i've been through storms
i've felt pain
i've been hurt
i've asked god where are you
and even though the storm was hard to go
through it taught me something
it taught me to trust in jesus
it taught me to pray
it taught me to stand
with nothing left but faith just faith
and like the song says through it all
i've learned to trust in god through it
all i have learned to depend on his word
and guess what
he's never
let me down
it's easy to be defined by one moment in
life
some people are defined by a failed
relationship
a failed business venture a divorce even
a career-ending injury
but in the bible the devil is called the
accuser
and he would love to convince you that
because of that one mistake because of
that one failure because of that one
season you should begin to look down on
yourself
but let me tell you that no matter the
mistake you've made
god's plan will still prevail
god's will will still be done
god knew your end from your beginning he
knew all of your highs and your lows
he numbered your good days to exceed
your bad days you might have failed but
you are not a failure
you might have had some bad choices but
that's not who you are
you might have an issue or two but you
are not your issue
and you see the enemy as an accuser will
constantly throw negative labels to try
and define you
he'll call you things like an addict a
failure a loser a dropout
but the word of god calls you
redeemed
it calls you a chosen generation a royal
priesthood
you are washed and made clean by the
blood of jesus
you are healed by his stripes
you are the head and not the tail
don't let the devil label you he does
not determine your destiny
refuse the labels that other people try
to stick on you
never believe the lies of the accuser
you are not defined by your mistakes but
by what god says about you you are
forgiven
you are loved you are saved by his
amazing grace so move forward
your mistakes are in the past and god
is in your future
father god
we bow our hearts and lift our heads to
look up to you a merciful and loving god
in agreement with everyone listening
i rebuke the spirit of fear over our
lives
the only spirit we welcome the only
spirit we invite into our lives into our
hearts and homes is the spirit of god
the holy spirit
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come holy spirit
burn fear away in our lives
i pray for a holy fire that cleanses a
fire that burns everything that is not
of god
the bible states that god has not he has
not given us a spirit of fear but of
power love and a sound mind i declare in
the name of jesus no spirit of fear will
paralyze our thoughts and emotions no
spirit of fear will consume our hearts
or trouble us in those moments when
we're alone
there are times we need to take
authority over spiritual forces and be
delivered and set free from the
oppressive powers of the enemy
since the beginning of time the devil's
been going around like a roaring lion
seeking who he may devour
and i want to make this very clear
our enemy the devil
is the accuser of the brethren he is a
liar the father of lies in fact
deception is his game and he plays it
well
now what he tries to do is
if he can get you to live in fear
he knows that he has won the battle
and over the years i have come to know
people
some believers even whose lives were
filled with a tormenting and fearful
spirit and i want you to understand that
god does not put you in bondage but fear
does
god holds you in pure love but fear will
hold you in bondage remember job
he said the thing which i greatly feared
has come upon me and that which i was
afraid of is come unto me
if you allow the spirit of fear to take
root in your life
it gives birth to a lot of things
to live in fear is like being caught in
a snare it's like a bird caught in a net
and if your life is ruled by fear you
will be held captive in that snare
waiting for something that will never
happen to happen
but i've got some good news for you
can god deliver us from fear
yes he can
can the lord jesus give us freedom and
peace
yes he can
can the lord be our shining light a
light that destroys the darkness of fear
yes he can
speak over your life if you're feeling
fearful the lord is my light and my
salvation whom shall i fear the lord is
the strength of my life of whom shall i
be afraid
so as a child of god i need to come to
the understanding that for me to be an
effective servant in god's kingdom i
have to overcome fear i have to believe
what god's word says concerning fear i
have to believe who god says i am
overcoming fear will help reach my
potential and exercise my rights as a
born-again believer and as a joint heir
with christ
fear normally starts as a thought
that grows and grows until it until it
controls us
this thought can be from anything
but when you dwell on it
when you constantly think of it and
relive it it becomes a spirit of fear
it's important as a believer to guard
our thoughts in order to overcome this
spirit
positive godly thinking is encouraged
always
bringing into captivity every thought to
the obedience of christ the bible says
meaning we have to be in control of our
thoughts so that they don't strike
it's important to know that god is with
you once you have received jesus
have you ever been involved in a fight
a fight for your job
a physical fight
a fight for your relationship
we have all had to fight at some point
and one thing we need to realize
is that every day
from the time that we wake up to the
time that we sleep
we are in a fight
we are involved in a conflict
there is a struggle between good and
evil
and that struggle is a spiritual battle
and it goes on
every day
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as we grow older and become more mature
christians
we're called to be equipped
with the weapons that god has given us
and we are called to put on the whole
armor of god
and the question i want to ask you
is have you answered that call
have you answered
the call to put on the whole armor of
god
people of god
the very first thing we have to remember
in this battle
is that we
have an unseen enemy
it's not a thief
it's not the nightmare neighbor from
hell
it's not the workplace
bully our unseen enemy can only be
revealed in the spiritual realm
with the eyes of faith
he can only be identified through the
