growing up as a young man I was obsessed
with wrestling and I always dreamed of
growing up to become a wrestler now even
though that was simply a childhood
desire my walk with God has led me to
many wrestling
matches I've wrestled in
private I've wrestled behind closed
doors I've wrestled with controlling my
emotions I've wrestled with the mistakes
of the past
I've even had wrestling matches between
my body and my heart occasions where I
know I should pray I wanted to pray but
my physical body was too tired too
distracted and prayer became a
fight and isn't it true that we all to
some degree are wrestling with something
private unseen and sometimes internal
matches and the toughest thing about a
wrestling match is that some sometime
you can feel like you're you're fighting
on your
own like there's no one in your corner
no one you can lean on no one there for
support and I remember a time when I
felt like that felt like I was fighting
a losing battle the same old sinful
cycle would spin me in a whirlwind again
and again and I felt
alone now just as I was at the Tipping
Point of giving up that's when I had my
first encounter with the Holy Spirit as
my helper and I often think about the
story in John 16 when Jesus was coming
towards the end of his ministry on Earth
and he gathered his disciples
around and tells them that it's better
if I leave this
earth it's better for you if I go and I
imagine being a disciple you have walked
with Jesus you have seen him rais
Lazarus from the dead you have seen him
heal blind
bmus you were there when your boat was
shaking in a storm in the middle of the
sea and you saw him speak to that storm
and it
listened Jesus the one who hung on a
cross the one who was placed in a tomb
but now risen standing in front of you
is saying
it's better that I
leave in John 16:7 he says it is to your
advantage that I go away for if I do not
go away the helper will not come to you
but if I depart I will send him to
you the
helper is the holy
spirit do you know who the holy spirit
is he is God's power without him you
cannot worship God in truth and in
spirit without the Holy Spirit we
couldn't win any Souls because Luke 12:2
for the holy spirit will teach you in
that very hour what you ought to say it
means the holy spirit will give us
wisdom he will whisper into your
spiritual ears he will come to your
rescue and that's when I started to
realize that the Holy Spirit has been
The Missing Link in my life he was was
given to us as a permanent helper always
on standby for you to call on him when
you need comfort he is there as your
comforter when you need to be taught he
is there as your teacher when you need
direction he will guide you if you need
strength he is there as your source of
strength John 16:7 if you need
intercession he is there to plead your
case to intercede or pray on your
behalf when you need counseling he is
ready with wise counsel and
instruction the role of the Holy Spirit
In Our Lives is all encompassing and so
those private wrestling matches that we
all face those are things the moments
that we need to invite the Holy Spirit
into our Corner invite him into your
troubles nothing else should give you a
sense of security but the fact that
God's holy spirit dwells in inside of
you I was reading the book of John and
one verse literally jumped out at me it
became so magnified on the page and I
knew I knew it had to be God speaking
John
14:16 I will ask the father and he will
give you another helper that he may
abide with you
forever now if you know that the devil
will send trouble your way in order to
try and make you fall you should take
take some measures to protect yourself
from
falling having God's word in your heart
is usually a good start David said I
have stored up your word in my heart
that I might not sin against
you now let me ask you a
question how often do you pray for God's
protection how often do you turn to the
word of God searching for a passage that
reassures you about the protection you
are offered as a
Believer I have found that one of the
golden rul rules of Christianity is that
you should protect yourself at all
times and when I say protect yourself I
don't mean carry a weapon or take
self-defense classes I mean remain
covered in the blood of
Jesus remain covered in the word of God
as Believers we need to remain under the
supernatural protection of Jesus Christ
because we are in a
fight I don't care how long you've been
saved or whether or not you were raised
in the church it's a fight for some of
us to make time for prayer every day
it's a fight to read the word of God
every day it's a fight to be a doer of
the word and not just someone who hears
the word it's a fight to walk by faith
and not by
sight you and I are fighting against the
many Temptations of this world we're
fighting at times against our own flesh
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 don't let your guard
down now I would like to give you some
