mean by that is that you and i and everyone at some point in life we've all felt the burden of
pressure we've all battled with the thoughts of what if well why did this happen i don't understand why didn't that happen at one point or another we've all felt rejected unfairly criticized not good enough these are all feelings and emotions that are common to everyone who goes through this thing called life now for someone who does not know the saving grace of jesus christ these negative feelings and emotions they can drive them to despair it can drive them to do all kinds of things however when you know him when you know jesus christ when you
have invited him into your life and given him license to disrupt your heart and revamp your mind and spirit well you can go through these negative things these negative feelings but i tell you what you will not drown in them you will not come undone because of them you will not be destroyed by them if you know jesus christ then you can stand on 2 corinthians chapter 4 verse 8. we are afflicted in every way but not crushed perplexed but not driven to despair persecuted but not forsaken struck down but not destroyed so be encouraged
whatever may come your way cannot destroy because jesus christ is in your corner nothing can drive you to despair because the loving arms of jesus christ won't allow it he will not forsake you he won't allow anything to destroy you god is watching over you he will be the one to guide you he'll be the one to lift you up when you fall he'll preserve you during times of difficulty during those times of uncertainty and he will give his angels charge over you he is the god that will keep you he'll keep you so that
no misfortune may befall you in him and in him alone you can find strength you can find understanding you can find knowledge and wisdom you can find peace and boldness his light will surround you always his love will overwhelm you each and every day his power it will protect you and your family regardless of what the circumstances that you may face regardless what those circumstances may say our certainty is in the lord jesus christ our hope is in the lord jesus christ [Music] on christ a solid rock that's where you should stand because all of
the ground is sinking sand now ask yourself where's your hope what's your hope built on what ground do you stand on my hope my hope is in the living and active word of god it offers hope for the sick hope for broken relationships hope for the sinner and hope for the struggling believer the bible says in james 5 16 therefore confess your sins to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it's working the amplified translation gives us a deeper description as
it says therefore confess your sins to one another your false steps your fences and pray for one another that you may be healed and restored the heartfelt and persistent prayer of a righteous man or believer can accomplish much when put into action and made effective by god it is dynamic and it can have tremendous power allow me to highlight a few words that jump out to me concerning prayer and myself as a believer firstly my prayers are to be heartfelt they need to come from a deep place within me that longs for the lord secondly
my prayers need to be persistent they should be frequent not just a prayer here and a prayer there but there has to be a level of consistency about my prayer life and finally i need to be practicing righteousness i need jesus christ to help me become a righteous person a righteous believer so from james 5 16 i want you to take away three things concerning your prayer life your prayers should be heartfelt there's a classic hymn that i need you to know it tells you that your hope should be built on nothing less than the
blood of jesus and his righteousness don't dare to trust the sweetest frame but holy lean on jesus name that's the foundation we ought to have never giving up never losing hope because christ will never leave us nor forsake us before a breakthrough there is always a battle before a move of god before your circumstances changes the enemy will always try to get you to quit he will do what he can to either discourage your faith or distract your focus and he does this so that so that you never see your miracle he does this so
that you can never push hard enough or long enough for your breakthrough to materialize but here is what i would like you to know today the amplified translation for lamentations 3 verse 25 says the lord is good to those who wait confidently for him to those who seek him on the authority of god's word the bible tells us here that god is good to those who wait confidently in him not those who wait and complain not those who wait and get frustrated but those who wait confidently in him so where's your confidence before a breakthrough
there is always a battle but despite that where is your confidence before a breakthrough there is always opposition that will test you but despite that where is your confidence i encourage you to raise your faith as you wait with confidence on the lord there is an appointment with god for your life to change there is an encounter with the lord that is scheduled to remove the stronghold of the enemy over your life there is a date set a time set for things to turn around for you but you have to keep pressing on you have
to keep waiting confidently in jesus christ don't give up now keep believing god for a change keep believing in the lord for a breakthrough now maybe you can relate to this have you ever noticed how the enemy attacks you when you decide to get real with god it's when you decide to fully give your heart to the lord that's when the enemy tries to attack distract or discourage it's when you repent from your sins it's when you give god your fears and your concerns it's when you cast your burdens on the lord that's when the