spiritual eyes of discernment
and i want to inspire you today
to rally you up
and remind you that it is not god's will
for us to be slain by evil
it's not god's will
for us to be defeated
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if i had to tell you my story
i would have to tell you that
there was a time that i hit rock bottom
there was a time where i was flat broke
no hope and things weren't looking
bright for me
and to make matters worse
do you know what i did at that time
in my anger
in my rebellion i turned my back on god
where i should have been patient i was
rash and acted out of my own will where
i should have had faith and let god be
in control i tried to control things i
did things my own way and chose the
broad road because i felt there wasn't
enough room on the straight and narrow
road
and for anyone who has ever tried to do
things their way instead of god's way
when you do something when you know good
and well that that's not god's will for
your life
let me say from experience that it never
works out
ask jonah
how did it work out for him when he
tried to outrun god's calling
and so for me life happened after i ran
after i pulled away after i ignored the
conviction of the holy spirit in my
heart the lord finally allowed a series
of events that brought me to my knees i
was stuck in a situation where i knew i
knew deep down that i had to turn to
jesus
life made me chase and seek after a
power that is bigger than anything i had
access to my problems as many as they
were made me seek divine intervention
have you ever been in a place where
nothing seems to be working and you know
only jesus can get you out of this place
a place where no natural resources no
doctor no psychologist amount of therapy
no friend can get you out of this
situation but only
jesus christ that's where i was
where i once stood tall and relied on my
own skills my own resources life took me
to the feet of the lord asking for
forgiveness begging for mercy i wasn't
worthy but i was still loved i wasn't
faithful but i was still forgiven and
for anyone else who may be going through
what i went through for anyone else who
may need this word of encouragement i
want to tell you that although you may
be hard-pressed on every side but you're
not crushed you might be discouraged but
you're not destroyed although you're
perplexed you have not been driven to
despair the bottom line is
regardless of how bad or messed up you
think your situation is you are not
forsaken
remember what the word of god says about
you his plans for you are good plans to
prosper you and not to harm you plans to
give you hope and a future so let me
tell you you are valuable you are of
more value than many sparrows you've
been saved by grace you've been
justified by faith
you see you need to get to the point
where you stop running from the call of
god there must come a time when you as a
believer must decide i will stand strong
on my godly convictions i will stand for
forgiveness even when it's hard i will
stand in faith even when i can't see a
way out you may be under attack in your
health maybe the attack is within your
family or marriage even under attack
pray that the holy spirit will
strengthen you so i'm speaking to you
child of god it's time to take a stand
with the word of god against the forces
of evil stand in the authority of christ
your savior when you stand and wait on
the lord he will renew your strength he
will
rescue you
if you look back at when jesus was on
the earth
you're looking
at god
reaching out for you
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he reduced himself and came down to a
level
where he could carry our sins
and save us
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just imagine
the almighty
on his heavenly
throne surrounded by millions of angels
more than the eye can see
and their singing
holy
and the lord tells them
wait wait
let me pour out my glory
let me release my
omnipresence let me step out of this
holy atmosphere
an atmosphere surrounded by angels and
praise
let me step out of heaven
out of perfection
righteousness and purity let me leave
this worship
and let me humble myself
let me go down to the level of man
so that i may save them
so that i may be the light of their
salvation
let me give myself away
so that they may be saved
let me take on their guilt and shame
so that they may have a chance to
eternal life
my brothers and sisters
when you are looking at god as a man
and christ as a man
you are looking
at a god
whose love was so deep
whose love was so
oh so strong
that he reduced himself
to his lowest form
he had to reduce himself to be a man
he had to pour out his glory in order to
save us because if he had came in his
full power and might
then we wouldn't have been able to stand
him
if he came in his glory
he would have cracked the sky
none of us would have been able to stand
the brightness of his glory
so powerful is god jehovah that he had
to reduce himself to a burning bush just
to speak to moses
and even then
even then moses was told do not come any
closer
take off your sandals for the place
where you are standing is holy ground
why
because even then his presence alone
made everything around that burning bush
holy ground
so he had to lower himself
he became emmanuel
god is with us
and for the first time in all of
eternity
god in the flesh
knew what it was like
to be tired
he knew what it was like to be human
he knew what it was like to need rest
god the son
became human
so that he would know what it was like
to be you
he traded his glory and took on flesh so
that he could save you
understand me when i say because the
lord became man
because he came down to earth
down to our level
he knows the emotions you feel
he knows what tears are
he knows pain
and this means
that there is absolutely nothing
that he can ask or pray for
that he does not understand
and because he understands
he is moved by your cries
he is touched by your emotions
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the bible has this phrase when referring
to sin by saying the pleasures of sin
doing what's wrong can deceptively
appear rewarding or pleasurable
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after all satan is walking around like
an angel of light
he makes sin attractive
but in the end sin
is deadly