fighting words straight from the Bible
Ephesians 6:1 12-13 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 armor
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 is the whole
armor of God that helps us to fight all
of the various evil entities from the
kingdom of darkness it's the whole armor
of God that allows us to withstand the
onslaught of the enemy in the evil
day another passage of scripture is 1
Timothy 6:12 which reads fight the good
fight of the faith take hold of the
eternal life to which you were called
and about which you made the good
confession in the presence of many
witnesses walking by faith requires you
to fight you're fighting what your
natural eyes can see and trusting God's
word
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now as people of God we need to keep
standing firm through the many seasons
of Life Ephesians 6: 11 says put on the
whole armor of God that you may be able
to stand against the Ws of the
devil now in order to stand firm you
need the belt of Truth to stand firm
you need the breastplate of
righteousness you need shoes prepared by
the gospel of peace you need the shield
of Faith the helmet of salvation and the
sword of the
spirit we can't always change our
circumstances but we can change our
attitude and our Outlook we can choose
to feed our spirit with God's word and
reject the spirit of fear so wherever
you're at right now you are not there by
accident God has placed you where you
are the fight you face the battle you're
in it all has a
purpose in the fullness of his timing
the Lord will make a way for
you let us pray King Jesus the almighty
one teach us to be more trusting help us
to build our faith May the Holy Ghost
teach us and remind us that the troubles
we Face serve a purpose the pain that we
feel the people who reject us can all be
a blessing in
disguise the tough situations and trials
we go through can be the Lord ordering
our steps positioning us for in increase
for healing for
breakthrough now as we continue to place
Our Hope and Faith In Jesus we need to
know that one day the storm will be over
you will make it through to the other
side God will make rivers flow in the
desert so dear friend whatever you are
going through it shall pass maybe you're
in a dry season a season where life
seems meaningless and you feel as though
you're simply
drifting perhaps you're at a place where
God seems as distant as the
Stars maybe you're in an impossible
situation where no matter what you
choose you just can't
win for some of us that tough place has
become a stronghold of sin and you can't
seem to let it go go no matter what your
problem may be it will pass and God will
do a new thing in your
life furthermore all of us despite what
we Face we must keep moving forward in
believing Philippians 3: 13-14 says
brothers and sisters I do not consider
myself yet to have taken hold of it but
one thing I do forgetting what is behind
and straining toward what is ahead I
press on toward the goal to win the
prize for which God has called me
heavenward in Christ Jesus in other
words Saints press
on God is faithful to empower you to
stand strong and Victorious and not to
be
defeated remember that Jesus is
Victorious over Satan he's Victorious
over death hell and the grave and this
is good news this is good news for you
and I because if we have accepted Jesus
Christ into our hearts then we too can
walk in
Victory when the bills are paid when
there's money in the bank when there's
plenty to laugh and be happy about do
you remember to say Thank you Lord I
know where you brought me from I
remember when it wasn't like
this or how about when you're struggling
work is tough the business isn't
performing well and you have problems do
you remember to say thank
you thank you Lord because I may be
hardpressed on every side but I'm not
crushed I may be perplexed but I'm not
in
despair persecuted but not
forsaken struck down but not
destroyed in Acts 16 Paul and Silas
didn't see the prison they were in they
didn't focus on the guards the chains or
the fact that they were uncomfortable
they focused on
God acts 16:25 and 26 says about
midnight Paul and Silas were praying and
singing hymns to God and the other
prisoners were listening to them
suddenly there was such a violent
earthquake that the foundations of the
prison were
shaken at once all the prison doors flew
open and everyone's chains came
loose I pray that this may be the
reality in our lives
today as we praise and thank God in
advance each of us will also experience
a suddenly movement in our situation
when things will turn
around
be thankful Saints be thankful always
and in all
circumstances how could I not thank the
Lord how could you not than the
Lord I am living I am
healthy I am of a sound mind I am
blessed to have a
family blessed to have food on my plate
and a place to
stay this is not to say that everything
has been perfect