devil takes notice and begins to devise an attack to get you to quit and that's because he knows that if you persist then your breakthrough is just around the corner but i want to encourage you there is nothing that the lord jesus cannot do there is no area in your life that god cannot touch whether the enemy attacks you or not the lord will always have the upper hand the lord will always have the victory and we all need a breakthrough in some part of our lives but to get that we are going to have
to fight we have to fight on our knees we have to fight sometimes to guard our faith and so when the devil attacks that's the time we need to press on and be persistent and i wonder how many breakthroughs are we missing out on because we fail to push on and persevere how many breakthroughs are we missing out on because we aren't willing to wait confidently in the lord how many breakthroughs are we missing out on because our expectation and our faith is so small that prayer will result in nothing god has given us a
great invitation he tells us to come and ask to ask in faith and to keep asking in faith until we receive his answer i encourage you to remain strong and persistent in faith you are on the edge of a breakthrough so don't lose heart don't give up don't be discouraged or downcast there is victory in jesus christ there is a breakthrough on the other side of your battle how long has it been since you've said the words lord help me overcome my unbelief help me and strengthen my faith [Music] the bible says in matthew chapter
21 verses 21 to 22 and jesus answered them truly i say to you if you have faith and do not doubt you will not only do what has been done to the fig tree but even if you say to this mountain be taken up and thrown into the sea it will happen and whatever you ask in prayer you will receive if you have faith [Music] many believers have found that the worst things that happened to them were actually the best thing to have happened in hindsight it doesn't feel like it at the time but hold
on in faith a little longer job certainly knows this do you remember the depths of his sufferings when tragedy stuck job and his family he managed to keep holding on to his faith that's all he literally had left his faith job's wife couldn't and who could blame her joe's friends couldn't advise him job himself couldn't find a reasonable explanation for what had happened but somehow he managed to say god knows where i am going and when he has tested me i will come out as pure as gold that's very hard to say when you're right
in the middle of great hardship we don't just begin to think i'm somehow being refined i believe i will come out of this a better person it is not our default thought pattern as humans but i believe it should be our stance as believers job held on and through that suffering he came out as pure as gold you can too the writer of the hebrews tell us don't throw away your confidence it will be richly rewarded that's what david found he tells us there was a time when he was struggling in psalm 55 he writes
fear and trembling overwhelm me and i can't stop shaking morning noon and night i cry out in my distress and the lord hears my voice then david says this can be our experience also at the end of the psalm he writes give your burdens to the lord and he will take care of you he will not permit the godly to slip and fall and we need to hold on to this god will never let you slip so i urge you brothers and sisters the lord jesus is king and he invites you to come to him
for rest the bible says let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us looking onto jesus the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of god troubles can be a blessing for believers you see god uses our troubles to remind us that he is a deliverer he is a savior he is our hope and
rescue god is faithful to empower you to stand strong and victorious and not to be defeated understand that we are overcomers the first principle to receiving a victory from god is to understand that he has already won the battle has already been fought and he has already won if we could only understand this we have the victory we have overcome and yeah it's a battle sometimes to be a christian but we know that christ told us to take up our cross and follow him as we do this we receive the rewards of victory in jesus
[Music] if the enemy can get us to pay more attention to the issues of life instead of paying attention to the one who can solve the issues then we are effectively surrendering to the world we're focusing on the sickness instead of the healer we're focusing on the addiction instead of the deliverer we're focusing on the lack instead of the provider and that's precisely what the devil wants it is no secret that as a child of god you are a prime target for attack precisely because you are on the side of good but just because the
enemy attacks doesn't mean that you have to give in just because the enemy attacks doesn't mean that you have to fall for his deception just because the enemy attacks doesn't mean that you have to lose your mind when the enemy attacks lift up your eyes to the heels and proclaim my help comes from the lord and god will cause you to live above the battle with him in victory and if there is one verse that i'd like for you to take away today it's psalms 34 verse 7 which reads the angel of the lord encamps