and rotten
david prayed that god would help him
face this and say no to sin
the apostle james also said resist the
devil and he will flee from you
in other words say no to the devil
enough times
and he will flee
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
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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
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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
sin grows best in the darkness
the more we hide it the more it thrives
the longer we try to deal with it
ourselves
the more we realize how weak we really
are
we get stuck in these vicious cycles
wondering if we'll ever break free
we can't fix this problem of sin on our
own we cannot outsmart it or beat it
with brute force
we need divine intervention
we need a savior
and in his mercy
god has given us one
his name is jesus christ
the reason you should be aware
alert
and even angry at sin
is because sin
separates
it separates us from the lord
it removes us from his presence
adam and eve fellowshipped with god in
the garden of eden until they sinned
and sin was the reason that they were
removed from god's presence
and we need to be completely clear about
this there is no middle ground when it
comes to sin there is no sin which is
better than the other
someone who lies
and someone who steals are both sinners
someone who has pride in their heart
and someone who commits adultery are
both sinners in god's eyes
in fact unless you repent
if you've ever lied even once
that makes you a liar by god's standard
if you've ever once thought more highly
of yourself than you ought
then you would be guilty of pride
this is why repentance is needed
because sin is something that god does
not tolerate in his presence
in jesus true freedom and deliverance
can be found
in jesus we can finally overcome the
struggles we've been fighting for so
long
he doesn't look upon us with shame or
anger he doesn't shy away from those
messy parts of us
he welcomes us with open arms
he forgives us of every sin we've ever
committed
even the ones we've done countless times
and he beckons us to go and sin no more
jesus is willing and able to set us free
from our cycles of sin
but we have to be honest with him we
have to admit that we have a problem
and we can't fix it ourselves
we have to truly repent
not out of guilt
but out of the conviction of the holy
spirit
we have to want to be free from sin
not just its consequences
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now the reality is that as we grow in
faith we must also
continually fight
against sin
we must continually battle and wrestle
against the sinful tendencies that we
all have in our private lives
even the apostle paul repeatedly
declared that he was the chief among
sinners
and this goes for all believers
every single christian every single one
of us we all have sin as a problem
and that problem is one that we must
never allow to overtake us
in the sense that we give up fighting
against it
the bible says there is none who is
without sin
and remember that the true mark of you
being a christian of you being a
believer
is not that you don't sin
but it's that you are constantly
fighting against sin
you are relentless in your battle each
and every day as you strive for holiness
while at the same time crucifying your
flesh
that's the sign
of a believer
because if you were not saved
if you did not have jesus christ in your
heart
then it would be easy to sin
there would be no conviction in your
heart there would be no struggle
but because there is a struggle
because the holy spirit still convicts
you and calls you to repent
then there is still hope
there is still hope that jesus christ
will deliver you from whatever sin it is
that you struggle with
one writer put it this way as he said
one of the litmus tests for the true
believer
is that while they may still sin
they hate
their sin
and fight against it whereas the
unbeliever
still loves his sin
be aware
be alert
and be angry at sin because it separates
us from the lord
in colossians 3 we are told to put to
death what is earthly in us
meaning sinfulness
in romans 6 we're told to consider
ourselves dead to sin and alive in
christ
and we are also told that the wages of
sin
is death
in galatians 5 we're told that if we
walk by the spirit we will not gratify
the lusts of the flesh
and in first corinthians 6
we're told to flee
from sin
this is what we must do all throughout
the bible we're given so many warnings
and we're also told how to overcome and
break the bondage of sin
and in order to do this we must first
recognize that we are sinners and that
we sin
because we are sinners
secondly
we must place our trust in the lord
jesus christ
we must ask for his help each and every
day in our sanctification
because without the spirit of god we can
do nothing
and lastly
we must flee from our sins
and if we are honest
we know when we are sinning
at least most of the time
perhaps it's a lustful glance
or an arrogant thought
in each of these situations
god's grace provides us with an
opportunity to flee from that sin
and we must train ourselves to take that
opportunity and flee
each and every time we are tempted
and that brings up the question how do
we train ourselves
well we know that we are transformed by
the renewing of our minds according to
romans
simply stated as we read the bible
as we study the bible and pray
we are being renewed
we are being transformed and as we grow
in faith
we should find it easier to resist
temptations
that doesn't mean temptations won't be
there
temptations will always be there
but as we grow spiritually we begin to
exercise self-control
we should find that little by little we
are able to flee from sin when it's
presented to us
this doesn't mean we will ever be
perfect
that will never happen until we are in
glory
but we can fight the good fight
and win the race
being faithful
with the help of our lord jesus christ
we can overcome sin
so that it doesn't rule our lives
so that it doesn't form a stronghold in
our lives
we can break free from the bondage of
sin
but we can only do it through the power
and the might of jesus christ
we can only do it through the strength
of the lord
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you