but the message I want to tell you is be
thankful find something find one thing
to be thankful
about we should be Believers that
rejoice and give thanks to God Almighty
through the good and through the
bad sure the car broke
down but I thank you for legs that I can
walk maybe I lost my job it's a problem
but I can still thank God that I haven't
lost my
health yes you may not be able to afford
the most luxurious dining
experience but thank God that you have
never missed a
meal people of God we ought to have a
spirit of
thankfulness Let It Be Your disposition
in life to stop for a moment
and say thank
you Psalms 107: 1-2 says oh give thanks
to the Lord for he is good for his
steadfast love endures forever let the
redeemed of the Lord say so whom he has
redeemed from
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trouble today 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
dare to believe in
Jesus think about David going up against
Goliath Goliath was 9 ft tall he was a
giant an imposing figure a strong and a
skilled
Warrior he had specialized armor and
weapons but
David David was just a Shepherd boy he
had no prior training he had no
experience on the battlefield everything
about him screamed
average by all
measurements David didn't stand a
chance but Against All Odds David was
able to overcome this impossible
situation by trusting in the Lord David
was a able to
overcome he said to Goliath you come to
me with sword Spear and Javelin but I
come to you in the name of the Lord of
Heaven's
armies it didn't matter how weak how
inexperienced or how unprepared David
was he put his faith in God and God
empowered him to defy all human logic he
empowered him to overcome a seemingly
impossible situation and here's the
thing if you believe if you dare to let
all of your faith rest completely on
God's word you too can experience The
Impossible becoming
possible we can and should be depending
on God for that same miraculous power
today Against All Odds you can defeat
your Goliath Against All Odds you can
overcome whatever TR Tri whatever
difficulty you are facing right now it
doesn't matter how unworthy how
unqualified they say you are it doesn't
matter how undeserving they say you are
if God is for you then no one can be
against you if God is for you then
goodness and mercy will follow you all
the days of your
life with Jesus on your side you better
believe he's going to mark you to
victory he's going to raise up a
standard in your life and that's because
everything about God is
greater it's greater than any opposition
it's greater than any amount of money
it's greater than anybody's opinion
even his promises are greater than the
predictions of man 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 a
statistical analysis or a 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 I'm sure that each of us when
we've gone through certain things in
life when we faced difficulties or
challenges if you're anything like me
then you will go through that situation
trying to figure out how will this work
for my
good when we are in trouble how many how
many of us want details from God how
many of us ask God why am I going
through this how many of us ask God
questions like God if you're going to
make a way out for me how exactly are
you going to do
it at precisely what time will you come
to my
rescue how long will I have to go
through this before things actually
start turning around for my good
good but God doesn't always give us
answers while we are in the
fire all we can do is have faith in his
promises promises like those found in
naam 1:7 which says the Lord is good a
stronghold in the day of trouble and he
knows those who trust in
him we ought to hold on to the promises
like those found in psalm
55:22 which says says cast your burden
on the Lord and He Shall sustain you he
shall never permit the righteous to be
moved you see in times of difficulty we
have to remember God's nature and his
nature can be found in his
word in the Bible God is described as a
refuge and a deliverer he is described
as faithful he is described as Alpha and
Omega he is the beginning and the end he
is patient caring and loving and so I
encourage you to put your trust in the
Lord regardless of what you are
facing whether you are in a valley or on
top of the mountain we should be seeking
the Lord
always we need him to lead and guide us
we need his grace we need his Mercy we
need his protection to keep us safe as
we go about our business and above all
we need God's
presence you see God's presence is
extraordinary when his presence
surrounds you you're surrounded by pure
love when his presence surrounds you
you're covered in safety and there is
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 this is why it's important that you
obey Joshua 1:8 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 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
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