around those who fear him and he delivers them [Music] another translation says for the angel of the lord is a guard he surrounds and defends all who fear him another reads his angel guards those who honor the lord and rescues them from danger the message here is that we have angelic protection when we fear god we have angelic protection when we honor the lord just think about an angel camping outside your home or an angel working with you in close proximity as a bodyguard would that's the level of protection offered it's not physical it's supernatural
it's not limited it's divine the backup doesn't need to be called over the phone and then require you to wait until they arrive no this level of protection is heavenly saints god is with us god is with us and if he is with us who can stand against us who can stand against jesus no one no man no demon no devil so fear not we are protected we are covered we are secured how often do you pray for god's protection how often do you turn to the word of the lord in search for a passage
that reassures you about the protection you are offered as a believer you see when two professional athletes are fighting one of the main rules they are told is to protect yourself at all times and i believe that if you look closely throughout the bible we too as believers are told to protect ourselves at all times not through our own might or strength or ability but as believers we are to remain under the supernatural protection of jesus christ because we are in a fight someone once said i only pray when i'm in trouble but i'm in
trouble all the time and so i pray all the time saints when life is good we should remember to pray when life is challenging we should remember to pray come rain or sunshine pray whether it floods or it's a dry season remember to pray whether it's a blizzard or heat wave pray regardless of the season you're in you are protected by your prayers you are strengthened by your prayers [Music] it's a fight for some of us just to pray every day it's a fight to read the word of god daily it's a fight to be
a doer of the word and not just someone who hears the word you and i are fighting against the many temptations of this world we're fighting at times against our own flesh and our own bodies and of course we are fighting against the devil and so i would like to remind you to protect yourself at all times not through your own strength and might but through the supernatural protection offered by jesus christ do not let your guard down now as a child of god we have many enemies we have the devil and his demons as
an enemy we have the world and the flesh as enemies but i want you to understand that all of these enemies that we face as believers they have one thing in common they cannot win against the power of god they cannot overcome the blood of jesus they cannot destroy you when you abide under the shadow of the almighty the devil has been defeated and is defeated in the name of jesus the world and the flesh has no power no hold over us as blood wash saints of the lord and furthermore we're told that if we
resist the devil he will flee we are told that in christ we are dead to the desires of our flesh and are made alive in the spirit jesus tells us not to fear the world because he has overcome the world we have nothing to fear from these enemies as long as we have god his spirit and his word we are more than conquerors in christ jesus ephesians 6 verse 12 to 13 says for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood but against the rulers against the authorities against the cosmic powers over this present darkness
against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places therefore take up the whole armour of god that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand firm there would be no need for you and i to take up the whole armor of god if we weren't in a fight it's the whole armour of god that helps us to fight all the various evil entities from the kingdom of darkness first timothy chapter 6 verse 12 says fight the good fight of the faith take hold of the eternal life
to which you were called and about which you were made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses you see walking by faith and not by sight is also a fight for us galatians chapter 5 verse 17 says for the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh for these are opposed to each other to keep you from doing the things you want to do the flesh and the spirit are against each other they are opposed to each other and this is another fight we
have to endure so i would like to encourage you today to remember that you are in a fight however you are not fighting alone nor are you fighting from your own strength and from your own ability our blessing as believers comes from the fact that god's word says to us in deuteronomy chapter 3 verse 22 you shall not fear them for it is the lord your god who fights for you our blessing as believers comes from the fact that the word of god says to us in exodus 14 14 the lord will fight for you
and you have only to be silent you see we need to truly examine ourselves the mouth can so easily profess something but it's in your heart and it's in your actions that the truth is revealed what do you stand for do you stand with a willing heart should god speak to you today would you be willing to sacrifice the most important thing in your life for him when people see you do they see the love of jesus christ in you [Music] do they look at you and think i want the peace on this person's life
i want the joy that this person has do other people look at you and see a disciple of christ your life should be characterized by what you stand for by who you stand for pick up your cross saints matthew 10 verse 38 says and whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me the word of god is clear regarding this either take up your cross and follow christ or you're not worthy of him what will your choice be when you look at the cross what does the cross stand for what
does it symbolize to you many will say it stands for jesus christ and the ultimate sacrifice it stands for his death his burial and his resurrection others will say it stands for salvation it stands for eternal life it stands for love holiness righteousness forgiveness it it represents what christ came on earth to do and to give his life for us [Music] now since luke 14 verse 27 says whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple the question is what do you stand for do you carry your cross and
stand for the love of jesus christ do you stand to represent the life of jesus christ a life that was marked with righteousness obedience prayer and forgiveness are you carrying your cross you see the heart is deceitful because it can so easily be taken by idols without you even realizing it you think an idol is a golden statue in a secret room in your home but no your heart can so easily put money image reputation a career a relationship above god you can idolize these things by putting them first above the lord i need you
to really understand that the bible says the heart is desperately wicked so that you can take heed and clean up your own heart know what you're up against our hearts can be so fickle it can be so inconsistent changeable and unstable it can lead us to chase whatever we think will satisfy us at any given moment our desires are here one day and gone the next keep god first and you will lack for nothing let him rearrange your priorities and he will rearrange your life change starts from the heart and god is interested in the
heart not in your looks or how much you're giving give god the throne to your heart and he will change your desires and enable you to be truly satisfied in him take a moment to think about what's important in the grand scheme of things everything on this earth is temporary and fleeting none of it will last but god's kingdom will never end for that reason he is the only one worthy of our devotion he is the only one we should be focused on no matter what everyone else is doing keep god first jesus died on
a cross he did rise again in victory but the fact that he had such an unpleasant and painful death on the cross makes me think how great must his love have been to endure such pain how great of an example he said about being obedient to god the father by him willing to sacrifice everything down to his life so when luke 14 verse 27 says whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple here's the amplified translation for that very same verse whoever does not carry his own cross expressing
a willingness to endure whatever may come and follow after me believing in me conforming to my example in living and if need be suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in me cannot be my disciple if you place faith in man you will be disappointed but if you trust in god you will be rewarded no matter what season of life you're in keep god first because the treasures of this earth are passing away all of our earthly pursuits will let us down in the end so store up your treasure in heaven where nothing can be
destroyed jesus said seek first the kingdom of god and the rest will be added to you he will provide for your ever need from the basics like food and clothing to our soul's deepest longings for love and affection first thessalonians chapter 5 verse 17 commands believers to pray without ceasing and in luke chapter 18 verse 1 the lord jesus commanded that men ought always to pray and not faint and finally ephesians chapter 6 verse 18 says and pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests with this in mind be
alert and always keep on praying for all the lord's people these are just a few bible verses that serve as a reminder to all believers about just how important prayer is to our lives you see prayer is vital for our spiritual growth and maturity that's why we are commanded to pray without ceasing prayer is what draws us closer to god and according to jeremiah 33 verse 3 prayer is our mode of communication with the lord because the bible says call to me and i will answer you and show you great and mighty things which you
do not know it's only through prayer that we hear from god and keep our minds on him prayer is the channel that we can release our fears release our concerns and all our anxieties prayer is how we make our requests known to god and also a way in which we lift up our praise and thanks to the lord according to proverbs 15 verse 8 prayer brings delight and pleasure to god because the bible reads the lord detests the sacrifice of the wicked but the prayer of the upright pleases him furthermore we are required to pray
because prayer deepens our fellowship with the lord and according to psalm 42 verse 1 and 2 the bible says as the deer pants for the streams of water so my soul pants for you my god my soul thirsts for god for the living god where can i go and meet with god you and i need to understand that as we grow in our prayer lives then our relationship with god will also grow and benefit from this remember what the bible says you are blessed when you place your trust in god you are blessed when you
place your hope in jesus [Music] you
